Falling off the wagon.

I think I need a sponsor of some kind. I need a coin. I need a swift kick in the caboose!! The first week of school managed to put the stops to my somewhat frequent running. I ran on Monday. That was it. Even then, it was a simple two mile run. I'm kicking myself...ok, maybe I'm not - that would require too much leg movement.

I refuse to fall off of the wagon. It's too painful to get back on, dang it. At some point this summer I reached 5 miles. That seems so long ago. I shall not wither a way to a graduate student stuck in the library. I'm going to approach this like someone quitting smoking or losing an incredible amount of weight - baby steps not cold turkey. As long as I keep baby stepping along, I just won't stop running cold turkey. I can enjoy brief moments of athleticism amongst the many moments of reading until my eyes bleed. Grad school is a lifestyle change, I need to slowly adjust my schedule, not expect great things to happen over night. I'll soon be battling too demons though... school and cold weather! *sigh*

Bring it on! If there's one thing I learned from Little House on the Prairie it's to never lose sight of the wagon!!

I love weeds!

Hey all,

It's me, Brinkley! Wow, I can't believe I've been home for 3.5 weeks already! Mom says I'm growing like a weed. I don't know what that means but it must be good because I love weeds - they're delicious!! I try to grab some every time Mom takes me outside but she never lets me eat them. She never lets me eat anything outside. She says rocks are yucky but they're really not. She should try them sometime!

My favorite thing to do is chase Milo, but don't tell Mom that. Sheesh, does she get after me when I try to chase Milo. I won't hurt him, I just think it's funny to see the panic in his eyes and here him hiss. I also really love to chase the pheasant wing around. It takes a lot of concentration because there are so many smells outside. I try my best to keep my eyes on it and not move. Sometimes I can't resist though and have to chomp on it. It tastes SO good. I can't wait to find a real bird out in the fields.

Everyone loves me! Anyone that passes has to stop and pet me and tell Mom how cute I am. I try to sit still and behave so that Mom gives me hugs when they leave for being a good dog! I've learned to sit....mostly. Now I'm trying to learn "down" which is hard because I love being up so I can see everything. Mom says I'm doing a good job though and that I'll get it!!

I also had my first trip to the Vet the other day! A few pokes but nothing terrible. It wasn't such a bad place. I get to go back again so that should be fun! I like riding in mom's car. It's a good time to nap and rest up for the fun place she ends up taking me! Well, I better go. Milo is in sight and I can't just let him walk by unnoticed!!

~Brinkley Miles

This is just weird.

It's 10 a.m. and I am at home. It's just weird. I'm dancing around to music, cleaning, yelling "Brinkley, No!" every five minutes, and watching the time slowly tick away! Yes, I'm cherishing the moment. I realize this is only the beauty of the first week of classes where nothing has truly been assigned yet. I'll take whatever I can get.

Something else that's weird...the thoughts that bounce around in my head while I'm running. In the short time span of a two mile run, I have some pretty entertaining (at least to me!) thoughts. I decided to write a few down, just to have record of the randomness that keeps me running and helps to pass the time.

"Ok, the first five minutes is always a pain. Just keep running."

"Those people need to mow. I'm glad I don't have a yard. It would never get mowed."

"Ouch! Stupid crab apple. That had to of been the biggest crab apple ever. Right in the middle of the forehead. Son of monkey! I even ducked!"

"MMM, someone's barbecuing. That smells so good. I should barbecue more. I don't have anything TO barbecue. I should go to the store."

"I'm going to need to put gas in the motorcycle tomorrow. That would suck to run out. I'm lucky that hasn't happened yet."

"Holy crap! My shadow is huge! I must be 30 feet tall! NBA here I come."

"Hmmm, you'd think I'd be sick of this song by now. I should really change the tunes on this thing. I say that every time I'm out here. Grrr."

"I wonder if these people notice that I turn around in front of their house every other day or so. It's like the dog on the invisible leash. I can't go any further than their driveway or I'll get shocked!"

"Ugh. This has to be the dumbest sport ever. I hate running."

"Duck! Ouch. Holy crap - that was like the same *!@$in' branch! Stupid branch. I should go rip it off the tree. I'm sure the homeowners would appreciate that!"

"What was that joke...What did the man say after he walked into the bar? OUCH! What a stupid joke. Stupid branch."

"Jason's Deli sounds soooo good right now. Focus, you're almost done!"

