It might be described as a mistake, maybe, but for the past year (and more) I have been going about the arduous task of watching the entire "Golden Girls" series on DVD. One might ask, "Why?" and I might need to remind one that I don't have cable so its difficult to take a walk down memory lane by clicking through the dial to Lifetime. After finishing "Sex and the City" so long ago, I decided to jump to the antecedent and get a glimpse of television history. Oh boy, did I get that in more.

Watching a sitcom on DVD, at least at first, can be very difficult. A half hour is not very much time, but a nine half hours of repetitive television writing, especially in those early seasons, can really suck the fun out of the better part of three hours (though episodes of "The Golden Girls" are very enjoyable to throw back on a lunch break). It's been quite a trip, but I finally made it through all 180 episodes.

If I could give my opinion on the series, I would say that it is most certainly excellent. There are so many episodes that are worth watching. Some that are just hilarious. Some that are very obviously ahead of their time. Some that are surprisingly current and touching. My all time favorite I think would be the one where Dorothy and Sophia dress as Sonny and Cher and sing "I've Got You Babe." Fabulous. I wish I could find a clip.

The series really hit its stride in seasons 3 and 4. You could really see it try a resurgence in season 6. I really thought that Dorothy and Stan were going to get back together. Having Leslie Nielsen come swoop up Bea Arthur without a fight was pretty weak. It would have been nice to see Stan and Dorothy get back together, but I guess some things are not meant to be. By season 7, the series was truly done, and I'm glad it bowed when it did. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to see "The Golden Palace" because its always great to see an old friend.

For now, for better or worse, Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia are still with us. Bea Arthur has completed a one-woman show on Broadway. Rue McClanahan has finally written the book she was meant to pen, "My First Five Husbands ... And the Ones Who Got Away" (It's available this month, go get it! She's led an amazing life). Betty White has lived a long and lovely life and now works tirelessly for animals, her lifelong passion. And sadly, our champion Estelle Getty lives out of the public eye, suffering from a debilitating disease, but still committed to raising money for AIDS research and living each day to the fullest.

It was a pleasure exploring the work of these fine women. So, I find myself at an interesting juncture: What next? From "Sex and the City" to "The Golden Girls," I may take a brief stop with the serials "Dead Like Me" and "Entourage" before moving on to "Six Feet Under." I want a reason not to go there, but I haven't found one. So, hopefully the next one won't take me all year to finish.

For fun, a clip of Estelle Getty, Betty White and Rue McClanahan:

There's no reason why I shouldn't have written this a month ago but I have just been on a break. 26.2 miles takes a lot out of you, and so does working 50 plus hours a week. Things are finally slowing down now and a lot of interesting changes are coming down the pipe. Before I go into all that, it's important that I at least address my major accomplishment, at least once before it fades into obscurity.

It was Sunday, March 25, and I woke up at my sister's friend Tyler's apartment feeling just a tiny bit uneasy about the race. I had spent the three weeks prior taking it real easy. After finishing a grueling training schedule, I had hoped to keep up the pace in the weeks closing in on the big day, but pain in my leg had forced me to rein in my ambitious plans. I woke up that morning thinking that maybe I had eroded a lot of the ground I had worked so hard to gain footing upon. Part of that was true.

Regardless, I could only race with the body I had and not the body I wish I could have had. My leg was thankfully not bothersome on race day and I made my way down to the MARTA station in Midtown Atlanta at the fine hour of 5:30 in the morning. The race was an hour and a half away.

I arrived at 6 a.m. and called Marilia. She had it real rough, a lot worse than me. I'd done this before. A marathon for me would be 26.2 miles of deja vu. Sure, it was going to be rough, but at least I knew I had once stood (barely) at the finish line. For Marilia, finding the finish was not a done deal. Also, catching the train on time was also missing from the cards — she arrived 10 minutes before the race. I tossed her her things, gave her a Tylenol 8-Hour, a kiss and I told her I loved her and good luck. It was her race and I couldn't run it for her. Besides, I had a race to run myself.

It wasn't until the mass of people started to finally eek its way to the start line that it finally hit me: I was really running this. I got a chill down my spine and I felt something I didn't expect I'd feel in the warm familiarity of the brisk Atlanta morning: I was in this all by myself. Sure, Marilia was probably a half-mile behind me there, but just like the first race, I ran this one alone. The track was familiar. My sister was a text message away, but I was still in this for myself. I somehow thought that running on the streets of Atlanta would be like seeing every neighbor and friend cheering me on, that somehow an envelope of everything I remember from my years in Georgia would whisk me joyfully to the finish line in a rush of joy and triumph. It wasn't like that at all. I had to run every single one of those miles and all the city really afforded me the comfort of was a few moments along the lines of, "Oh, Decatur...I've been there."

Well, I didn't have a cheering section, granted, but I didn't have one in Yokohl Valley either and I had some of my best runs out there. I could do this. The early race went very well. I kept up a very great pace and walked through many water stations for maybe 45 seconds or less. The only major train wreck came from the race itself — no Powerade! It was promised but the race barely delivered. At best we'd get a heavily watered down sprinkling of Powerade powder and at worse we got no water at all! Between mile 3 and mile 8, there was no water at all! And the worst part of it all was the signs promising water that didn't actually deliver until 3 miles later! It was awful, but it was a real boon for me. I never walked substantially until the half. I was in prime form.

Sadly, the hills of Decatur hit my pride hard and I began to conserve my energies. Conserving began to weaken my resolve and I started to scale back my goal from 4:30 to 4:45 and 4:50 (4:59?). I walked a lot toward the end and I only have myself to blame. Besides that, water stations were never reliable and Powerade was absolutely no where to be found in the second half of the race. I had relied very much on Gatorade in my training so I'm almost certain that had an effect on my energy. How much, I'm not certain, but I still tried to stick it through.

