June 12th, 2010
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Over Memorial Day weekend I participated in the Madison Half-Marathon. The course was great–we started at the capital, ran through the lakeshore side of campus, then to the east side (right by my apartment!), around Monona Bay, and back to the capital. The day was a hot one–in fact they had to close the race at 11AM due to rising temps.
This was my second half-marathon. (My first being in Deadwood, SD.) I did a combination of training on my own and with my friend Kelly. We started training in January. I remember running in 10 degree weather and feeling quite proud of myself for surviving. Once the school year began, training got trickier. Not only was my schedule busier, but I got sick a couple times and I injured my knee. Despite this I continued to train. Unfortunately the longest run I was able to do before the race was 8 miles.
On race day I didn’t feel exactly prepared, but I was still excited to try and give it my all. It’s no surprise that the last 3 miles were the hardest. I was grateful to the many supporters standing out on their front lawns, cheering us on. Some of them hosed us down and offered us watermelon and even beer (which I politely declined). Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of the race day since Dave, my own personal photographer, was out of town.
After I got home from the race I took a nice but brief ice bath and proceeded to watch TV the rest of the day. As I laid on the couch with my legs throbbing, I couldn’t help but look forward to my next half.
May 29th, 2010
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The remains of my high-school yearbook
About a year ago, after my brother and his dog Rimshot moved in with my parents, Rimshot decided it would be a good idea to eat my senior high-school yearbook. Apparently he liked the taste of the glue. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Rimshot has gone to live with another family after it was clear that my brother could not care for him since Rimshot is huge (he’s biggest dog I’ve ever seen) and requires a large backyard to burn off all his yearbook-eating energy. He was also terrorizing my parents’ dog Josie–not because he was mean, but because she probably seemed like a fun, little toy. From the reports from his new family, he seems to be doing very well. I only hope he’s lost his book-eating habits.
After the yearbook-eating incident, my mom delivered me the remains (see picture above). I’m not too sentimental about high-school. Even though I didn’t love it, I still have good friends and memories. Rather than allow whats left of my high-school yearbook to remain in a state of half-eaten and ripped pages, I’d like to do something crafty. Maybe a collage? Maybe a funky scrapbook? I’m not too craft-minded, so if you have any ideas I’d be happy to hear them. Once (and if) I get around to creating something, I will share the results here.
May 19th, 2010
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This past semester I’ve been terrible with blogging. The main reason was I was swamped with work and school. Juggling three jobs at once, writing my thesis, and taking a music theory course hasn’t been easy but somehow I triumphed and I have earned my Master of Arts in historical musicology! I am also happy to say that Dave successfully completed is Doctor of Musical Arts in bassoon. His parents were in town this weekend and we had a wonderful time celebrating our graduations.
I’m not sure what the future hold for me. I’m actively applying for jobs and I’ve had a couple interviews, but the market is pretty tough. I’ve been trying to stay as positive as possible and I’m so thankful to my family and friends who are supporting me through this time. If you have any job leads, I’d be happy to hear them!
In any case, now that I have way more time on my hands I plan to blog more regularly and often! Hmm…I wonder if I need to think about changing the title of my blog.
February 6th, 2010
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For my first couple years here at UW-Madison, I was the only library student specifically following the music path. Not only did I feel lonely, but I also wasn’t sure if I was taking the appropriate classes and getting the right experience. Earlier this school year, my friend Yi Hong had a brilliant idea to help those in my former situation. She wanted to form an organization for current and prospective students interested in music librarianship. After she discussed this with other prospective and professional music librarians here at UW-Madison, as well as with the Career Development & Services Committee of the Music Library Association (MLA), Yi Hong decided there was a need that this group could fulfill. MLA agreed to sponsor this group, and as a result, the Music Library Student Group was established.
Yi Hong and I have been working together since December to create a Google Group and a Google Site to host the group. Our vision of MLSG is that it will serve as a place for current/prospective music library students to come together and discuss the profession. We officially went live last Monday. Although we’re still in the very early stages of figuring out how the group is going to run, we already have 35 members! In March, Yi Hong and I are both traveling to the MLA conference in San Diego. During the conference, MLSG will formally meet and Yi Hong and I are going to meet with the MLA members who have agreed to sponsor us.
I invite you to at least take a look at the site, even if you aren’t interested in joining!
