God rested on Sunday

After all the anxiety about running with the group, I worked up my courage and went to the run. It turned out to be a great experience. Not only did I run, I finish in the second pack of runners which is a huge personal success. I got home, I crashed for a hours (usually you sleep so soundly after run, it feels like you are in heaven)

The run gave me so much energy that I ended up driving to K house for some more outdoor activities. We head out to the Billy Goat Trail A. As we were driving it started pouring but that did not stopped us, I was really determined to do the hike, as K has shared her experiences in the trail.

The hike was challenging, specially because or the rocks were wet and slippery, but there is this special force telling me not to stop. As we approached the highest part, the views of the Potomac river were impressive. More impressive was to see a group of people jumping in the river from the rocks above. The drive to K's home was really fun as we were drenched and had mud up to our eyeballs. We finally got home took a shower and head out to the supermarket. We made some dinner on the cheap, and rented some movies. Ang joined us for dinner & movie. It felt great to be relax and to share an uneventful night after such an active day.

The morning came, and as I said, God rested on Sunday, we did not. Lazy in the morning, but with a whole afternoon to spare, we headed out to the C&O cannal for a bike ride. It was a beautiful sunny day.

The canal was full with people enjoying the outdoors. Picnics and kayaking seem to be the activities of choice. Lots of bikers and runners as well. We mounted our bikes in G-town and made it all the way to Chevy Chase. 22 miles roundtrip to be exact. Such good effort must be compensated, so Dolcezza in Georgetown was the venue of choice to meet with Ang, and enjoy some much deserved Argentinian Gelatto.

Welcome Back Doryel!

After a rather long hiatus from blogging, I find myself back here again. Drawn to what I like to refer as a venting exercise. I am one of those people who think too much, and always have something to say, so here I am. This post is short as I am working up my courage slowly, and I needed to start somewhere. I just turned 35 and with it a new array of feelings is overwhelming me. Social Anxiety is the one at hand right now. I am recently recovered from a sprained ankle, and going back to running. I have been working out slowly and feel ready now to pound the pavement. I thought I try to go running Saturday with the Reston Runners’s; a club that I joined a few months back, but did not have the opportunity to join in the runs due to my injury. I am feeling so anxious about running with the group, maybe it’s because I am afraid that I won’t be fast enough to keep up with the pack, or maybe it’s because I need a familiar face so I don’t feel like a crasher at a party. Whatever it might be, I believe it is something that comes with age. That self conscious feeling that is there preventing you for putting yourself out there. In an attempt to alleviate my anxiety, I wrote an email to the club moderator, and I was pleasantly surprise to receive not one, but two very welcoming responses. So I guess that’s it, I cannot be rude or chicken shit, and not show up after that. So I will face my fear and will be there on Saturday bright and early. Wish me luck!

Sunday, April 16, 2006,

Dan-el Padilla, Illegal at Princeton
Personal comment on an Article published on The Wall Street Journal.

During the second week of my class, Introduction to Popular Culture, we had an interesting discussion about immigration. What made the discussion interesting to me was the diverse points of view of all my classmates, who are mostly foreigners or born in the USA but from foreign background. Another lazy (as usual) Sunday morning, I came across a great article about the story of young boy, believe it or not "Dominican", who is an Illegal Immigrant at Princeton. Below the link to the story:

WSJ.com - Illegal at Princeton

Please read within 7 days. A friend from work who is a subscriber to this newspaper send me the link. Enjoy!

PROCRASTINATION

After I started the blog, I did not write for nearly two weeks. I started very enthusiastic and then I just drop the ball. Reading The Washington Post on a rather lazy Sunday morning (April 9, 2006) I found an article discussing the usage of blog sites to increase productivity. I visited some of the blogs (very good for procrastinators like myself). The Washington Post was refering to blogs that are focused on getting organized, below is the link to the article that includes a small list of sites:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/08/AR2006040800146.html

I think this would be useful information to exchange with my fellow classmates. Ciao!

This picture was the last picture taken before I cutted my hair. Spring came and with it the idea of cutting my hair, go for a more natural look. I did cut my hair but I haven't had my picture taken since. So a new picture will be posted soon......

Sunday, April 9, 2006 10:40 am.

Hey Friends,
The first post in my blog, it feels like a newborn baby. My mind is wandering around with so many thoughs I want to write. It's an unventful Sunday morning, doing the usual. Of course, first thing is to do my Starbucks run, and grab the Sunday Times & Washington Post. I came back home, hands full, and put on the Sunday show on channel 9, a sort of 60 minutes, but with less heavy content. After my Sunday morning ritual, I ended up reviewing my assignments for the week, and creating the blog came out it.