Running

I've been slacking on my running in the past two months. Today I went for a jog and I am not up to par. I think I may have ran a twelve minute mile. I know, I know. I spent my whole fall, winter and spring training and loosing weight. I lost close to 50 lbs, but I think I have put on 10 lbs and it feel gross. Philly is like a hot sweaty steam bath, which makes it nearly impossible to want to exercise.  Despite the weather, I am going to start training for the half marathon. I really think I can run 13 miles. If not, I can definitely run an 8K. That is 5 miles.  I am pretty sure that I can push myself to do it. No. I am sure. I think I just need some encouragement. 

I'm running a summer camp for middle schoolers

I am the gym teacher, art teacher, drama teacher, and choreographer of two very good dances that will be performed at the end of the summer talent show on August 8th.  I am working in North Philly with 30 middle school kids. My day consists of teaching physical fitness for an hour. Today we did step aerobics. It might have been the highlight of my summer to see 30 kids from Olney go up and down on a step to jazzercise music. Then we have lunch.  Do you know what the school district of Philadelphia feeds my kids?  One sandwich, consisting of two small white buns with a piece of meat and a piece of cheese. One small fruit cup or unidentifiable piece of fruit, one milk. That's it. That is like 300 calories. No wonder the kids want to beat the shit out of each other by 4:30 p.m. everyday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we go swimming in the most ghetto pool I have ever seen.  We have to walk 15 minutes just to get there, and then pretend like we are not a camp, so the kids can participate in community swim time.  The paint in the pool is peeling off the ground, and there is so much chlorine in it, that the kids say their eyes burn for the rest of the day. On Monday and Wednesday we work on dances, gymnastics and art. On Friday, we take the kids on a field trip.  Since, My program is funded by the state, we can't take them anywhere cool, like Dorney Park or Rollerskating...instead we go to the Mann center, because they will pay for a free bus, so the kids and learn how to Irish Step Dance. Weird. Oh, we also had a field trip where we went for a walk for three hours in the Nature Conservatory in Tinicum.  I bet you can imagine how much whining was involved!  Yup, I run a summer camp! Even though the kids can be squirrelly at times I do however, really love the kids I work with. 

Hair Cuts

I cut six inches off my hair. Or maybe more like 8. I'm unclear, however it may have been the worst mistake of the summer. I can still put it in a pony tail and a small braid, but it is just not the same long locks of gorgeous jewish ringlets. I really have no idea what I was thinking. Something along the lines of, " oh, my hair is so big and long and frizzy and hot, that i just want to cut it all off." Clearly i should have kept this all as just a thought and not acted on idiocy. This is what my hair looks like now :

O.kay, okay, it doesn't look that ridiculous, but it is now blonde and I have permanently changed my eye color to blue with corrective surgery. 

My Handsome Clark

I got home from work and walked Clark around West Philadelphia.  Clark is my 3-legged dog that Andrea and I are fostering from VHUP. Clark is laying on the floor, while Possum (my mini-cat) is laying on my bed with an eerie glazed look on her face. I am watching Wheel of Fortune and wishing Andrea was not in Delaware, while she is on a two week rotation.  Vet school is really annoying when your girlfriend has to be at a large animal hospital in the middle of nowhere at 5:30 in the morning.  Andrea is  sleeping at her parents house and Eva and Howard are not huge animal fans. This means it's just going to be me and Clark all week! It's crazy how much i have changed in the last year. I am a 25 year old owner of one cat, one dog, one bedroom apartment, and a non-profit job. It wasn't too long ago I was living in a Jewish lesbian collective house in West Philadelphia trying to smash capitalism and rid the world of patriarchy. Now i just want to come home and walk my dog.