07.28.2005: A Snake in the Grass

Distance: approx. 5 miles
Time: 55:04
Location: Claremont Wilderness Park
Notes: I took it easy tonight and kept a slower, yet still strong pace up the hill. The time is nowhere near my fastest, but it compares favorably to the other runs I've done at the trails. I just had to go out for a run tonight and clear my head. Work was tiring today, and I've also had a couple of things on my mind that have been bothering me. I don't know if it's the endorphins or it's as simple as running myself until I'm too exhausted to brew over the things that are bothering me, but running--I've said it before--is the best way to relieve stress.

During the run, I thought about this blog and how the title has nothing to do with running. Fact is, I love the title, and I may adopt it for my other blog that I've had for over two years now. However, I've found it easier to write on this blog since the purpose is so direct and simple. Every time I try to write something on the other blog, it just seems so daunting and pointless. I do realize I'm not talking about running any more, so I should stop, but I just had to say that I like this blog a lot. I may just give up the other blog and just use this one.

While I'm on an unrelated tangent, I got hit on last night at Jamba Juice. Unfortunately it was by a group of female nurses. As I was walking in, I heard someone say, "I like your ass," but I took it for granted that it was not intended for me. After I got my drink and headed back outside, one of the girls kept smiling at me and asked how I was doing. I was kind of flattered. I'm never hit upon. Still, it's frustrating that I'm only attractive to heteros. It also pointed out that I'm quite oblivious when someone is flirting with me. I must remember that I am a sexy beast.

The title of this entry refers to my encounter with a rattlesnake near the end of my run. I was going to write it as a suspenseful encounter, but I just don't have the energy right now. Bill Murray is on Letterman and I have to go watch, so I'll be brief and to the point. As I'm running downhill, I pass two young women, and soon after I am passed by a Vietnames bicyclist zooming down the hill. I think he's Vietnamese, but he could easily be Cambodian. About fifty feet ahead of me, the bicyclist stops and turns around, smiling and motioning towards us. I have no idea what it means or if he's communicating with me. I thought he was trying to flirt with the young women, so I keep running. When I get near him he tells me, "I saw a rattlesnake."

"Where?" I say. He points behind me where I just passed and half-hidden by the dried brush at the foot of the hill is a black thing that looks nothing like a snake. Had he not told me, I would not have noticed or paid any attention to it. I can't verify that it was, indeed, a rattler. I'm of the persuasion that most people exagerrate, but I'm sure it was a snake based on the screams from one of the young women behind me. I kept on running after that, but for some distance I could hear one of the women screaming, "I AM NOT COMING ANYWHERE NEAR THAT SNAKE!"

So there it is. After a long, trying day, heck, week, I almost got bit by a (suspected) rattlesnake.

P.S. I ordered Pad Se Ew today for lunch, and I ate the leftovers right after my run inside my car. I ate with my hands. It never tasted so good.