November 30, 2006

My father just confirmed that I can have the family piano and it will be moved to my house the week after Christmas.

WOOOHOOOHOHOHOHOHOOO!!

I don't have much time to play the piano. I'm not sitting around trying to find things to do (heheh). But I will make time! I have been keeping a list of songs from recent musicians that I want to 'convert' to piano versions. And I want to relearn the classical pieces I played in high school.

Posted by megabeth at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)

November 29, 2006

This article, which states evidence that lasik is safer than contact lenses, reduces my nervousness about my upcoming laser eye surgery.

Mathers argues that while long-term contact users suffer vision loss at a rate of one in 2,000, laser patients have serious complications just one time out of 10,000.

In about a month I will not need my specs anymore. I am so excited!

Posted by megabeth at 10:20 PM | Comments (4)

In my weight program I'm transitioning into the hypertrophy phase from adaptation. Ouch. The gym is a humbling experience because it made me realize how little muscular strength my beanpole body has. I walk up to a machine, such as the chest press, and move the weight peg from where the last guy left it at 250 lbs, to 20 lbs, and three reps of 'weenie weight' still hurts. Men are so much stronger than women.

The core work is already paying off because it makes me feel better. Because my core muscles are getting stronger, it is easier to hold myself upright and perform tasks that require strength.

My current riding volume is high and I still have tons of energy regardless (or because of?). The stress from school and freelance work hasn't zapped my energy, either.

This past summer I took most of two months off the bike, May and August, because I wasn't feeling well. I visited a bunch of doctors, hypothesized about thyroid problems (proven to be wrong), had ultrasounds, took antibiotics, had pap smears and blood tests, et-cet-er-ah. My ob/gyn put her finger right on the problem: stress from dealing with a destructive relationship. She warned me that I had better think hard about making bad choices or ELSE (she told me a few stories about patients of hers who developed irreversible symptoms due to high levels of stress). My stress load has been fairly significant since the fall of 2003 when I started going to graduate school at night, and I have not felt so badly for so long or had such inexplicably weird symptoms like I did this past summer. Thus, I learned a valuable lesson that stress from personal relationships can cause medical problems and illnesses. I denied that the two had any connection until I experienced this firsthand. Fortunately my symptoms disappeared, and I will be careful from now on to keep that part of my life healthy so that I will be in good health for riding my bike way too often.

Additionally, I think that periodization (a la Joe Friel) is going to help with the issue of overtraining when race season begins in the spring.

I'm already lean but I hope that by spring I will have increased my muscular mass. This will be the first time in my life that I have done this sort of thing. It will be interesting (and fun!).

Posted by megabeth at 02:51 PM | Comments (4)

November 28, 2006

The sky is falling!

I guess that Wal-Mart's same store sales is now a new leading economic indicator.

Over Thanksgiving their same store sales dropped 0.1% (a tenth of one percent) and the stock market reacted with a huge sell-off.

I don't see the big deal as perhaps shoppers decided to go elsewhere to shop... at my local Wal-Mart, one would want to avoid the store on Black Friday to avoid being shot.

I believe this is a minor correction and that the market is going to continue to do well for the next few months. It's a good time to buy anything other than precious metals.

(p.s. My short call on Google was correct.)

Posted by megabeth at 10:00 AM | Comments (3)

I put in nine hours of saddle time over Thanksgiving. Saddle time means 'time in which the pedals were moving' and does not include time waiting at lights or taking a break. Since the weather was unseasonably warm, I had to take advantage of it.

That left little time for doing my homework. There's always one night of classes in which most everything is due, and that night was last night. I still have a few presentations and an exam in the next couple of weeks.

Of course I much prefer riding my bike over doing homework.

Posted by megabeth at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)

Some people in my family get stressed out about seeing the extended family members on Thanksgiving Day. It doesn't bother me much since I only see them once a year and while we don't have much in common, they are all quite nice, and many of them bring very delicious food to eat (I think I ate half of my aunt's pound cake this weekend**).

The womenfolk in my family had lunch at Olexa's in Mtn Brook one day this weekend. And there are a lot of women in my family. We don't make boys, so my father is the patriarch of a harem.

On the menu were sandwiches and salads, as well as bitching. For four bucks you can get a huge slice of her famous cake (vanilla or chocolate), and it is one of those experiences that is so delicious you'll never forget it. I'm salivating right now as I type this.

