Ladies and gentlemen, we have a release date! That's right friends! Slumdog Millionaire has finally set a release date of.....March 31, 2009. I've had it ordered on amazon.com since February 1, the day it was made available to order. Since then, it has just said "this item is currently unavailable, but sign up now and we will notify you of a release date". I had checked it at least once a day since then (ok, so maybe not once a day, but often) to see if there was an actual date. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I checked tonight and saw that there was an actual date! March 31! Just over a month away. I cannot wait. I've updated my shipping preference to overnight, so that I will have it on the release day. If you're, feel free to stop by the College Ave mansion on the 31st, we'll be having a viewing. I'm most excited to see the Bollywood sequence at the end, and, who am I kidding, the entire movie. I really am excited about this...a great ending to an already great day. Jai Ho!

Injury update

Good news! I don't have a heel spur! Well, I don't know 100% that I don't have one, but I think that I have

PLANTAR FASCIITIS

DESCRIPTION
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is a fibrous tissue that runs along the sole of your foot. This is a very common running injury and can become chronic if not managed properly.

SYMPTOMS
Pain and tenderness that is located on the inside part of the sole of your foot, just in front of your heel. Pain is usually low grade in the early stages and progresses to a more severe pain that prohibits continued activity. The pain is usually worse upon getting out of bed in the morning.

CAUSES
Running and jumping motions places tension at the point where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. Repetitive stresses at this point causes inflammation. Athletes that excessively pronate (rolling inward of the foot) are more prone to this injury. Worn out shoes also contribute to plantar fasciitis.

TREATMENT

• Discontinue weight-bearing activity. Perform non-weight bearing exercises such as swimming and biking to maintain cardiovascular conditioning.
• Take appropriate medications for pain and inflammation.
• Apply ice to the area 4 – 5 times per day for 15 minutes.
• Consult your physician.
• Recovery time can take from 2 weeks to several months depending upon the severity of the injury.

PREVENTION

• If you pronate excessively, use a good stability shoe that will correct the inward roll of your foot. Replace your shoes every 6 months or 500 miles of training.
• Use a ¼ inch heel pad in your shoes.
• To strengthen the plantar fascia, perform toe pulls.

The good news? I can still go to the gym and work out- I just cant run, so I think, starting on Sunday I'll use the stationary bike. This would also be a good opportunity to try out the circuit training they have at Planet Fitness; it's a 20 minute work out that they suggest you do 2 or 3 times a week. Bruins game tonight with Molly, Katie and James...hooray!

Jai Ho

Frequent readers of this blog will know of my adoration (well, let's be honest, love) of anything that has to do with Slumdog Millionaire. When I heard that PCD had released a new version of Jai Ho, I was intrigued. I gave it a listen, and I think I like it, except that they say "JAY Ho" instead of "JAI Ho"...lameish, I know, but it sounds kind of odd.

Give it a listen yourself...

Anticipation

I know, the body isn't even cold yet on the 2008 film year, but one of the films that I'm looking forward to most this year (besides Nine, which is released in November) is Quentin Tarantino's new flick Inglorious Basterds (yes, that is the correct spelling). Basically, during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. Sounds awful and amazing. Here are the first teaser posters and trailer.

Also, I have sustained ANOTHER injury, this time a little more serious. After consulting with various sources, it has been determined that I have a mild heel spur. While there is no actual growth, my heel is strained and the tendons are stressed. So, I have to take it easy, no running for a few days, am wearing sneakers ALL the time (cuz they're the only thing that's comfortable), and consuming a considerable amount of drugs. Hopefully this will be one of the last times I'll be sidelined from my training.

The Morning After...

It's like the big let-down, all the excitement, hoopla, all the gearing up, and now it's over (oh man, I sound like my grams at around 5 pm every year on Christmas day "well, after all that it's all over"). I'm pretty content with most of the winners, and naturally, psyched for the Slumdog wins...eight awards is quite an accomplishment. I'm a little disappointed that Mickey Rourke didn't win for The Wrestler and that both Waltz with Bashir and The Class, two of my favorite films of last year, lost out on Best Foreign Language film to Departures....it hasn't been released in the states yet, so I guess I can't really judge. I thought Hugh Jackman was an outstanding host, I really liked the opening number, but didn't like the tribute to musicals in the middle, it was a hot mess. Also somewhat disappointing was the Best Original Song showcase, the songs from Slumdog sounded terrible (A.R. Rahman was a little flat) and as much as I love John Legend, he was a little out of place performing "Down to Earth" from Wall-E. I also didn't really like that whole VIP circle for the nominees right up close...I mean, I understand that it's their night and we're celebrating THEIR accomplishments, but still, it seemed a little odd to me.

