Thursday, October 22, 2009
Power Tools and Pumpkins
We had an excellent time last night carving pumpkins with some friends. I got tired of using the wimpy little knives that came with the carving kits and so I thought outside of the box a bit. So Jake and I busted out the jigsaw and drill left over from our home remodeling days and went all "This Old House" on those poor pumpkins. It was amazing how much faster you can carve a pumpkin with the assistance of electricity... Unfortunately we didn't get any good pictures last night. We might try again later so be ready.
Monday, October 19, 2009
My Current Favorite Things
- The "Superfreak" commercial for Visa debit is my new favorite commercial..and the only one I will not fast forward through with my amazingly awesomely powerful DVR remote. "Let your freak flag fly".
- The show "Modern Family" on ABC is the funniest show I have seen in several years. I see flashes of myself in the neurotic one...not unusual unfortunately.
- If you get on YouTube and search for "popping a cyst" you will get hours of entertainment and an upset stomach. Thank you Travis.
- My dog likes to use his limitless mental powers to make me give him part of my sandwich.
- I want to learn how to upholster furniture...or at least a chair. I accidentally watched someone do that on TV and it looked so easy.
So there you go.
Fall? What the heck?
So it has been freaking freezing here. Which wouldn't be so bad if it hadn't been so freaking hot for the past 3 months. I scraped my car of frost this morning and am currently running the heat in the apartment. Although we didn't have to run the heat over the weekend as the lady that lives below us runs her heat at approximately 95 degrees. Apparently, she got it hot enough over the weekend to not have to run it the rest of the week.
So the grass is still green, the leaves haven't changed, and I am freezing my butt off. Magical. Although I do appreciate not pitting out my shirts before I get to work in the mornings. Fall is a little sad because by the time it gets nice enough to be outside in the evenings the days are really short.
So the grass is still green, the leaves haven't changed, and I am freezing my butt off. Magical. Although I do appreciate not pitting out my shirts before I get to work in the mornings. Fall is a little sad because by the time it gets nice enough to be outside in the evenings the days are really short.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Big Ole Roadtrip
Jake and I just got back a few hours ago from a long weekend trip to Memphis to see my sister Molly, her boyfriend Chad, and my folks. It was a whirlwind for sure!
Jake was headed to CO last weekend for business so we arose bright and early at 2:30 last Monday morning to get him to the airport in Charlotte and get me back in time to go to work. I drove back to Charlotte on Thursday night after work to pick him up to head to Memphis. We made it to Knoxville where we stayed overnight and then headed out bright and early the next morning. It was kind of a killer since we didn't get to sleep until 1 and got up at 6 to get on the road. Yuck.
By the way, Tennessee is a freaking long state. We drove from the northeast to the southwest corner...seems like the longest way through the state possible. I even got to drive through Nashville. That really made me thrilled. Luckily we were only on the edge of rush hour at 8:30 on a Friday morning because Jake had a work phone call to make. I don't think it went as smoothly as it could have for him because I was "silent screaming" swear words and wildly pointing at signs that we contradicting one another through downtown.
We got there just in time for lunch and lounging in the pool with some brewskis. It was great to catch up with Molly and my folks. Chad had to work so he was stuck being productive while the rest of us were being lazy. We caught up with him and headed out to the famed Rendezvous for some delicious ribs. It was like a Gates Brothers BBQ restaurant on steroids. Lots of yelling and running around, hurrying and BBQ smoke...oh, and deliciousness.
Saturday was super busy. The boys headed to play golf and the girls headed out for some shopping. I was glad that we drove and didn't fly because I got to pick up a few things that wouldn't have fit in a suitcase at all. It was great to shop with my mom and sister. Not that Jake isn't helpful, but it's helpful to get opinions from people that are both brashly honest, patient, and not married to you! We got overly involved and were starving like crazy when we finally ate at 3:30.
Molly lives downtown and has some really cool bars/restaurants nearby that were fantastic. The Blue Monkey and The Saucer were super, and if anyone is ever in Memphis near Beale but doesn't want the Beale insanity, they are where to go. We did make it down to Beale. It was nuts at 6:30 at night. Unfortunately it is impossible to describe but totally hysterical. There was a bum trying to charge Molly to park on a public street, crazy people dancing in the street, impromptu gymnastics performed in the middle of the street, a bar with goats, and the police setting up the mobile command center from which they will coordinate the policeman on horses pushing everyone off of Beale at 3 a.m. Yeah, we stayed for about 30 minutes. Not really my scene.
Molly tells me that people try to sell you all sorts of stuff. They pick flowers out of in front of the buildings and try to sell them, sell parking spots that are on public streets, newspapers, collect for music or wacky mid-street gymnastics..anything short of the air. Molly is hysterical about it. She about beat Jake up for offering to give one guy some money to leave us alone...it was awesomely funny.
Sunday we ate some more BBQ and got ready to head home. Molly was super about everything. There were a lot of folks in her tiny apartment, she fixed breakfast every morning (biscuits, eggs, ham, fruit), came up with stuff to do, and drug our butts all over Memphis showing us the sights. We had a great time.
Driving home was LONG. We drove to Knoxville again (stayed in the same hotel) and then got up and headed home the "scenic way". We drove through the Smokey Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and all the other mountain stuff. I about threw up 100 times as the road is wildly curvy. I don't know how people live out there. It is gorgeous, but so far away from everything. What would you do if you forgot milk at the store? It's at least 30 minutes to the store..yuck. It was amazingly not "hilly billy" looking. The houses out there are actually really nice. Pigeon Forge was Branson on crack, but Gatlinburg was more like a CO ski town.. We finally made it home tonight and I am excited to go to sleep.
Nothing like a little vacation to totally wear you out!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Why I Never Play Wii Against Jake.
Jake is stupid good at all video games. I am pretty sure he actually helped those darn little Chinese guys on the commercial invent the Wii games. He sucks at the game for about 1-2 minutes and then owns them..finding basically every little way to score extra points, doing everything perfectly, and winning with the fantastically high, unbeatable score (beatable only by him). I win the first game almost every time..and then Jake shatters my reality beating me relentlessly at all games. Tennis, skydiving, plane flying, bicycling, Frisbee throwing (yes these are all games).
