Early Morning

I'm finding that it is in the very early morning that this city takes on a new light. There have been a number of occasions recently where I have gotten home from work and the day is just barely starting to break, so I step out onto the deck and listen. At this point in the day, I imagine most people's alarms are going off, or they are getting ready, so the accumulation of cab drivers, morning commuters, bikers and frenzied suits rushing to make it to their bus stop in time are all non-existent. Only the occasional car passing slowly by is an indicator of whats to come in a matter of an hour or so. At this time, the city is alive with another presence. The birds talk with one another with a volume close to that of an aviary and above most other species, a collection of robins scattered throughout nearby trees sing the most gorgeous songs, it has literally stopped me in my tracks. The breeze dances through the trees lining the streets with a low whistle that seems to compliment the birds song in a symphonic way. Under that, there is deafening silence, which is so unnatural in this area at any other time of the day, which makes me feel like silence is a sort of beautiful song in itself. This entire experience doesn't bring me to tears, doesn't make any strong emotions arise, but makes me feel a part of it all. I only tend to soak these type of moments in for a few minutes before I bring myself back into my apartment, and back into reality - but I always tend to feel that if there is any advantages to working overnight, it would have to be coming home to moments like this.

End of 2011 - Part I

I suppose anyone who read this blog regularly (and I use that term loosely by how often I actually post) has since moved on to bigger and brighter blogs on the "interweb". I don’t blame them – and if you are reading this, I appreciate it and welcome you back after months of neglect.

To say the past few months were busy is an understatement – work demands were excessive with overtime flowing like wine (though not as delicious), school stretched me beyond my comfort zone and I was forced to learn and be tested on information that has lifelong been my Achilles heel (specifically, all things math), and additionally training for a marathon. Between my regular schedule being so different from the rest of the world and trying to manage work, school, general well-being, and spending quality time with Scott, I have been exhausted. I feel like I could sleep for days, if it wouldn’t get in the way of… well… everything. Not to complain though – everything has truly kept me on my toes and I feel like I’m learning, growing, constantly moving forward and I feel very fulfilled in this journey so far. Being busy, as stressful as it feels, is actually a great thing.

That all being said, let me give you the rundown of how it has all played out.

Work: Going very well. This entire past year of working at night, in spite of the odd hours and toll it takes on my body being a vampire, has been positively life changing. As much respect I have for my boss (namely, her skills and experience – not her atrocious management style), not being around the constant negativity has been wonderful. I can honestly say that I love what I do for a living, I enjoy going to work every day and I am able to have a life outside of it. Working at night compared to the day shift has been like… well, night and day. There are the standard stresses, such as high volume production and the near-unrealistic expectations of what can get done in the amount given, and so on – but all in all, things are going very well. I still have intentions on working more with creating product based around dietary needs, but business (gratefully) has been high and the regular production has occupied all of my time. No complaints there.

School: Like I mentioned, the fall semester included two courses – an Intermediate Algebra (with geometry) course and a Psychology course. Math has always been my weakness, but I was determined to understand it. You could ask Scott and he’ll tell you I spent most of my free time doing homework for that class, but I didn’t want to just settle for passing. And it paid off – I got an A in both classes. The Psychology course, gratefully, was interesting enough for me that I was able to read the material without any problems of boredom arising (and it was perfect for the bus rides down to work – Utilizing time effectively! WOOT!) and I was able to pull information from the class that will benefit my career in the future. So, yes, taking general courses isn’t ideal, but it’s been a great refresher, especially having a specific goal and being able to apply concepts toward that.

Also, I probably shouldn’t mention (but I will) that my final report in Psychology was to diagnose someone I knew who may have a mental disorder and to describe the symptoms and course of action. I wrote about my boss…. and I got an A on the paper. (Truth be told, with all of her craziness I’ve dealt with over the past two years, the paper essentially wrote itself.)

Marathon: Wow. It has really been that long since I’ve written a blog that I didn’t mention this yet. Craz-ay. Marathon #4 was in Indianaplois, Indiana on November 5, 2011 – Scott was busy with being an opera star, so I road-tripped down and spent the weekend there by myself. It was a bit like a mini-vacation and I highly recommend it – especially if a marathon is involved.

I suppose I didn’t have much expectation of Indianapolis, but I found that it is truly a gorgeous city. It has an older, historic feel and mixed with the autumn aspects of cooler weather, varied colors and falling leaves – I found myself speechless at times. The race was the best one I’ve ran so far – a PR (personal record), as they call it – at 4:28:45. My main goals were to be healthy, not obtain any injury during training and to finish strong. My ideal time goal in mind was 4:20:00, so I wasn’t disappointed with what I actually obtained - Especially because I did run the race healthy, injury free and I finished strong.

I also had a very humbling experience while running the race – a little over half way through, I saw a little boy cheering in the crowd that looked just like Benny Watters, (one of the DIPG angels whose family I had the pleasure of meeting a few years back). It took my breath away and I had to do a double take – I mentioned this to Lisa, Benny’s mom, and she told me that she considers that ‘a little wink’. Suffice to say, the remainder of the race had the DIPG angels and brave fighters on my mind and the rest of the 26.2 miles seemed to drift by.

Post-Race Glory/Fatigue

Just after the race in downtown Indianapolis, IN

Their tagline was 'A beautiful place to set your pace' - Initially tacky, but definitely true.

This was my best friend for nearly 3 hours after the race...

My next marathon is scheduled for May 27, 2012 in Madison, Wisconsin. Scott and I were in Madison a few times this past fall for a few of Scott’s performances and it is a beautiful city. I’m already looking forward to the race.

In other news, Scott’s sister, Stacy recently had her third child, a little girl named Antigone (nicknamed Annie). I always love me a new niece or nephew and I have been hogging as much baby time as I can while we’ve been in Des Moines for the holidays. Here are a few pics of the wee one:

Me and Annie (she is only about a week old in this picture)

Scott and the wee one...

Me and Annie (during Christmas - she is nearly a month old in this picture and continually getting cuter)

Today is the last day of my time off from the holidays – I actually go back to work tonight… after being off for over a week (business being slow at the hotel = Paid Time Off!) I am a little apprehensive about what I’m going to come back to. I’m sure more stories will be had and shenanigans will ensue.

Alas, that work bell is faintly tolling and beckoning me… and I should get ready to head downtown – More will be said soon... Not only because it’s a New Year’s resolution to do so, but also because I didn’t even touch on Christmas yet!

Oooh, the anticipation is building…..

Until next time!