spinning pedals, words, and yarns

Why would you want to do that?

2011-07-07T18:19:00.003-06:00

...said one woman behind the counter. It was day 2 of a quick credit card trip from Philadelphia to Lititz, Pennsylvania by bike (170 miles RT). We had stopped for turkey sandwiches - a good lunch makes a long day in the saddle so much easier - and the folks at the deli thought we more crazy than adventurous. Beautiful farms, beautiful roads.

Cake, Handstands, Bikes, Baseball, & Beer

2011-06-07T21:03:00.007-06:00

All things that are good on your birthday: An AM phone call from an old friend, eating lots of cake at work, biking to yoga - doing handstands, biking to the Phillies game - eating hotdogs, peanuts, and drinking beer. Phillies winning.

Memories this Memorial Weekend

2011-05-29T05:37:00.004-06:00

The words aren't coming so maybe some pictures. Picked flowers from my step-sister and dad's house to put beside the headstone. Someone before me left small carnations - I wonder who was there, how long do they stay, what do they think about?

Before dad went into the hospital I asked him to consider packing a bag in case he had to got to the nursing home for a while - he didn't make it that far. I forgot about it until I went into the house this weekend and saw the suitcase. So sad.

Thank you KYAmy for the cheerful condolences.

Some happy times:
Trip back east...

Lunch spot for dad's birthday last year.

Connections...

2011-05-03T20:00:00.009-06:00

I've encountered many different connections recently. Mostly related to my dad and his dying. Connections with his doctor, his friends, my friends, his secretary, the circuit judge. They all knew him, they all know me. Sometimes in the same context sometimes not. Separated by several years and thousands of miles, the stories come together. Many of the stories are expected and routine, others almost unbelievable. I wonder, which connections will fracture? Grow stronger? I cry and I laugh. These stories provide comfort and insight. And then I ran across this...

"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight."
--- Kahlil Gibran

Summer goodness

2010-07-30T20:05:00.005-06:00

Yummm. Local mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, tomatillos, potatoes, green beans, corn...

2010-06-13T19:00:00.000-06:00

2010-06-13T18:48:00.000-06:00

Valuable info?

2008-07-06T07:59:00.000-06:00

here

So Lovely

2008-06-23T07:22:00.005-06:00

For the past couple of weeks I've been eyeing the rhubarb, it's so lovely. Don't know what I am going to make with it yet but I bought some this weekend.

Live from Italia

2008-06-02T06:28:00.010-06:00

La donna vicino la mia sul areo svenirato.

Slovenia bellisimo, molto verde. La citta Ljubljana e Le montagne (Julian Alps) bella.

Trieste mal.

Traveling from point A to point B has NOT been smooth - Not once!

Le gente a campo bicicletta simpatice e spirotosi. No fotografico o storia ma, ieri salida con la biciletta (aka the beast as the bike weighed at least 22 lbs with a 3 lb seat - no joke) monte del grappa.
Monte del Grappa Stupore!

Adesso, ho bisogno studiare per due ora.
Arrividerchi.

Headlines

2008-05-20T23:15:00.004-06:00

The gal who did my toenails was very sweet and made me eat dinner while I was getting my feet done...

My 80-something dad switched parties from Republican to Democrat so he could vote for Obama in the primary. How cool is that?!

More Morecheeba - the artist, CQ :-)

What do you feel when you let go of the wheel
Can you take a leap of faith will you face the change of pace
There are worlds out there beyond compare

Going on a journey
Somewhere far out east
We'll find the time to show you
Wonders never cease

Quickie

2008-05-19T10:28:00.002-06:00

Took a little break to get some coffee. The guy ahead of me ordered some ice drink in which the ice melted because it had 11 shots of espresso. So here I go: "Excuse me, did you say 11 shots?" 11 espresso shots. The guy explained that his body doesn't react to caffeine and he still has the entire day. I think he's an ER-something and on a 24 hr shift. Of course, the next thing on my mind is that must be expensive. So here I go again: "Wow, can I ask how much that costs?" $9.00. Now, that's a habit. My body couldn't take 11 shots nor could my wallet take 9 bucks.

Back on the Road

2008-05-16T08:34:00.006-06:00

Thanks to a good neighbor I was not relegated to mtn. biking last night. I now have a back wheel on loan and can deal with wheels when my deadlines are done. That's almost a tongue twister! Good thing the wheel is on loan because the spokes are silver so they don't really match my bike. I asked if it would be a problem to spray paint the spokes - yeah didn't get much of a response other than my own belly laugh. ha ha. Even though it was all hellness going up the canyon last night, how often do you spin out at 37 MPH on the lower sections - sweet jesus!

I fell asleep in yoga 2 days in a row this week during the relaxation. On Wed. every time the instructor dinged the triangle I jolted. I would tell myself to start wiggling around and next thing I new I jolted again to the sound of the triangle. Durango mango said it was like a snooze button. I did this 3 times! Then last night I konked out and missed some directions. All of a sudden I heard Yogi-E say sit up. I'm thinking sit up? We're suppose to do this and this first. I sit up and she's got this grin on her face like "you were caught snoozing." Do ya think I need some sleep?

Big big thanks to durango mango for editing my propaganda. Feedback is so helpful because I am lousy at coercion. I don't understand why I can't say "Because" or "Pick me pick me" or Just give me the money I'll do right by it" and my favorite "I don't know." This year has been about learning to fail and let me tell you - it really sucks. Oh but keep up that confidence, spirit, and just keep going. Are you kidding me? Have I ever had confidence? I figure I must have some because I do keep going. Or maybe - I am just really dumb and I don't know any better except to keep coming back for more.

Well, on that note, think I will go sit down and write myself a reference letter. Ching ching!

Let's Go!

2008-05-12T21:21:00.002-06:00

I know you probably don't want to hear it again - but you have to go see this movie. It's playing at a theater near us (you). And please invite me to go with you. I will go 100 times. I don't know 100 people, but if I did, I'd go 100 times.

Wind

2008-05-12T06:51:00.003-06:00

It was quite windy today. I really don't like riding my bike in the wind. I try to tell myself that the wind is my friend, but it's not. I really don't like wind. Today, I didn't mind the wind too much despite almost being knocked off my bike a couple times and coming down the canyon at a crazy slow pace. Today, however, the wind brought different challenges, like doing the farmer blow gracefully. Ha ha. I have a hard enough time doing this without wind. By the time I arrived home I had snot on my left shoulder, right arm, across my face and in my hair. My 'coolness' overwhelms me sometimes.

just enjoy the ride

2008-05-09T06:56:00.003-06:00

La mia amica parlato mia questa artista, Morcheeba.
Vorrei questa artista, ma le frasi sono facile parlato
di fatto. Qui, le frasi de Morcheeba.

After that you can't get out
You can see the bigger picture
Find out what it’s all about
You're open to the skyline
You won't want to go back home
In a garden full of angels
You will never be alone

But oh the road is long
The stones that you are walking on
Have gone

With the moonlight to guide you
Feel the joy of being alive
The day that you stop running
Is the day that you arrive

And the night that you got locked in
Was the time to decide
Stop chasing shadows
Just enjoy the ride

If you close the door to your house
Don't let anybody in
It's a room that's full of nothing
All that underneath your skin
Face against the window
You can't watch it fade to grey
And you'll never catch the fickle wind
If you choose to stay

But oh the road is long
The stones that you are walking on
Have gone

With the moonlight to guide you
Feel the joy of being alive
The day that you stop running
Is the day that you arrive

And the night that you got locked in
Was the time to decide
Stop chasing shadows
Just enjoy the ride

Stop chasing shadows
Just enjoy the ride

A Good Sunday

2008-05-04T23:10:00.004-06:00

Today was nearly perfect. Gorgeous weather. No complaining about it being cold today. Cleaned my treehouse this morning. Met the team at the park for interval training which was hard and fun. No food in the house so I went out for breakfast (at 1:30p) and finished grading papers (still have exams though). Took a 15 minutes nap and then went hiking with a friend. Made pasta with 3 kinds of tomatoes, red onion, garlic, olive oil, chicken and fresh basil (It will be quite yummy on spinach tomorrow for lunch), and strawberry cupcakes. They are not too bad. Maybe I'll take them to studyfest after RMR. Or, I'll put them in my basket on my commuter bike, ride up and down my neighborhood ringing my bell and handing out cupcakes. I could be cupcake girl. Oh, I did laundry and put on my new spring/summer sheets. Do you think I will sleep? They are sort of girly but I am a girl.

Derby Day

2008-05-03T20:00:00.004-06:00

The Kentucky Derby was today. The only fancy hat I wore was my bicycle helmet. However, I had flowers sprouting out of the vents - just kidding - wish I would have thought of that...My dad was rooting for Pyro (he ended up toward the end, good thing dad didn't bet that $10!).

During my 1 year hiatus to KY, I went to the derby. And won! I bet on the horse "Funnyside." My selection process? No, not the number of races he's won. No, not that his odds of winning were good. Yes, because I think I'm funny so I chose Funnyside the horse. Ha ha. Very scientific I know. Too bad I am so frugal and conservative. My bet was $2 to place, so my winnings totaled $8.80. Woo-Whee!

Today the derby was bittersweet. One horse fractured both front ankles and had to be euthanized on the track. So sad. Why do we do this to these poor horses?

Addendum

2008-05-01T07:40:00.002-06:00

I made statman promise he would not leave without saying good-bye. He followed through. I was in a meeting, which was probably best because it kept our good-bye short and I didn't have time to be too emotional. After my meeting as I was returning to my office I noticed that his door was still open. I got all excited and ran to his door to exclaim "You're still here!" But he wasn't still here. His office was completely bare, not one book, file, empty coffee cup, or his coat. The open door played a trick on me. I shut the door.

Tough Day

2008-04-29T11:48:00.006-06:00

Whoa. Sometimes I hate being sensitive. I knew I would be sad today, but I did not anticipate my drop of hat tears. There is a going away party today from one of my favorite colleagues. He is moving to NC. Statman and I have worked together for 8 years. He has been one of my biggest supporters at educational, professional, and even sometimes personal levels. I wish statman and his family well. They are looking forward to returning to the NC area. I think it is always the hardest for those left behind. Some of my favorite memories...

GRE word game: As most of you know I do not have a big vocabulary so when I was preparing for the GRE exam I had a huge stack of flash cards with words and their definitions. I carried these cards everywhere. We were flying back east for a work trip and I of course was studying my cards on the plane. In our team meetings statman just started blurting out "GRE" words and assigning points to whoever used GRE words. This game went into the evening when at the team party (with flash cards in hand) became the main event of the party. People were fairly competitive as they wanted to define the word correctly and be the one to choose the next word. The GRE word game ended up being the theme and spark for our 3 days of meetings.

Dinner: A few years ago, a family surgery left statman caregiving at home for several days. In an attempt to be helpful, I offered to bring dinner to their family of 4 (including a teenage boy). I, of course, have absolutely no idea how much food to cook for 4 people. Even though I made enchiladas, blackbean salad, and oatmeal cookies, they had to scrounge the cupboards to get enough food. We all can laugh about it now and they were so kind to still send me a thank you note.

Just being a friend. My favorite memory is our everyday friendship. Talking politics, sports, travels or silly everyday things. Someone to talk to - I don't talk a lot at work, but statman and I always had things to chat or joke about. We always chatted a while before "the meat" of our meetings. One office separates us and a few times a week I can count on snacks - he drops in and fills up my snack cup. The bright side could be I'll lose some weight - ha ha. I hope our friendship doesn't go away. And maybe someday we will work together again, even if at a distance. But today is his farewell and he has brought me a "last snack" so he said. I can tell my teariness is uncomfortable for him and I don't mean it to be - he's just been a big part of my professional life. Sniff, sniff. Hopefully, I will get some of this out at RMR tonight! Geez!

Practicano

2008-04-27T08:24:00.002-06:00

Ieri, io parlavo con la mia amica en italia. Noi parliamo su skype. Oggi, vorrei scrivere frasi practicare. Anche ieri sono andata fare yoga al mattino a piu mangiato colazione. Perche il tempo freddo andata alla bibliotecca e al caffe lavorare. En la pomeriggio andata con bicicletta per un'ora. Anche basso. Stasera andata lavorare per tre ori.

Questo mattino fare cereali per la settemana. A piu, dopo lavoro per due ori vorrei andare con bicicletta per lungo mentre. Cosi, scrivere questi frasi sono difficile.
Ci vediamo!

