just a girl with the wind on her back

gettin' hitched!

2010-02-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Mr B and I are engaged to be married!

This is how it all went down:

We went to NYC the last weekend of January to see the Lion King, celebrate our 4th anniversary, spend the night and generally wander the city (he had never been there - what?!). We take the train down early Saturday and spend the day wandering around Times Square, up and down 5th Ave and the like. It is freezing, mind you. As we're wandering back to the hotel prior to the show we're trying to find a restaurant. Mr B is really anxious about finding a "nice" place, as opposed to all the bars and pubs in our 'hood, but I'm too cold to care. With the help of Shae over at Generally Fabulous we decide on City Lobster because it's sassy, semi close and taking part in NYC Restaurant Week.

We both get all dolled up and brave the arctic like weather for the four block walk (made more interesting by somewhat ill fitting shoes?) to have an AMAZING dinner. It's seriously too bad that no one had a camera because I'm pretty sure the visual of me eating a 1 1/4 lb lobster, complete with bib, while in a swanky black dress was almost too much to miss. Before the dessert course Mr B excused himself to go to the bathroom, and when he returned he pulled out a small box wrapped in gold paper. He tells me that he lied about not having a present for me, and as I'm unwrapping it (with shaking hands) he asks me if I know how much he loves me. As I pull a ring box out of a small white box, he gets down on one knee and asks if I will marry him. I of course said yes. (The moment was only made that more magical by the fact that he tripped a bus boy carrying a stack of dishes but was THANKFULLY able to regain composure before tumbling into the wine rack. Phew!) The maitre d', who Matt had told ahead of time, brought up champagne to go with our dessert, none of which I was able to eat.

During this time I learn that I had better call my family, because they all knew. Mr B had asked my dad over breakfast one morning a few weeks prior, and had been in conversation with my sister and Shae about rings. Also, everyone else knew! I managed a few phone calls prior to the show (which was AMAZING, by the way) and was met with a lot of screaming and yelling. To be honest, even though I thought something was "up", I was still in such shock a lot of it was a blur to me.

After the play we went to an Irish pub two doors down and celebrated with some sweet beer on tap, all the while I kept repeating nonsense like, "you want to marry me?!" and "OMG!". Yeah. Anyway, the upswing of it all was that he had already thought about getting married before the end of the summer, 2010, because my sister is joining the Peace Corps and will be shipping out in Sept for 27 months. Yeah.

As of now, we've booked our venue, have a guest list, have ordered the Save the Dates, and are all set to go. This is going to be hijacked into a wedding blog - I just have a feeling!

At least I have Shae to plan with!

8.14.10 - here we come!

never again will I complain about counter space

2010-01-15T03:44:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to be able to spend Tuesday into Wednesday down in Astoria with Generally Fabulous. I arrived via Amtrak train at 9am on Tuesday and departed 7pm Wednesday, and in that time managed to eat my consume my weight in delicious food and drink. I probably would have written this sooner if it were not for the fact that I have finally reached a point where I can discuss said trip and think about the food without wanting to hurl from being too full. (No, really.)

I have been to NYC quite a few times for various day trips, and an occasional overnight with a friend, but have not spent any real time in the boroughs. S lives in Astoria and while I was not sure what to expect, it was a great little neighborhood. A nice mix of residential and commercial, and tons and tons of restaurants. Their apartment is adorable - small, but adorable. I would hate to see anyone living in this apartment without such a great mastery of space because I feel like it could be claustrophobic and dirty, but S&E have negotiated their space to be an incredibly comfortable home. And I have to tell you that I slept GREAT on their couch (minus, of course, the Amtrak train that scared the crap out of me!).

As alluded to earlier, the trip consisted of eating and drinking; but we did do other things as well! We attempted David's Bridal (S is getting married!) and left after maybe 5 minutes, utterly terrified. (She recounts the experience here.) We went to H&M where S was offered a free blowout but turned it down (leaving me feeling responsible! ah!), wandered to Union Square, and also played two games of Mario Party 8. For the record it should be stated that both slightly intoxicated and utterly sober, S is a FIERCE MP player. You would not want to take this girl on.

