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A stream of half-connected thoughts I have while I run:

Stretched.  Ready to go.  This isn’t bad.  Breathing  controlled.  I could have gone faster.  Music pumping.  Focus on lyrics.  Focus on nothing.  Zoning out.  Letting go of stress.  Feeling healthy.  Each foot step closer to being more healthy.  Bananas give me great energy.  I love bananas.  Heart rate up.  Cardio zone.  Burning calories.  Training.  Training for what?  For myself?  For others?  Want to look good.  Other people train.  Cops joining the force need to run an 8 minute mile.  Marines and Army recruits have to run.  I wonder if I could survive that type of training.  Breathing a little more rapid but still controlled.  Sandstorm by Darude hits it’s apex after the initial lull.

Endorphin.

Feeling good.  Running with an unknown cause.  Running and not stopping until the time runs out on the treadmill.  If I can’t finish a run how can I finish law school?  Renewed energy.  Looking around at others in the gym.  We take for granted the men and women who serve our country in the armed forces.  They sacrifice so much so we can have freedom.  That’s a noble pursuit.  I think everyone owes something to their country.  Thinking about girls.  Girls from the past.  Girls I know now.  Girls “that got away.”  Girls I will meet in the future.  I want to look good.  Running is great.  My Nike sports headphones aren’t slipping like other shitty ones I’ve had.  They were a good investment.  The beat from Van Halen’s Panama starts pumping.  I know the next 3:32 minutes will fly by.  The hook begins to play and an awesome chill rushes over my body .

Endorphin.

Final part of my run.  Glance at clock.  Close to 5 minutes left.  Last 5 are sometimes the hardest.  Why not stop now?  No!  Finish.  Don’t be a pussy.  Kick up the MPH a few points.  Focus on breathing.  Do this for yourself.  Do this for law school.  Do this for Mom and Dad.  Do this for friends.  Do this for your country (what?).  3:14 left.  Look down at my Pi tattoo.  Pi never stops — why should you?  Realize this doesn’t make sense.  Slight cramp.  Have had those before and gotten through it.  I’ve also felt worse than this in my life and gotten through it.  As Nike says JUST DO IT!  Final 2 minutes.  Kick up the MPH again.  Don’t puss out!  No music or thoughts will help you at this point.  Just push yourself.  30 seconds.  On auto-pilot.  Running fast.  Near sprinting.  Legs working independent of mind.  Just moving. 3… 2… 1…

Endorphin.

A big thank you to everyone who donated money and sponsored my 5K run!

I ran alongside hundreds of others in Beachwood, Ohio this morning as part of the annual Race for the Place fundraising event.  All proceeds raised (including your donation!) directly support The Gathering Place and allows their organization to continue offering services free of charge to families touched by cancer in Northeast Ohio.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge each person who sponsored my run:

1. Bill Reid
   re:id design
2. Gay Wellington Geigel
   My mom!
3. Jason Kiss
   Friend, Sherwin Williams/CSU Comp. Sci. Grad Student
4. Jody Conner
   Office Manager, Great Lakes Financial Group
5. John Soper
   Professor of Economics, John Carroll University
6. Ken Bossin
   Northeast Ohio Attorney
7. Kent Davis
   Friend, DatASIA, Inc.
8. Loung Ung
   Cambodian Author & Lecturer
9. Mark Hauserman
   Director of the Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship, John Carroll University
10. Martha West
    Ink Shop Marketing, Inc.
11. Ryan Shary
    Friend, Vibrant Mind Studios, Inc.

I’ve been debating what to write for my next blog post for some time.  There have been a few inarticulate ideas kicking around, but nothing inspiring enough to get me in front of the computer.  Then, this morning, it hit me.  I’m thankful for so many things in my life — not in a Thanksgiving-I-am-thankful-for sort of way — but sincerely thankful that certain things in my life are the way they are.  Here is a list (open to tweaking) in no particular order.