I want to throw things off the deck and punch him in the face..but of course it's not his fault that this is his God-given talent and he is so dang nice. He is truly apologetic because he doesn't enjoy beating me every time because I AM A SORE LOSER WHEN BEATEN EVERY FREAKING TIME. Do I want him to let me win..No, of course not, that would be insulting. I just want him to suck at something naturally. I want to be better than him at ONE THING IN THIS WORLD. I was hoping it was the Wii. It was my last hope. I used to be more fit...not anymore, he can now run faster than me. He is a dude and can pick up heavier things, is taller than me, and gets to spend less time on his appearance because he looks EXACTLY THE SAME WHEN HE GETS UP IN THE MORNING AS HE WOULD AT A DINNER WITH THE POPE! Oh, and he is correcting my punctuation all the time, is better at math AND spelling.
Yes, I am a better Physical Therapist..but only because I haven't let him try it yet. Yes, I am a better cook..because he is lazy at it. Yes, I am prettier...because I am a girl for god's sakes...
It's freaking hopeless. If someone knows something that Jake is not good at I want to know immediately because I need a win in this world pretty badly...but you will have to send me a letter by actual mail because he is better than me at running a computer and will find out and work on it until he can beat me at it.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Blueberry Waffles
Had some really delicious waffles this morning. It is the blueberry time of year and they were super fantastic! Like a really good muffin, only with syrup...which only makes it more super fantastic..
Hope you are all having a great Sunday!
Whole-Wheat-Yogurt Waffles with Blueberries
Makes six 7-inch waffles
These waffles have a moist, tangy interior thanks to the yogurt and juicy blueberries. Try them with maple syrup or honey for breakfast. Top the waffles with ice cream for brunch or for an unusual dessert.
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup 2% milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries
If you plan to serve the waffles all at once, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Blend in the yogurt, milk, butter, honey, and lemon zest. Stir the wet ingredients and blueberries into the dry ingredients just until blended. Do not overmix or the waffles may become heavy.
Heat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions. When a drop of water thrown on the waffle iron sizzles, spoon on enough batter to cover three quarters of the surface. Close the lid and bake until the waffle is golden brown and the edges are crisp.
Serve immediately, or to keep the waffles warm, place them in a single layer on a rack in the oven.
Hope you are all having a great Sunday!
Whole-Wheat-Yogurt Waffles with Blueberries
Makes six 7-inch waffles
These waffles have a moist, tangy interior thanks to the yogurt and juicy blueberries. Try them with maple syrup or honey for breakfast. Top the waffles with ice cream for brunch or for an unusual dessert.
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup 2% milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries
If you plan to serve the waffles all at once, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Blend in the yogurt, milk, butter, honey, and lemon zest. Stir the wet ingredients and blueberries into the dry ingredients just until blended. Do not overmix or the waffles may become heavy.
Heat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions. When a drop of water thrown on the waffle iron sizzles, spoon on enough batter to cover three quarters of the surface. Close the lid and bake until the waffle is golden brown and the edges are crisp.
Serve immediately, or to keep the waffles warm, place them in a single layer on a rack in the oven.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
But It's a Wet Heat
I love summer. Absolutely love the sunshine and long days but hate the fact that you can't go outside for more than a few minutes at a time without sweating out several pounds. Maybe it's just July I dislike. I hate to wish for fall because I know that brings winter, and I hate winter no matter where I live. But it is hotter than snot out right now and not very fun. I am having some doldrums as I missed an entire weekend of exercise as it was just too hot and too stupid to be out there.
However, we did sit outside last night at a bar by the lake and the weather was relative perfection. The band though was relative to terrible. There was a guy with a synthesizer who was providing the keyboard, drums and bass guitar. There was a guy with a saxophone (actually 3 saxophones), who I don't think knew how to play the saxophone. It was karaoke with a band instead of singing..and I believe they were getting paid for their services.
We have had one other fantastic karaoke experience in Greenwood. It involved a crazy dive with patron's names on plaques at their specific chairs and about as much smoke as 10 smoke machines can handle...but ironically they don't have even one smoke machine. They have karaoke NIGHTLY and there are some reg-u-lars. Like folks who have a normal line up of songs they sing, there is some request taking and four part harmony. Karaoke is usually fun, upbeat and has a party-like atmosphere, however we went on "depressing country night" apparently. There are more songs that fit that category than you would think. The clientele was hysterically diverse and equally terrible with their song choices. There was a guy who thought he would be cute and sing the song "Strokin" which has some truly graphic lyrics that he was apparently unaware of because he got embarrassed and quit singing halfway through. We were also very disappointed when a large African-American man got up to sing and hopefully change the pace a little, and instead sang a painfully depressing LeAnn Rhymes song. The highlight of the night came with a rousing rendition of "A Coal miner's Daughter" sang by a 65 year old woman with a platinum ponytail wearing a flowered, short short onesy. You don't realize how much you don't want to see 65 year old butt cheek until you do. That is a life fact you can take to the bank.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
So that's how I hit my hospital's CEO with my bike...
I didn't really "hit him", I hit his bike. He was riding in front of me and stopped suddenly without yelling the required "slowing" or "stopping" that you are supposed to yell to stop people behind you from hitting you. He was slowing down to wait on some slower pokes, and stopped right as I was looking down to grab my water bottle. I looked up and ran right into him going a little more than 10 mph.
Of course I fell off with my feet still attached to my pedals and was entirely too focused on trying not to yell the "F word" and ended up bleeding and in a pile on the street. I am the only girl on the bike ride with about 20 middle aged guys, and Jake skipped out due to an acute Chicken Fried Steak Country Breakfast overdose, so I hopped right back up and kept going like there was absolutely nothing wrong. Only a few guys saw, so I wasn't totally mortified. I even pedaled extra fast and got in the lead group to prove how tough I was. I was definitely bleeding pretty decently from a puncture on my ankle from my chain ring while led to a kick ass bloody sock that makes me look tough, but a lot of whining today which doesn't make me so tough.
We went to the bbq contest on Saturday they were having Uptown at the "Festival of Discovery" (watch for the food network bbq special) and had a great time. It is a pretty cool contest that Greenwood puts on and it is becoming more and more well attended. It was the hottest thing ever though. The bbq was delicious and we went with friends so it was a great time.
I fall off my bike relatively regularly, but am super sore from this one because I managed to twist my ankle (while it was attached to my bike), skin my elbow, and bash my shoulder when I hit the ground. After watching all of the Tour de France bike wrecks that happen at 30 mph in the middle of 100 bikes, I feel pretty lucky that I fall off only when stopped or moving slowly!
