Balancing Alcohol and Friends

I love love school.  I'm starting to feel like a bit of an alcoholic though.  The stress level is so incredibly high, that people are basically sprinting to the bar next door as soon as class is over.  I didn't realize school was going to be like this.  Sometimes I feel like I'm not really learning, like I'm just memorizing things to get through the next exam and hoping they'll pick that material to test me with.  It's insane, I'll learn three subjects in seven weeks.  Rapid fire.  I've just started picking things that I won't do ... and hoping for the best ... I think I'm supposed to focus on my career also at some point ... Right now, this is on the back burner.

I started missing non-alcoholic bonding.  So much that I realized, I can have it if I plan it.  So I invited some friends over and had a nice dinner and couple bottles of wine.  I thought I'd have 3-4 girls over, but I ended up with so many people saying yes that I had to go buy more wine glasses!  It's not completely non-alcoholic, but it was nice to change the scenery from the bar down the corner.  It's weird to think that I didn't know anyone I am friends with now two months ago, and now we spend 24/7 together.  There's no better way to make you feel like an adult than to have a "dinner party."  I even had wine glass charms ... Not completely grown up though, they were mustaches.

It's also a little bit weird to have a group of girl friends to hang out with.  I've always had one or two best friends, and sometimes girls can be so overwhelming that I'm surprised I had such a good time with everyone.  I am sort of starting to miss guy friends though ... And it's so weird to become guy friends with guys who are married.  You can't hang out with them the same you can guys who are single.  I really miss having guys to hang out with and joke around with.  So much more easy going, and flirty fun.  I feel like I'm just finding balances between lots of things now.  Career and school.  Alcohol and non alcohol bonding.  Girl friends and guy friends.

204 Miles Down 111 Miles To Go

What's in the fridge?

I usually never write about a one mile run anymore ... In fact, I haven't run one since February (eight months ago) when I started this little personal challenge.  Today though, I really needed this.  I have midterms next week.  I've heard rumors and stories about how people go to graduate school, get swept up in the sea of classes and networking and emerge two years later.  Knowing several friends that have done this, I have always been annoyed with it.

I have sent several apologetic text messages this week.  This morning I opened my fridge and stared at it for 10 minutes.  Literally stared at it.  It was 6:45 am, and I was staring at my fridge unsure of what I was doing there.  How many possible things could one be doing at 6:45 am in front of a fridge?  So today, I ran to yoga, I did an intense workout, and I biked home.  My legs are jelly, and my brain is mush, but people keep telling me I'm learning things.

196 Miles Down 119 Miles To Go

Mental Exhaustion

I live in Boston.  This tiny little sentence still hasn't sunk in for me.  I still feel a little bit like a nomad, as I'm currently living on someone's couch out of a suitcase, as I have been for the past month.  I can't wait to not be homeless... On the plus side, the running paths are incredibly more scenic than the one path I ran along in Chicago.  And today ... I really needed it ...

Networking ... I'd like to stop using that word immediately.  I like making genuine connections to people I would recommend and am friends with.  Somehow I feel like its driven by quantity and political gain and less by real friendship and connection.  I hope I am wrong about this, and things here prove my initial snap judgement wrong.

I am so excited to get to know my class better ... we have 40% of students who are international students.  So many new countries to visit!!!  So far, I've made friends from Panama, Egypt, Isreal, China ... Just to name a handful.  I feel like I'm finally addressing my need to embrace risk.  I got some new neon running clothes (risky for someone who believes in a world of black workout clothes).  Every run I've gone on since I got here has been different.  I want to run all over this city.  I've even thought about using this as a way to meet more people in my program (in a way outside of drinking and studying).  I talked to a few girls, and we want to start a running club ... Seems a little aggressive with graduate school on the horizon, but I at least want to run some races before the snow rolls in!

When I finished this run ... I realized that I don't remember the last time a run made me exhausted, tired, or frustrated that I couldn't push myself farther.  Now that I'm mentally exhausted ... I can run forever.  Who knew?

179 Miles Down 136 Miles To Go