Light Graffiti, Take 2...

OK, this is ridiculous. I'm having too much fun with this technique and starting to get the hang of it. Next step: grab a tripod and take the show outside...

Click 'em to embiggen 'em.

Enjoi.

YouTube Tuesday: AC/DC Excel

Someone has too much time on their hands...but I really like it. Get back to creating my TPS reports and stop wasting time.

OMG...new photography obsession...

Light graffiti. The concept is simple:

Go to a dark spot, crank your aperture as wide as it will go, set the shutter REALLY slow, "paint" with any source of light you want like an LED flashlight, mobile phone, etc. and create graffiti with light...and Bob's your uncle (Google that).

These are 5 of the 1st 7 shots I took...I still have no clue what I'm doing; Google "light graffiti" and be blown away by what others are doing. The settings on all photos are within a stop of these settings and the conditions were:

10-second exposure
f/3.8
27mm focal length
Auto ISO (I f'd that up...should have cranked it down to 200 to keep the obvious noise out of the photo)
LED flashlight
Pure darkness in the room

I can't talk...I'm too busy working up ideas...look at these...be inspired...

(as always, click photo to embiggen them to actual size)

A-Z Project: A is for APPLES

Well, here we go.

It's deep into fall, here in the PNW (Pacific Northwest, if you're not in the know) and I actually think it's fall everywhere else in the Northern hemisphere, though I never knew it for the last 9 years living in SoCal where it's perpetually stuck somewhere between late spring and early fall year-round. The leaves are setting a spectacular backdrop of red, yellow, green and orange across the azure sky as the cool fall breeze sets them in motion and the technicolor leaves flutter to the ground and create a blanket of color just waiting to be raked up and jumped in. Yeah, I dig fall in case you didn't read between the lines over the last couple sentences.

What says fall in the PNW more perfectly than apples? Nothing. So, we're using them as the 1st ingredient. It is low hanging fruit and I could have gone with asparagus or arctic char or artichokes? Sure, but apples are way cooler and more versatile and I like cooking with them so there. After seeing Bittman's podcast devoted to scones a couple weeks ago and then stumbling onto this recipe I decided it was a sign that scones were the delivery vehicle for the 1st ingredient in the project.

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and was instantly intrigued: apples and cheddar cheese in a scone? It was sort of a freakshow which means you just have to check it out and I'm glad I did. I followed the recipe pretty much as-is (it's baking, after all) but my big substitute was for Beecher's Flagship as the cheese. Again, we're in the PNW so let's use local ingredients as much as possible; you will undoubtedly see this cheese again before the end of this project as I fell madly in love with it the first time I tried it. I also used whole wheat flour (eh, wish I used all purpose instead) and opted for the goldencrisp apples we just picked up over the go-to cooking apple the Granny Smith.

How were they? Awesome. The savory from the cheese, the sweet from the sugar and the apple, the tartness, it really worked. I'm not a baker (more a candlestick maker, myself) and I don't know how much I'll be baking throughout this project but these were a big success.

So, it's on to B. No clue what I'm doing just yet but there are some good ideas floating around that I'm looking at. There are still some kinks in the process, the kitchen is a total PITA for taking photos with the incandescent lighting and other little things I'd like to work on but I'll probably get it all nailed down by Q maybe M if I'm lucky.

Chow.

SRW

So, I didn't used to really enjoy food all that much. I ate plain things and not a wide variety of foods; cheese pizza, chicken fingers and really anything chicken were all I'd want to eat. I'm still a bit picky (some stuff I just can't do) and I still really love cheese pizza over most (that's a whole other blog post) but I've recently in the last couple years truly started expanding my culinary horizons and it's been great. What I'll eat now is so vast compared to say even 5 years ago and it never ceases to surprise friends and family what I'll order or even what I'll cook for dinner; it ain't chicken fingers, that's for sure. Most of all, I enjoy the art of cooking and cuisine. I don't eat out all that often but when I do I'd rather treat myself to something special and experience true artisans doing what they do best: create delicious, beautiful, edible art. Cue SRW.

