Lost in the City

They did it!!! The Cubbies are Division Champs!!! After three straight loses against the Marlins, they hit the Reds hard and won 6-0. But that wasn't enough to win the title: the Cubs needed the Brewers to lose against the Padres. And they did. Even better than that: they lost to Greg Maddux, notorious former Cub. So I guess I'll have to honor my bet and go to work dressed up in Cubbie gear on Monday.

Here is an amazing feeling... I hadn't heard from my great friend V. in a year. Last time I was in contact with her was a phone call she gave me last August, when I was in the hospital. I didn't get any news from her after that, neither did any of her other friends as I found out a few months later. What happened? Let's just said that she went through a very tough patch and we had to have her institutionalized. That was about one month ago, very little before I took off for Chicago. At that time, I was relieved she finally was in a position to get the help she needed, but not sure about how it would then unfold.
Good news awaited me when I came back: first, I managed to talk to her on the phone, then, I got to visit her at the hospital. I don't have the words to tell how glad I was to see her again. The bottom line is... welcome back V. !!

I'm not really sure about what to write about tonight. I just feel like venting, so consider yourself warned!

My Chicago trip, despite its brevity, provided me with a much needed break. A break from work, and a break from my thesis. It also gave me the opportunity to change sceneries, which was appreciated! It makes it even harder to go back to the old routine now. Working, reading for my PhD and training for my marathon don't seem too appealing to me. I only have one idea on my mind right now: taking off again as soon as possible.

Going back to work was tough. I really didn't feel like it. Thankfully, I have a few great colleagues I can count on to cheer me up. Where would I be without them? I wonder! Oh it's not that my job situation is traumatizing, it's just that I'm not sure where I'm going with that, and the more time passes the more I wonder what the hell I am doing with my life (yes, just that...).

The marathon training is a good thing for me. I see it as the next step in my rehab, and it provides me two things at once: a focus and something to look forward to. I have been training for several weeks now (5 or 6 I think), with 4 sessions a week. It is going well. Overall, I've only opted out a couple of times due to tiredness, and once because I was flying back from Chicago. For now, I have managed to keep up with the training program without pushing the rehab too far. I am finally done with the longuest run of my program: the 2-hour run that I did last Sunday. From now on, the distances will reduce so that I can be in good shape, and not tired to death on October 7th. It really isn't an easy task to decide when you ought to test your limits and when it is better to rest. I might go easier than the training program in the following weeks as the 1-hour run that was scheduled today was hard on my leg. For the first time in a while, it is actually the leg that hurt, right where the bone was/is missing. It is usually my knee or my ankle that bother me. Well... we'll see how it goes in the next few weeks.

The other good thing (is it?) is my Cubs obsession. Well... it's not an obsession yet. Nope, I swear it's not. I mean, I'm not at the point where I would recite the batting averages and ERA of the players in my sleep! The end of the regular season is proving excruciating for the Cubs, Brewers and Cards fans alike. The pennant race is close and won't be decided until the very end if all three team keep competing like they have been for the past few weeks. I really enjoy watching the games. Yes, I love baseball, and believe me, it's not something that's easy to get through people's head here in France. They just don't get what a beautiful game it is. Their loss. I'm fed up with sarcastic and dismissive comments about how boring it is. They don't even know the game for Darwin's sake!! Do I badmouth soccer or rugby? No. I actually enjoy watching those sports. So give me a break with baseball. There. I said it. (ah... always sugarcoating things...)

Anyway, I hope the Cubs will get a win out of the Dodgers' ace tonight while I sleep. Living in Paris, I have an obvious reason not to like night games... they are those I only get to watch when I have insomnia!

There are a few more things I'd like to write (rant?) about tonight, like a certain someone I miss, ideas on the US subway systems, a novel I just read, and a few urban studies books I long to read... but I'm getting tired, and a long day is coming, so I'll sign off now.