It might have been just me, but growing up, my folks put a lot of restrictions on soda and TV. We basically got soda once a week as I recall, and we could watch TV on Saturday mornings and most days after school, but we couldn't watch PG13 or R movies and we couldn't watch TV late at night. In fact, we couldn't stay up late -- I remember getting caught reading in bed by flashlight so many times and getting in trouble (and then later, when I got to high school, getting caught on the phone after bedtime).
So of course if I was at a friend's house, I would suck down gallons of soda, watch Nightmare on Elm Street, and stay up as late as I could.
I feel like I'm perpetually at a friend's house now that it's 2018. I know I posted about this before, but I am so DUCKING HAPPY not to have to check my voicemail every day I'm in the office anymore! That was seriously a painful resolution. It's now Friday morning, I'm sitting on a conference call, and my voicemail light has been on since Monday at 10:35 -- and best of all, I have no idea who the message is from!
I know, I know, I actually really do need to check it. It's kind of part of my job. But I feel like I'm rebelling. Maybe I'll give myself through the month of January to recover from my 2018 resolution, and then I'll try to get back in the habit of not letting it sit for more than 2-3 days?
Showing posts with label resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resolutions. Show all posts
Friday, February 2, 2018
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
New resolutions for 2018
I haven't really committed to what my primary resolutions will be this year, but I'm going strong with several. (I always wait until after the 12 days of Christmas are over to get started.) I've got a list of about 10, a few of which (particularly financial ones) are repeats.
But the best part of getting started with new resolutions this year is because I left work with this view on Thursday night:
But the best part of getting started with new resolutions this year is because I left work with this view on Thursday night:
Woohoo!! That's my voicemail light! It's on and I DON'T CARE!
Two of my big 2017 resolutions were work-related. First, to check my voicemail every day I was in the office, and second, to do "more" of my own filing.
Holy crap, checking voicemail sucks my will to live! I hate it so much. I'm sure the resolution was good for me, made me better at my job and all that, but I am so happy to let that resolution go. I only missed 3 days I was in the office in all of 2017, so I'd consider that almost perfect. Considering how much I hated doing it, I'm proud of myself for only missing 3 days.
I'll keep doing some of my own filing this year under similar guidelines to what I used last year -- filing things if I can do some almost instantaneously with sending or receiving a message. But on cases where emails are flying back and forth, or cases where I don't address an email the same day I get it, those still go to my assistant to do. But it's not going to be a resolution this year, it's just more of a habit.
My only work-related resolution this year is to stand for a couple hours per day on the days that I work from home (that's not even really work-related). I've worked from home two days so far and have done it both of them.
Does anyone know details on that whole "sitting is the new smoking" thing? Like if I work from home from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. two days per week, if I stand for 2 hours right at the start, does that give any different benefit (and if so, how?) from if I stand for 2 hours mid-day? And is there any difference if I do two separate 1 hour periods? What about 8 separate 15 minute periods? I read about it a while ago, and part of me thinks the least beneficial would be doing a 2 hour block right at the start of the day and then sitting the remainder of the day, and most beneficial would be doing like 16 separate periods of 7.5 minutes. But is the difference in benefit minimal? Or significant? For this year, I'm just doing the 2 hours however it works out. If it's right at the start and all in one block, so be it, but I'd love to know if I'd get more benefit (and how much more) by breaking it up more or doing it more mid-day.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Being A Big Help
For whatever reason, growing up, it seemed to me to be the highest praise when someone told one of my parents (or when my parents told me) that I was a "big help."
I've gone through phases in my life when I've been a big help to others more frequently, and phases where that hasn't been common.
For a variety of her own reasons, my friend and boot camp buddy Megan committed to do a day of community service each month this year. We were talking about New Year's resolutions, and she mentioned that one. Even though it wasn't my own resolution, I asked her to count me in.
Because of our work and travel schedules, there were a few times she volunteered and I haven't been able to join, so I tried to add a few of my own opportunities as well.
Here's a list of how I tried to be "a big help" in 2017, along with a few pictures, though I'll mostly save those for Megan in case she does her own post (since this was her idea and all!):
January: Tried to assist with the illegal detention of immigrants at the airport. This doesn't really count because, uh, surprise, I have no immigration law experience, and by the time I got there, they didn't really need warm attorney bodies as much as they did the day before. I'm glad I tried to help and that I at least got to express my support for the cause.
February: Volunteering with Megan at a fundraiser breakfast and auction for Back On My Feet, a personal favorite worthy cause -- a structured running program targeted toward individuals living in local homeless shelters. I ran with the group very briefly but stopped primarily due to schedule conflicts (but also mileage needs and not liking hugs), but love helping the group in non-running ways. As such, I was so happy Megan found the opportunity for us to help their fundraiser be successful. Megan thinks I used my line "first ballroom on the left" (complete with charades) about 300 times (directing individuals arriving at the hotel to registration for the event).
March: Setting up for a church service and serving lunch with Megan following the service at a new development in Dallas that has small cottages that are given to chronically homeless individuals. I got to meet Megan's parents for the first time at this event. My husband did not enjoy the church service (there was a testimonial that bothered him), but the people we met at the lunch were great, very interesting.
April: Painting a kitchen at the police department. I have zero painting experience, but it was a fun day, though messy!
April part 2: Working a shift with Megan at a Habitat for Humanity "re-store." I'd never been to one of these, it's basically a big warehouse/store with building supplies and furniture/decorations. The organization had just moved into a new location, so we mostly spent the afternoon moving chairs and other items that were already there or were coming from donors, and sweeping. But other tasks included pulling nails out of wooden beams, setting up a display area for patio sets, being a listening ear for a site manager who was clearly strung thin -- so stressed, so much on her plate in advance of the grand opening, needing to unload, and being "in charge" while the director went to eat -- that was when we realized that we may have been the only adults present who didn't have to be there -- lots of people doing court-ordered community service! I only asked one person how he came to be working the same volunteer shift as us (a kid who was moving beams with us), and he said, "teen court." Oops. I didn't press for details, but he volunteered -- a traffic violation he said, and he was irritated that he was sentenced to more hours than someone with a drug possession charge. Anyway, it was a fun day and entailed some physical labor and sweat, which I know was good for me.
May: Playing with kids at a boys and girls club. I'm a sucker for board games, so this didn't even really feel like volunteering.
June: Working a water stop with Megan for a Back on My Feet race. On a "surprisingly cold for June" day. In the rain. In the pouring rain. Hard to tell you how much more fun it is to run in the rain than it is to stand at a water stop in the rain. It was pouring and we were at a water stop that only served the longer race distance, so we didn't get a ton of runners, and we all huddled in a car (including some in the trunk) after we had the water set up while waiting for the first runners. Brrrr!
July: Helping to serve meals to officers working the local fireworks show. Thankfully, I was not in charge of the grilling. It didn't seem to be going well at times, but fortunately, there was a fire station directly across the street...
July part 2: Sorted part of a mountain of donated clothes with Megan for Muslims For Humanity's Dallas part of Helping Hand. The piles we sorted into were kids summer/winter, women's summer/winter, men's summer/winter, Arab, Pakistani, bags, shoes (and along the way, throwing out anything stained or torn that we wouldn't wear ourselves). The basic distinction between Arab and Pakistani that we were told to use was to put any brightly colored items (saris, etc.) into the Pakistani boxes. I liked doing this, but it felt frustrating because it seemed we barely made a dent in the mountain, despite hours of work.
August: Working with Megan at a United Way event donating backpacks filled with school supplies to kids in need. We first worked a registration tent, then helped with backpack distribution, then we got to enjoy the festival and play games with the kids. We spent most of our game time playing Jenga with various kids, so fun!
September: Babysitting with Megan at a church one Friday night. The program, Rays of Light, is set up for parents to bring their special needs children (and any and all siblings!) to get a night out. There is a police officer present to oversee, and two nurses to help as needed, and about 20 (?) kids, and volunteers for each kid. The boy we worked with in his early teens and was pretty much non-verbal. His favorite thing to do was pick up big legos off the floor and throw them back into the box, which we'd then dump out again. He could do it all night long -- and eat baked potatoes! I'm happy we were able to give his mom a break, and I'm glad we were both assigned to the same kid, he kept us on our toes! I absolutely loved doing this.
September part 2: Volunteered for a couple shifts in the police wives' association tent at an event.
October: Worked with Megan and my husband's cousin who was in town for a visit at our food pantry. Megan and I were assigned condiments which meant sorting through a big pallet box of condiments to check expiration dates, load them into smaller boxes, and then label and close the smaller boxes. That was especially fun for her with a broken finger (only one at the time, she now has TWO broken fingers!). After we finished the pallet of condiments, we moved on to canned goods. My husband's cousin was on peanut butter duty -- unscrewing jars to make sure seals under the lid were intact, checking expiration dates, and boxing. It was a fun afternoon for all of us and something I really enjoyed doing. Our team of about 20 did 8.5 pallets, a total of 11,200 pounds, filling 521 boxes and making for 9,334 meals.
November: Volunteered at another water stop for a race. It was a warm day and after filling all the cups before runners came through, I decided my time would be best spent while runners were passing holding out my gloved hands full of ice for any runners who wanted to grab some. Lots loved the ice cubes to put in their mouths, or just run over neck, arms, whatever for a second. It was a warm day for a half marathon!
December: Worked at a children's Christmas Party with Megan. This was probably the easiest one of all. Basically, we just played Monopoly all night! The game started with two girls who were in seventh grade. After a while, they got distracted and others took their places. It was fun to see them count out change, and the vast differences in mathematical abilities. There was one girl who seemed fairly young and when she landed on a utility (Electric Company or Water Works), she could right away do the multiplication to figure out rent in her head. But another girl who seemed older used her fingers to add up what she'd rolled on the dice. And another girl who was super fast at math and subtraction in her head, even for pretty big amounts (buying property), still used her fingers to count the dots on the dice. They were all fun and sweet kids, easily excited, very enthusiastic and friendly. What a joy! The organization was giving out lots of prizes and all the kids got gift bags.
Looking forward to being a big help again in 2018. It's so good when you have friends who talk you into being a better person!
I've gone through phases in my life when I've been a big help to others more frequently, and phases where that hasn't been common.
For a variety of her own reasons, my friend and boot camp buddy Megan committed to do a day of community service each month this year. We were talking about New Year's resolutions, and she mentioned that one. Even though it wasn't my own resolution, I asked her to count me in.
Because of our work and travel schedules, there were a few times she volunteered and I haven't been able to join, so I tried to add a few of my own opportunities as well.
Here's a list of how I tried to be "a big help" in 2017, along with a few pictures, though I'll mostly save those for Megan in case she does her own post (since this was her idea and all!):
January: Tried to assist with the illegal detention of immigrants at the airport. This doesn't really count because, uh, surprise, I have no immigration law experience, and by the time I got there, they didn't really need warm attorney bodies as much as they did the day before. I'm glad I tried to help and that I at least got to express my support for the cause.
February: Volunteering with Megan at a fundraiser breakfast and auction for Back On My Feet, a personal favorite worthy cause -- a structured running program targeted toward individuals living in local homeless shelters. I ran with the group very briefly but stopped primarily due to schedule conflicts (but also mileage needs and not liking hugs), but love helping the group in non-running ways. As such, I was so happy Megan found the opportunity for us to help their fundraiser be successful. Megan thinks I used my line "first ballroom on the left" (complete with charades) about 300 times (directing individuals arriving at the hotel to registration for the event).
March: Setting up for a church service and serving lunch with Megan following the service at a new development in Dallas that has small cottages that are given to chronically homeless individuals. I got to meet Megan's parents for the first time at this event. My husband did not enjoy the church service (there was a testimonial that bothered him), but the people we met at the lunch were great, very interesting.
April: Painting a kitchen at the police department. I have zero painting experience, but it was a fun day, though messy!
April part 2: Working a shift with Megan at a Habitat for Humanity "re-store." I'd never been to one of these, it's basically a big warehouse/store with building supplies and furniture/decorations. The organization had just moved into a new location, so we mostly spent the afternoon moving chairs and other items that were already there or were coming from donors, and sweeping. But other tasks included pulling nails out of wooden beams, setting up a display area for patio sets, being a listening ear for a site manager who was clearly strung thin -- so stressed, so much on her plate in advance of the grand opening, needing to unload, and being "in charge" while the director went to eat -- that was when we realized that we may have been the only adults present who didn't have to be there -- lots of people doing court-ordered community service! I only asked one person how he came to be working the same volunteer shift as us (a kid who was moving beams with us), and he said, "teen court." Oops. I didn't press for details, but he volunteered -- a traffic violation he said, and he was irritated that he was sentenced to more hours than someone with a drug possession charge. Anyway, it was a fun day and entailed some physical labor and sweat, which I know was good for me.
May: Playing with kids at a boys and girls club. I'm a sucker for board games, so this didn't even really feel like volunteering.
June: Working a water stop with Megan for a Back on My Feet race. On a "surprisingly cold for June" day. In the rain. In the pouring rain. Hard to tell you how much more fun it is to run in the rain than it is to stand at a water stop in the rain. It was pouring and we were at a water stop that only served the longer race distance, so we didn't get a ton of runners, and we all huddled in a car (including some in the trunk) after we had the water set up while waiting for the first runners. Brrrr!
July: Helping to serve meals to officers working the local fireworks show. Thankfully, I was not in charge of the grilling. It didn't seem to be going well at times, but fortunately, there was a fire station directly across the street...
July part 2: Sorted part of a mountain of donated clothes with Megan for Muslims For Humanity's Dallas part of Helping Hand. The piles we sorted into were kids summer/winter, women's summer/winter, men's summer/winter, Arab, Pakistani, bags, shoes (and along the way, throwing out anything stained or torn that we wouldn't wear ourselves). The basic distinction between Arab and Pakistani that we were told to use was to put any brightly colored items (saris, etc.) into the Pakistani boxes. I liked doing this, but it felt frustrating because it seemed we barely made a dent in the mountain, despite hours of work.
September part 2: Volunteered for a couple shifts in the police wives' association tent at an event.
October: Worked with Megan and my husband's cousin who was in town for a visit at our food pantry. Megan and I were assigned condiments which meant sorting through a big pallet box of condiments to check expiration dates, load them into smaller boxes, and then label and close the smaller boxes. That was especially fun for her with a broken finger (only one at the time, she now has TWO broken fingers!). After we finished the pallet of condiments, we moved on to canned goods. My husband's cousin was on peanut butter duty -- unscrewing jars to make sure seals under the lid were intact, checking expiration dates, and boxing. It was a fun afternoon for all of us and something I really enjoyed doing. Our team of about 20 did 8.5 pallets, a total of 11,200 pounds, filling 521 boxes and making for 9,334 meals.
