Happy Halloween Allison Parker

Bloody hell, I have hit a plateau. I cannot, for the life of me, get working. I was hitting a nice pace earlier in the afternoon and now I'm just flat-lining. Bloody hell. I'm stuck in a dilemma. Hardly anyone asks me to get a beer with her anymore and that hurts my feelings. Truth be told, if she did, I'd be hesitant because (a) I have to run this afternoon, you understand, and (b) I'm trying to avoid gaining any more weight. I know, I know, I shouldn't worry so much, but I can feel it on my bum when I run. Not good, not good. One too many pumpkin bagels, if you must know.

Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

So today started off miserably, but it has gotten slightly better. Today I was greeted by the nice, warm feeling of feline feces between my toes as I stepped into the kitchen to make my coffee. Nice. I sprayed Lysol all over the place after picking up Isabel's "gift" and began the rest of my day, confident that the worst had passed. About an hour later, I put in my right contact and was instantly hit by this searing pain. My eye felt like it was on fire and I couldn't open it, which is, quite frankly, terrifying. This feeling plus the pain caused me to let out a blood-curdling scream (Dan's description). By the way, that was the first time I've ever done that out of pain. Dan heard me, obviously, and ran into the bathroom. He helped pull apart my eyelids so I could remove my contact. Afterwards, I went to the eye doctor and it appears that everything is okay. My eye is just irritated by the Lysol. I feel rather dumb. In other news, I finally saw Jyl's place. On our way back from Bloomington, Dan and I stopped in Indy to say "hullo" to Jyl. Let me just say that I love her place! Dan and I had a lot of fun grabbing brunch with her, visiting the IMA, and downing espressos in her lovely pad. It was a nice way to end a successful trip. Now I'm about to run. I'm wearing glasses and I feel rather idiotic. At least I won't be running with those goggle-things on. And with that, I bid you adieu.

Time and Truth Tell All

I'm in Bloomington and it feels strange. Dan and Derek are presenting their paper at the law school and I decided to tag along. By the way, they are impressed by the campus. I took them to the Irish Lion last night and Derek declared it Staffordshire, he loved it so much. I'm thrilled that they are so enamored with the school and town! So one of the reasons for coming was to get as much work done as possible. I thought that here in Bloomington I wouldn't be bombarded with the constant distractions like I am in Ann Arbor. I'll get to that later. Another reason for coming was to grab a pumpkin bagel. Why? Because they are AWESOME and they don't sell them in Ann Arbor. After my run (I'm still on track with my marathon training--yay!), I beelined it to Bloomington Bagel and now I know why I was compelled to write a poem about a bagel my sophomore year in college. They just taste really, really great here. They do. Much better than in Ann Arbor. Grabbing that little slice of heaven was the closest I got to being productive all day. I did get a little bit of reading done, but the rest of the day I was running around meeting people...which is exactly what I DIDN'T want to do. I'm also feeling strange. First, I have so many mixed feelings about this place. I've experienced some pretty wonderful things here, and some pretty crappy things too. I think about how excited I was my freshman year finally to leave Newburgh. And then I think about my obsession with being perfect and getting out of Indiana, and all the pain it brought, internally and externally. I've decided that I'm a different person now and enough time has passed that I can just accept this place; it is not responsible for what I endured. On a completely different note, does anyone have a place they would recommend for a nice dinner tomorrow night? Anyway, I'm going to get back to my reading. Seriously, if anyone has any suggestions, leave them in the little comments section. That's what it's for!

Homo Economicus

I paid a big fat zero, ZERO, pounds for the new Radiohead CD.* Why? Because I'm a rational actor. *For those of you who do not know, Radiohead is making their new CD available on-line to download. One can pay as much or as little, including nothing, for it.

Immune System of Steel

I think I finally broke. My throat is sore, my nose is stuffed and I am tired. Yes, for the first time in years, I am sick. Yuck.

