The Nature of a Lunch Hour

One thing I've struggled with in my time in the workforce of America is what to do with my lunch hour. Other than eat lunch of course...because the actual act of eating only takes me about 10 minutes or so. When I lived in Spartanburg, SC, I worked at a bank 7 minutes from my house and was able to go home at lunch. I would usually watch a little tv, eat my lunch, do a couple of chores around the house, and head back to the bank. It was a great break in the middle of the day, and truthfully it helped preserve my sanity. While a solid first job, the bank was easily my least favorite job yet.

When I moved to Annapolis, I was working on the West side of Baltimore and had a 45 minute commute. Clearly not conducive to going home for lunch! However, for the first 2 years or so, I had a "lunch group" of friends that I ate with. I was probably the most talkative in the group, so lunch was often filled with my silly chorale stories, etc. I usually brought my lunch to work...mostly because I was apartment-poor from paying rent in one of the most desirable areas and getting the salary of someone living in a not so desirable area. I switched jobs 2.5 years ago, and lunch was often varied...sometimes out with friends, sometimes brought from home, and the occasionally shopping trip to Target.

Somewhere along the line, I stopped eating lunch with people and started always eating it at my desk in front of the computer. I realized that I needed the break away from my desk, so I've gotten pretty creative with my lunch time. While I miss the camaraderie of eating lunch out with friends, my finances like that I'm not dropping $10+ on lunch every Friday. They also like the fact that I've cut back on my Target lunchtime browsing. That place is dangerous. I certainly have Chick-fil-A more often now that it is around the corner, as well.

Behind our office, there is a back parking lot with some trees, grass, etc. When I drive around back there during lunch, there is a man who opens up the back of his SUV every day, sits on the tailgate with a cigar, and reads a book. I'm kind of jealous of his lunchtime routine...it's a good break away from work!

Here are some of the ways that I've recently been spending my lunch hour:

-On the leather couch in our office reading a book. This sometimes ends up with me dozing, attempting to look as if I am not sleeping.

-In my car taking a nap. This is only on days that I am flat out exahausted.

-In my car, eating Chick-fil-A and listening to an audiobook in the Chick-fil-A/Starbucks Parking Lot.

-Reading a book at Starbucks.

-Watching LOST on my iPod.

-On pretty days, I'm outside in my car with the windows down reading a book.

-Occasionally, running on the treadmill if I won't be able to get a run in any other time.

-Running errands at Target. But this is strictly if I have multiple items I NEED...like toilet paper, contact solution, etc.

Does anyone else have interesting ways to spend a lunch hour? Sometimes I'm tempted to see if I can take 15 minutes and then leave the office at 4:45 instead of 5:30...except I often have training sessions scheduled at 4 PM.

Back Again!

Whew! Things have been busy around the Home for Wayward Chorus Girls the past few weeks! Maureen and I had a fabulous trip to Maine that included all of the things a trip to Maine should...eating lobstah, relaxing, reading, watching football, sailing on the Penobscot Bay, enjoying wine by the lake, bonfires by the lake, waterskiing, boat rides, good food, good friends, and good conversation. All in all, it was exactly the vacation I needed!

After we got back, work got busy, and last weekend was the busiest I've had in awhile! I guess that means fall is certainly upon us! Last weekend, I relaxed on Friday night while moving iTunes music files to an external hard drive (quite the task!). Saturday, I ran 5 miles, headed off to Rosh Hashanah rehearsal, came home to breathe for a minute, and then drove into DC to see Washington National Opera's Barber of Seville at Nationals Stadium for their Opera in the Outfield production. It was a fun, fun time! Doesn't get much better than eating a hot dog, drinking a beer, and watching opera! Sunday, I ran 10 miles in the morning and then went up to Baltimore for Baltimore Concert Opera's production of Faust. That was another great opera. Then, I had the pleasure of a quick dinner date with my recently somewhat elusive boyfriend (quite the busy man, as well). This week has been filled with work, rehearsing, and running. Last night, Maureen and I saw Barber of Seville round 2 at the Kennedy Center. I was amazed at how different the production is onstage vs. the simulcast! Not better or worse, we just saw different things onstage that we missed during the simulcast. However, the simulcast is great because you can really watch the performer's expressions.

This weekend? 2 Rosh Hashanah services to sing, 16 miles to run (in 2 separate sessions), some chores to be completed, a Navy game to be enjoyed on TV at the Ramshead Tavern...and hopefully a tasty Sunday dinner to cook! I will hopefully get some downtime at the house as well. Unfortunately, this weekend doesn't include a date...but one is planned for Tuesday!

Ideally, you all now feel caught up on my life the past few weeks! I may have pictures to post soon...but we'll just have to see!

Odd and Ends

Hi again, faithful readers (all 5 of you). I have a couple of quick updates on what I've been doing and have coming up.

