Marine Corps Marathon 2010

Hello, blogosphere! Sorry for the momentary absence...I was enjoying some Marine Corps Marathon pre-, during and post-festivities with Page, Meg (friends from undergrad) and Meg's family. It's been a super-fun couple of days, lemme tell you! It was nice to catch up with Page since her last visit in March for the National Marathon. We hung out at The Papery, Ann Taylor Loft and the Container Store on Friday when Meg was at work, and then when Meg was with us, we watched what seemed like a bazillion episodes of NCIS (thank you, channel USA for the marathon). I also enjoyed spending time with my adopted family (Meg's family), especially "Little Bit," Meg's niece. Shoooos. Kit-ty. Beeeeads. So adorable, really.

Weird thing that happened to me: I was walking up to Meg's place on Thursday, holding a container of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in one hand and my suitcase handle in another. I noticed that a small Asian lady walking parallel to me. I look over and she pointed at my hip, where my t-shirt had been riding up (whooo cares?). AND THEN she proceeded to pull it down for me, like something my mother would do! o_0 WTH? AND THEN she continued to walk with me up the hill. I looked over at her again, and noticed that she was looking at the cookies. "Cookies??" "Uhh, yeah." (insert awkward silence). "Do you want one?" "Sure, two!" She took two and then waved good-bye as she walked into the nearby grocery store. HUH? Ok, sure. You can have two. I wonder if she would have done the same straightening-wardrobe thing to someone that wasn't Asian. Maybe she felt a closeness with me because I was Asian and so was she? I dunno. That was so weird.

The Marine Corps Marathon this morning was like whoa. Meg, Page and I woke up before 6 AM (see, I AM capable of waking up at this hour, I just choose not to), got ready, and Meg's dad shuttled us close to the start line. We met up with the rest of Meg's family to watch the race. Using some iPhone/iPad technology, we were able to track Meg's location on the course and strategically plan where we were going to stand so that we could see her run by. We successfully saw her a few times, along with other racers wearing costumes (Washington Monument, Mario and Luigi, Buzz Lightyear). I thought they were really amusing. A little bit past the halfway mark, Robyn (another friend from undergrad) met up with us to cheer Meg on. Team Meg made a strong presence with our matching red shirts. Despite a nippy morning, it was beautiful race weather today, and I was happy to witness such athleticism with awesome company. Meg got in a little over 4 hours, shaving about 10 minutes from her time at the National Marathon. Congratulations, Meg! We are very proud of you!
On my walk to the car, I saw an older gentleman with a marathon medal on walking to his car too. He was probably 70-80 years old. I asked him if he had done the marathon today. "Yes, I did indeed." "Oh, that's awesome!" (pause) The guy chuckles, "It's funny. I don't feel awesome." I didn't know what to say except "Uhh, at least it's over?" He laughs again, "Yeah. It'll take about a week to recover." I had one of my many moments of feeling very unathletic, despite my attempts to keep up with spin and occasional running. If that old dude could do it, I should be able to run 26.2 miles too, right? Hah. Yeah, don't hold your breath, mkay?

When I got home from post-Marathon festivities and taking Page to the airport with Meg and her dad, I saw that I got a package in the mail. Hooray, my goodies from Joann.com arrived. I can't wait to try these inks out. I'll have to remember to get those foam-y applicators or make-up sponges so that I can start experimenting with them. I am also excited for Kristina Werner's holiday card series 2010, which starts tomorrow!

Did anyone see any good Halloween costumes tonight? I saw a UFO+alien, Heath Ledger's Joker, and an Egyptian pharaoh. I was a little irked by some of the older kids not saying trick-or-treat, but expecting candy anyway. You're old enough to buy your own candy. The least you can do is just say "trick-or-treat"! :: SNARL::

Funny Halloween-related IM conversation with my sister earlier this evening.
[19:31] sister: i just got a couple of kids... earlier, i swear i got the same kids twice
[19:31] me: ha ha. they are scamming you.
[19:35] sister: i think the parents just didn't want to wander too far
[19:39] sister: hah, a couple of kids just asked if they could use the bathroom
[19:40] sister: i'm a bit surprised b/c they don't know me and i don't know them... but, i guess i look like a nice person
[19:44] me: hmmmm....you do look kinda trustworthy
[19:44] me: i guess
[19:44] sister: hah
[19:44] sister: but, i was like thinking wait, but i'm a stranger and you want to use my bathroom?
[19:45] sister: isn't that a no-no?
[19:45] sister: but, if you gotta pee, you gotta pee
[19:45] me: you let them in?!
[19:45] me: what if they ransacked your house?!
[19:45] me: and held you a knifepoint with their dull sword?
[19:45] me: ha ha
[19:46] sister: yeah, i did... they were young... i think i could take all of them

Sigh, children.