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September 27, 2007
working through some kinks
I'm having a hard-ish week. I say "hard-ish," because really, every week is hard. So regular hard is pretty easy for me. But this past week (see, I'm already willing it to be over) has been harder-than-normal-hard. But not unbearably hard. Just hard-ish.
1. Not sure it it's the increase in coffee, or the crappy eating habits, or the general lack of exercise/running I've been doing, but I'm encountering a bit of insomnia. I lay awake, rolling over repeatedly, everything distracting me: the sheets, my clothes, the intermittent traffic, the cats, my ideas.
2. In a strange turn of hormonal events, I've had two non-consecutive days of severe "woman pain." While it's not strange for my cycle to run me through two days of cramps, I've yet to have a bad day followed by a good day just for the bad to return. This might be linked to #1 above as well.
3. I had a perfectly good excuse to NOT help someone out, and I told her no. Then she called this morning and said "Good News! [I found a way around your excuse to say no!]" Um, how is that "good" news?
4. Both big kids went to school this morning in rumpled clothes for picture day. *sigh*
5. In a fit of rebellious frustration, I allowed myself a peek at the "new arrival" shelf in the public library yesterday. Not. Smart. I picked up a new Joyce Carol Oates (title evades me) and _The Road_ by Cormac McCarthy. The good news is that it only took me about 4 hours to read _The Road_ last night. The bad news is that I should have been writing. The good news is I had something to do while I was *not* falling asleep. And I recommend _The Road_ to anyone who enjoyed _Parable of the Sower_ by Octavia Butler or _The Stand_ by Stephen King. It reminded me vaguely of both, except with more sentence fragments. In fact, I think McCarthy must have some rule. Each paragraph with only 2 full sentences. The rest fragments.
Posted by mryonker at 10:19 AM | Comments (4)
September 23, 2007
weekend report
In the list, as they are so efficient!
Picked apples. Good GRAVY, how have I lived in NY for 5 years and not ever picked and eaten Honey Crisp?? They are worth $1 a pound (over .50 more than the other varieties). I'm going back tomorrow to get more. I have eaten FIVE today.
Ran 10 miles. I skipped the 20 last week, but I'm all about the TAPER. :) In two weeks from RIGHT NOW, I will have finished the last marathon I'll run in a good while.
Weighed myself for the first time in about 6 months. And all my belly aching about gaining a few pounds was for not; I'm actually about 5 pounds down from my normal weight. I think it's because I'm replacing muscle mass with flab, though.
Made four apple pies. No Honey Crisp in the pie, though. Macs. We're eating it with vanilla ice cream. I love apple season. Love it. Was I just talking about flab? Get me another piece of pie!!
Made the HOTTEST curry I've ever tasted. It's almost too hot to freekin eat, but I'm stubborn and ate two bowls for dinner last night. The first bite tastes wonderful, until you can't feel your mouth or lips any more, and by the third or fourth bite your guts are warm like you're drinking Wild Turkey. By the middle of the bowl you're wondering whether you'll ever be able to actually taste again. I had a bowl for lunch today but couldn't finish it. I think it actually got hotter.
Used the word "Bourdieu-ness" during my diss-writing session today. Still wondering if that's an effect of too much Panera coffee combined with too much staring at words on the screen, or if I really mean it.
Rode bikes with the kids to the park, where I sat in the warm grass and read papers and the kids swung and jumped from the swings repeatedly. The sky is bluer and the grass greener here than anywhere I've been. I kept getting distracted by the contrast of colors and the shrieks of delight coming from the swingset.
Cut Little J's hobbit-like toenails. They grow so fast I can barely keep them a reasonable length, and his penchant for running around barefoot makes them impossible to get clean. He kicks and laughs and I risk getting clocked in the face, but I escaped unscathed this time.
Posted by mryonker at 08:50 PM | Comments (4)
September 21, 2007
running the numbers
1: number of hours it took me this morning to run three miles with Little J on his bike. We stopped to throw rocks in the river, to look at every spider crossing the road, and at several intervals to simply rest. "We have to rest, Momma. You're tired." It was lovely.
12: number of cavities Little J has in his mouth. Yes, I am completely horrified--not because of the number, but because he'll need 4 appointments to have them taken care of. No 4-year-old should have to go to the dentist that many times in a row in the span of 4 weeks. The reason I am not horrified about the amount of decay is that I went through the "soft bad teeth" thing with H, who had to have a root canal at age 9. I am a oral hygiene nazi and I know there is nothing more I can do to prevent my kids from getting cavities. I don't even buy juice or Kool-Aid. They just have bad teeth. I think Big J might be lucky--so far things have been fine with him. And now that H has all her adult teeth in (and they've been sealed), she's had no more decay either.
