In Defense of Shoddy Record-Keeping

Ordinarily, if TC screwed up any aspect of my graduate school career, I'd be more than a little irked. The on-time, full payments with which I respond to their horrifying tuition statements should, I feel ensure that records are accurately kept and that nothing is overlooked. I was delighted a few days ago, though, to discover that TC dropped the ball in terms of keeping track of my academic progress. Luckily, it's in my favor.

After waking up at 7:00 and discovering that it was too hot and muggy to run outside even then, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and pay the fee for summer use of the Columbia gym. It's not a great one, but as a student it's cheaper than any other option, particularly for a two-month stint. Because I'm not enrolled in summer school, I'm not allowed to use the gym until mid-August without paying for it. With the Queens Half-Marathon in less than a month and more high-intensity (and therefore high internal temperature-inducing) intervals on my schedule than usual, it seemed my only option.

The gym has three levels arranged around a central atrium containing a basketball court. There are several weight rooms, a pool, squash and racketball courts and an indoor track 1/10th of a mile long. The top floor is the only one that isn't underground, so there are no windows and it's a bit on the gloomy side.

I headed over rather gloomily, and as I was about to open my mouth to ask the guy behind the desk where to go for membership payments, I decided to try swiping my student I.D. card, just in case. A small light on the card reader turned a friendly green, and the turnstile unlocked with an inviting click.

I feel like an idiot for not trying this earlier. I'm still slogging through my long runs outside, as early in the morning as I can stomach (10 miles on a treadmill? Not happening.), but all of my interval work has been on indoor treadmills. I'm anything but a treadmill advocate, but it's nice to have my pace and distance regulated and easily visible. My sore arms are a testament to the weights I've started lifting again, and on my off days I cross train by swimming laps. The gym is half-empty these days, a stark contrast with the school year when it is positively humming. I've never attended a gym that had such high demand for the treadmills and ellipticals that one had to sign up in advance to use them and expect to get kicked off the instant one's 30 minutes are up. Columbia's gym still uses this system in summer, but today I stayed on mine for an hour and no one said a word, perhaps because at any given time there were at least four empty ones on either side of me.

Sometimes slipping through the cracks is awesome.

New Wheels

I've been wanting a bike or a while, but without a place to store it, the idea didn't seem practical. Some buildings have basement storage space for bikes, but mine doesn't, and bikes left outside overnight tend never to be seen again. The New York Times ran a travel article recently about bike rentals, which can be expensive, and the journalist suggested purchasing a folding bike as an alternative. They can be folded and checked on planes as baggage, and they're a good deal if you travel to lots of places where you'll be biking.

That wasn't my situation, but I figured that a lightweight, compact bike sounded pretty good. The article recommended Citizen Bikes, and after checking out their website (www.citizenbike.com), I ordered one. I chose the Miami model, which was reasonably priced and has slightly larger wheels than some of the other models.

Riverside Park, which I explored on my bike before adding to my list of runs.

I've been mostly very happy with it. It weighs 32 pounds, which gets a little heavy near the top of the fourth flight of stairs as I carry it to my apartment after a ride, but it's definitely do-able. When folding it, I unlatch the handlebars and fold them down next to the front wheel, push the seat all the way down to the frame, and fold the frame in half. This allows it to fit neatly under my bed. It came with a rack over the back wheel on which I can bungee a bag or a purse. It has rims so that I don't get splashed by wet tires on rainy days, and there's even a bell, which is useful on crowded paths.

Fully assembled in front of my building.

I love walking, but I can go much faster and farther on the bike, and it has allowed me to check out new running routes ahead of time or meet up with friends downtown without having to take the train. (Each trip I take on the bike, not the Subway, saves me $4.50!) I plan to use it to ride to 3 of my 4 tutoring appointments as soon as I start that. The nice thing about living on the West Side is that I can ride through along the Hudson River north or south as far as I need to. There are no cars, and I can get anywhere in Manhattan. It takes a little longer, but it's worth it if I don't have to deal with the traffic, and it's a pretty, breezy path. I go up or down as far as necessary, then cut inward. I have discovered that Google Maps allows me to find directions to a place for biking, and it will give me a route along streets that are bike-friendly.

