Coming to an End

In 4 hours, 2007 will be over. I did write a "Year In Review" article, as I've done for the past couple of years, but I don't think I'm going to post it. Instead, I'll summarize.

2007 was a good year. It did have its downs, but the difference is that these downs actually (for once) made me stronger. I am in a much better place (emotionally, physically and mentally) than I was last year. I have ridded myself of toxic situations, ridded myself of toxic people, ridded myself of almost 25 pounds. I have a new car, new school district, new apartment, new clothes, new outlook on life. I finished a screenplay that I've been working on (off and on) for almost 4 years, and have begun outlining 3 more. I did not get on a plane once this year (which is very odd), but I did get great new furniture. I began running again, and although I'm not at my past speed, I'm getting up in the miles. I ran on the treadmill today and pushed myself to run an 11:19 mile, my fastest mile in over a year. I might push myself on the treadmill twice a week for speed work. Maybe.

I can't remember the best movie I saw this year, because I saw so many good ones (Stardust was one of my favorites, as was Sweeney Todd). I read a ton of new books, but didn't keep a list so I can't tell you my favorite (Harry Potter was good, The Forest was good, 19 Minutes was good).

What will 2008 hold? I have no clue. Here are my hopes (I'm not going to say resolutions, because those are so often broken):

1) Run a marathon (hopefully NY, but if I don't get chosen for NY, I might sign up for San Antonio)
2) Run 25 miles a week (at least)
3) Finish two screenplays, and submit my newly finished one to three specific competitions
4) Lose the last 35 pounds! Finally, lose the last of the 155 pound weight loss journey I began 7 years ago.
5) Find a guy who is funny, honest, wicked smart and mature (this one is a long-shot, I know) :)
6) Dress up more, wear less t-shirts.
7) Enjoy my last half a year as a twenty-something.

Other than that, everything else will just be lagnaippe.

Cheers and happy new year! While many of you will be nursing hangovers tomorrow, I'll be jogging happily - somewhere between 10 and 15 miles.

Brrrrrrrrrr

I did not want to run this morning; I wanted to stay in my warm and comfy bed. I did get up, however, get dressed and went to the BAF run. I was actually hoping Lori wouldn't show up, because if she didn't, I'd've gone right back to bed and run 10 miles solo around the Memorial Park area later. But she showed up.

The temperature was 49 when we began and 50 when we ended. It wasn't as cold as the Uptown Turkey Trot (thank heavens), but I actually kept 2/3 of my layers on during the run (jacket #1 went around my waist within a mile, but jacket #2 and my long-sleeved shirt stayed on). The first 8 miles were great, but the last 2 were tough (we stopped for a bathroom break and just couldn't get started as easily). Still, we finished with an average of 13:30, which will definitely put us ahead of our 13:49/3 hour finishing goal. When I'm alone, I can average 12:45 minute miles now, but I always slow down when I run with Lori. She's not slowing me down because she runs faster alone as well. I guess it's the talking we do. But that just continues with my running mindset: have a fun experience.

Next week is the last official BAF Saturday run. After the half, I'll be on my own. I don't like to run long runs in Clear Lake, so I'll be heading to Memorial Park once a week to get in my long runs. I like the water fountains available, plus the bathrooms/gas stations that I'm accustomed to. And I'll get to (finally) add in some hills on my runs! As for speed work, I'll have to figure out something on my own over here. But that's cool.

Life's good. Social life is seriously picking up. I've even graded half of the poetry projects I brought home. I think I'll grade more tomorrow.

Cheers!

The Big 30

No, I'm not talking about my age... yet. I still have 6 more months of being 29.

No, I hit 30 miles for the first time in a long time!

Saturday: 11
Monday: 5
Tuesday: 6
Today/Thursday: 8
Total: 30!

Today's run was a fluke. I ran 4 early this morning with Lori. Then I sat down, grading, for a while and decided to run another 4 in the afternoon to offset the sitting down.

And BAM! 30 miles.

Will the 30 miles stay? Not for the next two weeks, since I'm supposed to be tapering.

But one of my New Year's Resolution: to run 28 miles a week, barring illnesses and injuries. I bought Marty Jerome's Runner's Calendar/Log for 2008 (which I didn't buy for 2007 because of my injury), and I am ready to fill it out!

Cheers!

Merry Christmas

So, today is Christmas. It's not the Christmas of my youth: no tree brimming with presents underneath, no constant ringing of the doorbell, no turkey, no camcorder recording happy faces, no dog trying to sneak some people food. No, that kind of Christmas died with my father 12 years ago. Nowadays, Christmas is a small event. Tiny, actually. Mom, my sister, her husband and me. I'm single and my sister doesn't have kids, so it may be small for a while. And this year, my sister and her husband couldn't make it today so we will be having our Christmas lunch tomorrow (with our new tradition of gumbo and potato salad). So my mom and did what we've done many Christmases recently: we went to the movies. We saw "P.S. I Love You." Great movie, but not the best Christmas movie for my mom and myself - we were bawling the entire time. Mom told me I'm not to choose the movie next year.

I miss the Christmases of my youth. I miss my father. I miss being in a large, loving family. I love my mom and I cherish the times spent with her, but I get wistful at this time. After leaving my mom's, I went for a 6 mile run at Memorial Park. I didn't get to run the wistfullness out of me, because all around the park were happy, loving couples; kids running around with their moms and dads; older couples holding hands while walking. It made me feel alone. Hopefully one day I'll have the large, fun, exciting Christmas again. But for now, it's movies with Mom and a good run. And really, how can I complain about those things? It's two things I truly enjoy!

Cheers!

Almost Christmas!

Merry Almost Christmas!

Saturday's run: 11.5 miles. Not a bad run, overall. I think our average was a 13:30, which will still put us (us being Lori and myself) in under 3 hours. Of course, I'd love a finishing time of 2:55 or below, which would make this a PR, which would be doubly exciting since it's my first half since my knee injury. By the way - my knee overall feels fine. Sometimes when I run while the weather is changing, I feel a slight ping. I was hurting on the 13-miler two weeks ago, but only at the last .25 mile. I'm not worried at all.

Today's run: 5 miles. Lori and I ran where she usually runs, which is a gravel path. I loved it! It's very winding and confusing, and it can get into some woods, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about running it alone, but it was fun. We ran all around Seabrook, ending up at Galveston Bay. I saw 4 deer on the way to the park (actually, the deer were two blocks away from my apartment) and on the run we saw tons of egrets, a huge beautiful blue herring, a nutria rat, an alligator chilling in the water, and no snakes. The no snake part made me feel good.

Tomorrow, I will be able to go back to my tradition of walking/running on Christmas. Since the weather is chilly, I might wait until the afternoon, but I plan on getting 6 in tomorrow, either around Memorial or Rice. And then Thursday will be a 5-mile day, and Saturday a 10-miler (we're tapering now). Getting in 26 miles in one week is a milestone for me - I haven't gotten in that much since before my injury. Woo-hoo!

I've started writing my "Year In Review" entry, and I have to say that it looks pretty darn good.

Cheers!

Danger in My Fridge

One of my students gave me a large box of chocolate truffles for Christmas. The box had 32 in them. Now there are 25 (I had to sample one of each flavor!).

I will now limit myself to one a day for the next 25 days.

I've lost over 20 pounds since moving to Clear Lake. I don't want to put them back on (but I still want the chocolate!).

BTW... 2nd date with the engineer went well. Third date to come after Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Monday Ramblings

I ran 4.5 miles today, grudgingly. I was tired and the temperature was chilly, so I whined while jogging. But I did it. And tomorrow is another 4.5 miles (which has to get done early in the afternoon so that I have time to shower and get prettier for date #2 with the engineer).

After the Houston race, I'm going to incorporate speed work in my weekly runs to get me back to where I was over a year ago. If things work out with the engineer, I'm going to have him coach me - he ran track and field at West Point, and was uber-fast - fast enough to win lots of Houston 10ks and 5ks in the 1990s, and even today finishes full marathons in less than 4 hours. He did the Uptown Turkey Trot 5k in 21 minutes.

I want to finish the Marine Corps half in 2.5 hours, which will cut 20 minutes off of my best half-marathon time. I know I can do it, because I got to the halfway point of the Nashville Marathon in 2.5 hours. I just need to work on my speed. And I'll have plenty of time to do it between January and May.

Cheers!

No Change

I'm not changing my blog. I like it just the way it is.

1) Running. I did go Saturday morning, but Lori and I stopped at 5 and turned back, instead of turning back at 6. We figured 10 miles was just as good as 12, especially since the storm clouds were getting thicker by the mile. We lucked out, because the rain came down as I was walking to my car after stretching.

2) My date Saturday afternoon went really well. We talked on the phone today and the second date will be Tuesday.

3) Only 4.5 school days left until the holiday break! Wa-hoo!

Cheers!

Musings...

So, I'm in the process of completely cutting the Bastard finally out of my life (think deleting and trashing). But herein lies a few problems... First of all, I have something of his. It's not an expensive thing (it's a book), but it's still his (although it's been in my posession for two years now). He hasn't asked for it back (hell, he hasn't even attempted to contact me in two months). So, should I be the better person and mail it back to him or should I completely destroy it and feel good about destroying it (which is very passive-aggressive, I know)? On the other hand, he has a book of mine and I'm giving it up and buying a new copy since he's ignoring my presence.

Secondly, this blog. Since we didn't have a fight, I know he doesn't hate me. I have a strong feeling he reads this blog to check up on me (as he usually does) and I don't think he deserves to know anything about me anymore. He has no right to know about my running, he has no right to know about my work, he has no right to know about my relationships, he has no right to know anything new about me anymore. Which means I'm toying with the idea of completely getting rid of this blog (which kind of upsets me, since I've had it for years). I do have a blog on myspace, but I don't use it often and I kind of like the annonymity of this one (since not all of my readers know who I am). I might just get a new blogger blog and only tell a certain few of the new address. But it sucks because I've had this one for years! Argh. Stupid men.

So, if I got a new blog address, e-mail me if you're interested in the new address.

And on a non-Bastard note... it's supposed to be freezing this weekend! I might not run with my group, since it'll be in the upper 30s when we run. I might just wait until noon and run around Hermann or Memorial. I have to do 12 miles, which is 4 loops around Rice or 4 loops around Memorial. And it won't be as cold at noon.

