weekend update

1) all's well on the brother front. i'm thankful for that.

2) toby does not, in fact, have an ear infection. rather, he has a "hot spot" (an extremely itchy spot of irritation on a dog's skin) inside of his ear. now he has to be on a steroidal anti-inflammatory again to reduce and hopefully get rid of the problem. :(

3) it's almost Easter break. my kids are nuts because they know that we teachers can't really get anything three meaningful done before Holy Thursday. while i enjoy teaching at a Catholic school and do earnestly believe that having mass/services at appropriate times is necessary, we have so many interrupted days and classes at this point. i'm scrambling as how to cover the important material before standardized testing begins.

4) standardized testing begins TWO DAYS after the kids get back from break. that's so cruel. i feel sorry for them. of course, i felt sorry for myself having to sit through an awful, too-long meeting on how to administer the tests. misery certainly does love company.

5) i was smarter at being compulsively stupid this week. i went to the gym three times but was very judicious in time spent and amount done. now, while i'm still a little bit touch-and-go, i'll be able to get back in the saddle a bit sooner, and stronger, than i thought possible.

6) i've ordered the fun stuff as well as some of the tri stuff. the fun stuff probably won't get here for another two weeks, due to middlemen, but it's worth the wait. and, truth be told, the tri stuff... well, it was all swimwear for both training and racing. i can't help it. now i'll have a total of 8 swimsuits/bikinis. yes, i am addicted. anyway, i still have to get goggles, a bike, and a helmet. i'm hoping to get that done in the next two weeks. then i'm all set!

7) i'll be signing up for the governor's bay bridge 10K. it's the first time i'll be running it, and casey is going with me. it's cool that she and i are doing it together. :) plus, the freebie is a really nice sports bag. awesome.

8) i'm looking for dates/times/ways to get to LA this summer. visiting wendy will be so much fun, and i'm hoping to relax on the pacific beaches. while i've driven around the city, this will be my first time actually staying there. it'll be fun to explore some place new, and i'm also desperate to get to a beach! getting two goals in one trip is my kind of efficiency.

9) i'm wondering how scholarly my products of scholarship truly are. i'm preparing to take the GREs again, and i'm also formulating my statement of purpose. why do i love literature? the simple answer is that it is who we are, especially when we don't know what that is. there are many things over which i poured, and without them, i wouldn't have seen so deeply into my core. however, that may not wash with graduate acceptance committees, and faculty may not see much value in such idealized notions of human synthesis. that's what makes me nervous about my work.

10) spring is here! i love the fresh air, the longer hours of natural sunlight, the warm breezes, and the sounds of birds during the day and frogs at night. it's easier to get outside and run, and it's wonderful to watch toby romp through the grasses, chasing every imaginable moving thing. the manifestation of environmental rebirth always stirs something in me, and it is a phenomenon for which i am always grateful.

on being compulsively stupid

i can't help it. i can't sit at home this evening. i have to go to the gym. i can't stand not working out. my muscles twitch with irritation, saying, "why the hell haven't we been to our favorite place for MORE THAN TWO DAYS?!"

*sigh.*

i have crabby muscles.

BUT, on the up-side, I'M ORDERING BOTH TRI STUFF AND OTHER FUN STUFF THIS AFTERNOON!!!!!!!!

YEE-HAW!

i will post pix of the items once they arrive at my chateau. i don't want to ruin the surprise.