December: Worked at a children's Christmas Party with Megan. This was probably the easiest one of all. Basically, we just played Monopoly all night! The game started with two girls who were in seventh grade. After a while, they got distracted and others took their places. It was fun to see them count out change, and the vast differences in mathematical abilities. There was one girl who seemed fairly young and when she landed on a utility (Electric Company or Water Works), she could right away do the multiplication to figure out rent in her head. But another girl who seemed older used her fingers to add up what she'd rolled on the dice. And another girl who was super fast at math and subtraction in her head, even for pretty big amounts (buying property), still used her fingers to count the dots on the dice. They were all fun and sweet kids, easily excited, very enthusiastic and friendly. What a joy! The organization was giving out lots of prizes and all the kids got gift bags.
Looking forward to being a big help again in 2018. It's so good when you have friends who talk you into being a better person!
Friday, November 17, 2017
2018 ideas
It's certainly the time of year to start thinking about resolutions, where the past year has gone, where the next year is going. This year I feel like I'm thinking about it earlier than usual. Maybe it's because I'm kind of on my Christmas game but I'm dreading the thought of gaining weight with any of the upcoming trips, parties, etc. Perhaps because I gained A LOT of weight on vacation and in an insanely stressful (work-related) first couple weeks home, I'm pondering a lot of food-related ideas for my 2018 resolutions.
I had a significant list of 2017 resolutions (that I really should review again), but the new and challenging ones for me were both work-related this year. First was to check my voicemail every day I'm in the office and there's a message. I've failed at this a few times (less than 4 I think), and there have even been a few times I've checked my voicemail when not in the office. So I'm counting this as a huge success, but man, I can't wait for January 1 so that I can be done with this. I hate voicemail so much. Second was to do "more" of my own filing. It wasn't a well-defined goal, but I basically have decided to file any emails I send right after I send them, and to file any emails I receive if I deal with them that day (if I deal with them later, then they go to my assistant to file). I haven't done filing when it's a flurry of emails on one case sometimes, but this has also been a smashing success, and is something I will aim to continue.
My ideas for 2018 so far, and I'm just thinking:
Trying vegetarian whole 30.
Trying to meal plan and meal prep a vast majority of Sundays we're in town.
Cutting out all non-pizza or non-dinner party cheese consumption at home.
Stopping drinking all espresso.
Grateful journal.
Some of them I've done before either as a resolution or during Lent, but some are totally new. Good thing I have many weeks to still consider.
I had a significant list of 2017 resolutions (that I really should review again), but the new and challenging ones for me were both work-related this year. First was to check my voicemail every day I'm in the office and there's a message. I've failed at this a few times (less than 4 I think), and there have even been a few times I've checked my voicemail when not in the office. So I'm counting this as a huge success, but man, I can't wait for January 1 so that I can be done with this. I hate voicemail so much. Second was to do "more" of my own filing. It wasn't a well-defined goal, but I basically have decided to file any emails I send right after I send them, and to file any emails I receive if I deal with them that day (if I deal with them later, then they go to my assistant to file). I haven't done filing when it's a flurry of emails on one case sometimes, but this has also been a smashing success, and is something I will aim to continue.
My ideas for 2018 so far, and I'm just thinking:
Trying vegetarian whole 30.
Trying to meal plan and meal prep a vast majority of Sundays we're in town.
Cutting out all non-pizza or non-dinner party cheese consumption at home.
Stopping drinking all espresso.
Grateful journal.
Some of them I've done before either as a resolution or during Lent, but some are totally new. Good thing I have many weeks to still consider.
Friday, January 1, 2016
5 years later
Back in December 2010, one of the bloggers I've read the longest, Bella, got me into doing a series of prompts in December that were on such interesting topics.
One of the prompts in December 2010 was to write a letter to yourself going into 2011 from the year 2015. And I did it! And now, 5 years later, I'm still blogging, and it's going to be 2016 soon.
Here's my original post (and here was Bella's), I thought it would be fun to see where things stand now.
The prompt was awkwardly phrased, telling you to imagine yourself 5 years from now (in Dec. 2010) and give advice to your current self for the year ahead. I kind of blew that off, saying that I didn't really see any big changes in 2011 (other than knowing my 2 youngest brothers were getting married that year), and I was kind of hoping my life would be basically the same at the end of 2011 as it was at the end of 2010. The biggest struggle for me at the end of 2010 was that I didn't really like my job, but the rest of my life was pretty much just as I wanted it.
I chose to look at the question based on the main categories of how I define myself set out on my About Me page.
Runner. In late 2010 (almost 3 months after my first BQ), I figured that by late 2015, "I hopefully will have run Boston and requalified several times" and I'd have run several other marathons that were of interest, as well as a trail race and an ultra. And I'd still run with the same crew, and hoped 2 friends who had left our crew would be back.
Status: Well, I've run Boston and I have requalified on more than one occasion, but I'm not presently qualified, and I'm a long way from it! But running Boston and having the option to do so again was the real goal in 2010 looking toward 2015, and I've accomplished that. As to the other aspects of my 2010 running goals/predictions for 2015, I've made some progress. I have done a couple of the other marathons on my list, as well as a bunch of other marathons. But I didn't really run a trail race or an ultra -- I did a marathon that was partially on trails (the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon) and in training for that, I did 27 miles of walking while wearing the extra 40 pounds I carried on my back for that marathon. But neither of those are really what I envisioned 5 years ago as "doing a trail race" and "running an ultra." But as predicted in 2010, I still run with the same group of people. But sadly, my 2010 dream was that two of my favorite running buddies who both moved to Cali would move back to Dallas, and neither of them has (but I'm still in touch with both, just visited the So-Cal one (and his wife and son) this past summer!). But I've met some new running friends over the last half decade and those have been great experiences too.
Wife. In late 2010, I wanted 2015 to have us as a settled and secure married couple, who know each other well and think of each other first. I knew that would be tough (not just because I'd been unmarried for the first 30+ years of life), but I wanted to always think before speaking, to make more of an effort to let the little things go and to have the word "squadra" (Italian theme for our goal marriage) at the forefront of my actions.
Status: Going stronger than ever! Feel very secure and settled, but there are definitely times we each think of ourselves first, and less like a team. But I'm better about not sweating the small stuff, and we work on being a "squadra."
Vegetarian. Five years ago, it was easy to predict that I'd still be a vegetarian. I also predicted that I'd have even gone vegan on many days. In 2015, I wanted to be an adventurous cook, always trying new recipes and relying more frequently on homemade leftovers for lunch instead of frozen meals or restaurants.
Status: Definitely still a vegetarian. More vegan days since November 1, 2015 than probably in the last 5 years combined, but still far from being a real vegan. I'd say I'm a pretty adventurous cook, but I still don't cook enough. I work a lot and we go to bed usually not too long after I get home from work, so almost all weeknights it's something in the microwave (usually something from the in-store prepared meals section from the grocery). And it's leftovers for lunch maaaaybe once a month. When I cook on the weekend, there are usually leftovers, but I use those for other dinners and still eat Amy's frozen meals for lunch most days (though now vegan meals more often).
Dallas-dweller. In 2010, I wasn't certain where we'd be living today. I knew it was most likely the same place we lived in 2010, but there were thoughts of moving back near my parents or near my in-laws, or maybe even to near my husband's family in Italy. In 2010, my husband had said he really didn't want to move until 2016 or ideally after 2020. In 2010, my immediate hope was to make progress hammering down the mortgage in 2011.
Status: Same, same! Happily living in the same condo and no plans to move on the horizon. Earlier this year, I had a strong bug to move to San Fran, and I'd still love to do that, but my husband still isn't ready to change jobs and it's not really on the radar anymore. I did refinance the mortgage at least once, maybe even twice, and I'm working on paying it off ahead of schedule.
Attorney. In 2010, I expected that right now I'd still be a a practicing attorney and that I'd love my job. In late 2010, I knew the 2015 plan was likely going to require change from where I was in 2010, either by making some changes to how my 2010 job worked, or changing jobs. I also expected that in 2015 I'd be a zealous advocate for a pro bono cause dear to my heart, and doing what I can to help children who encounter worse circumstances in their living arrangement than most people can imagine or would ever want to consider.
Status: Success! Crazily enough, I changed jobs within about 3 months of writing out these predictions in 2010 and I'm still at that job. Up until a few weeks ago, I loved it more than I thought it was possible to love a job. The last couple months have been exceptionally stressful and yielded an unmanageable caseload, but that is presently slowly resolving. The last few weeks have also added some very stressful salary negotiations, but as of last week (a call with the president of the sub for which I work, after multiple conversations with my boss, and with the president of my division), it seems like the negotiations are going well and I'm optimistic it will get worked out within the next couple weeks. If it doesn't that will leave me in an awkward spot -- I don't want to change jobs, but I also don't want to be paid less than I believe (and apparently my boss, the president of my division, and the president of our sub) I deserve, it's just a matter of working out when and how that will happen. If they don't make it happen, I don't want to leave, but I might try to make myself look. It would all just be so much easier if they could just give me what I ask for immediately, sigh!
Traveler. In 2010, I was hoping that in 2015 I'd still go overseas every year, and roughly every other one of those trips would include Italy. I wanted to get better at speaking Italian and even learn some dialect. I planned on speaking Italian at home more and going back to an Italian conversation group, but adding some actual studying outside of class. I hoped that by 2015, I'd have "been to Egypt, India and/or China." I wanted to manage my work schedule and finances as needed to allow for an overseas trip each year, knowing that big trips overseas tend to strengthen our marriage, my perspective, and my sanity.
Status: I'd say success! We have gone overseas every year for the last five years (including trips to many places I've long dreamed of going), and there's nothing like planning a wedding in an isolated non-touristy part of Italy where you pretty much can't find a wedding planner to force your Italian language skills to improve! Unfortunately, even though I was able to communicate pretty easily a couple months ago in Italy, I don't work on my Italian as much as I should. I really would like to use it more at home (though prioritizing open and clear communication is certainly more important), I really should go back to conversation group (my husband still goes weekly), and I really should study on my own. I'd say I've met my actual travel goal -- I've been to India AND China (and I would have gone to Egypt, but for that political stuff...). And, to excuse my lack of Italian studying, in my defense, I've taken Chinese class for a pretty long time (though you wouldn't really know that to hear me speak). Honestly though, "learning" is something I should put more effort into going forward. Italian, Chinese, French or something new, I should just buckle down and spend at least an hour a week on it. I usually like trying to unplug on the weekends, but it's turned into lazily watching TV lately instead of even just pulling out a language book and working on it. Guess now's the perfect time to make some kind of resolution...
There was also a bonus question in December 2010, looking back at where I was 10 years earlier (December 2000) and thinking what advice I wished I'd had then. In December 2000, I had just found out I passed the bar and was settling into my first few months of work. The main thing lacking from my life then was work-life balance, and there were lots of dinners at work that were bad for my social life and my waistline. But in December 2010, I recognized that I was quite content, and everything in December 2000 worked out just right to lead me to where I was in December 2010.
I feel that same way now, looking back at December 2010. It all worked out just right. There were lots of changes between December 2000 and December 2010 (job change, starting running, dating, meeting and marrying my husband, etc.), but there have been very few changes between December 2010 and today (the primary one being my job), and I don't really expect much to change in the next 5 years. I'm actually hoping very little will change -- I'd be very content to still be running the same mileage, still traveling, still at the same job and in the same condo with the same guy, going to visit the same relatives...
If I get motivated, maybe I should now try to look ahead to December 2020... But that would be three posts within a week, and yow, that's just unsustainable these days!
One of the prompts in December 2010 was to write a letter to yourself going into 2011 from the year 2015. And I did it! And now, 5 years later, I'm still blogging, and it's going to be 2016 soon.
Here's my original post (and here was Bella's), I thought it would be fun to see where things stand now.
The prompt was awkwardly phrased, telling you to imagine yourself 5 years from now (in Dec. 2010) and give advice to your current self for the year ahead. I kind of blew that off, saying that I didn't really see any big changes in 2011 (other than knowing my 2 youngest brothers were getting married that year), and I was kind of hoping my life would be basically the same at the end of 2011 as it was at the end of 2010. The biggest struggle for me at the end of 2010 was that I didn't really like my job, but the rest of my life was pretty much just as I wanted it.
I chose to look at the question based on the main categories of how I define myself set out on my About Me page.
Runner. In late 2010 (almost 3 months after my first BQ), I figured that by late 2015, "I hopefully will have run Boston and requalified several times" and I'd have run several other marathons that were of interest, as well as a trail race and an ultra. And I'd still run with the same crew, and hoped 2 friends who had left our crew would be back.
Status: Well, I've run Boston and I have requalified on more than one occasion, but I'm not presently qualified, and I'm a long way from it! But running Boston and having the option to do so again was the real goal in 2010 looking toward 2015, and I've accomplished that. As to the other aspects of my 2010 running goals/predictions for 2015, I've made some progress. I have done a couple of the other marathons on my list, as well as a bunch of other marathons. But I didn't really run a trail race or an ultra -- I did a marathon that was partially on trails (the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon) and in training for that, I did 27 miles of walking while wearing the extra 40 pounds I carried on my back for that marathon. But neither of those are really what I envisioned 5 years ago as "doing a trail race" and "running an ultra." But as predicted in 2010, I still run with the same group of people. But sadly, my 2010 dream was that two of my favorite running buddies who both moved to Cali would move back to Dallas, and neither of them has (but I'm still in touch with both, just visited the So-Cal one (and his wife and son) this past summer!). But I've met some new running friends over the last half decade and those have been great experiences too.
Wife. In late 2010, I wanted 2015 to have us as a settled and secure married couple, who know each other well and think of each other first. I knew that would be tough (not just because I'd been unmarried for the first 30+ years of life), but I wanted to always think before speaking, to make more of an effort to let the little things go and to have the word "squadra" (Italian theme for our goal marriage) at the forefront of my actions.
Status: Going stronger than ever! Feel very secure and settled, but there are definitely times we each think of ourselves first, and less like a team. But I'm better about not sweating the small stuff, and we work on being a "squadra."
Vegetarian. Five years ago, it was easy to predict that I'd still be a vegetarian. I also predicted that I'd have even gone vegan on many days. In 2015, I wanted to be an adventurous cook, always trying new recipes and relying more frequently on homemade leftovers for lunch instead of frozen meals or restaurants.
Status: Definitely still a vegetarian. More vegan days since November 1, 2015 than probably in the last 5 years combined, but still far from being a real vegan. I'd say I'm a pretty adventurous cook, but I still don't cook enough. I work a lot and we go to bed usually not too long after I get home from work, so almost all weeknights it's something in the microwave (usually something from the in-store prepared meals section from the grocery). And it's leftovers for lunch maaaaybe once a month. When I cook on the weekend, there are usually leftovers, but I use those for other dinners and still eat Amy's frozen meals for lunch most days (though now vegan meals more often).
Dallas-dweller. In 2010, I wasn't certain where we'd be living today. I knew it was most likely the same place we lived in 2010, but there were thoughts of moving back near my parents or near my in-laws, or maybe even to near my husband's family in Italy. In 2010, my husband had said he really didn't want to move until 2016 or ideally after 2020. In 2010, my immediate hope was to make progress hammering down the mortgage in 2011.
