Last Sunday was The Day – my first half marathon.
And it was great! [I'm even pretty pleased with my time.]
My running companion was my coworker Devon [our Deputy Director] & it was nice to have someone to chat with along the way. I stole this photo from him, in which we both look awesomely goofy.
I had so much fun that I’ve already signed up for another half, the Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon in Grosse Ile – a run that raises awareness & research funds for cystic fibrosis.
Besides running, I’ve been taking classes at the Detroit Flyhouse for the past 2 months. They’re called “ariel yoga” classes, but it’s easier to tell people I go to circus class. It’s an amazing upper body workout [I have shoulder muscles!] & the most fun [as evidenced by my giant smile in all the pictures below]. I also got a hair cut.
I’m signed up for classes at the Flyhouse through January [& may stay on longer].
Next project - building a pull up bar in the basement.
The weather has been incredible lately. We visited my mom this weekend & spent Saturday wandering around Frederik Meijer Gardens. Yesterday we had an awesome ride with Bike Ypsi – 20 miles of sunshine & gold leaves & friendly faces. Then we came home & made curried butternut & lentil soup, apple oatmeal yougurt bread & nachos.
Little by little, and also in great leaps,
life happened to me,
and how insignificant this business is.
These veins carried
my blood, which i scarcely ever saw,
I breathed the air of so many places
without keeping a sample of any.
In the end, everyone is aware of this:
nobody keeps any of what he has,
and life is only a borrowing of bones.
The best thing was learning not to have too much
either of sorrow or of joy,
to hope for the chance of a last drop,
to ask more from honey and from twilight.
Perhaps it was my punishment.
Perhaps I was condemned to be happy.
Let it be known that nobody
crossed my path without sharing my being.
I plunged up to the neck
into adversities with were not mine,
into all the suffereings of others.
It wasn’t a question of applause or profit.
Much less. It was not being able
to live or breathe in this shadow,
the shadow of others like towers,
like bitter trees that bury you,
like cobblestones on the knees.
Our own wounds heal with weeping,
our own wounds heal with singing,
but in our own doorway lie bleeding
window, Indians, poor men, fishermen.
The miner’s child doesn’t know his father
amidst all the suffering.
So be it, but my business
was
the fullness of the spirit:
a cry of pleasure choking you,
a sigh from an uprooted plant,
the sum of all actions.
It pleased me to grow in the morning,
to bathe in the sun, in the great joy
of sun, salt, sea-light and wave,
and in the unwinding of the foam
my heart began to move,growing in the essential spasm,
and dying away as it seeped into the sand.
After two long years filled with every imaginable emotion, I did it.
I am officially a Master of the Universe!!! [Or a Master of Science in Information]
This will mostly be my last degree, at least for a long time.
Masters / Undergrad / High School
I’ve been extra spoiled this month, with a birthday & graduation & I’ve gotten my two dream gifts.
A new camera:
And a stand mixer:
Now I’ll be taking more pictures, cooking more food & uploading more onto Flickr. I’m also looking forward to having free time again – especially with summer here – for gardening, running & hammocking. Next Tuesday I start full-time at the museum [Monday is my mini-vacation] & I’m looking forward it.
Even though there are apparently 3-6 inches of snow coming our way tonight, I’m going to write a post about springtime & plants & gardening anyway, because I’m really excited about all of those things.
After years of apartment living, we finally have enough space of our own to have a garden. This year we joined the Seed Starting Squad for Growing Hope, which means they’ve lent us a light stand in exchange for starting two flats of seeds for them. There’s plenty of room under the lights for seeds of our own so, in my customary way, I went overboard & dove in feet first.
15 different seeds – in this tray & the one behind it.
I’m very excited. I also sowed some wildflowers in the back yard, but they’ve been slow to germinate & I’m not sure if they’ll survive tonight. However, I have some flower seeds & empty pots around, so there will be no lack of fresh flowers this summer.
We also have a bird’s nest in under our eves – this has provided hours & hours & hours & hours of staring pleasure for our kitty. I tried to get a picture of the mama nesting, but she flew alway & hopped around the yard chirping at me. I wish it was in a better position to get a peek inside!
Gotta love that I waited until the absolute busiest time of the semester to blog.
11 days until my life is mine again!!
This unseasonably warm week has been invigorating & has pushed me out of my mid-winter slump, so I thought I’d take the time to give an update on where I am & what I’m doing.
The past two months have been incredibly wonderful, but unbelievably busy.
I hit the ground running at the Arab American National Museum on January 3rd & haven’t stopped to take a breath yet. Thankfully, I thrive on efficiency & I’m surrounded by a phenomenal, enthusiastic & encouraging staff. The core of my position is keeping track of the collection and working with donors, but there’s no end to the side projects: accreditation work, policy updating, online exhibit planning, traveling exhibit planning, archive implementation, grant getting & on & on. I feel challenged, supported & every day I’m thankful to be there.
I especially love that this beautiful fountain is next to my office [from our Motawi Tile exhibit, up through June 12]
I’m only working 2.5 days a week right now while I finish up my last semester [70 days until graduation]! My digital preservation class is only half-term and finishes next week. For my outcomes based evaluation course, I’m part of a team that is holding focus groups for the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living – a dynamic community organization. Lastly, for management of electronic records, the class will be working in groups to help the University survey current e-record keeping practices. With two client-based projects on top of readings & other assignment, I’m definitely busy.
For the past month I’ve been volunteering weekly at the Ypsilanti Historical Society. I’m having a lot of fun & my current project is indexing the family records from this shelf full of old Bibles, most from the mid- to late- 1800s:
This past week of 40+ degrees has really helped me keep my energy up.
On a break between classes on Tuesday I took a long walk around campus & stopped at the library & got Joe Sacco’s War’s End – a graphic novel about the Bosnian war.
Thursday I put on my yellow tights & wore a skirt for the first time this season!!
Today I ran outside for the first time in month. I did 2 miles in 19:07, which isnt’ too bad for being pretty out of shape. I’m want to get my outdoor running started early this year as I’ve signed up for the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run on June 5th – my first 10k!!
But it’s Friday night & it’s time for dinner & then going out.
Happy Weekend, everyone!