And, I got my confirmation e-mail for the first innaugural Marine Corps Half Marathon! I'm exited.

AND I have a date this weekend with a really great guy.

I'm going to go jog now. Cheers!

Ahh... Sunday

I love Sundays. Sundays mean reading the Sunday newspaper while eating an omlette, going to the gym in the morning, going to the movies, having time for "me."

Today was no exception. I read the Sunday paper, went to the gym (after yesterday's 12 miler, I soaked in a tub so I felt NO soreness or stiffness whatsoever), went to the movies (saw August Rush, which was quite good), did a bit of grading, drove around in my new car, played copious amounts of online Scrabble.

I just discovered a couple of cool things about my new auto. First of all, I can save songs on Sirius, and the next time that they are played on any of the satellite stations, a reminder comes on to tell me what station it's on! And I found a little menu that enables me to display song and singer while it's playing, and I discovered that the drink holders in my console are removable, thus allowing bigger cups to sit in there.

Lo-jack was installed on my SUV yesterday, so I'm all good to go! If someone steals my car - watch out! Lo-jack will be after you (and so will an angry high school English teacher)!

Cheers!

Funny

I was shopping online for new pouches and food for my sugar gliders, and I found harnesses/leashes for sugar gliders.

There was a picture.

It amused me.

I might have to buy two.

Tough Times

Today's BAF long run for the halves was 11-12 miles. I think they gave us this option since last week's 11 mile run was cancelled due to inclement weather. Despite not running a long run last weekend, and each of us only putting in 3 miles this week, Lori and I decided to go for the 12. Next week's run is to be 11, so we decided to push ourselves this week.

The first half (6 miles) was fine - we averaged a 12:50 pace. The last 6 miles, however, sucked. There were some miles in there that were well over 14 minutes. She and I trudged on, feeling the pain, but determined to do all 12 miles. Both of us WILL be running more this week, so we're hoping next week's long run won't be as bad. Both of us hurt (her feet, my calves) by the end and I was thankful to be finished. I kept getting Charlie Horses in my left calf, which hasn't happened before. I already eat one banana a day, but I'm going to look up other high-potassium foods to keep them from happening again. The knee felt a tad sore at the end, but it's been acting up due to the constant weather changes (and the fact that I slammed it into a chair last night), but it was only slight twinges.

I've been in a funky rut again for about 2 weeks. I don't really know why. I haven't wanted to eat healthy, I haven't worked out near as much as I usually do, I just feel blah. But after running today, I feel so much better (and the fact that I have fun new SUV makes me happy, too).

One reason that I'm bothered, I know, is the fact that someone I considered one of my best friends has completely dropped me without any reason. Perhaps keeping him as a friend was stupid on my part because he's hurt me in the past (including smashing my heart 3 years ago), but I have so many things in common with him (more than anyone else) that I just look at the good and tend to ignore the bad. He was my Shakespeare buddy, my Scrabble buddy, my running supporter, my Harry Potter buddy, my Samuel L. Jackson-is-the-killer buddy (inside joke), and he's also an English teacher so we talked about our teaching experiences (and past Starbucks experiences) a lot.

We've known each other for 7 years and have definitely had our ups-and-downs (including once not speaking for 5 months), but 5 weeks ago, we spoke on the phone for the last time. There was no fight. We had mentioned seeing a movie together and I had strongly suggested he come to Houston, since I had driven to visit him the last two times. The phone conversation was 4 days before that was supposed to happen, and since he never mentioned it, I decided not to either (call me childish, but I wanted HIM to remember). The phone conversation didn't even end on a bad note.

That was the last time we spoke. I, on purpose, waited for him to call me. After two weeks, I left him an IM saying that I'm irritated with him, but also concerned because I haven't heard from him in two weeks (we used to talk daily, then a couple of times a week). No response. I knew he was alive because he was online. But he didn't respond. Almost two weeks later, after the death-threat incident, I sent him a text message telling him of it. He responded with "Are you ok?" And when I tried to call him to tell him the story, his voice mail picked up and I left him a message, telling of the story. No return call. I e-mailed him the story. No reply. I tried calling him again the following week. No return call. I saw him online Sunday and said hi, and he said that he was in Orlando and about to return to Louisiana and he had to go.

I tried calling him again Wednesday. At this point, I just want to know why he hasn't been returning my calls. We used to talk daily. The fact that he's ignoring me without reason is completely baffling. But at the same time, I'm done. I'm starting to feel like a communication stalker. He has treated me without feeling twice before. This is now the third time, and now I realize that it's my fault that I ever trusted him after any of those other situations. And maybe that's why I'm in this rut. Because I've lost one of my closest friends and I don't know why. I've lost the person that I told everything to. I've lost the person who I could rant to, in which afterwards he'd cheer me up. I've lost the person who I could have the most intellectual conversations with. And I don't even know why I lost him. Maybe he has a new girlfriend and can't tell me or her about me. I don't know.

But on the flip side, he's lost me now. I'm done.

Everyone is replaceable. Even close friends.

What Is That Smell?

What is that smell? It smells like the rodeo! Horses? No, not horses. More like cows. No, not cows, just the leather. That's it! The smell is leather.

The smell is the leather seats on my fantastic new car!

The car came about 10 months early, but it became necessary when I realized that I was going to have to sink some money into my newly-paid off tiny car. I figured, what the hell, instead of sinking that money into repairs, I might as well just sink it into a new car.

I am now the proud owner of a 2008 Ford Escape XLT with loads of fun stuff.

I feel like a grown-up. And the price was right. Unfortunately I didn't have a great deal of time to save up for a downpayment, so I had to drain my savings. I will therefore be driving for a while, and not flying anytime soon. And I will be pinching pennies until my savings gets to what it was.

But I have a sweet new ride!

At Least My Legs Work

My car may be broken, but my legs work fine.

While my car sits in the shop, getting fixed, I put in a 4 mile run. Average pace: 12:30. Woo-hoo!

I did not get in a long run this weekend. Oh, well. I'll let my legs heal. Or at least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Meanwhile, my sister and brother-in-law are on the phone, pimping me out to a coworker of JJ's. I find the situation highly amusing.

Cheers!

In the Warm, Furnished Prison

It rain today. It rained a lot.

Yesteday, it was just cold. Mom and I went to the Renaissance Festival (where we ran into four rodeo buddies, one of my favorite students and one of my dad's good friend - who, as it turns out, now works at the HFD station 2 miles away from my apartment!). It was bitterly cold, but not rainy.

Today, I heard the distant thunder and saw the not-so-distant lightening. Today's mileage was supposed to be 11 miles. As I woke up and gathered my running gear, I had a feeling I'd be back in bed shortly. Yep - when I arrived at our starting point, the coaches were cancelling the run because of the lightening. So I drove home, went back to bed, and reemerged 3 hours later.

After I woke up, I sat at my dining room table, determined to finish grading. You see, I volunteered (with pay, of course) to be a grader for these district exams. I will never do it again because the pile of exams never got shorter! But today, I finished my last exam, bringing me up to around 2,000 exams. And they weren't scantron - they were 3 paragraphs per exam. So I read close to 6,000 paragraph answers. But I sat and finished it, occasionally taking a break to play scrabble, work out, chat on the phone.

At 3pm I finished. And I decided to grab some lunch and head to the gym. Unfortunately, my car decided to not cooperate. All of a sudden, as I was trying to pull my car into a parking lot, my car decided it didn't want to turn. It stopped turning mid-turn, causing me to almost run into a pole. I had to force the wheel over, feeling as though I was going to break something. AND my battery light came on. I somehow managed to make it home without getting killed (seriously, turning frightened me). I called up Stephen, who came over and diagnosed it as a belt problem. The very belt he's talking about is a new belt - it was just replaced in March before a trip to Baton Rouge. It turns out that the belt was not properly put in, because it had fallen. It wasn't broken, it was off of the thing it's supposed to be attached to. So I have to wait until Monday (because the shop is closed tomorrow). Monday I will call them (I have to walk to work now, in the cold), and Tuesday I will take it in. I'm hoping I don't have to take Tuesday off from work to get this taken care of, but I might have to. Argh!

So, until my car is fixed, I am trapped inside my apartment. And tomorrow, the cold rain is to continue, which means I'm really trapped inside my apartment.

Sigh.

Trotting for Turkey

My Thanksgiving tradition continues with the completion of another Uptown Park Turkey Trot. This is not my favorite race, probably because the course isn't that interesting. I must say, however, that the changed course was an improvement, but this year the weather was terrible!

The cold front came in late last night. The temperature at the start was 40 degrees with very strong gusts of wind. I ran with Lori, and our first 4 miles were surprisingly great - all sub 13. The last two miles, however, sucked. The wind was stronger, we were getting colder, and I could barely move my fingers and legs. I was miserable. Still, I finished at 1:19, which isn't my best 10k time, but I don't think it's my worst, either. And mile two was a sub-12 minute, which made me giggly (and out of breath).

But that's done and it's almost time for turkey. I made the turkey again this year, as well as the homemade cranberry relish, asparagus and pumpkin pie-cups (I didn't have a pie plate but had cupcake tins). Mmm. Turkey....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorely Happy

Lori, my running buddy, has been going to a personal trainer and adores her, so she convinced me to tag along with her training today.

Dear Lord, my ass was kicked today. My quads are going to be extremely sore tomorrow. And yet I topped off the hour-long, grueling weight session with a 3 mile jog this afternoon. Hopefully I'll be able to put in 4 miles tomorrow. Let me rephrase that: I will put in 4 miles tomorrow, but I might be shuffling it.

Today, being Monday, is a Weight Watcher meeting day. Total WW weight-loss: 21 pounds! Add the three pounds I lost before joining WW, I've lost 24 pounds since moving to Clear Lake. Most of my clothes are fitting and I am finally seeing the difference in the mirror. I haven't weighed this in 3 years (before one of the most emotionally devastating weeks of my life). I'm at the weight I was when I did my first play at Company Onstage.

