The fatigue settles

I haven't taken a nap under my desk since last year.

Until yesterday.

Grad school isn't necessarily the most challenging thing for me; it's just really tiring. Classes don't get out until 9:20, so by the time I get home it's around 10, and I often have things to do and can't go to sleep right then. This makes Mondays and Tuesdays really long, and leads to exhaustion by the time Wednesday rolls around.

Hence the sleeping when I really shouldn't be.

It was during a break time for me, and it really did revitalize me some and give me some more energy for the day. And this is an important week for me, because I have a half marathon on Sunday, and I really want to PR. (For the non-runners out there, that means I want to run my best time yet.)

I'm still pretty tired today, though it was nice to have a relatively early bedtime last night. But I won't be going to bed super early this evening, because the Mavs are playing in a crucial Game 6 against the hated Spurs. If we don't win, the season is over, and I will be left with yet another offseason full of disappointment. Yes, I will find restoration in the Rangers and predict a trip to the World Series, but it still hurts whenever my beloved Mavs cause me more distress. For obvious reasons, I still cringe anytime someone mentions the year 2006.

At least it's Thursday. I need a vacation.

A non-rainy outlook

It might be an ugly day, but I would say I have a pretty outlook on things right now.

For starters, it's Friday. That's almost always a good thing.

Secondly, the Cowboys moved up to the 24th pick in the NFL Draft last night to notch Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant. Good choice, Jerry. I definitely agree with my man Cowlishaw on this one.

Another thing that makes me happy is that I really don't have any obligations this weekend. This hasn't happened in...well, I can't even remember the last time this occurred. I am usually dreading a jam-packed two days with absolutely no time for rest or relaxation. That's not the case today, and I'm not going to let the ugly rain and humidity sour my mood. Although it did sour my hair somewhat.

I might try to find some time to clean my apartment this weekend, though. It's a ridiculous mess. It's almost like that episode of FRIENDS when Ross dates that girl with the really messy apartment, and at the end Monica goes and tries to clean it for her, but she shuts the door in Monica's face. Well, if Monica showed up at my door with her cleaning gear, I would gladly welcome her in to do what I can't do so well.

But I'm definitely going to take a nap. Maybe two.

What was I thinking?

I woke up at 2:30 this morning.

Seriously?

Mike and Mike were in town for a live broadcast on ESPN Radio, so of course I had to be there. I figured I should start my run at 3, because the show starts at 5, and the doors opened at 4 something.

Am I insane? Perhaps.

I have a race tomorrow, so it was an easy run (Fridays usually are), and then I got ready and hauled over to the show. Apparently I wasn't the only one. The place was more packed than any of the other shows I've ever attended. And this one was definitely less pleasant. I love the Mikes, but I sure don't love all of their fans. Rude.

I didn't even stay for much of the show, because I was getting so claustrophobic, and I started thinking about how silly it was to stand all morning (again, I have a race tomorrow) and wait in a huge crowd to try to get a book signed or a pic with them. I already have both. Multiples, actually. I even have a signed football.

This morning made me realize that life can't always be what we think it will. Sure, I already knew that, but it's always good to be slapped in the face again with it. Will I go to the live broadcast next time they come in town? Probably. Maybe I will even go earlier. But I am not heartbroken that things didn't go my way this morning. At least I wasn't as selfish and rude to others as some of the fans there were, all so they could get a glimpse of two other human beings.

It's going to be a long weekend (full of work, not play), so hopefully I will have the energy to divulge the latest happenings in the NatMer saga. As for right now, I'm going to go be part of the Teacher Appreciation night at the baseball game (a student asked me to wear his jersey and be honored at some little pre-game thing), then I need some food and sleep.

Since when did I start working on a Friday night until 6:49? Is it summer yet?

My day Friday

Friday is by far the second best day of the week.

Clearly Saturday is the winner here, but you have to love the feeling of Friday afternoons when that last bell rings (if you are a teacher, of course) and you know that you are finished for the week. Even if there are mounds upon mounds of work or grading that need to be completed before Monday morning, it feels so refreshing to take a deep breath and know that the weekend is here. FREEDOM!!

And it lasts for a whole two days!!

I am obviously very glad that today is Friday. I'm looking forward to a nice nap tomorrow at some point and not thinking about anything school or work-related. I'm purposefully avoiding the daunting thought that I have a 10-page research paper due on Monday in one of my grad school classes. I'm also not dwelling on the fact that I still haven't started. Actually, I still haven't decided on my topic just yet.

I'm putting all of that aside for now. It's Friday afternoon, and it's the second best day of the week. Sunday is pretty good, too. So maybe Friday is a really close third. Yes, definitely. It's the third best day of the week, and I am content with that.

Welcome to the digital age

I have turned my back on one more aspect of the '90s.

Yes, it's true: I bought a digital camera. I mean, it was due time. Disposable cameras have become rather archaic, and it's such a tedious process trying to get pictures loaded onto a computer from them. Plus, you can't instantly see how your photos turned out, and it seems like one or two always get lost in the development process, and they are usually the pictures you wanted the most. And don't get me started on the quality of the pictures you get. After all, you're only paying about $8 for something you're going to throw away soon, anyway, so you're going to get image quality worthy of such a price.

So, why did I wait until now to invest in a real camera? Three words: Mike and Mike.

I am a huge fan of "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on ESPN Radio, and I try to attend their live broadcasts whenever they make it out to Dallas. The first time I went to one, I had my friend Matt take a picture of the Mikes and me with my disposable camera. For reasons already given, it wasn't the greatest picture. Plus, I'm sure the Mikes weren't too impressed when I had to remind Matt, "Oh, you have to rewind it first."

The last time I was at their live broadcast, I had someone else take a picture with his camera and then e-mail it to me. He was super nice and didn't mind doing that at all, but I would rather not be such a burden and hassle for other people simply because I haven't capitalized on the technologies of the 21st century.

Well, the Mikes are coming to town again this month, and I refuse to deal with the disposable process again. I realize that I have an iPhone with nice picture-taking abilities, but it really is time for me to have a good camera, especially for situations where I might need to take a lot of pictures. I cannot think of such instances at the moment, but I'm sure there are plenty of them.

So this week I went to my favorite store (Target) and bought a Nikon Coolpix touch-screen digital camera. Hopefully it will live up to my expectations. I will be sure to post some of my new pics soon for your NATural fun.