Earth Hour 2011 Official video

Please do your part, it's only 1 hour!!!

Relay for Life Part II

As some of you know by now, either through emails or by reading my previous posting I am participating in the Relay for Life here in Monterey.  I am captaining a team called West Coast Family Ties, a play off of the team I was involved with the past two years, Angie's Family Ties.  What you might not know is that you do NOT have to be local to join my team and can join online and do your own fundraising from wherever you are!!!  Click here to join West Coast Family Ties!

And sign up! So to all my Boston, Maine, NH, Florida, NorCal, SoCal, bloggers, FB, twitter, (wherever you may be) friends you can still be part of this amazing team!  Then you can start doing your own fundraising and that will help me raise even more money for my team and overall for the American Cancer Society.  If this is something you'd be interested in doing please do not hesitate to sign up.  If you feel better just making a donation that is great too, any small amount helps and if even just 20 of you make a $5 donation I make my minimum amount of $100.  My personal goal is $250 though so I'd like to hit that mark and make a good example for my teammates (yes I have a few teammates now but I need more!).

Another thing you might not know is that I am also on the Planning Committee.  I was asked to head up the Sponsorship portion of the Planning Committee.  This has seemed to be quite a challenge but I'm trying really hard.  I've never had to do anything quite like this before so it is an unbelievable learning experience.  And just like the online teammates if you know of or have any businesses that would be interested in sponsoring our event please let me know.  Again, they do not need to be in the area but will be recognized as a Relay for Life sponsor for Monterey Peninsula.  Please email me for details if you are interested (rflcpayne@gmail.com or cpayne422@gmail.com).

I know my teammates, family, and friends appreciate your support.  And I am personally grateful for everyone's support and help that I have been given while I try to run this ship!  Don't stop donating to West Coast Family Ties and spread the word!!!  This disease has touched us all so let's work together towards a solution!!!

Love you all!

6 months Part 2

The next significance of six months is that this is how long I have been in Monterey!!!  Technically it'll be on the 22nd (which also signifies a one-month countdown to 30!) but it's close enough.  The last six months have truly flown by.  It honestly feels like I'm stuck in a dream just waiting to wake up and be back at the New England Aquarium dismantling jelly tanks and dealing with sick fish.  My goodbye party, although somewhat a blur seems like it happened just last week when I had to say goodbye to people I was only starting to become really close with.  I am just waiting to take that trip back to reality where I'm still living at home with my crazy, but amazing family that I spent the last three years working so hard to become closer to after my four year absence in Florida.

My life has certainly been an interesting one and has led me through some peaks, valleys, taken me on numerous rollercoasters, off cliffs, and now I'm living a dream...in California, at arguably the best aquarium in the country, and it just all seems too surreal.  I'm worried that I'm Jack Shepard in LOST in Season 6 when they do NOT crash and life is too perfect; only for him to realize that he is dead and everyone else is waiting for him so they can all move on (I know, a bit morbid).  But even though things are going really well and I have seen so much over the last six months, things obviously cannot be perfect.

I miss my family terribly and I miss Boston as well.  I remember what it was like in Florida every year that baseball season came about and I got to only watch 10-20 games on Fox, ESPN, or at the Trop.  It was one of the main reasons I wanted to move back.  I miss the pride, honor, and faith that Boston fans have with their teams.  We are legit wack-jobs when it comes to sports but you don't find fans like this too many other places.  Go Sox!

I don't want to dwell on what can be perceived as negative emotions though because I am lucky to be here with these opportunities in front of me.  What I have been given has enlightened me to think more positively than ever before and it's an amazing feeling to have!  I have seen things I've never even imagined possible all because I took the advice of a now ex-girlfriend and applied for a job I never in my life thought I could have.  It just shows that some risks are worth taking.  And even though I may not be where I thought I would be a few years ago, I'm certainly glad my path has lead me here.  This is a great life and I'm happy I get to share it with all of you!

