Week in Review and Other Thoughts

What a week! Meetings, meetings, and more meetings. I swear I spent more time sitting around listening to people talk than I did getting actual work done. Some of it was really useful, but as usual, most was not. Too bad there’s no way to do a Reader’s Digest version of meetings, where it all gets condensed down to the basics and you can go get more info on just the parts that matter to you.

I had planned to put my bike in the shop on Monday, but that didn’t come to pass because I was late getting home from work. Then it rained Tuesday and Wednesday, and by Thursday it was too late in the week and I was concerned about getting the bike back by the weekend. Now I’m looking at the calendar thinking I should probably just drop off the bike before going on vacation. That way they can do whatever needs doing, no time pressure, and I’ll get the bike when I return. It’ll also be one less item in the entryway to impede the pet sitter. Win/win!

Today’s run ended up quite a bit longer than I originally intended. I had a couple errands to take care of, so I figured I would take care of them while I was out. So I arranged my run so that I ended up at the bank at 9 am, where I deposited a check from my father. I already had the check and deposit slip ready to go, so it was just a matter of taking them out of the plastic bag and handing them over. Very fast.

Tip: Save all oddly-sized ziplocks from purchases. They’re great for stashing things on a run or bike ride, so they don’t get wet. Little bags are good for Endurolytes or Sport Beans. Slightly larger ones are good for cash.

The next place I needed to go didn’t open until 10:00, which led to some of my extra mileage. I could’ve gotten there by 9:20 or so, but had to invent extra loops and mileage, so that by the time I finally got home, I had run fifteen miles instead of the planned twelve. Oh well. It was a nice day for it.

After several weeks of feeling angsty and dissatisfied with Life, the Universe, and Everything, I’m doing better now. No particular reason, it’s just that either my hormones were out of whack, or I’ve found a way to cope. Maybe some of both. It will be interesting to see what my vacation does to me. I often come home feeling more than ever like the life I’m living isn’t real enough, and reality is “out there” somewhere.

While it’s true that much of modern life is very far removed from the essentials that matter, it’s also true that meaning is where you find it. A smart man I once knew said that he used to think he needed to go to India to “find himself,” until he realized that if he needed to go halfway around the world to figure out what was in his own head and heart, he had bigger problems that wouldn’t be solved by crossing an international border.

Wise thoughts. Putting wisdom into practice on a day to day basis is the tricky part.

Recent Workouts
Tuesday: 30 minute elliptical, weights
Wednesday: 35 minute spin, weights
Thursday: 4 mile run
Friday: rest day
Saturday: 15 mile run