edible future

Few things:

Picking up keys to my new apartment with Andrew today. Woo hoo! Moving also. :(

Did terrible in my 5k race for work on Saturday. 37 minutes or so, slower than the last 5k I ran in November. It was hillier than I expected, but it was yesterday's run that confused me even more - 9:08 PR mile, 9:45 average pace and a 5k in 29:30 (PR). What? I felt great during my run yesterday, like I could keep going longer even. I suppose you can try to be as consistent as you can, but sometimes you have days like Saturday and sometimes you have days like yesterday.

Pictures of my growing food:


Basil sprouts, in need of repotting.


Cilantro sprouts. They came up, quite literally, Tuesday. All of them except that tall one in the back. I thought they weren't going to sprout and then they all did at once.


Hanging tomato plant.



My big asparagus plants. Going to have to replant them in the ground somewhere... Andrew said his dad might want them, which means he might share with us next spring. Yum.

purging

Ugh. Today is one of those muggy sort of days. Not super hot, but just humid. I'm thinking of busting out my floor fan, if only so sleeping is actually possible.

Yesterday I helped Andrew's family move his uncle out of the house their family has lived in for 50 years. It's a pretty big house and his grandpa hoarded, meaning that there was a random assortment of plain old stuff - a puppet theater, a 30 year old air conditioner, an unopened box of drop ceiling tiles, 3 or 4 different garbage cans full of stuff, etc etc etc. Certainly makes me want to purge my belongings of things I don't use anymore so I don't have to move them to my new apartment next week.

It's also interesting to see how other families interact. Certainly events like holidays and birthdays, but also how decisions are made and the feel of things. Not necessarily good, bad or better, just different. Although it's made me realize that my family (brother and father in particular) move belongings at breakneck speed, like Genghis Khan's small, fast, effective armies. See: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. God, I first read that book 7 years ago but it stuck with me.

Anyway. I'm going to go start my own purge which already includes nearly 2 garbage bags of clothes, 70 books and 15 movies. I tried to be realistic about books I'll read again and books I won't. I probably wasn't as realistic as I could be, but it's a good start. Especially staring down a potential future that doesn't include further research in religion (at least for the next 10 years). Also, will be keeping the book on Genghis Khan. I've read it since that first time 7 years ago so it's a keeper. Keep on the lookout for purged 4 year old homework and college yearbooks.

YDS graduation today - my favorite part of leaving the 'Have. Thinking of you.

anyway

Last week I was kinda lazy. Between no work Monday, conference Tuesday, speaking at a panel at my undergrad on Thursday, I only ran on Wednesday and then only for a little bit. I could really tell I hadn't done much this week when I went out for a 5 mile run on Saturday. It was hot and I was trudging along, stopping once for water and again to motivate myself to keep it up. I ran around the lake by my house (3.2 miles) on Sunday and my 5k time was significantly slower than usual. Ah, oh well. It's a good lesson to learn, especially approaching the Bellin in 4 weeks. I'm also doing a 5k this Saturday with a team from work so I'd like to beat my last official 5k time from last fall (November - 36 minutes or so). Although that shouldn't be a big problem - even my slow, agonizing 5k yesterday was faster than that.

Andrew and I submitted our application for a new apartment this weekend - hopefully that'll work out and I have some place to live in two weeks. I started going through my belongings and weeding out things I don't read/wear/watch/use anymore and already I have a big, big pile. I was more stringent about getting rid of things this time around so I've got stacks of books, a pile of DVDs that both Andrew and I own and two grocery bags of clothes to pass on. I'm sure I'll find more things as the packing and organizing begins.

I've actually got some good job prospects out there for after I'm done in July (or earlier). It's kinda surprising to mention three different potential places of employment that are actually legitimate. I spoke at a panel of religion majors at my undergrad on Thursday about life-after-a-religion-major. I had a great time and it was nice to be back at Hamline again, sitting in a religion classroom. As someone a few years out of school who still doesn't know exactly what I want to do, I felt like my experience was important to share, especially to kids graduating from college. If I don't have it figured out, then they shouldn't feel pressured to either.

I guess I'm still trying to pull myself out of the mindset that there's ONE CAREER. One job/career that you have for your life. You get the same focus with wedding planning too - THE ONE, THE RING, THE DRESS. Not that I don't think Andrew's perfectly lovely and loveable and in love with him, but honestly, I can't buy into the idea that had we not met, I wouldn't have been able to find happiness because he's THE ONE for me. Like my ring and dress - they're A ring and A dress, things I like but it's not divinely ordained that I wear them. There are lots of options for me, both in terms of wedding apparel and careers.

Anyway.

This is awesome.

days like this