So we did other things than eat and drink, but OH MAN eating and drinking was such a central part of the trip. We ate sushi, dinner at Sparrow (where I had a beet salad and we all split fries, plus beer & wine!), the biggest and tastiest bagel I have EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE, lunch at Mojave (crab dip, margarita, and a salmon salad), then more beer and FRIED PICKLES at Fat Annies Truck Stop (how could be pass THAT up?). I fully understood the term 'food baby' after those two days.

Overall it was an utterly fantastic trip. It was so easy to get there, much less expensive than I had envisioned, and awesome to see S! She lives so close, in the grand scheme of things.

Next time? Bridal shopping, WITH drinks.

and that's why they call it a roadblock

2010-01-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

Part of purging my closet means that I have to try on certain items of clothing. Namely, pants. I tackled this part of the project after my post-run shower expecting that at the least, pants that fit six months ago would still fit today.

Wrong.

Instead, my self esteem and good feelings from running evaporated as I realized quickly that no, that one pair of pants did not mysteriously shrink. Instead it seems that despite running three times a week since November began, and really working to watch what I eat, has not resulted in any changes significant enough to be reflected on a scale or in my pants.

My running partner over at Generally Fabulous shares these same lamentations. As someone who has bounced from one workout plan to another over the years, I have to tell you that it is moments like these that can ruin weeks of training. I understand that results are not immediate. Generally Fab phrased it perfectly:

I am LIFTING MY BODY OFF THE GROUND AND PROPELLING IT FORWARD for 30+ minutes 3-4 times a week and that's not doing anything?

Despite this overwhelming frustration, I am determined to push my body off this plateau and embrace the inner, more in shape version of myself. And while it is going to be bizarre to continue to eat my allotted calories for the day while simultaneously feeling as though I am not working them off, I will do that too. I maintain that this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. I suppose that overall, it's really just about pushing through moments such as these.

peace&love,
Renski

a better version of me

2010-01-05T03:35:00.000-08:00

I'll be honest - I tend to make lofty resolution at the New Year, and fail to keep most of them as they are made out of obligation, not an honest desire to strive for change. They tend to be generic resolutions, like going to the gym more or doing better in school, and were long term without much short term accountability. At times I even found myself waiting until the New Year to make resolutions, instead of making immediate changes. Last year I made a list of resolutions, all as predictable and general as in years past, and promptly abandoned them once I got laid off from my job in the financial industry. I found myself forced into change and revamping my goals to make them jive with my current situation (do not stay in bed all day, keep the wood stove running, keep the house clean) and despite it being a slow process it worked. This theme of constant change and adjustment followed me through the year as I applied to grad school (and got in!), changed from a two year to a one year program, moved, did really well in school and took up a running program. And perhaps most importantly realized that resolutions are best any time of year, duh.

The start of 2010 finds me on a month long break from school (!!!) and already desperate not to fall back into some of the less desirable habits common in the early days of my unemployment. I have made it my first goal that I am going to organize our apartment from top to bottom, largely because we're still not completely purged from our move from a three bedroom house with a garage and a shed to a one bedroom apartment with one - ONE! - closet. Phase one of this organization project was the kitchen, which is part of an open floor plan that looks out into our living room. We have very limited counter space and much of it was consumed by counter-y stuff: jars for flour, sugar & tea, coffee, measuring cups, a mug tree. Mr B, who is a carpenter, conceived of putting some shelves in the kitchen to free up some space both on and under the cabinets (by having a place to hang pots and pans) and this is what we've come up with:

This is the new, smaller shelf above our sink. This one is more for pretty things, like candles, pictures and snazzy garlic holders.

This shows the new, larger shelf that holds pots and pans (two are missing as I took advantage of my new counter space and embraced my inner Julia Child), and other assorted crap. While they might not seem like much, these shelves propelled a total kitchen overhaul and cabinet reorganization. The result? We can actually see what we own food wise instead of guessing if we need more couscous at the grocery store, and suddenly owning 12 boxes. Ahem.

The next phase of my apartment reorganization project is to take down our Christmas paraphernalia (tree, ornaments, the stuff under the tree that doesn't have a dedicated home yet because it's been easier to leave it under the tree and blame it on Christmas). Our living room is large but it takes work to make it look not cluttered, and within the week I aim to get a large bookcase to replace a currently-falling-apart smaller one, figure out what I am doing with a year's worth of The Economist magazines, get all of Mr B's tools OUT of the living room, find a home for the crap that is residing behind the tv, and generally just get rid of whatever it is that we don't use anymore. We plan to be here for a long time (which my friends have bet against as so far we've moved once every roughly 10 months), and it's not going to be helpful to start hoarding now.

