Fabulous Florida, YEP and the power of new sneakers

Oooo, those Sunday night jitters. That icky feeling before you head back to the office, a feeling that's somewhere in the middle of "I know I forgot something important" and "Do I have to?!" Are they ever worse than after a long weekend, when they're actually Monday night jitters? Time to update the blog and take my mind off of whatever is coming up tomorrow! 

It's been a great and productive start to the New Year, and I just got back from a work trip to Florida. It sounds pretty luxurious, but trust me, I spent the majority of it in my classy rental Kia Rio driving down the west coast and back up the east coast. Florida is deceptively big. But I did come back with two positive impressions from my trip. First of all, I'm pretty convinced that if I'm lucky enough to grow old, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure I can move to one of those amazing retirement communities they have down there. It's like college all over again: You arrive to a totally self-contained campus that's loaded with tons to do, plenty to eat, and everyone living in your building is your age! And they DO have classes, but just like in real college... going is optional! Everyone I met on this trip was having the time of their lives at these places and really living life to the fullest. I was really inspired by the joy with which they embraced every day. 

Secondly, I loved seeing some of Florida's nature up close. Florida had beautiful flowers and tropical trees, but the animals were by far my favorite. There were lizards everywhere! And awesome seabirds and pelicans. And, best of all, I saw this guy! A local told me he is a "gopher tortoise" and that they dig holes and burrow, hence the name.  He looked just like a cartoon, and I almost died when he hid in his shell. If I ever go back for vacation, and have some spare time, I plan on doing a tour of the everglades. I read up on them when I was down there, and they really do seem like the most fascinating place. Plus, what's a trip to Florida without seeing a gator or two? No such luck this time!

Well, hello there.

Back in DC, I've taken on a new challenge. Before Christmas, I applied to be on the board of a national organization called Young Education Professionals. It's a totally volunteer-run non-profit that serves the pretty unique role of uniting everyone in the education area-- teachers, policy makers, non-profit workers, and more-- under one umbrella where they can network, train, share ideas, and more without the traditional "ed reformer vs. traditionalist" battles getting so much in the way. It's primarily targeted at people in their 20's and 30's, and I've enjoyed their events and programming for some time now, so it's great to be in a position to give back. My job, as the Vice President of Development and Partnerships, will be to help raise support for the organization with local individuals, businesses, and foundations. I'm really excited for the role and the chance to rock out E-board meetings again (APO shout out!) Check out the organization here: http://www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-dc.html

Finally, I'm progressing slowly but surely on my goals for the New Year. I am registered for a piano class (yay!) and got some info about retirement plans from HR. I still haven't called any doctor's offices yet, but I haven't forgotten. I checked off all of my "mini resolutions" last weekend, which was great, and now I'm trucking forward with my other big goals I carried over from last year, including my goal to run a half-marathon in March. I'm reaching that point in my training where I can't chicken out anymore and things are starting to hurt. My "easy" runs are now 4 miles, which means I can't do them so easily on a lunch break if I actually intend to shower, and my hard runs have reached 7 miles, which, well, just stops being fun around mile 5. You real marathoners out there are laughing at me, I know, but sometimes I need to get myself little treats to keep myself going. A new little treat arrived for me in the mail this week: New running shoes! They are Mizunos, my favorites, and I swear-- just like when you wear a new shirt or something for the first time and it feels so glamorous, that's how putting on new running shoes feels. It makes your run so much easier! Just look at my purple shiny feet go!

Zoom zoom.

Anyhow-- that's all for now. My birthday is coming up, and my sister Kat is on her way to visit next weekend. Updates on those adventures next time!

Peace and Love. 

The Token New Year Post.

In every tall building pretty much everywhere, architects decided to skip the 13th floor. 13 is supposed to be bad luck, so, why not just pretend it doesn't exist? Unfortunately, Pope Gregory XIII decided to pass on this option when he signed off on the modern calendar. But, since the Mayans were wrong, and we've all got a nice long 13-ish year to look forward to, I guess now is as good a time as any to make some resolutions for the upcoming year, may good or bad luck prevail!

I debated blogging about my resolutions because, like so many other aspects of my life these days, on paper they look rather boring and adult. But since sharing resolutions makes it statistically more likely that you'll keep them, here we go:

1. Get a primary care physician. Although I've had my own health insurance since I graduated college, I somehow dodged this obligation by using walk-in clinics for the occasional Z-pack and relying on my OB-GYN for pretty much anything else. I have been telling myself for a while that this is a dumb system, and this time, I really intend to do something about it, be a big girl, and get a doctor.

2. Meet with a financial adviser. I now have the opportunity to get a match from my work for money that I put away for retirement. So how much should I put in? How much should I save? Can I ever get back that money I have hidden somewhere in the depths of the State of Maryland's retirement fund from when I was teaching? How much is too much to spend on delivery sushi? Time to let someone who is good at math tell me what to do. Maybe I'll even get crazy and buy some stocks! I've always wanted to buy some shares of Krispie Kreme ever since I picked it for an economics project in high school. Is 2013 the year to invest in sweet and delicious sugar and grease? Maybe....

3. Take a piano or guitar class. At one point in my life, I was learning piano. Then I quit because I was 8 years old and hated practicing. At another point in my life, I was learning guitar. Then I quit that too. (My primary reason for learning that instrument was to take revenge on my 8th grade nemesis by starting my own band, and as you can imagine, that didn't work out well for me.) Unfortunately, the only instrument I did take seriously when I was young was the clarinet. And more unfortunately, you can't sing and accompany yourself with the clarinet at the same time. I really, really regret not learning an instrument I can sing with. So that's changing in 2013!

There are lots of other little things too, (GET NEW WATCH BATTERIES FOR THE DEAD WATCH THAT HAS BEEN IN YOUR JEWELERY BOX SINCE 2010) but those are far too many to list here on this blog.

I'll close this entry out with one final resolution. It's a cliche, but I've always liked it. "Be the person your dog thinks you are." Wouldn't that be great? Have I mentioned I love my dogs? They're not even mine anymore. They belong to my parents. It's very sad. All the same, it's amazing to go home for breaks to visit and play with them, even if just for a little while. Going home for Christmas was so much more special because of my pups! Here's a video of them getting a stick on a beach in Rhode Island!!

Happy New Year! Peace and Love.