16: number of inches of hair I donated yesterday.
3: number of kids in my house who disapprove of the cut--though I think it's growing on them. When asked if they liked it, Big and Little J answered simultaneously, "No."
1: number of songs by Dexy's Midnight Runners I put on D's iPod for her.
Posted by mryonker at 08:35 PM | Comments (3)
September 20, 2007
never been shorter, ever
Gotta love the MacBook screen flash in the glasses. Doesn't seem like I've been fatter, ever, either, from the looks of this. That's what happens when you trade running for a chair in front of a machine. And it takes more food to sustain the sitting in the chair than it does to run for the same amount of time, somehow.
Oh well. I can lose some poundage; I can't lose time.
Posted by mryonker at 09:13 PM | Comments (7)
the re-neg
I have been making substantial headway on my research. So much so, that I no longer need material incentives.
Plus, I think the sheer weight of my hair is causing it to fall out excessively. I dread brushing it; washing it makes showering a 10 minute affair (which in my books is gluttonous).
I've decided that to lop it off would actually HELP me in that it would make life, in general, easier. Then I won't spend an hour each day sweeping up hair off the floor.
My appointment is at 5:30. Wish me luck.
Posted by mryonker at 04:03 PM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2007
i'm working. this is how you know.
I'm up so late writing that I forget what day it is, and then I stand up my running buddy the next morn.
When faced with an extra hour, I write--used to be, I'd run. I did run the Bud Run last Saturday. I ran with J on her first 10K and she did well; we finished in under 1:10. But mostly I am not running. I am writing. The marathon in Albany will just have to be an undertrained adventure.
My left wrist aches. I have arthritis in my toes, and this is the same deep hollow ache--and it hurts even when I'm not moving it. I attribute it to 2+ hours a day at the laptop keyboard. B thinks I should be working at a better keyboard (ie a fullsize) and that might help.
I have completely revised the chapter breakdown. And to me, this is huge progress. As aerobil sez (but I'm too lazy to find/link to the actual post), writing is mostly organizing. I'm working slowly on an exploded outline as ideas emerge (low-tech: newsprint and Crayola markers), and I'm nearly ready to send off the methodology chapter. (But afraid to.)
I've found that when I sit at the machine for 4+ hours at a time, I get a little shaky. And cross-eyed. And when you ask me a question I can't always answer right away because instead I'm TYPING WORDS in my head that I must read in order to respond to you. Sorry.
My house is a HUGE mess. My family is out of socks. I'm lucky H is big enough to do the dishes. B gets disgusted every once in a while and cleans the floors. But other than that: I've got my entire life spread out on the dining room table (and under it as well, in crates) and I've decided that it will JUST STAY there.
I don't cook. B cooks. That means we have steak and Rice-a-Roni most nights. He is a good daddy and puts raw carrots on our plates, too. He will be up for sainthood after this year; I guarantee.
Posted by mryonker at 08:32 PM | Comments (2)
September 09, 2007
a quandry
Reading this morning through my aggregator, I came upon a quick post by Tom Green over at Runner's Lounge about his taper for the Chicago Marathon, which is the same day as our Mohawk Hudson River Marathon, (which is also H's birthday).
I had two reactions: 1) how come we are not on the final taper yet? We still have one more 20-miler this weekend before the final taper. I want to be on *his* schedule!! and 2) dammit, my foot* is still messed up from the 50K two weeks ago, and now I am afraid to run that last 20 miler.
When I posted my race report from the GLER, I mentioned I turned my ankle about halfway through, then finished the race (probably stupidly) anyway. I took nearly a whole week off to rest and heal, and then this week started up again with a couple of 3s and 5s, and all was well. Until yesterday, when we ran 12. Well, I ran 10, because at 10 my foot was starting to protest. After the run yesterday, I had to gimp around again, which really was frustrating. This morning it's still hurting so I'm skipping the 6 on our schedule (and it's convenient, since it's pouring right now anyway).
D has made a kind of promise to herself that once she qualifies for Boston (and then runs it, I suppose) she will be done with marathons.
