Oh, you guys. It has been a long week and it’s only Thursday. Normally I’d be rejoicing at the prospect of a Thursday night, as I almost always have the option of working from home on Fridays, but tomorrow I’ll be going in for a couple of meetings and other such things. So the week isn’t done and yet I feel like I’ve already buried it several times over.
Tuesday night was so (wonderful, but) exhausting. By the time both candidates’ speeches were over and we were staggering tiredly to bed, I felt like I’d lived three full days in the previous 18 hours. Teaching and other work duties have been busy all week, too, and there’s nothing I want more than a relaxing and restorative weekend.
So what will that entail?
- having a night out with some ladyfriends
- doing laundry
- house cleaning
- working on an academic writing project
- judging a thesis for a contest
- starting a big, secret craft project
- going for a 5-6-mile run
- watching at least one super-girly movie if not, like, four
- doing a manicure/pedicure (at home)
- spending plenty of time in my favorite PJs and slippers
I am looking forward to a good mix of neglected things that really need to get done (Laundry, sweet fancy Moses! I’m about to have to go buy a few new 6-packs of Hanes Her Way if I don’t do the laundry soon) and lazy, fun, me things. I’m flying solo this weekend while my guy is out of town and I’m such a dork that I miss him already, but I’m not going to let that dampen my two days off, right? Right.
Two more things:
If you were one of the people following my weekly outfit posts, I’ve made a new home for them on their own tumblr, safely tucked away where no one has to see them unless they want to. I didn’t really like loading my own blog and seeing tons of huge photos of myself looking at myself in the mirror with my phone in my hand. Ugh. It just wasn’t the content I wanted to have here, useful though it is for me to document that kind of thing. I do still find that snapping a photo of my outfit everyday helps me be less repetetive, more creative, and generally more thoughtful in my choices. This past couple of weeks, I’ve been a bit lazy about putting good outfits together, I admit, but the act of taking/posting the photo makes me want to do better, which must be a good thing. So anyway, follow along on tumblr if you like; ignore if you don’t.
Also, did you notice I’m planning on a 5-6 mile run this weekend? OH YEAH BABY I AM. I have decided to aim for a local 10K on December first. I’ve done a handful of successful 5 mile runs in the last couple of months and I feel like I’m ready to increase the distance up to 6.2. I certainly can’t run that far very fast, at least compared to where I was for the same 10K race last year. I expect to take the hills really slowly (hills aggravate my hip issue) and probably take a couple walk/stretch breaks — both of those strategies usually enable me to run longer without pain. I wish I were ready to be competitive again, but I’m just not. Like my physical therapist said, first endurance without pain, then speed. Last year I PR’d this race in 53:34; this year I hope to come in under 1:06:00, or maybe even closer to 1:00:00. I don’t know, y’all. We’ll see.
So what are your weekend plans? I must know.
Raveling Out 
Oh my gosh, I TOTALLY know how you feel about this week. It was a great week, exciting and productive(!), but I am just so done today. This weekend I am hoping to strike a balance of relaxation with work. I have a lot of work to do on a grant, but I think if I just put in a few hours each day, I’ll be in good shape. Oh, yeah, and I’m teaching on Monday, so I suppose I need to prep for that…hrm!
5-6 miles! That’s awesome. I will also be running 5-6 miles, so I will think of you when I hit the road on Sunday 🙂 I hope your run goes well.
What do you think about making Election Day a national holiday for Americans? With the effort I had to expend to vote, I feel like I needed a vacation day in order to perform my patriotic duty.
I would LOVE for it to be a holiday — after all the voting excitement, the last thing I wanted to do was put in a full day in the classroom. On the other hand, teaching did distract me from worrying about the results.
So, so glad the presidential election didn’t go in the other direction.
It sounds like voting is a huge palaver in the US. I’m the last person to get all my-democracy-is-better-than-your-democracy (because, hello!, elected president for head of state vs. hereditary monarch residing in another country), but I’m pretty convinced that compulsory voting produces more representative electoral outcomes than leaving voting to the fraction of citizens who are able and motivated. It also seems to be a whole lot less bother getting to a polling booth when that’s what everyone is expected to be doing on a Saturday, rather than trying to wrangle time out of work etc.
WELL. This is literally the first I’ve heard of compulsory voting. I had no idea such a thing existed! I don’t think people would embrace the idea over here — far too many people who believe that it makes an important statement to exercise the right not to vote. (I will refrain from adding my thoughts on that belief.) I suppose they could all just write in Mickey Mouse (or more likely Ron Paul) or whatever.
People here can still not vote under the compulsory voting system. You just turn up, get your name ticked off, and put an unmarked ballot paper into the ballot box. Or deface the ballot paper by adding Mickey Mouse to the candidates (as you say), or drawing your favourite set of genitals.
I’m sure you’re right, that compulsory voting would never get traction in the US (though according to Wikipedia (bless it), the 1777 constitution for the state of Georgia made voting mandatory for “every person” (I’m assuming “personhood” came with some qualifications, along the lines of age, racial identity, sex)).
Um. Yes. Lucky I posted the above on your blog, Kate, which happens to be the Number 1 Forum for Debate about Constitutional Change.
Ahem.
Have a lovely weekend!
WHAT, YOU MEAN IT ISN’T???? Heh.