A Very Enjoyable Evening

My work todo list had 15 items on it before Monday AM.  Not a good way to end the weekend.

But, if I'm honest, I had 15 items on it on Friday PM, which was not a good way to end the week, either.

Thanks to emotional burn-out, coupled with literal electricity blow-out, I had reason to take some time off this weekend.  So, in a welcome change of pace, Monday AM wasn't so bad (when viewed in context).

After today's lunch (aka almost mid-week), I was down to 13 items on the todo list, which, though it appears to be a small decrease, is actually awesome.  This includes the 5 new items that arrived on my queue since Monday AM, plus several minute items that didn't quite make the list but took tons of quick response time, nonetheless.

In other words? I have evidence of forward progress! I love it.

Today, at 4 PM, I met my running buddy for speed intervals.  Okay, technically, I hit traffic and showed up at 4:08, but you know what I mean.

Even if you suck and are a late arrival, a running buddy is still good for forcing you to commit to something you should do.

So, H and I basked in the gorgeous California weather and probably didn't push enough but very much enjoyed a ladder of sprints in amounts of 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2 minutes with recovery between each one plus a nice warm up and cool down all along the San Francisco Bay trail.

Sure, speed intervals hurt (LIKE CRAZY), but the recovery time is some of the best bonding time available for friends.  H and I share things we'd never otherwise share simply because we don't have enough oxygen to know better.  We may err on the side of recovery, physically.  But, emotionally?  Psychologically?  It just feels like the right thing to do.

Once the intervals were done, I raced home, showered, finished some work, and crammed for Mandarin night.  I had to review my last two lessons and ensure that I hadn't lost too much vocabulary since my last lesson (always a danger).

Upon arrival, LittleL clapped with joy when he saw me and ran up to give me a high 5. He was so excited to see me since the last time (likely a month or so ago) he couldn't stop dancing around.  A few minutes later, we high-fived all the way to 70.  How fun!

Add in a delicious night of perfectly spiced yidali miàn (Spaghetti) with niúròu (Beef Sauce) prepared by HotMamaL before and after an awesome Mandarin lesson night with my 2 teachers and good friends, plus giving voice to the travel plans for China in 2013 that are in the process of solidifying?

I'm feeling down-right well-balanced.

(Thirteen work todos? Shmirteen.  Please.)