book list 21
Every me Every you David Levithan review
The Solomon Effect CS Graham I picked this up instead of a heather graham book. It was a spy . nazi war left over novel – not great , but It kept me interested.
I am legand richanrd matheson didn’t relize that this was a novella — it was good but the othere stoories in the volume ere campfire ghost stories
starstruck cyn balog review
Bedlam boyz and Sprits white l lightning by Mercedes Lackeys rereads that took up the two different colds I had this month
6 so far in October, 76 for the rest of the year
walking and diabetes
You will read and you will hear – that walking will make diabetes better.I’ve even hear the word cure. When I was first diagnosed – I could go for a walk and see my numbers drop. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way anymore. In fact it is difficult for me to get my numbers to budge. Even when I trained for walking 60 miles. I know I’m not alone ( I read about a guy who ran his first half marathon – and also hit his highest blood sugar ever, while running it) . So nothing is quite simple.
So What’s the point? Well I actually think everybody that can walk,should walk. There was an article in last week’s chronicle that had some fascinating information. Just 15 minutes of walking, six days a week, can add 3 years to your life. More is better, but a small amount of time can give you three more years to hang with your friends and family. That sounds like a deal to me
There is a group called EveryBodyWalk that is trying to encourage everyone to walk . Check them out.
Book list 20
The Power of Six by Pittacus Lorem follow up to I am Number Four – aliens are among us — good , but I need more
Gone by Micheal Grant In a small town in Ca, Everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared …
The Specialists The winning Element and Native Tongue by Shannon Greenland Two more of the fun lite spy novels.
9 for September 67 all together…
60 miles 3days 1 goal
It was a week ago (Now almost a month) that I was walking with my sister J, K , and our friend S for the Susan G Koman Sf walk for Breast Cancer Awareness. I want to write at least some of my thoughts and impressions down .( this post may take more than one day){ha -much more ) .
The night before most of us were at J’s house, eating pasta, bread, and cake. We slept there because it was an easy trip to Cow Hollow in the am .
S met us at J’s house at about 5 – and we went down . The guys dropped us off ,our gear was thrown in a truck , lanyards were found, the guys found us , pictures were taken. Even though it was DARK, there were a lot of bright lights, so I put on my sunglasses. ( I am that cool).Then it was time for opening ceremonies.
The guys left and we went into the circle. It was corny, touching, loud, and very enthusiastic. Probably great if you had done it before, but for a first time walker and nonmorning person – just too loud and – I was impatient with it. I was ready to start walking. I wasn’t nervous, or anxious about me and my ability to walk , but I just didn’t know how it all worked and I was just ready to go .
We did finally leave the parking lot (that is where our badges were scanned ) and started walking . Lots of cheers, toots, honk, etc. as we walked the first part. It was also crowded – not too crowed to move, but a lot of people and a slower pace. We spent a lot of time trying to weave through the groups and trying to get away from the loud talkers ( no I do not care about a stranger’s daughter’s wedding ). The first pitstop was three or so miles in – porta poties ( yay) ,drinks and snacks . That’s also when things started spreading out a bit.
No, I am not going to recount mile by mile. Some were easy , some were trudge, some were f’ing hard. And it varied throughout the day depending on the weather, the terrain, how long I had been walking and if I needed to change my socks.
Things that made walking easy – random people honking. Music from the motorcycle crossing guard that were helping us. All the various sweep teams in their vans( boob camp was the name of one van – they all had themes – western , Disney , etc) , the SFPD bike squad , our friends and neighbors that showed up at cheering stations, strangers that came out with water , squirt bottles, snacks and signs, and our favorites – the SJPD bike cops. They were with us every where , in uniforms , with gun holsters and pink tutus. all volunteer, playing music, cracking jokes, flirting , taking pictures,posing for pictures, amazing bike handling skills ( stay on your bike with a crowd of 50 – 70 walkers all around you ). Helping us stay safe ,esp in the areas that were crowed or inaccessible to the sweep vans.
Other good things — the number of people involved , – walkers and supports staff. Mobile shower trucks – decent showers. ferrys were fun. Dance party . medical personnel.
Also grateful for food. and porta potties ( even if there was no love)
Dislikes . The wind on treasure island where we camped. Cold when you had to get up at night — and our tents were unstaked. Katy perry ‘s california gurls and Beyoncé’s single ladies — I never need to hear them again. That evil hill in Saucolito. The ferry . I liked riding on them , but it took way too long for them to fill , get going, etc. So we started walking later – which meant more hurrying, faster walking, less resting, less enjoyment of the moment.
Odd things. We got a sticker at every pitstop – which is what I did for story time kids. So not sure I needed a sticker reward. But when a 9 year old boy in a pink tutu is offering a sticker to cheer you on, you have to be polite. PB&J grahman crackers – commercially made – good , but easy to OD on. Also, a few people that said things like ” that was easy ” or “that wasn’t hard. ” you know what – walking 20 miles a day 3 days in a row is hard. Maybe not as hard as you thought , or impossible, but it is hard.
Highlights – meeting a woman from Evergreen colorado – who had ued a drug that S had worked on . Meeting I from the Warming hut Hotties – She walked with us on the first day. Meeting my friend P , from Niles , as one of the motorcycle club crossing guards. The story of one of the sweep vechicle people – both horrible, ( her whole family on both side had huge numbers of people with breast cancer), and yet hopeful with her determination/dedication. The Stories from the kids invovled with youth core – yes they were sad stories, but also exciting , becaause they were o determined to make a difference. ( 9 to 14 year olds with more dedication than I have ever had. ) The dance party- spend two days walking 40 miles — and oddly — you have to shake things loose. The closing ceremonies. Yes, still had some corny moments. But dancing, celebrating , yelling, raising your shoe to the surviors works.
for others that want to do this —
1) bring hardboiled eggs of jerky – our biggest problem as walkers was the need for protien – and the pitsops didn’t always have enough. And sometimes lunch was too far away.
2) Tents are small so they stay warm – if you get warm , keep that in mind as you pack – you maybe able to go lighter than you think
3) evening clothes – unless there is rain – really you need a set for camp – pj type clothes work just fine.
4) if you use pain killers – carry more than you want- you will need them and want to share. ( there were people I would have carried at the end of the walk if I could have)
5) go to the medical tent — they did a lot for my sister J and for our new friend I
6) If you really want to walk the whole thing get up early in the am – The longer time you have to walk – the more you can enjoy it. Pauses, breaks , slowing down to talk to people make it more fun.
Now for the bigger questions:
Am I still walking: A little. I was tired for a week. But I seem to have started walking again – Only a few miles , but my feet are still cranky. ( a month later nothing is cranky – but I have been busy with normal things – I was going to walk to work at least once this week , but I have a cold )
What did I learned. My self motivation – once I’ve made a commitmet , is really high. I walked when I planned to walk , I did not wimp out, I only shortened the walk when I had a physical needs . Though I did do longer walks with people – I did a lot on my own . I even found when I was on the walk , I spend a lot of time in my head
Was it worth it -Yes, without a doubt. physically, mentally , emotionally a truely satifying way to raise money – I worked hard for the money people donated for somethig I hope truely helps.
Will I do it again. A more complicated question. Not next year.This year a major motivation was – Can I do it? To do it again I’d need to drink the gatorade – There are people that do it over and over . I can see where it comes from , but it took up a lot of my life. The last three months of my life were spent walking. It takes me all day to walk over 15 miles. I need a new motivation to give up that much of my life
