While You Were Out

Well!
Happy New Year, Western and Chinese.

I did make resolutions, and so far, they've been working out.

Get back off my ass and start properly training. This one is working out. Since my injury, I'm terrified of getting hurt and off track again, so I'm taking things very slowly. My birthday - my 40th! How did that happen? I have no problem with my age, it's just that I'm kind of astonished that I've made it that far - falls on November 5th. So do the marathons in New York, Athens, and Huntington, WV. While I'd love to do the Athens marathon - who wouldn't? - we just can't afford the trip there this year, with the wedding and all. Plus, it's November, and I'd hate to go to Greece without being able to go back island-hopping. So it's a toss-up between New York and Huntington. Entrance to New York is on a lottery basis, so I'm entering both. Either way, I will celebrate my birthday by completing a marathon. (I bet there are some people reading this and going, WTF? She hasn't done one yet?)

So my schedule is drawn up and posted on the fridge, and so far adhered to. I'm feeling motivated, and tell myself that it will only get better. Right now, living in Seattle is like being imprisoned in Tupperware. There's a gray sky and a constant feeling of damp. But soon, spring will come.

Lose weight. This appears to be working - at least, I'm fitting into clothes I haven't for a while. I don't know exactly what I weigh, as we don't have scales, but I have to fit into the goddamn dress, which is due to arrive in a few weeks. I really don't feel happy when I'm heavier - I'm not fat, but I love clothes and for the last year or so I've hated the way they hang on me. But there's a lot of progress being made here.

Develop work-life balance. By and large this is working. I have to be a little more focused on ripping through stuff during the day so I can get out early, but the benefits are so worth it.

Stop being so lacksadaisical about my personal relationships. In my last job, I had so little time that I really dropped out of socializing for quite a while - I could go a long time without calling or seeing my friends and family. And that's not good. I really want to make time for friends right now - it's important. And I've been focusing on this, and it's a pleasure to see it working out.

Don't freak out about the wedding. Focus on the big picture: will people feel welcome? Will there be enough to eat and drink? Will important people - parents etc. - feel appreciated and included? Forget about the little details. No one ever left a wedding complaining about the way the napkins were folded. So far, actually, it's been really relaxed - either it's not as big a deal as everyone says, or our standards are abysmally low - but four months down the road, who knows?

Get some stuff done around the house. We lucked out and found a maybe the last really cheap place - funky, cool, in a good location - in Seattle. As a result, we have a tiny mortgage, which we're not willing to give up (it's our Fuck You safety net, so that if one of us hates our job, we can risk quitting it). But the downside is that our place is pretty small - a hundred-year-old one-bedroom apartment. We need to bite the bullet and redo the bathroom, paint the place, and replace the windows. The building just got made a historic landmark, which in one way is cool - but on the other hand means that you have to jump through a lot of hoops if you want to do something that might affect the exterior. I hate the hassle of it, but we need to do it or we might kill each other. Hey: anybody in Seattle want an original clawfoot tub, cheap?

Five resolutions are plenty. Now I've put them out there I feel much more motivated!

Regular running updates will resume shortly.