The CragBaby

My friend Darren had a post concerning getting all bloggers registered to vote. I couldn’t agree more as it is our responsibility to have our voice be heard, knowing that we CAN make a difference in the way our country is governed.

Darren had the link to GoVote.org (another link I would like to add is RocktheVote.com). Both sites are easy to use with the only necessary steps being to fill out your personal information and put a stamp on the paper. You don’t need an envelope nor need to hassle with writing the address. It is that easy!

For all you bloggers, GoVote.org has widgets that you can add to your site to keep the word spreading. Let’s make a viral effort to get everyone registered to vote!

Ms. Pear and I decided to run the half marathon course in preparation for race day. Both of us had done the full marathon, agreeing that the course is quite mentally challenging, but neither of us had done the half marathon route.

The course starts at the University of Utah Olympic Legacy Bridge and winds itself through foothill, sugarhouse park, the main strip of sugarhouse, liberty park, pioneer park and ends at the Gateway. The course highlights many of the great neighborhoods of Salt Lake, but is also well laid out in the sense of very few hills and enough turns to avoid the mental block.

Ms. Pear and I are shooting for a 2 hour race time and we completed our run in 2 hours and 2min, plus probably an extra 10 minutes when we stopped to look at the map or eat some Gu (which we did not calculate into our time). I think both Ms. Pear and I are feeling pretty good about the course and are getting excited for race day.

There are two areas of Salt Lake City undergoing development at this time, both of which are a complete shame. The first is Sugarhouse, one of the handful of unique areas in Salt Lake City that is known for its little shops and not-as-conservative attitude. The core of this area is being redeveloped and will be filled with offices and big business. It is such a shame! All the little shops are having to move (having been given a 90 day notice) and the Sugarhouse area will lose its unique feel.

My friend (nicknamed #11) sent me on this info of who to contact if wanting to have your voice heard. The information is:

The Council Office is in Room 304 of the City & County Building.
451 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

Comment Line: 801-535-7654 (24 hour voicemail)
Tel: 801-535-7600
Fax: 801-535-7651
council.comments@slcgov.com

The second area of town under development is the base of Big Cottonwood. It seriously pains me to see the development every time I drive up the canyon. The base now has a huge ramp that will lead to a road where houses will be built. I understand that Salt Lake is growing rapidly, but why must we ruin our canyons in order to put up large houses? Utah is known for its great outdoors and open space ….. let the canyons be.

Yesterday I did my first substantial long run of ten miles in preparation of this 1/2 marathon. I feel like a run under 10 miles is pretty do-able, with the pain kicking in when I start to push the double digits of miles. However, the ten mile run not only felt great, but I was able to run almost the whole time (1/2 mile was used to take my dog out and she wasn’t in the mood to jog). It is funny with running because some days feel awesome and others are horrible and I haven’t quite figured out all the variables needed to create the fantastic days.

Next weekend I am looking to find a running partner to run the actual path of the race. If anyone is interested, let me know.

I am a slow adopter when it comes to listening to music and/or liking music. I’ve had friends give me cds that I haven’t listened to for about a year, and then when I do I absolutely love them. Or I will hear a song and think it is ok, but upon listening to it again it can become my favorite tune. Thank goodness for sites like Last.fm, Pandora and the iTunes beta “For You” section as these services help me branch out.

I wrote about Local Musicians from Price, Utah last week and wanted give an update on that post. When I first received the Poetry for the Masses cd I thought it was good and instantly had two favorites (very rare for me). However, I have now listened to the cd probably once (if not twice) a day since then as it runs in the background as I work from home on my part time research gig. I now have numerous favorites within the thirteen song collection and truly think Ben has an amazing voice. I would urge you to at least check it out or possibly get a copy of your own. One of my favorite tunes of the album is still on my myspace page.