I'd like to have tea with Edna

2008-04-22T08:51:00.004-06:00

She has lived through so much: the depression, wars, turns of the century, presidents. Widowed in her 40's and lived on a farm til she was 100.

http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/at-115-woman-defies-incredible-odds/20080418164209990001

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_Parker

Physics Girl - AKA Hooper

2008-04-07T21:53:00.006-06:00

Physics-girl celebrated her admission to med school a while back.
We knew she liked hoola-hoops, but we didn't know she could hoop like this...

And yes, I'm still working on video technique :<

Altercations

2008-03-26T21:42:00.002-06:00

Random target
This morning I was walking to the bank. I crossed one street and I pushed the pedestrian light button to cross another. I noticed a woman on the opposite side of the street. She was looking at me straight in the eye, unwavering, staring me down. I looked away a couple of times only to return to her glare. Then the woman took a step or two into the street and lined up with me, so if we both started walking we would walk into each other. The signal turns to walk so I start going forward but also move to the right a bit. I we come closer I realize that she is yelling at me (I have my headphones on so couldn't hear what she was saying). Why is this woman yelling at me? Mental illness perhaps? I pull one earphone out because she passes me she continues to yell at me. And then she stomps and glares at me some more. I keep turning around in case she turns around to yell after me. This woman is half my size, but I am feeling a little uncomfortable. She stands in the next street still staring and yelling at me. I sneak into the bank.

Not so random target
On my home from work today, the bus driver stopped to pick up a potential passenger, only he does not open the door to the bus. Instead he picks up a phone and makes a call. The man outside is annoyed and is gesturing like"c'mon" to the bus driver. Then he walks and stands in front of the bus and looks at the driver. I cannot see the potential passenger's eyes as he is wearing shades. I cannot hear everything the bus driver is saying but it is related to the bus drive not feeling safe due to the potential passenger's behavior on previous bus rides. The potential passenger goes back to the side of the bus. The driver hangs up the phone and rives away. The no longer potential passenger shouts expletives at the driver and gives him the finger.

Study Fest

2008-03-25T21:37:00.002-06:00

Study Fest definition - a group of girls get together 2 hours a week to study/work. All participants are grad or recent grad students. Participants chat for a few minutes, drink wine or tea, study/work quietly, and then chat for a few minutes at the end.

It is study night and I am suppose to be working. I had good intentions. I downloaded the program I needed to create the last 3 weeks of my course. But the program says its been downloaded too many times. Grrr. So, I logged on to the course and read students' posts and responded to email. Plan B was to start developing exam questions. I thought I had that program on my USB drive, but I can't find it. We've been quiet for over an hour now. I would have been productive...Grrr. I really wanted to write tomorrow but I need to get the weeks finished. In an effort to stay quiet I decide to read a few blogs. This worked out well as no one knew I wasn't working. Until, that is, I accidentally clicked on a blog that plays music - oh yeah - busted. Quickly, there were 3 pairs of eyes looking at me, "um, doesn't seem that you're working." No one really cares, but it was pretty funny.

Our brief chat topics have included comma use and TM. Chemists don't use commas or possibly overuse commas and no one but chemists know of the element TM (at least in this group). The opinion was split as to whether TM is a useful element.

I have no words

2008-03-24T22:43:00.003-06:00

Sunday ride

2008-03-23T21:12:00.002-06:00

Why is the beginning of the season always so hard? Is it hard for everyone? I am sort of glad I didn't go ski - it was beautiful day. And I think I'll be able to ski later in the week - more snow and cooler temps coming - hee hee. Oh back to today. So I hit the over 40 mile mark, and no I didn't even have to lift up my bike and spin the front wheel like il postino. 46ish miles, I believe, and went up Canyon E. At times the ride felt too slow and other times too hard. Not fast, just hard. I really suck right now, but it's March.

In an effort to get karma points, I stopped to help a guy with his flat tire - his friend had gone down the hill. He didn't have a cartridge applicator - I can't think of what it is called. I did so I tried to help him out. I thought my cartridge started to engage so I told him to just use it because I had one more. But then I couldn't get the applicator-thing to work either. After a few minutes, his friend came back up the hill (now I know why he was turning around at the cafe). His friend took over and the guy I was helping insisted that I take his cartridge just for stopping and trying to help. I arrive home and I am trying to figure which cartridge to toss because I think one got engaged. Well, maybe it did slightly, but the other two did not. In fact, I think they did not engage because I think had them upside down. Whoops!

Maybe now that I have written that down I will remember. I don't want a flat and I don't want to waste a cartridge, but obviously I need to practice.

PS

2008-03-23T10:20:00.001-06:00

I went bike shopping yesterday.

Happy Spring?

2008-03-23T09:57:00.003-06:00

I was so excited about skiing yesterday and then is sucked - big time. They didn't run the CAT and the track was just a bunch of frozen grooves, which at one point ended in ice rash - sort of like road rash. Apparently they ran out of $$ and cannot afford to run the CAT. Are you kidding me? Hello? The best snow in years and you run out of money in March? Clearly, they need me to run their budget. So after 40 minutes of hell (I saw later on the website that they said to ski at your own risk - yeah wish I would have known that before) I came home and hopped on my bike. It was cold and windy and I was annoyed with WP the entire time.

Of course, today, I am/was planning to ride and I just read on the website that they groomed with the CAT! But its 10AM so I guess I will get ready to ride. The "ride plan" today is 3 major climbs - Ha! I've been up Canyon E once. If I make 40-50 miles with 1 climb will be a good day. I said I would start with the group but maybe break off because I am not ready yet, but I just read that I am "for sure" doing this ride. Well OK - ha!

Skiing is good for the heart but not the quads. I just measured them - yeah I don't know why (at least its not as revealing as other measurements), but my left quad is 1.5 inches bigger than the poor little right one, which is fairly flaccid right now. I miss the larger group rides that would haul my fanny around - plus some of the dudes were quite funny. Ran into one a week or so ago and in our brief conversation I was laughing quite a lot - even told him I missed him. Do I sound cranky? Maybe I should have gone skiing? Maybe I should go eat and change. Ciao!

part 3

2008-03-22T07:09:00.015-06:00

I woke up yesterday morning and wasn't sure where I was, then I realized that the bed and sheets felt familiar. Yes, I was back.

A few pictures from City B. Classic row houses and the B&B

My room and bath - yes, there was a shower too.

The dogs were interested in having their picture taken.

The B&B was charming and the innkeepers delightful. In the afternoon they would serve tea and a snack and at night they would leave a homemade treat on your bed. Usually I don't eat much on work trips, but I think I was kept overly fed this time. On the final day, the innkeepers picked up a sandwich for me to take with me and arranged the cab for airport while I went and walked around the city. Too bad it was chilly and very windy. I hate wind, even though it is suppose to be my friend.

Now it is time to go wax the skis - its easier in daylight.

Good Friday

2008-03-21T17:29:00.002-06:00

Around 3:30ish I could hear the woman a couple doors down mentioning that today is Good Friday. I thought I should pack up and come home to celebrate - so I did. I was going to go for a bike ride, but now I'm drinking a glass of wine...

part 2

2008-03-19T05:10:00.019-06:00

Forth: Big City B. Everyone around here is a little paranoid - maybe it's warranted. Here's an excerpt from an email I received prior to my arrival.

I do not recommend to participants new to 'City B' to venture from the building looking for lunch since we are in a relatively high crime area. I also do not recommend walking from your hotel to the workshop or vice versa.

While it is not particularly a good trait, I seem to do opposite of what I am told to do. Yes, I walked anyway to and from the hospital, although I am only 5 blocks away. And tonight I walked to and from dinner (1.5ish mi each way?). And returning it was dark. They do have the blue light special going on here - not in the neighborhood where I am or walked to, but near the hospital. Anyway, there are these blue lights at every interesection that video tape the intersection/street. My head circumference has doubled with the humidity and rain. Really, the white chic with an afro probably scares everyone off.

Last night I met up with the self proclaimed Rolling Thunder. We worked on my computer and played on his (I won bejeweled, but sucked at zuma - my first 'gaming' experience) and then went for dinner.
Yummy indian food.

Very fun to catch up with Rolling Thunder. Just so you know, he came up with his own blog name while making fun of me. To refresh, here is the story behind my byline.

Why am I here? To view about 550 slides that looked liked this:

I think we're suppose to color them in on our own time ;)

Amazingly, I did not panic on these slides, despite having never passed a college math class.

hi ho, forth and back i go (part 1)

2008-03-17T07:01:00.010-06:00

Forth: Almost missed my flight to P-town - couldn't sleep, slept late, felt tired, no ski, too short of a run, and too much lollygagging left me dashing for the plane. Shuttle #2, row 28B (supposedly). I made it.

Dad is doing a good job learning how to use the computer. My brother swapped out a computer and dad now has about 3 sets of instructions placed around the monitor - poor guy. Rather than use the instructions I tried to get him to think through the steps and think about what he wanted to do. We sent each kid an email and each time closed the email, closed the internet, and started from the homepage. Before I left he asked to go practice so that is a good sign.

The rainbow is about the only sun I saw for 2 days...O'er the hill and yonder about 5 miles is where I grew up. That hill has not changed much - trees are bigger and that's about it.

Back: I was happy to see the blue sky and sun upon my arrival. Although, possibly a little too much of it in the airport parking lot: Shuttle stop #2, row 28B. Despite my ability to remember things, especially numbers if I've looked at them, I couldn't find my car. And then I couldn't remember when I looked up to see which row I had parked. So I started wandering. I perused row 28B up and down, no car that looked liked mine. A shuttle stopped and despite me trying to wave it on by, the driver opened the door and shouts, "having trouble finding your car?" Um, that would be a yes and I really didn't want you to say that in front of a bus full of people. "Oh I think I'm really close." Sort of like hot potato cold potato and the potato was freezing...The drvier says,"I can call someone and they can come out and help you find your car." Despite my bags being heavy, I reply, "No that's OK, I know it's right around here." Hmmm, which were the operative words? The driver repeats, "It's not a problem, if you go much longer just flag any shuttle down and they can call someone to come out and help you find your car." Thank you. A few more shuttles came by but I hid between cars when I saw them coming so I the driver wouldn't spot me. I walked down one row, out of ideas of where to look. Sigh. I turn around and there is my car! 26B. I really wish people would stop driving such big cars so I could see my big car when its parked. Geez.

Back less than 24 hours but managed to get in two 75 minute skis between unpacking, laundry, packing, and a bit of work. WP was in fabulous condition Monday AM. Wish I could have skied longer. Back to the airport: Shuttle stop #7, row 13c. For certain.

Disturbing

2008-03-14T05:07:00.003-06:00

Typically, I don't remember my dreams much; lately, however, an unsettling one keeps recurring...I am on my bike, usually at RMR, and my patellar tendon ruptures - again. Because my feet are clipped in my pedals, my leg keeps going round and round. I am screaming in pain, swerving. The patella is detached and I cannot move my muscles to unclip; I try to stabilize my leg with one arm but cannot. I crash to stop.

Il mio viaggio al supermercato

2008-03-09T22:32:00.002-06:00

Ieri, sono andato al supermercato da italiano. L’uomo da Venezia sei vendato funghi. Sono comprato funghi e parliamo italiano. Al supermercato di itlaiano, sono comprato prociutto, pancetta, spaghetti, formaggio pecorino, e marmellata albichocce. Stasera, fatto spaghetti con funghi e rosmarino per cena. Anche, fatto asparago per la verdure.

the 3:44 bus

2008-03-08T07:09:00.008-07:00

I rode the 3:44pm bus twice this week. If I ski in the afternoon I take an earlier bus, but usually I am on a later bus. This week was different; this bus is different. The 3:44 bus is full. Many of the front line workers at the hospital ride this bus. Some pile into the back of the bus where they can sit closely and interact. From the hospital, the bus heads down the hill and picks up the university students. Rather than a bus full of strangers, these riders know each other; they talk, joke, laugh. They may know each other from work, school, or from riding the same bus everday. Or maybe they are part of each other's community separate from the bus. Often, they speak in a different language. I recognize spanish, bosnian-croatian, hindi? But sometimes I am not sure of their native tongue.

As soon as we got on the driver asked one young man (who is developmentally disabled), "How is your mom?" The young man stands at the front of the bus and chats with the driver. When he exits the bus he slaps the driver on the arm and tells him to be good. I cannot hear the driver's reply but the young man is laughing.

