Tag: Team GDT

I believe if we pay attention, all of us occasionally bump into our own futures.
— from Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck

Twelve days, no posts.  Bad blogger.  Here’s what’s new:

1. I’m getting ready to head to Long Island on Thursday to be in a Saturday wedding of my closest friend from law school.  I am really looking forward to it: my friend and her fiance (also a law school classmate) are perfect for each other and I am honored to stand up for them; many friends from school will be there as well; the dress is gorgeous (not that it matters – you wear what she tells you to wear and shut up about it – but it helps); and David’s coming with me.  He was on the fence, 4 weeks ago when I had to RSVP a number, about whether he wanted to go, but one day on the way to work he handed me a letter.  Among other things, it said he wanted to go with me so we could have our first dance.  Have I mentioned that I adore him?   I’m excited for our first road trip together, and I can’t wait to be at a fancy event with him all dressed up and looking handsome.

2. This weekend was my turn to plan a date weekend.  I stressed and stressed over the restaurant for Friday.  I’m not sure why – maybe because he’s not as adventurous an eater as I am, and so I kept finding restaurants I wanted to try but not seeing anything on the menu I thought he would like.  Eventually I settled on J Gilbert’s, and it was lovely.  The food was delicious (he had steak, as I knew he would) and the service was great, and it was a wonderful night.  Saturday, I picked batting cages and mini-golf.  I’m playing softball in a rec league this fall and I needed the batting practice, and I wanted to challenge David at putt putt.  He kept assuring me there was no way I could win, but win I did, by one stroke.  He kept claiming irregularities in the course (which, incidentally, was not very challenging; we’re going to try another place for a rematch), or that I cheated (which I did not, though I did get pretty lucky, including a hole-in-one), but in the end, the result stands.

Afterwards, we went and wandered around Wegman’s, which is the best grocery store ever, and bought some Spanish wine.  Then we changed and went to dinner at Bilbo Baggins in Old Town, and despite good reviews online, was not very good at all.  But I was really in it for the company, which was fantastic as always.  We got ice cream cones for desert and wandered down by the waterfront, just talking, and then headed home.  Yesterday was a little lazy in the morning, but then, since it was a beautiful day, we took a 9-mile bike ride into DC and back.  Then we came back to my place and made dinner while watching the Emmy red carpet on E, football, the Emmys, more football, and the last game at Yankee Stadium.  All in all, it was a great weekend.  I’m always surprised at the way the weekend seems to last longer the more stuff I pack into it.

3.  Back when I was in Boston, my roommate TequilaMary and I took the ferry to Salem.

Everything touristy was closed by the time we got there, so we just walked around and shopped mostly.  But here are some neat photos of the things we saw.  First, the windows at the Witch Museum:

Now, the garden of a mad genius:

He happened to have the largest sunflowers I’ve ever seen growing there as well (that’s TM’s hand, for scaling purposes):

Wandering down the main street, I came across this beautiful bench and, of course, had to take a picture (because it’s purple):

Finally, the pièce de résistance:

Yeah.  That’s a liquor store called The Bunghole.  So.  Awesome.

4.  It’s time to start looking for a new job.  My current appointment ends early next September, which seems like a long time from now, but in this area, and in my field, it really isn’t that long, so I need to get on the ball.  I never even updated my resume after I started this job, so I really am at square one.  I hate this part, job hunting and interviewing.  It’s like this is the time when everyone figures out what a fraud I am and I’ll never work again.  I hate selling myself.  Maybe I’ll just go be a tollbooth operator.  How bad could that be?

5. New tv this week!  As we speak, How I Met Your Mother is on, Heroes is on next, Grey’s Anatomy is Thursday, and over the next month or so, all my favorite shows come back!  Yay!

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
for all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run for life
– Melissa Etheridge, I Run For Life

You’ve all been very patient, waiting with bated breath (I’m sure) for my Boston recap.  There’s lots to tell, and more than just the race, but I’ll focus on that for today and tell you the rest another time.  It was all it was cracked up to be, that’s for sure.

Here I am, at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning (ok, it’s probably 7:20 in this picture, but I got up at 6:30), outside the hotel ready to walk to the UMass campus with the rest of the team:

The only name I wore was my mom’s; special thanks to Cheesie for making the iron-on piece for me:

This is my timing chip.  Since I signed up as a runner, I got to be officially timed (more on that later).

This was the starting line, back at the marker for 10-minute-plus mile runners, just before 9 o’clock Sunday morning:

The energy was palpable, and everyone was in a great mood.  Saturday had been rainy and so windy, and Sunday was predicted to be the same, but except for 10 minutes just before the start, it was sunny and breezy and beautiful; what luck!

This little guy was running with his dad, who was walking behind him.  We were in mile 2 and the people coming towards us were in mile 1, and they were all clapping and cheering for him, and he had the biggest smile on his face.

