Summer

I am loving the summer so far. Here is what I'm doing:

1) A lot of exercise. I'm running a bit (treadmill, mostly doing 30 seconds on, 30 seconds sprinting, for up to 30-45 minutes... it's hard because my knee is hurting), spending time on the elliptical, and lifting weights. I feel great. I haven't done any classes yet, and I just haven't ran into one of them, but will soon.

2) Playing lots of softball. This has been excruciatingly hot, and our team is not very good, but it's still pretty fun. I must say that I'm aching for more real competition, though, to play in a league that is a little bit more about competing than socializing, like I used to play in, but I haven't really ran into one since that other league folded.

3) Lots of gardening. This has been quite an obsession for me this year, and I love it. It's also been a challenge to keep all the plants alive in the drought and heat that we have been experiencing, but I have been doing it. I'm still planing stuff almost every day, as I stop by Poor Boy's or Valley View Farms and grab something interesting to plant. It has got me to know the neighbors a little bit, as they stop by and chat. And it's good exercise. I feel a little bit like Adam Trask still, from the novel East of Eden, as I try to make my own Eden-esque garden. During teh school year, when I was so stressed, I felt like I was planting a lot to escape, to have something that I could call my own and control. Now, however, it feels happier; it's relaxing to be out there in the dirt. I love watching all the bees and birds around my yard, which is in a pretty densely packed and "urban" area. It makes me feel like I'm making a difference.

4) Lots of organizing. Summer is about rejuvenation and re-starting and I have done a good job with this so far.

5) Waiting Tables. Yup, I'm doing it again, and really liking it. I missed it.

That's about it. Now I just need to get reading some more.