Overall, it was a great production, I really like the framing device (the making of a film) of how they presented the evening and the order in which they handed out the awards. Congrats to all of the winners...on to the 2010 Academy Awards!

And the winners are....

Picture: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!!
Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Animated Feature: Wall-E
Foreign Language Film: Departures - Japan
Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Costume Design: The Dutchess
Documentary, Feature: Man on Wire
Documentary, Short: Smile Pinki
Editing: Slumdog Millionaire
Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire
Original Song: Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire
Short Film, Animated: La Maison en Petit Cubes
Short Film, Live Action: Spielzeugland
Sound Editing: The Dark Knight
Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire
Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

totals:
Slumdog Millionaire - 8
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 3
Milk - 2
The Dark Knight - 2

LIVE! During the Oscars!

11:59 pm: The show ends with a montage of upcoming films of 2009, which look really exciting...and with that, after 6 hours of blogging live, it's off to bed for me...I'll post reactions tomorrow...thanks for reading!

11:53 pm: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE WINS BEST PICTURE! Finishing a true Cinderella story, Slumdog Millionaire picks up 8 Academy Awards
11:43 pm: Sean Penn takes Best Actor for Milk, I'm a little disappointed for Mickey Rourke...Picture is next...super nervous...
11:32 pm: Kate Winslet wins for Revolutionary Road--I mean--The Reader. HOORAY! A standing ovation, a whistle from her dad, an extremely heartfelt speech, wonderful...two more awards to go, Best Actor and Best Picture
11:20 pm: Danny Boyle wins for Slumdog (bringing its total to 7) and gives a wonderful speech
11:11 pm: Make a wish! You can tell that the director/producer of the telecast come from a musical theater background, this is a really "theatrical" show, although I do love me some Queen Latifah...
11:07 pm: It's happened ladies and gentlemen! It took almost 3 hours, but we have the first upset of the night in foreign language film, Departures, from Japan, is the winner over Cannes favorites and winners The Class and Waltz with Bashir
11:02 pm: whoa, that song montage was a total let down...SO disappointed, the Slumdog tunes were horrible, but Jai Ho wins, so not all is lost...
10:57 pm: John Legend! Hooray! I'm glad Peter Gabriel got pissy and didn't want to perform
10:54 pm: Win #5, A.R. Rahman wins best original score for Slumdog
10:41 pm: K- Humanitarian award...I can take a break, I need to pee and am thirsty
10:35 pm: The Slumdog train rolls on- statue #4 for editing
10:33 pm: Slumdog picks up sound mixing, somewhat of a surprise with the split, bringing its total to 3
10:28 pm: Prince is opening his after-party to the public! $100 at the door! Damnit! It's times like this I wish teleportation was legit...Ben Button picks up visual effects and The Dark Knight wins sound editing
10:14 pm: Holy teeth on one of the documentary directors! YIKES!
10:08 pm: Heath Ledger wins Best Supporting Actor, standing ovation ensues...I'm not sure how I feel about his win...I ask; If he hadn't died, would he still have won?
9:56 pm: Decision made, the inclusion of the HSM cast made me not like it, at all...
9:54 pm: Don't know how I feel about these musical numbers...this isn't the Tonys...
9:44 pm: James Franco + Seth Rogen + Judd Apatow = amazing
9:35 pm: Ben and Natalie are pretty good, and hooray! Slumdog picks up its 2nd award!
9:30 pm: I'm pumped for the new U2 cd that drops next Tuesday
9:17 pm: I really like this format, the creation of a movie. And Ben Button picks up Art Direction
9:10 pm: Bob (my roomate, as an Asian man steps to the podium) "You're not French!" well said, haha
9:05 pm: Space Chimps in the animation montage?! REALLY?!
9:01 pm: the first win for Slumdog!! Tina and Steve made a great pair...I hope this is a sign of good things to come...
8:57 pm: I think this is the only award Milk wins tonight...but hooray!
8:48 pm: Penelope wins, AND a shout out to Pedro Almodovar!
8:43 pm: The first award; this is an interesting way to present the awards...I don't know if I like it...
8:35 pm: Hugh Jackman's opening is AMAZING
8:31 pm: OH.MY.GOD....I'M SO FREAKIN EXCITED!
8:30 pm: IT'S STARTING! I'VE BEEN WAITING 365 DAYS FOR THIS!!!
8:26 pm: David Rockwell is a phenomenal designer; he designed Hairspray on Broadway, a bunch of hotels, the new JetBlue terminal at JFK...this set looks spectacular
8:15 pm: If I ever hear the words "Academy Award Nominee Miley Cyrus", I will have a stroke
8:06 pm: Another view of Miley Cyrus (pokes eyes out)
8:01 pm: Switching to ABC....Kate Winslet looks even hotter in HD
7:56 pm: If I see another commercial for "the pre-Broadway engagement of Dirty Dancing!", I'm going to puke
7:47 pm: Kate Winslet = STUNNING
7:43 pm: I saw Penelope when I was in Cannes, she is as beautiful in person as she is on tv, and Kate Winslet has arrived!
7:38 pm: Brad and Angelina just got out of their limo- they look amazing, I want to BE them
6:56 pm: My favorite picture of the night so far:

