Ah, romance.

Earlier this week, I pulled out my awesome lunchbox:

(Lentil & potato curry, pickled daikon cubes,
apple slices, grapes)

Today, Lena and I went on a nice, longer (longer than we've done in awhile) run before we are separated for an entire week. It was finally cool AND dry, so the stage was set for some decent miles. Here are our splits:

• Mile 1 - 10:02
• Mile 2 - 10:04
• Mile 3 - 9:55
• Mile 4 - 9:44
• Mile 5 - 9:55
• Mile 6 - 9:41
• 0.13-mile - 1:06

Today is also, more or less, is my six-year anniversary with the boyfriend.

We celebrated by eating barbecue because (1) it is delicious, (2) there aren't good restaurants around here, and (3) we're romantic like that.



We also celebrated by taking terrible photos:

It is a big pet-peeve when the flash reflects awkwardly
off my cheekbones, giving me "dough face".

We also ate DQ ice cream with Brian and Dan:


And were racially insulted by drunk and/or high teenagers. ("I hate Asians!")

Tomorrow, we start the driving journey back to Virginia for Thanksgiving break. Now, I'm going to go pack the car with all the books I have to take with me. :(

Thank goodness for running buddies!

Today, though we weren't striking, Mother Nature continued to be a bitch. I convinced myself to push my run back and spend the morning cleaning up vowel boundaries for my experiment.


Since we're keeping the heat low to save money, I am always cold in the apartment. Thus, the idea of going out into the cold rain seemed even less appealing this afternoon.

Fortunately, Lena and I had made a plan to run together, which was the only thing that got me out the door today. As is always the case, getting out the door was the worst part, and once we were running, it wasn't so bad.

We even ran negative splits!

• Mile 1 - 10:32
• Mile 2 - 10:03
• Mile 3 - 10:05
• Mile 4 - 9:52
• Mile 5 - 9:24

When I got home, my fingers were frozen and tingling. For the next hour, my typing consisted of banging my numb, meaty hands against the keyboard, hoping to spell out something intelligible.

Now, I am going to bed.

Several circular miles later, we are done!

It's like a race report, but for striking.

After two days of picketing in front of four major university buildings, we have success! Our tuition waivers are pretty safe for the next three years, so I can continue pursuing my graduate degree under the original terms of my acceptance.

Bottom line: striking involves a lot of walking.

On Monday, I marched on picket lines for four+ hours straight, starting at 7:45am. Despite the wind, rain, and chilly temperatures, morale was pretty high, and we spent most of the morning banging on drums, chanting, and marching in circles.

I estimate that I walked at least eight miles. Good thing it was my cross-training day.

Fortunately, striking is the national pastime of France, so the French students showed us how it's done. Sadly, no cars were overturned or set ablaze. We learned that the French chant is "Pas content!" ('Not content/happy!'), which is general enough to cover the many strikes that occur on a weekly basis.

Amusing conversation from the picket lines:
Me: Do you feel like you're at home in France?
Marie-Édith (French officemate): Yes, very. But in France, we do not turn around (=walk in circles). It is very strange.

When I came home, I made a big pot of beef stew and corn muffins:


I also made blueberry muffins from a King Arthur mix.


This morning, Mother Nature continued to shit all over the strike. The temperatures hovered in the low 40's with a brutal wind chill and non-stop rain. I wore an Under Armour long-sleeve shirt, a long-sleeve tech shirt, two t-shirts, and my Columbia jacket, and I was still quite chilly.

At 1pm, we marched en masse.



When the results of the bargaining session were announced, we cheered loudly and chanted:

"The workers united will never be defeated!"

French department, represent!

(Do you like my dork-tastic bag?)

Between the terrible weather and the strike, I have not run in two days. Hopefully, I can get back to running tomorrow. At least I did plenty of marching...

Silent but deadly Sunday.

It has been a busy and eventful weekend.

Yesterday began with refreshing morning trot-and-walk with Lena, some clever business talk at a local gym, and a trip to the Korean grocery store. (My new tactic is to copy down the Hangul names of things and search of the same characters on the food packages. Yay for fake literacy!)

Later, the boyfriend and I went to the rally by the Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) before a contract bargaining session with the University administration.


Unfortunately, after six hours of negotiations, the administration and the GEO could not come to a satisfactory agreement about the nature of tuition waivers for graduate students. This means that in just under eight hours, the GEO will go on strike. What an interesting kick-off to the week before Thanksgiving break!


Later, Liz (pictured above) and I attended a university performance of The Marriage of Figaro. I had never been to an opera before, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. My neighbor Ingrid, who owns Missy, played a major role, and it was a pleasant surprise to hear her beautiful soprano voice.

