I wrote a big long cranky blog this week about how I don't like being adult (responsibilities are overrated. Having a disposable income is not). But then I never posted it because it sounded whiny and I have to suck it up and be an adult anyhow, so why complain about it?
I'm in our DC office (still complaining, but about the humidity, which is valid) and trying to get the heck out of dodge before the second natural disaster of the week hits the East Coast. Although MSNBC told me that there was an earthquake in Colorado this week, too, so maybe I'm just doomed no matter where I end up. I told my mom that God was clearly trying to smite me, but was having a bit of trouble tracking me down. I mean, he's God, isn't he all knowing? Sending hurricane seems a bit over the top.
So, as it turns out, not being able to go to Pittsburgh has been a blessing in disguise, as I surely would have been stuck in DC at least an extra day and would have been stressed about packing. Now, I have been stressed about packing but it was stress I knew about well in advance. Much better than surprise stress!
I also find it amusing that east coasters are so unconditioned for earthquakes. While some people did stand in doorways or jump under a desk, for the most part it seems we all looked at each other thinking, hmm, I think this is an earthquake! In my meeting in Shenandoah, we didn't even get up from our seats and we were a mere 50-60 miles from the center of it. I'm not even sure if they ever checked the building for cracks. We just looked around, waited for it to end, and kept along with our meeting. Brilliant.
So, after a week of travel, disaster excitement, and humidity, I'm happy to be returning to Denver where its always sunny and dry. I've got a big to do list for tomorrow, but I'm filled with a lot of nervous excitement and am eager to get on my way!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Three Things Thursday
1.) I finally feel ready for all my impending travel, which is good because it starts tomorrow with a quick overnight up in the mountains. Most of the things I need to buy or do before Europe are done and I even put together a budget for how much money I'll be spending while there (and then promptly had heart attack and decided I didn't reeeeeally need to eat three meals a day while there, right?).
2.) I've worn a dress or skirt to work twice this week. TWICE. And I bought a dress this weekend. That is fairly unheard of in my world. This morning I woke up and thought "what can I wear that will feel like pajamas" - empire waist dress with a cardigan for the win! This does, however, make biking to work more of an adventure. I have opted to just wear my Terps shorts under my skirt/dress and let the old men I pass on my way in think they are about to get a thrill (or are about to lose their beer breakfast. Either/or).
3.) My company won another project this morning! Looks like I'll be heading to Oregon Caves towards the end of October/beginning of November. My fall is quickly booking up with lots more work travel!
2.) I've worn a dress or skirt to work twice this week. TWICE. And I bought a dress this weekend. That is fairly unheard of in my world. This morning I woke up and thought "what can I wear that will feel like pajamas" - empire waist dress with a cardigan for the win! This does, however, make biking to work more of an adventure. I have opted to just wear my Terps shorts under my skirt/dress and let the old men I pass on my way in think they are about to get a thrill (or are about to lose their beer breakfast. Either/or).
3.) My company won another project this morning! Looks like I'll be heading to Oregon Caves towards the end of October/beginning of November. My fall is quickly booking up with lots more work travel!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wordless Wednesday
Flight from MSP to SFO via DEN + storms in DEN and MSP = missed connection and surprise sister sleepover!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Friday Fun Fact - Sisters Edition
Two sisters, so very alike but also, so very very different. Today I read Allison's Friday Insomnia post and couldn't help put think how different my answers would be - so here they are! Al's text is in Red, mine in Black!
So it's almost 6 am on Friday and I cannot sleep. I'm not sure why I can't sleep, I just know that by planning to see a 9:20 movie this morning, I will most likely sleep right through it later...I slept like a champ, til 7:36, as per usual. I've stopped blow drying my hair in the morning so that I can sleep in later.
1. My kitchen is the first room that's officially all packed up. Looks like I'll be eating out from now until August 28th, but that really is no different than my real life. I almost never eat out on weekdays. I slowly packed my kitchen over the course of a week. Books are the first thing I pack.
