It's Christmas time in the city!

I spent a few days in Richmond, VA with the family for Christmas. I stayed with my sister and brother-in-law. It was nice to spend some extra time with them. I got up NOVA (Northern VA area) yesterday afternoon. We went on a tourist walk around DC this afternoon to see a few Christmas sites around the capital. Below is a picture/map. The Best Man got me a heart rate monitor with GPS. We tried out the GPS part today and are planning on running with the HR monitor tomorrow. Tonight = my first time out and about in DC! :D


View Larger Map

The past several weeks told via pictures:


I learned that koosies are not just for the beach.












Sam & I made a pretty slick bet and I ended up singing Boys to Men's "End of the Road" with him at the Mexican joint around the corner.















I have been flying with Sam twice. The first time my tummy was not a fan of the decent, but last weekend I felt much better.





Sam and another couple and I went to the Biltmore. It is huge, majestic and way before it's time. The holiday decorations were fantastic!









I had a Girls' Night Out Holiday Party at my apartment.






More apartment pictures to come...too sleepy now. . .

This is one of my co-workers brother-in-laws. . .

Robby The Elf

Yes. He's serious.

Weak attempt at an update

I'm alive and well. I'm living in the real world instead of coming home and sitting at the computer from the time I get home until I go to bed. Yes, I have been bad at updating.

TK, I had big plans for today. . . but then my camera battery died. I even took a few pictures of my apartment...oh and of my TK styled updo with shiny, pink lip gloss.

This weekend, my friends, I plan on updating with pictures. Get ready!

Artsy Fartsy

I thought I'd update with a picture collage of a little hobby of mine. . . wreath making. :)

My fall wreath....yeah, the bow is a little weird... this was before I went to Michael's (I miss Ben Franklin down here!) and got help with the bows.


Wreath above my mantel



My holiday mantel:

Close up:

Another angle:

Wreath on my door:

Pine cones and berries:

Thankful

Today I am thankful that going to work actually made me less lonely down here.
I am thankful that work had a FREE turkey dinner (or lunch as you probably call it, dinner is supper down here, ya'll).
I am thankful for friends who think about me being lonely and offer me food. :)

Decisions

It's unfortunate how a person's decision can affect another's life. Today, I went to the dentist for the first time since middle school. As a middle schooler, I didn't decide not to go to the dentist anymore. My mom thought dental insurance wasn't important. Sure, I got fliers in grad school for cheap dental insurance, but I didn't trust them. Instead of paying for my own insurance,going to free clinics, or having the hot dental students work on my teeth I waited it out until I got my own. Since September first I've had insurance. I stalled. It took me a while to get motivated to pick a dentist and make the call. The Best Man hounded me into making the call. The list of things I need sounds something like a certain Christmas tune. . .
3 fillings
2 crowns
and
1 dental implant

Oh, and it probably goes without saying, but I cried. I was so embarrassed at the state of my teeth and overwhelmed at the laundry list of things that need to get done. If I had been going to the dentist regularly the past 12 or so years most of this could have been prevented. Oh, well. I'm here for a reason and now it's time to make appointment after appointment to cross items off the above list. Wish me luck!

Give me a line

RULES:
* Grab the book nearest you right now.
* Turn to page 56
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence, along with these instructions in your blog post.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

"She had a lot of sex appeal, too, if you really want to know." The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

I got this from a friend on facebook. I didn't find a cool line in a book then tell you the page to do it on your own. I think it's terribly, amazing that I got such a cool line. Oh, fate.

So Fresh

A Fresh Market virgin no more. I was like a kid in a candy shop tonight as I strolled around the isles in the open, maze-of-a-store. The variety of prepared, fresh and packaged foods was slightly overwhelming. They had every holiday food of which you could dream. I picked up mulling spices on my way in on my way to find a bottle of wine and half gallon of milk. I think it's quiet tricky how the aisles are all caddy corner to one another so you have to pass several other tasty items before coming to what you need. However, I only ended up with two more items that I intended...which 2x what I went in for, but I won't think about it like that. I was shocked when the total for my items came up to $13. I had always assumed The Fresh Market was more expensive than other places. Granted I did see things like fancy salsa for 6 dollars or fresh peanut butter for $5 to $8. But, to just run in and grab a couple things it was relatively inexpensive. I think I'm a fan.

Projectile

Projectile vomit is not as cool as it sounds. Especially, when you have a weak stomach yourself. This why I wear scrubs and retired my crocs with the holes in them. YUCK!

The perks

The perks of having a whole state between my boyfriend and I:

I don't feel guilty about going out with my girls once a week.

LOVE it! :D

Oh, and The Best Man gets to go out with his friends as well. :-*

Work is finally going to an EMR (Electronic Medical Record...fancy, ey?). I attended the second of three classes today to get the updated information. The instructors were stumped- twice- with problems that anyone proficient with computers could answer...aka me. I answered the "problems" with ease..."Um, you can't use the button because you haven't activated that field...click in the box." I told The Best Man about helping the instructors in the computer class and he was rather proud...although he somehow seems to think his computer prowess has brushed off on me via osmosis.

The Boss Lady's monologue:
We don't have round laundry baskets at my house. Everything I fold is in squares...or rectangles. I don't fold anything in a circle. Round laundry baskets don't make sense to me.

Death and Dying

Words cannot express the grief felt, the tears spent, or memories lost when a loved one passes away. If I knew a thousand languages, I would never be able to find the words to convey what a genuine, caring, compassionate person Barbara was.

Barb went to PT school with me and sat in the front row with me. We "front rowers" as we referred to ourselves, studied together, did group projects together, and went out to lunch for each others birthdays. Barbara inspired us to study harder, disregard other's opinions, relish the time spent together, find time in our busy schedules to laugh, and show thanks for what we had just to name a few things. Over all, Barb inspired us all to become not only the best PT we could be, but also the best person.

At the age of 40, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just months before graduation. Due to treatments she almost didn't make it to the graduation ceremony in May. She told us she was doing well. I kept meaning to call. I told myself I was busy. Something throughout the day would make me think of her up there in VA and I'd tell myself to call her that night. But, I never did.

Barbara passed away a week and a half ago after spending a month in the hospital, the last week of which she was on hospice. Thankfully, I was able to get off work and find a reasonable plane ticket to be able to attend her funeral. The memories and thoughts of those she left behind made me both cry and laugh. Her family had made a picture collage of her throughout the years. One picture made us all laugh: after losing her hair, instead of a cap or scarf to cover her head, Barb wore a Rastafarian hat complete with dreads down to her stomach. One previous co-worker told a story that made us all laugh. She took a picture of herself drinking a margarita and sent it via text message, saying "This one's for you, just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you." Barb's reply was a picture of her IV running into her arm with the following text: "This is MY margarita." Other stories made me cry or smile, but all made me wish I had known Barbara better and had been a better friend to her.

The past several days have been difficult. It is hard to believe someone so young and full of life can be here one moment, taken for granted, and gone before you know it. Barbara was only 15 years older than me. Too young to be taken by cancer. She was going to be a fantastic PT. She took the time to listen to her patients and she was brilliant. I so regret not calling her these past few months. I wish I had been the friend to her that she was to me. All I can say is that she will be greatly missed.