I have 'bus friends.' People who I see somewhat regularly and chat with on the bus. I ran into one man and his family at an art gallery once and was introduced as his 'bus friend.' But this bus and these riders have a different energy. Their bus stories are different. The converstaions, even ones I don't understand, seem less formal, more easy-going. The 3:44 bus is lively.

I'm a stranger on this bus. But I like that; I sit on the periphery, observe, listen. The bus is warm and the afternoon sun is in my eyes. I close my eyes and rest. The woman behind me is talking on her cell phone, rather loudly, it hurts my ears, but I am not annoyed. She re-joins the conversation and the buzz of voices and laughter are back in a jumbled harmony. The man across from me is white and has gray hair, sort of vanilla, like me. I notice that he too has a small smile on his face, enjoying the upbeat chaos of the 3:44 bus.

Just curious

2008-03-06T22:36:00.001-07:00

Is the glass half full, half empty, or does it depend on the size of the glass?

I can't wait!

2008-02-27T19:00:00.002-07:00

Love love love this movie.
You will be smiling within 15 seconds of this trailer - watch it!

Silly things

2008-02-25T21:52:00.013-07:00

1) Fresh homemade granola. Jane gave me this recipe last fall and since then I haven't bought cereal. This batch will last me about 2 weeks. I forgot the seeds because I was talking on the phone. Hmmm, I used to be better at that kind of multi-tasking. Eating granola was a good way to start the day - thanks Jane!

2) My new $10 anthropologie sweater. Originally $88 and on sale for $19.95 I bought this sweater last weekend. It isn't the cutest sweater, but certainly not the ugliest either and I thought $20? I'll take it. Well, I got home and I was cold so I thought I'd put on my new sweater - mmm cozy - sort of, except the security tag was stabbing me in the side. Damn. I thought about just wearing it with the tag saying it goes with black, but the beeping would aggravate my noise sensitivity and elicit unwanted attention. So, tonight, I took the sweater back to the store to get the secruity tag removed. For my trouble, the clerk took another %50 off. So here is my new $10 sweater, and for $10 its even cuter.

Pensando a Italia

2008-02-23T19:37:00.003-07:00

Stasera, ho parlato con Xavier. Lei e in Brussels, adesso. Viagga per lavoro. Era piace da parlare con lui. Ma, adesso, penso a Italia e Venezia. Abbiamo venuto a contatto di in scuola di arte. La architettura dalla scuola e bella, ma arte in la scuola e sconosciuto.
Gradiamo questo vicinanza.

Xavier vorrei abitare in Giudecca vicino Venezia.

Goda le fotografe.

To do List

2008-02-20T21:02:00.003-07:00

I can't seem to catch my breath...

Teaching:
Grade Week 6 discussion
Grade 17 papers
17 essay exams to be graded coming in 2 days
Develop week 8-10 content

Publications needed to be sent out for review:
4 first author manuscripts (2 need minor work, 2 medium work)
1 co-authored manuscript (medium to a lot of work)

Grants due:
none at the moment, thankfully

Other:
Program survey monkey for committee survey
Complete 2 surveys for department & division
Meet with staff

So I know what you're thinking. Why are you writing here? My thoughts exactly, Bye.

Wow.

2008-01-24T18:15:00.000-07:00

I went to the viewing of a Sundance Film today: Young at Heart. This documentary may go down as an all time favorite. One great aspect of this showing was that the theatre was almost full-- and of older adults. One man walked by me and retorted, "I think you are the only person under 60." I was knitting before the movie started and another man said, "Are you almost done with my scarf?" I said "not quite, (pause), and what will I tell my sister?" The scarf is for her. Many of the seniors present received their tickets from the senior centers. This film was beautiful, loving, sad, overall amazing. It made me want to go back into the nursing home as well as wish I was talented enough to pursue the artsy side of me to portray aging through photography and writing. As we were leaving a colleague said, "I hope this movie gets a DVD."

A DVD?! I hope this film makes it and makes it big. As people often wonder about my choice of profession I find myself the recipient of the question, “Isn’t it depressing? Why would you want to work with old people or people who are dying or people who have nothing in their life?” This film captured older adults who were energetic and ill, as well as warm, funny, stubborn, strong. They were living! People residing in a nursing home are living. They are not waiting to die. This film gives a glimpse into why we work with older adults, why its so rewarding and why its so hard.

Turtle vs. Swan

2008-01-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

Isn't all this new snow grand! I was going to take tomorrow off but no siree, I will be bolting out early or strolling in late to take advantage of the fantastic conditions. Walking around the nieghborhood mid to late morning I noticed how many people don't shovel their walk. I already knew this because I often walk in the street to catch the bus. But today I felt particularly annoyed by it. Maybe because its just another way of Utahns showing that they don't give a damn about anyone else. Sorry if I offended anyone but I'm going to steal a MJ-like quote, "Its my blog and I can say what I want." I imagine though, that the older disabled woman walking with a cane would have preferred to 1) not walk in the middle of the street, and 2) not walk in 6 inches of snow with her cane. But those were her two options. Wake up people! The population is getting older - help make our neighborhoods more safe and commutable.

Yesterday I worked on my classic technique. Its hard. I think I used to consider myself a better classic skier but now I think I'm a better skater. Not that it matters - it doesn't. So anyway, I was getting a few tips from t-bones and DB. DB came up with the analogy that I need to try to be less of a swan and more of a turtle. I wish I could have video-ed his demonsrations as they were quite entertaining, but in general I tend to be more swan-like: tall, upright - he may have even stuck his chin in the air. He said I should be more turtle-like: hunched over, agressive - and he snarled.

I didn't get a chance to thank DB, but I've never been called a swan before. I'll tell him Saturday. Later, I kept passing and getting passed back by a skater. Then he said, "This is like the tortoise and the hare. " I think I replied, "But I am suppose to be the tortoise (thinking I need to be like a turtle not a rabbit. " He said he thought I'd get him in the end. I didn't get it at first, but now I remember the story, the tortoise wins right?

Numbers

2007-12-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

I heard through the grapevine that some of you might be interested in "my numbers" for the week, or not. ha ha ha. So for entertainment purposes here goes:

Monday: 1.5 cups coffee, 20k easy skate ski, 0 falls, lots of water, a few cookies, lots of laughs, 2 tom collins.
Tuesday: 1.5 cups coffee, 20k easy classic ski, 0 falls, lots of water, a few cookies, a few hugs, 3 yummy can't remember what they are called at CQ's, 1 phone message, 0 drinks - DAMN!
Wednesday: 2 hours sleep, 2 cups coffee, Ski school training 1.5 hours including 4 intervals, 0 falls, lots of water, a couple of cookies, 1 bowl of stew, 0 drinks - DAMN again!
Thursday: 2 cups coffee, 0 skiing, 10 hours of work, 1 bowl of stew, 1 movie with 5 people, 7 or so sushi slices (not sure what they are called) and lots of chocolate. 0 drinks - AGAIN?
Friday: 1.5 cups coffee, 22 minutes of cycling on the trainer including 7 minutes one-legged. 3x15 squats and lunges, 1 bowl of stew with spinach, 1 CUTE new pair of clogs (size 40 narrow), 1 parking ticket, 1 BiG hug (don't be jealous girls), 1 knitting rip out, 1 glass of wine (FINALLY).
Saturday: 1.5 cups coffee, 2 knitting rip outs, 13k ski including 4 intervals ranging 2-4 minutes, 0 falls, 1 nap, lots of water, 3 cups of tea, 1 bowl of stew with spinach. No cookies or drinks today. Better go find some!

I could also add that I have not improperly imposed wax on my skis this week, but then I haven't waxed my skis.....Oh wait that's not true, blue kick wax was appropriately applied on Tuesday - I rock!

Buona Notte!

2007-12-28T23:03:00.002-07:00

It’s 10:30PM and I’m eating dinner. Mmmm. I was hungry. Makes grocery store sushi for the second night in a row taste good. Better than chicken broth anyway. Worked late, went to a farewell party, stopped in at A & A-hubs and now here I am in my jammies eatin’. The only thing that would be better was if sweet Sarah was resting her head on my legs to keep them warm. I’d think about abducting her, A & A-hub aren’t that good to her evidenced by her running away, but she’s not allowed to live in my Apt.

Lots of crazy work (and skiing) to be done this weekend. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving - Albert Einstein.

Physics 101

2007-12-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last week skiing A and I were discussing turning and how to turn efficiently and fast. I was trying to explain, less than eloquently I imagine yet better than my demonstration, that if you step through the turn quickly you will be fast, efficient, and balanced (vs. snow plowing around the turn). Maybe it was the explainer (me) and maybe it was the slow snow that did not really require that we corner that way that day, but A wasn't having any part of it. I could have sold her a used car before I could on the turn technique. Sooo, I told Physics-girl about our conversation and could she explain it from a physics stand point as to why cornering with small quick steps is more effective. I hardly had the question out (stepping vs. snowplowlike) when she blurted "less friction!" Thus, stepping creates less friction with the snow, thus you are faster. It seemed so common sense I felt a little dumb. But hey, I only had 1/2 year of physics in H.S. (and ever) and the teacher was much more interested in the boys. I'm also thinking there may be some centrifugal force that goes on but I'd have to look that up. Or maybe Physics-girl will enlighten us...

Ski school was pretty kick-ass tonight. I was sort of dreading it all day. I was on a roll at school and it was gray and cold and a little snowy. I bet I checked 6 times to see if it would be cancelled. This is one of my favorite things to do so I think I was just tired. It was cold, but the sky was beautiful and 5 minutes in I was glad to be there. Sorry, back to ski school. I like intervals I just don't like doing them by myself. We did one longish one and then 3 shorter but fast and powerful one, and then some - you guessed it - cornering! Freakishly high on the fun scale. Woo-Whee!

If I may say so myself, I made some pretty kick-ass moroccan stew tonight. Hmmm, maybe kick-ass is the word of the eve. Anyway, Onion, garlic, yukon potato, tomatos, annaheim pepper (maybe I should have used jalepeno), carrots, zucchini, chick peas, chicken, cumin, chili powder, and tumeric. Serve over rice. Needs a little more heat, but I was afraid of making it too hot. Yummy.

Snow

2007-12-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

I love snow. I like how its white, quiet, still, peaceful. I can wake up in the middle of the night and know that it has been snowing because everything is so quiet. Snow makes me happy and ready for a ski jig.

Snow flakes - by Emily Dickinson

I counted till they danced so
Their slippers leaped the town,
And then I took a pencil
To note the rebels down.
And then they grew so jolly
I did resign the prig,
And ten of my once stately toes
Are marshalled for a jig!

Just in time for the holidays - click here

2007-12-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

P-town

2007-12-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

Sat: Stayed up til 1:15AM chatting with my sis. She is a talker!
Sun: Sis made me breakfast (very sweet). Then I took the bus downtown. I'm the only person in our family that takes and likes public transportation. Well, my dad used to many years ago. Anyway, so when I left the house my sis started asking questions that went something like this... "Do you have my phone number with you? (Yes) Good, call if you need anything. I can come pick you up anywhere." Then I said I felt like a little kid on the first day of school and she cracked up. So I get to the bus stop only to remember I have no change. I run back to her house and she dumps her purse on the floor and gives me a dollar and a bunch of change. I wasn't sure how much it would be and when I got on the bus and saw that it was $2.05; I was a little concerned. I just started putting in change. Whew! I had 20 cents left over.

Met my friend BabyMD Downtown. Little HX - we lived on the same floor in college before I transferred. Then lived together again a couple years later for a year. She now lives on the coast, although I try to build a case for her to move here whenever we talk. She hasn't told me to shut up yet. So we did a lilttle shopping then went to Sushi Land for lunch. Being a new sushi chick I had not seen or heard of conveyor belt service. So I had to take a few pics.

BabyMD is one of those friends that even if you don't see each other for a while, there is no awkwardness when you do. Maybe its because we ry to keep in touch with email and the occasional phone call. Maybe its because its just easy. We were "just being" on Sunday. There were no big expectations or rushing around. We talked about whatever came up and sometimes it was about nothing...Great to see her.

On Sunday evening, my sis and nephew took me out to dad's. I bought groceries on the way and we cooked dinner: spaghetti, salad, and minicupcakes for dessert. My sis really is not annoyed and my dad is into paper towels for placemats and napkins these days. I guess its easier and he said its fine for the environment - I am no so convinced, but did not argue past the initial question.