Of course I fell off with my feet still attached to my pedals and was entirely too focused on trying not to yell the "F word" and ended up bleeding and in a pile on the street. I am the only girl on the bike ride with about 20 middle aged guys, and Jake skipped out due to an acute Chicken Fried Steak Country Breakfast overdose, so I hopped right back up and kept going like there was absolutely nothing wrong. Only a few guys saw, so I wasn't totally mortified. I even pedaled extra fast and got in the lead group to prove how tough I was. I was definitely bleeding pretty decently from a puncture on my ankle from my chain ring while led to a kick ass bloody sock that makes me look tough, but a lot of whining today which doesn't make me so tough.
We went to the bbq contest on Saturday they were having Uptown at the "Festival of Discovery" (watch for the food network bbq special) and had a great time. It is a pretty cool contest that Greenwood puts on and it is becoming more and more well attended. It was the hottest thing ever though. The bbq was delicious and we went with friends so it was a great time.
I fall off my bike relatively regularly, but am super sore from this one because I managed to twist my ankle (while it was attached to my bike), skin my elbow, and bash my shoulder when I hit the ground. After watching all of the Tour de France bike wrecks that happen at 30 mph in the middle of 100 bikes, I feel pretty lucky that I fall off only when stopped or moving slowly!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Great Sunday Morning
I got to sleep in late this morning (8 a.m.), then get up and watch the Tour de France and Roddick vs. Federer Wimbledon final. Yeah! It is supposed to be rainy this afternoon so maybe we can get some stuff done and relax. It's hard for me to relax when it's nice outside. I feel like we should be out doing something.
We hosted 4th of July yesterday afternoon with beers and grilling by the pool. We gave up on the fireworks because Greenwood wasn't having them and it would have been a haul to go see them. The town that was having them was about 15 miles away (Ninety-six...yes, that IS the name) and we had ridden through on a bike ride earlier in the morning. It was already a mess. There were people everywhere and it was near suicide on a bicycle. We were lazy and decided it was too much work to fight so we just hung out and watched the DC fireworks on TV. The Sesame Street characters were on stage and singing the regular classics and it made me laugh to see the kids in the audience in awe of what they were seeing on the stage. I was that kid almost 30 years ago. That Big Bird is aging well..
We hosted 4th of July yesterday afternoon with beers and grilling by the pool. We gave up on the fireworks because Greenwood wasn't having them and it would have been a haul to go see them. The town that was having them was about 15 miles away (Ninety-six...yes, that IS the name) and we had ridden through on a bike ride earlier in the morning. It was already a mess. There were people everywhere and it was near suicide on a bicycle. We were lazy and decided it was too much work to fight so we just hung out and watched the DC fireworks on TV. The Sesame Street characters were on stage and singing the regular classics and it made me laugh to see the kids in the audience in awe of what they were seeing on the stage. I was that kid almost 30 years ago. That Big Bird is aging well..
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Lists of Stuff
1. I did my longest triathlon of all time for which I was pretty impressed with myself.
2. Jake did a Half Ironman..which was twice as long as the long triathlon I was so proud of one week earlier..crap.
3. We ran all over Kansas like wild people.
4. Jake ran off with our only working computer to referee camp last week so I couldn't tell anyone anything about it...
So here it is in chronological order. This is going to be a long post because I am too stooopid at computers to find a better way to do it. I am also typing on the world's smallest computer as mine died. It's crazy. This tiny, little schmini only does world wide web activities..no spreadsheets, Word applications, or any other truly functional programs that I am not smart enough to use. Yep, this little thing is only built for fun. Unfortunately...I can't even type a letter unless I am e-mailing it to someone. Oh well. Who needs to send a letter when you have Facebook?
1. Festival of Flowers Triathlon- So what did I do for my birthday and anniversary weekend? Well, I didn't drink any beer, did eat a bunch of carbs, aired up my bike tires, put on some spandex and got up at 4:30 in the morning, ran a race, and went and ate my anniversary dinner at IHOP. Now, now, not everyone steal Jake's idea for a fantastic "Birthiversary Weekend".
The triathlon was here in Greenwood and twice as long as anything I had done to that point so I was very nervous. It's a pretty darn popular course for all the surrounding states so it was fun to see all the different folks. Everything went about as well as it could as I didn't freak out in the water, fall off my bike, or pass out on the run. It was hot like crazy. Jake and I both placed 3rd in our divisions. Not a normal anniversary activity, but it was a fun thing to share. One year before we had run our first 5K together on our anniversary. Quite the difference a year makes! We then went and had beers with some of our friends that organized the event at a bar on the lake...still all stinky from the race. So what is really delicious after a triathlon and hanging out at a bar? IHOP for sure!
I didn't get to revel in my "triathlon impressiveness" with myself for long because two days later we headed to KS so Jake could do a distance that was twice as far...crap. I am never "the most awesome" for long in this household.
2. Ironman Kansas- So why wouldn't you go camping in Lawrence one night while home for a week? Another one of Jake and Hilary's truly fantastic plans. We shipped a bunch of our camping gear ahead of us to my parents' house so we would not have to pack it and fly with it. We luckily rented a SUV so we could actually fit it all in the car...would have been ugly otherwise. Kelly and Justin Law get major thanks for coming along on the ridiculous adventure. Not sure if they are speaking to us again yet, but at least they got to spend quite a few really quality hours with me staring at people run around us in spandex. They were really big troopers through the whole event for sure.
There were all sorts of famous triathlon people at this race, so that was pretty exciting for Jake and I. Jake did a great job of trying to stay "fun" while getting ready for the race while we were hanging out with my family the previous few days, and I will say that I did a pretty good job of being "fun" by dragging around all of our camping crap, driving us all over the place, and taking lots of really unfortunate pictures with our camera that I don't know how to operate...and getting up at 3:30 in the morning. Jake loved the race, but I don't think it looks like fun. I will stick to my short races! On a side note, they dressed a really famous triathlete (Chrissie Wellington- the winner) up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz when she crossed the finish line... That was re-enforcement of an unfortunate stereotype I fight everyday...
3. Running Around Kansas- Big thanks to everyone who made the time to see us as we ran through the state like crazy. We only slept in the same place two nights in a row. It was a lot of going for sure. All my sisters made it to town so it was a ton of fun. My aunt Martha and cousin Mary were great hostesses for us while we ate and slept. I got to go on a great run around areas I used to live and still hold a special place in my heart. I love Kansas City. Not sure I could ever live there again because it is just too big, but I sure love that place.
There were a few REALLY big thunderstorms while we were home. I had forgotten about how crazy those can be. I dragged Jake's half asleep rear end downstairs thinking we were both going to blow away. I LOVE BASEMENTS because we don't have them in South Carolina and there is no where to go when there is a tornado. I had no idea how much I missed them. I still haven't lived down dragging Jake to the basement yet because he thought I was being a weenie.