Thank God…

1. I’m not married.
2. I don’t have a kid.
3. I have a mom and dad who love me.
4. I have great friends.
5. I’m a male.
6. I’m intelligent.
7. I’m creative.
8. I’m my own boss.
9. I went to college and graduated in 4 years.
10. I’m going to law school.
11. I’ve been to Ireland.
12. I’ve loved at least one person in my life.
13. I have my awesome car.
14. I’m not a virgin.
15. I have no disability.
16. I am able to run.
17. I am healthy.
18. I make/have enough money to pay my bills even in this economy.
19. Obama is our president.
20. I have a sense of humor.
21. I got through a difficult time with alcohol.
22. I’m not a religious fanatic (not that religion is bad).
23. I can keep a conversation going.
24. My sarcasm sometimes goes unnoticed.
25. I’m artistic.
26. I can solve a Rubik’s cube.
27. I can still take the derivative of an equation.
28. I look really good with a tan.
29. I don’t take shit from people.
30. For computers and the entire IT industry.
31. For movies and the entire movie industry (minus the MPAA — suck my balls)

Jeff Zimmerman and I will be running in a 5K race on June 7, 2009 to help raise money for an organization called The Gathering Place.  The Gathering Place is a support center providing programs and services free of charge for individuals and families touched by cancer.  The race takes place in Beachwood and more information can be found by visiting their website.

Jeff and I are asking for donations so we can meet our fundraising goal of $100.  Any amount would help — $5, $10, $20 — whatever you can afford.  You can make a donation online using a secure credit card form.

Thank you in advance for your donation.  You’re helping a good cause.

I recently updated a client website to be more festive for the holidays.  I can’t stop laughing at how over the top, and awesome, it is.  Check it out by visiting Slim & Jumbo’s website.

Absolutely hilarious find by Katherine Dunn.

Fool’s Gold Digger

It’s been nearly a year and a half in the making, but my friends and I finally got our Pi tattoos.  Chris Armenio, John Belter, Sean Teller and I went to Smokin’ Tattooz last night (11/29) in Kent and all got inked — some of us for the first time.  Noticeably wussing out and NOT getting a tattoo (even though she promised she would) was half-Asian Sarah Scroggy who nonetheless provided event planning services, and moral/emotional support.  

The tattoo appears slightly to the left of the center of my wrist, and along my watch band (so it can be hidden when it needs to be).  The entire tattoo fits within a 1 inch square.  The image on the bottom shows off 3.14 – 3 fingers up, wring finger down (point), pinky finger up for 1and the entire count of up fingers being 4.

Other important attendees during this historic event include: Mike Pavis, Lou Colorito, Katherine Dunn, Matt Coleman, Jeff Zimmerman, Caitin Ganley and Jeff Burk.  All of whom looked on as the rest of us endured.  Honestly, the needle wasn’t painful at all, and I was expecting much worse.

Why get Pi as a tattoo?  I can’t answer for anyone else, but for me I’ve wanted it for a long time.  There is beauty in mathematics, and Pi is an important number (ratio) used in calculations that define our world.  It’s infinite, never repeats itself, powerful in its simplicity and unique.  Pi is God’s number.

Additionally, the Greek letter Pi resembles neolithic Irish dolmens – or altars.  Dolmens pepper Ireland, and my dad and I saw a lot on our first visit there.  So in that way, my Pi tattoo will help remind me of those fun times.

Some of the dolmens my dad and I saw on our first Ireland trip.  Notice how similar dolmens are to the Greek letter Pi?

Anyone who considers themself a programmer and/or techie knows what I mean when I refer to the “techie-high.” It’s that sublime sensation that you get when you’re in the zone doing anything geek worthy. 

It’s when…

You’re up at 4 in am coding your heart out — filled with caffeine — and could go on for another few hours without a problem.

You walk into Best Buy and know you’re going to drop money on something.

You begin trying to justify ways to purchase a new cell phone that does only one more thing than your current phone, but is twice as thin. 

You’re hanging out with a fellow geek conversing about geek-ish things, and work each other up into such a geek-frenzy that you’ve begun to worry the rest of the world around you. (Happens often at Denny’s).

You’ve just coded Luhn’s credit card processing formula from memory and it validates correctly against sample data you found on the internet.

You have every reason to stay home (i.e. things to do, washes to wash, eat food for sustenance, etc.) but drop everything the moment your friend asks you to go to an electronics store. It’s that sudden jolt of excitement that surges through you and forces you to blurt out – YEAH! – don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.

thinkgeek.com should learn how to bottle the “techie-high” up and sell it. That would be flippin’ sweet.