"Blah. That sucked. Done and over with though. Maybe tomorrow will be better."

Proof that I'm never growing up.

Tomorrow is the day! The much anticipated sequel to High School Musical hits the Disney Channel airwaves tomorrow night. And I'll be plopped in front of my TV just like every 12 year old in the country! Then to get the full geek effect, I watch the encore showing immediately following it!

Nothing makes for good television like teen angst and cheesy songs!

Go Wildcats!

This textbook thing is a tad ridiculous.

So far the count is 23 books purchased for the upcoming semester. And I still have a few more to buy. I'm thinking of tallying some page numbers or something and making myself a countdown for survival and the end of the semester. Or maybe just counting down from 23 is enough. It looks like the average is about 400 pages per book. So, yeah, counting down from 10,000 plus isn't quite as appealing.

GTA training has been an adventure. Basically it has been 9 hours of redundant warnings that most incoming freshman are drastically below average in writing ability and that grading will take patience beyond all patience, and lots of what we don't have - TIME. Due to a massive grant, the history department has a huge incoming class of like 20 students. We all were lectured, er, I mean welcomed by the faculty. Their advice was this... We're scholars, not students. Reading is now our life. Yes it is hard. Initiative will get us through.

The pep talk just managed to freak me out. I only have a few more days of freedom and sanity before it all starts. I'm ready, but I'm SO not. The piles of books are watching me now.

A boy and his toys.

Everywhere I look, there is a dog toy. They have names too. We've got Pig, Froggie, Jack, Giraffe, Hedgie, Harley, along with bone, ball, and rope. Brinkley must have two dozen dog toys spread around the house. Either he wants none or he wants them all. Furniture seems to be his favorite toy replacement but there are the moments where he gathers toys together as if creating his own little toy harem. If I could read his mind he's probably laughing and yelling, "They're mine. They're ALL mine!!"

He probably thinks his name is "Brinkley, No!" because those are the two most often used words of my vocabulary these days. He had his first bath adventure the other day after a long day visiting his grandparents. I would have taken pictures but my arm was pinned down my a wet Brinkley trying to climb to safety. He actually did fairly well so there is some hope that maybe one day he'll leave said limb alone.

I've also decided that he may have some type of evergreen fetish. There are smallish evergreen bushes that line the path from our condo door to the lovely green grass where Brinkley does his business. About 3 or 4 times a day, Brinkley has the urge to launch himself into these bushes as fast as a his uncoordinated body will allow. He dives in head first, does a few bounds, and then darts across the sidewalk and dives into the next unsuspecting bush. He criss-crosses in the same fashion all the way back to the door. It also must be some unbarked of puppy rule that's it necessary to grab one last twig or rock to bring to the door on the off chance that I won't notice. I always notice- after all, I didn't pay $5.99 for a squeaking lobster so he could chew on a free twig.

The Forgotten War no more...

As the next semester looms overhead, I find myself once again contemplating what it is exactly that I'm looking to get out of this whole grad school thing. A friend of mine recently posted a blog about her looming return to FSU to finish her Master's in Theatre and so much of what she wrote rang true with my own experiences. Grad school is probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. It's beyond the "challenging" I thought it would be. It's an entirely different level of challenging.

There's the saying that people go to grad school to delay entry into the real world - to live safely in the bubble of academia. The thing is though, there is NO bubble. Life goes on - bills still need to be paid, work still continues, and family obligations still exist. It's hard to explain the pressures of grad school to people, especially my family. Heck, I never understood all the spazzy grad students until I became one. It's just not a matter of going to class and having homework. I'm consumed by this. The amount of reading really is as ridiculous as it sounds. Chances are if I'm not reading, I SHOULD be reading. Weekends aren't breaks, they are the saving grace for the never-ending task of catching-up on the week before. It's an emotional roller coaster knowing that you are expected to be at your intellectual best every single day. Expectations are high, professors are incredibly demanding, assignments are ridiculous for the time period alloted, and there is not a moment from the beginning of the semester to its end that doesn't make one feel like the most inadequate person in the room.