January 22nd, 2010
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Last summer I picked up the book, ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running by Danny Dreyer, and it has completely changed the way I think about running. ChiRunning incorporates elements of Tai Chi with running, so rather than tightening your body and slamming it against the ground, you relax and work with gravity. Although I have some minor issues with it, overall the book is wonderful and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their running form.
Despite the fact that I had read the book and put some of the advice to work, I struggled with finding my ChiRunning form. So, last weekend I attended a half-day ChiRunning workshop with Josh Miller, a certified ChiRunning coach and massage therapist. Going in to the workshop I was nervous about two things:
- The workshop would not be worth my time and money.
- The other people in the workshop would be arrogant, stuck-up runners.
Luckily, the workshop was well worth it and the other participants were awesome! Josh took us through alignment, leaning forward, and putting it all together into a complete running form. I appreciated the 1 on 1 attention Josh gave to each of us. He helped me understand several things that I’ve been doing wrong, such as leaning too far forward, taking too long of a stride, tightening my glutes, and tightening my low back. I’ve only run a couple times since the workshop, but both runs have felt great. I know that I still have a lot of work to do, but I feel I am on my way to running effortlessly and pain-free.
January 18th, 2010
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This month marks my one year anniversary of being a fitness instructor for RecSports at UW-Madison. It has been one of the most rewarding and challenging jobs I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to start teaching again this week. This semester I have the pleasure of teaching four classes: 2 Powerflows and 2 Slanted Riser Workouts. Powerflow is a fun mixture of yoga and Pilates. The Slanted Riser class is brand new to our facility. It incorporates a bench made by SPRI that can be slanted in multiple ways to create a uniquely functional cardio and strengthening workout.
If you’re part of the UW-Madison community, I invite you to attend my, or any of the other dozens of classes offered! No experience is required and it’s a great way to jump start your 2010 fitness goals. All fitness classes are free until February 1st! You can check out the schedule here.
January 9th, 2010
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A couple weeks ago I finished reading the novel Astrid & Veronika by Swedish author Linda Olsson, who currently resides in New Zealand. It was a book I had picked up at a used book sale in Milwaukee this past summer. Honestly, the main reason I bought it was because my name was in the title. I had never heard of the author before, but the story intrigued me. Set in Sweden, the novel is essentially about the deep relationship created when Astrid, an elderly woman, meets Veronika, a woman in her 20s. As the novel unfolds, the reader discovers more and more about the joys and tragedies each woman carries with her. Through this unique relationship, both women are able to face their respective painful memories and rediscover a passion for life.
Olsson’s writing was very approachable. She includes several excerpts from Swedish poems, such as Karin Boye’s “Stackars unge” (“Poor little child”), which is where the novel’s original title Let Me Sing You Gentle Songs originates. For me, Astrid & Veronika was a serendipitous find. It was the right thing to read at the right time, although I’m not exactly sure I can explain why. After having a rough Fall semester in grad school, this book made me feel refreshed and ready to take on a new year. I highly recommend it as a quick, but emotionally touching read. I’ll probably read it again sometime, and I honestly don’t say that about most of the books I read.
January 4th, 2010
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Last month I registered for the Madison Half Marathon on May 30th, which is about 21 weeks away. Today I began my first “official” day of training: 3 miles with a temperature of about 16 degrees. I don’t think I’ve ever run in such cold temperatures, but I’d better start getting used to it! It actually wasn’t too bad once I figured out where to place my face mask. At the half way point, I turned around and was blasted the rest of the way home with some chilly wind and blinding sunlight. My thumbs went numb for a bit too. In any case, I’m excited to have something to motivate me to run all winter long. I’m training with my friend Kelly, a fellow musicology graduate student, and we will be doing our long runs together. In a couple weeks I’m taking a running workshop to help me improve my form. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!
January 3rd, 2010
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One of my New Year’s resolutions is to maintain and regularly update my new website. The domain name was a thoughtful birthday gift from my partner Dave, who has been helping me set it up. My birthday was about six months ago, so obviously this has taken awhile to get underway! Now that I’m finished with Fall semester, which just so happened to be the most stressful semester I have ever had, I am hoping to direct my energy into other things–Divagatious.com being one of them.
So, welcome and Happy New Year! I hope you’ll check in periodically and perhaps even subscribe to my site!
~Veronica
![Image of Tightrope [Feat. Big Boi] (Album Version)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pH2uN0M7L._SL75_.jpg "Tightrope [Feat. Big Boi] (Album Version)")
