Three Things Thursday

1. Although the timing pretty much sucked and I'm definitely fatigued from a summer of traveling and moving, I'm loving being back in New York. There's not much that beats drinking your morning coffee on a bench in Central Park. I'm happy to see friends here again and go for runs in Central Park. I'm hoping to squeeze in another yoga class and a concert or trip to a museum next week.

Caffeinated Instagram of Central Park

2. Being in New York means that I'm just a (relatively) short train ride away from Boston. Cosmic  coincidence has led four of my closest friends in the world to move to Boston over the past couple of years. Since it's spendy to fly to and from Alaska and I realized that I might not see any of them for a year or two, I decided to go there this weekend to hang out. If the weather cooperates, worlds will collide on the Commons for an evening of Shakespeare in the park.

3. Our container of stuff has apparently made it to Seattle. The moving company called today to report this piece of news and to say they hoped it would only be another two weeks before it reaches us. I really do hope that's the case as our house would feel a lot more like a home with our furniture and books.... Also having my clothes for teaching would be a good thing.

Three Things Thursday: Gearing up for New York

1. This weekend I head out of town for the next two weeks. First I'm headed to Madison, WI (a great place to run) for the wedding of one of my dearest friends and running buddies. Then I'm flying out of Chicago to New York, where I'll spend two weeks working on a project at the Hispanic Society of America. I'll be spending the better part of my days poring over documents, but I do plan to enjoy myself in the evenings and the weekend when the archives are closed. I haven't been to NYC for a few years, so I'm getting really excited for this trip! I'm looking forward to seeing some friends who live there, eating bagels, going for runs to see the city in different ways, and enjoying the cultural amenities of a major metropolitan area.

2. I'll be staying in Harlem at a place that I found on Airbnb. The first place that I had booked canceled on me a few weeks ago, so I've been a little bit worried that something might fall through with my second reservation. I suppose that's the one potential drawback to arranging accommodations this way. Airbnb did quickly give me a credit and refunded me the slight difference between the first and second place that I booked through them. My host has also personally confirmed with me, so I hope that everything will work out fine.

3. Because I only have a day between when I get back from this trip and when the moving company comes, I've had to be more organized than I usually am in terms of packing. I have my bag packed for Madison and NYC and another bag packed for the trek from the Midwest to Alaska, and the rest of my clothes and shoes have been boxed up for the move. For the first time in almost two years my dirty laundry basket and my dry cleaning bag are completely empty. My closet is all but empty too.

If you've run in New York, what's your favorite place to do so? Are you an organized packer?

Three Things Thursday

1. I came down with a bug this week, and it hit me like a sledgehammer. Monday during my bike commute my body felt like lead, and when I woke up on Tuesday I felt like crap. I actually took a sick day yesterday, and, though I don't feel quite back to 100%, I'm feeling better today. Must be well in time for the 10K and a conference that I'm going to next week!

2. My efforts to slow down, to multi-task less, and to be more mindful and present in the moment, even the mundane ones, are meeting with mixed results. This will definitely take time, but I can already tell the difference in my mood and my outlook.

3. I wrote a couple of guest posts for other bloggers that have run this week. If you have an interest in my thoughts about transitions in my style, check out my post over at Narrowly Tailored, or if you want to see an outfit of the day kind of post, head over to An Epic Battle in High Heels.  Thanks to both S. and M. for letting me guest post for them! If you like style and smart writing, I definitely encourage you to bookmark both of their blogs.

Three Things Thursday: Cheesy Haiku Edition

Due to this week's chaotic schedule, I give you a Three Things Thursday post and for fun it's in the form of haiku.

1. Fire lit under ass
Producing pages is a must.
Coffee, help me please!

2. I ate too much cheese -
Never thought this day would come.
Coffee, help me please!

3. Rains in the Midwest
Wash your American dreams.
Boot weather has come.

Have you ever eaten too much cheese? Will you still read my blog after this horrible punning incident?

Three Things Thursday

1. The semester starts in just a few days, and I'm excited and nervous. You would think that these feelings would wear off by the time you've taught for a few years, but they never completely do. I also admit that I'm pondering what I will wear during the first week of classes.... August can be a tricky month for professional dressing, especially if you want to bike to and from campus.

2. I'm trying to figure out a way to carve out writing time for at least a couple of hours 3 days a week during the fall semester. I really want to do a better job of balancing the research part of professorial life than I feel like I did last year. I'm thinking that a couple of hours on Monday and Wednesday mornings and good chunks of the day on Friday are going to spent holed up at my desk or in a coffee shop. 

3. I meant to get up and run with my group this morning, but I just wasn't feeling it when my alarm went off at 4:30.  I need to go to bed earlier, especially now that the semester is starting and I'm less likely to be able to take a nap in the afternoon. It's a slow habit in forming, though.  Must be from those years spent in Spain when dinner time wasn't even until after 9pm....  

Three Thing Thursday

I've never done one of these, but my schedule is all wonky this week so I thought: why not?

1. It is very tempting to just spend all day reading things on my new Kindle, but goals aren't going to accomplish themselves.  I'm limiting my Kindling to the evenings and trying to spend most of the day in productivity - working on a publication project or grading papers.

2. I'm loving running outside again this week.  My average pace on my runs is a bit faster than it was in the autumn - although it's not as fast as I'd like it to be.  After months on the treadmill, I'm finding it hard to regulate my pace and keep it steady.  I'm going to try to hold it steadier on my 8 mile long(ish) run tomorrow.

3. I tried Cara Cara navel oranges for the first time this week, and they are so delicious!  My mom and I went through an entire bag in four days.  We went back to the grocery in search of more, but sadly they were out.  I will be on the lookout for them in the future.

How's your Thursday looking?