A new experience every day...

Well, I moved into the apartment in Ann Arbor about a week and a half ago now, and I'm still getting adjusted. I've had some new and interesting experiences and have learned a few things, so here they are day by day.

SAT 1/19
Moved in! And my first "cooking" experience. Hah.

SUN 1/20
Realization about birthdays and getting older. It's a strange progression, really: When we turn 14 it's like "Sweet! 2 more years until my driver's license!" When we turn 15, "one more year!" When we turn 16, "I can drive!" When we turn 17, "One more year until I'm 18!" When we turn 18, "I'm 18! I can go to Canada (among other things)!" When we turn 19, "2 more years until I'm 21!" When we turn 20, "Next year!" When we turn 21, "I can drink (legally)!" Then, when we turn 22..."Wow, I'm old...I don't want to face the real world." The excitement of getting older goes away quickly, doesn't it?

MON 1/21
My first full solo grocery shopping experience. I took all 44 items to the self-checkout line and proceeded to have several problems with the computer thingy. The lady was nice enough to tell me halfway through that the self-checkout lines were supposed to be "12 items or fewer" - which is apparently posted. On the floor... So that was fun.

TUE 1/22
My first run in Ann Arbor. I learned that I needed to find an alternate route to get to Barton because Pontiac Trail has no sidewalk and basically no shoulder for a little over a quarter mile, so it was kind of unsafe and crappy. Especially in the snow. The way back was all uphill too, so I had to run uphill in snow. I realized how tough that is and that I'm going to have to get used to the hills out here. It's tough right now, but it will be good for Big Sur!

WED 1/23
My first near-dog attack on a run. Seemed like the owner was a very grumpy/angry person and basically yelled at me because I didn't stop running while she took 5 minutes to reel in her dog.

THU 1/24
Saw the Spirit of the Marathon movie. It was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. It reminded me of why I run. When you see people finish. That says it all. Finishing a marathon has been one of the few moments in my life where I was purely happy.

FRI 1/25
I discovered my puncta lacrimalia, the lacrimal point (on your eye...border...thingy).

SAT 1/26
My first long run in Ann Arbor. I ran down Huron towards the river and through the parks along the river there by the middle of the city and the hospital. It was really nice, though there was a fresh coat of snow (1-2 inches?), so it was a little tougher than I wanted. But that's okay because it was "nice" out. I wanted to take some pictures but apparently my mini camera battery was dead :( Those parks are probably really nice in the Spring!

SUN 1/27
First trip to IKEA. Went to get a desk, bookshelf (ended up being part of the desk), dresser and desk chair. Went to Rose's in Canton with the 'rents for a good dinner. When I got home I put the dresser together. I only hammered my thumb once, so that was good.

MON 1/28
Second trip to IKEA...because apparently there were two boxes for my desk. Who knew? It would have been helpful if the person at checkout said something... Anyways, after realizing it I had to drive over to IKEA at like 8pm and get the second box. I did finish putting it together the same night. It had more parts than the dresser, but I knew more what I was doing, so it went quicker.

TUE 1/29
In our ESD class at work I learned how an Air Ionizer works. Exciting, huh?
My run was in the rain with temperatures in the mid-40s, so I got to wear shorts for the first time in a while!

WED 1/30 (today)
My roommate's sister was here for the last few days painting, so I didn't have an accessible bathroom in the morning. So, I just went and showered and shaved at work...heh. Hopefully it will be the last time I have to do that :)
The heatwave went away with strong winds for highs in the teens today. So I had a chilly 13-degree (-5 wind chill) run. A "fun" run as the ChiRunning book calls the easy ones.
Work sucked, as two of my "projects" at work got questioned, but I got one answered, so that's good. I was really tired all day because I didn't sleep well (noisy wind and painting), so it was kind of a miserable day. I'm surprised how productive I actually was (not very, but more than I expected)...

What has tomorrow got in store for me?

Off to AA

So tomorrow I move in to an apartment/condo thingy up in Ann Arbor. Now I don't have to drive so far to work! We'll see how this goes. I have to learn to cook a little more...

Moose!

See? Everyone loves moose :)

Moose Rescued!

Wintry Week

So, here's what I got for the 10-day forecast while I was looking at work:

(today): 34/28 flurries
TUE: 33/25 snow shower
WED: 35/30 partly cloudy
THU: 31/19 snow shower
FRI: 24/13 snow shower
SAT: 14/9 few snow showers
SUN: 16/13 few snow showers
MON: 24/15 few snow showers
TUE: 25/12 snow shower
WED: 15/9 snow shower

A bit wintry, methinks (except for this Wednesday).

'Ray Bucknell!

Halftime in Iowa: Iowa 20, MSU 18. Yeah, you read that right. That's the halftime score.

Anyways, a guy sporting a Bucknell Lacrosse sweatshirt is sitting right behind the announcers, so we got some airtime on BTN. Haha.

Bison beat Navy last night to open Patriot League play, 85-77. Good job guys! It's nice to have all the injured guys back...

Be Healthy, You Won't Die

Hmm...

Healthy Habits May Give 14 Years

I particularly like this part:

"People who scored four were four times less likely to die than those who scored zero."

Not dying? Now that's REALLY healthy!

2007 - Year in Review

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2008.

2007 was an up and down year for me, but I learned so much about myself, life and the real world. So, here are some things I've learned in the past year...

1. A better idea of what I want in and out of a relationship.
2. That it's relatively possible to be single, but it's tough.
3. People change.
4. The heart does not forget.
5. Friends are very important and so nice to have.
6. I don't take very good care of myself.
7. How important surfaces are when running.
8. How hard it really is to run a Marathon.
9. How important training is for Marathons, and how much a toll it takes on your body.
10. That it's much more necessary to choose shoes by the fit/size, rather than by color/looks.
11. That my toes would eventually cause problems if I wasn't careful.
12. I'm even more passionate about some things than I thought.
13. Yes, I am really that skinny.
14. I'm not very good at writing music. I'm better at lyrics.
15. Las Vegas is not my kind of town.
16. Michigan's economy sucks. So do gas prices.
17. I like to learn, just more at my own pace.
18. School was not very practical...I've learned a lot more at work and from co-workers.
19. How important sleep is to your health.
20. Electrical Engineering isn't as bad as I thought, but I'd still like to find a job I'm more passionate about or enjoy more.
21. I want to live within a 1/2 hour of my workplace.
22. Who invented the glow-in-the-dark toilet seat.
23. It's harder than I thought to pick the up playing the trumpet again.

I'll add more as I think of them. Now for the resolutions/goals...

1. Stick to my running schedule and stay relatively uninjured.
2. Qualify for Boston.
3. Get a permanent job and apartment near work.
4. Take better care of myself and get more sleep.
5. Get better at playing guitar and piano, and work on my vocal range a little.
6. Join a gym so I can run indoors and work out so I can get stronger and feel better about myself.
7. Join a church and church choir.
8. Meet new people.
9. Join some sports teams, maybe via work.
10. Finish my website before I die...ha