I haven't been on any adventures recently (too many long runs) so I don't have any new pictures to show but hopefully I'll head out somewhere soon; especially with only one month to complete my list!!!

Love you all!

6 months Part 1

Less than 6 months until the Big Sur Marathon and I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I'm already mentally and physically ahead of where I was for my last marathon back in 2009.  I'm not completing my long runs in any record fashion, but I'm completing them and that is all that matters.  This past Saturday I went out for 20 and in what can only be described as a classic C Payne adventure, I led myself onward for an extra two miles.  I was fine with this though because I had mentally prepared myself to go 21 so that extra mile, although somewhat painful, wasn't too big a deal.

This week is thankfully much shorter in distance and my body needs it.  Instead of 5, 10, and 20+ mile runs it's just 5s, 6s and 12.  I never thought I'd be truly thankful to only have to run 12 miles on a Saturday but my knees, feet, back and hip are grateful for it (please no emails Mom, I'm fine so relax!)

It's funny how I can compare myself mentally now to where I was almost two years ago.  That was the toughest training I had ever experienced because I had never physically put myself through that before and hadn't any idea what to expect.  Now I know that I'm physically capable of running 26.2 miles and even though I might not be killing it time-wise, I can still finish the distance without breaking down (mentally or physically) somewhere in between.

Negative side-effects???  Besides the aches and pains I'm just physically exhausted.  I finish a 3.5 hour run and I'm completely useless afterwards.  Even mid-week when I'm only running 5-10 miles I have no energy by the time I get home, shower, relax, cook dinner and hopefully do the dishes.  At this point it's almost 10:00 and time for bed!!!  Marathon training is ridiculously time-consuming and I do not understand how people do this all year round.

These next six weeks are going to fly by though and then it'll be all over and I'm sure I'll get suckered into training for another one at some point; hopefully Boston or Chicago 2012.  Until then though the training continues...

Dropkick Murphys-Drink and Fight

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Be safe but have fun!

Facebook Venting

I'm sorry but with as much time as I spend on Facebook I have to admit that some of these "mass" posts are getting to be a bit ridiculous.  And if you don't post it does that mean you are not supporting the cause???  I don't agree...

And where, no excuse me why are grown ups posting about being bullied??  Who are you trying to reach here?  Are you trying to send a message to all of the high school students that are following your posts?  And if so, why are high school, or God forbid middle school children your friends on FB?? That's just creepy!  Yeah, bullying sux and I would hope that as grown adults nobody would support bullying, but guess what that was a long time ago for any of your friends reading your "I hate bullying" after-school special.

If I do not re-post someones posting about how cancer sux does that make me a horrible person?  Is that how you view me?  Because in your post it says you know I will [repost this on my wall for 1 hour]!  Do you really?  My family, just like every other family out there has been effected in some way by this horrific disease, but just because I am not announcing it to the world doesn't make me a bad person...or does it??  Again grown adults here who we all hope are compassionate enough to understand that cancer is miserable for an infinite number of reasons, and we shouldn't need to prove it to anyone!

Japan...what has happened and is continuing to happen is so unbelievably horrible that words cannot do it justice.  But when I go online and see people asking why nobody is talking about the nuclear meltdowns, questioning us Americans as a society, I really have to ask why we should be talking about it [on Facebook]?  Everyone knows what is happening.  Do I need to post on Facebook that I feel bad for the Japanese and that they are in my prayers for people to know that I truly wish the best for everyone over there?  I hope people know me well enough to know that I'm praying for these unfortunate victims.

Matthew 6:1-18(specifically 6:5-10) says not to pray like the hypocrites do, loudly on the street corners so people can see them pray.  It says to pray behind closed doors, where God can see you and for that he will reward you.

So I'm not going to announce to the FB world that I am praying for Japan, that I hate how cancer impacts my life on a daily basis, or that bullying sux.  I know that I believe in these things and so does God and my parents, so why do I need to make it known to everyone else?  And more importantly, why do YOU need to make it known to everyone else?  Please help me out here, I just don't understand!!!  My ignorance here is not giving me bliss, it's driving me crazy!