This week started Seattle Restaurant Week and I'm stoked. There are 100 restaurants participating and they are some of the finest restaurants to experience in Seattle; Chili's, Claim Jumper and P.F Chang's aren't gonna make the cut. Several of the locations offer 3-course lunch menus for $15 while all of them offer $25 3-course dinner menus that showcase the chef's talents and the cuisine that you can experience there at any time. Really, it's just a big marketing event but it is brilliant and wildly successful for the restaurants and patrons. The opportunity to eat at these world class restaurants and sample a full 3-course meal for a price that in most cases is probably 50% less than what you should be paying is awesome. They get you hooked on coming back, you get a cheap(er) meal that's out of this world and it opens your eyes and palette to truly brilliant cuisine from some of the world's most talented and recognized chefs.

Sadly, I'm low on funds right now so my being able to eat at a new place every night ain't gonna happen this time around but I will get to sample a couple places. Yesterday I went with my good friend Amy to The Pink Door down near the Market for lunch and it was incredible. Their lasagna cannot be described; it is fantastic as was the eggplant relish with Marcona almonds. YUM.

If you're here in the Seattle area you owe it to yourself to go check it out before it's done; it's worth every penny. I guess there's a 2nd SRW in the spring that I am setting my sights on and saving up the funds so I can sample many of the restaurants that I've had on my list to try for quite some time now.

YouTube Tuesday: Dungeness Crab Spaghetti from Del Posto

Here's a cool video of the entire process of making the Dungeness Crab Spaghetti at Del Postro. It's strangely fascinating and I'd very much like to try this dish when I someday make it to Del Postro.

Let's Cook From A-Z, Shall We?

This should be fun.

I love to cook. I love gimmicks. I'm a crafty, creative mofo, far more than my choice of occupation would lead you to believe. With that said, I have a fun new project I'm embarking on.

I will be cooking a main dish (or side dish, which will really be the showcase item) from A to Z, in order. I'm not going to cheat and serve 3 items and knock 3 letters off the list at a time because that's just lame. Some letters will be a bitch but I'll make it work, trust me. It's going to take some time but it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm sure I'm not the only person that's ever done this but I'm the first person I know that's done it, so that's something.

I won't use simple low hanging fruit (C is for Corn) but will use it as the inspiration for a dish (C is for Corn Chowder with Chorizo and Chiles) that hopefully showcases the specific food item beautifully. The point here is to showcase a specific food in a dish, not just reference that it's in there. No, they won't all be alliterative as in the previous example; that would be a bit too kitschy, even for me.

I will be photographing the project as best I can with the Nikon and hopefully providing some beautiful photography along the way with some delicious dishes and good narrative to make it interesting. Oh and for the most part I don't use recipes when I cook I just sort of make it up as I go, just as you should when cooking; it's art, not science, people. With that said, if I use a recipe or base my dish off a particular recipe I will be sure to post it but don't expect much. If you've ever cooked with me or I've cooked for you, you know what to expect.

So, hang tight and very shortly we'll be posting the 1st dish both here and on Facebook.

SoDo Graffiti Wall

My latest photo adventure was in search of a wonderful art-form: graffiti. Not necessarily the gang-banger tagging type but more of the artistic type; people that given an assignment could create some super rad art anywhere you wanted using spraypaint, markers, brushes, you name it.

I read online that there's this wall in SoDo on the back of an industrial building between Starbucks HQ and the Amtrak rail line that's a "free wall" or somewhere that graffiti artists can do their thing without fear of static from the authorities or by defacing public property (if they cared about that sort of thing).

Well, I hit jackpot. The wall is insane. What's here transcends the simple name "graffiti" and really should be called art. I snapped 175 photos in about an hour and a half and was really pleased with the results.

Check out the Picasa album here and trust me: the photos don't do this wall justice.

YouTube Tuesday: Banksy Simpsons Intro

Banksy is a graffiti/street artist from the UK, in case you didn't know. Actually, nobody knows who he is; his identity, whereabouts and where his art will appear are unknown. His images are legendary and without knowing it you've probably come across some of them at some point in time. There's always controversy, political and social commentary, juxtaposition and all sort of counter-culture references in his work but I love them; they are visually stunning. Anyway...

He was asked to direct the opening credits/intro to the Simpsons a couple nights ago and oh boy, did they get Banksy. Check out this very dark intro that's super cool, weird and, well...Banksy.

Leaves are Waterproof

This is by far one of my favorite photos of the year; maybe one of the best photographs I've ever taken. It rained all day yesterday and today I went outside and found this leaf sitting next to the grill and it sparked a little photo session with the fun water effects on a tree out front. Untouched, it's brilliant from the colors to the water effects to the composition. It's certainly going to make my portfolio. Click on the photo to embiggen it and get the real flavor of this one...

