pants dance.

I was in search of linen pants this weekend. I almost bought a pair, but then decided against it and made a pact to myself to wear my more-comfortable-than-jeans pants from the Gap(2 years ago) all week. sometimes I try and do things like this-- challenging myself to wear some articles of clothing or accessories that I never wear. I tried "necklace week" out a couple of weeks ago, and I managed to keep it up for a couple of days and then realized that I don't really like wearing jewelry casually (or at all), except for the occasional pair of big stud earrings.

but it's pants week everybody, and it's going to be a comfortable week indeed. I challenge anybody to whip out their chinos or wide-leg trousers for comfort. no jeans this week!

holycraplessthan2weeksuntilthetriathlon

so I was recently faced with the realization that my triathlon is in less than 2 weeks. I had been running once or twice a week and swimming less than once a week, although I do bike every day to work and back. even still, these are not adequate amounts of working out to get me in shape for one of the worst (though one of the most satisfying!) mornings of my life. my entire purpose for doing a triathlon was to force myself into good habits of getting in shape because I had something to work for. and yet, that didn't even motivate me enough to really get the move on. but realizing that in less than 2 weeks, I will have to run 5k, swim a quarter mile, and bike 13 miles within one morning has recently proved to be effective.

I have discovered that by only being able to go to Beyer Hall to swim when the pool is briefly open (12-2pm when I am at work, and 7-9pm when I am having a social life) is not effective, and therefore signed up for a membership to Ames Racquet and Fitness Center in Somerset for the month. not too pricey, mostly because I'm a student, but HOLY CANOLI is that place nice. the locker rooms are carpeted and I feel like I'm in some sort of yacht club because of the fancy, wealthy people of Somerset Village that keep this place going. anyway, I only really got the membership so that I can use the pool from nearly anytime between 5am-10pm, which is awesome.

starting today, I got up at 6am to run 3.1 miles down Main Street, around Bandshell Park, over to 13th street, and back up Northwestern. I was hoping it would still be a little bit dark out, but the sun starting to come up is something I can't complain about because it was absolutely beautiful. also, it was only about 60 degrees, in contrast to the 90 degree weather I was running in in the afternoon. as long as I eat something before I run, I am able to get through the 3.1 miles and though I come close to vomiting, I can hold it down. I then hopped into Andre the Malibu and drove over to Somerset to do some swimming. the 4-lane pool was nearly empty, minus the 1 ridiculously fast and in-shape 20-or-30-something dude in the lane next to me, and the 2 old guys chatting it up in the corner. I swim in a sort of pattern, because although I can't swim 8 laps straight through freestyle, I can manage to sort of tread water along so that I'm still moving forward the whole time. so I swim freestyle 1 lap, grab a floaty device and tread 1 lap, and continue doing this pattern for 6 more laps. those 8 laps is the equivalent to a quarter of a mile. so I took a break, and then did it all again, while old ladies started filing in 20 minutes early for their water aerobics class at 8am.

swimming after a vigorous run is really one of the most pleasant and satisfactory things one could do. especially if you get to swim towards the sunrise shining through the big windows on my way back for each lap, which I did. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous initially about the swimming portion of the triathlon, but in all reality, I don't need to swim the freestyle stroke the entire time, as long as I am moving forward. I can keep moving in water, it's just the breathing/stamina part about swimming that I struggle with. but if I don't have to keep my head in the water the whole time, I can just paddle along and be just fine!

although it has taken me all this time to finally start pushing myself to get in shape for this triathlon, now that I have finally gotten into a pattern of things, I think it's one that I can somewhat keep throughout my life. now, I probably won't run and swim every morning after this triathlon is done, but I would definitely like to continue swimming a couple times a week, and heck, maybe even run once or twice a week. it has also opened another area in my life that I can seek help from God in. let's face it, I'm a lazy and unmotivated person, but I have been asking for strength and motivation in prayer, and God has provided. that's all there is to it.

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah for gettin' in shape!

new stuff doodadoo.

I sold my old keyboard yesterday for $600. even though I posted it on craigslist for $800, I can't complain. because as my brother reassured me, it was a pain in the rear and I didn't want it and it was big and now I have 600 dollars. however, I had to give the guy my keyboard stand, which blows. but he was super sketchy and I wanted him out of my house, and I also wasn't going to settle for $500.

ALSO, my keyboard that I won on ebay finally came in the mail today (and was delivered to me by this kid who I dated in 5th/6th grade's dad)! I am super pumped to start using it and not have to complain that it is huge and smells like cat pee. sorry to anyone that has come to my past few shows that I didn't have a keyboard at because I was lazy, I promise I will be better from now on.

in other news, I have officially signed up and paid $27 to want to die while running/biking/swimming in a triathlon on July 11th. there's no backing out now. too bad my mind and body don't understand that yet because it's very difficult to force myself to train for it.