PR, BABY

Here's my gimic:


The Dietary Student told me to "Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth!"


We finished.


And I totally PR'd...8 minutes off my time. . .

Place	Bib	Age	Name	City/State	Chip Time	Gun Time	Pace
244	1235	25	KRISTEN SHERIFF	GREENVILLE SC	02:06:56	02:08:33	00:09:49

1/2

Just ran the Greenville 1/2 Marathon today. I didn't train too much, but I think I PR'd. The official time hasn't been posted yet, but I think I did it in under 2 hours and 10 minutes, which is at least 5 minutes faster than the last one I ran in March. I plan to post intense pictures and the official time once they are up online.

I'm hoping to get motivated this week to actually train for the Richmond half which is next month. . . but at this moment, as I'm hobbling around, I don't want to think about running another race so soon.

I just took out the trash and returned someone else's sock to the laundry facility in my pj's, brown puffy vest (did you know they are coming back? I'm excited as I never got rid of mine), and boat shoes.





Guy Getting out of His Car: "Cuuute pants!"
Me: "Uuuh, thanks? No one was suppossed to be out here"
Guy: "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it was true."

Fall cleaning?

This weekend I am cleaning house and buying things in preparation for my first TWO house guests! :D The Best Man is wrapping up his road trip this week and will be HERE on Thursday!!! The Dietary Student whom I met while on my rotation in fabulous FarmVegas with The Self Proclaimed Crazy Cat Lady and Best CI Ever (I have given her the second title), is coming to G-Vegas as well. She is attempting to run a marathon in EVERY state. So, while I run the Greenvilel 1/2 she will run the whole marathon. After next weekend she can check off her 5 (I think) state!

I must run to continue buying home decor and groceries! I hope everyone is having a fabulously lazy day!

Seriously

So, I don't have cable. No big deal. Only only watch two tv shows: Prison Break and Grey's. One would think I wouldn't need cable to watch these. I get Fox for my Prison Break fix on Mondays (when Fox doesn't deem that baseball trumps Prison Break as happened this week). I don't get ABC, however.

This is a problem.

The first episode of the season I managed to invite myself over to the Other New PT's place. Last week, I played her potential wing girl (is that what you call the girl version?) and ended up (after several hours, two phone calls to The Best Man, and one link from said Best Man) watching it online later that weekend.

Tonight, I sunk to an all time low and watched it while walking on the treadmill at the tiny gym here. Normally there isn't anyone in the gym that late.

Notice I said normally. Do you know how awkward it is to tell someone who comes to the gym to work out that they can use your treadmill as you are only walking (and very slowly at that secondary to just having eaten dinner out with the girls) to watch the tv? Well, I'll just say it was so embarassing that I ended up "jogging" after a while despite the pains in my abdomen while my stomach tried to tell me it was still digesting my food.

I hope I get that dumb coupon in the mail so I can get that convertor box and hopefully get regular channels. Wish me luck!

Ear plug

So I tried out one ear plug last night (I'm afraid I won't hear my own alarm with two). I did not wake up in the middle of the night due to obscene noises from next door like I had done a couple of times in the past few days. I am going to have to kick my habit of hitting "snooze" since the guy above me is still driving me crazy with HIS alarm! I'm way too nice to say anything...but I'm seriously considering it. Some mornings, when I can't get back to sleep when his alarm wakes me too early, it's all I can do not to find the broom and bang on the ceiling above and yell "WAKE UP!"


On a happier note: Today we celebrate a very, special day: It is officially (according to me anyway) one year and six months since The Best Man and I started dating. He is currently chillaxin in Colorado, but we plan to celebrate in two weeks and one day when he (FINALLY) comes to visit! I'm starting to learn about all the fancy places down here, so I'll have to trick him into taking me out somewhere nice! ;) Only kidding. . .

San Francisco: Day 2

San Fran was MUCH colder than I expected. I mean, this is the west coast we are talking about! It is supposed to be warm! Right? Well, the previous day ended up being warm in Napa Valley, so I thought I'd be fine with my sun dress and a sweater. I ended up having to buy an over priced ($60!) pair of Levi's to put under my sun dress to keep warm. We spent the morning riding the trolley, exploring Fisherman's wharf and window shopping. There was a National Park on the bay, which was pretty cool. Below is a picture of me as a feisty, captain of a ship! Aaarg!

After a lunch of fish and chips with a great view, we checked out Lombardy Street. We got a few decent pictures of it. On our way to check out the Golden Gate we saw a LONG line of tourists waiting to drive down this famous street.

Next, we drove over the Golden Gate for the second time. We went to a cool overlook spot that The Best Man had found the day before I got there. We had spectacular views (despite the fog and wind) with only a few other people.



Then, we drove and drove for at least an hour to get to the Pacific. Below is a picture of the first time my piglets ever touched the Pacific Ocean! Not only was it cold, but it was also contaminated! This was as far as I went in! Afterwards we found a dive of a restaurant for dinner. It looked somewhat questionaable from the outside, but we ended up being pleasantly surprised. We came back and took a bit of a nap, then drank some wine and chatted and ended up getting some really good Indian food from across the street.

That was our trip via pictures. Sorry it took so long to post on the second day. I was busy catching up Grey's Season 4 before the new season started this week (it was spectacular by the way!).

Ps. I'd like to mention that TK has officially gotten me hooked on box wine. The good kind, not the shaddy kind. I do have to agree that the only down fall is not knowing when it will run dry.

Tired.

This week I'm tired of taking care of people who yell, curse, or at the very nicest frown as soon as they catch sight of me. I'm also tired of helping people who aren't receptive. That's enough complaining for the day. . . I'm off to watch the last two episodes of Grey's Season 4 before Season 5 starts tomorrow...although I still need to figure out exactly how I'll be watching it tomorrow without a cable.

San Francisco: Day 1

After traveling for nearly 10 hours, I made it to San Francisco only half awake. I did sleep the whole way (but very fitfully because my limbs couldn't stretch out and my legs and butt kept falling asleep), but arriving at 12:30 AM, which was 3:30 East Coast time, really threw me off. Sam was awake of course and chatted my ear off on the way to the hotel.

After a few hours of sleep we got up a little before 7 in order to leave for The Ferry Building at quarter til. We hopped on our first trolley after walking up a hill or two. San Francisco, like Rome (and Richmond!), has 7 hills. I was so surprised at how hilly the city was. I've never seen a city with that many HUGE hills. I think the only reason such a hilly place turned into such a big city is the fact that it's on the water; a port city. I digress. The morning trolley experience wasn't terribly exciting because it was so early and we were one of the few groups of people on the trolley. However, this was great for watching how those things work!



On the way to Napa Valley we crossed over the Golden Gate bridge for the first time and got to see some of the country side.

The first winery was all sparkling or bubbly wine. We learned that only vines from France can be called Champagne due to a treaty. Of course, the U.S. did not sign this treaty with France, but we do honor it and don't use the term Champagne. The tour guide of this winery was very animated for 9:30 in the morning and drank along with us. I'm sure he must have been toasted by noon. The Best Man bought a bottle of bubbly at my request (I'm hoping to use it to celebrate in the next 3 years or so).


