Pictures and Running

As promised, here is my picture post! This first one is of Jimmy actually playing poker during the tournament. He was "surprised and impressed" that I watched him play for so long. But of course I did! It was fun and interesting and definitely not something I'll have the opportunity to do very often.


The next one is the view from one of Jimmy's friend's room. Freaking amazing.


This is one of the beach. I didn't actually swim in the ocean, but I did walk in the sand for a while, and it was downright beautiful. The water was so turquoise, the sand so creamy.


The next one is a tank full of jellyfish. Random, I know, but one of the coolest things about this resort was that they have this awesome network of aquariums, with walkways going under, around, above, and through them, so the animals swim all around you. I thought this was a cool shot, even though it doesn't really capture the coolness of all the aquariums (aquaria?).


And finally, just because this picture is hilarious, here are my doggies earlier today. We went for a great run this morning, and then Rye discovered a new way to sleep in the sun; we call him the sun dial dog, because he literally scoots around the extra bedroom on the floor all day, following the path of the sun. If you catch him before about 10:00 am, the sunlight is still on the wall, not the floor, so he can't sleep in it yet. He used to just back up against the wall and wait for it to hit the floor, but since I've gotten home from my trip, I stacked my suitcase against the wall and, well, see for yourself:


I love it that Huck has this look on his face like, "Do you see this? You have got to be kidding me."

In other news, I was doubly inspired yesterday. While walking the dogs, these three girls ran by me, and my first reaction was a pang of jealousy; why do they have someone to run with and I don't? My second reaction was, "Wait, isn't the pollution level pretty high today?" And it was - yesterday it was in the high 90's, I believe, which is the yellow "sensitive individuals should consider limiting outdoor exertion" level. Usually when it gets in the high yellow zone, I don't run, since my chest used to get pretty tight on those days. But these girls were running in it just fine, apparently.

So the upshot of that brief encounter is 1) I went running today, even though the pollution index was like 105, and I was totally and completely fine. This is somewhat good and somewhat bad. On the one hand, it's great that I've adjusted my sensitivity to the pollution, since it apparently doesn't affect me like it did at first, and now I can run when the levels are higher. On the other hand... seriously? I'm used to having 2.5 micrometer particles gunking up my lungs now? That's depressing.

And 2) I got on this website called exercisefriends.com and started looking for a running partner. I found this girl who posted an "ad" a few years ago looking for a fellow 20-something female to train for the San Francisco Marathon with her, and I sent her an email to see if she's still living in Berkeley, still interested in training for SF '09, and if she might want to grab a cup of coffee to make sure neither of us are 45 year old creepy stalker dudes before we set up a running date. I'm really hoping I hear back from her soon!

Ok, that's all for now.

Only one more week of long days left,

and then they start streaming by like water through a sieve again. This has been a wonderful break. My first semester of school went by so quickly, reminding me again of the fickle nature of Time; when you're waiting for something that's a few weeks or months away (as I was before moving and starting grad school), time passes so slowly. But when you're stuck in the moment (as I generally am when I have coursework to think about), time can easily pass you by. I can't believe we've been here for five months already!

I was ready for a break, though. I had a very busy semester, and while I've gotten a lot better about not stressing out when I have an interminable list of things to do, you can only keep it up for so long. So I was very relieved when it was time for a break, and I've been having a lovely time doing absolutely nothing. The great thing about a semester break, though, is that it's usually long enough that I'm ready to go back to school by the end of it. Like, ok, that was nice, but I'm ready to feel productive again...

So I'm starting to feel that way now, and that's lucky for me, because I start class on Tuesday. Part of that feeling is undoubtedly due to the fact that Roger's working now (more on that in a bit), which leaves me with very long days of walking the dogs, reading, and running little errands when I feel like leaving the house.

The Bahamas was (were?) great! Jimmy didn't win the tournament or anything, but we both had a really good time, I think. He was very happy to see his friends, I had a good time meeting them all, and it was really nice being able to spend some time with him - in such a gorgeous setting, no less! I'll post some pictures soon, maybe later today, even.

Roger loves his job. He has so much to do, and he loves being so productive and taking on such an important role in his company. He's already accomplished so much, and he's only been there a week and a half! He's got the payroll and the pensions in order, he's been working on the budget and ordering supplies, and apparently his boss referred to him as the company's controller in an email, which further supports Roger's theory that he's already looking at a promotion in the (relatively) near future. He's gone a lot now, especially since the commute is 75 minutes one way, but that's only temporary; his main task starting in about March will be to find a new office for the company in downtown San Francisco, and once they get moved in (in July or August), his commute will only be 30-45 minutes. In the meantime, I think we're both okay with him being gone a lot. And I don't mean that in the mean way it sounds! I'm starting class soon, he's thrilled to have stuff to do and really enjoying working, he's really fun to be around when he's home because he's in a great mood, and now that we'll have money, we can actually do stuff on the weekends, and I'll be able to do stuff with my friends during the week. He really likes his coworkers, too - one guy is actually from Downs, IL, which is pretty crazy, if you think about it, and there are a few other guys he seems to be getting along with well, too. They've been out to lunch a few times already, and I think once we get our house more in order, we can invite them over here.

