I'm Not to Blame!

I swear I'm not to blame! Okay, well maybe just a little bit. I'm sure you all have noticed my absence from the blogging world for the better part of the last month and a half--wow, has it really been that long?! Actually, yes, it seems like it has been an eternity! First of all, I sort of backed out of the HAWMC mid-month in April because I wasn't really feeling some of the prompts and my life has been all sorts of crazy. Then, I never found time to write. That's not to say that I didn't have the time, but I didn't make it a priority. Then, I slowly started joining races and freaking out about the impending move-out date to my lease with no leads in the full-time job search. And meanwhile, my hard drive crashed. But don't let that all worry you.

The Blah

Let's start with the mediocre and then get to the fun stuff! So as I said, I have not had much luck in the job hunt. Soon after my last post, I received a call from a hiring manager at the company my aunt works for--a medical device company--to set up an interview for a territory representative position in West Virginia. Never before had I seen my self moving there, but with this potential opportunity, it became more and more of a possibility. It didn't seem too far fetched. Well, one Ann Taylor suit later, and I was all set to drive the 4 hours to Charleston for my interview.

The excitement on my face is anything but faked.

And then, just like that, the nature of my interview was changed to a phone interview. I should have known it was doomed from that point forth. Two weeks later and no call back--I think that's pushing the time limit of "a week or so." So I sent a kindly-worded email, and several hours later I got a not so pleasant phone call. While driving from Virginia Beach to Charlottesville. Just after my mom had a total knee replacement--the reason I was in VB to start out with. This is twice now that I've received unfortunate news while driving. And I had also just found out that my 3 year old! Mac needed a new hard drive...only 2 months after the extended warranty ended! Two strikes. That drive home was anything but pleasant, but I tried to stay positive and made plans to go for a run to take my mind off things.

And then, like adding insult to injury, I walked in to a flooded apartment! My roommate was gone for beach week, and I had been home to care for my mom/her house. My first thought was, "Did MK leave something on?" But I know she's smarter than that. Turns out that the water heater broke and consequently flooded the hallway and halfway into both bedrooms. Let me tell you, it's really hard to keep it together when everything seems to be going wrong at the same time. Luckily, I have a super slow-to-respond landlady. I try to assume positive intent for everyone, but she really is just out to make money. In order to keep an ounce of sanity, I changed into running clothes (after bawling for a good couple of minutes) and headed over to meet up with my friend for a run. The water heater wasn't fixed until the next day...

As for that lovely suit pictured up there--I had to return it. I have no immediate use for a $300 suit, and it was hanging in my closet taunting me. But through all of this, I'm trying to stay positive and keep looking. And weigh my options. That obviously wasn't meant to be. And there are many more people out there with problems far greater than mine. I may be moving back home in a week and a half, which sure feels like failure, but it's the financially responsible thing to do at this point and will give me even more motivation to stay there as temporarily as possible.

The Fun Stuff

Like I said, I've also had my share of fun in the past few weeks. Which is probably easier to demonstrate in picture form:

To sum it up...

Races I've Run:

• MetroDash: 600m run interspersed with obstacles, VB
• Run 4 Their Lives: 10k run (there was also a 5k option), Cville
• Bedrock Trail 1/2 Marathon: Walnut Creek Park (1st trail run), Cville

Other Fun:

• Wine tasting with Katie, Cville
• Dinner and margs with my Newsplex crew, Cville
• Cupcakes with Sissy, VB
• Precious puppytime and cookout, VB
• Boat!, VB

And from here, I will stay positive and cherish every last day in Charlottesville. Oh, and sign up for/run races galore!

Races in the Coming Months:

• 4 the Wounded 5k: June 2nd, Cville
• Color Me Rad 5k: July 21st, Richmond
• ASYMCA 8k Mud Run: August 11th, VB
• ECSC 8k, VB OR MidAtlantic Super Spartan (8+ miles/20+ obstacles), Leesburg: August 25th
• Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon: September 2nd, VB