Finally, and perhaps what will be the most intense/fun/expensive part of this organization will be to sort through my clothes. I admittedly hoard clothes, largely because I received 99% of them from my mom and I feel bad throwing out anything she has purchased for me. Ultimately, though, I don't wear many of them and my spiffy "California closet" - ie, completely exposed as the one closet we have is NOT in the bedroom - prevents me from shoving them on a rack, closing the door, and ignoring them. So this means that I am going to have to throw away items that are ripped/stretched out/faded beyond being trendy, and donate the things that just genuinely don't fit right. That's the intense part. The fun/expensive part will be replenishing the wardrobe, but it will be needed. Student teaching is, after all, a drawn out job interview. It would be a shame to lose out because I look like a broke college kid.

Making resolutions and setting goals are never bad things, so long as they are realistic and genuine. I am aiming to continue and complete my running program and continue to run beyond that. I want our sometimes too small apartment to be comfortable, and not crowded. I want my wardrobe to be professional and well cared for. Most importantly, and this is the motto that governs my life, I am working on a better version of me.

peace&love,
renski

it's a long term thing, as it turns out

2009-12-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

One of my gifts for the holidays was a generous gift certificate from Mr B to Barnes and Noble (because he's noticed I've been re reading everything on my bookshelves and thinks I'm weird). I took part of yesterday to head down to Kingston to exchange a few other gifts and to find something to read. Now, purchasing books is a daunting task. They are the one item that I like to own and have warned Mr B that when we build a house it needs a room with floor to ceiling bookshelves, but this does not mean that I will buy anything. Books need to fit the following criteria: I would want to read it again, I will learn something from it, and I can't finish it in one sitting. So, as I said, daunting. (Not fitting these doesn't mean I won't read it, just that I'll borrow it rather than buy it.) So as you can see, daunting.

When I walked through the doors into book heaven, the first thing that smacked me in the face was a huge display full of books on dieting. These books varied in shapes and sizes but all were bright and eye catching. Many featured their in shape authors on the front, and all promised that by purchasing their book you would get in the best shape of your life. This display reminded me of all the TV commercials (we only have one channel so I see many of the same commercials over and over again) I constantly see. Be it for Alli or Weight Watchers, or any of these brightly colored books filled with promises, they're all getting at the same thing: we need to change how we live our lives.

I am fortunate that my mom went on a health kick when I was a kid and always had healthy meals, otherwise I would probably resemble a Beluga whale. While I never had a sweet tooth I did have a love for McD's & Burger King, and in college that turned to pizza and beer. Exercise was limited to walking to and from the metro, and I am very grateful that I didn't weigh myself during those years (the pictures tell me enough). Around the beginning of my junior year I started going to the gym and eating less - not better. I lost a bunch of weight and that was the thinnest I have been in recent memory. When I moved in with Mr B I stopped watching what I ate and worse, starting eating like HIM. My trips to the gym stopped and it wasn't until we moved to NY I joined a gym again. Two years and change from when we moved up here I am in better shape, but not best shape. But I am on the way.

One of my favorite things about running outside is that I have fewer excuses not to go. A gym required packing a bag, driving and finding a parking spot - then there was the amount of time that it takes to get home afterwards. Running outside requires getting dressed and, well, going. There is also a greater degree of freedom in this. I can run anywhere, anytime, anyplace. It's liberating and weirdly, empowering. It simply requires throwing some gear on, and I'm out the door. I am learning to take this same sense of empowerment and translate it to other areas of my life. Nutrition is my current top priority, because if this is going to be a lifestyle change then this is another huge piece of the puzzle. It's hard right now with the abundance of cookies and candy following the holiday, but on the other hand it's a fantastic test of will power!

I just finished the second day of week 7 in the Couch to 5K, which was my third 25 minute run. The first two I did with someone else (my sister, and then Mr B) but this was my first solo endeavor. And I did it! I am, however, getting a bit bored with my route but until I feel brave enough to conquer the hills that surround the apartment, I will stick to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge (and hey, the view is GREAT!). Also, I am hoping my running buddy will feel better and go running with me again!