The ENTIRE! cast of Slumdog Millionaire. There was a moment, where the cast of Slumdog Millionaire AND John Legend were on the screen at the same time- there was an incredible amount of awesomeness on the screen, I thought it was going to explode..
6:00 pm: And we're off! The live pre-show on e!..the sound of Miley Cyrus' voice is like nails on a chalk board; I'd rather rip my eyes and ears out than see/hear her. And I'm not exaggerating.

Red Sox Photo Day..

Really Kevin? REALLY?

The 81st Academy Awards

It's here! It's here! It's Oscar Sunday! This is one of my favorite days of the year- this is my superbowl. It' just about 8 hours to go til the big dance, and I'm naturally going to weigh in with my predictions....here we go:


Picture - Slumdog Millionaire
Actor - Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Actress - Kate Winslet, The Reader
Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger, The Dark Kight
Supporting Actress - Viola Davis, Doubt
Director - Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Original Screenplay - Dustin Lance Black, Milk (I would LOVE an In Bruges upset here)
Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Animated Film - Wall-E
Foreign Language Film - Waltz With Bashir
Art Direction - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cinematography - Slumdog Millionaire
Costume Design - The Dutchess
Documentary Feature - Man on Wire
Documentary Short - The Conscience of Nhem En
Film Editing - Slumdog Millionaire
Makeup - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Original Score - Slumdog Millionaire
Original Song - Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire
Short Film, Animated - Presto
Short Film, Live Action - Spielzeugland
Sound Editing - The Dark Knight (don't be surprised by a Slumdog win here)
Sound Mixing - The Dark Kinght (don't be surprised by a Slumdog win here either)
Visual Effects - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

TOTALS
Slumdog Millionaire - 7
The Dark Knight - 3
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 2
Doubt, Man on Wire, Milk, The Dutchess, The Reader, The Wrestler, Wall-E, Waltz With Bashir - 1

So there you have it, my EXPERT predictions, ha. A couple of notes, I wouldn't discount a complete Slumdog sweep; winning 9 of its 10 awards (it has 2 nominations in the song category, Jai Ho and O Saya), a totally different winner in the Best Supporting Actress category, and either The Class or Departures taking Best Foreign Language Film.

2 No Guts, No Glory predictions
Heath Ledger loses Best Supporting Actor
Kung-Fu Panda bests Wall-E for Animated Film

Plan on doing my taxes today and gorging myself on e!'s Oscar pre-coverage. I'll be back during the show for live blogging

An open letter...

To the two women on the treadmill next to me at the gym today....

I understand that going to the gym, may mean, for you, that you're going out. You do your hair, put on your big hoop earrings, carefully pick out your matching tracksuit (probably in pink), and then take a bath with perfume. You get to the gym, put your bottle of soda in the cup holder, and set the treadmill on its lowest possible setting. About 30 seconds goes by and you start texting and talking on your phone. Loudly.

This continues for about a half hour. I know that Planet Fitness is supposed to be "a judgement free zone", but I can't help but judge. Why get all dressed up to go get all sweaty? And, your copious amounts of perfume, while you may think it will attract men, is extremely distracting when I'm trying to concentrate on training. I know that should be more tolerant and not let these things get to me, but it just frustrated me, and since I will, on occassion use this blog as an outlet, I'm free to rant/complain. It's just obnoxious. There are many guys guilty of this too, getting all prettied up for the gym...seriously, wtf?

Oh, and the reason the tv has no sound? You need to plug your headphones in....

/end rant

The Class, The Visitor, and other things...

Greetings!