Next, we had a picnic lunch of sandwiches and pesto pasta at the second winery. Then, we tasted the wine. This was by far my favourite winery. Everything tasted great and I actually wanted to drink these wines. The Best Man ended up buying THREE bottles of wine.

Then, I get a little fuzzy. We went to two more wineries. One of which we tasted outside and I really enjoyed getting to walk along the vines. The other winery had pretty terrible wine, but since we each got 10 off a bottle we bought two bottles for 9 dollas total!

We ended the afternoon on a ferry back to San Francisco. Even though the wind and speed made it colder, we sat outside on the back of the ferry. We had a much better view than sitting inside.


I'll try to update on day 2 sometime soon! :)

Best Coast here I come!

SO very excited for my trip to San Francisco this weekend! I don't think it will really hit me until I get on the plane/s. I had to work this past weekend for the first time and have subsequently worked the past 7 days in a row. At this point, my main focus is getting through tomorrow's work day (especially since TEN more patients were admitted on my floor alone today). THEN, I will be even more excited. I even have a friend here who is going to drive me to and from the airport! Yesss! I love that I've known her for less than two months and she's willing to go out of her way to drive me around. It probably also helps that she lives 5 minutes from the airport and just bought a sexy, new Beamer this past weekend. It's nice to find girl friends down here who are like the ones I left at home- or like the one I've known since kindergarten at least.

Besides drinking Californian wine in Napa Valley, I am most looking forward to hugging The Best Man. I think that will be the highlight of this trip. I am a very huggy, touchy, feely kinda person. I have only gotten a handful of hugs since I've been down here. These hugs were fleeting and sometimes obligatory and/or awkward. I can't wait to be hugged by someone who knows me and loves me. I think that's the best feeling in the world. Just getting lost in a hug. That is something that I took for granted in the past. Now that I don't have close friends and family to hug I am dearly missing it. It's amazing how much we need another human's touch. Maybe that's part of why I do what I do? Just a thought.

Also, of note, I will be having my first guests next month (unless I can con other friends and family to come sooner). The Dietary Student from my best clinical will be visiting in October to run the marathon (I'm doing the half). This is also right when The Best Man will (hopefully slash better) make it into town. I'm looking forward to showing off my town. Now, I just have to trick my family, KO & Mike, The Newly Weds, TK & PB, etc. to come visit!

Addiction

I know I have a problem. And I'm trying to stop. I really am. Part of me knows that buying 6 pairs of shoes in the 2 months I've lived here is obscene. But honestly, I needed 5 of the 6 pairs. I've been seeing girls in cute sandals all summer, so I got a pair to celebrate being done with boards. Plus, they were only 10 dollars. Then, I needed new running shoes. That's valid, right? Well, they were having a buy one get one half off sale. So, I got a pair of Sperrys. I needed those, too. I mean, I can't live in South Carolina and not have a pair of tan Sperrys. The blue pair I got last summer doesn't work with a lot of outfits. Pair number four was a pair of brown moccasins. I have been wanting some since last fall and I don't have a single pair of brown shoes. They were a necessary asset to my wardrobe. Today, I bought two pairs of shoes. Both purple. They are completely different shades of course. Obviously it would not have been practical to have two pairs of shoes the same color purple. It's not like I have any other pairs of purple shoes (well, unless you count flip flops, but those are only $3 from Old Navy). Three pairs of purple shoes would just be too much. Don't you agree? I have bought more than just shoes, but I won't bore you with more details. I have lost 15 pounds since this time last year, so its all needed. Plus, I got rid of a lot of clothes over the last year over the biggest of 5 moves. It also doesn't help when a friend of mine down here says she won't wear something around the same people/person for a year or so. I can't wear the same 5 tops every week. Enough of excuses. The plan is to save up for furniture and student loans. I'm not going to buy any more clothes this month. Well, at least not until I get to San Francisco later this week. . .

Pictures

I thought I'd post some pictures to prove that I am indeed talking to people and making friends.
Below is the evidence.

I decided to have a weekly girls night out. The second of which was last night. From left to right: 1) me, 2) new RN on my floor who works nights, 3) went to grad school with 4) new PT that I work with :)


Rehab Night Out: From left to right: 1) OT on my floor who is sadly leaving in 2.5 weeks, 2) guy who's job I took, 3) me, 4) new PT, 5) our lovely secretary :)

Spending money to save money

Spending a lot of dough eventually means I'll save some in the long run. My lucky day was today. I found a pair of boots for $60 off! Original price: $80, "Sale" price: $20. I use "quotes" because apparently it was a mistake; the new boots were not actually on sale. The lady at the register was not pleased at my "deal." When peeking inside the shoe box (to make sure I didn't steal anything), she exclaimed, "My daughter would LOVE to get THESE boots for TWENTY dollars!" Hey, I didn't make it up, lady, that's what the tag said!

My second money saving event of the day involved pesto. I had some pasta noodles left over. I've been trying all week to find some pesto to put on the pasta. The small Publix on my way home from work, Super BI-lo and Walmart do not carry pesto. Some of the workers even asked what it was! Crossing my fingers, I drove to Whole Foods as a last, expensive resort. Of course it was twice as expensive as it would have been if the other stores had carried it. When the girl tried to ring it up (that was the only thing I planned to purchase), it wouldn't scan. I told her this was the 3rd place I'd tried (3rd today, 4th over all). She then said, "It's not ringing up, that's a big zero." Then, she filled out a form and gave me the six dollar pesto for free. I don't know if it was the fact that it was organic or free that made this pesto taste better than my usual 3 dolla variety. Dinner never tasted so good!

Rendevouz

Did I mention The Best Man and I are meeting up in San Francisco next weekend? Yay, I'm pretty pumped on life! We're going on a wine tour in the Napa Valley. On the way back from the tour we ride a ferry and go by The Golden Gate. You should be very jealous. Oh, and I got a new camera last week and it looks like I'll finally get to use it!

Also, of note, second Girls' Night Out outing tonight: Sushi for 2 dolla! Mmm wasabiii! :D

The Skinny

I can fit into my "skinny jeans." Score!

Reasons I'm not sleeping

1. I go through bouts of insomnia with changes in my life or when I'm stressed, ie I just moved to a new state alone and started my first big girl job.
2. Guy upstairs who's alarm goes off for at least an hour before he gets up- oh and it goes off at least 20 minutes before mine.
3. Next door: squeaky bed, loud girlfriend. Disgusting.
4. I don't go to bed early enough, which leaves me less time to sleep, plus its about that time when number 3 occurs. :(

Smelly

I noticed the towel I've been using the past few days smelled funny last night. I forgot to get a clean towel until I used it again today. Sniffing again, I was able to place the smell. Baby spit up. Yuck.

Project RUNway

I've got multiple excuses for not working out in the past week. Tonight, I found something on the TV in the "gym" here that kept me working out for an hour. Okay, so an hour? Really? That's not that big of a feat. It really isn't. Except that I get bored on the 3 machines they have and was sick all weekend. There I go with the excuses. Anyway, I'm glad that I was able to find something entertaining enough to make me sweat for a whole 60 minutes. Maybe I do need to join a gym with a TV on every machine?

