Emergency preparedness.

[source]

Things I'm doing to get ready for Irene:

- Having a Provo-style girls' night tonight (California Pizza Kitchen and going to the movies).

- Hopefully fitting in a long run tomorrow morning before the rain starts in earnest.

- Went to the grocery store this morning to stock up on essentials like string cheese and Lucky Charms (don't worry, Mom, I also have crackers, fruit, Luna bars, bread, peanut butter, canned black bean soup, and plenty of water). I also bought a pint of ice cream instead of a big carton so that, should the power go out and I have to eat everything in the freezer, I won't get sick. Foresight!

- Charging up my laptop and phone and putting the batteries in the head lamp I bought for Peru.

- Reviewing highlights from The Day After Tomorrow for good measure.

Melissa and I are planning to spend the weekend watching movies and eating in our pajamas. Our neighborhood is relatively high elevation and outside of even the most extreme flood-watch zones. We have guy friends down the street who have volunteered to come defend us from the zombie apocalypse, should it come to that. If we can somehow get work canceled on Monday I'd say we're all set.

I don't think you're ready.

A couple of weeks ago we had an email go around at work about some upcoming shows that Beyonce was doing at Roseland Ballroom for which we could request tickets. The shows were billed as An Intimate Night with Beyonce, and given that B is used to selling out arenas like Madison Square Garden, this would be a pretty unique opportunity.

I immediately texted Karrie, knowing that she had been planning to take the bus home to Virginia that weekend but also convinced that she was the perfect guest for this event.

L: So you are like definitely definitely going to VA next week right? Because I just got Beyonce tickets from work for Thursday.
K: Omg. Wait. This changes everything.


Soon after that, her original plans were canceled and we were composing outfit ideas. Karrie's main strategy was to "sparkle like a sexy baby on Toddlers & Tiaras" which, I think, was both wise and appropriate. I briefly considered wearing a sequined vest that I had borrowed from a friend at work, but in the end I just couldn't pull it off.


We got to the venue around the time the doors opened to see a line snaking around the entire city block. Eventually we made it inside, got our VIP wristbands for the mezzanine (perks!), and staked out a pretty great spot with a nice view of the stage. A few minutes before showtime, the peasants down on the floor started making excited noises and pointing their cameras toward the part of the mezzanine near the side of the stage. We squinted through the darkness and Karrie nearly hyperventilated, pointing out the be-headdressed figure of Lady Gaga being escorted to her seat.


Beyonce herself came out around 10pm and did her thing for a solid hour and a half in a sparkly gold minidress (proving that Karrie had the right idea all along). She did little snippets of all the old favorites from Destiny's Child (which took me back to memories of junior high and high school) and then moved on to some of the solo hits before focusing on stuff from her new album.




We sang along and pondered the meaning of "Bootylicious" and danced until our little high-heeled feet felt like they would fall off. And for the record, Gaga was dancing and fist-pumping with the best of them.

In case you didn't know.

I wore pants today for the first time in over a month. Like so many ingenious ideas, I didn't really set out to do it on purpose at first, but eventually the idea of No-Pants July took shape. It was especially handy around the time a massive heatwave made even a breeze feel like someone was pointing a giant hair dryer in your face. Things got a little dicey last week when we had a random evening of 70-degree rain and wind, but I powered through. Today I wore jeans just because I could, and when I got to work the air conditioning was broken. Bummer.

Ice cream for dinner at Serendipity during the heat wave. The only choice.
Marathon training also started about 5 weeks ago and is going well so far. There are definitely still mornings when I wimp out (those mornings usually involve something higher than 85% humidity) and I don't love having to wake up at 6:30 on Saturday mornings to get a long run in before it's blazing hot, but I've surprised myself with how diligent I've been. Also surprising is how I manage to get choked up every time I read someone's account of running a marathon or see pictures from a marathon or think about running the final stretch down 5th Avenue (seriously! It's happening right now, you guys!). I guess I'm looking forward to it.

By the way, one month from tomorrow I leave for Peru.