I've been meaning to update since Thursday, but I've been fairly busy, so this update may be fairly lengthy. Friday night, I went with Emily, Doug and Paul Bourque to see Mike Rudick's band Holmes at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge...they were ok, I was pretty tired, so I didn't stay too long.

Saturday morning I was able to run outside (hooray!) and then Katie and I made a quick trip to the Natick Collection. We did some shopping (I got a great sweater at the North Face for $24! and Katie got a hat for the marathon) and grabbed lunch, even though we had to eat on mall benches because the food court was so crowded. Saturday night was fairly uneventful, I got some take-out from Cheesecake Factory (not my favorite place, but I was in the area so....) and watched the first review of today's entry...



The basic plot involves a widowed college professor, Walter Vale, who finds an immigrant couple, Tarek and Zainab, living in his Manhattan apartment. The man befriends the couple, and gets drum lessons from Tarek. In the subway, Tarek is arrested and detained at an immigration processing site in Queens, with the very real possibility of deportment. Walter hires an immigration lawyer, and a story of human rights ensues.

The Visitor is great film, extremely well written, and two stand out performances, Richard Jenkins as Walter and Haaz Sleiman as Tarek. Both were nominated for Independent Spirit awards, and Jenkins is nominated for an Oscar. The relationship that the two men develop throughout the film is quite moving. My only issue (and it's pretty major) is the last 20 minutes or so; story had been moving along at a decent pace (albeit a little slow) and then the climax and resolution just kind of happens. It felt like the director, Thomas McCarthy (responsible for another great film, The Station Agent) realized that he was making a 2 hour film, and not a 3 hour film, and needed to wrap things up. I could kind of tell where it was headed, but I still enjoyed the ride. Definitely worth a rental, if for nothing other than the performances.

Grade: B

Sunday was pretty uneventful as well, hit the gym in the morning, and then last night was Katie's fundraiser at The Point for the marathon. It was a great celebration, great to see some friends that I hadn't seen in ages, and $2 bud light drafts were amazing. I got pretty drunk (drunk enough that Jess and I had to take a cab home) and am sure that a great time was had by all. Such a good time in fact, I was talked into not one, but TWO tequila shots (thank you Nick LaPete), and I'm STILL feeling them today...yuck.

Today was also pretty uneventful, slept til 11 (and was probably still drunk when I woke up), and then I saw the second feature to be reviewed today....


The Class (Entre les murs) won the 2008 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film festival and is France's nominee for Best Foreign Language film. It chronicles the year of a middle school class in a tough section of Paris. We see the teacher, Mr. Marin develop a relationship with his class, and the hardships that he faces with his students. The film is based on a novel of the same name by François Bégaudeau (who plays Mr. Marin in the film). Much of the discussions between students and teacher veer from the subject of the classroom, and become much more socially, politically and, on occasion, racially charged. The students constantly question authority, and have no problem backing the teachers into a corner in expressing their opinions.

Director Laurent Cantet uses a fly on the wall technique throughout the entire film, you feel almost like a voyeur in the classroom, teachers lounge, and even the students and teachers life's. Parts of the film (mainly the classroom discussions) were improvised, making the film all the more impressive. The real stand outs are the students, many of them playing themselves. It was refreshing to see a depiction of an inner-city school free of most of the cliches that plague many Hollywood films; though there are a few in The Class. My only two quibbles with the film; there is a minor storyline that's introduced (again, dealing with the possibility of deportation, I guess that was a theme for the weekend) that doesn't really go anywhere. The second, is with the translation of the title. In France, the film is titled Entre les Murs, or, Between the Walls...I get that it's about a class, and the title just justifiable, but I wonder if it means something else in French that doesn't translate...oh well....

Overall, the film is exceptional, and it's no wonder that this was the Cannes jury's unanimous choice for best picture. Two of the best films I've seen this year, The Class and Waltz with Bashir, have been in a foreign language. Up next on the screening schedule is the Italian mafia film Gomorrah, which is released on the 27th.

Grade: A

Fairly uneventful week ahead, steering committee meeting Wednesday night, and then Oakmont design meeting on Saturday...hooray! Shout out to Nick LaPete, who is friends with Billy Eichner on facebook! If you don't know who that is, watch this video. It's hillarious.

Meet me at Foxwoods (well, meet me at MGM Grand at Foxwoods)!

