The Sign Saga

I'm a scrapbooker.  And although I have not scrapbooked once in the past year, I think pictures and journaling and the idea of creating a time capsule is pretty important.  Pictures tell stories if you let them.  Gigabytes of pictures on your hard drive with no documentation on what it is and who is in it, will mean nothing to your family in 50 years.  But this blog is about training and not about scrapbooking, so enough of that ranting.  Where I was going with all of this is because I'm a scrapbooker, I own a Cricut.  And Cricuts make sign-making really fun!

The night before I flew to Penticton last year to support my friends at IM Canada, I spent HOURS making signs (and learned outlining/shadowing is not worth the extra time)!  My plane was delayed getting to Vancouver so I rushed off the plane to get to my connection flight and I left the signs in the overhead!  I realized this about two seconds after I got to Customs and there was no turning back.  I went through Customs, found the airline desk, and begged  the agent to call back up to the plane and see if someone could bring the signs down.  He couldn't get an answer.  Defeated, I picked up my bags and began to head to the terminal to catch my connecting flight.  Then the agent began to smirk and said to me, "Look around....look around."  I turned around and there was the flight attendant carrying all my signs above his head and he was yelling through the airport, "Look around, Robin!"  I gave him a HUGE hug and rushed to my connection. 

She told me she just wanted to enjoy the day and that when things weren't perfect
she was going to say to herself, "Look around.  You're in Canada!"

So when Vineman rolled around, it was time to make signs again.  There is a specific corner where all the California Ironteams hang out and that is where the signs were.  Nick left that corner to watch me finish and then "supposedly" those signs were put in someone's car who later said he didn't have them and so and so had them and she said she only had XYZ signs, etc. etc.  Needless to say, the signs are now gone and I'm still crying about it.  Mainly because Nick's sign from IM Canada is gone.    

A few others said, "Yes!" to this sign.

So why do I care about signs so much?  Because cheering for just one person makes for a really boring and long day.  But cheering for every single person that crosses your path is fun.  I want to put a smile on the face of every person riding or running by me.  That's why spectators are out there in crazy wigs and tutus and anything else you can imagine.  Nick's sister thinks Ironman-spectating is boring.  I'm pretty sure she thinks that because she was just there cheering for Nick and maybe only saw him four times the whole day.  When I talk to people that have finished, they say it was the kind words of the volunteers and all the spectators that helped them.  If the hour I spend making a silly sign created 250 more smiles on that run course, then it's all worth it to me.

The purple/green signs for all the TNT'er out there

The best part about making signs is getting to use up all my scrap paper! 

Nice Legs -- It always brings a smile

Who hasn't peed by the time they are on the run?
And, if they haven't well I hope they smile anyway.

Someone asked why I wasn't holding that sign.
And, that's because this sign was made specifically for him to hold! =P

The baby sign I made for Sedonia when she raced Couer d'Alene
 (we are "Two peas in a pod" besides the fact that she is a good 4.5 hours faster than me)
It folds in half so Phil could put it in his suitcase
and not forget it on the plane like I did.