Mon (today): Ran a couple of errands with dad. Then we went downtown to Powell's. This is my favorite bookstore of all time. My random purchases included cards, Italian picture dictionary, a book of short stories (in English & Italian), Word game book (in Itlaian), Italy by bike (oops there goes my parallel sentence structure), children's book by Babette Cole, and a HR monitor book with bike workouts so I will be more efficient on the trainer - hahaha. Tonight, after we went over some financial stuff out came the Yahtzee game. I was the Yahtzee champion - Finally, usually dad wins. Not a bad weekend but Dad is being extra cool (i.e. not warm, although he is never warm) toward me because I stayed one night at my sister's. It's tiring even though I know its my fault because I am the one who moved away. Ready to head back, esp since my throat is scratchy, I have a bit of a cough, and I can't sleep - I better not be getting sick!

Relay & Delay

2007-12-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

The ski race relays were today. Pretty good fun, other than I felt sleepy a lot and was wondering if accidentally made decaf this morning. Anyway, I talked A into signing up and being my teammate. Last year I couldn't get anyone to even consider it and I don't think she hesitated. Basically, you can have a team of 1 and they do three laps or a team of 3 and each person does 1 lap. We had two because I wanted to do 2 laps. The skate conditions were rough: cold and slow snow. Woo whee. So I started off with the classic lap. My technique and skis were a little better this week but I still need to improve my weight transfer and glide; I think I am a little hesitant on my waxables. A did the second lap (skate). I almost tripped her after I tagged her in the transition area. She did great although she said she wished she was in powder - whatever! Then I skated the 3rd lap. I felt pretty good other than I had no glide - probably didn't help that I acccidently put kickwax on my skate skis yesterday! - and the snow was noisy! Again, could have been a side effect of yesterday...I'm bummed I forgot my camera to take pics!

So, I am off to P-town,eventually? Hopefully? My plane has been delayed 2 hours. Fortunately,I checked so rather than waiting at the airport I made some granola and apricot shortbread to take with me. Also got the house straightened up more than I anticipated. OK, gotta go get some food - I think Wild Oats sushi for the airport. Ciao!

Musings?

2007-12-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, another non clever title.
My chest still hurts, a lot today. I was told to breathe deeply so I don't get pneumonia. I can breathe deep, its the short forceful breaths like when I laugh or cough that hurt. Felt stiff today, like after a car accident I imagine, but this crash was just me and the hard packed snow.

Coffee with DocJ Sunday AM. I am DocJ's celebrity friend - famous for not having a cell phone. I came out of the house and she was on her cell phone and immediately warned her sis that I would harass her for being on her cell phone. There went my fun. So we walked down the street with her sis on speaker phone. While I was slightly horrified or at least thought we should be by this behavior I could imagine that it could be fun if all the parties were related or friends. But because DocJ put her sis on speaker phone (rather than just talking and pretending I wasn't there) I couldn't be annoyed. Fun to grab coffee and a quick chat. We both had a lot ot do so our visit was brief, but I was thinking later that we (the collective people) should do this more often. Maybe some people do. It wasn't too time intensive or hard to plan. I got my social fix for the day and was content to work the rest of the day. Of course, I got an overdose on Saturday so there could have been some residual.

I called my Dad about a week ago. He decided Sunday to call me back but now is very determined to talk to me. He called me every 30 minutes 3 times tonight. It goes something like this, "Hi honey...I'll call you in 30 minutes." The last message said he'd call tomorrow (and if we don't connect on the first call, we'll start the routine all over again).

99 posts on the blog, 99 posts on the blog...

LONG days til Wednesday. night night.

Race Report Correction: 2nd to DFL

2007-12-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

Race Report: DFL

2007-12-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Dead F%^$&*G last. There is no place to go but up. First ski race of the season was today. I've been a little anxious about it all week for a few reasons: haven't skied on my waxbles, still learning how to wax my waxables, don'thave all the tools and set up to wax my skis, didn't want to drive in the snowstorm, not in good shape right now and so forth. (How's that for a non parallel sentence). So after a small meltdown this morning at home and in the car, I made it to the venue. After checking in I took my skis to one of the wax tents in hopes I could scrape and wax them. I wasn't bold enough to push my way in and all the good skiers were getting in there. Then I found out that there would be no wax, the snow was wet and needed klister. I thought I left my klister at home so then I had to bum some klister off someone. Turns out I don't have any klister - I think tbones bought it last year and I just used it. I guess I just have the cleaner to get it off. If you don't know klister - it is VERY sticky. I digress. So I took my skis and stopped one guy that I know if I could ask him a dumb quesiton. He said "there are no dumb questions, just dumb people." I had to put my head down and fake laugh because otherwise I would cry. Eventually, I got my skis scraped and then I was able to borrow some klister. I still had no kick on the hills and had to run up on the side of the tracks. This was tricky because then ski sometimes would build up on the skis and then I couldn't glide. After about 10 minutes of warm up it was time to line up. As I headed to the start line I decided that I needed to "jump over the line" and accept that it was going to be a frustrating race and I needed to have a good time and not worry about skiing smoothly or well because that wasn't going to happen. The race actually started off fairly well. I had to run the start, glide a bit and then run up the first hill, but then I got in the tracks and was able move along decently. I was fairly pleased at how comfortably I was taking the turns in the tracks. And then came the downhill. This is the downhill I was worried about. I realized quickly that I was going to fast so i took one foot out of the track and tried to snow plow with one leg. Still too fast. I now was feeling out of control. One leg was in the left set of tracks and one in the right set of tracks - my legs were too wide, I had no control and I was NOT slowing down.

Then came the pole vault.

I believe my pole hit the ground in this frenzy and catapulted me through the air - yep, just like superman. I landed hard, right on my chest, still in the superman position. So hard, that the wind was knocked out of me. After a few seconds I could tell I wasn't hurt and I needed to get out of the way of coming skiers. Several people passed me, but I got up and started going. My legs were quite shaky. I didn't get too far when I needed to stop and scrape snow off my skis. More people passed. Once again, I didn't get too far before I needed to scrape snow off my skis. There was about 3 inches of snow stuck onmy left ski - no wonder I wasn't going anywhere. Off I went again - everyone had passed my by now including some of the elite racers on their second lap. Yes, my coolness overwhelms me too.

As I was completing my first lap I was trying to decide whether to just call it a day or keep going knowing that I would be last. I passed one woman and she said she too was trying to decide whether or not to do the 2nd lap. I got to the lap junction and went left rather than right to the finish. There isn't much difference between DNF and DFL and I like to ski so I might as well keep skiing. The second lap was smoother. No falls and no stops to scrape my skis. I was also more cautious. Part way through my 2nd lap, the cow bells stopped ringing as most people were done. I think the race crew got tired of waiting for me. As I approached the line (FINALLY) they were just looking at me. So of course, I ask, "Where are my cow bell?" One older couple that were helping get my bib off made the comment that at least I was still smiling and had a good time. I'm not sure I had a good time today, but at least I faked it part of the time. Even at the raffle for prizes my name was called last. No cool sstuff for me - just green wax, and I just bought green wax yesterday. Sigh. I'm glad its over. When I breath deeply or laugh my chest hurts. While I am wishing it is a slow death due to a punctured lung, I think its because I forgot my inhaler today. I've had a residual cough all afternoon. And though I don't feel that fatigued or sore, I am tired. I am looking forward to the alarm not going off in the morning. I have a lot of writing to do tomorrow.

The Typical Storm

2007-12-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Photo credits go to Rob Finch.

The pacific NW has been hit hard the last couple of days. The Oregonian has reported:

Coast still cut off after two days of violent winds and torrential rains. Tens of thousands without electricity.

Much of Oregon's northern coast remains cut off at the end of flooded or tree-blocked roads.

On Monday...the state's coastline, dropping trees and power lines, sending mudslides across major roads and leaving coastal communities almost completely isolated.

Along the coast, U.S. 101 was opened after two days of on-and-off closures for fallen trees and deep water.

Both the Nehalem and Wilson rivers were expected to flood...the Nehalem cresting at three feet over flood stage Monday night.

Harshly, this can be typical weather. Almost every year, residents of these coastal communities deal with storms that result in an alteration of daily life. Examples are homes that have been knocked off foundations or livestock that have drowned. Almost a small price to pay are the closed roads that further isolate rural residents. I experienced this weather first hand after I moved to the coast to run a local nursing home. Nearby roads flooded in the first 2 weeks of my tenure. Some staff members couldn't get to or from the nursing home until the water receded. Little did I know this was going to be commonplace. Okay, maybe not commonplace, but we dealt with incidents such as this one several times. And little did I know or even fathom what would come. I had not yet been an Administrator for 1 year (and about 27 years old). I thought I was used to rain coming from P-town, but it seemed like the rain never stopped. When severe weather was forecasted, we did the routine: Make sure all windows were closed and blinds drawn (in case windows were broken, this would help protect residents from being hit with glass), gather supplies such as flashlights and batteries, and check the generator. Unlike many nursing homes, we were lucky to have a generator and because we were on a hill we did not have to worry about the nursing home physically. This first year it rained and rained and rained. I can remember the few days that it did not. Roads to the North and South were closed for months. Staff members that had 5 - 25 mile commutes now had 45 mile commutes, one way.

One morning I received a call from our Dietary Manager. It was about 5AM. She said I would not make it to work, the town I had to travel through to get to the nursing home was flooded and rising. I told her I'd be there. I got up, packed my bag with a change of clothes and a toothbrush., and headed out. I didn't know how to drive in high water. I had just bought my truck so I could drive to and from P-town in the winter. I picked up another staff member along the way. This staff member did not drive but obviously had been through the routine. We got to the water. She said to drive steady, but not too fast or too slow. I also needed to turn off the main road but because I was new in town I didn't know where this detour was located. Off we went, with water up to the running boards we made it to the other side and to the nursing home. A short time later I repeated this trek in order to pick up another 1-2 staff members. When we crossed the river, we could no longer see the road and the river was rising. We would no longer be able to get staff in (or out) until the water receded. We worked in a small town - population 350. The town where I lived - population 500. Emergency resources went to others who needed it more as those of us in the nursing home were safe and dry. Initially, the forecast was we would be here for 72 hours. Staff titles were not existent during this time. Our bookkeeper helped in the kitchen, I teamed up with CNA's to provide personal care. Some nearby community members helped serve meals. In addition to a few hotel rooms, the maintenance man set up mattresses in meeting rooms so staff members could rest. Many worked around the clock. Fortunately, the water receded in 24 hours and other measures such as transporting staff in by helicopter were not needed. The crisis was over. A day later the sky was clear and blue and the sun was shining. However, the damage was evident as debris was sometime piled 25 feet high, some homes only had a foundation left, others were without roofs. The recent weather reminds me of these tough times and I feel badly for those who endure the hardship year after year. Some can go without any damage, others are no so lucky. These expereinces emphasize the dedication of the staff and community of these small places. And despite the gloomy days I end this long post with a photo (not the best quality) that likely illustrates why people live in this region.

YAY! Finally.

2007-12-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

City by the Bay

2007-11-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a while but I remember now, I like San Francisco. Liked the fog, food, diversity, train. Friday was along day of work, but Friday night we went to a small homey Italian restaurant ‘La Gondola’ in North Beach. A couple of wait staff spoke Italian so I got to practice speaking. Our waitress was quite sweet. Not only did she say I speak well (I don’t), but she told me to come back so we could talk in Italian. I need to find a tandem exchange here!

Saturday was a longish work day as well, starting at 7am. KYK and I did take a walk in the afternoon. We met Peter, an 86 year old man at the top of the hill (big steep hill with 360 degree views). He was a green beret in WWII and still going quite strong. We also found an Art show in a small park/courtyard area. – quite lovely.

After a couple of hours of work on Sunday I went to Union square for some coffee. I was sleepy so I sat on a bench with my bike bag on my lap and took a small nap. I was somewhat conked out and then this guy comes over and wakes me up! He wants to borrow a pen! Can someone tell me why you’d wake someone up if they are napping? So I give him a pen and he sits down and starts asking me questions. Then he starts asking me about Mitt Romney and some polygamist dude. After a few minutes I told him I needed to go meet a friend.

I spent the rest of the day with jilly whom I haven’t seen in well over a year. She used to live here but moved away about 2 years ago. I rode the train up to the Mission neighborhood to meet her. We walked a bit, then caught a bus and rode around town. We went shopping at one of her favorite second hand stores – I bought nothing but she found pants for $14. Then we for sushi, walked through Golden Gate Park, drank coffee, then wine with a friend of hers, and then I returned to downtown. I believe we traveled through about 5 neighborhoods: mission, sunset, castro, laurel heights(?), and maybe 1-2 others. Check out these pics – this bar has bike parking!