Since it was Thanksgiving, my female relatives (including myself) did the opposite of being thankful. My sister is ticked off, as she is every year, that she has to drive her kids all of twenty minutes to her in-laws to have a Christmas meal, which she claims isn't very good. She spends the equivalent of ten days stressing out about an event that lasts three hours. Also, she says that her in-laws are not nice enough to her children (their grandkids). My niece's birthday party proved her wrong as the grandparents came over, loved on those kids to death, and showered the birthday girl with gifts. Must it have to be a requisite that you must hate your in-laws? I'm quite tired of the parental strife and wouldn't want to double it by getting married.

My mother calls my aunt so-and-so a control freak and the other aunt so-and-so is overly negative and judgmental. Pot, meet kettle. Pot, meet kettle.

My mother says that my deceased paternal grandmother was a total bitch and it's all I can do to keep myself from reminding her that my father definitely picked someone to marry who is just like his mother.

My aunt told me that I wouldn't be able to build wealth in the state of Alabama due to the nine percent sales tax. I did not disagree with her as I think it's funny to play as if I am poor, since displays of material wealth are not a boost for self-esteem, anyhow.

I ate my words on a plate when I said that my cousin's children were going to raise all hell and damnation during the family reunion, and they were instead well-behaved. Well, boys will be boys, but they expended most of their energy outside in the yard.

The womenfolk's behavior makes me realize that there are much more important things to complain about than the petty things that bother them. Like, for instance, complaining that they complain all the time.

I suppose we don't agree on a lot of things in my family. We push each other's buttons every year. But we do agree on one major thing: good food. Eat a big meal, then have sweets for dessert. Yum!

**My post-Thanksgiving weigh-in indicated no weight gain!

Posted by megabeth at 07:43 AM | Comments (1)

November 26, 2006

First, something gets cold. It's usually an extremity, such as my hands, feet or nose.

Next, I put on more warm clothing like fleece pants, sweatshirts and fleece hat.

Then I turn up the thermostat to bring in some toasty warm, natural gas heat.

Still not warm. Next I turn on the space heater, one of those noiseless electric heating oil/radiator thingies.

By this time I am probably warm but my feet/hands/nose are still ice cold. Desperation measures ensue. Cursing my genetics and wondering if I will get frostbite at the age of 65 in 70 degree weather. Putting the heating pad under my feet and wearing fingerless gloves. Taking advantage of close contact with other warm-blooded creatures such as man and dog. Drinking a cup of hot chocolate.

Last, but not least, and soooo nice, I will get a fire going in the fireplace. That is, if the temperature outside is mid-forties or below, because it seems insane that I would start a fire if it is sixty degrees outside, but don't doubt for a second that I haven't considered it.

My feet are a special case. Sometimes I will be warm, but those toes aren't joining the program. I'll wrap my feet in soft wool socks and place them atop a warm heating pad. Amazingly, the bottom of my toes will get warm while the top of my toes and the area in between my toes is still ice cold. I wonder what the explanation is for this, considering that all parts of the toes are connected to the same vascular system?

When all else fails with my feet, I put some hot water in the tub and soak them. That always gives me at least a half hour of warm toes.

Posted by megabeth at 07:35 PM | Comments (2)

Some of my high school friends were in town over the holiday and I declined their invitation to spend a late evening at a local bar where lots of twenty-somethings hang out. Also it was on a weeknight before a work day. And you know how I feel about secondhand smoke.

When I was 25 I totally would have been there. Now I'm an old fart who needs to go to bed early and get my full eight. I also think that sleeping until 8 am is late.

I didn't suggest an alternative since I usually cede control to the person who is in charge of making the plans. My feet do the voting, not my mouth.

The wild oats have been long sewn. For me there were at least a hundred acres to sew. I used to be proud of my New-Orleans-party-girl history; now I'm thankful I emerged from that phase without a scratch. I don't feel guilty about my past actions, since college is the time to go wild, try new things, and get it out of your system before you have to pay bills and show up at work consistently.

I think my lifestyle now (near-teetotaler, early bird gets the worm) is much easier than the party girl lifestyle. I am well-rested and feel great. And I most certainly don't miss those awful hangovers.

