C25K - Complete!

I finished C25K this morning - I did W9D3, the final 1/2 hour run. I wasn't feeling great, and I never settled into the run they way I had on D2 & D3, but I pounded out the 30 minutes at 9:40/mile.

So, as I've said before, I'm transitioning into the One Hour Runner program and continuing to run every other day. I cannot say enough good things about the C25K program.

Braaaaaaaiiiiiinnnz!

So, this is the inaugural post of my running blog, where I'll give you, the reader, some background info on me, the blogger, as well as define the goals I'm working on.

I'm Andy. I live in the Phoenix area and I love zombie movies and books. About two months ago, my girlfriend (we'll just call her Laurel to protect her identity) found an app in iTunes application store called C25K. We'd both talked about getting in better shape, but usually just stumbled along and quit because we would get frustrated with lack of structure or progress. C25K uses the Couch to 5K Running Program to work the user up from a complete couch potato to a 5K runner in 9 weeks. It tells the user when to walk, when to run and when the workout is complete - you never have to look at your watch. I paid the $2.99 for the app. So far, it's the only paid app I've purchased for my iPhone and may have been the best $3 I ever spent.

I dragged myself through the workouts, at first just running on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but after couple weeks switching to running every other day in the oppressive Arizona summer. Today is my off day between W9D2 (Week 9, Day 2) and W9D3. That means that tomorrow, I'll complete the C25K program. I ran 3.14 miles on both W9D1 and W9D2, so tomorrow should just be a repeat.

Speaking of repeats, the next eight running days should be like Groundhog Day. I'm overlapping the last week of C25K with the first week of One Hour Runner since they're exactly the same.

I'm planning to run a neighborhood 5K fun run on September 19. At this point, I feel like I'm pretty prepared for that.

The goal now is the Nike+ Human Race 10K on October 24. As of today, I have 57 days to get ready to run 6.2 miles on that day.

You Cannot Petition the Lord With Prayer

I haven't bothered to blog anything in a long time, and I'd like to get back to the occasional observational humor piece. Maybe I'll start another blog about running. Or not. First, though, I want to work through another issue.

Lately I've noticed a lot of requests from friends, acquaintances and extended family members asking people to pray for their sick or injured loved ones. I don't really think there have been more of these requests lately, rather that I've just noticed them more. These requests are all obviously well-intentioned and come from a wide variety of faiths, although most from Abrahamic believers. Intentions notwithstanding, though, I couldn't help but ponder their implications as I lay awake the other night, struck by insomnia (I suppose I could have begged my friends to pray for God to bless me with sleep).

If God answers prayers, which you would have to at least somewhat believe in order make or grant a request of prayer, why would He create the situation that requires prayers? Why allow the wasting disease, the car accident, the violent incident to occur? Does He hold us hostage until we meet an unspecified ransom demand of a certain number of Hail Marys? Or do we just have to pester Him until He relents? And who are we, His created, to second guess His will? If He desires that I should die, what right do my loved ones have to demand He change his mind? Jim Morrison said that "You cannot petition the lord with prayer," and I see no reason to disagree with him.

This brings us to the Problem of Evil. Epicurus presented the Problem well before Christianity, and to my knowledge it has never been sufficiently answered.

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?

Or, even more succinctly:

1. If a perfectly good god exists, then there is no evil in the world.
2. There is evil in the world.
3. Therefore, a perfectly good god does not exist.

Let us return to the question of prayer.

• Does God need us to inform Him of the tragedies in our lives so that He may prevent them? Then He is not omniscient or omnipotent.
• Does God want us to beg him for mercy, to save us from our injuries and illnesses? Then He is not benevolent. In fact, He is a capricious bully, twisting our arms until we cry "uncle" (and then usually breaking the arm, anyway).
  

I don't really blame people for praying for the things they want and asking that others do the same. It's a great way to feel like they're doing something when they're really doing nothing. But I have to wonder about whether they've thought through these inconsistencies. If you've worked them out, I'd love to hear the solutions.

Now Texas knows what Tina went through

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Silly Texans. Hurricanes can't read.

Petting a Burning Dog

I decided to let Dairy Queen know that the response I received was inadequate.

Paul,

I believe you've missed the point. I realize that you're essentially a clerk at Tell Us About Us, a third party customer feedback contractor, and that your job is to copy and paste form letters. Perhaps I'm expecting too much if I'm disappointed that you pasted the wrong form letter.

The email that I sent to Dairy Queen on Thursday was less an "idea for a promotion, product or service" than a complaint over the irrefutable fact that the Blizzard of the Month was a regular menu item. The special was not special. It was tired, ordinary, and lazy. I realize that the Blizzard of the Month is most likely determined through marketing agreements with corporations like Nabisco and Hershey's, but this is no excuse for wasting a month by simply re-hashing the same old thing. I can go to any number of fast food establishments to get ice cream or a milkshake with Oreos mixed in. I expect something original and exciting from the Blizzard of the Month.

Andy

To which I received a rather terse reply:

Dear Mr. Andy,

Paul is one of my employees, not some "essentially a clerk at Tell Us About Us, a third party customer feedback contractor, and that your job is to copy and paste form letters" and he sent out the response I had instructed him to send out.

