Sayonara 2008!

Ever since a very painful breakup in 2004, my years have been slowly improving. (Although I can't really imagine a worse year than 2004 so it's not hard to improve upon.) And in 2008 I've finally made steps toward a new career- Veterinary Medicine. I've always been an animal lover and now I'm finally brave enough to take the steps towards a career with them.
So I think I'll take this opportunity to state my hopes and resolutions for 2009.

Career Goals:
I have 3 more prerequisite classes to take. I'm enrolled in Physics II this coming semester. I got an A (AN A!) in Physics I last semester. So I want to keep on track. And to do that I think I need to schedule my study sessions. I tend to be a last minute crammer, and I'd like to go into exams feeling like I've been keeping up all along and don't need to cram. So since my class is in the morning now, my goal is to study for at least 2 hours 4 times per week.
I also need to put in at least 200 hours in an animal care setting. I've been shadowing at a local veterinary clinic over my Christmas vacation and have about 40 hours so far. So I plan to schedule more hours at the clinic, make more time to volunteer at the Humane Society, and to look into volunteering at the Wildlife Rescue in the springtime.
This should prepare me to apply to Vet school this summer for admission in the fall of 2010.

Personal Goals:
I've really gotten lax about my exercise habits and have gained weight as a result. I am really unhappy with my body right now, and it makes it really hard for me to feel confident about dating. So the first part of my plan is to exercise for 30 minutes 3 times per week. After 1 month I will add another day. Right now I know that I'll probably have to do the elliptical trainer, or a run-walk program, but after a month, I'd like to be back up to running for 30 minutes. Hopefully by getting back on the exercise wagon I can take off some of the weight that I've gained. Right now I'd feel best losing about 15 to 20 pounds. I plan to really kick up the fruit and veggie intake and reevaluate after 1 month to see if I need to make futher changes to my diet.
At age 32 I'm ready to get married and think about children, but right now I'm single. And I've been single for probably about 2 years. I've tried everything that I can think of to meet new people for dating etc. I've tried Match.com, Yahoo Personals, e-Harmony, okCupid. I've gone on dozens of first dates but haven't met the right person. Either he's interested and I'm not, or I am and he's not. I've also asked friends about single friends and I volunteer with several events/organizations. I rarely say no to an invitation to go out and do things.
And I've gotten really discouraged. I don't know what else I can do to move towards my goal of marriage and family and I feel sad that I'm still alone. I'm trying to just let go and live my life and accept that I CAN'T do anything about it. But it's been really hard and I've definitely cried over it. So my goal is to just let go. I think in order to do that, I'll need to really fill my time- but with work and school and volunteering hopefully it won't be too hard. My only concern is that I have several married friends who are trying to get pregnant, and while I'm happy and hopeful for them, I am know that watching things happen for them that I want for myself is going to bring my loneliness to the forefront.
But 2009 is going to be a busy year. Hopefully it will be MY year. Wish me luck!

Test Time, again!

Tonight is my second physics test and I have not been a properly dedicated student. So I have decided to take the afternoon off of work to finish reviewing/studying for the test. I'm definitely nervous, even though I'm expecting a somewhat "easier" exam than last time since the class average was a 65% on the last test. But as a perfectionist I don't feel confident unless I am able to easily do all of the practice problems. So that's how I'll spend 4 hours this afternoon- doing practice problems moving boxes around via physics. With friction, without friction, figuring acceleration, at an angle, on flat surfaces and slanted surfaces. And I'll also have to include a few planetary orbit problems. Raise your hand if you're jealous! (I though you might be.)
But you can think about fun stuff if you go here! Help this knitter decide what to make next and you could win a prize. I LOVE prizes.
And if you want to do something important for humanity (and boobies) you can check out Army of Women. Their goals are to recruit one million healthy women of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all. And to challenge the scientific community to expand its current focus to include breast cancer prevention research conducted on healthy women. Check it out.

Halloweenie Scary Stories...

It's October and fall is in the air. Pretty soon Halloween will be here. In honor of the season, Knit Witch is having a scary TRUE story contest.
Click on the link and you can check out her contest post and submit your own scary stories. (Let her know that you came from my blog if you go over there.)
I am a big scaredy cat so I am happy that I do not currently have any spooky personal experiences to share. But I've been having fun getting stories from friends. *shiver* Eeek!

Run, G, Run!

Sunday was the running of The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in the Country. (Seriously, it's in their advertising materials.) I love Marathon Weekend, even though I've never run a marathon. The distance scares me. I'm a runner(sometimes) but I've always been slow. So the thought of running for (what would be for me)well over 5 hours is daunting. Since the Ragnar relay that I ran at the end of August I've probably run a TOTAL of 15 miles. I need to get back out there and start running again. My friend G will be my inspiration.
Sunday was G's first marathon. She began training with a team from her work but was somewhat undertrained by the time Race Day arrived. Her long run had been only 16 miles and she was really worried about being able to finish the race. Her husband and I decided to meet her at mile 11 and mile 19 to cheer. The weather was pouring rain and about 50 degrees at mile 11 but she came running by with a smile on her face and a hug for her husband. We calculated her pace and stopped for breakfast and coffee before heading on to mile 19. We get to the course and we are seeing lots of familiar faces go by from our mile 11 viewing. But no G. We see the 5 hour pace group. We see the 5:30 pace group. At this point the crowd is thinning out, both runners and spectators. We waited until the last runner came by- with the offical race van following behind. Still no G. I'll admit that we thought she had had to drop out. It was wet and miserable for running and that couldn't have helped her. So we called G's father who was watching for her at mile 25, and told him that we had not seen her go by. He was disappointed and we hung up and headed back to the car, hoping that we would get a message from her, at least letting us know that she was ok.
We got back to the car and moments later got a call from G's dad. She just passed him at mile 25! She was running in the last 1.2 miles to the finish! We headed to the finish line- too late to see her run in, but we did meet up with her after she came out of the chute and put on dry clothes. She finished in under 5 hours. She was walking like Frankenstein's monster but she had finished her first marathon. I was and am so incredibly proud of her. Way to go G! (And she even said she might do it again next year. Seems like most people say "never again" right after the first one, and then later change their minds when the pain has faded.)
Check out some photos courtesy of the Star Tribune.

