this is how i’m doing: in case you were wondering…

So today was a long run day with John.  We did not intend to run to Lake Ray Roberts.  We didn’t intend to run on the equestrian trail.  We also didn’t plan on spending 2 hours on this little adventure nor was it our idea to scare off a baby wild boar.  I wasn’t planning on spending the rest of the weekend recovering either.

We had a blast, but now I’m exhausted.  I’m really starting to dig the Greenbelt Corridor and it’s miles and miles of trails — it’s a welcome break from the asphalt and concrete that I usually see.  And getting to take a break sitting on the rocks at the south end of the lake was the icing on the cake.

At Starbucks working on some websites, sipping on some green tea.  It’s kind of like my second office — better than my actual office.  I should bring a name plate to put on my table.  Maybe bring a small plant and some other office nick-nacks.  Back to work — no blogging on “company time”

On a side note — this is how much of a geek I am.  I slept with my HR monitor on to see what my HR was while I slept — avg was 58!  I feel healthy

Ryan Finnerud, I hope you’re reading…

Link to the person who tagged you — Caitlin.
- Post the rules on your blog.
- Write six random things about yourself.
- Tag six people at the end of your post.
- Let each person know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1. Apparently I have an abnormally high max heart rate of around 215 bpm.  Yeah, the “220 - your age” formula doesn’t really work for me.  I did have a doctor tell me I have a heart murmur back when I was 18 — but he said it was the non-serious type…
2. I originally moved to the north Texas area in 2006 with plans of getting a Master’s in Theology from DTS.
3. Now I want to be a college professor.  In college I remember saying that I would never want to teach…
4. I have downloaded MacSaber and swung my MBP around like a light saber… a $2000 light saber…  (although I suppose a REAL light saber would cost at LEAST as much).
5. When I worked at SFA I e-mailed the director for disability services to see if being left-handed could be considered a disability.  I was only half serious.  No, it’s not a disability; I’ll just have to live with the discrimination.
6. Because of this, I had to learn to play the guitar upside down.

Okay, I’m only tagging bloggers who need to blog because they haven’t in way to long.  This is your chance to make a come back!

Ryan Finnerud – this is your warning.  I have posted comments on your blog every month for over a year waiting for you to post an update.  If you don’t post something soon, I’m not going to be your friend anymore — and I’ll confiscate your Taylor T5 — and I’ll kick your dog.  If you don’t have a dog, I’ll buy you one and then kick it.  The clock is ticking…

So, as I mentioned in my last post I decided to not have Internet at my apartment.  I’m still going through withdrawals and realizing how much my life relies on Google.  I had to turn on the RADIO the other day just to check the weather (making sure there weren’t any tornadoes in the area that I needed to worry about) — It’s been an experience for sure.

But I’m not really missing anything.  For one, I am “connected” while I’m at work, so I can download podcasts and get my Internet fix that way.  The biggest difference is not having the constant, immediate access to information that I’m used to which I’m getting used to and realizing that I DON’T need this level of access — it’s okay to wait until the next day.

So that’s that — today was another freshman orientation so my brain is a little fried from that.  This is my favorite part about my job, even though it leaves me exhausted.  I think I’ll go home and *gasp* read a book and probably go for a run

Here’s a quote I used in my academic workshop today:

“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm” — Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

That pretty much sums up my college experience

So much going on, so little time to blog about it.  So I’ll summarize.

- Trying to finish up portfolio for grad school

- Ran a 5k at Texas Stadium.  I swear the whole course was up hill — miserable run but the over all experience was great.  Pictures to follow.

- Freshman Orientations started last week.  I’m having a BLAST teaching the academic workshops.

- Job advancement opportunities.  Details soon hopefully.

- Thinking about Church a LOT — not all of it good and I’m wondering if I’m more Methodist than I once thought…

- I bought my first Heart Rate Monitor for running — looking to step up the mileage over the next few months.

- Getting rid of my DSL at the apartment.  I spend too much time on the internet and I have access practically EVERYWHERE else I am throughout the day.  Do I really need to check my e-mail and blog at 2am?

Think that’s about it and should catch you up!

I’m starting to think that writing and blogging are two completely different art forms.  For me, blogging has been “thinking outloud”.  Sure I like to add wit and the occasional literary device but I don’t have to plan a blog post out;  I just write.

So, many of you know that I’m in the process of applying for the Master of Journalism program here at UNT.  I have my three top notch writers slaving away at my letters of recommendation — all former professors of mine from SFA (Miles, Tim, and Dr. King).  Hopefully they are not at a loss for words when it comes to recommending me for graduate work.  With recommendations on the way, the bulk of my application is still staring me in the face — a portfolio.  I’m not a journalist, nor have I played one on TV.  More importantly, I haven’t written anything that has been publish in anything with the exception of a poem I co-authored in 5th grade and a column in college for the school paper.  I don’t have a copy of the poem and the column will only serve as one small portion of the required portfolio.  So I have to start from scratch and write something portfolio worthy; make that many things portfolio worthy.

Why journalism?  I get that question a lot.  Especially when I tell people my goal is to earn a Ph.D in Comm so I can teach.  When I add that my B.S.  (Bachelor of Science… I only clarify for my MANY sarcastic friends) is in Speech Comm it starts to make ME wonder “why journalism?”

Storytelling.  Non-fiction storytelling is what Dr. Mitch Land, director of the graduate program told me the program was based in.  A one hour conversation with Dr. Land pretty much sold me on the idea of pursuing the MJ.  Oddly enough, I didn’t meet with him to talk about grad school at all — I was only stopping by to say “hello” from a friend and former colleague of his, Tim Clipson.  The best professors and teachers I’ve had in life have all been great storytellers.  It’s an art that takes information and data and wraps it in flesh and breathes life into it.  Stories communicate ideas not necessarily more efficently, but far more effectively than other forms of communication.  Stories, not pie charts and fact sheets are passed down from generation to generation because they are meaningful and memorable.

So that’s just more of me, thinking out loud — blogging is my therapy.  Running is my other therapy but blogging usually doesn’t leave me winded and tired, nor have I ever wanted to throw-up afterwards.