This is strange, but I feel like the bad/stressful things of the past three years haven't happened. I mean they have, but I feel like they are way beyond me. Gone are the emtionally tiring days of being in a pseudo-relationship with someone who didn't feel the same way. Gone are the days of being in another relationship in which I lost myself and stayed unhappy for too long. Gone are the days of being in a job that stressed me out so badly that I had anxiety attacks before arriving at work. Gone are the days of hating myself for allowing myself to give in to food to comfort me. Gone are the days of wishing that I could just erase those years. With each stressful situation, I gained weight. And now that I've finally lost it all, I feel as though the bad years are finally over and I've grown from lessons learned from those experiences. I feel like I can close old doors and open new ones.

I'm still 10 pounds from what I was at my lightest, but those 10 pounds didn't really come from that much stress. It came from going on a cruise, a cruise with WAY too much food and not enough of a gym to keep me interested. That and just adjusting to a new position at work.

I've already lost 24 pounds. 10 pounds is no problem. By the Houston Half Marathon (almost two months away), they should be gone.

Cheers (with water or diet coke, of course)!

Vacation Days #1 and #2

Vacation day #1 was ok. I jogged 10.5 miles in the morning (the first 8 were fine, the last 2 just sucked), graded some exams, went shopping with the Pregnant one and her husband, graded some more exams, went to my mom's house and fell asleep.

Vacation day #2 was also just ok. Thunderstorms came into the city during the night, cancelling the trip to the Ren Fest that my mom and I planned - we were not enthused about traipsing around in mud. So I spent the day grading. And shopping. And going to the movies. And more grading.

A word about the grading... I volunteered to grade district benchmark exams because I wanted the money. I have about 1700 exams to grade (seriously). Between yesterday and today, I've graded 425. They're not hard to grade, but my brain shuts down rather quickly because I'm reading the same responses over and over and over and over and over. So how am I clearing my mind? Going shopping, which is defeating the purpose of grading these for extra money.

But I have a radio converter for my iPod now, a new calendar, a new CD, and cute new shoes. So tonight, I'll be camped out on my couch - grading more. I hope to get another 250 done before I go to bed. And presently, I'm wearing my purple LSU pajamas, a yellow camisole, and black-and-cream lacey heels. Let me tell you, the shoes just complete the pajamas. :)

Cheers!

It Didn't Stop There

As I felt threatened Wednesday (see Wednesdday's blog), yesterday I WAS threatened.

The whole story is kinda long so I'll give you the abridged version. On Thursday and Friday, the student was still not nice to me. Yestersday, instead of writing class notes, he was writing something else. He left it behind - it was written in a weird code. Being that I'm both intelligent and determined, I studied the note and figured out the code. It was 95% about me and 100% scarey. In it, he said "I will kill her smling will I do...f**** I am so disturbed." He went on and on and it sufficiently freaked me out. I turned it in, the kid was called down and he will not be at my school for a while.

If anyone wants to hear the whole story, let me know. But I think the school handled it the best they could, the kid was in serious trouble.

My mom freaked out, and so did some of my friends, but I feel safe. I am no longer walking to school (at least, not anytime soon). The student was not taken into custody due to his cooperation and his parents showing up, so I'm going to be careful. I don't think he's going to hurt me (I think he's more angry with his family life), but I've got some big guy friends (one's a coach and the other has a weapons permit) who said they'll come over if I ever feel safe.

I feel pretty safe, but this situation just makes me realize how lonely and vulnerable I am over here sometimes. Thankfully I have a whole week off from school and can just relax.

Uneasiness

I felt threatened at work today.

Last year, I had a student harassing me. I nipped that one in the bud. This year, I have a student who has no respect for me whatsoever and he's belligerent and combatative towards me. Today, after I gave him detention for refusing to do his work, he gets mad at me and proceeds to write. Later, I found his writing and it wasn't his assignment - he was venting. He wrote that he felt much "rage and anger" towards me, called me a nut, etc. In fact, he used the terms "rage" and "anger" over and over.

Of course, I talked to the administration. The counsellor said he was angry about something else, and that I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But that doesn't comfort me.

Being a teacher isn't easy. Here's a prime reason why.

More Hot Marines

I registered for the first Marine Corps Half Marathon just a few minutes ago. It's in May, in Virginia, and I'm excited. But one part of the waiver makes me laugh:

"In the event the Historic Half is delayed or cancelled for any reason, inclugin but not limited to: fire, threatened or actual strike, labor difficulty, work stoppage, insurrection, war, public disaster, flood, unavoidable casualty, acts of God or the elements, or any other cause beyond the control of the Marine Corps Marathon there shall be no refund of the entry fee or any other costs of Athlete in connection with the Event."

Well, let's hope no one bombs or takes over Virginia because then I'll be out $64.

Cheers!

Saturday and Sore Legs

Why do I run the long distances? Because it feels so good when I stop.

Today's run was a 9-miler. Usually, I've been averaging 13:30 minute paces on my longer runs, but this one was in a 13:01 average pace! And all of the mile were pretty consistent. Lori, my running buddy, had never run a 12:49 mile, and that was what we did at mile 6, so she was very excited.

Today's run was good because I broke in my new shoes. Due to an unexpected bonus check from HISD yesterday, I splurged at Luke's Locker and bought new running shoes (I'm switching to Asic Kayanos from the Asic Evolutions for more flexibility), two new pairs of Wright double-layer socks, and a box of GUs in the new flavor: mint chocolate. Damn are they good! I'm going to buy another box when I go into the city today (since I don't think my running store over here carries them) and keep buying them until their expiration date runs out. I think they're just a special winter flavor, but they really are good!

I am really sore now, probably because of the new shoes and the fact that Lori and I pushed it. But it's a good sore - it hurts so good.

Now I have social plans today - a coffee date with one guy, and dinner plans as well.

Cheers!

Thanks, June

June inspired me this evening, unbeknownst to her. I read her blog, and she wrote about how we bloggers usually censor ourselves or how sometimes we write to a specific audience.

I know I do. And I always felt like I had to. Why, might you ask? Because too many guys that I've had relationships or psuedo-relationships with know about this blog (some I told, some found it for themselves) and I always wanted to be careful with what I said because I didn't want them to know my current social status or thoughts. Or I didn't want people to become worried about me when I'm really stressed or depressed. And sometimes I use this blog as a passive-aggressive/nonconfrontational method of getting certain information across.

Well, screw that. I am so tired of being dodgy sometimes. I will no longer censor myself because writing makes me feel better (writing and running are my therapy sessions) and censoring myself doesn't allow everything to come out. AND I'm just tired of avoiding.

So here it is. I will write freely and if people don't like what I say, they don't have to read it.

So there.

It's the Little Things

Little things make me happy. Grand gestures are appreciated, but it doesn't take much to make me happy. Case in point...

1) Running 13 miles this weekend. I planned on doing 10, but felt so good I kept on going. 2 days later, I'm still feeling the pain in my quads, but it feels GREAT.

2) Acorn squash. Winter squash brings a feeling of cozyness and winter. I'm actually eating mine right now with a bit of butter and brown sugar.

3) Weighing in at Weight Watchers and being happy that I gained only .4 pounds (I went through a major once-a-month chocolate craving and I completely gave into it... 6 days in a row). I expected a 2 pound gain. a .4 gain makes me very happy. I'm still at an 18 pound weight loss and my pile of "can't fit clothes" is getting smaller by the week.

4) Not having school work to do after school. Ahh. It's nice to have my evening to myself.

5) Being flirted with by a really handsome man. It makes me feel like I'm 23 again. And it's even better when he tells me that his favorite book is "The Count of Monte Cristo." Dangling a good classic like that in front of an English teacher is like dangling crack in front of a drug addict.

6) Reading a good book. I'm enjoying "The Forest" by Edward Rutherford.

7) One of my students telling another teacher that if she ever has a problem, I'm the one adult on campus she can confide in.

8) Canned pumpkin. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the two cans I bought. I'm now looking up recipes. But again, winter squash...

9) My vanilla scented candles.

10) Walking into a clean apartment.

11) Surprise text messages and phone calls from old friends. A really old friend called me Saturday and it was great to reminisce with him.

12) Updating my iPod with more musical cast recordings.

That's it for now. I'm in a very cheery mood and I'm slightly hyper.

Cheers!

No Clever Title Today

I put in another 6 miles today, bringing my weekly total to 12 so far. I hope to squeeze in 4-6 on Thursday (but I'll be on a time constraint, so let's hope I get any done) and then a long run of 10 miles on Saturday (around the Memorial Park/Allen Parkway area... something I haven't done in a long time).

I've been battling a nasty cold. I'm so exhausted right now, but I can't go to bed until my laundry is finished.

And my apartment needs cleaning. I don't have time to do that until Saturday.

Sigh.

Ask And Ye Shall Receive...

Woo-hoo! Cold(er) weather is here!

I'm inside all day. I don't even have a window, so usually the weather passes me by. Today, however, I knew that the temperature was dropping and my students confirmed it over and over: they kept claiming it was freezing outside! I believed them, forgetting that my "cold" and their "cold" are different.

So I took a step outside... and the weather is near perfect. Is it freezing? Not at all. But the wind was blowing and the temperature did drop. And by God, it's finally perfect to go for a 6 mile run at 4pm. So I did that.

Distance: 6 miles
Average pace: 13:32. Again, slowly dropping. Slowly.

The run was quite good, although the wind gusts almost knocked me over a couple of times. I felt alive, however, and really didn't want to stop at 6. I hope the weather is this good tomorrow so that I can get in 4.

After my run, I went to my Weight Watchers meeting. After two years of whining about my weight and not trying hard enough, I am finally back on the weight loss trail. Since moving to Clear Lake, I've dropped 18 pounds! Slowly, my cute clothes are fitting again. 7 more pound until they should all fit, 14 more pounds until I was at my lowest (5 years ago).

The weather is good, I'm running again, and I'm dropping pounds. Life is quite good right now.

Cheers!

Yay! A Cool Front!

The temps are to be in the 70s after tomorrow! Yay!

Yesterday's run: 8 miles.
Average pace: 13:23. I'm slowly going down in my average pace during long runs. And I'm ok with "slow and steady."

So, here's my complaint of the day: it's almost 10am and my Sunday newspaper still hasn't found its way to my door. One of my favorite Sunday activities is to read the paper over breakfast, with my sliding glass doors open and the sun shining in. Today, I surfed the web while eating breakfast (and I waited until 30 minutes ago to eat). Soon I will be leaving for the day (I'm going to the movies, read my book at Starbucks and dinner with 3 transplanted college buddies), and if I don't have my newspaper, I'm going to have to buy one. And then I'll have to leave an unfriendly e-mail to the Chronicle, especially since Tuesday's paper didn't make it to my apartment, either.