So why am I putting myself through this? Now that I've started, why would I not finish? Seriously, knowing how hard it was and that I pulled myself through it, will be an amazing feeling. Over the summer I've been really thinking a lot about what I want to do after graduation, even though it is still three semesters and another internship away. In some respect, whether in archives or the museum field, I'd like to do something related to the Korean War. The so-called Forgotten War is the least studied, least memorialized, and certainly the least talked about. I have a problem with that. Growing up, it was a badge of pride to say both of my Grandpas fought in the Korean War. What that entailed for them, I don't know. I never asked. Now that I know more about history and am more aware of how we've come to be the country that we are, that neglect really disturbs me. They deserve better. With hope, I'll have the chance to rectify that with my grandpa that's still alive. The Korean War encompasses so much and has what seems to me, endless possibilities of research. I moved on that thought earlier this summer and started googling...it worked.


I got an email this morning from the Research Director of the Korean War National Museum. I volunteered a while back to help with a project that he has been working on. Plans and databases have been made so now it's time for me to actually get to work. I am officially a Professional Research Associate with the Korean War National Museum. And that's why I keep doing it all. I'll keep reading until my eyes bleed and keep drinking enough coffee to appear awake and intelligent. I'll keep putting my nose to the grind stone, and I'll keep shrugging off anyone's misunderstandings of what it is I am voluntarily putting myself through. I'll keep doing it for me, and I'll try my best not to let that get in the way of the "real life" I'm supposedly avoiding.

Take this job...

and shove it! Is it the 16th yet? I absolutely despise my job right now. Long story short - I was given a power point presentation to assemble for our boss's going away party. I've known him for 6 years, everyone else has known for about 20 years. No one felt like working on the power point so as with everything no one wants to work, they all pawned it off on ME. So I busted my ass for days working on all these really cool PhotoShop graphics, making the boss into Superman and Andy Griffith and stuff to put in the slideshow etc.. It was great. Everyone thought I was doing a wonderful job and now everyone is suddenly interested and have completely screwed with the basis of the presentation. It was great but now it looks like a 7 year old put it together because NO person in this office knows anything about simple graphic design concepts...stuff like making the font match and having 3 or 4 simple colors. That's just the tip of the iceberg on why I hate this place right now. I'm done in a week though - down to 20 hours a week! And 10 of those will be all by myself on Sundays so hallelujah! I hate stupid people. Stupid should hurt.

LSD - does a body good.

Picture me splashing through tall grass and mud while running up a hill. Screen goes black and the "running is my anti-drug" logo pops up. LSD definitely has nothing to do with narcotics but a long slow distance run! I pulled a 5.1 mile run this morning that was humid but great! Longest run yet - woohoo! I was at one point running through tall grass and mud this morning because the trail had been flooded out after our flash flooding the other night. I'm pretty sure that during my sloshing around is when I lost the half of a Power Bar that I had in my back pocket. I really could have used that after about 45 minutes or so. I'm really drained now. A nap may be in order later today!

Ok, now on to something that deserves to be blogged about! I did a google image search of trail running to see if I could find some muddy runner or something, and THIS is what I found as #2!


I'm seriously considering becoming a full time trail runner now. And on the off chance that you actually noticed the words down at the bottom of the ad, it says "Runners, yeah, we're different."

The world is just one big chew toy.

Grabbing anything and everything, whether at Brinkley level or not, has certainly made the world into one gigantic chew toy. After only a few days it's no longer a simple "NO!" and move on. It's now a "NO!" followed by picking whatever it is up and putting it up and out of sight or behind closed doors. I've got to hand it to the little guy, he's relentless. If he eventually focuses on hunting and running like he focuses on those things that he can't have or chew on now, then he'll be a world class gun dog and marathoner!

Speaking of marathoning... ok, not so much - I've got a four mile run planned for tonight. I'm hoping the weather holds out. The storm clouds seem to be building already. I'm exhausted but I know I need to get out there and run. Too bad I can't take the energizer dog with me when I go. Instead he'll just be recharging for another go at Milo while I'm gone.

Hello, August!

I finished July with a 3.3 mile run last night. That brought my total for July to 38.4 miles! I did the lake route but in the reverse direction from usual which did help to mix it up a bit. I've been ditching the watch at home for most runs lately. I really have no reason to keep track of how fast I am. No miracles are going to happen. It's not like I'm suddenly going to break a 10 minute mile or anything. I'm just running to get better and feel healthier, stronger. I don't think I'll worry about watching the clock until I start training for something more serious than a 5k.

While I don't know if it's feasible, I'm going to shoot for 50 miles for August! May as well try, I've got nothing to lose but weight! He he.