More Kindness

Post-election day.  Even though this wasn’t a huge election year, there were a lot of important local races going on (my preferred city council rep won!) and this morning, there is a lot of commentary out there.  But this really caught my eye, and I keep returning to it.

 

When asked about Bob Marshall, Danica Roem said “I don’t attack my constituents. Bob is my constituent now.”

She has more grace and composure than I will ever have. #virginia #DanicaRoem

— Nicholas Trevino (@BlyTarbell) November 8, 2017

I’m not sure how much coverage this local race got, but in sum, a transgender woman was running against a 13-term incumbent who had once called himself Virginia’s chief-homophobe.  He introduced the state’s bathroom bill.

But Roem didn’t campaign on those issues, at least not initially.  She campaigned on the local issues important to her potential constituents.  Her big focus was traffic, something my friends in that area say is a huge issue.  She didn’t even bring up gender until her opponent started to use it to attack her.

And the whole time, she refused to stoop to his level.  She kept her messaging positive.  We could learn a lot from her.  She was being attacked and she went high.  It’s so easy to respond with anger and frustration and lash out, but Roem managed to keep herself out of the fray, and I have so much respect for her because of it.  I’m looking forward to her political future.

Also, I just love this from the Washington Post:

Standing on a table inside the pub, Roem dedicated her win “to every person who’s ever been singled out, who’s ever been stigmatized, who’s ever been the misfit, who’s ever been the kid in the corner, who’s ever needed someone to stand up for them when they didn’t have a voice of their own. This one is for you.”

 

She then reiterated her promises of alleviating traffic congestion on Route 28.

 

“That’s why I got in this race,” Roem said. “Because I’m fed up with the frickin’ road over in my home town.”

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Weekend Recap

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The best laid plans…

This weekend was the first in a while where I wasn’t going to be out of town or sick, so I thought “Hey, it’s the perfect time to get stuff done around the house.”  I even made a list.

And then accomplished so very little.

Okay, so I did go on a 12 mile run.  And then recovered from said run.  (Well, sort of.  It’s Monday and I’m still sore today, so I am clearly doing something wrong… or just out of shape.)

I also went to lunch with Liz and we went to see Thor Ragnarok, which was AWESOME.  Definitely highly recommended.  It was much more comedic than the recent Thor movies, and I very much enjoyed it.  Some good cameos as well, so keep your eyes open.  (And yes, there is both a mid- and post-credits scene, so don’t leave.)

I also did a few loads of laundry and put away so much laundry and then re-washed bedding after someone hacked up a hairball on it.  (I swear, cats know when the laundry is clean and save up all their hairballs for those moments.)  I also did some meal prep for the week.  And got a reasonable amount of sleep too.

But I had this list.  This list of things that I wanted to get done.  This list was admittedly an overreach, as it included things like “clean out entire closet” and “declutter kitchen cabinets.”  But you know, it’s good to set goals.  Maybe I will rename this list “Things to get done in 2017.”

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Element: Power Yoga Workout - Section 1

“Race” Report – Zombies Run Virtual Halloween Race

I’ve been using the Zombies, Run! app since it first launched on Kickstarter, and recently, I’ve started participating in their virtual races.  I’m not usually a virtual race kind of person, but I think these are worth it.

First off, what is Zombies, Run!?  It’s an app that creates an audio story to go along with your running.  The basic plot is that zombies have taken over the UK (and possibly elsewhere) and you are a runner for one of the local towns, going on missions to get supplies, rescue people, and try to figure out how this all happened.  The stories play out in audio clips that will intersperse with your music or audio books or podcasts or whatever else you listen to while you run.  (Or you can have them play with silence between.)

I’ve been using the app for so long and had only paid for it via the initial Kickstarter backing, so this spring, I decided to sign up for their virtual race.  I enjoyed it so much I signed up for the fall race as well.

For $34 US, you get a race packet, two audio training runs, the audio for the race (you get both a 5K and 10K option), and all sorts of communications leading up to the race.  The company definitely does their best to make this a virtual reality experience.  You get emails from the characters in the game, which often include phone numbers you can call to listen to audio clips that further the story.  You can also add on to the race packet with t-shirts and other items, but I decided to keep it simple.