Status: Same, same! Happily living in the same condo and no plans to move on the horizon. Earlier this year, I had a strong bug to move to San Fran, and I'd still love to do that, but my husband still isn't ready to change jobs and it's not really on the radar anymore. I did refinance the mortgage at least once, maybe even twice, and I'm working on paying it off ahead of schedule.
Attorney. In 2010, I expected that right now I'd still be a a practicing attorney and that I'd love my job. In late 2010, I knew the 2015 plan was likely going to require change from where I was in 2010, either by making some changes to how my 2010 job worked, or changing jobs. I also expected that in 2015 I'd be a zealous advocate for a pro bono cause dear to my heart, and doing what I can to help children who encounter worse circumstances in their living arrangement than most people can imagine or would ever want to consider.
Status: Success! Crazily enough, I changed jobs within about 3 months of writing out these predictions in 2010 and I'm still at that job. Up until a few weeks ago, I loved it more than I thought it was possible to love a job. The last couple months have been exceptionally stressful and yielded an unmanageable caseload, but that is presently slowly resolving. The last few weeks have also added some very stressful salary negotiations, but as of last week (a call with the president of the sub for which I work, after multiple conversations with my boss, and with the president of my division), it seems like the negotiations are going well and I'm optimistic it will get worked out within the next couple weeks. If it doesn't that will leave me in an awkward spot -- I don't want to change jobs, but I also don't want to be paid less than I believe (and apparently my boss, the president of my division, and the president of our sub) I deserve, it's just a matter of working out when and how that will happen. If they don't make it happen, I don't want to leave, but I might try to make myself look. It would all just be so much easier if they could just give me what I ask for immediately, sigh!
Traveler. In 2010, I was hoping that in 2015 I'd still go overseas every year, and roughly every other one of those trips would include Italy. I wanted to get better at speaking Italian and even learn some dialect. I planned on speaking Italian at home more and going back to an Italian conversation group, but adding some actual studying outside of class. I hoped that by 2015, I'd have "been to Egypt, India and/or China." I wanted to manage my work schedule and finances as needed to allow for an overseas trip each year, knowing that big trips overseas tend to strengthen our marriage, my perspective, and my sanity.
Status: I'd say success! We have gone overseas every year for the last five years (including trips to many places I've long dreamed of going), and there's nothing like planning a wedding in an isolated non-touristy part of Italy where you pretty much can't find a wedding planner to force your Italian language skills to improve! Unfortunately, even though I was able to communicate pretty easily a couple months ago in Italy, I don't work on my Italian as much as I should. I really would like to use it more at home (though prioritizing open and clear communication is certainly more important), I really should go back to conversation group (my husband still goes weekly), and I really should study on my own. I'd say I've met my actual travel goal -- I've been to India AND China (and I would have gone to Egypt, but for that political stuff...). And, to excuse my lack of Italian studying, in my defense, I've taken Chinese class for a pretty long time (though you wouldn't really know that to hear me speak). Honestly though, "learning" is something I should put more effort into going forward. Italian, Chinese, French or something new, I should just buckle down and spend at least an hour a week on it. I usually like trying to unplug on the weekends, but it's turned into lazily watching TV lately instead of even just pulling out a language book and working on it. Guess now's the perfect time to make some kind of resolution...
There was also a bonus question in December 2010, looking back at where I was 10 years earlier (December 2000) and thinking what advice I wished I'd had then. In December 2000, I had just found out I passed the bar and was settling into my first few months of work. The main thing lacking from my life then was work-life balance, and there were lots of dinners at work that were bad for my social life and my waistline. But in December 2010, I recognized that I was quite content, and everything in December 2000 worked out just right to lead me to where I was in December 2010.
I feel that same way now, looking back at December 2010. It all worked out just right. There were lots of changes between December 2000 and December 2010 (job change, starting running, dating, meeting and marrying my husband, etc.), but there have been very few changes between December 2010 and today (the primary one being my job), and I don't really expect much to change in the next 5 years. I'm actually hoping very little will change -- I'd be very content to still be running the same mileage, still traveling, still at the same job and in the same condo with the same guy, going to visit the same relatives...
If I get motivated, maybe I should now try to look ahead to December 2020... But that would be three posts within a week, and yow, that's just unsustainable these days!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Resolutions, belatedly
So many blogs I read do these great posts recapping how they did on their prior year's resolutions and making new ones, but the general chaos that seems to be my life right now meant that I missed that boat.
A quick look at my 2014 resolutions. Haha, looking back, I set them Feb. 1! So maybe being behind the curve on resolutions is just my thing the last few years? Anyway, lots more detail in the original post about what my intentions were, but here's the basic pass/fail test:
Overall, I don't think I did well. I wish I'd done periodic check-ins to remind myself of my resolutions.
This year? I want to make some of the same ones I had last year and actually do them in 2015!
How about if I only set 6 for this year? Better chance of achieving them?
I thought about putting something about languages on there, but it's going to be a half-@ssed year -- I want to keep up the Chinese but my husband really wants me to get back to Italian if we're going to visit his family in the fall, which is the current plan. Maybe I should resolve to study a foreign language at least 30 mins per week and attend one foreign langauge class per week? That would let me to go back and forth between Chinese and Italian.
I really should do the entertaining one again. I love that resolution and this past year shows me that if I don't think about my resolution, it doesn't just happen on its own accord, so a resolution might get me to have people over more.
I definitely should put the scrapbook back on the list. It's not going to get easier as the years pass! I need to get it done already and put it with our wedding books.
A quick look at my 2014 resolutions. Haha, looking back, I set them Feb. 1! So maybe being behind the curve on resolutions is just my thing the last few years? Anyway, lots more detail in the original post about what my intentions were, but here's the basic pass/fail test:
- Travel -- one new-to-me country, 6 fun trips NOT FOR WORK AT ALL. New country done x3 (India, Nepal, UAE). Fun trips? Houston (doesn't really count since I drove), Mardi Gras, New Mexico (stayed at the same hotel where I stay for work, but with hubby and no work purpose to trip), home x2 (over the Fourth and Christmas), Pittsburgh, Portland, San Antonio (I said by plane, didn't say it had to be out of state!). That's 8 trips for fun, done. PASS.
- Unplug before bed -- total fail. I think I forgot this was even a resolution! FAIL.
- Entertain -- 6 dinner parties including 3 new to our home couples. Sigh. I wish I'd done better with this. I did pull off a pretty large surprise party for my husband, so we definitely got 3 new couples. And I can think of three other non-book club dinner parties (Italian friends, our anniversary, and the blueberry dinner) , but I definitely didn't plan out smaller dinners every couple months with friends at home as I did before. Maybe I should give myself partial credit for hosting houseguests at least four times? FAIL.
- Legit PR -- FAIL. Miserably. 2014 included 3 marathons, 3 half-marathons, 15 other races (5k-20k), and ZERO legitimate PRs. I'm a little surprised to see that I had 21 races throughout the year, and three months (Feb., Aug., Oct.) only had 1 race each.
- Significant number of running commutes -- FAIL. I barely did this at all. Partially because I did a lot more yoga, and I can't really do both. If I'm doing yoga, it is after work, and I have to bust my butt, driving as fast as possible to get there from the office. Even if I ever was able to leave the office at 5 to have time to get to the 6:30 class on foot, I'd still have to deal with getting my yoga mat there, running home afterward, etc. Just not doable. And I don't think prioritizing yoga was a bad choice overall.
- Lose weight -- FAIL. I'm about where I was last year, if not a little higher. I stayed within the same range that I've been in for the last decade nearly, so I guess this wasn't really a priority.
- Finish our wedding scrapbook -- FAIL. I made some progress early in the year, but I really should make that a goal before our sixth anniversary in April.
- Complete a 30 day Bikram Yoga Challenge -- PASS. Done in April, complete with a few days of doubles. I also attended pretty regularly all year.
Overall, I don't think I did well. I wish I'd done periodic check-ins to remind myself of my resolutions.
This year? I want to make some of the same ones I had last year and actually do them in 2015!
- Legit PR. Any distance, but legit. I think this is a long shot.
- Return of the running commute. I barely ran to work at all in 2014, after doing it for almost all my possible commutes in 2013. Remember how 2013 included about 4 legit PRs and 2014 only included 1 that was illegitimate at that (a new-to-me distance)? Hmm, I don't believe in coincidences! But I'm probably waiting until Feb. to implement this. It's blasted cold here lately! We've had lows in the 30s lately and sometimes highs in the 40s (60s and 70s this past weekend, but they say more cold is coming). I'm going to be gentle with myself. Plus, January is a Bikram yoga kind of month for me. The 105 degree heat feels good with the cold temps outside. I really like to be warm!
- New to me country. Odds are that it will be Morocco, but as long as I get to check out a totally new country, I'll be proud of myself.
- Laying out morning clothes the night before. My husband is awesome at doing this and I'm not sure I like it, but I'm doing it. In the end, I feel like it means less sleep for me. I still wake up at the same time in the morning (anywhere from 4:30 to 5, depending on the day of the week (run v. boot camp)), but now that my clothes are laid out, I probably go to bed 1-2 minutes later than I would have. So it's less sleep overall, but I look more put together? Not that anyone cares. But I will admit, that it's nice not to have to think about it in the morning, and if something takes longer than planned (filling a water bottle, putting a contact in inside out, whatever), I've got an extra minute or two.
- Dental appointment. I am very consistent about going to the dentist twice a year for cleanings, but when I went in November, I had "the beginnings of a small cavity" and they said I need to come back and have it filled. That sounds awful so I've been dragging my feet. It needs to get done -- preferably in the first 60 days of 2015.
- Church 26 weeks of the year. So far we are at 0. We did better last year when it was MORE difficult with my husband's work schedule! Need to get back on that horse.
How about if I only set 6 for this year? Better chance of achieving them?
I thought about putting something about languages on there, but it's going to be a half-@ssed year -- I want to keep up the Chinese but my husband really wants me to get back to Italian if we're going to visit his family in the fall, which is the current plan. Maybe I should resolve to study a foreign language at least 30 mins per week and attend one foreign langauge class per week? That would let me to go back and forth between Chinese and Italian.
I really should do the entertaining one again. I love that resolution and this past year shows me that if I don't think about my resolution, it doesn't just happen on its own accord, so a resolution might get me to have people over more.
I definitely should put the scrapbook back on the list. It's not going to get easier as the years pass! I need to get it done already and put it with our wedding books.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
2014 Resolutions
As always, I'm late in making them (the latest I've ever been in fact), but I think I have some good ones this year. One of them is actually so challenging that I've really delayed in deciding on my official resolutions -- when I write it down, then it's on. Since we loved our trip to China in 2012, I thought my new goal for the resolutions would be Chinese New Year on Jan. 31, which lets me start on Feb. 1, which has at least a bit of a "beginning" feel to it.
1. Travel for fun! At least one new country! And get on a plane to go somewhere for pleasure at least six times during the year! I'm hoping that I actually do less travel for work in 2014. As one attorney that I use for a lot of Pennsylvania case has worked on my cases for longer, I'm starting to trust him more and will feel less need to go out there and oversee his performance in arbitrations, etc. I'll still have to go for settlement conferences and mediations (and god forbid trials, if I ever authorized that!), but it should be less work travel in general. I'm hoping to actually go to multiple new-to-me countries, but I'd be happy with just one.
2. Unplug. Specifically, no playing on my phone when I go to bed. This one is going to be tough, tough, tough, and the reason I have waited until Chinese New Year to start my resolutions. I have been trying to define exactly what this means. My husband and I usually go upstairs at the same time, but it takes him A LOT longer to get ready for bed. So I was trying to decide if I could play until he came to bed (particularly since we don't really talk anyway while he is brushing teeth, going to the bathroom, etc.), and whether I could use the phone to check email and weather, and to set my alarm and to text. I've decided there will be absolutely nothing on the phone except responding to texts after he goes to bed.
3. Entertain. At least 6 dinner parties. And include at least 3 people or couples who haven't been over for dinner before. This is a repeat resolution for me, but one I like to make because it presses me to do this when I might otherwise be lazy. I love cooking and I love when we have people over and we don't have to worry about a waiter trying to turn the table, the noise, etc.
4. A legit PR. I won't specify the distance, but ideally, it will be the half marathon (though if we're talking IDEALLY, I'd prefer marathon or 5k). I know I've said it before, but I've been running for a long time as an adult and I think my PR days are numbered, but hopefully I've got at least one more in these old legs. I'd actually be very happy with pretty much any legit PR -- I am not counting 8k as legit since my PR is old and easily beatable if I'd just run that distance again.
5. A significant number of running commutes. I won't set a number. My office is just under 4 miles from my house each way, so there's no reason I can't get back into doing this. Last year, I commuted by running about 80% of my possible commutes for the first 9 months of the year. Then I slacked off after the Berlin marathon. And I'm not sure I've done it more than once or twice so far this year.
6. Lose weight. So cliche, right? But I want to get back to my "happy number" which is a few pounds above my racing weight. I think it's been a bad combination in the last four months of many vacation days with indulgent food and drink, laziness, lack of a goal race, stress at work and poor sleep. All that has resulted in I think the most I've weighed in at least 5 years. Ugh. I'm not happy with the way I look or feel. Hopefully a few weeks of cleaning things up and not bailing on my workouts (or the effort I put forth) will get me back where I want to be, but then I want to stay there. No more triple marathons and laziness!
7. Finish our wedding scrapbook. By george, this is going to be the year! Our fifth anniversary is in April, and I want it done! I have the scrapbook sitting out in plain view in the living room, but it's still only about 60% complete.
8. Do another 30 day Bikram yoga challenge. I did less yoga in 2013 than before, and I missed it. While I've frequently noted that a 30 day challenge seems to be bad for my marriage, we can survive one month of not seeing each other enough. It makes me feel so much calmer, more flexible and more relaxed.
2014 RESOLUTIONS
1. Travel for fun! At least one new country! And get on a plane to go somewhere for pleasure at least six times during the year! I'm hoping that I actually do less travel for work in 2014. As one attorney that I use for a lot of Pennsylvania case has worked on my cases for longer, I'm starting to trust him more and will feel less need to go out there and oversee his performance in arbitrations, etc. I'll still have to go for settlement conferences and mediations (and god forbid trials, if I ever authorized that!), but it should be less work travel in general. I'm hoping to actually go to multiple new-to-me countries, but I'd be happy with just one.
2. Unplug. Specifically, no playing on my phone when I go to bed. This one is going to be tough, tough, tough, and the reason I have waited until Chinese New Year to start my resolutions. I have been trying to define exactly what this means. My husband and I usually go upstairs at the same time, but it takes him A LOT longer to get ready for bed. So I was trying to decide if I could play until he came to bed (particularly since we don't really talk anyway while he is brushing teeth, going to the bathroom, etc.), and whether I could use the phone to check email and weather, and to set my alarm and to text. I've decided there will be absolutely nothing on the phone except responding to texts after he goes to bed.
