Cat stuck in the Christmas tree

Since the holidays are over, I decided to go back through some of the emails that I had received. Though I got a bunch of them with really funny cartoons, I found this one to be the best:

Long story, just pull - cat in the Christmas tree

The whole situation is hysterical to me, but the photo in the background makes it. The expression on the kid’s face fits perfectly; it’s the look of “Oh well, the cat’s in the tree again!”

Cheers,
Zach

Happy New Year – 2013

Just wanted to take a quick moment and wish everyone a Happy New Year! It’s that day where we can all start anew, and make resolutions to do this or that (or to not do this or that :razz:). My resolution is to get back to updating my blog on a regular basis. I don’t know that it will be nearly every day like it was before I moved, but I’m going to try to post often (the backlog of topics is getting quite large).

Anyway, Happy 2013 to all!

Cheers,
Zach

2012 St. Jude Give Thanks Walk – Saint Louis, MO

This past Saturday (17 November 2012), I participated in the St. Jude Children’s Hospital Give Thanks Walk. This year was a bit different than the previous ones, as it also had a competitive 5k run (which was actually a 6k). I woke up Saturday morning, hoping that the weather report was incorrect, and that it would be much warmer than they had anticipated. However, it was not. When I arrived at the race site (which was the beautiful Creve Coeur Lake Park [one of my absolute favourites in the area]), it was a bit nippy at 6°C. However, the sun came out and warmed up everything a bit. Come race time, it wasn’t actually all that bad, and at least it wasn’t raining or snowing. 🙂

When I started the race, I was still a bit cold even with my stocking cap. However, by about halfway through the 6k, I had to roll up my sleeves because I was sweating pretty badly. It was an awesome run, and I felt great at the end of it. I think that the best part was being outside with a bunch of people that were also there to support an outstanding cause like Saint Jude Children’s Hospital. There were some heartfelt stories from families of patients, and nice conversations with fellow runners.

I actually finished the race in 24’22”, which wasn’t all that bad of a time:

2012 St. Jude Give Thanks Walk - Saint Louis, MO - runner placement list
Click to enlarge

In fact, it put me in first place, with 2’33” between me and the runner-up! Though coming in first place wasn’t a goal of mine, I was in competition with myself. I had set a personal goal of completing the 6k in 26’30” and actually came in under it! My placement earned me both a medal and a great certificate:

2012 St. Jude Give Thanks Walk - Saint Louis, MO - first-place medal and certificate
Click to enlarge

After the announcements of the winners and thanks to all of the sponsors, the female first-place runner (Lisa Schmitz) and I had our photo taken together in front of the finish line:

2012 St. Jude Give Thanks Walk - Saint Louis, MO - male and female first-place runners
Click to enlarge

Thank you to everyone that sponsored and supported me for this run! The children and families of Saint Jude received tens-of-thousands of dollars just from the Saint Louis race alone!

Cheers,
Nathan Zachary (“Zach”)