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I took up running a few weeks ago in an effort to get myself back into shape. I've been steadily improving, but starting last Saturday, I noticed a sudden and marked decline in my endurance. I just can't run as far as I used to without losing my breath. I don't think I've done anything differently, but the more I run, the further I regress now.

In somewhat related news, I purchased some cold-weather running clothes yesterday. I bought some nice running pants, a pair of gloves, and a beanie. However, once I got home, I noticed the pants were a little too snug in some places, and a little too loose in others. Strange, I thought. They were in the men's section. They were the right length. What gives?

Dear readers, it would appear that I purchased a pair of women's running pants. Not the best for running for me, I don't think, but they're certainly flattering to my butt.

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I lost my job over the weekend, which threw most of my plans up in the air. Being at home during the day is strange and less than fulfilling, which I suspect will motivate me pretty strongly to get a new job soon. There are some silver linings, though, as there always are, that make the experience not wholly negative.

1. I can actually spend time on my worthwhile job (translating patents) and do a better job than I was before, when I had to keep looking over my shoulder at work. (That's not actually the reason I was let go, though it would sure seem that way from reading this.)

2. My younger brother is coming into town tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and now I don't have to take off work to pick him up.

3. The old job was a bad, bad situation for me, and now I have to find a new job. I'll be glad to find something that can not only further my career possibilities, but also not make me feel like a horrible person while I'm there. They asked me to get involved in some shady, weird things. Glad not to be there anymore.

4. Turns out I'm eligible for unemployment insurance. It's enough to keep me on my feet while I'm looking, but small enough that I'm still pretty motivated to find a new job soon.

In short, life is good, friends, even when it doesn't seem like it. Turns out they don't call me Optimistic. for nothing. Or something like that.

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I turned on the BYU game here on my computer and saw that we were down 14-10 at the start of the second half. I opened up my iTunes and turned on some Modest Mouse to listen to while I watched the game. In the time it took to play two songs, we had scored three touchdowns to pull ahead 31-14.

I really want to listen to something else now, but I'm afraid of jinxing the team.

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Can you feel it?

Election Day is just around the corner, and for most of us, that brings a sense of relief that the seemingly endless campaign season is almost at an end. I'm excited, for one. I'm excited to hear about other news than who spoke where, or who said what gaffe, or anything else that really doesn't matter all that much. But that's not what all of the excitement is about. Nearly every poll recently has had Barack Obama in the lead lately, and that's something that no one could have seen a recently as a few months ago. Barring something gigantic and unforseen, he'll be our next president.

This is a really, really big deal. It means far more than it would if McCain were going to be our next president, all apologies to the Arizona senator. A President Obama means that we will witness a dramatic shift in the American culture. It means we'll have our first president who sends text messages. It means we'll have a president who knows what it means when you tell him, "Bones." It means we'll have a president who understands the culture and is a part of it. Dear readers, this will be the first president who can really be said to represent Generations X and Y. This will be the first president who really represents people like me.

Yes, this is a big deal. This is a coming of age moment for my generation. This is probably a defining moment for my generation, just as Bill Clinton's election was a defining moment for the baby boomers. And we can all say we were there. We made it happen. We believed. (Assuming you voted for him, of course.)

You can agree or disagree with the man's ideas. I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that everyone likes him. But no matter where you stand, you have to admit that after tomorrow, we could be looking at a very different America. And that's a thought that excites me, at least.