The thrill of victory, the agony of de-feet.

Last Saturday was the annual 5K run. When daughter #2 asked me to join her in the race I acquiesced though somewhat reluctantly. Although a regular at the gym I've never run before and religiously avoid the treadmill. But secretly, I've envied those cheetah-like marathon runners and yearned to be among them sprinting gracefully towards the finish line, feet barely touching earth, wind in my hair, the theme from "Chariots of Fire" blaring as I cross the finish line...and so, when my daughter burst into my bedroom Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. and asked me to join her at the starting line at 9:00 a.m. I thought why not, another item I could check off my bucket list.

I was the poster child for how NOT to run a 5K - no previous training, wearing five-year-old sneakers, no sunblock, no sunglasses, and no vital warm-up exercises. Inexperience, however, didn't stop me. I began to run at maximum speed and two blocks later almost passed out so I stopped to fake a quick chat with my nine-year-old neighbor in order to catch my breath. But when a grey-haired older woman sprinted past me I somehow pulled myself together and took off again trying to catch up with daughter #2 who had left me in the dust. Throat dry, calves burning, knees aching, a massive headache from sun glare, and sunburn on my nose and head, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of that senior citizen pulling ahead of me. Determined, I kept at it, and crossed the finish line ecstatic at actually finishing my first 5K run. Unfortunately, no one from my family was camera-ready to document the moment because they assumed I'd be arriving home by ambulance - no one dreamed I would complete the race.

My elation was short-lived because the next morning I woke up in pain, ankles swollen and massive purple bruises on both heels, a severe case of shin splints and a possible stress fracture. Every cloud, however,  has a silver lining. Sitting with ice packs affixed to both legs gave me the opportunity to do some Hubert hunting on my laptop. After hours of intensive researching I finally located an address to email the booksellers on the Seine. The first response I received (in French, of course) was the usual "sorry but we do not have these works." Emboldened by my recent accomplishment I was undeterred, and determined not to let the trail grow cold, I sent off another email inquiry. As Charles De Gaulle once said "You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive or else a strategy is useless." Obviously, I'm not all that fast on my feet but if my computer fingers were nimble enough to evoke a response from one of the booksellers then perhaps there would be someone else who might respond as well.

And there was - I received an email from another bouquiniste who also responded with a negative.  I persisted, asking if he could suggest another contact but by his return mail "Non aucune idee, du fait que nous sommes uniquement specialises en Geologie, Mineralogie et Paleontologie" (No idea, owing to the fact that we are only specialists in Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology) my strategy as per Charles De Gaulle appears useless. My daughter thinks it's time to enlist the aid of a French teacher. I'm thinking it sounds like a far better idea than the 5K....

"Unlucky people are stuck in routines. When they see something new, they want no part of it. Lucky people always want something new. They're prepared to take risks and relaxed enough to see the opportunities in the first place." Richard Wiseman, "How to Make Your Own Luck"

It's been almost one year since I first joined the ranks of the unemployed. When my job was "eliminated" (the carefully contrived, thinly disguised, excuse to oust me by a bullying boss of the worst kind; the crazy kind) my first reaction was one of panic - no salary, no health benefits, no 401K, no Cream de La Mer anymore. But then the panic slowly abated as the realization hit me - no more long commute, no dysfunctional coworkers, no 9-5 grind in corporate hell - and made me think that maybe, just maybe, I could somehow make lemonade out of this grove-full of lemons handed to me.

And so I began to make up for time lost. In between job hunting I spent more time with my family, I reconnected with friends, I exercised, I read more, I enrolled in some classes, I began Chasing Hubert, and, in general, I started living again. Now, with a new career on the horizon, I look back and recognize that I should have been bold enough to make the change on my own and sooner rather than allowing myself to remain stuck in a rut.

Although it's been a challenging year it's also been an enlightening one. I haven't learned who Hubert is yet but I have learned some pretty worthwhile lessons - the following is my top ten list of wisdom I've divined during my year of living freely, frugally, and fearlessly.

1- Change is inevitable so embrace change, don't fear it. Without change life would resemble the movie "Groundhog Day". Boring people get stuck in routines.
2 - Never lose your sense of humor, you can always find something to laugh about. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder to find it.
3 - You really can survive without the expensive shoes, the designer duds, the fancy car. Stuff doesn't make you happy, experiences do.
4 - Exercising is a great way to avoid the doctor when you lack health benefits and it's also a great way to get your aggressions out without getting into trouble.
5 - No matter how bad things seem they always look better in the morning so hang in there because things will change (see #1).
6 - It's never too late to re-invent yourself. Grandma Moses didn't start painting until she was in her 80s.
7 - Don't let your job define you. Don't get so caught up in your career that you forget the other ingredients in your life.
8 - Live in the moment. Life is short so worrying about what's down the road keeps you from enjoying today.
9 - Money and jobs can disappear but true friends don't leave when the chips are down.
10 - Never lose sight of what's important to you and never give up!