Call Me Irresponsible

What a very strange, strange day: I've been running into old students, feeling under the weather, feeling sparks, feeling dizzy and feeling extremely irresponsible. First things first. Like most days this week, I got up much later than I had intended to and I still managed to feel exhausted. I then went and ran my three miles, except that these three miles could have been the hardest three miles I've ever ran. I have no idea why I felt like I couln't finish. I did finish though, and felt proud of myself for doing so. Later, on my walk to the office, I ran into an old student. After our conversation (stilted as all conversations with former students tend to be), I was overcome by my desire to smoke a cigarette. This need to smoke has been a constant for about two weeks now. Each time, I supress it, but today was different. But I already told you that. So I bought a pack of cigarettes and lit up. I won't lie: I felt cool. And incredibly dizzy. My God was I dizzy. And THEN I ran into another old student who was talking to someone who looked very familiar. Now, granted, I could only see his back. It turned out to be my crush from the French class I took second year. He looked very happy to see me. He looks the same, and trust me, that is a good thing. There were sparks, which worries me. I am very devoted to Dan and I am unaccustomed to having chemistry with other individuals. And then I noticed I had this bloody cigarette dangling from one of my hands. Oh crap! Smoking is very stigmatized here and I felt like a dizzy fool. We had a rushed conversation and I don't know whether or not to write on his facebook wall. This is the kind of chemistry that isn't just felt by one person. Such are the travails I face. I then had to go to an eye exam. I love my eye doctor! Our personality types are so compatible. Unfortunately, he had to dilate my eyes and now everything is blurry. I smoked another cigarette and it felt horrible. I thought I was going to puke. I then bought a pack of animal crackers to counteract the effect. Note that I was tempted to smoke in order to lose some of this ghastly weight I have packed on my abdomen and what do I do? I run to the vending machine and buy a pack of processed junk. See!? Smoking normally makes people not want to eat; however, it has the opposite effect on me. So now I'm typing this entry after a 30 minute nap on my floor. It is gray and rainy. I have a lot of work to do and I've been entirely unproductive. Dan and I head to Kentucky tomorrow. I'm excited to see my parents and perhaps some sunshine.

If Only...

Dan and I have a penchant for posing like we are in a romantic comedy. I suppose if we were to make a film it would be a 1930's type screw-ball comedy. Since we are lacking time, motivation, and resources to make such a film, we choose to strike these ridiculous poses instead. Enjoy. Oh, and I ran five miles today. I didn't drink any wine. I read new entertainment blogs. Two out of three isn't too bad. Tomorrow I have 3 miles on my plate, as well as 0 glasses of wines, 1 quick glance at perezhilton.com, and 1 chapter of a non-work related book to read. I will update accordingly.

Cha-Cha-Changes

Two entries in a row, I know. This morning I woke up and I thought I really have to make some changes. Normally, I write the changes I'd like to initiate and then promptly ignore them. Not this time, my friends, not this time. I'm serious about making changes for the better and I thought, why not write my goals on this blog where I may be held accountable? So I mentioned that I felt lethargic the other day? It's true. And I just feel gross over-all. Here are my goals: 1) Train for a marathon. I downloaded the schedule and I've been running for so long that I think I can follow it. 2) Track my finances. I'm 25 years old and it really is about time. 3) Don't drink during the week and drink a maximum of two glasses of wine at a sitting. I've been feeling like a lush and it's not good. 4) Read more books. Goodness knows I have enough of them. 5) Read fewer blogs and more serious news. My celebrity addiction is out of control. I promise to read Perezhilton.com only once a day.

Ketchup

It is bloody hot for October. Fall is my favorite season and I rather feel like I'm getting gypped. Anyway, here are some updates after my long absence. 1) Dan and I went to Albany, New York, for a wedding. Jessica and Shanna also went, and we saw Heather (who I met in Boston). I also met the famous Monica and generally all of Dan's oft-mentioned friends from the Ford School. It was rather a difficult situation for me just because I felt like I was clinging to Dan and Jess. When you don't know many people, it is terrifying to be left on your own. The wedding itself was beautiful. It was held on the bride's family estate overlooking the Hudson. That is me and Dan before the ceremony. I did have a really good time on the dance floor and I really liked Dan's friends. It was great to see him in his element; he is such a funny guy! 2) Bisous Cat and I are best friends. Somehow, we've just bonded. When I take naps, she sleeps by me. When I do my pilates, she interrupts me by rubbing her adorable little head against my not-so-adorable one. Unfortunately, Isabel is still in her little room and now she has to wear an e-collar (one of those things that look like a lamp shade). Oh the indignity! Here is a picture of my girls; the first one is from Isabel's more halcyon days. 3) On the work front, Ken really liked my Jean Monnet paper. This surprised me. He thinks it is publishable. I'm not so sure. I am back to my original dissertation project, which has become more interesting of late, thanks to Paper Stones. Other good news on the work front is that I am 100% committed to political science ::golf claps::. 4) Health wise, I have been sleeping A LOT. Like an unhealthy amount. I get at least 8 hours of sleep a night and then take an hour nap in the afternoon. The rest of the day I feel lethargic and sleepy. Either I am turning into a cat or something is wrong. It is kind of freaking me out. So that is my latest update. Now back to work for me and a good day to you!