A new hobby

Iowa is great for xc skiing. Not until I moved here had I really tried the sport. This season, I bought a cheap pre-owned pair of skies, shoes and poles for $60. The shoes have a comfort rating of about 30 minutes, and somehow I always stay out for at least 45 minutes, so the last part of every adventure is in varying degrees of discomfort, but I do always enjoy getting out and skiing when I do.

There is a special breed that actually xc skies. It is the same species that bikes on sunny days. I don't know too many of these people here, but I am fortunate to know one, T-. We had classes (endured) together last year. T- hails from the state that is actually farther north and even colder than Iowa, so he is always willing to head out with me into the great outdoors.

Here are a few pics from our last outing I wanted to post.
Lake McBride at dusk
Not me. T- on skate skies.
Me gliding through the forest!

Ah.... that Iowa sky.

Off the list

I'm trying to declutter my life. Not in a physical sense necessarily, but in a time management sense. I've gotten to a point that EVERYTHING feels like a priority and I realize that EVERYTHING is not a priority. It is always so much easier selecting things to become priorities rather than eliminating things that are not. Quakers call the process "Laying it down." I realize there are things I need to "lay down" but it is not easy. And, once I have decided to remove something from my priority list, it is difficult to keep it off the list. For instance, I have decided that outings with the department, while fun and a good way to keep in the loop, do not necessarily meet my social needs. So, I am limiting my intake of social gatherings and focusing more on the friendships in my life that do provide what I need.

I was planning on a spring break trip to Colorado. However, I am now reconsidering. Not that I don't want to go, I just need some time to myself to recoup over break. The thought actually crossed my mind today to just find an oceanfront condo somewhere, where no one knows where I am, and just stare, stare into the horizon. I don't care if it rains everyday. That is not the point. Then again, there are some beautiful places in Iowa I wouldn't mind exploring as well.

I took tutoring off the list this semester. Well, until today when to women came to the office seeking tutors. Without recalling my personal priority list, I said I would tutor them. I forced them to work within my time frame, I wasn't as accommodating as I usually am, so I suppose that counts for something, right?

A good problem

Allow me to recap my crazy day.

8:05-9:20 Class
9:30-12:45 Exam (I had until 1:00 to complete it but was done and over it by 12:45.)
1:00-2:00 Presented my research to a room of fellow grad students and supervisor types.
2:00-2:30 Lunch
2:30-3:20 Started homework due tomorrow.
3:30-5:30 Class
5:30-6:00 Waited on campus, did homework, waited for the bus.

Now I am at home and besides about a half hour of homework, I don't know what to do with myself. What a great problem to have!

barely complete sentences

I'm not sure how
this semester got so busy
so fast.

One week from today:
a one and a half our stats class
a three and a half hour stats exam
a one hour presentation for work
a two hour class

ugh.

So tired already.
I'm going to bed
at 8:30.

Didn't sleep well
last night
I hope I sleep better
tonight.

Good night.

Fresh Start

So here are the stats: I have approximately 1.5 years left of course work and then one year of the "Big D." That is, if everything goes accordingly. This past week kicked off the second half of my coursework. I'm taking yet another stats class which seems okay so far. Well, despite the fact that the class starts at 8:00 in the morning and it is in a small dark cozy room. Seriously, this room is designed to screen films, not for following stats lectures. My theory class is so much better than my class last semester (so far.) The textbook is useful, the professor seems fair, the material, accessible. Amazing what even the slightest inkling of competence does for the downtrodden. Of course, this class is in the same classroom as T and T( of last semester's infamy). I firmly believe humans are creatures of habit, but NO ONE chose to sit in the same seat as we sat last semester. Everyone is looking for a fresh start.

Irony.

The places I love the most are the places that make me feel that I am surprisingly not in Iowa. These are also the places I will miss the most if I leave Iowa.