doing it

I beat Katie Holmes by over an hour at the NYC Marathon, which I think is awesome (in part because I assume she has access to trainers and such that I don't have!). Amazing experience, but I wouldn't make running my sole extracurricular. Too solo (obviously). Everyone around you at the finish line is concerned with themselves, and not that excited about your accomplishment as a group.

That being said, I'm wearing my medal to work tomorrow. And did enjoy the random congrats from strangers on the sidewalk in NY.

how can you not love this?

I don't know how Katy found this, but I LOVE it (how can I not? cookies!)

ok, so...

I start work on Monday. This is excellent for a few reasons:
a) I'm broke
b) I'm broke
c) I'm bored
d) I'm really unproductive when I have nowhere to be

And I think I'm really going to like my office and it'll be a good position for a couple of years. I figure I'll have to stay in some capacity at Penn for 5 yrs or so if I opt to go for it and pursue an Ed.D. starting this spring (and figure if I should take out more loans to cover the taxes on that or what....)....but that's ok. I think I like Philadelphia. I've seen more of it the last few weeks since school ended, and its pretty cool. Its amazing how much time school takes up (which makes me not terribly excited to do a doctorate part time but I'll cross that bridge when the time comes).

I'm also kind of hoping going back to the working world gives me more time for my extracurricular life, er, rugby. This year I missed two games and probably half a dozen practices, which is about what I missed in the last 6 years. I may not be a super-star (or even a plain star) but at least I'm reliable (that count for something, right?). While I have a horrid guilt complex, the priority shifting that paying massive tuition (read: over a year's salary) brings also inadvertently helped me realize its ok to not make rugby tops all the time. Given the time of year, I haven't seen any rugby people in weeks (which is true, though I doubt it was noticed since I didn't really have the opportunity to hang out this season anyway)...and there were actually events the last two weekends, but I missed them for long-standing plans with family. That priority shift probably is a good thing, seeing as I hardly ever see the family and noones getting any younger...

weeeee!!

I just finished writing 11 pages about rugby, specifically the "movement" to make women's rugby varsity on the collegiate level. While its in case study format (and I don't completely consider case studies academic work), I'm pretty excited about it...mostly because I get to monopolize 15 minutes of the class' time tomorrow talking about rugby.

teehee.

good and bad ideas

Across the weekend

Friday
good idea:
making cupcakes
bad idea:
making cupcakes on an empty stomach

Saturday
good idea:
going to the most productive (yet still enjoyable) practice you've attended in years
bad idea:
having a small breakfast and not bringing a post-practice snack, so that by the time you've arrived home to work on school stuff, despite the fact its Saturday afternoon (sigh), you are literally nauseous from hunger.

Sunday
good idea:
doing your long run in the evening so you can be productive (eg. read for class x2, draft a paper, and attend a comps meeting, and go grocery shopping and make dinner for mon/tues) during the day
bad idea:
eating a cupcake and cookie during the meeting which is conveniently scheduled over dinnertime, then running 10 miles on a 1 pm lunch and said dessert items. (lack of nutrients + high fat content = unhappy tummy)

can't say it better

than Katy

I downloaded and cropped my photos as a writing break last night. Tonight, the upload. You have no idea how much restraint this requires.

Guess What? We can vote too!!

Saturday's A Rugby Day posted a letter that was published in this month's rugby magazine. The magazine was nice enough to put in an editioral bit response about women's rugby along with it.

It amazes me that in 2006 there are still people out there who appearently believe a woman's place is limited to being at home in the kitchen.

Media Fury

I refer you to Blondie's Post about the latest and greatest.

