In the Shoes of a Boston Runner

(Interpretation of that terrifying day in Boston)

I have been training for months, testing my physical strength - pushing myself to go beyond yesterday's benchmark - my daily grind becoming more difficult by the moment.  One more mile.  Sucking in air, feeling as if my lungs are going to explode.  Counting steps in my head to think about anything else aside from my side-splitting pain.  Pushing myself beyond physical limits - mind over matter.

I am here.  I am ready to use my fearless training.  On your mark.  Ready.  Set.  Go. 

I'm quickly running, fueled by adrenaline and competitve spirit.  I listen to the pace of my tennis shoes stepping in time against the ground, smelling the salty, east coast air.  I am moved to be running in the race of a lifetime, and for some, it was the last race of their life.

Peaceful thoughts.  I am counting my steps, feeling out my paced rhythm, glancing at my watch for the time.  My ticking clock turns to sounds of explosions.  My inner peace is transformed into fear.  What are those bursts of noise?  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  I am no longer running towards the finish line, but running in fear, propelled by trying to stay alive.  It is pure instinct.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.

I cannot believe the sights I see.  Was that a limb?  "Stop!  You are trampling someone!"  No one can hear my screams of warning.  Racers can't see what they are doing.  Pure panic and will to survive has completely taken over the scene.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.

I can't see beyond the red - it has not registered that this is blood.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  My training did not prepare me for this.  I did not mentally prepare for acts of terrorism.  What do I do?  The onlookers are left in tears and terror.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.

Keep running.  There is no finish line.  Only survival.

Counting steps to keep me sane.  Push the images out of my head.  I cannot be afraid, but I cannot stop hearing my voice.  There is panicked screaming.  Is that me?   Breathe in.  Breathe out.  My face is wet, but I'm certain that is not sweat, but instead tears.  Tears of loss, fear, and adrenaline that is long gone.  My humanity is kicking into overdrive.  My survival instinct is overtaken by the reality registering of what is taking place around me.

There is a moment of loss.  And then ... I overcome.  I stop to help others around me who have fallen and are hurt.  After all, I have trained this hard.  My body is physically fit.  I need to do this.

We are competitors.  We do not stop, and our minds are trained to overide where our bodies fail us.  Our will is strong.  I am strong.  There is no room for fear here. 

I say a prayer.  Help where I can.  Then get to safety.  The rest is yet to come.  We will prevail.  And I will be ready.  I will never be stopped!  Your terror will not prevent the good, which ALWAYS overcomes the bad.

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Left foot.  Right foot.  I am running onward, towards a stronger nation, and a stronger me.

Boston feel our prayers.

Northern Worries of Kim Jong Un and the Secrecy Behind his Life

North Korea's imminent threats have me glued to CNN, and other media outlets, waiting to see what next steps lie ahead.  Who is Kim Jong Un?  How can Il's youngest son remain such a mystery, or has his life been revealed to those on a "need-to-know" basis?  He apparently differs from his Disney-seeking, privileged life of brother #1, while over compensating for brother #2's insecurities and lack of interest in the political arena.

Simply watching CNN videos, it is apparent that many North Koreans are reverant, and almost worshipful of Un, not unlike the worshiped celebrity-status culture in which I live.  Is he not also a mystery to North Koreans? 

I wonder what it takes to change the charged, cultural climate in which we find ourselves in, currently.  So much is unknown about Un, that it makes me wonder if his deluded outlook is the result of a sheltered life.  Is he the end result of his strict confines, and if so, what did those confines teach him? There are so many questions and so few answers about this young, North Korean leader.

How do people grow into this agression?  I wonder if violence is simply ingrained in certain cultures, or is it just certain individuals?  This question is not solely limited to this isolated situation.  This question spans across all cultures and countries - my free country is no exception.  There have been shootings, hostage crises, and other violent acts committed frequently where I live, but I like to think that none of this is promoted by my country's president.  If this is the message provided from the top down, I fear for the hope of this country's future.

