Some Skeezy, Scumbag Dealer

This weekend, the daughter of a friend and her cousin from Edmonton (don’t hold that against them, they are nice people) are coming to stay for a few days in order to run The Energizer Night Race. I think they are doing the 10 K. The only time that I ever ran at night, I had either an armload of TV or a pocketful of drugs and it was either that or spend an hour or so face down on the hood of a police cruiser. Good Times, good times...

So, Tammy is going to run this race...for the fun of it!
 

It seems that she is one of those people that get some kind of endorphin high from a long run. I have heard of this, but until Tammy I didn’t believe it. I figured that the people I knew that ran were just trying to get me involved in order to share the misery. Who would have imagined that they actually liked it? I can understand being happy that the pain is over, but to actually enjoy? Mind boggling.

I have spent some time looking at my life and yes, I have done things that seem to be almost as odd as running for fun. I volunteered to co-ordinate girls soccer for about six years, and believe me that brought about all sorts of pain. I also was involved in scouting for a number of years. Not as many as I should have been, but again it was plenty long enough. It turns out that although I love my kids and grandkids I am not one of those who derive great joy from moulding the minds of young people. I tend to say things that might get some reaction. I remember giving one of the scouts a nudge with my fender when he didn’t get off of the road. He never stood in the road when I was about to park again, so in a way I was teaching him the proper behaviour.

I have done some longish backpacking trips which I look back on with fond memories and a smile on my face. When I was up to my calves in mud and water, there wasn’t a lot of smiling. Hours of slogging through rugged terrain and the reward at the end of the day was a dehydrated meal and a dehydrated desert, with an hour or so of sitting around the fire chatting until exhaustion drove you to crawl into a tiny sleeping bag, inside of a tiny tent to sleep on the cold hard ground. The odd thing is, when I think of it now I feel that tomorrow wouldn’t be soon enough to do it again. It was a hoot!

I am not sure whether my mind has forgotten the physical challenges or perhaps I am just a moron. Let me guess what answer you chose. I suppose that you can get that high from pushing your body to the edge, but I prefer to get my drugs the natural way. From some skeezy, scumbag dealer in the parking lot of a convenience store.

P.S. I lost my job today. Well, I wasn’t working, but it was a future part time job that has now been either postponed or cancelled altogether. Freakin’ Post Office! I had plans for that money! That is coffee money for a year.  

On the happy, what a great day it is front. I managed to assemble an Ikea bookshelf without once swearing in Swedish or looking at those great stickman directions they give. I just can’t figure out why I have all of these parts left over?

Was that a crash? Oh-oh. Well, at least I don’t have to plan my day tomorrow anymore.