Neighborhood

As I have moved from 'unemployed' to 'employed' and soon 'credit card debt free' I am looking towards the long-term future. A future filled with home ownership, a second cat, and a garden to call my own. But where?

Where I want to live and where I can afford to do so are turning out to be two very different parts of town. So I am working through what's most important - close to social life versus close to work, driving versus walking or biking, proximity to a grocery, proximity to friends. And it is the latter that is foremost on my mind currently. Specifically the friends I've made through my local coffee shop.

They are entertaining, caring folks, but how do they factor into my decision? And what else needs to factor into this decision (besides money)? Proximity to my hair dresser? A grocery? Distance from a fire station (I currently live 3 blocks from the busiest station in town; I need some distance from the sirens!) Distance from a busy street so Max can go outside? The school district for the children who aren't even a twinkle in my eye? Proximity to Julie? Michael? Chloe? Running folks?

I like the community with which I have surrounded myself in Capitol Hill. It is friendly. It is open minded. It is convenient. But it is expensive! Indeed, I want a room of my own, but I don't want to be a slave to the mortgage for it when I get to that point.

The Human Race 10K

It was sponsored by Nike, but I didn't fall for their ploys. I just ran their 10K; got a free tech t-shirt; ate the free bagels, bananas, and coffee; and didn't win the raffle. 6.21 miles in 58:19.

Shhhhhhh!

Don't tell my IT band, but it might be healed! I ran 6mi easy on Saturday and Sunday whilst scouting and then setting my Hash. Saturday my IT band bothered me and was miserable that evening. Sunday it gave little more than a moan and today it 'twas no trouble at all. So now I will register for the 10K and the half marathon I keep threatening to run before the year is out!

other's realities

So often I get caught up in my own world that I forget that there are other folks' versions of reality playing out every second of every day - 24/7/365. Today I experienced an almost surreal reminder of the existence of other's realities during the Hash.

I spent two hours throwing blue flour on the ground, aka 'setting trail', for my fellow Hashers to follow. I was not excited at the prospect of revisiting the trail for a third time in two days (having scouted the trail Saturday and set the trail Sunday) in order to run the trail. But I didn't have to. It wasn't my trail to run; it had been my trail to set.

So, while 16 people puzzled their way through my blue flour markings (some following the markings more accurately than others), I drove around in my car in order to arrive at designated points before them with the all-important beer.

They were cold; I was warm. They were on foot; I had my foot on the gas pedal. They didn't know where they were going; I had a pretty good map in my mind's eye of their trajectory (except for the ones that got 'lost'). We were occupying the same moments in time in completely different ways.

I particularly enjoy thinking about this concept of other's realities with a larger focus, as summarized by this quote:

The world in which you were born is just one model of reality.
Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.
- Wade Davis*, anthropologist

He has an interesting TED talk that can be found here.

Breaking out of the routine

I am a creature of habit, but I know this and that is a powerful tool against it. So, because I started anticipating the mental acrobatics that breaking out of my routine of unemployment would require, one would think that the transition would be going smoothly. And it is.

Wrapping my head around losing a big chunk of my 'free' time was top on the list. Indeed, I have a sense of loss of my 'free' time, but I think now that I have less of it I am better able to hone in on what I really want to be doing as opposed to doing everything because I had the time and boredom to do so.

Next was cranki- and sleepiness from getting up at 6:30am. Yep. I'm tired although not cranky (aiming for a good impression y'know).

Strangely unanticipated was the retooling of my eating schedule. Where I had the unemployed eating under control - every three hours nearly like clock-work - I'm hungry nearly constantly now. Hopefully this is due to my brain's needing additional fuel to process the policy and procedure manuals I've been reading; the computer system I've been mucking with; and the navigation skills I've had to learn in order to get from my cubicle to my exam room.

So, as excited as I was to break out of my unemployed routine, to start this job, grow my professional career, and get out of the house, I'm also looking forward to having a routine again so I can stop eating.

Just a *little* neglectful

I have no excuse for not writing an update; I just haven't. Here is a nitty-gritty update on life since 9/17 (the date of my last post):

1) NEW JOB!
Working for the Jefferson County (Jeff Co) Public Health Department in the reproductive health department performing "Adult Health, Cancer Screening, Family Planning & Reproductive Health, Birth Control, HIV Counseling & Testing, Sexually Transmitted Disease Testing & Treatment". Nearly my dream job. So excited. I start 10/5 and aim to have a long, professionally rewarding career there.

2) IT band syndrome
Increased my running mileage too quickly (I guess... that is one of the common causes of IT band syndrome) and aggravated my iliotibial band, which runs from the outside portion of the hip to the outside of the knee. This means much pain when I run 'too far', which my body presently considers 6mi. Went on a hike with Julie and her/our friend Jen in Rocky Mountain National Park today and the activity helped stretch the offending tendon. I'm hoping to run <6mi tomorrow without pain.

3) Humboldt Street gardening complete
After installing a recycled plastic/recycled wood composite edging on the sidewalk gardens in front of my apartment, I have decided my gardening on Humboldt Street is complete. It's too late in the season to plant more (despite the building manager's request) and, due to starting at Jeff Co on Monday, I shall have less time to devote to agricultural pursuits. Photos to follow. Note: I am well aware that this does not mean I am done being Julie's garden bitch.

4) New bicycle
Well, it's an old bicycle that's new to me. The cool cruiser I was riding was stolen from the tree in front of my apartment (no trees were harmed in the theft of the bicycle, but the lock will never be the same), which put the kabosh on my two-wheeled transportation.

I have purchased a new set of wheels: a 1970s 10-speed which has been tricked-out with fenders at JD's Cycle Shack and I am thrilled. Well, I would be if the crank shaft of the pedals hadn't lost a nut and then a bolt and become useless. I'll be thrilled once again when I reassemble the crank.

5) JENNIFER 1, PARASITE 0
Still trying to figure out why my belly isn't happy, but the problem is no longer a parasite.