Tomorrow is the last day before a three day weekend. I'm not sure if it's possible to be looking more forward to it than I am right now. Granted, tomorrow will start at 4:45 a.m. with a two-hour long run that, God willing, I won't get stormed on in the process, because I HATE to run in the rain. Then I will go to work, and then I will come home only to work more on my statistics primer. What a wild start to a wild weekend... or not.
Eric, Kappa, and I will take off down to Madison, Indiana for a long weekend of boating, and general outdoor fun complete with campfires and smores (maybe I'll be able to get multimedia'd up in here and post some pictures... we'll see how creative I feel this weekend) I don't know what backyard genious came up with the smore, but whoever they were, they were undoubtedly a brilliant cullinary mind ;o) Of course the laptop and school work will be in tow, but that's okay. I'd much rather study down in Madison after a day of fun on the water than sit inside my apartment all weekend loathing the fact that I wasted summer's last great days. Besides, Madison has this utterly adorable little coffee shop that I'm pretty sure has wireless access, so that will make for pleasant study sessions.
I love going down to the river. Eric's family is great, and it's a lot of fun for me to see Eric in his element. He loves going down there, and watching him on the water it's so easy to see that he has done this his whole life. Everything is simple and fluid for him-- like the river itself. I, on the other hand, did not grow up on the water. I don't know the first thing about boats, waterskiing, currents, smooth water, choppy water... I'm a damn good swimmer, but that's about the extent of it. I'm pretty much useless, even when I try to 'help', which is a term I'll use loosely in this context since I'm really not helpful at all down there. At least when I fall in the river trying to 'help', and that's a pretty inevitable 'when', well, then I'll know what to do. So here's hoping for a fun (and studious, sigh) Labor Day Weekend!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Exhaustion and Inspiration
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."
Monday, August 25, 2008
Chicago
Well, as the nature of my blog title suggests, I was off and running again (hence the gap in entries). This time up to my "home"... well it feels like home, Chicago. Every year my mom and I take a weekend during the summer and meet there. It's a tradition we've been doing for 10 years now, and although saying that makes me feel old, the fact of the matter is it is one of the things I look most forward to.
I started the weekend early by driving up Thursday night and staying with the Elsmo Four (see their blog at elsmofour.blogspot.com). My family has grown exponentially over the years with a wide array of people who aren't necessarily 'relatives' per se. The Elsmo Four, however, are actual relatives, and for that I could not feel more blessed. If the soul were a gas tank, mine leaves their enclave of Chicago on 'full', and I always hate to leave... reason number 3,967 why I just need to move up there! We had a fantastic time. The Elsmo vortex sucks you in and next thing you know you have a glass of wine or sparkling water in one hand and a dog or a cat in the other.
My mom met me there on Friday afternoon. Mel, Finn, Emma, and I spent the morning mini-vanning (yes, it's a verb too!) between soccer, the Whole Foods, and this awesome artisan cheese shop. Mel once told me that you can get through just about anything with some crackers, wine, and a good cheese. Honestly, I have had moments in my life where if you looked in my cabinets and refrigerator-- well, you'd know I took her advice to heart.
After a beautiful afternoon together, my mom and I departed for downtown. We had dinner at Toppolobampo, which was FABULOUS! Of course the food and wine were amazing, but really, just settling into the promise of the weekend made everything that much better. Saturday mom and I navigated all of our favorite haunts. Including the Crate and Barrel where the plush beds mock me year after year. I swear that one of these days I will have a bed like the ones in Crate and Barrel. Maybe it's better that I don't have a bed like that. It's less incentive to stay there when I have SO much to do these days. Saturday night we had dinner at Le Lan, also fabulous. Sunday came too quickly. Sunday always comes too quickly on this particular weekend of the year. Despite the sadness of having to wait an entire year for the next installment, I take comfort in the arms of my city. Just being there reminds me of the work I have ahead of me, but also the bold, sky-scraping incentive that lies around the corner.
