Studying for the LSAT while training for a half-marathon

Insanity? Mmmm, perhaps.

Earlier today I pounded out my 3-month LSAT study plan, which is to begin a week from this coming Monday. As a result, I’m taking the next week and a couple days off from the studying I have been doing (learning test-taking strategies, common question types, common language used, etc.), and plan on playing a healthy dose of Fallout: New Vegas tonight. Tomorrow morning my friend Anthony and I are to run the NYRR Coogan’s 5K race up in Washington Heights in what is pretty much guaranteed to be a downpour…at least it’s also supposed to be 50 degrees.

At the same time, I will be training for my first half-marathon ever, which will take place May 21st of this year (the NYRR Brooklyn Half-Marathon). Consequently, on every weekday night you can be assured I will be doing one of the following: LSAT studying or half-marathon training. As it gets warmer and the sunlight starts to last a little bit longer, I will probably be able to get the half-marathon training in before work (I used to go to the gym before work last fall and it was fantastic! Training for the half-marathon simply involves stepping out of my house and taking off!), so that will help to increase the number of nights I have “free” to do other things. I never thought I’d see it, but I think winter might be coming to an end soon, which means all of us will be able to come out of hibernation mode!

The interesting thought is that I’m essentially doing a similar process in both respects, so I feel like it’s not at all unmanageable while others (maybe even you, dear reader) may think I’m nuts; however, both endeavors require extreme diligence and work ethic in order to be successful. The only difference is that one is physical and one is intellectual/mental, and it’s the very environment that I tend to thrive in. Bring it on!! 🙂

This is why doctors are bad for me

People think that I’m joking when I say I hate doctors and everything to do with them. Scenarios like what happened to me this morning are a PERFECT illustration of why I am, in fact, not joking when I say these things. Personally, I feel like a significant percentage of the American health care system is a scam. Physicians prescribe medications left and right for “conditions” that may or may not exist; at the same time there is little to no emphasis on patients helping themselves by exercising regularly, eating healthier (e.g. lay off the McDonalds every once in a while for starters), and understanding that it’s a natural byproduct of the human condition to feel “off” every once in a while. If your mom just passed away and you’re feeling a little depressed, then here’s an idea: you’re supposed to be feeling that way. Far too many people run to their “doctors” who then prescribe the newest drug on the market to take those feelings away.

But there’s another scam that gets my blood boiling and that’s the insurance business. For the past two years an amount has been taken from my paycheck every two weeks to pay for my health insurance. For the past year and a half an additional amount has been taken from my paycheck every two weeks to pay for my partner’s health insurance. I have no qualms about paying for this insurance because I believe that a) you should work hard and pay for the things you want, and b) it’s important to have health coverage in the event that you get seriously ill or injured. I will leave it at that because this post is not about the politics of health care and/or what “type” of health system we should have. I, personally, have been fortunate in that I have not once had the need to use this insurance since I began paying for the coverage; consequently, I haven’t “needed” to see a doctor in years. This has been especially true for a little over a year when I began running road races regularly and working out consistently, and I cannot remember the last time I felt seriously ill. I make sure to get enough sleep each night, I consciously make decisions to pay the extra couple of dollars for a wrap at lunchtime rather than eat the cheaper option of fast food (which I very rarely eat in fact), and I try (though struggle with) to take time off and vacations in order to recharge (I seriously felt so great coming back to New York after my 5 days off spent in Boston doing next to nothing). I take care of myself as best I can, and it seems to pay off.

However, I finally gave into all the “suggestions” that I go get a check up today because hey, that’s what people do, right? I’ve already written a full account of what occurred at my appointment this morning here (or rather, what did not occur), and I’ve managed to fully calm down from what I believe is just a ridiculous system of health insurance and so-called “qualifying doctors”. You may need to scroll down the Yelp page a bit to see my review, but it should be at the top. Read it, then continue reading this post to get the full context…

Look, I pay for the insurance and have done so for the past two years. I am, by far, the LOWEST cost patient you could have and my tax dollars pay for FAR bigger drains on the Medicare and Medicaid systems (to fund a population that does not provide the same monetary contributions to the system and opts for a far less healthy lifestyle). You’re going to deny me a routine check up because I happen to use a subset of an insurance company that you’ve arbitrarily decided not to accept? It’s the SAME company, and it’s not like I had much of a choice as to what exactly my employer chose as its insurance coverage! I don’t waste my time going to doctors unless I absolutely need to for a reason, and this is one of the major ones.

Time to Unwind!

Wow! I’ve forgotten just how good it feels to get out of the city for a simple weekend away or a vacation. Margot and I took over her parent’s house in New Ro this weekend because they were going to the beach in Rhode Island and offered us their house and car. Free cable? A/C? Free transportation? No bus stop outside our window? No MTA? A shiny espresso machine? No…no people?!? Um, sign me up please!

It’s funny. I love where I work now, things are looking good on many fronts, I live very comfortably on my income, have a wonderful partner, and just about anything I could want. Yet, you don’t recognize just how much we all need some decompression time away from our lives no matter how good they are. The last time that I actually got out of the city on a vacation of some type (not including several trips to see law schools, take care of and sign on apt’s, etc.) was October of last year. Keep in mind that last time also involved me driving to Indiana from New York and back several days later. Still, it was fun and somewhat relaxing.

However, the last 24 hours have been bliss for me. Thanks to our summer office hours, I left the office around 3 p.m. yesterday, commuted home, and took off for Canada (e.g. Margot’s old house). I have had nothing pressing to do since we arrived. I believe we sat and ate brie and bread for over an hour last night while we watched the Rachel Maddow show. Then we relocated to the living room to watch the third episode of the new Pillars of the Earth movie on Starz. Fell asleep after that. Slept in (though sleeping in means 10 a.m. for me now). I took off on a run while Margot went over to Michaels because, well, it’s Margot. That’s what she does. 🙂 Clearly the decompression had already started working because I ran an 8:19 pace for a run where I felt like I was running at a leisurely pace, plus almost 50% of the route was hills and I was also battling with traffic and traffic lights. But sure enough, I checked my watch when I got to the end of the route and only 30 minutes had passed. Hmmm, okay.

Now I sit here watching movie two in the Pirates of the Caribbean marathon on TV right now. My “pressing” plans for the evening? Figure out the BBQ grill for some dinner! As much as I love New York, we all need to get out of it every once in a while!