I guess five months is a long time to go between blog posts. Whoops.
Much has happened since my last post.
-The relay I was preparing for - I ran. It was a blast. The first leg was the hardest because I got shin splints within the first 20 minutes. It took a long time to get those to ease up. But once they did, the rest of it was pretty fun. The other two legs were much easier, but I was definitely glad to be done with them when I finally finished. I was pretty gimpy for a few days afterwards, but sleep and food are wonderful healers.
-I decided months ago that I have too much free time on my hands that I wasn't using for anything productive. So I applied to the hospital to be a patient support volunteer. After a couple of months of waiting and then three months of training I'm finally officially a patient support volunteer. My main job will be a 3 hour shift in the emergency room each week. I will be available to sit with patients or family members during the frequently long periods of waiting. I'm basically there to be a companion and to do what the nursing staff don't have the luxury of doing - just be present and available. I won't start that until the beginning of January.
-In the beginning of November I decided I was tired of slowly paying off my debts. I began applying for a second job. Towards the end of November I accepted a job at a local restaurant here, Birch & Barley, as a hostess. I've worked that for the last few weekends now. It's definitely a steep learning curve. It's not a super complicated job, but there are lots of little details to learn by heart. The first couple of training days were pretty overwhelming, but now I'm starting to get my feet under me and it's becoming pretty fun. The staff are all hard workers, but they still manage to have fun.
So now I work around 50 hours a week, and pretty soon I will start volunteering an additional 3 hours a week. I'm certainly a busy girl these days, but it's not so bad. I'd rather be perhaps a little busier than preferred than sitting in front of my computer watching Netflix every free moment. Believe me, I have nothing against Netflix. I do love Netflix. I just think I would rather be doing something productive with my time. And the sooner I get my debt down, the sooner I will feel comfortable jumping continents.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
The Eve Of The Big Day
Well, it's Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday. Why is this unusual? Well, tomorrow is finally my Ragnar relay!!! =D I'm probably equal parts excited and nervous for this. I'm still getting into doing big events, so my stomach does all sorts of jumping jacks just thinking about what's coming up. Just get me to the starting line, and I'll settle and be one cool cucumber, but until then....I guess I'll just be unable to stop moving. :)
On a completely different note, I've been thinking about a particular topic a lot lately so I thought I would share. People, especially within the Christian community, seem to have this phobia of emotional pain. I usually hear things like "guard your heart", "guard your mind", "be smart", etc. You get the picture. Now everything is coming from good intentions, I understand that. And you don't necessarily want to be flinging your affections around to any and everyone who you come in contact with. But does that mean that you should only pursue those relationships which will, a) be maintained for the rest of your life (theoretically), b) contain only good feelings, and c) be a "benefit" to you? I don't necessarily disagree with looking for relationships with people that have these qualities, but I also think it's unhealthy and snobby to completely stay away from any relationship which doesn't fit all these criteria.
To the first point - there are seasons for everything, including many relationships. You learn something from every relationship you enter into, whether that relationship lasts a week or ten years! I make friends very easily, as most of you know, and I work very hard to keep the ones that I really feel a connection with, but I'm also okay if a relationship just dies out. I'll pursue a relationship, even if I'm pretty sure it has a limited time frame, because every person you come in contact with shapes you.
Now to the second point.... good feelings. Now, I'll be the first person to say that of course you want a relationship that feels good! But, at the same time, can you honestly say that the times you have grown the most have been during happy times? I can't. Happy times do cause some change, but, at least for me, I have grown the most and learned some of the most important things during my WORST moments - sad, angry, disappointed, frustrated, you name it. So while I don't actively seek out relationships for the purpose of pushing me to my low points, I don't run away from them. Because they challenge me - they challenge me to be a better person, to contemplate what I believe, why I believe it, and to figure out what it means to be me. I don't know about you, but there are days when I feel like an enigma even to myself!
And now the last point - I don't believe that every relationship will be of the biggest benefit to you. But you may be needed by someone else to help them overcome a particular obstacle in their life. One-sided friendships are challenging, and you definitely need to be in a healthy place emotionally for it to not be a drain, but I believe sometimes we may need to be there for someone that we would never let be there for ourselves. And besides, just because you can't logically see the benefit to yourself out of a relationship, doesn't mean there isn't one!
