Oxygen is Good

Well, I did make it home, and this was waiting for me. I'm not sure what the Mizz was doing with that first "E" there. Franny "helped" at bit, with the scribbles, I'm assuming.

I had to see this by myself though, since we got back at 10:30 Friday night. I wouldn't have done such a long day myself (Pocatello, ID to Portland, OR; almost 700 miles), but there were two of us and we were well fueled on Starbucks, so we decided that it was worth getting home to our own beds, even if it was late. The decent mattress was worth it, but I was wrecked Saturday. The Mizz still gets up early. Apparently I'd have to be gone a lot longer than two weeks for that to change. Franny and I both were in no mood to make the 5+ hour trip up to my folks' place just to turn around and do it again the next day, so we'll have to catch them again later. We're hoping to make a slightly longer weekend out of it and make the drive more worth it. Hopefully in about 3 or 4 weeks when we can open up a weekend.

I've been playing catchup since I got back, and I'm still tired; thus the dearth of blogging. I enjoy rambling to the world, but you know I'm tight on time and energy when I forgo the opportunity to spout my opinions about things. I think I'm about done with the critical stuff though, so tonight's a normal sleep night, if I still remember what that is, and maybe I can get back to blogging insignificant drivel.

Oh, and we had an earthquake Sunday night. It wasn't huge, and if I was asleep, I certainly would have missed it. But it was sort of amusing to see my lamp shaking just a little and try to figure out what was happening. At first I wasn't sure I actually saw anything, but then I realized I was feeling something too. It felt like when our washing machine is on the spin cycle. The machine is on the second floor, and although this is great for use, you can slightly notice a shaking when the spin is on, maybe like a large truck speeding by your house. Anyway it felt like that, but the machine was not on. I had a slight suspicion of earthquake, but it's been so long since I felt one (about 25 years or so), that I had no way of knowing. Anyway, I caught the news Monday morning and found that, indeed, there had been a 3.6 quake about 40 miles away and 14 miles underground. No reports of damage, but it interested a science geek.

The oxygen reference has to do with the lesson I learn every time I travel to Idaho or Montana. At four or five thousand feet, I feel insanely out of shape. At first, I always blame it on lack of sleep or crappy food or whatever. However, after a few days of getting winded after one flight of stairs, I usually remember the altitude and cut myself some slack. The first, and worst, example of this was a couple years ago in Burley, Idaho (motto: Nothing to do but drop out of high school and get pregnant early.). I went out for a run, and although I wasn't in the best shape (as if I am now...), I felt absolutely pathetic running for maybe a half mile before I had to stop and gasp for breath. I felt like a complete schmuck walking back to the hotel, although being Burley, there was nobody around and therefore no reason to feel too much embarrassment. I didn't think until the next day to check and find that Burley is at 4150 feet. Anyway, it took me a few days again this time, and it felt great to take the Mizz out in the backpack when I got back and realize that I could, in fact, handle some physical exertion, at least at the 200 feet or so where I live.