Random blurbs
I'm quoted in the YDN piece about Thomas Frank's visit! I must say I don't sound very intelligent though.

I got my free BRAND NEW iPod today! So happy to have a blank slate...I'm going to try to treat it well.

Finally, Tom DeLay is stepping down. Good riddance.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 8:26 PM EDT

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Not in Kansas anymore
I saw Thomas Frank at a D'port Master's Tea today. He's just a great guy...so engaging. He talked about his book and his life and told ridiculously entertaining sociopolitical anecdotes.

One thing I was really surprised by was his comments about Bill Clinton, of whom he is really not a fan:

"He did things Reagan couldn't have gotten away with...NAFTA, getting rid of welfare...only a Democrat could say 'The era of big government is over' and turn back the clock like that...I'm researching the Clinton administration right now and I am eternally frustrated anew by some of the things these people said and did."

Food for thought.

April Fools Day Resolution
Ok, so it's three months past New Years, and I can't remember any of the ten resolutions I made then. So here's a new one:

I am going to have beautiful fingernails.

This means quitting almost every nervous habit I have, which is no easy task. But it's worth it. No more infections, period. And even more important, prettiness.

I'll report on progress.

Yale owns.
This year, my school admitted fewer students than any other school ever.

As if that doesn't speak for itself, read the article here.

I bet some sniveling Harvard kid is typing, as we speak, "Yale let in less people than us! Waaahhhh!"



***


Did you catch both Mr. Crimson's grammatical errors? Congratulations. Maybe you would have been among that lucky 8.6%.

McCain is the King of Tools.
Josh Marshall tipped me off to this.

This is the same John McCain that once called Jerry Falwell "an agent of intolerance." It's almost Shapkespearean, no?

Contrary to my predictions, it appears that the Lord of the Rings musical is pretty good. Who knew.

In other news, I'm feeling much less sick and sore. Training is back on. I had a test today which kind of surprised me by not being super easy. That sounded really cocky, but hey. I go to Yale.

Speaking of Yale: I'm going to live in Davenport next year with my friends in a REAL BEDROOM! With a door! It's a miracle from the Rooming God who hath mercy on us. "Blessed are the annex'd, for they shall inherit the senior suites."

And I'm going to Marcajirca this summer! Look how pretty it is. :sigh:

Recovering...
I worship at the altar of Ibuprofen.

That is all.

Getting rocked by Intervals and rocking them back...
A repeat of today's fitness blog post:

Assigned Intervals on the indoor track...wow.

Coach Ilg says that the difference between a serious athlete and a recrational athlete is intervals. I felt serious today. When I got to the track, there were two men just arriving, including one who looked hardcore, at least on the surface. They were gone by the time I was done, and I never saw them pushing themselves. I knew I had outworked them.

I also ran smart. I think I once tried this workout and didn't finish the required number of reps because I had exhausted myself in the first half. This time, I may have held back a little too much on some of the reps, particularly the 3-minute ones, but I nailed that last intervaland recaptured a little of that glorious finishline agony I used to drink and breath. I also tend to get sideaches during this, and I just ran through the pain this time. My left calf was still unusually sore from my Lower Body day, but I just ignored it, warmed it up well, and then blasted the pain out with sprints. That's warrior style right there.

I had been fearing this workout when I woke up, thinking I should put it off 'til afternoon...I'm so glad I shut out that voice of doubt. Fear won't get anybody anywhere. And fear of what? Brief pain...followed by heaven. Old words from XC came through my head "You can do anything for three minutes," said some voice from running camp. And then Ramos' words at the Peninsula course interval workout, during the summer I trained with Wick for my Yale debut that never was: "Larsen, you're one of the strongest women I know."

And afterwards, after trucking through the full 20-minute cooldown, I felt like I was on a cloud of sweat and stillness. Nothing, nothing feels better than that little bit of divinity.

All this with no iPod, of course...that would have been wrong, somehow. A real cardio workout, afterall, is just another meditation.

Remember, there is no dishonor in throwing up. There is only dishonor in giving up. - Ilg, on Intervals

Randomity
I love this. It's actually warm in March. In New Haven. In March. It's actually warm. I love this.

I'm staying in to work this weekend, though I still am screwing around and I have to keep on re-motivating myself to do lab by romanticizing it as some huge quest. But to my surprise, I am far less intimidated by lab now that I have actually started to do it. Writing the unit summaries - basically, what I put off during break - is something I could get done tonight if I put my mind to it. I just have to stop doubting myself.

I'm going to meditate now. .. -__- ..

Spring is springing!
The daffodils and little blue flowers starting to bloom! It's going to be an earlier spring than last year, I think. I hope that doesn't mean we'll face a late cold snap or something. That would just be mean.

My blogging has declined in quality, so to compensate I'm just going to have to keep up the quantity. So there will be lots of posts like this one.