Television

And we're back. It is a new year, a new decade actually, though some may argue that the new decade starts in 2011, I am not one of them. Since my last post I have pulled a week of all-nighters, had a horrible end to my horrible semester, slept almost 12 hours a night EVERY night during my holiday break, reunited with many long lost friends back home, started school back in Ann Arbor, and ventured north to snowboard with college friends. Yes, I have done many things and unfortunately running is not one of them. Let me tell you, once you stop running or whatever your new habit to form may be, it is incredibly hard to start again. Andrew and I want to pick up where we left off today, which means in about 45 minutes I will be lacing up for a 2 mile run in the snow and 20 degree weather after almost a month of absolutely no exercise. Lucky me. :)

So I failed miserably at making a new habit of running every day. That doesn't mean I am giving up. Between Andrew and I, we will motivate each other to pick up the training once again, we still have a race to run in May. And let me tell you, I am going to need all the help I can get because it is COLD outside. Luckily I managed not to gain any weight over the holidays, I even lost a few pounds. Yay for me, still very cold outside...

Anyway, while I will be continuing trying to form the running habit and train for my first ever 25K, or anything K for that matter, I have decided to move on to a new habit. Still working very hard at running of course, but let's be honest, if I keep stopping and restarting the running habit, we're all going to get bored. So to keep things interesting and to further improve my life, I have decided that watching television is going to be the habit to break.

And to figure out how I came to this decision let's rewind a bit through my day. Woke up at 8, went to my only Monday class from 9:30-10:30, went grocery shopping which took FOREVER due to some picture printing issues, finally got home at 1:45 STARVING, I decided to snack while unloading groceries. Well then a snack turned into sit down and watch some TV while I have a bowl of oatmeal for lunch which turned into unload groceries during commercials while I watch several episodes of a show I don't even like. In all I spent almost 3 hours watching television, a television show that I don't even like, when I could have been doing homework, or reading or doing other things to reduce my incredibly long to do list. But no, I watched TV, and why? Somehow it became a habit. When no one is home, I drown myself in television. I'll admit this was a habit of mine when I was in middle school. But since college I have drastically reduced my TV time, and even come to dislike TV. The sound of the television drives me insane. Even if the TV is on mute and I am in another room, I still know that it's on and it still drives me bonkers. And yet, I sat in front of that same irritating, noise making box today for 3 hours! But I know I am not alone. On average, Americans spend more than 4 hours a day watching television. 4 HOURS EVERY DAY! Let's do some math. 4 hrs/day x 7 days/week = 28 hours a week. That is more than a full day every week of TV. How about 4 hrs/day x 365 days/yr = 1460 hrs/yr x 1 day/24 hrs = 60 days and 20 hours per year = about 2 months. 2 entire months of every year is wasted for television. That statistic makes me sick. Think of the things you could accomplish in that 2 months. What would you do?

So television is going to be the habit to kick. Now, I have given up television before, for lent when I was in high school, twice. The first time was my freshman year. I remember because that was the year the war in Iraq started and I had NO CLUE anything was going on in Iraq until the day before the war. I also cheated during lent that year too. The day the statue came down, I was on spring break in Florida with my friends and their parents, I had to see it. I don't remember the second time I gave up TV but I know I did it a second time...

This is not lent though, this is a permanent habit that I am looking to break. Now, obviously I'm not going to go the rest of my life without watching T.V. So I have decided to give up television as a pass time. What does that mean, or what does that mean for me? It means that I will only be watching "my shows" on their designated nights. Sunday = Desperate Housewives, Monday = The Bachelor (thanks to my good friend Marie), and Thursday = Grey's Anatomy for a grand total of 4 hours of television PER WEEK. Now that still translates to over 200 hours of television a year, or about 8 days a year, but it is a huge improvement. The only question now is, can I keep it up?

By the way, I went running, didn't actually finish this blog post in that 45 minutes before Andrew showed up. The run wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, I still struggled, but for not working out AT ALL for the last month, 2 miles in the snow and cold was not hell. And the good news is, tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, and sunnier. Things are looking up.

Welcome to 2010.

2 Mile Run

Ran 2 miles alone. Stopped by Starbucks. Worst day ever. The end.