Turkey

Today is the first day in ___ days (or weeks) that I have not watched even one episode of Grey's! Coincidentaly enough, it was also the first day that I had someone besides The Best Man set foot into my apartment. The other new PT came over before a night out with the rest of our department. I made turkey burgers. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I will have to find a new obsession once all these crazy people here start watching football. "How I Met Your Mother"??

Giiirls Night Out :)

So. I'm shy. And sometimes I don't talk unless spoken to. But, I have some how managed to make friends down here. Friends who don't stand me up and leave me hanging. It's pretty exciting. I've forgotten how much I've missed just hanging out with the girls. Well, actually I didn't forget, they forgot. At this point I'm simply rambling. I'll just say that I'm impressed that lil' ol' shy me has made some girl friends who are Southern, classy, pretty, funny, genuine, silly, fashionable and well mannered. Now, I just have to get them to take me shopping. :)

Another loud neighbor

The guy next door has a very squeaky bed.

Upstairs

So, the guy who lives above me was absent for a while. At least I didn't hear him. Then I started hearing multiple foot steps prancing around. I finally figured out that he frequently has several extended family members over for dinner. This noise does not bother as I am awake.

What does bother me is that his alarm goes off at 6 AM every morning. This would not be so bad if he also got up at 6 AM every morning. The alarm goes off continuously until 6:20, which also happens to be when my alarm goes off, when he gets up, crosses the room and presses snooze. 9 minutes later its screeech screeech screeech until 7:10, which is 10 minutes before I leave. I mean, seriously?!

The Brat Pack

Raise your left hand if you know and love "The Brat Pack."

Raise your right hand if you have seen "The Breakfast Club" and recognize references to it in pop culture.

If both of your hands are up in the air, then you should be as astonished as I was when I saw a reference to "The Breakfast Club" in a JC Penny comercia for back to school shopping for tweens and teens.

Seriously? That reference went over all their heads. One of my lifeguards who is 17 had not seen nor heard of "The Goonies. " Now, I know these two movies are not in the same realm, but bare with me a moment. If a soon to be high school senior doesn't know what "Goonies never say die" means, how is he going to catch the reference to "The Breakfast Club?" I'm just sayin'!

Speaking of Grey's, I got an ad in the mail for another apartment complex. It reads:

paper or plastic?
USC or Clemson?
mcdreamy or mcsteamy?
expensive or inexpensive?

some choices are easy, but some just make cents!!!

I LOVE the Grey's reference. Just so you know, people are CRAZY down here about Carolina vs. Clemson football. I was told by another Virginian who has relocated here "Just tell them you're not from here. Do not pick sides. What ever you do, do not pick sides." I appreciate his advice.

Extensive

Old people amaze me.

Today, I watched a very extensive surgery and later worked with the patient to get out of bed. They say young people are very resilient, but I find if you look very closely...you'll find (perhaps a subset of) old persons are too.

I mean, look at my English Granny. She is 86...87? And has just about warn out all her old crusin friends. She broke her arm a couple of years ago and would only take Tylenol.

Side note: With every Grey's Anatomy episode I watch (and I watched 3 this evening) I realize it's about me. It's time to put me first. Well, that is why I moved down here after all, isn't it?

Oh, and I went to my first baseball game here last night w/ the RN. Apparently, we are on a loosing streak, but we didn't notice as we chatted it up the whole time. :)

P.S. Is it Friday yet???

Weekend Numero Dos

This weekend was slightly more exciting than last because it was filled with more sun and friends! :) I layed by the pool both Saturday and Sunday and am subsequently now sporting a few more freckles. Last night, I saw Dark Knight with the Pharmacists. What a great movie! It's very surreal to think that is the last we will see of Health Ledger. I'm not good with eulogies, but I will certainly miss him. After the movie, we went to Fridays. I had fish tacos. This made me think of Cabo Fish Taco in Blacksburg, VA. Now THOSE were some good fish tacos! The Pharmacists are both really nice, genuine people- even if they think I'm crazy for dating a vagabond who is currently hiking all over the place! ;) Actually, I'm currently on the phone with The Best Man...so I better go pay attention to him all the way in South Dakota!

Rehab Orientation: The Real Tour

Today, the new OT and I got a Real Tour of each floor. We walked each floor as our guide told us the usual diagnoses and pointed out where to find x, y, and z. This was all extremely helpful!

About 10 of us went to lunch...Mexican. I am definitely getting my fill of chips and salsa this week! It was nice to get out and not be talked at but instead talk with people. Of course, this made it hard to actually get back to work, especially since we had more paper work to do after lunch.

So. I'm on the floor with a scary Doc. One that will yell if I don't cross a "t" or dot an "i". . . Yiiikes! That's all I'm going to say about that because I don't want to work myself up into a frenzy. Be prepared to hear me complain about walking on egg shells and bending over backwards to please. Maybe I'll surprise all of us and stand up for myself, you never know!

Policies and Procedures

Yesterday, we went over the new EMR (Electronic Medical Record) that is in it's second phase now. We won't actually start documenting with it until October, but can already look up some information using it. TK, this put's Farmvegas' to shame! Okay, so that's not hard to do, but still. It's pretty amazing that before I even go up on the floor I can see if my patients have had their pain medications, see images of their x-rays, and abnormal lab values (which are spelled out as if they knew that this is a hole in our education "hey, you, dummy, this value is abnormally high!") all with the click of a few keys. I love it!

P.S. I had Mexican last night with the Pharmacist and his Pharmacist Wife and her brother. It was delicious! I loved getting out of the house and interacting with other people...even if I did clam up a bit! Mmm chips and cheeese dip! :)

On to today. Policies and Procedures. All of this is necessary, but entirely too dull to enlighten you with. Except for:

"Do you know what R.A.C.E is?"

Rescue. Alarm. Contain. Extinguish.

"Good, what about P.A.S.S?"

Pull. Aim. Squeeze. Sweep

Then she went over what we do during a fire alarm/drill. As her words are still hanging in a little speech bubble attached to her lips the fire alarm starts going off "Code Zero Basement." Pretty crazy timing. Who has ever heard of a fire code being anything but red??? Weird.

Here's a picture of me in my new royal blue scrubs:



I LOVE this color...not to mention the comfort and lack of having to decide what to wear in the morning. How amazing do they make my eyes look?! I am trying to embrace the crazy curls being loud and wild and free like you people seem to dig...it's hard in this humidity. And I thought VA was bad! Any product suggestions?

Orientation: Day 2

Today was much more boring. There were less speakers than yesterday, which meant we had to listen to the same few people talk ALL day. Here are a few highlights:

From the older black woman on risk management: "We had this woman about to walk up the escalator and two ceiling tiles fell on her head. Lucky for us she had thick hair and all I had to do was pay for her to go to the beauty shop."

From the 5 foot 2, self-proclaimed "little man with a little power" and thick rimmed Clark Kent like glasses on security: "When you leave work at night, I want you to take off your name tag, put it deep in your pocket, and be the meanest SOB around! I mean it! If someone asks you for money say 'Get a job! I did!'" aaaand...

When describing himself and his position ("The Security Guy"): "I am the scrawny, geeky guy with the thick glasses and pocket protector that you picked on in high school. Now, I'm back to haunt you. I'm here to make sure every little thing is in line. I'm here to catch you doing things incorrectly. When little men, get a little power...it's a scary thing!"

