Burrito West Blog

When I think back to the years I lived in Wisconsin.... and contrast them with life today - several big differences stand out.

One is really big - my career. Then I was an engineer and I wasn't terribly excited about it. I was doing pretty much exactly what I wanted - working on space-stuff for NASA, but, turns out that wasn't as interesting to me in real life as it had been in my imagination. I saw a future ahead of me where I was an okay engineer, nothing great, doing work that, let's be frank - doesn't go anywhere because NASA's budget gets jerked around so frequently. So I moved on to career number 2, which is holding up MUCH better; I find it much more satisfying and I think I'm quite good at it - definitely better than okay.

The other thing is the difference between driving everywhere (WI) and walking/transit'ing everywhere (Vancouver). This difference is highlighted by a small event the other day. I was running late for work, and did the urban speedwalk to the transit station. I was head-down hustling along the hall to the train platform when someone said my name in a very happy voice. It was a friend I hadn't seen in several months. We were both running late but got to chat for a moment which was great. And as I stood on the platform afterwards, waiting for the train alone I thought about what a difference it makes, running into someone and seeing them smile at the sight of you. That's pretty powerful stuff. Though I didn't know it in WI, I think that's part of what I was missing there - the small interactions with people that happen when you're out in the world instead of cocooned in a metal roll cage. It's not just nice and pleasant to bump into friends unexpectedly, I think it's more important than that - it helps remind you how connected you are to other people, in a tangible way. As much as I love online social media for helping keep me connected to people - nothing will replace seeing someone smile when they unexpectedly bump into you on the street.

Two lessons for you. 1) don't hesitate to trade your career in for a new one - no sense doing something you don't like for the rest of your life. 2) ditch your car and get out in the world as much as you can... it'll do you good in many many ways.

When Peter goes away on a trip (he left early Friday), I usually end up in a funk. I start off fine, and actually get loads of stuff done - for example, I got my floor loom warped and ready to go yesterday... but inevitably I find myself wandering around aimlessly, wishing he was home already.

Note to self: watching Pride and Prejudice followed by 4 hours of Jane Eyre are not good ways to get out of a Peter-missing funk.

Note to everyone else - the 2006 Masterpiece Theatre mini series version of Jane Eyre starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens is brilliant. I love it deeply - and I have watched many a movie version of Jane Eyre. Also - if you're in the market for a good Austen movie, try the 2007 Northanger Abbey. Thank god for BBC productions.

I think I need to go load up a good sci-fi movie now....

Being a grown up is quite exhausting sometimes. There's just so much life-maintenance-stuff to be done - cooking, cleaning, insurance, investments, bills, work, etc.

Our latest grown up thing is looking into getting a new mattress. I've never bought a new mattress before - I went from home to a dorm bed to a student apartment with a mattress a friend's family donated (thanks Joel's family!), to a futon bed of Peter's to a mattress we bought off a coworker a few months after he bought it.... and that's the mattress we have now. We actually moved it from WI because it was cheaper to do that than get a new one.

Anyway, now it's a bit saggy in the middle and I'm just kind of skeeved out by the thought of 7 years worth of dust mites. I'd like to get a new mattress and put a protective cover on it so I can sleep soundly. It's mostly a mental thing. But mattress shopping sucks - the markup on mattresses is insane, you can't do any research because every place gives the mattress a different name, it's almost enough to make me suck it up and live with our mattress. We're in limbo right now, undecided on a course of action. Feel free to advise.

Random:

1. my legs rather hurt the days following the Sun Run. Seriously. ow.
2. Alan Doyle, lead singer of Great Big Sea is in the new Robin Hood movie that's opening Cannes Film Festival. Seriously. He's in Cannes right now as part of the cast of the film. So awesome.
3. Someone at dance last night complimented me by calling me graceful. I don't think I've ever been called graceful before!
4. I still have two left feet during the samba, however.
5. I am intrigued by the Kobo e-reader.... especially because it's Canadian. The thought of having a library of books with me at all times is awfully tempting.
   

So I survived the Sun Run! (Photos of the event here.)

It was hard to know how to pace myself, having never run more than 5k ever in my life.... should I go super slow on the first half to make sure I have something left for the last 5k? But then, at the end of my 5k practice jog last month (which I only ever did once, btw), I was tired but not totally exhausted. Generally at the end of my jogs I was just ready to stop suffering more than I was physically done.

I had a heart monitor on for the race and the plan was to aim for a target heartrate of ~175, which is what I did my 5k at. (My heart seems to run high - at 175 I can carry on a conversation for the most part - it's definitely not a super high exertion level for me.) About 5 minutes into the run it became clear that I could not run that slowly surrounded by 50,000 other people in a race. So my average heartrate for the entire run was 187, with a max of 214 (stupid hill). My heart monitor beeped at me the entire time. (I kind of love that my heartrate numbers are so screwy. Those numbers are off the charts, literally, at my gym. Whatever, seems to be okay for me, I'm alive.)

