Yoga in the Park - every Saturday

I received this over e-mail today, and I thought some of you may be interested. I think I may try to make this every once in a while!

...Yoga in the Park starts its 5th year on
May 24!!
in Durham Central Park,

at the Farmer’s Market

Come enjoy free yoga for the people, by the people.

Join us in a beautiful outdoor setting
Learn more about the ancient tradition of yoga
Explore flexibility, balance, and strength
Create a practice of inner peace
Help create a sustainable healthy community

when:
Saturday morning, 9:00 – 10:30ish am
through Saturday, Sept 6

where:
above the hill from the Durham Farmer's Market pavilion, across Roney Street and under the trees(same spot as the past four years)

who:
this class is taught by local teachers, volunteering their time. This means you'll have a different yoga experience each week!

please bring:
a towel or blanket and some water to drink

sponsored by:
The Scrap Exchange, stone circles, Cozy, the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South, and Durham Central Park

http://www.cs.duke.edu/~wheeler/YogaInThePark/

BIKE COMMUTER!

Today, I rode a bike to work. I still have in my possession Alivia's bike, so I decided I would participate in the commuter challenge we are having at work right now. The challenge is to commute in a different way to work - walk, bike, carpool, etc - rather than driving by yourself. There is a drawing for each person that completes the challenge, and that person could win a whole stack of "brownie points" good for redemption at local restaurants. Mike and I are off to New Orleans tomorrow morning, so today was my last day to participate in the challenge.

I warned my boss I was going to come in a bit early to avoid traffic, and I was probably going to take off a bit early for the same reason. He was totally supportive and even helped me plan a route to work. This morning, I got up about 7:15, showered and got ready for work. When you bike to work, getting ready is totally different. I wore workout pants and a t-shirt, packed up work clothes in my backpack, jammed my lunch in my backpack, and grabbed my wallet, cellphone and prox card to get in my building.

Then, I set out. Honestly, getting out of my neighborhood is one of the hardest parts. I managed to make my way to Chapel Hill Road, cross over to Anderson (HILLS), then onto Duke University Road. I then made my way into downtown. I only had to walk the bike twice. Once out of my neighborhood and once going up the big hill on Duke U road near the cemetery. My legs just couldn't take it. I made it to work in about 30 minutes. Yeah, that was a slow ride, but I did it.

A few observations:

1) Most people are friendly to bikes on the road.
2) ...but it is the 2 or 3 jerks that probably kill people.
3) You feel great when you start your workday.
4) Bring a brush or you will have bad hair all day, like me.
5) You feel very proud of yourself if this is something you don't normally do.
6) No more gym (unless you want to lift weights). Riding 10 miles a day is enough workout for me.

I will soon return Liv's bike to it's home, so I probably won't do this regularly. But I now know I CAN do it, and I just may consider getting my own bike!

Happy Race Day!

Just in case you aren't watching, the 92nd running of the Indy 500 is on right now. GO WATCH IT!!

We did it.

We made it through the Doughman. We really did it! I am SO proud of our whole team. I will write more later, as we are about to go celebrate for a bit, but I just had to share that we made it through. Fourteenth place, baby. Out of fourteen teams. And I am pumped :-)

Bizz-ee

Hello, loyal readers. Sorry I have been fairly MIA this week. There is a lot going on, so I have had little time to write. So, I decided to do a quick debriefing of what's going on here rather than right out details on one big event.

1) Trivia - I co-hosted trivia at the Joyce the past two weeks. Mike and I did the quiz last week (to fairly good reviews) and Lauren and I ran trivia this week with a women's themed quiz. Mostly everyone liked it (and had a great time) except one customer, a regular trivia player, came up afterwards and said, "The reason I like playing trivia at the Joyce is because it is really challenging. Some of your questions were just too easy." If that's the case, why didn't your team win? Anyway... It was fun to do, but I am ready to hand it back off to Kyle for a bit :-)

2) Durham Doughman - The cold bug has hit our team. Both Mike and Meredith are feeling crappy right now due to some sort of cold bug going around. Mike picked it up on the way back from a beach trip this weekend, and Meredith got it from somewhere in the world. They are both desperately trying to nurse themselves back to health before the race on Saturday. We have decided that worst case scenario, Lauren and I may both have to do two legs, or Lauren alone may have to do two legs. Let's hope not, but we will see.

3) Komen Race - I am still working on training. To be honest, I abandoned the Couch to 5K program, but I am still running at least 2 miles 3 days a week - the other 3 days I workout, I bike 10 miles on the stationary bike in prep for the Doughman. Tomorrow, I will actually attempt to do 2.25 miles. I need to add on a quarter of a mile per week from now til race day in hopes of making the full 5K without stopping.