I am dismayed that many, in my generation, remain cut off from the current events taking place around the world, that they remain unaware of the gravity of situation we face.  Sometimes I wonder if their naivety keeps their sanity at bay, filling their minds with the useless rhetorics of TMZ and other forms of entertainment "news."  Who knows? 

Moving along on my soapbox agenda of the day...  North Korea has, as of moments ago, lowered the missile that was raised earlier today, making me hopeful that the hidden agenda will soon be revealed.  Are they simply testing the ability of the missiles' launching equipment?  Maybe it's a ploy to keep our eyes off the "real" mission.  Is it simply a tactic to keep us on our toes?  This is not a game of chess, but it seems that this is a sort of amusement to Un.

The timing also confuses me.  According to CNN, "Foreign athletes are expected to compete in a marathon Sunday in Pyongyang, one of many sporting events organized by North Korean authorities to celebrate the 101st anniversary next week of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and the grandfather of leader Kim Jong Un."

What is Un's true agenda?  Is inundating the coutnry with additional people part of the master plan?  I certainly hope not... 

This has been heavily weighing on my mind as of lately, and I find writing cathartic.

Until we meet again ... my hopes for a peaceful settlement remain unchanging.

~ Rachael

I LOVE THE 80S!

We are living in, in a material world, and I am a material girl.  Material! (Singsongy).  I am also Jessie's girl, and am totally with the band!

So my friend Katie, who has the best taste in bands, brought us to Cardiac Cafe, I mean Caddilac Cafe, to hear this amazingly, fun band - Werewolf.  I am in love with the band, and pretty much told everyone I met that night how much I loved them.  I'm not really sure they loved me as much after I spilled Captain and Diet all over the singer's sheet music.  Whoops!  My apologies.  If you're reading this, I totally owe you a beer, but one that will remain in the bottle, and not all over your stuff.

Embarassing Proof to come later, since Blogger is not allowing me to post photos. 

I also managed to score an invite to the Spanish Town Parade with one of my new, super cool friends.  Yays!  Gotta love Mardi Grasing, and fellow fun people who love the 80s!

Cheers to making new friends, 80s style!  (Disregard the fact that I was born in the 90s.  Who's counting?)

P.S. I vote that Werewolf has an 80s night where we can dress Molly Ringwald style.  What!?! 

The Not-So-Armageddon Bucket List

Although the world is still spinning, and the Mayans were wrong, wrong, wrong, I decided it would be fun to make a list of 100 things you should do, just in case it was all a big trick and tomorrow is truly the end of the world.  So here is my "The End of the World Didn't Happen, but Could Still Happen, so Just in Cases" bucket list:

