Saturday Miscellany

I admit it. I was a slug this week. My excuses are:

• flooding on Monday (why not go to the gym?)
• tired (go to bed earlier!)
• family issues with Dan—he wants to talk (but not all night)
• tendon in top of left foot kind of sore (might have a winner here!)

But all in all, I was lazy. I could’ve gotten on the bike. I could’ve gotten on the elliptical trainer. I could’ve (gasp!) gone for a swim. But I didn’t.

Today’s long run was a “short” one, since I pushed the distance last weekend. I hadn’t gone up to Rice University in awhile, so I did that, and did Hermann Park while I was in the vicinity. It was really nice, and I saw what might be some trails near the Hermann Park golf course. The sky was threatening rain, so I didn’t go investigate, but I’ll have to take a look next time I’m over there. I have lots of running routes, but I’m always looking for more. I get bored easily, and really long runs can be brutal on my mental state once I’m past the three hour point.

In other news, Dan’s mother is finally home from the hospital. Home, not in assisted living, like we recommended. She lives with Dan’s half-sister, who we've been told treats her like a servant and today we were informed she’s not feeding her or helping her with anything. Dan is beyond furious. His sister lives with her mother to save on rent and childcare, and you’d think the least she could do is heat a can of soup for her mother who is recovering from back surgery, right? And yet we’re having a nearly impossible time convincing Dan’s mother to move out. It makes one wonder just what the truth really is over there. Dan is getting really tired of making other arrangements, only for his mother to dig in her heels and refuse to leave a situation she complains about constantly. If there's something wrong, MIL should leave. If it's not as bad as she says, I wish she'd quit complaining and giving Dan fits.

And as if that weren’t enough, Dan’s favorite uncle is dying. He’s had Alzheimer’s and diabetes for a long time, and now organs seem to be failing left and right. It’s hard on Dan, since he grew up without a father. This uncle was the closest to a real father he ever had. Still, I believe there are things worse than death, and the condition his uncle is in now, is one of them. So I’m hoping the end comes soon and painlessly, since an improvement to his quality of life (pain, confusion, and lots of sleep) does not look possible.

Not much is going on with me, thank goodness. There’s talk about moving my office back on campus sometime before Thanksgiving, but until I actually see progress happening on that, I won’t be holding my breath.

And I find I’m spending a lot of late hours working on my fictional character blog. It’s fun, and I think it’s giving me some much-needed distance from my “real” writing. But when I took the project on, I think I had no idea how quickly it would consume me. Writing tends to do that, I guess.

Finally, I’m trying to decide what to make of iPod costumes. A sign of the impending apocalypse? Or merely bizarre? Kinda cute, any way you look at it.

Recent Workouts
Monday: 2 mile leisurely walk to take pictures of bayou
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: 6 mile run
Thursday: total laziness
Friday: designated rest day
Saturday: 13+ mile run