Friday night, Miss Alison Hay and I ventured to MGM Grand at Foxwoods to see John Legend. She got me a ticket for Christmas, and we were both super excited for the concert. I had never been to Foxwoods, nor a casino for that matter...well, except for the casinos on a cruise ship, so I was not really sure what to expect. We got off 95 in Connecticut and drove down this two lane stretch of road for what seemed like forever, when we turned a corner and suddenly, this giant green and white monstrosity appears between the trees. Seriously, we just followed the bend in the road and it was like BAM! HOTEL! It was a little difficult for me to follow the road, I was gawking at the giant building in front of me that seemed to come out of nowhere, I'm pretty sure my mouth was open the last mile or so we drove to the casino. After passing not two but THREE separate entrances to Foxwoods, we were directed to the entrance to MGM Grand at Foxwoods, where the show was and where we having dinner. We pulled into the massive parking garage and were met with the gleaming MGM Grand hotel (apologies for the sub-par pics, they're from by blackberry) We walked into the lobby, and it was totally not what I was expecting a casino lobby to be like - much more subdued and "normal", minus all the bells and whistles....until we actually got into the hotel, and we were, naturally, met with the lights, bells and whistles that I had been expecting. It was this giant open area with slot machines, table games, and copious amounts of cigarette smoke- totally forgot what it was like when you can smoke IN a building. We wandered around MGM Grand for a while, checked out some of the stores, and picked up the tickets for the show. Since we had some time to kill, we took the escalators over to Foxwoods to check that out.

Getting of the escalator I was met with complete and total sensory overload. The meshing of styles, these fake street front facades (which reminded me of Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom, only cheaper-looking), bells and whistles from slot machines, Chihuly glass, and 5 star restaurants, was amazing. I've never been to Vegas, I've always wanted to go, but never having been to a casino before, I'm glad that I went to a place like Foxwoods to ease into the casino scene...had I jumped right in and gone to Vegas, I probably would have hated it. After wandering around and checking out some of the stuff Foxwoods had to offer (including a Bingo Hall that can seat up to 5,000 people, with a $15 buy-in) we headed back to MGM Grand to check out some of the games.

I sat down at a slot machine, and put in $5. After about 10 minutes of pulling the lever and not really understanding how you won, I had been exactly where I started and was starting to get bored, so I took my "winnings" and cashed out. I got a printed receipt for $5...huzzah! Alison wanted to play roulette, so we checked out one of the tables. She put some money down, and on the first spin of the wheel, she won $135! Hooray for her! After playing again and losing, she decided to walk away, and besides, it was time for dinner, so she cashed in her winnings as well, much more respectable than my $5 earnings.

We had dinner at Shrine, which was a pretty cool place. I had some great sushi. I was hoping to do some celeb citing or at least see someone doing bumps in the bathroom, but no such luck. The atmosphere was great though, this asian-fusion kinda deal. It's apparently THE place to be on the weekends.

Estelle was supposed to open for John Legend, but at about 8:55 there was an announcement made that "due to a scheduling conflict, Estelle will not be appearing tonight." In her place? One of his back up singers, Vaughn something. His set was meh, thank god it was only about 15 minutes...I mean, props for him for trying, but, to give you a sample of his songs, one of the choruses was "and we're humpin, we're humpin, we're humpin and we're bumpin in the club"...once the painful opening was over, JL (that's John Legend), came out and played a great hour and a half set. Vaughn was thankfully demoted back to his back-up singer position, and all was right with the world. He closed the show with a sick rendition of "Green Light", and his encore was "Ordinary People" and my current new favorite song "If You're Out There".

After the show, we were walking out of the theater, and it was crazy, everyone pulled out their cigarettes and started lighting up, because, you know, two hours with out smoking is torture...sorry to all the smokers out there, but seriously. So, in the end, I want to go back, maybe stay over this time (and not have to pay the ridiculous amount of $400 a night), and maybe be a little more adventurous than $5 in a slot machine.

Also, JL and I are already homies, based on his January 28th blog entry, "Speaking of hotness... I just saw "Slumdog Millionaire" on my day off yesterday. All I can say is Wow. It was one of my favorite movies in a long time. Please go see it. It's really great work." Holler, JL knows whats up!

And finally, speaking of Slumdog, it swept the BAFTA's last night, winning seven awards including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound, Score and Editing. The Slumdog train continues to roll along, and many Oscar bloggers are forecasting it win at least seven of its ten nominations...2 more weeks left til the big dance...

Check these out!

http://www.fotojack.com/photo/index.htm?race=1169&val=397

My interview

A friend of mine recently posted a series of interview questions on her blog. Her friend created and sent her the questions, she answered them, and then offered to do the same for readers of her blog. I commented, and here is what she came up with (thanks Holli!)

