At times like this, I LOVE not being a student. The temperature outside is -10F, and students in Fairbanks are in crunch mode. As they finish up projects, build up stress, and study for finals, I do….  hmmm, what do I do?

For starters, I sleep in until – well – whenever I feel like getting up! Now that I look back, I recognize I spent my time in Seattle last month training for this.

Once I’m awake, my day starts moving with a refreshing run in the cold! True, I have to convince myself to bundle up and get going, but once I’m jogging through the snow, life is great. The toughest parts of my run are deciding where to go, how far to go, and how to force myself to not go too far or too fast.

After I’ve finished running, it’s time to stretch, drink some water, and shower. Whew, what a busy, stressful morning and early afternoon!

By this point it’s time for breakfast in the afternoon.

The world is my oyster after that. I can spend the rest of the day reading, looking through my own photos, trying to write blog entries, riding the bus around town, listening to Howard Shore, trying not to distract my friends from their studies, researching travel ideas, washing friends’ dishes, thinking about the 2 puppies/house/car I’m about to watch for friends, etc.

Basically I have no schedule, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I’m beyond fine, actually. There definitely are perks to not having a continuous job or studies- despite the fact I have to update a resume and apply for jobs every few months.

Considering I was voted “most academic” by my 8th grade class, my current life could be surprising to some former classmates. I know some of them are now in medical school or pursuing some degree beyond a bachelor’s. That’s great for them, but until something strikes my fancy, I’m not giving more money (that I technically don’t have) to academia.

This relaxed life will only last a few weeks before I head off on my next adventure, which I’ll begin to write about as soon as I publish this. 🙂 Like I said, I have to convince myself to write these things!