For The Record

I can't sleep. It's 1:30 in the morning, so I should be tired and sleeping by now, especially because for the past 3 or 4 months all my body has wanted is sleep. So why insomnia now? Could it be the cup of coffee I had with Derek 8 hours ago? It was my first cup in months, delicious too, but I've been trying to stay off coffee. Or maybe the stress of the week to come, believe me you don't want to know, but I'm sure you'll be hearing about it at some point down the road. Perhaps the thoughts I was left with AFTER the coffee with Derek. Or was it the chocolate bar that I ate instead of dinner tonight? Either way, I'm wide awake, my body temperature is quite high, not feverishly high, I just don't feel cold, which almost never happens at night. I brought the space heater from home because my heated blanket no longer works and I always freeze at night even with my endless layers of blankets and glowing orange space heater. Wide awake, warm, thoughts swarming.
And for the record I would like to state:
My dreams and aspirations have changed many times over the years. Those who know me know that I am a terrible decision maker, and that trend continues to this day. That trend is what led me to apply to nearly every university in the state, to transfer schools, to change my major 4 times in 1 year, to take forever when shopping for clothes, which rarely happens anyway, you get the picture. Today I am a 5th year senior, 7 days and 1 semester away from graduating with a bachelor's degree in architecture from one of the best universities in the state. But I no longer find joy in Architecture. Perhaps I never did, perhaps it was what I could do with architecture that was intriguing. Learning about an old building, retelling it's story. Or building structures for those in need. I could use architecture as an avenue for adventures. I could also use public health as an avenue for adventures (another prospective career path). I could have gone to any university, pursued any major and the goal would still be the same: adventures. What brings me joy cannot be summed up in one word, or even one blog entry. The world is one big adventure and its not waiting to happen, its happening and it will continue to happen with or without me, and I don't want to miss out on any of it. Something new is an adventure, something out of the ordinary, something that only comes around once in a lifetime. Those are the things that bring me joy, living those somethings. There is just so much to do and so much to see... there is also so much to be.
Adventure isn't the only thing I want. Over the years that have made up my short life thus far, I have also grown to love and appreciate the people in my life more and more. My family are the most important people to me, ALL of them (I emphasize ALL because the definition of family that I am referring to extends beyond the household I grew up in). And my friends, ALL of my friends (childhood, highschool, college, camp...) I find joy in loving and being loved by all of them. So what I want more than anything is not to be a world famous architect, or dietician, or teacher, or musician, or *fill in the blank*... What I want is to be the best daughter, sister, grandaughter, niece, cousin, friend, girlfriend, roommate, *fill in the blank if I missed one* in the world to all these people in my life. And to SOMEDAY be a great wife and a great mom too. To love the people in my life, to experience great things, to do great things, to LOVE GOD and to LOVE PEOPLE.
Perhaps now I can sleep...

Another 2 for 1

Well, last night made the top 10 coldest walks ever. Luckily the wind had died down from the storm, which left us with just a dusting of snow and freezing cold temperatures. Anyway, the 20 minute walk was cold, but I've had worse. Take last year for example. Another snowstorm, -30 degree windchill, at least a foot, if not more, of snow on the ground, it was so cold that my car wouldn't even start so Andrew and I were stranded at my house. My "real people" house, as my friend Pauline would say, was pretty far from campus and only within walking distance to Kroger, the bowling ally and the laundry mat, hence when the car would not start on account of the temperature being below anything that man could survive we were stuck. So 11:30pm rolls around and Andrew decided that he was hungry for a loaf of french bread, I said you're kidding, and too bad because I can't drive us to Meijer and Kroger closes at midnight. To make a long story short, I somehow got roped into venturing out into -30 degree, blowing wind, 12+ inches of snow on the ground weather at 11:40 pm to walk to Kroger with my boyfriend who was craving french bread like a pregnant lady. And the kicker to the whole story is that when we got home to bake the bread, genius didn't set a timer on the oven. French bread, burnt. Ahh yes, that was probably THE coldest walk I have ever been on in my life.
In other news, today I may have experienced the coldest RUN of my life. Today's 1 mile easy run was painfully cold. The temperature was about 11 degrees, not so windy, but still, 11 degrees. Breathing through my nose like you're supposed to do when running, or excercising in general, in through the nose out through the mouth, it's so the mucus and nose hairs in your nasal passage can filter and warm the air you inhale before it reaches your lungs. Anyway, super long run on sentance, I don't even know if a period belongs there, but I was tired of using commas. So ANYWAY, breathing in through the nose was not even an option, it stung and made my eyes all spazy and watery trying to breath in the icy air. So it was in through the mouth, out through the mouth, which is a common breathing pattern for most people while excercising. However, it proved to be very painful. The icy cold air reached my lungs too soon, painful. But the run was good.