• Rehearsals for chorale are back in full swing. This makes me happy...even though I was burnt out towards the end of last season, I've really missed my music. And so far, making the switch to alto for some pieces is quite refreshing. It's a bit like I get the best of both worlds.
• Tomorrow, Maureen and I are heading to Maine for 6 days to see our friends Jean and John. I never thought this would become an annual trip, but it's one that I always look forward to! Time relaxing on the lake, hanging out with friends, eating good food...always just what I need.
• I'm working on getting myself back into the swing of things exercise-wise now that the triathlon training is over. That means strictly running...which I don't always enjoy. Oh well, it's what I need to do in order to be ready for the Goofy Challenge!
• I've been reading and very much enjoying Julia Child's My Life in France. I picked it up after seeing the movie Julie and Julia, which I highly recommend as well. While I was at it, I bought Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Maureen and I are planning on trying her recipes once a month for Sunday Night Dinner.

Other than that, I'm just trucking along...enjoying the lovely bit of fall weather we've had, and looking forward to the coming "busy" season!

Oh, and I posted my race report for the triathlon on my Running Blog. Feel free to hop on over there and read about my crazy triathlon day!

Morning Energy

It's a shame that I don't have the discipline to get up earlier than absolutely necessary to get to work semi on time in the morning. After noticing an interesting phenomenon in terms of my energy levels, I've decided to call myself a "mid-morning" person. I'm not a full-fledged morning person since I don't hop out of bed all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but after an hour or so of being up and caffeinated, I get this rush of energy to get stuff accomplished around the house. Unfortunately, this burst of energy typically occurs when I'm in the car on the way to work. I can't even jot down the tasks I've remembered I need to do at the house. By the time I get home, I feel like I've been beat down, and have no energy to do much of anything. I struggle to complete simple tasks like make and eat dinner, or even pick up my room.

Marcello, on the other hand, is an evening kitty. He gets riled up between 9 and 10 each night and flies around the house in what is sometimes a tornado of destruction. We've dubbed it "Kitty Arsenic Hour". Except he's not tired and hungry like the kids' arsenic hour. Just crazy. He did crash hard on my lap at the end of arsenic hour last night, but typically he'll go crazy until we put him to bed. When he's not being destructive (knocking over plants, jumping on counters, etc) it's pretty funny.

Seems like we need to teach Marcello to accomplish tasks around the house while we are gone, and pre-arsenic hour. He's obsessed with the Swiffer, but I doubt he'll actually clean with it. Oh well. :)

Marcello is a Kitten Who lives in Our House

Since we are determined that Marcello is going to be a musical cat, Maureen and I sing to him when we are cuddling with him. It's usually anything from lullabies to made up songs (like the one in the title. The strange thing is that I can't get the song I made up out of my head. Every time I see him, I sing to myself "Marcello is a kitten who lives in our house". And he is. But I feel quite silly wandering around with a made-up song in my head. Here are a few cute pictures of Marcello for your viewing enjoyment:

I bought him a tunnel (along with the fancy "Kitty City")

Keeping cool while I get ready in the morning

Helping me pack my crate for the triathlon

Speaking of the tri, it was yesterday. I finished...2 minutes slower than last year, but I finished. It seemed much harder this year, maybe I didn't train as well? I'll have a full report over on my running blog complete with pictures hopefully sometime this week.

Other than that, things are pretty normal in my world. Hopefully they will somewhat stay that way, but who knows?

Where Has the Time Gone?

It's crazy to me that this summer is almost over. It seems like it was just Memorial Day, and now we're 2 weeks away from my Labor Day venture up to Maine. It's been a busier summer than I expected, but a good one as well. Chorus rehearsals start up again next week. What else is going on with me? Here's a quick rundown:

• Triathlon- The Iron Girl triathlon is this Sunday, and I'm a bit nervous. Last year I was nervous because it was my first try at a tri (ha ha!), and I had no idea if I would finish. I actually blew away my own expectations! This year, I think I started training a bit early, and have been burned out for the past month. I was up to way over the distances for the swim, bike, and run back in June. I've been hovering just under that now since July. So, I'm a little afraid that I'll do worse than last year since I didn't have my pre-triathlon Maine vacation to swim in the freezing open water lake and bike the almost-mountainous Acadia Park Loop. Oh well, it is what it is!
• After I finish triathlon training, I'll be going back to strictly running in preparation for the Goofy Challenge (the crazy 1/2 marathon one day, full marathon the next shindig I signed up for at Disney). I have every intent of diligently updating my running blog during this training, but we all know how that usually goes.
• I'm going back to my roots a bit in the chorus. For a couple of the pieces we are singing this year, I'll be singing alto. It's definitely exciting for me- while alto is more challenging musically, it doesn't stretch me as much vocally. Plus, it can be much more fun to sing harmony occasionally!
• Marcello the kitten is doing well. Other than his crazy kitty arsenic hour antics and jumping up on the counters where he doesn't belong, we are loving every minute with him.
• Next week is the 1st anniversary of J and I's first date. That is just weird to me...seems like the time has flown. I laugh when I look back at the date I didn't think was really a date...and at how long it took for me to figure out how I felt about him!

So that's the update on me...nothing ridiculously exciting, but life is definitely rocking along!