Summer Break!
I got my grades, and I pleased to tell you that I will be here for another year! Yay!
Summer break is here and I have lots of things I am trying to involve myself with:
- Running - marathon training to start sometime in June
- Soccer - my first practice is tomorrow; games start next Tuesday
- Working - I will be working on-campus 20 hours per week this entire summer with my traineeship.
- Attend JSM (Joint Statistical Meeting) - I will be attending JSM in Salt Lake City, UT at the end of July.
I would like to do the following as well:
- Learn LaTeX
- Review Correlated Data material from the class I audited this past fall
I am not sure if I should find a second job for the summer. There are a couple of internship opportunities that I just learned of for the summer. The catch is that I would have to work 40 hours per week for them, which is not practical since I have to be on-campus 20 hours per week. Hmmm.... So I am thinking of a second non-school related job to help cover costs of gas and things.
My soccer team is located about 40 miles north of where I live, but still a suburb of the Twin Cities. They are an awesome team with an awesome coach that I immensely enjoy playing with, so they make the commute worth it. I will have to drive there three days per week, so gas is going to be costly this summer. It would be nice to have a second job for maybe 20 hours per week to help make up this cost. However, part of me is saying...I deserve this break, and besides that, I am still working and will be keeping a busy schedule, so just take it easy and enjoy the summer. The other part of me is saying, now is the time to make some money that I will not be able to make during the school year. I am not sure what to do at this point. I really need some time just for myself so I don't run out of steam for next school year, but I need to make some $$$. For this week, I think I will just take it easy, and think about it next week. I need to clear my mind anyways. If anyone has any clever ideas, please let me know.
Being that May is asthma awareness month, I woul like to add my two cents about asthma. I have asthma. I learned during my teen years that my asthma was exercise-induced, particularly, exercising in heat and humidity would cause my asthma attacks. When I was 13-14 years old, I used to have asthma attacks playing summer soccer. It was horrible. When I was 14, I started running long distances on my own around my parents' home in Maple Grove. My soccer abilities significantly picked up when I was in shape, and my asthma hardly ever bothered me. I was well aware when my asthma would affect me. I took my inhaler prior to exercise and started counting my breathing when the weather was warm or humid. This would aid in preventing an asthma attack. Whenever I fell out of shape and would try running (mostly in the middle of the winter) my asthma would kick back in. I would wheeze after my runs. I know asthma is different for different folks, but for those of you who have exercise-induced asthma which heat and humidity only makes worse, my best advice is to get out there, inhaler in hand, and get into shape. Count your breathing! I am now able to run for miles and miles without my inhaler. I even ran the Twin Cities marathon this past year taking only two puffs of my inhaler before the race, and didn't use it at any time throughout the race. If you are nervous, bring your inhaler. Start by run-walking. It can be done for those with similar asthma difficulties as me.