Rebecca

Ready, set, dough

I like to eat.  I like Triathlons.  I like the Dough Man (a relay triathlon where every leg starts off with eating).   

I'm not sure exactly what I ate this year because I dipped most of it in water and then swallowed.  I think it was fried green tomatoes and I know there was a bun.  The eating was followed by 2 miles of running.  No puking, though the feeling was right there (you get disqualified if you vomit).

Here's the team

Yes, those are rabbit pelts we're wearing as capes.  I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it.

Why I Might Not Be A Good Social Scientist: Reason #5

After being a participant in a colleague's study:

"So I was in the bore me out of my mind condition, right?"

World Peace

If I were in a beauty pageant and asked what would make the world a better place I would skip right past world peace and answer "quantitative reasoning."

While that might not be the "it" answer on the beauty pageant circuit "quantitative reasoning" is definitely one of the things that would make the world a less stupid place.

I was contacted to speak about how I used quantitative reasoning when I worked in advertising.  Most of my examples focused on the maddening lack of statistical reasoning or the exploitation of it in the industry.

But when it comes to me thinking about business issues it's all reasonable, of course.

Ready, Set, Ramble

Ramblin' Rose triathlon.  My starter triathlon for the season. I need a triathlon to get me geared up (training) for the season. This one does the job. 



You know when you're going kind of slow on your bike you think "Maybe I have a flat/under-inflated tire?" That's what I was thinking when I was dragging the bike up a hill. And then I realized I actually did have a flat tire. A crew tried to help (twice) but I was without spare tube so I decided I would just run with the bike (there was no way I wasn't finishing). I'm not sure how far I ran when a volunteer offered me her bike. It was incredibly kind of her and once I was convinced she was serious about it we "traded" and I was off. 


So my bike time was abysmal and my run time eh because I'm not a great runner and I had already been running but I was very pleased with the swim time (17 percentile overall) and most importantly I'm all jazzed up about the rest of the season and that's the point. 


Full coverage can we found at W-JLF.

The original falling silhouette

I'm glad I knew this was a Hitchcock film.  Otherwise I really would have thought it was more ridiculous than I already did.  Still, about two hours into it I went to the theater lobby and Googled "vertigo Hitchcock running time."  It just went on and on and on and on and I had early morning plans for Sunday.

Signed copies posted on e-Bay. Let the bidding begin.

Placement in the magazine is the same as Glamour's "Do and Don't" section.  

I still can't do a pull up.

But I can do this

You had me at blanching and shocking

And now for Part Two of The Birthday Extravaganza.

It started off with a cooking class.  There were a few stations featuring different ingredients and recipes.  The Chef described each of them.

She got to the station with green beans.  She used the terms "blanching" and "shocking."

That settled it, I would be making the green bean dish.



After the cooking class we headed over to Durham Central Park and enjoyed the following activities

There was a near collision during the Blind Scavenger Hunt.
Fortunately those of us blindfolded had no idea.

After the hunt I put my blindfold in my purse.  

Of course I forgot it was there and pulled it out at an inopportune time.

Birthday Punch

Our lab put together a pre-birthday party, birthday party and post birthday party for our boss.

Why not celebrate your birthday three times?

The parties were all built around winnings from a charity auction.  

The Pre Party "The Punch" Report

The Pre-Birthday party featured two prizes

#1
Three singing self-proclaimed hot guys 

#2 One punching an MBA in the face (seriously).

In order to build the anticipation for the punch we had the three hot guys sing "Eye of the Tiger."  It was terrible in that good funny kind of way.

I don't think I've ever seen a real physical fight in person.  If I ever do witness one I kind of hope it's over me.  I mean, if you have to see that happen you might as well feel involved somehow.

The "bid" for the punch was not easy.  Our theory was the MBA who was getting punched was bidding on himself.  I had been anticipating this weird moment for quite some time.  

About a half hour before the party I started to feel really anxious about it.  I am definitely one of those "don't look" type people when things get really bloody or violent on screen (though sometimes I force myself to buck up and watch).  

This was just a punch but it was going to happen right in front of me.  I had every opportunity to "not look" but this whole situation was just too intriguing.  The MBA was doing this voluntarily.  My boss interviewed him before and after.  It was for charity.  It was going to happen whether or not I watched it.  I recognize this is just the type of thinking that has led to all sorts of human tragedy but there I was thinking it anyway.

The punched happened.  I flinched but looked.  

And then I laughed (laughter seems to be my default emotional response so I don't really know what that means).

And then it was over.   But the party wasn't.  This was the pre-brithday party.  We were just getting started.