That'll do, Bryan.

YouTube Tuesday: UPS guy ain't shit

OK, so the UPS guy just lost his job. He should have lost it years ago for that Euro-douche haircut and smart, business-casual wardrobe but now there's no excuse; his whiteboard drawing skills are no match for what's below.

Gas Works Photo Adventure Spectacular Thing

About 8 years ago now I bought a Nikon D70 DSLR. I'd been interested in photography for a while and had the disposable income so I took the plunge. Oddly enough, I had to take the plunge twice as the first one was stolen from my truck in Palm Springs, so that was a nice surprise. So much for buying another lens with that money. I digress...

I used it off/on for a while then it sort of sat in the closet in favor of the far more convenient and versatile point and shoot except for special occasions. I dunno, I think a lot of it was lack of motivation and good things to shoot that were close by. There are only so many photos you can grab of shitty HB surf and while there were some great sunsets that was about it; I just wasn't motivated to hop in the car and go somewhere and take some cool photos. Oh, I still loved to take photos but I just wasn't feeling it like I was when I first got the camera, which is sad.

Well, this past weekend the weather was stellar here so I decided to go out and shoot some real photographs at Gas Works Park in Seattle. This adventure reminded me of a few things:

1. Seattle is such a cool city
2. I really love photography
3. I'm  pretty good at taking photographs

Gas Works is a photography playground. There are so many cool colors, structures, funky angles and shapes, silly graffitti and wide open green-space in the steampunk sort of throwback to an earlier time in this cool city that it makes taking great photographs a much easier process as a lot of the work is already done for you, it's just up to you to capture it.

From Gas Works

Along those lines, I'm not too shabby with a camera. It comes naturally, I guess, that I have great composition skills when it comes to filling a frame and capturing an image; just sort of know what looks right and it's always gratifying to see great images you captured. I've weened myself off using the auto-focus and will eventually ditch the camera's metering assistance and go full manual but who knows if that's totally necessary; technology can be pretty handy. I've got friends that are semi-professional photogs and an aunt that is in the same boat and I think I'll be spending time with them to help get me up to speed on the technical side of photography so I can use more of the buttons and dials on the camera more effectively than I currently do.

From Gas Works

Here are the photos from the 300 I took but whittled down to about 70 that were what I felt were the best works.

http://bit.ly/cfAASe

Facebook compresses everything so it's kind of hard to really get a feel for some of these photos there but you're welcome to check that album out, too. You know how to find it.

More photography outings to come in the future...

Enjoi.

The Zero Sum Game that is LIFE

I love metaphors. Well, maybe this isn’t a metaphor, but I don’t know what to call it so we’re gonna call it a metaphor. Get over it.

This metaphor deals with one of the most crucial aspects of my professional career: the concept of the zero sum game. In effect, the zero sum game says that for every dollar gained an equal dollar is lost. So if I make $350 on a trade, some other guy will have lost $350. He may have been up $1,000 and got knocked down to a net of $650 or he may be -$350 but in some way, the guy at the other end of the trade lost the same as I made. So, we have a net of $0 ($350 made - $350 lost) and at the end when a contract expires the accounting has an equal debit (sellers) and credit (buyers) amount. It’s brilliant, actually.

Our metaphor comes in how this relates to my life, or any life really. You see, my life in the last few months has been crazy; I don’t need to rehash it because you all read this blog religiously *wink wink* and understand all the stuff that’s gone on, both good and bad. Actually, it's been crazy for years; maybe even my entire life, really. This got me thinking how your life really is a zero-sum game on an inner-personal level; nevermind the outside world, we’re just talking about you or at least those things that are directly related to your life.

Today I started remembering everything that's happened and maybe even feeling a little sad or nostalgic for my old life and all that I’ve lost over the last few years. Actually, It wasn’t feeling sad for what I lost, it was more thinking about all that I’ve gained in this new life (happiness, health, a job I love, eagerness to see the new world around me and share all this happiness with others...you read the blog, you know) and the person that is the new or reawakened and better Me. But, I stopped and glanced over my shoulder and saw the wreckage that was a previous life; what I don’t have any more. At that point, it dawned on me: that was the price paid for all that I have now. All the money I’ve lost in chasing my dreams and keeping me afloat, the time, the stress, the agony, sadness, loss of a relationship, my dog, leaving California and all those friends behind, the surfing, sun, In-n-Out Burger, 90mph on the freeways…all those things were lost or used as payment for all that I have now; a true zero sum game.