1 Mile Walk Or Run

The first 2 weeks of the schedule are pretty much the same, and this week was once again a 1/2 mile run and 1/2 mile walk. The weather made it tempting to keep on running. We are in the midst of the "Heartland Blizzard." I wish I were at home for it, being blasted with lake effect snow and ice and wind and more snow. In the morning I would wake up and find my car invisible, just a part of the cold, white landscape. And there would be nothing to do all day, but enjoy the snow. That's the wonderful thing about snowstorms, they have the ability to stop the "real world" from happening and create a mystical adventure in your own front yard. Once when I was younger, there was an aweful snowstorm and school was cancled. There was an incredible amount of snow that had fallen over night, then it turned to rain and sleet. Which froze when the temperature dropped again, and another layer of snow fell. That morning the roads were too full of snow and too icy underneath to drive on. Of course, we couldn't even make it to the end of the street. My neighborhood roads were always the last to be plowed, if at all. Anyway, we soon discovered that there was so much ice on the roads that we could go ice skating! Right down the driveway and up and down our street. It was the most amazing winter day. I skated for hours, or so it seemed. Then the sun finally melted the ice off the black top, and the adventure was over. Here on the other side of the state, this is the first snow we've seen this winter, and it's mostly been wind today, hardly any snow. I don't like the wind, never have and here that's all we've gotten. A little bit of snow and ice, but not even enough to cover the grass. But the wind hasn't died, the lights keep flickering, our friend called and said he lost power. Stupid wind.

1 Minute Walk/1 Minute Run - 20 Minutes

This time Andrew kept track of time. I think he felt bad because he was supposed to call me this morning for a wake up call (I have a hard time waking up to an alarm, remember?) and he didn't. In any case, we went running and thankfully I didn't have to spend the whole time staring at my watch. Andrew did a pretty good job. We took Ashley St, then the railroad tracks. I'm pretty sure it is illegal to walk, or in our case run, along the railroad tracks though. It's understandable, afterall it is somewhat dangerous if say you're running with headphones on, or stumbling home drunk (at CMU many students found their way back to the dorms after a long night of Frat parties by following the train tracks because they led strait to the dorms), or just not paying attention, and all the sudden AMTRAK comes speeding around the track, SPLAT. So yes, probably not a good idea to hang around on the train tracks, at least not without paying attention, but must we make laws for something like that? Are we incapable of being responsible for ourselves? Or using common sense to keep ourselves safe? You wonder why we have so many rediculous lawsuits these days. Common sense people. Trains travel on tracks. Don't want to get hit? Be careful when playing on the tracks, or just don't go near them at all. But I don't think we need a law for that. It would be like saying that it's illegal to swim in the ocean. Sharks swim in the ocean, don't want to get bit? Be careful when swimming or don't swim in the ocean at all.

20 Minute Run

Yes, I wrote and posted yesterday's post today. The good news is, I am posting today's post today, well LATE today. I wasn't sure if running today would be an option. I threw up this morning, the genetically mutated california navel orange I ate last night actually. But after a 6 hour nap and a bowl of cereal, running wasn't all too bad. It was a pretty enjoyable run. We took First St. through town. We passed by a cool outdoor market shop something or other. You could drive your car into it though, weird. We stopped on the way back, thought about buying a Christmas tree, read the price tags and laughed out loud. $70 for a 4 foot tree? Are you serious?! At home, we always get a really tall Christmas tree for our living room with the double height ceiling. This year the price was free, and we even got 2! My dad went deer hunting, like he does every November, and instead of getting a deer, he got 2 Christmas trees. :)