Odds and ends - summer's over

This is going to be a potpourri of thoughts and musings provoked by the summer drawing to an official close this weekend.  Students are back on Tuesday, and I'm doing my teaching show starting Wednesday.  However, I officially returned to the land of adulthood and responsibility this week, attending meetings, taking notes with a purpose, and dressing somewhat more professionally than my summer garb.  While the look-like-a-working-person issue is not the most challenging aspect of the summer to work transition, I do have to make an adjustment, especially in the shoe department.  After wearing flip-flops 90% of the time that I had to wear shoes, my feet then suffer when they are suddenly confined.  Not that I wear uncomfortable heels or anything like that, but even my most comfortable of "comfort" shoes (yes, I'm an old lady) give me blisters.  

Overall, being back and seeing people - reconnecting with old colleagues and meeting new teachers - makes me feel optimistic about the year, but the meetings do fray my nerves a bit.  By the end of the day on Wednesday, I came home and crashed and felt completely depressed that the summer was over and the year was about to commence.  Fortunately, I have "snapped out of it", but I needed a low-key night in order to strengthen my resolve and shift my mindset to a more positive one.  Nothing like a beer, burger, fries and wings to lift my spirits.  In addition to seeing colleagues, there are several parent/trustee functions that I must attend (those obligations continue until mid-October).  Last night's "party" marked the beginning of these soirees, but at least alcohol accompanied the schmoozing!  It's easier for me to talk to high-powered executives if I've had at least a glass of wine or two.  

Now that the summer is over, I can think about what I actually accomplished over the past few months. I often view summer as a great opportunity to read good books, do some professional development, travel, hike, cook, go to the movies, spend time with friends and family, and explore a bit of LA and/or California.  This summer, as I've recounted ad nauseam, I focused mainly on the Boulder race and then Nicaragua, so the major event pressure was on the back end.  However, I did accomplish much of that list: read (not good books, but that is another issue), PLENTY of travel, not much hiking, a decent amount of cooking although few new recipes, good times with friend and family, only saw one movie at the theatre, and somewhat limited LA/CA exploration.  So, it all evens out in the wash I suppose.

As far as the summer books I read, I'm almost embarrassed to list them because the list is both brief and filled with plenty of fluff!

- First of all, the Game of Thrones TV series sucked us in at the end of the academic year, so I read Books 1-5 over the summer.  They are easy but long reads and completely like mental crack - so addictive and pleasurable at the time, but don't leave much of a lasting impression.  Still, quite fun, despite the fact that most of my favorite characters are now dead.  

I did read two "real" books this summer:

- Black Swan Green (link is to NYTimes book review) by David Mitchell.  Really enjoyed this coming-of-age novel set in 1980's Britain.  It does make me want to read Cloud Atlas, which is bolder, more complex and ambitious.  

- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.  I'd wanted to read this book for a while and picked up a used copy at a book store in Denver . It is beautifully written reflection on death, dying, grief, relationships, memory, and so many other themes.  

And another a fantastic adventure book about the Tour Divide, a mountain bike race from Canada to Mexico.  Be Brave, Be Strong by Jill Homer is not the best memoir I've read, but it fascinated me and I often found that I couldn't put it down.  

I'm also reading Canada (NYTimes review) by Richard Ford, his latest novel, and I'm enjoying it, but I find myself easily distracted.  I would like to finish it before the month of September ends!

In terms of other forms of leisure/entertainment, we did see plenty of movies, but I only saw one movie in the theatre, as I mentioned.  The movie selection for me was underwhelming, to say the least, but I did enjoy the one movie that we saw July 4th - Brave.  Not the best movie I've seen, to say the least, but I didn't resent the fact that I spent money to see it.  We seemed to trend to older movies this summer, mainly because the new releases just look terrible.  So, we re-watched a few oldies (Double Indemnity which is just amazing, Charade, which also held up; there were a few of them that were not as good as we had remembered, The Moderns being an example of that). We also took a chance on plenty of  movies, classics or not, that we ended up loving.  Some surprised us with their relevance today (Network was a prime example of that) or they delighted us for other reasons (Hopscotch and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three - the original, not the remake - fell into that category - although I think that Walter Matthau had much to do with it in both of those movies).  So, a light season of summer blockbuster hits for us, but plenty of satisfying movie watching over these past few months!

And now, I have started to turn my focus to the fall - the weeks have already begun to fill up with plans, events and some travels, and thoughts of school occupy my mind.  But I plan to fully enjoy this weekend as the last breath of summer!

Trying the new and unknown

I've decided that even though summer has ended, that doesn't (or shouldn't) mean that my spirit of adventure is quashed!  So, while during the week, I've tried to transition to a more professional look these days, the weekends are still reserved for fun.
Case in point:

The first picture, obviously, is Day 1 - back to the grind!  Don't I look like I'm miserable?  I actually was pitting out my shirt because it was an unbearably hot day, but I did have fun being back in the class!
The second picture was taken on Saturday when I participated in my first ever "Mud Run"!  Somehow, hanging out with a random group of really funny people and running (and crawling) through mud pits seemed like the perfect antidote to the whole "I'm-an-adult-thing".  I will admit that I was nervous before the race - there seemed to be a LOT of unknowns.  I was meeting up with people whom I didn't really know, so would it/I be awkward?  Would I suddenly try to be competitive and be a jerk?  Would I twist an ankle or tweak my knee as I scaled an 'obstacle' or would I just get stuck in the mud?
Michael, my trusty photographer, accompanied me, which went above and beyond the usual call of duty, but he's a winner like that.  When we arrived at Irvine Lake, thunder and lightening greeted us - SERIOUSLY!?  I could not believe it!  Rain in September in Southern CA?!  I figured that I'd be getting wet and muddy at any rate, so what did it matter, as long as the lightening let up.

Once our team ("We Got the Runs" - nice name!) started, the race was a blast!  There is something joyful and childlike about running around, jumping over walls and crawling in mud.  By the end, however, I was more than ready to exit the mud and shower off!

On our way back to LA, we stopped at Jerry's Wood-Fired Dogs, a hotdog place in Orange County.  That was a serendipitous discovery - as we were driving around strip mall hell, we luckily spotted a sign and it piqued our interest.  A Chicago-style hotdog, a sausage and an order of fries later (Michael and I split everything), I was in a comatose state.
It must have been because of that comatose state that I fell completely asleep during the drive home and Michael ended up missing an exit and driving almost to LAX!  I woke up to signs pointing to Redondo Beach rather than Pasadena.
Again, that was also a new and different way to get back to Pasadena (cough, cough)!
Maybe I won't always embrace the new and unknown, but there is something exhilarating about meeting a challenge head-on.  Whether it is a new start to the year, meeting new people, or pushing myself physically, getting out of my comfort zone keeps me sharp and makes life more interesting.  And while there are plenty of times when I'll opt for the familiar, I do know that I *need* to step out and greet the "known unknowsn" (thank you, Donald Rumsfeld) with open arms.
I will, however, happily return to the comfort of a shower (or two)!