mutated clovers

I haven't been able to make the running group time, so I've run by myself this week and rediscovered that I love being outside. It gave me time to explore on Monday (since I didn't have to keep to a 9:30 pace) and I found a couple trails. If no one comes along, I can imagine I'm in the woods at Hibernia. I found the most mutated clovers. I was looking for a 4 leaf clover by the vegetable garden. At first I got really excited and thought I'd found a 6 leaf clover, but then I realized the way about 20 different plants were growing was with almost split leaves. Mutation! I ran by again today and they'd mowed the grass near the vegetable patch. No more mutated clovers and I had no witnesses.

Came home, showered, and actually kicked myself out of the apartment to go buy food. Yum to bananas, grapes, yogurt, my current favorite cereal, honey wheat pretzels, mango ice cream... I knew I shouldn't go shopping while hungry, but I stopped to fix something for dinner, I'd never leave.

A co-worker made a spreadsheet to plan her wedding (I found out at the work bridal shower). Not that I have any real prospects, but if I ever have to plan a real wedding, I want that spreadsheet. That said, I'll just buy a really good cake, a dress, and elope. At the bridal shower, I heard I have to deliver a 90 day introduction to my company. Um. When is 90 days?

I talked to an astronaut outside the perpetual meeting room. Felt special. I so wanted to make friends with the event planner outside the perpetual meeting room. Couldn't swing it, but I did break to mail a letter to one of my cousins in the post office. The post office is right by the gift shop, where I stopped to buy this organic sea salt chocolate that is worth the $3.79. I called my parents to ask if they wanted a key chain or something and my dad accused me of going shopping while he and my mom were hard at work. Salty!

I started listening to I Heart Radio when I wake up, but it's repetitive. I'm reading a book by Andre Dubus III called The Garden of Last Days. Picked it up from the Goodwill. It's a literary novel, but it's about strippers. I keep thinking about strippers.

I don't want to go to BG's graduation party if Bud is going to be there. I should be over this by now.

fun run 75

In a reversal, I went to work in workout clothes and came home business casual. That's because I did the 2 mile fun run today and it was ... well, fun. Great to get out and moving during the middle of the day, see all the people, wear the race bib#. It left me wanting to run at the normal time at the end of the day - I would have, but I didn't have any non-sweaty running clothes. I just like to be outside.

Today I feel lonely because I have no friends who live in my new town. It's one day after my half birthday. I should buy some cake. It's not too late, but let's be real, I'm not leaving my apartment until tomorrow morning.

I ate 6 cuties after I got home from work. I'm waiting for it to backfire on me. Whenever I eat a lot of one food, it always backfires (ex. walnuts, grapes, spinach). Been eating super healthy lately, only because I don't have enough money to buy junk food. Today I had 1% milk, Honey Bunches of Oats, Belvita, orange juice, 1/2 banana, 1/4 orange, 1/2 a turkey and cheese sandwich, 2tbsp peanut butter, 1 apple, 2 servings of pasta, 10 glasses of water, and those 6 cuties. Not to turn this into a food blog, but wow I need to eat more veggies.

i understand you, so can you understand me?

Bills bills bills. I think there's a song in there somewhere. Speaking of songs, my random list of songs to download:

How to Love - Lil Wayne

Imagine Dragons

I Want You - Luke James

Blame It on the Boogie - MJ

Only Just a Dream - Nelly

As Long as you Love Me - JBiebs

I Hope You Dance -Lee Ann Womack

In Too Deep - Phil Collins

And yes, I call him JBiebs in my head. Too much hanging around MM a year or so ago. He was entertaining - his douchey-ness was somehow adorable.

Today is my half birthday. This cactus is the physical manifestation of a personality.

Yesterday was a bad day for being happy (Boston marathon, forgot my sports bra so couldn't run, came home and cried through the news), but today was much better. I'm realizing more and more that I need to expand my social circle. There's only so much a phone conversation can do for you. Live people are necessary. A few more weeks of this and I'll be able to write one of those post-apocalyptic characters who's kind of manic depressed and talks to themselves all the time. Oh empathy. The older I grow, the more experiences I'm exposed to and the more people I can sympathize with who I couldn't understand before. I don't understand how not to like people. I'm pretty sure that's going to bite me in the ass. Again.

Okay, definitely developing a crush because CH is the only guy I see! I need to just hear him talk about a girlfriend or something so bad that it actually disgusts me. Then it'll go away. I'm excellent at shutting down stuff that hasn't happened yet. Stuff that has happened, not so good (see all the Bud posts).

Fun run tomorrow.

i thought it was a dream

For the 3rd? 4th? 5th? time in my life, I food poisoned myself. Note - don't eat overripe pears. Luckily it wasn't as bad as the last time I food poisoned myself by eating all the walnuts and nothing else. Unluckily, I was at work. I ate the pear at 4:30 and by 4:50, I was running to the bathroom. At least it's Friday and everyone was gone. My appetite is gone too though.

I ate lunch with CK, who I've known for a couple years now. I didn't realize how well she knows me without really knowing me. It's unsettling. I don't feel like I know her very well at all. I'm also disappointed about lunch because we ate with her guy friend who thinks I'm cute, but I don't think he is. And I wanted to. I like C from my running group a lot better, although I don't really know him either. And he's looking better and better, probably because I don't interact with that many guys my age. My social circle down here, fragile as it is, is full of girls with boyfriends. I now assume everyone is taken.

Horrible traffic. Just stay on the parkway if it's moving at all. Because light to light was the horror.

I'm sad because my shin splints are back with a vengeance. After months of carefully managing my running, I'm in bad shape. Not the worst it's ever been, but I woke up in the night because a stabbing pain was shooting down my left shin. I thought it was a dream, but in the morning it was true. The vibration of the car makes it stab me in the leg. So no running for 3 days. Which sucks. I actually cried about it. I'll probably cry some more. I'm in a pissy mood.

I'm super into this book I got from the Goodwill called Clearcut by Nina Shengold because the main character spends half his time worshipping the woods.

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep"

the blissful hour

Happy hour with acquaintances was nice. None of that tension that results from a group of people knowing too much about each other, screwed up relationships. I'm liking this work thing more lately. Mostly because the weather is so nice here this week. It's a taste of summer with 80+ highs. I could live in 80 degree weather, I really could. I just have to get used to running in it again. But I'm resting tomorrow and venturing to Columbia to buy new running shoes. This is the most excited I've been about retail shopping in a long time. I ran about 10 miles a week since September, so let's discount February and say there are about 250 miles on the ones I have now. Early to change them, but they were just random shoes from Sports Authority.

Got to say, even though shorts mean constant shaving and awkward sock tans, I love being outside in summer weather. And I only like beer when I'm sweating in the sun, so warm weather is my season. Baked cornbread muffins when I got home. Yum.