We're headed to Syracuse through Saturday to ring in 2010 (and yes! I am bringing my running shoes!). Hope everyone has a healthy, happy New Years!

peace&love,
Ren

running towards change

2009-12-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

This holiday season was our fourth together, and by far the best yet. You'd think by this point we'd have a routine but what fun would that be? Instead, we've played every year by ear and this year finally stumbled on a formula that worked. There was still the requisite running around (as our families are two hours apart) but we got to our final destination on Christmas Eve and remained there through the 25th. This, combined with Mr B's excitement that rivaled any small child's, made for the best holiday in a long, long time.

I began doing the Couch to 5K program back in the beginning of November. I have followed the program faithfully but have harbored my doubts - me, the girl who got winded running the bases in high school run 3 miles? Psssh. Yet, I keep surprising myself. At the end of week 5 when I ran 20 minutes I think I spent the entire time in awe. On Christmas day my sister Bug (personal trainer, rugby player, has run a half marathon) went for a run with me, the first 25 minute run. The run was a success (albeit it a hard won success) in both duration and distance - at least 2.5 miles! As we walked back to my parents and my sister regaled me with tales of her half marathon (wow!), I could not actually believe that I had just done that. I mean, don't get me wrong - we're not done yet. But now, I finally believe I can do it.

Unsurprisingly, Mr B and my family had faith in me from the start. Despite that it is has been only about 8 weeks, I received some really nice running gear for the holiday/my birthday. Dad gave me some nice Under Armour Cold Gear pants and a turtleneck and a DVD by Al Lyman, and from Mom I got a Road ID bracelet. Sharon got me Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, an awesome hat, and a gift certificate to Dicks, and my mom's cousin got me an exercise ball and resistance band. And Mr B, perhaps my biggest support system, got me a running pouch and new earphones. I am the queen of starting things and not finishing them (case in point: how long since I updated this thing?!), but these gifts have just hardened my resolve.

I have always loved the feeling of working out, but have not ever stuck with anything long enough to consider it a lifestyle change. Already, this feels different. Maybe it's because I don't have to have anything fancy, and don't have to drive anywhere, or maybe it's because I'm just a few days shy of 25 and realize that it's TIME. Where ever my inner motivation is coming from, it's spilling into other areas of my life quite nicely. I come home from a run and want to nourish my body properly. I haven't had a french fry in weeks, and I am actively trying to make this a lifestyle change. The book from Bug is a fantastic start, and I've already read about half of it. My dad got me a Kelty bag for my birthday and I am confident in a way I would not have been last year that it will get plenty of use. I can't wait to explore all the local hiking trails and really embrace this inner camper.

In conclusion, and in an effort to really motivate myself through the last three weeks of this program, I'm setting a personal goal to do the Freezer 5K in February. Sure, it will be cold, but that's why I have my Cold Gear!

peace&love,
Ren

of Michelle, Jackie, Beyonce & Eleanor

2009-12-04T05:12:00.001-08:00

My sister lives in Ireland, and so we communicate mostly through the wonderful invention that is gchat. The biggest benefit? All the conversations are recorded. [We'll call her Bug, as that's the shortened version of the nickname, Bugaboo, I gave her when we were kids. PRE Destiny's Child making a hit out of it, for the record.]

Bug: i was reading that article on their marraige
i wanna be michelle
Me: the one from the NYT mag?
that was a great atricle
Bug: yeah
i will never not love her.
she is my new but slightly less iconic Jackie O
and i dont care how cliche that is
shes even better cause her husband isnt sleeping with Beyonce
(modern equiv of marliyn?)
Me: hahahhahahaha.
Bug: of course if he was, Jay z would probably shoot him.
anyway, i want to be her.
Me: I agree with everything
Bug: good.
and she too wears the style of dress that Jackie & I love.
Me: yeah I know
shes gorgeous
Bug: speaking of I need something to wear for the holidays!
shes formidable.
shes like a mutant combination of Eleanor and Jackie.
THERES NO STOPPING HER
Me: I want a snazzy new outfit to wear for the holidays too!
wow, thats a great description
Bug: its true though.
lets online shop together
"Windows Shopping" if you will

and in local news...