3. Entertain. At least 6 dinner parties. And include at least 3 people or couples who haven't been over for dinner before. This is a repeat resolution for me, but one I like to make because it presses me to do this when I might otherwise be lazy. I love cooking and I love when we have people over and we don't have to worry about a waiter trying to turn the table, the noise, etc.
4. A legit PR. I won't specify the distance, but ideally, it will be the half marathon (though if we're talking IDEALLY, I'd prefer marathon or 5k). I know I've said it before, but I've been running for a long time as an adult and I think my PR days are numbered, but hopefully I've got at least one more in these old legs. I'd actually be very happy with pretty much any legit PR -- I am not counting 8k as legit since my PR is old and easily beatable if I'd just run that distance again.
5. A significant number of running commutes. I won't set a number. My office is just under 4 miles from my house each way, so there's no reason I can't get back into doing this. Last year, I commuted by running about 80% of my possible commutes for the first 9 months of the year. Then I slacked off after the Berlin marathon. And I'm not sure I've done it more than once or twice so far this year.
6. Lose weight. So cliche, right? But I want to get back to my "happy number" which is a few pounds above my racing weight. I think it's been a bad combination in the last four months of many vacation days with indulgent food and drink, laziness, lack of a goal race, stress at work and poor sleep. All that has resulted in I think the most I've weighed in at least 5 years. Ugh. I'm not happy with the way I look or feel. Hopefully a few weeks of cleaning things up and not bailing on my workouts (or the effort I put forth) will get me back where I want to be, but then I want to stay there. No more triple marathons and laziness!
7. Finish our wedding scrapbook. By george, this is going to be the year! Our fifth anniversary is in April, and I want it done! I have the scrapbook sitting out in plain view in the living room, but it's still only about 60% complete.
8. Do another 30 day Bikram yoga challenge. I did less yoga in 2013 than before, and I missed it. While I've frequently noted that a 30 day challenge seems to be bad for my marriage, we can survive one month of not seeing each other enough. It makes me feel so much calmer, more flexible and more relaxed.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
2013 Reading
In 2012, I resolved to read 20 books. I ended up finishing only 19, but it totaled out at about 4000 pages of nonfiction and 3300 pages of fiction.
So in 2013, rather than counting the number of books, I decided to try to count pages. My goal was 7500 pages and at least 50% nonfiction.
How did I do? Well, counting as complete the two books at the end of this list that are more than half-way finished, I read a total of 6825 pages, which broke down into 3800 pages of nonfiction and 3025 pages of fiction. It was a total of 18 books (11 nonfiction, 7 fiction).
I'm okay with falling short of my goal. One of the books listed below (Joseph Anton) pretty much sucked all the reading life out of me for a while. And I met my goal for reading nonfiction, which I think was important.
Book of the year for me was Lean In (review below).
Here's what I read in 2013 and my thoughts:
Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom by Ron Paul. Nonfiction, about 350 pages. Ugh. An alphabetical list of Ron Paul's thoughts on pretty much everything. Abortion, bipartisanship, campaign finance reform, etc. If you think, oh, 26 topics, that won't be so bad, let me add that there were sometimes multiple topics for a single letter. So C was not just campaign finance reform, but also capital punishment. I solely read this because my husband read it, thought parts of it were interesting, and wanted me to read it so we could discuss. I have less time to read in 2013, and I likely shouldn't have had this book on the list based on that "reason to read." Parts of it were definitely interesting, and I couldn't agree with him more, but a vast majority of it was also so contrary to my opinion (I'm actually less of a libertarian than I would have guessed). Different viewpoints are always good I suppose. I do feel like I'm smarter for having read it, which is one of my objectives in reading. Not sure why but I got it in my head that it would be funny if the book ended with an entry under Z for zombies, but instead he went out on Zionism. Bummer. That was actually a big let-down when I somehow let myself get psyched up about zombies.
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. Fiction, 650 pages. Not what I expected. I hadn't read any Stephen King in a long time, but I loved his books pre-college. This one, not so much. It was an odd story that started in the 60s with a group of three friends and then glimpses of their lives and overlapping connections over the rest of their lives. Maybe I haven't read enough Stephen King, but this wasn't what I expected as typical Stephen King, and I didn't like it that much.
The Black Box by Michael Connelly. Fiction, about 425 pages. I primarily read Michael Connelly books because he is by far my husband's favorite author. I enjoy them a lot as well, and this one was no exception. This one is about a Danish reporter killed during the LA riots in 1992, and her murder remains unsolved. 20 years later, the LAPD wants to reexamine the open homicides from the riots, including this one, and see if some of them can be closed, not including this one.
Thunderstruck by Eric Larson. Nonfiction, about 475 pages. About a murder in England in the early 1900s committed apparently by Hawley Crippen, and the invention and development of wireless telegraphy by Guglielmo Marconi. I'm not sure why the author's name didn't register for me on this one, but it is the same author who wrote Devil in the White City, about some murders that happened during the Chicago World's Fair in 1904. It even mentions that on the front cover. But you know, I missed it. It wasn't until I was about halfway through that I thought the tone sounded familiar and made the connection. I preferred Devil in the White City, which I had to read for book club. This one was okay, but not spectacular.
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris. Fiction, about 175 pages (but small ones). A few chuckles but not my favorite by him. Generally, a bunch of very short stories about animals who exhibit human personality characteristics. The title story is about a chipmunk dating a squirrel and how the chipmunk's family objects. There's one about a dog who is married to another dog in the same household, but is taken by the owner for breeding and reasons that it's work, not adultery, but then finds a dog that he likes and therefore "works" extra hard. Since most the stories seem to have some moral, I found many to be fairly depressing. Overall, fairly unimpressive, not recommended.
The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai by Ruiyan Xu. Fiction, about 350 pages. This one was particularly fun since last year I'd tried to learn some Chinese and had gotten to visit Shanghai. It's a story about a Chinese man who is married with a young child. He grew up in the US, but moved to China when he was 10 and forgot most of his English. When he is injured in an explosion, he is diagnosed with bilingual Broca's aphasia, which means in his case, he has lost his ability to speak or read Chinese (though he understands it), and can only communicate (and then with difficulty both due to the aphasia and due to the fact he only knew some English) haltingly in English. A doctor from the US is brought in to help him attempt to recover his Chinese. The doctor character was insanely irritating and stereotypical, but the book was good despite her.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg. Nonfiction, about 175 pages. This book got a lot of press in 2013 and was my choice for book club. I ended up loving it. Sex and gender issues have always been interesting to me, particularly the pay gap, and particularly about differences between the sexes in high-earning fields. Of course there are so many factors in the pay gap, starting early with how parents and teachers treat children of opposite sexes, and then self-selection choices throughout life, frequently driving women to choose lower earning professions in general, as well as antiquated stereotypes about sex roles in the home (raising children, doing work related to the household). I may be unique in that many of my married female friends are the primary breadwinner in their relationships (keep in mind, a lot of my friends are other attorneys). So when it's not a dual-attorney couple (I have plenty of them among my friends too), when they have children, their husbands stay home. Several of my best friends with kids (including my godson's parents) have the husband doing most of the child-rearing. While we don't have kids, I'm a big stickler for equal contributions in terms of time to running our household since we both work full-time. Fortunately, my husband is on board with that -- I think I'd be miserable married to someone who expected me to do the bulk of the household stuff just because I'm female. In fact, I never would have married that guy! But the book has made me think a lot about these interesting issues. And one of the books less central points about the importance of mentor relationships at work has really sunk in with me. While my direct supervisor is male, since I finished this book, I've made more of an effort to ask him career direction advice, and I want to continue to do that. The importance of having a mentor, etc.
Joseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman Rushdie. Nonfiction, about 650 pages. What a book. Not sure even what to say about it. If you've ever watched Friends and remember the book of grievances, I bet this book will trigger a flashback. In many ways, Rushdie/Anton came across as egomaniacal and self-absorbed. It's the story of his life after The Satanic Verses was published and the fatwah or death warrant was issued. Joseph Anton was the pseudonym under which he lived in fear of his life. Of course it's an interesting story, particularly when you think about the importance of freedom of speech, religious freedom, and the role of literature in the world. And the first few years of living under the fatwah was interesting, but then it all got to be too much. There was a lot of recapping all the press about him (did I mention he came acorss as very self-absorbed?), a list of all the awards he's received, reiterating everything he's ever heard praising him or his books. He just struck me as very full of himself. For anyone who watches The Bachelor, he was kind of a fame whore -- actually, I think there are probably fewer than 100 people in the world who both watch The Bachelor regularly and have read Joseph Anton. Haha. I'm unique! Anyway, he's a big name dropper. And he seemed very old when he was essentially just making a list of people he knew/knows who had gotten cancer. I know several older people who occasionally do that -- just a big list of all the people with cancer. Anyway, I did not like Joseph Anton at all. I can't believe I stuck with it for that many pages. BUT... I've never read The Satanic Verses (as he explains it, there truly never was any anti-Muslim intent), and I've never read Haroun and the Sea of Stories, two of Rushdie's books that Joseph Anton made me want to read.
Bossypants by Tina Fey. Nonfiction, about 275 pages. I liked it more than I thought I would. The nuances of being a woman in comedy, or any comedian attempting to get a break, aren't things I'd ever really considered. And I don't watch 30 Rock, but I certainly enjoyed some of Fey's SNL sketches. Best line of the book (in reference to dating within your workplace): "Remember, when you work in what is basically a cage that you're not allowed to leave, your choices are limited to what strolls by."
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Fiction, about 275 pages. A collection of short stories, all with the character of Olive Kitteridge, a woman approximately in her 60s, in the story in some way. This was a book club selection. It was good, but not one that I'll go back to read again.
The Onion's Book of Known Knowledge. Fiction, about 250 pages. Awful. My second "alphabetical list" book of the year and perhaps an even bigger flop. I think a total of 4 of the entries made me laugh out loud: 401k, Socrates, Table, and Toast (hmm, 3 of the 4 were late in the book, maybe it started to grow on me?). Because I read The Onion loyally weekly for YEARS, I expected so much more. Seriously, there have been several stories on the Onion that I still reference about a decade after I read them (adding the fifth blade to the razor is perhaps my favorite). And I own (and love) another Onion book, Our Dumb Century (I actually have it within arm's reach in my office). But this one just bombed in my opinon. Ugh. Give me back my life. I can't believe I bothered to finish it, but I will say it was quick.
So in 2013, rather than counting the number of books, I decided to try to count pages. My goal was 7500 pages and at least 50% nonfiction.
How did I do? Well, counting as complete the two books at the end of this list that are more than half-way finished, I read a total of 6825 pages, which broke down into 3800 pages of nonfiction and 3025 pages of fiction. It was a total of 18 books (11 nonfiction, 7 fiction).
I'm okay with falling short of my goal. One of the books listed below (Joseph Anton) pretty much sucked all the reading life out of me for a while. And I met my goal for reading nonfiction, which I think was important.
Book of the year for me was Lean In (review below).
Here's what I read in 2013 and my thoughts:
Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom by Ron Paul. Nonfiction, about 350 pages. Ugh. An alphabetical list of Ron Paul's thoughts on pretty much everything. Abortion, bipartisanship, campaign finance reform, etc. If you think, oh, 26 topics, that won't be so bad, let me add that there were sometimes multiple topics for a single letter. So C was not just campaign finance reform, but also capital punishment. I solely read this because my husband read it, thought parts of it were interesting, and wanted me to read it so we could discuss. I have less time to read in 2013, and I likely shouldn't have had this book on the list based on that "reason to read." Parts of it were definitely interesting, and I couldn't agree with him more, but a vast majority of it was also so contrary to my opinion (I'm actually less of a libertarian than I would have guessed). Different viewpoints are always good I suppose. I do feel like I'm smarter for having read it, which is one of my objectives in reading. Not sure why but I got it in my head that it would be funny if the book ended with an entry under Z for zombies, but instead he went out on Zionism. Bummer. That was actually a big let-down when I somehow let myself get psyched up about zombies.
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. Fiction, 650 pages. Not what I expected. I hadn't read any Stephen King in a long time, but I loved his books pre-college. This one, not so much. It was an odd story that started in the 60s with a group of three friends and then glimpses of their lives and overlapping connections over the rest of their lives. Maybe I haven't read enough Stephen King, but this wasn't what I expected as typical Stephen King, and I didn't like it that much.
The Black Box by Michael Connelly. Fiction, about 425 pages. I primarily read Michael Connelly books because he is by far my husband's favorite author. I enjoy them a lot as well, and this one was no exception. This one is about a Danish reporter killed during the LA riots in 1992, and her murder remains unsolved. 20 years later, the LAPD wants to reexamine the open homicides from the riots, including this one, and see if some of them can be closed, not including this one.
Thunderstruck by Eric Larson. Nonfiction, about 475 pages. About a murder in England in the early 1900s committed apparently by Hawley Crippen, and the invention and development of wireless telegraphy by Guglielmo Marconi. I'm not sure why the author's name didn't register for me on this one, but it is the same author who wrote Devil in the White City, about some murders that happened during the Chicago World's Fair in 1904. It even mentions that on the front cover. But you know, I missed it. It wasn't until I was about halfway through that I thought the tone sounded familiar and made the connection. I preferred Devil in the White City, which I had to read for book club. This one was okay, but not spectacular.
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris. Fiction, about 175 pages (but small ones). A few chuckles but not my favorite by him. Generally, a bunch of very short stories about animals who exhibit human personality characteristics. The title story is about a chipmunk dating a squirrel and how the chipmunk's family objects. There's one about a dog who is married to another dog in the same household, but is taken by the owner for breeding and reasons that it's work, not adultery, but then finds a dog that he likes and therefore "works" extra hard. Since most the stories seem to have some moral, I found many to be fairly depressing. Overall, fairly unimpressive, not recommended.
The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai by Ruiyan Xu. Fiction, about 350 pages. This one was particularly fun since last year I'd tried to learn some Chinese and had gotten to visit Shanghai. It's a story about a Chinese man who is married with a young child. He grew up in the US, but moved to China when he was 10 and forgot most of his English. When he is injured in an explosion, he is diagnosed with bilingual Broca's aphasia, which means in his case, he has lost his ability to speak or read Chinese (though he understands it), and can only communicate (and then with difficulty both due to the aphasia and due to the fact he only knew some English) haltingly in English. A doctor from the US is brought in to help him attempt to recover his Chinese. The doctor character was insanely irritating and stereotypical, but the book was good despite her.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg. Nonfiction, about 175 pages. This book got a lot of press in 2013 and was my choice for book club. I ended up loving it. Sex and gender issues have always been interesting to me, particularly the pay gap, and particularly about differences between the sexes in high-earning fields. Of course there are so many factors in the pay gap, starting early with how parents and teachers treat children of opposite sexes, and then self-selection choices throughout life, frequently driving women to choose lower earning professions in general, as well as antiquated stereotypes about sex roles in the home (raising children, doing work related to the household). I may be unique in that many of my married female friends are the primary breadwinner in their relationships (keep in mind, a lot of my friends are other attorneys). So when it's not a dual-attorney couple (I have plenty of them among my friends too), when they have children, their husbands stay home. Several of my best friends with kids (including my godson's parents) have the husband doing most of the child-rearing. While we don't have kids, I'm a big stickler for equal contributions in terms of time to running our household since we both work full-time. Fortunately, my husband is on board with that -- I think I'd be miserable married to someone who expected me to do the bulk of the household stuff just because I'm female. In fact, I never would have married that guy! But the book has made me think a lot about these interesting issues. And one of the books less central points about the importance of mentor relationships at work has really sunk in with me. While my direct supervisor is male, since I finished this book, I've made more of an effort to ask him career direction advice, and I want to continue to do that. The importance of having a mentor, etc.
Joseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman Rushdie. Nonfiction, about 650 pages. What a book. Not sure even what to say about it. If you've ever watched Friends and remember the book of grievances, I bet this book will trigger a flashback. In many ways, Rushdie/Anton came across as egomaniacal and self-absorbed. It's the story of his life after The Satanic Verses was published and the fatwah or death warrant was issued. Joseph Anton was the pseudonym under which he lived in fear of his life. Of course it's an interesting story, particularly when you think about the importance of freedom of speech, religious freedom, and the role of literature in the world. And the first few years of living under the fatwah was interesting, but then it all got to be too much. There was a lot of recapping all the press about him (did I mention he came acorss as very self-absorbed?), a list of all the awards he's received, reiterating everything he's ever heard praising him or his books. He just struck me as very full of himself. For anyone who watches The Bachelor, he was kind of a fame whore -- actually, I think there are probably fewer than 100 people in the world who both watch The Bachelor regularly and have read Joseph Anton. Haha. I'm unique! Anyway, he's a big name dropper. And he seemed very old when he was essentially just making a list of people he knew/knows who had gotten cancer. I know several older people who occasionally do that -- just a big list of all the people with cancer. Anyway, I did not like Joseph Anton at all. I can't believe I stuck with it for that many pages. BUT... I've never read The Satanic Verses (as he explains it, there truly never was any anti-Muslim intent), and I've never read Haroun and the Sea of Stories, two of Rushdie's books that Joseph Anton made me want to read.
Bossypants by Tina Fey. Nonfiction, about 275 pages. I liked it more than I thought I would. The nuances of being a woman in comedy, or any comedian attempting to get a break, aren't things I'd ever really considered. And I don't watch 30 Rock, but I certainly enjoyed some of Fey's SNL sketches. Best line of the book (in reference to dating within your workplace): "Remember, when you work in what is basically a cage that you're not allowed to leave, your choices are limited to what strolls by."
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Fiction, about 275 pages. A collection of short stories, all with the character of Olive Kitteridge, a woman approximately in her 60s, in the story in some way. This was a book club selection. It was good, but not one that I'll go back to read again.
The Onion's Book of Known Knowledge. Fiction, about 250 pages. Awful. My second "alphabetical list" book of the year and perhaps an even bigger flop. I think a total of 4 of the entries made me laugh out loud: 401k, Socrates, Table, and Toast (hmm, 3 of the 4 were late in the book, maybe it started to grow on me?). Because I read The Onion loyally weekly for YEARS, I expected so much more. Seriously, there have been several stories on the Onion that I still reference about a decade after I read them (adding the fifth blade to the razor is perhaps my favorite). And I own (and love) another Onion book, Our Dumb Century (I actually have it within arm's reach in my office). But this one just bombed in my opinon. Ugh. Give me back my life. I can't believe I bothered to finish it, but I will say it was quick.
Easy Company Soldier by Don Malarkey. Nonfiction, about 300 pages. Several men involved in Easy Company have written their stories, and this was just as good as the others I've read. While he seemed to be bragging at times, he certainly deserves to! Currahee, Normandy, Bastogne. I don't think it's the best of the first-hand accounts, but it's worth reading and always good to hear another person's take on the war of the (last) century.
Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn. Nonfiction, about 300 pages. A strong but recreational runner (38 minute 10k if I remember correctly) decides to move with his family (wife and little kids) to Kenya to see if he can get to the bottom of why Kenya produces many of the best runners in the world. While the common belief (at least among non-runners) of it being genetic has been discounted, it's very interesting as he considers the many other plausible explanations (and he does go through genetics as well). Barefoot running, eating ugali, the importance of rest, training v. racing paces, the derth of other profitable options, the elevation, . This isn't the kind of book you'd read in hopes of learning the secrets, but there were several take-aways that I found interesting and can apply to my own running. While Finn lives in Kenya, he travels, he meets many former winners, current elites, and future winners, and he puts together a racing team to compete in a marathon. And yes, his own times improve too. I also enjoyed the non-running aspect regarding life in Kenya. It's my favorite place in Africa though I haven't travelled much there, but I'd love to go back. He doesn't include many pictures (basically one at the beginning of each chapter); I wished there were more.
Night Film by M Priezl. Fiction, about 600 pages. Read almost all of this in Italy while we were on vacation because I wanted to leave it for hubby's counsin who speaks English. Book was bizarre, but pretty good for a mindless read.
This Land Is Their Land by Barbara Ehrenreich. Nonfiction, about 250 pages. Typical Ehrenreich, which meant I liked it. About wealth inequality in America. So good that I made my husband read it too. While we consider ourselves to be certainly financially comfortable, we're definitely not close to the uber-rich, and I found it interesting to make myself think about what this wealth gap means for the poorest of the poor. Not a comfortable book to read, but of course that's what means more people should read it. But of course as a "have" there were some things in the book I'd argue weren't true, but it made me think and her point is quite valid.
The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick. Nonfiction, about 550 pages. Both interesting and dry at the same time. It draws on lots of different subjects -- particularly (in order of emphasis based on my reading): English, math, computer science, science, foreign language. The book made me google things like "why is the alphabet in the order it is?" (and really, why??? why can't it be X, E, A, K, P, D...?), and "what is the least integer not nameable in fewer than nineteen syllables?" (Berry's paradox -- because "the least integer not nameable in fewer than nineteen syllables" is 111,777, but technically, the phrase describing it, "the least integer not nameable in fewer than nineteen syllables" is only 18 syllables!). Overall, I liked it, but that's because I'm a nerd. I'm not sure to whom I'd actually recommend this book.
And I have two books that are presently "in progress" that I am counting toward my total as being finished (though there is a chance I'm giving up on Crazy Rich):
Crazy Rich: Power, Scandal, and Tragedy Inside the Johnson & Johnson Dynasty by
Dear Life by Alice Munro. Fiction, about 300 pages. This was a book club selection of short stories. Overall, pretty sad. Not my favorite book by her. It pinpoints moments where people's lives change, generally for the worse.
Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn. Nonfiction, about 300 pages. A strong but recreational runner (38 minute 10k if I remember correctly) decides to move with his family (wife and little kids) to Kenya to see if he can get to the bottom of why Kenya produces many of the best runners in the world. While the common belief (at least among non-runners) of it being genetic has been discounted, it's very interesting as he considers the many other plausible explanations (and he does go through genetics as well). Barefoot running, eating ugali, the importance of rest, training v. racing paces, the derth of other profitable options, the elevation, . This isn't the kind of book you'd read in hopes of learning the secrets, but there were several take-aways that I found interesting and can apply to my own running. While Finn lives in Kenya, he travels, he meets many former winners, current elites, and future winners, and he puts together a racing team to compete in a marathon. And yes, his own times improve too. I also enjoyed the non-running aspect regarding life in Kenya. It's my favorite place in Africa though I haven't travelled much there, but I'd love to go back. He doesn't include many pictures (basically one at the beginning of each chapter); I wished there were more.
Night Film by M Priezl. Fiction, about 600 pages. Read almost all of this in Italy while we were on vacation because I wanted to leave it for hubby's counsin who speaks English. Book was bizarre, but pretty good for a mindless read.
This Land Is Their Land by Barbara Ehrenreich. Nonfiction, about 250 pages. Typical Ehrenreich, which meant I liked it. About wealth inequality in America. So good that I made my husband read it too. While we consider ourselves to be certainly financially comfortable, we're definitely not close to the uber-rich, and I found it interesting to make myself think about what this wealth gap means for the poorest of the poor. Not a comfortable book to read, but of course that's what means more people should read it. But of course as a "have" there were some things in the book I'd argue weren't true, but it made me think and her point is quite valid.
The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick. Nonfiction, about 550 pages. Both interesting and dry at the same time. It draws on lots of different subjects -- particularly (in order of emphasis based on my reading): English, math, computer science, science, foreign language. The book made me google things like "why is the alphabet in the order it is?" (and really, why??? why can't it be X, E, A, K, P, D...?), and "what is the least integer not nameable in fewer than nineteen syllables?" (Berry's paradox -- because "the least integer not nameable in fewer than nineteen syllables" is 111,777, but technically, the phrase describing it, "the least integer not nameable in fewer than nineteen syllables" is only 18 syllables!). Overall, I liked it, but that's because I'm a nerd. I'm not sure to whom I'd actually recommend this book.
And I have two books that are presently "in progress" that I am counting toward my total as being finished (though there is a chance I'm giving up on Crazy Rich):
Crazy Rich: Power, Scandal, and Tragedy Inside the Johnson & Johnson Dynasty by
Dear Life by Alice Munro. Fiction, about 300 pages. This was a book club selection of short stories. Overall, pretty sad. Not my favorite book by her. It pinpoints moments where people's lives change, generally for the worse.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
2013 Resolutions in Review -- A pass/fail test
Another year over, a new one just begun....
I've liked making resolutions for as long as I can remember. There's something about it that soothes the part of me that likes to set goals, look ahead, etc.
If you're interested in the background of my 2013 resolutions:
the original resolutions,
an early March progress update,
a mid-year progress update.
12 resolutions, roughly in order of priority.
1. Hardest effort ever at a couple months of speed training, then hardest effort ever training for an early fall marathon. The idea is that this work will lead me to a marathon PR by 11 minutes and 30 seconds in Berlin in late September. PASS (with an asterisk). Technically, my resolution was hardest effort -- pass. But as to the 11:30 PR at the marathon -- fail. I worked with a speed coach until the end of April, and did marathon training from mid-May until the end of September. I will say that I did the runs on the schedule. I sometimes fell short on pacing, but I put in my hardest effort to date. I toed the line in Berlin with 814.8 miles under my belt from the 19 weeks of training leading up to the race. The most I've ever had in a training season for a single race.
2. Cook at least 52 real dinners from recipes. PASS (with an asterisk). I posted updates on this resolution about the first 30 recipes I cooked, and I think I have another post among my drafts that I never finished with another list of 10. But even without the documentary evidence, I think I succeeded. And if I missed by a few meals, I'm going to go ahead and say it's close enough for government work. The idea was to cook more and it worked. I was irritated that my resolution related to dinners. I definitely made several breakfasts, lunches, and desserts from recipes as well. If those counted, I'd be over 52 for certain.
3. Quit Facebook. Not actual facebook suicide, I'm leaving the profile up, and I may log in on weekends to check for messages and/or invitations, and I'll probably check if I'm tagged in a photo by someone else just to make sure it's not horrifying, but no more daily reading what's going on with friends. PASS. I logged on about sporadically to get email addresses and to respond to a couple personal messages, but at some point, I was out of town and I couldn't pull up my electronic boarding pass because I needed to upgrade the operating system on my iphone. I did that and it logged me out of facebook and then I couldn't remember my password, so I legitimately stayed completely off for months. This past weekend, I signed back on, accepted about a dozen friend requests, and posted a status about my hiatus being over. But I'm thinking I'll spend less time on it in the future. I did spend more time on my phone playing sudoku and looking at Pinterest in 2013, but the resolution related only to FB -- time will tell how this shakes out in 2014 resolutions!
4. New to me country (a repeat resolution, since I'm not sure I really achieved this in 2012). If all goes as I hope, the new country will be Lichtenstein, and that will be on about October 4. PASS. I went to Lichtenstein in October. It was not terribly exciting, but I was there. The food struck me as expensive.
5. Study Italian at least once a week and attend an Italian conversation class regularly. FAIL. I attended a conversation class frequently, but I almost never studied on my own, which was what I need to do most. I survived when we were in Italy, and it really didn't matter too much since my husband's family speaks dialect instead of Italian (at least the older relatives). I wish I'd done better at this, and I will need to focus more on this in 2015, which I expect will be our next trip to Italy (barring a death in his family) (ugh, why did that thought come into my head???).
6. Weight management. Right now I'm sitting just over the halfway point of the 10 pound range where I've hovered for the last few years. I want to get to the bottom half, ideally the bottom, and stay there. FAIL. As of the Berlin marathon, I was comfortably in the bottom half of the range. In fact, I spent much of the year there. But the last few months of the year have seen me back in the top half of that range. Ugh. This may have to be a higher priority in 2014 because I am not content with where I am right now.
7. Entertain at home at least 6 times, at least 3 times included people who haven't ever come over for dinner before. PASS. We had exactly six dinner parties, four of which included people we hadn't invited over before. Among others, we had our traditional "rehearsal dinner anniversary" make-your-own pizza party, a blueberry-themed dinner for our local version of the blueberry festival that we didn't attend this year, and a German-themed dinner with several friends who were also running the marathon in Berlin. One strange pairing was a night we planned to have an unmarried neighbor over alone. One of hubby's co-workers called that night to see if hubby could meet him for a drink -- he was going through some hard personal times. Instead, we invited him to join us for dinner in half an hour. We thought it might be weird considering the two guests seemed to have nothing in common, but to our great surprise, they COMPLETELY hit it off (in a non-romantic sense, which was actually good since part of his personal turmoil includes a divorce). But even on random things that we had no ability to discuss (folk musicians?!), they gabbed away together happily. It made me smile. We also had our next door neighbors over, which barely counts since we love them so much and spend a lot of time with them in general, but I planned a menu and they joined us, so I am counting it. We also had my husband's boss and one of my former co-workers and her husband over, which was fun but challenging because I'm a vegetarian and husband's boss's wife is no dairy... I also hosted book club and various friends for breakfasts, but I didn't count those since we weren't entertaining as a couple.
8. Finish our wedding scrapbook. FAIL. I have the scrapbook sitting out in plain view in the living room, but it's still only about 60% complete. And we've now been married more than four years. Sigh. This needs to make the 2014 resolution list so it's done before we get to our five year anniversary.