However, what’s not told about the zero sum game are the intangibles; those things than cannot be measured in dollars and cents, at least in actual trading. In every trade there’s an equal dollar amount that’s gained and lost but there are also lessons learned, experience gained, wisdom added to your bag of tricks. These things have no monetary value but they maybe have something more important than monetary value as they make you a better trader. In theory (if you’re doing it right) you’ll pull from these intangibles and not make the mistakes that found you on the losing end of a trade or you'll know when to trade or when to wait and you become a better, more successful trader.

When I remembered that, it changed everything; the nostalgia and feeling of loss was gone in an instant. It reminded me of all that I’ve gained but more importantly learned through the process of getting me to where I am with what I’ve got, and I’ll be the first to tell you, I’ve got a lot that isn’t measured in dollars and cents. The happiness and positivity I have, the clarity, the determination, confidence, bravado, focus…I gained all of that from the winning, but mostly the losing trades I’ve made in my life and it’s paying dividends monetarily and otherwise each and every day. It’s brilliant how it all works, really.

In effect, I traded with my life and I came out ahead. But there was a great cost that was paid to get to where I am now. What makes me better than I was-- than I’ve ever been--are those intangibles; the lessons learned, the wisdom gained and knowing what I want from my life is more important than the “stuff” I lost.

So while there is and may always be some feeling of loss for those things, it’s OK because all that I learned and gained from those trades that cannot be put on a balance sheet is worth far more to me moving forward than I could ever put a value on.

The zero sum game really is tricky in that respect: you never really find out what you truly gained until the next trade…

Bottomless cup of coffee?

Yup. I found it at Bed Bath & Beyond; it exists.

It's been 1 Week

I hope you're all singing BNL right now...cuz I am...

So, I've been in Redmond a week now; 9 days, to be exact. It feels like it's been longer, to be honest and I don't know why.

It's been an action packed week meeting up with friends constantly, seeing family, reacquainting myself with the area, discovering new areas of Seattle; all that fun stuff. All in all it's been great. It really feels like home, or as much as a place can feel after a week. I guess by that it means that I don't feel like I'm on vacation; like this is just some trip and I'll be loading the stuff up and driving back to SoCal anytime soon.

I haven't made up my mind on way or another on where I'll be calling home on a permanent basis but this neck of the woods (the PNW) is certainly the front runner at this point. The more I think about it the more I wonder what's for me down in SoCal. I do certainly miss my friends dearly, even after 1 week and I miss the dog but being home again just feels right...even if that means having to make a tough decision to leave those things in SoCal behind.

So, that's it. Boring blog post, I know, but hang in there. As I further assimilate myself into this new world and get some exciting trading stuff all up and running I'll be able to write more.

Chow.

Running in the PNW is much harder than in HB

I went for my first run on Monday here in the new neighborhood. Wow: we're not in Kansas anymore, or HB as it were (both have the same lovely elevation changes). The elevation changes around this neighborhood are insane...like "why the hell am I running?" insane. They won't stop me, but they'll sure as hell slow me down. I ran about 3 miles the first day (gimme a break, I haven't run or worked out in over a week) and it took me probably twice as long as it should have if I were back in HB. I didn't even venture out of the neighborhood onto the major streets (Northup or 24th) and it's like I was running a Six Flags ride: great on the way down, hell on the way up.

Today I conquered "The Hill" aka 24th and ran to Mom's office so 4.7 miles plus a little extra thrown in for good measure and I was destroyed. I'd eventually like to make this the daily route as it's a nice length and the 3 no-joke hills thrown in there are total ass-kickers and will make the run a real workout.

In any event, I bought a Nike+ senor for THE shoes of all shoes to help keep me honest and help track what I do. My goals are to run 25 miles every 2 weeks to start and I'll eventually work on getting that same amount in over 1 week. It's a lofty goal for a new runner but I'm a lofty goal kind of guy. My crazy running spree of a few weeks ago will be difficult to keep up, at least around here; the hills are a major bitch. But, it's already getting easier to run the "normal" hills and eventually the major hills I can run faster than an 80 y/o runs on flat land.

More later, but here are a couple photos of some of the more interesting parts of the route...

Trail running is a nice change...

"The Hill" (24th street) is tons of fun...