I realize that was a whole lot of thoughts, and I'm not sure how well I explained it, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. Emotional pain isn't fun, I'm not trying to sugarcoat it, but I don't think it should be avoided nearly as strenuously as many people tell me it should. It's okay to live, it's okay to experience heartbreak, it's really okay! You live, you learn, and you cry. Life is full of ups and downs. It seems like a lot people would prefer to stay right at the happy medium - gently rollings hills of emotions, but nothing too too high or too too low. Me? I'm more of a roller coaster fan. Give me huge ups, followed by huge downs. It's all part of really living a fully experienced life, in my book.
On a completely different note, I've been thinking about a particular topic a lot lately so I thought I would share. People, especially within the Christian community, seem to have this phobia of emotional pain. I usually hear things like "guard your heart", "guard your mind", "be smart", etc. You get the picture. Now everything is coming from good intentions, I understand that. And you don't necessarily want to be flinging your affections around to any and everyone who you come in contact with. But does that mean that you should only pursue those relationships which will, a) be maintained for the rest of your life (theoretically), b) contain only good feelings, and c) be a "benefit" to you? I don't necessarily disagree with looking for relationships with people that have these qualities, but I also think it's unhealthy and snobby to completely stay away from any relationship which doesn't fit all these criteria.
To the first point - there are seasons for everything, including many relationships. You learn something from every relationship you enter into, whether that relationship lasts a week or ten years! I make friends very easily, as most of you know, and I work very hard to keep the ones that I really feel a connection with, but I'm also okay if a relationship just dies out. I'll pursue a relationship, even if I'm pretty sure it has a limited time frame, because every person you come in contact with shapes you.
Now to the second point.... good feelings. Now, I'll be the first person to say that of course you want a relationship that feels good! But, at the same time, can you honestly say that the times you have grown the most have been during happy times? I can't. Happy times do cause some change, but, at least for me, I have grown the most and learned some of the most important things during my WORST moments - sad, angry, disappointed, frustrated, you name it. So while I don't actively seek out relationships for the purpose of pushing me to my low points, I don't run away from them. Because they challenge me - they challenge me to be a better person, to contemplate what I believe, why I believe it, and to figure out what it means to be me. I don't know about you, but there are days when I feel like an enigma even to myself!
And now the last point - I don't believe that every relationship will be of the biggest benefit to you. But you may be needed by someone else to help them overcome a particular obstacle in their life. One-sided friendships are challenging, and you definitely need to be in a healthy place emotionally for it to not be a drain, but I believe sometimes we may need to be there for someone that we would never let be there for ourselves. And besides, just because you can't logically see the benefit to yourself out of a relationship, doesn't mean there isn't one!
I realize that was a whole lot of thoughts, and I'm not sure how well I explained it, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. Emotional pain isn't fun, I'm not trying to sugarcoat it, but I don't think it should be avoided nearly as strenuously as many people tell me it should. It's okay to live, it's okay to experience heartbreak, it's really okay! You live, you learn, and you cry. Life is full of ups and downs. It seems like a lot people would prefer to stay right at the happy medium - gently rollings hills of emotions, but nothing too too high or too too low. Me? I'm more of a roller coaster fan. Give me huge ups, followed by huge downs. It's all part of really living a fully experienced life, in my book.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Life Without Internet
Life without internet is quite the experience, I am discovering. I haven't had internet in my house since the beginning of May. Now, I have access at work and at friend's houses, so it's not that I don't have any access, but still...
Dear Sarah got married, so I ended up moving into an apartment, alone for the summer until my roommate Gianna moves in in August. It's been very interesting learning to live by myself. For one, I discovered the joy of living by yourself in the morning. You can use the blender, blast music, stumble into your door and yell threats at it, all without the fear of waking up your roommate. On the other hand, I absolutely hate living alone in the evenings...especially without internet... It's so boring. Literally the only things to do at my apartment are read, cook, and write letters. That's it. And those don't take up nearly enough time to fill all my evenings. What this means is that I frequently end making desperate phone calls to all my friends. And I mean all of them. And if no one is free, then I throw a pity party. Not really, but you get the gist.