9. Less procrastination at work. The three big areas where I drag my feet are voicemails, reports, and reviewing records. I need to check voicemail at least once a week (we have a log, so I can see who is calling, so I answer the calls I want, and let the "ugh" ones go to voicemail, then I suck at checking messages). I need to do initial case reports within 3 weeks of it hitting my desk (for most my cases, it's actually easier to do it sooner, rather than later, because the later I wait, the more information I have that I need to include). I need to review records within 60 days of receipt (I sometimes let "not urgent" stacks sit for way too many months). PASS. I was totally on the ball with voicemail and reports. Records review was a bit tougher, but I think I did better than I have before, so that's progress. The reports became easier because I mounted a big whiteboard in my office on which I track my 10 or so cases that have rolling reporting deadlines every 3 months. This resolution was really the only thing that pushed me on voicemail. I hated it, but I did it.
10. Update our stairwell photos through the end of 2012. The stairs between our first and second floors on one wall are full of photos of the two of us beginning with our very first photo together, and presently ending in Sweden in 2010. NO GRADE ASSIGNED (if I have to choose: FAIL). I chose and ordered photos beginning with Russia in 2010 and ending with China in 2012. Then I went to an Ikea in a BFE suburb to get the frames, but they didn't sell them anymore. So I tried another Ikea near Austin, and no frames there either. So I bought similar frames in a different color and I have put all my photos with my law school roommate (on the other side of our stairwell) into those new frames, and I have used those original frames to frame updated pics of me and hubby. AND I've hung several photos so "our" wall goes up to April 2012, but now I'm stuck. I have 15 photos left in matching frames that I need to hang, but no more room on the wall. I could go to using the "law school roommate" wall, but again, I only have 15 matching frames left and I can't even find more online. This resolution ended up being quite a mess and it remains unresolved.
11. Sunday organizing time. I need to set aside at least one hour every Sunday before 6:00 p.m. to prepare for the coming week -- that means making my lunches in advance (with the current running commute plan, I have to bring Mon-Thurs lunches on Monday), planning my outfits (including shoes and jewelry), packing my outfits (including laundry bags), and pulling together any "other" stuff to bring to the office on Monday (usually bills that need to be paid, greeting cards that need to be mailed, etc.). FAIL. Some weeks I'd prepare my week's outfits and/or lunches on Sundays, occasionally both, but I still ended up with too much to do on most Monday mornings.
12. Regular non-drive commute to work. PASS. I ran to or from work over 100 times in 2013. As of late September, I'd run 78% of my possible commutes. I didn't count Mondays as possible since I needed to bring my laptop and clothes, and then I had to get my car back home. And I didn't count Thursday nights since I had to take my laptop back home where I work on Fridays. That left 5 possible commutes per week. And on average, I did almost 4 of the 5 per week until we flew to Europe on Sept. 25. Sadly, we came back from Europe during the second half of October, and the commuting on foot pretty much ground to a halt. We were in California for another week toward the end of the year, and I travelled a lot for work in November and December, but even when we were in town, I just didn't do it very often. Only a handful of other times. I was just plain lazy and out of shape. But prior to the end of September, I rarely skipped a commute because I was lazy or didn't like the weather -- it was usually because I had an evening commitment that I felt was really important -- volunteering, an alumni event, or a work dinner. I am very content with the way this worked out.
So that's it, my 2013 resolutions review. Since they were weighted by priority, it's misleading to say I got a pass on 7 of them (with 2 asterisks). And in reality, resolution 12 (commuting on foot) was a huge change that took up a lot of my time -- I wish I'd assigned it a higher priority.
In retrospect, the first four resolutions meant the most to me, and I gave myself a pass on all 4 of them (with 2 asterisks).
All in all, a pretty solid year. I'll take it!
I've liked making resolutions for as long as I can remember. There's something about it that soothes the part of me that likes to set goals, look ahead, etc.
If you're interested in the background of my 2013 resolutions:
the original resolutions,
an early March progress update,
a mid-year progress update.
12 resolutions, roughly in order of priority.
1. Hardest effort ever at a couple months of speed training, then hardest effort ever training for an early fall marathon. The idea is that this work will lead me to a marathon PR by 11 minutes and 30 seconds in Berlin in late September. PASS (with an asterisk). Technically, my resolution was hardest effort -- pass. But as to the 11:30 PR at the marathon -- fail. I worked with a speed coach until the end of April, and did marathon training from mid-May until the end of September. I will say that I did the runs on the schedule. I sometimes fell short on pacing, but I put in my hardest effort to date. I toed the line in Berlin with 814.8 miles under my belt from the 19 weeks of training leading up to the race. The most I've ever had in a training season for a single race.
2. Cook at least 52 real dinners from recipes. PASS (with an asterisk). I posted updates on this resolution about the first 30 recipes I cooked, and I think I have another post among my drafts that I never finished with another list of 10. But even without the documentary evidence, I think I succeeded. And if I missed by a few meals, I'm going to go ahead and say it's close enough for government work. The idea was to cook more and it worked. I was irritated that my resolution related to dinners. I definitely made several breakfasts, lunches, and desserts from recipes as well. If those counted, I'd be over 52 for certain.
3. Quit Facebook. Not actual facebook suicide, I'm leaving the profile up, and I may log in on weekends to check for messages and/or invitations, and I'll probably check if I'm tagged in a photo by someone else just to make sure it's not horrifying, but no more daily reading what's going on with friends. PASS. I logged on about sporadically to get email addresses and to respond to a couple personal messages, but at some point, I was out of town and I couldn't pull up my electronic boarding pass because I needed to upgrade the operating system on my iphone. I did that and it logged me out of facebook and then I couldn't remember my password, so I legitimately stayed completely off for months. This past weekend, I signed back on, accepted about a dozen friend requests, and posted a status about my hiatus being over. But I'm thinking I'll spend less time on it in the future. I did spend more time on my phone playing sudoku and looking at Pinterest in 2013, but the resolution related only to FB -- time will tell how this shakes out in 2014 resolutions!
4. New to me country (a repeat resolution, since I'm not sure I really achieved this in 2012). If all goes as I hope, the new country will be Lichtenstein, and that will be on about October 4. PASS. I went to Lichtenstein in October. It was not terribly exciting, but I was there. The food struck me as expensive.
5. Study Italian at least once a week and attend an Italian conversation class regularly. FAIL. I attended a conversation class frequently, but I almost never studied on my own, which was what I need to do most. I survived when we were in Italy, and it really didn't matter too much since my husband's family speaks dialect instead of Italian (at least the older relatives). I wish I'd done better at this, and I will need to focus more on this in 2015, which I expect will be our next trip to Italy (barring a death in his family) (ugh, why did that thought come into my head???).
6. Weight management. Right now I'm sitting just over the halfway point of the 10 pound range where I've hovered for the last few years. I want to get to the bottom half, ideally the bottom, and stay there. FAIL. As of the Berlin marathon, I was comfortably in the bottom half of the range. In fact, I spent much of the year there. But the last few months of the year have seen me back in the top half of that range. Ugh. This may have to be a higher priority in 2014 because I am not content with where I am right now.
7. Entertain at home at least 6 times, at least 3 times included people who haven't ever come over for dinner before. PASS. We had exactly six dinner parties, four of which included people we hadn't invited over before. Among others, we had our traditional "rehearsal dinner anniversary" make-your-own pizza party, a blueberry-themed dinner for our local version of the blueberry festival that we didn't attend this year, and a German-themed dinner with several friends who were also running the marathon in Berlin. One strange pairing was a night we planned to have an unmarried neighbor over alone. One of hubby's co-workers called that night to see if hubby could meet him for a drink -- he was going through some hard personal times. Instead, we invited him to join us for dinner in half an hour. We thought it might be weird considering the two guests seemed to have nothing in common, but to our great surprise, they COMPLETELY hit it off (in a non-romantic sense, which was actually good since part of his personal turmoil includes a divorce). But even on random things that we had no ability to discuss (folk musicians?!), they gabbed away together happily. It made me smile. We also had our next door neighbors over, which barely counts since we love them so much and spend a lot of time with them in general, but I planned a menu and they joined us, so I am counting it. We also had my husband's boss and one of my former co-workers and her husband over, which was fun but challenging because I'm a vegetarian and husband's boss's wife is no dairy... I also hosted book club and various friends for breakfasts, but I didn't count those since we weren't entertaining as a couple.
8. Finish our wedding scrapbook. FAIL. I have the scrapbook sitting out in plain view in the living room, but it's still only about 60% complete. And we've now been married more than four years. Sigh. This needs to make the 2014 resolution list so it's done before we get to our five year anniversary.
9. Less procrastination at work. The three big areas where I drag my feet are voicemails, reports, and reviewing records. I need to check voicemail at least once a week (we have a log, so I can see who is calling, so I answer the calls I want, and let the "ugh" ones go to voicemail, then I suck at checking messages). I need to do initial case reports within 3 weeks of it hitting my desk (for most my cases, it's actually easier to do it sooner, rather than later, because the later I wait, the more information I have that I need to include). I need to review records within 60 days of receipt (I sometimes let "not urgent" stacks sit for way too many months). PASS. I was totally on the ball with voicemail and reports. Records review was a bit tougher, but I think I did better than I have before, so that's progress. The reports became easier because I mounted a big whiteboard in my office on which I track my 10 or so cases that have rolling reporting deadlines every 3 months. This resolution was really the only thing that pushed me on voicemail. I hated it, but I did it.
10. Update our stairwell photos through the end of 2012. The stairs between our first and second floors on one wall are full of photos of the two of us beginning with our very first photo together, and presently ending in Sweden in 2010. NO GRADE ASSIGNED (if I have to choose: FAIL). I chose and ordered photos beginning with Russia in 2010 and ending with China in 2012. Then I went to an Ikea in a BFE suburb to get the frames, but they didn't sell them anymore. So I tried another Ikea near Austin, and no frames there either. So I bought similar frames in a different color and I have put all my photos with my law school roommate (on the other side of our stairwell) into those new frames, and I have used those original frames to frame updated pics of me and hubby. AND I've hung several photos so "our" wall goes up to April 2012, but now I'm stuck. I have 15 photos left in matching frames that I need to hang, but no more room on the wall. I could go to using the "law school roommate" wall, but again, I only have 15 matching frames left and I can't even find more online. This resolution ended up being quite a mess and it remains unresolved.
11. Sunday organizing time. I need to set aside at least one hour every Sunday before 6:00 p.m. to prepare for the coming week -- that means making my lunches in advance (with the current running commute plan, I have to bring Mon-Thurs lunches on Monday), planning my outfits (including shoes and jewelry), packing my outfits (including laundry bags), and pulling together any "other" stuff to bring to the office on Monday (usually bills that need to be paid, greeting cards that need to be mailed, etc.). FAIL. Some weeks I'd prepare my week's outfits and/or lunches on Sundays, occasionally both, but I still ended up with too much to do on most Monday mornings.
12. Regular non-drive commute to work. PASS. I ran to or from work over 100 times in 2013. As of late September, I'd run 78% of my possible commutes. I didn't count Mondays as possible since I needed to bring my laptop and clothes, and then I had to get my car back home. And I didn't count Thursday nights since I had to take my laptop back home where I work on Fridays. That left 5 possible commutes per week. And on average, I did almost 4 of the 5 per week until we flew to Europe on Sept. 25. Sadly, we came back from Europe during the second half of October, and the commuting on foot pretty much ground to a halt. We were in California for another week toward the end of the year, and I travelled a lot for work in November and December, but even when we were in town, I just didn't do it very often. Only a handful of other times. I was just plain lazy and out of shape. But prior to the end of September, I rarely skipped a commute because I was lazy or didn't like the weather -- it was usually because I had an evening commitment that I felt was really important -- volunteering, an alumni event, or a work dinner. I am very content with the way this worked out.
So that's it, my 2013 resolutions review. Since they were weighted by priority, it's misleading to say I got a pass on 7 of them (with 2 asterisks). And in reality, resolution 12 (commuting on foot) was a huge change that took up a lot of my time -- I wish I'd assigned it a higher priority.
In retrospect, the first four resolutions meant the most to me, and I gave myself a pass on all 4 of them (with 2 asterisks).
All in all, a pretty solid year. I'll take it!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2013 Year In Review
I did this post last year and really enjoyed writing it, so I decided I'd tackle the same "year in review" questions this year.
I originally found this "year in review" list on a blog called brie-fit.com, and she said she'd copied it from "Temerity Jane via Sundry". Anyway, I thought it would be a fun way to look back on 2013.
1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
I won our local beer mile. Twice.
I went to Liechtenstein.
I went on a gondola ride in Venice.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I'm going to again do a resolutions recap. Overall, I'm happy with how I did.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
The guy who was my platonic travel buddy for years (together, we've gone to Kenya, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and of course Italy, when he came to our wedding) got married a few years ago and they had a baby very recently. We're actually spending New Year's Eve tonight with them, so we'll get to meet their little guy.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully. My grandpa unfortunately had a stroke this summer and now has a live-in nurse and a feeding tube and can't do much with the right side of his body. You can tell it's very frustrating for him. It's hard to understand him, but when he talks, he mentions how unhappy he is, how his savings are being spent on the nurse, how much you need two arms for things, etc. I'm glad he's still with us, but his quality of life has changed drastically, which is sad.
5. What countries did you visit?
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italia, Netherlands.
6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
My goal marathon time and a winning lottery ticket.
7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
September 29, 2013, the date of my marathon PR in Berlin.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Probably running-related, but I can't decide if it's the marathon PR or the beer mile win (and successfully defending the title). Probably the marathon PR.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting my marathon goal time. At mile 16, I wanted to slow down, and by mile 18, I gave in to that. Due to a tragic combination of a satellite malfunction and a lack of knowledge of the metric system, I also ended up missing my "B" goal.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious, thank goodness. I'm having some foot pain right now, possibly from 28 miles on a treadmill on two days within a three day span. Of course I can't get in to see an ortho this week, but I am fairly certain its some tendon inflammation. I ended up resting it this morning, the first year I haven't done my traditional New Year's Eve loop of the lake in more years than I can count.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Best money spent was probably the gondola ride in Venice. I didn't keep track if that was "my" money or "hubby's" money. But after having been to Venice a couple times and not being there with the love of my life (hadn't met him yet), I saw people on gondolas. Of course I could have gone alone or with friends, but it was something I wanted to save. I wanted to kiss someone as we went under every single bridge. I wanted to hold hands and ooh and aah together. It was everything I dreamed of!
12. Where did most of your money go?
Good question! Since my husband and I alternate paying for big trips, he paid for the 2013 trip for the most part. I guess I spent most of my money on debt reduction. I've gotten really into the idea of making extra mortgage payments. I like knowing that if something happened to me, my husband could take his time sorting things out and he wouldn't miss any payments. Plus obviously paying even a bit more on a massive debt like a house can make a big dent in how long you pay. I've heard (and believe) that if you have a 30 year mortgage and you make one extra principal and interest payment per year, you end up being done in 23 years. That's huge!
13. What did you get really excited about?
The trip to Europe.
14. What song will always remind you of 2013?
"Blurred Lines" -- my husband told me it was "the song of the summer" before either of us had heard it. Second choice is "Roar", but that's an answer to a question below.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? About the same, which is to say very happy.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter by about 5 pounds! The last couple months haven't been good!!