At one point during the first mile, I was running, surrounded by all of these people who were all working toward the same goal, both that day – to finish the race – and longer term – to find a cure for breast cancer – among survivors in their pink t-shirts, and kids with notes on their backs saying they were running for their moms, and husbands running for their wives, and friends running in support or in memory of friends, and I got choked up and teary.  I think we get so caught up in our lives that we sometimes forget that we really are in this – life – together.

I haven’t looked at the official results, but I can tell you that I ran the race- all of it, without stopping or walking – in exactly the amount of time I expected to, which was slower than my treadmill training pace, but still good since I hadn’t run at all in the 5 weeks leading up to the race.  I hate running, you guys, which is why I stopped doing it, but that day, after the first 10 minutes, I knew I could do the whole thing, however long it took me.  I don’t know if it was the race atmosphere, or knowing that I’d have to come back and tell people how I did, or what, but I hardly checked my watch at all to see how long I’d been running, and let me tell you, I checked my watch a million times during training, that’s how much I hated it.  So I feel like that in itself is an accomplishment.

This is me, shortly after crossing the finish line.

(Edited to add:  Thanks, Julie!)  I could not believe I did it, that I really ran the whole thing, but I did!  The whole time I kept saying, “Just don’t quit.  You can do it, just keep moving.”  The time was not important to me, I just wanted to run the whole thing.  And I did.

I want to thank all of you for your encouragement since March when I first joined Team GDT.  It’s been great sharing the training journey with you, and I appreciate both the monetary and emotional support I’ve received more than I can say.  Let’s do it again next year.

P.S. (One of the girls on the team says she has a picture of me near the finish line and she’s going to email it to me.  Once she does, I’ll post it here.)

She said, I think I’ll go to Boston
Think I’ll start a new life
I think I’ll start all over
where no one knows my name
– Augustana, Boston

So, it’s nearly here. The 2008 Race for the Cure is this Sunday. I leave for Boston in the morning. I have not started packing, and I may have to take more than I planned, what with remnants of Hurricane Hanna set to hit Boston Saturday and Sunday. But no matter: I’m ready.

When I joined Team GDT in March, this weekend seemed so very far away, and yet the five intervening months have kind of flown by. I really am so excited to meet all of the other women on the team; I’ve never met any of them in person, though I already count many of them among my friends – you might know Lydia, Julie, MB, and Jane from the comments, too. This weekend promises to be the culmination of lots of hard work by 50 or so dedicated women, nine of whom decided five years ago that they could make a difference in the lives of women and men with breast cancer and their families and started Team GDT. I’m so proud to be among them this year.

Money-wise, I met and exceeded both my initial goal of $500 and my increased goal of $750, thanks in part to many of you, and I am so grateful for your support in making my first year with Team GDT so successful. As of today, the Team as a whole has raised nearly $51,000, which is an astonishing amount of money for a cause that is very important to me and my family personally, as it is for so many (too many) of the women on the Team.

Sunday morning at 9, I’ll be running (hopefully) alongside women and men from all over, including breast cancer survivors and those who have lost friends and family to this disease, an experience which people tell me is profoundly moving. I’ll be thinking of my mother and wearing her name, eternally grateful that my family has been lucky and successful in its fight against breast cancer. I’ll be part of a group of women who have given so much, year after year, to help create a world where every woman and every family is as lucky and successful as my mother and my family. I’ll be among friends, amazing women who inspire me every day with their dedication, humor, spirit, and loyalty.

Wish us luck.

Donors don’t give to institutions. They invest in ideas and people in whom they believe.
— G.T. Smith

Wanna buy a journal?

It’s my last item up for bid in the Team GDT auctions (winner gets the choice of covers), and the auction ends Saturday at midnight. But if the journal doesn’t strike your fancy, not to worry: There’s lots more to choose from this week, and every week until mid-August or so – new stuff is posted every Sunday on the Team GDT auction site.

Just a reminder that the total of all winning bids goes directly to Komen to help find a cure for breast cancer.

Thanks for your support!

People always say congratulations. When you’re a successful bidder, it means you’re willing to spend more money than anyone else. I’m not sure if that’s congratulations or condolences.
— Eli Broad

The Team GDT auction site is up and running at teamgdt.com/2008/. New items will be available every Sunday from today until August 15. Each auction runs for one week, from Sunday to Saturday.

I will have two handmade journals up for bid the week of June 22 and two hand-painted flower pots up for bid the week of July 6.

There is going to be a wide variety of items available over the next two months, many of them handmade, homemade, and/or one-of-a-kind, so check back weekly to see if something strikes your fancy. This is a great opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping and support a great cause at the same time.

As a reminder, all donations support members of Team GDT as we Race for the Cure in Boston on September 7, 2008!