My relay race is coming up in a week. A week! Ah! I can hardly believe it's almost here already. I feel pretty ready for it - I know, mentally, that I'm ready for it. But I go back and forth between being really jazzed and panicking. Mostly jazzed, but still, sometimes I contemplate running 13.1 miles within 24 hours - I've never done that. Ever. I'm sure it'll be awesome, and crazy, and tiring, and completely fantastic. I just have to get over the anticipation. It'll be fine once I get there - I'll be cool as a cucumber. :)
One of the cool things about doing this run is that now running 13.1 miles seems totally achievable - which means that my dreams of a half-ironman are completely within my reach. Next year could be a very cool year if I can pull this off. Aaaaah! If I had told myself two years ago I would be seriously contemplating a half-ironman, I might have laughed at myself. My body is not naturally built for endurance activities. Short burst with lots of power, I got you covered, but plod along for...ever? Not my natural bent. But the awesome thing about our bodies is that they are totally trainable! With the right plan and the right gear, you can teach your body to do amazing things, things that you may have not thought possible before.
Speaking of half-ironmans, that brings me to a pet-peeve. I guess not really a pet-peeve, more like uncomfortable situations for myself. When I tell people I'm planning to do a half-ironman within 2 years, the most common reaction is some variant of "Wow! You're so awesome and talented!". While being very flattering and all, I'd rather you save that until AFTER I actually follow through and complete the triathlon. I mean, I am awesome, it's true, but I could talk from here to kingdom come about doing a half and never actually do it. Until I cross that finish line, I'm all talk. Once I actually start training and then physically go do it, then I can accept the praise with good grace. Until then, I just feel a little weird being considered cool just because I have plans to do this really cool thing. Maybe I'm weird, but it just makes me a little uncomfortable to accept that kind of praise when I haven't done anything yet.
Work is really busy. One therapist left at the end of June, another is leaving at the end of July, and we have two coming on beginning of August. Good gracious. And June set a record for number of new patients scheduling for that month. So everyone is really full, really busy, and I run with a smile and a sense of having 20 millions things that need doing. It's better than being bored, but still - I have a feeling this next month is going to be a long one.
Dear Sarah got married, so I ended up moving into an apartment, alone for the summer until my roommate Gianna moves in in August. It's been very interesting learning to live by myself. For one, I discovered the joy of living by yourself in the morning. You can use the blender, blast music, stumble into your door and yell threats at it, all without the fear of waking up your roommate. On the other hand, I absolutely hate living alone in the evenings...especially without internet... It's so boring. Literally the only things to do at my apartment are read, cook, and write letters. That's it. And those don't take up nearly enough time to fill all my evenings. What this means is that I frequently end making desperate phone calls to all my friends. And I mean all of them. And if no one is free, then I throw a pity party. Not really, but you get the gist.
My relay race is coming up in a week. A week! Ah! I can hardly believe it's almost here already. I feel pretty ready for it - I know, mentally, that I'm ready for it. But I go back and forth between being really jazzed and panicking. Mostly jazzed, but still, sometimes I contemplate running 13.1 miles within 24 hours - I've never done that. Ever. I'm sure it'll be awesome, and crazy, and tiring, and completely fantastic. I just have to get over the anticipation. It'll be fine once I get there - I'll be cool as a cucumber. :)
One of the cool things about doing this run is that now running 13.1 miles seems totally achievable - which means that my dreams of a half-ironman are completely within my reach. Next year could be a very cool year if I can pull this off. Aaaaah! If I had told myself two years ago I would be seriously contemplating a half-ironman, I might have laughed at myself. My body is not naturally built for endurance activities. Short burst with lots of power, I got you covered, but plod along for...ever? Not my natural bent. But the awesome thing about our bodies is that they are totally trainable! With the right plan and the right gear, you can teach your body to do amazing things, things that you may have not thought possible before.