I am so very sorry that you were disappointed that the Blizzard of the Month for August was Oreo, and I assure you that disappointment has been forwarded to our product development team.

On the other hand, we are unable to accept any product suggestions from anyone outside of the Dairy Queen system, and as that appeared to be the point of your correspondence, that is why you received the response you did. Yes, some of our correspondence is formatted as form letters due to the volume of contacts we receive. I am sorry that we have disappointed you on that level as well.

Thank you for sharing your opinion regarding our Blizzard of the Month for August, and that you are looking for something original and exciting from the Blizzard of the Month program. I will ensure that is passed along for you.

Regards,

Carolyn

Carolyn

Senior Consumer Relations Manager

International Dairy Queen, Inc.

Special of the Month is Not Special

Text of an email that I sent to Dairy Queen:

I went to the DQ near my office the other day in search of a Blizzard. I have enjoyed many of the special Blizzards of the Month, especially the Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie Blizzard, and I was looking forward to discovering this month’s tasty surprise. Imagine my disappointment when I found that August’s Blizzard was Oreo.

Now, I like Oreos, and there is nothing wrong with an Oreo Blizzard. It’s just rather ordinary. It would be a bit like Bud Lite being the beer of the week at the local watering hole, disregarding hundreds of micro brews, or even other fine Anheuser-Busch products. A Blizzard of the Month should be exciting, even daring. I surmised that Dairy Queen had run out of ideas for the Blizzard of the Month. So, I came up with a list of Blizzards that should keep things interesting for the next few years:

Chocolate Covered Cherry in vanilla ice cream
Lucky Charms
Gummi Bears
Cinnamon Bears
Red Hots
Gum Balls
Chiclets
Chunky Peanut Butter
Ginger Snaps
Molasses Cookies
Granola
Circus Animal Cookies
Cheez-Its
Rice Krispie Treats
Snack Mix (Chex Mix or Gardetto’s)
Communion Wafers
Bacos in mint ice cream
Onion
Bacon Cheeseburger
Jalapeño
Old phone books
Motor oil
Afro Sheen
Shoelaces
Legos
Pocket lint
Horseradish

And the response:

Dear Mr. Andy,

Thank you for taking the time to write to International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ). We are honored that you would like to share your idea for a promotion, product or service with us.

At this time IDQ does not accept any unsolicited ideas from sources outside the company and its suppliers and agencies. We recognize that there are wonderful ideas generated every day and that they can come from a variety of sources. Unfortunately because of the volume of correspondence IDQ receives every day and the challenges surrounding evaluating each idea to determine whether it is a new idea versus an idea that is already being developed or tested, or one that has already been
considered, IDQ must maintain its policy of not accepting unsolicited ideas.

We are very sorry to decline your offered idea and truly appreciate your interest in Dairy Queen!

Best Regards,

Consumer Relations
International Dairy Queen, Inc.
www.dairyqueen.com


Paul B
Dairy Queen Customer Feedback Program
INTERNATIONAL DAIRY QUEEN, INC.

It doesn't bother me in the slightest that Dairy Queen can't accept suggestions, or that they sent me a form letter. I have little doubt that the Blizzard of the Month is determined through marketing agreements with companies like Nabisco and The Girl Scouts of America.

Paul B misses the point, though, that taking an item from the menu and calling it special doesn't make it special.

Desperation is a Stinky Cologne

On the way home from work the other day, I stopped at a mostly empty strip mall, anchored by an office supply store and a home improvement store. I wanted to look for a clearance deal on a digital camera and some sort of noxious chemical to keep spiders away from my house.

The emptiness of the strip mall was reflected in the parking lot. I found a spot about halfway between the two other stores. There wasn't another car within two rows. I turned off the car and got out.

Almost immediately, a woman in her late forties or early fifties was within arms reach of me. She said she was a realtor, and asked me if I was in the market to buy or sell a house.

"No, thank you," I replied, somewhat shaken. I started to move toward the stores. Her apparel did not seem to contradict her claim to be a real estate agent.

She was persistent, calling after me, "do you know anyone that is looking to buy or sell?"

A curt "thank you, no," was all I could muster as I walked away. I struck out on the camera, and as I walked between the stores, I noticed the realtor trying the same tactic on another hapless shopper.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket (I'll have to write later about having the Internet in my pants) and checked the temperature. The airport reading was 108 ° Fahrenheit.

Two thoughts immediately occurred to me: her desperation and my failure.

I've been out of work, over-invested, and desperate before. But I couldn't fathom the desperation required to proposition random strangers in a hot, dusty, and almost deserted parking lot. The real estate market is bad; stagnancy would be an improvement at this point. But this seemed to be only a few steps away from stepping in front of a tractor trailer.

I failed to observe this woman before I got out of my car. My sense of rational paranoia usually forces me to keep a rolling catalog of people around me, and when possible I avoid closing within about ten yards. It’s not that I’m not a trusting person; I just don’t trust most people. How I missed the realtor, in her bright green blouse and multicolored skirt, I don’t know. I’m considering it a wake up call, and I’m glad her ambitions were to only take me for six percent.