I hate this Heat!

Running (OK, Walking), biking, and sweating. What a weekend!

Shakespeare
I went to see '12th Night' at the Georgia Shakespeare Festival on Friday. I always enjoy going there, they have a nice arrangement with the outdoor seating for dinner, a wonderful theater and the staging is always so good. Chris Kayser has been with the Festival for many years, and he's a great actor. I've seen him in 'Cyrano' and several others. Next up is "Metamorphosis" based on the myths of Ovid, staged in a swimming pool. Huummm...

Exercise and celebration
Saturday was the 1000th running of the Pinelake hash. Big party, t-shirts, beer, low country boil and laughter. The food was great and the spot for the end was wonderful. The hares had the pack walk across the river to get to the end, which I'm sure was welcome after navigating the trail in the heat. And you really can't beat a low country boil. Thanks to Niplets for cooking and haring (and the other hares). I didn't run as the temperature was hovering around 95 degrees, but the rain came and cooled things off so it was comfortable. There was a party afterwards, but when I got home (about 8pm) and showered, I was ready for the couch!

Sunday was Wheelhopper, which I was determined to do. My bike is ancient, but it works, and this was an urban assault. So we gathered at 1pm-ish at Amsterdam Walk. The 'manager' of the Amsterdam Cafe, located at the back end of the shopping center, came out to us and told us we couldn't park in the back as it was private property. Well, we'd only parked there several times before and it was a Sunday, but Mr. Tight-A** was determined that His parking lot was to remain empty. So a lot of us moved to park along the top part of Amsterdam Avenue, which caused quite a bottle-neck at the entrance. To all who had problems in that area yesterday, thank the manager at the Amsterdam Cafe. So we were off on what the hare said was an easy trail, with 2 beer stops. I was DFL (naturally) but partly because whenever you have 20+ bicyclists together it quickly becomes a cluster while looking for trail. My group lost the trail, rode around the block, found other hashers and finally found trail. (Did I mention that it was hot?) We'd only been out about 45 minutes, but I'd had enough. I'd eaten a good breakfast, had plenty of water and even bought a power bar, but I was feeling nauseated and completely drained. So I turned back. It was a straight shot back to the start, and mostly downhill, so I went back to my car. I was going to sit and wait for the pack to come in, but I didn't feel like drinking beer, so I came home.

One reason I left was I'm rather embarassed about being such a wimp. I'm not in good shape, I'm way too overweight, and (this hurts most), I'm older. So I'm thinking everyone is thinking poorly of me, the old fat lady, but then I realize, no one is thinking of me at all! I was just a blip in most peoples' existance yesterday. I called the hare and let her know what had happened, so she wouldn't worry, (hares do that) but I seriously doubt anyone else at the End was worried about me. But that's OK, there are lots of people out there I'm not thinking of.

Hypochondria
I saw on TV this morning an segment on women and heart attacks and it said that most women ignore the symptoms or don't understand the symptoms. It said they can appear weeks before the actual heart attack. Some of the symptoms for women are nausea and pain in the jaw. My jaw has been hurting for a while, and I've been nauseated a lot this month. It is also a symptom of heat stroke, and it's been real hot. But I also have untreated high blood pressure. I stopped taking my blood pressure pills when I quite my job at Bellsouth. I keep saying that I'll start exercising, but I can't seem to be consistant, at least not this time at unemployment. I also have the problem that I'm on COBRA insurance and I can't afford to get diagnosed with anything that can be considered 'pre-existing' when I do get a job.

I know how to resolve lots of these problems, just lose weight. I hate being a hypochondriac, I've always been very healthy and active until these last few years, and never had to worry about getting sick. But at this time, with the job hunt, the financial burden, the social situation and my parents issues, it's so easy to curl up on the couch with some comfort food or a good drink. I've got a lot of time to think now, and I'm sure I'm over-emphasizing my problems, I also have more time to work out. I still belong to a gym, and God knows, I've got lots of time. I was going daily for a while, but I lost that momentum. Guess where I'll be this afternoon...

Job Hunt
I found a connection this weekend, a hasher that works in my field at one of my target companies! I'm getting info from him today! Other than that, still applying and not hearing anything. The Department of Labor offers seminars weekly to help with the job hunt, so this week I'll attend the one on getting training, small business startup, career transitions and networking. All free, all about 1 hour.

More to come...
As things happen, I'll be posting. Thanks for taking the time to read. You're opinions are welcome but if you have to start calling me names, don't bother, I won't read them. As my Dad says 'Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one.'