4) Wedding planning - Mike and I have appointments to meet with two additional cake bakers in the next two weeks. One this Monday and one next Sunday. We also need to set up a tasting at Alivia's. Once Mike gets to feeling better, we will do that as Jason is ready to go.

5) Traveling to NOLA - Mike and I head to New Orleans next week from Thursday through Saturday to attend Matt and Kimberly's wedding. With next Monday being Memorial Day, I will only be at work Tuesday and Wednesday - and I have several million in loans that may close next week at work. Yikes!

6) SATC!!!!! - As I will miss opening day of the Sex and the City movie, I will be catching the very first showing on June 1. I am so excited!!!!

There's other stuff going on in the next two weeks, but that's all I can think of right now. I'll keep you posted!

TRIVIA TONIGHT

Hey, folks - I was in training all day today and will be all day tomorrow, but I wanted to drop in quickly and say that tonight at the Joyce, Lauren and I are hosting trivia. Hopefully the bad weather blows over because we have a great quiz ready to go!

5 Days to the Doughman

Saturday, May 24 is the Doughman. Luckily, wonderful and sweet Alivia (of Alivia's namesake fame) allowed me to borrow her bike for the event. I picked it up from her on Saturday, so Sunday I decided to practice the route. Let me also say, that Sunday was the first time EVER I have ridden on a street, or several streets, with traffic. Even as a kid, I stayed on side roads with no real traffic. This was the first time I ever rode a bike more than a quarter of a mile from my home. I went by myself, equipped with J.F.'s old bike helmet, a small backpack with my cell phone, some cash and a few band aids "just in case." I managed to finish the route, but it took me quite a while. Once I reached Nosh, I relaxed a bit, made a few phone calls, and then I decided to actually ride the bike back home rather than catch a ride. In total, I rode about 11 miles or so. And it was definitely not flat. Oh, the hills. ugh.

The highlights were seeing a deer, a snake and having bird shadows pace with up the street. It's a fun way to see nature. Just watch out for the cars. Wish me luck, folks.

TROIKA

At trivia on Tuesday, Kyle asked we pass out flyers for this event, and I thought I would do the same service here and spread the word. If you need something to do Friday, this is a great cause to support. I know I will be there. See details below:


Pin Projekt: Buy Art, Support Local Music
Recycled bowling pin art up for bid to benefit Durham's Troika Music Festival

DURHAM, N.C. – The fourth annual Pin Projekt fundraiser will be held on May 16, 2008 at the Broad Street Cafe at 7 p.m. to auction off artist-recycled bowling pins in support of the local Troika Music Festival. Pins are painted, decorated, carved, or even turned into household objects, like lamps. Each year, the Triangle community can look forward to unique works of art produced by distinguished artists and musicians. Kimya Dawson from the Juno soundtrack, local artist Jodi Hoover, and local musicians Maria Albani and Catherine Edgerton are just a few of the artists contributing pins for this year's auction. Of course, Pin Projekt would not be complete
without music by notable local musicians, including Nathan Oliver, Sweater Weather, Dylan Gilbert, and the Pox Family Singers. Pins may be purchased in-person during the auction on May 16th. There will be a five-dollar cover charge to attend Pin Projekt. With the support of sponsors, volunteers, and the Triangle community, the Troika Music Festival is able to continue sustaining cultural and economic development of the downtown Durham area. The Troika Music Festival is scheduled for November 6-8, 2008. Performance schedule and acts to be announced.

About The Troika Music Festival

The Troika Music Festival is a not-for-profit, grassroots live music
event designed to celebrate, support, and promote the thriving and
nationally recognized Triangle area music scene while showcasing and
stimulating the burgeoning artistic, commercial, and pedestrian
activity in Durham.

Bored this evening?

Then come on out to the James Joyce Irish Pub in Durham, for tonight Mike and I are hosting trivia! Our regular trivia maven Kyle is in New York for the day, so he asked Mike and me if we would like to do the quiz. We have worked hard on a good quiz for tonight, so come on out. You are sure to have a good time. And as the Joyce's shirts say, it's where you don't need to have a good time to have a drink. But really, with Mike at the mic, everyone is guaranteed a good evening!

DETAILS: Sign up for teams starts about 9:45pm - you can have up to 6 people on your team. No cheating - that means no phone calls, texts, wireless devices, etc - you have to hide the answers IN your head. The actual quiz will start about 10pm. The winner takes home a $75 bar tab to the Joyce. The losing team (with the lowest score) also takes home an awesome parting gift!

