Looking great! Looking great! Looking wonderful!

2006-04-02 - 7:35 p.m.

On Saturday morning Lolo came over to my place and we walked over to very near Seattle Center for breakfast. We went to a place called Cafe Minnie's. The food was good, but not outstanding, and the service was lousy. But it was a nice walk. We stopped by Pike Place Market on the way home so I could pick up something for my mom. Then we went back to my place and looked at maps of the North Cascades for a while, talking about places we could possibly backpack in the future. Very exciting. Then Kitten showed up and Lolo and I piled into her Volkswagon New Beetle. It's a good thing Kitten is tiny, or else we never would've fit in there. As it was, we weren't too uncomfortable. We drove from Seattle up to Coupeville on Whidbey Island where we checked into a motel for the night. It was an interesting hotel...mostly just very small, but definitely clean.

We met another pharmacist and her boyfriend and a nurse from our hospital there. The original plan was that Lolo and I would share a room, Kitten and the nurse would share a room, and the other pharmacist and her boyfriend would sleep in their truck. I don't know why they wanted to sleep in their truck at first, but they changed their minds and wanted to sleep in a room instead. Our two rooms each had two twin (maybe single, they were tiny) beds. So Kitten came and joined us in our room and since we didn't have a sleeping bag or extra blankets or anything, Lolo and I shared a teeny bed. It was a very tight squeeze. At first it wasn't too bad because we general fall asleep very close to each other anyway, but there was no space to move away. We couldn't even roll over. Hopefully our closeness in bed didn't make Kitten uncomfortable. She didn't act like it did, and we didn't do anything remotely inappropriate, but still I wonder.

Also that night all six of us went out to a restaurant in Coupeville called The Mad Crab. They were very crowded, which they're not used to in that little town, and so the service was poor, but the food was wonderful. If you ever happen to be in Coupeville, Washington, I'd recommend this restaurant.

So this morning we got up early (even more so since daylight saving time happened during the night) and got ready for our race. We were running in a half marathon. We drove into Coupeville where we caught a bus to the starting line in Oak Harbor. I started out the race decently, but ended poorly. Lolo passed me at around Mile 11 and beat me by about four minutes. I finished around 2:13, which sucks considering the fact that my last half marathon I finished around 1:58 or so, I think. But also considering the fact that I weigh ten digusting pounds more now than I did then, it's not surprising.

The nurse ran/walked it, and I didn't talk to her at all after the race so I have no idea how she did besides finishing somewhere behind me. Kitten decided to walk it with the other pharmacist and her boyfriend. Kitten said they went painfully slow and she's pretty certain they came in dead last. They finished about two and a half hours after Lolo and I. He and I spent all that time searching for Kitten because we thought she was going to run/walk it too. We couldn't believe how long it took them. After they finally crossed the finish line we pretty immediately hopped in the car and headed back towards home.

I dozed a bit in the car and we made back to Seattle pretty much just in time for me to switch to clean clothes before dashing off to a volleyball game. It was the first game of our new season (we had absolutely no break between the last game of the last season and the first game of this one). And we won! Not only that, but I was on fire! For once, I felt as though I wasn't the worst player on the court. I could pass, I could serve, I could hit...it totally rocked! I guess I need to run a half-marathon before every game.

Then home and shower and here I am. Very soon I will be going to bed, but first, a few other comments.

During the car ride out to Coupeville on Saturday, Kitten told me that she and her boyfriend (they've been together for something like four years and they even bought a house together) went out and looked at rings the other day. No, she's not engaged yet, they're not in a hurry (obviously), but they have the rings picked out. At the same time, she said that the other pharmacist and her boyfriend mentioned above went along for the ring shopping adventure and decided to browse engagement rings too. These two have been dating for a month. We talked a bit about how we thought that was a bit quick. And then Kitten asked Lolo and I if we had been looking at rings. Geesh! Uh...no...

You know, I don't even like rings. Don't get me wrong, I want everything the ring symbolizes but I don't really want an engagement ring. I don't wear jewelry. I have a nice watch and I very occasionally wear necklaces, but that's it. I don't have any rings, I don't even have my ears pierced. But it seems like if you're going to get engaged, you have to have a ring with a big rock. What a waste of money though if I don't want it! I'm going to have to bring this up to Lolo one of these days when the subject of rings comes up between us and see what he thinks. I definitely want a wedding band when that time comes, but I'd be very content without an engagement ring.

Later on Kitten asked Lolo and I when we are planning on moving in together. Lolo smoothly said, "We haven't discussed that yet," and then Kitten asked me if I have a month to month lease on my apartment. I don't, and now Lolo knows that my lease is up at the end of May. I think the subject of moving in together is going to be discussed between us very soon. This week Lolo is planning on spending the whole week at my place. I'm fairly sure we'll talk about it sometime then. I'm also flying down to California on Saturday and will be seeing my parents then. I'd like to discuss with them the idea of me living with Lolo. I want to make sure they won't have a problem with it. I think they might, though, and I don't want them to have anything against Lolo, so I'm going to try to talk them out of any reservations they may have. Hopefully I'll be able to bring it up with them.