TBWOTY

We had the first annual sibling-cousin shin dig last weekend. A.k.a. The Best Weekend of the Year. It was so fun! We met in NYC. I got there early so I had a day with Dr. Baby Brother. I cooked him a bunch to have in his freezer for when he was too busy to cook. Don't want him losing weight!

We didn't do a whole lot, but we ate good food, talked and laughed in various locations like the Met, FAO Schwartz, The Strand etc. I soaked it all up and felt happy to have such great family (& significant others). I was pretty exhausted the whole weekend from the busy week before, the red eye flight, and general lack of sleep. Yesterday was rough, coming back to freezing temperatures (literally, it's 2 degrees and we're in the middle of an 8 inch snow storm. no snow day.) I rallied hard with no second coffee, no nap, and a trip to the bike at the gym.

In other news, I went to a Conference for Women in International Trade yesterday. Only so-so. The talk I really wanted to hear was canceled, but there were still some other interesting talks.

I also discovered and bought new music by a South African guy, Vusi Mahlasela. It's beautiful. Have a listen:
River Jordan

Just when you think...

Surprise!! I was all sitting on the bike at the gym thinking "high of -1 degrees tomorrow. No big deal. Life goes on as normal." Get back to my locker and have a text message saying school is closed tonight and tomorrow for snow. YAY!

Lucky lucky meeeeeee!

Shabbat shalom

I'm grateful (in principle, not for my personal use) that the best-plowed sidewalk in all of Denver - during the snow storm, after the snow storm, and now, a whole week after the snow storm - is Planned Parenthood. Somehow, that makes up for the rest of the city being left in a ridiculous state of slip n' slide black ice, solid waves of ice, slushy footprints filled with ice cold water (also slippery), and, in my mind, a complete disaster.

On a not unrelated note, I've decided to make taking public transit a priority this semester. I like taking it for lots of reasons (meet people in my community, support local and regional economy, better for environment and smaller energy use, get time to read or zone out, etc.) , I believe in what Denver public transit could be, so I'm going to *cheese* be that change I wish to see. I haven't driven my car for over a week!

Made it through

Monday.

What a doozy.

My brain is pretty mushy right now, but I wanted to reflect on something (anything). Stagnant blogs are boring.

I went to a cool cafe here in Denver last weekend. Illegal Grounds. They had H&H bagels (!), good egg and cheese, Italian Illy coffee, empanadas and quiches. De-licious. Good atmosphere with open space, comfy chairs and couches. Free wireless. A friend and I sat, shared food, chatted and watched the snow fall before getting some homework done. The owner is a Peruvian-Jew! How crazy is that? It made me so happy that - for once - he didn't think my Spanish accent was from Spain. He knew exactly where I learned Spanish, "Ah! Tu hablas como los serranos!" You speak like the mountain people! My friend and I are going back sometime for some homemade ceviche. Mmmm! Buena onda...

Anyway, a quick update, but better than nothing. Off to bed for me, snow falling softly through the street lights.

No soy yo

Thus far exams have been (characteristically) beyond miserable. Just, wow. The general feeling I have these days is the exact reason why people decide NOT to go to law school. Anxiety. Dread. Stress. Pressure. I want to go to sleep to avoid it all, but I can't fall asleep when I finally let myself crawl into bed. My mind is racing. I have nightmares where I take exams and re-live my misery. I want to sleep late, but morning is my precious time to be alert and focused.

It doesn't help that the past few days have been full of snow and highs of about 10 degrees. Supposedly, we're getting 8 more inches tonight and lows of -4. That's crazy. That's 2 pairs of pants, 3 shirts and 2 jackets cold.

Nothing about school makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing by being here. Denver doesn't feel right. Hard to exercise outside (First snow was the first week of October. And, as you know, I hate the treadmill). Hard to meet people. Hard to use public transit/bike/walk. Hard to find diversity. Hard to meet friends who don't have husband-boyfriend-fiance obligations.

Hard to see myself here beyond the next year and a half.

Hard to see myself here for the next year and a half.

Hard to see myself.

No soy yo.

Update

One test down. Doesn't feel good, but I have to move on to the next. There's nothing I can do about it now, anyway.

Walked home after. It's 14.8 degrees outside and slight flurries. I actually was warm because I walked fast and wore this:

tights
alpaca socks
jeans
tee shirt
sweater
fleece coat
fat puff coat (down)
waterproof tall boots
gloves
hat

I listened to my favorite radio show, The World, which is on at 4 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. MT (so I never get to listen to it normally). And, it only takes 10 minutes more to walk from school (55 min total) than it does to take the bus from school (45 min total).

On to the next final...

Weekend recap

Well! A boring old weekend. I'm not complaining, sometimes it's nice to lounge around and pick my way through the massive amount of work.