Speaking of half-ironmans, that brings me to a pet-peeve. I guess not really a pet-peeve, more like uncomfortable situations for myself. When I tell people I'm planning to do a half-ironman within 2 years, the most common reaction is some variant of "Wow! You're so awesome and talented!". While being very flattering and all, I'd rather you save that until AFTER I actually follow through and complete the triathlon. I mean, I am awesome, it's true, but I could talk from here to kingdom come about doing a half and never actually do it. Until I cross that finish line, I'm all talk. Once I actually start training and then physically go do it, then I can accept the praise with good grace. Until then, I just feel a little weird being considered cool just because I have plans to do this really cool thing. Maybe I'm weird, but it just makes me a little uncomfortable to accept that kind of praise when I haven't done anything yet.
Work is really busy. One therapist left at the end of June, another is leaving at the end of July, and we have two coming on beginning of August. Good gracious. And June set a record for number of new patients scheduling for that month. So everyone is really full, really busy, and I run with a smile and a sense of having 20 millions things that need doing. It's better than being bored, but still - I have a feeling this next month is going to be a long one.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Distracted Focus
The saying goes that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Well, this March hasn't been much to write home about. It's been very inconsistent weather-wise, that's for sure, but not too bad. Warm enough to not need a jacket most days, even warm and sunny on some days - I've done two bike rides to Moscow this month!! =D I've really missed biking. It will take some re-adjustment to get back into biking shape, but I will get there. I'm so excited for sun and warmth!
A couple months ago I registered for a 200-mile overnight relay run. O.O I still haven't figured out what possessed me to do that, but I did, so now I've got to deal with it. There will be twelve of us on the team, and we each take three legs. My legs really aren't bad at all, but for a non-runner like me, well, they seem a little bit intimidating. However, I just keep reminding myself that if I want to a half-ironman, I need to be able to run a half-marathon AFTER swimming a mile AND biking 56 miles. Sooo....I really need to suck it up and get moving. Despite the intimidation factor, I'm really excited for this relay. I think it is going to be awesome, tiring, thrilling, satisfying, encouraging, and exhausting. I will probably nap for a full day when I finish. But it will be so worth it! And we run along the water for a lot of it, so it will probably be pretty. Hopefully I don't get lost...
I'm planning to move into Sarah's next month. Eek! I feel like time has really flown by. I've barely wrapped my mind around it being February, and March is almost over already! I still need to purge my things....I'll get to that. There's always tomorrow, right? ... Until there isn't. Oh well. I will get settled over there sometime, somehow.
I joined a book club recently, which has been fun. It's started me reading some books that I wouldn't have bothered with otherwise. They are good books, they just don't capture my attention right away, which is usually what a book has to do to get me to actually take the time to read it. But this just adds to the number of books I'm currently reading. ..hehe.. My co-workers make fun of me because I can pretty much bring a new book to work every day of the week. I just tell them that, as with many things in my life, I have be distracted enough to focus. I know, I know, it doesn't make sense to most people, but it's just how my brain works. For instance, in college, I could only study effectively at a coffee shop. Put me in my house or a library, really anywhere quiet, and I would be waaaaay too distracted to even know what I was supposed to be doing. Put me somewhere noisy like a cafe or coffee shop and I will zoom through my homework. Writing a paper? I needed to have a movie playing in the background. Not music; a movie. So anyway, with books, I'm always reading two or more. Right now I'm only readying three, but I will be rectifying that shortly. :)
If you have any recommendations for really good books please comment! I am hungry for new literature. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, really my biggest pet peeve I can think of off the top of my head is that the writing style is excellent. I mean, they don't have use ten syllable words in every sentence, but...think of anything that sounds more intelligent than Twilight. :P
A couple months ago I registered for a 200-mile overnight relay run. O.O I still haven't figured out what possessed me to do that, but I did, so now I've got to deal with it. There will be twelve of us on the team, and we each take three legs. My legs really aren't bad at all, but for a non-runner like me, well, they seem a little bit intimidating. However, I just keep reminding myself that if I want to a half-ironman, I need to be able to run a half-marathon AFTER swimming a mile AND biking 56 miles. Sooo....I really need to suck it up and get moving. Despite the intimidation factor, I'm really excited for this relay. I think it is going to be awesome, tiring, thrilling, satisfying, encouraging, and exhausting. I will probably nap for a full day when I finish. But it will be so worth it! And we run along the water for a lot of it, so it will probably be pretty. Hopefully I don't get lost...
