Thursday, July 29, 2010

A Week in the Life of Mollie

Unfortunately I do not have a book for you today. I’m currently reading The Master and Margarita, but I’m not ready to post about it yet…so if you’re feeling overdue for a Literary Bite…I was recently reminded of Peace Like A River (thanks to my Book Trivia Flip Calendar). 

That book was so good! Read my review here.

Instead of books, I’m going to blog about my go-to fall-back subject. Myself. (Sorry. Or you’re welcome?)

You all know that I love my weekends, but I want you to know that there is more to my life than eating, running, and reading. Much more. Sometimes too much more! Maybe I’m spreading myself too thin (haha, peanut butter metaphor – love it!), but I really like everything I do and I don’t know what I could/would eliminate. 

So here it is – you be the judge – A Week in the Life of Mollie:

Monday:

6-8am – Yoga.

8-9:20am - House Job frantic work catch-up (I’m kind of my own supervisor on this one, so though I don’t usually procrastinate, sometimes things pile up…).

9:30-5:50 – Work (my “real” job).

5:50-9:20 - I leave work a little bit early on Mondays so that I can catch the Red Line to the Green Line to the F4 bus to get to 64th Avenue in Riverdale MD. This process takes about an hour and involves way too many people and forms of transportation!

My ultimate destination is the apartment of my refugees. Leyla (30), Hassan (20), Mustafa (20), Neema (15), Husna (11), and Saiha (9) are “my” family of Congolese refugees. They are fantastic! So sweet and enthusiastic – I just love them! I do Refugee Assistance Volunteering, so I’m teaching them English, and helping them with anything they need (i.e. helping get the kids enrolled in school, filling out government forms, teaching them how to use busses to get places, etc.). I’ve never volunteered before, or taught English, and I find it so rewarding! (If you’re interested, check out more info about the program here.)

I can only spend an hour with them, because by 8:09 I need to get on the bus and repeat in reverse my transportation hell. (This week it took 1 ½ hours to get back to Dupont! Me calling my mama: Mooommmmmm I’m never going to get home! The metro is never going to come! Mama: Mollie, get a grip. Where are you and what are you talking about?)

9:30-10:15 – So you know that I do yoga regularly. The reason I can afford this is because I am a "Karma-Yogi." This means that I clean the yoga studio once a week in exchange for 2 free classes a week. It’s a pretty sweet deal, except that after an already 15-hour day when I haven’t eaten since lunch the last thing I want to do is mop floors in a 100+ degrees yoga studio.

10:20 – bedtime - Shower, bowl-o-food on my couch, LOTR, read, go to sleep. Ugh - Mondays are sooo long!

Tuesday:

I rewarded myself for such a long Monday by sleeping in until 8:30. Yay!

9:30-6 – Work.

6-9Track practice. I change at work and take the metro to Ballston, and we work out at the Washington Lee High School Track. SpeedyKate usually drive me home (LOVE anyone/everyone who drives me places!).

9-bedtime – Shower, make/eat dinner, LOTR, read, go to sleep.

Wednesday:

6-8 am – Yoga. Ugh – that one was a struggle! Just 9 short hours after finishing the workout and I’m back at it – dripping sweat as I so often am…

9:30-6 – Work.

6-8:30 – I planned on running…but I just couldn’t do it. As I walked home from work, feeling the humidity and seeing the Dupont thermometer register 105* (which was definitely an exaggeration, but still!), I made the executive decision to nap instead. So I power-napped, did laundry, and made/ate dinner.

8:30-midnight – I met friends for Live Reggae Night at 18th Street Lounge. I loved it! Live music is always fun – you know I’m an enthusiastic dancer – and when I’m just feet away from a trumpet, sax, trombone, and bongo drums you know it’s a good time! This place is great – they have free pita and hummus at happy hour, and there’s no cover until 10pm. 

Midnight-1am – I got home, showered, and should have gone straight to bed. But I got side-tracked by cookies and The Return of the King…so I didn’t go to bed until 1. Poor choice.

Thursday:

6:50 – The extreme poorness of my choice was reinforced when my alarm went off at 6:50am to meet 6x6 for a run. Kill me.

9 am – Work. I’m leaving work early today to catch a bus to Philly to do Something Awful. The good news is that it involves Jess. The bad news is that it also involves 8.4 miles. And 9.2 miles. All in one day. In New Jersey. Again, kill me. Obviously you will get all the details on that later!

So there you have it. Almost a whole week in my life. And that is why I'm tired!