Not a bird fan

So you may all hate me for saying this, but despite my love of animals and the earth's creatures in general, I am not a fan of birds.

The pooping, the sounds, those early wake-ups? No thank you. I think I've only liked one bird ever - my friend Michele's pet parrot, Dexter. Well, and maybe the parrot from the liquor store that had a foul mouth. Yea, so parrots are cool, they can be taken off the bird list since they actually talk and exhibit some kind of higher brain function. Ducks, Herons and hummingbirds are ok too. Pelicans look funny and Robins are pretty against the snow, but that doesn't make up for the hell on earth that is pigeons, crows and barn swallows.

Where does this come from, you ask? Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I think it may have to do with being pooped on an excessive number of times. As a kid, barn swallows were constantly pooing on me. In Brooklyn, I was once pooed on 3x in a single day. And today, after a long hiatus, I was pooed on while running. Not a full-on hit, but enough to make me gag and wash my hand repeatedly when I got home.

Years ago, someone told me it was good luck to get pooed on by a bird. For me, I find it happens when I'm most stressed out and as un-enjoyable as it is, there is something oddly comical about it that snaps me back into reality. Shit happens (excuse the language! but that term encompasses stress, poo and a variety of other items) and part of life is taking stock of the situation and then cleaning things up until they are presentable again.

Having this happen today only served to remind me to laugh at the stress. To laugh at the thought that I believed nothing would be more stressful than the teenage years, then college- but it's the real-life bit after all of it that really causes stress. Writing papers, worrying about grades or what to wear to class or if you'll get that job are stressers for sure, but they are nothing compared to what life throws at you when it really begins.

My very best friend, Joe, cracked me up a few years ago - we're both small business owners and had faced obstacles and the normal hiccups getting started. He called me one day and said, 'All of those years of school, all of those specific business courses and not one really prepared me for what I'd face as an entrepreneur. I wish there was a class called all the ways things will go wrong and the art of surviving on the dented cans from the grocery store.'

He was so on target. Nothing really prepares you for what you'll face. You can try and get a general outline for what may come, but real life doesn't follow a course syllabus.

This of course is also true for Ironman - you can prepare to a point, but it's the skills you learn by doing that really serve you best of all. 2 times now, I've been crashed out of big races by another competitor. This isn't something you can prepare for - Ironman is an individual event - you don't expect someone to cut your day short. It just happens.

Sometimes life (or a bird) poops on you and you've got to count it as another lesson learned.