Thursday, May 26, 2005

Bad graduate student

I'm being a bad graduate student. I've had a slow week. For some reason, when things are slow, I have a hard time doing the 1 or 2 things I should be doing. Why is that? Plus, my P.I. is out of the lab tomorrow. I may just take part of the day off! Shhhh. I deserve it (I'm rationalizing). I've been working my butt off, and I hardly take any time off.
Yesterday, I planned a date for Jason and I for this weekend to congratulate him for getting into graduate school. I bought him a laptop (he will need it, and he wasn't going to buy it himself). I'm taking him out to dinner on Saturday (steak. mmmm.) and then Star Wars. It's all planned. I'm excited. Yea! Sunday, we're going to Grant's Farm (his suggestion; we've never been), and then we're grilling out in the backyard that evening. We're trying to enjoy everything before we leave St. Louis.
Our 5-year wedding anniversary is coming up in June. I bought him some little things that he's going to love. Plus, I got Cardinals tickets for Friday night (the day of our anniversary), which he's excited about. I don't particularly love baseball but it's the last season at Busch Stadium, and it's the last summer we will be in St. Louis.
Jason also loves golf but never gives himself time to do it. We're going on a golf date with some friends from lab that golf. I'm trying to hook them up since they have a lot in common. Other things to do in St. Louis before we go? The Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the Butterfly House, the Art Museum...and one last party at our place to celebrate the house and yard before we go. I'm glad I'm planning fun things in addition to everything else. It brings balance into a hectic time.
Yes, I have a fun list. I have a wish list. I have a long-term to-do list. I have a lab list. I have a daily list. I have a moving list. I have an inventory list. I even write down on my calendar when to start worrying about things, like "June 6th, begin worrying about Father's Day gift". I think I need a list of my lists. A little obsessive-compulsive? Oh, well.
Update on suspicious mole: it's not cancer. Yea! They are atypical cells so I wasn't out of my mind. The derm may remove more to be safe. Maybe next week I'll have more stitches to show off.
Last night, I was pretty good. I went for a run even though I didn't feel like it. Then, I worked on packing. Books and CDs. Books are heavy. They take up a lot of space too. I don't have a lot of stuff to throw out (although I looked) b/c I've already gone through the house and organized everything and threw out stuff previously (a routine I do every 4 months).
I've been a little bad about eating chocolate and sweets but I think, on the whole, better than usual. Slow, steady progress. And maybe it's a good thing I can't do heavy weight lifting sessions or swim since I'm starting back into it. Focusing on running and cycling makes it simpler so I don't get overwhelmed with all the exercise I "have" to do.

5 comments:

Fizzgig said...

Moving, gotta love it! I read an earlier post of yours about your plants....are you taking any on your move? I know how that feels to leave all that hard work behind. However, I dug most of mine out of my ex boyfriends yard. lol!! I fed and watered those things!

Kevin Yates said...

so many things to comment on in this entry, yet so little time (i am leaving work myself in about 15 minutes..a little early for me, but not too much)

you have been busy...enjoy your time off...there is no need to rationalize it, it is more than justified by the amount of work that you have written about.

that is great that you and jason take time for dates. i plan on having a specific night set aside for that after i get married.

also great that you are getting to finally see Star Wars...you will love it, i have seen it twice now, and i may end up actually seeing it a third time this weekend.

i have been to the SL zoo...it was a very long time ago, but I remember that I loved it, and we had the butterflies here at the louisville zoo for a while...they are great too.

lists...lists...gotta love lists...i almost wrote out a list of the things i wanted to comment on from your entry :)

wonderful about the mole results...and the exercise routine. speaking of doctors and exercise, if you could keep me in your thoughts i would appreciate it. i had a chest pain yesterday during my run, and went to my cardio today (i have birth defects in my heart). everything appeared okay from the ekg, resting heart rate at 50 bpm, bp was 110/80, and it sounded good to the nurse. i didnt actually get to talk to my cardio, but i have now scheduled a procedure to get one of the defects fixed in july. i have a consultation on the 7th of that month (with a pediatric cardio actually :)...this is a relatively new procedure that they do in children, and i am still kinda young in the cardio world...probably one of his youngest patients, so my cardio would rather this other guy do it).

it is quite possible that my cardio will want me to give up a great deal of the things i love to do (the triathlon may be off the list...as well as running and lifting). he is more on the conservative end of thought with my birth defects (as opposed to some of the six other cardios i have had since the defect discovery at 15). some of the things i do, i knew that he wouldnt approve of, but i hadnt been to a visit this year yet, and i was going to do these things unless i felt any pain...now i have felt pain.

sorry to be so long...i share all of this here only because i wanted to share this with you, and i will probably not make any references to this in my own blog. my mom reads it some, and i dont want her to worry...i will probably share it with her, but maybe not.

Rachel said...

Mon--there are definitely plants I want to take. I have to read up on how to do it. It sounds hard. Plus, I have to pick and choose which ones go and which ones don't. Maybe I can give some of them away to friends.

Kevin--I hope you feel better. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope your chest pain was just a muscle cramp. Sometimes I get chest pain, and it turned out to be allergies, exercise-induced asthma, a muscle cramp, or acid reflux. However, try to see a cardiologist who is supportive of running and exercise (most should be). Take it easy! Try not to worry too much about it in the meantime.

Kevin Yates said...

Thanks for the encouragement and advice...it has steadily gotten better since Wed. so much so that I am planning on a run and lift this afternoon.

its hard not to worry though. first, it is my heart, and dr's know more about the workings than i do, and second, the last cardio i had in tn made me stop lifting and running several years ago. i went into a major depression for a couple of months, and then just didnt do anything.

Rachel said...

Good luck on your work out! I don't think doctors know more than you know about your body. The good doctors are the ones who know this. Just thought I'd share my opinion to keep it in my mind.