things I love about the gym at 5:30 am

I don't have to wade through parking lot sharks to park my car!

There are no lines at the front desk

There are no screaming kids playing hide-and-seek in the locker rooms

There are no screaming kids running through the halls

There are no screaming toddlers crying because they don't want to take a shower

There are no swimming lessons! (and thus no loud kids in the pool)

There are no swimming lessons! (so no parents watching your every move)

You get clean showers - no leftover shaving gel and no globs of hair stuck in the drain

Even though it's god-awful early, at least I'm getting up early to do something for myself

Some mornings there are no other souls in the pools, and when you walk in the water looks so calm and peaceful

Leaving the gym, I can look off to the east, see the pink glow of the sun, and feel ready to face the day.

My Funny Brother

My bro just started using IM, which is causing me lots of outright laughter at work!

A few snippets:

After I complained about a situation at work, he wrote:
"I think when someone gets to be a boss they have a national academy called the NITPICK INSTITUTE OF UPPER MANAGEMENT. There they are told to throw their brains out the window and forget about how to do the job at hand. They are then told to focus on the most inane objects they can find and make them into huge issues. In my office, a chair got broken and the management called everyone AT HOME to see who broke the chair. The Spanish Inquisition PALED in comparison to what we had to go through! Of course, the last thing that they said was that they just wanted the person to take responsibility for what had happened. After that torment, who would want to?"

Later we were talking about casual dress at work and he shared his work uniform:

"Mine is casual too, just so long as I wear shined, black boots, blue Class B Trousers, A long sleeve shirt with patches, American Flag and nicely pressed. Also I am required to wear a bunch of leather. Either I am a cop or I work with a dominatrix..... I hope I work for a dominatrix . . . Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me."

See what I get to put up with? ;)

What Spring Will Bring

It is that notorious time of year . . . the period of winter rest is over and spring's busyness begins! It is Monday evening ... and tomorrow marks the start of spring semester classes.

I am really looking forward to my classes this spring. I am taking Land Use Planning, an interesting subject and with my favorite prof at the Humphrey, so that'll be cool. I'm also taking a half semester class on Current Planning Practices and a day-long seminar/workshop on Grant Writing.

What I'm really looking forward to now is my spring break trip! My friend Kirsten and I will be soaking up the sun of the southwest, an area that draws both of our souls. We scored awesome digs at Bishops Lodge. It sounds so heavenly!

Matt will be doing tons of traveling so unfortunately I will really get used to having the house to myself. This weekend he's in LA (track starter class and world track championships). Between now and April he'll also be in Colorado (taking his natcom class), California (results for Tour of California) and Georgia (results for Tour de Georgia). Rough life, huh?

Bedtime

Last night I was in bed when Matt got home from bowling. Half asleep, I heard the garage door open, heard him come upstairs to change clothes, so I mumbled a "hi" to him. He asked me how my night was, I asked about bowling and about how his cold was doing. It was the simplest of exchanges, only a few minutes' conversation, and yet it felt that my whole evening had just gotten better because I got to talk to my boy. He then tucked me in and went downstairs (he goes to bed a couple hours after me). Those few minutes were one of the highlights of my day. It's amazing how someone can brighten your life like that!

Like Steph

Today is one of those days where I need to just pretend that I'm like my friend Steph, and when I make a decision I need to go with it and trust that everything - including money - will work out.

I've made the big decision to try to quit my job and go to school next year full time - yikes! It's very exciting; I'm thrilled to be a full-time student, be able to focus on my degree, and am open to the new experiences. And I'll be able to finish in one year! It's also very scary though ... no steady income? Unsure about health insurance? I haven't faced these choices for a few years!

One thing's for sure ... life is always interesting and no one said it would be easy.