Friday night I decided to make macaroni and cheese from scratch. We never had this growing up because Dad couldn't have milk. At best, we begged for the Kraft box of toxic orange, fake cheesiness. Sigh. We didn't even know what we were missing. Anyway, I got a recipe off NYTimes and this Mac & Cheese was not kidding around. Tons of Gruyere and Cheddar, homemade croutons on top. Etc. I had to freeze a ton and give some away to my friend so I won't drop dead of a heart attack in two days. After that, I finished the home-body's night by going on a cleaning rampage. I feel much better. It's nice to have a clean place when you go away. It's even nicer to have a clean place when you come back. It also seems to help me with studying.

Saturday I slept in because I felt a little sickie. I ran mid-morning (City Park Loop), did some work, and got my haircut. I confirmed that I love this place, Allure. It was time: I could see the split ends and I wasn't even trying! Anyway, no one will notice, but I'm happy it's not so raggedy after the whole summer and fall of running in the sun. This place is just a few blocks away so I can walk. They also have lemon water and cookies while you're waiting (didn't try) and Michelle is super friendly. None of that awkward silence or painful chit chat that makes me hate going usually. And, it's cheap! I skyped Dinta Bint and then (hurrah!) finished my urban planning law paper. I'll write about that in another post, but I wrote about a housing policy in Santiago, Chile. I thought it was pretty interesting. I walked to Cafe Europa in the early evening with some Federal Indian Law reading. I didn't stay too long, though, because soon after I got there, the new art show had its reception and people were staring at me because I was sitting next to the wall with the art. I was there first, people! No fair! They have pretty good lemon mango tea with real chunks of mango in it. Then I had a long phone chat with my high school friend. Walked home in the beginnings of snow.

Sunday - Ha! Woke up to a good 6 inches of snow and still coming. Went running with JB for 45 min, slogging through the snow. It was pretty, though! Didn't see many (any?) other runners. We also ran pretty much down the middle of the road, even Speer Blvd! Spent the day doing work and bumming around my apartment. Lame.

Here goes - 1 week until classes are over, Philly marathon, going back East to see everyone!

Keeping calm and carry on...

Week Runs

Hurrah!!! I made it through the last, hardest week of training, even through a 2 foot snow storm (You can't thwart me, weather gods!). Here's how it went down:

Sunday - 3 easy

Monday - 8x800, after class, almost in the dark. Felt harder than last week, but I was going a little faster. Definitely at that threshold where altitude starts to make running fast really hard. 9 total.

Tuesday - 8, it was 60 degrees when I finished at 5:40 p.m. Long Ruby Hill loop from school. I left school at 9:30 p.m. and it was 35 and snowing. CRAZY!

Wednesday - uh, hello, 8 inches of snow when I wake up. I buckled down and got in my "tempo" run anyway. Straight out on the Cherry Creek path, because that was being plowed continuously. So THERE, Mr. Snow Storm! 12.

Thursday - uh, HELLOOO, 2 feet of snow, and still snowing. Snow day! I went mid-day, it was miserable. Loops around the plowed/paved part of Wash Park in the wind/snow, blech. 8.

Friday - 5 shake out in preparation ...

Saturday - 22.5!!! I felt good, people, GOOD! I just chilled out for a looong time, then my watch said 1:50, had a goo then. Kept going. Then my watch said 2:15. Passed some bikers and some sketchy group of guys. Then I didn't look again until I was almost home and my watch said 2:57. Sweet. MapMyRun.com said it was 23, but I think it was a little less. Seriously, no wall, a little ab cramping around mile 21, but I was picking up the pace and cruising past people. No water, just 1 goo. Got in Ruby Hill for some ups and downs. Stayed on the boring old Cherry Creek up to REI, then down Platte, Ruby Hill, then back up Platte and down CC. Nothing fancy just got out there it did what needed to be done.

I am officially tapering. And, as of now, I've gotten further in my marathon training then my last 2 attempts, when I got injured. My number 1 goal was to get to the marathon healthy. Number 2, have fun. Number 3, PR. Exact numbers? We shall see... I may post on that, but I don't want to put the pressure on. I especially have no idea because of the whole altitude thing. Anyway, I'm PSYCHED and - ahem, this is MY bloggie, so I can say this - I'm proud of myself!

What did I do after this epic run? I called M&D to tell them I did it, while having a Luna Recovery Smoothie and wobbling around my apartment. I'm not really hungry, but yes thirsty. I'm pretty sure my metabolism jumped up a gear and I'll be starving every couple hours for the next day or so.

Total: 68.

Snow Day!

We have a snow day! They called (okay, e-mailed) it at about 1 p.m. I had to turn in my "hard copy only" midterm anyway, but I also picked up books. There are maybe 8-9 inches already and it's not supposed to stop until tomorrow night. Wowzers! This is an October unlike others. I had a fun 12 mile run in the snow this morning. I wasn't cold, just felt a bit like running in sand. I didn't see any other runners, but the walkers were all super friendly and nice. I've noticed that whenever I go out in cities during snow storms, I always meet friendly, adventurous people who are also out playing. :) And, some nice people pulled over and offered me a ride home when I was waiting for the bus. Score!

I have big plans to get work done, apply for internships, and (later) snuggle in my bed with a book.

If it's a snow day tomorrow I plan on renting cross country skis from REI and skiing around the city.