I knew that this weekend was the Magic City Classic. For those who don’t know, that’s the annual clash between Alabama A&M and Alabama State. The “Iron Bowl” of Historical Black Colleges, if you will. What I didn’t know was that they had a parade every year. So when I got down there yesterday to run the IronTribe 5k route, there were a couple of times that I had to detour off the route.
With that said, Runkeeper, the app that I use to track my running, clocked me at 4.14 miles in about 44:30 minutes. Now I have to say I can’t believe that I was that fast just yet. That being said, it was a fast course and did feel like I was much faster than I usually would be. I’ll probably run it a couple more times before the actual 5k, which is in about 3 weeks. I’m hoping to finish in just under 40 minutes. But we’ll see about that.
Last night I decided to keep it low-key and not go to “Peaches n’ Screams” down off of 2nd Ave. N. I actually stayed in a bit longer than I intended playing WOW and downing the latest raid boss! w00t! That said, soon as Rag was down, I threw on my costume and headed down to a friends party in Avondale. It was a small, intimate party at a lovely little house.
As you walked it, you could tell that Paden, the homeowner, was a very minimalistic, but artsy person. Through out the house was a mixture of whites, bashes, and topes, off-set by dark wooded furniture. Her kitchens seemed to be transported from an French villa. Chicken-wire cabinets held beautiful expresso glasses, a creeping vine lined the tops of ceramic pots along the window sil, and the smell of great snacks all lent themselves to the illusion. And the back yard had been transformed into an intimate garden space, with plenty of isolated, yet connected areas that would be perfect for entertaining. It’s truly an incredible place.
Not to mention Paden. While I’ve only met her twice, she’s one of those people who, when she looks at you, you feel as if she’s not looking at you, but into you, as if seeing something that only they can see about you. Sometimes seeing something you don’t even know exists. I truly believe people, like Paden, see the world differently than most of us. I know that it’s true of her from some of the photography that I was privileged to get to see.
The party as a whole, was amazing. While small and intimate, no one was shy or bashful and I’m sure there are a great many photos to be seen on Facebook over then next few days. I kinda have a feeling that even I’m going to have a new avatar popping up shortly.
Trying to relax today. There’s kickball up at George Ward park here in a couple of hours. I might go on a short 2 mile run before that. Or, I might nap and go afterwards. Definitely going to drop by the gym later today. Just another lazy Sunday…