Day 4 in Phoenix

Oh hey, it's you again....reading my blog. Man you're creepy. It's Saturday night in Phoenix, and while all my pals back home are partying and my friends in Europe are sleeping....here I am writing my blog. With the joy of first time home ownership comes the struggle associated with saving your pennies. Also, all my bootcamp pals flew home to where they came from this afternoon. I'm not complaining actually. It's been a long time since I actually took time for myself and relaxed on a weekend.

So mountain climbing before exams is a tried tested and true method of acing them. I got 100% on my exam yesterday, which is apparently a big deal for first time attendees at this training session. So, everyone was rooting for me to win one of Tom Hopkins' paintings - but I had to ace the second exam to get it (By the way, this painting resembled one of those tacky neon soft core Pocahontas paintings you find tucked away at the back of a native gift shop/gas station on the highway north of Parry Sound. But it's not the art that mattered, it was the accomplishment it represented...or something cheesy like that). Anyway, I was damn certain I would get that painting and bring it back to the office.

So last night, what did I do? I certainly didn't climb a mountain. I could have, but being an international student, I was invited to Tom Hopkins' house for drinks and finger foods where he encouraged us to walk around and see how many of those cheap native gift shop paintings he had all over his big expensive house. Anyway, no mountain climbing and no running. But I did study hard and I memorized EVERYTHING so I thought I was on a sure path toward the sunbirdfirepocahontas picture.

This morning I woke up pleased that I beat my alarm clock. I guess I was just that excited to kill this exam? Ya, I look at my phone - it's 9:47 am. My alarm was set for 6:00 am and for 6:20 am just in case I slept through the first one. For a second I thought my phone got confused and went back to EST time zone. Then I check the room clock. F*$K! I look at my phone, my alarm was still set and was never turned off. HOW DID I SLEEP FOR 12 HOURS STRAIGHT THEN?!?!

I was ready in 10 minutes and out the door. I arrived at bootcamp just as everyone was grading their exams. Again, F*$K! Man, I was resiting all the answers word for word as Tom was taking them up. I would have had 100% again. Why didn't I climb that effing mountain last night?!?!? I need to find a way to pack that thing up and take it home for my Accounting exam this Fall. So....as you presume, no painting for me. I screwed up my shot. On the bright side, I didn't miss any new material in the course - just the test. And I don't have to sheepishly carry that thing on to the plane, politely telling people "My Grandma gave it to me." I guess I have to come back next year.

So, today I ran. After all, this blog is titled Jerk Runs Around the World. Just 6 KM today. I actually hadn't run in over a week because I hurt my hamstring, but today felt great. I guess I'm in my groove again. And oh yes, the scenery was lovely. The sun was shining, it was blistering hot, the mountains and cacti were out to play. There was a wind storm - but it didn't phase me at all. Neither did the heat actually. Absolutely no issues with running in Arizona on a hot August afternoon through strong winds. Probably because I was on a treadmill in the resort's fitness room. Sorry. But hey, I had a nice view!

On my walk back, I ran into the little hoodlums I always see loitering on resort property. Can anybody tell me what the deal is with these guys? I don't know who they are, but their language is wack. I posted a video below. If you or anyone you know has any information, please leave anonymous tips in the comment section. 

The sky looks awesome every night.

Peace out!

-Jerk

Day 2, Phoenix

Oh Haro! This is my first full day in Phoenix Arizona. Holy eff it is effing hot in this effing place. Pardon my effing French. Yesterday it was 46 degrees, today it was 44. Ironically, I froze my tush off all day at the training conference I'm here for. Maybe they thought if it was winter inside, it would balance out the heat storm outside?

Anyway, the conference I'm here for is great. I'm learning how to "Master the Art of Selling". I should actually refer to it by it's proper term - bootcamp. I have 22 pages of material to memorize tonight (and I mean word for word) for a test tomorrow. And yes, I have to pass. I have a mean horrible boss back home who threatened me with violence if I fail (Hi, Rick!). So, tonight is packed with studying. But  I have a pre-study ritual that I used throughout my high school and college days and that is to climb a mountain. Yup, every night before a test, I trek up a big old beast of a mountain.
That's not true.... but it's what I did tonight. I climbed a big huge brown rock underneath the blistering sun. It was amazing.