2009-12-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

There is something about having Christmas decorations up that really just brighten my life. The dreary grey days of December don't bother me when the apartment is lit up with the cheery white lights of the tree, and the multicolor strands lining the ceiling. One of our cats, Dolittle, has made her annual home on the tree skirt, and despite the fact one of the ornaments was broken this morning, I can't seem to bring myself to eject her from her happy home. And along that same vein, as much as Mr B tries to get me to shut off the lights, I won't. See? We're all winners.

I had to run to the bank & Walgreens, and while up there noticed that they finally opened an Urgent Care Center in town! Considering Mr B is a contractor without (prohibitively expensive) health insurance, we have had numerous instances where we have been in need of an urgent care center. It's nice to know that the next time he needs a tetanus shot because he hit himself in the arm with a whackertacker we dont have to either pay the expenses of the local ER or drive an hour to urgent care! This is all with the ultimate goal of getting health insurance, of course. But in the meantime, it's nice to know that this new Urgent Care center is only minutes from our home.

And in other local news, because I am finally scouring the local paper after an absence of about a week, the town next to us is converting their old opera house into a microbrewery & musical venue! In addition to the fact we'll have a microbrewery down the road (!!), it's also great to see older buildings being turned into something nifty, instead of torn down and replaced with new construction.

Finally, I've moved from Wordpress to Blogger, so if some of the past entries look a little off format, or comments are missing, that's why. I'm sure things will continue to change around here as things get settled in, but overall it should be good!

Oh, and finally finally (for real this time) - THANK YOU Generally Fabulous for the spankin' new banner which is well - generally fabulous!

peace&love,

renski

that time of year, again

2009-11-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

Holiday weekends do not typically bring with them productivity. Case in point: I had the week off of school, which would have been a great time to get ahead of the game. Instead I read books not about the American Revolution, and watched a lot of movies.

us all weekend

We did not plan Netflix correctly and found ourselves at the local Red Box, where we rented 3 movies on Saturday evening – Up, The Ugly Truth and G.I. Joe. When he returned them Sunday afternoon, three more came home in their place – Funny People, Angels & Demonsand Four Christmases. As we had just finished decorating our shoebox apartment (lights strung on the high ceilings! Tchatcky everywhere! Fake prelit $20 6′ tree!) , we opted for Four Christmases to keep with the holiday spirit!

It is of no relevance that I happen to love Reese Witherspoon, and forgive her for taking Jakey G away from me (rumors of their split almost broke my heart!). Her kids seem well adjusted, as in not dressing like sluts, and if I had to rank Hollywood parenting skills I would put her right up there with Jennifer Garner. This has absolutely no bearing on this movie at all, because my love for Reese was leveled out by my ambivalence for Vince Vaughn, but it was a pretty decent movie. This paragraph is not even close to my point, by the way.

In one scene in the movie the main characters were trying to go to Tahiti for the Christmas Holiday to avoid their families. Mr B made an offhand comment that we could never do that with my family, because we actually love them and like spending time together.

many pumpkin martinis were consumed

And, he’s right. This year we spent three days at their house eating, drinking and laughing. We saw the high school football half time show, played hearts with my folks, and had ten people for dinner, plus an additional six for drinks and foyer-turned-dance-hall party afterwards. There were two twenty pound turkeys, each brined to perfection, stuffed cabbage, veggies, salad and more dessert than you could shake a fist at. While we missed my sister (who is still living in Ireland), it was nice to have so much of the family together.

Of course, Thanksgiving marks the kickoff of the holiday season. Mr B and I pack the Trans Siberian Orchestra CD’s and listen to them on the 2 hour car ride home. While we planned to bag serious decorating this year because a. we have no room and b. we won’t actually be here for Christmas Day, that fell through once we wrapped the first gift. We needed lights! And that required a trip to Lowes to get sticky hooks to hold them up…and we emerged with a fake, pre lit tree. We barely have enough room for it, but it’s so well worth it.

It seems that for a lot of people the holidays are one stress after another. I am thankful that thus far we’ve been able to keep our eye on the positive side of it all…now to see if that continues in the next few weeks!

peace&love

Ren

that small time charm

2009-11-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

Until August of 2007, I have never lived in a small town. I grew up in a city of about 85,000 people in Central Connecticut, which had a great sense of community but was not small. I lived in DC for four-ish years while I did my undergrad. It goes without saying that in no way, shape or form is DC a small town. And then, because Mr B is from upstate NY I agreed to move here once I was done with school.