;)

on back pain and cleaning the apartment

just don't do it. seriously. if your lower back is causing you to scream and writhe, don't be consumed by the need to clean the kitchen and bathroom floors. and especially don't be so picky that you're not satisfied until you get down on your knees and scrub back into the tiniest corner.

come on. i had today all laid out as a keep the feet up, use the heating pad, do the lesson planning kind of day. instead, i feel compelled to make a run to towson and timonium to check out bikes and swimwear. then i take a nap in probably the most uncomfortable position on my recliner. then i wake up, have a totally unhealthful dinner (although chicken nuggets from trader joe's ARE really good), and feel no rest until i clean the floor so as to see my reflection. okay, well i didn't really get that far, but still. the question is:

WHY CAN I NOT LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE AND GIVE MYSELF TIME TO RECOVER FROM INJURY?!

if somebody could be on my case about this, i'd really appreciate it.

|: (


oh and FYI--i am NEVER this anal about neatness...

it's a crummy rainy day, but i still did my hair.

some days, you just have to make your hair beautiful. today was one of those days. i'm not going anywhere special or trying to impress anybody. i just want to have silky hair today. i don't know why.

anyway. today is/was errands, cleaning house, cooking, reading, watching basketball and nursing my aching back. i'm so very tempted to go to the gym just to sit in the sauna, but i know that i would be the idiot. "oh two minutes on the bike wouldn't hurt. and some upper body lifts would help. and then some squats... and core work... and" then some screaming in excrutiating pain. i'm already extra sore from walking around for a few hours and toting groceries and library books this morning. so as miserable as it makes me to be benched with injuries, i've decided to be less miserable in the long term by parking my ass on the recliner for the rest of the day. bleh. it's a tough life.

can this misery have a little company please? and by company, i mean somebody willing to bring over some chinese and family guy dvds?

:)

how old is old?

my back hurts like hell. my hamstring had been bugging me since january, but i've been soldiering through. that's bad idea #1. bad idea #2 is me upping my workout frequency in order to get my base fitness in before moving to tri-specific sessions. good idea #1 was taking a break after sunday when i got sharp pains in my lower back muscles during core work. bad idea #3 was not taking a break for long enough and running last night.

i felt decent enough to run, even though part of me knew that i was being an idiot. so, i decided to just go with the idiot idea and ran harder than i normally do. consequently, my back hurts, my butt hurts, my hip hurts, my hamstrings hurt, and my whole right leg is up in arms and considering a mutiny to make me hop the plank. anyway, i'm making myself just lay here all evening in my favorite recliner, and i'll have to take at least another week off. part of me is tempted to hit up the pool and sauna next monday or so, but we'll see how idiotic i feel that day.

other stuff is fine. i have to stick a sock in brian's mouth because he's the one who said i should come over and workout. he's a great guy and an awesome friend. but seriously. don't encourage the idiot. HOWEVER, i can't come down on him too hard since he has availed his 60" HD obnoxiously complicated tv to me, and brian, rom, and i got to watch some serious family guy the other night. plus, he got me taco bell for dinner. awesome.

at this point, i'm riding out the school year (only ~50 days left, and that includes field trips and other no-class days) and getting more and more excited about the tri. if i can get some people to come up to PA with me, that would be ridiculously awesome. but i digress.

okay, i have to paint some more bengay on myself and scream and writhe as my muscles spasm and attack my spirit. hopefully, watching a butler upset of florida will make me feel worlds better.

i <3 turbo tax... and toby's new hedgehog.

i won't go into tacky details, but turbo tax helped me uncover deductions for which i didn't even know i was eligible. consequently, i can have a new little savings cushion, plus some left over to splurge on triathlon equipment and an iPod. YAY!

and maybe i can get toby some new toys. yesterday, i did gift him with a new hedgehog. this is not just any squeaky. this is the uber-hedgehog, the mutant version of the species. he loves it, tries to eat it, chases it when it's thrown, and sleeps on it.

fyi--if you haven't noticed already, toby is pretty damn spoiled.

:)

i wouldn't be surprised if there was such a thing as karma...

so after my mean-spirited gloats at duke's loss in the first round, i pay the price with maryland's loss in the second round. i couldn't watch the game as closely as i wanted because the only time i had to watch was also the only time i had to go to the gym. consequently, i ended up on the stationary bike for 45 minutes (yay, individual cardio theatre!) and in the free weights area (thank you, many inch flat screen tv!). that was the one time i tailored my workout around a basketball, but it was worth it, i think.

