It's great to learn so much about my cousins!
Real-Life Name: Debra
Location: Pittsburgh, abbreviated Pgh if you're a local
Family/Household: Me, DOOD, and two cats (Ichabod and Caliban)
Age: 40
Day Job: American Lit/Film Professor (but currently unemployed
)
Describe your running/walking/biking/swimming/XT background: I'm a natural klutz, not a natural athlete. I started taking better care of myself after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and that change included regularly working out. Still, I treated exercise as good for me but not particularly enjoyable, like broccoli. Or so I thought. But DOOD's casual dalliance with running turned into a lifelong affair, and I got bored being on the sidelines. When he decided to run Goofy 2008 to celebrate his 40th birthday, I'd decided to go Goofy too. It was my first event. Now I run, if not particularly fast, and we both lead a primarily pedestrian/biking lifestyle. The more I do, the better I feel, and the more activities I want to try.
What accomplishments are you most proud of in 2008? 2008 was not only the year of the Goofy but the year I proved to myself I wasn't a one-event pony. I completed another 1/2, several local 5Ks, TOT13K, and in January my second marathon. Professionally my life's a bit of a hash, so I'm particularly proud that I've stuck with running as a way of keeping me sane.
What are your WISH goals for 2009? My general goals are to continue running and to become stronger and healthier, especially in terms of my core strength. I'd like to take 5 minutes off my 1/2 time and ???? off my full; lose 15 pounds; eat healthier and with less sugar in my diet, and to adopt one new activity as part of my regular XT.
Planned events for 2009/2010? (Event, place, date, distance)
Race for the Cure (Pgh's is May 10, although I may travel to another)
Gatorade/Steelers 5K, September 7
Dopey 2010
I'll do others, but the schedule is up in the air. I'm considering a Philly race. And I'd love to do RftT this year.
What do you do for fun (besides DIS)? I read (almost anything) and write; bike and hike; bake, and crossword puzzles. I also drink (okay, it's not exactly a hobby, but I really like it...). I'm a big, big, BIG movie fan!
Favorite DIS-friendly curse word. (With apologies to James Lipton.) Frak, frak, frak! Maria stole mine! Long live
Battlestar Galactica. I also like sheeeettt (from
The Wire). I'll use flipping a lot too, as an adjective. And not that it's important, but a lot of British phrases slip by the DIS censors....
In the soundtrack of your life, your theme song would be
. Okay, I found this one is particularly hard to answer or to limit myself to just one song. Who came up with these questions anyway?
Okay, I'm tempted to say "Little Green Bag" by George Baker Selection, but I'll go with Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World." My iPod contains several versions of both "Over the Rainbow" and "The Rainbow Connection."
Interesting fact or anecdote about yourself. DOOD suggested this one and we actually co-wrote it, so that he could fill in the blanks of my faulty memory. Yes, I blanked out a lot of details! ...
As a vegetarian, I had some anxiety about meeting DOOD's maternal family for the first time. They are beef farmers. Their meat is red-blooded and therefore all-American; their milk is always whole; and their livelihood is threatened by vegetarians, or so they believe. I managed to avoid outing myself as a vegetarian...until Sunday morning. DOOD's grandfather made his famous farewell breakfast: pancakes and link upon link of sausage. Then DOOD's grandfather remembered he had something special in the pantry. He came back with a Mason jar of something gray. With pride, he asked, "Who would like some of my puddin' meat?"
DOOD's mother groaned and rolled her eyes. Someone said, it could have been me, "What's puddin' meat?"
DOOD's grandfather answered, "Trimmings. It'll cure what ails you."
DOOD's mother explained that trimmings are the leftover bits from the butchering process. As a child, she had vowed never to eat puddin' meat when she grew up. It was a sentiment shared by the whole family. Everyone else, obviously unconcerned with his feelings, refused to sample the puddin' meat. That left me. Me, who had carefully avoided eating meat for an entire weekend without people noticing. DOOD's grandfather looked at me expectantly, and I heard myself say, "Sure, I'll try it."
DOOD's grandfather dished a hearty helping on my plate. I gazed at it and wondered just how invested I was in my relationship with DOOD. Then I ate it the entire gelatinous mass.
I still don't remember what puddin' meat tastes like. And I'm not sure that the experience was worth seeing the mixture of horror and amusement on the DOOD and his family's faces. It definitely wasn't worth keeping my vegetarianism a secret until my 2nd visit (where it all came out and was the subject of much commentary). But it
was worth earning the affection of DOOD's grandfather.
I love Ed Grimley as well! "We're as doomed as doomed can be, ya know." I was a faithful fan of the animated series as well as the live Martin Short version, I must say!
I am Christa! Live in Charlotte, NC where the weather is almost always nice for running!
but I am really 36. I am a Counselor. I work with teenagers and children (and their parents). This is a very rewarding and challenging job. And this is why I run!
Robert -- I am so sorry this happened, and also the way it is being handled. I hope that everything works out for the best, and Linda heals asap! 
to our visitors! We do have some awesome WISHers here, drop in anytime! 
What a fantastic example you are to the rest of us. The next time I feel tired or lazy, I'm going to ask myself "What would Christa do?", and then get myself in gear! 
I knew you'd appreciate that icon! I hope you had plenty of libations this weekend!
Go JenG! Congratulations, we knew you could do it! And a PR! Hey, we get double miles for your Half 'cause it was a race, and on day 1!