For a year we lived in a tiny village (village as in it is a smaller part of an already small town) in Columbia County. We were right on Main St in a quaint 1770 apartment, complete with wavy glass windows and slanted molding. This town had two gas stations, a Family Dollar, two small restaurants (one catering to the locals, and one to the ‘city-idots who came up on weekends, pricing wise) and a volunteer fire alarm that was right across the street from us. (Side note: if you have never heard one of these alarms, imagine the loudest and most prolonged wailing you can. And then repeat it three times. At 2am.) This small town did not have a grocery store and thus, many day to day essentials were purchased at the Stewarts Shop, which was diagonally across the street from us.

Well. I was unemployed for the first month we lived there. This meant I ran to Stewarts quite a bit. One day while I was getting the paper the cashier asked me how the job search was going. Say what?! Turns out she had noticed that I would go to the job section first and deduced it from there. Then other things – my hair cut, my clothes, and on. At first it was a little bit weird (I had not lived in places where people were nice to you!) but I grew somewhat accustomed to it. I noticed her haircut and knew she was a single mom. It was a decent relationship, even if it did mean I didn’t run out of the house without brushing my hair anymore.

Now we live in Greene County, and have been here a few months past a year. Because it is larger than our last stomping ground I was convinced for a while that it would not be quite the same. Thankfully I had already had small town experience, because I was quickly proven wrong. We frequent one Italian restaurant (always sit at the bar) and they know us by name. The one time I abstained from a beer with dinner, the rumor mill got started that I was pregnant – now, I make sure to always drink (!) or explain why I am not. The laundromat owner knows what day I come in and will ask if I was ill if I am late. The cashiers at Price Chopper know we always have a 3 pack of water under the cart, and the pizza joint on Main St knows us by face.

I began writing this intent on pointing out the times when this is a negative thing – when you see someone you don’t want to chat with but are obligated to by social standards, or when you want to pick up a prescription in private. But as the words unfolded, I realized that this is not indicative of how I feel most of the time. The truth is, after living in large, impersonal cities for so long, it’s nice to be part of a small community. Cheers was on to something – having somewhere people know your name is underrated, especially in todays world.

peace&love,

Ren

goooooo yankees!

2009-11-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

So. Maine fails to allow gay marriage. The Yankees win the World Series for the 27th time. And Matsui proves why he has always been my favorite Yank. What a whirlwind.

Incredibly disappointed in Maine, but I almost think that goes without saying. I won’t stand on my soapbox much longer than to say…shame on you, Maine. And shame on all the other states without laws legalizing gay marriage.

Very excited the Yankees won! I had my doubts after they lost game 1 but they held strong and showed everyone what they were made of.

from the NYT, I wasn't there

I do wish that some Yankees fans could be more gracious *ahem facebook mud slinging ahem* but to be fair, over the course of the series I’ve seen a lot of people actively rooting against the Yankees in some not so nice ways. It’s the nature of the game, I suppose. And speaking of the nature of the game, I am so excited that Matsui was named MVP. He was one of the main reasons I began to love the Yankees as opposed to just going along with it because I was a New Yorker. At any rate, it was a well deserved win in their new home.

Today will be day one of Couch to 5k . SA already did her portion, so that means I have to motivate through it! I am really excited. My former college roommate, Roomie, put it perfectly: “I want to be able to do a 5k whenever.” That’s only 3 miles and to be honest, seems like it should be an entirely reasonable goal. This is one of the main reasons I am excited about the Couch to 5k Program that we are going to be using – it’s structured, and if we can push through it, I know that we can get to where we want to be.

peace&love,

Ren

of morality & legality (or something like that)

2009-11-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

“Drive Safely” has become the new parting phrase at school. Where we used to say “catch ya later” or “hang in there”, we now remind one another that it takes but a swerve to end it all. I am not a religious person, but I find myself saying a prayer when I pass the spot where HSR passed.

We attended a wedding in CT this past weekend for a family member of mine and his partner of 21 years. It was a beautiful wedding for so many reasons, not least of all that their relationship has already lasted more than most marriages do*. This is why I don’t understand why people have an issue with gay marriage. How is this joining of two people who love each other dearly, and will continue to love each other dearly, damaging to the sanctity of marriage? Our good friends, two women, are about to embark on the process of adopting a child. Domestically they can adopt as a couple but they are looking at nearly 4 years of red tape. Internationally, they have to pretend to be single, because the rest of the world doesn’t think a child should have two mothers.

