The End

I haven't posted in almost a year, so it was probably obvious, but I will be discontinuing this blog. I will probably still keep it up, but I will no longer be posting or contributing to it. It was a good outlet, but it is no longer relevant.

Adieu.

Hiatus

I ran today. Tired, but it feels good. The half marathon is in a month, and I MUST run. I cannot run the half without training for it. I also need to prepare for the Tough Mudder in June. I don't really have the motivation for the races, but I have already signed up and paid for them, so I'm committed. I think it's very smart to charge for running a race. It's harder to back out when you've already paid a somewhat significant sum. You're invested.

Easter is coming. My church is doing Feaster, which is hearkening back to the Old Testament celebrations of holy days and thinking of Easter as a celebration, a party, a feast. Christ is risen. Rejoice! Celebrate! I think it is an interesting concept, and I'm interested to see how it turns out.

I was going to add an introspection, but I'm a bit tired for that, so it will have to wait until later.

TTFN

The small, imperceptible happenings of life

I had a very full, good weekend. I was able to see some friends on Sunday, which was wonderful. It's been awhile, and it was so good to see them. In anticipation of guests, I cleaned my apartment, rather thoroughly, actually. I am not a generally tidy person. I have a high tolerance for clutter, and I really don't like minimalism. However, I let it get out of hand sometimes, and then it's a daunting task to tackle. I did have help though, which made it more enjoyable. It is very nice to come home to a clean house. I'll need to get used to this. :-) I have rearranged the furniture a bit, which is nice, and I got a nice table to put the TV on, instead of the Rubbermaid upon which it was previously perched.

I am trying to read more. I am currently reading God is Red by Liao Yiwu. It's about Christians and Christianity in China. He interviews people who survived communism and Mao and the Cultural Revolution, and there are also interviews regarding people who did not survive. It's a good book. The perspective is interesting, as the author is not a Christian himself, but he is involved in human rights and has been imprisoned and his books censored for not being in line with the communist/socialist doctrines of the state.

January is a day away from being over, and February looks like it will speed by as well. I have a lot going on, but I like being busy. I just need to budget my time well. I read an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education that talked about how people work, and that everyone works differently. Some people are really good planners, and others need to take it right up to the deadline. I'm a deadline person myself. The author's take was, "whatever works best for you." If you're not a planner, then trying to force yourself to be, might not be the best thing to do, though trying different methods is not a bad idea.

I have pilates tonight, so I need to dinner.

Out with the old, in with the new

I am currently sitting in my comfortable, new-to-me, green granny recliner with my kitty snug between myself and the arm of the chair, and it is wonderful. I am feeling somewhat exhausted. I really need to get onto a decent, normal people schedule, but I don't really want to. I like my way of doing things, even if it isn't the best way. But, I know that's a problem. I will probably eventually give in and have a normal schedule.

January has been going well so far. I had a lovely time with friends over New Years. One of my friends positively spoiled us by making a completely homemade feast of turkey, noodles, apple pie, etc. I made wassail, which was a hit. It's my favorite holiday tradition.

I also went to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D. I'd never been to a 3D movie before. We thought it was going to be on the IMAX screen, but it wasn't. :-( It was, however, fully entertaining. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, and though it wasn't made originally for 3D, they did a good job with it. The landscapes especially stood out. There was a scene with black tree branches and the end scene with roses that absolutely popped. Even if it hadn't been in 3D, it was still nice to see it on the big screen. I had gone when it first came out, but I didn't appreciate it as much then as I do now.

Also, I just found out that they changed the date of the Tough Mudder I signed up for. They moved it from March to June, which is a really good thing, both for safety and for my personal training. Cold water obstacles in Indiana in March is generally ill advised, so I'm glad for the warmer weather. I was worried about getting wet in cold temperatures. Also, I really don't think I would have been ready for the race in March, as I haven't been up to training yet. I need to focus on getting my energy up and eating better before I can really exert myself. But, now the Tough Mudder will be after the mini marathon in May, so that will be interesting. I think I'll just train harder for the mini, so I'll be in better shape to recover and run the Tough Mudder.

