Trying (not tri-ing) my new life so far …

Things are going okay for me.

I’ve officially entered “off-season” training as of October 1st. Of course, I was never really “on-season” this year as I never entered or competed in a tri this year, but whatever. There were plenty of other things I had done and next time I’ll talk about those accomplishments. (They involve cycling, friendships, and life’s little pleasures at least!) Today, I’ll talk about where things currently stand.

Ahhhhhh, what have I been doing? I’ve been putting my life back together since August 6th. That means as of now, my priorities are:

1. Remember to “Be the change I want to see.”
   Working on positive and optimistic attitude; a kind of self-therapy. A lot of deep breathing, shoulder-crying, and discovering the self during the 10 minutes I have morning and night to take the dog out to do his business. (Nevermind squeezing in workouts. Although they do happen every 3-4 days for a half-to-full-hour.) Of course, this mantra doesn’t always work while I’m freaking out about the following 6 items below.
2. Work.
   Lots of it. This pays for all the debt and financial hardship I’ve been saddled with during my recent marital separation. I already know I can’t keep working 36 hrs/wk and go to school full-time … not at this level of intensity anyway. Something’s gotta’ give …
3. School.
   This Ph.D. candidacy thing is murder. Especially when you’re working full-time and taking 12 credit hours. Sleep is a luxury.
4. Friends.
   But just the ones that live here in VA and that I can see during lunch, dinner, study sessions, or while doing laundry. The rest of the planet has fallen away … seriously, it’s that limited.
5. Eating.
   Oh, the body still needs fuel … but probably doesn’t need late-night hamburgers, pizza, ice cream, or quiche on a daily basis, huh? Nonetheless, this one beat out sleep AND exercise. Uh-oh …
6. Sleep.
   Sleep is a luxury. See all the above and figure out what else could I possibly have time to do? I sleep wherever and whenever I can. Literally. My laptop keys have drool on them, I think.
7. Exercise.
   Bottom of the scale, sadly. I miss it. I can definitely feel the difference, too. I’m “soft” and my back has started to hurt again in the mornings. I gotta’ figure out a way to push this one up to be in the top 5 at least. Gotta’ work on being that change agent for myself …

Well, my new life has already mixed it upside down and inside out. No matter. Somethings stay the same; like how funny grad school is and can be:

Ph.D. Comics (Piled Higher and Deeper)

Heroic Computer Dies To Save World From Master’s Thesis
Professors lauded the laptop for taking the literary atrocity with it into oblivion.

And that’s all for now. For all you true Tri-ers: swim, bike, and run while the season lasts! I’ll be trying my other favorite adventure sport (life) for a little while instead. I’ll keep you posted …