home for the holidays

I've decided I'm never going to make it in the real world. And by the real world, I mean the real working world, 9-5 sort of deal. I've come to this conclusion after spending the last few days at J.S. McCarthy Printers, or as I more fondly refer to it, "the factory."

The factory is where I will spend the majority of my holiday break doing various things around the printing company that I'm terrified I'll screw up, causing multiple re-printings and back-ups. I'm envisioning myself as the cause of a major plant clusterfuck in the next three weeks, but my Dad continually tells me I won't be the first to screw everything up. great.

Either way, working at the factory has made me realize how hard it is to conveniently have a job, a life, and stay in shape. The last few days ( I'm talking like I've been there my whole life....reality check, today was my second day) I've been exhausted by the time I've gotten home and eaten dinner meaning that I have no desire to go running. In addition, I'm not a huge treadmill runner, and in order to run outside I would either have to run in the dark before work, or run in the dark after work, neither of these options are ones I'm willing to entertain.

However, this Sunday I was able to fit in one of my usual routes from this summer which was wonderful. The town of Oakland doesn't exactly make sidewalk clearing a priority, so it was a little bit more exciting having to dodge patches of ice and snow, meaning that perhaps continuing this evening's treadmill session for the remainder of winter break is for the better.

As soon as my laundry finishes up in the dryer, this girl is off to bed....and then it's another day at the factory for me!

roommates, running, and Upstate

Living with people is interesting. I mean, I prefer it over living alone, that's for certain. There are days when I love my roommates, and there are days when I can't wait for them (or myself) to leave the apartment. It is also surprising how quickly these feelings can change.

Today however, I hate my roommates. I hate the fact that when I clearly stated that I was going for a run, I came back half an hour later, to find myself locked out. Not a huge issue, but not what I wanted to come home to after a less than encouraging run, and especially not what I needed when I had to shower and head off to work. Even though the weather was gorgeous, and all I wanted to do was run, my body had much different plans. However, any running is better than no running, and not much makes me happier than moving my legs.

I seem to have this same relationship with Upstate Gymnastics as I do with my roommates. Some days I love it, and some days I am literally dragging myself out the door. Today was a dragging day, I even asked Care to go to work for me :) However, when I got there, my little cubby was filled with Christmas gifts! (and a paycheck). The kids were adorable as always, but at the same time, always testing my limits. No matter how many times I yell and scream, the end of class always brings hugs for me, and I always leave with a smile on my face.

At the end of the day, roommates, running, or the kids at Upstate, when it comes down to it, I've still got a whole lot of love for them, no matter what.

(Two updates, in one day? WHO AM I?)

the end!

Tomorrow marks the last day of regular classes of fall semester, and scheduled exams start on Monday. My exams don't exactly start until Wednesday. It is safe to say that 99% of Clemson is now realizing that they have done nothing for the last few months and now believe that they can make up all this lost time by spending all their time in the library. I however, have been busy and stressed for the last few months, meaning that I have literally done nothing this week in terms of actual work. I simply have two classes to attend tomorrow for attendance and review purposes and I'm a free agent. For this reason, last night I was able to finish class at 2:15, head on over to my favorite fitness center and then proceed to do nothing with the rest of my evening (well, besides shower, make bread, cupcakes, take Sammi and Care to Chick-fil-A as well as watch the Grinch, twice). This is seriously the most relaxed I've been all year, and its so WEIRD. All this free time is slightly detrimental, but on a positive note, the apartment hasn't been this clean in a while. Eventually I will start studying for those six finals next week, and by eventually, I mean when I finish this post and stop dancing around the apartment to Christmas music..

thanksgiving at home

Sometimes life at school makes me dead to the world because I don't have much time for lengthy conversations, emails or notes, but these past few days in Maine I really was dead to the world. I didn't bring my laptop home, which was actually really nice. I was just so happy to BE there, I didn't really need to do much that I couldn't accomplish on my phone. Seeing how I have an exam tomorrow, I'll keep my update on the short side.