ANYWAY, i was impressed with butler's stingey defense and outside 3's. plus, i really wish that maryland would learn that it can't always rally. seriously. we don't need heart-attack wins every single time. get out in front with time to spare, and hold on like there's no tomorrow. i think mastering that would win the terps a little more respect. too bad that this was the end to strawberry's collegiate career. does anybody know what he'll be up to after graduation? is he a candidate for the pros? i don't follow the nba at all, so i have no idea.

this makes me sad. a little. until my pizza's done. i can be such a fickle fan.

:)

thoughts and sympathies

please use the comment option to leave a message for the duke blue devils. i'll post the best ones for all to see once i get a good number.

:)

awesome

for the record:

first round--VCU Rams 79, Duke Blue Devils 77

what going-away present should we get for the devils? any ideas? a "wish you were here" card?

today

duke had better lose... seriously. they probably won't. but i'll comment on today's games tomorrow since there's so much yet to come.

here's a random (and likely bizarre) question--if the nature of believing changes, does the belief itself necessarily change as well?

atencion!

so here's the thing, appointment-makers:

when you make an appointment, COME TO THE DAMN APPOINTMENT! please, if for any reason, you cannot make the appointment, i'd appreciate a heads-up. if, after you've made the appointment, write the appointment down the day that you make the appointment. i really need appointments to be met, especially when the appointment-makers are making said appointments for the benefit of someone else.

moral of the story: COME TO THE DAMN APPOINTMENT!

thank you.

so here's the thing, fellow gym-ers:

when you're done with a piece of equipment, WIPE IT DOWN! when you're around the equipment (in the middle of sets, around weights, etc.), GET OFF THE DAMN CELL PHONE! when you're using free weights, DON'T STAND IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR FOR AN HOUR CHECKING OUT HOW MANY WOMEN/MEN ARE CHECKING YOU OUT! when you're on the treadmill, don't stare at my console; JUST BE CONCERNED WITH YOUR OWN DAMN WORKOUT! when lifting near others, STICK WITH YOUR OWN DETERMINED WEIGHT AND REPS! do we understand that our fitness is not competition? do we understand that it's about well-being, not vanity? do we understand that we don't need to be reached at all times in all places? do we understand that you're being )*!@&$^!_(@*#!&@#E and seriously getting in other people's way?

moral of the story: HAVE A SENSE OF COURTESY FOR YOUR FELLOW GYM-ERS!

thank you.

un-garbled

i'm more than excited. first of all, triathlon gear will be easier to obtain than i previously figured. WOO! also, i ran the shamrock 5K (see earlier post), and i felt good through the whole run. WOO again! next, i did more diamond push-ups today! YEE-HAW!!! this tells me that i'm getting closer to my goal of being in shape for august's triathlon!!!!

i'm wondering what i'll do after that...or, for that matter, what i'll do before that. i'm definitely doing the VA 5K memorial day weekend. there's also the dreaded dru hills 10K. you'll have to shoot me afterward to put me out of my misery (see event name), but it's definitely an award-worthy race, very well done. other possibles:

Governor's Bay Bridge Run (5/6)
Lake Roland Rumble Trail Race (6/10)
Philadelphia Distance Run (9/16)
Army 10 (10/7)

pipe dream:
Valley of Fire Marathon, Half & 10K (las vegas, 11/?)

any suggestions?

garbled

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
her placenta falls to the floor
the angel opens her eyes
the confusion sets in
before the doctor can even close the door

lightning crashes, an old mother dies
her intentions fall to the floor
the angel closes her eyes
the confusion that was hers
belongs now, to the baby down the hall

oh now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
I can feel it.

