This Thing Called Life: June 2011

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Mid-Year Report

2011 is officially half over. Whoa.

I figure it's time to check in to see my progress on the goals I had for 2011:

1. Accomplish (as much as I can of) the Florida List. Some weren't completed, but I guess that gives me reasons to go back to FL! DONE!

2. Earn another 4.0 spring semester DONE!

3. Become a Master (graduate from grad school) DONE!

4. GET A JOB DONE! Colorado in a week :)

5. Read 50 Books On #23 as we speak!

6. Run a race every month (mostly 5K, some 5K w/ obstacles, & hopefully a 10K+) 8 Races in 7 months, going back to Dec. Working on the last part of the goal

7. More running goals- Run 211 miles, run for 10 miles, sub-7:00 mile 84.11 miles. 3.56 miles. 8:32. Gotta crank all these up!

8. Complete P90X (I was 0/4 in 2010) 0/1 in 2011. Not going to happen. I'm ok with that.

9. Lose 50+ lbs. 20 so far in 2011- (30+ total)

10. Visit 5 new states/countries Oregon, South Carolina, Colorado. (Plus trips to Philly, St. Augustine, Savannah, and the epic road trip home- been to the states, but lots of new experiences)

11. Smile and laugh. A lot. Always. That's what life is all about.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Time Machine

I spent some of the weekend looking through some old photo albums.

Best decision of my life!

The hair. The glasses. The Zubaz. The jerseys. The shorts. The mismatches.

Oh how I miss the '80's & '90's!

I never realized the decades of embarrassment and blackmail that I had at my fingertips. I wonder when I will bust them out!

A gentle sneak preview:

Family vacation to Florida. 1993. Sports ruled our lives.

LJ and MJ forever!

First day of Kindergarten. 1990.

Yes, that's what I wore.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

I'm Addicted

Addictions.

Alcohol. Drugs. Gambling. Sex. Tobacco. Shopping.

Those aren't mine. My addictions are books and art.

Books. If I walk into a book store, I walk out with a book. Or two. Then it goes straight to the pile of books that I own that I don't have time to read. I still own about 50 books that I have not read. I'm working on that.

Art. But the reason this post is happening is because of art. I am a sucker for art fairs, cheap sales, and galleries. Luckily, I've never had a job that paid enough to break the bank- it's easy to say no when you simply don't have the money. And when I do buy things, they're not expensive- I just have A LOT. I think I'm going to need an 8 bedroom house just for the art I have and will have. Immediately after the race, I stopped by the Eagan Art Festival. There's something about local artists that draws me in. Especially when that art captures Minnesota's amazingness.

The 2 latest additions to my collection:

"Four Seasons"

Ellen Empson

(Minnesota photos from L to R:

Minneapolis, Carver County, Lake Minnetonka, Chaska)

Near and Far

Photography

Downtown Minneapolis and Stone Arch Bridge

I guess it's not a bad addiction to have...

Heartbeat 5000

Race Day.

First race in Minnesota.

70 Degrees. Not 90+ Degrees. Thank you sweet baby Jesus!

Apparently, my body forgot what hills are. Ouch.

Downtown Minneapolis. Mississippi River. Stone Arch Bridge finish line. Home sweet home.

My goal was under 30:00

My previous best was 30:13

Official chip time: 30:02

Ugghhhh....

June 25, 1988

I can't believe it's been 23 years...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Westward, Ho!

I am officially moving to Denver, CO in a few weeks.

I recently (Monday) got offered a position of Residence Director at Johnson & Wales University, which is located less than 15 minutes outside of downtown. It is a unique institution, with the hub (Providence, RI) being founded in 1914, and satellite campus opening recently. The Denver Campus opened in 2000. These RD positions are brand new.

Meaning...

There is so much potential! I was really impressed by the excitement that they have and the way they create new opportunities. The staff there seems very close, and they value the camaraderie that they have. They really create a "team," in every aspect of the word. It seems like the type of place where they look out for and take care of one another- an environment that I look forward to being in! There expectations are HIGH, but I think that we will be able to create so many great things through these new positions, and make life at JWU better for everyone that plays a part.

Here's a sneak preview of what will be my life in CO:

I can't wait for this next adventure to start!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Road Trip

From Sat, the 18th - Mon, the 20th, I took my road trip to Minnesota, leaving Florida behind. Below are my thoughts, hallucinations, musings, text messages, and the moments that got me through a fifth of the country.

I am ignoring the fact that I missed my flight back to FL the day before, putting me a few hours behind schedule.

I am ignoring the fact that I locked myself of my apartment the night before, causing me to awkwardly walk around my building until someone turned off a light, so I knocked on her window knowing that she was awake.

Those things never happened.

This is about what happened after I crammed my life in to my Pontiac G6.

And hit the road.

Saturday, June 18

9:02 AM: Sweaty. [after being asked how's the final packup going?]

2:12 PM: On my way home... Minny, see you in a few days.

3:08 PM: (passed through several huge rainstorms) Let's time this one...

3:14 PM: 6 minutes... oh Florida!

3:30 PM: Ok this is like the 4th pocket of rain, Florida must be sad I'm leaving.

4:07 PM: So those gatorade bottles are too big to drink the last drops. My ceiling gets in the way...

4:15 PM: Guess how many windows I can see out of. 2.3.

5:22 PM: Ok I know you can't see it, but that cloud totally looks like Yoshi!

5:24 PM: It had the saddle and everything! [where did you find that?]

5:25 PM: Georgia's clouds > Florida's clouds. I have no idea where I am.

6:05 PM: 2 more hours... 2 more hours... [insert Michael Bolton references, including You can go the distance! and Just like Jack Sparrow]

6:15 PM: Gray, GA has the most badass squad cars ever

6:51 PM: If FL was sad, GA must be PISSED! This looks a little on the scary/fun side :)

7:03 PM: [I just can't imagine why Georgia's so mad at you...]

7:05 PM: "Stay the f*** in Florida!" (Georgia, 2011).

7:56 PM: P.S. I wish I could show you how beautiful this is- it's distracting!

8:12 PM: Did you live on Ultimate Drive? [Upon realizing the hotel I was staying at was right down the road from where my brother lived in Athens, GA]

Sunday, June 19

8:39 AM: On the road again- just can't wait to get on the road again

10:16 AM: Oh hey North Carolina! I'll be on the lookout for Petey Pablo

11:37 AM: Holy smokes the Smokies are incredible! This state is the only Ten-i-see!

11:39 AM: P.S. I think I need Ollie Williams here to predict the weather...

It's gon' rain!