cheerleader & underachiever
early yesterday morning, i volunteered to direct traffic (i.e. block cars from entering the road) at the the local 10-miler race. i figured it would be a fun way to be part of the race, without actually running it, although it was so freezing cold yesterday morning that i sort of wished i'd been out there running or walking because it would have kept me warm. when you're standing still in a bright orange traffic patrol vest, well�Brrr! even when you're wearing a fleece underneath.
anyway, guarding this particular intersection was an awesome assignment, because it was right around mile #9, so it turned out to be mostly spectating and cheering on all the runners at a difficult but exciting spot in the race. of course, there were a couple of cars who attempted to come through, and whose drivers looked defiantly at me and then rolled down their windows and pleaded "But I HAVE to be somewhere by 9am!" when i motioned that they couldn't enter the road. but so what? i saw a ton of people i know, and it was fun to yell out things like "way to go, you're almost finished!", "go #494, you're looking strong!", etc. some of the runners smiled or winked at me and waved, or thanked me, while others were either in ipod oblivion, or too much agony. being a cheerleader for a day was great!
actually, the 10-miler is tentatively on my "Things To Do Here Before I Graduate" list. i'd like to do it, provided there comes a time in the next couple of years that i'm well enough and medically cleared to take on that type of distance on foot. i've run the local women's 4-miler twice, but have yet to make the leap to running or walking 10+ miles or a half-marathon distance. lately most of my workouts have been aquatic ones.
as for more immediate things: right now, i'm tweaking a paper i wrote for a class last spring. the paper is on underachievement in gifted adolescents. now, i'm trying to re-shape and tailor-make it into a manuscript that is suitable for submission. it's a trickier job than one might think. the acceptance rate for academic journal articles is something like 1 in 6. yikes! it makes me feel like an underachiever (or make that "procrastinator") right now.
believe it or not, in about a year, i'll be pretty much done with the coursework portion of my studies, and getting ready for comps (comprehensive exams). between now and then, so many things have to come together, which is exciting but also scary. i also recently learned i'll have to replace one of the professors on my doctoral program committee, because she's leaving this university to accept a faculty position in north carolina (at UNC Chapel Hill) next year. bummer!
good god, it's so weird to realize that some of my professors are younger than i am. it's sort of like when you realize you're older than your doctor�
