Happiness, Attempted. (No, Really.)

I swear, a race report is in the works, but this has been an insane week lately, so this is just a regular boring old post...

So I was reading Marit's awesome blog post about staying happy, and I have to say, it's a subject near and dear to my heart lately. When I'm feeling overwhelmed and busy and just totally drained, I've been really focusing inward ot find as much inner happiness and energy that I can muster. It's tough, but thankfully, Robbie is super supportive (and being great about doling out backrubs and keeping the house clean) and I got a Bluetooth for my phone so I can talk to mom and dad while I drive home from babysitting at night. The calmer and happier I can stay, the better life will be, being upset and frustrated and self-pitying won't make me feel better at all- it'll just keep me feeling miserable. "Stay posi" is the plan for the semester.

I've really been trying to stay super positive despite a super hectic schedule. When things get tough, I just keep thinking about this line from a Mountain Goats song: "I am gonna make it through this year, even if it kills me."

And after my first tutoring session tonight, I think I'm going to need it. Suffice to say: this is going to be a huge challenge. I think I can handle it though. Like I said, I'm trying to stay super positive about it. Ditto on babysitting. And all the new projects I just got handed to me at CWA. Et cetera.


On the MAJOR upside, tonight I started CYCLOCROSS practice! I did about half of what the guys were doing, in terms of laps, and didn't take them super fast at all. I started out super conservatively because I had a)never used SPD pedals, b)never raced cross or mountain and c)had just gotten on the bike for the first time to ride to practice. So it was slow. But by the third lap (~6 min per lap for most racers) I was speeding up and taking the crazy hills pretty quick. I need to tighten the pedals though- yeah, I could get out of them easily, but whenever I was pulling to get up a hill, they clipped off! Dammit! Plus, super huge bonus, I got to see Blake, my favorite triathlete/cyclist on the planet. In all, I'm definitely getting excited about the season, though I think I need to do more solo practice- in all my spare time!

Plus, afterwards I got to enjoy my tofu and mozzarella sandwich on wheat bread made with my crazy cool sandwhich maker- it heats and closes the edges together so it's basically a hot pocket. Fantastic and perfect to eat on the go. For cryin' out loud, I never get to eat at home anymore.

It was pretty great, but I can't believe how chilly it's getting out! I hope it doesn't cool off more- it's hard to imagine racing a half Ironman at the end of the month. It's sort of weird, I'm already starting to feel like it's the Fall, but my race season hasn't stopped.

Off to make some lesson plans, pretending to be a REAL teacher. I'm basically tutoring/teaching 25 kids, which should look pretty sweet on a resume.

Sigh. And working on a research project on green technology.

It never ends.

But still, being happy no matter what.