Graduation Photos

I graduated. I now have two degrees - both in the liberal arts. Professionally, it won't do much for me, but personally, it has changed my life. Not too much to say about graduation itself - it was a nice ceremony, and it was great to watch so many of my classmates receive their degrees. But, I think photos speak louder than words for occasions like this, so here we go:


Receiving my hood


All gradumated!


My girls and me! (We missed ya, Cookie!)


Me and my sweetie!


Happy graduation revelers


Darth Newman


Michelle and Tim, 2008 MALS grads


Neil and I at the Joyce


My girls and me, yet again!


The Churchkey Records crew (Kyle and Steve) and me

GRADUATION DAY!

By about 3:30pm today, I should be a "Master." Yay! Will post pics soon!

LOVED IT

Avenue Q was fantastic - utterly wonderful. Lauren and I enjoyed the show very much. And it was made even better by the lovely kir royals we sipped through each act! If you get the chance, go see this show. You will love it!

The Bad Idea Bears - by far, my favorites!

Princeton: I don't know what to do!
Good Idea Bear: Buy a whole case (of beer)!
Princeton: A case of beer? No... I can't get a whole case.
Good Idea Bear: But you're on a budget! You're wasting money in the long run if you don't buy in bulk!

A Night at the Theatre.......

...tonight is FINALLY...

YAY! I am so excited. Miss Laurenita will be joining me, and I am sure it will be lovely! I'll report on it for you tomorrow!

The Tower Climb at Duke Chapel

...all 248 steps....




I made it up there, and I made it down. But that climb is not for the weak. I have never considered myself claustrophobic until about halfway up that stone stairway only shoulder width across. Yikes. But the view was worth it!

Graduation Event #1: The Tower Climb at Duke Chapel

A graduation tradition for Dukies is to climb to the top of Duke Chapel. As I will be graduating this weekend, that means it's my turn. Tomorrow evening I, along with my fellow graduating professional and graduate school students, will make the climb to the top of the chapel and view the university and the city of Durham from above. I have my fingers crossed for good weather so I can capture a few photos. My buddy Tim, also graduating from MALS, and I will hopefully get to climb the tower together. It should be awesome, and hopefully later this week I will have some great photos.

PSA to Sex and the City Fans

Ready for the Sex and the City movie to open on May 30? Do you want to re-watch every episode before you go see the film? Oh, do I have a deal for you! If you want to purchase the full box set, I highly recommend you high-tail it to Best Buy or BestBuy.com and buy the set today. Normally priced just shy of $200, the full six seasons can be purchased for $109 this week at Best Buy! It is an AMAZING deal. I got mine yesterday! If they don't have it in the store, just order online - same price!!!! I watched all of Disc One yesterday - tonight, I will start Disc 2. WOO HOO!

It's official - I just got this e-mail...

From: Graduate Enrollment Services no-reply <grad-admissions@duke.edu>
Date: Fri, May 2, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Subject: Graduation Confirmation
To: ME@duke.edu

Dear Michelle,

Congratulations! You have completed all of the requirements for the AM degree in Liberal Studies at Duke University. The degree will be officially awarded on May 11, 2008. By now you should have received information from the Graduate School about the graduation ceremonies. Please be reminded to bring a picture ID with you if you plan to pick up your diploma in person after the commencement ceremonies.

For information about the Calendar of Events for Commencement Weekend May 9-11, 2008, please consult the University Marshal's web site at: http://www.duke.edu/web/graduation/graduate.html.

The staff of the Graduate School wishes you the very best in your future endeavors.

Ready to Race!

Today, I finally registered for the Triangle's Race for the Cure to be held on June 14, 2008 at Meredith College in Raleigh. I will be running in the Competitive Open 5K that will start at (gulp) 7:00am. It appears that I will have some company in the race - I believe Lauren will be participating, and Meredith may as well. I think this will be a great event for us to do together! I finished Week 5, Day 2 of training yesterday, so by June 14, running 3.2 miles should be no problem at all. I just want the race to be an enjoyable one and not miserable due to my inability to go the distance. Although we are entered in the Competitive division, the only competition I will be participating in is with myself. I want to finish and not feel like I want to fall over and die. But, by doing the competitive event, you get a timing chip to put on your shoe, so you eventually get a real race time to know how you did. Also, fewer people sign up for that race, so the road is a bit less crowded.

If you are interested in giving, please click HERE (or click on the picture above). When you get to the page, just click on "Support Michelle!" above the donations gauge. I set my initial fundraising goal at $200, and I would sincerely appreciate it if you help me get there. This is for a great cause. And if you can't contribute for whatever reason, on Saturday, June 14, just send some good vibes to all the runners and me!