(I don’t have any real reason for posting the above picture other than I took it a few weeks ago and I thought that it turned out really cool. Plus, Notre Dame actually won a game this weekend so I felt like I had earned the right to promote the school a little bit.)
This was one of those weekends where I think I accomplished a lot and nothing at all at the same time. Mainly I did a lot of little things that don’t seem to carry much importance but are huge in terms of making this my home as opposed to the place that I seem to find myself.
For example, I got a haircut on Saturday. Again, not a mind blowing experience (unless the hair dryer is really, really powerful) but that is just one of those things that you need to figure out whenever you move to a new town. Given that my hair is not very manageable and I usually try to keep stylists for years going into a random salon and having a stranger cut my hair is a rather frightening experience. I take off my glasses, become essentially blind and hope that the person with the sharp objects know what they are doing. It turned out well and I just feel professional again. I like keeping my hair short; makes me feel like I mean business.
I also finally used my apartment complex’s workout room today. Now I could have used it before but during my first week I didn’t have gym shoes much less workout clothes and the past two weeks have been spent unpacking, which was kind of like working out. But today I finally got on the treadmill and did my three and a half miles. The good news is that these treadmills are better than the ones at my old place. More comfortable on the legs, more places to store stuff and even a television installed in them. On the other hand, the handrails are placed in such a position that I seemed to constantly smack my arms into them to the point that I am watching bruises form as we speak. Not quite the pain I anticipated. Still, this is what I wanted to do. Start working out and get back into that routine.
Really, that was what this weekend was about: routine. I had a very set routine in KC. I played trivia on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday nights were spent at Harry’s if I did not have anything else to do. Grocery shopping was done every alternate Saturday and I would walk to get my haircut every four weeks (typically timed to not coincide with the grocery shopping). Laundry was also alternate weekend. Sure things could change and I would drop everything to be more social but I had a schedule.
Right now I don’t have anything like that. I come home at night and kind of go “Now what?” I am building a routine for work in terms of when I get up, where I go for lunch, when I leave and when I expect to get home. It’s just that all of my time has been spent trying to get my apartment to a point where I would consider it livable or at least not require constant vigilance on my end. This month has really been a transition month. All I wanted to accomplish was go from being unemployed and living in KC to employed and living in Delaware. I’m finishing off the transition and now need to start building a life.
And boy, is that going to be an interesting challenge.
Best of 120 Minutes: I might be cheating a little bit here. I’m not sure if The Tragically Hip ever appeared on the show. If not, they really should have and it’s my blog so I’ll do what I want. They were alternative rock and Canadian. That should be good enough for anyone.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Flaming Lips “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”
2) Cowboy Junkies “Lay It Down”
3) The Frames “Dance the Devil”
4) My Morning Jacket “Evil Urges”
5) Jesus Jones “Perverse”
This was one of those weekends where I think I accomplished a lot and nothing at all at the same time. Mainly I did a lot of little things that don’t seem to carry much importance but are huge in terms of making this my home as opposed to the place that I seem to find myself.
For example, I got a haircut on Saturday. Again, not a mind blowing experience (unless the hair dryer is really, really powerful) but that is just one of those things that you need to figure out whenever you move to a new town. Given that my hair is not very manageable and I usually try to keep stylists for years going into a random salon and having a stranger cut my hair is a rather frightening experience. I take off my glasses, become essentially blind and hope that the person with the sharp objects know what they are doing. It turned out well and I just feel professional again. I like keeping my hair short; makes me feel like I mean business.
I also finally used my apartment complex’s workout room today. Now I could have used it before but during my first week I didn’t have gym shoes much less workout clothes and the past two weeks have been spent unpacking, which was kind of like working out. But today I finally got on the treadmill and did my three and a half miles. The good news is that these treadmills are better than the ones at my old place. More comfortable on the legs, more places to store stuff and even a television installed in them. On the other hand, the handrails are placed in such a position that I seemed to constantly smack my arms into them to the point that I am watching bruises form as we speak. Not quite the pain I anticipated. Still, this is what I wanted to do. Start working out and get back into that routine.
Really, that was what this weekend was about: routine. I had a very set routine in KC. I played trivia on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday nights were spent at Harry’s if I did not have anything else to do. Grocery shopping was done every alternate Saturday and I would walk to get my haircut every four weeks (typically timed to not coincide with the grocery shopping). Laundry was also alternate weekend. Sure things could change and I would drop everything to be more social but I had a schedule.
Right now I don’t have anything like that. I come home at night and kind of go “Now what?” I am building a routine for work in terms of when I get up, where I go for lunch, when I leave and when I expect to get home. It’s just that all of my time has been spent trying to get my apartment to a point where I would consider it livable or at least not require constant vigilance on my end. This month has really been a transition month. All I wanted to accomplish was go from being unemployed and living in KC to employed and living in Delaware. I’m finishing off the transition and now need to start building a life.
And boy, is that going to be an interesting challenge.
Best of 120 Minutes: I might be cheating a little bit here. I’m not sure if The Tragically Hip ever appeared on the show. If not, they really should have and it’s my blog so I’ll do what I want. They were alternative rock and Canadian. That should be good enough for anyone.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Flaming Lips “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”
2) Cowboy Junkies “Lay It Down”
3) The Frames “Dance the Devil”
4) My Morning Jacket “Evil Urges”
5) Jesus Jones “Perverse”
