Rear End

See Kate NOT Run

Apparently my rear has taken the back seat. This is what I learned this week in my journey to rehabilitate my body. My glutes, in my posterior power chain, need to be activated. The largest muscle in the human body, in my human body, is snoozing on the job. Oh that’s simple, just activate them! Is there a number on my ass that I can call? Glute activation, foam rolling and lifting. I’ll just go for a run – the approach that got me into this mess in the first place.

Not running is starting to alter my perspective. Every day seems like the perfect day for a run. Sunny and warm – of course but now ALL weather combinations are the “perfect day for a run.” Oh it’s rainy and cold, this would be the perfect day. Oh it is snowing, perfect day for a run, dreary, ugly, the dog won’t cross the door jam, PERFECT day for a run.

Then I daydream about how it will feel. I’ll be light on my feet, I’ll hit my meditative stride and coast along, one foot over the other, my breathing coordinated with each step and I’ll be able to go forever. Let’s be honest here, maybe the first run will feel great because there seems to be this law of running, the first run always feels like the best run but the next several will absolutely suck in every possible way.

For now my brain, under the influence of running mixes, believes that every day is the perfect day for the perfect run. (Yes, the longing has grown so strong that I have started to listen to my running mixes.)

Homemade

Oatmeal. Homemade. Gross. Sorry, I just don’t like homemade oatmeal and I have tried (to be polite). I find myself wanting to eat the raisons while leaving the rest behind. Eating homemade oatmeal requires quite a bit of concentration to get each bite down – a very difficult process when I first wake up. The longer you take the harder it becomes as it loses warmth and becomes gooier (it is NOT more gooey, it is gooier). Ick. It may as well be peas.

Sorry Mark Bittman, McDonalds oatmeal isn’t simply about convenience, it is about flavor. And while I agree wholeheartedly that people are kidding themselves if they think they are eating “healthy” by choosing oatmeal at a fast food restaurant or even instant oatmeal, the truth of the matter is that people choose these items both for convenience AND flavor. If my homemade oatmeal tasted like the maple syrup and brown sugar instant oatmeal, I would choose it every time.

Shadows

On Jazz’s last trip outside last night, it was snowing and I thought about how lovely and peaceful it is when the world is blanketed with snow. This morning when I woke up (after a little knitting to wake up) I found the bright, deep blue skies to be a little harsh. It is/was COLD. I should take Jazz for a walk. I decided that perhaps one of the criteria for taking Jazz on a long walk should be related to her ability to cast a well-defined shadow in contrast to a brightly illuminated sidewalk. So we headed out into the neighborhood and took a stab at Greenlake. No dice.

(I woke up to wake up? Some people seem to do both at once.)

Death (in)tolerance

I typically do not like commuting. My overarching preference is to live close enough to my job such that I can walk, bike or bus. Furthermore, I’m not a morning person but I enjoyed the process this week because it was a “new” step in the day and brought back old (enjoyable) habits. I made my own coffee (I’ve finally figured out how to make my own coffee and have it not taste like flavorless brown liquid) and listened to NPR as I headed across the 520 bridge.

Each day I woke up to a week long piece on women in the military which was enlightening. I have always had thoughts (translate opinions) on the military and enjoy having my preconceived notions brought into question. Then I turned my radio to NPR again in the car. This week, there were two developing stories: Libya and New Zealand. It led me to think about death. The news is full of stories about death but the circumstances of how these people died invokes a different response. Should it? How many people accept the value our media outlets places on death? A subtle difference hinging on tone.

Earthquake in New Zealand killing 65 people
Libyan civilian death toll estimated at 1000 people

Quick to the rescue in New Zealand. Libya will be an ongoing story and we will most likely become, if not remain, detached.

Notebooks

Isn’t it lovely how things, people, habits quietly disappear from your life and then resurface again? I met someone this week who asked me over lunch, what is it that you are always writing in that little notebook? My notebook habit has returned. The current little notebook is from Ghana, provided to me by Alex. My little notebook habit was cultivated by Laura… many years ago. I have several notebooks packed with quotes, ideas, thoughts, lists and schedules and accessorized with sticky notes. Like the sticky note featured in the picture – I flipped through and found this page and thought, hmm, I needed those measurements this past weekend when I was in the fabric store, little did I know, they were in my pocket. So sometimes the notebook isn’t helpful if you fail to use it properly.

When someone in orientation failed to have a hobby, I started thinking about all of my hobbies to include FUTURE hobbies. I wrote them all down. I also included my ideas for thematic activities: the museum/reading group/field trip on Japanese internment and my long desire to read Truman Capote books and then watch related movies. I would forget these things without my little notebook so I am glad that it has resurfaced in my life. I also craft wickedly strict schedules for myself that are so elaborate that they should be preserved so that I can marvel at them in the future. Fortunately, I am finding that as my stress level has diminished significantly from this fall, that my notebook now serves as a repository for my thoughts and ideas rather than serving as a tool for copious to do lists and overly detailed schedules. Thus it is almost a passive journal of my mental well-being over time.