Another highlight, which I did not think was funny (unlike the two speakers above who had me in stitches the whole time): When a non-PT, non-health care provider presented the section on back injury prevention. Man, I get frustrated just thinking about it. It was all I could do not to shout out things she was saying incorrectly or missing on the slides.

On a brighter note, I'm going out for Mexican tomorrow with the pharmacist and his pharmacist wife. :) Yuuum!

Orientation: Day 1

The hardest thing about working, second only to actually waking up and getting out of bed, is taming this mane:


This is my idea of tame: wax + a hair tie = half up and almost professional???

Okay, so we all hate icebreakers, right? Orientation of course started with talking to your "new best friend" and then introducing them to the rest of the group (close to 30 people) . I was introduced as being "athletic, a runner." Half way through the day a young pharmacist cornered me and asked about my running. We ended up exchanging numbers so his wife and I can be running partners. She sounds a lot faster than I am, but maybe this will be the motivation I need to kick it up a notch. Plus, he's from here and she isn't and she needs to meet people and so do I. Perfect! I also met a new grad RN who will be working on the orthopedics floor. She's from here and knows where to go and where not to go. Again, perfect! I cannot believe that I, the girl who does not speak unless spoken to, got not one but two phone numbers today! Score!

About the orientation itself: boring of course, but it somehow managed to leave me excited to be working for this company (not to mention scared about determining my benefits and 403b plan!).

If you want to laugh, read The Best Man's account of being locked out in his underwear ;)

First Weekend

My first weekend here alone (without The Best Man) and NOT studying went a little something like this:

Friday:
- Began reading Inventing a Nation- Washington, Adams, Jefferson
- Lounged by the pool and got a tinsy bit burned
- Crocheted a scarf for someone from high school...I was supposed to finish this in 2000. . .
- Ran 1.75 miles on the treadmill
- Watched Bridget Jones' Diary & Wimbledon
- Drank wine
- Missed The Best Man (he's in Illinois)
- Texted The Best Man
- Talked to The Best Man

Saturday:
- Recycled the boxes I have unpacked
- Bought a really cute dress from Old Navy
- Ran 1.99 miles on the treadmill
- Finished the scarf noted above and started working on another half finished one
- Watched Serendipity
- Did not drink wine

Sunday:
- Lounged by the pool while reading, crocheting, and listening to the outrageous accents of the other people at the pool
- Cleaned my bathroom
- Grocery shopped
- Elliptical x 20 minutes
- Got ready for my first day of work! :)

Man, what an exciting life I lead!

Don't you hate lying?

Nervous Woman on Airplane: Don't you just hate flying?
Annie Reed: Yes, I do, and I just told the most terrible one to the man I'm about to marry. Do you feel that any lie is a betrayal?
[pause]
Nervous Woman on Airplane: I said FLYING.

Man, what a spectacular movie!

So, I lied. I vowed that I would go out in public, even by myself, so I did. Thursdays and Fridays there are free concerts downtown. So I gave it a shot.

I have this really bad habit that if I make eye contact with someone by accident (while I'm people watching) I keep looking back to see if they think I'm still looking. Well, guess what they keep noticing me and I keep noticing them. This happened with two people tonight. Here's where my lie comes in:

1) An olderish, trying to be younger woman on a date. She just thought I was weird.
2) A mid-to-late-at-least-10-years-older-than-me-man-wearing- tallish-black-socks- with-shorts.
He did not think I was weird.
"Are you waiting for someone?" (As I reached into my purse to call The Best Man)
(Who could I be waiting for in a town where I don't know a soul?)
"Yes?"
"Oh. . . What time is it?"
"Almost 7:30."
"Lovely."

Then I called The Best Man to chat with him on his first leg of his 3 MONTH long road trip. And I left.

Meeting people is hard when you are painfully shy, taken, and piiiicky.

A Kodak moment or two. . .

Good news, people! I found the USB cable to connect my camera to the computer! Score! Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks:

7/11: Moving down to G-ville. The car was packed!



My odometer at one point during the trip:



The Best Man blowing out the candles on the tower o' brownies I made him for his birthday:



7/18: HUGE snapping turtle The Best Man spotted while camping this past weekend:

"I don't want no scrub, a scrub is a guy who thinks he's fly"

As much as I LOVE Grey's Anatomy I freaked out when I was almost forced to buy a Grey's scrub top. I have to get scrubs in royal blue and was having trouble finding tops in this color in my size. At first, I could only find 1 Grey's Anatomy brand scrub top in my size. Okay, so it was pretty cute and actually makes me look like a woman and not a teenage boy. But it's almost borderline sexy (well, I think scrubs are sexy in general, so maybe that's just me?) and who is going to take me seriously wearing a scrub top that has a little Grey's Anatomy tag on it? No one! Thankfully, after looking around for 10 extra minutes I found 2 unisex tops and didn't have to buy the Grey's top. Phew! That also saved me about $14 bucks because obviously Grey's scrubs come with a trendy price. Too bad I'm back to looking like a boy, but at least I have cute Dickies bottoms :)

The Results

So, I took the test last Wednesday and have been in hiding (aka driving back to VA and camping) ever since. That was the worst 4 hours of my life. I walked out "knowing" that I didn't pass. I've been practicing a mix of dispair and indifference until today when they finally posted that I'm now licensed (they have had my results since LAST THURSDAY).

Now, I have come out of hiding with the good news and can get on with my life! Whew! I will try to update once this adrenaline rush wears off!

Unofficially Official

According to my internet aliases, I am now residing in South Carolina. This won't be official in the real world until I can fork up some money for car insurance and pay my car tax and all those fun grown up things. Yay!

Living out of boxes

The move this past weekend was relatively uneventful mostly due to assistance from The Best Man (I keep wanting to shorten his name, but somehow don't think he'd respond well to BM).

At this point, I have:
1) Studied- not as much as I would have liked.
2) Been living out of boxes secondary to trying to study.
3) Found my way around suberbia.
4) Started learning to cook- I have a sneaky suspicion I may be a decent cook. You know, so long as I have a recipe and a lot of spices- Any good recipes out there?
5) Stolen the internet- shhh, don't tell the guy next door!

I still need to:
1) Buy a LOT of things
2) Take and PASS the test.
3) Unpack
4) Upload pictures of my drive down- which I currently can't do because I don't have my cable to hook up my camera...grrr
5) Head back to VA for the rest of my stuff and for The Best Man's annual birthday camping trip :)

Happy (Early) Birthday, Sammy! :)

Packing up Ol' Bessie!

I've already started packing up Ol' Bessie over the past couple of days, but now it's time to get serious. So serious in fact, that I'll be packing not only my stereo, but also this laptop! Over and out! I won't have internet, except poolside and in the club house once I move. I don't have the money for luxuries such as the internet, when I have to worry about gas and food. I'll try to update sometime after the move and/or boards! Adios!

Festivities

I moped around for the first part of my LAST shift EVER at the Y today. I had to tell a lot of the patrons I've known since I was a kid that today was my last day. It was all rather anticlimatic- well besides a few guards aknowleding that I was leaving and a slow clap from Peter. I moped right up until I saw my boss, Drew, who said "Thanks for everything, I've got to run, sorry I'm missing tonights festivities."