I'm home

70.4 mph avg. speed is hardly accurate...damn LA traffic and city streets along the way messed that up

After 1,205 miles, driving 17 hours and 52 minutes over 2 days I'm home. How does it feel? Great.

Immediately, here are my observations in the first few days...

This has yet to be proven as "difficult" as one would expect for uprooting a life and moving away from a place and a life established over 9 years. Maybe that answers whether I think I made the "right" decision in leaving California. Maybe it hints at what my ultimate decision will be, as well.

I love the weather. The drive up provided fantastic weather and a stop in Portland was a perfect PNW summer day. Sunday, however, it was a typical PNW fall day (on August 29th...go figure) but I loved it. Light jacket, jeans, hat on an overcast and windy day...I'll take that any day. Today it's cold and raining and I couldn't care less; I'm loving it.  It might get old and I might miss 80-degree days being the norm but right now I can't get enough.

It is so much f*cking cleaner up here it's sick. No trash on the sides of the road, no graffiti, no beat-to-hell roads, no '83 Datsun pickups piled 6' high with recyclables or junk, the sky is blue, the air clean...I could go on and on but you get the point.

People drive faster than I remember, which is a good thing. Everyone in SoCal drives like a bat out of hell and you just sort of go with the speedy flow of traffic and it always seems like people do that up here but at 60-65mph. Well, it would seem that a lot of CA transplants have spread the speeding gospel and the WA folk are eating it up and seeing that the grass really is greener the faster you drive. Win.

Tortillas are not found at every restaurant. Muy bueno.

My packing several pairs of sandals is laughable as is the thin selection of long-sleeved items I've amassed in SoCal.

I miss Brisbane.

I miss the ocean.

I feel like a kid again.

More thoughts later...

I'm taking my talents to Seattle

So, tomorrow I'm leaving California. I'm putting all my stuff in storage and driving North with clothes and my computers (so I can work/trade) and a whole lotta eagerness to start a new chapter in my life both personally and professionally. Right now it's not a permanent move but I also know it's not a guarantee that I'll be moving back to SoCal. I'll spend the next few months unwinding and spending some quality time with my family who I've been away from for 15 years now and just figuring out where I want to hang my hat. I'm lucky in this regard as I can be anywhere in the world doing my job so I truly can follow my heart and be anywhere and everywhere I want or need to be.

Through my efforts in trading I've arrived on the stage and been handed the metaphorical diploma that states that I've become a trading samurai and it's time for me to unleash that knowledge and skill in the markets and really see what this thing can do, not just trade sporadically or when I feel like it as I do now. I liken the last 2 years of my life to becoming a fighter pilot who 2 years ago knew only the basic concepts of flight (you need lift, propulsion, and some other stuff, right?) and now has the knowledge and the skill to fly the most technologically advanced and effective aircraft ever created; a knowledge and skill that's only been bestowed upon less than 200 others. Really cool shit...

Personally? Well, this is maybe just as exciting a time as it is professionally; possibly more so. The last month or so has been spent focusing on ME and my desires, my wants, my needs and re-discovering the "real" me that's always been inside and I've shared a great deal of with the world...but always held back in some way. Maybe it was because I was afraid of what others might think, I sacrificed my needs/desires or aspects of my personality to make others happy or I was just too scared to really put myself out there. Well, those days are gone. I've been living my life recently, being myself and it feels great.

Maybe what's more exciting is what living my life and sending all this crazy energy and intentions out there has given me. Friends I'd lost track of have found me, I'm in great shape, I'm eating healthy, strangers laugh at my jokes, I get good parking spots, the lines are shorter at In-n-Out; the important stuff. Basically, I'm getting back what I'm putting out there and that's A LOT.

There's this energy that's flowing through me right now that's hard to explain. Most nights, I'm sleeping about 3-4 hours yet I wake up at 5:30 to start making the donuts and I'm wired; I can't spend the energy fast enough to wear me out. Not that it's really a bad thing, mind you. I've been working out a ton, doing more yoga, running, surfing and whatever activities I can find that are better uses of my time than sitting around doing nothing. As a result I'm in the best shape of my life. I never would have thought at 33 I'd be stronger and in better shape than I was when I was throwing trash for my Dad every summer through HS and college. I ran 10 miles the other day and my previous best was maybe 5-6 with breaks thrown in to save me from collapse; usually it's 1.5. I repeated the feat, but faster, 2 days later. My next goal is to try a 1/2 marathon; why not. Last week I logged over 30 miles which probably was my total for the last 2 months. I'm writing a lot, I'm connecting with people, I'm listening to music constantly--some new, some old--, I'm inspired, excited and just going with the flow; doing what feels right and what I want. I'm not forcing anything; I'm just being me and putting my trust out there that what happens, happens, be it good or bad. I'm accepting of my faults, my shortcomings and can laugh at myself and just be OK with being who I am, whoever that is. Shit, gang, it feels incredible and I'm really stoked to be me.

