Friday, October 21, 2016

Five Things Friday

When I learned MarCourtney, and Cynthia were discontinuing their Friday Five linkup, I was bummed as it is one of my favorites. What a thrill to learn today that Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy started a Friday Five 2.0!
Let's kick off the inaugural 2.0 linkup!!!

1) Gift card that keeps on giving
Six weeks ago, I received a $50 gift card to Roti, one of my favorite quick-service restaurants. Each time I go, my order totals around $9. Obviously that means I can use the certificate for about 5.5 orders. I've been using the card once per week.

Today I went to use the card for the sixth time, and had my credit card ready to cover any unpaid balance. Much to my surprise, they told me no balance was due.

REALLY?
You better believe I didn't question it! I just said thank you and immediately headed out the door. =D

Back at my desk, I tried to look up my gift card balance/activity. The result? Error messages that the gift card number cannot be found. To quote Alice in Wonderland, "Curiouser and curiouser!"

I wonder if I somehow stumbled into a "bottomless" gift card? That would basically be the equivalent of hitting the lunchtime jackpot, in my opinion. Or maybe their system was just down? Who knows.

Either way, I've already eaten the evidence. =)

2) Going bananas
At yoga class today, our instructor had us do a new-to-us pose that she called the banana pose. It looks very similar to this:
You can see the resemblance:
The banana pose made me want to giggle. It reminded me of a friend who was born outside of the US, and thinks the expression "going bananas" is a weird idiom. (Taken literally, I think we can all understand why, yes?)

Let's just say it's really hard to do yoga when you are trying not to laugh!

3) Hey L.A., whadya say?
This past Tuesday, Adam's colleague Reid gave us two tickets to that night's Blackhawks vs Flyers game at the United Center. Thank you, Reid!
Action shot of Marian Hossa tossing one of the pucks into the stands for a fan souvenir during warm-ups.
Congratulations to Big Hoss on scoring his 500th NHL goal that night!
For the second consecutive time, we got to watch the Cubs game on the United Center scoreboard in between periods. Always really cool.
Reid has a known history of undergoing very last-minute travel to see our teams on the road. E.g., last year, he flew to Anaheim to watch Blackhawks-Ducks Western Conference Finals Game 7. I jokingly said to Adam, "Maybe the reason Reid is giving away his tickets is because he's in Los Angeles watching the Cubs?"

I found out later that Reid did not attend Tuesday's game. He DID, however, fly out to LA yesterday afternoon to watch last night's game! Apparently his flight landed at LAX around 3:00 PM, and the Cubs-Dodgers game started at 5:08 PM. Wow. Just wow.

That, my friends, is living on the edge!

4) I get a good feeling
The latest addition to my workout playlist is "Levels" by Avicii. I've heard it at seemingly every single race start line over the last year. It's also one of the songs that might get played at the UC when the Blackhawks are warming up.

Today I watched the video for the first time. The first half is really funny! It reminded me a little of the Office Space movie. Check it out:
5) Alaskan frontiers
Next Wednesday, I am headed up to Alaska to visit my best friend Vanitha. I am very excited to catch up with her!

This trip has really snuck up on me. I haven't done as much preparation as I would have liked. Thankfully, V is filled with great recommendations on things to see and do.
Also sneaking up on me is the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on November 13. Ideally I'd do two more double-digit long runs in preparation. The weekend of November 6 is a gimmee, and then I can choose either between this coming weekend or next weekend. From a planning standpoint, I've got family in town this weekend from Maryland, and next weekend I'll be in Alaska.

I'd really love to be able to do my long run in Alaska, but I know the wilderness and wildlife there is no joke. Essentially, I need to make a decision and prepare quickly, either way.

Happy Friday, everyone!

20 comments:

  1. Have fun in alaska! I wasn't really into running that much when I visited but I wish I would have been cus there were places I would have loved to explore!

    So funny about the Idioms. I teach students whose first language is not English and I always wonder how hard it must be for them to catch on to our lingo that makes no sense! Thanks for being a part of our link up!

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    1. Thank you so much! Thank you for reigniting the Friday Five link-up, too, I think we are all thrilled to be able to keep the Five momentum going! =)

      Very cool that you got to visit Alaska! I can certainly imagine how tough it must be for students to learn all of the American slang. Some of it makes no sense whatsoever, even to me as a native English speaker!