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she's been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes
pale blue colored iris,
presents the circle
and puts the glory out to hide, hide

and this is how it feels with bipolar disorder sometimes, an alternate or sometimes simultaneous awareness of debilitating confusion and fierce clarity, both joined by unrelenting fear locking horns with impossible hope. don't be surprised if that makes no sense. that'd actually be a fairly accurate reaction. today is a day for no decisions, for robotic existence, rote errands, and pre-planned escape from pressure. otherwise, it all falls apart, and the mental sea becomes frighteningly destructive. it's only appropriate that i fear drowning above all things.

eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this little kid has just found her candy store!!!! courtesy of www.SportsIllustrated.com, we have our BRACKET!!!


you can count on seeing a much larger version on the chalkboard in my classroom, with frequent updates throughout game days.

even though i can't stand dicky v...

it's on, baby, yeah!

Shamrock 5K, 3/11/07... and i do have eyebrows.

today was good. dad and i did the shamrock 5K downtown, and we had fun. we had only a few gripes about the race this year, as opposed to the many gripes we had had before, so that was a marked improvement. the field was as big as ever (~3000 runners), and it took dad and i awhile to cross the start line. one of my two favorite things about the race is the descent down charles . as you make your way over the crest of the hill, there's this astonishing view of green flowing down the street. the mass of clover-clad runners boggles the mind. unfortunately, i couldn't obtain any pictures of the route around the harbor, but we basically went around to key highway with a turnaround at jackson and circled back to pratt and ended at Power Plant Live. had it not been for the sheer number of runners, it definitely could be a PR course.


afterward, there was food and fun to be had, with bananas, pretzels, chips, water, and--best of all--FREE BEER. SCORE! to be honest, i've never taken advantage of free alcohol after a race for two reasons. i need to hydrate, not de- after a race. plus, when it comes to drinking, i'm enough of a lightweight as it is. but today...well, it was nice today. because...

today was good.

favorite ways to mellow out

these are listed in no particular order:

1) napping on the couch--it's not the greatest piece of furniture in the world, but my couch is somehow perfect when i need that black-out kind of nap
2) getting psychologized by steve or kim--two fantastic friends who have refreshingly practical views of the world; they ever so gently smack me up side the head when it's too far up in the clouds
3) working out at the gym--i could go on forever about fitness; it's been a part of my life since i was 3 or 4, and i've always found that it can be a most cathartic experience.
4) candle-lit bubble bath--it's just one of those things
5) playing with the dog--messing around with toby brings me back to very simple nature. i throw the ball, he runs and gets it and tries to tackle me upon returning the ball: uncomplicated fun. that's the best.
6) losing track of time as i play the piano--this is where i can really get lost in my own little world. my fingers get swept up in the motion of the melody and harmony, and they pretty much take over, drowning out the din of my surroundings.
7) cleaning the kitchen--there's something about an assertion of order in one of the more chaotic rooms in the apartment.
8) reading/napping by a body of water--i'm not a tanner. i don't go outside with the intent to bake. i slather myself in sunblock and stay in the shade if the sun is wicked. that said, there's something about natural light and warmth in combination with a breeze coming off the water that i find incredibly soothing. that's why i'm so excited to be living across from my complex's pool! awesome.
9) running--this is one of my favorite ways to see the world, and i don't restrict that phrase to discovering new locations. running is simple and democratic. it can simultaneously provide solitude and comraderie. when approached with the intent to enjoy, it brings peace of mind, phsyical strength, and mental endurance. one of my strongest memories of awe and relaxation is my run in culebra, puerto rico. i ran the length of the tiny island in 45 minutes, and it was the first time i'd ever seen anything close to tropical paradise. there's a lot more to that run, but for the sake of brevity, you'll just have to trust that it was breathtaking and life-changing.
10) writing--whether they're in my blog, a journal, a letter (sent or not), words transposed allow my mind to make sense of that which had been plaguing me. they represent a liberty from and produced by my own thoughts. that's a rather complicated part of me, but it is an irrefutable truth that writing is essential to who i am.

underlying almost all of these is music. por ejemplo, jurassic 5 "freedom" is playing as i write this post. "live and let die" and "body rock" accompany my workouts. i fall asleep listening to jazz on npr. i pretty much have some form of music on at all times. this might be a completely ludicrous hypothesis, but i imagine that, when my left brain tries to assert itself with an unusual urgency, the right side protests the stress and thus seeks any and all forms of expression. as music is the most immediately available, it has become integral to my everyday life.