2. I'm obsessive about checking email and Facebook. They are always open on my computer. Some days I don't check FB at all. Mostly I check email/FB on my phone when I'm bored. My computer is almost never open when I'm home.
3. Does Comcast install on Sundays? I really want to have internet/cable ready to go BEFORE I move in. Like, a week before. I am anal retentive about this too. I planned everything before I moved, and nothing worked out as planned.
4. I have a ton of fabulous friends who have already volunteered to help me move. A BIG thank you to: Josh, Jody, Jodi, Jen B., Jen L., Paula, Molly, Matt, and possibly Barbie & Rhys. You guys ROCK! My friends helped too, yay! And more importantly, most of them were also Eagles fans.
5. I'm becoming increasingly nervous/vomitational about going back to school. I never have to go back to school again - HOORAY!
6. This summer has had its ups and downs, but overall, it's been a super awesome summer. I feel like it's really lasted a long time and I'm not quite ready for it to be over. I feel like my summer has flown by. I have one more week in Denver before I'm gone for a month. I feel like it will be October before I know it.
7. I've worked out maybe three times in the last two weeks and it's only been playing tennis. I have a 5k on Sunday, Aug 28 at the State Fair and I'm starting to get worried. Not quite worried enough to actually get my butt out there and do some jogging, but worried none the less. Hmm, about the same on this one. Some light running and elliptical with one half-effort lifting session. I haven't even been back to yoga.
8. I have three overflowing bins of laundry to wash before I move. I do my laundry regularly or it stresses me out.
9. I took seven bags of clothes to Goodwill this week. SEVEN. This is just impressive. I donated a lot before I moved, but probably need to go through and make another sweep.
10. I like ridiculously large undies. They're comfy. I find one style that fit and only wear that. Currently its VS boy-short type undies. I have at least 12 pairs.
11. There are 16 days until I move. I'll be in California for four of those days. Which brings me down to 12 days, three of which I'll be in new teacher workshops/tennis practice. So I have a total 9 days in which to pack everything, change all of my addresses, do a bazillion loads of laundry, and conquer my fear of creepy crawlies in the basement. I don't ever want to move again. I have 19 days until I leave for Europe. 6 of those days I'll be in DC, 3 of those days I'll be in Moab. 2 of those days I'll be somewhere in the mountains at a friends cabin. That leaves me very few days to get my act together.
12. I'm worried that I won't be able to re-connect all of the cords and stuff to my electronics and that I'll have some mysterious cord leftover and my internet won't work. My computer only has one cord - the powercord. No TiVo or paid cable, leaves me very cordless!
13. If my internet will not work, you will be able to find me at The Muddy Pig. Wallowing. I don't pay for the internets. I steal from a neighbor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. Most of the time I don't notice.
14. My new neighborhood is the Selby-Dale section of St. Paul. It even has its own Facebook page. I lived very close to here from 2006-2008. I'm neighbors with the Governor of CO. I live just below the ultra-hipster neighborhood, which doesn't hold a candle to the "trendier than thou" hipsterness of San Francisco.
15. I will miss my West Side neighborhood and my West Side neighbors, but I'm excited to be back on the Hill. Cathedral Hill, that is. I live just below the Hill - Cap Hill!
16. F. Scott Fitzgerald spent a good chunk of his childhood in this area of St. Paul. He even went to school near my new place - at the intersection of Summit and Dale. There is a bronze statue of him sitting on the stairs leading up to the school. Here's a fun walking tour of F. Scott's haunts. I'm near the Molly Brown House, but I've never been. Its still on my list.
17. I'm still planning on seeing The Help in three hours...I'm still planning on seeing The Help next week. My inner monologue is still that of a 50 year old southern black woman in the 1960s.
