Don’t worry – I’m wearing a towel.
Summer has arrived. I’m knee-deep in summer classes – oh, Habermas, you wascally wabbit – and attempting to work through my dissertation proposal in the off-times. Spring semester ended and the summer semester picked up the very next week, leaving me little time for thought or reflection on coursework, personal positioning, or general events. All in all, spring semester was fine; in undergrad, spring semester was always my stronger semester. Not so much in graduate school. I struggled with balance, slogged my way through a dissertation pilot, and attempted not to lose my mind. I learned a lot and am constantly surprised by how much I know now versus what I knew when I first arrived two years ago. Regardless of the learning, this was a difficult semester – one of the tougher ones. I powered through, managed to finish everything by the end of the semester, and am attempting to take some time in the midst of diving into deep theory that I’m still not sure I understand three readings in.
Part of what made the last semester so difficult was what you see above: weighty-weight-weight-weight. In the fall, I managed to lose a ridiculous amount of weight, more weight than I think I’ve ever lost in my entire existence to date. I felt ridiculously good and actually looked decent in clothing. This semester, I wasn’t very good of taking care of myself. I stopped running, my morning trips to the gym dwindled to once every week or two, and food became, once again, a coping mechanism rather than about sustenance.
The moment summer comes along, it’s surprising how quickly my biology changes. It demands I run, ceases craving sugar. The number above represents a weight that, in the continuum of my life, is still near the low end. I weigh less now than I did at this time last summer but fifteen pounds more than I did in November. Those fifteen pounds make more of a difference than I would like them to but am hopeful the revisited habits of summer will take them off.
Also – note the pedicure. I need to make those a regular part of my existence.
