Does this look like power lines waiting to electrocute someone in Vientiane, Laos? Well, they are. But look a little closer. Do you see it? Yes, there. And there. Oh and there too. Yep, that’s my mumble jumbled life at the moment. You could say I’ve finally hit that point where I’m facing “the real world”, but it’s not true. I don’t believe I am, or have been, out of touch with reality. Yes, I think I’ve always been a part of the real world but my existence and participation in it is changing and evolving.

I’m currently struggling to juggle it all. And while it’s difficult enough to swallow the fact that I don’t have it all under control, it’s worse to think that I juggled so much more in my life just over a year ago. I was working a rigid 40-hour work week, training for a marathon by working out six days a week, doing two-a-days several days a week to get the mileage in that I needed to while also being able to focus on conditioning. I was waking up at 5:30am three days a week for workouts before work and at 5am every other Saturday to do a 15-20 mile run. I was also reading for enjoyment and planning my 8 month trip.

So what happened? Well, my schedule is less rigid now, and though I’m technically working less hours, it’s kicking my ass. To be honest, while I had this previous schedule under control, it lasted only about five months. After the marathon, I cut back severely on my running because I was mentally and physically exhausted. And now I feel the same- only I’m running about 20 miles less per week, reading less, and now it seems, getting less sleep. I considered taking a break from blogging, but I feel that it’s a bit severe. I could throw out 100 things I want to write about off the top of my head, not to mention the video footage that I hope I eventually edit and post. I still blog for the same reasons when I started- to tell my story. I can’t give up on that.

I’ve decided to post a bit less often and probably more sporadically. If I don’t post for a week, or even two, I promise I’m still alive and well. And if I post five days in one week (haha, okay wishful thinking) it just means that my juggling skills are improving.

I have two big trips coming up, beginning in June. I wish I could share more at the moment- I don’t want to leave people hanging, or throw this info out there so people will keep checking back on my blog for details. The truth is I haven’t told many of my friends and family, and I want to tell these folks first. The first trip is a short-term job abroad which starts in June and requires that I read five books, for starters. I have a 600-page book that’s been on my bedside table for a week now and I’ve made it through a mere 30 pages. I’m determined to finish it before I dive into the required reading so I need to get cracking! Once I return home in August, I have a 24-hour turnaround time until I’m off on trip two. I have a lot of planning to do, and I’m sure will be seeking your advice on it soon.

Now that the weather is nice, I will be focusing a lot more on my running. It’s my favorite time of year to run right now, and it makes me really happy :) I’m going to catch up with friends around town that I still have yet to see, and I’m also doing some preliminary work on some longer-term life plans.

I love this blog, and I love the friends that I’ve made as a result. Those friendships will last whether I am blogging or not. However, for right now, I’m going to put some of my focus elsewhere. I don’t want my obituary to read: Laura is survived by her virtual friends. She spent her days hitting the RT button, poking people on Facebook, having dance parties for one, and banging her head against a computer when she royally screwed up her web page by trying to making changes herself, when in fact, she just uses a guess-and-check method and occasionally squeals in delight when she hits the refresh button and sees that something changed.”

Thank you for your support and reading my rambles thus far. I still respond to each and every email I receive (given that it is not spam) so I’ll still be around! Don’t get too excited that you’re getting a little break from me, because there are more rambles to come. But for now, I have to go. I’m heading to yogilates before work to unwind!