Category Archives: personal

Repost: Discovering a Season

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[The following a revised version of a previously published post. – Funky]

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I get so excited that I start listening to my Christmas music at the beginning of November, much to the surprise and chagrin of some of my loved ones. Last year, I asked myself what I’ve been getting excited about. Is it the celebration of Christ’s birth? I wish I could say so, but the truth is that I’ve been enamored with the secular trappings of the season. Decorating the Christmas tree, baking cookies, singing catchy tunes, visiting relatives, watching classic movies, giving and receiving gifts (sadly, mostly the latter), playing in the snow (in those few lucky winters), and other generally faith-free activities have been Christmas’ raison d’etre for me.

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Ignorantly Inconsiderate

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I know I tend to walk through life with my foot in my mouth, but I've really been on a roll with offending people lately. I certainly don't mean to. My mother calls my accidental obnoxiousness "ignorant inconsideration". I usually just don't realize that I've offended someone and why I find out I have I'm usually clueless as to why they're offended. Often, I'm actually offended that they're offended. In fact, one pet peeve that's sure to get me riled up is someone taking offense at something I didn't intend to be offensive. (Please don't deliberately push that button. Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.)

I've always had trouble with tact and diplomacy, but I'd like to think that I've been getting better over the years. Lately, though, I've offended and/or ticked off a number of people – friends, family, and strangers alike. I've realized that lately I've been rather cranky, short-tempered, and obstinate (more so than usual).

1) If I have offended and/or angered you, please accept my apology.

2) Please pray that whatever's causing this recent unpleasantness abates.

Prayer Requests

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Some members of my family are in need of prayers.

my Aunt Ellen: testing on breast lump tomorrow and complete hysterectomy on December
5

my Great Aunt Amy: struggles with depression and mild dementia

Elissa (Amy’s daughter in law): recently had double mastectomy and doctors may have
found more cancer

my dad: borderline diabetes and high blood pressure

Negative Correlation Between Foul Moods and Daily Mass Attendence?

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For a couple months I was very good about getting out of bed in time to attend 8:15 AM daily mass. It was a great way to start my day. Then various aspects of life interfered and I began to make excuses for missing it. I haven’t been to daily mass more than a handful of times in the last couple months and I think it’s affecting my mood. I’ve been really grouchy and short-tempered lately and I’ve also had trouble fighting my usual temptations. Sure, the correlations might be coincidental, but what if they’re not? I’ve been depriving myself of the abundant graces offered in the mass for too long. Pray that I shake off my slothfulness tomorrow and give my soul the nourishment it needs.

2005 Pittsylvania XC Challenge 6K

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xc_chall_05.jpgI ran the 7th Annual Pittsylvania XC Challenge 6K, which was hosted by the Western Pennsylvania Track Club. I’ve joined WPTC and I ran as part of their 5-man 20-29 team (I placed 4th). Unfortunately, there weren’t any other teams in that bracket, we were only eligible to win the open (LOL).

I didn’t run as well as I’d hoped, which could be due to how hard I pushed myself on Wednesday for a fitness evaluation which included a 12-minute all-out treadmill V02-max test (I ran 1.6 miles in that time, by the way.). I finished in 80th place with a time of 36:24 (a 9:47 pace). This was my first race after purchasing a Polar F6 heartrate monitor. My average was 182 and I maxed at 192. I didn’t feel like I was running all-out, though. *shrug*

Looking at this race along side the others I’ve run this year, I see that I still have a lot of work ahead of me. Hopefully, WPTC will help me become a better runner.

The course was beautiful, by the way. It was in Frick Park, mostly on Tranquil Trail. Speaking of which, would it kill the parks association to publish decent maps of the trails? Why do runners and bikers have to make their own? Anyhow, the race was in a part of the park I haven’t been in much. I’d think about training on that side, but it’s not easy to get to from my apartment. In the summer, however, WPTC hosts the Gutbuster 8K in my neck of the woods. I can definitely train every inch of that race course. Running up that beastly hill will do me some good, too.

Though the setup was simpler, I thought the atmosphere was far more professional than the Chamber Classic 5K. I’ll definitely run it again next year and I’m glad I’ll be running in other WPTC events as well. BTW, if anyone knows of any good cross-country runs in the Pittsburgh area, please let me know.

Update 10/03/06: The city has finally made a decent map of the parks available. Consequently, the map link in this post has been updated.