Letter from the Editor (July 22, July 29)

Letter from the Editor

By: Ben DeGeorge

First Published: Sunday, July 22, 2007

I hope you have been enjoying this beautiful weather we have had lately. I’m not a big fan of scorching hot summers, so this is pretty nice for me.

I am writing this at 10:30 PM when the newsletter should be ready to go out. I am also stomaching down Wendy’s food and finally sitting down after a 14.5 mile Sunday Run this morning and then 6.5 hours spent standing up at the Macaroni Grill. What happened to Sunday being the day of rest?

Here are some particular notables of the coming week. On the political side of things, I suggest watching CNN’s YouTube Debate on Monday night at 7 PM. On the party side of things, I suggest you come to the 18th Annual 10 Ugly Men Festival in GeneseeValleyPark in Rochester this coming Saturday. I will be racing in the 5k race that will begin at 9 AM. Even if you’re only able to hobble, I suggest jumping in this race. Road races are an amazing, positive experience, and a great way to start a Saturday. To see the event, click here!

This will be the third year in a row I have run this race. Will I do well? Eh, who knows, but it’s a good opportunity to beat about 300 people (even if I run sub par).

Also, stop by the Macaroni Grill in Henrietta for some Italian food this week. If you would like, we could go together! I always like free food.

If you’re bored, check out the Daniels Family Reunion website. This is a collection of pictures from the Daniels Family Reunion, of which I was a proud participant. Aren’t families great?

I’ll leave you with a quote about investing: “If you aren’t entrepreneurial enough to create the venture, then I’d recommend a safer way to invest” – Donald Trump.

First Published: Sunday, July 29, 2007

Caffeine

Right now I’m hanging out in my boxer shorts writing and sipping on some coffee. I’m still pretty tired after getting less than 6 hours of sleep on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night, waking up at 8:00 AM on Saturday after a failed alarm clock and then racing the Ten Ugly Men 5k at 9:00 AM (which I was happy with my 16:45, results).

To understand me, you must understand a caffeine addiction. Now, like most addicts, I live under the guise that I could stop drinking my daily cup of coffee and free Macaroni Grill fountain Soda at any time. I swear that if challenged to do so, no more caffeine would ever enter my body for the rest of my life.

As many are aware, I have lofty, but manageable ambitions. I have so many disciplines in my life that having an imperfection like this “addiction” is a healthy thing. It turns me into a more balanced person.

This is also somewhat related to why I am motivated to continue to train hard and compete to the best of my ability in running. Even when I know there will always be people kicking my butt and it takes up a lot of my energy. It’s a very humbling experience and a path to balance.

Crack open another Pepsi, because this busy Sunday is caffeine fueled.

I just hope this bad habit won’t affect my health when I get older, and will be balanced out by my running and moderately good eating habits (I try to eat a salad every now and then).

Would I have it any other way? Heck no, I love my life!