Big changes, digressions, and a winner

A lot has been going on in my corner of the world these days.

First off, I am starting a new job on Monday!  I am very grateful for this new opportunity and for a fresh start.  The last several months have involved a lot of soul-searching for me, and I am really thankful, as always, for everyone's support throughout the process.  My new office is only about a 10-minute walk from where I live, too!  The much-reduced commute will be awesome.*

I have had the luxury of enjoying a little bit of time off before starting the new work.  It has been very restful and has allowed me to finally take care of a lot of things that were piling up on my personal to-do list.  During this time, I've been logging some good miles in my running shoes.  I've also been watching a LOT of Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals hockey.

OK, OK, yeah, I would have watched a lot of Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals hockey regardless of my schedule.  But at least now I don't have to worry about trying to get to bed right after each game ends.  Instead, I can stay up late watching post-game shows and trolling social media outlets for ardent displays of fan loyalty. 

Curious?  Here are a few classics:

While we're at it, check out this video of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra saluting the Blackhawks with a classical rendition of Chelsea Dagger.  Cool, eh?

Anyways, I digress!  All in all, I couldn't be more thankful for this time to regroup and get myself back on track both mentally and physically.

Moving on to other news.  I made a change to my hair yesterday.  Here's the "before" - a representative picture of how I've been wearing my hair for the last several years:



Adam and I at a birthday celebration for the son of my friend Erica.
Photo courtesy of my friend Jenny.


Here is the "after" - a self-portrait that I took last night:




I've worn the bob hairstyle a lot throughout my life and love it, so I decided to go back to it again.  It's a nice cut for the summertime.  (Although, I'm sure it will be weird washing my hair for the first time today post-haircut.  I will probably use too much shampoo and it'll feel like something is missing.)

A few other notes:

• I am off to Michigan this weekend and will be running the Fenn Valley Winery 5K Frolic in the Vineyards tomorrow night!  This will be my first-ever trail race so we will see how it goes.  I don't think that vineyards are considered very hard-core trail but I am sure that my tripping propensity will still be tested, regardless.

• I've said before that the 10-miler was my favorite race distance, but I think I'm starting to have a change of heart.  Maybe it's because I'm not training for a marathon this year, so 10 miles feels like a bigger deal now than it used to be?  At this very moment I think I like 10Ks better.
• Speaking of 10-milers, I just found out that the Toronto 10-Miler will not be taking place in 2013.  That is disappointing, as I was looking forward to adding Ontario to my list of states/provinces raced in.  Hopefully the opportunity will present itself again another time in the future.
• Incidentally, the Toronto 10-Miler is the third recent race that I'd planned on running but was then cancelled by the race organizers.  The other two include the Rock N Roll Pittsburgh Half Marathon and the 2012 running of the Mad Dash to Madison 5K.  Yikes!  Here is hoping that there will be no more race cancellations after this.

And last but certainly not least:

The winner of the Chicago Half Marathon race entry giveaway is: Amanda from Get To Goal.  Congratulations, Amanda!  Please drop me a line at eeseto@gmail.com.

Happy Summer Solstice weekend to all!

*Sorry, Maggie, I don't mean to steal your thunder regarding new jobs, much-reduced commutes, and some time off!  But we'll definitely have to do a joint celebration.  =)