A Morning’s Accomplishment

Later this month my office is having a summer party in which all in attendance must submit facts about themselves in advance to the Chief of Staff. The facts should be things no one would know; secret hobbies, ancestral connections, celebrity interactions. The goal of the submissions is to learn about each other and reward the person who can correctly identify the most facts about their colleagues.

I have not yet submitted my facts, mainly because I’ve had trouble coming up with things that no one doesn’t already know about me, or that I would be willing to admit/share about myself with my coworkers.

Unfortunately, I can’t have any of my facts be about running because it is no secret that I have a passion for it. Since I started working in my current office, I have completed three half marathons, and anyone who pays attention to when I’ve taken days off will notice a pattern in how they typically follow a weekend of racing.

After this morning’s run, I guess I could say I have run an additional half marathon, something no one would know since I’m working from home today. Before most people had settled into their desks at work today, I had completed 13.22 miles. Solo.

Scoops, Sweat but No Sprinkles

What does it say about your weekend when it begins with 12 miles? And is followed up with lots of free ice cream and plenty of good company?

I’d say it was an active, sweet weekend, with multiple accomplishments thrown in the mix.

Running on Not Quite Empty

How is it Monday already? Surely this weekend should have lasted longer than my three-day cleanse!

Alas, guess it is back to work today. Fortunately for me, my three days of juicing did not put a damper on my Saturday and Sunday; on the contrary, it was the busy weekend and there were no unfortunate side effects of the multiple days without real meals.

Like all Saturdays from now and until October 25, it started with a 6:20 AM alarm signaling me to get up, into my running clothes and out the door to Fleet Feet for the 7 AM SLR. This week’s 8-mile route had us running from the store down to the Lincoln Memorial and back. Despite having very limited fuel in me, I decided to run with the big guns yesterday, the sub 8 minute-mile pace group. At least for the beginning. I kept pace with them for about the first two miles, but by the time I had reached Lincoln, my pace had dropped to about 8:20/mi and there the boys were nowhere in sight (clearly, this has been a week of less than the best decisions) .

No Ferragosto for Me

Can someone please tell me where the time went?

It seems like only yesterday the calendar turned to the year 2011, and then suddenly I woke up on Monday morning to the realization that it was August 1^st. Surely the summer cannot be almost over?

NJSLC: Empowering Millenials to Set the World on Fire

Yesterday I gushed about the city of Chicago and how much I loved my time in the Midwest. Yet amidst writing about the paintings at the Art Institute and my exploration of Millennium Park, I failed to mention any details about the reason I was in the city in the first place.

As a student leader at Georgetown, I was invited earlier this spring to be a university delegate at the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference. Started in 1997 at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, the conference invites students from the nation’s 28 Jesuit institutions in an effort to promote student leadership at each school. Originally the conference focused on improving leadership in student government, but it has since grown to welcome leaders from across university communities.

A New [Midwest] Lover: Chicago

It has been almost a week since my last blog past. Though I made it my goal to post at least three times a week, I failed to live up to this in the past seven days. I do, however, have a valid reason for my blogging vacation.

After spending a few relaxing days at home enjoying family barbecues, the beach and even a Waterfire, my time expired in the Ocean State and I was airborne. But I was not D.C. bound; what awaited me was a new, exciting destination. For the first time I traveled to the Midwest and touched down in Chicago, Illinois.

Un Giro a Siena

This past weekend I took a trip to Siena.

While I wish I could say that I was in the Tuscan city that is world-famous for the Palio horse race, its neighborhood rivalries and cuisine, I spent this Saturday evening in a local restaurant, imagining myself transported to the Italian province.

Located in Rhode Island’s Little Italy area known as Federal Hill, Siena restaurant promises diners “authentic Tuscan cuisine in a warm, inviting and lively atmosphere.” Having spent the last semester in Tuscany, I have been on a search for someplace where I could taste the flavors I fell in love with overseas.

A Remarkable Moveable Feast

It would be fitting that as I watched Woody Allen’s new film Midnight in Paris the only thing I could smell was butter.

Even if the butter was emanating from bags of popcorn, the scent of the fat made me think of all the wonderful French things made with the glorious churned milk. Crossiants, pain au chocolat, sole meunière, beurre blanc. Each of these heavenly items sparked memories of my few days in the capital of France.

A History Lesson on the Run

The great thing about living in such an active, thriving city like D.C. is the seemingly limitless number of opportunities to spend one’s free time. The difficult thing about living in such a dynamic, bustling city like D.C. is trying to actually figure out how to spend one’s free time.

This past weekend was my first, homework-free two-day break in the city. With no required reading to do or five-page essays to write, the weekend was all mine. But how would I pass the hours of my Saturday and Sunday in the District? Armed with the Washington Post Weekend Guide and an earlier Post article about its D.C. summer bucket list, I spent my Friday evening planning my two-day escape. 

A Capital Summer

Ahh, the tolling of the bells from Healy Tower. Just one of the simple things reminding me how I missed being at Georgetown.

Being abroad for a semester and then away from campus for another month, it has been nearly half a year since I raced across Copley Lawn or ordered a chai latte at Uncommon Grounds or avidly avoided the stacks at Lauinger Library. Even though Florence certainly gave D.C. a run for its money on the list of my favorite cities, Georgetown will always have a place in my heart as my college town.