Highs and lows for the week

By the time yesterday afternoon rolled around, I was more ready to get off the rollercoaster ride that the week had been.  However, instead of basking in the glow of the end of a hard week, I settled into a bit of a grumpy, stewy fog of a mood. On a Friday afternoon!  Fortunately, it lifted after a walk with the dogs and a small but potent margarita.  Just what the doctor ordered!

The grumpiness has followed me around for much of the week, developing last weekend when our neighbors' dogs (four small things) started to bark fairly incessantly, keeping us up at night and setting me totally on edge.  We were feeling pretty desperate about the situation - not sleeping, Michael working at home and not being able to concentrate because of the barking.  At one point, Michael, in a sleep-deprived fit of frustration, even commented that buying the house was the biggest mistake we'd made.  To try to resolve or alleviate the problem, we moved our bed from one room to another to the final room where it will probably stay put, and we also talked to the neighbors, expressing our concern for their dogs rather than our frustration with them.  Additionally, we considered writing a letter and also calling the SPCA which, according to their website, does deal with barking dogs.  In the meantime, we were both reading about the effects of dog barking, all negative, which did nothing to reassure our nerves.  I know that some people consider it a point of pride the fact that they can function without much sleep, but I am not one of them.  So, figuring out a solution to the barking dogs was a necessity if we were going to live in this new house with any sense of peace and happiness.  Finally, on Tuesday, we slept thanks to the white noise playlist we created.  I had never appreciated sleep as much until that night - total bliss!

The other nadir (can there be more than one lowest point?  In theory, no, but let's say it was a different nadir, work-related rather than personal/home) was a student issue.  I can't go into details, but I felt somewhat unsatisfied by the action taken by the school/the administration.  While I was told (note the passive voice) that the school would absolutely support me, in the same sentence the same person used the phrase "thin ice" to describe my position.  I'm sure the fact that I was tired from lack of sleep did not help my overall reaction to the student's infraction and the consequences, or lack thereof.

Fortunately, there were some moments that  lifted my spirits.  Tuesday, a colleague and I took our classes on a field trip to see a few of the hundreds of L.A. murals.  The timing was terrible (note to self: do not take students on a field trip in April), but the experience was a success.  Also, a student gave me a bag of oranges from the orange tree in her yard as a thank-you for writing her letter of recommendation.  In non-school related themes, I started Tuesday track workouts with a local tri group, and they've been both fun and really f-ing hard.  The last time I ran track workouts was over 20 years ago, but mixing in a bit of speed shouldn't hurt too much.

I *am* getting excited and nervous for next weekend's big event.  I realized that opening my 'season' with Wildflower and going in with high hopes is probably a terrible approach, so I've adjusted my expectations.  In my terrible funk, I invested in some new tri clothes - a full on "kit".  It's totally obnoxious with crazy colors and designs, but I tried it out and didn't run into any chaffing issues, so I'll gear up in it for Wildflower.  Maybe it will make me go faster?  One can always hope.

At this point, I'm ready to have a more relaxed week, both in terms of work and play/life!