4. Jake Running with the Computer- We were only home two days before Jake took off again for "Referee Camp". He doesn't enjoy me calling it that. I am pretty sure it is just a bunch of old refs sitting around telling stories and being jackasses. He says they work and I guess I believe him! So he splits leaving me with a broken computer...dangit. I have managed to forget most of the good stories.. Oh well. Now I am caught up, and now that I have a computer again I can try and stay on top of it!
2. Jake did a Half Ironman..which was twice as long as the long triathlon I was so proud of one week earlier..crap.
3. We ran all over Kansas like wild people.
4. Jake ran off with our only working computer to referee camp last week so I couldn't tell anyone anything about it...
So here it is in chronological order. This is going to be a long post because I am too stooopid at computers to find a better way to do it. I am also typing on the world's smallest computer as mine died. It's crazy. This tiny, little schmini only does world wide web activities..no spreadsheets, Word applications, or any other truly functional programs that I am not smart enough to use. Yep, this little thing is only built for fun. Unfortunately...I can't even type a letter unless I am e-mailing it to someone. Oh well. Who needs to send a letter when you have Facebook?
1. Festival of Flowers Triathlon- So what did I do for my birthday and anniversary weekend? Well, I didn't drink any beer, did eat a bunch of carbs, aired up my bike tires, put on some spandex and got up at 4:30 in the morning, ran a race, and went and ate my anniversary dinner at IHOP. Now, now, not everyone steal Jake's idea for a fantastic "Birthiversary Weekend".
The triathlon was here in Greenwood and twice as long as anything I had done to that point so I was very nervous. It's a pretty darn popular course for all the surrounding states so it was fun to see all the different folks. Everything went about as well as it could as I didn't freak out in the water, fall off my bike, or pass out on the run. It was hot like crazy. Jake and I both placed 3rd in our divisions. Not a normal anniversary activity, but it was a fun thing to share. One year before we had run our first 5K together on our anniversary. Quite the difference a year makes! We then went and had beers with some of our friends that organized the event at a bar on the lake...still all stinky from the race. So what is really delicious after a triathlon and hanging out at a bar? IHOP for sure!
I didn't get to revel in my "triathlon impressiveness" with myself for long because two days later we headed to KS so Jake could do a distance that was twice as far...crap. I am never "the most awesome" for long in this household.
2. Ironman Kansas- So why wouldn't you go camping in Lawrence one night while home for a week? Another one of Jake and Hilary's truly fantastic plans. We shipped a bunch of our camping gear ahead of us to my parents' house so we would not have to pack it and fly with it. We luckily rented a SUV so we could actually fit it all in the car...would have been ugly otherwise. Kelly and Justin Law get major thanks for coming along on the ridiculous adventure. Not sure if they are speaking to us again yet, but at least they got to spend quite a few really quality hours with me staring at people run around us in spandex. They were really big troopers through the whole event for sure.
There were all sorts of famous triathlon people at this race, so that was pretty exciting for Jake and I. Jake did a great job of trying to stay "fun" while getting ready for the race while we were hanging out with my family the previous few days, and I will say that I did a pretty good job of being "fun" by dragging around all of our camping crap, driving us all over the place, and taking lots of really unfortunate pictures with our camera that I don't know how to operate...and getting up at 3:30 in the morning. Jake loved the race, but I don't think it looks like fun. I will stick to my short races! On a side note, they dressed a really famous triathlete (Chrissie Wellington- the winner) up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz when she crossed the finish line... That was re-enforcement of an unfortunate stereotype I fight everyday...
3. Running Around Kansas- Big thanks to everyone who made the time to see us as we ran through the state like crazy. We only slept in the same place two nights in a row. It was a lot of going for sure. All my sisters made it to town so it was a ton of fun. My aunt Martha and cousin Mary were great hostesses for us while we ate and slept. I got to go on a great run around areas I used to live and still hold a special place in my heart. I love Kansas City. Not sure I could ever live there again because it is just too big, but I sure love that place.
There were a few REALLY big thunderstorms while we were home. I had forgotten about how crazy those can be. I dragged Jake's half asleep rear end downstairs thinking we were both going to blow away. I LOVE BASEMENTS because we don't have them in South Carolina and there is no where to go when there is a tornado. I had no idea how much I missed them. I still haven't lived down dragging Jake to the basement yet because he thought I was being a weenie.
4. Jake Running with the Computer- We were only home two days before Jake took off again for "Referee Camp". He doesn't enjoy me calling it that. I am pretty sure it is just a bunch of old refs sitting around telling stories and being jackasses. He says they work and I guess I believe him! So he splits leaving me with a broken computer...dangit. I have managed to forget most of the good stories.. Oh well. Now I am caught up, and now that I have a computer again I can try and stay on top of it!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Reasons I Don't Swim in Lakes for Recreation
1. Alligators
2. Freshwater sharks
3. Giant man-eating fish
4. Pumps that will suck you in
5. Snakes
6. Lake water poisoning- or any number of other maladies seen only on the Discovery Health channel.
Jake has informed me that #1-5 are ridiculous, and #6 would not be a problem as long as I stop trying to drink the lake water while swimming. We practiced swimming in the lake yesterday and it went better. Ike practiced swimming too, and that was way funnier.
Jake deserves some sort of medal for being married to such a headcase...however I am pretty sure I deserve a medal at times for being married to him so we will call it even.
On a completely other note, I am currently watching the NCAA lacrosse tournament on this Saturday afternoon (while my husband went to watch the new terminator movie with another dude whose wife wouldn't go either). It is really interesting and fantastic sport. Baseball, football, soccer all mixed together. Wonderful.
2. Freshwater sharks
3. Giant man-eating fish
4. Pumps that will suck you in
5. Snakes
6. Lake water poisoning- or any number of other maladies seen only on the Discovery Health channel.
Jake has informed me that #1-5 are ridiculous, and #6 would not be a problem as long as I stop trying to drink the lake water while swimming. We practiced swimming in the lake yesterday and it went better. Ike practiced swimming too, and that was way funnier.
Jake deserves some sort of medal for being married to such a headcase...however I am pretty sure I deserve a medal at times for being married to him so we will call it even.
On a completely other note, I am currently watching the NCAA lacrosse tournament on this Saturday afternoon (while my husband went to watch the new terminator movie with another dude whose wife wouldn't go either). It is really interesting and fantastic sport. Baseball, football, soccer all mixed together. Wonderful.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Boo, Yeah, YEAH, YEAHHH!