"Festivities?"

"Yeah. For you tonight."

Hmm...I don't think I was supposed to know about that.

So, the ol' Y crew pulled through and had a lil going away shin dig for me! Complete with a Ukrop's cake (the best ever), balloons and a card. I kinda wish I had actually been surprised about it. But, on the other hand, I would have kept on moping until it was time for cake. Speaking of cake, I've got a ton left over if there are any takers!

In other news, I've been studying. I've been studying until I can't study any more- which sometimes is surprisingly quick. Some of this lack of attention has to do with people watching. I've recently taken up recidence in B&N for some good studying and people watching. There are several regulars that I've come to expect on a nightly basis:

1) The Barista Who Flirts With Every Girl who orders from him and even some of the other regulars whom he has come to know. Oh, and did I mention he's dorky and I love that he's social/fliration skills are that of a middle schooler. Seriously though, I think it's endearing.

2) The Old Man Who's Seat YOU Are Sitting In has a specific seat he craves every night. Most nights, I see him sitting a few tables away from this prized seat. He faces the seat and moves closer and closer until it becomes unoccupied and he can snatch it up. One time he, when he saw an employee clearing tables he pointed at the dirty dish on HIS table and said "that's been there for at least half an hour." After the guy cleared the table the Old Man quickly took up residence there. Last night he made a friend with an older woman who was VERY well endowed. They chatted and chatted and I didn't think they'd ever stop. He sat there talking to her and let his table become empty and then occupied again by 3 different groups of people. I was mystified. I kinda wanted the old guys to get together, but sadly no numbers were exchanged only a "I'm sure I'll see you around here again." Tonight, The Old Man was at his table and was caught talking to a man for at least an hour while I was there. They were discussing a language that I did not recognize. I think the Old Man moved here several years ago and knows at least one other language. The man he was talking to tonight kept trying to talk to him and ask how to say this or that and The Old Man would correct him.

3) I have spotted The Cowboy With The Pony Tail the past 3 nights as well. He is always alone. Always with his long, wavy hair in a low pony tail. And always, always wearing a straw cowboy hat. Tonight, he wandered around the store, sometimes browsing, sometimes staring. I can't really hold the staring against him...I was after all staring at him trying to figure him out when I should have been studying.

I wonder, if these people where to give me a name or descriptor or two, what it would be. Girl In the Green Crocs? Girl Who Stares Off Into Space Instead Of Studying?

So Long, Farwell

I just wrote my own goodbye e-mail from my Y. I figured no one would do it for me, so I should write a lil something up to say goodbye. It's at times like this, when I'm not at the Y that I can't believe I'm leaving. Then I remember how crazy, hectic, and unorganized swim lessons were last night and I think how great it is that I am moving forward and will finally have a "real job." :0) But I know I will miss my young lifeguards and the patrons I've known since I was 17!

"Something to Talk about"

Lately, instead of singing and dancing in the car, I've down graded to thinking. Driving alone is a good time to collect ones thoughts. However, there is one song and one song only that can get me to sing my heart out no matter where I am, what I'm doing or thinking. It goes a little something like this. . .


Ooh, ooh, ooh,
People are talkin', talkin' 'bout people,
I hear them whisper, you won't believe it.
They think we're lovers kept under cover,
I just ignore it but they keep sayin' we...
laugh just a little too loud,
stand just a little too close,
we stare just a little too long.
Maybe they're seein', somethin' we don't darlin'.

Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
(Somethin' to talk about)
Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
(Somethin' to talk about)
Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
How about love?

I feel so foolish, I never noticed
You act so nervous, could you be fallin' for me?
It took the rumor to make me wonder,
Now I'm convinced that I'm goin' under.
Thinkin' 'bout you every day,
dreamin' 'bout you every night.
I'm hopin' that you feel the same way,
Now that we know it, let's really show it darlin'.

Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
(Somethin' to talk about)
A little mystery to figure out
(Somethin' to talk about)
Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about
How about love?

Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about babe,
A little mystery to figure out.
Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about,
How about love? Ooh...
Listen to 'em baby
(Somethin' to talk about)
A little mystery won't hurt 'em
(Somethin' to talk about)
Let's give 'em somethin' to talk
How about our love, love, love, love
whoowhoo mmmm hey oohh whoowhoo
About love, love, love, love
How about they talk about it? uh huh
Talk about love........


Ooooh man. I just love it. I don't know if its the tune, her voice, lyrics or a combination, but I dig it. It may also have something to do with loving a good friendship turned romance. Those are the best.

Finally!

Everything has officially gone through! Now I just have to wait to get a letter in the mail so I can sign up to take my boards! I'm SO glad this process is finally coming to an end! Yaaahooo!


Crap....now I really have to study!

Also, I move in 1.5 weeks! :D I'm mostly packed up and have managed to score the following from various friends (mostly The Best Man and his old roomies):
- Dinning room table and chairs
- Dresser
- Desk
- TV stand
- Deck/camping chairs
- Microwave
- Jumper cables

It's slowly but surely coming together, folks! :)

VCU pulled through!

SC officially has my transcript! Only one month after I originally had it sent! I was worried I'd have to hand pick it up and hand deliver it to Columbia when I move next weekend.

Now, there are just 3 things pending:
1) Verification of completed requirements
2) Exam
3) FSBPT, exam approval

I was told I didn't have to submit the form that goes with #1 because I had my official transcripts- I hope they acknowledge this online! #2 & #3 seem redundant to me. I guess it means did I a) take the exam and b) pass the exam?

Who knows...Now if SC would get off the internet and let my call get through I could figure this out! (Seriously, who still has dial-up internet?)

Update: I am an idiot and was calling a fax number. . .

I saved 3 lives today, what did you do?

I traded my blood for oil today. The owner of several Midas of Richmond shops has blood drives every two months. When you give blood you get a free oil change. What could be better than saving 3 lives AND getting a FREE oil change? Not much folks! Especially with how much I have been driving my car recently. Just in time for an oil change. The bad news is the lady didn't get my vein at first. She had to root around in my arm a few times before she got it. I got a little queasy at that point. No fun. Also, the guy who took my history was the most ridiculous flirt ever. He didn't say anything too crazy or racy, but there was moderate flirting being sent my way the whole time. It was to the point where I couldn't look at him and was fidgeting. This was in a blood mobile, so we were in close quarters! He had several tattoos- only one worth mentioning...It looked a little something like this:


"Just keep swimming"

Location: Left triceps

Man, that's hot!

Also of note: my iron was 14.0! That's major for me! I've been turned down a couple of times due to low iron.

Mr. Flirt with Dori Tattoo: What did you eat today? Rusty nails? Your iron is 14.0. That's high for a petite girl. Normally petite girls like you have sucky iron.

Man, was he eloquent!

Gymtastic!

I've officially worked out the past four days in a row (if you count teaching aqua aerobics from the deck- hey, I was sore the next day, it counts!). This is not normally something to write about, but as I have only worked out a handful of times this month I'm pretty pleased with myself.

After the "hole in the face" aka having my tooth pulled I was pretty afraid to go to the gym. Then it took me a while to realize I would not bleed out of this small hole in my face even if I went running. I should note it has bleed a few times when I've been too vigorous with brushing my remaining 35 teeth.