I have had a small epiphany. My friend pointed this out, and she is right. I basically always need to be busy. I need things to do, or I go a bit crazy. As I say, better to be busy than bored. :-)

TTFN

Merry Christmas!

It is so nice to have a real job with vacation and holiday time. I am so glad to be able to spend time with friends and family. One of perks of working in an academic library vs a public library.

This holiday has been fairly low key, but full of laughter. And, I suspect there is more laughter and stories to come with New Years.

 My main plan is to sleep, eat, and catch up with people. Preparing for the holidays is always crazy, and this year has been no exception. Probably moreso. I did get out most of my Christmas cards, but really failed when it came to Christmas cookies. I need a better plan for those. I hope to pick up some Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and maybe decorations for next year, as they should be on sale now. I need to supplement my card supply. Also, I could not find any Christmas paper for my newsletter this year, so I had to settle for clouds. It seems that the Christmas newsletter has been deemed obsolete and/or pompous. At least, that's what the guy on the radio said. I do like the holidays, but I also appreciate the slowness of January, when things get back to normal.

Happy New Year.

A Sense of Place

It is so nice to be in a place that is more or less permanent. I know that I am where I need to be for now, and it is a good feeling. It makes it so much easier to be in community with people. I have been thinking about how different this year is so far compared the the last year I was here, 3 years ago. I feel like I am making better connections with people in church, and I am starting to feel more established. I think it's also easier for people to invest in other people's lives when they know that they will be around for awhile, as opposed to moving away in a year or 2. Being in transition is no reason not to make friendships and invest in a community, but it's harder. I do, however, feel a decided lack of gumption this year, which I'm not quite sure why. I felt more motivated to try to be an "adult" and take care of myself, but I lack motivation in some areas.

In other news, I sang in church today for special music. I was helping my friend rehearse for special music last night, and she roped me into singing with her. We decided this at 10 PM last night, but it turned out rather well, I think. We sang How Great Is the Love, alternating verses (she sang the 1st and I sang the 2nd) and singing the chorus together. I harmonized with her (most, not all of the lines), and it meshed well, according to honest, outside sources. I had a good time, but I was nervous, as I have never sung in public like that before. Which is not to say that I have not sung in public, but singing while walking down the street or for my grandpa in the nursing home or in the lobby of my dorm does not necessarily count.

Thursday is Thanksgiving, and then the holidays are upon us! I have a lot that I want to accomplish this holiday season, and I really need to get started on some things. I think that procrastination is one of my besetting sins. It's been with me for a long time, and I really need to work on abolishing it.

My apartment smells like awful incense or stale cigarette smoke that someone attempted to mask. Bleagh.

I want to move to Charleston, South Carolina. It is the perfect city. It is beautiful, fairly temperate, with a great historical district, and it doesn't feel like a city. I spent the last 3 days in Charleston at a library conference. The conference was excellent, and I enjoyed my time there. While in Charleston, I made a pact not to eat at any restaurant that I could find somewhere else, and I followed that well. :-) Charleston has excellent food. Eating well there reinforced the idea that I have not been eating well, and I need to take better care of myself in regards to nutrition. Which means I need to cook more. Which will also help the budget.

On e of my 3 flights, I sat next to librarians who attended the same conference. Flying makes me nervous, but it was ok. The first plane was smaller and seemed a bit rickety, but we made it. Flying out of Charleston, I sat next to a gentleman from South Africa. He was also at the same conference, and it was interesting to talk with him. The last flight was on a huge plane, the type you see in movies, and it had the individual screens with movies and TV in the seats, which was really cool. It helped calm my nerves and helped the flight go faster. I watched an episode of CHiPs (old 70s cop show) and most of an episode of Friends. :-)

The conference was very good, but busy, and I'm rather wiped out. And also a bit overwhelmed with everything I need to do now, personally and professionally.

This week will probably be rather busy and go by quickly. Time just speeds along anyway. It's unreal how fast everything has gone. I feel like I moved up here yesterday. Though I do feel much more established with my job, though still learning and figuring things out. I'm pretty sure I was one of, if not the newest librarian at the conference.

Good night.