In other news, my girlfriend in NYC and I are going to long distance train to run a half marathon together. We’re going to start with a 5k and work our way up, but this is very exciting. It will be nice to have someone to be held accountable to, but still have the independence of doing it alone. I’ll update as we go along. As of now, starting Thursday.

Annnnd I’m off to do schoolwork. Or something.

peace&love,

Ren

*(I am making this statistic up)

motivation station, please

2009-10-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

Isn’t it sort of crazy how your best intentions go astray? I’ve determined that my issue is not lack of time; rather, it is lack of structured time. One downside to only doing school is that I have so much time not spent committed to one thing – such as a job – that I tend to waste it. So last night I decided to structure my time – getting up, working out, eating, showering, etc. I was doing great this morning until…well, until I fell behind and have yet to make a real start on school work. *fails*

The thing that I did accomplish though was realizing that I want to get to the point where I can consider myself a ‘runner’. My sister runs a lot, and I have in the past, but it’s not anything that I have done recently. Time and energy all stood soundly in my way, but it’s time to get past that. I know it’s getting colder but I plan to try outside for a while until the snow hits. Then I’ll go back to the workout videos inside.

Now, what was I saying about that heap of schoolwork?

peace&love,

renski

life is too short

2009-10-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning, at 8:41am to be exact, a classmate of mine died in a tragic and horrific car accident. She was returning from visiting her parents in Mass and was maybe 15 minutes from school when she allegedly swerved into the other lane and collided head on with an 18 wheeler.

This accident detoured myself and others throughout the day; not once did we know it was her. We knew by the time our evening class convened. It became more of a group grief session than an actual academic forum; although, this was for the best. The services are still being worked out.

I was not as close to her as others were, but I did know her. Just last week I had offered her my couch if she needed it (she commuted from the city to upstate once a week). I was, am, and will continue to be shaken up by her death. Someone my own age, on the route I take to class every day, taken from this world. She was a wonderful friend to many, warm hearted, funny and our public schools have forever lost a great educator.

Life is too short. Tell the ones important to you that you love them, and give you parents (or children, or both) a hug.

RIP, HSR. <3

peace&love

renski

it really isn't the destination that matters

2009-09-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

We made it to Americade this year and as promised it was filled with insanity. I got to test ride a 2009 Harley Sportster 883, a Yamaha R6, and a Yamaha FZR6. I learned that at this point in my life I am not a sportbike girl although with a few more years under my belt I can see how that would change. The FZR6 was fun, but if I’m going for a crotch rocket I may as well go all out. I did love the Sportster 883, as much as I tried not to. It’s actually a bike that when I will seriously consider when the time comes to upgrade. It was so comfortable, and I love how skinny the tank is.

Until I can upgrade, I’m loving the bike I have now. I’ve only been able to ride it since the middle of June, and since that point I’ve put 500 miles on her. She’s sexy and she handles insanely well. I wish the pipes on my car were not louder than the pipes on my bike (I’m considering taking the baffles out/getting new mufflers), but all things considered I have no complaints. Mr B and I have been riding them everywhere, especially when we have no destination. This weekend the local bike shop is sponsoring a poker run and I think we might do that, even if I am terrified about riding in groups. But like most things, I’ll be nervous until we do it, and then I’ll get over it. Plus, $20 gets you entered, all the food you can eat, and awesome raffle prizes.

I had ordered a new netbook, one of those “adowable” (in the words of my dad) tiny things that can word process and browse the internet, Monday and it arrived yesterday! It’s so ridiculously small and yes, cute, that I keep calling it my new toy It’s destiny is to replace all the word processing and such I do on this computer (my 4+ year old iBook that randomly likes to crap the bed) and ensure that midway through this year I don’t up and lose my ability to do schoolwork. The only thing that sucks is that I don’t get wireless in our apartment, and it doesn’t have a jack for the phone cord – because yes, we have dial up. However I can get wireless all over town and on campus, can access the internet on this computer and really? Is it such a bad thing to be blocked from any form of procrastination when working on a paper? No, I did not think so.

I am hoping the rain doesn’t hit today so I can go for a ride, but then, wishing for no rain these days is a waste of wishes. Le sigh.

peace&love,

Renski