10 Random Things For Wednesday

I love holidays. I’ve only put in eight hours at the office so far this week and it’s already Wednesday! Wait … I’ve only put in eight hours at the office so far this week and I have to start carb loading again tomorrow. Hmmm, that’s no bargain. Oh well, my weekend recap was yesterday, which means today is time for 10 random things.

Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic and I’m trying to make a difference in the autism world. I’m trying to run 60 marathons this year to raise money for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 32 of the 60 and I’m pushing every day to raise money and bring people into the organization.

1. OK, there’s a recurring theme between now and next Monday. I NEED you to help me with this Chase Community Giving contest. 200 small charities will each win $20,000, and for Operation Jack/Train 4 Autism, that would be HUGE.

We’re so close to winning, but we’re also pretty close to not winning. This contest runs through next Monday and it seems like every charity out there is ratcheting their efforts. For $20,000, I have to do the same. So please vote (if you haven’t already), share it on Facebook and share it on Twitter!

If you have any creative ideas, please let me know! By no means do I have a monopoly on creative ways to market things through social media. Heck, I barely have a clue! Please, give me some ideas if you can! I’m begging!

2. Last weekend, I received a check for $20 as an age group award from the Fargo Marathon. Does this make me a professional athlete?

3. I spent four weeks on a civil jury trial in 2001. It was a boring trial. Very boring. How boring? One of my fellow jurors had diabetes and intentionally overloaded on sugar at lunch one day so that she’d have to go to the hospital and get dismissed from the jury. Her strategy worked.

4. Tomorrow I’m going to post about things Jack likes to do. I promised a follower I’d do that, so I will. Plus, I might be able to talk Tiff into helping me out with it a little bit, which will save me some time tonight. Speaking of Tiff, she’s going to guest blog here next Monday. She asked me about that last night and that’s totally fine with me — saves me from cranking something out on Sunday night!

5. I wasn’t a very good student in high school (lazy!) and almost failed accounting, which would have kept me from graduating. My dad, a CPA, wasn’t very impressed. I also almost failed art my last semester due to not turning in enough projects, but after arguing about a D vs. an F, my teacher decided to pass me because she realized an F would have landed me in her summer school class. She hated me.

6. About five or six years ago, I went to a Dave Matthews concert with a good friend of mine and we had tickets in the eighth row. While we were walking in, I told him those were the best concert tickets I’d had since I was four seats from the front at a Lionel Richie concert in 1997. He told me to not say that out loud again while we were at the show that night.

7. Only 27 more days until my grandparents move into an assisted living facility that’s less than 10 minutes from my work and less than 20 minutes from my house. I can’t wait to be able to go visit them more, although I’m going to cry like a baby when they move out of their house. They’ve been in it for more than 42 years.

8. On Saturday when I travel to Montana, I’m flying into Spokane. So, I want to run a mile in California before I leave, then a mile in Washington when I get there, then a mile in Idaho and eventually a mile in Montana. That would give me at least a mile in four different states on the same day. I’m an idiot like that.

9. The ice cream steak is up to 157 if you’re keeping track. If you are keeping track, I have one word … why?

10. Just a reminder about the Chase contest. Sorry — I can’t help it!

Have a great Wednesday everybody! I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Did I remind you to vote?