Posted by megabeth at 09:23 AM | Comments (1)

November 24, 2006

The other night, Ruby and I were competing for Farmboy's lap while sitting in front of a cozy fire. Naturally, I won since I weigh 5 times what she does. And then a giant roach crawled across the hearth, and before I could scream bloody murder, Farmboy picked it up WITH HIS BARE HANDS and threw it in the fire. I would probably die from a heart attack if I touched a roach with my bare skin. My method of killing them involves spraying a shot of Raid on the roach and waiting for it to die, then scooping it up with a piece of newspaper and tossing it in the garbage. Eeeuw. Writing about this gives me the shivers.

It seems like roaches never die no matter what you do to them but throwing them into a fire makes them die very quickly.

I like flowers, so there's almost always something blooming in my yard. I think it's cool how some flowers bloom in the winter. Like pansies and camellia bushes. And also, my impatiens are still blooming prolifically, so they must be confused.

The most delicious part of my Thanksgiving day was squeezing my niece's baby chub. Her cheeks look like they might explode at any minute. Also, she has cankles.

Is it animal cruelty if I squeeze Ruby really hard and try to make her fart?

We are blessed with beautiful weather this weekend, the kind that is perfect for bike riding.

Posted by megabeth at 01:25 PM | Comments (1)

November 22, 2006

This sort of topic is probably overdone but who can argue with thinking of what you are thankful for? It's a mood lifter!

Here are things I am thankful for:

• My cute little nieces
• My health
• My bike and the nice people I ride with
• The mild winters in Alabama
• Fresh baked cookies
• The public library
• The Sierra Club Nature Preserve in Destin, Florida
• Electric blankets
• FREE TIME! Of which I have none!
• My old, rickety little car, because it helps people who get their self-esteem from car ownership feel better about themselves.
• And that my old car keeps on ticking, because I don't have any stress about damage from cars, people or weather.
• Diet Coke
• The hooting of owls in my backyard
• The interweb, because fourteen years after I discovered email via telnet, I still think the invention is the coolest thing that has happened in the last twenty years.
• India, because I like the people from India who I work with so much that I invested in their country.
• Becoming older and wiser
• Flip flops
• Hope.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Posted by megabeth at 05:49 AM | Comments (2)

November 21, 2006

I should go ahead and create a Category for Investing even though this is supposed to be a blog about cycling.

I put this in an extended entry because it will bore 99.99% of you to death.

My first foray into closed-end ETFs involved a 4.5% front end load. Little did I know that these funds are available on the secondary market. What a closed end ETF does is set a fixed number of shares at, say, $20 per share, and then gets sold through brokerage firms, many of which are underwriters, to raise the initial capital for the offering which equals the NAV when it goes on the market. So if you buy in before it goes to market, you pay $19.10 (for a 4.5% load) for shares at $20.00. Sounds stupid, doesn't it?

After the big boys get their cut and the ETF goes on the market, the share price acts just like equity; it is bought and sold in real time. You'd be smart to buy into the initial offering IF the share price were to immediately appreciate; however, there are so many of these ETFs nowadays that they are a dime a dozen.

So how does one make money if the share price appreciation is minimal? I am so glad that those of you who are still awake asked that question. Ho ho. Fixed income ETFs aim for a high dividend payout. Many of them are currently paying 9-10% dividends, and that means the investor is taxed only at the 15% dividend rate! Your savings account is probably only paying around 4% at your normal income tax rate. Blah.

Also, many of the fixed-income ETFs are leveraged so that they can pay these high dividend rates.

In September 2005 I bought into one of these fixed-income, leveraged ETFs with a 9% dividend payout goal. After the deducting initial 4.5% loss from the front end load, fourteen months later it has returned 8% at the dividend tax rate (the lucky market timers who bought into the ETF on the secondary market at its lowest share price earned over 13%). I'm reinvesting the dividends for a compounding effect, so in the next few years the return will be even better. This is way better than a savings account, but you must accept the risk that goes along with the returns. The share price could easily depreciate in value, and thus you may not earn as much as you had hoped for.

Posted by megabeth at 04:18 PM | Comments (4)

I admire Warren Buffett. He lives in a house he bought for $31,500, eats at Dairy Queen, pays himself $100,000 annually, and gave most of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He drives a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. At age 11, he bought his first stock.

One of the greatest investors in history doesn't give a crap what kind of car he drives or how big his house is.

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway are now trading in excess of $100,000 a share.

What can the average investor learn from Buffett? Have patience, look for value in the market, and save money by living within your means. And that you will reap great rewards from investing early in life.

