I made my two fitness goals this month: Cycle 100 km, and run 50 km. (Total, over the month).
Strava tells me I've biked 176 km, and run 51 so far. Hooray! Will see if I can keep up next month. I was pleased that the hardest part was making the time, not the fitness required. But it's going to be harder to make the time now that the weather is getting dodgier, bike commuting seems more questionable, and late night runs require more planning. But, it's nice to maintain a (comparatively) high level of fitness, so that when it is nice out, I can easily go for long hikes without killing myself.
One of my other goals for the month was job hunt related. It's definitely time in the process where I need to be putting out regular application, but I'm still... unsure what I'm looking for.
I made myself go to a networking meeting for people who are arguable in my instructional design field. And I hated it! We had nothing in common, I found them difficult to communicate with, and it was a nightmare to try and imagine myself as some self serving middle manager, fretting first and foremost over "personal branding" and leadership coaching. (Especially as it became clear that no one was in perfect agreement about what those things meant.) I might be too objective for this career path.
But, rather than write another "Woe is the perennial job hunter," I'm doing something about it. One of my coworkers used to work as a career coach, and currently supervises a team of people who help students find jobs. She agreed to work with me (for super cheap!) because she wants to do more career development stuff, and I need help! She is a very positive person, and because we work together, she has a better sense of my capabilities than if I tried to explain this to someone in a one hour session. Step one is describing some positive previous work experiences, and describing my dreams for my next job. It's amazing to me how little detail I have in the dream, but we are just starting the process. I've also been sending really nosy emails to people on campus, so hopefully I can rustle up some interesting opportunities for myself. Today I realized I have 14 weeks left in my contract, and will have 7 weeks of vacation/holiday/sick leave to expend, so now is a good time to get serious about What Next.
I know other family members are thinking about career moves, so I'll let you know how this coaching works out.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Telling some Stories
Casey likes to talk now. It's not babble, which is when your baby starts mimicking the sounds of language. This is some sort of pre-babble, where she just looks at you right in your face and sticks out her tongue and raspberries you. Then you raspberry back. Then she repeats. This can last up to an hour. Then it transitions to happy shrieking.
Today, I was putting Tyler to sleep. He grabbed my arm, rolled over and just said. "Stay, Daddy." It's been a while since he's done that.
Casey can keep her head up really well now, as well as roll from her front to her back. We're working on sitting up, but there are two problems. One is that whenever she gets excited, she likes to straighten out her body. This means she flings herself onto her back without warning. The other is that whenever she sits, she kinda leans forward, and forward, and forward, until she's essentially eating her toes. Then she rolls to her side and then is right back on her back again. It might be intentional.
I'm running infrequently, but being able to run at all with the kids in the house is a pretty big accomplishment. Casey sleeps really well, though she can occasionally be hard to put down. We've taken to cutting off her naps at 4:00, or sometimes earlier. It means she gets a little loopy in the late afternoon, but she usually perks up when you nibble on her fingers. Anyway, my 3 mile time is still roughly 45 minutes, which isn't good, but it's faster than when I'm sitting down. And if the calorie counter is to be believed, it burns a lot of fuel. (I'm not convinced it is to be fully believed.)
Fran was here last month, and Mom and (eventually) Dad are here this month. We're going to go to a photo studio and get adorable pictures of everyone taken. And then we aren't going to share those pictures at all. We're just going to hoard them and look at them in dark corners where no one else can see. This is a joke, of course. Watch out for Christmas presents.
Tyler took some swim classes. We're not trying to turn him into an Olympian, we just want him to feel comfortable (and safe) around a pool. He started out pretty nervous, but got better at each class. By a few times in, he was excited to go. He's a decent swimmer now, he just keeps popping his head up instead of forward, and when you tell him to jump in the pool, he sits down, turns around, and shuffles in backwards. Not a bad reflex.
It was my birthday last week! I got to make a yellow cake. It was really good, despite the fact that Jessie thought it was dry but who cares about her opinion anyway. I haven't had any Ice Cream yet. I'm saving that for later. I don't eat ice cream as a matter of responsibility now. Not eating ice cream reminds me that I'm being careful about what I eat. The last time I had any was during my birthday last year. I figure once a year is pretty responsible, I'm just going to reserve that splurge for another time.
I still hover around between 202 and 205 on the scale, with 199 always hovering just out of reach. I'm really hungry, though.
If something big and dramatic happens, I'll try and let you know.
-N
Today, I was putting Tyler to sleep. He grabbed my arm, rolled over and just said. "Stay, Daddy." It's been a while since he's done that.
Casey can keep her head up really well now, as well as roll from her front to her back. We're working on sitting up, but there are two problems. One is that whenever she gets excited, she likes to straighten out her body. This means she flings herself onto her back without warning. The other is that whenever she sits, she kinda leans forward, and forward, and forward, until she's essentially eating her toes. Then she rolls to her side and then is right back on her back again. It might be intentional.
I'm running infrequently, but being able to run at all with the kids in the house is a pretty big accomplishment. Casey sleeps really well, though she can occasionally be hard to put down. We've taken to cutting off her naps at 4:00, or sometimes earlier. It means she gets a little loopy in the late afternoon, but she usually perks up when you nibble on her fingers. Anyway, my 3 mile time is still roughly 45 minutes, which isn't good, but it's faster than when I'm sitting down. And if the calorie counter is to be believed, it burns a lot of fuel. (I'm not convinced it is to be fully believed.)
Fran was here last month, and Mom and (eventually) Dad are here this month. We're going to go to a photo studio and get adorable pictures of everyone taken. And then we aren't going to share those pictures at all. We're just going to hoard them and look at them in dark corners where no one else can see. This is a joke, of course. Watch out for Christmas presents.
Tyler took some swim classes. We're not trying to turn him into an Olympian, we just want him to feel comfortable (and safe) around a pool. He started out pretty nervous, but got better at each class. By a few times in, he was excited to go. He's a decent swimmer now, he just keeps popping his head up instead of forward, and when you tell him to jump in the pool, he sits down, turns around, and shuffles in backwards. Not a bad reflex.
It was my birthday last week! I got to make a yellow cake. It was really good, despite the fact that Jessie thought it was dry but who cares about her opinion anyway. I haven't had any Ice Cream yet. I'm saving that for later. I don't eat ice cream as a matter of responsibility now. Not eating ice cream reminds me that I'm being careful about what I eat. The last time I had any was during my birthday last year. I figure once a year is pretty responsible, I'm just going to reserve that splurge for another time.
I still hover around between 202 and 205 on the scale, with 199 always hovering just out of reach. I'm really hungry, though.
If something big and dramatic happens, I'll try and let you know.
-N
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