Did I miss something?

Remember the guy from poetry night that I went out to dinner with a few months ago? Well, he's back. Sort of. He emailed me saying that he had question about my religion and asked if I could meet with him sometime. Well, with this training schedule and new Young Women's calling, I haven't had much extra time. I sent him a link to Mormon.org and told him if had any questions to email them to me, because I didn't have time at the moment, but would be happy to answer his questions. He never emailed me backed.



The next poetry night he shows up (had hadn't come since our date) and we talk for a little bit. I ask if he saw the website and he said yes, but still wants to go out with me to talk. I say okay, but I need to check my schedule. After a few days (can you tell he's not very high on my priorities list) I let him know when I'm available. Thinking that we'll be going to lunch somewhere, I tell him it doesn't matter where we go and to let me know where and when. He emails me back to say he's booking a room in a hotel.

A hotel???

He says he misunderstood me and feels ashamed for it. Part of me wants to ask him what exactly lead him to think that I would be comfortable with him in a hotel room. That part of me also thinks he might be sincere in wanting to know more about the LDS Church. But then I'm also thinking that he never actually asked me any questions, and he's had ample opportunity to. Another thing, after our date, he stopped sending me poems to spell check and critique. It may be that he's just using the poetry and religion to try to get closer to me. Or it may be that I'm reading way too much into this and am acting like an idiot.

What do you think?

Stuck at 4 miles

I thought the half-marathon training was going well. I've been doing the speed training and short runs during the week faithfully and actually waking up at 5:15 on Saturdays for the 6:00 am group runs. I didn't think I'd be able to do that, but I haven't missed a week yet.

What hasn't been going well is the actual group run. My group has been running 4 miles for the past 2 weeks, but I haven't been able to run the full 4 miles. We keep running up Stadium Dr, which starts out as a gradual slope then it curves around to a pretty steep hill. For those familiar with Roy, UT streets, you could say it starts out like 5600 and ends up like 4800, right before the tracks. It kills me. Although there has been some progress. Instead of taking just over an hour to complete the 4 miles, last Saturday it took me just under an hour.

This coming Saturday we get to run 5 miles. I hope they change the course.

Equestricat to the Rescue!

I was clearing out some old books from our shelves today and ran across this title: Equestricat.

When you hear or see a title like that, what comes to mind? I picture a large animal with the body of a horse and head and tail of a cat, with claws. Or a cat that neighs. Turns out its a cat that has an affinity for horses. The cat saves the day by helping the horse win the big race. I have no idea how it does this, but I bet a cape in involved.

Librarian power

I just discovered that as a librarian, I have a an amazing power. Apparently, I can control the Internet. And I don't just mean other's access to it. I mean I can control websites, passwords, everything. Apparently this a power all librarians have.

Can't access your account? You probably ticked off the last librarian you met and s/he changed your password. The website you visit every single day has disappeared? Yep, that was us. We got tired of your looking at. Thought you could spend your time doing something more rewarding, so we took it away. That test you took online for your new job, which your employer didn't get, we deleted it. You didn't do so well, so we're giving you another chance.

I should probably thank the patron who let me know about this power. Otherwise, I'd still be thinking that it was a combination of human and computer errors. Silly me. Those things just don't happen anymore. Its the librarians.

On Not Running

So I let myself be talked into joining a 1/2 marathon training program. I thought it'd be a good way to keep myself motivated in going to the gym and exercising. And it's always nice to have people to exercise with.

We're only a couple of weeks into the program, and the training has gone something like this: run 20 minutes one day, 15 the next, rest, run 20 minutes again; run 1 mile on Saturday. Which I can do. I'd been running 30-35 minutes 3 days a week before I joined. And then I got sick.

I wasn't very sick. It was just a little cold. But I didn't do anything I absolutely had to do. The last couple of times I caught a little cold I ignored it and ended up being sick for 6 weeks or so with all sort of infections. I wasn't going to go through that again. Last week was full of cough drops, lemon and honey, and lounging in bed. I only ran once. This week, the running is killing me. I didn't even make it through the 20 minutes on Monday. I had to stop and walk. It was so sad and pathetic. What a difference a week makes, eh?

Top New Species

I just saw this article over at CNN. They've named the top 10 new speices of the year. My favorites are the 14 inch long stick bug, the snail whose shell twists on 4 axis points, and the suicide plant.

Its amazing that we are still finding new animals and plants on our planet. There is still so much to explore. I'm sure my neice, A, will enjoy the new bugs.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/05/22/top.10.new.species/index.html#cnnSTCText

Awkwardness

So let me give you a little bit more background on the poetry patron I went out with. Like I said yesterday, he comes to the poetry open mike night and reads. English in not his native tongue, so he asked me to help him with spelling and grammar, so I said sure. In between emailing me poems, he would also ask me to dinner or see if had any plans for the weekend. Since I always took my time answering these, he point blank asked me if I was interested in him as he was in me. I answered "No".

I went out with him because 1) he asked; 2) I haven't gone out in a long time and thought it would be fun; and 3) I've been very busy and need time away from work/home/church/gym.

All first dates have a bit of awkwardness, but the drive home was the worst. The conversation went something like this:

boy: Do you ever get lonely?

me: Yes, but not as much as I used to.

boy: So do I. I want a relationship with someone. Someone to holds with. Aren't you looking for a relationship?

me: (in my head, yes, but not with you.) Yes, but right now I'm just want to have fun.

long pause

boy: I know you don't want a serious relationship with me, but could we try to have one? You don't have to introduce me as your boyfriend or anything.

me: (in my head, what?) Look, I'm can be your friend. We can go do things together, like dinner or movies or bowling or whatever.

another long pause

boy: I get so lonely. I really think we should have a relationship.

me: I have a group of friends that get together once a week, usually on Mondays. You'd be welcome to join us.

silence

The really awkward part was that every time he started talking about being in a relationship, he would slow down to 50 mph, on the freeway.