cognitive thoughts + random happenings of the week(s)

technically this is outlet for everything travel but today i'm going venture off topic a bit to talk about another kind of journey...a trip into my so called life! never fear, i haven't forgotten about the other 3-5 mediocre posts in my queue regarding egypt and jordan and promise to deliver those soon to my adoring, blog following public pronto!

i see dead people at this point.

i recently competed in my very first triathlon. you know, swim. bike. run. according to wikipedia, triathlons may have gotten their start in France in the early 1900's. that's pretty neat! in fact, there is supposedly one on the books for a "les trois sports" which featured running, cycling, and canoeing in 1902. i'd totally take canoeing over swimming any day. legs flailing about, crazy arm punches to the cabeza. the swim portion in open water can all very be very traumatizing. ironman is synonymous with triathlon, in fact it's probably the first picture that comes to mind when one thinks of the tri sport. when i think ironman, i think death, judgement day, sharks, insanity. after a 400 meter swim (that I never actually swam before the day of the race), a 14 mile cycle (on a bike i borrowed the day before), a 3.1 mile run, it's safe to say, A. it would be wise to train harder next time B. i would like new legs. i am so proud of my friends who both placed in the top 3 of their age groups. they even got a plaque! suffice it to say, i have a new found respect for competitors in les trois sports especially the 75 year old grandma who was kicking A and taking names,  running in front of ME! way to go lady, you're more awesome than awesome!

now for a random interlude--
things that ruffle my feathers:

1. toilet paper installed on the under. there is a purpose to the over people. so gobs of tp aren't mopping the bathroom tiles!

2. starbursts. they are one of my favorite candies of all time and even though i did market research for them and sent them said research, they still fail to give the people what they want! what they demand! why aren't you making single flavor packs??!@# nobody likes the yellows or the oranges and when I pay 89 cents to buy a packet, I am already disappointed since I'll only get 4 pieces of the good flavors! waste!

3. people who care more about what you are wearing that what you actually have to say or contribute. after bar hopping for a friend's bday, i made my way to meet my best bud at a winding down company- oriented dinner party. keep in mind, i was just downing a pint of beer at a place where 1/2 of the patio is devoted to corn hole and where a guy with bagpipes belted out happy birthday for all of Washington to hear. i realize that i was not appropriately dressed for a stuffy dinner party (jean skirt and 3/4 length blouse), but it was finishing up, and i was told to come before heading to the next spot. at said dinner party, i held my own and contributed to the conversation, even though all they wanted to talk about was basically how smart they all were. we get it, you are consultants. you make a lot of money and you spend 1000 hours of your boring existence of a life working on differential math equations to net cost savings and yield  exponential returns on investments for your clients. bla bla bla. you make jokes about how people don't know what a V look up is on Excel. Are you kidding me? That's supposed to be funny? Why don't you all learn how to be more well rounded individuals,  adapt to all kinds of people, and actually check out Tosh.0 for humor pointers,  instead of making the topic of conversation post party about whether or not i was wearing my skippies. Pathetic. Lame!

4. injured birds. am i supposed to help them? they are birds that desecrate all over my vehicle and make my porch look disgusting,  but they make me feel bad when their legs are broken.

what's in store: I've started greek school again. I know, it all looks russian to me. I will be winding down with business (zoe klutch and isabella dean) as I seem to spend more than I bring in. I'll still make stuff but only to sell on my online store and will take customs on a case by case basis with upfront payments. I think it's time to call it quits on that. J.U.M.P will become more of a priority in the upcoming months. I still want to get a coffee table book together and bring awareness to the young women in cairo that are trying to make a difference in their own lives!