Race to the End!

The Baslerstadtlauf 2009: Weeks of preparation, minutes to stand in line waiting, just waiting for the gun to signal the start, 5,5 Kilometers of running, one goal... to finish! My mom and I participated in this "famous" race this past Saturday, me for the first time, while Dad and Rebecca cheered us on. How can one describe it? Here are just a few words that come to my mind...

Competitively determined

Beautifully decorated

Painfully exhausting

momentously fun

And everyone who finishes is a winner! My time... 36.23,4 perhaps not the best of times, but at least I finished, and the free massage helped me feel better about it :D

I Will Survive Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, even the winged ones, may we all be thankful we are not among them :P I would like to ask each person reading this post to write in the comments one thing they are thankful for. Have a wonderful day...

Gloomy Day Blues

Winter is coming on and the light, sunny days are replaced with foggy, rainy days. People, I in particular, tend to get the "Gloomy Day Blues." The symptoms have shown up in how I have been feeling constantly tired, I suppose all the extra school work and filled up weekends helped with that. But now my school work has lessened up and I have decided to try to conquer these Gloomy Day Blues. One way, is that I have began jogging again which I have had to stop due to school work. Exercise does help give you more energy and brighten up a day and ward off the Gloomy Day Blues. Here is a poem in honor of all those who brave the cold, winter air to get outside and exercise, though I have to admit it isn't real poetry. For those who don't plan to, you can enjoy the poem for its own sake to brighten up your day. It is by an unknown author. I would recommend you read the original poem first: "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. Here is instead, "Stopping by the Bakery on a Hungry Evening" with apologies to Robert Frost:

Whose cakes these are, I think I know,

His Condos in the city though,

He will not see me stop to stare,

At every croissant and eclair.

My running shoes must think it queer,

To pause with all these pastries here,

My diets barely started, but still,

I feel a weakening of my will.

The cashier says, "What would you like?"

Forgive me exercising bike!

Cream puffs I think, just a box of twenty,

Wait! One doughnut hole is plenty.

Oh, whipped creams lushes white and deep,

But I have diet vows to keep,

And miles to jog before I sleep!

And miles to jog before I sleep!

What are your ways to keep from the Gloomy Day Blues?

What Mess?

No, not mess, messE. You know, the Herbst Messe? Translated, "the Fall Fair" which comes every year to Basel. Today I spent the afternoon with church friends walking all over the messe. We ate and walked and ate more and walked more and rode some rides and ate more and walked more. It was lots of fun! What kinds of rides did I go on? Well, perhaps knowing me you will think bumper cars and merry-go-rounds. Not this time! I faced my fears and went on a crazy ride. It went up, down, spun in circles and even went upside down! Yes, I was terrified. Yes, I would go on it again. And yes, I did scream myself almost hoarse :D And yes, I loved every second of it!!! Here are the pictures of the fun day:

Here we are, all smily!

The Transformer, which is the second ride I went one. This was only the start with the smoke effect and rising up, before the spinning started.

Ok, here starts the spinning... I would recommend not to eat beforehand.

Scenes from the herbst messe.

The messe will still be on for another week, so I would recommend everyone to come into Basel and experience the fun themselves!