OOps! I haven't posted in a while...

I guess I've been busy or somehing (training for a marathon, perhaps?) so here are some highlights from my time at Taller (taken from my blog I kept at the time):

• The time I met Sr Betty:  On Wednesday, I met Sr. Betty in front of the office (a new sister, I work with three) and we went to criminal court with one of her clients. Criminal court is conveniently  located within walking distance of my house. I told my roommates that if they commit any crimes, I could totally help them out. After court Sr. Betty and I drove around a little bit to see a couple of organizations we work with in Pilsen.

• Sr Betty found me a potential husband in criminal court (don’t worry, she’s pretty sure he’s a law student, he was working there) but so far, she has not given him my card as she hasn’t seen him since. [Did not pan out, he was actually one of many potential husbands]

• I got a police escort home from an accompaniment on Saturday! My client had to look at a photo line-up and the police station was far enough away that we had to take two buses there, and the detective felt bad and took us home in an unmarked police car. In front of my house, he went the wrong way down our one-way street and called it “official police business”. This totally made up for having to go into work on a Saturday morning.

• I was in foreclosure court on Friday and forgot to tell the clerk that my client needed an interpreter. When I apologized for the mistake, the judge said “Well you speak Spanish, don’t you?” I know it was a simple case, but it still did not seem legal to me but I did it anyway. I need to look up how to say things like “foreclosure” and “loan modification” in Spanish, though. Those things never came up in my Golden Age Spanish literature classes at Notre Dame. The client was familiar enough with the process that I was able to get the message across, though.

The marathon is so close now that it is included in the 10 day forecast! The current forecast looks bleak (30% chance of rain) but this is Chicago so forecasts that far out don't actually mean a whole lot. Anyway, I'm very excited for the marathon and very grateful for all of your support. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey!

You Know You're Training for a Marathon When...

I have been working on this one for a while and have been waiting to post it. I even received input from my friends also running the marathon, Kerry McGuire (KM) and Kelly Grimes (KG) and have noted this where appropriate.

1. You find yourself wondering what that smell is...and realize it is you. 
2. You use the official Febreeze of NFL locker rooms.
3. Your feet are several shades lighter than your ankles, even though you only wear sandals when you aren't running.
4. You have an obnoxious running tan line in general (sports bra and running shorts) that will not correct itself despite all attempts to do so. 
5. You've convinced yourself that it is completely appropriate to go to work with soaking wet hair (KM) [Note: She doesn't have curly hair. We can't all be as blessed as me.]
6. You learn what chafing feels like.
7. You are more excited about GU flavors than ice cream (KG).
8. There is usually a blister (or traces of one) on one or both of your feet.
9.  "What are you up to?" means "How far is your long run this week?"
10.  It seems perfectly normal to run ten miles and then carry stuff up and down six flights of stairs for a few hours, moving one roommate out and another in to your third floor apartment.
11. You find yourself saying that you're "just running 12 miles" on Saturday (KG). 
12. You learn what sweat glands are for. 
13. You know when complete strangers go for their daily run/walk (KM)
14. You burn 2000 calories before many of your peers wake up. 
15. Everyone else is budgeting for boots for Fall and you're spending all your money on new running shoes (KG) [Note: as a social work student, I am officially jealous of anyone who can afford Fall boots in the first place]

Training for a marathon or have trained in the past? Feel free to add more suggestions in the comments box below!

Thank you all for accompanying me on this journey!