Summer Goals

I should have posted my summer goals at the beginning of the summer. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might know that, at least when I'm not immersed in the life of a law student, I'm usually working towards goals in four different arenas - knitting, beading, hiking, and running. So here is an update on how these different things are going for me.

Beading: Right on track! I completed an EBW Challenge piece that I'm really proud of. I listed two pieces that were on the back burner forever. I experimented with shapes, like I wanted to. I have two pieces that are almost ready to list and another piece that's about half finished right now. Now that I have a brand new camera, these pieces will be displayed here and on my Etsy site very soon. I also made a new piece for myself, and as a bonus, Sam found a piece I'd made for myself years ago under the radiator!

Knitting: I kind of told myself that I would finish one sweater this summer. Unfortunately, it looks like that is not going to happen. I've been working on my double v cardigan, but after I messed up and had to unknit for many rows. This was really boring and caused me to avoid the project for a while. So I'm still on the first piece - the back piece - though I'm almost done with it. I'd have to really struggle to finish by the end of the summer, and really, that's not a challenge I feel like undertaking right now. But I'll keep working on it, because it's true that I can't wait to wear it!

Oh, and also, my crocheting is on hold. That one stitch I was doing got very tedious. Hopefully I will get the patience to pick that blanket up again soon.

Hiking: This is a hobby that's never really materialized as much as I would have liked. I did some backpacking in high school, which I absolutely loved, but since then, I haven't hiked very much at all. Sam and I went a couple of times before I started law school, but especially since we live in the city, hiking is an all-day adventure for us, and I simply haven't had time to go on an organized trip. It's true that I had an internship this summer and had weekends off, but law school doesn't really end when the semester is over - there are still things law students need to be working on over the summer (like, you know, finding a job). BUT Sam and I are going hiking in Virginia for two days in about a week and a half! I'm super excited about it!

Running: This was a lost cause this summer. After years of knee pain, I found out a couple of years ago that I had tendinitis and cartilage damage. I can still run, but I have to build up my quads first. This past year and this summer, I was pretty bad about going to the gym. So for now, I have to work on my quads before I can even start running again.

My internship is over now (which is sad, because I really loved it) but I don't quite feel like I'm on vacation. I do have some things that need to get done ASAP. Still, I have two more weeks to work on my goals. But they're really only loose goals - I have enough stress in my life already and I'm not going to let my hobbies add to that stress!

Gaining Knowledge and Losing Teeth

I just typed "Dreams about" into Google, and the first search term that came up underneath it was "Dreams about teeth falling out." Which is exactly what I was looking for.

It has been an intense month, but I am loving law school so far. The further I get in academia, the more I am able to embrace my inner dork. And who would have ever imagined that I would have found contracts so interesting?! After my three years of soul searching, I am definitely very happy with my decision.

And with school, comes homework and studying. And with homework and studying comes procrastination (like, um, right now...I am blogging and should be outlining). But the weirdest thing is my sleep patterns! All through college, I had dreams of my teeth falling out and I also had sleep paralysis. For the three years that I was working, those two things went away completely. But now they are back! Last night I dreamed that I had handfuls of teeth just falling out of my mouth! I guess this means that I can be very happy and incredibly anxious and stressed out at the same time.

Meanwhile, my crafting gone by the wayside. I'm still on the cuff of that second sock that I started in Australia! I haven't even attempted to block my lace shirt yet! At least I'll have a two and a half week break before the fall semester. By that time, it'll be getting cold enough to actually wear the socks! Hopefully it won't be too late to wear the top, too. The weather has been so awful, it had better be nice well into the fall. (Yeah, I wish!)

I have been keeping up with the running. When I was a kid and I saw other kids with braces for their various appendages, I always thought that they looked so cool. But it's not nearly as cool when you have to wear two of them. With the metal bits on the sides, it kind of looks like I'm wearing a bionic suit for the knees. Plus, my knees still aren't strong enough to run on pavement, so I'm stuck on the treadmill, which can get really boring. Although, I guess with this weather, the treadmill is where I would have been anyway. I think it's been really good for my mind and body.

Challenge, Corporate Style

The Corporate Challenge is a huge annual running race entered by employees of thousands of companies. It is held in different cities, and in New York, it is held on a 3.5 mile course in Central Park. I participated in this race on Thursday. It was my second Corporate Challenge.

At the end of the work day, I was getting changed in the bathroom when I realized that I had taken one of the wrong shoes with me to work! Somehow, my I had thrown one running shoe and one Chuck Taylor in my bag! I couldn't run like this! Not only would I look hilarious, but this would probably have been quite bad for my back, ankles, and feet. Wearing two different types of shoe at once tends to do that to you - plus, those Chucks are so old and worn out that I can't even wear them walking for long periods of time.

Luckily, I live near Central Park. So I dashed home to change, and walked back to where my company was stationed, waiting for the race to begin. Inevitably, I got lost finding it, but I made it just in time!

I really love running and I used to run several times a week. Lately, though, I've been lucky to fit in one weekly run. This, combined with the stress of the shoe fiasco and the fact that I'm only used to running in the morning, when I have little food and drink in my stomach, resulted in the worst side cramp I can ever remember having. I ran the first two miles while grabbing my aching side and, occasionally, walking. But by the third mile, I was pretty much OK. I'm really glad that I did it! I loved participating in such a huge event, and I LOVE the idea of bringing fitness to the sedentary corporate world.

Sam participated for the first time this year, for his company. It was awesome seeing him afterwards and stopping for sandwiches and frozen yogurt with him on the way home. We even trained together exactly once - last Saturday to be exact! Maybe for next year, we'll start training a little earlier. Like, perhaps, tomorrow! Then again, that's what we said last year, when I ran the race the first time and Sam decided to enter this year's race. So maybe I'm being a little optimistic. But whoever said optimism was a bad thing? :-)