But other than not having my weekly dose of the travel section, Zest, and coupons, I'm ok. I had no food in my cupboard this morning, so I went to the grocery story and completely restocked my kitchen. I haven't had a "restocking" in a while, so I spent a lot of money and I'm good now for a while. And I bought ingredients to do some real cooking, so I'm pleased.

I think I sprained a toe. I am a clutz; I walk into walls, I hit my head on my car when getting in, I manage to smack myself on the cheekbone when answering my phone. A few days ago, I ran into my couch and hurt my middle toe on my right foot. After grimacing and cursing for a few minutes, I continued my activity. 3-4 days later, my toe still hurts. It's not broken because I can walk ok and it's not swollen, but it's still hurts when I touch it.

Nothing else new with me. My life is still uneventful, and I'm looking for some adventure. Does anyone have any ideas?

Why Is the Temperature Still High?

Seriously. It's still humid outside - and it's October! When is fall going to come?

Yesterday: No running. I went to the gym, planning on doing 45 minutes on the elliptical machine and 20 minutes weights. I lasted 30 minutes on the elliptical machine - my legs started hurting from the previous day's 10-miler. So I happily gave up and went home to rest.

Today: 1 hour of tae-bo, followed by 4 miles. 13:30 average pace, nice and slow, fully in recovery mode. My legs are ok, but my right knee still twinges, but in a dull way, and it goes away after a couple of miles.

Nothing else exceptional. I still live a boring life and I need some excitement.

Cheers!

Space City 10-Miler Postmortem

So, three weeks ago I had run my first run in almost 6 months. And it was a 4-miler (a little ambitious, I was told my some). That day I joined BAF to train with for the Chevron Houston Half. They were at 5-8 miles (depending on the group). I wasn't up there.

The next week, my first official Saturday with BAF (two weeks ago), I ran a 6 mile long run (my past daily run, mind you). It was rough. After 4 miles, I started griping. I was slow, tired, hot. I was envious because the Space City 10-miler was coming up and I didn't want to push up to 10 miles so quickly, and there was noone to partner with for the relay. So I realized I'd be running by myself that weekend.

Last week, my BAF long run was 8 miles. I was ok until mile 7. Then came the griping. But I finished the 8.

A few days ago, I went ahead and signed up for the 10-miler. I wanted to use it for a long run, even though someone smart in her training probably would've gone back down to 6 or 7 before going back up. But I'm not smart when it comes to training. Andy likes to lecture me on my rogue training. He thinks I'm not smart about it, and I agree, but I personally feel like a wuss if I do anything less than something difficult.

Should I have run the 10-miler today? No. After only 3 weeks of running, and after a 6-month hiatus, I should NOT have gone 10 miles today. And especially since I ran very hard Thursday evening and my legs were still sore from that run yesterday.

But did I? Hell yeah. My goal was to finish. A mini goal was to finish in less than 2:20. I've been running for three weeks; I couldn't expect more.

Finishing time: Around 2:19:38.

Mile 1: 11:52. That was a complete oops. I was not happy with myself. I wanted to start with a 13:20 and go from there.
Mile 2: 12:17
Mile 3: 12:52
Mile 4: 13:42
Mile 5: 13:13
Mile 6: 13:46
Mile 7: 14:16 (the ever present sun was getting to me)
Mile 8: 14:55 (I'm really hot by now and walking more... where's the freakin' shade?)
Mile 9: 16:53 (I completely gave up on running and I walked the entire mile)
Mile 10: 15:47. I shuffled half it, walked the other half.

Overall, I'm pleased with my first 6 miles. I honestly never intended to start out with a sub 12-minute mile. I don't think I've done a sub 12-minute mile in a year.

But I got my long run in, my body is getting better at 6+ mile runs, and I got to see a lot of Striders that I haven't seen since last year's Chevron marathon (Vic, Junebug, Steeeve, John, Jessica, Sarah, et al.)

This week's running schedule:
Tomorrow - NONE! No running for me, but I'm planning on 45 minutes on the elliptical machine and 25 minute of weight machines.
Tuesday - I hope 5 miles. I'm on a bit of a time constraint, and as it is I'll have to begin at 5. I have to be back at school by 7, so I should be able to knock out 5. Goal pace: 13 minute miles
Wednesday - I hope 5. Goal pace: 13 minute miles
Thursday - None. Gym day (I don't have time to run before Rodeo meeting, since it's still hot at 3:30pm)
Friday - None. Complete rest day.
Saturday - 8 miles. Tapering a bit. Goal pace: 13 minute miles.
Sunday - None. Gym day.

This will give me, if I'm able to do it, 18 miles, dropping 4 miles from last week. I'm busy this week with Rodeo stuff Thursday, Friday AND Saturday, so my running schedule is funky.

Again, I can't wait until the temperature drops so that I can run right after school.

Cheers!

I'm On Fire!

First of all, I'm listening to Andy harass a telemarketer. It's quite amusing.

Anyway, I just got back from a fantastic run!! I was on fire!

Mile 1: 13:20. A bit better than what I've been doing. I'm happy.
Mile 2: 13:21. I'm still happy. Let's see what I can do...
Mile 3: 12:06. Hot damn! My legs woke up!
Mile 4: 12:12. Woo-hoo! I'm still going strong.
Mile 5: 12:23. Wow! 3 miles in a row and I'm still under 12:30.
Mile 6: 12:57. It was really dark and I slowed down to watch for cracks in the sidewalk.
Average pace: 12:39.

Yay! I'm getting back to normal!

And Andy is STILL harassing the telemarketer. I'm still amused.

Cheers!

Mouse at My House

There's a mouse at my house
what am I to do?
There's a mouse at my house
I hope there's not two.

The mouse at my house
appears to be quite sick.
But he's long and gray
with a body quite thick.

He twitched his nose
and frightened my dog,
who began to bark
there was no fog.

Wibble saw it all
and the mouse saw us, too
But when I made a move towards it,
away it flew

Into the storage area
where I keep all my boxes.
Oh, how I wish I had
a couple of foxes.

Who I'm sure would enjoy
a lovely rodent dinner.
But as for me,
I'm going to get thinner.

For the idea of a mouse at my house
makes me feel queasy.
I probably couldn't enjoy even a pizza,
all hot and cheesy.

Tomorrow I will tell
the manager of my plight,
who hopefully can cure
my dog of its fright.

For I am not going
into my storage area alone.
I can't even watch the mouse
without a call on the phone.

I called my mom and Yvonne,
and left a message for Andy.
God, I hope there's no mutant mice
in there getting randy.

For a nest of mutant mice
would not be much fun.
But I hope the men at my apartment
can get this problem good and done.

A Scarey Story

It was a dark and rainy morning. Thick humidity hung in the air. The streets were devoid of both light and dryness. A torrential downpour plagued the area. The dark street of Saturn was not a place where any sane person wanted to be.

And in fact, there were no sane people on the street of Saturn that morning. The dark, lightless, muddy, flooding street was peppered with the most insane people in Clear Lake....

(insert creepy music here)

Runners!

Today was a long run day. Half marathoners ran from 5-8 miles and full marathoners ran 14. I ran 8. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I went from zero miles (2 weeks ago) to 8! Woo-hoo! Unfortunately, we ran in a storm. And unfortunately no lightening flashed across the sky, so we ran, determined not to be wusses.

I feel fine. I knew that after mile 6, I might start hating myself (6 was where we went last week), but it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. My legs are indeed remembering the distance and they are starting to remember their speed - my first mile was a sub-13 mile, but then the rain really started coming down and I slowed so as not to slip in the muddy sidewalks. And boy, did I go through a lot of huge puddles. I haven't run in rain that bad since the Rodeo Run of 2006.

Cheers!

I'm baaaaaaaaccccccckkkkk

I'm still here, although I've been using my myspace page more frequently (although that's not saying much... I just haven't been writing).

I am so extremely busy at my new school. It's not better than my other school; it's just different. Some things are better, some things are far worse. I'm definitely a stranger in a strange land over there.

But the most important aspect of my life is that I'm training for a race again. Two weeks ago, I literally ran into the Bay Area Fit people on their Saturday long run, and I joined the following Saturday.

My runs are slow. My first one back, which was just two weeks ago, was SO humbling. But in the two weeks that I've run, I've dropped my time already by a minute, so I'm doing 13:30 minute miles. I have faith that by the Houston Half, I'll be back down to 12 at least. I'd like to be back down to 11:30, but I'll be happy doing a consistent 12 at the Houston Half.

It feels so good to be running again. I was worried, but my knee is holding out ok (although I do feel the slight but unpainful twinges) and I haven't fallen! Yay!

Tomorrow is long run day. My goal is 8 miles.

Cheers!

Harry Potter

Yes, I have done little in these past two days but read and finish the new "Harry Potter" book. I'm sad because the saga is over. It was such a great series and JK Rowling is done. Sigh.

After I finished, I was reading some comments on the Chronicle's website, comments written by a variety of people as a reaction to a newspaper article about Harry Potter. Many of those comments got me irritated, especially the ones that said that reading the Harry Potter books was a waste of time and that the books were stupid and foolish and that they are nothing but pointless escapism and people should read nonfiction instead.

Time for my general reply. As both a reader AND an English teacher, I think I have a good backgrounds for my arguments.

First of all, the books are getting people to read. Kids should definitely read the older books, but the newer books, espcially this one, is very violent and there are deaths of many beloved characters (including my favorite, which made me sad). But these books are getting not only kids reading, but adults. Many adults stop reading books after college and therefore become alliterate (not illiterate, but alliterate, which is choosing not to read). I know many adults, including myself, who are hooked on these fun books.

Secondly, these books teach great lessons: honor, loyalty, discipline, trust, family, good vs. evil, evil never prevails, etc. Harry and his friends should be models as how people should act with their friends - they're helpful for each other, determined to not let the others fall, and will go through great lengths for their friend's safety. Also, people who do wrong in these books are punished. Except for small mischiefs that really hurt noone but the doer, every bad thing that happens has a repurcussion.