You are something of a self-proclaimed movie buff extraordinaire. What is your all-time, hands-down, favorite movie? Why? I know picking one is probably impossible -- but for this question you must.
Hands down my absolute favorite movie is American Beauty. I could watch it multiple times and not get tired of it. It's one of those movies where everything worked for me. The performances are uniformly excellent, the writing is incredible, the soundtrack (and especially score) is pitch perfect (yes, pun intended) and all of the design elements are great. You barely notice the cinematography (except in the dream sequence) and the editing, and that's the way it should be. Yes, I think that the floating bag thing is a little bit of a stretch, but overall, the movie worked for me. That was the first movie I've ever seen more than once in theaters. The others? and Gladiator and Slumdog Millionaire.

If you could travel anywhere, with anyone (all expenses paid), where would you go and who would you go with?
I would do one of those 'round the world type trips that I've seen in travel magazines. I think Quantas did a thing for the millennium where you would get on a plane in Sydney and chase the sunrise around the world, stopping in major cities. It sounded incredible. I'd go with my family. I know, it sounds super-lame, but it's true. Family means a lot to me, and I don't really think there is anyone else that I'd rather take that kind of a trip with.

Out on your own for the first time, what are the greatest perks to living away from home? What are the greatest drawbacks?
The biggest perks are being on my own, coming and going as I please, living close to the city, being able to do things when I want, and establishing my own routine. I can't really think of any drawbacks except food; I don't really like to cook (my skills are limited, but slowly expanding) and ordering take out more than once a week gets old.

What is your dream job? Why?
This one is easy. A film/theater critic. It combines everything that I like - movies, theater, writing (or blogging) and complaining. hooray! and you get comped for everything!

If you could interview anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you ask him/her?
Hmm...probably Walt Disney. Even though he was a shrewd business man and rumored anti-semite, the empire he created is undeniable. He set the bar for modern animation, revolutionized the amusement park industry by creating a "theme park", and created one of the most recognizable images on the planet - Mickey Mouse. I don't know what I'd ask him, but I think a conversation with him would be fascinating....

Busy weekend coming up- picking up Matty P at the airport tomorrow, John Legend at MGM Grand at Foxwoods tomorrow night with Miss Alison Hay, Frost/Nixon Saturday night with the fam, and then UMass on Sunday for an alumni volunteer event, basketball game and perhaps a stop at chapter.

Super Sunday 5K!

I did it! I completed my first goal on my way to the half-marathon in May; I ran my first 5k! This morning, Katie, Mike, Nick and I competed in the Marathon Sports SuperSunday 5K. The race took place down along the waterfront downtown. We left Somerville at 8am, and met Mike at South Station. We then took a bus (a PARTY BUS!) from South Station to the start of the race, which began at Legal Seafood headquarters. There were about 1,250 people there, and we all had numbers and ChampionChip timers....so it was 100% offical. There were some people running at 10k as well. They called us to the Start/Finish line, and had the "good" runners (those that wanted to run under a 6 minute mile) in the front, and then everyone else in the back. There was a fun countdown, and the race began...we were a little towards the middle, so it took some time to get going, but I crossed the starting line and my ChampionChip started...I was off!

Katie, Nick and Mike all took off ahead of me, and we basically said to each other, "See you at the end!" The route was basically down Seaport boulevard (past the Bank of America pavillion, Anthony's and the Seaport Hotel), around the courthouse, back down Seaport boulevard, and then this odd turn around some plant place in South Boston, and then back to Legal Seafood. I did fairly well, I think that I started a little too fast, because I got to mile 1 and I was at a 8:15 mile, which is much faster than I normally run. I did really well past the 2 mile mark, and then I started to get a little winded and tired, so I walked for about .10 mile, and then jogged again, a little slower then before. I hit mile 3, and I could see the finish line, I got a burst of energy and almost sprinted to the finish line, with Katie, Mike and Nick (who finished before me) cheering me on. I crossed the finish line, and didn't collapse! Hooray! Now, I know what you're waiting for, how did I do? Well, my unoffical time is.........

30:15!

That's basically a 10 minute mile, which is a decent pace. I'm pretty happy with my results, especially for my first 5k! My offical time will be up tomorrow sometime, once the results are posted online. The best part about this race? Free beer at the end! Hooray! Next stop: the St. Patrick's Day 5k in Somerville on March 15th....now, back to training!