Boob Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 
According to the Wikipedia page on it, it's "an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer. As well as providing a platform for breast cancer charities to raise awareness of their work and of the disease, BCAM is also a prime opportunity to remind women to be breast aware for earlier detection."

So, everything I see is pink this month. And there's lots of PSA's telling me to touch my boobies. Nearly every part of my being wants to make fun of all this pink-ness and boob touching. 

Then I remember my Gram. She lost a breast to cancer. Then she was a miracle cure for a few years. 'till it went to her bones. That's when she took up cigarette smoking again. She said she only smoked when she was in pain. Toward the end, she was a chain smoker. 

So when everyone is raising funds and buying pink shit and feeling their boobies, rather than standing back and making fun of them, I join in. I spend an extra 5 minutes in the shower checking for odd lumps. Beyond that, I really don't do too much. I don't like the amount of donated money that goes to administrative costs of cancer foundations, and I know that all the pink ribbon crap is just a bunch of "pink-washing".  

Not to be a total downer, here's my favorite breast cancer PSA of the day:

Taking the Ta-Tas for a Run

I went running today.
I am not one to consider myself a runner. I did run on the track & field team when I was in 7th grade, but couldn't get far in this town without puking. Really. At that time the now closed pulp mill was burping away and I did and still do think that the sulfur and chlorine gasses that came from it were hard for me to run in.
Or, and this may be more likely, I'm a wimpy runner. I have bunions on my feet. They look gross, but, more importantly, running can really irritate them.
Then there's the boobs. I've got some, and they really do ache after all the, um, bouncy running. They also tend to affect my back, so yeah, ow.
Then I finally found myself a pair of "barefoot" shoes that are fun to run in. And a damn good bra store that has great supportive sports bras. And voila! Running really can be fun!
There are 6 steep hills in my neighborhood. I live near the top of one of them. It's a great workout to jog to the end of one street and run up and down the hills. Sure, it would probably be easier to run on flat ground, but where's the fun in that? Also, I can get a real good workout in about 15 minutes on those hills. It's not likely I'll be a big-time runner any time in the future, but at least I can enjoy myself while I'm doing it.
All that running built up an appetite:

Yep. That's a vegetarian Sloppy Joe with a glass of red. On ice. I'm classy that way.