gross negligence.

but really, would we expect anything else? i am so sorry, faithful readers and cyber sidekicks for not updating more during the lovely month of april. it was a rollercoaster ride, but i think things have calmed down and life is getting better. little by little. i do this every spring--get very impatient with life and feel like i need to make things happen rather than just let life happen. i have alluded to this before, so i'm going to stop there and give you the highlights of my last-few-weeks.

first of all, i survived the oneamericaindianapolis500festivalminimarathon2009. heck. yes. i also ran it in a personal best time, which was especially impressive to me because i felt rather unprepared, and i had eaten lots of junk food in the days prior. many of you know that i work out with my grandpa every thursday. he's kind of become a self-appointed coach, and he likes to tell me how fast (or slow) i'm going on any given thursday. usually the latter. as i already told you, he voiced his concern that i'd either kill myself or bring shame to the family name during the race, due to my lazy training. no fear, patriarch. i not only survived, i finished in 10009th place. how about THAT for upholding family honor?...win-win.

oooh, and then, i went to the original pancake house with the family for a post race celebration, where i ate a large percentage of the largest and most wonderful german pancake you could possible imagine. lemon and powdered sugar. i probably consumed whatever calorie deficit i had so carefully generated during the 13.1. was it worth it? absolutely it was. however, i hit the gym tonight, still pretty achy, but i have an appointment with a personal trainer in the morning. it was a free gimmick by a local gym, but it worked and i go in tomorrow, and i will hear all about how bad my balance is, how i dont' do enough strength training, how i do eat too much sugar, etc. but i'll rock their socks off in the endurance portion. and then i'll find out my body fat percentage. yowzers.

anyway, as you all may know, the whole swine flu mania has gotten slightly our of hand. especially since it doesn't seem that the symptoms are all that bad. but whatever, people are freaking out. so i sneezed twice in the starting corrals at the race and this big burly guy in front of me turned around and was like" you better watch it, they might cancel the race if they hear much more of that," he was only joking, you guys.

second of all, can i tell you how much i love the indianapolis zoo? a lot, that's how much. i went a few weeks ago with my friend kelly and we had all sorts of fun. i am now a proud zoo member as well, and i can bring a guest for free. so, if you're in town this summer, that is what we will be doing. going to the zoo. and hitting up the dolphin show. a good time will be had by all.

third, i had about 9 days off of school between spring and summer semester, and i've had lots of along time to think and read. i've spent a few days at the central branch of the library downtown. one of my all time favorite places in the city. you must go sometime. and if you especially like libraries, it's worth a trip downtown even if you're just passing through.

i'm looking forward to my summer classes--including practicum where i'll see real live clients. i thought i'd be scared, but i'm actually very excited and ready to go. i don't feel prepared in the least, but it's during these experiences that we learn the most. it will be an adventure.

t-minus one month till it could perhaps be warm enough to go to the beach, and dare i dream, stick my toe in lake michigan. i cannot describe to you the immense sadness i have when i think about this summer and being so far from the lake. i'll miss spending looooong days there with good people, attempting to play volleball, walking on the pier, running downtown, getting creeped out by creepy guy on the beach, and frequenting caffe tosi and downtown st. joe. i had it very very good the last 3 years. summertime in indy will be a new adventure and i hope to find some places that will come to mean as much to me as grand mere and the north pier, but for now, i'm sad that i'll miss out on summer life in sw michigan. (and can you believe this...it will be the first summer in 11 years that i don't work for calderwood farms. since 1998. whew.)

lately levi has been hanging outside on his patio swing and usually calls out "hi. what's your name," everytime he hears me leave our building. so i go and hang out with him sometimes when i have the time. we've gone on some walks the past few weeks. and it is utterly adorable. we talk about things like shivering, flipflops, outer space, rollerblades, and windchimes. it's a wide and eclectic base. he is absolutely precious.

and finally, beth was here for 4 days, and it was so good to just hang out and spend time with her. kind of like the old days because there was lots of coffee, several crossword puzzles, and a good deal of running involved. we also saw some indianapolis sights, and i can't imagine why she WOULDN'T want to pack up her life in DC and move here asap. can you? there are all sorts of things in indiana that need to be archived. for real.

taking a short jaunt north to the pleasant peninsula later this week for mothers day. then a couple more short trips later in may. i'll try to get back up there once or twice in june and once or twice in july to bask in the sun on the sandy shores of lake michigan. but other than that, i am looking forward to my summer in indy. i might be moving out of my apartment in august---there's a possibility of living wiht some girls in a house in a cute little part of town a few miles away from here. there are definite advantages to having my own place, but it's more expensive and more lonely than having roommates. i could use the money and company, so we'll see what happens there.

sooooo, i believe that about wraps up my life the last few weeks. there's more of course, this is the readers digest version. relevant. heartwarming. abridged. so now, a throwback to junior high. upon wrapping up a note:

n-e-wayzz
ttyl,
ttfn
lylas
jk
stay sweet




but really...
love to all and happy springtime :)