Once a runner,

always a runner. Man. I've been in a minor funk this week. Very minor, really, but just feeling a bit blah. Most of it is just That Time of the Month stuff, but there are other little things too. I had a lot of work over the weekend. Poor Rye pulled a muscle in his leg and he makes me sad when all he can do is sit there all day. We're trying to restrict his movement as much as possible so he'll get better, but that means Huck's movement gets restricted too, since I can't just let Huck out to play, or just take Huck on a walk. So we have two sad, blob-like dogs lying around the house all day. Roger still hasn't heard back about the job we both really want him to get, so he's at a bit of an impasse. I guess I have kind of a sad, blob-like husband too, come to think of it... He's not actually sad, of course, I just feel bad for him because I know I'm anxious for something to work out for him, so he must be ten times as anxious as I am, and I'm trying to keep that in mind and stay optimistic for both of our sakes.

But I really think it's time to shoe-horn running back into my schedule. The problem is, it turns out I'm really really a morning person. I still can't believe that's true, but it definitely is. My brain just shuts down after about 8:00 (pm, at least), and I can't get any work done. So while my classmates are doing their homework from 8:00 to 1:00 am, I'm going to bed at 9:30 and waking up at 5:30 to get stuff done. I just think better in the morning. But as a result, I can no longer do my running in the morning, which is when I've been in the habit of doing it. Get up, go for a run, shower, start my day. It just makes sense. But now I have to work in the morning while my brain's still sharp, then go to class until early afternoon. I think I'll have to start running after class, and that will be perfect as the weather cools off. If I can run around 3:00 in the afternoon this fall and winter, it will still be light out, there won't be the evening traffic yet, and maybe it will energize me so I can get some work done in the evening too.

The thing about "once a runner, always a runner". Sometimes I forget that I really am, deep down, a runner. There are few (if any) things in the world that make me feel so at peace. It's such a zen-like state... my brain quiets down and all is well with the world. I think it's just such a primal act; all of the cerebral stuff fades away for a while, and there is nothing but movement, the physical act of propelling myself forward. It's extremely refreshing.

I have some more things I'd like to tell you about Berkeley, but I'm getting very sleepy. I tested out a new running club tonight, and we ran out to the Bay and along the shore as the sun was setting. There was one girl I really liked, but she turned around halfway through the run because she didn't think she'd make it the whole way. Overall they were a perfectly nice group of folks, I suppose, but I don't think they're the group for me. I'll probably go back again sometime just to have people to run with, but I'm still on the lookout.

Anyway, the point is, I got in a very nice run tonight, and now I'm ready for bed before another long day tomorrow. This is a bit of a meandering post, but I just wanted to let you know I'm still alive, and I keep hoping I'll be able to have a post like "Roger got the job he really wanted and now we have lots of money to do fun stuff!" Not yet. But maybe soon.