18. I'm currently reading My Year With Eleanor by Noelle Hancock. I'm increasingly apathetic about the author, but am finding that I'm very taken with Eleanor Roosevelt. What a neat lady! Will have to read more about her. I recommended this to Al and am reading it myself. It wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but I'm really enjoying it too. I especially liked the part where Noelle went up to Hyde Park, NY to visit Springwood and Val-Kill, the homes of Franklin and Eleanor. This fall I managed a project to add Visitor Access Improvements to the restored path (Roosevelt Farm Lane) that connects the two properties.
19. I never travel without my blankies. They have been to Australia, Spain, Hawaii, and all across the US. They are very well-traveled blankies. I never travel with Cholly Dolly (although while Al and I are well-adjusted adults, I wonder what happened to us in our childhoods to make us latch onto these objects for well into adulthood...). Mainly I'm afraid that I would a.) lose her (its happened - she once spent a year in Ocean City, NJ lost in friend's condo) or b.) security would ask to look in my bag and I'd be thoroughly embarrassed to be the 27 year old traveling for work with a pink rattle doll. After expressing this fear to my mom, she now calls her "IED Cholly". I bring her home for Christmas, though.
20. I think I'm ready to go back to bed now. Have a great Friday! I think I'm ready to go back to work now. Happy Fridays all around!
So it's almost 6 am on Friday and I cannot sleep. I'm not sure why I can't sleep, I just know that by planning to see a 9:20 movie this morning, I will most likely sleep right through it later...I slept like a champ, til 7:36, as per usual. I've stopped blow drying my hair in the morning so that I can sleep in later.
1. My kitchen is the first room that's officially all packed up. Looks like I'll be eating out from now until August 28th, but that really is no different than my real life. I almost never eat out on weekdays. I slowly packed my kitchen over the course of a week. Books are the first thing I pack.
2. I'm obsessive about checking email and Facebook. They are always open on my computer. Some days I don't check FB at all. Mostly I check email/FB on my phone when I'm bored. My computer is almost never open when I'm home.
3. Does Comcast install on Sundays? I really want to have internet/cable ready to go BEFORE I move in. Like, a week before. I am anal retentive about this too. I planned everything before I moved, and nothing worked out as planned.
4. I have a ton of fabulous friends who have already volunteered to help me move. A BIG thank you to: Josh, Jody, Jodi, Jen B., Jen L., Paula, Molly, Matt, and possibly Barbie & Rhys. You guys ROCK! My friends helped too, yay! And more importantly, most of them were also Eagles fans.
5. I'm becoming increasingly nervous/vomitational about going back to school. I never have to go back to school again - HOORAY!
6. This summer has had its ups and downs, but overall, it's been a super awesome summer. I feel like it's really lasted a long time and I'm not quite ready for it to be over. I feel like my summer has flown by. I have one more week in Denver before I'm gone for a month. I feel like it will be October before I know it.
7. I've worked out maybe three times in the last two weeks and it's only been playing tennis. I have a 5k on Sunday, Aug 28 at the State Fair and I'm starting to get worried. Not quite worried enough to actually get my butt out there and do some jogging, but worried none the less. Hmm, about the same on this one. Some light running and elliptical with one half-effort lifting session. I haven't even been back to yoga.
8. I have three overflowing bins of laundry to wash before I move. I do my laundry regularly or it stresses me out.
9. I took seven bags of clothes to Goodwill this week. SEVEN. This is just impressive. I donated a lot before I moved, but probably need to go through and make another sweep.
10. I like ridiculously large undies. They're comfy. I find one style that fit and only wear that. Currently its VS boy-short type undies. I have at least 12 pairs.
11. There are 16 days until I move. I'll be in California for four of those days. Which brings me down to 12 days, three of which I'll be in new teacher workshops/tennis practice. So I have a total 9 days in which to pack everything, change all of my addresses, do a bazillion loads of laundry, and conquer my fear of creepy crawlies in the basement. I don't ever want to move again. I have 19 days until I leave for Europe. 6 of those days I'll be in DC, 3 of those days I'll be in Moab. 2 of those days I'll be somewhere in the mountains at a friends cabin. That leaves me very few days to get my act together.