The audio training runs are made available to you in the weeks leading up to the race, and then the race itself is “open” for two weeks.  Of course, you purchased your entry to the race, so the audio files are yours to keep and replay, but if you want your results to be included in the official listing, you need to complete the race in that two week period.

The general plot of the Halloween race involved a haunted house, something very outside the normal plot of the story.  I definitely enjoyed it, though not as much as I enjoyed the spring race.  It definitely made the miles fly by, and it was fun to know that every kilometer I ran meant another audio update in the app.

The finisher’s envelope contained a card relevant to the story, an Abel Township Runner 5 patch, and the race medal.  I’m tempted to put the patch onto my gym bag.  But again, I don’t race these for the swag – I just like the audio and I like supporting the creators.

So if you’re a Zombies Run! fan but haven’t checked out the virtual races, I highly recommend one.  I have heard that sometime next year, they plan to put the old races up for cheap download, and those are definitely worth your time.  And if you haven’t checked out the app and like to listen to audio dramas, or find the idea intriguing, definitely check these out.

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Podcasts – My Current Listens

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I love podcasts.  I’ve talked about this a lot.  But my list of podcasts is ever changing, so every so often, I like to do an update of what I’m listening to.

My current jams are:

The Baby-Sitters Club Club – Jack and Tanner are hilarious.  Two 30-something guys reading and reviewing The Baby-Sitters Club books.  But if you read these in the 90’s, trust me, there’s so much subtext you missed, and Jack and Tanner will help you find it.  (Or maybe they’re just making it up for entertainment.)  Either way, these are a riot and totally worth the listen.

Wolf 359 – This is a fiction podcast, set in a space station.  Small cast, incredible acting, epic writing.  It’s what I would call a dramedy.  Definitely start this one from the beginning.  I’ve actually listened to the story twice through.  The show wraps up this year, and I’m alternately excited to see how it ends and sad that it will be ending.

The Bright Sessions – Another fiction podcast, this one about a psychologist and her paranormal patients.  Really great listen.

Radiolab Presents: More Perfect – This is Radiolab’s Supreme Court show.  They go into depth on current Supreme Cases and former Supreme Court cases and explain why they’re important now and what they mean for us.  And Radiolab‘s main podcast is pretty good too.

Reply All – This one’s new to my list.  They describe themselves as a podcast “about people who shape the internet and how the internet shapes people.”  There are some absolutely fascinating stories here.

Sawbones – This show will likely forever be on my list.  Take an entertaining trip through medical history.  It’s amazing what we thought might cure our ailments.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s the podcasts that I listen to almost immediately when a new episode pops into my app.  There are others that may rise back to the top over the next few months, so I’m sure I’ll have an update then.

Any podcasts I should be listening to?

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NaBloPoMo? What the heck?

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Years ago, I was really into NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month.  The basic premise is that you write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.  It’s not supposed to be good (though apparently some people have gone on to get theirs published, to great acclaim.  That was never my goal. It was more about the opportunity to be creative and write more.

I completed it one year, and never really found the drive to do it again.  A bit part of that is just the lack of time.  With work and training and life, it just wasn’t a priority.  But I do like writing (otherwise I wouldn’t write a blog, now, would I?).  So I thought I might take up NaBloPoMo – National Blog Post Month.  Yes, it’s a stupid name, but it’s the same general idea as NaNoWriMo, in that I’m going to try to put up a post every day of the month.

Spoiler alert: I will fail.

But I’ve not been as great about my posting lately, and my training has also been off lately.  I’m not sure which is the cause and which is the effect, but if I recommit to both, I should find great success, right?

Well, we’ll see. Does anyone want to join me in this endeavor?  Yes, I know it’s already November second, but hey, no one’s perfect.  If you’ve got a dusty old blog, brush off the cobwebs and put out a post or two.  I’d love to see more of my friends writing again!

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