Back on a Horse named Marathon

It’s like the old saying goes, “If at first you try to run, but then break your foot whilst photographing a gecko; try, try again.”

So I’m going to attempt, once again, to run a marathon. This one happens in Singapore on Dec. 2,(see The Singapore Marathon) and should be a sizable affair. I expect there will be over 30,000 people there. Yes, surprisingly enough, there are that many people who think running that far along the equator in 100% humidity is a good idea.

Training has begun already. I’ve been running with the high school cross country team a good bit and keeping up pretty well. My formerly broken foot seems to be pretty close to normal. I’ve also been staying away from geckos.

Fortunately, Jen will venture to Singapore with me for the Marathon. She will cheer me on and look into ordering Singapore Slings immediately after the race. I don’t know what that drink is, but odds are I’ll have one. A few other colleagues from my school will also be competing in the race.

A little known fact about Manila: Of the 12,345 major-world-metropolises, Manila is currently ranked 12,343rd* as best place to train for a marathon, based on its available open spaces, traffic, pedestrian paths, and air quality.

* 12,344th is Baghdad; 12,345th is the Lost City of Atlantis

My Nephew Fernando

I am an uncle! I would like to thank my Brother Jeff and Sister-in-law Kelly for bestowing this title upon me. Aunt Jen says the same.

I hope you're able to see the picture above of Jeff, Kelly, and Fernando. I wish I knew who took that shot.

Just a couple of days ago, on Sept. 1, little Fernando Dingrando was born at somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds. His true name has not yet been divulged, so he will be known as Fernando until I hear otherwise. Actually, probably longer. One of my students actually suggested Alexandro Dingrando as a more exotic possibility. I almost like that better, but I didn’t think of it, so it gets 2nd place.

Jen and I are immediately diverting our attentions to buying ridiculous shit for the little tyke. Mainly Halloween costumes. It is our goal to supply him with enough costumes in enough sizes to last him until he’s 16. I’m currently having a pink bunny suit* tailor made for a zero-year-old. It will say on it, “My Uncle went to Manila and all I got was this ridiculous pink bunny suit.”