I started the weekend early by driving up Thursday night and staying with the Elsmo Four (see their blog at elsmofour.blogspot.com). My family has grown exponentially over the years with a wide array of people who aren't necessarily 'relatives' per se. The Elsmo Four, however, are actual relatives, and for that I could not feel more blessed. If the soul were a gas tank, mine leaves their enclave of Chicago on 'full', and I always hate to leave... reason number 3,967 why I just need to move up there! We had a fantastic time. The Elsmo vortex sucks you in and next thing you know you have a glass of wine or sparkling water in one hand and a dog or a cat in the other.
My mom met me there on Friday afternoon. Mel, Finn, Emma, and I spent the morning mini-vanning (yes, it's a verb too!) between soccer, the Whole Foods, and this awesome artisan cheese shop. Mel once told me that you can get through just about anything with some crackers, wine, and a good cheese. Honestly, I have had moments in my life where if you looked in my cabinets and refrigerator-- well, you'd know I took her advice to heart.
After a beautiful afternoon together, my mom and I departed for downtown. We had dinner at Toppolobampo, which was FABULOUS! Of course the food and wine were amazing, but really, just settling into the promise of the weekend made everything that much better. Saturday mom and I navigated all of our favorite haunts. Including the Crate and Barrel where the plush beds mock me year after year. I swear that one of these days I will have a bed like the ones in Crate and Barrel. Maybe it's better that I don't have a bed like that. It's less incentive to stay there when I have SO much to do these days. Saturday night we had dinner at Le Lan, also fabulous. Sunday came too quickly. Sunday always comes too quickly on this particular weekend of the year. Despite the sadness of having to wait an entire year for the next installment, I take comfort in the arms of my city. Just being there reminds me of the work I have ahead of me, but also the bold, sky-scraping incentive that lies around the corner.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Return On Investment
Graduate school is in full swing. Classes have started, primers are being completed, and of course, that means that tuition is due. Most of my cohort are being sponsored or reimbursed by their companies. I, however, work for the state. Obviously there is no room in the budget (balanced though it is for Indiana) for sending people to graduate school. No, this is one that I am taking on the chin. It's a top tier program with a top tier price tag.
Today, I started navigating the world of financial aid. I am utterly baffled (maybe they should have Master's programs for the anomaly that is the financial aid system?). Obviously this is not rocket science; I will of course figure it out, but for this evening I am allowing myself to be completely confused. One of the financial topics we will be talking about in class is ROI... boy there's a concept that hits home!
Right now I'm in the middle of a statistics primer for my first quantitative analysis class. Forget Ambien, totally not necessary when you've got this! Mostly I feel bad for my future professor. I pretty much have an empty, cavernous space where my left brain was supposed to go. Somehow I managed to get through a very quant driven undergraduate degree-- so now we'll see if I can't make it two for two.
Today, I started navigating the world of financial aid. I am utterly baffled (maybe they should have Master's programs for the anomaly that is the financial aid system?). Obviously this is not rocket science; I will of course figure it out, but for this evening I am allowing myself to be completely confused. One of the financial topics we will be talking about in class is ROI... boy there's a concept that hits home!
Right now I'm in the middle of a statistics primer for my first quantitative analysis class. Forget Ambien, totally not necessary when you've got this! Mostly I feel bad for my future professor. I pretty much have an empty, cavernous space where my left brain was supposed to go. Somehow I managed to get through a very quant driven undergraduate degree-- so now we'll see if I can't make it two for two.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Long "Run"
So as mentioned previously, I am currently waiting the results of my bone scan to determine whether or not I have a stress fracture in my left foot. In the meantime, the doctor told me that I could bike and swim to keep my cardio up. Since my hope is to still run the marathon in seven weeks, I have been mimicking my run workouts in the pool and on the bike. Today would have been a 3-hour long run, so I spent 2 hours and 15 minutes on a stationary bike and then 45 minutes swimming laps continuously.
I go to the gym, catch an hour long spin class, and then just stay on the bike, working like a fiend, while everyone else packs up and goes home. It's awkard. I keep waiting for the day when someone comes up to me, thinks I must be deaf, and tells me I can get off the darn bike already. So far it has yet to happen, but I do receive a few strange glances as people make a break for the door. Luckily most of the instructors know me by name, and also know my reasons for staying aboard. Oddly enough, spending the last hour or so in the pool is kind of nice, albeit even more difficult. I did swim team for many years as a kid and early teen, so the repitition takes me back to summers spent working hard in the mornings and then playing at the pool all day. My swim cap and goggles are both blue. I must surely look like some sort of derranged blueberry, swimming back and forth, back and forth.
