33

I had a birthday. I am now 33. Rather than complaining about how OLD 33 seems, I feel lucky I made it this far and am healthy and have a great life. And I never want to be the party pooper who doesn't enjoy surprise birthday parties. That annoys me. Also, I won't ever be the person who hides her age or lies about it. I don't get that. (I tend to think about stuff like this sometimes because I work in gerontology.) We all age--get over it, people.

On other fronts...work has been crazy but might be settling down just a little. My tenure materials were due Friday, as was a big gerontology report that must be done every 7 years. More than anything, I need to work on myself so that I can separate work from home and stay sane when work is nuts. I've never been good at that. I bring work home with me, but literally and figuratively. I am somewhat of a workaholic, and it doesn't help that I live in an age when I can do so much at home via my good friend, remote desktop.

My runs have not been long or fast--very leisurely. I do about 4-6 miles a day, with one or maybe even two days off each week. In a way, I feel like I need a goal or something to really kick me into gear. In another way, I like to be able to run by feel, with no training plan or GPS. I go back and forth.

Lately, I am also appreciating the feeling of running with the leaves crunching under my feet. However, Murphy doesn't enjoy it so much. The crunching makes him think someone or something is chasing him.

It's been a beautiful October here in Iowa. It's great running weather. Of course, I know what's coming. This isn't my first Iowa winter, and I fully expect a bitterly cold and ridiculously snowy season. I've learned to hope for the best but expect the worst. Last year, I ran outside quite a bit until January, when I turned to the treadmill. Not sure if I will focus this year on running outside, the treadmill, or a combination. I may also use the spinning bike some. There is something, though, about running outside in the winter that I love. Maybe it's because the trails are so empty and serene. But, for now, I'll appreciate the fall.

With it being fall and getting dark earlier (which I don't like), I've been inside in the evenings watching the boob tube--as my father calls it. I thought maybe I'd make a list today of shows I'm watching right now. These are in no particular order, and I make no statements about the quality of these shows:

1. Sister Wives (season finale tonight--I enjoy talking to people about this show because opinions vary so much)
2. House
3. Parenthood (I recommend this if you haven't seen it yet)
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Private Practice (I actually don't like this show that much but continue to watch it anyway)
6. Dr. G (missed my calling, should have been a medical examiner)
7. Teen Mom
8. The Middle (just discovered this one--love Brick)
9. Disappeared (odd fascination with this--think I am the only one in the world who watches this)
10. Toddlers & Tiaras (and Little Miss Perfect--pretty much the same ridiculous show)
11. The Office (last season for Michael Scott--will they really continue without him?)

I also just discovered a channel (Hub?) that shows reruns on the Wonder Years, one of my favorite all-time shows. They show Doogie Houser, too, but that show isn't quite as good as I remember it being. (I have always had a crush on Neil Patrick Harris though. Although the rest of the world has apparently know he was gay for years, I just figured it out last month.) The Wonder Years, however, is even better than I remember. I saw Kevin and Winnie Cooper enjoy their first kiss this morning. I also remember as a kid trying to get my hair to look like the mom on the show. In retrospect, I don't know why I wanted my hair to look like a 1960's housewife--when in reality it was the mid or late 80's. I was not a style icon at my elementary school.

I should also add that I've had a recent fascination with the rescue of the Chilean miners. I was up in the middle of the night watching them be pulled up this week. It's just amazing to me that they survived for so long underground. I have odd questions like "What did they talk about?", and "Where did they go to the bathroom?"

The situation brought back memories of Baby Jessica, the baby pulled from a well when I was a child (maybe in the early 80's?). I remember sitting around watching that whole debacle and how the nation rejoiced when she surfaced. Okay--so a baby in a well is maybe a little different from 33 miners in a Chilean mine, but the miners brought back those memories somehow anyway.

Alright, on with my day.