63.7 miles: How are you?

1) MC came to visit this weekend! And I think he enjoyed his stay :)

2) I ran 4 miles last Thursday at the gym; it was highly satisfying!

3) I got a bunch of books at the library book sale on the US education system (from elementary school through college). It's one of the subjects I never seem to be able to learn enough about. (Passion?)

4) I finally cleaned off my desk!

5) I had a 90-some minute phone conversation with Z about interesting things. Prompted in part by me spontaneously writing an essay at 11PM about immigration, and asking for her response/input. Parts of it will be posted later, when it's more refined.

And, because this is actually a seriously bad thing that I am quite sad about, a bad thing that happened is:

1) Carmons, the delicious crepe/French restaurant in downtown, closed on Saturday. :( I didn't know so I didn't even get to go one last time. I found out Sunday.

As Windows installs...

Had a strange episode last night...went to bed at 9PM due to headache, then woke up at 2AM. Brushed teeth, got a drink, went back to bed. Tried to get comfortable. Felt weird pains in various parts of my body. Got nervous. Couldn't fall asleep. Tossed and turned. :\ Finally, read a chapter in a book and calmed down. 4AM finally got back to sleep, but plans of waking up at 7 were foiled. Still nervous about how I felt during the night, I let myself sleep in until 10:30. Actually woke up around 10:15. Got to campus around 12:30. Spent virtually all day setting up my new computer :), while having an 'I overslept today' headache. Bah.

Maybe I needed that, though. Something crazy to break up the monotony of every day. That said it didn't make me feel terribly good.

I've started looking into personal training and metabolic rate analysis. It's probably worth it to remove the guesswork from my eating and workouts and really give me something to work toward. Also, a guiding hand would not be amiss. It's pricey...looks like with my current plan I can look forward to spending about $200 over the semester; $100 on the analysis and $100 on the training--around 5 meetings with a trainer. That's on top of the $50 unlimited class pass that I have already bought. Kind of a pricey endeavor, but if it helps, it's worth it. My health is worth it, after all.

Finished my first HW early, woot! And started the 2nd assignment the day it was assigned! Granted, I got stuck on the 2nd problem. I think tonight I'll skip it and go on to the later ones. Managing 2 classes is much easier than managing 5. or 4. or 3. Now, thesis research...*sigh*

I need to start reading more papers. I'm thinking about taking off early (say, on Mondays and Fridays?) and doing this in a pleasant atmosphere...MEL, coffee shop, library, my bed...etc. Perhaps this will be a motivator.

Overall, I would say things aren't going badly :)

This is it...

It's strange to think that pretty much everything I need is in those three bags (and laptop, hehe). About a third of it is gear-my giant backpack, harness, climbing shoes, hiking boots, water shoes, sleeping bag, pillow, (giant) towels. Somewhere around another third--clothes. I could probably have fit into just the one backpack if (1) I didn't have to plan for two weeks between laundry and (2) I had a few less contingencies to plan for. i.e. I'd like to go to the aquarium or SanFran in very different clothes and shoes than I would wear hiking, thank you very much. So there you have it. What is the other third of Galina's luggage, you ask?

• BOOKS! (Or more generally, reading material, as it also includes the last two issues of LiiT, the UIUC-AE Newsletter, and some other nonsense.) The books were: Lost and Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked for the uninitiated ;) ); The Two Towers and The Return of the King by Tolkien, of course; Devil in the White City; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (I'm pretty sure I can re-read that indefinitely, haha); The Next Fifty Years (A collection of essays on...you guessed it...by scientists, psychologists, etc. Thanks, AP!), and the third volume of Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series (books 5 and 6 in one book). With me for the plane, I have Dune, by Frank Herbert, and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, both bought specifically for this trip. I might give you updates on how I do with those.
• A small stash of tea and a thermos mug. Galina without tea? This does not compute ;) or it wouldn't if it were true.
• Three notebooks of varying sizes and styles and some pens/pencils. Yayyy creativity!
• Minimal toiletries (no one wants details. I did bring 2 lotions and sunblock...skin is important!)
• Paperwork :( (an evil necessity)
• Electronics (computer, phone, mp3 player, and the corresponding chargers, etc).

I'm pretty sure that's it....all that a girl (an adventurous one, I hope I can say without boasting) needs for two months in a state that's at once home and far, far from it...