12. I'm worried that I won't be able to re-connect all of the cords and stuff to my electronics and that I'll have some mysterious cord leftover and my internet won't work. My computer only has one cord - the powercord. No TiVo or paid cable, leaves me very cordless!
13. If my internet will not work, you will be able to find me at The Muddy Pig. Wallowing. I don't pay for the internets. I steal from a neighbor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. Most of the time I don't notice.
14. My new neighborhood is the Selby-Dale section of St. Paul. It even has its own Facebook page. I lived very close to here from 2006-2008. I'm neighbors with the Governor of CO. I live just below the ultra-hipster neighborhood, which doesn't hold a candle to the "trendier than thou" hipsterness of San Francisco.
15. I will miss my West Side neighborhood and my West Side neighbors, but I'm excited to be back on the Hill. Cathedral Hill, that is. I live just below the Hill - Cap Hill!
16. F. Scott Fitzgerald spent a good chunk of his childhood in this area of St. Paul. He even went to school near my new place - at the intersection of Summit and Dale. There is a bronze statue of him sitting on the stairs leading up to the school. Here's a fun walking tour of F. Scott's haunts. I'm near the Molly Brown House, but I've never been. Its still on my list.
17. I'm still planning on seeing The Help in three hours...I'm still planning on seeing The Help next week. My inner monologue is still that of a 50 year old southern black woman in the 1960s.
18. I'm currently reading My Year With Eleanor by Noelle Hancock. I'm increasingly apathetic about the author, but am finding that I'm very taken with Eleanor Roosevelt. What a neat lady! Will have to read more about her. I recommended this to Al and am reading it myself. It wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but I'm really enjoying it too. I especially liked the part where Noelle went up to Hyde Park, NY to visit Springwood and Val-Kill, the homes of Franklin and Eleanor. This fall I managed a project to add Visitor Access Improvements to the restored path (Roosevelt Farm Lane) that connects the two properties.
19. I never travel without my blankies. They have been to Australia, Spain, Hawaii, and all across the US. They are very well-traveled blankies. I never travel with Cholly Dolly (although while Al and I are well-adjusted adults, I wonder what happened to us in our childhoods to make us latch onto these objects for well into adulthood...). Mainly I'm afraid that I would a.) lose her (its happened - she once spent a year in Ocean City, NJ lost in friend's condo) or b.) security would ask to look in my bag and I'd be thoroughly embarrassed to be the 27 year old traveling for work with a pink rattle doll. After expressing this fear to my mom, she now calls her "IED Cholly". I bring her home for Christmas, though.
20. I think I'm ready to go back to bed now. Have a great Friday! I think I'm ready to go back to work now. Happy Fridays all around!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Three Things Thursday
1.) Yesterday the Echo got some good ol' TLC at the jiffy lube and autozone in preparation to drive for 6 hours (her longest journey since driving to Denver last year). I am ready to make some extra $$ on the drive there - I get 50 cents/mile and it's about 700 miles round trip. Woot!
2.) The Byrons are officially spending Thanksgiving in Breckenridge. I'm super excited! We rented an amazing 3 bedroom townhouse with a good sized kitchen and private hot tub! If we stand in the middle of the parking lot, we can see the mountain, too! We're just a short walk from town and we're going to possibly go skiing and snowshoeing and just relax in the splendor the mountain town. I can't remember the last time all four of us were together for Thanksgiving, so I'm pretty excited. Dad hasn't been to visit Denver yet, so they'll fly in a little early and stay a little later so they can check out the town. They'll stay with me - I hope they don't mind that I don't turn my heat on!
3.) Look! This is my friend! She's pretty much famous! And I've known her since I was thiiiiiiis big!