Third, they are the mark of a great imagination and irony. Has anyone really looked at the character's names. Look up their names in other languages (especially Latin). For example, Umbridge in Latin means shadow. See the resemblance? Malfoy's first name is Draco, Latin for Dragon (a typically harsh mythical animal). Voldemort - "mort" meaning death. Also, listen to the connotations of the names. Potter - a simple, everyman. Weasly - sneaky (as they all are, but in good ways). Hagrid - almost sounds like "haggard", which fits his descriptions. Dumbledore - goofy, eccentric. Snape - sounds like snake, sneaky. Luna - she's slightly loony, crazy. And on, and on, and on. Rowling took her time with these names and used great creativity.

Fourth, these books provide excellent examples of imagery, which is a literary element that the kids need to determine in school - and also analyze their effects. One of the reasons these books are so fun is that Rowling describes everything very tactilly- warm butterbeer, squashy poofs, scabby hands, brilliant sparks, piercing pain. Her descriptions make the readers see, feel, taste, smell, and hear.

Fifth, these books all have the classic plot diagrams - the expositions, inciting incidents, rising action, climax, falling action, conclusions.

Sixth, she is a master of both suspense and dramatic irony.

I could go on, and on, but my point is that, as silly as some of the books may seem, don't knock them until you've read them and know that the story is as classic as it comes: good vs. evil. Except this time, the heros are teenagers, and not experienced adults.

PS - If you disagree with me, please don't waste your time replying. This is MY blog. Voice your own opinions on your own blog.

Time to finish a nonfiction book on Shakespeare, another fantastic writer.

Cheers!

Overall, Not Bad

I actually wasn't as bored as I thought I'd be. I did go to the movies, and then afterward I went shopping and bought (more) new stuff for the apartment and new make-up. I love make-up shopping. And then afterwards I sat in my apartment while the guys fixed my porch (it's safe to go outside on it now!) and then finally to dinner. We ate at a hibachi place since the Pregnant One can't have sushi, and was, after dinner, presented with a samuari sword and red chef's hat, and I had to pose for a picture whilst the waiters sang "Happy Birthday." The Pregnant One and her husband kept teasing me about getting it done, and, despite threats of friendship divorce, managed to cajole a nearby diner to tell the waitress that today is my birthday. So I sucked up the embarassment and took a pretty good photo. It now sits on top of my entertainment center, as a reminder to not take myself too seriously.

Overall, nice birthday and I had a candle with my green tea ice cream!

Another Candle on the Cake

Yep, today is my birthday. My 20s are coming to and end quickly. Next year I'll have to change my blog tagline from "An almost thirty-something" to "A thirty-something."

Upon reflection, my 28th year was probably one of my worst overall. Two injuries, a never-ending case of bronchitis, an unsettling workplace, a relationship that went bad for too long. At least I'm still alive, right? My friend Christine said that her 29th year was her best year. Here's hoping...

I usually try to do something fun for my birthday. This year is the first year in probably 6 or 7 years that I'm not doing anything special. Last year I was in New York City, this year I'm sitting in my apartment, watching Wibble sleep. I wanted to go to the movies, but I've seen all of the good ones. It's too hot to go to the beach (and it's supposed to rain later). I could go shopping, but I just went shopping Sunday and I don't think there's anything I need or really want. There's no good musical in town right now. There's nothing really to do to make today feel special. Maybe it's just a sign that I am indeed getting older.

I'm on a funk on my birthday. How bad does that suck?

Later on I'm going out to dinner with my family and the Bride and her husband (although she's not a newlywed anymore and she's also pregnant now, so her nickname will have to change to the Pregnant One). But I have nothing to do until then. I might go to the gym, not to work out and feel good, but to work out and kill time.

Sigh. What to do, what to do.

Adjusting

As of about 10-15 minutes ago, I have internet access! Keep in mind, I'm technologically challenged and still use dial-up (also because it's cheaper), so I fell to the mercy of AT&T, a company that frustrated me beyond compare. My phone was to be turned on last Thursday, but due to "errors" in their computer, pole problems and internal wire problems (discovered after about 7 phone calls to AT&T - utilizing 120 cell phone minutes, being put on hold for over 100 of those minutes, getting disconnected all over the country and being disconnected by some of them), I just not got service.

And things are still not perfect. The only phone jack in my apartment that works is in my tiny kitchen. The one in the living room doesn't work and the one in my bedroom doesn't work. So my phone is perched precariously on a tiny ledge, just itching to be knocked into the sink. My answering machine must be placed in my dining area, and I can't use the internet from my bedroom, which means I have to lug my computer and printer to the dining area, with cords running from the kitchen, to do internet stuff. And right now, I'm sitting at my dining table. Grumble, grumble, grumble. The AT&T guy was at my apartment for almost two hours trying to figure out why things weren't working. It turns out that the wires are broken in my wall, probably the result of a squirrel or other critter chewing it in the attic area. So I have to get my apartment complex to fix that problem (as well as my unsafe porch). And, by the way, I missed my ballroom dancing lessons tonight because of it and I'm a bit irritated because it was the first night of the month/class and I don't know if they'll let me join late. But the repair guy was cool, and I discovered that his son will be entering the school I'm teaching at, but he won't be in my class because his son is taking pre-AP, which I'm not teaching this year.

Other than the phone and porch, my apartment is quite nice. It's unpacked, and I finally hung things on the wall today. My books and DVDs are alphabetized and catagorized and the only thing left to work on is my closet, which is a daunting task. Wibble has had her surgery and is living with me (and sticking to me like velcro, I must add) and I even bought a plant.
Next on my list: a trip to Specs. I need alcohol. I only have red wine and if I invite people over for drinks (which I intend on doing) or when I bring a date up for a nightcap, I need variety.

Time to go shopping!

Help!

The dust! The dust! I am surrounded by dust! And I can't stop sneezing.

I hate moving. Let me rephrase it: I hate moving after being in a location for an extended period of time. Hidden dust bunnies lurk in places you can't find until you pack and move.

Achoo!

Moving Mayhem... Day 1

And so it begins.

This morning, Mom and I made our way (with very full cars) to my new abode, all ready to sign the lease and begin settling in. After I signed the lease and received my keys, the first thing that needed to be done was inspect the place for faults and record it. Being that my mom is much older than I (and more thorough), gave her that job while I unloaded our cars.

First of all, I stepped into my apartment. Ahh, home. I love it! And I was greeted with two surprises: I have vaulted ceilings AND a fireplace. The model apartment didn't have either. Yay! It's even cuter (although it might be a bit more cramped since I can't put the loveseat along the wall where I wanted to because I don't want it to catch on fire).

So Mom inventoried the place while I unpacked. My apartment is on the 2nd floor. I walked up and down the stairs over 20 times (no gym for me today!). The boxes kept getting heavier and the temperature kept rising. I know I'm a packrat, but I can't believe I own this much stuff. And this is only day 1 of moving!

Overall, the flaws in the apartment were minor and thus recorded. The main problem that needs to be fixed immediately is the patio. It's very unsafe - the wood is rotting and is leaning so badly that the railing is no longer attached and is therefore wobbly. I put in a request to fix it and I am going to bother the manager every day until it is fixed.

While unpacking the boxes, Yvonne and Stephen came over and chatted with them. We went out for lunch and then I kidnapped Yvonne and she helped me unpack some more.

Finally, I came back to my mom's house to continue packing. And packing. And packing. I have too many glasses. I bought some before moving out of my last apartment and just bought a bunch more because I forgot about the others. I found things that have been in the garage for years - this is like Christmas!

The worst part (other than the going up and down stairs) is the constant dust. I've kicked up so much dust while packing, moving and finding. I just want to peel off my skin - my face itches that bad.

I'm sleepy. A bit more packing and then I'm hitting the shower and my bed.

Cheers!

:( I'm Sad

I'm sad.

I can't take my sugar gliders with me to my new apartment (there's not enough room for them AND the dog), so I have to give them up. Mom knows a good home for them (they even have two of their own sugar gliders), but I'm still sad. I've had Hero and Kate for three years and on Sunday I hand them and their gigantic cage over. The adopted parents live about three hours away, so I don't know if I'll see them again.

I'm sad.

The Sand is Falling Fast

Ah! I just had a realization: the movers come in two and a half weeks. Three weeks from today will be my second night at my apartment.

Let's see what I've accomplished...
Hired movers... check.
Packing... nope. Well, I started, but barely made a dent in my belongings (I own too much crap).
New couch... check.
New dining table/chairs... check.
New vaccuum... check.
Completed change-of-address form... nope.
Ordered my electricity... nope.
Ordered phone service... nope.
Signed CCISD contract... check.
Bought new placemats... check.
Bought new flatware... check.
Bought a trashcan.. nope.
Bought a lamp/torchere... nope.
Bought new towels... check.
Bought new sheets... check.
Bought new bed... nope (that will happen two days before the movers come).

I still have quite a bit to do. I'm going to put off shopping until I move in, so Monday July 2nd... I'll be down at Target for a while.

And I'm buying lots of new stuff because I don't like my old stuff. New apartment, new part of town, new job, new start.

Cheers!

Make the Lambs Stop Screaming!

Whew. I am so much better today than I was yesterday. Let me explain my week...

Monday: Summer school started. I was pleasantly suprised with 9 students total. Out of three classes.

Tuesday: Summer school day two. I gained 5 students. Yay. So I have 14 students. Two are in both my first and second period because they failed both fall and spring semester. But I still have only 14 students. And since I have so few, they're going to do fine (I hope) AND they will now be reading a novel. I never told them that summer school was going to be all easy.

Tuesday night: I flew to Dallas for a three-day professional development for pre-AP teachers. (one of my co-teachers had my kids for the three days.) Luckily my roommate for the development is a middle school English teacher that I had some HISD classes with last year. We got along swimmingly.