K: Will you still like me even though I only have 35 teeth?
The Best Man: I thought you only had 20 something teeth??

Turns out, my one tooth will not be missed after all. Except by me of course. Two weeks later, I'm finally getting to the point where I forget about it when I'm eating. This of course causes anxiety once I realize I've got crumbs of something shoved up in there.

I thought I was writing about working out? Oh yeah. So, the whole working out thing has been great for several reasons: 1) I've already lost weight- I'm not sure how, but I won't argue with the number on the scale (this could also be due to not snacking during the day secondary to anxiety regarding the aforementioned hole in my face), 2) I feel better about myself, and 3) I'm no longer Emo Krissy! I think #3 is the best side effect! Yaay for endorphins!

"I wanna talk about me"

I'm done taking care of other people.*

It's time for me to take care of me.

Why is this so hard for my family to understand?

*My new job is of course excluded from this statement- as that's the whole reason I went to school- to take care of other people.

Note: If you thought this post sounds emo raise your hand. Hey, I can't help it, I went to VCU for 7 years! It has rubbed off a little.

Seriously?! I want my Grey's!

Of course KO and St. Mars find a great band that plays weekly at Cafe Diem a few weeks before I leave. These guys play a little of everything- jazz, rap, r&b, rock, you name it. Because I went with a couple I was the odd girl out. I didn't mind though because I was having a great time jammin' to the music.

I had a great time up until some guy made me dance with him. Seriously, no disrespect, I was 90% certain that he was MR. I thought this because of how he spoke, danced and looked. I don't mean how he was dressed, although I was not a fan of being able to see his arm pit hair. His eyes looked vacant, yet giddy to me. That kind of giddiness I see in children with autism when they swim at the Y. Those kids are so at home in the water. It's pretty amazing to see, but that's another story. So I danced with this guy until he tried to take a sip out of MY drink. Then I made KO save me. Did I mention she had been egging this kid on the whole time? So, KO and St. Mars saved me from this kid, or tried to at least. He could tell I was hiding and came looking for me. To make a long story a lil shorter- he pushed KO out of the way. St. Mars was not too happy about this. A few minutes later when the kid went out the door to make a phone call, St. Mars spoke with the bouncer and got the kid kicked out.

Now I was left alone to enjoy the music, no longer having to flail my limbs in weird directions with some young kid. Oh, he wasn't MR by the way. Just ridiculously drunk. Am I naive or just stupid???

Next, KO found some guy she knew. She was freaking out and hugging him when St. Mars came back from the bar. I waited for the guy to get decked until St. Mars smiled and hugged the guy as well. KO finally turned to me and said "He used to live above us!"

Some quick background information: KO & Masters Laur lived in a fan apartment together last year. I was the unofficial third roommate. I studied with them, ran with them, and stayed over most weekends. I was there a lot. I left my Grey's Anatomy Season 1 DVD at their place for a while. We would watch an episode as a study break every now and then. When I looked for it one time KO told me the upstairs neighbors (two boys) had borrowed it. Then the guys moved out. . . AND TOOK MY GREY'S! I have yet to replace this coveted first season even though it is only $20. I keep hoping I'll track them down or someone will realize they should buy it for me.

Needless to say, I bugged the guy for the rest of the night for my Grey's! Unfortunately, he thought I was being cute and wanted to dance and compliment me (by the way, what guy compliments a girls finger nails?). Seriously? Just give me MY DVDs back! He even said he'd give it back if I went on a date with him. He wasn't too impressed when I told him I already had a boyfriend and I just wanted MY DVD's back. When did it become okay to steal other peoples belongings and bargain about giving them back??

Seriously?!

Short Cut!

Due to crazy family drama that resulted in my being in the ER with my mom Sunday night until 4 AM, I broke down and went to sushi last night anyway. Boy, was it good. Before that the only human interactions I had were with the lady in financial aid (who was not happy about me asking if I could call to confirm that she actually sent my transcript) and various cranky and/or unmotivated people at the Y. A little wasabi, plus some eel and a few laughs with a red head can really cheer one up.

After 5 hours of studying slash chatting it up with KO today, I went for a run.

Its amazing how finding an evasive short cut while running can cheer me up after a few miserable days! Nothing is more exciting about avoiding busy streets that lack sidewalks than getting to run by a horse instead! Seriously cool. Thanks, Masters Laura!

Moving Update

I was called this week and told that "MY apartment" would not be available because the current tenant is unsure if and when s/he is moving out. The nerve! So instead of my secluded, back-in-the-woods spot, I'll be directly across from the clubhouse. This of course has its pluses- I will now be in close proximity to the club house, pool, fitness center, laundry, and a picnic area. The only plus about the other location was that it had a wooded view. Now, my rent is 10 bucks cheaper a month because it overlooks the parking lot. That's a savings of $120/year, people! Do you know how many shoes/books/clothes from Target I can buy with that?! (I'm debating if getting my first big girl job means I should shop at more than just Target and Old Navy? Oh, and there will be the addition of Pottery Barn...where I plan on buying a ridiculous amount of furniture! Hey, I can't eat, sleep, drink, play, lounge, etc. solely on my futon for years people! But, I digress...) Seriously!

Officially one more weekend left to spend in Richmond. This coming weekend. Martha will be in town for a bridal shower and bachelorette, so I'll get to see her. I'm also planning on trying to con people to go out (Sine's anyone?) this weekend to celebrate/say farewell.

A rendezvous with The Best Man is planned for the weekend of the 4th. We're going to his old roommate's parents for a big cookout/firework shooting off/beer drinking shin dig! Should be good times. Then heading up to MD to see The Newly Weds in their trendy row house for the first time! They live 3 blocks for all the hip bars. Expect great things to happen! Plus, it's Brett's birthday weekend! Then it's back down to VA to spend time with The Best Man's family.

I move the 11th, but won't officially relocate until a week or so later. Kinda depends on when/if SC ever gets my transcripts and let's me take the test! If The Best Man's move goes well, then he may be able to help me move down to SC. That means, no renting a moving van (The Best Man drives a mini van in case you missed that some where along the way), sleeping on my futon instead of the floor all weekend, help with boxes, and someone to lounge by the pool and drink wine with.

In other news, I'm trying to save money for the big move. No sushi or Mexican this week in order to be able to go out one last time this weekend....I'm going to miss "Sushi Heaven"!! Le sigh!

VCU and/or US Postal System strike again

So. They don't have my transcript. School claims to have sent it. . . Now all this has to wait until MONDAY at 8 AM! Grrr...

Problem Solving 101

Every story has two sides, right? Well, here's mine:

So, my boss and I both get to the Y at the same time. 3 o'clock. I note two guards in the lap pool which normally has one and immediately know something is up.

There are six to eight employees (both lifeguards and swim instructors, not to mention another one of my bosses) standing around literally staring at an empty puke filled pool. I throw my stuff down in the first dry spot I see and abrasively say "Move aside people; move aside!"

If they can't get the job done I will. Period.

I'm literally trying to push people out of the way so I can see why they have the vacuum in the pool, but not running.