And these two wine glasses were in the hotel hallway the entire 4 days. I noticed this morning that some other dishes down the hall had not been picked up from yesterday. There was houskeeping, but maybe they "don't do dishes."

Attention Readers!

2007-11-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

I need help with my homework. Sadly, Italian class was cancelled tonight because the instructor was sick. But, now I have time to catch up on my homework. I am getting bored with my limited sentences so…in the comment section, please tell me 3 likes, 3 dislikes, and 3 things to do, such as taking trips, photographs, having breakfast and I’ll see if I can put them in a sentence. You don’t have to leave your name, but I will try to use all the words. Oh this could be fun!

Once I learned class was cancelled I decided to go for a run. What a beautiful evening. It was a little chilly and crazy windy but the sky was very clear and dark off to the west. The lights from downtown looked so sharp. Toward the end of the run I looked up in the sky and there was a group of clouds with one little opening and in the middle of the opening was the crescent moon. Quite beautiful!

I could see ahead of me a couple walking their dogs. They turned an saw me but as I ran closer one of their dogs turns and charges at me! Being the big charging dog at me wimp that I am, I stop and bring my hands to my chest. I think I must do this because I saw my mother get bit twice when I was kid because she would try and reach for the dog. She’s got big ol’ scars on both arms. Although I wasn’t too excited about a chunk being taken out of my thigh either. The owners call the dog but the dog doesn’t respond – imagine that. Then the dog starts to leave but when I start to run the dog charges back at me. So then the owner brings out the zapper and just yells and zaps the dog. As I run by the dog starts after me again but is being yelled at and zapped. This happens again. Wasn’t the most comfortable last ½ mile, but oh well. What’s up with the zapper? So. 1. If your dog doesn’t respond to your voice, get the dog on a leash. I don’t know that your dog “won’t do anything.” It’s already charged at me. 2. Get off your lazy fanny and take the dog to obedience school. If you can go to the store and buy a zapper you can go to obedience class. Oh course they probably bought the zapper off the internet. Grrrr….I learned that from dogs.

Estudio Italiano

2007-11-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

Stasera estudio italiana perche domani e classe. Scrivo molto frase ma non tempo. L’alto vadiamo cinema vedere Into the Wild. Molto bene. Dr. J vade cinema vedere Into the Wild di Domenica. Lei piace la cinema?

Sotto, la fotografia de Natalia. Natalia e settanta anni and abita in Italy. Lei fare il bagno tre oggi tutti settimana. Faccio fotografia sul ponte.

Mama Mia!

2007-11-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

Remember that storm we had about 2 months ago: big wind, rain, and power outage? Well, RMR was that night so I rode out there like I normally do. As I was warming up the clouds just kept getting more ominous. Just before the race I decided I was headed home, no race for me. I went to go tell the officials I was bagging it when they also decided to call the race. So Tri-B (another racer) and I headed out. The cross winds were blowing us all over the road and the dust was so bad we could hardly see. At this point the sky was fairly dark and plastic and debris was flying through the air. After a few miles we pulled over to a mini-mart. After a few minutes, the wind and rain seemed to calm ever so slightly and we saw another group from RMR coming so off we went. We were blown around for 15 miles, even the Cat 1-2 racers were bouncing around and unclipping their feet in case they needed to put their foot down. As we road into town Tri-B suggested we ride to his place and he drive me the rest of the way. I still had 5 miles of pure 60 MPH headwind. I did not decline the offer. Debris was everywhere and as we drove to my place I was glad (and amazed) we had made it back on our bikes safely. Unfortunately and after all that, my neighbor greeted me at the door. A tree had fallen and was trapping a hot wire on my car. Check out the pictures (obviously I needed the flash) - its all fixed now though, shiny and very clean.

Miscelllaneous Again

2007-11-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

I've got to come up with a better title than miscellaneous all the time. And I still have no time to write, write on a blog that is, so here goes.

1. Just kidding in reference to yesterday's post. Just an offshoot of a conversation a few of us have had about blogging appropriateness - I couldn't resist!

2. Thanks to the bike gang for a fun ride Sunday. There are some birthdays coming up and I almost have the menu planned.

3. I wrote 60 sentences in Italian last night and I still feel unprepared for tonight's class.

4. Get your fanny out to vote and vote against Ref. #1

5. I was so excited about a week and a half ago when my dad sent me an email. His first as he is taking a computer class and has no expereince with computers or email. I replied promptly and sent some pictures. Have I heard form him? No. Typical guy.

6. Pinto bean mole chili is on the list to make this week. Sounds interesting eh?

7. Got caught (slightly) in the dark on a trail run last night. I started chanting to myself, "dont trip, stay relaxed," but it was beautiful out and kind of cool to see the downtown lights.

What a random list, BYE!

Steamy Windows? No, Italy updates...

2007-11-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

WAS going to write about the hot mash session that went on over the weekend but...Anyway, my friend Gerit wrote (all in English) and said she has forgotten all of her Italian. She is starting a new job in Switzerland soon. Xavier (in pic), he wrote too and well, that's another story. Not much time to write so here are some pictures.

Check out the street name

A church in Feltre

Where I stayed in Feltre

My New (sort of) Sweater

2007-11-01T13:08:00.000-06:00

I just went downstairs to check my mail and a colleague complimented me on my sweater. And for a few others today I have backed them into the wall by asking, "Do you like my sweater?" Then I proudly exclaim "It used to be white!" Last weekend seemed to be the weekend of projects. CQ invited me to the movies with her and sailor, but I was already in the throes of dying (clothes) and cooking. All at one time I had a batch of homemade granola in the oven, a pot of stew on the stove, and caddy cornered from the stew was a pot of dye with my sweater and blouse. The routine went something like this. Stir the pot of dye, wash hands, stir granola, stir stew (don't grab the wrong spoon!), and repeat. So I am wearing my "new sweater" today. I'm glad I didn't have to get rid of it. The sleeveless blouse turned out cute too. It is sort of a raspberry color (a tad lighter than the sweater) and the white embroidered flowers on the bottom stayed white so I think it will be cute next summer. The beef mahogany stew gave me 4 days of yummy lunch or dinner and the granola is good with yogurt or as a snack.

This is probably putting you to sleep but maybe I'll post a picture...

Pre-Winter

2007-10-23T20:04:00.000-06:00

Not really winter yet, but you wouldn't have known that Sunday, especially if you were up in the mountains. Here are some pictures. Back on the bike yesterday with CQ - it was a little chilly and a little dark by the time we returned to our respective abodes. Really need to be home by 7pm these days unless I have a light with me.

Interval Girl hammin' it up!

Bike Curfew, Party Invitation, and Hostel Pics…

2007-10-21T08:50:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to get on my bike Friday afternoon after not riding for a month! So, I headed out about 430 to meet up with A and her hubby. She had forewarned me that they would have a turn around time of 530 so they would not get caught in the dark. By the time I came from the North and they came from the South, I knew we would not have too much riding time together. Hub went ahead with another teammate and A complained about how adamant Hub is about the turnaround time. She said she was going to try and talk him into 545. We had gone about 5-7 miles and were headed up the canyon when I said, “What time is it?” Just then we rode around the bend and Hub was right there! Must be 5:30! So funny, we all have our quirks. A told me today that Hub is hunting next week and she told him she was glad about not having to worry about the bike curfew.

I received an amusing party invitation today by someone I know (although not well), and on my message machine they called me by name. She said “do you remember me?” and then gave a completely different context of how we know each other. I listened to the message 2-3 times thinking it must be a wrong number. And we ran into each other 1-2 weeks ago so why wouldn’t she mention that. Instead, she talked about Ken and I could bring him along. Strangely, I used to date a Ken but that was before I knew this gal. Then she said she was also inviting Peter and the gang as well. I had no idea who these people were except that I knew the caller. Turns out she did call the wrong me…Funny!

I received 2 emails this week from Italy friends. Gerit was in my language class with me and she wrote almost entirely in Italian. I got most of the note, but I already feel behind. She is now in class two days per week. I start a class next week one night a week which I think will be fun.

Kristen is a gal who stayed in the 11 mixed bed dorm hostel. She took some great pictures and I copied a couple of them. This was my first time staying in a hostel. Interestingly, all of us were traveling alone so sometimes people hiked, cooked, or went to the beach together. Most of the travelers were in their 20’s so I lied about my age. I just gave a ball park, but then they decided on an age for me. I think they would have believed me if I had said 28!

Believe it or not, there are 2 sets of bunk beds behind our group. I was on the top right – basically, we slept in the kitchen…Check out my sling. It was a bit of a challenge to get to the top bunk, but since I could not always lie down (due to pain), I was glad for the extra head room. Lisa from Australia left the morning before this picture was taken, but she was very fun.

This picture was taken on the train when Ben, Sandy (another hostelmate), and I were leaving Cinque Terre. Ben was my lower bunkmate. Also a very recent alum from my alma mater. Our home towns are about 40 miles apart. And we're both Gemini. I know this because he couldn't decide where he wanted to go next. He thought Vencie but when he asked Sandy to make a reservation for him too she was annoyed and said he needed to get his own lodging. Then he thought he might go to Lucca, but then he decided he would just take the train to pisa centrale, use the internet, and go from there. Venice, Genoa, Innsbruck? I wonder what he decided.

The square was near the hostel and this is where children primarily play in Italy. The square near the language school was my favorite, but I loved the mural in this one. Kristen’s vertical shot of it is quite good.

Thanks Kristen for the photos!

Vado alla scuola imparare l'Italiano

2007-10-16T15:08:00.000-06:00

I don't think I can do a slide show, so here are some pics. I was going to classify them by city, but now I'm thinking I will break is down more.

Here is a picture of the school,

and another picture of the school,

and my classmates. Tutti donni: due de Germania, due de Austria, e due de America (including me who is taking the picture).

No Title

2007-10-16T10:43:00.000-06:00

Winter is coming, thus, this info might come in handy.

Bumped into Dr. J at the bus stop last night. We ended up going for a great trail run after work. The evening was beautiful - no wind, clear skies, fantastic view. Nice to catch up too.

I'm trying to figure out how to post a slide show here. Might now be able to do it without updgrading the blog and I can guarantee I won't be paying for that! Despite having a job, I'm still frugal.

I'm cranky about my shoulder so here's a pic of the sling. I chopped my head off because that is what I am going to do if I cannot ride soon. But look, you can still see the blue water and boats in the background.

...ING or a lack thereof

2007-10-14T19:53:00.000-06:00

So I am writing, but not exercising. I am in a writing groove. Paper #2 is almost finished. Cleaning up the abstract and it will go out this week. I’m pretty pleased that I will be able to say I sent out 2 articles in the first 2 months of my new job. Keep the fingers crossed for decent reviews. With this second article I will be happy if it goes to full review. Getting published in this journal would be over the top. Editing a research abstract and medical school application for others. Need to write more about my trip – mainly in Italian. I did catch up on a couple of emails today. Princess and I were going to hike today but she’s been working like mad and cancelled. Fair enough. I went out but only for about 1.5 hours.

Definitely a lack of exercising. It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve been on my bike. I am starting to go nuts. Still have a bit of a cough and still can’t move my arm. Grrrr. I might be eating my words, but I think I was misdiagnosed. A trail run Friday was a nice short fix although due to my cold my breathing sounded like Darth Vader. Decided I couldn’t ride with A yesterday (gotta come up with a better name than that) because it hurts to move from the top to lower bars. I thought I might try today but I couldn’t get my bike off the trainer… Loser! Not the first time I’ve done this – once I didn’t put it on tight enough and I fell over. Yep. Loser.

I like running weekend errands on foot (and I like not having to worry about when I am going to study). Yesterday I walked about 4 miles: to the post office, bank, and office supply store. The unplanned stop was the bookstore where I found a crossword puzzle book in Italian! Used, but no writing in it – Whee! I think the puzzles will help my vocabulary. I studied a fair amount of Italian yesterday: worked on crosswords, flash cards, and put up post it notes around my abode. Splashes of fluorescent green are everywhere citing different words: tavolo, sveglia, scaffoli, quadram chiave, lampade, tappeto, finestra, speccio, and so forth.

I’m grateful for nice socializing earlier in the week, especially since weekend socializing was a little sparse. Lunch with CrossQueen on Thursday. That woman knows everyone! Good to catch up and hear about her crossing adventures. Can’t wait to watch her tear up the mud. Dinner with Els and K that evening was also fun.