The alarm went off at 4:30 yesterday morning dragging Jake and my weary hind ends out of our very warm bed. It would have been really nice to sleep some more, especially for Jake since he has just gotten back to G-wood after being gone 19 of the past 21 days. Yuck. But who could stay in bed when it is Clemson Triathlon Day? That would just be foolishness!
I was super excited to do this triathlon since they give out really cool shirts....hehehehe, no not really but maybe a little, but because we get to hang out with our really fun triathlon friend that lives by Clemson ("Crazy T" we will call her. She will love that.) and we had heard that this race course was pretty fun.
Crazy T is actually a very mild mannered, calm on the outside, well adjusted, mother of two cute little kids...who could be the second most competitive person I know. There is a switch that flips in her head at the beginning of a race and she gets super competitive. She would try to win anything she signed up for..or anything I sign up for. She was one of the folks we met in Asheville at our first triathlon last year and now we drag each other on fun adventures and try to beat one another at races. I kick the poop out of her on the bike, then she passes me on the run to beat me at the tail end of the race usually. AAARRGGHH. Crazy T is an awesome runner but develops the craziest wheeze you have ever heard in your life when she is running. I can hear her catching me from about 50 feet back. I always feel like she maybe dying and need CPR, but then she passes me. Harumph. We have been on a number of ridiculous undertakings together: she was the person behind me on the bike during my run in with Buddy (see last post) and the person who kept me from drowning during the wetsuit incident. She and Jake take turns talking me out of quitting triathlon right before each race, when I always think it may actually be a better idea if I sit in the car or go pick up breakfast for everyone and meet them at the finish instead of actually competing myself. Crazy T only has time to train over her lunch time and a little on the weekends and still manages to be pretty dang good.
Anyway, the reason she is getting so much explanation is that T is the only reason I finished the Clemson triathlon. My open water swimming (lake) is not good. I am not exaggerating. See prior post about wetsuit as an example. During my pre-race freak out, she and Jake were telling me I would be fine, etc but left out the fact that it would be the furthest open water swim I had ever done (350 meters longer)...or the longest swim of ANY sort I have ever done. T and I are in the same wave so we get to stand on the beach and watch Jake go together. During that time we are watching people get hauled back to shore by the kayaks when they decide they cannot complete the swim (so they quit the swim and forfeit the rest of the race). T starts talking about how that is ridiculous and weak minded it is to quit, and how she would brutally pummel and quit being friends with anyone she knew that ever quit during the swim (I know I am exaggerating, but that is what my mind heard).
BOO-So we waded out into the opaque water and started our swim. T has been working on hers and is super fast in the water now. Pretty soon I had lost her and was on my own. I was doing okay, maybe a little anxious but keeping it together when I got run over by another swimmer. It was not enjoyable and I swallowed a bunch of lake water and did the choking thing, and then I freaked out a little. I was at least 200 meters straight off of the shore and seriously thinking about getting one of those guys in the kayak to come and drag me back in when T's verbal beach berating started ringing in my water filled ears. I decided that I could get help if I needed it, but if I was wanting to ride my bike (my favorite part) I would need to finish the damn swim. So, it ended up that I breast stroked most of the swim with my head out of the water and goggles on my forehead, occasionally throwing some freestyle in when I didn't feel like I was drowning and feeling about a millisecond away from quitting. I have never been happier to feel ankle deep mud in my life when I hit the shore. Primary problem with my swimming trainwreck is that swimming the breast stroke with your head out of water (not to mention the breast stroke) is not fast and uses up your legs big time, which makes the rest of the race a lot harder. My bike and run would be twice as hard as if I had managed to swim a consistent, efficient freestyle the whole way. Amazingly enough, I beat some of the people that were in my wave (20 minutes for 750 m swim with uphill run at the end). Holy crap. In retrospect, I can't decide if I gave up or overcame. I feel like I let my mind get the best of me, but I was definitely NOT prepared for the swim from a training perspective anyway so maybe I overcame a little too...Let's call it a wash.
Yeah- Now I have to fly on the bike because I am determined to make up time. I about keeled over on the bike several times initially trying to get myself back together. My heart rate was really high, my legs were screaming, and there were a couple really nasty hills right off of the bat. I pulled it together, caught a bunch of people and finally was enjoying the scenery by the end. I never caught T though. So I knew she was going to beat me this one. Yuck. I biked the 11 miles in 36 minutes (not bad) and was ready for the run.
YEAH-The run is usually the worst for me when we are doing pool swims. However, since I tried to drown in the lake I decided the run was no longer my worst activity! The run was nasty because it was downhill initially (which was nice) but then had a SICK uphill to get to the entrance to a trail we ran on. I was not looking at my watch at all after the swim figuring it was going to make me nuts the whole time if I knew how far off pace I had gotten so I just ran as hard as I could. My major goal this year was to get under 30 minutes in the 5K, but with the swim, having to mash it out on the bike to catch up, and nasty run, I figured that was over for this particular tri as well. The race actually was fun. I ended up in a back and forth with another girl I usually compete with from my division. I had beaten her out of placing several times and she was tired of it, so she kept passing me. We chit chatted for a minute before the final time she passed me, and she was talking about how she thought she and I were in it for 2nd and 3rd in our division. I had already decided there would be no way I was placing at this one and would be lucky just to finish...so all the sudden I got a little excited. I didn't know if I would have the gas left in my legs to pass her back at the end, so I just kept her close. I also got passed by another g-wood resident who I see at a lot of tri events. She is 53 but in great shape, and we go back and forth as well beating one another, so I had quite a bit going on at this point! I decided I probably can't catch my g-wood pal, but I am going to get the other girl. I waited until we got within 50 yards of the finish, turned on what was left, passed my division competition and almost caught my g-wood competition. My g-wood friend is great. She immediately starts yelling at me about how I could have caught her if I had tried a little harder. It was funny.
YEAH!- So I ended up getting second in my division again! Better yet, Jake was checking all of the actual times and saw that I ran under 30 minutes for my 5K! Yeah, hurrah! Pretty cool considering how not well the day started out! I guess I would consider it overcoming in the swim as I really had to get past my mind in the bike and run with way higher effforts and heartrates that I am used to and was able to achieve a couple cool things. The first place girl in my division (who is at all the races I am) beat my by 5 minutes...that's a lot, but we will see as the season goes on. Big thanks to my friend for guilting me into finishing the swim...weird motivation, probably not what they tell you to do in a book, but it worked well enough!
