Fast passports and slow runs

Today some amazing things happened. I will tell you about two of them. First of all, I ran eleven miles, but that's not the amazing part. The amazing part is that after dragging my feet, spending a lot of time on the couch, and just generally putting off going, while I was stretching I lay there consoling myself with this thought: "Well, it's only eleven miles." This is because the past few weeks I have been running twelve miles or a little more. So that's how my brain has progressed. I officially motivated/consoled myself with the thought that I had "only" eleven miles to run. !

Before I went running, though, another amazing thing happened. My new passport came in the mail! Why is this amazing, you ask? Because I sent off the application a week ago. ONE week. Everyone has been all up in a snit about the looooooong passport processing times and I was totally buying into the hype, even sitting here wondering aloud to Brian for some time as I filled out the app whether I should spring for the expedited processing (because of my upcoming Honduras trip! see below), but in the end I decided not to. And how glad am I! ONE WEEK, people. When I sent off my stuff I dutifully read the State Department's web site, which stated that they have added extra staff to all locations in an effort to contend with the new higher demand (the whole Canada/Mexico thing and whatnot--ugh, Bush-Cheney-Rice, ugh!) Well done!

One week! I'm so proud of the State Department! Way to problem solve.

So the reason for all this needing-to-renew-my-passport and wondering-if-it-would-get-here-in-time is that in about five weeks I am slated to go to Honduras with Habitat for Humanity Global Village. We will spend one week building houses in San Pedro Sula. I am so excited for the chance to build something, and I am trying to fundraise in order to meet the cost of the trip. You can contribute to my Habitat for Humanity trip online:

Click here to visit my Honduras trip page.

But you can also donate my phone or by mailing a check, you just have to give them my Habitat i.d. # 90563082 and trip i.d. GV8261. I am super grateful for all the support I have received for this trip. Don't think you have to donate big...every dollar is helpful. (I'm totally serious. I would love my friends to donate a dollar. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and all that...)

In other news, I finally addressed the long-awaited question Am I a Literary Snob? over on my literary supplement, so go check it out.

GO SUNS!