2.) The Byrons are officially spending Thanksgiving in Breckenridge. I'm super excited! We rented an amazing 3 bedroom townhouse with a good sized kitchen and private hot tub! If we stand in the middle of the parking lot, we can see the mountain, too! We're just a short walk from town and we're going to possibly go skiing and snowshoeing and just relax in the splendor the mountain town. I can't remember the last time all four of us were together for Thanksgiving, so I'm pretty excited. Dad hasn't been to visit Denver yet, so they'll fly in a little early and stay a little later so they can check out the town. They'll stay with me - I hope they don't mind that I don't turn my heat on!
3.) Look! This is my friend! She's pretty much famous! And I've known her since I was thiiiiiiis big!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Stressville: Population 1
Yesterday I found out that my company won a contract for a pretty neat alternative transportation planning project at Arches National Park. When we bid the project, we put me in as Project Manager to managed Berger's part of the project (public involvement, light facilitation, and a greenhouse gas analysis) as well as two subs (subcontractors - specializing in transportation planning and landscape architecture). I am super excited. Most of the projects I was managing ended recently and I have missed it.
The project has a short timeline, though, and will be kicking off the week of August 29th with a four day workshop. I will be leaving for Europe on the 31st. yeeps! I will be in DC the entire week before and had planned on going to Pittsburgh with friends for that weekend. I'm really sad, but I've had to change my flight to come back into town on Friday. Saturday will be spent packing for both the Arches trip and for Europe (thankfully the clothing choices won't overlap!) and then Sunday I'll drive the 6 hours to the park. I'll stay for two days, introduce myself to the planning team, then my boss will take over for the final two days and I'll drive back to Denver. I get to turn around in probably 8 hours and then head to the airport again.
These schedules aren't unfamiliar to me. Back in February I did something quite similar with back to back to back trips from New Orleans to Seattle to Philly. At least this time I won't be changing as many time zones. And essentially the first full day of Europe travel is spent on a plane and I can sleep. I'm glad to know all this with a few weeks notice so now I can start pulling together lists and buying anything I might need in advance. Including my awesome walking shoes that no one seems to like but me :)
I'm a little apprehensive about being away from work for so long. By the time I'm back in the office, I will have been gone for a solid month. The control freak in me is doing my best to set people up with assignment while I'm gone and let my clients know who will be handling any issues with my projects while I am out. I'm also a bit proud that my company thinks I have enough experience to actually propose me as project manager on bigger proposals, but also that they think it is important that the client meet me and will spend the extra money to send both me and my boss to this workshop when they could have just sent her and saved the expense. Also the trip will score me extra hours that week which means I can use less vacation time. Its a win all around!!
I will be required to drive to Arches two more times before February and I'm hoping to get to see a bit more of the park with the remaining trips. Hopefully I can drive down to Canyonlands and get to put another pushpin in my National Park map!
The project has a short timeline, though, and will be kicking off the week of August 29th with a four day workshop. I will be leaving for Europe on the 31st. yeeps! I will be in DC the entire week before and had planned on going to Pittsburgh with friends for that weekend. I'm really sad, but I've had to change my flight to come back into town on Friday. Saturday will be spent packing for both the Arches trip and for Europe (thankfully the clothing choices won't overlap!) and then Sunday I'll drive the 6 hours to the park. I'll stay for two days, introduce myself to the planning team, then my boss will take over for the final two days and I'll drive back to Denver. I get to turn around in probably 8 hours and then head to the airport again.
These schedules aren't unfamiliar to me. Back in February I did something quite similar with back to back to back trips from New Orleans to Seattle to Philly. At least this time I won't be changing as many time zones. And essentially the first full day of Europe travel is spent on a plane and I can sleep. I'm glad to know all this with a few weeks notice so now I can start pulling together lists and buying anything I might need in advance. Including my awesome walking shoes that no one seems to like but me :)
I'm a little apprehensive about being away from work for so long. By the time I'm back in the office, I will have been gone for a solid month. The control freak in me is doing my best to set people up with assignment while I'm gone and let my clients know who will be handling any issues with my projects while I am out. I'm also a bit proud that my company thinks I have enough experience to actually propose me as project manager on bigger proposals, but also that they think it is important that the client meet me and will spend the extra money to send both me and my boss to this workshop when they could have just sent her and saved the expense. Also the trip will score me extra hours that week which means I can use less vacation time. Its a win all around!!
