madam this. madam that.

despite my disapproval, the days have been starting and ending. how dare they.
and sleep? that has become a luxury that seems to be very much out of my price range. now if only coffee were free...

surely I must be exaggerating right? 'PSH' to you. let me explain...
second duathlon DONE. I completed my run / bike / run race and felt pretty good about it overall. what a difference 2 years makes.
Tour de Cure ride DONE. thanks to my friends and family I raised almost $800 for diabetes and rode in my first 30 mile road bike ride.
best friend's bridal shower DONE. it went off with only a few hiccups... but I did my absolute best for it and I can only hope she enjoyed herself.
trip to India for work IN PROGRESS. it was cancelled after I had gone through all the time and effort to get everything in order. and then it was reinstated. hmph. either way, I am currently in Bangalore enjoying lots of spicey food, exotic fruits, delicious coffee, and special treatment.
all that in the span of 1 month.

personal qualms and accomplishments aside... India has been quite an amazing trip. maybe I am having such a good experience because so many people prepared me for a bad one, maybe it's because I am naive....
either way, the kindness here is amazing. I am being called madam 3 times in one sentence... or sometimes Ms. Kathleen. all the hotel employees somehow remember me - they know how I prefer coffee to tea and how I like it prepared; that I had scrambled eggs one day for breakfast but have switched to cereal and fruit since then; that I bought a sari; that my room number is 609; that I have been to the pool only once; and that I walk to work. I love that there is an older Indian guy with the biggest mustache I have ever seen that opens the door for me every morning and evening with a smile on his face that gives me the illusion that I am a good person. I love that when I ask someone for something for a headache, they run all over - despite me saying it's OK - trying to find what I want and eventually breaks in to an employee's personal kit and hands me a VICKS vapor pill and is so proud of himself. I love that my coworkers insist on carrying everything for me - despite me saying no - from room to room until eventually I am holding nothing but the sunglasses on my face. I love that when I get in to the elevator with the women on my team, I look around to see all of them staring up at me with smiles on their faces. Everyone has just been so wonderful despite me trying to stop them and they have made being on the opposite side of the world ...away from every person, place, thing, and belief that I know... a very welcoming experience.

in other news...
...World Cup excitement - I get it. but tell me, how do some of the most insanely fit athletes in the world get hurt so badly without even being touched?
...using the hotel gym in India sounded like a wonderful idea. until I realized it was a sauna and gym combined.
..."Hi yes, pool boy. Can I get a glass of wine?" "Yes madam. Red or White?" :
...oh 27 hour journey back home, why must you be so daunting.
...the word 'madam' is not only used to address a woman of refinement, but also a woman who is charge of a brothel.

it's the Queen's knees

if you're going to India put your hands UP.
if you got a hematoma put your hands UP.
if you're jumping out of a plane put your hands UP.
if you're knees always hurt put your... thumbs down.

needless to say, my hands are up and my thumbs are down. I will be taking a work and photo excursion to India in June; indoor soccer has made it back on to my activity list; skydiving will finally happen; age is conquering me; another trip to Napa is in order; my first sleepover in Alameda will be for my 2nd duathlon race; 30 miles of roads in Palo Alto will be met by my bicycle tires - and hopefully not my FACE; Europe will become a memory instead of just roads and buildings I see in movies; Pink Umbrella Productions is expanding to music videos; and my photography business is hitting its first official 'season'.

life is moving along and what can I do in the meantime? drink coffee, sweat it out, attend happy hour, and breathe.

in other news...
...taking showers and pumping gas are still on my WASTEFUL THINGS TO DO list.
...sometimes things that I love, should be free.
...sometimes things that I hate, should be really expensive. just to make me feel better about myself.
...sometimes one should just build a miniature lego castle and reside in it for the afternoon. even if the toy store tries to kick you out. they have no right. you're taking the lego castle for a test battle. with a test moat. and a test dragon. where's my sword? someone find me my sword. I deem myself Queen of the Latifah's. call me Queeny Perv. go fetch the Queen! oh wait - here I am.
...photo courtesy of Admiral Audie. who is the only person insisting on calling me Snookie. seriously Admiral, it is in no way accurate - you should just stick to Perv.