February's not-so-low nadir

Okay, if this week is really the low point of my month, I can't complain about life! I am, however, feeling unfocused, unproductive and very stale in my classes. I've hit the point in the year with my AP class when I start to cram material into my students' brains rather than letting them absorb concepts such as verisimilitude and bildungsroman. Also, I start to count the days, and when I feel under-the-weather, like this week, I stress even more about the possibility of missing class.

So far, I am staying more or less healthy, thanks to the occasional anti-decongestant that keeps my head from exploding. I even managed a short and lame run at the gimnasio yesterday - the first time I'd run since my awesome (in my world) 10-k. After that event, my left foot swelled up and I had difficulty even walking without pain for a few days. I feared a stress fracture, took days off, and now the foot seems to be properly functioning. Haven't I suffered enough and done enough PT for the next five or ten years?!

But life *has* been busy. Somehow I ended up with after-hours work events Tuesday, Wednesday and tonight. Some of these took the form of sporting events (go team go!), but they still take time and energy. Last week, Michael and I managed to watch a few movies during the week, but there has been none of that these days!

Finally, I think that Michael and I "celebrated" our lamest V-Day ever. We've never fully embraced or indulged in the so-called holiday, but some years we do acknowledge its existence. This year, I made fried rice for us (with leftover rice, of course) and went to bed on the earlier side. I already used the adjective lame, but I'll say it again: LAME.

On the positive side, I tried to totally "nerd out" this week - saw Mike Brown, the author of "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming". I had heard him interviewed on NPR, and he was/is very funny. He is also a total nerd - amazingly so. I think that he tried to lecture to a lower-level intelligence such as mine, and I could follow, but this was all right before lunch, so I felt a bit distracted. Still, I had to chalk this up to being one of those great learning opportunities thanks to work.

Also, we are gearing up for a three-day weekend! It is supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday, but if the Weather Channel is correct, the sun should shine on Sunday and Monday. We have dinner plans tomorrow at one of our favorite places in LA, plus I will be learning about swimming on Saturday and Sunday, and I plan to fit in a longish bike ride.

Swim, bike, run?