A Weekend in Motion

Biking, Walking, and Yoga-ing (10/09-10/10/10)

I think I’m getting the hang of this working-weekend thing.  I won’t lie: I would prefer not to go into the lab every single day of the week, but for now, it’s what I must do to keep my experiments rolling along.  My routine is this: wake up, have a leisurely breakfast, wash the dishes, read e-mail and some favorite blogs, then take a shower, tidy up around my apartment, and hop on my bike to ride to campus.  I usually get into lab around 11 AM or so when left to my own devices, and my work takes about 1-2 hours to finish on a weekend day.  Then I find lunch somewhere, and I’m free to enjoy the rest of my day.

This weekend I did the usual biking to and from work.  On Saturday, I found myself feeling really wound up with anxiety.  Because it was a beautiful day and because I wanted to relax, I took a photo walk, tucking my camera into its carrying case and strolling around my neighborhood and through the dog park.  It was just what I needed.  Having my camera with me gave me a good excuse to slow down and try to soak up the afternoon—the sights, the sounds, the warmth of the sun, the joy of walking without a destination or an appointment.  I arrived home feeling like a new person, ready to enjoy the rest of my weekend.

On Sunday, rather than biking straight home from work, I rode over to Double Dave’s, a pizza place just a few blocks from the edge of campus.  I’d been craving pizza for several weeks, and when I was contemplating lunch, I decided on the spot that I wanted someone else to make me lunch.  I was also curious to know if they had a whole wheat crust, which they did!  Unfortunately (and stupidly, in my opinion), they do not make small pizzas with the whole wheat crust.  What?!?  People, it’s dough.  It doesn’t have a size until you give it one.  How can they not make all their sizes with their various pizza doughs?  Annoyed, I ordered a medium pizza, ate three slices, then had to balance a pizza box on my bike as I rode home.  Ridiculous!  At least the pizza was tasty.

All this biking and running as of late had my back feeling less than stellar, so for my back’s sake, I did some yoga Sunday night—old faithful, Gentle Hatha Yoga #1.  I still love that class, and it did the trick: my back felt much better, and I felt happy and relaxed, the perfect end to a nice weekend.

PS  I took so many wonderful photos on Saturday that I think I will share some more of them with you tomorrow.  Have a great week, friends!