"Yo, raise the level, bass bottom to treble
Forever keep it ghetto
Funk and heavy metal
Fuck the devil
Unify the rebel
Whistle like a kettle
With a fly acapello
Smooth and mellow
Locked load and settle
Shine through times with rhymes bright like yellow
Taste and swallow, lead and never follow
Break it like a bottle
Inspire like a role model"

--"i am somebody," jurassic 5

al franken fans will have a field day with this one...and in other news

when there's not enough fuel for the fire, count on ann coulter to save the day!

and in other news, denmark has a 3rd consecutive night of unrest. while protests and violence are certainly regrettable everywhere, i'm particularly struck by the recent rottenness in this state*. in this case, it's the government vs. the anti-establishment, and it just goes against every image that i have of the Danes. it's such a beautiful country, with a very friendly, laid-back population, and its rather under-the-radar attitude allows for a relaxed flexibility when it comes to dealing with significant social and political issues. i really hope that this situation gets resolved quickly and peacefully.

as anti-american as some may see it, i do agree with critics' denunciation of the Pizza Hut Book-It program. it was implemented in one of the two elementary schools that i attended, and i honestly don't recall my parents ever taking advantage of the free pizza prize. it's not that they would never indulge us; rather, mom and dad had taught geoff and me something very, very important. by the time we were both able to read, my brother and i realized that it was a fun and enjoyable activity all its own. we didn't associate food with reading. that's the problem that i see with the pizza-based incentive program. by and large, youngsters are learning that everything worth doing comes with food attached. there is no emphasis on something being its own reward. i acknowledge that we adults do it too; it's the mentality that if i spend 30 minutes on the treadmill, than i can treat myself to the death by chocolate dessert at X restaurant. the difference comes with impressionability. adults should know better. but in first or second grade, children experience an onslaught of stimuli, and it's their first instinct to choose that which results in the optimal pleasure pay-off, whether or not it's good for them. Pizza Hut should be ashamed of itself (but of course it's not) for taking advantage of a young, captive audience, and this deplorable corporate sponsorship of childhood gluttony needs to end as quickly as possible.

what is going on with men's college basketball? there have been so many upsets of late, and it's made me even more excited about the possibilities for march madness. right now, i'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for both the AP poll update AND the tournament selection. according to an espn "bracketologist" (come on, are you serious?), maryland gets the #4 seed in the east bracket with first round play against gonzaga. with the terps on a hot streak and gonzaga trying to juggle a lot at home, it has the chance of being a really lop-sided game. on the other hand, this is basketball, where it's conceivable that basement-dweller Wake can beat likely season conference winner Virginia. all in all, this is going to be an exciting field this year. and hopefully florida with bite the big one early on. that'd make me pretty happy.

;)


*please excuse my blatant and probably inappropriate shakespeare reference. i just couldn't help myself.

Total K.O. for the Terrapins!

nobody gives UMD credit. people were predicting another NIT appearance, and even with that, a quick exit there. so, you'll understand when i say that this feels good. this feels sooooo good. maryland JUST finished a good old-fashioned beatin on nc state, to round out the thumping of duke and embarrassment of unc. the terps are going to roll into the ACC tournament with great momentum and most likely a #4 seed. i can't wait to see the unc/duke game tomorrow, and i especially can't wait to see the updated rankings.

now, i honestly admit that i really don't pay attention to much basketball outside of the ACC, so i don't know what teams would be a good match for the terps. i don't mean teams that would simply steamroll or anything; i mean those that would push the speed and strategy, one that would force an incredible game. so tell me this--in the ncaa at large, what team or teams would be a great match for the terps?

of course, with all of the upsets lately, top ranks aren't necessarily locked. am i right? it really could be, no pun intended, anybody's game. somebody help me on this. i don't know what i'll do once all the tournaments (conference and ncaa) are over. i think i would cry...

