Do I come off as bitchy here?

Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm taking a moment to myself to write while the men are in the sitting room watching football (for which I have no interest) and the women are in the kitchen talking about cats* (for which I have no interest).

In preparation for today's feastivities, I decided to go for a run and do some lifting with my dainty pink Reebok weights (with detatchable handles). I found a nice route to lap around in my Dad's neighborhood. Burn it off, burn it baby.**

I'm running while simultaneously trying to ebb the flow of snot that starts gushing forth from my nose and taking deep heaving breaths, as it has been 2 weeks since my last run.

I see this tall, trim man wearing state of the art running gear, sunglasses, and loping along like a gazelle. I start feeling Bad About Myself and adjust my pose so I look a little more legit. As he runs past me he gives me the little runners' *nod* and I *nod* back and he continues to smoke me.

Was that just an induction into the elite club of low wind-resistance and wrist weights? I felt like those motorcyclists who always signal to eachother on the road. "Pease, man. Yea, I know exactly how cool we are. I get you, brother." I am now accepted into the club of smelly piles of lycra in the corner ("Oh that's just my running gear... heh. Sorry. Did 10 miles this morning.") and sunglasses I can strap to my head.

I think for Christmas I am going to ask for as many zip-up runner's jackets and aerodynamic leg wear as I can get.

Peace, man.



*Is it just me, or does every conversation about cats inevitably turn into a conversation about how old they get and the disgusting diseases they incur. Cat diseases are so much more icky than any other disease. I believe this is because cats themselves are icky creatures.

**It was also good for me to get out of the crushing overbearance of too many family members in one house. Being an extrovert, one would assume I thrive in social settings, but family - themed social settings cause me to fold into myself like a clam, snail or any other similar crustacean. With this group, I can't take a moment to myself without it being overanalyzed or discussed or commented on. I can't bring up anyone I might be seeing without a multitude of questions and my stepmom reminding me I'll be the one to "pop out a kid" first. Actions that are customary and get little to no reaction from close friends are fodder for my family. If one more person wanders in here and asks me what I am doing while peeking at the screen, I will throw the laptop at their face.