QUAKEY

1. Wes and I are still tied, now at 12. He was told to predict Brooke and Syesha, which were correct, but I predicted Kristi Lee Cook to go home and my goodness, aren't we glad?

2. I felt the earthquake last night! Did you know we even had one? Well, "we" didn't so much have one; the people on the Illinois/Indiana border got the worst but its vibrations traveled more than 450 miles away. Isn't that amazing? To paraphrase the Tennessean, that's because this area of the country has sediment deposited by the Mississippi River, while the West Coast is much rockier. The vibrations travel farther in sediment than in rocks; therefore, an earthquake in this region will be felt in a wider area than the same size earthquake out west. I woke up and sat straight up in bed because my bed was vibrating. It creeped me out. My first thought was "are we having an earthquake? No, not in Tennessee, that would be weird." Then I got scared that someone was in my room shaking my bed, but I realized what I was feeling was not a shake so much as a vibrate. Then I decided I must have been dreaming, but then I remembered that what I was dreaming had nothing to do with earthquakes and I was now awake, feeling very real vibrations. Then I thought maybe they were blasting somewhere for some construction. Then I lost interest in it all and went back to sleep. But I read online this morning that I was right with the first guess: a quake! Does this mean I experienced an earthquake before you did, Eric?

3. A few weeks ago it was announced that Nashville was getting a Trader Joe's. This is very exciting and now all that is missing from our retail puzzle is a ChickFilA in Green Hills and an IKEA. But, I have heard that the most exciting thing about Trader Joe's is their Charles Shaw wine, AKA Two Buck Chuck. I was all excited about finally getting to experience it for myself, until one day, I realized that Tennessee's stupid liquor laws* would mean that we wouldn't get be getting Two Buck Chuck, or Three Buck Chuck or even Four Buck Chuck (the price varies by region). I think when I go to Atlanta in two weeks I am going to buy a case and bring it back... that's legal, right?

4. I went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall last night. I won't lie, it was so stinking funny, but it was sooo crass too! It would have been just as funny without all the outrageous graphic parts (and all the WEIRD parts: a Dracula puppet musical?!?), but be prepared if you go to see it. It will make you cringe! I'm kind of glad we didn't pay for that one (hooray for sneak peeks... and Evan).

5. Unfortunately, they are predicting rain (60% chance) on race day. Please start praying that this percentage decreases!!! No rain! Also, please pray for my weird legs. Our coach said that every tiny ache and pain will be magnified in our head because of stress and nerves, but I haven't hurt this bad since the MRI days. I hoped the NAIL I pulled out of my shoe sole might have had something to do with why I have been hurting, but I guess not since I am limping today after a good run yesterday. It's my right leg. No rain and no pain - let's make it happen.

*There's no wine sales in grocery stores up here. It's horrible. They can sell beer, but not wine. It's so inconvenient. The first time I went to Kroger I went around and around until I finally asked someone where the wine was. I was both embarrassed and outraged by their answer. So that's why they know my face at the liquor store by my house.