That’s all for now, this is getting long. Having landlord issues AGAIN. So there may some rants in the coming days. I don’t want to move but it may be inevitable…Ugh. Oh I wasn’t going to start that…Stay tuned for trip stories. Ciao!

2007-10-10T11:35:00.001-06:00

When I am an old woman,
I too shall have my bike

C Squared Adventures

2007-09-17T15:06:00.001-06:00

Too much to cover...

A couple of trips to the Quack(s)

Invention of Chubby Chick as a children's book character to combat childhood obesity - riding bikes, encountering cows, bee keepers, fixing flat tires, and getting lapped at DMV - multiple times.

Yay it's fall - trail running!

Sicko

Chocolate Pumpkin cupcakes with Pumpkin buttercream frosting. Yes, I was skeptical at first too, but the frosting is YUUMMMMY!

Why did the Frog have to go to the hospital?

2007-09-03T23:34:00.000-06:00

To have a hopperation!

Yep, learned that joke at the Toadally Frogs exhibit. In additional to lots of silly jokes, there were some cool frogs, such as the jaguar frog and the bumble bee frog.

I thought they had some replica frogs--you know, the ceramic frogs you see cheap five and dime stores—they’re real!! I said to this one woman and her mother (?), “Oh they had some fake ones over in that display in with a few live frogs.” The woman laughed and tried to convince me that they were all real. I was a bit skeptical. I ran into the two women again at the ‘fake display’ again and I said, “see that one there isn’t real.” Now, I don’t know when I thought I was the expert on frogs when, obviously, I am not the expert on frogs. Oh yeah, the frogs were real…

Cupcake Bribery

2007-09-02T22:10:00.000-06:00

Went to RMR the last 2 Tuesdays. The first time I went, back in June, I hung on for about 3 laps so my goal was to hang on for 5 laps. Ha ha. The official called a prime lap (sprint) on the second lap. So I circled around until the group came around again and tried to hop back on. My timing was off so I was spit out the back once again. Next time around I was able to get back in the pack but 1 lap later the bell lap was called. Ugh. I was frustrated because I didn’t spend much time riding with the group and with the prime lap being called so soon I hardly had a chance. I told the official my goal was to hang on 5 laps and could she be bribed with cookies to hold off on calling the prime lap so soon. She said cookies would work.

Fast forward to this week…I put a cupcake in a little plastic container, stuffed it in my jersey pocket, and took it with me on Tuesday. I rode up to the official and gave her the cupcake. She was so excited. “I can’t believe you remembered. Six laps! You get 6 laps!” DT had missed the B flight and somehow was able to ride in the C flight—Flights are determined by your licensed category. I begged him to not push the pace and that my goal was 5 laps. 2nd Lap DT and a couple of his teammates went to the front. I could see an opening so I went up there as well. One guy was great. He told me good job for coming the front and let me go in front of him and behind DT. I hung out in the front for about a lap before the pace picked up a bit and I moved to the back. After 6 laps the prime lap was called and about ¾ of the way through I was spit out the back like a rocket in the wrong direction. I tried to hang on but couldn’t quite do it. But I got 6 laps! So next week, my goal is to not get spit out no matter what it takes—even if I blow up after and can’t continue. I got 5th instead of 3rd in a race a couple of weeks ago because I didn’t react well with the jump (actually I reacted well and then hesitated), so I need to learn how to hang on so when there is a jump, react, and stay with it.

Rode home with DT and a couple of his teammates. Apparently, there were in a hurry to get home so the race pace coninuted - Geez! Along the way, one guy starts complaining about the race and says “the prime lap was called and I looked down and we were 20 minutes into the race!” (Race is about 30 min). He proceeded to say “and then 1 lap after the prime lap she rang the bell for the last lap!” He was frustrated that the prime lap was called so close to the end of the race. I stayed quiet.

Hmmmm

2007-08-29T16:37:00.001-06:00

What Your Latte Says About You

You don't treat yourself very often. You find that indulging doesn't jibe with your very disciplined life.

You are a very frivolous person. You don't take anything too seriously. Why should you? (Not sure about this one)

You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast.

You're totally addicted to caffeine... but you like to pretend like you aren't!

You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree.

You are complex and philosophical, but you are never arrogant.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

Miscellaneous Rants

2007-08-24T08:40:00.000-06:00

BANG! Epitome of a Fat Buring Workout Tale...11.5 miles, 55 minutes of riding, average 12 MPH....Felt something weird going up the canyon like there was a wad of gum stuck to to my tire and every time the wheel went around I could feel "the bump." So I pulled over thinking I would just have to brush off this "wad of gum" or whatever it m ight be. Holy Moses! My tire had a 1 inch gash in it, tube was trying to buldge out so the wheel looked warped. I was only about 6 miles from home so I turned around and gingerly headed back. I knew the tire could blow at any time so I kept my speed low--I'm sure I was annoying the cars. Got about 2 miles BANG! I yelped (for lack of a better word). Even when you know its coming, its startling because it was so loud. Find a little shade and pull off the bike wheel. You might be thinking, how are you going to change the tube when you have a gash in the tire? Well, that's what dollar bills are for--that and hitching rides or purchasing an emergency energy bar. However, and atypical, I didn't have a dollar. Damn. But I did have a business card. Put the business card in where the gash, put in a new tube, sucessfully pumped up the tube with Co2 (it helps to have the right sized cartridge and not be gabbing with Princess), and gingerly proceeded home. Once again, pissing off cars because I was going slow and I didn't know how my makeshift patch would work. Got to my house and BANG! Yes, I yelped again. Need to call Shakey to make sure I don't need a wheel true, my wheel wasn't turning quite right after my mechanical prowess.

After the bike drama, I still had an hour before I met Interval Girl for din din. So I busted up the trail for about a 30 minute wimp run--WIMP workouts seemed to be the theme of the day. Cardio good, IT band and knee not so good, but hey, first run since May. Dinner with Interval Girl was quite pleasant - hope we do that more often.

Heard it through the grapevine...Exciting events are and have been taking place in people's lives: Weddings, birthdays, new jobs, etc. Sometimes it feels sad not to be part of these friends lives anymore. Not sure what happened. Maybe my expectations were too high? Maybe I didn't put forth enought effort? Maybe someone else didn't put forth enought effort? Regardless, I am happy for their happiness and only wish them the best.

Two weeks.... My job hasn't changed much but why am I so tired? I've been getting home late in an effort to get some personal things done which makes for really long days. Will I ever FEEL organized? Not sure which is worse, my office or home. Wish I felt better, but I just don't. Article 1 is going out the door today so that's good. Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe coffee is in order...

More important info...

2007-08-22T11:19:00.000-06:00

Mister Kitty would look good in this hat

2007-08-17T13:47:00.000-06:00

In fact, Princess better not show it to him--he might be jealous.

a lack of spinning pedals, words, or yarns

2007-08-07T09:52:00.000-06:00

You may wonder why you have not been able to view this site, that is, if you've been trying. I doubt that anyone awaits on the seat of their pants (or is it chair) to read this blog. Anyway, there has not been much writing going on--you haven't missed out!! I have been dealing with a troll. I realize that blogging is a public forum, but sadly, the troll was more than just reading. I do not anticipate that this issue will go away but hopefully decrease some, hopefully. So, in the meantime, hope all is well with everyone and your stars are aligned.

Maybe...

2007-08-03T15:58:00.001-06:00

I should have applied to these schools.

--Bath Spa University (England)
--Full Sail Real World Education (Indiana)

Miscellaneous

2007-07-27T09:43:00.000-06:00

The trip back East was interesting. Two days in NYC was not enough as I spent a fair amount of time learning to navigate the city. A better map would have helped. I primarily walked the different neighborhoods, which was my plan. Walk, walk, walk. The funny part is that I walked so much and all of it was on cement that my shins got sore. Don’t use the shins much in cycling, just Nordic skiing. The day after I left for NJ, a steam pipe exploded a few blocks from where I was visiting. One person died, several injured. Crazy. Meeting in NJ was interesting. I can guarantee you that I don’t understand the prestigiousness of the meeting or meeting place, but there were times that it was hinted. But that all seems so distant from my world that to me it was JUST another organization/company.

Sooooo, I almost shaved my head Friday night. We were celebrating Psychee’s new Dr. status and jon, TL, and danceman were comparing there buzz haircuts and whose was softer and so forth. I was participating in the head pats when I said, “I’ve always wanted to shave my head.” Maybe I just wanted my head patted. The guys flipped out! And not the way you think—usually guys (and gals) say don’t do it, you can’t get rid of your curls, blah blah blah. One guy I dated said he’d break up with me if I cut my hair short or shaved my head. But these guys we’re telling me that I’d look great and could pull it off. Next thing I knew there was a chair in the middle of the kitchen with 2 pairs of scissors and clippers and they were ready to go. People started giving me jello shots so I would complete the task. Well, despite being in a champagne and jello shot haze, I chickened out, but only partly because I would have no hair. The primary reason I didn’t shave my head was because of the attention it would attract. And all the explaining I would have to do. Sigh. Maybe someday. Annie Lennox is still my hero. Riding my bike home at 2AM was great fun. In 4 miles, only one car passed me. I was a little swervy and I rang my bell a couple of times to entertain myself. It was so pleasant out, calm, not scarey. It’s been so hot, I think I should just start riding at night all the time. Not surprisingly, I passed out instantly once I arrived home. Amazingly, I was up at 7am and out the door by 8 for a ride.

Working at the coffee shop this AM. In the middle of grant frenzy and just need to work somewhere other than my office. A girl walked up to the guy sitting at a table nearby and said I’m just going to sit with you for a while. And they started chatting. Don’t really hear the conversation as I am working but then about 15 minutes later I hear a part of the conversation that has undertones of discomfort. He says, “Do you want to go to lunch sometime?” She replies, “Uh, uh no, I’ll see you around sometime, yeah, I”ll just see you around sometime.” She gets up and bolts out of the coffee shop.

East Coast Thoughts

2007-07-18T16:43:00.000-06:00

Even though I am in NJ, I received word that Psychee successfully defended her dissertation! Yay Dr. Psychee!

KYK and KYamy are starting new jobs this fall. I am excited for them and both are excited to start their new positions! They are about 5-6 hours apart. There is a part of me that wishes I was closer to them. Wouldn’t have much snow though. Could I live without snow? I’ve accepted a job as well. I wish I felt better about it. Its not that I feel bad about the job—it’s a good one. But the process felt so stressful that I am just glad it’s over.

Just heard on the news that there was an explosion about 2 blocks from where I was staying before I came down to NJ. Transformer blew...Looks like there is lots of smoke.

Time for dinner. To be continued....

Other News

2007-07-18T16:42:00.003-06:00

Picked up a PRN second job to pay for extras such as bike racing and a trip to NYC. I’m helping cater a dinner party on Saturday. Also met with Els to talk about becoming a baking entrepreneur. One thing I would have to do is get a business license—suggestions for a name are welcomed!

Capricious Confections??? How’s that for a name? Catering is hard work. We hardly got a break in 8 hours. I learned that you should not stack plates, but carry two plates at time, which makes for lots of trips. I put a cork in the wine bottle (instead of pulling it out), but the guy who I was pouring the glass for was understanding. I think I got my strength workout carrying boxes of dishes and glasses. Fondant on a cake is disgusting even though is looks pretty. The shrimp, mushroom crustinis, smoked salmon tar tar, and macadamia crusted halibut were delicious and although everyone raved about the au gratin potatoes, I realized that I just don’t like potatoes all that much—unless they are fries.

Received an invite from HPV for a girls’ weekend in CO toward the end of July. Don’t think I can go, but there are about 3 Nordic areas near her cabin—she better have another one in the winter!

Big Kudos to Psychee—she just turned in her dissertation to her committee and she defends in 2 weeks! Yay! Hip Hip Hooray! I am super bummed, however, that I will miss her defense—Argh! I know she’ll do great!

The job search feels a little stressful at times and I hope something is settled soon. I thought I received a rejection letter the other day, but fortunately, it was just an affirmative action form. Whew!

Its 3AM and I can’t sleep. I’ve already read one magazine article. Still no luck getting some z’s. Feeling super stressed about the job thing. Headed to Boise tomorrow (or today) for a stage race. Our road race doesn’t start until Noon on Sat—Why are they starting us in the heat of the day? We won’t finish until 3PM! There is no neutral feed so we are going to have to carry a 3rd water bottle. Then we turn around and start the TT at 6pm. Ugh. Its 3:35AM I’m tired, losing it and maybe I’ll try reading again.

