Spring break, in theory

Because I'm not feeling very "breaky" so far. Granted, school's been in recess since last Wednesday, but I've still been working, so I have to feel just a little bitter. I know there are a few of my friends out and about in the world, taking advantage of the fact that spring break is still a break. I, on the other hand, didn't quite catch on, so here I am, slaving. It could be worse, I guess, but since it's not, grrrrr.

On the bright side, John and I are getting to spend a little more time together, which is always fantastic. The other day, we decided to walk from Columbus Circle (60th) down to Union Square (14th). Thinking it was going to be a long trek, we mustered up our courage and went for it. Strangely enough, it was over before we knew it, and we didn't feel a thing. It reminded us of how far we've come, how a walk like that would have rendered us worthless for a week back in the fat days of a year or two ago. Now, it was barely noticeable, and that was nice, albeit a little surreal. In fact, being this new size is still pretty weird for me. I catch myself in mirrors or windows and freak out a little, even now. I thought I'd be past all that already, but it seems not... it's better, but not quite gone. Given the fact that it's still a little cold outside, I sometimes go for my runs on the treadmill at the gym. Every so often, I'll see myself in the mirror... running... my arms and legs showing muscular definition I've never seen before on my person... a couple of times, I've had to double check to make sure it was actually me and not some other person on a treadmill next to me. Sure enough, I'm coming along, and I'm not looking back, I can tell you.

All this work is for the marathon, sure, but there's more to it. I'll be getting a new photo shoot booked soon, and I'll be performing more often in coming weeks. I remember comments from people back in Dallas, before I left... "You've got a great sound, and if you lost that weight, you might make it." Well, I took it to heart. At least now I have a fighting chance, yes? Well, it's worth a go, at least. Sometimes, it really is all about the packaging. 

As for school, that's coming along. It's now a matter of doing the work and getting through, as far as I'm concerned. I'm doing more than I have to at every turn, which is always a good idea, and always exhausting, but that's the dirty little secret no one tells you in grad school... going above and beyond is actually the norm, and those that don't are actually underachieving. Go figure... I'm actually just average after all. Oh, well... time to top myself, then. I'm looking into going through the process of licensure, which is not the normal way of things in my particular program. The way I see it, it's another necessary sort of thing they don't tell you about... we need all the extra help we can get in this field, and licensure is just that sort of edge. I hope so, anyway, because I'm doing it.

Tomorrow is actually a calm day for me, the closest to an actual spring break day I'll be getting. Video games are on the agenda, and not much else. Trust me, I'm perfectly happy with that.

In light of progress

I find that I have to make due with "eh" news now and then... not bad, by any means, just not entirely what I'd hoped for. For instance, I've recently been told (in a very secretive yet informal email) that an application I sent in asking for a certain kind of funding has gone through, and that I've been happily approved. Good news, right? Well, of course... the thing is, I only applied for that option because it was a fall-back, in case I didn't get the option I wanted. If I got the secondary option, that means the one I was hoping for isn't going to happen, as I can't get both. It's not even a difference of money (as far as I know, the sum is identical), but of what I'd be doing in the next year as a result. Oh, well... again, eh.

In other news, I'm running a 15k tomorrow morning, and I'm excited and nervous about it. i ran a 15k in january, when I was still visiting over in texas, but it wasn't a normal 15k... there was a 5k, then a 10k, with a break of a few minutes in between. This will be the first time for me to run this distance continuously, and I'm pretty stoked about it... just a little nervous, too. I ran about 6 miles today in preparation for it, so I think it'll be fine. I'm also not going to push for any kind of personal speed records... i think I'm just going to take it easy, run a moderate pace, and gt to the finish line without injury. As a somewhat-related side note, John and I are both in the lottery for the ING New York City Marathon in November 2008. Apparently, we find out in June or July or somesuch if we've been selected in the lottery, adn there have already been a record number of applicants, so who knows. Either way, I'm still marathon training, so if i don't get into the NYC Marathon, I'll find some other one somewhere else to run. besides, I'll have guaranteed entry in 2009, so I'll get to run it eventually, but it would kick a good deal of ass if I could run it this year, too.

In other mindless news, I'm getting back into th swing of things with music. I'll be going on a photo shoot in the next few weeks (since I've lost about 85 pounds since the last shoot, i think these are long overdue), and I'll be re-entering the circuit of open mic gigs in the city, with the very real posibility of (finally) doing an official CD release by summer. I've had a couple of people on my case lately, telling me I should put the album on iTunes, so I'm researching that at the moment. it'll likely cost a little, but I'm sure it'll be worth it, right? Anyway, buy my CD.

It's been raining here for a couple of days, but it's supposed to stop in plenty of time for the race tomorrow. It's also supposed to be pretty cold, but not as cold as the last race, so I'm sure I can handle it. Running in the cold is actually pretty nice, once you get throught he first mile or so.