Wednesday: 8am. The pd (professional development) began. There's this fantastic organization called AP strategies, and they have a sub-section called Laying the Foundation for pre-AP and LOTS of districts in Texas participate. We attend seminars, participate in professional development trainings, etc. and at the end of the year our students take an end-of-course exam. They read a nonfiction passage and had to write an essay on the rhetorical devices that the author used to support her purpose (and they had to figure out the purpose of the speech... and it's NOT to inform, entertain, or make the reading easier). This week was for a chosen number (maybe 500) of us to come to Dallas to score the essays from that exam - all 50,000 of them. So most of Wednesday was for training purposes - how to score the essays. We saw some great ones, we saw some terrible ones. In the late afternoon we began scoring the "live" essays. I began a paper clip chain to keep track of how many folders I completed (25 essays per folder). I finished a folder and a half. The first day was fun - I was learning a lot and was happy to see that my students weren't as behind as I thought - the majority of the essays were either 2s or 3s on a 6-point scale). I figured out some new essay instruction approach and I saw some really fantastic writing.

Thursday: 8-5 was ALL essay scoring (with maybe an hour or two of refresher training). One of the women at my table brought bags of Hershey kisses, and another woman brought other chocolate to the tables, so we were all on a major sugar high by the end of the afternoon (plus they fed us VERY well). I think I finished maybe 9 paper clips that day. My table was fun - every time we read a crazy essay we shared it and kept our spirits up (many kids knew that this test didn't count so they wrote other stuff besides the actual essay). But even with the fun, my head was pounding by the end. I began to be grateful for the blank essays or the essays that were off-topic and entertaining or the essays that were only one or two paragraphs. I was tired of seeing poor writing like "she used metaphors to compare stuff" or "the writer used imagery to support her purpose" (and then not explaining what the purpose was) and I was a mental mess by 5pm. I wanted to just go up to my hotel room and lay on the bed in a daze.

Friday: Day three. We scored from 8-12:30. I finished a grand total of 13 paper clips. I was grumpy, dizzy, frustrated by the end. I spent over an hour on the last folder - I kept losing my concentration and had to read some of the essays two or three times. I was sick and tired of the crappy essays. Let me tell you, good essays were far and few in between. After lunch we had a closing session in which the question leader from each age group (grades 8-10 were represented; I was in the 10th grade room) presented the passage the students had to read, the essay the kids had to write (did I mention it was a timed essay and they had 40 minutes to read, plan and write the essay?) and the best essay from each age group. I am proud to say that I was the pirate that found the buried treasure of the 10th grade essays. And it was the only 6 I saw. Again, I saw mostly twos and threes. And the occasional essay in which the student was cursing the assignment or asking for a "break" because that student had a rough week (seriously). And then there was the one in which I decided the writer was high on drugs and the one in which the student wrote that he wasn't going to conform and bow down to the educational ******* who waste their time writing essays to bring students down and enforce even more restrictions upon them. He ended his quite lengthy rant with "f*** this essay and f*** society." Yeah, we flagged that essay. He probably wears trench coats to school.

And then last night I was at the airport for WAY too long. The hotel shuttle dropped us off at 3:30, so some friends and I wandered around until 5, which is when we made our way to the terminal so that we could get good seats (first come, first serve at Southwest). After sitting on the floor, an employee said that our 6pm flight was now delayed until 7pm. Groan. 10 minutes later, the same employee said that our flight was now delayed until 7:40pm. Double groan. I spent the next two+ hours chatting with the guy next to me, so time went by quickly. By the time the plane got to the airport and we were allowed to board, it was 8pm. Some of the other Houston flights were also delayed, so our flight was brimming with people trying to get to Houston ASAP. When we finally landed at Hobby, it was 9pm. I went down to baggage claim to get my bag and ran into teachers that took an earlier flight. Their bags were on my plane so they had to wait at Hobby. But when I walked away from them, I happened to look at the pile of luggage that arrived earlier. There's my suitcase. So I was delayed but my luggage was not. I don't understand. I assumed that the luggage went on the plane that I was on.

But now I'm home, catching up on reading BOOKS, and trying to brace myself for the reading of 14 essays tomorrow (my students' work).

Cheers!

Play It Again, Sam

Summer school has begun. Yes, I'm temporarily back at my HISD school - they need me for summer school and I need money for moving. See how well that works?

Although I began Friday, today was the first day for students. I'm teaching three classes and I expected to have around 60 students. Being the first day of a semester, many kids assume that no work will be done and they don't come, so I didn't get an accurate number of how many I actually have. I think it's safe to say I don't have 60. I had a grand total of 9. Hopefully I won't have more than 15-20 more come in tomorrow. If I retain 9, everyone will pass because I'll be able to spend adequate time with each of them.

In other news, I took my first ballroom dancing lesson yesterday. The Sailor and I, despite ending our relationship, are going to remain friends and when I told him about my lessons yesterday, he summed it up by saying, "You're a dork." And I replied, "Pretty much." That's ok - I embrace my dorkiness (is that even a word?). And I had a great time! The first hour was tango and the second hour was cha-cha. Of course, the women seriously outnumbered the men so they had to alternate with the women, but it was a great time. I even knew another classmate - one of the actors from Company OnStage and his new wife are learning to dance for a reception they're having soon. AND every other Saturday night the studio has a crash course/dance party. This month there will be a salsa night and later on a swing night. Yes, I will be there.

Anyone interested in joining me? It's too late to join the ballroom class I'm in, but the crash course/dance parties are on a night-by-night basis? Any takers?

Cheers!

Why I Hate Seeking Medical Attention

I don't hate doctors. I really don't. But part of me doesn't like to see them because I'd rather tough it out. Why? Because of health insurance.

When I worked for Starbucks, I had awesome health insurance. In fact, great benefits is one thing that Starbucks takes great pride in. $40 of every paycheck went to Aetna, and in return I had $15 doctor co-pays, $75 ER visits, $10-20 prescriptions, and a $250 deductable for having my tonsils removed. I went to the doctor for my annual check-up, I went when I felt sick. All of that changed when I received HISD insurance.

I had quite an insurance culture shock when I became employed with HISD. I tried to pick a plan that was beneficial for emergency visits, since I rarely get sick. I also opted to not go with an HMO because I wanted the freedom to see whomever I wanted. I chose poorly.

Last December, if you recall, I took a nasty spill and busted my knee, causing me to go to the ER. I knew I had a $1000 deductable, so I wanted to limit my cost. I persuaded the doctor to not have my knee x-rayed, I was able to acquire steri-strips instead of stitches on my gashes. I was in the ER for less than an hour and all that was done to me was: temp check, blood pressure check 3 times (since my first two were frighteningly low), the doctor looked at my gashes, made me take a tentative step (ouch), he applied steri-strips to the gashes, wrapped it in gauze and then wrapped it in an ace bandage and sent me on my merry way with two prescriptions (pain killer and muscle relaxer), two ibuprofens and told me to acquire crutches because the hospital didn't have any. No labs, no x-rays, nothing major was done. And the doctor himself saw me for only 20 minutes maximum.

Call me naive, but I assumed that my bill would be no more than $300. Not a lot was done to me.

I finally received my bill(s) today (5 months later). I was billed $205 for the er doctor and $488 for the ER visit, totalling almost $700.

I started crying out of frustration. I understand the $205 doctor fee for examination (about the cost of a doctor's visit). But $488 for everything else? I wasn't even given a detailed invoice, so I called up the hospital requesting one. They didn't have my invoice detailed; my account just said "For moderate services." I had basically nothing done! What the hell does "moderate" mean? What is "minor" - walking in, dancing around the room, and walking out? And THEN the lady I talked to said that "ERs are expensive. Plus you had an ace bandage and gauze, and those things add up."

If she was in front of me, I might've flipped her the bird at that point.

THIS is why I don't go to the doctors anymore. I don't have a copay. I have a $1000 deductable, even on basic doctor visits. When I sprained my ankle in NYC last summer, I didn't go to the hospital because of that $1000 deductable. Thankfully I'm getting different (and slightly better) plans with Clear Creek ISD. Maybe then I can start going for annual physicals again.

But until all of that happens, I will only go to an ER if I'm about to die or be disfigured. If anything like this happens again with me knee (or any other body part), I'm just going to take painkillers until I get a regular doctor's appointment: no more ER for me.

That's just bulls**t.

It's Over

Tehnically, my summer has begun. In reality, I can't say that until Tuesday.

I'm in my classroom now, finding ways to kill time before graduation. I had no desire to leave school, go home and come right back because traffic on 288 lacks pleasure. So I am sitting in my empty room, feeling like a prisoner with nothing to do. I've checked my e-mail. I've checked cnn.com, tmz.com, chron.com, read Junebug's and Christine's blog (as well as a blog from Christine's sight, someone named Al). I just realized that I haven't read imdb.com yet, so I'll do that after finishing my random thoughts.

My grades are done, my finals are done, my classroom is cleaned, my computer is wiped clean. I am finished with most things - and I'm coming back on Tuesday to work on a grant (finish the grant). I wanted to meet around noon (so that I could sleep in), but I'm back here at 9. Hopefully I'll be done by 11-12. I just want to be done at this point; why drag things out.

I have no idea what I will do this summer. I have no plans to go to NY this year (which sucks, but I need money for my apartment). I'm not working yet (although I might temp... I was kicked off the summer school teaching list because "there are two extra English teachers signed up and [the summer school leader] had to take off the last two to sign up." I am not signed up for any workshops because I'm in between schools (although I am going to Dallas for three days for working - grading essay exams). The Sailor and I broke up a couple of weeks ago and most of my friends live outside the city limits, so my social life will be very small.

I might actually be bored. Last summer I was dating, I had many workshops, I took a couple of trips. This summer I might have nothing to do. I have novels to read, but that's nothing major. I could work on my screenplay (again), and maybe actually finish it (after three years). I did sign up for the ballroom dancing lessons, but those are on Sundays. I won't be moving until July and will be packing for only a few days and unpacking for a few more days.

Any suggestions as to how to fill my time?

Bittersweet

Today was the last day of school for kids. For me, it was the last time I would see some of them. Today was definitely bittersweet.

The decision to leave my current school for a new school wasn't a difficult decision at first. My current school has so many issues that I just grew frustrated and felt abused. I felt horribly selfish, but I wanted out. I felt selfish because a great number of my students were quite upset when they found out. I'm here for the kids, but when the adults can't do things right, the kids suffer. When teachers are treated without courtesy, when the students rule the hallways, when accountability is not held by anyone and hypocrisy is a motif in the school, I can't be a good teacher. I had to decide between a good workplace (for my sanity) and staying with students who needed me (albeit in a harsh workplace). But my heartstrings have been getting tugged at many times since my departure became public knowledge.

