When we showed up, we immediately knew it was a miss.

The company�s warehouse had a small stage set up with someone�s garage band playing. The snacks were some fruit, pretzels, cotton candy, and a $2 bag of candy spread across the tables.

On the up side, the beer was cold, they had rings that glowed and flashed in the dark, and the strawberries were fresh.

On the really, really up side, I now have a new mental snapshot of Benito in my head.

SIDENOTE: Don�t tell me I�m the only one who does this. I have these vivid images of Benito throughout the past couple of years.

There�s the one where he opened the dressing room door to get my thumbs up on a new pair of jeans. Pretending to be checking out the pants, I asked him to turn around. When he realized that I tricked him into giving me a good view of his rear, he gave me a look and closed the door. The snapshot is of that look.

There�s another one from my birthday when we went to see The Blue Man group. With the toilet paper streaming over our heads, I looked over. He�s pushing the paper quickly with both hands and laughing. It�s beautiful.

Another one I love is from when we went to the theme park a bit north of here and rode this spinny ride. It started off pretty tame, but then it threw everyone around. We rode it several times without getting off, laughing the entire time it tossed us. When I looked at him, he was smiling and the clouds were lit up behind him. Again, beautiful.

Okay. Enough explaining. Either you know what I�m talking about because you do the same thing, or you get the idea.

In this new picture in my head, he�s got a beer in one hand and cotton candy on a stick in the other. He�s eating the cotton candy like it was a turkey leg.

I got that warmed over sensation that I assume others get when the person they love does something especially sweet or romantic or whatever. At that very moment, it was just so very Benito to have him chomping on cotton candy like that. And loving him, I can�t help but love those moments where he�s very him.

So there. That was the release party.

Because it was barely after dark when we left, we headed to this ice hockey rink where some friends of friends were hanging out.

Yes. An ice hockey rink.

Don�t ask me. I was just as confused then as you are now.

Add to the confusion that there was a woman�s bra hanging at the entrance. And that women offered Benito money to coach them on how not to be a dirty slut with every guy they meet. And that guys approached me for the reciprocal help Benito was giving.

Yes. An odd place, that was.

Three beers and two Jagermeister shots later (added to the four beers I�d already had), we stumbled out of there and into a cab for another bar.

As soon as my ordered water got to me, I gave Benito the telepathic, �It�s time to go or I�m going to fall out of this barstool.�

He heard, and we were again in a cab and headed home. Past the cab, I don�t remember much.

The following morning we woke up with pounding heads, dry mouths, and an 11:30 hair appointment to get to. We snagged a parking spot fit for a king directly in front of the salon, and he wandered the neighborhood as I was made look human.

After sandwiches and a shared Rice Krispie treat, I actually felt human.

With a goodbye kiss, he dropped me off at my friend Happy�s house for an AIDS fundraiser party. $20 in the pot, some cash and strong carrying arms to get ice from the store down the way, and the party got underway.

Between the slightly remaining hangover and knowing that I had to run a race the next day, I cut out early for some quality couch time.

My cat Hambone and I snuggled while watching Bourne Identity.

I like movies with punching and kicking and shooting, but I really don�t like it when they throw in a useless love story. Of course the love story in BI was most useless.

On the up side, I�m told that she dies in the first ten minutes of the second BI.

After catching some zzzzs, I was up and at �em at 5:45 the next morning. After a Slimfast Soy Protein shake (it has a bunch of nutrients, has enough calories, and doesn�t upset my stomach when running like most solid foods do), I rode the bus to the park up north, checked in, and readied myself for the race.

I lined up somewhere in the middle to avoid the mothers who insist on pushing their kids in the baby stroller during a race and those who would walk before the first mile and a half, all the while staying out of the serious runners� ways.

Next time I�ll screw the courtesy and get closer to the front. My first mile came in at 11:30 because everyone was so dang slow. Had I been able to do the moderate 9:30 I was aiming for, those two minutes would have put me under my goal race time by 24 seconds.

*shaking fist*

I ran this race with Benito�s GPS running device, so I was able to see how much my running varied from the mapped course. Instead of 6.2 miles (that�s 10k), I ran 6.38. Had I somehow not run the extra amount, my race time would have been even lower than my goal time. But instead I was 1:36 over where I wanted to be. Whatever.

The race was pleasant, and the sponsors were great. I got a towel from Ice Mountain, bagels from Whole Foods, mini muffins from someone who makes the little bags of muffins, iced tea from someone who also makes coffee, and tofu and veggies stirfry from Flat Top grill. In my race bag I got a Nike racing shirt, lots of little samples, and a gift certificate for Flat Top. At the festival I could have gotten a rub-down from Equinox gym and this chiropractor�s office (no thanks, I�m weirded out by strangers touching a sweaty me), and I tried on a small pair of Nike Free shoes.

All in all, it was a neat afternoon with plenty to look at, do, and taste.

When the impact of having just run 6.2 miles caught up with me, I laid my freebie towel on the ground and napped a bit in the sunshine. Quite a bit later I walked to the city bathrooms by the beach, gave myself a cleaning with baby wipes, and changed into normal clothes before walking to Wrigleyville to eat lunch with a friend.

After veggie tacos, plenty of rice and beans, and a couple bowls of chips and salsa, I took the el home.

Hambone and I slept the sleep of the dead for about three hours, when we awoke to Benito texting me to see if and when we were getting together. When he was finished with work, we got together for couch lounging and some hanging out before bedtime.

And what�s not to love about bedtime when you�ve been up since 5:45, ran a bunch, napped, ate, and napped again?

So there. That was my weekend. How was yours?