I'm sorry I am venting and I should really just stay off Facebook altogether.  I almost gave it up for lent...is it too late to change my mind?

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

Tweeting

I started a twitter account: @imcpayne (http://twitter.com/imcpayne)  I know, I know, but Charlie Sheen just has the best quotes so I had to jump on the band wagon!

Tsunami What???

Welcome to the West Coast Chris Payne!  

I will preface this post by letting you all know that I do not have television and usually have to go out of my way to figure out what is going on in the real world, so when sporadic events such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis happen I don't hear about them until after the fact.  

4:11AM: (TEXT) Wendy - "I know it's early there but are you evacuating?"

(IN MY HEAD) - "What the hell is she talking about? What's going on?  Why should I be evacuating? Why don't I own a GD TV!"

Luckily my computer was right next to my bed so I opened it up and immediately went to CNN.com to find out why I should NOT be in my apt: 8.9 Earthquake Devastates Japan

Awesome!  

Followed up by: Tsunamis to reach Hawaii and the West Coast of the U.S.

Even better!

(TEXT) To Wendy - "No.  I'll let you know if I do."

4:45AM: (Phone Call): Mom - "Blah, blah, blah, tsunami...are you getting ready to leave???"

                                   Me - "No.  I'm sleeping it's 4 in the morning."

                                    Mom - "Ok.  Well it's going to hit by 10:45...oh wait!!!  That's 7:45!"

                                   Me - "Ok.  I'm going to bed." (In my head I'm thinking I've totally got another couple hours before I have to get out of Dodge!)

                                     Mom - Ok (nervous) I love you!

                                    Me - Love you too.

6:52AM: (TEXT): Jason M. - "WTF! Stay Dry!"

                              Me - "Thanks man!  Sitting in my SCUBA gear in my living room just in case."

So at this point I thought I should probably wake up and see what the heck was going on.  Now with no TV I was limited to the radio (useless) and online radio (completely useless) so I was checking the weather channel updates and the news station websites.  Everything was saying it was going to hit anywhere around 7:30-8:30.

I also got a lot of help and info from RSI up in San Fran which was huge because she was letting me know the updates and when/where it was hitting.  Thanks a ton for that, greatly appreciated!  And of course Dad's text "Who's this Sue Nami that's coming to Monterey?"  Nice, Dad!

With all of the hype everyone was hearing about we were not affected at all here in Monterey.  I cannot imagine what the people in Japan are going through.  We were lucky with a low tide and being pretty far into the bay helped a lot.  Santa Cruz harbor got hit pretty hard and a bunch of boats got tossed around.  

I think the most interesting part of this whole ordeal from my perspective was having the friends and family rightfully worried on the other coast (and this one) and then waking up, walking outside to a bright sunshiny day and not seeing any signs of panic or concern.  Once I realized I was not going to have to evacuate I walked to the end of the street where I can see the beaches and watched for a while.  There really weren't any huge waves but you could see the wave activity pick up; just nothing further than the beaches.  

Anyway, thanks to all my friends and family that were concerned enough to reach out to me this morning even though it was so early.  I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness and I'm glad I've got people out there that are looking out for me.  

Love you all!

Adventures with Kristen A! Part Deux

Since this adventure ended almost a week ago I'll just sum it up quickly and post a bunch of pictures.  We got a lot of other touristy stuff done and a third trip to the tide pools.  I had to work on Sunday and Monday so Kristen was on her own and drove down to the Big Sur area as well as explored around Carmel.  On Tuesday Kristen came into work with me and helped me out in Seahorse Land!  