Posted by megabeth at 12:08 PM | Comments (1)

November 20, 2006

I logged over six hours of actual riding time on the bike this weekend.

I'm doing the periodization thing this winter, so this is the base building phase. It's nearly impossible to keep my heart rate at sub-LT in the foothills of the Appalachians. However, my heart rate on the trainer is much more controlled.

The adaptation phase for strength training is almost over. Next is hypertrophy.

All of my teammates are putting in the saddle time this fall and winter. I'm so excited for our potential come springtime.

Posted by megabeth at 09:48 AM | Comments (2)

November 19, 2006

I have lucid dreams particularly the night after a hard workout on the bike.

Over the past few months the tone of my dreams has changed from anxious to calm. This seems like a reinforcement that my recent choices are sound and my conscience is happy with them.

One recurring theme in my dreams is a visit to the ocean. Over the course of the last six months, these dreams have gradually morphed from an atmosphere of storminess to an ethereal mood. The first beach vacation dreams were located at sandy beaches with steep precipices, impending storms and gigantic, violent waves. The condo I stayed in was always dangerously close to the shore, and waves would sometimes break and fall onto the balcony, as if the sea were coming to swallow up the building.

These scenes gradually became calmer in my dreams over the last few months, and my most recent ocean dream involved my digging around in a suitcase for a red bikini, and then I walked onto the beach in spectularly perfect weather. The beach was flat and the waves were gently lapping onto the shoreline.

Change is good.

I wonder if I can put in requests to my subconscious. I'd like to visit the Carribbean next.

Posted by megabeth at 07:56 AM | Comments (1)

November 17, 2006

I've been watching a few individual stocks over the last month, such as Google, Amazon, and Starbucks.

The P/E ratio for Google is ridiculous and its share price rocketed this week from 470 to 495. I had a short sell at 475 and got out at 474 feeling like there was about to be a breakout. My bet was bad but my instinct was correct. (Keep in mind this money I'm using is fake. I don't have the guts for this kind of trading with real money.)

Amazon and Starbucks are trading in the 35-45 dolar range which is a more comfortable place for a share price to be. I'm not recommending any of these stocks; I think that buying them is much akin to gambling.

Google has so far chosen not to do a stock split (they could do a 5-for-1 to bring the share price down to 100). If I wanted to buy shares of Google with my own cash, it would seem silly to purchase 2 or 5 or 10 shares of the stock. However, if I wanted to buy shares of Amazon, I could rationally purchase an even lot of 100 shares.

Share price matters only psychologically. Whether I have 10 shares of Google or 100 shares of Starbucks doesn't matter; if both stocks appreciate 20% in value, so did my initial investment.

I suppose Google doesn't want to bother with individual investors since institutions are probably making most of the trades anyway.

My theory is that high-price single share values encourage higher volatility in a company's stock. At $500 a share, a $5 drop in share value is 1%. At $50 a share, a $5 drop in share value is 10%. However, we tend to think of 5 bucks as 5 bucks. It looks like a lot on paper regardless of share price. We want to jump in and join the excitement when it appears that numbers are moving around a lot. The volatility encourages day trading, which then encourages high trading volume. Or perhaps it is the other way around. (Chicken or egg?)

I do not recommend buying any of these highly volatile stocks unless you have a ton of money to burn without worrying about your livelihood.

Posted by megabeth at 03:35 PM | Comments (1)

Anyone who doesn't live in the state of Alabama is probably thinking of another game than the one I am referring to. That is a reminder that there is a big world outside of your little one. (And it isn't shaped like the state of Alabama.)

Alabama or Auburn? I don't care.

But I think it's good for people to have something fun to enjoy in their free time and distract them from the serious things in life. Since I am a workaholic, I have work to do instead. (If you're planning to call the men in white coats to come get me, my address is...)

A woman decked out in blue and orange Auburn gear gave me the evil eye on the way into the office this morning, either because I am wearing beige and olive green, or because I am gorgeous. I think she should pay attention to her football team and stop worrying about what other people are wearing or if I am hot.

Ha ha.

This reminds me of the night I took Farmboy with me to shop at the local Wal-Mart (yes, he was not thrilled about it, so he's normal). He conducted a sociological study on who checked me out during our shopping trip. Perhaps he had an influence on the results, but he said that only the women shoppers looked me over. What guy really cares if the purse is Coach or if there is a little junk in the trunk? Men are more inclined to love women the way they are than women are inclined to love themselves.