I was super excited to do this triathlon since they give out really cool shirts....hehehehe, no not really but maybe a little, but because we get to hang out with our really fun triathlon friend that lives by Clemson ("Crazy T" we will call her. She will love that.) and we had heard that this race course was pretty fun.
Crazy T is actually a very mild mannered, calm on the outside, well adjusted, mother of two cute little kids...who could be the second most competitive person I know. There is a switch that flips in her head at the beginning of a race and she gets super competitive. She would try to win anything she signed up for..or anything I sign up for. She was one of the folks we met in Asheville at our first triathlon last year and now we drag each other on fun adventures and try to beat one another at races. I kick the poop out of her on the bike, then she passes me on the run to beat me at the tail end of the race usually. AAARRGGHH. Crazy T is an awesome runner but develops the craziest wheeze you have ever heard in your life when she is running. I can hear her catching me from about 50 feet back. I always feel like she maybe dying and need CPR, but then she passes me. Harumph. We have been on a number of ridiculous undertakings together: she was the person behind me on the bike during my run in with Buddy (see last post) and the person who kept me from drowning during the wetsuit incident. She and Jake take turns talking me out of quitting triathlon right before each race, when I always think it may actually be a better idea if I sit in the car or go pick up breakfast for everyone and meet them at the finish instead of actually competing myself. Crazy T only has time to train over her lunch time and a little on the weekends and still manages to be pretty dang good.
Anyway, the reason she is getting so much explanation is that T is the only reason I finished the Clemson triathlon. My open water swimming (lake) is not good. I am not exaggerating. See prior post about wetsuit as an example. During my pre-race freak out, she and Jake were telling me I would be fine, etc but left out the fact that it would be the furthest open water swim I had ever done (350 meters longer)...or the longest swim of ANY sort I have ever done. T and I are in the same wave so we get to stand on the beach and watch Jake go together. During that time we are watching people get hauled back to shore by the kayaks when they decide they cannot complete the swim (so they quit the swim and forfeit the rest of the race). T starts talking about how that is ridiculous and weak minded it is to quit, and how she would brutally pummel and quit being friends with anyone she knew that ever quit during the swim (I know I am exaggerating, but that is what my mind heard).
BOO-So we waded out into the opaque water and started our swim. T has been working on hers and is super fast in the water now. Pretty soon I had lost her and was on my own. I was doing okay, maybe a little anxious but keeping it together when I got run over by another swimmer. It was not enjoyable and I swallowed a bunch of lake water and did the choking thing, and then I freaked out a little. I was at least 200 meters straight off of the shore and seriously thinking about getting one of those guys in the kayak to come and drag me back in when T's verbal beach berating started ringing in my water filled ears. I decided that I could get help if I needed it, but if I was wanting to ride my bike (my favorite part) I would need to finish the damn swim. So, it ended up that I breast stroked most of the swim with my head out of the water and goggles on my forehead, occasionally throwing some freestyle in when I didn't feel like I was drowning and feeling about a millisecond away from quitting. I have never been happier to feel ankle deep mud in my life when I hit the shore. Primary problem with my swimming trainwreck is that swimming the breast stroke with your head out of water (not to mention the breast stroke) is not fast and uses up your legs big time, which makes the rest of the race a lot harder. My bike and run would be twice as hard as if I had managed to swim a consistent, efficient freestyle the whole way. Amazingly enough, I beat some of the people that were in my wave (20 minutes for 750 m swim with uphill run at the end). Holy crap. In retrospect, I can't decide if I gave up or overcame. I feel like I let my mind get the best of me, but I was definitely NOT prepared for the swim from a training perspective anyway so maybe I overcame a little too...Let's call it a wash.
Yeah- Now I have to fly on the bike because I am determined to make up time. I about keeled over on the bike several times initially trying to get myself back together. My heart rate was really high, my legs were screaming, and there were a couple really nasty hills right off of the bat. I pulled it together, caught a bunch of people and finally was enjoying the scenery by the end. I never caught T though. So I knew she was going to beat me this one. Yuck. I biked the 11 miles in 36 minutes (not bad) and was ready for the run.
YEAH-The run is usually the worst for me when we are doing pool swims. However, since I tried to drown in the lake I decided the run was no longer my worst activity! The run was nasty because it was downhill initially (which was nice) but then had a SICK uphill to get to the entrance to a trail we ran on. I was not looking at my watch at all after the swim figuring it was going to make me nuts the whole time if I knew how far off pace I had gotten so I just ran as hard as I could. My major goal this year was to get under 30 minutes in the 5K, but with the swim, having to mash it out on the bike to catch up, and nasty run, I figured that was over for this particular tri as well. The race actually was fun. I ended up in a back and forth with another girl I usually compete with from my division. I had beaten her out of placing several times and she was tired of it, so she kept passing me. We chit chatted for a minute before the final time she passed me, and she was talking about how she thought she and I were in it for 2nd and 3rd in our division. I had already decided there would be no way I was placing at this one and would be lucky just to finish...so all the sudden I got a little excited. I didn't know if I would have the gas left in my legs to pass her back at the end, so I just kept her close. I also got passed by another g-wood resident who I see at a lot of tri events. She is 53 but in great shape, and we go back and forth as well beating one another, so I had quite a bit going on at this point! I decided I probably can't catch my g-wood pal, but I am going to get the other girl. I waited until we got within 50 yards of the finish, turned on what was left, passed my division competition and almost caught my g-wood competition. My g-wood friend is great. She immediately starts yelling at me about how I could have caught her if I had tried a little harder. It was funny.
YEAH!- So I ended up getting second in my division again! Better yet, Jake was checking all of the actual times and saw that I ran under 30 minutes for my 5K! Yeah, hurrah! Pretty cool considering how not well the day started out! I guess I would consider it overcoming in the swim as I really had to get past my mind in the bike and run with way higher effforts and heartrates that I am used to and was able to achieve a couple cool things. The first place girl in my division (who is at all the races I am) beat my by 5 minutes...that's a lot, but we will see as the season goes on. Big thanks to my friend for guilting me into finishing the swim...weird motivation, probably not what they tell you to do in a book, but it worked well enough!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Always Behind
I have started to post 3 separate times and never finished a one because I have no attention span and spend all of my free time running around like crazy for no reason. Since it has been a while there will be bullet points, short stories and the run on sentences I seem to love so much!
