Biking

So - I got myself a new bike this past weekend and its great!

Back when I was in middle school I used to bike EVERYWHERE. I would ride my bike any day the weather was nice. It was probably one of the only things that I enjoyed doing by myself when I was that age. I wasn't much of an independent kid at that time, except when it came to riding my bike.

One day when I was fourteen, I headed out for a bike ride on an afternoon when the weather was pretty questionable. My dad told me he didn't think I should go because it looked like rain. Stubborn as I was, I went anyway. Unfortunately, the next my dad heard about me was a call from the police (or hospital?) I don't really know. He and my mom got the news that every parent wants: I got hit by a car and an ambulance was taking me to Missouri Baptist Hospital. Luckily, it was only a broken leg. I do believe that my life flashed before my eyes during the accident. It was a pretty trippy, yet in some ways unforgettable, experience. After a few months with a cast on my leg, though, I was fine.

Still, it took me a few years to get the courage to even ride a bike again. Once bitten, twice shy. I didn't ride much again during high school at all and I didn't even have a bike when I was in college.

Eventually, after law school, I got back into biking. And the past few weeks I've been thinking of getting a new bike. On Saturday, with George's encouragement and upon seeing the cool-ness of his new bike, I got myself a new one. The results have been awesome. I've been feeling really burnt out with running and its been great to get out, exercise, and revive an old past-time. Lucky for me, I life less than 1/2 mile from the W&OD trail so I biked to work today. I am looking forward to lots more biking this summer on the many great paths in the greater DC area. Whether its a quick trip out for ice cream, or a day trip to Leesburg, I'm ready to go solo or with company. Anyone wanna go for a ride? Give me a call!

Hooray - It's OVER!!!

Ok - so its not 100% over because I actually have class from 9-3pm tomorrow, but it sure feels like it now that my last paper is complete, printed and ready to be handed in. I can hardly wait to get a Margarita in my hand and relax with my honey and my friends.

It has been a hell of a semester. And not in the good way. I am vowing - for the benefit of myself and for my friends - NEVER to put myself through something like this again. I'm glad I made it through the 18 credits for my program this year so I can begin student-teaching/teaching this fall, but every aspect of my life has suffered as a result. I've been spread WAY too thin. My social life, my job, my love life, my hobbies have all had to take a back seat at some point. Hopefully, though, I am on the road to living life at the pace we all should live it: slowly and without hurry.

Thanks to all my pals who helped me survive the past 3 or so months - especially George who didn't know what he was getting himself into when we started dating! I love you guys. You add so many wonderful things to my life.

Repetition

I know this feeling will go away soon, but there's nothing that brings me down more than when my life becomes void of variety.

A Day in the Life of Lisa. I get on the metro. Doors are closing. Please stand clear of the doors. Nine stops. I get to work. My windowless flourescent office awaits me. I read seemingly identical pages - minute by minute. There is no ticking clock, but I can hear it loudly and slowly - very very slowly, slowly - in my head. I mark with the red flag. Then the green. Then with the blue. I want to scream. Then again with the red. At last 3 hours have gone by and it is time for lunch. I note the calories on my frozen meal. I microwave it and I eat my frozen meal. I count my pocket change to see if I have enough for a Diet Coke. I eat it while I check the weather forecast and the headlines. They are the same as they were the last time I checked - ten minutes ago. Back to work. Another 4 and 1/2 hours of the minutes slowly passing by as I look at seemingly identical pages. At last the work day ends. Three blocks to the metro, nine stops til home.

Hopefully I can put all of this behind me soon. I want my days to be filled with laughter and variety and the world and God. Not this lifeless, souless existence I have at my office. It is devoid of everything.

Without Esther, Tom, Steve, and Ian I would go completely mad in my flourescent world. Thank you for helping me through.

And thank you for George and my sister and Becca & Shelly and my other friends who help me live on "the outside." Without you, my 9-to-5 would wither me away like a wicked witch drenched in water.

London

At long last, I posted the pics from my trip to London in March. Check 'em out at my website . Hope you enjoy! It really was a lovely trip.

-Lisa

Go Mason!

George Mason actually knocked out N.C. State in the NCAA Tourney. Unbelieveable. Go Patriots! For the first time in my life I can actually say that I go to a school with a real basketball team!

Life is Crazy...

Its hard to believe how much has been going on in my life lately. Plenty of good stuff, but lots of stuff nonetheless.

