Darien, you'll always have my heart

Rachel, my trainer, took me for a 6km+ run today along this absolutely gorgeous running track following the Peninsula (in the direction toward Port Chalmers). It was already 15C (59F) at 8am when we started, which is pretty freakin' warm for Dunedin! I love the idea of running outside but because of all the extra variables that factor in, it's so much harder for me than running on a treadmill indoors where the environment, the speed, the slope, etc remain perfectly constant. Rachel's great though, just who I need; I'm excited to go back to the track tomorrow (if it's not raining that is). Next on the to-do list: find a running buddy!

On another completely different note, because I'm still waiting for my first chunk of research money to come through and thus literally only have $40 in my bank account right now, I've been seriously economizing for the first time... ever? and I'm in awe of some of the cheaper alternatives I've started to utilise in place of my usual spending++. For example, making lunch everyday with whatever is in the fridge instead of not planning ahead and just buying something while I'm in town. Cooking at lunchtime is actually quite satisfying and fun because what I end up making is totally mood-dependent. Also, I have discovered -- drumroll please! --YouTube in lieu of my traditional TV-series-on-dvd "habit." It's surprising how many full-length episodes of my favourite TV shows are actually on there, legality arguments aside, some of which aren't even out here in NZ yet. And on a whim/for old times sake I looked up SailorMoon, the cartoon of my childhood, through which I not only learned the essential life lessons of right vs wrong, good vs evil, studying hard vs not studying hard (SailorMercury was my role model, sassy and smart), but most of all, MOST OF ALL, the TV show which introduced me to my first love-of-my-life: Tuxedo Mask.

I can't believe my heart still skips a beat when I see him: gloriously tall, dark hair, dark eyes, kind face, sarcastic humour, smart and protective... *sigh*

Please Universe, no knight in shining amour for me -- just Tuxedo Mask, cape and all.