Spring at last

I've said it before, but spring in Cambridge is glorious. The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the flowering trees are flowering. And my friends Jen and Albert recently won their election to be president and vice-president of our student body after spending a week campaigning outside the Hark. Outside!

I'm trying to use this time to refresh and recharge before the big crunch at year's end. With two weeks left of class, this means staying on top of my readings, getting ahead on some research for my Housing Law and Policy paper, and tying up loose ends with things like my journal and incredible Community Action project with those Boston teens. But it also means taking care of myself: getting some sun, taking a hot bath, finishing The Girl Who Played With Fire - highly recommended - and making a long-overdue haircut appointment at my luxurious new favorite salon on Newbury Street. Can. Not. Wait.

Around this time last semester, Russell and I both restricted our diets to the very healthiest tier of things we usually eat. This was supposed to keep Thanksgiving and Christmas from rolling together into one endless stretch of indigestion and weight gain, but the unexpected result was a huge improvement in my focus and well-being over past exam seasons (when I'd always justified scarfing whatever processed junk was around as "comforting" or "rewarding" myself, without realizing the effect on my energy level.)

So we've decided to do the same this semester - to spend some time together cooking when I might otherwise be too busy to talk, hopefully lose a little weight gained at our various birthday celebrations, and generally not let the hell of final exams make our bodies feel like hell, too.

I really do want to update you on that project for Community Action, so stay tuned for another post soon. In the meantime, wish me luck approaching it all in the most Zen-like state possible.