Fireflies

Tonight as I was walking to the train on my way home from church, I stopped for a bit at Stuyvesant Park to think. I am feeling pretty disconnected and thought I could clear my head.

And to my delight, the park was filled with fireflies! I haven't seen fireflies in ages. I remember seeing them as a girl camping (just ask any of my cousins or siblings about my mom worrying they'd burn a hole in her new tent!) The ones from my youth, I think, were yellow and large. These ones were small and lit up green. Magical.

I'm still feeling disconnected, but for a little while this evening I was transported somewhere else.

What is 4502, 2131, 205 & 2542?

Over all place, Gender place, Age place & Age-graded gender place for my race today in Central Park. My very first race. It was 4 miles in Central Park. And I finished! (see proud photo of self!) Which puts me into an age-graded performance level of 39.8% Which makes sense, 'cuz I feel like I'm only using about 40% of my body! There were 4732 finishers, 2305 of them women, which makes me faster than 230 people(if my math is correct, anyway), 174 of them women--223 women in my age bracket. (Notice I'm not mentioning that most of them were much faster than me!)



I decided sometime last fall that I was going to get in shape and start running. I ran for about a month, then quit when I moved to New York in November. I started back again in March, but haven't been too regular, running only once or twice a week, and never more than 2 1/2 miles or so.

But here it was race day. I was nervous, excited, and anxious. I had no idea where to pin my number, how to tie my chip onto my shoe. There were about 7,000 runners there. Completely overwhelming. I am so grateful to my friend Michelle, an experienced runner, who met me at the park and encouraged and ran with me. And I'm a slow runner. (Due mostly, I think, to my miniature sized legs and the fact that I'm not very athletic.) So she ran slow. (And walked with me when I needed to walk.)

And the best part? People on the sidelines clapping and cheering. Add that to the fact that only about 3-5% of the population runs and I'm feeling pretty proud today. Already thinking about my next race and how I can improve. First thing I'll do is run in the fall or spring when there isn't 94% humidity.

Ice Cream Truck

It's 10:40pm. Even though it's summer, it's been dark for quite a while. What's that I hear? Oh, it's the ice cream truck peddling his wares. Unusual at this time of night? Not in Brooklyn.

Delta

So I was checking the web for some info on Delta Airlines and noticed that they didn't have a tagline (You know, Fly the Friendly Skies, etc.) on their website. I think I may have one for them to use, although they are unlikely to. How about, 'Delta, We Treat You Rudely?'

I was coming back from Chicago from my niece's wedding. (More on this joyous occasion later!) For years I have flown NorthWest, and have built up a bit of frequent flyer miles since I used to travel a lot for work. So based on my financial situation now, it seemed that a free trip to Chicago using my miles was a good idea.

This is my first trip since Delta and NorthWest have merged. I have always been happy with the service I have received from NWA--they are (or were) truly professional. I didn't get a non-stop flight, so I had to fly to Detroit first from Chicago. The weekend was so action packed spending time with my family, that I didn't get much sleep. So I decided to take a little nap on the plane, which I'm sure many travelers do every day.

I was having a hard time getting comfortable, so I laid my head down on the table (just like they made us do in elementary school, remember?) It was pretty comfortable and I did get to sleep, and although you can't get a really deep sleep on a plane, it worked. But it is a short flight and before you know it, we started our descent--it was time to land.

And how does my flight attendant choose to ask me to put up my tray table? By stating, We're starting to land? Excuse me ma'am, I need you to put your table up? Gently tapping my shoulder to wake me up? No, none of these were her option. She decided the best method would be to slam her hand down on my tray table three times hard. Nice way to wake up, right? Nice customer service.

I must say, I am not a fan of Delta Airlines.