The best thing in my life lately without a doubt has been finding George. We've been having an absolute blast together regardless of what we are doing. We seem to be in sync in terms of what to do. We don't seem to have much trouble agreeing to go out to see music, to stay in, to hang out with friends, to make snowmen, or go workout. Its pretty cool. On top of that, he knows what I'm thinking about something before I even have to say it. It makes communicating really easy. There's never too much confusion even when I don't express things as clearly as I could. I could say a lot more, but I don't want to go overboard here. In a nutshell, its crazy, but its crazy in a really good way.

I guess the other 'crazy' stuff is just a result of having a full schedule and a busy life. I've had some craziness at school this past week. (Some of which could have been avoided if I had a better academic advisor!!) Also, my roommate is moving out and I'm finding myself scrambling to find a new one, after the person who'd planned to move in had to back out. Lots of schoolwork, work piling up at the office.

Then, there's the huge news of the week/(month?). Becca and Dave got engaged! I'm so happy for them. I really think they will be wonderfully happy together. Purdy purdy ring, too. Happy stuff.

Then there's the recent thoughts of Hawaii. More happy stuff. That has definitely got me thinking about how things could work. Cool stuff, even though I don't think I could describe how much I will miss DC and my sister and my friends here.

MIddle School Teachers in Danger?

My Mom sent this to me. It was from an article in the online version of the St.Louis Post-Dispatch. Apparently I'm entering a rather dangerous line of work!

To view the full story, click here.

1. Police officers
2. Corrections officers
3. Cab drivers
4. Security guards
5. Bartenders
6. Custodians
7. Special ed teachers
8. Gas station workers
9. Junior high teachers
10. Convenience store workers

These are the jobs with the highest rates of workplace violence in 2001.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics

South Florida Lindy Exchange 2006

Believe it or not after several years of swing dancing, the South Florida Lindy Exchange (SoFlex) was my first out-of-town exchange. What a fabulous experience. It was an inexpensive trip that allowed me to dance nearly non-stop, go to the beach, and best of all visit with dance friends old and new from all over the country. I counted at least 10 dancers from DC and I had a great time visiting with former DC-dancers Frank and Glenn who both now live in Florida. Jes and I and Lisa from Atlanta had a great host, Ilian, who contributed greatly to our lovely weekend. SoFlex will certainly not be my last exchange! Check out my pics!

Mose Allison

I've been meaning to write about this all week, but haven't had a chance until now.

Last Sunday, I capped of my weekend of amazing blues music and dancing seeing the Mose Allison Trio live at Blues Alley. First off, that place is a fabulous place to see a show. We were close enough to see the facial expressions of each musician, watch Mose's hands on the piano, and hear musical nuances that might get lost in a larger space. The proximity also allowed us to notice that Mose was intermittently drinking a clear liquid from a glass bottle. Liquid courage? I doubt he needs it.

Regardless, Mose was a real treat. His music combines simple, earthy song lyrics with esoteric melodies and harmonies to create a uniquely flavored blues/jazz sound. He is another artist who is hard to classify. Even individual songs use elements of both traditional Mississippi Blues and very modern jazz. The topics of his songs included lost love, world peace, being a senior citizen, and excessive drinking/gambling to name just a few. Whether it brought you to laughter or solemn thoughts, each song was heartfelt. He sang a few carefully-selected covers and brought new life and personal flavor to each of them.

This 79-yr-old artist is definitely not over the hill. He comes to D.C. about once a year, usually in early January to play a longstanding engagement at Blues Alley in Georgetown. I highly recommend seeing one of his shows should you get the chance.

Holidays 2005

December was busy but fun. I happily finished my semester early in the month and spent the rest of it hanging out with friends in DC and visiting my family in St.Louis. Some December highlights include the Hayride that Hyong organized, Christmas Caroling in Old Town Alexandria, visiting the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St.Louis, Christmas with my family and New Year's Eve with friends. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year and enjoy the pics!

The 2005 Marine Corps Marathon

After six months of intense training, I am proud to say that I completed the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon. I finished in just under six hours. (5 hrs, 59 mins, and 48 secs to be exact!) The support of my friends and teammates from the AIDS Training Program was immeasurable. The whole experience was life-changing and I highly recommend it to anyone considering the challenge. Through the training, I pushed myself to achieve a goal I could hardly imagine when I started. I can't say enough about the support of my friends on race-day: Shelly, Becca, Dave, Brian, my sister, Alison, and Matt all cheered me to the end. Congrats to all my teammates who also completed the training and the Marathon! Check out some more pics!