Life these days

I am still a little nervous about kinetics, but it seems like everything else is coming together for me. I have new direction with my research, and I am understanding my other classes better. More importantly, I feel better. I've returned to an exercise schedule in preparation for my next marathon, and it feels great to be active after illness and injury. I honestly think there's a strong correlation between my activity level and both my success in school and my general well-being. This time around, I'm approaching my running from a smarter, comprehensive approach, and I hope it'll help me avoid future injuries.

My taxes are ready to be mailed. I had a shot today, but the copier was busy creating exams. I have to do both 2004 and first quarter 2005 estimated taxes, but it wasn't too hard to follow the forms. Collecting the forms and resolving the state taxes questions took a while, but all that work has been done for a while now. I decided to pay the minimus required estimated tax payments so that I can make some money on the taxes I'll owe in 2005 through the wonder of tax-free short-intermediate bonds.

Today I did the super difficult Runner's World strenght-training workout again, and this time I was able to do all the moves. It felt really good, and I'm already sore. I think this workout set will really help me with total fitness.

Isabelle finally turned 21, and we celebrated with a wonderful dinner last night. We went to a nice steakhouse and then went all out, from appetizer to wine to steak to dessert. Mmm... This weekend we're all heading out on a wine tour. I'm hoping to visit some of the wineries on the other side of Lake Cayuga or even on Seneca Lake. The Finger Lakes are all 30-40 miles long, so there's a lot of territory to cover.