Holidays

Sometimes I really hate how commercial our society has made holidays. Ok, thats a lie. I always hate how commercial our society has made holidays. Especially days like today. It is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have passed away in military service. Instead of thinking of the soldiers and their families, there are ads on tv about selling couches, clothing stores with big sales, and other nonsensical things that have nothing to do with what Memorial Day stands for, and if there is any holiday that should not be so commercial, its this one. I just wish more people would recognize that, especially as over 5000 American men and women in uniform have passed away in Iraq and officially over 1000 have died in Afghanistan. Whether or not one supports the reasons for going to war, we have to support the men and women fighting, and I don't feel like selling a couch at half off really does that. Sigh.

Ok, enough of a rant for today

Gym Time

Dad was hear last weekend, and it was great to see him. He stayed here at my place, well, technically its his, lol. It was super nice not to have to take the metro to see him and then make my way back home though.
In any case, while he was here, I got quite a bit done:

-I got a new back up hard drive for my computer since my old one died
-we went shopping
-we played with ipads
-we ate lots of yummy meals
-I got to just hang out with my family

Finally, we also went to the gym. By that, I don't mean we worked out. I mean we went and toured the place....and I signed up for a membership! Even better, Dad is paying for it for the year! I was always planning on joining, but not until I had a steady paycheck for a while. Now however, I have the membership, woohoo! Last night I used that membership for the first time, and I really enjoyed it. I had forgotten how competitive I am with myself. By that I mean while I was on the elliptical, my plan was to do it for about 20 minutes as I haven't worked out in ages. But while I was on it, I kept thinking, burn this many more calories, go this distance, make it to this time, well, burn this many more calories since you made it this far, well, since you have gone this far, work it 5 more minutes, etc. Even after 30 minutes, I felt like I could keep going, but I also didn't want to kill myself my first day back at the gym, so I stopped. All in all, it was a good cardio workout :-) After that, I did some crunchies and stretches. It was a good workout and I think I am going to go back tomorrow. My overall goal is to run a half marathon next year with Dad. First though, I must get into shape, hence the starting out on the elliptical.

Wish me luck!

I Am Ridiculous

I am listening to the score from the movie version of Atonement as I read the novel Atonement. :-)

Books and Boys

So I finally cracked open Atonement today, and I have to say, even though I am only 4 pages in, I really like the style of writing. McEwan is very descriptive and I can picture every scene in my head as I read. Granted, part of that may be because I have seen the film, but I don't think so. In fact, the beauty of the writing is almost putting me off reading because I know what happens, and I know how sad it is going to make me feel. Kind of lame, right? Still, I will read, I promise. :-)

I got my books I ordered from Barnes and Noble today, and 2 of the 3 I got I am super excited about. The first is about spy satellites, and I think it will help me at work. Its a good little book about the history of aerial reconnaissance, and I am looking forward to reading it. The second book is called Four Letter Word. It is a collection of fictional letters written by authors of our time. They are all pretty short, and I am planning on reading a couple of the entries every night before I go to bed. I figure it is something that is happy and easy enough to put down that I won't keep reading til 1am every night.

Now onto boys. It was my friend's 27th birthday on Monday, and I went to a happy hour celebration to celebrate. There were a bunch of people there, many whom I did not know. So, I ended up sitting next to a guy, but I didn't really talk to him in the beginning of the night. However, as the night went on, we spoke more and more. We even live near the same metro, so we rode home together. There were a couple of bummers though. First, I had a friend visiting who was with us (and that is a whole story by itself). Second, we didn't exchange numbers or anything. It felt a little awkward at the end of the night when we parted ways, partly because I don't know how to flirt and partly because my friend was with me. In any case, I think we might see each other again because he works with my friend. We shall see though. We must remember, I am a shy idiot who doesn't know how to flirt or date or any of that stuff. So it will be what it will be...though I will keep my fingers crossed and hope something maybe happens. :-)

More Books!