1. Create a secret language, so that only you and your best friend will know what you're talking about, just in case you need it for communicating during the actual end of the world.  Note, Pig Latin is a not-so-secret language, so don't be lazy people.
2. Skinny dip in a lake on a whim.  Hopefully, with good luck, it will be Lake Tahoe.
3. Take a swamp tour under the mossy trees in my lovely home state of Louisiana.
4. Dye your hair hot pink.  Why not?  It's super sassy!
5. Meet Honey Boo Boo and tell her that "She better redneckonize!"
6. Be an extra in a movie, and then make the director realize you are leading lady material.
7. Take more candid pictures.  Enough of the posing.  We. get. it. already!  You're pretty standing there smiling in your cookie cutter sorority pose.  Show some originality.
8. Pay it forward, and then some.
9. Drive a race car, and wear the cute racer outfit.
10. Take a chartered flight over Hawaii.
11. Skydive in Interlaken, Switzerland.
12. Hang glide over Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
13. Start a flashmob.
14. Buy Prada, Gucci and Louis, and look super fabulous while wearing it.  Take that Gisele!  Carrying these lovelies makes me way hotter than you.
15. Kiss a tall, dark, and handsome stranger, and then walk away.
16. Learn the choreography to the dance moves in the movie Burlesque.  That is tres hot, hot, hot!
17. Have an entirely custom made wardrobe.
18. Learn salsa, foxtrot, and tango and be oh so oooh la laaaa...
19. Buy something tres shee shee.
20. Give the person you love a scavenger hunt gift across your city.
21. Become a trapeze artiste, doing all the flippy flips like an "O" star, and be O-mazing!
22. Go to Mardi Gras, Festival International, Greek festival, etc.
23. Rent Disney World after hours!
24. Live in someone else's shoes for a day, and then help that person later.
25. Spend an evening outside under the stars.
26. Visit nature monthly, and remind yourself it's not just a concrete world.
27. Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time!
28. Play secret santa throughout the entire year, helping those in need.
29. Read a classic.
30. Respect your elders, and listen to their stories.  You may learn something from their pasts.
31. Pray and worship.  Realize God is real, and he is bigger than comprehension.  In Christ, all things are possible.
32. See a shooting star, and make a wish, believing it will come true.
33. Impulsively take a weekend trip out of the blue.
34. Hug those who are sad.  They may need it.
35. Go on an African safari, and see a cheetah in its natural glory, but don't try to pet it, crazy!
36. Learn a new DIY skill, and create something all by your lonesome.
37. Build a snowcat.  Snowmen are overdone, afterall.
38. Swim with the dolphins.
39. Have a monkey for a pet.
40. Learn a magic trick.
41. Meet Bradley Cooper, Gerard Butler, and Rodrigo Santoro.  Lord have mercy!
42. Fall in love.
43. Take a trip to the moon.
44. Save a life.
45. Spend a night in a medieval castle.
46. Fly a plane, Maverick.
47. Pet a penguin.
48. Travel the world.
49. Break a leg!  Direct a play.
50. Rendezvous across the U.S. East Coast during Fall.
51. Buy a blue topaz ring from Tacori, and then give it to me, of course.
52. Build a shabby chic tree house.
53. Kiss in the rain.
54. Scuba dive in Maaya Thila in the Maldives, and find Nemo.
55. Stay in the Constance Moofushi Resort, Maldives and take a Robinson Crusoe, private island day trip.
56. Surf's Up!  Learn this super cool water sport.
57. Start a fire with nothing but a flint, and be completely bad ass.
58. Deep sea fishing in St. Lucia, and catch a shark.  Be sure to release.
59. Become fascinated with history.
60. Participate in the Color Run in New Orleans.
61. Visit the Eiffel Tower, Italy, Greece and Spain.
62. Traverse to Gallagher's Pub in Antarctica, and watch the penguins from the window.  Dress warmly!
63. Build a cozy cottage home, complete with a double-sided fireplace in the master bedroom.  Be sure to plant a beautiful English garden, but you better hire a gardener to keep it up if you have a black thumb like I do.
64. Leave a note in a library book, containing a $100 bill.
65. Run through a field of wildflowers while having your picture taken.  Super cheesy, I know, but I don't care.
66. Go to the Tiger Temple in Thailand and hold a baby tiger.  Pretty please, may I have one?  My cat is super bad anyways, so I'm pretty sure he's close to the real thing. 
67. Become a tourist in my own state by spending the night at The Myrtles, followed by a New Orleans tour and Magazine Street shopping.  Finish it off with the Davenport Lounge.  Laissez le bon temps rouler!
68. Own a pair of Louboutins, and flaunt them sassy!
69. Throw a dart at a map, and travel wherever it lands.
70. Stay in an over water bungalow, complete with glass floors, at The Four Seasons Resort in Bora Bora.  It's sexy, sexy.
71. Stay the night in a castle.  This might be listed twice, but it's reinforcement.
72. Visit the Sistine Chapel.
73. Go to a drive-in movie.
74. Become a wine connoisseur.
75. Compose a song.
76. Experience weightlessness.
77. Become a travel writer.
78. Attend the Loy Krathong, the sky lantern festival in Thailand.
79. Spend the night in a bungalow in The Amazon Rainforest.
80. Live in a foreign country for a year.
81. See the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and resist taking any cheesy pictures.
82. Tour the Taj Mahal.
83. Tour the Louvre.  C'est magnifique!
84. Learn to sculpt... Ditto. (Those of you raised in the 90s know what I'm talking about... Ghost anyone?)
85. Read the complete works of Shakespeare.
86. Watch every movie that has won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or.
87. Create a happiness project.
88. Meet Jennifer Weiner, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jen Lancaster, and Barbara Kingsolver - my favorite authors.
89. Write and publish a novel.
90. Charter a yacht.
91. Vacation at Martha's Vineyard.
92. Spend a week at a 5-star spa in either Arizona or Mexico.  Heads or tails, possibly?
93. Have high tea at The Plaza Hotel in New York.
94. Become an art collector, but an unpretentious one.
95. Become financially literate.
96. Own a villa in Tuscany, like "Under the Tuscan Sun," one of my largest influences in life.
97. Have a seafoam green shotgun house with hot pink shutters located in New Orleans, overhung with a huge, mossy Oak tree.
98. Spend a week in New York, and go to a Broadway show every night.
99. Attend an opera at the Scala of Milan.
100. Fly to Japan during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

