Yay!

Finally....my car has been fixed and we're goin' to pick it up tonight by 5pm, which means I also get to use this as an excuse to leave work early :-) It will be nice to have my little Jetta back. Don't get me wrong, it's been nice having the Lexus (thanks Dad!), but it guzzles too much gas, has to be parked far from our house where there's no "resident only" parking, and it's a bit ostentatious for my taste. Not to mention everyone says I look like a peanut driving it (the Lexus is HUGE).

As for fault, they wisely determined it wasn't mine which means I don't have to pay a deductible and my insurance won't go up. I'm just glad the other guy had insurance because he was kinda sketchy.

So Halloween is just around the corner and we'll actually have to buy candy this year. I had trick or treaters at my house on the Cape, but in VT we didn't have any. There aren't alot of street lights and houses can be as much as a couple of acres apart so the kids just trick or treat in town where the stores stay open late. But I'm looking forward to seeing all the southie kids dress up and demand their candy. If any of'em get out of hand we'll just let the dogs loose on them - Lord knows they're a fierce bunch. And I may have special guests - my God daughter Emily, her big brother Ayden and cousins Tim & Tam (Tam Tam!) McCormack may head to our hood for Halloween! It'll be fun, I'll introduce them to all the locals at the Pub across the street. Actually, Tim and Tammy will probably hang out there and send Sandy and I out with the kids.....just kidding cuz! Speaking of Emily - here she is, yeah, I know, she's too cute.













As for baseball, still dealing with the World Series so no Sox updates really, except they signed Mike Timlin for another year at a million or two. Mike is an aging set-up guy who is also a radical right wing nazi that hunts in the off season. I don't like him.

Seasonal People

OK, so this is kind of a random entry because there's no drama to report in our lives this week. I did however, come to the conclusion that Sandy and I are definitely seasonal people, meaning we want to change with the seasons. We were talking last night over black beans and rice with a side salad about how much we'd be anticipating the ski season starting if we were still living in Stowe.



I know, lots of people are looking forward to it but not in the same way. We got to ski everyday, not just on weekends and holidays like we have to now. There is indeed something to be said for experiencing sunrise on the highest peak in Vermont (Mt. Mansfield) without a soul around you. Or being the last people down the mountain as the sun is setting at the end of the day. These are things that everyone should experience at some point in their lives. So yeah, with the onset of Fall and ski resorts ramping up for a Thanksgiving opening (some sooner), we miss our old lifestyle. At the same time, when we were beaching and boating on the Cape all summer, cruising to the Vineyard at will and watching sunsets from the jacuzzi with friends, family, wine and beer, thoughts of Vermont were completely and utterly non-existent. That's why we've come to the conclusion that we are definitely "seasonal people." Could we live a seasonal lifestyle? Of course we could. But then we'd have to give up other things in life that are important to us.

So for now, we'll just be happy where we are and enjoy the time that we get to ski in Vermont this winter and the weekends we'll spend on the Cape next summer. In between, we'll continue doing cool stuff in Boston like going to RED SOX games, seeing the Nutcracker by the Boston Ballet, hearing the Boston Symphony Orchestra play with Aimme Mann at Symphony Hall, (what a great performance that was), cocktails at the Top of the Hub, running marathons with the BAA and just plain hanging out in Southie. Not too bad eh?

The Red Sox hired a new pitching coach, John Farrell from the Cleveland Indians front office. He was a college pitching coach at Oklahoma State for many years so he'll hopefully get some good chemistry going with our young, future all-star pitching staff!

When it Rains it Pours

Just when I was ready to send all my info to Habitat for Humanity, I get a phone call from someone at Run For Research (The American Liver Foundation), another charity I applied to for the Boston Marathon. The woman on the other end started what felt like an interview and before I knew it, I was being asked to join the Run For Research marathon team! I think I'll go with them because they're a mainstay charity with the Boston Athletic Association and have had teams since 1987. So they are very established. More importantly, they love get-togethers after runs in places where imbibing is highly encouraged. I know, it's weird that people who run and raise money to help prevent/cure liver disease love to participate in acts that perpetuate it!



Really though, I got the feeling they are a fun group that also takes their cause seriously and I think it will be a life changing experience. There will be group runs every Saturday starting December 9th with professional marathon trainers, I'll get matched up with a liver patient to run for, there are several social events between the start of training and the marathon, and there's a big party at The Pour House on Boylston after the marathon! So stay tuned because I should have my own fund raising web page up and running soon!

Not too much to report on the hometown team right now and it will be that way until the World Series is over. It will be a heck of an off season though once things get going. But don't worry, I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this:














And oh yeah, THANK YOU DETROIT!