When I dropped the ball, many students were unhappy. I knew that I would be missed by some of the kids, but I was extremely surprised today. After the last final exam, my students presented me with a thank-you card. My sophomores signed it all over. Some of the things they wrote were:

"Thanks a lot! I will miss you! Love you!"
"What a fabulous teacher you are even though I didn't pass my class"
"Don't forget us here at ____! We love you! Ms. Smith, you are the best"
"Thanks for all your pushing and making me do better. Don't forget about us"
"I know I wasn't your best student but I loved your class"
"I will really, really miss you"
"I'm your #1 fan!"
"Your class was challenging but you taught me a lot!"
"We're going to miss you Ms. Smith. You taught well! Love ya!"
"We are so gonna miss you!"

Needless to say, I was extremely touched by the card and had to fight back tears as they hugged me. I'm going to frame the card and it will hang proudly in my new classroom.

After school, and many meetings, I found myself sitting in the main hallway with Carlton, a math teacher at my school. We met at the job hiring fair and he bragged about me to the school and they hired us both on the spot. For 8 weeks last year, we were next door neighbors (at school). Even after I was moved across the building, we were still close. We'd hang out after school and after our night class. I'd meet his girlfriends, he'd meet my boyfriends (we had to have each other's approval). As we sat alone in the empty hallway, we realized that we'd see each other a lot less next year. We just sat companionably next to each other, and I realized that this would be one of my last times (if not the last time) to just relax in the hallway. As we walked out to our cars, I was almost expecting a sad theme music to be playing. I was actually hesitant to leave the school. Even though I'll be back tomorrow to close out my classroom, it already felt like the end.

Today was also probably one of the last days I'd hang out with Mack in our hallway. He's been my hallway buddy all year. We're pretty much inseparable at the school. In fact, my 6th period told me that I couldn't leave because "Who'd be Mr. Davis' friend next year?" :)

I hope that my new school is a good place for me; I hope that I'll have friends like Mack and Carlton. I hope that I'll be able to adjust quickly, and that my students will be accepting. I hope that my administrators are strict and caring at the same time. I hope that most of my students will care about school, instead of just a small percentage. I hope that my current students succeed and I hope that I did them well as a teacher.

I almost feel as though I'm a teenager going to a new school. :)

Breaking Out of the Cocoon... Maybe

It's no secret that I've been in a slump for a while now. Mark it down to frustration, mark it down to depression, mark it down to nboredom, who knows (not me!).

My instincts have always been to flee. I'm unhappy, I run away. I can't face something, I run away. I hide. I create an Erica cacoon, an Erica cave, usually just my bedroom without talking to anyone or going out in pubic looking as unattractive as possible so I can go around unnoticed. I feel safe in my cocoon, my cave, because no one can hurt me there. There I can be me and not worry what others think. There I can become involved in all sorts of stories (since I usually read in my cocoon). There I can spend way too much time thinking and dwelling.

So much is on my mind that I don't know what/how to say. Maybe I'm in denial, not wanting to see it actually written down. I hope I get out of the funk soon. It's lonely and tiresome.

I started retreating into this coccon probably about a month or two ago. I don't want to stay in here long - I'm almost 29, I can't afford to stay in here long. So what did I do? I signed up for dance lessons. Every Sunday in June I will be learning the tango, the cha-cha and swing. One reason I am in a funk is because of my knee - I still feel like such a failure because of it and I need/want to do something new and physical. I love music and will dance around my house when noone is watching, so I figured I'd learn how to do the correct steps.

And then there's the apartment. Last week I purchased furniture. Today I hired a moving company. I'm not spending ay more money until summer school paychecks roll in. I discovered a paycheck gap - there is one month between my last HISD paycheck and my first CCISD paycheck. I will be a miser for the next two months (starting Monday, for this weekend I'm in Louisiana).

Here's to the future. May it bring good things my way.

Finishing... and Starting

This has been a rough week. Amongst other things, I've been overloaded with work. It's now 11pm, and I've just finished the last research paper. It's taken me almost two weeks to grade them because they're long and I had to check for plagiarism (about 20 kids plagiarised). Overall, they were disappointing, but I did have many a good ones in there. But the research paper has ended.

Mom and I went to furniture shopping today. We both spent an ungodly amount (an amount that I've rarely spent in one or two sittings) and I think I am just now starting to breath again. But I now have a fantastic new couch and a fantastic new dining set for my new apartment - all I need now is a new mattress and maybe a coffee table and/or end table. Even though I've lived in many new apartments and have moved from Houston to BR and BR to Houston, I almost feel like this is a new beginning. New school, new area of town, new apartment, new furniture.

But the important thing is that my grading is caught up, I've written 2/3 of my finals (I have to finish my 11th grade final, and I'll do that Monday morning), I've written my final exam reviews, and I'm ready for this upcoming week. Tomorrow I'm going to re-read act 4 of Hamlet, and maybe get to spend a little time for my own personal writing.

Cheers!

And the Thunder Rolls...

As I type this, I am NOT grading plagiaristic research papers, but am trying to catch up on my quiz/test grading.

This is what I have to do between tomorrow afternoon and Sunday evening:

1) Make 3 final exams - one for each of my preps. The 11th grade final will be difficult to make. Hopefully most of my kids will be exempt from it.
2)Make 3 final exam review guides - one for each of my preps.
3) Finish grading the 25 research papers that I have left.
4) Catch up on my test/quiz grades for the week.

I have my work cut out for me. Each one of those takes at least 2-3 hours to do (the research paper will take longer). Argh. The end of the school year is usually the most hectic.

So I'm trying to stop feeling guilty. Work keeps me VERY busy, the Rodeo kept me busy, the running kept me busy (when I did run), I'm in the process of switching schools and moving. What I have time left for I try to use some of it on myself: working out, reading, relaxing, etc. because I don't always like to have people around me. And let's not forget to mention my dreams of being a writer. In the past 10 months, I have picked up my writing twice. Twice!

Hopefully I'll be able to relax a bit during the summer. After summer school I'll have about 5-6 weeks to myself. I plan on making little (if any) plans. I might even summer hibernate (except for my birthday, of course... it'll be my last birthday in my 20s).

Time to go back to work. Yuck. But at least Grey's Anatomy comes on soon.

Come To Your Senses...

I'm currently listening to the Broadway cast recording to "Tick...Tick...Boom" and that song is playing. The song is also a great title to today's entry.

I realize that it's been a while since I've given anyone a glimpse into the world of Erica, but I didn't realize that it had been THAT long ago since I graced the world wide web with my thoughts and daily doings.

I've stopped running. I've "come to my senses" so to speak. My knee isn't getting better. It's not getting worse, but running will only exacerbate the feelings of soreness, so I'm going to stop. Hopefully I won't stop forever, but I'm stopping for now. I miss it. I still read Runner's World, but more with nostalgia now than true excitement. What I won't miss, however, is running in the summer heat. Hopefully no running for 4 months or so will do the trick and I can train for the Houston and Surfside halves beginning in the fall.

I wish my students would "come to their senses." I'm grading research papers, and I am growing frustrated and sick. I've given these kids assignment sheets with directions. I've gone over them in class many times. I've even given them yet another sheet with "Mistakes Most Commonly Seen" after they turned in their rough drafts. I've harped on the evils of plagairism. I've stressed that they need a works cited page. I've gone on and on about the minimum page length of 6 pages and the minimum number of sources as 4. They've had 6-7 weeks to write this paper. Most of the papers turned in thus far are failing. They don't have 6 pages. They don't have a works cited page. They didn't use parenthetical citations with their quotes. They didn't use 4 sources. They plagiarized. Now I have to call parents and tell them that their child didn't follow the directions and will not only most likely fail my class this term, but they'll fail their science class (since this was a joint assignment). It's times like this that I can't tell if I did my job as a teacher wrong, or my students are just lazy. Knowing my students, I'm opting for the latter, especially considering the amount of classtime spent on this paper.

Ok. Enough about school. Well, almost enough. This is my last year at my current school. I have been accepted at another school district, one outside of the city and one that I've wanted to work at since earlier this year. Yes, I am moving. Technically my address will still be Houston, but I'll be in the Clear Lake/Webster/Friendswood/League City area. I'm excited. I've been slowly buying new apartment stuff and all I need now is a couch, a new dining set (I'm not fond of my other one), a new mattress set and new curtains. A new apartment means new changes, new colors, new stuff. I move in July, and will spend an entire month decorating and relaxing (I'm teaching summer school to afford new apartment stuff).

I'm off to Louisiana in a couple of weeks. I need this weekend trip. I need to spend time with my Louisiana buddy, I need to get out of Houston for a weekend, I need to be on LSU's campus again for a partial day. I need to do very little school work that weekend. I need to have fun, and fun is already promised to me.

Time to grade more papers. I hope they get better than this.

Conflicted Emotions

Personal frustration: my knee hurts. It has been hurting since Sunday's long run. Now lunging creates soreness. I might not train for the MCM. Yet more healing time is needed.

Happiness: Reading "Hamlet." My 11th graders asked to read it for our last novel of the year, and since the 12th grade teacher isn't planning to teach it, I heartily agreed. I love "Hamlet" - it's my favorite Shakespeare play.

Personal irritation: I am so tired of getting my hopes up only to see them crashing down (one case in point: see personal frustration). I have no place in which to direct my frustration except at myself, which is not good. Sometimes I think I have too many pipe dreams and become upset when the pipe travels further away from reality. Sometimes I wish I weren't as emotional. While I seem pretty straightfaced on the outside, trust me, my internal emotions work overtime. Sometimes I wish I were more stony, more of an icy person. Sometimes, actually oftentimes, I wish I were recluse, left alone with my books and journals.

But upon further thought, I might be PMSing, which makes sense because my emotions turn into rollercoasters for a couple of days.

I might not post for a few days.

Back to "Hamlet"...

Easter Sightings at Memorial Park

Ahh, the cool weather approached like a hot air balloon on a clear day: surprising and not altogether unwelcome. And how did I spend this cool Easter morning? At Memorial Park.