This morning, I ran five miles as my "long" run. Unfortunately, it was a bad day for my knee, so I'm glad I kept things short. Here are my splits:

• Mile 1 - 10:29
• Mile 2 - 9:50
• Mile 3 - 9:54
• Mile 4 - 9:20
• Mile 5 - 9:38

Later, I worked on Phonetics and Phonology with Chris. Look what I get to do! (Run scripts!)


Like everyone's favorite old French hero, my brain started leaking out of my ears after trying to keep all my material straight.

Fortunately, [relatively] clean-shaven Chris was there to keep me company:


Missy also joined in on the Phonetics fun, though she nearly asphyxiated us with a series of silent but noxious emissions.


Off to bed. I'm interested to see how this strike goes tomorrow. Too bad it will be cold, windy, and rainy all day...

A glimpse into the funny-looking past.

It is cold in the apartment. (In fact, I'm probably going to get a fatherly lecture over Thanksgiving break about the importance of insulating our basement.) Since I am cold from the moment I crawl out of bed, the idea of going for a run in anything less than a flannel-lined parka is pretty unappealing.

I have, understandably, been doing a lot of my runs in the evening. Consequently, I still need that headlamp...Any suggestions as to which brand and model? I'm looking at the cheapest Petzl Tikka model.

Here are my splits from today's easy three-miler:

• Mile 1 - 10:44
• Mile 2 - 10:17
• Mile 3 - 9:35
• 0.02-mile tidbit - 0:12

Suffice to say, I am no Speedy Gonzales right now/ever, but at least I'm still running negative splits. After Christmas, I'll look into training for a Half PR at the Illinois Half Marathon in the spring. (Jessica, are you ready to drag my ass around for some speedwork?) In the mean time, I'm letting my body take as much time as it wants to heal.

I probably won't run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving because I don't trust my knee yet. Since the course is hilly, I'll probably forgo the race this year and go for an easy run on my own. I should probably make a pact with Lena to run on Thanksgiving before stuffing myself with pie... (You hear that, Lena?)

I didn't take any interesting pictures today, so I thought I'd share some great photos from the high school track team that are circulating on Facebook.

The boyfriend is lurking in the shadows behind #280, our good friend Daniel. He ran Boston in 2007. I had a big crush on the boy standing behind #281. We're still friends.

I hated running in high school because I too out of shape to do it. Consequently, I was team "manager" for the track team. Most of the time, I was given a stop watch and allowed to press the buttons to my heart's content.

Oh, straight-across bangs. Why?!?

Oh hey, a strike is comin'!

First, Happy Veterans' Day/Armistice day...or rather, thank you, Veterans!

And in commercial holidays, it is also apparently National Pepero Day, in which people give each other thin cookie sticks. (The "11" in the date looks like two thin sticks.) I learned something!

Speaking of food, on Monday, I made favorite noodle dish: japchae (cellophane noodles with stir-fried vegetables). Lena came over to sample the one Korean dish I can make, and she was nice enough to send me this picture. (I may or may not have wolfed down my serving before I remembered my camera.)

Look at me, being such a good Korean this week! Now that the marathon is over, I have plenty of extra time to rack up cultural points.

Today, I ran four miles. It was dark, and I almost fell flat on my face. One my big fears is falling while running and knocking out all of my teeth. After I finish this post, I will buy myself a headlamp. Here are my splits:

• Mile 1 - 10:45 (Dear legs, please move!)
• Mile 2 - 9:52
• Mile 3 - 9:52
• Mile 4 - 9:54
• 0.03-mile tidbit - 0:17

Finally, if you have been following my sporadic Twitter usage, you may be aware that our grad student union voted in authorization of a strike to occur in the coming week. I am not clear on all the details of the contract negotiation, nor on the finer points of a work action. However, I am excited to see how things pan out in the next few days, especially since I have never been involved in anything of this nature before. Ultimately, though, I hope that the University and the GEO can come to some sort of compromise. (I think there are more than a few undergraddies out there who are hoping that their TAs go on strike. Oh, college.)


True story.

Eyebrow haiku.

There are hairy and
shapeless lines above my eyes.
They need some plucking.

Too bad I have no sense of aesthetics and will probably mangle the symmetry of my face if I attempt this cosmetic feat alone.

Why am I the worst girl ever?

(As you might be able to tell, I didn't run today. I did, however, go on a four-mile walk with Lena yesterday. It was quite dark. I think I need a headlamp.)

Frenchie friend is apparently recovering from his surgery and is adjusting to his now ball-less state. Poor little guy.

I also got the most excited e-mail ever today. It started like this:

"Salut Mica!!!! " ("Hi Mica!!!!")

And ended like this:

"benoit ton ami!!!!!" ("Your friend Ben!!!!")