:P

review: Thirsty Dog Pub

Last night, I went to the Thirsty Dog Pub in Federal Hill. I hadn't been there since July of `06, so it was nice to head in again. I'm finding more and more people who have never been to a bunch of the fun places downtown, so in my effort to edimucate newly-planted Baltimoreans, here's a review.

1. Physical environment--rather narrow. I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that T.Dog inserted itself into a former rowhouse, so the width (or lack thereof) can't really be helped. The drawback there is that it makes seating a pain. While they do have two floors, it's still tough to be lucky enough to snag a table or a booth. It's not super-cramped, as you can stand at the sides and everything, so it's not all bad. Grade--C

2. Waitstaff--very friendly, very attentive, and very cool. We basically had three people checking up on us periodically, clearing away the mugs and plates, as more beer arrived. One thing that I really appreciated was that, despite their numerous appreances at our table, they didn't try to jump into our conversations. One of my major pet-peeves is when waitstaff try to insert themselves into parties where they don't really belong. Kudos to T.Dog employees for great service and personality. Grade--A

3. Food--good and fantastic. I ordered the hot pretzel plate last night, per craving, and I got three generously sized servings. To my surprise, however, they were plain. No salt, no nothing. They did have sides of spicy mustard and salt in which to dip said pretzels, but you could only get one end of the bite salty. That was a bit too much for me, as I prefer the salt to be evenly spaced. Eating them plain was fine, and they tasted pretty good, but I wanted the salt format to be different. Now. Completely beyond the A+ grade of food is T.Dog pizza. I can't even describe it. So many flavors, so many intriguing combinations of toppings, so many possibilities for enjoyment (especially the Atomic Dog Pizza, which is two pizzas stacked on each other) that I just can't contain myself. That pushes the grade for food up. Grade--B+

4. Beer--most important. FANTASTIC. I'll admit that I'm not a beer connossieur (sp?), but the number of choices is refreshing. I expecially like the fact that there is no Bud, no Miller Lite, no Coors, no Heineken, no Beast, no nothing shitty. These are all inside jobs, and my order last night was the Black Dog, a nice, dark, smooth brew that is kind to a girl who doesn't drink much. I also like how they bring you two mugs at once. They're not a pint each, so it's not too much, but for some reason it makes more sense to have two. I have no idea why. That's just how I feel. It was good. Grade--A

5. Prices--very reasonable. $3.50 for a quality beer (two mugs) and ~$9 for an amazing pizza. Doesn't get much better than that in gentrified Federal Hill. Grade--A

6. Overall atmosphere--despite the small size, it's a relaxed and fun place. I daresay it's cozy. Everybody there is very chill and friendly, and striking up interesting conversation with other patrons (and I don't mean hitting on the opposite sex) is not unusual. Favorite part (you should not be surprised at this if you know me at all): you can bring your dog. He/she must be leashed, of course, and proper behavior is expected, but the staff is quite agile in navigating the bar with random canines laying around. It just makes the place that much more fun, and the dogs tend to be as relaxed as their human companions. They just lend a bit of ... how shall I put it... that nothing's-so-pressing-that-I-can't-lay-down-and-loosen-up-for-awhile attitude to the place. And that's a mindset that we could all afford to take on. Grade--A+

Overall grade--A. I highly recommend visiting the Thirsty Dog Pub if you've never been there, and I'd recommend revisits for those who haven't gone in a while. It's most definitely worth it!

Next to be reviewed: Little Havana's on Key Highway, Metropolitan Cafe, Vespa's, J. Patrick's, and some pub on Cross & Riddle whose name I can't remember. Look for those critiques sometime in the future.

Okay, now I'm hungry... must eat... :)

Re: Blue Devils Basketball

stick a fork in it--it's done*

terps knock out the tarheels*
terps knock out the blue devils*


wolfpack, your number's up


;)