I just got home from a friend's Halloween party. Everyone else, including E, is continuing the party at a local bar. I really didn't want to go, so I bailed. I feel like I should have stayed. I want to want to do the social thing...but it's hard for me for some reason.
The past couple of months I have been making a concerted effort to go out more. That all kind of fell apart this week. Since last Saturday, I skipped a concert that I was really looking forward to, missed a wrap-up party for my soccer team, and I didn't dress up for Halloween for work on Friday.
Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly happy to be a homebody. I like to be here in my comfort zone. I just feel like it shouldn't be so hard for me to not stay home. I don't know. Maybe it would be easier for me if I had more friends that wanted to do anything other than drink in a noisy, crowded bar. I think I am becoming an old.
Oh dear.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
And So It Begins
I ride my bike to campus every day. All seasons. All weather. It's only 2km, after all.
I made my first snow commute of the season this morning. We got just about enough of the white stuff to cover the ground and make things a little slick. Beside the -10C wind chill that I'm just not used to yet, it wasn't actually all that bad. And then it snowed all day. And the wind blew. And the snow drifted.
I left campus a little late this evening because a bunch of us got post-work drinks for my boss M's 40th birthday. So, it was pretty much dark when I headed home. It was still snowing. The wind was still blowing. The snow was still drifting. The makings of a TERRIBLE commute.
I made it across campus through the 5cm of snow and slush that was everywhere without much problem. As I leave campus on my commute, though, I have to ride across an area of fields (yes, this is right in the middle of the city). This open area creates nasty wind and weather conditions on a regular basis. Today was no exception. The wind happened to be blowing in a direction that drifted snow across the MUP I usually ride on. The bike lanes on the (very icy) road were also drifted shut.
I wound up pushing my bike through snowbanks for most of the rest of my commute.
The joys of winter in Saskatchewan.
I made my first snow commute of the season this morning. We got just about enough of the white stuff to cover the ground and make things a little slick. Beside the -10C wind chill that I'm just not used to yet, it wasn't actually all that bad. And then it snowed all day. And the wind blew. And the snow drifted.
I left campus a little late this evening because a bunch of us got post-work drinks for my boss M's 40th birthday. So, it was pretty much dark when I headed home. It was still snowing. The wind was still blowing. The snow was still drifting. The makings of a TERRIBLE commute.
I made it across campus through the 5cm of snow and slush that was everywhere without much problem. As I leave campus on my commute, though, I have to ride across an area of fields (yes, this is right in the middle of the city). This open area creates nasty wind and weather conditions on a regular basis. Today was no exception. The wind happened to be blowing in a direction that drifted snow across the MUP I usually ride on. The bike lanes on the (very icy) road were also drifted shut.
I wound up pushing my bike through snowbanks for most of the rest of my commute.
The joys of winter in Saskatchewan.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Dental Anxiety
I'm going to the dentist today. I am not looking forward to going to the dentist.
For my whole life, I have had relatively 'good' teeth. I don't really get cavities. I think I had 1, plus 1 in a baby tooth, for my first 29 years. I'm not sure what happened, but my tooth enamel has decided to crap out on me in the last couple of years. This has led to broken/chipped teeth and cavities. It's a real bummer.
At my last checkup, which was admittedly way overdue, the dentist discovered 1 broken tooth (I knew that one was there), 1 chipped tooth (had no idea about that one), and 2 cavities! I'm headed back today to have both the broken teeth fixed and one of the cavities filled. These 3 teeth happen to be in 3 of the 4 different quadrants of my mouth, so I'm not too sure how much anesthetic they'll have to use. Plus, I haven't had ANY dental work outside of cleanings done since I was about 11, so I don't even know what to expect. I'm pretty much terrified!
The cavity that they are not dealing with today just happens to be in a wisdom tooth (I still have all of mine). It was pretty much inevitable that this tooth was going to get a cavity since my gum partially covers it and makes it impossible to clean. So, I get to go to the oral surgeon in December for an extraction. Lucky me. I have avoided wisdom tooth removal thus far because I just didn't want to do it. The dentist offered to fill it for me, but the filling probably would only be a temporary measure, so it seemed like taking the darn thing out was a better idea. I'm definitely not looking forward to that either!
For my whole life, I have had relatively 'good' teeth. I don't really get cavities. I think I had 1, plus 1 in a baby tooth, for my first 29 years. I'm not sure what happened, but my tooth enamel has decided to crap out on me in the last couple of years. This has led to broken/chipped teeth and cavities. It's a real bummer.
At my last checkup, which was admittedly way overdue, the dentist discovered 1 broken tooth (I knew that one was there), 1 chipped tooth (had no idea about that one), and 2 cavities! I'm headed back today to have both the broken teeth fixed and one of the cavities filled. These 3 teeth happen to be in 3 of the 4 different quadrants of my mouth, so I'm not too sure how much anesthetic they'll have to use. Plus, I haven't had ANY dental work outside of cleanings done since I was about 11, so I don't even know what to expect. I'm pretty much terrified!