– richer or poorer? Richer.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Organizing, cleaning and purging around the house (same answer as last year...).
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eating! Particularly in the last couple months. My clothes are far too tight right now.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
Home! Meaning at my parents' house in Wisconsin again. Traditional Christmas Eve having dinner at home, then going for carols and church. This was the first year that my baby brother's wife was with us, which was fun. Christmas morning presents, brunch, then organizing and packing, a long 5 hour drive to Milwaukee, and then another family Christmas with lots of excitement for my nieces and nephew.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
House of Cards, by far. My boss loved and recommended it. It did not sound like something I'd enjoy, but by the second or third episode, I was totally hooked.
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
I am going to post a separate list of what I read in 2013, but as I looked over where that draft post currently stands (I want to finish a couple in progress books before posting), I think my favorite was actually Lean In. I would highly urge all people, not just women, to read it and think about it.
21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I'm not a big music person, so this is hard to answer. I guess pop/hip hop stuff that is good for running, boot camp, or just being in the gym. Every time I hear that "Roar" song, I feel inspired and want to run faster and work harder.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which we saw just a couple days ago. I don't feel like we saw a lot of movies and actually can't think of anything else that we saw!
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I'm knocking on 40's door now. I ended up working late, going out for pizza with my husband to one of my favorite pizza places (Fireside Pies, which he definitely does not love as a pizza snob). One of the highlights was eating the three mini-bundt cakes that my accounting buddy gave me.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I'd run the Berlin marathon about 10 minutes faster than I did.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
More of the same. I don't buy lots of new clothes. I wore a lot of scarves and (embarrassing) I wore better bras that made a freezing cold office less evident...
26. What kept you sane?
A combination of a white board in my office and our diary system at work that lets me set reminders for when things need to be done on cases. Having my major cases and deadlines on the dry erase board, coupled with checking my diary entries meant that I felt very on the ball at work. I'm so happy to feel like I'm more in control. It was one of my best resolutions (to not drag my feet on things like checking voicemail) and it really paid off in that I had far fewer "work freak out" dreams and generally met my deadlines (which are soft and internal, and therefore very easy to blow off, even though I shouldn't).
27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
I won't be healthy and active forever, so I should appreciate it now.
I originally found this "year in review" list on a blog called brie-fit.com, and she said she'd copied it from "Temerity Jane via Sundry". Anyway, I thought it would be a fun way to look back on 2013.
1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
I won our local beer mile. Twice.
I went to Liechtenstein.
I went on a gondola ride in Venice.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I'm going to again do a resolutions recap. Overall, I'm happy with how I did.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
The guy who was my platonic travel buddy for years (together, we've gone to Kenya, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and of course Italy, when he came to our wedding) got married a few years ago and they had a baby very recently. We're actually spending New Year's Eve tonight with them, so we'll get to meet their little guy.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully. My grandpa unfortunately had a stroke this summer and now has a live-in nurse and a feeding tube and can't do much with the right side of his body. You can tell it's very frustrating for him. It's hard to understand him, but when he talks, he mentions how unhappy he is, how his savings are being spent on the nurse, how much you need two arms for things, etc. I'm glad he's still with us, but his quality of life has changed drastically, which is sad.
5. What countries did you visit?
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italia, Netherlands.
6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
My goal marathon time and a winning lottery ticket.
7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
September 29, 2013, the date of my marathon PR in Berlin.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Probably running-related, but I can't decide if it's the marathon PR or the beer mile win (and successfully defending the title). Probably the marathon PR.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting my marathon goal time. At mile 16, I wanted to slow down, and by mile 18, I gave in to that. Due to a tragic combination of a satellite malfunction and a lack of knowledge of the metric system, I also ended up missing my "B" goal.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious, thank goodness. I'm having some foot pain right now, possibly from 28 miles on a treadmill on two days within a three day span. Of course I can't get in to see an ortho this week, but I am fairly certain its some tendon inflammation. I ended up resting it this morning, the first year I haven't done my traditional New Year's Eve loop of the lake in more years than I can count.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Best money spent was probably the gondola ride in Venice. I didn't keep track if that was "my" money or "hubby's" money. But after having been to Venice a couple times and not being there with the love of my life (hadn't met him yet), I saw people on gondolas. Of course I could have gone alone or with friends, but it was something I wanted to save. I wanted to kiss someone as we went under every single bridge. I wanted to hold hands and ooh and aah together. It was everything I dreamed of!
12. Where did most of your money go?
Good question! Since my husband and I alternate paying for big trips, he paid for the 2013 trip for the most part. I guess I spent most of my money on debt reduction. I've gotten really into the idea of making extra mortgage payments. I like knowing that if something happened to me, my husband could take his time sorting things out and he wouldn't miss any payments. Plus obviously paying even a bit more on a massive debt like a house can make a big dent in how long you pay. I've heard (and believe) that if you have a 30 year mortgage and you make one extra principal and interest payment per year, you end up being done in 23 years. That's huge!
13. What did you get really excited about?
The trip to Europe.
14. What song will always remind you of 2013?
"Blurred Lines" -- my husband told me it was "the song of the summer" before either of us had heard it. Second choice is "Roar", but that's an answer to a question below.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? About the same, which is to say very happy.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter by about 5 pounds! The last couple months haven't been good!!
– richer or poorer? Richer.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Organizing, cleaning and purging around the house (same answer as last year...).
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eating! Particularly in the last couple months. My clothes are far too tight right now.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
Home! Meaning at my parents' house in Wisconsin again. Traditional Christmas Eve having dinner at home, then going for carols and church. This was the first year that my baby brother's wife was with us, which was fun. Christmas morning presents, brunch, then organizing and packing, a long 5 hour drive to Milwaukee, and then another family Christmas with lots of excitement for my nieces and nephew.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
House of Cards, by far. My boss loved and recommended it. It did not sound like something I'd enjoy, but by the second or third episode, I was totally hooked.
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
I am going to post a separate list of what I read in 2013, but as I looked over where that draft post currently stands (I want to finish a couple in progress books before posting), I think my favorite was actually Lean In. I would highly urge all people, not just women, to read it and think about it.
21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I'm not a big music person, so this is hard to answer. I guess pop/hip hop stuff that is good for running, boot camp, or just being in the gym. Every time I hear that "Roar" song, I feel inspired and want to run faster and work harder.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which we saw just a couple days ago. I don't feel like we saw a lot of movies and actually can't think of anything else that we saw!
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I'm knocking on 40's door now. I ended up working late, going out for pizza with my husband to one of my favorite pizza places (Fireside Pies, which he definitely does not love as a pizza snob). One of the highlights was eating the three mini-bundt cakes that my accounting buddy gave me.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I'd run the Berlin marathon about 10 minutes faster than I did.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
More of the same. I don't buy lots of new clothes. I wore a lot of scarves and (embarrassing) I wore better bras that made a freezing cold office less evident...
26. What kept you sane?
A combination of a white board in my office and our diary system at work that lets me set reminders for when things need to be done on cases. Having my major cases and deadlines on the dry erase board, coupled with checking my diary entries meant that I felt very on the ball at work. I'm so happy to feel like I'm more in control. It was one of my best resolutions (to not drag my feet on things like checking voicemail) and it really paid off in that I had far fewer "work freak out" dreams and generally met my deadlines (which are soft and internal, and therefore very easy to blow off, even though I shouldn't).
27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
I won't be healthy and active forever, so I should appreciate it now.
Friday, December 13, 2013
#Reverb13, Day 11: Fail
Throughout the month of December, I’ll be participating in #reverb13: Reverb is a way to reflect on the past year and project into the next year with a prompt a day for 31 days.
Day 11 – Fail:
What just didn’t work out this year? Is that okay with you? Or are you going to try, try again?
This one is easy! I failed to meet my goal marathon time in Berlin. I set an ambitious goal of an 11-minute PR. I had a solid history of 11 minute PRs, but obviously, at a certain point, your PR gets more and more indicative of your true capabilities, and improvements are rarer, smaller, and hard-fought. I had this time in my head that I thought would be insanely cool to run. And 11 minutes seemed do-able. But in the end, it wasn't, at least not in Berlin in 2013 for me. I did PR, but only by a couple minutes. I had a very solid race for 16 miles, and then I felt like I was falling out of it. My pace stayed strong for about 2 more miles, but then I slowed down. I still need to do a recap about the major problem (think kilometers) in the final miles that I think cost me a bit more time in going for my B goal.
I am mostly okay with the fact that I failed, but I may try again. That's still undetermined. As of right now, I don't think I'll be able to do it in Houston (I'm so not in shape -- I gained weight on vacation in Europe for a couple weeks and then nearly a week in California, and I just haven't been motivated to get out and train in the cold, particularly since I'm largely training alone right now), and I don't think I'm going to make it one of my central goals of 2014 (I will definitely set some 2014 running goal, but not sure yet what it will be). But marathon training has a way of taking over your life, particularly if you want to do well, so if I go for it again, by default, it will become a central goal of the year.
Whether or not I attempt it largely depends on where and when we go on vacation in 2014. We like to travel in the fall, and we know we need to be in the US the weekend of Sept. 19-21. Fall marathon season generally starts that weekend (it's part of an intricately calculated BQ calendar) and it wraps up in early to mid-December (of course there are marathons year-round, but that is the traditional season). I tend to like to do earlier marathons in the late-Sept to mid-October time frame, particularly since we would rather go on vacation in October or so to give us a bit of time to come home and recover before Christmas. Last year when we came back from China at the end of October or beginning of November, it felt like we got hit by a bus because we went straight into the holidays without any chance to get back to normal.
But whether we travel in October 2014 involves checking the weather (including rain charts) for the various places we want to go to decide if that's a good month. We've ruled out December since it's so close to Christmas (though many people have said December and the spring are the best time to be in India), and I'm inclined to rule out November for the same reason (at least the second half of it).
If we went in August (unlikely) or September (highly possible), it would pretty much completely derail my training and strongly undermine any attempt to hit my goal in October or November. While I do love running on vacation, what I love is a leisurely 5-10 miles through a new city. Not trying to include tempo miles without getting lost. Or figuring out logistics for multiple runs over 16 miles each (assuming we go away for about 3 weeks as usual). Or including 40-60 miles of running in my weekly vacation schedule.
Of course it comes down to priorities. No one is making me go on vacation, but for 2014, seeing India and whereever else we go at the ideal time of year after Aug. 1 (paranoid about squandering all my annual vacation too early) is more important to me than getting this dream marathon time.
So it's not quite clear yet if I'll try again this year. If I don't go for my 2013 dream time in 2014, maybe I will the following year, though as I start knocking on 40's door (if I'm not already), it seems less and less likely that I'll meet that goal. If I do manage to plan a vacation that would be after whatever marathon I choose, I'd definitely be open to taking another shot at it.
I'm open to suggestions for late September and early October marathons if anyone has any ideas! I don't want to run anything I've done before, and I'm looking for a fast course if I'm going for a lifetime PR...
Day 11 – Fail:
What just didn’t work out this year? Is that okay with you? Or are you going to try, try again?
This one is easy! I failed to meet my goal marathon time in Berlin. I set an ambitious goal of an 11-minute PR. I had a solid history of 11 minute PRs, but obviously, at a certain point, your PR gets more and more indicative of your true capabilities, and improvements are rarer, smaller, and hard-fought. I had this time in my head that I thought would be insanely cool to run. And 11 minutes seemed do-able. But in the end, it wasn't, at least not in Berlin in 2013 for me. I did PR, but only by a couple minutes. I had a very solid race for 16 miles, and then I felt like I was falling out of it. My pace stayed strong for about 2 more miles, but then I slowed down. I still need to do a recap about the major problem (think kilometers) in the final miles that I think cost me a bit more time in going for my B goal.
I am mostly okay with the fact that I failed, but I may try again. That's still undetermined. As of right now, I don't think I'll be able to do it in Houston (I'm so not in shape -- I gained weight on vacation in Europe for a couple weeks and then nearly a week in California, and I just haven't been motivated to get out and train in the cold, particularly since I'm largely training alone right now), and I don't think I'm going to make it one of my central goals of 2014 (I will definitely set some 2014 running goal, but not sure yet what it will be). But marathon training has a way of taking over your life, particularly if you want to do well, so if I go for it again, by default, it will become a central goal of the year.
Whether or not I attempt it largely depends on where and when we go on vacation in 2014. We like to travel in the fall, and we know we need to be in the US the weekend of Sept. 19-21. Fall marathon season generally starts that weekend (it's part of an intricately calculated BQ calendar) and it wraps up in early to mid-December (of course there are marathons year-round, but that is the traditional season). I tend to like to do earlier marathons in the late-Sept to mid-October time frame, particularly since we would rather go on vacation in October or so to give us a bit of time to come home and recover before Christmas. Last year when we came back from China at the end of October or beginning of November, it felt like we got hit by a bus because we went straight into the holidays without any chance to get back to normal.
But whether we travel in October 2014 involves checking the weather (including rain charts) for the various places we want to go to decide if that's a good month. We've ruled out December since it's so close to Christmas (though many people have said December and the spring are the best time to be in India), and I'm inclined to rule out November for the same reason (at least the second half of it).
If we went in August (unlikely) or September (highly possible), it would pretty much completely derail my training and strongly undermine any attempt to hit my goal in October or November. While I do love running on vacation, what I love is a leisurely 5-10 miles through a new city. Not trying to include tempo miles without getting lost. Or figuring out logistics for multiple runs over 16 miles each (assuming we go away for about 3 weeks as usual). Or including 40-60 miles of running in my weekly vacation schedule.
Of course it comes down to priorities. No one is making me go on vacation, but for 2014, seeing India and whereever else we go at the ideal time of year after Aug. 1 (paranoid about squandering all my annual vacation too early) is more important to me than getting this dream marathon time.
So it's not quite clear yet if I'll try again this year. If I don't go for my 2013 dream time in 2014, maybe I will the following year, though as I start knocking on 40's door (if I'm not already), it seems less and less likely that I'll meet that goal. If I do manage to plan a vacation that would be after whatever marathon I choose, I'd definitely be open to taking another shot at it.
I'm open to suggestions for late September and early October marathons if anyone has any ideas! I don't want to run anything I've done before, and I'm looking for a fast course if I'm going for a lifetime PR...
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Halfway There -- Resolutions Check-In
More than six months of the year already gone. Wow...
I did one recap of my progress on my 2013 resolutions back at the beginning of March, I seriously intended to check in earlier to see if I'm progressing, but now's as good a time as any. 12 resolutions, roughly in order of priority.
1. Hardest effort ever at a couple months of speed training, then hardest effort ever training for an early fall marathon. The idea is that this work will lead me to a marathon PR by 11 minutes and 30 seconds in Berlin in late September. IN PROGRESS. I worked with a speed coach until the end of April, and marathon training officially began in mid-May. This past weekend was what I consider my first "real" long run -- 16 miles. I'm doing most my easy runs about 40-80 seconds slower than I plan to race. I've been struggling when I attempt to run race pace or faster sometimes, but I have to remind myself that it's probably to be expected, given current training conditions of over 70 degrees on every single run. I'm going to keep at it! This week, we had 4 miles of marathon pace, and I pretty much nailed it (a bit too fast on the last one, but solid otherwise).