That said, I love myself the way I am, even sans Auburn clothes.

And speaking of Wal-Mart, the local news is beating this story to death about a resolution passed at the Alabama Baptist State Convention:

"The Wal-Mart resolution, which calls for Baptists to pray for the store’s leaders, urges messengers to ask local and national Wal-Mart officials to reconsider their recent joining of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce."

Hmm. I thought the Bible teaches tolerance of others, but what do I know? I'm just a lowly follower of Methodism.

I suggest that the Baptists put their energies into situations that bring positive outcomes to their followers, and leave everyone else alone. And they should watch the 'Big Game' this weekend, which will keep their minds off of hating homosexuals.

Posted by megabeth at 08:24 AM | Comments (1)

November 16, 2006

Check out the progress of my fall garden:

October 20
Today

The collards are harvested after the first frost. Farmboy is going to teach me how to cook them. I already make a mean cornbread with my grandmother's cast iron skillet.

Posted by megabeth at 09:05 PM | Comments (1)

November 15, 2006

I bought a Terry Zero X saddle but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. It is 40 gm lighter than the Butterfly I am currently using. Some people have teased me for having a Terry Butterfly on my Scott CR1; the disconnect is that the seat is minor league and the bike is major league. However, after doing some research on seats and particularly saddles for women, the Terry Zero is one of the lighter saddles, and if I wanted to go lighter, I'd have to buy one of those hard-as-a-rock men's race saddles that probably render men who use them impotent.

I figured I might as well stick with Terry since my booty likes the Butterfly so much.

And if the Zero doesn't work for me, I can send it back and switch it out for a new Butterfly.

Posted by megabeth at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2006

This is sad. I look forward to 5 hours of class every Monday night because it is the only opportunity provided to me that allows me to sit still and relax.

For the past month I have been flirting with burnout. I just turned another freelance job down and am anxiously awaiting the date of December 11, when my fall classes are completed.

Posted by megabeth at 03:05 PM | Comments (3)

I have been keeping a protein diary for the past week because I have suspicions that my diet is lacking in protein for my athletic needs. For cyclists, the basic dietary protein requirements are as listed:

Strength: 1.6-1.7 grams of dietary protein per kg of body weight
Endurance: 1.2-1.4 grams of dietary protein per kg of body weight

At 122 lbs (55 kg) of body weight I need 72 gms of protein daily for endurance and 88 gms of protein daily for strength.

The results of my protein diary for one week are listed below. A lot of the amounts were estimated since I did not measure anything. Also, I made an effort to eat more foods that are high in protein during the observation week, such as peanut butter, edamame, ham, bacon, chicken and beans.

11/6: 72 grams
11/7: 84 grams
11/8: 77 grams
11/9: 48 grams
11/10: 64 grams
11/11: 49 grams
11/12: 69 grams

Conclusions I have drawn from this one-week observation:
(a) I'm not eating enough protein for my training requirements.
(b) It is really hard to eat 70-80 grams of protein in one day. I drank milk and Isopure almost daily to get an extra 35 grams down the hatch.

I'll continue to prioritize eating meat for meals and consuming one 25 gram scoop of Isopure with skim milk daily.

Also, the quality of my diet sucks.

P.S. This site gives you nutrition information for unpackaged foods/produce like bananas, potatoes, ingredients in meals eaten out, etc.

Posted by megabeth at 12:30 PM | Comments (2)

November 12, 2006

I just reviewed last month's bank statement and in October I bounced three checks in a row. Miss Fiscal Responsibility has turned into someone she doesn't know. Hold me!!

Posted by megabeth at 01:54 PM | Comments (2)

November 11, 2006

Last night, Farmboy and I went to see the Borat movie. Very funny. I like. However, we were a bit traumatized by the wrestling scene involving two naked hairy men. (Here are some deleted scenes from the movie.)

This morning I met some folks for a ride. It was raining but optimistically I thought it would stop, or at least be sporadic. Wrong. We rode two hours in the cold rain. I stopped by the shop to take a lactate threshold test. They gave me some hot coffee before I put my wet cycling accessories back on and hammered back home so that I would stay warm. I've had better days in cycling. However, the hot shower when I got home was amazing.