The marathon is seven weeks away. I'm afraid I won't be ready. I understand that this won't be my last chance to run a marathon if it doesn't happen. I also understand that there is a lot to be gained from the journey, even when the journey doesn't go as planned, but after all the planning, hours of work, and mental energy devoted to this one thing I can't help but continue to go after it. Seven weeks from today I want to run across the finish line as an official marathoner.
I go to the gym, catch an hour long spin class, and then just stay on the bike, working like a fiend, while everyone else packs up and goes home. It's awkard. I keep waiting for the day when someone comes up to me, thinks I must be deaf, and tells me I can get off the darn bike already. So far it has yet to happen, but I do receive a few strange glances as people make a break for the door. Luckily most of the instructors know me by name, and also know my reasons for staying aboard. Oddly enough, spending the last hour or so in the pool is kind of nice, albeit even more difficult. I did swim team for many years as a kid and early teen, so the repitition takes me back to summers spent working hard in the mornings and then playing at the pool all day. My swim cap and goggles are both blue. I must surely look like some sort of derranged blueberry, swimming back and forth, back and forth.
The marathon is seven weeks away. I'm afraid I won't be ready. I understand that this won't be my last chance to run a marathon if it doesn't happen. I also understand that there is a lot to be gained from the journey, even when the journey doesn't go as planned, but after all the planning, hours of work, and mental energy devoted to this one thing I can't help but continue to go after it. Seven weeks from today I want to run across the finish line as an official marathoner.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Definition
This is the beginning... (and, in some ways, the continuation) of so many happenings. I have officially bitten off more than I can chew, and of course, hilarity and insanity will surely follow. I have decided to chronicle this journey for a few reasons: 1) I will eventually want to look back over my musings and laugh 2) It may be the easiest way to convey to friends and family that I am, in fact, still alive and kicking 3) It seems like fun, and if I don't engage my right brain in something creative I fear it will shrivel up altogether, never to be seen or heard from again.
Now, why use a dictionary definition to title the blog? Well, for starters, I am signed up for the Chicago marathon; although, I'm currently healing a stress fracture, so I've got my fingers crossed on that coming together as planned. I have always loved sports, and running in particular, so what better way to embrace those things than by running a marathon? Second, I have recently started an MS/MBA program through Purdue and Indiana University. It will take 2.5 years and here I find myself standing at the bottom of a mountain, staring straight up, with absolutely no vision of where the top might be (or if it's even there). Additionally, I work full time, coach girl's travel soccer, play in my own soccer leagues, and have a boyfriend and a dog--the two highlights of my day when I finally skuttle through the door. I love this definition because it encompasses the opportunities that lay ahead--taking flight, the challenges that will inevitably prompt a whole lot of departing quickly. Yes, I am literally attempting to run a marathon, but more than that, I am running forward-- full steam ahead-- into what, I'm not entirely sure, but here the story begins.
Now, why use a dictionary definition to title the blog? Well, for starters, I am signed up for the Chicago marathon; although, I'm currently healing a stress fracture, so I've got my fingers crossed on that coming together as planned. I have always loved sports, and running in particular, so what better way to embrace those things than by running a marathon? Second, I have recently started an MS/MBA program through Purdue and Indiana University. It will take 2.5 years and here I find myself standing at the bottom of a mountain, staring straight up, with absolutely no vision of where the top might be (or if it's even there). Additionally, I work full time, coach girl's travel soccer, play in my own soccer leagues, and have a boyfriend and a dog--the two highlights of my day when I finally skuttle through the door. I love this definition because it encompasses the opportunities that lay ahead--taking flight, the challenges that will inevitably prompt a whole lot of departing quickly. Yes, I am literally attempting to run a marathon, but more than that, I am running forward-- full steam ahead-- into what, I'm not entirely sure, but here the story begins.
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