St. Marks

Almost May 1st: Sitting at St. Marks with a beer, my two favorite people in Denver, good music and feeling pretty happy right now :)

Pennies for a Perfectly Rainy Day

I can't believe it's already Wednesday of reading week. Eek! This morning was so beautiful, I could hardly wrap my mind around it. So much sun and air so dry even a light wisp swept right through me.

I have to get back to work but I wanted to explain myself. Almost every time people have come over my apartment, they notice (and comment) that I stack my spare change in little rows on my desk. Is this freakishly obsessive compulsive? I don't think so, but maybe I've lost perspective on my own OCD tendencies. I just like to save my pennies for a rainy day - you know, on a really great thunderstorm some summer day with lightening and clouds so dark that day becomes night - so I can go buy some ice cream and watch the storm, or play a game with some fancy $4.00 coffee drink I would never normally buy. But, no, apparently everyone sees my stacks of coins and thinks I'm some control freak. It just looks neater! I won't spill them all over the place if they already look neat because I won't want to mess them up.

Anyway, they'll be jealous of me the day I decide to buy out the candy store with my saved pennies, some perfectly rainy day this summer.

what $4.82 will get you

Hurrah! I finished oral arguments. A huge weight is lifted off me, and I'm hoping to take the momentum and get excited about studying for finals. I took last night and this morning off. I was pleasantly surprised, though it confirmed my intuition, to have a real connection with someone last night. Just as I had felt/imagined from seeing this person in the halls of school (yes, being judgmental), this person is bright, thoughtful, creative, and self-aware. We ditched the law school happy hour and walked a few blocks to catch a flick - Sin Nombre - which was just what I had been wanting to see. Walked home while talking ideas, movies, music, and books. I haven't really had this kind of artsy-bohemian talk since I moved here. There's something calming about being with someone who doesn't have any expectations about what I am going (or supposed) to say, but is never quite surprised by what I do say. I can't quite explain what I mean, but it's something like this: no matter how many leaps and zigzags my thoughts bounce through in a second, there's no questioning or surprised scoff "Where did that come from?" about the seemingly random thoughts or questions that then come out of me. Which just makes me feel free to think and share myself, my thoughts ... what a breath of fresh air...

All of this of course motivated me to check out my favorite used bookstore, Goodwill. I got 5 books and a brilliant pair of emerald green heels for a grand total of $4.82. Check 'em out.

Taking it like a wimp

I'm icing my hamstring and doing contracts homework right now. Pretty much wishing I could be doing just about anything else. I hate icing and would be whining about it if anyone were here to hear it. I think my running pains are from weak abductors, so I have been doing stretches, strength exercises and icing. Hope it helps! I had a super great run yesterday - just out and back on Cherry Creek path. About 8.5 in an hour. I felt awesome and was just cruising along. So, of course, today was bad karma: first off, I got 2, not 1, but 2 flat tires on my bike ride home today. Stupid Downing has so many differences in pavement height, cracks, rocks, sticks and things to pop tires. Grr. I wanted to get in a solid week of biking but I only have 1 inner tube at home, so I'll have to drive tomorrow and pick up another inner tube on the way home. Darn! Then, of course, my run was less than great. I figured I'd be stiff and tighter today after yesterday's good run. I tried to tell myself over and over to take it easy. I also listened to my first hour-long audio lecture on constitutional law. Not exactly the most motivating, but hope it helps on finals! Ha - only 4 more hours of Con law audio, then I can move on to listen to Contracts. One last thing before going back to work, I'm also going to start swimming at the pool. I think this will make my abductors stronger, and I'll feel better throwing in another form of exercise during this whole finals stress. I'm sure I'll be exhausted after 20 minutes, but that's better than nothing!

Can I start a countdown yet of how many days until the semester is over?

Sunday night blues

I'm really, really not looking forward to the next three weeks: the last week of class, intense studying, and three final exams. I am not a test-taker. As much as I feel like I know the information or studied my hardest, I just never seem to be able to put it together on the exam. Last semester exam period was extremely stressful and anxiety-ridden. I couldn't sleep. I didn't see daylight. I had nightmares. Even after exams were over, I still had nightmares for a week just from all the anxiety. So not looking forward to this...

To make matters worse, my hamstring-hip-butt thing is bothering me again. I think it's this thing called Piriformis syndrome. It's this weird tightness/pain that moves around my left side. It's more uncomfortable than actually hurting, but it makes running not fun. I feel like I'm slowly turning into a blob. Still, I am at a loss of what to do make it feel better. It actually seems to feel better going faster and going up hill. Unfortunately (and, maybe this is the problem?) there are no hills in Denver. I felt great over spring break when I was hitting the mountain trail runs (lots of up hill and change in terrain seemed to really stretch out the muscles), but basically every run here in Denver is flat. flat. flat. The mountains are snowy, and who has time to go during end-of-the-semester and finals?

I got a pair of new running shoes yesterday, so maybe that will help. Sports Authority has this great deal - it's basically $5 insurance on shoes you buy there and you can go back anything within 1 year and get a free new pair! Each time you get a new pair, if you just pay the $5 fee you're entitled to another free pair within a year. $5 shoes over and over again! This is great for me because I run through (ha, no pun intended) a pair of shoes in about 3 months. And, I'm one of those cheap grad students who scours the clearance rack. I have managed to find my Nike Bowerman Series shoes 3 times now on clearance for $50. Took my old shoes for a last run on Highline trail. Pretty snowy and wet, but actually about 55 degrees and sunny. Got in an hour of tight-slow-dead leg running.

Snowy Marzipan

Big fluffy snowflakes are falling and I’m cozy under my flannel sheets listening to Iron and Wine. School was officially just closed for the storm (oh, Denver, a sunny 75 degrees on Wednesday and 20 inches for Thursday – Saturday. Not to mention, it’s the end of April!). What better time to write my first post! I think this is actually a decision solely motivated by procrastination, as finals are coming up soon and my outlines leave much to be desired. I shall use this blog to write about only the most important things: I found a new kind of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream yesterday! It’s delicious and easily moved into my top 3, though it hasn’t surpassed Chocolate Raspberry Truffle from Smuggler’s or delicious 4 Seas. The Ben & Jerry's new “Mission to Marzipan” is sweet cream ice cream with almond cookies and marzipan swirl. It's tastes like an almond macaroon or bear claw in ice cream. I’m hooked and hoping it is a limited edition so I will not bleed money or turn into a big fluffy snowflake. Speaking of, I had an easy exercise week due to an extremely tight hamstring. Yoga helped a lot and I got in a few good bike rides to stretch it out. I’m definitely looking forward to picking things up again tomorrow in a snowy run. I’m also posting a photo of the dinner I ate before the Turkish delight, just so you know I don’t eat only ice cream! One last treat before training and studying hard, I am taking myself out on a date to Denver Symphony Orchestra tonight. They have $5 student tickets and you just show up and get the best seats in the house! I end up going a least once a month. Tonight's concert is a cellist playing Berlioz, Saint-Saens, Debussy and Ravel. It will remind me of my Diana and I love all of the composers!