Most of the time, I am a jump in headfirst and let the chips fall where they may kind of person. But somtimes I’m cautious and take my time to warm up to an idea, like, for years even. And so, finally, I enrolled in what I hope will be the first of many graduate level classes (and eventually a Master’s degree program) in Museum Studies. At Harvard. Yikes and Eek. What have I done?

For a long time, I pushed the idea off, wanting to focus on painting and going to school for that. When I didn’t get in to the handful of schools I applied to I was crushed, but realized two things: I wasn’t ready to commit to a rigourous painting program, and I didn’t dislike working in design as much as I thought I did. So, I began to reconsider the whole idea of a Museum Studies program and how I might transition from my current career into something that straddled the line between design and fine arts.

My concerns, which are still very valid ones even though I’m moving forward with school, mostly revolved around money and time. I mean, I still have a mortgage to pay and a dog that needs walking, along with gardens that need tending, laundry that needs washing, a partner that needs to be fed and paid attention to, not to mention running and my fulltime job.

So I signed up for one class. Just one. And we’ll see where this leads. If I can handle it OK, I’ll sign up for another class (or two) next semester. Baby steps, people. I’m just getting warmed up!

I’ve been commuting on my bike about once a week for the last few weeks, and I have to say that I’m getting way better at it. You’d think, with all the road riding that I do that I would be adept at commuting, but no. I pretty much suck at it.

Here’s the thing. When I ride my road bike it’s lighter and faster, and I ride in areas with far less traffic, and no bike paths filled with pedestrians, dogs, and runners. Oh, and there aren’t as many lights, either.

My commute, however, is the exact opposite. I’m on a bike that is 10 lbs heavier, not including my bag. I’m riding through a combination of roads and paths, and in some places it’s really nervewracking. And the way home is mostly uphill. Big hills, on a heavy bike = sucks. Well, not “sucks,” but not too fun. Although I’m getting better at it, so I’ve got that going for me.

The flip side, however, is that my commute is about 17 miles, round trip, so I get some exercise in, and once I get into the office, I feel really great about how I’ve started my day. It’s sort of like how you feel after running early in the morning. Actually, it’s exactly like that.

Anyway.

Seven weeks until Tufts. My foot is holding up okay with 3 runs per week. I ran with Rob on Saturday, and that was fine, except that he’s faster than me and sometimes doesn’t wait for me, which pisses me off. I mean, if I knew he wasn’t going to wait for me, that would be fine, but the whole “oh, we’ll run together and we can go whichever way you want,” and then running 20 yards ahead of me the whole time and not waiting for me after a traffic light? Please.

At the halfway point, he kept going instead of turning around and I yelled at him. Oops. I hate to get mad, but seriously, don’t say you’re going to run with me and then… not. Stupid boys.

Well, at least he runs. That is something to be glad about. I’ve been thinking about the topic of the health and fitness of one’s partner, given that so many of my friends are either not active themselves, or have non-active spouses. I mean, you want your partner to be around for a long time. You want to be healthy and see your partner healthy. Luckily, Rob is so afraid of his own mortality (men tend to pass early in his family) that he is trying to create a different future for himself.

And to do that, you have to work at it, whatever the “it” is. For Rob, it’s hockey, primarily, with a bit of running thrown in. For me, it’s running and cycling, and maybe swimming if I can get my butt to the Y again. So it’s work, but it’s not. It’s an investment in you, in your partner, etc., and that really doesn’t feel like work to me.

I just read about Dianna’s crash. Boy howdy, that was a real scary thing to have happened. I am just glad she is OK. And I told her that it wasn’t that she crashed. The bike crashed, and she threw herself underneath her bike to protect it. That’s what I tell people when it happens to me, anyway. :)

I am mostly recovered from my fall. I was pretty bruised up, but other than that, I was fine. Rob says that he is going to get me some training wheels, however. And a big orange flag for the back. The kind that sticks up really high. *sigh*

I had my bike refit last week, by the way. Pat from Landry’s set me up. He changed everything, as I had messed up some things by changing out my saddle a while back, changing my pedals and shoes, etc. Also, he changed the stem because even though it was shorter than the stock one, it wasn’t raised enough to keep me from having SI pain. Well, the new setup is just awesome. It is like having a brand new bike, honestly. I love it, and I think I’m getting a little more power now, too.

That said, I didn’t get to ride last weekend. I meant to, but I wasn’t feeling that great on Saturday morning, and by Sunday, after a girls night out and overnight guests, the day kind of just got away from me. I ran though.

But mostly, I am trying to decide if I want to try to do Tufts this year. I have started to train for it, officially, but will back off if my foot acts up again. So far, it’s okay. I mean, it’s a 10K, people. It shouldn’t bother me that much. Yet, my feet have been very tempermental. I think that I might try wearing a simple insole in my regular shoes all the time and see if that helps. So this week it’s a 4 mile “long” run. Hee hee!

Those of you who ride know that once you go clipless, you are likely to fall a few times. Well, I’ve been riding for 2 years, on and off, and I finally had my first fall. I guess I have been lucky, OR I guess that, this time, I was being a moron. Probably a little bit of both.

Actually, I was being a moron. There’s this intersection at the end of my ride where I have to turn left. I was coming up on it and I didn’t unclip early enough because I thought I could just turn left with no traffic around, but then this car came up on the narrow street I was trying to turn down, and he pulled so far over that I didn’t really have anywhere to go… except into his car, into the car parked on the right side of the road, or well, to stop and let him go. So I stopped, and I couldn’t get unclipped, and I went down. *sigh*

I’m alright, I guess. My left hand hurts and I’m going to have a huge bruise on my left hip. There’s a big abrasion where my frame pump and frame hit my left leg. Ice should help with my hand, and I don’t think it’s broken. I’m just glad I didn’t get run over by the car that was coming the other way, or the one coming up behind me. That would have been way worse.

So, note to self: Always unclip well before that intersection, even if it’s a PITA. *sigh*

Other than that, however, it was a great ride.