Month: July 2007

Happy 4th of July!

I spent last week in the US of A. It was a great time. Though I don’t mind at all being where God wants me to be in my ministry, last week showed me why I am glad to be an American.

It could be that I just understand the culture better, but it is my culture and it makes me proud. One cultural difference that frustrated me when I got here (and still does, but not as much) is the whole waiting in line issue. The way it is done in the United States is that people form a casual line always understanding who is in front of them. You don’t have to line up with one person’s nose stuck to the back of the person’s head in front of them. Also lines are wide. Enough for 2 or 3 people to stand side by side and talk.

Mexico works differently. Whoever has their hands on the counter is next. If you are patiently waiting for the person in front of you (which is only ever done by me) then people will lean around you to put their hand on the counter. Out of necessity, lines have to be cordoned off so that it is only wide enough for one person. Otherwise you have people pushing through the line to get their hands on the counter.

I was in a store last week where there were 6 or 7 people casually standing around waiting for a cashier. There were 3 cashiers, so we just took turns until you knew you were there before the next guy. No one complained and no one tried to cut in front of anyone else. How refreshing.

Comparatively, Mexicans stand in many more lines than we do in the US. Yet, they have not learned basic kindergarten courtesy when it comes to standing in a line.

I know that may seem like an insignificant thing to be thankful for, but after you have been pushed out of your place in line twice a day for three years, it is refreshing to be able to stand in line without being assaulted.

Happy 4th! Be proud of your culture.

Football Standings

I went to football practice last night. This is the first contact I have had with my team in almost 2 weeks. I was not able to make the last two games because of a church activity and traveling.

I found out that this weekend we won! The weekend before we lost. That gives us 2 wins and 3 losses. If we win this coming Saturday we will go to the final game. I will be able to play Saturday, but not after that. We will be going to camp during that time and I will be out of town. Even though I won’t be able to play, I still want my team to go to the final of course.

The first place team is already guaranteed a spot. I think we are tied for second. But the stats put us in third. We could still go to the final game if we lose, but the other team that shares second with us has to lose pretty badly too.

Road Runner follow up

Road Runner Sports logoI got a pleasant email from the manager at the Road Runner Sports store I was in last week. This is a follow up to the post I wrote about my good experience there.

Turns out, the manager was the other lady that helped me with my shoe fitting! She is the one who was writing down my suggestions about products they needed in the store.

Hi David,
Thank you for your kind words. I am very glad that “Mary” could help you in the store. I hope that you will continue to shop with us at our Costa Mesa location!

Thanks again, Linzee

They are moving from Anaheim to Costa Mesa. I am glad the move had not taken place yet. I would have been really frustrated had I been looking for the store and they did not exist. I did chat with a Road Runner salesperson on the Internet before going to that particular location. So I am confident they would have told me if the store was going to have been moved by the time I got there.

Only 3 days left!

Have you voted for the New 7 Wonders of the World yet?

I don’t know how important this is in the grand scheme of life, but it is fun to think your vote can be counted to make up the current 7 Wonders of the World.

I mentioned earlier that Chichén Itzá had been nominated as part of the final 21 candidates. I also cast my vote for my list of 7.

I was reminded of this vote today because at breakfast I was given a ballot along with my bill. The new Governor elect for our state (Yucatán) was asking people to fill out the ballot and they would cast a vote for you. I understand her desire to have Chichén become part of the list. I was, however, disappointed in the way the ballot page was presented. It had 3 steps. Step 1: Vote for Chichén Itzá. Step 2: Don’t vote for any of these (then it listed some of the candidates). Step 3: Vote for any 6 of these (then it listed the rest of the candidates). I suspect that the list in step 2 were places that were beating Chichén Itzá in the voting, while those in step 3 were behind Chichén in the polls. It just seemed inappropriate to tell people how to vote.

Looking through the list, I picked 6 of the same ones I picked before. The difference is that in the past I chose The Statue of Liberty (at my son’s request) and today I would have chosen Petra. My thinking is that, while I am very proud of the Statue of Liberty as an American, is it really worthy of being a great architectural, cultural and world-class wonder? I am not so sure it is.

Go vote. You only have a few short days. Make history.

1 mile warm up

Is it OK to do a warm up run if you don’t follow it with anything?

Today I did a 10 minute mile warm up. When I got back home I was all good and warm and ready for some stretching. I had some soreness in my calves from my long run on Saturday. I did not get a chance to stay on my feet Saturday afternoon since I was on a plane for 5 hours. Sunday I was so tired that I did not do any real exercise. So today I was a bit stiff. I just ran and then stretched. Sounded like a reasonable plan for today.

Tomorrow I plan on a 5K distance. Tuesday is normally speed work for me. But I think I may put it off till later in the week.

I have to decide soon what plan I am going to use for my 1/2 marathon training as I get ready for the Phedippidations World Wide Half marathon in October. After that great run I had Saturday, I am strongly thinking about a Galloway Run/Walk routine.