Basically, right now, this is a pretty incredible time to know me. If you don't know me I encourage you to do what you can to learn more; it's not boring, that's for sure. I think if I could take a version of myself and put it in a time capsule or something I'd take the version that's writing this blog entry. It's really gratifying and exciting to know that I'm hitting my stride in so many ways and that each day gets better and there's so much out there for me right now.

So you'll see a lot on here from me over the next few months I'm in Seattle as I attempt to document my life and my journey as best I can and share all this excitement that is my life; the life I want.

I'll see ya in Seattle...

Bryan, bmills, Killah B, Bry, B, Mills, Buzz or whatever else you may call me

Foodspotting gets the 2.0 moniker and is better than ever

A while back I told you about Foodspotting. Do you remember that post? OK, well here's your bullet points:

• You take photos of a specific food/dish at a restaurant
• You upload those photos to the Foodspotting site along with a little description of the food, if you're feeling randy
• People can then look for foods around them or at specific restaurants and see photos of the yummy food you just snapped a photo of

They came out with an iPhone app a few months ago and it was OK, but it was buggy and lacked a lot of functionality and features you'd expect. Well, 3 days ago they came out with version 2.0 of both the site and the iPhone app and both are bad-ass improvements.

I loved the site and the concept before, now I'm shopping for the ring. It's such a great idea and the way it integrates with iPhone (Android, soon) Twitter and Facebook are extremely well executed. It's insanely fun to look at some of the dishes around the world and search for dishes that have been spotted near you; I've searched out dishes and restaurants from photos on the site and am glad I did; the photos really did them justice. I've bookmarked foods from all over the place to try when I'm anywhere near them and the guides provided by foodspotters, famous chefs and so forth for various cities really give you a chance to find not only the restaurants you should visit but see photos of the dishes that these people recommend. Sofa King cool.

So if you have iPhone you have no excuse to not use this app (it's free) and even if you don't there's no reason you shouldn't become a foodspotter and snap photos of your food and share them with the rest of the world, especially if you're visiting a place that's not yet known to the Foodspotting community.

Run, Bryan, run!

Yesterday I leashed up the dog and decided that we'd go for a walk and parlay that into a run. The sun was out, I wanted some exercise, I just bought some really comfy running shoes and it just seemed like the perfect combination to take my 1st outdoor run in a long time.

So, we headed out and we walked the 1st mile so Brisbane could mark all the trees and bushes he'd marked 8 hours earlier on our morning walk and do his big business (always 2 if you're going more than like 1/2 a mile) and after he dropped the last of his cargo we started running...and running...and running. Before I realized it we had run from home down 17th Street, beyond Huntington Street along the boardwalk down by the beach; a giant 5 mile rhombus missing the 4th side, though I'm a horrible guesser of any distance, weight, height or anything, really, so I had no idea if we were 5 miles along, 2 or 10. The dog was exhausted yet I really didn't feel that bad. I wasn't setting landspeed records but I was still probably running an 8:30-9-minute pace, passing most others running but still getting passed every now and then. I would have gone further but I knew that the dog was not gonna be a happy camper so we turned around and ran back.

It felt incredible. We got back to the house and I still felt I could go further though the dog didn't make it 10' into the house before he passed out on the cool stone floor with his tongue completely out of his control as he tried to bite my hand or lick it (could go either way).

I've no clue if I can do that again, if it's the beginning of daily 10 mile runs or more or what the heck was going on. I do know this was crazy for several reasons:

1. I'm not a runner. I try and most times I don't make it that far, which is to say that I can go about a mile or mile and a half before I feel like collapsing.
2. The previous furthest distance I'd ever run was just about 6 miles, though it was broken into a few legs of running with rest in there to prevent my face from meeting the ground as I collapsed in agony
3. In the previous 48 hours I'd slept 7 hours. Don't ask; I have no idea why I can't sleep after doing tons of exercise and eating healthy for weeks on end...at least I'm looking good.

WTF??

Dood...I'm done...leave me alone...