Getting Cold Feet...

After a rather sad, bleak and morose stretch, I went out to run this evening as it was snowing. The streets were slushy and wet, and my feet were COLD and wet too. But it was invigorating, and relaxing. Running does clear the head, and helps one focus.
Now, have to grade a bunch of stuff...so better to start running. More productive this way than running after a mirage, which is what my female friend proved to be.

Time - the merciless saw, not the tender healer

My brother, who was visiting us for the holidays, just returned to his home in Canada today. My older sister is flying out tomorrow. My brother, who is extra-ordinarily talented but unbelievably humane and kind, has been a pillar of strength for me over the years, but especially this year. It has been an uneven, up and down year. Started the year with my receiving tenure, a fairly significant milestone. Then I got very attached to a young lady who then led me on a roller-coaster ride for the rest of this year, ending with a Bruce-Lee type kick in my stomach a couple of days ago. While I try to focus on the things at hand, especially my students, my brother has been the glue holding everything together. I have, though, worked hard at providing a number of opportunities for my students. I hope they gain from those experiences- stuff no one did for me in College.

As the anthem-ic Hindi song goes..
Ruk Jana nahin tu kahin haar ke
kanto pe chelke milenge saaye bahaar ke

Began in Summer 2007 to end in November 2008

I met a woman last August, and over the next eight months or so I thought we became close. Today, she put the finishing touches to the end of the relationship. She never did explain why.

It has been a rough two years...

Run-down but up on running

After a few weeks of laziness, I returned to running yesterday. I had gone on a bus ride to Minneapolis/St.Paul and found that my fitness had slipped. So back to running. It feels good and contrary to logic, I eat less when I run.
On the flip side, I am trying to deal with the realization that a woman I had met over a year ago and had been communicating with since (and who I thought was the woman of my dreams) is not interested in sharing her life with me. Hard part is that I cannot fathom the reason why. I expect this is another of life's interesting twists.

Reflections....and Oases

The day after...

Obama has run a smart campaign, focusing on the Iraq war during the primaries and shifting to the economy as the summer rolled on. Now, he has to be smart in selecting his team, and be tactical in dealing with the current crises.

While the Obaminauguration show goes on, the business of business also goes on.

Obama has emphasized fair and free trade, which is causing nervousness among many countries.

In an article titled "Obama Victory Provokes Trade Worries In Asia" Tina Wang writes that "Asian countries are bracing themselves for the impact on trade policy of Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election Tuesday. Obama's win could delay a major trade pact with South Korea and could intensify pressure on China on the related issues of its currency valuation and the U.S. trade deficit.In the weeks leading up to this election, Obama has voiced a tougher stance on trade negotiations with South Korea and China than has his Republican rival, John McCain. In particular, Obama has suggested he would push for a revision of the terms of a historic free trade agreement signed in 2007 by South Korea and the United States, after nearly a year of tough talks, and yet to be ratified by the two countries. The FTA would abolish most tariffs on goods traded between the two countries and would add tens of billions of dollars to bilateral trade.

"Koreans are all worrying about the FTA," said Dong Hyu Yang, an economist at Seoul National University. "Mr. Obama would like to renegotiate the agreement, but I wonder if this is possible from this side." The South Korean government may not be ready to renegotiate, but "it all depends on how tough Mr. Obama will get about this issue," he added.

......One major question will be how President-elect Obama responds to a protectionist-leaning Congress, which Tuesday turned over more Republican seats for Democratic gains. Some Senate Democrats have been vocal critics of China's currency controls and called for stepping up duties on Chinese imports.

Obama said in September that he was concerned about Chinese textile imports and would consider levying restrictions on Chinese goods, as well as promising to exert greater pressure on Beijing to allow the yuan more leeway to appreciate in order to narrow the $260 billion U.S. trade deficit with China. A China Daily editorial Wednesday analyzing the U.S. presidential election outcome responded to some of the concerns of U.S. trade critics: "As a growing market with 1.3 billion people, China is going to consume more goods made in America, creating job opportunities for the US."

According to Bloomberg, Luxury retailers may suffer the industry's biggest reversal of fortune during the holidays as the global financial crisis dents the wealth of the richest Americans.

The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index, which covers almost 90 percent of the economy, fell to 44.4, below economists' forecasts and the worst result since records began in 1997. A private survey indicated that companies axed 157,000 workers last month.

A Nice November Surprise

Today, November 2nd, happened to be a really nice day. After moving the clock backwards in the morning, I worked on a power outlet that had stopped working. After removing the outlet and putting everything back, I found that the outlet now works just fine. I have no clue what the problem had been in the first place.
Then I looked up the NYT and saw that Paula Radcliffe had won the Marathon. Ever since her phenomenal time of 2 hrs 15 minutes 25 seconds, she has not quite lived up to her billing, but apparently ran a strong race today.
It was a partly sunny, cool but not cold, windy morning in Chicago, with temperature around 62 degrees, when I put on my shorts and my Tellabs T-shirt and went out for a run. I felt great and my legs felt strong- something I have not experienced in a long time. I went for a long run and ran eight plus miles at an under seven minute mile pace. When the body works like a well-tuned violin the music of running is just intoxicating. The mind focuses on positive thoughts, and the energy is infectious.
Came back, showered, ate lunch, and then did come clean-up around the house.
Thanks, nature, for a wonderful day.