eat to compete

"Why do straight girls always try to one-up their friends? It's so weird," my sister once said.
It's true, and something that also baffles me. It seems irrational and disingenuous to claim friendship, then turn around and compare, or worse, compete. The thing is, I'm not sure it's confined to the heterosexual female friendship sphere; we all compete with each other at certain things. Maybe not to the snarky extent that straight girls do, but in a way it's human nature to be just a little bit competitive.
So when the Salahis crashed President Obama's first state dinner last Tuesday night, I pretty much turned around and did the same.
Okay, it wasn't the White House. And it was Thanksgiving. And politics weren't involved. And there was at least an oral invite...so I didn't really crash it a la wannabe celebrities in hot pursuit of relevancy...does it count if I was the only minority...?

Yeah, didn't think so. But it was awesomely fun regardless; an invitation to M1's parents's place in Marshfield resulted in absolute turkey-and-pie coma. Organic, incredibly moist turkey, bright orange winter squash, creamy mashed potatoes, unbelievable stuffing, just-right gravy, amazing apple-cranberry pie, chocolate-pecan pie [yes, that's right, chocolate and pecan], richy frothy eggnog, and, of course, really good coffee. That all went into my stomach. In one sitting. Oh my God, I love America.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking: I'm a total glutton, right? Whatever happened to moderation?
The thing is, when you do on a decent ride on your 25 pounder of a 'cross bike the day before, the only thing you can really do when that voice of moderation pipes up is to tell it to go fuck itself. You know what I mean, we've all been there; legs dead after a ride with a brain caught between hazy sleep and adrenaline fueled alertness. The last thing you want to hear as you cram your mouth full of whatever's in your fridge is that you really need to practice moderation.

And when you do the ride in shitty, cold weather, with gloved fingers alternating between freezing and sweaty, you get a free ticket to stuff yourself silly at your favorite person's parents's house that you almost invited yourself to for Thanksgiving. And free license to polish off the mountain of leftovers you're sent home with as well.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm going to be working off that feast well into this month [can you believe it's December?]. But let's be honest, it was totally worth it; and while Thanksgiving might not exist to fuel off-season training, it's still a pretty good motivator.

thanksgiving rush

Apparently having three days off means that your week gets squeezed into your two normal work/school days.

I won't be blogging until next Monday, unfortunately, but travel safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

sooo sicxxx!

I didn't go to Cornell [for college] but I found the best room mate there.
We found each other in a slightly musty dorm room on the first day of summer school. Hailing from Staten Island, Mell was lightly freckled and Irish to the core. She was confident without being arrogant and charismatic without being annoying. We listened to early 90s punk and squealed over boys but gave each other enough space to avoid nasty cat fights. She pulled off the sexy tomboy thing with ease and had a drama-free relationship with a pretty gorgeous, tall blonde. She was basically awesome without being overbearing, and we got along magnificently.
I've never quite found another roomie like her. I've lived with both genders but the amicable yet trustworthy relationship I had with Mell is, I've found, quite elusive. Because you can love your friends, but living with them is always another animal.

I made a lot of long-lasting friendships that summer, but Mell still sticks out in my mind. Whenever I hear of Staten Island, I wonder what she - currently a chocolatier - is up to, and how I really should drop her a line. And if I had plans to be down in NYC this coming Sunday, I'd make sure to drag her out to an awesome event on her own home turf: SICX.
Conceived by CJ and Jed - NYC resident representatives for all things 'cross - it makes a small part of me wish that I wasn't going to gorge myself on turkey and pumpkin pie up in Massachusetts, but that my sister had invited me to whatever she and her small, Asian, lesbian friends were doing for Thanksgiving in NYC. The line-up of sponsors is enough to have me drooling and I'll even consider dropping the whole "no eating four-legged animals" thing for the fifty - yes, FIFTY - pounds of bacon from Wellshire Farms that CJ has [supposedly] stashed in his 'fridge for this event [if that bacon goes missing, you know who the culprit is].

But wafels, bacon, and croque monsieurs isn't the only reason you should make your way out there. Because if you live in NYC and enjoy riding your bicycle in mud, this is an absolute godsend. Any other weekend, you'll have to travel by car to get to any decent 'cross race. SICX is placing a legit event in your lap, accessible by public transport. If you're in the city, have a cross bike, and aren't going to this, CJ and Jed are right - you do hate to have fun.
Or you're just a fatass. Post-Thanksgiving, there's probably no better way to burn off those two pieces of pecan pie you'll down on Thursday, and the massive turkey sandwich you'll have on Friday for lunch, and that apple pie you know you'll indulge in on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. If you're blessed with a body fat percentage of 2%, and you can use all the calories you can humanly consume, then, well, Thanksgiving is going to be the perfect carb-fest for SICX.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to learn how to run before I race SICX, and the promise of starchy, meaty, sugary deliciousness a mere 30 miles from my house is going to keep me in MA. But for all those NYC residents, I expect a full disclosure of the awesomeness that will be SICX.
[And if you are in Boston, come out to the Middlesex tonight to support the Geekhouse CX Team. Come on, admit it, you can't resist those kits and bikes!]