I finally started reading Jane Austen again, woohoo! I love Pride and Prejudice, the movie and the book, so I figured I should get around to some of her other books. I have read Sense and Sensibility, though I don't remember it much and want to read it again. I have also seen the movie versions of both Sense and Sensibility and Emma. So, I decided it was time to read Emma. I enjoyed it immensely :-) So I decided to move on to Mansfield Park once I finished. Sadly, it just isn't drawing me in. I am about 35 pages in, and I just can't get myself to keep reading. So unfortunate. I'm hoping I can pick it up again in a couple of weeks and be drawn in.

So, instead of Mansfield Park, I'm now reading Kindred in Death, by J.D. Robb, otherwise known as the alter ego of Nora Roberts. This is the 29th (I think?) book in her semi futuristic mystery series. It is the second to last that has been published. In other words, the most recent one is only available in hardback, and I'm not paying for that, so I am trying to be patient waiting for it to come out in paperback. In the mean time, I am enjoying the most current book. I could say a whole lot about it, but instead, I will just mention that I want my own Roarke. That is all, haha.

Finally, we picked our next book club book! This time I chose the book, and picked Atonement. I saw the movie when it came out, and while I found it really sad at the end, I also thought it was a beautiful story. When I found out it was based on a novel, I decided to buy it. Sadly, it sat on my shelf and never got read. So, when Mo said it was time to pick a book, this seemed to be the obvious choice. I hope it lives up to my expectations though; I would hate to be disappointed. My plan is to start it once I finish Kindred In Death. So that means I will be starting tomorrow. Haha. Actually, I will probably start it on Monday and make it my metro book as I ride home from work every day.

Anyway, I'm off to continue reading! Oh happy day  :-)

So Out Of Shape

Every day I take the metro to work. Once I get to the stop closest to State, I walk about 6 blocks to get to the building. Its a long walk, but still, its good exercise. And there is no way I would take the bus those few blocks. I mean, really, how lazy can you be? In fact, there are many people who do this...take the metro and then the bus. I have mentioned them before and will never stoop to their level.

In any case, after work, I walk the 6 blocks again, hop on the metro, and make my way home. At my metro stop however, the escalator is not working. This means that every morning I run down the escalator "stairs," and every evening, I climb up them. This is where the out of shapeness comes in. The first day I had to climb those stairs, I was so out of breath it was embarrassing. I could not believe it. I mean, I knew I was out of shape, but really? So, after that horrendous trek up the stairs, I debated going up the escalators that do work but put you out on the opposite of the street. Then I realized that the only way I will get back into shape is to walk up those stairs every day. So, that's what I'm doing. And its getting easier every day. At first, after the first 20 steps, I was feeling out of breath. Then it was after 25, then 30, etc. This past weekend, I even ran all the way up when I in a rush and had to get back to my apartment really fast. the only annoying thing now is that there are people who are super slow getting up the stairs, and that's more painful than going up quickly. Regardless, while I may still be a bit out of breath when I get to the top, it is not nearly as bad as it was, and I think it will get better and better as I do it.

Now, I am considering taking the stairs instead of the elevators at work. This is a big step though, as my office is on the 8th floor. Still, it would be even more exercise, which can only be a good thing.

I have also decided that once I finish school (for real this time) and am actually getting paid (yet another saga; fingers crossed I get money within the week), that I want to start going to the gym. I mean, I live right across the street from a Washington Sports Club, so why not? There a very few excuses when you can walk across the street and be at the gym, lol.

Anyway, I now feel a bit better about myself, but I know I still have a looooong way to go to get back in shape. My goal is to get back into the shape I was in in high school. That was when I was dancing (tap, jazz, ballet) almost every night of the week and marching for band (at least in the fall). I had muscles, I could run less than an 8 minute mile, I could do a million crunches, and I felt better about myself. One of these days soon I will get there. For now though, each step I take up those stairs is another step in the right direction. :-)