Lessons learned

I’ve been having some problems recently where I sprained something in my right foot, so it was hurting for a while. Thankfully that’s gone away. I chalked it up to running in old sneakers (I have since bought new ones!), but the boy thinks the real culprit is my love of wearing flats… a typical conversation between us goes like this:

Me: “Ow. My foot hurts.”
Him: “Stop wearing flats.”
Me: “But I love wearing flats!”
Him: “They have no support.”
Me: “But they’re so cute!”
Him: “So you’d rather be in pain, just to look cute.”
Me: “…. well…”

So I switched to wearing sneakers and yes eventually the foot got better. But yesterday I decided to wear flats because I felt like it! And yesterday I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my leg, because I started walking funny, because the shoes were giving me blisters.

What. The. Frick. It was actually so painful that I woke up at 4 AM and had to hobble to the kitchen to get an ice pack. Not fun at all.

Stick with me now. This story actually does have a point. Two, in fact. First: I don’t like admitting when someone else is right and I am wrong. Second, all I wanted to be able to do, at 4AM, was to be able to point my finger across the room at my geriatric stuffed dog (23 years old this summer), say “Accio dog!” and have it fly over to join me in my misery.

So, to sum up: I am stubborn. And I am a nerd.

Taking Care of Bizness

This is what I do at work. I like my job.

Recap

So it’s been a busy busy busy few months. Let’s recap.

* Trip to Bern, Switzerland was a great time spent drinking way too much beer, catching up with coworkers, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

* One day after getting back from Switzerland, I ran my third 5k! Most surprisingly of all, I managed to shave nearly a minute and a half off my previous time. I guess all that beer drinking really paid off, huh.

* The day after my race, Boston had a moment of confusion and thought it was high summer. I spent the day covering myself in sunscreen and watching the Boston Marathon.

* Along with my partner in crime Stephanie, I got to watch Pentatonix perform at the Acapella-palooza acapella concert here in Boston. It was amazing. Even more awesome was the chance to be thisclose to Avi…

* I spent a week and a half in California, visiting the mothership. Turtles, marshmallows and viking hats were involved. Good times.

So now I’m back, and looking forward to a bit of a break over Memorial Day weekend. It’s been quite the whirlwind spring!

First World Problems

Do I take my laptop or my tablet with me on my business trip? Or both? And what about my Kindle? How many electronic devices does one girl need, really?

15 Days

… until I run another 5K! UGH. I don’t know why but I have been seriously not feeling the running vibe lately. I don’t know whether it’s my body rebelling, if I needed some recovery time, if I’m just in a funk or what. It has been a real struggle to get out there and get the legs pumping (note: I just wrote ‘lugs’ instead of ‘legs’… clearly you can tell I’m feeling like a total blob).

So it’s with some real trepidation that I realized today is April 1, which means I only have 15 days before I humiliate myself run the BAA 5K. To add insult to injury, I leave for a week-long business trip next Sunday, which means I realistically only have 8 days. EIGHT DAYS, people! (Note: I will try my best to go running in Switzerland, but in all honesty I’m not sure how much time I’m actually going to be able to log in. And, I’ve never gone jogging in Europe before. It might be… weird). Lord, give me strength to run up that hill at Park Street in two weeks and not have to walk like a baby.

Anyone else in a springtime funk? Part of my blues might have something to do with the fact that two weeks ago it was 80 degrees and I was wearing flip flops, and today it was a brisk 42 degrees and raining. Make up your mind what season we are in, Boston!

I Grow Old

One of my favorite poems in my high school and college days was T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. There is a wonderful line towards the end of the poem:

I grow old… I grow old…
I shall wear my trousers rolled

I think of this line often, when I think about getting old. It’s an association that I can’t get rid of– nor do I really want to, because let’s face it– Eliot was a genius with words and imagery, so if I have to think of him when I think about getting older, it’s not such a bad thing.

This morning I found that one of my eyelashes had turned white.
Yes, I have a white eyelash.
Awesome.

Polka Dots

I would just like to report that I am wearing a polka dot dress today. Normally this would make me happy regardless, because I like polka dots. But I’m especially in a good mood today because:

a. It is a beautiful day and the sun is shining.
b. I bought this dress last May on a whim and then discovered it didn’t fit. Sadness. Today, it fits perfectly. Happiness.
c. I ate lunch outside on the rooftop garden. Yay for nature in the middle of the city.
d. I’m going to see Hunger Games tonight!

That is all.

Hungry for the Hunger Games

So I am going to watch the Hunger Games tomorrow- a full day before the release date. Thank you, BU Alumni Association! I will admit, I resisted reading the trilogy at first because I didn’t think the books would be that good. Well, they weren’t. I mean, they were enjoyable– light quick reads, interesting premise, alternate reality. But I didn’t find them all that well written, the characters were shallow and ill-defined, and in all honesty I really don’t like the Katniss character. I think she’s one of those typical female characters you see too often these days in young adult books. She’s beautiful but she doesn’t know it or believe it. She has at least two guys who are in love with her. She doesn’t really have much of a personality– her anger, pettiness, and petulance is supposed to mask a deeper depth of character– but there’s really not too much beyond the surface. (Shades of Twilight, anyone?)

In Katniss’s case, she is also good at hunting and tracking, so she has that going for her. But please, where are the girls who are plain and have skin problems? Where are the girls who DON’T have any guys madly in love with them? Where are the girls who are book smart as well as street smart? Where are the girls who have a sense of humor?

In case I haven’t made myself clear, I didn’t think the Hunger Games were that great in terms of literary young adult fiction. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy reading the books, and that also doesn’t mean I’m not excited to see the movie tomorrow! I have a feeling that the plot will transfer well to the big screen– and if stories like this are any indication, I’m not the only one who feels this way!

St Patrick’s Day… Or Halloween 2?

I was watching tv tonight when a commercial came on promoting costumes for St. Patrick’s Day. At first I thought, ‘yeah that’s right– St Pattys Day is coming up soon.’ But then I realized that this was kind of weird. When has St. Patty’s Day turned into the Halloween of the spring? Check out these examples of costumes I found for sale at Target:

Wow, I had no idea that I too could live out my dreams of being a sexy leprechaun-ess! Awesome!!!

But seriously. Do people really dress up to go out and drink themselves silly? I mean, I get the whole wearing green thing, and I’ve seen people wearing themed shirts like “Kiss Me I’m Irish” or even sporting green beads. But full out costumes seems a little excessive, especially when you think that most of these people buying these items are going to be puking all over themselves by the end of the night anyway.

On the other hand, this is a pretty slick move on the part of the retail stores, because it gives them another fake holiday to promote, and it’s doubtful that you’ll keep your beer-stained and other mystery-stained costume to wear year after year… resulting in guaranteed repeat purchasing behavior! Genius!

How did they know?

Oh Someecards.com, you really do have a card for every occasion!