I have also realized that the Strokes are pretty good and I never really gave them a chance. this month has been a month of trying new things and giving things second chances. like the National. or Radiohead. or chinese food other than sesame/sweet&sour chicken.

I finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia yesterday. C.S. Lewis is just amazing. I already ranted about this in my journal last night and could probably write a book about how awesome those books are/C.S. Lewis is. Now I'm going to start in on The Bell Jar, which is our first book for our book club (the Longbottom Society). I am hoping that I will be able to balance the book club book with the new graphic novels that I got from the library and watching movies that I got from the library and some other random book out of my collection that I have had for several years but haven't read yet. I really do want to read more.

I just watched Pulp Fiction for the first time. not sure what the point was, but I generally enjoyed it quite a bit.

sometimes I feel like vomiting when I walk outside into the humidity. I just want to be able to wear jeans and a flannel shirt all the time. where can I do that? I want to be there.

weather tease.

I don't mind when it rains.
I don't mind when it doesn't rain.
I do mind when the weather is a big old tease. I never know when I should or should not bike to work.

lacking something.

sometimes I am desperate to get onto my computer, and then I realize that there really isn't anything new there for me that wasn't there a couple hours before. and then I go to almost every one of my bookmarked tabs at the top and check something on them (craigslist, ebay, bank of the west, myspace, etc.).
and then I still find time to complain to myself that I don't have enough hours in the day to do things that are more productive (reading, writing, etc.). sigh. humans are so ridiculous. we have so many aspirations and yet we so often completely lack the motivation and ambition to fulfill them. I have thought about this so many times, making me just as guilty of it, if not more.

on another note, my little cousins found photobooth just as entertaining as I thought they would.






Colorado has generally been really awesome. my whole body is kind of sore for some reason and I have a giant scrape on my knee from falling down on a dock yesterday. but we have spent some serious time biking around which has been wonderful and the weather has been equally wonderful.
Treynor and I have been taking some pictures on disposable cameras. but I have also taken some on my digital so that I can upload them onto here when we get back.

more to come on Colorado when I return to Iowa!!!

I think everyone just comes to Colorado to be beautiful.

English 335 babes.

I am currently enrolled in English 335: Studies in Film. we are studying Howard Hawks's movies. I pretty much love this class.

it's only twice a week for about a month this summer, and there is hardly any real work to be done for it. we have a few articles to read for each class period, most of which are pretty cool(plus I have hours of doing nothing at the copy center to do read them). each day, we watch some really awesome old film. so far, we have watched Only Angels Have Wings, Bringing Up Baby, and Rio Bravo.
all of these I found very enjoyable, especially Rio Bravo.
today, we are watching the original Scarface, which I am also looking forward to. to top it all off, our professor Leland Poague is the most adorable and wonderful teacher ever. he's right up there with Dr. Prater on my favorite enthusiastic professors list. he's extremely difficult to follow at times because he gets so excited about film that he's totally scatter-brained, but it's just great. he also satisfies my love for adorable old people.
we only have to write a total of like 4 2-page papers that are graded easily and we only have one exam, which I think he will probably over-prepare us for.
not to mention, the class counts as an upper level class, which is a neccessary part of graduating. whether it will transfer over to University of Iowa as an upper level class, I'm not too concerned because I would not regret taking the class anyway.
hopefully I have convinced any readers out there to take this class or the equivalent at any college you may be at.

watching Rio Bravo was awesome because I have never honestly watched any old westerns, and it was a really great one to start on. NOT TO MENTION, DEAN MARTIN (who also goes by the name 'Dude' in this movie, which is sweet in itself) IS A TOTAL BABE AND I NEVER KNEW IT BEFORE. he plays kind of the town drunk at the beginning and then has a wonderful renewal and comeback and proves himself in this awesome bar scene.

now, I'm really not one to swoon over celebrities, because I think it's ridiculous and they are people just like you and me, but I can't really stop myself from being totally into Dean Martin in this movie when he shoots a gun the way he does, or laughs the way he does, or sings a song in his beautiful voice the way he does. if I was my grandmother's age, I am partially convinced that we would have gotten married because after seeing him in this movie, I wouldn't have settled for any less of a babe. I know this is all very ridiculous and whatnot, but I figure if I'm going to have a celebrity crush, it's better that he's not alive anymore. that way, I won't be tempted to act like a giddy teenage girl at the thought of actually meeting him and him falling madly in love with me, like many do nowadays with Rob Pattinson (whom I will admit is a total babe).

anyway, sorry for all this, it won't happen again, but I just had to say something about my huge attraction to a guy who would've now been my grandfather's age. uhh...