Wednesday we drove down south to the San Simeon area and took a tour of the Hearst Castle.  This place was amazing!!!  William Hearst had so much money and so much land that he actually bought animals from all over the world and brought them to his property.  He had lions, zebras, polar bears amongst many, many others.  It was a pretty crappy day (for Cali standards) with cold rain covering us throughout the entire tour.  We got to go inside a few rooms of the castle but had to walk from place to place outside.  He had two pools, one indoor and one out.  He had his walls and ceilings furnished with artifacts from all over the world, all averaging at least 400 years old.

After the castle we stopped just north to check out the elephant seals.  This was pretty cool stuff.  When I had stopped in here on my way north the first time through the state there were no males there.  This time of year there are females, males, juveniles and pups.  The adults had just finished mating and most probably took off on their long migration but there were plenty of stragglers left behind.  Good day!

Thursday was whale watch day and we saw way more whales this time than I did on my first whale watch.  There were six grey whales and a huge pod of pacific white-sided dolphins, a new species for me so I was excited.  Friday we took a trip up to Santa Cruz, stopped in a Long Marine Lab and then went zip lining (1 thing off my b430 list!) and it was so much fun!!!  It was up in the redwood canopies (hugging a redwood = 2 things off my b430 list!) and one of the lines was 450 feet long.  I cannot wait to do this again and if it wasn't so expensive I'd do it every week!  After the zip lining adventure we went up to the "Mystery Spot" which was crazy but also fun.  This can only be described by visiting the website (http://www.mysteryspot.com/).  For only $5 it was a good time.

Saturday was Kristen's last day so we drove up to San Francisco and went to Alcatraz (#3 off the b430 list!).  I could have spent all day on Alcatraz.  There were so many stories and such history there.  The audio tour was a big help and was narrated by old guards and inmates.  I highly recommend taking this tour and I cannot wait to go back to do the night tour!

So close to civilization!

It was a very long, but fun-filled week of touristy California adventures.  No more visitors though until after my race!!!

Adventures with Kristen A! Part One

My friend Kristen from Florida is in town visiting for the week.  She got into town on Thursday night and is heading out late Saturday night.  Friday was a great start to the week as my other friend's Jim and his wife Trisha also came into town that afternoon.  Before they arrived though Kristen and I got to do some tide-pooling down at Lover's Point and saw a ton of inverts, some unfamiliar to both of us and a lot of birds; we even made friends with a very audacious cormorant!  Once Jim and Trisha arrived we all headed down to the aquarium to show them around and I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it.  From the aquarium we headed to El Torito for happy hour to meet up with a bunch of people from town and another old friend, my friend Ashley that I used to work with in the Keys.

This was a great time with a large group of people and a great chance for everyone to meet up and make new friends.  Around 8:30 we headed back home where the girls stayed in and the boys went back out for the night.  Unfortunately the rest of this evening will be summed up to the fact that people in this town are friggin crazy!  But we survived the psycho Californian attack in what can only be compared to a really great episode of Jersey Shore (so I hear).

The next morning we got in the Focus and started off towards Pebble Beach via the 17-mile drive.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to embark on this journey; blue skies and sunshine while looking out at the clear blue ocean and calm seas.  This was my second time on this road but it was just as magnificent if not more this time.  We all took a lot of pictures, learned a few things, saw some whale spouts, and ended up on the beautiful greens of Pebble Beach.  The inside of the Lodge was spectacular with a view overlooking the water just behind the 18th green.  An absolutely perfect afternoon!

We ate lunch at an Italian restaurant in Carmel with easily the best pizza I've had here in California so far.  Post-feast Jim and Trisha had to head back north to San Francisco and eventually take a flight back to Boston.  Once they took off, around 3:00 Kristen and I headed out for some more tide-pooling and ended up exploring Asilomar State Beach.  This spot was even better than Lover's Point with a plethora of anemones and sea stars.  We also ventured out to a far point, a nice giant rock formation a bit off the coast only accessible by hopping from rock to rock in an effort to get to the top and back before the tide came in, forcing us to swim back!  Well we made it with ease, enjoyed the spectacular view and after a bunch of more pictures we headed back home.

A great start to the week!  Part 2 coming soon...