P.S. I know the Mayans did not actually say that it would be the end of the world, simply the end of a lunar cycle, so don't get your panties in a wad, those who take all blog postings seriously, and start sending me hate emails or crazy questions.

What's on your bucket list? 

Sassy Planning,
Rachael

It's 2013... Now what?

For every new year there is a time for reflection, and for 2013, I'm going to attempt to actually follow through with some resolutions.  However, I believe in positive reflection.  It's time to stop beating ourselves up over the past, and start living and evolving into our best selves.  So here goes to making 2013 even better than the last.

1. Budget with the realization that life is also to be lived, but doing so responsibly.
2. Continue to travel, hoping those travels lead me to Chicago and New York City.
3. Support the arts.  Attend the symphony, ballet, contemporary dance performances, museums, and more.
4. Give back, and reflect on all the reasons I need to be grateful.  I have been very blessed.  I plan to help my city by working with Hands on Baton Rouge, and possibly an animal shelter.
5. Learn to bake and invest in a good set of knives and cookware.
6. Teach myself moderation in all things.  I have recently become very addicted to shopping online for home decor and clothes.  Alas, I do look fabulous, and my place is super sassy.
7. Continue my interest in fashion, and actually post some of my new, fabulous outfits. 
8. Actually find a workout I enjoy, and become as hot on the outside as I feel on the inside.  I do suffer from high self-esteem.
9. Perfect my public speaking skills, or at least learn to prevent myself from turning beet red.
10. Learn to cook healthily, yet beautifully.
11. Commit to re-learning playing the piano, starting with "Fur Elise."
12. Learn to speak Italiano, which I committed to previously, but have not been dedicated.
13. Which leads to becoming more disciplined.
14. Relish the simple pleasures, starting with waking up earlier, and enjoying a simple cup of coffee and a chapter of a book.  There's something about starting your day off on a positive note.
15. Recycle.
16. Create a collage.  Begin conceptualizing a a premise for my novel.  Have a creative outlet.
17. Find the perfect mirror for my living room.
18. I resolve to stop stressing so much.  It solves nothing. 
19. Find the love that I deserve, and have the ability to be vulnerable enough to return it.
20. Become a better friend, because I am truly blessed to have friends that are like family.
21. Spend more time with my family, and realize how lucky I am to have such a great one.
22. Be spontaneous, and not just with impulse purchases.
23. Start or join a cooking club, book club, dinner club, and game club.
24. Become more socially involved in my city.
25. Last, but not least.  Take a chance.

Cheers to 2013, and may it be sassier than the last.

xoxoxo ~ Rachael