The best part about the sun run, besides the sight of 50,000 people filling the streets ahead and behind you, and getting to run on streets that are normally clogged with loud traffic, is the random strangers on the sidelines cheering people on. Strangers cheering on strangers is very very heartwarming. Also, the bands stationed along the way help make the atmosphere more festive and help prevent you from getting too caught up in your suffering and woe.

I've learned through this experience that apparently I'm fit enough to run 10k without much problem - I mean, I sprinted at the end. I think the reason I don't run regularly is because it's unpleasant and I'd rather be doing pleasant things. I'm surprised at how relatively easy it was for me.... given how little I do any cardio exercise, not sure how to explain it. Good genes, I guess, combined with a lot of walking and dancing. But still - that doesn't seem like it should prepare me for running twice as far as I have ever done.... without totally trashing me. Looking at the run now, I actually think I could have gone faster; I wasn't toast at the end - I was tired but not collapse on the ground, have someone carry me home tired - so I didn't lay it all out on the road. Could probably shave a few minutes off just by pacing myself differently. That's surprising to me.

My time was 1hr 10min and we were optimistically aiming for 1hr 15min [Peter's goal for me] or just finishing without dying [my goal for me], so I'm quite pleased and surprised, especially since I honestly didn't know what would happen after km #5.

The lesson here is: training is for suckers. :P

(Actually, I highly recommend training, if nothing else, to avoid the anxiety associated with thinking for weeks before hand that you're going to die during the race.)

I picked up my bib and chip for the Vancouver Sun Run tomorrow.

It will be quite the experiment - see what happens when someone who has never run more than 5k tries to run 10k without training. Wish me luck.

If you don't hear from me it's because I died. Please donate generously to your local animal shelter in my name to memorialize me.

I just discovered candy-covered sunflower seeds. They're like peanut M&Ms but smaller and less peanuty. They're awesome.

That is all.

Have I ever mentioned I have a bit of a thing for craft supplies?

It was all fine when all I did was beadwork, but since moving to Vancouver I've learned to crochet and weave, so now there's yarn tucked in every drawer and cabinet you see - open a cabinet where you'd expect to find a dvd collection and yarn will probably fall out. oh, and there's a loom in our living room. There are a lot of beads too, but they're fairly compact. I also got a sewing machine, so there's a cupboard in the kitchen full of fabric. Then there's the miscellaneous supplies - glue, magnets, the stuff I'm going to repurpose one day, the silkscreening inks, the wireworking tools, and all the associated craft books.

What I mean to say is that I kind of have a lot of supplies. I could stay at home and craft continuously for approximately 11 years, I think. I do feel like it's a bit over the top and I try to restrain myself - but then a local store goes and offers yarn that is normally $15/ball for $2/ball! Anyway. I seriously don't need any more craft supplies. Really. Even I admit that.

But then Got Craft - the local awesome craft fair that usually I'm a vendor at with my group Maked - had a contest.... and the prize was a Yudu which is a DIY screen printing system. A $300 screen printing system. I may have gone a little over the top to earn entries into the contest.
And it worked because I won! Yay! I'm excited to test the thing out - hopefully this weekend when I have time to make a mess.

The downside? The Yudu is enormous. I live in a 600 sqft apartment that I share with a Peter, two cats, a floor loom, and several bikes. I honestly have no idea where I'm going to keep this thing. It's currently on our coffee table. It's the same size as our coffee table.

Still - who can refuse craft supplies? Not me, clearly. I've got a bit of a thing, after all.

One of the things that has always bugged me about living in a small apartment has been the lack of out-of-the-way places for the litter box. We're pretty good about emptying it very frequently so we don't have to smell anything, but still, seeing it in our living space is.... weird.

I've seen a few good Ikea hacks where people have successfully hidden their litter boxes (examples here), so I've been working on my own for a while. Our cats are very upright-facilitators, so we needed some piece of furniture that was quite tall, and the only space in the apartment that was available was the narrow area behind the front door, so it took a while to find the right bit of furniture for the job, but I think we did! It's actually a drawer unit from Ikea, designed to hold your PC. Fits perfectly behind our door and I found a plastic tub that slides in. The glossy white finish matches our decor (as much as we have decor right now), so I'm very pleased. Just debating on whether or not to fuss with hanging a fabric curtain or some other cover over the entrance or not. Thoughts?

Entryway before and after (please note that the tidy 'after' photo is totally staged, I expect this area to be total chaos within a day):