I didn't think I was out of shape...

I decided to start running again this week. It's been a long time. John and I had a pretty good running routine going in the fall, doing about two miles every other evening, but then when it started getting colder and we started getting busier we kind of stopped running. But the weather has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of mornings, and since I don't have to leave for work until noon, I actually have the time to take a run, come home and take a shower, eat breakfast, and still have plenty of a morning left. So yesterday and today I ran a mile each morning, which felt pretty good; a workout, but not pushing it. I could definitely start to feel my quads going up and down the stairs at work today, though, and by this afternoon I was getting sore. Add to the two runs about an hour of ice skating on Sunday afternoon, and biking across the river and back this evening with an hour and a half of rapper practice in between, and my legs now feel like jelly.

On the bright side, it was warm enough for me to bike home in shorts and a tank top tonight - and it's still March!

:)

Blue eggs and compost

Happy Spring, everybody!!

I celebrated spring yesterday by going out into the garden and getting my plot ready for spring. I also turned the compost pile, which was exceedingly smelly and absolutely swarming with worms -- hooray!! The only really unpleasant part about turning the compost was discovering that an entire egg had somehow survived intact, way down at the bottom of the pile. Unfortunately, of course, I discovered it with my shovel. Do you know what color a really rotten egg is? Blue. Yeah. And really really smelly.

Other than that, it was a fabulous day. The weather is absolutely gorgeous, and it feels like spring!

First Day

I had my first day at OHSU today. It didn't really count as a work day, since it was all meeting people, doing the New Employee Orientation, taking tours, and the like. But I got my employee badge, which is an instant status symbol and lets me ride the free employee shuttle bus, which basically takes me door to door between home and work, which is really nice. I think this will be a great place to work. Everybody I met was really nice, helpful, friendly, and enthusiastic about where they work and what they do. It feels like a good culture and a positive work environment, so it should be fun. Tomorrow I'll get a bunch of actual job training, and after that I'll probably just get to make things up as I go along, since it's a brand-new position. Fun!

I got a call back from TriMet; I didn't get the Program Assistant position. It's a disappointment, since it would have paid better and included benefits, but I'm actually pretty happy staying with OHSU for now. I'm still going to apply for a couple of different graduate assistant positions for next year in the hopes of getting tuition remission and a monthly stipend, but for now at least I have a job. Hooray for that!

It's Snowing!

Big, fat flakes, scurrying around in all directions with the wind.

Effective Interviewing

Yesterday afternoon I went to a workshop at the Career Center called "Effective Interviewing." I ended up being the only person to show up to attend the workshop, so I basically got a free hour and a half interview training session. It was great! Interviews have always freaked me out, and they still do somewhat, but it was really good to force myself to sit down and face up to the fact that I need to actually practice interviewing - and then do it.

That workshop came with perfect timing, because this morning I had an interview for a temporary job up at OSHU (Oregon Health Sciences University). It's an indefinite-period, part-time temporary job in the Career Development Center, basically providing administrative support to the career counselor and running the computer lab, scheduling trainings, etc. Armed with the practice from the workshop yesterday I went in much more confident than usual, and came out feeling like I'd done a great job. That was pretty much a first!

Apparently, the women who interviewed me also thought it was a good interview, because they offered me the job! The recruiter from the staffing agency called me this afternoon to say that they want me to start on Monday. So I have a job! Hooray! Of course, I still have an interview on Friday with TriMet for a permanent part-time position, so there's a chance I could end up landing two jobs in one week! But we shall see. For now I will be extremely content with the fact that I have a job and will be working next week. It's a good feeling.

The Flipping Post

Last night I went over to Caroline and Erik's house for a rapper DVD-watching party. Dave had given Caroline a DVD of last year's Half Moon Sword Ale and we wanted to sit down and all watch it together to critique style points, figures, etc. that we might want to incorporate into our dances (did I mention I'd joined Iron Mountain Sword?). Anyway, one of the cool moves that's in at least one of Iron Mountain's dances (I only know one dance so far!) is the backflip. And I get to be one of the backflippers! (Are we surprised?) Scott is also a flipper-in-training, and Caroline has been doing it for a few years now. So Scott and I arrived early to their house to practice flipping in the backyard. They have a post pounded into the ground specifically for that purpose - it's called the flipping post, of course. So you have a post and a person's shoulder (ordinarily in the dance you would have two people's shoulders, but it's actually nice to practice with the post) and you put your hands on them and flip over backwards. We had spotters for practice, of course. :) The great thing is that Erik used to be a gymnast, so he could watch us flip and tell us what we needed to do differently in order to get over faster or more easily or more flashily. "You just jump straight up, then tuck your knees in to your head, fling your head back and you're over." Easy for him to say! I was doing pretty well after a few flops (I only had to put my hands down once, though!) - it really does help to jump straight up, because the ground doesn't come at you so fast. :P So it was fun, and good practice, but I'm sore in the oddest places this morning!

Lookee What Else I've Got!

Okay, so this may not be as impressive (or as readable) as the last, but it's my letter of acceptance into the MPA program! Hot on the heels of the diploma. No rest for the wicked, huh? :)

Lookee What I've Got!