May In A Recap - I Choo-Choo Choose…money

Most of my success in my post-college life has come from seizing opportunities that many people can't due to various reasons (family constraints, laziness, lack of talent). This has allowed me to travel (New York and D.C), pay off my mountain of student loans and develop a reputation in my industry for being a quick, efficient, no-bullshit producer of high-quality work. Since my breakup, I've been throwing myself into my work as a distraction technique and it's been working fabulously. However, I forgot to factor in that when you say yes to almost every project, you find it hard to say no to much else. In a nutshell, this is where I've been for the past month:

Work:
A co-worker had an immediate family member die and had to take a month off of work (don't ask, it's a Filipino thing and I don't know enough about their culture to surmise a guess). I stepped up to take over her desk until mid-June along with my mountain of other work that I help the rest of my team with. This gave me the opportunity for unlimited overtime and I would be an idiot not to take it. 12-14 hour days for 3 weeks straight begins to warp your mind but at the same time, puts you in a routine that is very comforting and productive. I didn't get the best sleep but I helped out someone who may have lost their job if I hadn't stepped in (no way was my company going to allow anyone to take a month off for any reason). I made money and did a good thing. I'm ok with this decision.

Bay to Breakers:
Like many past yearly festivals in San Francisco (the non-defunct Halloween in the Castro, the scaled down Love Parade - awkwardly renamed LoveFest and now held in Oakland for some reason), Bay to Breakers used to be a lot cooler. It is technically a 12k race but it is also open to anyone who wants to drink and wear costumes or jog buck-naked with a squirrel on their shoulder (I have seen this live!) while taking pictures at various San Francisco institutions. Unfortunately(?), the city got tired of cleaning up after the drunks and fielding complaints from angry neighbors that people were peeing on the prized magnolias in their yard. So last year they cracked the hell down and banned alcohol, drugs and people who didn't technically pay to be in the race. I'd like to say that it helped but I still had to walk over a couple passed out guys in togas the Monday after the race on my way to work.

Normally, I wouldn't bother with doing this event in it's current sad state (also see Burning Man) but my friend Ashley is running it this year and I want to support her. She and her friend Justine dressed up as Mario and Toad (they were meeting Luigi later) and actually ran the race. I ooh them downtown but it was 7 am and after our night of drinking, I couldn't hold my head up much longer and took the train home for a nap. Next thing I know, It's 11 am - Ashley and her friends are done with the race and I was supposed to meet Zoe along the trail. Yes, I slept through Bay to Breakers. You can call me old, I'll accept the criticism with grace because you are right - it was a very old fogey thing to do. Next year I'm running it (although Ash and the gang realized running it isn't the point, drinking and mayhem along the way is), I'll be in tip-top shape by then.

Pittsburgh, PA:
Needs it's own post. :)

That's pretty much why I haven't written very much. I'm luckily to be caught up on Game of Thrones at this point in time.

Still, if I can hold on for another two weeks at work, I can begin to put myself back on a normal schedule that includes friends, activities and possibly dating. I'm planning for July to be an adventurous month. If you have any ideas for fun, put it in the comments below.