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Tag Archives: work

How to increase your mileage

I recently started running again.  Running and I have an interesting relationship.  We really don’t care for each other that much, but we both feel it’s an necessary evil to deal with one another.  We tolerate each other…we’re even civil to each other.  And so…I go running…generally with Yaris as my running partner.  Running likes Yaris a lot.  Yaris also likes running.  It’s not fair.

Anyway, this time around, I have started using Endomondo to track my progress.  I had previously tried using RunKeeper, which never really went anywhere because they were so late in putting an app out for my phone, and g-watch, which I liked a lot but they didn’t port the app over to wp7.  I noticed shortly after joining Endomondo that they regularly have challenges for their users, like “most calories burnt” or “most miles logged running” or whatever.  I took a look at these challenges one time and I was shocked (SHOCKED) the miles some people put in.  What were they doing?  Running everywhere?  Running even around their kitchen when they were making dinner?  Geez.  There would be no way I could ever win one of these challenges (there are prizes for the winner) with the relationship running and I have.  How would I ever compete with some of these people?

Well, I was talking it over with my friend, and I realized that in order to win one of these challenges would really be to run EVERYWHERE; my chilly relationship with running will just have to take a back seat.  I could run to and from work.  But the thing is, I have to bring some stuff with me to work.  Things like…a laptop and such.  I could use a backpack, but I don’t really like running with something on my back.  And there’s all that jostling.  I’m not sure if Roodee would like that.  So, I guess I’d have to wear a harness of some sort and then hitch a small wagon to myself.  Then I could put all my stuff in the wagon and kind of tow it along behind me.  What’s even better about the wagon is that I could stop buy Costco or something on the way back from work and get stuff instead of going home first and then doubling back to Costco.  I could even run all the way to the Costco Expo to get stuff.  Did you know Costco had expos?  I didn’t.  I was so surprised.  It’s like a Costco+ or something.

Anyway, I’m thinking this is the only way I’ll ever be able to win one of those challenges.  If Yaris comes with me, I guess I could hitch a little wagon to her too.  She already wears a harness.  And if we run at night, she carries the flashlight for me.  She likes to be helpful.

How to keep people from stealing your precious roll of tape (or, how to embarrass your coworker)

Grampaw, one of my colleagues at work, has a problem with maintaining a roll of masking tape.  People are always stealing it from him and he never sees it again afterward.  He’s told me he’s tried scrawling his name all over the tape and it hasn’t helped.  Well, the last time he did that, I decided maybe I would help him personalize his roll of tape a bit, so it would be more obvious when someone has taken it and is using it.  I doodled all over his tape and make such lovely drawings as a pile of poo and a pot of lard.

It helped.  Grampaw was able to keep his tape for months and use about half the roll before it disappeared.  I figured someone was able to swipe it because a lot of the drawings and stuff were gone by time half the roll was used.  So, when grampaw got himself a new roll of tape, I decided to do a better job decorating it.  That is…I brought it with me one Friday night (without telling him of course) along with my very colorful set of permanent markers and let the kids decorate it.  My only instruction was that they fully decorate the sides so that when the roll was half finished, you could still see a lot of the doodles.  And…that’s what they did.

I presented it to grampaw this morning.  He was a bit embarrassed, but so thrilled to have some nicely decorated tape.  There’s decoration on the surface of the roll too, but I couldn’t get pictures of it.  But really, he was so thrilled.  THRILLED.  Now we just have to see how long it is before someone swipes this roll.