I think that this race in Albany next month might be my last marathon. For a while, at least. The ups and downs of training and injury, the time, the extra eating, the early mornings...*sigh* It's all very exciting, and the prospect of a project with a goal and a concrete finish is very appealing to me. But this is the second time I'm struggling with an injury before a race. Last time, for Buffalo, I was able to switch my registration and run the half (which is a GREAT distance, btw). The Mohawk doesn't let me do that, and I can't justify paying another $65 or whatever it is to register again for the shorter distance. My options are 1) not run and forfeit my money, 2) run and possibly DNF 3) run and NOT DNF.
The first options are not appealing to me, for reasons I imagine are clear. I have to figure out what to do so that I can recover quickly, maintain my level of training at the same time, and then run to finish (no time goal).
*It is a strange, hard-to-describe ankle and foot pain. The bottom of my foot hurts when my ankle moves.
Posted by mryonker at 08:48 AM | Comments (2)
September 08, 2007
le quik
Music is really important when I write. I need to have a little going on in the background to remind me to not fall into my own brain and go insane. So, when I came across this meme at elevene, decided to take a quik break. As in Nestle Quik, and as in "le quik," because, for some reason that I attribute to my frantic dissertation dash, I have developed an annoying (to others around me) habit of using LE for emphasis.
I don't even speak le Francois.
And I was just thinking last night that I would have to remember to thank Nickel Creek in my acknowledgments, because their music, specifically the This Side album, has become a Pavlovian trick I play on myself: when I hear Chris Thile and Sara and Sean Watkins' voices, when I hear the blistering fast mandolin, I immediately start thinking about narrative theory. It works. I'm not even kidding.
So, for the music meme.
What’s your ringtone?
I pretty much hate ringtones. I don't think my phone even does ringtones (might be why I hate them; I can't have 'em--real mature, huh?). My phone beeps once and then vibrates.
What’s the most incongruous song on your MP3 player?
Whinge. I has no player.
What is the one genre of music you cannot stand?
Don't really have intense dislike of any kind of music; there are songs that I can't listen to because I find them annoying (that Avril Lavigne "Girlfriend" song comes to mind).
What’s your desert island disc?
Probably a Nickel Creek. But that changes, depending on my mood. Jackson Browne's _Running On Empty_ or Fleetwood Mac's _Rumours_ are also "never get sick of" picks.
What’s your musical weakness?
As is evidenced above, late 70s rock. I also love Journey, and this has been cause for my public ridicule on occasion.
Do you play a music instrument?
In high school, I played bassoon, oboe, flute. I took piano lessons as a youngster and can still plunk a few out. Mom taught me to play the guitar (chord strum only) and it's the only thing I still play today.
Best make out song ever?
Gah. I'm finding this question really difficult. Maybe something by Pantera off _Far Beyond Driven._
Best driving song?
Really, anything.
One song that you think everyone should read the lyrics of?
"Don't Drink the Water" by Dave Matthews, or his new "Eh Hee."
Is downloading music for free a sin?
I don't believe in sin.
Do you karaoke?
Nah, I'd rather accompany myself.
One musician you would happily whore yourself to?
Dave Matthews.
First album you ever bought?
B 52s _Cosmic Thing_
Most recent album you bought?
The soundtrack to _House of Flying Daggers_ (iTunes).
Favorite Beatles song?
"Hey Jude."
One song that represents your teenage years?
That's hard, too. I had too many teenage years. "Fascination Street" by the Cure.
One song that represents your 20s?
I started listening to country and bluegrass then; probably something by Bela Fleck or Kenny Chesney.
One song that represents where you are right now?
"With Imagination (I'll Get There)" by Harry Connick, Jr.
One song that represents your blog?
"Soon to be Nothing" by the Indigo Girls. ;)
Posted by mryonker at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2007
poor. neglected. parenthetical.
Yes, I am referring to this blog. As well as my running (I have only half-heartedly been out a handful of times since the GLER), my house (which looks as though that proverbial tornado hit it), and my general sanity and well-being (I have been operating on no more than 5 hours of sleep each night, forgetting to eat during the day while the kids are at school, and my body laughs heartily if I even think the phrase "down dog").
I'm back to teaching, trying like hell to write this dissertation, and working frantically to revise one article and draft another.
As one of my favorites likes to say: "workity workity."
For your enjoyment during what will be long silences here at acadeee, I offer you a not-embarrassing pic from the last weekend, a pic where you can see my bloody leg from when I wrestled with a some brambles during an off-trail foray, and how I will cut my hair AS SOON AS I AM ALLOWED TO by my resident diss-pact enforcers.
Posted by mryonker at 09:46 PM | Comments (4)