My LT threshold HR seem a little low. My LT threshold at 230 watts of power is 140 bpm. At 230 watts of power, my power-to-weight ratio is 4.15. The magic number for pro cyclists is 7. The pros in the Tour de France can put out numbers of 500 watts, for brief intervals, during the climbs. Please, don't beat down my door with requests to sponsor me as a pro. ;)

Anyhow, I'll probably go out and do a field test to get some more numbers for my LT threshold. Generally, it's good to have a low LT threshold when combined with a high wattage value. I have no idea if my wattage at LT is good for a female or not. After doing some reading on LT, it appears that nobody knows what is objectively good or bad because the factors involved are different for every person.

Posted by megabeth at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)

November 09, 2006

Round 1 goes to the exercise ball.

Posted by megabeth at 10:11 PM | Comments (2)

I recently tried a couple of protein bars that aren't specifically marketed for athletes but rather people on low-carb diets. In general most of these products are very similar in nutritional balance but not in taste. Protein bars for athletes tend to have a higher carbohydrate content.

This week I started keeping a protein diary to see how much I'm consuming each day. So far it looks like my protein intake is too low for my needs as a cyclist. So one of the snacks I bring to work are these low-to-moderate carb protein bars.

Three of the snack bars I have tried lately:

Zone Perfect Fudge Graham flavor All-Natural Nutrition Bar, with 16 grams of protein, 210 calories and 21 grams of carbs. This rectangular shaped thing that is classified as 'food' tastes like a rotten dry cardboard box. Nothing will quench your appetite like eating a few bites of this thing. T

South Beach Diet Peanut Butter flavor High Protein Cereal Bar, with 15 gms of protein, 140 calories and 15 grams of carbs. This one's fairly edible, except at the end of the chewing phase, it has a weird aftertaste. It's a little too sweet, but generally tolerable. The texture is crunchy.

Detour Deluxe Whey Protein Energy Bar, Caramel Peanut flavor. This is more of a sports energy bar to be consumed during long workouts. It has 30 gm of protein, 310 calories and 25 grams of carbs. They claim that it is the first energy bar to taste like a candy bar. It does have that smooth candy-bar texture, though it is a little more firm in the center. Again, like most high protein bars, the aftertaste is a little strange.

I still prefer the old stand-by for long workouts: PowerBar Performance. They don't taste that great, but they don't melt in the heat. Protein content is a little lower (10 gms), which is good for digestability while on the bike. Carbs are higher (45 grams) for extra energy to burn when it's most needed.

But the South Beach Diet bars are perfect for snacking on at work; they're low in calories and carbs, and high in protein.

Posted by megabeth at 03:25 PM | Comments (2)

As a result of my inability to say no to projects and by nature being a driven person, this fall I have taken on way too many responsibilities. Last year I thought the same thing and the year before that as well, and so on. But this time I really tried to top all other attempts to become overwhelmingly busy and I succeeded. Yes, I am so stupid.

So, some things have fallen by the wayside over the past few months.

• My dog is happy because I no longer give her baths.
• I don't clean my house. (Fortunately someone gets paid to do that for me.)
• I don't clean my car. I'm quite proud of the moving garbage pile.
• I don't iron my clothes.
• Most of my clothes are too big now, anyway, so that limits the amount of clothes I would have to iron.
• When something breaks, it stays broken.
• Each issue of the Wall Street Journal is piled up on top of Ruby's crate, still in its plastic wrapping.
• I stopped wearing jewelry and lipstick because it takes too much time to bother with.
• And then I stopped noticing everything around me that used to bug me.
• And then I pretty much stopped noticing everything else, too.

I like this article here that talks about ways to handle all the things that you have committed to do.

The author says:
... there will always be more to do. Working more won’t change that. In fact, working more is actually counter-productive.

Yep, the real problem is not getting the work done, it's taking on more and more work as more work is getting done. If they gave doctorates in this, I would have a PhD in workaholism. Thus, I want to learn to work more efficiently and say no to people who want me to take on more work. I've had a few more freelance jobs fall into my lap recently, and I turned them down. That felt good.

Posted by megabeth at 10:06 AM | Comments (3)

November 08, 2006

My investments professor suggests that I should take the first level of the CFA exam to (a) test my interest in the career field and (b) make it easier to get a job offer if I do maintain my interest. The first level CFA test requires 200-250 hours of studying and rote memorization.

