another world

I was meeting a friend at Fidos the other night so I got there early to do some reading. It felt so good to just sit there and read a book and watch all the people around me. Lately when I've been at Fidos, I've been with other people so I haven't had a chance to actually take it all in. I felt like I was in another place. It didn't feel at all familiar and yet it was the same place I've been going to since I was in college. I thought of what it was like the first time I looked out that window and how much has changed in my life since then. I thought of Liz over in Korea and what kind of people she sees at the coffee shop she hangs out at. You see just a glimpse of the lives of the people around you and I wonder who they really are? Who am I really? I don't kn0w that I will ever truly know, but I enjoy learning more and more every day.

A friend of mine from college came in town this weekend for a wedding that we were going to. She is engaged to a guy with brain cancer. They have been friends since the 7th grade and now he has a deadly illness. The doctors have said that everyone that has this type of brain cancer has died within 10 years and he basically has about 7 left now. I don't think I've ever really talked to a person that is living their life as if they are going to die soon. He wants to see the world and experience things that most people don't ever get to do in their life. He has already had some amazing opportunities to travel to India, The Himalayas, and all over Europe. He is so positive about everything and has so much passion. It was such an amazing reminder of how important each and every day of my life is and how I can't keep putting off those things that I am passionate about. I don't need to live as if I'm going to die tomorrow, but I need to remember that yesterday is gone and today is a new day.

snow

I really enjoyed January in Nashville this year. It was so beautiful. I think we had at least 1 or 2 60 degree days every week. It gave me so much motivation to exercise and start the year off right. Now that it's February, I'm not quite as excited about the weather or about exercising. It's actually feels like winter now. When I ran on Sunday with Laural, there were little ice balls hitting our faces most of the time. We were just proud that we actually made it through the run.

I do like when it snows though. When I looked out the window Saturday morning, I was very excited to see white. It stopped snowing by noon, so a couple of roommates and I grabbed some sleds and walked to the park at the end of our street. There were lots of kids and parents already enjoying the hills. There were so many different "runs" and we had to try them all. It was so much fun, though I forgot how tiring the walk back up the hill for another ride can be. It really wore us out, but it was so worth it! We didn't go out the rest of the day. It felt so nice to just stay home with the roommates and watch movies. The snow gave me a good reason to stay in most of the weekend and just chill. It think that is exactly what i needed.

finally...

So, I'm obviously not very good at updating this thing (sorry Liz). I started a myspace and it's rather addicting. I had a really busy day at work yesterday, so I'm doing a great job of wasting time today.

I haven't really had a chance to even think lately. There seems to always be something to steal my time away. I've actually been hanging out at home more with my roommates. Jenn had surgery so she has to sit at home most of the day by herself so it's fun to hang out with her in the evenings when I can. The bad thing is that I usually just sit down and watch TV with her... meaning my room is a mess and I am in desperate need of some clean clothes. It's amazing how quickly the few hours I have after work before I should go to bed seem to pass. It frustrates me almost every night that I never make it to bed when I want to.

I went snowboarding in West Virginia over the weekend and it was really fun. We chose the perfect weekend to go. It snowed the entire time. It's always fun to take trips with a bunch of friends. It's such a bonding experience. It would have probably been a little nicer to have a few less people with us though. There were 12 of us and everything just takes longer with that many people. Luckily, the place we went to had night skiing until 10:00, so I made sure I stayed out as long as I could. It was all so worth it. It was kind of a blending of two different groups of friends. It's always fun to hang out with people you don't really know and gain new friendships.

Now, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. I'm still trying to train for a half-marathon and I didn't run for over a week until today. I was really disappointed with myself, but I hope I'm able to get back on track and keep up with it.

new things

I don't know that I necessarily had any new year's resolutions, but there's something about the new year that makes me want to try to be a better person... in many aspects of my life. Obviously I'm not talking about any major changes in my life, but just trying to be more motivated to do what I really want to do.