I'm planning to move into Sarah's next month. Eek! I feel like time has really flown by. I've barely wrapped my mind around it being February, and March is almost over already! I still need to purge my things....I'll get to that. There's always tomorrow, right? ... Until there isn't. Oh well. I will get settled over there sometime, somehow.
I joined a book club recently, which has been fun. It's started me reading some books that I wouldn't have bothered with otherwise. They are good books, they just don't capture my attention right away, which is usually what a book has to do to get me to actually take the time to read it. But this just adds to the number of books I'm currently reading. ..hehe.. My co-workers make fun of me because I can pretty much bring a new book to work every day of the week. I just tell them that, as with many things in my life, I have be distracted enough to focus. I know, I know, it doesn't make sense to most people, but it's just how my brain works. For instance, in college, I could only study effectively at a coffee shop. Put me in my house or a library, really anywhere quiet, and I would be waaaaay too distracted to even know what I was supposed to be doing. Put me somewhere noisy like a cafe or coffee shop and I will zoom through my homework. Writing a paper? I needed to have a movie playing in the background. Not music; a movie. So anyway, with books, I'm always reading two or more. Right now I'm only readying three, but I will be rectifying that shortly. :)
If you have any recommendations for really good books please comment! I am hungry for new literature. I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, really my biggest pet peeve I can think of off the top of my head is that the writing style is excellent. I mean, they don't have use ten syllable words in every sentence, but...think of anything that sounds more intelligent than Twilight. :P
Saturday, January 18, 2014
New Year, New Ideas
I just realized I haven't written anything since August. Whoops. I started a few times, but never finished. Ah well. That's how life goes sometimes, right?
In September I did the sprint triathlon. It was awesome. I had a blast, and I think I'm a little addicted to it now. I guess there are worse addictions than fitness out there. So I will be doing the sprint tri again next September, and my goal is to do a half-ironman either in 2015 or 2016. That thought is simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. For anyone who doesn't know, a sprint triathlon is roughly a 500-750m swim, a 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. A half-ironman, on the other hand, is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run (a half marathon). O.O......... I must be crazy. Really, really crazy. But that just sounds AWESOME to me. The sweat, the burn, the thoughts of "I can't do this, but I will!". It sounds like a blast. The other bonus is that if I can really get into triathlons, they are a great excuse to travel. There are triathlons all over the world. Um, yes please! International relations, here I come! :P Training for this first half will be painful, and trying, but once I do the first one, it's really more a matter of maintaining, not as much striving to achieve that level of fitness.
Christmas was whirlwind of family, friends, travel, and, well, Christmas day itself. But the week flew by and I ended up back here in Pullman to settle back into routine. It's weird when you feel like you need a vacation from your vacation, but by the end I was ready for normal. Normal workouts, normal food, normal hours (my fam kept me up until midnight or 1 o'clock every night...I turn into a pumpkin at 9 usually, so that was...interesting). The new year came in as it usually does, bringing new hopes and fears for the new year. I will be moving in with a dear friend come May, so that will be exciting. And it gives me a good excuse to purge my stuff. Mwahahaha.... I love purging. It's so refreshing to get rid of things! And then all my stuff fits better, which in turn makes it easier to organize, which in turn makes it easier to keep everything clean.
I don't have much of a "bucket list" for my life. There are certain things, life doing an Ironman and sky diving that I'm not sure how soon I'll have the chance to do those, but they are always on my radar. Other things I just take a year at a time. For example, this year I want to try snowshoeing, snowboarding, and kayaking. I will make life an exciting adventure if it's the last thing that I do!