I will be required to drive to Arches two more times before February and I'm hoping to get to see a bit more of the park with the remaining trips. Hopefully I can drive down to Canyonlands and get to put another pushpin in my National Park map!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Race Report: Tri for the Cure
Waaay back in May, two co-workers and I had signed up for Tri for the Cure, a women's only triathlon similar to race for the cure. We signed up as a relay and I was pegged to do the swim leg.
I had the best intentions of using swimming as a way to cross train during my final month of half marathon training, but I ended up only swimming twice. Whoops! I then planned to swim twice last week, but was swamped with work and ended up not doing that either. Thankfully, it was just a race for fun and we weren't worried about being all that competitive.
It was a huge triathlon - around 3,000 women signed up. It was nervous about plodding around, looking all chubby and squiggy around the edges in my swimsuit, but I was happy to see there was a wide range of ages and body types. Since the relay wave was nearly the last one to get into the water, we stood around and watched the elite, competitive, and survivor waves exit the water and transition to the bike. Watching the survivors was pretty emotional, and a bit scary since some of them were easily my age. Some of the elites ran with their bike shoes already clipped to their bikes and then would jump on and slide their feet in. I giggled imagining me trying to do that, inevitably tipping over and losing any time gained by having the shoes pre-clipped.
As I waited in the corral for my wave to start, I heard all the other girls anxiously talking about how much they hated the swim. I smiled to myself, excited that this is the one leg that I'm really good at. There were about 100 people per wave with an in-water start, but I managed to elbow my way towards the front of the pack. Still, when the wave was set loose, there was a lot of kicking and flailing and people on top of each other. I pretty much just swam breaststroke until the chaos subsided.
Then I went to put my head in the water. I didn't like it. I've done open water swims before, in far grosser conditions (Schuylkill River, anyone?), so I have no idea where the discomfort came from. I swam freestyle with my head out of the water for a bit, but I didn't care for that either and it was hurting my neck. We were also swimming straight into the sun for the first two buoys, and I couldn't see a darn thing, including the buoys. I started to have a hard time breathing and my goggles were fogging (I later realized the foam had detached from one of the eyepieces just before the race started), so I flipped onto my back and started backstroking.
I worked on calming my breathing and yelled at myself for a little bit. Once my goggles were clear and my heartrate down, I flipped back over and put my head in the water. I was able to sight myself every few strokes and made it around the first two buoys and out of the sun. Then I took off, fueled by anger at my lost time. I started passing people left and right, mostly left, because I stay on the inside lane and out of the way of the "noodlers" - people who aren't strong enough to complete the swim portion and are given noodles to kick around on. They drove me nuts. As I cleared the third buoy and was headed back towards the shore, I started sighting not only buoys, but also green caps - the other girls from my heat. I picked up a lot of speed, thinking, heck I don't have to do anything after this, I had better leave it all in the water.
I know I picked off at least 3 or 4 girls from my heat and was closing in on another one when I got to the end. Since the boat ramp was slippery, they had volunteers holding your hand and pulling you/holding you up as you exited the water. It was a bit of a bottleneck and only one person could go at a time. I saw 4 green caps ahead of me.
Overall, my time was 14:29. I was aiming for closer to 12 minutes and wonder how much time I could have shaved off if I hadn't had issues with the start. Our relay, Berger Babes, came in 9th out of the 75 relay teams. Out of the 2411 competitors that finished the swimming portion, I came in 166th.