Dead Dog Gone

2007-07-18T16:40:00.001-06:00

Went to Laramie, WY this past weekend to race in the Dead Dog Classic. The weekend was pretty fun. Met up with some gals (one) I met last year at a Colorado race. We roomed together, carpooled to the races together, ate together and provided each other support. They even let me tag along to their team dinner Sat night. Laramie is actually quite pretty and the road race course was beautiful. Tough as well. It sort of went like this: descent, rolling hills, climb, descent, rolling hills, uphill finish. They started the 4’s with the master’s so there was 40 of us in the group—something in which I have little experience. In a nutshell, I climbed fairly well, descended well, and then I turned into a full on head wind and rolling hills and bonked. Definitely a bummer and definitely need to find the solution to keeping up my nutrition in a race. I don’t think the bonking was a matter of fitness. At the finish, I was greeted by Neurogirl (who finished 3rd!). Their team was pretty cool, many waited at the finish to cheer for their teammates as they finished. HPV and Goodie had to climb a few more miles so after they came in we loaded the car, ate and relaxed. Tired of the sun, we didn’t make it to the prison museum and I forgot to go to the liquor store. I know, how do you go to WY and forget to go to the liquor store!

Sunday AM started bright and early with the crit in downtown Laramie. Neurogirl and I are in the same category and we were both pretty nervous—especially since we thought they would start us with the master’s again so there would be 40 of us fighting for position lap after lap. Fortunately, they split us up which made for a much safer ride. My goal for the race was to not lose any time to the 2 girls ahead or 1 girl behind me in the GC. Basically, that meant I just needed to finish with the group, unless one of them went for a sprint and then I needed to go as well. So going into the Time Trial (TT), I knew if I rode well I could potentially move up in the GC. I did not feel too threatened about losing a place because of the 2 minute cushion although it could happen. The TT course was rolling hills (my specialty—not) and cross winds for 10.5 miles. Felt pretty good and wanted to gage my effort by my heart rate, but the wind kept turning my monitor upside down, so I just had to gage and control my effort best I could. A couple of times the wind was so strong and was knocking me around that I got out of my aero position and moved to my drops. Unlike the state TT, I was able to stay focused and keep a steady consistent pace. Passed 1 gal and almost passed 2 others. I knew when I finished that I caught 6th place who was 28 seconds ahead of me in the GC and knew I was close to 5th. Turns out I did have a good TT and the fastest time, however, I was 4 seconds from finishing 5th place. Final place—6th. Not outstanding, but OK, and glad to have finished strong. Big congrats to Neurogirl who finished 3rd! Big thanks to HPV, Goodie, and Neurogirl for their friendship and support over the weekend.

One More Thing...

2007-06-21T09:23:00.000-06:00

Ok, so maybe I am not taking a break. How will this work when I have something to say?? I've been thinking about this over the past several days, so I'm saying it and THEN taking a break.

Sensitivity Lesson for the day. Not insensitivity or over sensitivity. Just plain sensitivity. Don’t you love it when you stick your foot in your mouth and say how great something is just after or just before someone tells you the same thing sucks for them. And don’t you love it when you are the person that feels bad and someone comes along and says how great thing are? Here are some classic examples:
A: I had a miscarriage last week.
B: I found out last week that I am 3 months pregnant—we are so excited!

C: We broke off our engagement.
D: Let me show you pictures of our wedding!

You get the idea. If we just paid a little more attention (not necessarily to ourselves) sometimes. Sing—“Be good, be good” but to each other.

Musings from the last 2.5 Weeks

2007-06-18T19:31:00.000-06:00

I'm patting myself on the back right now, well, not really because I am typing, but I just switched out the tires on my bike (front and back) in 35 minutes. That is how long it used to take me to change one tire. 5 minutes was allotted to getting the back wheel on--still need to work on that...

Best things about road trips

Singing Aloud
Changing ecosystems
Listening to NPR radio clips that I don’t usually get to listen to…On a recent trip I heard a segment on caregiving to spouses in the nursing home, yet dating.
Think time, although I am in and out of feeling peaceful, which is not the best thing.
Chick-O-sticks!
Visiting my aunt
Reading the NY times
Different coffee shops

I was going to say it was a weird birthday, but it really was not. Well, I take that back. It was a little strange, but not bad. I knew not to expect any acknowledgment on my birthday because no one remembers or they get the wrong day, including my family. It cracks me up—I get cards saying June Xth or someday that’s not my birthday. But hey, they’re trying. The cool part was that it was quite nice not dealing with having a birthday this year (this should happen more often). I thought I would be disappointed about not doing anything fun or the adventurous things that were contemplated,but fell through. However, not even having to think about and knowing no one would know it was my birthday was great.

I did RMR for the first time! I might be hooked. I’d been thinking about it and I’d been told that it would be good to learn the skill set so I did it! On the way out I was riding and chatting with the masters national crit champion and she was quite encouraging, which was nice.

On the way down the canyon the other night, a squirrel ran out in front of D2, then it stopped, and ran back to the side of the road. Barely missed it—or should I say he critter barely missed the bike. After missing D2, the little thing (don’t know if it was a he or a she), decided it still wanted to cross the road and ran out in front of me, stopped, and then ran back. I too, barely missed the critter. Talk about accelerating the heart rate—I was telling myself, don’t swerve, if you hit it, you hit it, just hold on. Wonder if the critters thank their lucky stars after events like that or is it all in a day’s work? Really glad it wasn’t a bunny.

Remember my pet raccoon? The raccoon that didn’t really exist—the critter that my land lord said was just a little squirrel in the attic. And the one that dug a hole in the roof. Well….I came home the other day and the tree outside my window was chopped down! I was so sad. My landlord said he cut it down so the raccoon couldn’t climb on the roof because it dug a hole in the roof and caused so much damage. Well, yeah, I told him about the raccoon for months! And since he plugged the hold the raccoon hasn’t been back. But now he is going to take of it. He forewarned me that they would be working on the roof, attic, and painting the trim for a couple of days and insisted that they wouldn’t need to come into my apt…Fast forward a couple of days…I am trying to work at home this morning and I have 3 yahoos on my balcony putting new trim on the house and so forth. I realize it is going to be a hot day but my landlord was here BEFORE 7AM. So I close my curtains because I am wandering around in my skimpy pajamas. Make coffee and then sit down in the living room to do a little work. They are scraping my window in the living room and it is LOUD! So much for work. THEN I hear someone come in my kitchen door off the balcony and say something like “What are you doing?” He started to respond but I don’t even know what he said I just freaked out. “Get out of my apartment unless you want to knock first.” All three yahoos have worked on this place before and one (the one who came in my apt) I cannot stand. So I probably freaked just because the other two wouldn’t have just walked in like he did. It’s been about 15 minutes but I just heard the guys talking outside and the idiot who came in my apt say—“she told me to get out.” I couldn’t hear for sure but he may have called me a beeatch.

OK I need to go iron my clothes—another interview today. It’s hot so I am not wearing a suit. If I don’t get the job because I didn’t wear a suit, well so be it. Although I’d be crushed. Sort of like the time when I was an aerobic instructor and would just wear tights and a t-shirt to the 6AM class—we were a casual bunch and still waking up at 6AM. Thongs were in at the time but trust me—my fat arse is not flattered by a thong. My evaluation said “Appearance is everything.” Although interesting, I don’t love this process.

Despite missing my favorite race was this weekend :( some fun things went on…Friday night I rode my commuter bike downtown and had a drink with friends. Saturday included an epic ride with D2 and Sunday involved watching mountain bike races with friends. I’m thinking about signing up for one because I hear they are fun, people are nice, and they give you beer afterwards. And get this, D2 was talking to a pro mountain biker (friend from home town) who I just read about in velonews. I was trying to stay to the side and not be visible. I knew the conversation would be short as the racer was on her way to warm up. But rather than ignore me, she just stuck her hand out and introduced herself. How cool is that?

Got some pics of papa from graduation that might be coming up soon. Maybe.

Finally, I've been trying to decide if it's time for the blog to go. I don't think anyone reads it, and no one comments so thinking about ditching it or possibly requiring a sign in so I can write more freely. If you have a preference, leave a comment.

The Good & the Sad

2007-06-01T14:23:00.000-06:00

Things have been hopping lately. Little work and lots of play. BBQ’s Sunday and Monday. Fun was put back into bike racing last weekend. My finish wasn’t exactly where I wanted it, but can’t really complain since it was my first real race. The highlight was being stopped by a herd of 200+ cows. After we started going again I looked down and my tires were greenish-yellow, Eeew! Then I looked at my legs and they were splattered with “mud.” Yuck. But it made us all laugh. Fun group of gals.

Princess and I biked on Sunday amongst antelope, buffalo, and a crazy head wind. The return ride was a breeze, pun intended. It was such a beautiful day and it felt like we were biking someplace else. Well, we were, but it felt so different than the roads we usually bike. Monday included more biking, but for me it was bike watching. Shaky the sandbagger raced mountain bikes on Monday, so I went to cheer for him.

Work/school stuff has been busy even though I haven’t done much on weekends. The usual work tasks, finishing up dissertation edits, and applying for jobs seems to fill my time. Applying to GWU, UWV, here, Singapore, and more. Oh, that rhymed. First interview is tomorrow so I need to go practice. Luckily, much of the presentation is my dissertation so I don’t need to practice so much that I lose my voice. Going through the interview process will be interesting, but it makes for a very long day. I meet with various faculty for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with interviews in between.

I just watched the final 5 contestant of this year’s Spelling Bee. The winning word was s-e-r-r-e-f-i-n-e.

Sadly, Grease-girl’s brother died this earlier this week. I feel badly for her. She is home now with her family. Thinking of you lots, my dear.

Coffee Shop Hook-Up

2007-05-24T13:57:00.000-06:00

ARGH. I just wrote a funny entry and it didn’t save! I will try to re-create it, but…Psychee and I are the coffee shop today. I’m having a hard time given that I am not sleeping and have had headaches. Today I can’t get comfortable, can’t get focused. I feel out of synch and something needs to change in my life but I am not sure how to facilitate it in an appropriate way. ANYWAY, we just returned from the card shop next door—Hmmm. We haven’t been able to get tables next to each other. I notice that a boy has moved next to me. I was not working 5 minutes when he leans over and asks me if I am in school. He continues to ask questions: “Are you at the U? What are you studying?” Referring to my dissertation he asks, “Is that a paper that you wrote?” He tells me that he did not know gerontology was a subject. He continues to tell me that he is going to school as well and taking 17 credit hours this summer. His major is psychology. I told him Psychee was getting her PhD in psychology, but he was not swayed. Psychee was not impressed with my tactic to try and pawn him off on her—ha ha! Not wanting this boy to go much further, I tell him I just got a PhD and tried to hint that I was older. The boy told me he was taking a psychology and love class and started asking me some questions about anti aging and people living to 170 years, and how high the divorce rate would be if people had to live with each other for 100 years. Huh? I suggested that the divorce rate was high because people got married too young. He agreed and noted that people here marry young. “I’m not mormon” he said. He then told me he was 23, almost 24. “How old are you? Age doesn’t matter to me.” FINALLY, a table opened up next to Psychee. As I was moving the young guy with energizer batteries kept going, “I’ll probably see you again sometime.” Psychee said I should be flattered that he was so interested; after all, “he’s KINDA cute.” Kinda—What is THAT suppose to mean?

Now, if his legs had been shaved…

Click Here to...

2007-05-22T09:56:00.000-06:00

What do I want to say? Do I want to say anything?

2007-05-21T10:13:00.000-06:00

I like the reprieve from the hot weather…The weekend was quite fun—maybe one of the best weekends I have had-in months! On Friday, I stopped by the home of my chair/boss to drop off some hiking books because she and her husband are road tripping in my home state. Of course, Big B had to give me some homemade brew—so good! After one glass I was feeling a little tipsy so then they fed me and gave me a little more beer. When I left, my cheeks hurt from laughing and it was fun to reminisce about my state.

Saturday started off not feeling so well—Beer? Lack of sleep? Weather? But I got my fanny out the door for a bike ride: 60 miles and about 4000 feet of climbing. Feel like my new asthma medication is working…Upon arriving home, my neighbor was in his yard, he asked about my ride, and then I joked with him “What’s for lunch?” So then I was treated to lunch. Maybe I should try that tactic more often! That evening a few of us rode our commuter bikes downtown to see the Pedal Pusher Film Festival, which was fun and entertaining.

