the week:
An incredibly sad start to the week, with news that a friend whom I’ve known since I was 19, died of cancer on Easter morning. She just turned 40 in December and was diagnosed at Christmas with a rare internal melanoma that was already at advanced stages. It’s heartbreaking, especially because we hadn’t seen one another in a while, and also because we had something of a mutual falling out last year. I’m certainly still in shock about it all, and I had planned to go back to visit with her after I got settled. Well, her 2-8 week prognosis just as I moved to Iowa was actually just that two short weeks. And my heart just hurts immensely for her family, while I break because of all the guilt for not getting to her in time. I’m glad for the opportunity I had to reach out and message her before she passed, however. Though we had some unresolved conflict, there was still a lot of love there and expressed. She certainly taught me a lot on how to be a better friend, which is a pretty great legacy to leave behind.

weekend:
I *think* I’ve finally found my groove with workouts this week. I walked two miles around my neighborhood, took advantage of a free day pass at Life Time Fitness (and took a yoga class), and have scheduled runs for Thursday, Friday and Sunday. I’ve connected with someone from the roller derby team here, too, so that I can join in with the group when they do trail skating or maybe scrimmages (I haven’t ultimately decided whether I’ll join derby; I still want to get settled into my new home and job and a new routine first).

The boyfriend and I are *finally* going to explore downtown a bit on Saturday, now that the garage is somewhat organized and clear, and all the boxes are unpacked and stored.

seven things, seven days:
1. No joke, I painted my toenails for the first time in, like, six months. o_O
2. Also not funny: one of my cats has been waking me up every.single.morning around 3:45 a.m. And since I’m working from home, he is one annoying sonuvabitch until at least 2 p.m. WHY IS HE NOT SLEEPING?!
3. I won a $25 gift card from another Iowa blogger to my local Orange Leaf fro-yo place — a magical place that is rumored to also deliver in my area.
4. I think that I was meant to find this article this week: Dying, With Nothing to Say {via NYT}
5. I joke a lot about my insomnia, but the truth is, I am just on a different schedule. And I cannot find any humor in someone snarking on my sleeping habits. So, here’s an article about some good old fashioned Night Owl discrimination (and understanding chronobiology). {via Vox}
6. “It would be boring if it was easy.” Yes, yes, YES! Repeat after me: FAILURE IS INEVITABLE. The hidden psychology of failure {via BBC}
7. Why in God’s name are hangovers so much worse in your 30s?! Here’s some info on that. {via Yahoo Health}