It's all about problem solving, people. The hose is old. It doesn't quiet fit or stay where you want it to. But, we have two hoses. The kids state the other (functioning) hose doesn't fit in the wall. So, I put my hand down in the water to further assess the situation.

"The vacuum isn't on. Once you turn it on the suction will hold the hose in the wall."

I do concede that one of the lifeguards makes a minor adjustment to this hose and then I get started and set things up lickety split. (and okay, so without this minor adjustment I may or may not have gotten the hose working so quickly...but, I digress...)

So, the other side of the story you ask? From what I deduced: They could have dealt with the situation in a timely manner had the hose not malfunctioned. But, they did not problem solve quickly enough. It took them THIRTY minutes to get tape and a screw driver to gerry rig the hose. AND there was no one adding chlorine to the pool or skimming out the puke which ended up in various corners of the pool because they took so long to get moving. In their defense, they knew what to do. They just did not have the problem solving skills to quickly find a plan B. Also, no multi tasking was being done. Thirdly, they didn't move out of my way quickly enough. So what would have normally took an hour to clean up...took TWO.

Oh, wait. That still wasn't the other, unbiased side of the story??? Ooops?!

Paaaanic!

Starting to really panic about taking boards- especially because my study habits have been less than stellar.

I plan to change my study habits and actually start learning material.

Tomorrow. (I have work today, cut me some slack!)

If you don't hear from me in a while I have either 1) actually started studying in earnest and/or 2) had self-induced panic attacks resulting in bodily or at least mental harm to myself.

Allergic to Running???

Due to a newly acquired hole in my face (a whole other ghetto fab story in and of itself) I haven't worked out in a week. I haven't run in longer do to a multitude of reasons which boil down to not making the time. After posting about the potential halves, I realized I better get back into it! So, I hit the pavement this evening!

I got hives. From what exactly, I'm not sure: running or friction or the heat. I've gotten hives in the cold before (did you know doctors can actually diagnose you with being "allergic to cold"?? I don't have this diagnosis, but my friend's sister does. It must be true.). I've gotten hives a few times running as well, but this has normally been in the cold, so I assumed that was the culprit. I've noticed these rashes on the treadmill where it's obviously not cold. This leads me to believe that maybe I'm getting this reaction due to friction? I get these reactions in places where my shorts or shirt rub on me as I move. No, it's not chaffing.

Any ideas?

So, I didn't break any records today. I was actually very, VERY slow. But, I should note that afterwards, I visited Laur & The Boys, and ended up walking with Laur & Mojo (the same exact route of my run). Hopefully, if I'm not too sore tomorrow, I'll be able to find another spot with which I can slowly get acquainted.

To Run or Not to Run...That is the Question

At this point, I'm fairly certain of the two halves (can I add them to make a whole?) I want to do at the end of this year.

First, I'm interested in running the Baltimore 1/2 in October. This would be a great race for many reasons: 1) Good excuse to visit the Newly Weds, Martha & Brett, 2) Cool to do a race in another state!, 3) BIG challenge to do a race that is anything but flat!



Second, The Richmond 1/2 in November. It was a toss up between this race and the OBX race which is the Sunday before. Since I'm not Super Woman, I will not be running two races in a week.

Surprisingly, I have not done this home town race before. This is actually the first year they have brought the 1/2 back. It has just been the whole marathon for the past several years. This is a good excuse to come home and run through my home town that I'm sure to be missing at this point of the year. I'm going to have to make my family sign something saying that since I choose this race over the more scenic OBX race they will not only watch me, but CHEER me on! Also, I'm hoping I can con The Best Man into doing this race with me...or at the very least traveling into town to cheer me on!



If I do indeed find the money, time, energy, time off, running partners, and cheerleaders required to do these two races in such a short time span, I'll have completed THREE halves this year- bringing my total up to FOUR halves.

Wish me luck and happy running!

Update: Thought I should check out the races in and around the Greenville area. I stumbled upon this:


Yep, that's a half IN GREENVILLE. And it's just a couple of weeks after the Baltimore race. AND The Best Man will be visiting at the end of his road trip. What to do...what to do...?

Let me put a bug in your ear...

Starting Friday on our trip down to Greenville, something strange happened to my right ear. It feels as if my ear is filled with water, but it isn't. I've had buzzing that comes and goes- mostly comes. Also, I've had muted or dulled hearing and the frequencies I do hear have changed.

You know when you were a kid and you figured out you sounded like Darth Vadar if you spoke into a fan? That's what things sound like if you talk in my right ear.

So, The Best Man, diagnosed me. "A spider probably crawled in your ear, layed eggs, and now the babies are eating your brain."

Probable? No. Possible? Yes.

Read a couple of these stories and accounts if you don't believe me: 9 year old with not one, but TWO spiders found in his ear or several short stories of spider and other bug trauma.

If those stories aren't close enough to home for you, I'll tell you about my sister. Sadly, I only have this account from my mom and my sister and did not witness it first hand. If you know My Sassy, then you can picture this happening.

As My Sassy came home one night she was accosted by bugs that had been swarming the porch light as she walked in the door. One of these bugs lodged itself in her ear. My mom heard screaming/squealing/shrieking. My mom ran to find my sister swatting at her ear. Her arms were flailing and she continued to squeal.

The more the bug squirmed and wiggled the more My Sassy did the same. Sassy, however, was also screeching! "Get it out of my ear!!!" After a few minutes it was obvious that neither my mom or my sister could get the bug out of Sassy's ear. It was decided to head to the local "Doc in a Box."

The car ride was filled with Turrets like moments where my sister would squeal and flail her arms. (if only you could hear my mom tell this story!)

After being admitted (no, not into the psychiatric ward), the "Doc in the box" had to extract the bug, still squirming, out of Sassy's ear with long tweezers. Sassy finally stopped waving her arms and wailing like a banshee.

If you mention this to her today, her whole body will visibly shiver.

So, you see, I have a close encounter via my "Irish twin."

THEN. Tonight. As I was getting ready for bed I spotted a dime sized spider crawling on the wall by my bed. I quietly (this is very impressive if you know me and spiders) grabbed a tissue and tried to squash it. This spider hopped! And it continued to hop 4 or 5 times until I was able to squish it with a sneak attack!

I'm so totally convinced that there is at least one if not more spiders living in my ear. If my memory starts going or I start acting funny, you'll know that I wasn't making this up.

Dear M1s Studying in Barnes and Noble,

Please, if you are going to socialize (while pretending to study) relocate to a venue where people are not actually studying.

Better yet, why don't you go to class? I know you guys have class from 8-12 just about every day, so why are you in B&N chatting it up instead of attending class?

Sincerely,
Kristen-I'm-a-doctor-before-you-and-am-actually-trying-to-study

Note: M1 = first year medical student. I'm not sure if this is just used at VCU or other institutions as well. The number behind the "M" denotes the year, so a fourth and final year med student would be an M4. P3= Pharmacy 3rd year and "D" denotes a dental student. Students of these schools usually tried to insisit we go by PT1-3, but that never caught on. Instead, we simply say "I'm a (insert year) physical therapy student...or student physical therapist as TK would say :)

Another Note: The VCU Medical Campus has not been MCV for years. VCU is what is on my dipolma (both of them actually). Maybe I will rant more on this at a later date if you are lucky.