What was spotted around noon at MP:
1) Me! I was jogging! I completed 10 miles - 9.4 of jogging, .6 of walking/cool down. My weekly total is 19 miles, which is the most I've done in almost 4 months. I tried hard for 10, but my longest long run has been a mere 6, and my knee didn't like the large leap in mileage. At 9 miles, my knee started twinging. At 9.3, my knee starting pinging (that's what I call the blips of pain with each step). At 9.4 I decided to not hurt myself and I walked back to my car. Next weekend I should be up to 10 on my weekly long runs. Soon I hope to be up to 13 and I want to maintain 13 until the end of July, in which I'll slowly start adding miles until I'm up to 18 on my long runs.

2) A strange man running in a Speedo-type bottom. And he should not have been wearing a Speedo-type bottom. (a) It was too tiny (b) he was not a small man and (c) it was dark brown and matched his skin so from a distance it looked as if he were naked.

3) A homeless woman walking straight into a brushy area at the corner of Memorial and Shepherd. As I approached the brushy area, I couldn't figure out where he disappeared to. There were no paths to the bayou.

4) Lots of dead earthworms. It rained yesterday.

5) Lots of mud.

6) The same homeless person walking in the median of Memorial. She's as stealthy as a ninja.

7) Lots of families taking gentle walks.

Overall, very pleasant experience.

The rest of my Easter will be spent in Pearland (with my family at my sister's) and Clear Lake (I'm staying the night at the Bride's since I have a very important appointment in that area at 7am).

And since today marks the end of Lent, allow me to celebrate. For the past 40 days I have had no fast food, no candy, no cookies, no cake, no chocolate. And I decided to have chocolate today: in the form of a gu at mile 6. :) Now I'm going to see how long I can last not having the rest of the stuff (challenge!).

Cheers!

Play Time Over

Who am I kidding? I don't have time to play. Hell, I barely have time to breath.

Now that a great deal of pressure is off of my shoulders, I'm starting to relax. Sort of.

Rodeo: It's over. No more rehearsal, no more evenings out. I miss it, but it's nice to have my evenings to myself again.

The play: It's over. I've been the director of our one-act play for competition. It was the kids' first acting experience, it was the first bit of directing I've done in ten years, we have no set and no props and no costumes (so everything was done by me). Knowing all of that, I'm ok that we didn't advance, but I'm ecstatic that two of my kids got acting recognitions. They had a blast, I had fun (although it sucked up A LOT of my time), but thankfully it's over. I also learned that I like the acting part much more than the directing - I'm too much of a control freak and it drove me insane when my students didn't project or face out or anything that I told them to do (and they got marked on it in their critiques). But it's all good.

Running: Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Last week was a don't. I've been pulling 11 hour days at school and just don't have the energy after that much working/teenagers. But now that rehearsals are over, I have more time. And I'll have more time after the TAKS is over. And I AM going to sign up for the MCM. I need something to train for/goal to reach. I just want to beat the bridge again. That's my goal.

School: Thank God we only have 6 weeks left. The kids are out of control. My stress level is rising each day (at this rate I figure I'll have a stroke by the end of the semester). And I cannot wait until the TAKS and EOC exam is over!

Reading: I finished a fantastic book - "The Bookseller of Kabul." Really, it was quite good! I highly recommend it. I'm working on another one called "The Historian" and wish I had more time to delve into it.

Now that those things are over, I hope to spend more time on ME. I need to catch up!

Cheers!

Snapshot

I had this great post, but for some reason it didn't publish.

That saddens me, for I can't remember word for word what it said.

Darn.

Rummaging Through Memory Lane

Spring Break... Can I Have Another Week?

My Spring Break was time away from working, but definitely NOT boring nor empty. In fact, I almost need an extra few days to recover.

The Rodeo consumed much of my Spring Break, but it was such a blast that I'm not complaining. Almost daily I was down there, strutting my 1942 self in my 1942 flashy gold outfit and curly dark wig, speaking with a Southern accent and informing people of the 1942 Rodeo as the wife of one of the first big wigs.

Then I did a bit of running. 9 miles total. Due to thunderstorms, my running schedule changed a bit. I did 3 on Tuesday and 6 on Thursday. Thursday's 6 felt fantastic. I'm still jogging at a "healing" pace, but my feet didn't hurt, my knee didn't hurt and my quads didn't hurt. My body is remembering again.

This weekend I was in New Orleans/Baton Rouge for a dear friend's wedding. I had such a great time. Friday I came to BR, walked around LSU's campus, got some transcripts, and relaxed a bit. After Andy got off work I met up with him, had a VERY strong margarita (I was extremely tipsy and wobbling back to the car - I'm a lightweight drinker under normal circumstances and this was one powerful and large margarita). Then we played a few games of scrabble. After those, he accompanied me on errands and dinner and we went to the movies to see "300," which was overall a good movie.

Saturday was Eddie and Monique's wedding. Andy graciously was my date and again, it was fantastic. The wedding had a 1920s theme - and yes, the wedding party was dressed up. The girls had red layered strappy dresses with long beaded necklaces and carried feather fans instead of flowers. The boys had black suits (long jackets), red vests, spats, red and black hats, and carried toy tommy guns. The guests were encouraged to dress in 1920s style, which many did (but I'm boring and just wore a cute strapless sheath dress and very high heels and Andy wore a very attractive suit - so we looked just fine). Eddie told me that he wanted a fast wedding so that they could start dancing. He was true to his word. They wrote their own (cute) vowels and it was over in 5 minutes. Then the dancing began. I haven't danced that much since one of the college parties I or Eddie and Ant or Nick threw. Andy was an excellent date and dancing partner and even took my camera around to get photos while I caught up with friends. Luckily he took a photo of the Playstation grooms cake, because I never saw it.

After the wedding, he and I hit Cafe Du Monde. The Quarter was packed with people, green and beer (often people carrying green beer). Although I'm not from New Orleans and never lived there, I've spent many a day there during college and it's so nice to see it's nightlife back to normal - crazy, but normal. And then we played more games of Scrabble, tying at 3 games won each.

I left Baton Rouge this morning and now I'm home. And exhausted. And have so much to do before school tomorrow.

Can I have another week off to recover?

Cheers!

Baby Steps

One Step at a Time

Here's my running stats in the new year...

January 15 - 13.2 miles. Actually, I ended up walking most of it.
Two weeks ago: 3 miles. Argh, it was rough.
Last Sunday: 1 mile non-stop on the treadmill. 13:30 minutes.
Yesterday: 1 mile non-stop in my neighborhood. 11:30 minutes.

My knee didn't hurt after the last three runs, but I've been so busy with work and the Rodeo that I'm not sure I can find any daylight time to run much more (thankfully daylight savings time begins next weekend). I hope to get in three miles twice this week, and maybe three miles Saturday and/or Sunday. I'm pretty much starting from scratch at this point. I hope to begin to seriously train for the Marine Corp Marathon sometime in the next 45 days, but I'm just going to try to build my weekly mileage up. Oh, and I gained a few pounds since hurting my knee, so I've got to run with that also. :(

Goal for this week: 9 miles.
Goal for next week: 9 miles.
Goal for the following week: 15 miles (3 3-milers and a 6 miler)
I'll reassess my goal after next week.

The Rodeo has been a blast. I actually haven't seen that much of it - I've been working/acting more than viewing. The only person who's gone with me thus far is Yvonne, and walking around by myself can get a bit boring after a while. Occasionally I'll run into a Rodeo buddy, but for the most part I'm alone since most of my close friends either live in Louisiana or aren't into the Rodeo thing like I am. Luckily I've met some great new Rodeo people (one who's going to teach me to ride a horse!) and Andrea and I are snagging some of the actors/singers to join our committee next year. How fun!

But I'm tired! Walking around in costume for four hours and then in boots for four-five hours can really wear a person out.

Gotta go and write an exam!

Cheers!

15 Minutes of Fame

Hmm. I have a minor complaint. Before I break into the fun news, I am slightly irritated that this new version of Blogger takes FOREVER to load up. I tried to post several times prior, but I couldn't get it to load. So, if anyone from Blogger reads this...

I will shortly become more known (but not famous). Today, at the rehearsal for the Grand Entry/National Anthem singing at the Rodeo, we were able to view the "Power of the Volunteer" tribute that the Rodeo puts on while people prepare the dirt area for the concert. Last year it was the "Power of (something related to Katrina)" and the year before it was the "Power of NASA." This year, since the Rodeo is spotlighting the Volunteer, they did a nice tribute to volunteers.

And I'm on the presentation many times! First of all, all of the volunteers spotlighted as "real people" are in the Show choir. The footage of us singing is played, and then they spotlighted 5 of us - and I'm one! They came to shoot footage of my teaching and that's up there. It looks fantastic! So as the stage is getting set up, watch the big screen and you get to see me, my students, my classroom and me teaching. And I have to admit, I look terrific up there.

So, the Rodeo starts tomorrow. One thing that hasn't been receiving a lot of attention is the Show Pride actors. If you walk around the Reliant Center, you'll see a number of people in costume chatting - those are actors who are from various decades informing people of what the Rodeo was like in "their" time. I'll be there mainly on the weekends and I'm wearing a wig, but look around for me - I'll be there. But don't be surprised if I deny knowing you (although I'll definitely chat with you, but I'll be in character).

I love the Rodeo and this year is going to be fantastic!

June, let me know which nights you're in the Cantina.

Cheers!

Easing the Tension

Woo-hoo! The TAKS test is done! At least, it's done for English teachers. Students all around Texas took the reading/writing part of the state exam that teachers, parents and students are all learning to hate (according to an ABC poll from this morning). Now English teachers get exhale and have fun with novels.

Also, I went on my first jog in over a month on Sunday. I completed a very slow 3 miles. My knee didn't bother me, but the rest of my muscles did. I struggled through all 3 miles, almost giving up at 2. It was a very humble experience. I'm pretty much starting from scratch. My plan is to run 3 miles every other day for a while until I feel up to going 6 miles again. I just want to run for fun for another two months, and then if my knee still feels fine, I'm going to start training for the Marine Corps Marathon in April (despite my past assertions that I'd never run in the summer again). I'm happy to start jogging again, despite the struggle. And my friends and family are happy, too - I've been told I've become quite a grump since I've stopped.

Perhaps a good reason why Sunday's jog was a struggle (in addition to first jog in a month... and second total in 2 months) is that I've caught the Crud. I've been coughing and hacking for almost two weeks, yet with no nose or throat issues.

But I don't care - the TAKS is over!