Sunday began with a 5AM wake up to drive to a bike race: Team time trial. I was invited to race with a team Saturday afternoon so had I known I was going to race I may not have chosen to climb, but oh well. The TTT was very fun, a great workout, and my teammates for the day were fantastic. It was nice to have some positive camaraderie. I was the lowest ranked or one of the lower ranked riders not only on our team, but in the race. So, it was good for me, although I feel badly about the other two having to put up with me. I’m flip-flopping on how I feel about it. On one hand, I feel badly because they had to slow up a couple of times for me and I didn’t go into the race with fresh legs. On the other hand, if I had fresher legs, they wouldn't have had to slow up. While this cost us a couple of minutes we still wouldn't have been fast enough for second place. Another teammate was striving for increased fitness and I am not sure that she felt she could have gone faster. So, we placed third (and last), but our time was faster than the first place team last year.

Despite Sunday’s fun, I’m still not sure how I feel about racing this year. I found some pictures a few weeks ago when I preparing for my defense. The pictures were of all the cool places I used to go biking, hiking, and backpacking. The destinations were so beautiful and adventurous. I feel like I miss those days. Now that school is done, maybe it is time to make some changes in my life: move forward, nourish good relationships… Oh that’s enough.

Handy Information

2007-05-11T13:52:00.000-06:00

Not directly related, but, this might com in handy...Or this...I don't remember calling them cootie catchers though. We played with these on the bus all the time.

Dad, Dilemmas, & Derby!

2007-05-05T17:59:00.001-06:00

Just dropped dad off at the airport--he came for graduation. We had a good time. Party on Wed with other graduates and faculty. Graduation on Thursday and dinner with Aganippe and a guy. Friday we went to the air force museum, and today he went to the military museum while I ran in the snow! In between we took walks. The walks were slow but because I was with him he went longer and we did some small hills which he doesn't do at home. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time he was here and today we could hardly see the mountains! He dozed off during graduation--ha ha! And he met lots of people, some on his own. Dad has a knack for striking up conversations wherever he goes. After graduation, a few people (who I did not know) walked up to him, shook his hand, and they wished each other well. Even though it added people to socialize with, I don't think he particularly like the Bed & Breakfast concept. A small & funny world, all the people who stayed at the B & B were from P-town!

An ethical dilemma?.....I'm a litte worried about dad's health. Scans are showing a build up in the arteries again...It's been 10 years since his quintuple by-pass. He eats horribly, and although I was quite proud of myself for not harping on him about his diet the entire trip--I cringed when he went through 3 pats of butter at breakfast. He mentioned that if 'it' gets worse then they might do a small procedure. I adore my dad, but I feel a little conflicted that he more than utilizes the healthcare system, but doesn't work very hard at preventing his condition. Not that I believe that there should be limits on services, but why go through the procedure if you're still not going to take care of yourself. Sort of like being treated for lung cancer but keep smoking. Don't wear a bicycle/motorcycle helmet but utilize public dollars to care for you in a nursing home. Despite my belief in freedom of choice, sometimes the line feels blurred...
That's why we have people like Grease Girl! Thankfully, she passed the bar exam (again) and can give up her dreams of pro-wrestling (and practicing her moves on me)!

Kentucky Derby today! KYK placed a bet for me on a 'tenacious' horse--I think it was #8 Hard Spun, but he couldn't remember and was, um, quite tipsy when we spoke. He told my dad he loved him, and that he'd place a bet for him, but if he didn't pay up he'd break his knees (thought only tonya harding did that), and referred to me as sweet cakes and such. Cracks me up--love that boy. Bet was to win and my horse was second--Damn!

Elevator conversation

2007-04-30T15:31:00.000-06:00

On my way back to my office from HCH this afternoon, stepped in the elevator and just as the door was about to close, a prison guard and inmate walked in, both with big smiles on their faces.

Prison guard: Hi, how are you today?
Me: Doing Ok, and you?
Prison Guard: Good now, we are on our way home.
Inmate: Well, one of us is.

Sorry dude.

Boo! Hiss!

2007-04-26T17:05:00.000-06:00

Headed out for an easy urban spin this afternoon. Traffic was stopped downtown so I rolled up to a car and asked if she (the driver) knew what was going on...She said she didn't know but she was talking to her mom on the phone and her mom knew what was going on...so I rolled up to the police officer and he said it would be another 6-7 minutes. I then asked if it was because of the VP visit to P city. He said yes. I then said, but why is he coming through our downtown. The police officer said Mr. VP wanted to stop in for 40 min. 40 MINUTES! What is he doing for 40 minutes? So then I decide that I am going to exercise the first amendment when the motorcade goes by and yell "Boo! Hiss!" and point my thumb down. I thought it might make me as a target especially since I was on my bike, but I was very excited about this prospect as I think this was my first time protesting. The VP vehicles never went by unfortunately. And even though traffic wasn't moving, people were allowed to walk on the sidewalk, so I hopped off my bike and walked 3 blocks until I could ride again. I noticed though that there was a paramedic truck following the VP and I couldn't help but wonder...was the paramedics for him in case he got shot or the people around him if he's carrying a gun?

Catching Up!

2007-04-25T15:38:00.000-06:00

Trying to get some sleep, work, and biking in…Today will beat the rain and wind from Sunday, although Sunday’s ride was fun--learned a new loop but I’d get lost if I tried to do it by myself. Riding home was interesting; I deviated from my normal route and rode up 9th. Homeless man with wild eyes and long hair blowing around was on a bike with a trailer was riding against traffic (toward me) zig zagging the road. Almost ran over a pink padded bra??? Kind of funny…I thought about blogging about 9th when I was riding it on Sunday but then forgot. Then someone else’s blog mentioned the pink bra as well. Ha! But Yay! Warm sunshine today! Coop’s riding and maybe MBA will come with. Ciao!

DONE!

2007-04-22T15:50:00.000-06:00

Whee! I was going to say no more working weekends, but I am, sort of... Nothing better to do when you have no weekend friends. BIG thanks to Grease-girl, Psychee, KYK & Interval girl for leaving messages and being the friendly cheerleaders. Not sure KYK would want to be called a cheerleader....There have been 3 types of "cheers:"

1) Genuinely happy and say congratulations. Fortunately, these have been in the majority. Even in passing today someone asked what kind of work do I do and they heard I was working on a dissertation. I said I defended on Friday and they had and enthusiastic congratulations for me. It was brief and very kind.

2) With reservations. Some say congratulations but then throw in a smart ass comment like "it doesn't change anything does it." It changes things in that with a master's I wouldn't be able to do my own research, but no, I am not trying to reach some glorified status of having the title of Dr.

3) Begrudgingly congrats if they can get the congrats out. They would rather ignore me than have to say something positive. I think these types of cheers come from people who cannot see beyond their own view of the world or more specifically, their life and the things they engage in. For example, a PhD is not as worthy as being a good athlete. The journey has some similar attributes as one must be committed and work hard over the course of several years...but some people do not value other people who compete but are not sucessful (because sucess is defined by winning).

So, its been a crazy road. I pursued a PhD because I didn't have anything better to do (ie no kids, etc) and I like research. It took me two years to commit to going--the 1st year I delayed at 3 schools because I couldn't make a decision. The 2nd year I told KY I wasn't coming and then called a week later said I changed my mind. I can't believe they still accepted me. Leaving KY was the right decision as I am glad (despite being stressful) to have been able to help care for my step mom. The downside was that KY provided better funding and once you become a doctoral candidate you do not have to work on someone else's research. Funding here was good except for the last year and a half and I always had to work. Given a transfer, step-mom's death, a break-up, and never working less than part-time, 5 years doesn't seem so bad. CHEERS TO ALL!

The Final Countdown...

2007-04-19T20:23:00.000-06:00

In 13.5 hours I will start the first of 92 slides. Yep, 92! So I have a few that are pictures and a few I will be hiding so I can get through my presentation in an hour. At 4PM I was quite worried as my presentation was still 20 minutes too long. Ah, but it is exactly an hour now and it's sounding pretty good. Just where I want to be. Time to go home now...maybe look over a couple of sections. Hoping I have time to run in the morning, but we'll see...Potential defense questions--if you could give me the answers in the next 12 hours I'd appreciate it!

1. What is the solution?
2. What is your next step?
3. What would you do differently?
4. How did the coursework prepare/help (or not) in running the analyses?
5. Why did you choose to staffing hours as the DV instead of staffing mix?
6. How did you choose the DF beta cutoff?

Update

2007-04-17T09:47:00.000-06:00

I had a clever title this morning, but I lost it! Seems how it is going....4 more days. Although I realized last night that I really only have 3 days left to prepare. This was as my dad was telling me he doesn't care much for rest homes and hopes he "end things" with a big stroke or something. AND how is "MY TRAVEL" coming along and can I just go ahead and call for hotels tonight and call him back and tell him where is staying. Can I? Can I? I have 90 slides, no bananas, too much coffee in my system, haven't slept in 4 nights, can't do my taxes--I've picked up the wrong forms about 3 times. I need to get a poster out today. BUT WAIT, what can I do for you? Oh and don't wait for me at a junction because you've changed the route and now you are going to ban ME from riding. I'm tryiing to focus after the t-bones drama. Yes, its all my fault??? He was practically begging me to go to nationals with him 2 weeks ago. but he is just being a jerk, not only about riding, but school as well. 10 days ago I was super excited about turning in my defense copy and I called to tell him--left a message. He did not call back. Later he said, oh I didn't know I need to. So maybe psychee is right and something is up about the school thing, but he always calls me back even when I say he doesn't need to. So something is up in that he does not want to acknowlege that I am almost done. But I think it is crap that he is playing these games and a simple congratulations would have been much easier. Problem is, why am I affected? How can he be so mean-spirited? What have I done? I don't want a lot of attention, but I don't want to be ignored either. Grease-girl said she likes it when I'm cranky so she better like this post. I'm really not feeling all that cranky, just a little edgy with too much on my plate and not pleasing anyone. Order up folks!

PS. comments are working again

Tenacious!

2007-04-14T20:01:00.000-06:00

Here is the positive part of today. Hooked up with 2 different groups riding today going up two canyons. A couple of guys and I kept switiching off--it seemed like I was usually pulling and then they'd take over and start to pull faster and I would drop off and then I would catch back up again. Repeat. Thus, part way up the first canyon they started calling me "tenacious." I said "slow poke" is more like it since I lost the riders that started at my house, used my bathroom, but couldn't be considerate enough to tell me they changed the route. Oh yeah, this post is suppose to be positive. At the top of the fist climb I started riding with another group with a few people I know and once we started the second climb the other guys passed me commenting on how "tenacious" would soon be passing them. Not exactly, but I appreciated their kindness. Once I got home, Princess called and wanted to go hiking. So then I went hiking for a couple of hours. Fun time with Princess and good activity day which is why I am now at the coffee shop--so I better get to work!

Bad decisions & Jerks

2007-04-14T19:40:00.000-06:00

So I am one tired camper--Well, not a camper right now, but one tired and cranky doctoral candidate who has made two less than stellar decisions in the last 2 days. In addition to a busy week, I didn't sleep last night. So...First, I should listen to 'my gut' when I am tired and need time to myself rather than making plans and then being annoyed at fielding questions. Second, I shouldn't ride with JERKS! I knew that, tried to cancel, then did not. T-bones, Sam, and Lisa were complete JERKS today. I don't mind getting dropped but then wait for me at the junction if you are going to change the ride route. They waited for each other but not me. Such crap and I wasn't that far behind. But no, I rode 40 miles by myself because I didn't know they changed the route. Well, not by myself because two other groups witnessed what happened (that I was left alone not knowing what was going on, not that the jerks turned) and these groups were fairly vocal about what they did was crap. So the negativity ends here and moves on....My wish is to find riders who 1)want to ride with me, 2)challenge me, and 3) enhance my bike skills. I would offer reciprocity but that may be a stretch.

I stole this from Grease-Girl's sister: I'm Ernie even though I like Cookies!

2007-04-09T13:09:00.000-06:00

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times.

You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained

You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun.

How you life your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

More D Squared

2007-04-09T10:09:00.000-06:00

DD, Double D, D squared (my fav)

1. Dissertation dementia
2. Dissertation diet
3. Damn dissertation
4. Dissertation doubt
5. Psychee came up with one and now I can't remember what it was...
6. Feel free to add more--this could be like the word puzzle on NPR

A case of OCD, 204 pages, and $200 later...

2007-04-06T13:24:00.000-06:00

Ready for some wine and bike riding...maybe not in that order, hmmm, could be interesting...THIS might come in handy over the next month or so...