Communication.

At odd times, apropos of nothing, the wee one will emphatically state, "I know" in his tiny little person voice, with this inflection that sounds like he is saying, "I mean, can you believe it? That is so crazy!"

Cracks me up each and every time.

Minimization.

I've got to admit, I kind of dig the looks on peoples' faces when they ask what I did for Mother's Day, and I respond, "Ran a 10k."

Perspective.

It seems a fairly universal trait to see one's self as average. My skills, abilities, tastes, traits and sensibilities? They don't seem any too special or unique to me. I live with myself on a daily basis, and trust me, I have first hand knowledge that I'm really not that special.

What I forget is that I've lost perspective of me in relation to the rest of the world. The knowledge I've gained is indeed knowledge. My threshold of "normal", however, has increased, so I just don't notice. And gaining perspective from those around me is difficult. (Bird's of a feather and all....)

Recently, I had a good, refreshing, take stock of yourself sort of insight.



Okay, maybe not that epic.

I was looking at witty shirts here, and saw this shirt.



My first thoughts were along the lines of, "Funny, but not hilarious."
And then I had the realization that were I to wear this shirt, the reaction of most people would not be "Ha!", but "Huh?"

My name is Lacie, and I am a nerd.

Conundrum.

I find myself in need of your help. I've signed up for the Run Like Hell 10k. I would really like to wear some sort of costume, it being Halloween and all, but I've hit a brick wall as far as creative ideas.

So, I put it to you, Oh Internet.

Any thoughts?

And, to add incentive to share ideas, I've even devised a rating system..

+1 If it is a run-compatible costume. (It is a 10k after all.)
+2 If it doesn't require sewing. (I'm really not that crafty.)
+3 If it fits with the theme this year, Alice in Wonderland
+4 If it isn't Alice
+5000 if it incorporates a hookah.

Thanks in advance for your help. (And I promise, I'll post a picture...)

Hallucination?

I'm not sure what led up to it, but I had one of those very strange, oddly detailed dreams last night.

I was in a room full of chiropractors, as though I had stumbled into a convention of some sort.

I made some smart-ass comment to the effect that their entire profession was bogus and that there was no clinical evidence of the efficacy of their work. (You know, as I'm so prone to do.)

Then I was in a room full of angry chiropractors.

To complete all the strangeness, though, was that my first thought upon waking up was wondering why I'm only so unfailingly articulate when I'm mouthing off to a room full of strangers in my sleep...

Obfuscation.

Living on the west coast, I'm learning there are some seemingly minor linguistic distinctions that can have a major impact.

Some I love. For instance, if your travels take you any further than the Rockies, you are going "Back East". It doesn't really matter if your final destination is New York, North Carolina, or even Nebraska. You are going Back East.

In all reality, it sounds so much better, too. Imagine the conversations.
Guy 1 "I'm going to a wedding in my old hometown."
Guy 2 "Oh really. Where?"
Guy 1 "Cheboygan."
Guy 2 "Where?"
Guy 1 "Um, Cheboygan. In Michigan."
Guy 2 "Oh. Back East."

Of course, while there are some of little linguistic twists I love, there are some I've come to merely understand and accept.

For instance, ask any Oregonian the difference between going to the beach and going to the coast.

Permeation.

As a follow up to the previous post, I offer a quick note about the Garlic Festival itself.

The race and awards ended at roughly 11 a.m., at which time the festival proper opened. We took a quick tour of the grounds, where we saw a number of handicrafts for sale. There were also multiple vendors of, you guessed it, garlic. The food court offered rather basic garlic-y fare. We sampled the garlic Parmesan cheese fries (judged by all of us to be freaking awesome). We also tried the garlic beer. I will say, it wasn't horrible. It just seemed like something you should drink the morning after a night of heavy drinking, as you munch on cold pizza and stale bread sticks. The novelty of drinking garlic beer wasn't sufficient to drink the entire glass.

There was a vendor selling garlic ice cream, but it was kind of expensive. And really, does anyone believe eating a scoop of garlic flavored ice cream is going to turn out well?

So, we left after having eaten a rather small amount of garlic-y goodness.
We did get to see the Garlic Festival Queen, however. (Complete with her garlic clove crown.)
And, the prize for completing the run?
A bulb of elephant garlic.