The cavity that they are not dealing with today just happens to be in a wisdom tooth (I still have all of mine). It was pretty much inevitable that this tooth was going to get a cavity since my gum partially covers it and makes it impossible to clean. So, I get to go to the oral surgeon in December for an extraction. Lucky me. I have avoided wisdom tooth removal thus far because I just didn't want to do it. The dentist offered to fill it for me, but the filling probably would only be a temporary measure, so it seemed like taking the darn thing out was a better idea. I'm definitely not looking forward to that either!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Ready for winter?
There is really nothing that can prepare one for a Saskatchewan winter, but E and I are doing our best to be as prepared as possible this year. We broke down and turned the heat on in the house this week. We already turned it on for a few days during a cold-spell in September, but the weather actually stopped sucking for the rest of the fall, and the heat has been off-again until now. The weather is still quite nice for mid-October, but it's just a little too chilly to go without the furnace on these days.
This will be our fourth winter in this house. While it has some good attributes, the windows are NOT one of them. During the winter, the house always feels cold because of our single-paned, drafty, POS windows. They are bad enough that they routinely freeze from the inside. And the heat bills are atrocious. So, we decided to seal all the crappy windows with plastic this year to see if it helps.
It only took us about 2 hours to seal up 8 windows, and it was actually kind of fun. The plastic is actually shrink-wrap that you stick to the window frame with double-sided tape and then heat-shrink with a hair dryer. It amused us anyway.
We'll see if it makes any difference in comfort in the house or the heating bills!
This will be our fourth winter in this house. While it has some good attributes, the windows are NOT one of them. During the winter, the house always feels cold because of our single-paned, drafty, POS windows. They are bad enough that they routinely freeze from the inside. And the heat bills are atrocious. So, we decided to seal all the crappy windows with plastic this year to see if it helps.
It only took us about 2 hours to seal up 8 windows, and it was actually kind of fun. The plastic is actually shrink-wrap that you stick to the window frame with double-sided tape and then heat-shrink with a hair dryer. It amused us anyway.
We'll see if it makes any difference in comfort in the house or the heating bills!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Zumba! and other fitness-type stuff
I went to a Zumba class today with some friends from school. In spite of my total lack of dancing ability, it was pretty fun. Like I told my friend M during the class, I have definitely done things that were much less fun (treadmill, I'm looking at you!) in the name of fitness. I think Zumba is a keeper.
I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I plan to run a marathon next year in celebration of my 30th birthday. Since I would like to complete said marathon in less than 5 hours, I have already started putting together my training plan. The marathon I would like to run is in June in Alaska, which means I have about 8 months to prepare. That may sound like a long time, but I have been dealing with a running-related knee injury all summer and fall, so I'm not in great shape at the moment.
Right now (and through the first of the year), I am focusing on speedwork/intensity and upping my hours of training per week in a reasonable manner. I have been using soccer and trail-running to work on sprinting and hill intervals. I like the 'fun factor' and the flow this allows. I threw in the Zumba class and some rock climbing this week as basic activity time. Both fall in the fun category, and the rock climbing is desperately needed at this point since I'm going on a climbing trip in early November. I think this approach will work better for me for the time being than the rigid run X days/week plan at X mileage that I normally follow when training.
I hope that my focus on fun training will take me into the new year refreshed and ready to tackle the mileage necessary to prepare for the marathon. So, I guess my fitness goals at the moment are to build a strong cardiovascular base, stay injury free, and HAVE FUN!
I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I plan to run a marathon next year in celebration of my 30th birthday. Since I would like to complete said marathon in less than 5 hours, I have already started putting together my training plan. The marathon I would like to run is in June in Alaska, which means I have about 8 months to prepare. That may sound like a long time, but I have been dealing with a running-related knee injury all summer and fall, so I'm not in great shape at the moment.
Right now (and through the first of the year), I am focusing on speedwork/intensity and upping my hours of training per week in a reasonable manner. I have been using soccer and trail-running to work on sprinting and hill intervals. I like the 'fun factor' and the flow this allows. I threw in the Zumba class and some rock climbing this week as basic activity time. Both fall in the fun category, and the rock climbing is desperately needed at this point since I'm going on a climbing trip in early November. I think this approach will work better for me for the time being than the rigid run X days/week plan at X mileage that I normally follow when training.
I hope that my focus on fun training will take me into the new year refreshed and ready to tackle the mileage necessary to prepare for the marathon. So, I guess my fitness goals at the moment are to build a strong cardiovascular base, stay injury free, and HAVE FUN!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Still Alive
I made it back to Saskatoon on Monday. Since I visited family in Michigan over the weekend, I had to take a bus back to Toronto to catch my flight to Saskatchewan. There were no problems with the bus ride or my flight, but 22 hours is a REALLY long time to travel!
I've been feeling kind of run down since I got back here, which is sort of depressing since the weather is still beautiful. I haven't really been able to enjoy it, and I know that these warm, sunny days are numbered. I'm hoping I feel well enough to get out on my road bike tomorrow. Or maybe my mountain bike. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking!
I've been feeling kind of run down since I got back here, which is sort of depressing since the weather is still beautiful. I haven't really been able to enjoy it, and I know that these warm, sunny days are numbered. I'm hoping I feel well enough to get out on my road bike tomorrow. Or maybe my mountain bike. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking!
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