As I need to go write to the editors now, I will refrain from further comment at this time.

and this week

My neighbors seem to be having a party right now, rather than a screaming match. Its definately the one above me. Its 11 pm on a Tuesday night. I have a 50% completed (just 4 page) paper due tomorrow. And have to be at work by 9. I haven't finished the reading for any of tomorrow's 3 classes. Oops. I really shouldn't have gone to rugby tonight, or played on the internet for 2 hours today, or spent 2 hours at the gym (between cardio and lifting for the first time in ages and the walk to and fro) yesterday. This staying up late thing is become a theme for me, a theme I need to end ASAP. Oh well. Tomorrow, we shall end it. Tomorrow we shall begin being ahead of schedule. I'm even going to bring stuff with me to Nationals to read this weekend. Somehow I feel like I'll have a little time, as the people who are playing will be wrapped up in their rugby thoughts. Actually, I am not sure about this since I haven't traveled with this team. If I were playing (this is the realist in me writing here) this weekend, I'd be on a serious tightrope in my mind, and would likely be blasting angry music via headphones to myself. I used to do this back when I was in shape and (somewhat) confident and all that, but there was more on that last week and I'm sure will be more on that in the future. But right now, I need to finish that paper....


update: we're currently listening to "Can't Touch This". Normally, I wouldn't care but its really distracting right now. And annoying. sigh.

crazy?

Is it normal to do things you're not good at? I don't mean things like cooking when one's skills limit them to mac and cheese and hamburgers. And I don't mean the essential things in life either, like a part of your job you struggle with.

Rugby has always been such an uphill battle for me. I wasn't an athletic kid. Hell, I was the "easy out" kid. The one that was continually picked last in grade school gym class; the one noone wanted on their team because she was slow AND couldn't catch (or see for that matter, since glasses weren't allowed in gym without goggles, and THAT wasn't going to happen). I picked it up in college for a variety of reasons, the most obvious being that rugby accepts everyone, which is important if you're looking to play a sport and have literally zero athletic experience. Hell, compared to the fall of 2000, I'm an Olympian these days.

But lets be honest...not so much. I have a good grasp of the rules, the strategy, the game in general. I'm not THAT out of shape. I'm reasonably strong for my size (though admittedly weaker and slower than when I graduated college, though I plan on finishing fixing that this winter). I'm dedicated, passionate, and a pussy. I've been giving this a lot of thought lately, as it's occurred to me its been about 6 years....and I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing by still playing. Is it time to move onto somewhere where I have a real shot of improving, like running (not that I'll ever qualify for Boston, but I'm pretty confident that I could make some improvement on my current times, and I do want to do a marathon), or triathlons (though I'd need to improve my swimming...and buy a bike)? Or do I keep sticking it out, and find some way over this big huge mental block that keeps me from running and hitting with the vigor that I know my body could handle, the vigor that happens on the (rare) occasion I stop thinking and just go. How do I capture that vigor, make my body just go instead of holding back and letting people push me around (and I mean that in the physical manner)?

And back to my original statement, is this normal in general? Do other people put themselves in these situations, make themselves look like jackasses on a regular basis, work hard for minor victories that are a huge deal to them and inconsequential to anyone else in their immediate vicinity (ie. when I somehow tackled the wing (right off a breakdown) on Sunday, even if it was a smidge high)? Am I crazy for not pursuing a hobby I'm better at, like scrapbooking or crocheting or baking?

Soccer

For some reason, the embedding isn't working....but this is terrific : )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxY7AsgOxBY

full

Recently there was a story in the news about the link between sleep deprivation and obesity. Appearently people who sleep less than 4 hours a night at 73 percent more likely to be fat. Now there's two points to make here: 4 hours a night is basically a long nap, and 73% is a HUGE jump. I generally sleep 6-8 hours a night, and prefer more like 9. However, last night I got a whopping 2.5 hours of sleep due to some poor planning on my behalf (::cough:: writing a paper ::cough::). Between last "night" and this morning (milk and cookies, a lot of them, at 2:30 am, and a full fat & sugar Starbucks Caramel Macchiato and pumpkin muffin en route to work, and four fun sized Smores candy bars) I have consumed about a full day's calories. Let's point out that it is 9:13 am. I have every intention of having lunch, and dinner. While I will not necessarily be eating (particularly at lunch) out of hunger, I will be eating in an effort to keep enough caffiene and sugar in my system to keep me alert, or at least reasonably functioning, through work, class and practice. Then I will go home and go to bed. Immediately.

I am aware that today basically be a huge binge. I'm not about to fight it, as I'm way too tired and too concerned with not falling asleep at my keyboard, not to mention managing to not only finish my work but also edit my paper prior to 1 pm (note to self: is this an appropiate time to blog?). However, I also realize our bodies are pretty self regulating and I'm not going to wake up having gained back the 20 lbs I've lost this past year (though the water retention will indicite otherwise I am sure). And I can eat like a normal person again tomorrow. But what about those people that don't sleep? If they are regularly self medicating as I am today, no wonder they are obese.

