Walk, Don't Run

My friend Michelle asked me if I would be interested in walking a 5k with her. Turns out I was interested. Due to some scheduling conflicts, we finally decided on a 5k that is scheduled for Oct. 18th. So yours truly will be walking the 5k part of Fulton Hill's Run to the River 10k/5k Walk.

I'm kind of freaking out about the hill part. I have found that when Richmond puts hill in the name, they're not playing around. I'm from flat, coastal land so I am not used to the verticalness that is all around me.

Let the training begin... starting right after Labor Day.

oy vey iz mir

So here's the thing about moving to a new city - it takes a lot of freaking energy and time. But here I am, in my new city, with a lot of boxes to unpack and no idea where anything that I need is located. Everything is calming down and going back to a normal pace. I haven't finished unpacking but it seems to be coming along rather well. I am so over looking at boxes and wondering "Gee, I wonder if what I need is in that box or that box. Ah well, I'll just run out and buy a new [insert needed item here]."

Here are some pictures of the unpacking job that awaits me and my new city.

Seek and Try to Find Area





A view of my new city from the Belle Isle foot bridge





A view from the top of my apartment building

Move towards the light, Lil Bastard

As I'm sitting here surfing the internet, wishing there was ice cream in my freezer, I can hear Lil Bastard chowing down on the Decon I put under the loveseat. So this confirms two things: 1) Lil Fucker is dead (I say this because LF didn't come around until 2 a.m. whereas LB is obviously an early riser); and 2) LB will soon depart this realm.

Meanwhile ...

please enjoy this picture of the beach. It's calm and serene, unlike me at the moment as I sit here trying to pretend there isn't a mouse six feet from where I sit. Ahhh!!

R.I.P. Lil Fucker, Die Lil Bastard

I'm 99.98% sure that Lil Fucker is dead. He ate a lot of the Decon and I haven't seen any evidence of him in the past few days.

However, this morning I saw new droppings, in new places. I do believe I have a new freeloader. I shall call this one Lil Bastard (yes, like the song).

Whereas Lil Fucker was more a couch and desktop kind of mouse, Lil Bastard really likes the bathroom and the area behind the trash can.

Lovely.

A Mouze Is In the Hizouse!

Yes, I have a mouse in my apartment. Which wouldn't be so bad if 1) I lived in a space larger than 600 sq. ft.; and 2) if it didn't shit everywhere. The other day I went to Books-A-Million and bought some books. While I was checking out, a chocolate bar caught my eye. I don't really care for chocolate (I know, I know) but this one had peppermint stuff on top and I am a sucker for peppermint stuff. Yum-o! I buy the peppermint chocolate bar along with the books. I bring my purchases home, put the bag of merchandise on my desk, and go on about my life. (This is what I always do. I buy two or three books, bring them home, leave them in the bag and let them sit on my desk for a few days. One day I will walk past the desk and remember that I bought books and ta-da!, Merry Christmas to me... except that I paid for them and it's not December. Odd, I know. But whatevs. Walk to your own drummer, people.) So pseudo-Christmas Day comes. I start reading one of the books and put the others on the bookshelf for later. I put the chocolate bar on the kitchen counter, unopened, so I'll remember that I have a tasty treat. In addition to the chocolate bar I also have a piece of Dove chocolate on my desk, which I actually forgot was even there as it was a little piece that was attached to a holiday card I received from a co-worker. (For someone that doesn't like chocolate, I've got a lot of it just laying about.)

So what does all this have to do with the mouse (who I've named Lil Fucker, BTW)? I'm setting up the back story so you don't just think I have random food sitting about the apartment, just hold on a second.

I stayed home Monday because of a stomach illness. While home for the day I see mouse droppings on my desk. Eww! So I clean them up and proceed with disinfecting the desktop. While moving everything off of the desk I see that Lil Fucker has eaten the Dove chocolate. I figure that must be what it came in the apartment for. I clean it up and move on.

Now I'm in the kitchen throwing away my paper towels and putting the disinfectant away when I see that Lil Fucker has eaten half of my chocolate bar with the peppermint topping!! Now I'm pissed. But I figure he's eaten the two things that were sitting out. Surely he has moved on since there is nothing left here for him and off to bed I go.

The next morning, I go in to the kitchen to get a drink of water. As I'm standing in front of the sink, drinking my water, I see that Lil Fucker has SHIT ON MY DISH RAG!! Apparently, Lil Fucker has no home training.

Even though he has eaten all that was sitting out to eat, he does not appear to be moving on. Lil Fucker needs to be taken care of, in a Sopranos kind of way. I make a trip to Lowe's and get traps to catch Lil Fucker. I also make a trip to Eckerd to get bait - a Symphony chocolate bar. I set a trap on the kitchen counter and a trap on the desktop.

Wednesday comes and goes. Empty traps.

Thursday morning. Empty traps.

Thursday evening I get home from dinner and check the traps. I see that Lil Fucker has shit on top of the trap on the desktop. I check the trap in the kitchen. He shit next to the trap. Lovely, the mouse is a smartass. I called my dad to update him on my mouse situation. I tell him the latest developments. He thinks it's soooo funny. Laughter ensues. While I'm talking to him, I'm cleaning Lil Fucker's shit off of the trap and counter and in doing so I tip one of the traps. I put my hand under it to catch the chocolate bait that should be inside. Nothing falls into my hand. I look inside the trap and surprise! NO CHOCOLATE! It. Is. On.

I tried to be nice. I bought traps that would just catch him while giving him a tasty treat, but no, Lil Fucker had to go and be a smartass.

I just got home from Wally World, where I purchased four boxes of Decon. Let's see you shit after eating that, Lil Fucker.

I’m off to the second Capital of the Old Dominion!

I wanted to let everyone know that I am moving to Richmond this spring.
No, I don’t have a job yet (although I do have some prospects).
No, I don’t have an apartment yet (again with the prospects).

What in the hell are you going to do in Richmond, you might ask (and knowing all of you, that’s what you’d ask). Well, for the spring and summer I’m going to be working, hanging out around town, figuring out where stuff is, taking weekend trips Buckingham and Charlottesville and getting ready to go back to school. School?! Yes, school.

I will be attending J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. J. Sarge has a Paralegal Studies Program that I want to attend. At the end of the program I will be the proud holder of an Associates Degree. The program has been approved by the American Bar Association. In fact, it was the first program in the Commonwealth to be approved.

My current boss has asked that I stay on until April and I have agreed to do so.

So that’s that for now.

Questions, comments, well wishes and any insight into The Fan and Downtown area of Richmond are welcome.