I did vote today–I think this was the second time in my life I voted in a midterm election. The polling place is an easy two block walk from my house. It was less hectic than last time (two years ago), and less exciting. But that’s okay, I did my civic duty, right? I even brought my sample ballot along with the answers marked down so I would know how to vote, very responsible of me!
I remember voting in 2004 in Cleveland–that was the year the voting places were completely overrun. I was lucky and only had to wait in line (in a smelly, damp, very crowded hallway) for about 30 to 45 minutes before getting to vote. Others had to wait for hours. It was raining that day.
Today is very sunny, as was Election Day in 2008. Hmm. I can’t recall 2006. I remember it was cold.
I mention this all MAINLY because I’m sure most people are just sick and tired of the campaigning. I know I am. So much negativity all the time on the radio, tv, computers, etc. So today, what I am thankful for is this: the campaigning is over! (for now). THANK YOU!! Of course, it’s bittersweet as I know tomorrow the word referendum will just be used over and over again…but nonetheless at least the campaigning is done. So that is something to be thankful for 🙂
In my kitty induced haze, I forgot to mention something I have thinking about recently.
It’s really easy for me to feel inadequate, to find people who are more successful in life (career and personal) than I am. No matter what I accomplish, there is always somebody who accomplished it sooner, better, faster, and easier.
But I must remember, somebody else hasn’t accomplished it yet, and may never! So it’s important to keep PERSPECTIVE–that my life is actually pretty darned awesome, and in reality there are very few things I would change.
I also have to continually remind myself that how somebody acts on the outside doesn’t necessarily reflect how they feel on the inside.
Where am I going with this? Last year I recall a friend made a different facebook status each day about what they were thankful for. I know it’s cliched and cheesy, but I want to do that this month. I have so many things to be thankful for, and I need to remind myself of that! (If you want to add something you are thankful for in the comments, please do!) Plus I love Thanksgiving–it’s possibly my most favorite holiday.
*drools over Thanksgiving plate*
Today: I am thankful for my cat, Oistrakh. She is warm, fuzzy, squashy, and adorable. Even though sometimes she bugs me for food or attention, she is always there for a snuggle! Ever since we became a one-cat household she has lived up to the challenge and been a fantastic pet. THANK YOU FAT FRIEND!
Gotta love the ability to sleep just about anywhere!
Ugh, today was a long day. And I felt pretty down all day, for no real apparent reason. Then Chris and I went out for chinese food, for our “cheat” meal, which just made me feel guilty and certainly no better…though my meal was pretty fantastic. (Wei Hong ftw!) So what to do to feel better? Other than eat 😉 ?
Well, I found something cute! More kitty “Albergo” photos on the facebook!
This is, of course, my cat 🙂 Still cute, though not the same as a kitty!
Okay, that made me want to look through my computer for old photos of the fatness. I found a few! (Seriously, there is nothing cuter than a kitten. Nothing!)
I still have this rocker...
Getting comfortable
And, now, for a real blast from the past:
Me and my sister Leslie, demonstrating how NOT to hold a cat.
Ah, there’s nothing like kitty pictures to cheer one up 🙂
I’ve taught a few weeks now in my new room at the St. Louis Ballet School. It’s really nice, especially the big windows and the fact that it is a dedicated music room. The expansion of the school is really great overall as well–much nicer waiting area with couches (originally had been just a couple chairs and benches along a hallway). I’m very pleased.
Okay, after a fairly relaxing week, this upcoming week will be nuts! It’s all due to my upcoming performance with Chamber Project St Louis. Well, not all–but the extra busy is. I also have another new student this week (that makes one each week for about four weeks), and that fills up my home teaching schedule until something changes. I can’t believe how many students I’ve added at home in the past month! Usually I add more in August, but this year has been different.
I had a great lunch today with my friend Melissa. We went to Bar Italia and sat outside (it was a bit cool, but nothing we couldn’t handle). I hadn’t been before, but will definitely go again! I was starving after my “long run” in the morning (ran 1 hour 10 minutes doing a 8 minutes run/2 minutes walk ratio, nice, slow and easy) and really enjoyed my lunch–food and company.
After that we had rehearsal for the Chamber Project concert. We’ve been working hard and are down to our last few rehearsals. It should be a great concert, but I am getting pretty stressed–it’s a big program! I haven’t played at the venue “The Chapel” before, but people say it’s really great. If you are local and free Friday night, come to our concert!
What else this week? Two weddings, lots of running/working out, TONS of teaching as usual (no days off this week) and of course Election Day. Yes, I’ll be voting. Will you?
Okay, as promised, a short recap of Saturday morning’s race. I ran this race with a friend of mine, Jen. It was her first race, though she had been running a little longer than me.
I picked Jen up at 6:40 am and we drove out to the St Louis Mills. SO early! I actually had woken up right before my alarm, and was initially really annoyed at myself, but then I got really excited and was ready to go. We arrived at the race site around 7:15 and picked up our race packets. It was pretty cold–in the high 30’s, so I had decided to wear a fleece jacket over my pumpkin t-shirt (with awesome knee socks from Target!). We ran back to the car to drop off our bags and get our race numbers attached. Jen was getting super excited and nervous for the race.
Check out my awesome outfit!
The nice thing about the race was that we got to use actual bathrooms in the mall, rather than porta-potties. Naturally we hit those up, and then wandered around a little bit checking out the tents that were set up.
Cold, tired, nervous and excited all at once!
The race was to start at 8:00 am, so we didn’t have too long to wander around. The course was advertised as being very flat, so we were hoping to just run a nice pace the whole time, and ideally not walk at all, but I was naturally a little worried about my hip. I read online that taking smaller strides could help so I planned to try that for the race.
The race organizers were prone to exaggeration, though it was a nice race!
Finally we got underway! We had lined up towards the middle of the pack, but were getting passed quite a bit at the beginning. It didn’t bother me, but I think Jen was a little annoyed. However, we kept our pace up and kept running. I had told Jen I wouldn’t be at all offended if she ran ahead, but it seemed we were well matched and she stayed with me. I probably ran a little faster than I would have alone, in fact. We passed the first mile, and just kept running. Around 1.5 miles there was a water station, which we walked through simply because I didn’t want to spill water all over myself, and then we ran again! We got to a sign that said “1/2 miles to go” and started running faster, and faster, and finally giving it our all towards the finish line. Believe it or not, we finished with the exact same time: 33:04, pace of 10:40 per mile. Almost 3 minutes faster than two weeks ago!! I was so proud, and I seriously couldn’t have run so fast without Jen pushing me along. Thanks Jen!!
Posing with the finisher's medal!
We wandered around a bit longer–picked up our medals (they had them at a table, not at the end), turned in our timing chips, got some free food, gatorade, and samples of “Orange Julius”. It was a great race, well run, though the course was a little boring.
Loot from the race 🙂Close up of the medal
Thoughts: The shorter, faster strides definitely helped. I know now that I can run a 5k without stopping to walk, and anything telling me otherwise is simply psychological. I can’t wait for the next race (and of course, continuing my training 😉 )