Here it is with just the frame folded. The handlebars and seat are still up.

The only thing I'm not crazy about are the small wheels. Obviously they need to be small because they're the one part of the bike that doesn't fold, and big wheels would make the folded product unwieldy. However, they compromise my speed because each revolution doesn't cover as much distance, and they're not great on bumpy surfaces. This is not a bike for unpaved roads. Luckily, in New York, this is not an issue.

Fully folded, it fits right under my bed.

I bought a New York Kryptonite lock. The company guarantees that it will replace my bike if is stolen within the first year that I own it, and that's given me a lot of peace of mind.

I probably look pretty goofy riding it, with its little wheels, but I see more and more of them around the city, so I'm in good company.

54 W. 106th St.

At long last, here are pictures of my new apartment! I'll post some of the street and the building later, but here are a few of the inside. It's small, but pretty comfortable and I'm quite happy here. I'm about 14 blocks from Teachers College (it's a nice walk, though, and I have a bike if I get sick of walking), 3 blocks from the nearest Subway stop, 1 1/2 blocks from Central Park, and 4 blocks from Morningside Park. Whole Foods is 6 blocks in one direction and another great grocery store is 6 blocks in the other direction, so I have lots of options regarding food. And if I don't feel like cooking, there's a great Japanese place literally across the street, with tons more restaurants on surrounding streets. There are lots of trees on my street, and I feel lucky to be in such a nice spot.

French doors connect my bedroom to the living room. I draw curtains at night and leave everything open during the day to let light through.

My bed is "partially lofted, meaning that it's just high enough to be tough to get onto. It's ok, though, because the two dressers that prop it up (you can see only one here) provide plenty of storage without taking up extra floor space. I use either the ottoman from my reading chair or my desk chair as a step stool at night. Note the window next to my reading chair. I'm going to post more pictures of my awesome fire escape in an upcoming blog.

Dave and I do not have air conditioning, which is ok on most days (although there were a few this week that were a bit rough). In winter we won't pay for heat because the building is heated by radiators. I've never had one, but I hear they're a pain because you can't do much to control them. I've seen radiators going at full blast below open windows as residents try desperately to use the icy air outside to balance out the temperature. Should be an adventure...

My kitchen is tiny and not really conducive to team cooking, but I'm delighted to have one after nine months in the dorm! I'd have trouble doing anything too involved in here, but so far it suits my needs nicely.

David's Graduation

My Uncle Dave and cousin Noah picked me up at the Eugene airport and we headed straight to David's house for a barbecue he and his roommates were hosting for their families. It was great to meet his friends, whom I've heard a lot about. They're a fun, friendly, easy-going group, and it was easy to see why he's been so happy there. His house was a bit on the disheveled side (and apparently that's the cleanest it's been since they moved in!), but it was a great spot; while I'm happy in my apartment, I'm always jealous of people who live in houses these days. In the backyard the boys have a garden where they are growing kale, spinach, and broccoli.

My parents and I stayed with my dad's brother and his family at their beautiful house outside Eugene. It's always fun to visit them there. Linda has a garden and horses and their house is full of interesting books and souvenirs from their many travels. On Monday morning, my parents went to pick Anthony up from the airport. He was supposed to have arrived the previous night, but due to some delayed flights he ended up sleeping on the floor of the Seattle airport! Luckily he'd brought a sleeping bag, so he was a tiny bit more comfortable than he'd have been otherwise. He arrived in good spirits, and we quickly changed and headed to the lovely U of O campus.

Noah and my brothers on our Tuesday excursion.