I started running again. I like to run and I basically hadn't run since high school track until about a year and a half ago. I started running with a group at the YMCA and it was fun. I ran some 5Ks and really enjoyed them. I'm just so bad about staying in shape though. I ran a 5K in September and it kicked by butt. So, now I decided to train (I don't know that train is really the right word for it - I'm just trying to run at least 3 times per week) for the half marathon in Nashville. I have 2 other friends that are doing it with me and that's really the only way to stay motivated. I hope we're able to keep it up until the race at the end of April.

I just started drinking tea. Obviously this isn't monumental, but I've never liked tea before. I tried iced tea when I first moved to Tennessee and wasn't impressed, so I never tried the hot stuff. I read an article about how green tea gives you longer lasting energy than coffee, so I decided to try it for myself. I didn't jump right in with straight green tea, but I tried a blend with a little citrus flavor added and it is quite tasty. I was never an every-day coffee drinker and I still don't want to become addicted to caffeine, so I don't drink it every day, but it's a nice pick-me-up a few times a week.

back to the grind

I'm so excited that it's Friday! The work week is finally almost over. It was so hard to go back to work after having so many days off. I definitely enjoyed having two 4-day weekends in a row, but now this will be my first weekend in town for a while. I was out of town the last three weekends for Christmas and New Years. I got to hang out with most of my family which is always fun. Then I got to head out to Colorado to go skiing. I always forget how beautiful the Rockies are. Sometimes I wonder why I don't live out west, but I'm sure I would take it for granted if I lived there. It also made me appreciate where I live too though. The day we flew back it was over 70 degree so I couldn't help but head over to Radnor to hike. It was a little weird going skiing one day in the wind and snow and the next hiking in short sleeves and capris. I definitely enjoyed the holidays, but now I'm really looking forward to having a pretty chill weekend.

Last night I finally finished reading Pride and Prejudice. It was so good! I already knew the whole story line since I had seen the movies, but it still put a smile on my face. I don't know why. It's not like I have a Mr. Darcy pining after me. I do think I would take Pemberley over Nashville any day though. Reading the book always made me think about what it would have been like to live in the 19th century. Some aspects seem so appealing and others seem to be rather annoying at times. I suppose the 21st century is treating me pretty well.

life at work

Now it's final. Liz gave her notice yesterday that she's leaving Thomas Nelson and moving to South Korea. Everyone seems to be really excited for her (which makes it easier for me to know what it will be like when I decide to move on from Thomas Nelson). I'm really excited because I would love to go visit her, but I am really sad that she won't be in the cubicle next to me anymore. Who am I going to IM when I'm bored or frustrated? It won't be quite as fun at work anymore, but I know I'll make it. It's a job and I need to have one.

I've been more content lately with where I am. I don't necessarily know exactly where I'm going in life, but I'm content that I'm where I need to be right now. That's probably a good thing, or else I'd feel really trapped knowing I have a good friend that is about to embark on an exciting adventure. I'll have my chance sooner or later. I just don't know what my exciting adventure will be yet. I get really excited when I brainstorm the possibilities that are out there, but nothing has presented itself as an opportunity yet.

after thanksgiving

Today I had to go back to work after having a rather nice long Thanksgiving weekend. It's so hard to get back into the swing of things after 4 days of doing whatever you want. It was so nice to hang out with my family. We ate a lot of good food, played a lot of games, and did a lot of hiking. I finished it up by watching the old Pride & Prejudice (after seeing the new movie, I am obsessed and am also reading the book).

I really think we need more weekends like that. Three-day weekends would at least be nice. I've always thought that a 3-day weekend is perfect. You have one day to recover from the week, one day to do whatever you want and feel free from work, and one day to think about having to get up early the next morning. Weekends just go by too fast. It seems they're already over by the time I start to enjoy them. I know I would get bored if I didn't have a job, but I do wish I could create my own schedule. We live so much according to our calendars and clocks and have other people that tell us when we need to be somewhere. It leaves little time for yourself and keeping your thoughts organized. I do tend to be the kind of person that commits to more things than I actually have time for, but there is just so much that I enjoy doing. There are are just so many amazing opportunities and so little time.