Notes from the Red Bird House

There are many 'rules' that we should all live by. I'm not talking about 'The Ten Commandments' or 'The Bill of Rights'. Of course, you won't find me arguing with God or our Founding Fathers. I'm cool with 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' and 'the right to bear arms'. And goodness knows, I'm awesome with the freedom of speech. In contrast, my rules are a tad bit more... practical and up-to-date. So, without further ado... Stacee's Ten Rules to Live By... 1) If you start the day wearing a hat, plan to finish the day wearing a hat. Unless you shower. Which serves as a reset button for your hair. 2) If you have something to hide, hide it well. I guarantee you someone will ferret it out. Especially if you leave your life (ie. your phone and computer) un-password protected. 3) If you were a dork in highschool, remember that you will always be a dork in high school. In other words, you can't change the past. It might, however, be pru...

There is always something to be learned. Usually right when I think I've got it figured out, it changes. Or maybe it's the same as it always was, but I never quite saw it from the right angle. Hey, I'm human. I make assumptions based on what I think I know just like everyone else. Then I get blown. Just like everyone else. Unlike some, I take it as a learning experience. You don't know what you don't know til you know what you know. Knowledge is power as they say. Tonight, I'm feeling pretty powerful. Inadvertently perhaps, but powerful nonetheless. I'm good with this new information. It doesn't change a whole lot. Really it doesn't. I'm going to take it for what it is and move forward. It doesn't make any sense to wallow in what I thought was because the only thing that matters is what is. And while what is may be different than I initially expected and assumed, it's not the end of the world. I'll live and learn and get on with ...

I suppose there is that. I'm not sure what 'that' is, but I suppose it's there. Either way, I'm just over it. Whatever 'it' is. Truthfully, here isn't much I'm sure about these days. I know I like me, my job, my house, my writing, and my running.  I miss my dogs, need to rent out my house in Texarkana, and pay off some medical bills. All in all, the Me part of my life is exceptional. The rest? Others? Everything that isn't directly related to me? It's all 'eh' at best. And surprisingly, I'm frighteningly good with it. I've seldom needed much outside of myself and I'm finding that to be especially true recently. My patience is thin and my tolerance low. I expend so much energy being at the beck and call of my one hundred plus co-workers, running point on a massive roll-out, and decreasing my per mile times while increasing my miles run that I have little left over at the end of the day for anything that isn't food or ...

There came a time when I just had to stop. Stop worrying. Stop fussing. Stop crying. Stop whining. Above all, I had to stop wanting what didn't want me. It's an attractive mess. It is. I fully admit that. Hell, I spent the majority of my thirties living on its couch. If only this... If only that... She will see. She will. She'll get it. Eh... She, whoever 'she' was, never did. I honestly thought my 'lesson' in this life was to learn patience. God sent these women my way to teach me how to wait. And one day, if I waited long enough, I'd get everything I ever wanted - someone to love me. Yeah, that was never going to happen. It was all bullshit; a really cool kind of bullshit, but bullshit nonetheless. You see, along the way I learned something even more important than patience. I learned about peace and faith. Once I found those, I stopped worrying about patience and discovered that I had everything I ever wanted - someone to love me. Of course, tha...

Surprisingly enough I feel okay this morning. After yesterday's (seemingly) fatal training error, I thought I'd be a lot worse off today. In one short week, I increased my long run from six miles to ten. Not only did I run a fast eight on Tuesday, I decided to go a slow ten yesterday. So, in addition to lengthening my long run, I also nearly doubled my weekly mileage from a wimpy ten or twelve to twenty. For the uninitiated, these are two monster no-no's. 'They' (the running Illuminati ) would shake their heads and tsk a few times in disdain before loudly telling me that I'm fucking stupid. Especially at the ripe old age of forty-two after not running for twenty years and with a paltry three month running base. Eh... Like I've ever cared what 'they' think. I've had running coaches before. Two of them actually. At the same time. One was conservative and liked to shove me around on training runs. I think he was secretly jealous of my simmering ta...

I think I've finally decided on tattoos ten and eleven. I knew the right idea would come to me if I just sat back and let it. And funny, it came in a burst of two. Since I can't decide which one I want to get, I'm going to get both all in one shot. It won't be the first time I've gotten two tattoos in one day. Numbers 5 and 6 were a two-for-one back in 2006. I'm not scared. Pain is pain and the permanence of the message is well worth it. I've been planning #10 since I got #9 in February 2009. I've gone a long time, far longer than I ever expected. I got three in '06 (4, 5, and 6) and one in '07 (7), '08 (8), and '09 (9). It's not that I haven't wanted one; I just wasn't sure what I wanted. I don't put any old thing on my body, especially when I can't etch-a-sketch it off when it gets old. Like all the rest, these will have a story. Or tell a story. I no longer wear my heart on my sleeve; I wear my story on my body i...

I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions about me. While I'm in an exhausted and borderline pissy mood. I suppose given that disclaimer, readers can take everything I say with a grain of salt. I mean, if I was in a better mood, would have written this at all? I guess we'll never know. This mood is the mood we have so we'll just have to go with it. In no particular order of importance... Because I love writing and I love books, I also love to read - This is probably by far the largest misconception about me. Reading is a beating. There is no other way to put it. Unless it's a short magazine article, I'm probably not going to finish it. I own quite a few books. I've just haven't read most of them. I love people - I'm friendly, nice, and outgoing, so I must love people, right? Wrong. It's not that I dislike people. I simply have a super low tolerance when it comes to social interaction. When I've had enough, I've had enough. At that poi...