Friday, August 31, 2018
Day 81
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Day 82
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Day 83
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Day 84
Monday, August 27, 2018
Day 85
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Day 86
One time, just a few weeks after we finished college, my friend Brooke eloquently remarked, "Corn Flakes are like Frosted Flakes without the fun. They are the master's degrees of Frosted Flakes; master's degrees are like college without the fun." If I recall correctly, there was no alcohol involved in this conversation; we were just sitting on her couch, possibly watching TV, and this came out of her mouth. Brooke has since completed a respectable amount of graduate work, despite the predicted lack of fun back when we were 22.
Speaking of Brooke, she's someone I spent quite a few Sunday nights with back at Mercer. Many Sundays went something like this: have a late lunch at the cafeteria, complain about all we had to do to prepare for the week, watch some TV, I'd leave to lead an Supplemental Instruction session, then we would get ready for chapter (weekly sorority meeting), go to dinner in the cafeteria before chapter, attend chapter, hit up Taco Bell or other fast food for a post-chapter/pre-homework snack or second dinner, complain a little more about the upcoming week, and around 10:00 pm, we would finally start our homework or reading that we'd been complaining about since after lunch. It wasn't the most productive way to get ahead on the new week, but that remained our Sunday routine anyway. Some weeks we'd mix it up and skip the post-chapter fast food but show up at Waffle House with our posse sometime after midnight.
Thinking about Brooke's silly comment from years ago, I can see how people would feel that graduate work is like college without the fun. This kind of Sunday night activity is a little lonely compared to a decade ago. I'm at a table by myself in my own house with my school stuff stacked around me, and if I wanted to go to Waffle House (which I don't), I'd have to go alone, which doesn't sound like much fun. In fact, what sounds fun now is actually doing my reading and being prepared for the week. I'm completely invested in pursuing new knowledge. Woah.
Even though I managed to get things done (and mostly on time) in college, I realize that I have come a long way from where I was as an undergraduate, and other than a few pages of reading, I'm ready for Monday. Tuesday is another story, but I hope to be in a better place with class preparations next Sunday. I have time to figure out my routine, and meanwhile, I feel incredibly fortunate that I am able to fully devote my time to my graduate work. There are so many people cheering for me, and I can't disappoint the team.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Day 87
We’re gonna remember today as a great day.
The “final boss” is documenting the wine. I’m shooting with an iPhone 6S, so there is no portrait mode. I start reading about apps that will give photos the macro lens look and download one, then another, then another. The third one seems decent. I clear the water pitcher and an extra place setting off of the buffet, and Rebecca tells me, kind of joking but kind of not, “You’re messing up my table!” I eventually settle for this photo.
We’re gonna remember today as a great day.
Richard floats in and out of the kitchen, ferrying appetizers from the grill to the adults in the kitchen while he and Brian grill steaks outside. The kids, sweet as they are, are growing hungry and impatient. They’ve been good for photos, but they’re not interested in adult appetizers. We send them back upstairs to play, telling them dinner will be ready soon. When they leave, the adult crowd agrees that, if push comes to shove, the kids’ steaks don’t have to rest like the adults’ steaks do. I document the steaks while they rest on the counter. I take this one in one shot without using the macro app.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Day 88
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Day 89
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Day 90
I can be pretty hot and cold when it comes to my levels of activity; I typically either want to be at home being lazy and wearing no pants, or I want to be out training for my next running adventure. It’s fairly easy to understand, then, why I wish I could be more like my dog. She stays at home with no pants on most of the time, after all. But that’s not the only way I want to be like my dog.
Truthfully, I wish I could get half as excited about anything in my life as my dog gets about going for a walk. With my trip to Leadville, starting school, and generally being more tired, I haven’t spent much time with Scooter in about a week. After dinner, I read a chapter of my Research Design book, and then I uttered the magic words: “Hey Scooter! Want to go on a walk?” She absolutely lost her mind. Imagine telling small children that you’re taking them to Disney World for a month, and you’ll buy them all of the ice cream they want, but then multiply that by 852. I should have put my shoes on before I said the W word, because she was running around, whimpering, and jumping, ready to go on a walk. I had to fight with her to get her harness on because she could not calm down long enough for me to put it on her.
I’m easily excitable, and Richard makes fun of how pumped up I get about small or silly things like tacos (and plenty of other foods), having a matching hair bow with my outfit, girly cocktails, matching ringtones with my father-in-law, knowing the exact dollar and cent amount of something I bought three months ago, not losing time on Waze, and Googling the answer to every question immediately, to name a few. But my enthusiasm pales in comparison to my dog, who acts a fool (in a positively adorable way) because she gets to go outside and spend time with me. Sure, that level of excitement is inappropriate in some spaces, but in general, I hope I can approach even the smallest adventures with the joy Scooter brings to an evening walk around the neighborhood.
If you can start the day without caffeine, if you can get along without pep pills, if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, if you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it, if you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time, if you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when, though no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment, if you can ignore a friend’s limited education and never correct him/her, if you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit, if you can conquer tension without medical help, if you can relax without liquor, if you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics,
Then, my friend, you are ALMOST as good as your dog.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Day 91
Monday, August 20, 2018
Day 92
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Day 93
Day 94
Friday, August 17, 2018
Day 95
Our first stop in Leadville was a pre-race meeting, which we were late for, but we still arrived with sufficient time to get pumped up with the runners. Then, there was a meeting for the crews, and we headed out to explore Leadville a little bit and purchase souvenirs. After that, we left for Vail (where we are staying) to drop our bags off. The hanger/hangry level of our collective group was skyrocketing (I was doing okay because I was the only one comfortable with eating boudin balls that I’d bought 20+ hours earlier in Louisiana) so we went for a delicious Italian dinner before going to pick up last minute supplies and going back to relax at our villa.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Day 96
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Day 97
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Day 98
Never have I ever had a bad dog. Fortunately, I can still say that one.