Thanksgiving morning KK and I ran the 4-miler Turkey Trot in Portland. It was quite chilly, much chillier than it has been here in Clemson. It was a fun race through the Old Port, but at the very least, I felt much less guilty consuming copious amounts of food later in the day!

Life at home was everything I was hoping it would be, but I'm also glad to be back in Clemson for another two weeks to wrap up the semester. With only one more week of classes, and one week of exams, soon enough I'll be in home again, with a much longer stay in Maine for the holidays <3

not cool Starbucks, not cool.

Greetings from Starbucks! This morning I was greeted with my own wonderful surprise, my comm lecture and lab were both canceled, meaning no class for me today! I wasn't feeling like going back to bed, and I was inspired by Care's night of cooler painting, to continue my crafting that was still consuming the living room floor since last weekend. By 1 this afternoon, I had done nothing but craft and eat, meaning it was time to actually be productive before work at 5:30. I was insanely craving Starbucks (an addiction that is becoming more and more dangerous every day...) so I convinced myself that if I went for a run, I could go to Starbucks after.

Clearly I respond well to my own incentives, and went for a fabulous run where I explored a new neighborhood! I found another neighborhood to explore on my next run as well. The current Starbucks however, I can't say the same. Somehow my first drink came out with real milk, and the second try came with whipped cream, and then the third came without any actual coffee..but since it won't make me violently ill, I decided I would suck it up, and live without the caffeine that would have come in handy during my second day in a row at Upstate!

running? whats that?

There seems to be a theme among recent blog post, a theme about how life goes on with out you. What do you know, its still true. It's been just over a week since I've last ran, mostly due to the fact that my body decided to punish me for not sleeping much over the last month and essentially curl up and die. I'm still recovering from that, along with my very first episode of blood donation. I am hoping and praying to God, Buddha and all things happy that tomorrow will be the perfect day to start running again. This is ever so important due to the fact that in exactly eight days I'll be turkey trotting through Portland, and it would be nice to actually finish the four mile run.

I've survived this stupid sickness, and now it's only four more days of classes, semi-formal, one more day working at Upstate and then I'll be jetting off to MAINE <3

check out my toe mom!

You know what sucks?

Life goes on with or with out you, it just doesn't stop, for anything.

That being said, I feel like I've been living in super speed the last few days, leaving little time for breathing. Between classes, exams, speeches, class registration, lab reports, major declaration forms, and the never ending battle fighting for transfer credit, my actual life has continued on as well. I haven't had a spare moment for much of anything, which honestly just makes everything else seem eight thousand times worse. And to add insult to injury, my body will now be fighting back against the gluten I ate today. For the next three weeks I'll be battling exhaustion, headaches, extreme hunger, and a permanent food baby.

I felt it necessary for my mental health to put off studying for my bio lab exam, go for a run, and update the world on all my problems. (and by the world, I mean my six followers) My immediate roommate has essentially moved out, meaning she no longer responds to verbal communication from the rest of us, and really only cooks here. With only three of us in the apartment, it's hard to imagine that it could get as messy as it does, and I'm in another passive aggressive phase of not taking out the trash, meaning out bathroom AND kitchen trash cans have been overflowing for the last three days.

I think I've exhausted my quota of complaining for one post, meaning, positive thoughts! Two weeks until I'm home in Maine loving life with my bbyys, maybe I'll get my check from this summer soon, AND, workouts at the gym have improved incredibly since I've gotten Care fully addicted to the gym (success) and Sami addicted to Zumba (success). After today's run I made it to the "green" level on my Nike+ system, meaning I've logged over 150 miles. I don't really know what else is special about the green level, except that it is now 463 miles until the next level. Can I run 463 miles in the next year? That's about nine miles a week? Sure, let's make that a goal. ALSO. I've added a new toe accessory, blisters are in style, you know?