It was a fun day and great atmosphere, but I dont think I would choose this event as a tri to attempt to race. There were just too many lallygaggers and the transition area was pretty terribly organized. People didn't understand race etiquette and weren't concerned with times. Which is fine, but it would frustrating as someone who would want to do well. But it made me realize I really miss racing, especially a sport that I'm good at, like swimming. I've been toying with the idea of doing the Olympic Tri in Key West, and this only made me want to do it that much more.
I had the best intentions of using swimming as a way to cross train during my final month of half marathon training, but I ended up only swimming twice. Whoops! I then planned to swim twice last week, but was swamped with work and ended up not doing that either. Thankfully, it was just a race for fun and we weren't worried about being all that competitive.
It was a huge triathlon - around 3,000 women signed up. It was nervous about plodding around, looking all chubby and squiggy around the edges in my swimsuit, but I was happy to see there was a wide range of ages and body types. Since the relay wave was nearly the last one to get into the water, we stood around and watched the elite, competitive, and survivor waves exit the water and transition to the bike. Watching the survivors was pretty emotional, and a bit scary since some of them were easily my age. Some of the elites ran with their bike shoes already clipped to their bikes and then would jump on and slide their feet in. I giggled imagining me trying to do that, inevitably tipping over and losing any time gained by having the shoes pre-clipped.
As I waited in the corral for my wave to start, I heard all the other girls anxiously talking about how much they hated the swim. I smiled to myself, excited that this is the one leg that I'm really good at. There were about 100 people per wave with an in-water start, but I managed to elbow my way towards the front of the pack. Still, when the wave was set loose, there was a lot of kicking and flailing and people on top of each other. I pretty much just swam breaststroke until the chaos subsided.
Then I went to put my head in the water. I didn't like it. I've done open water swims before, in far grosser conditions (Schuylkill River, anyone?), so I have no idea where the discomfort came from. I swam freestyle with my head out of the water for a bit, but I didn't care for that either and it was hurting my neck. We were also swimming straight into the sun for the first two buoys, and I couldn't see a darn thing, including the buoys. I started to have a hard time breathing and my goggles were fogging (I later realized the foam had detached from one of the eyepieces just before the race started), so I flipped onto my back and started backstroking.
I worked on calming my breathing and yelled at myself for a little bit. Once my goggles were clear and my heartrate down, I flipped back over and put my head in the water. I was able to sight myself every few strokes and made it around the first two buoys and out of the sun. Then I took off, fueled by anger at my lost time. I started passing people left and right, mostly left, because I stay on the inside lane and out of the way of the "noodlers" - people who aren't strong enough to complete the swim portion and are given noodles to kick around on. They drove me nuts. As I cleared the third buoy and was headed back towards the shore, I started sighting not only buoys, but also green caps - the other girls from my heat. I picked up a lot of speed, thinking, heck I don't have to do anything after this, I had better leave it all in the water.
I know I picked off at least 3 or 4 girls from my heat and was closing in on another one when I got to the end. Since the boat ramp was slippery, they had volunteers holding your hand and pulling you/holding you up as you exited the water. It was a bit of a bottleneck and only one person could go at a time. I saw 4 green caps ahead of me.
Overall, my time was 14:29. I was aiming for closer to 12 minutes and wonder how much time I could have shaved off if I hadn't had issues with the start. Our relay, Berger Babes, came in 9th out of the 75 relay teams. Out of the 2411 competitors that finished the swimming portion, I came in 166th.
It was a fun day and great atmosphere, but I dont think I would choose this event as a tri to attempt to race. There were just too many lallygaggers and the transition area was pretty terribly organized. People didn't understand race etiquette and weren't concerned with times. Which is fine, but it would frustrating as someone who would want to do well. But it made me realize I really miss racing, especially a sport that I'm good at, like swimming. I've been toying with the idea of doing the Olympic Tri in Key West, and this only made me want to do it that much more.
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