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  2. Wow have fun in Alaska! I would really like to go there someday.

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    1. Thank you, Megan!!! I hope you get to go to Alaska someday, too!!!

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  3. I had Roti cater a lunch at work recently and everyone was like, "What is this? It's amazing!" All I could think was that they need to get out more! A bottomless Roti gift card would be sweet.

    I've never seen that video before but I knew the song as soon as you said the title. It's a good workout song for sure.

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    1. I agree - everyone that has tried Roti loves it! I used to order from them to cater work lunches, and my coworkers always gobbled everything down. Their food is so fresh and tasty!

      Have you been hearing that song at the gym and at races, too? It's very catchy!

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  4. Alaska sounds like SUCH a fun trip! I've never been, but the photos I've seen make it look breathtakingly gorgeous. I'd have a hard time not wanting to run there, even if it was just a mile, so I could say that I did it :)

    I wondered if they played the Cubs game at the UC on Tuesday! Too bad the outcome for the Cubs wasn't as good as it was the last time you were there :( Hopefully the next time the Cubs and Hawks play at the same time over the next couple of weeks *knocks on wood*, it'll be nothing but good outcomes :)

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    1. You and I think so much alike! I was also plotting to run at least one mile in Alaska, just so I could say that I did it. =)

      Yes, it was unfortunate the Cubs lost on Tuesday night - but there's a reason these are best-of-7 series. You can't expect to win them all! Hopefully the Cubs will be able to close out their series tonight!!!!!

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  5. I hope you possess the bottomless gift card!

    Watching the Hawks as we speak...

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  6. I hope your gift card is bottomless !! That would've perfection !!! Once a friend ended up with free cable, and HBO for 2 years by Comcast error, he was in GOT heaven!! When they finally figured it out, they didn't charge him for the years he went free.

    Idioms used to drive bananas !! I still don't use many, because they are so weird to me.

    I hope you have an awesome trip in Alaska!! And you get to run there! It sounds amazing !!!

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    1. Thanks Ana!!! OMG - free cable and HBO for 2 years is GOT heaven indeed!!! As much as we get frustrated with the utility companies for their frequent ineptitude, it's nice when something works out in your favor like that!

      LOL, I see what you did there on saying idioms drive you bananas. =)

      Thanks again, Ana!!! It's going to be cold in Alaska with very short daylight periods - but I am ready to embrace it!

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  7. So my question is, will you try to use the gift card again???

    Enjoy your trip! I've never been to Alaska, but I'm envisioning snow and trees and a big ol' moose. Haha! Can't wait to hear all about it!

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    1. LOL - absolutely I'll try to use the gift card again! I am all about maximizing value so I feel really good when I use a gift card balance up completely. My mission is to get that card down to zero! ;)

      Thanks so much, Amy!!! I'm envisioning snow, trees, mountains, and lots of wildlife, too! The temps are already pretty cold and the daylight will be short, but I'm ready to embrace it!

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  8. Have fun in Alaska, how exciting! I have never heard of banana pose, but it looks like the thing for me as I try to unwind my stiff muscles post-marathon!

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    1. Thanks Pete!!! I'd never heard of banana pose until yesterday, too, but it's a great one. It's very easy to do even in bed at night. =) Try it!!!

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  9. I love Acivii! Have a good time on your trip. Sounds like it will be amazing.

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    1. Thanks Rachel!!! Good luck at Marine Corps - I will be cheering for you virtually!!!

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  10. Thank you so much, Karen! The weather is already getting pretty cold in Anchorage - Vanitha texted me today that they've already got snow and ice, so to be sure to pack boots. =) So it looks like I'm getting there right at the very edge.

    Woo hoo for the new song! Have you heard of the Shazam app? I use it all the time to identify the names/artists of songs I like. =)

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  11. Thank you so much, Kelly! Great to hear about all the asphalt bike paths as I do plan to run my 10-miler there. Very cool that you saw moose but no bears! The wildlife really is no joke, eh?

    This was the first time I'd heard of or seen the banana pose, too. When I hear "banana yoga" it makes me think of banana yogurt, LOL.

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