#92 - Touch the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean on the Same Day / within 24 Hours

I altered the title of this post because I decided to alter the list item a bit.

In my head, I had to touch both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans within a 24-hour period.  However, I wrote it "on the same day."  Then, the original plan would have satisfied both qualifications.  Then Southwest Airlines screwed that up.

When I planned my trip to Boston, my current list champion Angela Mioglionico made a list of probably 20 things we could cross off my list.  However, my lacksidasical San Diego attitude and first-night-back-in-Boston-induced hangover made executing them all impossible.  This item, however, was a now-or-never sort of thing as I was on the east coast and currently live on the west coast but may move before I make it back to the east coast again.  

Angela originally planned to somehow dip me in the Boston Harbor like I was some sort of olden times tea.  1) For some reason I don't count the Boston Harbor as the Atlantic Ocean -- though I would have counted it as swimming in a new body of water if I had somehow gone swimming in the harbor.  2)  I still don't quite understand how she was going to get me close enough to the surface to touch it.  Like, was she going to dangle me from a pier?  I don't get it.

Instead, she took me to Nahant, which I now know is an island and is also the location of some of the filming of Shutter Island.  My first thought was, "Dang, this is going to be cold."  My second thought was, "DANG, look at all those kite surfers!  They must be cold."  Not surprisingly, the water was cold.  Surprisingly, the sand was really soft and there were seashells everywhere.  It made me want to research why there are so many seashells in some areas (like Nahant) and not others (like San Diego beaches).  As we were leaving, a surfer arrived, dressed in a full, hooded wetsuit.  You go, Boston surfer.

Coincidentally, as I was about to enter the water in Nahant, Tara Edberg texted me confirming she could pick me up from the airport in San Diego.  She told me we could stop by the Harbor on the way home.  So I had to tell her that, unfortunately, the Harbor didn't count.  She texted back that I'd probably be touching the Boston Harbor as the Atlantic.  Sorry, friends.  Harbors are not oceans.

As we left Nahant, I got a text from Southwest Airlines saying my flight was delayed 2.75 hours.  I checked my connection, and there was no way I was going to make that.  So Angela tagged along with me as I called Southwest.  The woman I spoke to said there was no way I was getting to San Diego that night and then kept listing the options for me to get to Baltimore so I could fly out from there in the morning.  I still can't figure out why she wanted me to spend the night in Baltimore so badly.  Baltimore is not on the way to San Diego.  Instead, we went to the airport and after a very long wait, I was scheduled for a 5:40am flight the next day, landing me in San Diego at 11:05am.  That left me 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to the ocean to keep it inside my 24 hour window.  Any delays was going to kill that list item.


























By the way, this was one of my very, very few bad experiences with Southwest.  They did give me a voucher for the inconvenience, but it's only enough for a one-way flight, so I feel like they're just guarenteeing I'll buy another flight in a year.  Then, because they changed my flight, I lost my boarding position, and for my Chicago to San Diego leg, I had C57.  If you have ever flown Southwest, you know that means I would be in the least desirable middle seat on the plane.  They wouldn't upgrade me even though they had upgrades available nor would they let me use my voucher to pay for it.  I just sucked it up and paid the $40 because I was just too exhausted to bear a 4+ hour middle seat ride after getting up at 4am.  That delay cost me around $70 I would not have otherwise spent.  I did write them a message, and I hope they get back to me with some sort of consilation.


My flight landed 5 minutes early.  Tara swooped me up, and we went off to Ocean Beach on a time crunch.  I ran into the ocean.  She took my picture.  We parted ways for the day.

Thank you to Angela and Tara for your help in fitting this in!

#90 - Celebrate Patriot's Day in Boston

I only took video of the women, but here are the elite men.