In the end, I finished the race in 5 hours and 4 minutes — a full 15 minutes faster than I did in San Diego almost one year ago. It was a fabulous end to a marathon effort. I am very pleased with my finish and I only hope to roll back my time 15 or 30 minutes more in my next race. My goal is to surmount a marathon again before the end of the year. I have my eyes on the Sacramento race in December but I may also try for a summer race along with a quicker training schedule.

Also, I am considering rearranging any future marathon training schedule. Distance is no longer taboo for me. Fourteen miles is a drop in the bucket, and 18 to 20 is also very doable, even now after slumming it for almost a month. I would like to start running longer distances and working on speed in my future training. I know I can make 4:30, I just need to chip away at it more and more.

For now, I'm taking a serious break. My leg pain really worried me and I think I've been overdoing it so long. I think I may have slipped into a postrun depression too, which is kind of unsettling. An almost, "What's the point?" feeling has settled over me. I run so much, it's like there is no end. The race was the end, in this sense, so what next? I'm still thinking, but I know I will be running again soon. Maybe I need a special treat, like a new iPod to bring me into play again. I just know I'm not through. I will be running a 5K on May 5th at the very least. I may try for an exotic half-marathon somewhere in California. I just need to rearrange a few things and soon I'll be laced up and on the run again.

If you have ever experienced something similar, please offer up some pointers. I'd love to get myself out of this post-run depression and get back on the road.

So that's that. More on some of the other stuff later. Right now I'm going to enjoy the rest of my evening and listen to some tunes. Later.

It was amazing. I felt like Nomi Malone walking into Ver-sayce for the very first time: My first trip to Vegas since my "Showgirls" awakening. This weekend I went to see my good friends Padmini and Braniff, who moved to Las Vegas last year after graduating UGA.

It's quite extraordinary. I only have Jeremy to blame. Ever since that DVD took a spin, I have been devoted to the crazy film that is a considered a camp classic as opposed to the abysmal film most people remember. There are many memorable scenes, but none as outrageous as the Spago scene. Shortly after I disembarked from McCarran, Padmini and I ventured to the hallowed film landmark that is the Forum at Caesar's Palace. There I was on cloud 9.

The highlight of the trip would be asking the waiter at the ritzy Spago retaurant for chips, even though they were not on the menu. When they were brought to the table, I couldn't help but relive that awesome scene...

Crystal: Do you like brown rice and vegetables?
Nomi: Yeah.
Crystal: You do?
Nomi: Sort of...
Crystal: Really?
Nomi: Worse than dog food. It is!
Crystal: I've had dog food.
Nomi: You have?
Crystal: Long time ago. Doggie Chow. I used to love Doggie Chow.
Nomi: I used to love Doggie Chow too!
[As if the wall that had once separated them had been felled by wave of Doggie Chow, Crystal raises the chip in her hand and Nomi touches her chip to it and they toast chips.]

It was like everything I dreamed it would be. Afterward we went to the Ver-sayce and I couldn't help but notice that the photo I took resembled a doorway to heaven, likely the same image that came to Nomi's mind when she first laid her eyes on the establishment. If only the sight of expensive dresses could bring me to the heights it brought her, but I will be just fine living vicariously through the acting of Elizabeth Berkely.

Well, now that I've gotten over the Showgirls-related goodness (we took a photo outside of the Cheetah too!), I can talk about how wonderful my trip was as a whole. Padmini was so wonderful and I had such a great time going around with her and Braniff. Never have I seen such a complete picture of Las Vegas. Oh so often, tourists are relegated to the two or three miles they decided to walk along the Strip. There's so much more to Vegas than that. There's the renowned Thai restaurant we went to on Friday evening. There's the delicious vegetarian Chinese restaurant Braniff and Padmini took me to before we went to "Mamma Mia." And then there's Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful natural landscape that not even California can claim.

We also enjoyed many things on the Strip. I got to see the aquarium conservatory at Mandalay Bay. There was the fountain at the Bellagio that played "All The Jazz" from "Chicago." And the premium outlet where I spent too much money. It was truly the vacation that I never expected. I would have been perfectly happy with chilling at the apartment with Turtle (the cat) watching a movie with friends.

So that was my vacation to Vegas. It was wonderful and I can't wait to go back again (I hear there's a marathon in December). And I really can't wait for Padmini and Braniff to come visit me. There's nothing like sharing the Sierra with friends.

And I swear, marathon entry this week!

P.S.: Video bonus, Padmini's sister's commercial for Swami Pretti Dance Studios. Fabulous! All it's missing is a star wipe, but the bubble wipe almost just as good!

I'm sorry, I thought of this headline, and since it's getting no facetime in the newspaper, I have to put it here.

From caskets to Easter baskets
Staff reports

Dozens of children gathered in front of Miller's Funeral Home in Tulare on Saturday to celebrate Easter a week early.

The event featured face-painting, a bounce house, a coloring contest, games, food and an Easter egg hunt for two age groups.

hapel supervisor Mary Mendonca said this is the first Easter event the funeral home has held.
Usually, the funeral home holds a Christmas event.

"We just wanted to see how it works," Mendonca said. "A lot of people say 'Why have an Easter event at a funeral home?' We are just giving back to the community and the families that we have served here in Tulare. That's all it is."

I also came up with "Funeral home brings new life to Easter," but my editor shot me down. Lame!

Expect photo-induced marathon post soon! I've been lazy, blech!