So many stairs!

Today I had a big thrill: I walked home!! This is a first since my arrival. I've been told not to walk at night, and thus far I have never managed to leave the physics building before sunset, resulting in getting a ride back from my host on his way home. Today I managed to leave before 5pm even, and am now posting this from my room while it is still light out.

I counted the number of stairs today - there are 243 exterior stair-steps between my dorm room and my office. If I include the interior ones it must be close to 300. It's not too bad, either, because the physics building is on one of the lower levels of main campus. Each building has at least two floors difference between the exterior entrance on the two sides - so for instance physics has a ground floor on the back, and when you enter from the front you enter on the 3rd floor. Each row of buildings is the same. It must have been another 60 steps to go to the place where I gave my seminar today.

Where I taught this past year people talked about the huge number of stairs on that campus. It was something like 107 between my office and the union where I ate lunch. That suddenly seems tame!

I've been keeping up with my daily exercises every day but yesterday. When that cold front blew in I felt miserable. I don't know what that happens to me. I was so completely groggy it took me an hour to convince myself to get out of bed. Then walking to school it felt like it was hard to breath the air - I didn't think I'd make it all the way up the stairs without taking a break. Normally the stairs aren't a problem for me at all - they feel refreshing. I would like to figure out why this happens to me so I can try to do something about it. I hate feeling groggy.

Speaking of the weather changes, today was nice again, on and off. It started beautiful, clear and sunny. Then it got really cloudy, then it got sunny again, then cloudy, now sunny... And I mean the whole sky changes - not just the patch above us. The clouds move in and out so fast. I hear the winds here are horrible in the summer; the trees are sideways. It isn't windy on campus at all - I guess we're sheltered by the mountain, but there must be strong winds up higher to move the clouds so fast.

Speaking of exercising - I'm amazed at how hard it is to do a real push-up. I've been working on it now for nearly 10 days. I have so little shoulder strength to begin with... I find that I torque my body, either pushing my shoulders up first or my butt up first, and can not push up fully keeping my body straight. I can go back down straight, so maybe I'll build that strength slowly.
I'm quite tired this evening, having taught part of the class this morning, and given a seminar to a mix of language and science people in the Center for Higher Education. The room was full, and people were friendly, but it was not only taxing to give, but taxing to try to remember everyone and follow up with conversations after it was over. I'm going to take a break and read a bit. I am now reading a modern Sherlock Holmes book recommended (and lent) by my host. In a few hours I'll be "collected" to go to dinner with the dean. I always find it funny he says "collected" - as if I've broken into pieces and he's going to come sweep them up and bundle them together to take me somewhere...

I'm a bit worried about my host... He says he plans to take me to the wine regions this weekend, get me drunk, and talk me into doing more projects... I'm exhausted already, and I'm not yet even working full time! How will I do all these projects once I've started teaching again??? I'm glad the collaboration is going well :)