David's graduation lasted only an hour. After a few introductory speeches by faculty, diplomas were awarded to all of the Environmental Studies/Environmental Science grads and then we were done. The ceremony was enjoyable for us - if less so for the graduates themselves - because the woman calling names announced that they would each make a brief statement about how they planned to use what they had learned at U of O to help the world. We enjoyed watching them squirm, as this was not something they had anticipated. David handled it gracefully.

We had lunch at a nearby restaurant, where we unexpectedly ran into a family from Visalia. David is good friends with the daughter, Anthony played water polo with the middle son, and the oldest son, Nate, is now an English teacher at Cate! It was fun to catch up with them. I hadn't seen Nate at Camp Cate a few days before, so I was glad to get to chat with him. He's very happy there, and they are very impressed with him and his wife, who also teaches. Anthony's friend Scott, another Visalian who lives in Eugene now, joined us as well.

David makes a toast at a graduation dinner.

After a family photo shoot, in which we all wore t-shirts from our respective undergraduate universities, we went to the home of some friends of David's for another dinner. We got to meet their families and David played a slideshow of college pictures, which was hilarious. We breathed in clouds of smoke from the bonfire and drank beer from kegs. It was a fun night.

My parents left early the next morning, but Anthony and I stuck around for most of the day before our flights. We hung out with Scott and David, went for a short hike, and ate delicious pastries.

Eugene is a beautiful place, and it was fun to see David in his element. He tells us that after his summer there, during which he'll keep the job he has now on campus, he plans to move to Bend to take EMT classes. I'm pleased about this, as Bend is a place I've always wanted to visit!

Camp Cate

My trip to the west coast began in L.A., where I rented a car, then drove to Laguna Beach for lunch with my friend Luke, a fellow Visalian who's in San Diego now. While I don't regret meeting with him, I wish the timing had been better; I ended up on the freeway going back towards Santa Barbara at 3:00 in the afternoon. I think during the week I'd have been ok, but on Friday people knock off early. I battled traffic for four hours before I pulled up at Cate.

All in all, it was a great time. I ate too much, alternately soaked up sun and shivered (the weather refused to settle), played croquet, listened to my classmates play music, and caught up with old friends. We all oohed and aahed and wondered whether we had really appreciated the view and the beauty of the campus while we were there (although the new aquatic center that's going into the center of campus was still in its early stages and was kind of an eyesore). One of my favorite parts was meeting the girlfriends/boyfriends/spouses people brought. I really liked everyone I met, and it's good to know that my friends are happy and in good company. At least 1/3 of my classmates showed up, which was great. Some were people I've seen on and off through the years, but some I hadn't spoken too in ages. It was great to catch up with them.

Notable happenings: On Saturday morning I ran the annual Mesa Race (2.5 miles around campus) and, as the top female finisher, was awarded a Cate beach towel - score!; Friday's dinner included both vats of the famous Cate kitchen guacamole and churros; Meagan's boyfriend Holden taught me all about the electric cars he's helping build; I learned that my friend Meredith will be in Boston in fall, which means I'll get to see her a lot; Virginia, whom I did not get to see, has moved to D.C., which is also a mere bus ride away; we discovered that all the familiar smells of the chapel, the dorms, the community center, the dining hall, are still there, which makes it seem like not so long ago that we were students.

Tomorrow: David's graduation in Eugene, Oregon.

Neighbors

I spent the last few days on the west coast, first at my 10-year (eek!) high school reunion in southern California, then at David's graduation in Eugene, Oregon. More on those events tomorrow.

I live about a block away from a hostel. It caters to a younger crowd of travelers. A less genteel crowd, too, if this sign is any indication:

Swim party

I can think of a whole list of unpleasant things I'd do before I'd go swimming in any of the bodies of water in Central Park, but these guys don't seem to care.

