it's official, i'm an illinoisian

chicagoan sounds better.

time from walking into the IL dmv to having a driver license in hand: 1 hour 30 minutes.
time it's taken CA dmv to mail my driving record to me: 30 days and still counting!

almost two months ago, my wallet was lost and i needed a new license. since i wasn't going back to california for awhile, i decided i'd go ahead and get my illinois license. well, they need a copy of my driving record from california, else i had to take the road test. i call up a number in sacramento, surprisingly a guy actually picked up the phone. guy says, "you have to mail in a form with a check for $5. you're looking at mid-september, and no there is no other way," with a bit of dismay in his voice. uhm hello? didn't i just call california? can't you just email it to me in pdf format? my friend from portland called OR dmv. it was faxed to her in 3 days, free of charge.
i called them yesterday to check the status of my request. the lady on the other end said with the same tone of dismay and frustration, "the chances of you getting your record are zero to none. i'm one of the people who process these. i'm working on 8/26, yours came in 8/29." uhm? hello? didn't i just call california? the red tape and bureacracy is so ridiculous the employees aren't even trying to fake it anymore. maybe i should write a letter the the secretary of state in california.

"Grown men were crying."

A quote from a passenger on Flight 292 while describing the reactions of her fellow passengers. Is it that surprising that a man would cry in the face of death? He hasn't accomplished all of the things he's wanted to yet. He probably didn't say goodbye to his wife or kids. Forgot to call his mom on her birthday. Not to mention that the passengers watched live broadcasts about their ill-fated flight.

Is it so incredible that a man would cry period? I admire a man who can express emotion whether it be happy or sad. In fact, I value any person that has emotion and is not afraid to express them. Of course, there are extremes. I don't expect men to be blubbering at the slightest pang of emotion. I don't care for anyone who is too sensitive. Men, all humans, are emotional yet rational beings. And I expect all humans to conduct themselves as such. Denying and ignoring your feelings can only lead to misunderstanding and communication error. Relationships of all kinds (personal, political, foreign affairs) would benefit if people would just stop being too proud to express what they really feel.

1:04:40

2,838th of 5,003 total runners.
1,271st of 2,770 female runners.
528th of 1,045 ages 24-28.
Age - Graded place: 2,474th.

Didn't make it in under and hour; I finished 8 seconds faster than the last 10k. I'm still proud. I ran for nearly the whole course. Exception came when there was a bottleneck of runners. So, maybe without that I would have made in in under and hour. It was crazy to see a mass of yellow shirted athletes gathered in one place and then running on Wacker Drive near Michigan Avenue. I ran with Dave. He was ready for a leisurely run and just wanted to finish. I remembered about 1.5 miles in, that I had declared that my goal was to finish in under an hour. So, I ran harder. I pushed myself hard. Picked up speed and kept passing people up. Surprised myself. My feet didn't start whining until about mile 5. Dave trailed behind me through the entire race until the very end. With 200 yards to go, I sputtered and Dave blew past me. I had run with conviction and determination. I drove myself to the limits of my ability. I made good progress until I saw the finish line. Then, my legs gave in, they slowed, they ached, and just didn't put out enough to keep me on pace through the very last 200 yards.

Oddly, this is a scenario that has played out a few times in my life. I worked relatively hard through high school to get into Berkeley, only to fizz out academically while I was at Cal. I strode headlong into studying public health and working for non-profits, only to graduate without getting a job in either field. I apparently have a problem with finishing strong. Good thing to learn about myself. Hopefully the trait won't linger much longer. Finish Strong.