I know I change my mind a lot, so I won't say I'm going to definitely pursue that vareer goal at this point in time. The first thing for me to do is to complete my MBA in December 2007, and then I'll move on to other outlets for intellectual self-torture.

Today's post-market-close addendum:
I've been watching the market like a hawk this semester due to my portfolio games. And for the money I already have in the market: Hooray! And for the money I didn't put in the market because I was waiting for some grand opportunity: Boo-hoo! Things are going SCARY, SCARY well lately with stocks and commodities (except for the energy sector, which may or may not have seen the bottom).

Posted by megabeth at 10:17 AM | Comments (4)

November 07, 2006

Governor: Cletus
Lieutenant governor: Boss Hogg
Attorney general: Smoove, from The Onion
Chief justice: Vladimir Putin
Supreme Court, Place 2: A randomly selected cockroach
Supreme Court, Place 3: My dog's ass
Supreme Court, Place 4: To remain unfilled. Decisions will be determined by a flip of a coin.
Civil Appeals, Place 1: Homer Simpson
Civil Appeals, Place 2: Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell)
Civil Appeals, Place 3: Bob Saget
Criminal Appeals, Place 1: Jim Morrison
Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Freddy Mercury
Criminal Appeals, Place 3: Ronnie Van Zant
Secretary of state: Jesus
State treasurer: Richard Scrushy
State auditor: Bernie Ebbers

I've always been a big proponent of voting, but after seeing the shit-flinging monkey ads for this year's campaign (especially the disgusting self-aggrandizing campaigns of Sue Bell Cobb and Lucy Baxley), I am choosing not to vote. If my choices are between horse shit and cow dung, I'd rather starve.

Whoever wins, the citizens of the state of Alabama are ensured another four years of a three-ring circus of idiots.

Posted by megabeth at 08:41 AM | Comments (7)

November 06, 2006

At my parents' house I found an original 1952 version of Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette. This, my friends, is a book that all women must own. In fact, I have been uncouth and unladylike until I started reading the 1952 version of this book. Over the next few weeks of reading, I will experience a gradual progression into femininity and civility.

If you are a woman under the age of forty, thank God or your lucky stars that you were not living in the 1950s. Women back then could not wear pants or shorts, and they had to follow all sorts of strict rules when out in public. Nowadays, we ladies do keg stands and drink beer out of bottles (the horror! how phallic!) And sometimes when I am on my bike, I blow my nose onto the road. And after my bike races, I wrap myself in a towel and change out of my kit right there in the parking lot. Had I been a young lady in the fifties, I would have gone crazy and picked up the bridge table, dumping its contents onto the pink carpet, tied up the family dog with my pantyhose, and then stabbed someone with my knitting needles.

Thank God for liberation.

I'm going to read most of the book, however. It is hysterical.

Posted by megabeth at 12:24 PM | Comments (1)

November 05, 2006

So Lance Armstrong also had an painful experience running the New York Marathon yesterday, most likely because he didn't train that much for running. His longest training run was only 16 miles, and he wanted to run the marathon at a 6:55 min/mile pace, which is very speedy. He said he'd never do it again and that it was more painful than any mountain stage of the Tour De France.

Cyclists can make good runners because their cardiovascular systems are well-tuned, but all that leg muscle slows them down, and they don't have the same muscles developed for running as they do for cycling. Pro runners look like toothpicks.

Yesterday I was painfully sore from racing hard without sufficient training. My back! My hams! My quads! Farmboy worked out some of the lactic acid while I screamed in pain, and today I feel much better. But no more fast running for me. I will focus only on training for next year's cycling season.

Posted by megabeth at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)

I'm having a hard time believing that this isn't a fictionalization, it is that cool. I want one now.

Posted by megabeth at 01:01 PM | Comments (1)

November 04, 2006

Everything went well today; I finished the 10K in 50:21 or 50:22 (still waiting for the official results). Negative splits were blown to the wind in the first mile since everyone else started out so quickly. I ran the first two miles at a 7:40 pace, then the third mile around 8:40 because it was uphill, then the fourth and fifth miles were 8:20ish, then the last mile was another 7:40. And most of the race hurt, especially the last mile. It was stupid of me to think I could run the race in 50 minutes with little training at that pace.

