This here blog details all things about the CNMI (that's the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota for you mainlanders) and why it's so great. To a lesser degree this here blog details all things about the BRAD (that's arms, legs, torso and head) and why he's so great (or at least slightly a shade over lame).
We'll hit activities, cool spots and a bit of politics but the plan is to mainly stay away from all of the complainy stuff and celebrate island life in the Marianas.
Well it was bound to get here sometime and the sensationalized H1N1 has finally made its way to the CNMI. This was confirmed today as the CNMI Department of Public Health confirmed that two cases of H1N1 have been treated int he CNMI.
The first was a 26-year-old female from Japan and the second was a 16-year-old local boy. According to the DOH Medical Director Dr. Richard Brostrom, both have completely recovered from their bout with the world's fastest spreading strain of influenza.
The good news is that H1N1 is far less scary than the media initially made it out to be. Every day the regular run of the mill flu kills 1,000 people worldwide. In its first three months, the H1N1 has killed roughly 400.
Nothing to get worked up about folks. We knew it would get here and it finally has.
I'll be taking a lot of photos and posting some of the sights and sounds of this year's Liberation Day parade on Saipan. Stick around and check out the video and stills that will be here later.
The sad thing is that it's a bit rainy here today but that won't stop the parade!
Okay, so I know I have a lot of time to account for but here is something I stumbled upon during my lunch break. My name was mentioned in the Honduras Weekly. Freakin' Honduras, are you kidding me?
Yep, Honduras. I was listed as one of the current members of the CNMI's National Men's Team along with the rest of the guys. Follow this link and see for yourself.
Okay, so you've been patient enough already so I will jump back into my writing mode for all of you (or both of you?) who routinely come back here to see if there's anything new to read. Maybe that'll make you happy. Maybe that'll make you sad. Either way, you're reading this so I'll provide you with some more "stuffs" very soon.
Thanks for not burning down Brad Headquarters in the meantime.
Today was fun. I woke up late but I still wanted to get a little run in before work because the coach told us to expect a little running at practice tonight. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my clothes, camera and headed out the door on a run.
Yep, I brought the camera. My goal was to get as far down the road as I could before Kathy caught me and I brought my camera in a highly advanced moisture protection device (okay, it was a ziploc bag).
Rather than explain the run, you can watch it. Enjoy! Part One Part Two
Tonight I knocked out a quick 5km run to Mobil and back along Isa Drive. There are some hills to climb and some downhills to enjoy but this was basically something to keep me going on a sleepy Monday evening.
My body was asking me to take a break so the bulk of today was spent relaxing and sleeping. I guess the word of the day was recovery, and recover was exactly what I did. I know that there's a ton of running in store for us at soccer practice tomorrow but I think this little 5km was good enough after relaxing the day away.
I didn't think it was possible but today our dog didn't have any energy to terrorize the world. That's what a little 5km run on the Banzai Loop will do to you, I guess.
Even though I had a soccer game later in the day, I knew I wanted to get a run in on Saipan to get the third week of the February Century off on the right foot. Kathy and I loaded up our energetic Energizer dog, Meatball, into the Rav and headed north to Marpi for a nice little trail run.
Well, it was nice for two out of the three of us, anyway.
I always enjoy taking the Banzai course from the cliffs to the Cowtown Raceway and back. Today was no different. I set my watch, gave Kathy a kiss and took off down the course with a big smile on my face (from the kiss, of course).
The uneven trail provided all sorts of adventure for my new running shoes that Kathy bought me for Valentine's Day. Running through the trees on the narrow dirt course quickly turns into a jaunt through the coral forest along the cave complex before letting out to an old dirt road.
Weaving through the trees makes you feel like you're running faster than you really are, and before you know it you're passing by Larry Hilbloom's abandoned boat and an old UMDA building that's been reclaimed by the jungle.
From there it's just a short uphill run to the end of the trail by the Cowtwon Raceway and back. If you turn left, you'll find your way to the sea and an old Japanese sniper observation point built into the rocks. It's pretty cool.
After Kathy and I returned to Banzai Cliff we could see that Meatball was wiped out. She was breathing harder than I've ever heard her and she was in need of some hydration. We gave her all of the Fiji water we had in our car (good stuff, by the way) and headed home.
Well it was bound to get here sometime and the sensationalized H1N1 has finally made its way to the CNMI. This was confirmed today as the CNMI Department of Public Health confirmed that two cases of H1N1 have been treated int he CNMI.