1. Tornadoes- It has been Kansas-riffic here with a little South Carolina twist. Last week we had sirens FOUR days in a row, which was completed with the cherry on the top of a midnight siren. That's enough to make you poop your footy pajamas as you are alone and fumbling for the tv remote in the pitch black to figure out if you are really going to die in your second story apartment or not. I don't know why they waste money on sirens because no one has a damn basement to go to anyway, and no one from Greenwood appears very worried about the tornado situation. The sirens are also accompanied by a bizarro voice explaining what they are and why they are going off. It is comical if it wasn't terrifying. They definitely didn't send the weather people to Merle Teller's storm chaser school because they have a super itchy trigger finger with the siren. They will sound the siren even if the tornado is 20 miles away and moving AWAY from Greenwood. It's sad because our traveling therapists from Massachusetts are totally freaked out. They have only had one tornado in their lifetime and it wiped out a whole town...needless to say they get a little jumpy when they hear thunder. I am the resident expert in tornadoes here since I am from Kansas so that is pretty funny. I hate to tell them that this is a little much even for me.
2. Buddy- "Buddy" is the name of a bulldog that tried to pull me off of my bicycle while I was minding my own business and trying to eat a granola bar a few weeks ago. We were riding in the foothills near the NC border on a really great little bike ride, zipping along when we passed some folks working in their yard. All the sudden out of nowhere this little crumbsnatcher starts to chase me and tries to bite my foot (which is snapped into the pedal and can't move..) so I assume my very best "pack leader/Cesar Milan" voice from the Dog Whisperer and start yelling "No Buddy No!" just using "Buddy" as a generic dog name while I tried to keep my feet away from his grimy little jaws. Turns out the little bastards name WAS Buddy in real life because that is what the obese lady was yelling as she was chasing the Buddy/Hilary/bike/deathtrain down the road. I couldn't help myself and turned around and yelled "You have got to be f'ing kidding me that your dog's name is Buddy" while the little turd was still snapping at my pedal. At which point my friend behind me almost wrecked her bike of laughter. Not sure how the story transferred from being there into writing, but it was pretty funny to watch I was told.
3. Wetsuits are for Fools- I attempted to swim in a wetsuit last week. It was a disaster. The idea would be that it gives you a little more buoyancy and keeps you warm while you are swimming out in the lakes for triathlons. You can only wear them if it's below 74 degrees in the water and they take a little longer to take off, but I have been told it is worth it.
Getting the thing on is totally ridiculous. There is apparently a whole YouTube video devoted to how to properly put on a wetsuit. It take a video to figure it out for Pete's sake. It's not an attractive process either. I tried to tell Jake that I thought mine was too small when I held it up and it looked like it would fit one of the Olsen twins, but he said it was supposed to be tight. There is all sorts of trying to cram your butt into it and then all sorts of crotch pulling to try and get the thing where it goes...like trying to put 15 pounds of stuff into a 10 pound sack. Later, after the whole fiasco was over with, Jake decided that it was probably a size too small which would explain most of the problem. Lucky I married him since he is so smart.
Swimming in the lake is scary. I had only done it one time before, and it was during a race, so I really didn't think about it at the time. You can always touch the bottom in the pool and take a break whenever you want. During the race there is always a kayak nearby you can grab onto if you need to get your life together. Without it, I can see how people can panic and drown. I managed to be wearing a too small wetsuit while attempting to swim, which made it hard to breathe and caused a minor panic attack in the lake. I then had to unzip the wetsuit and swim with it half on and half off back to shore. I was really not thrilled with the situation. PS: Unzipping the wetsuit completely defeats the buoyancy situation and it like swimming with a 10 pound sack of nails around your waist...there was a lot of thrashing and swearing. We finally got out and I poured the gallon of water, fish and turtles out of my wetsuit while everyone else has just a tiny trickle coming out of theirs. Magicalness of Hilary strikes again.
1. Tornadoes- It has been Kansas-riffic here with a little South Carolina twist. Last week we had sirens FOUR days in a row, which was completed with the cherry on the top of a midnight siren. That's enough to make you poop your footy pajamas as you are alone and fumbling for the tv remote in the pitch black to figure out if you are really going to die in your second story apartment or not. I don't know why they waste money on sirens because no one has a damn basement to go to anyway, and no one from Greenwood appears very worried about the tornado situation. The sirens are also accompanied by a bizarro voice explaining what they are and why they are going off. It is comical if it wasn't terrifying. They definitely didn't send the weather people to Merle Teller's storm chaser school because they have a super itchy trigger finger with the siren. They will sound the siren even if the tornado is 20 miles away and moving AWAY from Greenwood. It's sad because our traveling therapists from Massachusetts are totally freaked out. They have only had one tornado in their lifetime and it wiped out a whole town...needless to say they get a little jumpy when they hear thunder. I am the resident expert in tornadoes here since I am from Kansas so that is pretty funny. I hate to tell them that this is a little much even for me.
2. Buddy- "Buddy" is the name of a bulldog that tried to pull me off of my bicycle while I was minding my own business and trying to eat a granola bar a few weeks ago. We were riding in the foothills near the NC border on a really great little bike ride, zipping along when we passed some folks working in their yard. All the sudden out of nowhere this little crumbsnatcher starts to chase me and tries to bite my foot (which is snapped into the pedal and can't move..) so I assume my very best "pack leader/Cesar Milan" voice from the Dog Whisperer and start yelling "No Buddy No!" just using "Buddy" as a generic dog name while I tried to keep my feet away from his grimy little jaws. Turns out the little bastards name WAS Buddy in real life because that is what the obese lady was yelling as she was chasing the Buddy/Hilary/bike/deathtrain down the road. I couldn't help myself and turned around and yelled "You have got to be f'ing kidding me that your dog's name is Buddy" while the little turd was still snapping at my pedal. At which point my friend behind me almost wrecked her bike of laughter. Not sure how the story transferred from being there into writing, but it was pretty funny to watch I was told.
3. Wetsuits are for Fools- I attempted to swim in a wetsuit last week. It was a disaster. The idea would be that it gives you a little more buoyancy and keeps you warm while you are swimming out in the lakes for triathlons. You can only wear them if it's below 74 degrees in the water and they take a little longer to take off, but I have been told it is worth it.
Getting the thing on is totally ridiculous. There is apparently a whole YouTube video devoted to how to properly put on a wetsuit. It take a video to figure it out for Pete's sake. It's not an attractive process either. I tried to tell Jake that I thought mine was too small when I held it up and it looked like it would fit one of the Olsen twins, but he said it was supposed to be tight. There is all sorts of trying to cram your butt into it and then all sorts of crotch pulling to try and get the thing where it goes...like trying to put 15 pounds of stuff into a 10 pound sack. Later, after the whole fiasco was over with, Jake decided that it was probably a size too small which would explain most of the problem. Lucky I married him since he is so smart.