2. Cook at least 52 real dinners from recipes. STRONG PROGRESS. I've posted updates on this resolution about the first 30 recipes I've done, and I'll continue that until I get to 52 (or until year end possibly, whether it's 52 or more or less). I love doing this resolution. It's great to have the leftovers for lunches or easy dinners during the week, and having a real meal (and leftovers) makes me feel more like a grown-up than eating stuff that's just thrown together and/or microwaved. It also makes me feel like a good wife since I usually cook on Sundays, and my husband usually works on Sundays, and there's something that makes me very happy to see how happy he is to come home to a real dinner.
3. Quit Facebook. Not actual facebook suicide, I'm leaving the profile up, and I may log in on weekends to check for messages and/or invitations, and I'll probably check if I'm tagged in a photo by someone else just to make sure it's not horrifying, but no more daily reading what's going on with friends. SO FAR, SO GOOD. I've logged on about sporadically to get email addresses, to respond to a couple personal messages, and to browse, but I've been avoiding the news feed for days or weeks at a time and I'm happier for it. I've been playing more sudoku on my phone, but I rationalize that sudoku is brain exercise. One benefit of no FB is that when I go to my 20 year high school reunion at the end of August, I'll be more surprised by the photos rather than already having seen anything shared in advance on FB.
4. New to me country (a repeat resolution, since I'm not sure I really achieved this in 2012). If all goes as I hope, the new country will be Lichtenstein, and that will be on about October 4. NOT YET. It's still a plan for the fall though. Since my last update, we have actually purchased plane tickets that have us landing in Berlin, returning a rental car in Lamezia Terme, Italy, flying to Venice, and flying to Amsterdam (then flying home), so with that rental car, in between Berlin and Lamezia, hopefully Lichtenstein will be explored.
5. Study Italian at least once a week and attend an Italian conversation class regularly. FAILING. I've been good about attending a conversation class frequently, but I'm not studying at all on my own, and that is perhaps what I need to do most. Only about 2 more months to buckle down on this to have my Italian be coherent when we see my husband's family in October. This resolution should move up in priority.
6. Weight management. Right now I'm sitting just over the halfway point of the 10 pound range where I've hovered for the last few years. I want to get to the bottom half, ideally the bottom, and stay there. STRONG PROGRESS. For the most part, I'm almost always in the bottom half of my 10 pound range since about mid-March. I'd like to maybe lose a few more pounds before the marathon, but most of all, I don't want to gain.
7. Entertain at home at least 6 times, at least 3 times included people who haven't ever come over for dinner before. STRONG PROGRESS. We've entertained five times, including three times with people we hadn't invited over before. I need to work on having a dinner planned for the end of August probably (I'm thinking of inviting all my friends going to Germany for the race and their spouses), and then maybe one in November. Having so much travel planned for the end of the year means I should knock this one out soon. I've decided that dinners with family members don't count, and I probably won't count any dinners with just our next door neighbors (I counted the one we did, but we'll probably have them over at least a couple more times this year).
8. Finish our wedding scrapbook. FAILING. I have the scrapbook sitting out in plain view in the living room, but it's still only about 60% complete. And we've now been married more than four years. Sigh.
9. Less procrastination at work. The three big areas where I drag my feet are voicemails, reports, and reviewing records. I need to check voicemail at least once a week (we have a log, so I can see who is calling, so I answer the calls I want, and let the "ugh" ones go to voicemail, then I suck at checking messages). I need to do initial case reports within 3 weeks of it hitting my desk (for most my cases, it's actually easier to do it sooner, rather than later, because the later I wait, the more information I have that I need to include). I need to review records within 60 days of receipt (I sometimes let "not urgent" stacks sit for way too many months). IN PROGRESS. I'm doing so much better on voicemails (as of last night, I had zero, currently I think two). Reports are getting done pretty quickly (I am only behind on one). But records review hasn't been happening. But I feel more on top of things and more productive, so that's good. And I recently transferred about 15 cases off my docket to a new attorney in our group, so that is easing the pressure too. I'm more caught up than I have been all year. I'm hoping when I travel next week, I'll make a dent in some records.
10. Update our stairwell photos through the end of 2012. The stairs between our first and second floors on one wall are full of photos of the two of us beginning with our very first photo together, and presently ending in Sweden in 2010. IN PROGRESS. I chose and ordered photos beginning with Russia in 2010 and ending with China in 2012. Then I went to an Ikea in a BFE suburb to get the frames, but they didn't sell them anymore. So I tried another Ikea near Austin, and no frames there either. So I bought similar frames in a different color and I have put all my photos with my law school roommate (on the other side of our stairwell) into those new frames, and I have used those original frames to frame updated pics of me and hubby. AND I've hung several photos. I have 15 photos left in matching frames that I need to hang, but only room for two more on the wall (and that will take us up to April 2012). And then I need to figure out what the heck I'm going to do since I will be out of frames that match and out of wall -- I can start taking down photos with my law school roommate (that I just reframed a month ago), but that means new holes in the wall, and frames that don't match. Hmmm... This resolution is a mess.
11. Sunday organizing time. I need to set aside at least one hour every Sunday before 6:00 p.m. to prepare for the coming week -- that means making my lunches in advance (with the current running commute plan, I have to bring Mon-Thurs lunches on Monday), planning my outfits (including shoes and jewelry), packing my outfits (including laundry bags), and pulling together any "other" stuff to bring to the office on Monday (usually bills that need to be paid, greeting cards that need to be mailed, etc.). IN PROGRESS. I've been doing outfits and/or lunches on Sundays, occasionally both, and I feel like I'm making progess. But I need to get this one all the way done, so that most weeks, it's all done on Sundays. I'm still in the habit of having too much to do before I drive to work on Mondays.
12. Regular non-drive commute to work. STRONG PROGRESS. Even on days where it hasn't sounded like fun, I'm regularly commuting to work on foot. I have a total of 5 possible commutes in any given week that can be done on foot (given that I work from home on Fridays, have to bring the laptop and clothes on Mondays, and have to bring home the laptop and dirty clothes on Thurs nights). Thus far, taking out holidays and jury duty days when I didn't go to the office at all, there have been 116 total possible commutes on foot. I have done 94 of them on foot. Not bad. And a vast majority of the ones I've skipped have been because I had an evening commitment that I felt was really important -- volunteering, an alumni event, or a work dinner. I've been lazy (or not wanted to run in bad weather) a few times and asked my husband to pick me up on his way home. In the last two weeks, I've also asked him to pick me up on his way home once each week so that my mileage wouldn't get too high. I'd be thrilled to average about 66% of my possible commutes on foot for the year, but we'll see how it goes. Even 20% is better than nothing in my book, and this will greatly depend on how marathon training goes. If commuting wears out my legs too much, I'll drop it, but I'm very happy to have done it for more than half the year already.
So that's it! A good reminder that the next few weekends should be spent studying Italian, figuring out and finishing up the stairwell, finally finishing the wedding scrapbook, and planning out our next dinner party!
I did one recap of my progress on my 2013 resolutions back at the beginning of March, I seriously intended to check in earlier to see if I'm progressing, but now's as good a time as any. 12 resolutions, roughly in order of priority.
1. Hardest effort ever at a couple months of speed training, then hardest effort ever training for an early fall marathon. The idea is that this work will lead me to a marathon PR by 11 minutes and 30 seconds in Berlin in late September. IN PROGRESS. I worked with a speed coach until the end of April, and marathon training officially began in mid-May. This past weekend was what I consider my first "real" long run -- 16 miles. I'm doing most my easy runs about 40-80 seconds slower than I plan to race. I've been struggling when I attempt to run race pace or faster sometimes, but I have to remind myself that it's probably to be expected, given current training conditions of over 70 degrees on every single run. I'm going to keep at it! This week, we had 4 miles of marathon pace, and I pretty much nailed it (a bit too fast on the last one, but solid otherwise).
2. Cook at least 52 real dinners from recipes. STRONG PROGRESS. I've posted updates on this resolution about the first 30 recipes I've done, and I'll continue that until I get to 52 (or until year end possibly, whether it's 52 or more or less). I love doing this resolution. It's great to have the leftovers for lunches or easy dinners during the week, and having a real meal (and leftovers) makes me feel more like a grown-up than eating stuff that's just thrown together and/or microwaved. It also makes me feel like a good wife since I usually cook on Sundays, and my husband usually works on Sundays, and there's something that makes me very happy to see how happy he is to come home to a real dinner.
3. Quit Facebook. Not actual facebook suicide, I'm leaving the profile up, and I may log in on weekends to check for messages and/or invitations, and I'll probably check if I'm tagged in a photo by someone else just to make sure it's not horrifying, but no more daily reading what's going on with friends. SO FAR, SO GOOD. I've logged on about sporadically to get email addresses, to respond to a couple personal messages, and to browse, but I've been avoiding the news feed for days or weeks at a time and I'm happier for it. I've been playing more sudoku on my phone, but I rationalize that sudoku is brain exercise. One benefit of no FB is that when I go to my 20 year high school reunion at the end of August, I'll be more surprised by the photos rather than already having seen anything shared in advance on FB.
4. New to me country (a repeat resolution, since I'm not sure I really achieved this in 2012). If all goes as I hope, the new country will be Lichtenstein, and that will be on about October 4. NOT YET. It's still a plan for the fall though. Since my last update, we have actually purchased plane tickets that have us landing in Berlin, returning a rental car in Lamezia Terme, Italy, flying to Venice, and flying to Amsterdam (then flying home), so with that rental car, in between Berlin and Lamezia, hopefully Lichtenstein will be explored.
5. Study Italian at least once a week and attend an Italian conversation class regularly. FAILING. I've been good about attending a conversation class frequently, but I'm not studying at all on my own, and that is perhaps what I need to do most. Only about 2 more months to buckle down on this to have my Italian be coherent when we see my husband's family in October. This resolution should move up in priority.
6. Weight management. Right now I'm sitting just over the halfway point of the 10 pound range where I've hovered for the last few years. I want to get to the bottom half, ideally the bottom, and stay there. STRONG PROGRESS. For the most part, I'm almost always in the bottom half of my 10 pound range since about mid-March. I'd like to maybe lose a few more pounds before the marathon, but most of all, I don't want to gain.
7. Entertain at home at least 6 times, at least 3 times included people who haven't ever come over for dinner before. STRONG PROGRESS. We've entertained five times, including three times with people we hadn't invited over before. I need to work on having a dinner planned for the end of August probably (I'm thinking of inviting all my friends going to Germany for the race and their spouses), and then maybe one in November. Having so much travel planned for the end of the year means I should knock this one out soon. I've decided that dinners with family members don't count, and I probably won't count any dinners with just our next door neighbors (I counted the one we did, but we'll probably have them over at least a couple more times this year).
8. Finish our wedding scrapbook. FAILING. I have the scrapbook sitting out in plain view in the living room, but it's still only about 60% complete. And we've now been married more than four years. Sigh.
9. Less procrastination at work. The three big areas where I drag my feet are voicemails, reports, and reviewing records. I need to check voicemail at least once a week (we have a log, so I can see who is calling, so I answer the calls I want, and let the "ugh" ones go to voicemail, then I suck at checking messages). I need to do initial case reports within 3 weeks of it hitting my desk (for most my cases, it's actually easier to do it sooner, rather than later, because the later I wait, the more information I have that I need to include). I need to review records within 60 days of receipt (I sometimes let "not urgent" stacks sit for way too many months). IN PROGRESS. I'm doing so much better on voicemails (as of last night, I had zero, currently I think two). Reports are getting done pretty quickly (I am only behind on one). But records review hasn't been happening. But I feel more on top of things and more productive, so that's good. And I recently transferred about 15 cases off my docket to a new attorney in our group, so that is easing the pressure too. I'm more caught up than I have been all year. I'm hoping when I travel next week, I'll make a dent in some records.
10. Update our stairwell photos through the end of 2012. The stairs between our first and second floors on one wall are full of photos of the two of us beginning with our very first photo together, and presently ending in Sweden in 2010. IN PROGRESS. I chose and ordered photos beginning with Russia in 2010 and ending with China in 2012. Then I went to an Ikea in a BFE suburb to get the frames, but they didn't sell them anymore. So I tried another Ikea near Austin, and no frames there either. So I bought similar frames in a different color and I have put all my photos with my law school roommate (on the other side of our stairwell) into those new frames, and I have used those original frames to frame updated pics of me and hubby. AND I've hung several photos. I have 15 photos left in matching frames that I need to hang, but only room for two more on the wall (and that will take us up to April 2012). And then I need to figure out what the heck I'm going to do since I will be out of frames that match and out of wall -- I can start taking down photos with my law school roommate (that I just reframed a month ago), but that means new holes in the wall, and frames that don't match. Hmmm... This resolution is a mess.
11. Sunday organizing time. I need to set aside at least one hour every Sunday before 6:00 p.m. to prepare for the coming week -- that means making my lunches in advance (with the current running commute plan, I have to bring Mon-Thurs lunches on Monday), planning my outfits (including shoes and jewelry), packing my outfits (including laundry bags), and pulling together any "other" stuff to bring to the office on Monday (usually bills that need to be paid, greeting cards that need to be mailed, etc.). IN PROGRESS. I've been doing outfits and/or lunches on Sundays, occasionally both, and I feel like I'm making progess. But I need to get this one all the way done, so that most weeks, it's all done on Sundays. I'm still in the habit of having too much to do before I drive to work on Mondays.
12. Regular non-drive commute to work. STRONG PROGRESS. Even on days where it hasn't sounded like fun, I'm regularly commuting to work on foot. I have a total of 5 possible commutes in any given week that can be done on foot (given that I work from home on Fridays, have to bring the laptop and clothes on Mondays, and have to bring home the laptop and dirty clothes on Thurs nights). Thus far, taking out holidays and jury duty days when I didn't go to the office at all, there have been 116 total possible commutes on foot. I have done 94 of them on foot. Not bad. And a vast majority of the ones I've skipped have been because I had an evening commitment that I felt was really important -- volunteering, an alumni event, or a work dinner. I've been lazy (or not wanted to run in bad weather) a few times and asked my husband to pick me up on his way home. In the last two weeks, I've also asked him to pick me up on his way home once each week so that my mileage wouldn't get too high. I'd be thrilled to average about 66% of my possible commutes on foot for the year, but we'll see how it goes. Even 20% is better than nothing in my book, and this will greatly depend on how marathon training goes. If commuting wears out my legs too much, I'll drop it, but I'm very happy to have done it for more than half the year already.
So that's it! A good reminder that the next few weekends should be spent studying Italian, figuring out and finishing up the stairwell, finally finishing the wedding scrapbook, and planning out our next dinner party!
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