After the race I took advantage of the complimentary massage and free food, then hightailed it out to the bike shop to meet some teammates for a bike ride. We rode for about 2.5 hours out in the Leeds area (I saw some donkeys! haha).

Back at the shop I opted not to do the lactate threshold testing considering that I had lactate thresholded all day. I am so sore. However I did get a new Polar CS200 HRM for my bike and some free coffee thanks to our sponsor. I like spending Saturday afternoons in the shop, cleaning my bike, getting training tips and drooling over pretty new bikes.

I am stubborn and it takes suffering to get me to change my mind about something. I suffered today. And after talking to my team's bike coach, I decided not to run competitively this winter because it is disadvantageous to my bike training for next year's race season. He did give me the ok to run 5 miles at a comfortable pace for cross-training. This decision has made me feel relieved, and considering that I have invested a lot into cycling, I want it to be my primary focus.

Addendum: Preliminary results are in - out of about 1600 runners, I finished in the top 24th percentile overall and the top 8th percentile in my age group. Not bad for someone who started running again two months prior to the race, but not surprising for someone who is used to suffering (see: bad relationships, workaholism, cycling with crazy men).

Posted by megabeth at 05:26 PM | Comments (4)

November 03, 2006

I signed up for the Vulcan Run yesterday so now I have to do it. It sounds like a great idea right now, but tomorrow during the race I will cursing my stupidity. It's a high participation race on a great course and my goal is sub-50 minutes for the 10K (an 8:00/m pace). I still have a residual cough from bronchitis and don't know if I am sick or well or whatever, but I've ignored and trained anyway. I've been back running for almost two months save for the week when I was too sick to do anything.

I am saying this over and over again today:
NEGATIVE SPLITS NEGATIVE SPLITS NEGATIVE SPLITS

I memorized the locations of each mile marker just in case they don't mark the course so that I can keep track of my NEGATIVE SPLITS.

Posted by megabeth at 09:08 AM | Comments (1)

November 02, 2006

My sister had a good time dressing up her babies for Halloween.

Posted by megabeth at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

November 01, 2006

I went somewhere this past weekend that I am embarrassed to admit and thankfully the night was young and there weren't many witnesses. But when you're in a group, you usually end up doing what the group chooses to do, at least for a little while in order to be diplomatic. Well, there are a few things I would put my foot down on immediately and walk away, such as going to strip clubs and Hooter's. The place that I went to and never want to go to again was a nightclub, and I didn't have my drivers license not expecting to go anywhere that I would actually get carded. But the doorman let me in, which means I am officially looking pretty OLD, even while wearing a school girl costume. I was a good sport and stayed about 45 min to 1 hour until I couldn't stand it anymore. The thump thump music and the flashing lights are enough to induce a seizure, and worst of all, I am disturbed by the visions of drunken people who hump on each other and chain smoke.

While waiting in line to get in the club, I told one of the guys in my group that I couldn't remember the last time I entered a nightclub, and he rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, right". I am surprised to think that people who are my peers still assume that everyone goes out and parties on weekends. I think that a clubber at the age of 30, at least in this town, is in the minority.

I shouldn't toss stones; I'm just as nutty as the party animals. I spend every weekend trying to wear myself out (successfully, most of the time) via endurance sports. It's a different kind of time-wasting, albeit more healthy and memorable.

If I refrain from judgment based on the time and money variables, we still have the issue of memorable experience. My companion at the club had a friend there who was wasted and was spouting the usual loving-drunk-person-cliches, like "I love this guy!" and "My friend Joe Bob is awesome!" and so on. And he didn't remember it the next day, I'm sure. There has to be something better for people with nothing to do than this. I think that the nightclub should redact its minimum age limit for a maximum of say, thirty years old. This rule will protect immature adults from themselves. I'm happy, though regretful, that I got that party-girl phase out of my system in my mid-twenties. I wish I had done something more constructive with the time, but I can't go back and do it over again. Nowadays I will attend the occasional smoke-free concert or party, but I have just about zero interest in spending time in bars and nightclubs.

So if you see someone who looks like me at a nightclub, it isn't me. And thank you, Jesus, for letting me come to my senses.

Posted by megabeth at 02:32 PM | Comments (3)

"When I get on the bike, all of a sudden I'm thinking about the road and nothing else... It shifts you from one life to another."

From Harley Just Keeps On Cruisin', BusinessWeek, Nov 6 issue.

Posted by megabeth at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)