Thinking Out Loud #81

Happy Thinking Out Loud Thursday! It’s a busy, busy week on my end but I wanted to pop in and say hi because it’s part of keeping myself sane. As always, thanks for all your love and support on Tuesday. You’re the best and I’m virtually sending you a million hugs and also a bag of chocolate and some Valentine’s cards.

Now, let’s chat about the randomness happening in my life and mind.

1.) Last weekend’s run was the first long run I’ve felt for an extended period of time afterward. I felt pretty normal after 10 miles, but even though 12 felt good on the day I ran, I was stiff and sluggish through Sunday and Monday. 

2.) All stiff-legged and tired, I spent a very significant portion of Monday on my bed. I was mostly studying for my last midterm, but I also ate there and procrastinated there. Judge me if you like. However, I did nothing with any black substances there. Nothing. My pens weren’t black, my food wasn’t black, and nothing I drank was black. Still, when I got back from going to what was supposed to be my econ discussion, there was a quarter-sized sticky black mark on the edge of my pillow.

I scrubbed at it for about 10 minutes before I went to bed and made some progress, but decided to pick it up in the morning. It’s mostly gone now. I still have no idea what it was. 

3.) That “supposed-to-be” econ discussion? We usually turn in the previous week’s problem set and then go over the answers. The TA specifically told us there would be a discussion section this week, despite no problem set. We would just go over the midterm solutions. But the TA didn’t show up. We were all really confused, someone emailed him, and we all left after a half an hour. As soon as I got back to my apartment, he sent out an email apologizing and saying that he had the times wrong. Perhaps surprisingly, that’s the first time something like that has happened to me in college. TAs and professors are usually on top of it.

4.) My last midterm is today! That means that I actually feel halfway done with the quarter. Especially because I have the option to take all of my finals a week early, which would effectively give me over two weeks of spring break. I’m still debating whether or not that’s what I want to do (it would mean three finals on one day…), but right now it sounds very appealing.

5.) And I get to start planning next quarter on Monday. It might be my last quarter on campus. How crazy is that?

6.) My Inequality teacher emailed us the summary statistics of our midterm scores before class on Tuesday.

He also made a joke about taking some of the points from the highest-scoring students and giving them to the lowest-scoring students. I thought it was funny and obviously a joke from the beginning. I mean, the class is about inequality. Redistribution is naturally a theme in the class. He later emailed us to confirm it was a joke after he received a couple emails from students concerned with the fairness of this (fake) policy, which is also funny, because we often ask, “What is fair?”

7.) I’m not huge on many protein powders, but I love Nuzest*.

It tastes great, is super versatile, and it’s free of dairy, gluten, soy, sugar, stevia, and animal products. And I just thought you should know that there’s a pretty great giveaway* (with five winners) happening this month. Enter here* for a chance to win a Valentine’s bundle of chocolate and strawberry protein!

And if you want to go ahead and buy some Nuzest for yourself, use the code EVERYDAY for 15% off your purchase!

8.) One of my favorite podcasts ever (hmmm I think a podcast-centric post is necessary, too…) is The Federalist Radio Hour. It gives me intelligent, in-depth, very consumable doses of politics, plus cultural news and perspectives.

I want to say, “however,” here, but I can’t. It’s not a “however” as much as an “also”.

Lately, it’s also exposed me to some really gruesome crimes. Before last weekend, I had never felt physically ill while listening to a news story. Look up Kermit Gosnell and you’ll understand. This week, it was a story about child slavery. Both were utterly fascinating and I feel less naive and more a part of the world for knowing about them, but I also feel . The world can be a very, very dark place.

9.) Even though I love it, I’m also in a creative writing class focusing on crime. For the most part, the readings for that class are very disturbing, too. And I need to write the vast majority of my own crime story this weekend. Send happy thoughts!

10.) And now I want to leave you with some of my favorite recipes + reads from the week.

• Lemon desserts are so underrated. –> Paleo Lemon Cupcakes
• Sally’s recipes are always fab. –> Easy Baked Macaroni & Cheese
• You might not want to share. –> 3-Ingredient Healthy Chocolate Fudge
• Give yourself some rest. –> Why You Should Take Breaks from Running
• Remember how far you’ve come. –> When You “Forget” You Have a Chronic Illness

Your turn:

Do you try to stay up to date on the news or avoid the negativity? I try to be informed without obsessing. Try.

Do you like lemony desserts? If they’re well-done and not too sweet.

Anything else I should know?

*These are affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase after clicking one of them, I’ll receive a small commission – at no additional cost to you. I’m only an affiliate for products I truly love and think you’ll love, too. Thanks in advance for your support! If you want to make a purchase without giving me a commission, no hard feelings – just head to nuzest-usa.com and shop your heart out.