Now I'm a Quaker and a Run Commuter

We made it to PA!! I think everybody who reads my blog reads Rebecca's too, so you know we arrived safely and though it took awhile, we now have the internet. So, I am back to blogging.

Where to start? So many things about life in PA are different. One huge bonus to living here is my commute to work. This is my first full week at my new location (same job, new place), and after tomorrow I will have run 4 out of 5 days. Wednesday I elected not to run since I was going to the pool before work, and I was running critically low on clean clothes and food at work. The run is 4.2 miles each way, so I'll log 36 miles this week just getting to work. That's fantastic! I used to sit on I-40 in North Carolina for about an hour and a half a day, now I just pull on running shoes and I'm at work 30 minutes later. A lot of you know I planned it this way, we only looked at houses within a 5 mile radius of my job so I could do this. But I have to say its better than I imagined.

There are some funny things about being a run commuter I have noticed in my first 5 trips. One is that its critically important to be organized. On Saturday I stopped by the office while we were out shopping and dropped off the following items to get me through the week:
1. 2 complete sets of work clothes, including shoes
2. Shower kit with deodorant, towel, comb, etc
3. Food for the week: 1 case of baked beans, 1 case of chicken soup, 1 box crackers, 1 case oatmeal, 3 boxes of pop tarts, 6 cartons of egg beaters, 3 cans of tuna, and 1 case of canned peaches.

Number three is funny. Its so odd to pile up all the food you'll eat for breakfast and lunch in a week and see how much it is. While I haven't eaten everything I have done some damage: the pop tarts are gone, I ate 4 cans each of the beans (oh the poor chemist who sits next to me!), the peaches, and the soup, I ate all the tuna and the entire box of crackers, 8 packs of oatmeal, and 3 cartons of egg beaters.

Now being this organized did backfire a little. Last week on Thursday, I locked the file cabinet that serves as my pantry/closet and forgot the keys the next day...which just so happened to be my first full day at work. So yes, I had to sit there at my desk in my running clothes and wait for my loving wife to drive the keys in to me (which I realize defeats the entire purpose of being green by run commuting). Now this would not be so bad if I was just wearing typical running clothes. But, it was 15 degrees Friday morning, so I was basically wearing every item of run clothing I owned. Plus, Rebecca makes me wear an orange reflective vest and a bunch of flashing red lights too. My co-workers laughed their butts off at me, and accused me of moonlighting as a crossing guard.

Other than that, its been pretty normal. The weather has been decent enough, and traffic isn't so bad. I really like getting hom and already having 8 miles in the books. I am sure there will be more funny stories to come.