Swimming in the lake is scary. I had only done it one time before, and it was during a race, so I really didn't think about it at the time. You can always touch the bottom in the pool and take a break whenever you want. During the race there is always a kayak nearby you can grab onto if you need to get your life together. Without it, I can see how people can panic and drown. I managed to be wearing a too small wetsuit while attempting to swim, which made it hard to breathe and caused a minor panic attack in the lake. I then had to unzip the wetsuit and swim with it half on and half off back to shore. I was really not thrilled with the situation. PS: Unzipping the wetsuit completely defeats the buoyancy situation and it like swimming with a 10 pound sack of nails around your waist...there was a lot of thrashing and swearing. We finally got out and I poured the gallon of water, fish and turtles out of my wetsuit while everyone else has just a tiny trickle coming out of theirs. Magicalness of Hilary strikes again.
Monday, April 27, 2009
THE big glass bowl.
I have been coveting a large, glass bowl that usually lives in cardiac rehab downstairs. Those of you know me well and know my love of all things for entertaining and cooking are not surprised by my love for an object like this, however this is not just a normal clunky bowl. This particular bowl goes to live in the department that wins the quarterly customer satisfaction award. We send out a survey to a randomly selected group of patients and get compared to all the other outpatient departments that the hospital has. We keep getting really great scores but are edged out repeatedly by cardiac rehab.
It makes me nuts that we keep losing because the patients in cardiac rehab have just had a near death experience, are generally just happy to be alive, will do ANYTHING to avoid having another heart attack, and are just there to exercise in a pain-free process, drink coffee with their pals(because almost all of them are retired) and never get kicked to the curb because they can just keep coming forever as long as they pay $30 a month. My patients are generally in pain, have not had a life altering experience (read: not nearly as impressed with me and laid back in their approach) and think I have some sort of a magic wand that should heal them instead of hard work, sweat, swearing, and occasionally blood. They either get better super fast or stop getting better all together at which point we have to kick them out against their will generally. I wonder who would get the better satisfaction scores?
I digress. Needless to say the bowl has been something I have wanted since setting foot in Self Regional Healthcare nearly 2 years ago. I had basically given up hope and it had become a running joke between my boss and myself. We had discussed stealing it from cardiac rehab and holding it for ransom, actually beating up the cardiac rehab patients while dressed like cardiac rehab employees, and keying cars in the cardiac rehab parking lot...none seemed like a good, adult way of handling the situation. Then all the sudden last week I get a text from my boss that says "we won the bowl". Any normal person would find that odd, but it was the lilting voice of sweet triumph and "nanny nanny boo boo".
The bowl is usually presented at a big, quarterly meeting of all the managers and administration but as luck would have it(or wouldn't have it), they called off the meeting due to our layoffs and basically just chucked the bowl at my boss at the administration meeting. She told them we were going to take it to the local bar and fill it with beer...like the Stanley Cup. Everyone chuckled at how funny we were, but they don't get what we have been through to get the bowl. I won't get into all of it, but it has been a "pull yourself up by the bootstrap and dust off because there is a lot more shit to do before the sun goes down" kind of situation for sometime for us and there really isn't any light yet. This comes at a great time for us and I am really happy for everyone that works with me because it was a super effort under non-ideal circumstances.
So just know that late one evening, when the moon is high in the South Carolina sky, there is a high possibility that the shiny bowl may go missing ...and a high possibility there might be an incognito gathering at the Worcester's with the world's biggest margarita and a whole crap ton of bendy straws!
It makes me nuts that we keep losing because the patients in cardiac rehab have just had a near death experience, are generally just happy to be alive, will do ANYTHING to avoid having another heart attack, and are just there to exercise in a pain-free process, drink coffee with their pals(because almost all of them are retired) and never get kicked to the curb because they can just keep coming forever as long as they pay $30 a month. My patients are generally in pain, have not had a life altering experience (read: not nearly as impressed with me and laid back in their approach) and think I have some sort of a magic wand that should heal them instead of hard work, sweat, swearing, and occasionally blood. They either get better super fast or stop getting better all together at which point we have to kick them out against their will generally. I wonder who would get the better satisfaction scores?
I digress. Needless to say the bowl has been something I have wanted since setting foot in Self Regional Healthcare nearly 2 years ago. I had basically given up hope and it had become a running joke between my boss and myself. We had discussed stealing it from cardiac rehab and holding it for ransom, actually beating up the cardiac rehab patients while dressed like cardiac rehab employees, and keying cars in the cardiac rehab parking lot...none seemed like a good, adult way of handling the situation. Then all the sudden last week I get a text from my boss that says "we won the bowl". Any normal person would find that odd, but it was the lilting voice of sweet triumph and "nanny nanny boo boo".
The bowl is usually presented at a big, quarterly meeting of all the managers and administration but as luck would have it(or wouldn't have it), they called off the meeting due to our layoffs and basically just chucked the bowl at my boss at the administration meeting. She told them we were going to take it to the local bar and fill it with beer...like the Stanley Cup. Everyone chuckled at how funny we were, but they don't get what we have been through to get the bowl. I won't get into all of it, but it has been a "pull yourself up by the bootstrap and dust off because there is a lot more shit to do before the sun goes down" kind of situation for sometime for us and there really isn't any light yet. This comes at a great time for us and I am really happy for everyone that works with me because it was a super effort under non-ideal circumstances.
So just know that late one evening, when the moon is high in the South Carolina sky, there is a high possibility that the shiny bowl may go missing ...and a high possibility there might be an incognito gathering at the Worcester's with the world's biggest margarita and a whole crap ton of bendy straws!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Holy Freaking Tornado Batman...
There was tornado craziness last weekend. Friday night there were huge storms. There were a bunch of us at the second floor apartment dying Easter eggs when the sirens started going off. I was the only one who knew anything about tornados so I became the expert. It was interesting to see people from the Northeast react/freak out completely at something that was a part of my normal life growing up.
I went to work the next day and the hospital got a TON of damage. No damage to the structure, but we had some HUGE trees that got uprooted. That was something I hadn't seen before. THe root balls were huge and the trees were just shoved over. I took some pics with my phone and will try to put them on here so you can see. Bizarre that I have had just as many close brushes with tornados here in the past 2 years as I would have at home...
PS: Tree in above photo is the root ball I am fake pushing over below..
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