1/2 Way There

Well, we did it. 13.1 miles on one of the most beautiful, scenic runs through Boston and Brookline there is - The Emerald Necklace. We crossed the finish line, together, at exactly 2:07:00. We both know we could have run it faster but we decided at the get-go to run it conservatively at a steady pace, especially since we weren't aware of how hilly it would be (and it was) and our goal was simply to finish. Just before reaching the 1/2 way mark at Franklin Park Zoo we climbed what felt like Mt. Everest. A slow incline that must have taken about 10 minutes. I think what kept us going was that we knew we'd get to run down it on the way back!

More importantly, what really kept us going before the turn was a familiar face. I was keeping an eye out because the day before the race, my Aunt Diane mentioned she'd try and see us on the course since Franklin Park Zoo was so close to her house. Sure enough, as we were about to go through the turnaround, there was Aunt Diane. I jumped out of the race and gave her a hug, then Sandy did the same. It was great because after watching people cheer for specific people along the route, we had our own personal "cheerer" too! It's really nice to have supportive family.

So, 1/2 way there, literally. Next up, the FULL Boston Marathon on April 16th.

26.2 Long Miles.....

Oh Boy, it's official. My application to run in the world's oldest and most prestigious marathon has been accepted! For those of you who may not be aware, you can't just call up the Boston Athletic Association and say "hey, I wanna run in your marathon." "Qualified" runners for this event are those who have not only run a marathon before, but have done it in an acceptable time, typically 4 hours or less. The back door to getting in though, without having run a marathon before, is through their Charity Program. Local charities can apply to become official charities for the Boston Marathon and if selected by the BAA, they each get about 15 numbers to create their team with. I applied to several of the selected charities for the 2007 Boston Marathon and finally, one accepted me - Habitat For Humanity. I'm still waiting to hear back from Children's Hospital, my number one choice to run for, but at least I'm in if they reject me. All these charities get hundreds of applications so I'm pretty happy!

Now I have to raise the minimum $3000 that each charity requires non-qualified runners to come-up with.....so stay tuned for solicitations! Oh yeah, and I actually have to run this thing now! I guess that means not attending the traditional 11am Red Sox game on Patriots Day this year. Again, for those of you who aren't from these parts, Marathon Monday falls on Patriots Day every year which is a holiday for us (ie. we don't have to work or go to school). The Red Sox always play at 11am on Patriots Day and it's scheduled at that time intentionally so the game ends around the same time that the top runners are crossing the finish line just a mile or so from Fenway. It'll take me a few hours longer though because I'm neither a Kenyan or a professional runner. Wow....I'm wicked psyched!

Oh, and speaking of the Red Sox, see, Theo and the trio knew what they were doing when they didn't give Pedro his 4 years. He had rotator cuff surgery today, diagnosed just before the Mets began the playoffs. He's done until the middle of the 2007 baseball season at best. Go Tigers!

Unfortunate Events

That's what we've experienced the last fews days here in Boston. We got back from Vermont to find that Sandy's car had been towed away. She accidentally parked on the wrong side of the street for street cleaning before we left and as it turns out, this one time she messed up is the week that the city decided to tow cars blocking street cleaning efforts. They used to just ticket them - now they do both. $210 later, we're pretty pissed, especially after an article on this new policy appeared in the Boston Globe the very next day which claimed residents were warned with flyers. No one has seen or received these supposed flyers so we plan on appealing the violation. Besides, doesn't the city realize that they would be perpetuating the build-up of trash on our streets by distributing paper flyers that will end up in the gutter? Instead of towing and ticketing, they should go after all the restaurant owners who leave their menus on our front doorsteps (which get blown away by the wind and end up on the streets) and the lottery and scratch ticket buyers who throw their losing tickets on the street.

Then, yesterday as I was coming home from work, a car smashed into the side of me as we were both making left hand turns - I was in the outside lane and he was in the inside lane. He didn't stay in the inside lane. My driver side door is badly dented, the window exploded into a thousand pieces all over me, the road and the inside of the car, and the passenger side door is way out of alignment. I had the thing towed away. Tow, tow, tow. Luckily, I wasn't hurt and it wasn't my fault. There were two left turn lanes and the other driver apparently didn't realize this despite the left turn arrow painted on the street and my left turn blinker blinking. He hit me right in the middle of the intersection as he was turning from the inside lane to the outside lane - my lane. I think he thought I was going straight. Tough to explain, but trust me, it was his fault. He drove away though, having suffered only a dent by his front right headlight where the impact was. Thank God he had insurance cause he's definitely gonna pay. If this crap keeps up we may have to move back to Vermont!




What really ticked me off though was that Sandy and I were suppose to go for a run, but as a result of the accident, we didn't. We'll go tonight instead. Only a few days left before the 1/2 marathon!