Also, what the hell are they doing only sleeping 4 hours a night? Go to bed!!

rolling, rolling, rolling..

So I've moved to Philly officially. Two+ weeks ago. I've started my assistantship, and started class yesterday. I have a paper due next Wednesday....that requires 6 chapters of reading prior to writing. I'm a little stressed already (in some part because I haven't written a paper since, oh, 1998, at least not one that wasn't scientific/lab-ish).
Anyway. There's lots and lots I've been wanting to write about, but alas, I don't have internet at home...and I've been busy during the day...but I'm settled in at work now and I think I can catch up in some downtime (on the job, heh).

: )

Speaking of downtime, I had some at work this morning and took the time to catch up on the Eagle's World Cup blogs (fabulous, I'm totally living out my dream being an international athlete via the internet) and via the great women's rugby blog, found a blog of a new teammate that I also greatly enjoyed reading!

World Cup!

The women's rugby world cup kicks off this week with the US playing England (actually, I don't know if this is the first game, but its the first one that matters, right?)
I haven't been online much as of late, so I was excited to see all the updates to the Women Eagles page (which is, of course, more current than USA Rugby's page, which hasn't gotten around to posting the roster for the first game yet). I was also pleased to see daily training updates by the scrumhalves on their personal blogs (Lee and Claudia)-- bringing us all a part of the action! Just reading these things makes me excited -- I canNOT imagine what it must me like to be a part of it!! I'm so excited to see the US v England game via webstream...now to decide to cheat and check the score/recaps/etc on Friday or wait and watch it Friday evening! (I have to admit, I'm pretty jealous of all those -- including some current and former teammates -- who are making the trip to Canada to see things live!)

time flies

Its already Friday. And not in the TGIF sense (I've been off all week) but in the "where did the week go?" sense....this is the only day this week I've really bummed around too. Well, if your defination of bumming around all day includes a tetnus shot and nearly passing out in the doctor's parking lot (fabulous).

So I've spent some time this afternoon uploading teammates' Saranac photos to my Yahoo site for one-stop ordering, and started thinking about the gift I got at my going-away roast (see below).

I've posted this photo not for your amusement, so quit laughing : ) , but to illustrate my thought/advice of the afternoon: always be proud of what you do, and who you are because your past will always be with you.

Even after 7+ years and living in 3 other states : )
Also, now you may laugh, because I just looked at the photo again, and the pirate bandanas + the lei from the guys who invaded our dinner + the sunburn + yearbook marching band photo ala (strange shade of brown) teeshirt = one hot chick. mmmhmm.

the muffin

I've developed a dangerous affinity for muffins. I've always liked them. When I was in HS I regularly made batches of blueberry muffins (ala Betty Crocker) for breakfast. But its gotten worse. At my last job, the one thing the cafe did right was muffins -- specifically cranberry walnut. They were amazing. And huge. And I hold them responsible for keeping at least some of the post-college-misery pounds on my extremities. I'm two days out of that job, and will no longer be headed to the cafe for a monster muffin at 9 am 3 days a week. I thought about this this morning when I got up, and proceeded to go to the Stop and Shop and buy myself a (n equally fabulous and huge) banana nut muffin for breakfast. This could be a problem.

girly men

This could be the funniest thing I've seen all week.

wrc

Write ESPN (see blurb here) and request WRC Coverage!! The women are ranked 6th worldwide and have a real shot at winning later this summer!

I did a head count on the roster (both Eagles and Eagles A) and there's 2 women from D2 teams (Braymer, Albany and McDonald, Hartford) which I think is awesome for D2. 3/5 of the roster (much higher for the WRC side) is from the Top 4 teams (NYRC, ATL, Berkley and MN Valks) which I guess is to be expected. I've been following this a little obsessively through Blondie's Blog (which is awesome and I have no idea how she compiles all the rugby news so efficiently) and I hope I will still have time to do so as the world cup will be played in my first few weeks of grad school!!