Payday is Friday, and we've been conferring on what we should buy first. The first order of business will be repairing our fence. Yesterday morning, I let the dogs outside and made my coffee. I was going to drink it out on the deck because the weather has been fantastic the past few days, but it was eerily quiet when I walked outside. Well, to my horror, I soon realized the gate to our fence had finally given way, and the dogs were nowhere to be found. Freaking out, I set down my coffee and went running down the sidewalk in my pajamas and sock feet, whistling and yelling at the top of my lungs. When I quit screaming my head off for a second, I realized I could hear them barking and wreaking havoc just one street over, so I whistled and yelled louder, and pretty soon the two rascals go streaking down the sidewalk across the street. I yell "HEY!!!" so loud that they actually stop and look at me, followed by a very "wow, she really means it" rendition of "GET OVER HERE". So they come running back across the street right up to me with these elated looks on their faces of "man, that was AWESOME". I was so angry and relieved at the same time, but of course all I could hope for them to understand was that they were good dogs for coming home when I called them, so I loved on them a lot and gave them lots of treats for coming home.

But holy cow, that was freaking scary. So since payday is Friday, as I mentioned before, the first order of business is to have the fence completely repaired and improved so that that never happens again and we can put them back there confidently, knowing there will be no impromptu jaunts around the neighborhood. Hmm. I hope they didn't like, kill any cats while they were out. I hadn't thought of that until now.

So I emailed the landlords today to see if they'll be willing to help pay for it, and I've been looking around online for contractors to do the work. I found this place that specializes in deck repair, and there were some gorgeous before-and-after shots of decks, and that got me thinking - if we're paying to have the fence repaired, and we're hoping to start cleaning up the property anyway, maybe we should take the opportunity to have them stain the fence and deck while they're at it? Just an idea, but it would go a long way toward making the backyard look nice, which is the eventual goal.

We've been talking about other stuff to take care of, too, of course. I think we're going to swap our bedroom and the extra bedroom and finally get a desk for Roger so he doesn't have to sit at an ironing board in the living room, although it does kind of make me laugh. (You do whatcha gotta do, y'know?) Also, that reminds me: Roger's company gave him a "new, kick-ass laptop" on his first day, which is obviously great, and apparently they're getting rid of their old laptops, so I might get one of those for really cheap, which would be beyond excellent. I need a new one for this semester, so that's also near the top of the list of purchases.

I feel like I'm yammering on and on, but I guess that's sort of the point of a blog...

Anyway, we're both very very very excited and will be going out to dinner this weekend to celebrate the start of our real adult life, where we can like, actually do things. I couldn't be happier, and the year is certainly off to a wonderful start.

I'll try to post some pictures soon. Much love to all of you, and I hope your 2009 is off and running with a bang, too!

From Runner's World Online Today

"Everyone get a run in yesterday?

I did. And it was the most amazing run of my life.

No, nothing outwardly amazing happened—I wasn't moving very fast, didn't find a hundred dollar bill on a deserted street, wasn't running the full Boston Marathon course... My wife hadn't paid an elite to join me. The weather wasn't even that great.

It wasn't so remarkable inwardly, either. While I ran, my mind toggled through the usual laundry list of thoughts: bills to pay, projects to start (or finish), anxieties to face. Laundry. I didn't feel especially strong. I wasn't enjoying that effortless, fluid stride that sometimes comes like a gift.

I was just out there, putting in an easy 4 1/2 miles around the neighborhood on New Year's Day.

Only later, upon reflection, did it hit me: My run today was amazing not in spite of its mundane nature, but because of it.

In other words, my run today was great because it was my run. Today.

I'm one of the lucky few (and we are few, as a slice of the population) who is in on this wonderful, little secret: Running makes you feel good. It's good for you, in so many ways. And I'm doing it. I've been doing it so long, in fact, I've managed somehow to forget how incredible it is, that on any given day I can decide to go out and run, then do it. And come back feeling clearer, brighter, stronger, more relaxed.

It occurs to me that too often we take for granted these countless, everyday jaunts. The "in between" miles. We've been conditioned to see only milestone runs or marquee events as noteworthy or celebratory—running a PR, qualifying for Boston, doing a destination marathon or a relay like Hood to Coast.

All of those things are great, don't get me wrong. But as far as I'm concerned, in running as in life, true happiness lies in finding joy in seemingly smaller, more quotidian stuff. I'm not big into New Year's resolutions, but this year I just might have to adopt one: Remind myself every single day how lucky I am to be a runner.

Happy New Year, guys. Here's to many happy and healthy miles in 2009."

That pretty much says it all. Enjoy your run, everyone!

I'm also lucky enough to be headed off to a week in the Bahamas today, courtesy of the little bro, who's playing a big poker tournament there. I may be slightly incommunicado for the next few days, but I should be reachable by email, at least.

Happy New Year!