A few very random things happened last night. First, a friend and I ran into a group of my students on Commonwealth Avenue. Well, that's not exactly true. We ran into them in the middle of Commonwealth Avenue. I was literally hug-attacked by a group of teenagers in the center lane of a three lane road. My apologies to the vehicles around at that time. I can't help that my students love me. Also, said friend and I were headed to the Paradise to see a show at the time. We were expecting to see the funky, bluesy Ryan Montbleau Band, but stumbled upon a reggae show when we walked into the venue. Wasn't expecting that. There were a lot of bad dance moves and tye-dye shirts and white people with dreadlocks but the music was good. Actually, the music was great. A reggae cover of an Al Green song? Yes, please! (Side note: we did finally see the Ryan Montbleau Band- the reggae band was the opener- and they were excellent, too.)
But the most random part of the evening happened after the show at T's Pub. T's Pub was an old college watering hole for my friends and I... and for everyone else who went to Boston University. The bar was basically on campus. T's is the kind of place that doesn't need a lot of TVs or good food or even a friendly staff, for that matter: you're going to go there because it's so close. So we did. Often. I've been to that bar countless times in sweatpants or in a BU hockey jersey. It didn't matter. T's is the definition of casual. That's why my friend and I were super confused when we walked into T's and found most of the bar decked out in cocktail dresses and suits. It was off-putting. After a lot of speculation (Is T's the new off-Boylston hot spot?), we finally asked a couple what the hell was going on.
Come to find out, the fancy folk were coming from Boston University's Delta Gamma sorority formal. We ended up chatting with this guy and girl for a little bit and they were lovely. (In hindsight, I wish I asked her where she got her dress. It was super cute.) They skeptically asked me if I had a job and, when I told them I actually had my dream job, they breathed a sigh of relief. (Don't worry, guys: the job market sucks, but you go to a good university and seem reasonably smart and more than a little bit personable. Also, you were both really pretty. For better or worse, that goes a long way in the real world.)
Talking with these college kids got me thinking: what was I doing when I was at Boston University? I certainly wasn't worrying about getting a job while I was drinking at T's Pub, so they are at least ahead of me in that respect. I focused a lot on my studies and less on my social life while in college, but that's pretty much it. I gave up on skiing. I don't think I went hiking at all during my time at BU. I went running about five times. Maybe. I spent pretty much no time in college outdoors or doing anything that would qualify as physical fitness. Good thing I inherited a speedy metabolism, I guess.
While at T's last night, my friend said, "I wish I could do college again." Although mine may not be the popular opinion, I totally would not take an undergraduate do-over. Not at all. College was insanely fun, but there is so much I can do now that I couldn't do back then. I now have a job that provides me money to travel where I want and to buy really cool things like a house and a dog. I spend my free time doing activities that improve my mental and physical well-being instead of routinely drinking myself stupid because that's just what you do when you're in college. (Holy shit. That last sentence makes me sound so old. I'm considering deleting it.) I'm training for a marathon now. That's certainly something I wouldn't have been able to do when I was at BU. Actually, it's something I wouldn't have wanted to do when I was an undergrad-- I was too busy writing papers and funneling Red Dog in a fraternity basement. This is maturity, right? (I was totally doing more writing than funneling, Mom. Really!)
I went for an amazing run today and thought a little about these two BU students from last night. In a way, they helped me realize something pretty important: age isn't all that big a deal. I can have ridiculous amounts of fun no matter how old I am. Maybe Aaliyah was on to something when she proclaimed age ain't nothing but a number. (However, Aaliyah did date R. Kelly when she was like 16, so maybe we should take her words with a grain of salt.) But seriously. This whole getting older business is complex. On one hand, I've got things more together now than I ever did back in college. I have direction, motivation and I finally figured out how to straighten my hair and apply eyeliner. (The latter two are huge victories. You have no idea.) Growing older has made me more comfortable in my own skin, too. I used to be this kind of awkward maybe tomboy/ sort of nerd/ total wannabe girl. It was kind of like my awkward teenage years extended into my early adulthood. It was bad. Come to think of it, I am still a maybe tomboy/ sort of nerd/ total wannabe girl, but it's different now. I own that about me, I suppose. I am sportier and geekier now than I was circa Y2K, but I am also way girlier. I'm calling this progress. Now Me is also training for a marathon and that's kind of awesome. While I don't readily admit my real age to people, I think age has certainly given me wisdom and a lot of confidence, too. Age is a number, but it's not one that dictates what I do or how I act.
Speaking of numbers, let's do this ESPN-style. Here is my week by the numbers:
1: The number of liver transplants I would need if I did, in fact, do college over again.
3: The number of times I listened to the album "Days Are Gone" by Haim on today's run. Give it a listen. Three sisters who kick ass and play guitars. They rock.
9.22: My average split time for my 15.7 mile run today. While that's slower than I've been running recently, it's a pretty decent pace for that distance. I'll take it. In fact, this may be a good target split for the marathon.
12: The number of pieces of sushi I just inhaled. Apparently achieving running milestones makes me want to go on a sushi bender.
15.7: The distance in miles I ran today. IN REAL LIFE. I wanted to see if I could run 15 miles and turns out I can. I feel like a complete bad ass right now.
20: The real age of the male BU student to whom we talked last night. He showed us his fake Illinois ID. It was terrible. I have no idea how he got into the bar.
26: I told the two BU students last night I graduated in 2010. This would mean that I am 26. They believed me. I really should've bought them a drink or something.
100: I've run more than 100 miles since I've been blogging! Sweet!
300+: Number of squats I've done this week. Tuesdays and Thursdays are now official leg strengthening days.
More numbers:
Distance Monday (12/02): 4.3 miles (with my amazing co-worker, Maria)
Time Monday: 44 minutes (11' splits)
Distance Tuesday (12/03): 3.03 miles (with Sole Train youth running group)
Time Sunday: 33 minutes, 30 seconds (11'23" splits)
Distance Thursday (12/05): 1.48 miles (with Sole Train youth running group)
Time Thursday: 20 minutes (splits are too slow to even mention)
Distance Saturday (12/07): 15.7 miles (PR distance!!!)
Time Saturday: 2 hours, 25 minutes (9'22" splits)
Cumulative Distance Since Blog Started: 116.65 miles
Cumulative Time Since Blog Started: 19 hours, 3 minutes
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