I know I'm supposed to be "running around the world" but come on! I can politely jog through rush hour traffic in suburbia or I can drive out a couple miles and climb a fricken mountain in the desert! I loaded on the SPF 30 (which I sweated off in 5 minutes and as a result look Mexican), grabbed a big jug of water (finished at my halfway point) and up the mountain I went. I have to say, it was a humbling experience. Here I think I'm in pretty decent shape but within minutes I was huffing and puffing with 65 year old men passing me on the way up. I even saw a few people RUN up this thing! Actually, one woman ran passed me coming down, then a little while later, she passed me again running back up. Wait...so she ran up, ran down and then up again?? This thing was 1.5 miles and let me tell you, when you're going up a steep rocky incline in desert heat, it feels like 10. Kudos to her!

While I was up there, I took some photos and one video to give an almost panoramic view over the city of Phoenix. As a bonus, the sun was setting so it was really beautiful. I've never posted photos or videos to a blog entry before until now, so hopefully it works and you can look at them now.

I have to say, one of the most enjoyable aspects of this experience, and also surprising, was doing it alone. Normally, I wouldn't do something like this unless I had a friend to join me. Of course it's safer to do this with a friend, and it also helps to have someone beside you, motivating you to move forward. A friend is also a witness to what you accomplished doing such a climb. But doing it by myself was great. I was able to stay completely focused on my surroundings and the mission. Nobody to complain about the heat to. Nobody to talk about my day or gossip with. Nobody asking me about work. It was really peaceful being up there by myself and taking in the whole experience in a pure form. And I'm the only witness I need for the great things I do (as well as everyone who reads this blog...crap!)

Drinking alone: bad. Adventures alone: good.  I need to go on more solo adventures. I really suggest you try it :)

And now I have to study for that dang test in the morning.... peace out homies!

-Jerk

Let's try this...

Hey Folks,

Some of you may know that I have a lot of travel coming up. Tomorrow morning, I leave for Phoenix for a week. The day after I get home from Phoenix, I'm off to France, Scotland, Norway, Italy, back to Scotland, Italy, France and possibly Germany and Slovakia. This is almost five weeks of travel! And that's just the beginning. Being in sales for a consulting company that serves global corporations, travel is part of the job.

So, some of you may also be aware that I'm serious about fitness. For the last 8 months, I've been spending about 10 hours a week in the gym. I set weight loss and fat loss goals and hit them (which by the way, can drive one crazy). Now, with all this travel, I can look forward to small European hotels without gyms and excuse my drooling, but I am really looking forward to the culinary options Europe has to offer (especially France and Italy!!).... give me a minute while I daydream about the warm loaves of French bread waiting for me every morning at breakfast...and then at lunch....and then at dinner.....and then ordered to my room for a night time snack...and then...mmmmmm

So here's the deal - I'm going to run around the world. Last time I was in Paris, my Holiday Inn had a closet sized gym from the 70's so I said "Eff this! I'll just run along the Seine!" Duh. Why was I going to choose a gym over jogging along the Seine in Paris on a beautiful sunny day in April in the first place? So, run in Paris I did. While I was out, I posted photos to Facebook and commented on my experience. Apparently, this was interesting to people. So here I am, creating a blog about my experiences running all over the world. For now, America and Europe. I'll expand later. Throughout the next few weeks though, I'll take photos with my iPhone of majestic Norwegian landscapes, ancient Italian structures and sometimes.... the European equivalents of Mississauga. Sorry, but since we work in the manufacturing industry, we don't always get to be in the hippest areas. In the meantime, I will balance out all the simple carbs and hopefully not come home twice as large. And maybe you'll enjoy the photos and stories along the way.

Stay tuned folks. Phoenix is first....44 degrees all week....If I end up having to run naked, I'll make sure to censor the photos somewhat.