[sunday] it's been quite a while, but i don't want to spend too much time writing because i'm tired and would like to get a solid 6.5 or 7 hours of sleep tonight.

day to day the past 4 weeks have had their own excitements and dull periods, but overall not a whole lot of big or major events. as i predicted (and feared) since that seemingly innocent text way back near the beginning of the year, carolyn is gone. called her after a couple weeks (her recommendation) and got no answer. received a text a day or two later that was anything but a deal breaker, tried calling a day or two later and no answer so i gave up. that kind of sucked, but since i was skeptical of the whole thing so much early, the let down was gradual and therefore not much more than a blip on the radar.

training has been going pretty well minus the past 4 days. tuesday on my sorta long, but hard run i finished the 7 miles, but behind my left knee was strained or pulled or something and my left shin was very, very tender. the "injury" was bad enough for me to take the cautious route and skip the wednesday short and easy run. 1.5 miles thursday and some bike, but friday i decided to push my long runs back to saturdays, then went out hard on friday night and ended up pushing the run back another day. today i got 10 miles into the 15 before having to stop from stomach issues. finally found a bathroom but by then the legs were very tight and cold and i didn't want to risk a major injury so pulled the plug on the last 5 miles. however, i was sub 7 for the first 8 miles and think i could have had a solid 15 if not for the stomach (although i did take the previous 2 days completely off so i should have had a fast day). i think the big day is 8 weeks away...nervously excited. weight training is going fairly well too. usually get in 3 days a week, but this week with the injured leg and lack of motivation i only got 2 in.

"youth" volleyball happens on mondays. that's mildly fun but kind of cool to try and "teach" or "coach" to some degree some middle schoolers...can be frusterating with all the gossiping and lack of focus and listening, but i think there benefitting at least a little from my presence. every other tuesday is "adult" volleyball which can be fun, but turn out usually isn't great. wednesdays are the league with the other church. not a whole lot of fun still, but for a volleyball lover, i find some joy from the night.

my insurance is still through the company...no dental either and i need to get fillings soon, uh oh. lazyness is pretty much the reason for this situation. between working until 3:30 (thanks corey, you suck!), i can't get to the gym until 4:30 or later and then i stretch, run, bike, stretch and then i rush to get in my weights before going to some volleyball night or getting home for survior and dinner so i can go out on thursdays. my time mangagment could use some work, but its difficult to juggle my fitness life, social life, free time, work life, and sleep schedule...not enough time for my ideal way of doing things so i'm tweaking this and that trying to find a happy medium (and also keep fridays short so i can go out thursday and have my productivity hurt for just a few hours instead of a whole day). and speaking of the job, it seems there's more and more talk of getting rid of some people. not sure if its just the gossip train passing through, but our immediate boss and the guy who hired us have let it trickle down that the company is looking to cut some costs by dumping the contracts. the out of state guys working in our office are losing there per-diem bonus which essentially is firing them. i thought once the new year hit we'd have some stability and could relax and not worry about having a job, but apparently, i was wrong about that.

also at work, there's this new communication platform that's basically AIM. so i talk a whole lot with jamye, especially the past week (the boss was on vacation so pretty chill week). and i think that led to the co-worker actually going out. well, it was just jamye, sarah and myself and jamye left after a only 2 hours, but i stayed out with sarah, her boyfriend came and then somehow i was talked into going to a strip club with them. that was the rough night that made me push back the long to sunday. it was pretty fun, wonder if we'll end up hanging out more like that or whether it was a one time thing.

didn't go to the south side irish parade. brent and mary we're my fail safe, but the weather made them decide against bringing nora out in the cold for an extended period. couldn't get the local group to go. and actually had a half-chance to go with sarah and her cousin (who also works at the office) but they never called and i probably wouldn't have gone anyways.

talked with melissa quite a bit this weekend and chatted with arjun which is nice. they'll be in town for "march madness drinking madness" on good friday at the foundry so i'm excited about that. also, melissa is working on a blind date for me. never been on one, i think it could be fun, i trust her judge of character/compatability (not sure about romantically, but hanging out wise i trust her) so if it pans out, that'll be an interesting experience.

just went through daylight savings time so we lost an hour saturday night, but gained more sunlight. well worth it in my book because more sun lifts my spirits and brightens my attitude. the weather still isn't spring by any means, but i can begin to see it. the crazy amounts of snow are all but gone, its actually sunny sometimes and its only a matter of time before its back to sandal wearing, bag playing, big thursday crowds at quigleys, and just overall better, more social attitudes from people.


i actually was looking for other jobs and a place to move to today. it'll suck if i get a career job because it'll probably be the end of the long locks, but it would be nice to know i have a steady job and career where i can then start to put money towards retirement, get some paid-time-off and begin to feel a little more like an independent grown up.

lastly, filed my taxes today. getting some good money back from the government plus the $600 refund check as part of the economic stimulus package from the government. that should take a nice big chuck out of my nashville trip costs, not that i was terribly worried. and i think arjun and melissa MAY be coming to join me which would be pretty outstanging.

and i spent way more time than i want to writing. i need to grab a snack and then head to bed....i have been exhausted and really thirst today. probably from the faster 10 miles, but i think friday took a lot out of me too...if so, that's just another sign that i'm getting older...bummer.