Feeling the burn in Boston

While Anthony enjoyed his run in Brooklyn last weekend, he was not eager to run another half-marathon any time soon (if ever). He and Jane, however, had signed up for the Boston Half-Marathon the following weekend, and he offered me his spot. I decided I'd run it for fun, not for a time, to see what it was like to do two half-marathons on consecutive weekends. There are two that I'd like to run in October that are only a week apart and I wanted to see how it would feel to do two back to back. I figured I might be a little on the tired side, but seven full days of rest (the Brooklyn Half was on a Saturday and the Boston one was on a Sunday) ought to be sufficient. I thought.

Anthony's girlfriend Jane, her sister Lucy, and her friend Wes and I all started walking the mile or so from Anthony's apartment to the starting line an hour and a half before the race was scheduled to start. I was the only one who'd run one of these before and so I tried to buoy the spirits of Jane and Lucy, who were nervous. Wes was nervous too, although for a different reason: he hadn't registered for the race and was wearing a photocopy of my (Anthony's) number. The color wasn't an exact match, and Wes is the type who doesn't like to get caught doing things he's not supposed to do, although we figured the odds of his getting yanked off the course were slim. We arranged a meeting place with Anthony and lined up.

We made it!

After the gun went off, we crossed the starting line before three minutes had passed, which surprised me; in both New York races I'd run, it had taken far longer, between five and eight minutes, to get through all the corrals to the starting line. Having crossed it, we immediately ran into trouble (no pun intended). Generally, I like running in a pack. It's a lot easier somehow. It's endlessly aggravating, however, to run in a pack that's going a lot more slowly than you want to go, or a pack which is really tight. This was both. The four of us ran together for the first half mile, then Wes and I struck out to try to get clear of the herd. I weaved, ran onto the sidewalk, squeezed between people, and none of it seemed to get me anywhere. It was probably three miles at least before I even began to get out of the gridlock. Once I did, my pace was decent and I figured I might be able to get sort of close to my previous two times. However, by about mile four, it was obvious that I wasn't going to come even close to touching it. Already I felt fatigued, and the miles seemed to drag by.

In addition to being tired from the previous week, the heat slowed me down, too. It was sunny, warm, and breezy, which is the perfect storm in terms of dehydration. In the previous two races I slowed twice for a gulp of water at hydration stations because I figured I should. This time I stopped at each table but one for a total of five times and drained the cup of water I was handed each time. I felt thirsty and sticky in between and scanned the horizon constantly for the next table. They were every two miles, which didn't seem like nearly enough. Jane told me later that race officials reported that there was more congestion than they'd planned for at the water tables and that volunteers weren't able to keep up. She had trouble with this, but it wasn't so bad for me, perhaps because I was a little ahead of her. Wes said that when he finished the race, a volunteer dumped an entire cooler of water over him and made him sit down because she thought he looked like he was over-heating.

Before the race. Lucy made us all t-shirts (Wes chose not to wear his). Mine says "Beth, 13.1" and Lucy and Jane's say "Little VB" and "Big VB" respectively.

The last four miles were agonizing. My right hamstring flirted with a cramp, although it never actually seized up, and I didn't have the energy to run even the very last stretch at a quicker pace. People passed me left and right and I didn't care. Anthony, who was waiting near the end, saw Jane and Lucy finish but missed Wes and me. I didn't see him either. I finished with somewhere around a 1:56 - I haven't looked up the results and forgot to stop my watch - which is pretty pathetic compared with my 1:44 in March.

Lucy and I waited a few minutes at the finish line for Jane while gulping down free samples of Vitamin Water. Lucy enjoyed herself and said she'd do another one. Jane said over her dead body... We collected our medals, found Wes, and met up with Anthony to walk the mile home. While it seemed like a VERY long walk after the race, I wasn't nearly as sore the next day as I expected to be, which may be because I didn't sit around afterward. I'll have to keep moving after the next race to see if the same thing happens.

Jane, Lucy, and I showered and then Anthony escorted us to a restaurant where we wolfed down lunch. Unpleasant as the race was, I have to say that it made my meal taste unbelievable.

I'm glad I ran the Boston Half. But I'll have to think long and hard before doing two in a row again.