I never followed up with what's going on with my wrist. I had one MRI, with dye injected into my wrist specifically to confirm or rule out a tear, which didn't show anything. So I was referred up to a specialist in Spokane, Dr. Horn. He ordered a second MRI, this time without dye. This one showed that I actually have a ganglion cyst hanging out in that particular part of my wrist. People get ganglion cysts all the time, especially in joints. I have one in the underside of that same wrist that I wouldn't have even known was there except for the MRI. But that one doesn't hurt. They usually don't. But this one does. My options are surgery or waiting it. It could go away randomly at any time, today or twelve years from now. No one knows. There isn't a rhyme or reason to when they go away by themselves. Now, I am not a particularly patient person, but surgery is still not something to jump into. So, with Dr. Horn's permission, I'm weight lifting again, using my wrist as much as I can stand, and trying to walk a fine line between abusing and simply using my wrist. I'm not always very successful. And my boss is being wonderful and working on it here and there - massagin, twisting, bending, stretching. I think all this might be helping, but we will see. I want this stupid thing gone, so if it doesn't shape up in the next few months, well...I'll go from there. But for now, it isn't hindering any activities anymore, so I can live with it.
I need to go running now. And I don't have much else to update you on. So I will leave you with this picture of Italy, to make you crave going there as much as I do. You're welcome :)
In September I did the sprint triathlon. It was awesome. I had a blast, and I think I'm a little addicted to it now. I guess there are worse addictions than fitness out there. So I will be doing the sprint tri again next September, and my goal is to do a half-ironman either in 2015 or 2016. That thought is simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. For anyone who doesn't know, a sprint triathlon is roughly a 500-750m swim, a 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. A half-ironman, on the other hand, is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run (a half marathon). O.O......... I must be crazy. Really, really crazy. But that just sounds AWESOME to me. The sweat, the burn, the thoughts of "I can't do this, but I will!". It sounds like a blast. The other bonus is that if I can really get into triathlons, they are a great excuse to travel. There are triathlons all over the world. Um, yes please! International relations, here I come! :P Training for this first half will be painful, and trying, but once I do the first one, it's really more a matter of maintaining, not as much striving to achieve that level of fitness.
Christmas was whirlwind of family, friends, travel, and, well, Christmas day itself. But the week flew by and I ended up back here in Pullman to settle back into routine. It's weird when you feel like you need a vacation from your vacation, but by the end I was ready for normal. Normal workouts, normal food, normal hours (my fam kept me up until midnight or 1 o'clock every night...I turn into a pumpkin at 9 usually, so that was...interesting). The new year came in as it usually does, bringing new hopes and fears for the new year. I will be moving in with a dear friend come May, so that will be exciting. And it gives me a good excuse to purge my stuff. Mwahahaha.... I love purging. It's so refreshing to get rid of things! And then all my stuff fits better, which in turn makes it easier to organize, which in turn makes it easier to keep everything clean.
I don't have much of a "bucket list" for my life. There are certain things, life doing an Ironman and sky diving that I'm not sure how soon I'll have the chance to do those, but they are always on my radar. Other things I just take a year at a time. For example, this year I want to try snowshoeing, snowboarding, and kayaking. I will make life an exciting adventure if it's the last thing that I do!
I never followed up with what's going on with my wrist. I had one MRI, with dye injected into my wrist specifically to confirm or rule out a tear, which didn't show anything. So I was referred up to a specialist in Spokane, Dr. Horn. He ordered a second MRI, this time without dye. This one showed that I actually have a ganglion cyst hanging out in that particular part of my wrist. People get ganglion cysts all the time, especially in joints. I have one in the underside of that same wrist that I wouldn't have even known was there except for the MRI. But that one doesn't hurt. They usually don't. But this one does. My options are surgery or waiting it. It could go away randomly at any time, today or twelve years from now. No one knows. There isn't a rhyme or reason to when they go away by themselves. Now, I am not a particularly patient person, but surgery is still not something to jump into. So, with Dr. Horn's permission, I'm weight lifting again, using my wrist as much as I can stand, and trying to walk a fine line between abusing and simply using my wrist. I'm not always very successful. And my boss is being wonderful and working on it here and there - massagin, twisting, bending, stretching. I think all this might be helping, but we will see. I want this stupid thing gone, so if it doesn't shape up in the next few months, well...I'll go from there. But for now, it isn't hindering any activities anymore, so I can live with it.
I need to go running now. And I don't have much else to update you on. So I will leave you with this picture of Italy, to make you crave going there as much as I do. You're welcome :)
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