The holidays sure came and went so quickly. I wish I had the time to bask in the joy of the season, but I felt as if we rushed right through Christmas, then on to New Year's Eve, and here I am, just about a week into the new year and wondering where December went. I thought I would do a lot more blogging during the holidays, but with everyone except me off from work and school, I had very little computer time, unless I could check e-mails and Facebook on my iPhone.
What a difference a year makes.
Last year I was not a happy camper at my former place of employment. It was unnecessarily stressful, brought on by a uber micro managing business owner/boss who encouraged throwing your fellow coworkers under the bus. I was constantly sick and dropped a solid 10 pounds, 15 if I count the week my weight dropped to a number I haven't seen in years. It was not a healthy weight loss and I did not have 15 pounds to lose. 10 was OK, but losing weight without wanting to is scary, especially when I was eating high calorie foods (on purpose) to maintain weight. I was constantly stressed working in a toxic environment - not only people toxic, but something (physically) there made me ill. From Monday through Friday my eyes would feel dry and puffy, my head felt fuzzy, and I always felt lethargic. Saturday and Sunday (my days off) I felt clear-minded and healthy. Monday it would start all over again. Running was my true refuge, no matter how crummy I felt. Running gave me clarity of mind and I could feel grounded again. I don't know what I would have done without running since it kept me sane. I remember the few days after I left that office, sitting on the couch watching TV and realizing how amazingly good I felt for the first time in months.
This year I am a very happy camper at my current place of employment, where I began working about a month after I left the toxic office. It may not be the fanciest or most up-to-date technical wonder of an office, we still use a DOS based program, but it's great when your employer always says things like "thanks for being here today, " and means it. We all share in each other's accomplishments and look out for each other when needed. My only gripe about my current job is that I'm not working enough hours. Oh, and the weight came back. That's not really a gripe, though. I was hoping to at least hang on to a 5 pound weight loss, but I'll take the happy + 5 pounds over the miserable -15 pounds any day. My running has stayed the same, though. I wish I could say that a happier workplace has lead to better running, but that keeps changing, regardless of what's going on in my professional/personal life.
Other Stuff...
My son's band actually played a show at the House of Blues, Downtown, San Diego -- and got paid.
UNDEAD GARDEN performing "Grilled Cheese." My son is on the drums.
Not bad for an iPhone/Facebook photo taken by a parent (me) trying to look inconspicuous.
After the gig, and back at home with is band mates & friends, Hubs felt the need to make a few grilled cheese sandwiches for the band.
My son started out as a lead guitar player, and is quite talented with his guitar playing abilities, but there were always issues finding a reliable drummer. They would find a drummer who would seem consistent for a few weeks, then suddenly be late, not show up, or move out of town without notice to anyone. My son took a few drumming classes at the community college, and took it upon himself to sharpen his skills. Now that he's THE drummer, the band has consistent practices with complete sets and are now booking gigs. I'm floored. They still need to sharpen their sound a bit, but the fact that they already have a following and are booking gigs is amazing. Their sound is sort of punk-metal.
New Year's Resolutions?
I don't really make New Year's resolutions, but I have been known to do some goal setting. Once I am finished with prior race commitments, I'm going to take a break. I have a few races planned up until June, and after that I'm going to just cruise and run without a particular race in mind. I'll continue to run, but running won't be the sole focus. There's so much more out there, and maybe I need to refocus on my other passions that have been left in the dust.
My current agenda includes the Carlsbad Half Marathon, which is taking place in a couple of weeks. As much as I would love to say that I'm 100% prepared for this race, I'm not. Regardless of how ill prepared I am, this is one of my favorite races. Even though it starts off at a shopping mall, most of the half marathon is along the coast, and it's beautiful. This is a race for the mind. The two times I've run it I've been sick, and just ever so lucky to finish. I'd say running along the coast kept me going. My game plan for this time is to (again) just finish and I'm OK with that. I don't need a PR to enjoy the ride.
Song from Thursday, December 22, 2011:
(There's No Place) Like Home for the Holidays - Perry Como
PEACE