As you may know from some of my other blog posts, I'm a runner (2011, 2014, 2014) .  I've been a runner for as long as I can remember, I guess.  I mean, I wasn't running races at 8 years old or anything, but I know I joined the cross country team in sixth grade and ran track through high school.  In high school, I became aware of the Boston Marathon, and ever since then, it's been a dream of mine... to watch it.  For some reason, running it was never the dream.  I have one full marathon under my belt and no desire to a full marathon ever again.

The trouble has been threefold
1.  The Boston Marathon is on a Monday, specifically Patriot's Day.
2.  Flights that weekend are always expensive.
3.  I keep moving further and further away.

This year, however, I did not get a real winter break.  My qualifying paper for my dissertation was due January 5, so I spent my entire "break" writing.  Because I am not a workaholic, that did not sit well with me, so in addition to conferences in Ann Arbor and Dallas, I booked leisure trips to Chicago and Boston.  I was finally going to make it to the Boston Marathon courtesy of my dear friends and list champions Alan Fortunate and Angela Mioglionico.

I spent a lovely weekend doing typical Bostonian things (e.g. watching Good Will Hunting) with My Favorite Al.  Then then Monday morning, we woke up bright and early -- okay, bright and early Pacific time -- and walked from Brighton to Cleveland Circle for a very delightful marathon viewing party hosted by Jessie Cox and roommates.  There were all of my favorite morning activities: mimosas, running, bagels, and friendship.

We were easily able to catch the lead wheelchair competitors, women's elite, and men's elite.  That was pretty damn sweet for a running nerd like me.

Instagrams "Highest Quality Aid Station"

We then shortly became what instagram calls "the highest quality aid station" as we stood between miles 22 and 23 under a bright orange Harpoon tent and handed out beers to anyone who requested one.  We had a lot of takers.  They were fantastic.

The weather was miserable.  It was rainy, windy, and cold.  Terrible running and viewing conditions.  Having been on the other side of the barrier, it made me feel like we had an even more valuable role as spectators.


Despite the weather, it was a really fun day, and I hope to do it again under better conditions someday!

#91 - Go to a Boxing Class

This opportunity fell into my lap, as opportunities are wont do at the NIRSA annual conference.

List legend Norris Narsa dropping dimes.

See, I'm a collegiate recreation professional.  It's quite a niche career, and it can be weirdly tough to explain.  On the most basic level, we're the ones who run all of those sport and fitness facilities and programs on college campuses.  What we really do is worth it's own conversation, but, trust me, it's the best.  We learn, teach, laugh, play, workout, and create spaces for others to do the same.  I love it.

Our professional organization is NIRSA, which used to stand for the National Intramural - Recreational Sports Association, but as we are no longer just national and we encompass much more than intramurals and sports, we are now officially NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation.  Each year, we have an annual conference.  At our annual conference, we have an expo hall.  Yes, many conference have an expo hall, but ours is likely quite different from many conferences as it is generally full of fun and games.  See, all that playing we do on campus needs equipment, and the vendors show up in full force to convince us that their products are the most fun or provide the best workout.  This year, I shot hoops for the NIRSA Foundation, rode a mechanical bull thanks to MTVU, learned to play one of my new favorite sports: Spikeball, and took my first boxing class with Pink Gloves boxing.

Wamp wamp...

Since we're the type of people generally inclined to want to participate, some organizations or individuals run group fitness classes in the expo hall.  While I generally dislike group fitness (except for yoga at Mosaic, of course), this year's program included a boxing course from Pink Gloves, and, hey, that was on my list, so I went.

It was a quick workout, just 45 minutes, but it was a ton of fun.  Garrett and the other staff led us in some basic moves and then 5 stations.  Hitting things was fun, but I also love their slogan: "It's not exercise, it's empowerment."  I could definitely see how regular participation with that group would build strength in all sorts of capacities.  The community vibe was really inspiring.  Thank you Pink Gloves!

I'm hoping my next campus has boxing because I should have taken advantage of working out with the boxing club at my last university.  I do hope to find an affordable class in the San Diego area, so if you have any favorites, send them my way!