the (not fat) cat can't even make it up the stairs. yes, that's right, our house cat beauty was sleeping on the third step this evening when i got home from class. i am loving it.
i was not loving it yesterday though. my roommates set off fireworks at 2:40a yesterday (i have no idea why). one hour later, i got out of bed, threw on my clothes and hopped on my bike. i spent about seven hours yesterday morning volunteering in the transition area at the austin triathlon. though i was loving being around triathletes, after all those hours of standing in the sun, i was ready to take a seat. at some point during those hours, i also remembered a pearl of wisdom ben's new coach shared: recovery means recovery. recovery does not mean that one just doesn't do a workout. recovery means that you really don't do anything except keep your feet up, eat, drink and recover. i probably should have thought about that a little bit more and had today as my recovery day instead. oh well.
my alarm went off at 6a this morning as i had been planning to bond with my tri bike by doing some early morning intervals. unfortunately, however, it was dark outside, so i went back to sleep for an hour. i then got up and got ready to go out, but decided to check my email first to confirm that my lab meeting wasn't until 10a. it turned out my lab meeting was at 9a, so i went running. tomorrow, i think i'm going to be in the pool and on the roads running again in the morning followed by an afternoon easy bike (?). i'm working on a training schedule for myself, but i think i'm still very much in the midst of getting back into the swing of things in austin. i'm still having to do orientation type stuff for the university...and it appears that i may have some new responsibility in my life...
yes, i'm getting an undergrad. i suppose that makes it sound like i'm getting a new pet or something, but that's not exactly right. in the greater scheme of lab hierarchy, you have professors, post docs, grad students (phd students then master's students) and undergrads--the latter being the lowest rung of the ladder. the biomedical engineering (bme) undergrads are required to do a research project as part of their degree requirements, so every semester we have a couple undergrads who come work in our lab. generally they work with a grad student who has an ongoing research project which has some component to it that the undergrad could finish in a semester. my undergrad will be helping me set up and test the new camera system. i had the opportunity to start looking through all the components of our new system earlier today and it has a few extra bells and whistles i wasn't expecting, which is exciting.
i keep getting asked how school is going so far, so i will would like to take a moment to be frank about it. i still don't know how i did on one of the placement tests i had to take when i got back, so i don't know if i can even take one of the classes for which i'm currently registered. i have about zero desire to do any sort of homework at the moment, and i definitely took my advisor up on the offer (which i didn't ask for) to turn in my problem set for his class late. i have been sleeping 9 or 10 hours a night, which is almost twice as much sleep as i'm used to during the term, but which still doesn't seem to feel like enough. i have cried the last couple nights with frustration over my relationship, which ended less than a month ago, but which i've only been able to emotionally deal with since getting back to austin when i didn't have to see said other half everyday. so honestly, the last week back has been kind of rough. i have been seeking solace in the little things: running, swimming, heat and talking to my housemates and other friends i haven't seen in the past few months. i am looking forward to the half-ironman and going to hawaii in october, going to san francisco in november and running the dallas marathon in december.
one of the last days i was in anchorage, i went to a flea market and happened upon a piece of artwork by a local artist. i don't really buy souvenirs, but this seemed oddly appropriate. on a background of various shades of blue was the following quote by isak dinesen:
the cure for anything is saltwater. sweat, tears or the sea.
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