God Bless the Curve

The class average for that physics test was 65%, so my 81% score was good for a B+. Whew. Although I made some dumb mistakes and there were a few where I clearly had the wrong idea, at least I got a respectable grade. For my first exam in 10 years, I'm pretty happy with that. Now to build on that!

So much to do... so little time.

It seems I'm not a very attentive blogger. Guess it will take some time to get into the habit of posting.
Last Thursday was my first Physics test. It has been over 10 years since I've taken a test (other than the test for my motorcycle license), and that good old test-anxiety came back like an old "friend". I did all my homework to the best of my ability and tried as many practice problems as I could. But sometimes I just cannot figure out how far the damn ball is going to travel! Despite my nerves, I think I did ok on the test. I ran out of time on the very last problem, but I started to do the work so I'm counting on partial credit. We should get our scores back on Tuesday.
On Friday I went to the Renaissance Festival with some coworkers. It was the last 80 degree day of the fall, I expect, and it was so nice to just wander around outside. I saw a glassblowing demonstration and I petted the sheep at the petting zoo. And I also saw a "low hanging berry" belonging to a man wearing a kilt who hadn't learned to sit modestly. I was also talking into trying on the full blouse-corset-skirt ensemble in one shop.

I was tempted by the corset before I came to my senses. I have been to the Renaissance Festival twice in my life. I suppose I could wear it for halloween, but for $125 I'd have to have the same Halloween costume for the rest of my life. Besides, I need to put the money towards a new washing machine.
On Sunday a new friend and I went to see Cirque du Soleil's show Saltimbanco. It was a great show, but there were no contortionists in this one. Those are always my favorites. But we saw hand-balancing, pole climbing/gymnastics, leaping and flipping from a swing, trapeze work, juggling, and drumming. It was my fourth Cirque show that I've seen and it was fantastic. There is never any "down-time" with their shows. They always have clowns and people doing things while stage changes etc. go on in the background. I'd love to have a Cirque costume for halloween! :)

'nother yarn contest!

Here's another opportunity for you (or me!) to win some yarn. There is also a CD up for grabs! So check out Keeping Knit Simple. And if you leave a comment, let her know that I sent you!

Ragnar and Running and Rutabagas! Oh my!

This past weekend was totally packed for me. Back in the spring when I was thinking about fitting into a bridesmaid's dress for my sister's wedding on 8/08/08, it seemed like a good idea when some online forum women decided to put together a team for the Ragnar Great River Relay. The relay ran along the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers from LaCrosse, WI to Minneapolis, MN for a total of 206 miles. We created a women's submasters team (all women, all 30 or older) of 12 women from the forum. We also had dedicated drivers for the 2 vans so that the runners didn't have to drive when tired. Our team name was the Spare-Parted Possums (lots of injuries/surgeries/"spare-parts" etc. and well, the possum thing was just a topic of discussion on the forum the day we chose a name.)
Cute/scary opossum!








Here we are at the starting line!

I was runner 3 of van 1. Originally my first leg was listed as 6.1, second one was 4-5ish, and the 3rd was 2.9 miles. I am not a hardcore runner like most of my teammates. I like the routine of 3-4 miles 3 times a week. So I was kind of doing my thing and then 2 weeks before the race we get an email telling us that the course has changed a bit and the various leg have had to be adjusted. My 6.1 mile leg was now 9.5. I got scared. And then I bumped up my long runs as much as I could in 2 weeks (last one was about 7-7.5 miles).
On race day I was predicting 13mm because I'd been running 11-12mm and I was anticipating having to walk some of that long leg. It was about 9am and overcast but humid when I get the handoff from Buggy. Pretty much my entire leg was on CR-35. 2 lanes with a pretty narrow shoulder. The semis would blow past me about 5 feet away. But I came to love those semis. Every time they went by, I would get a big gust of breeze and it was really nice. I'd see one coming and be thinking "yay! another semi!" and it would go past and I'd lift my arms like I was doing the chicken dance. Ahhhh, breeze in my armpits! I asked my team to meet me at mile 6 or 7 with Gatorade but I did take up the offers of water from other teams when the sun came out at mile 4.5. somewhere around 6 I needed to start taking some walk breaks, so I walked 2 and ran at least 10 min. Finally after 3 walk breaks I saw the sign that said "ONE MORE MILE". JOY!!! I said "no more walks- run this out!" I was finally coming into a town so I was running past houses and around curves in the road. I didn't look at my watch but that was seriously the longest mile ever. I kept thinking "the exchange has to be around the next corner" but I would come around and just see another turn sign ahead. Finally after running up a hill I turned and saw the exchange and Newfmrs waiting for me. I really didn't have a kick left in me so I just trotted into the exchange and slapped the bracelet on her. 1:51ish minutes so approx 11:30 mm. A bunch of people passed me but they were all encouraging. I had a blister developing on my big toe and I was exhausted but I was happy because that leg was more than 1/2 my total milage for the race and it was a relief to have it completed.
At our first major exchange I took the coldest shower of my life (and could NOT bring myself to wash my hair) and then we went to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and have some dinner. After a short nap in my sleeping bag it was time to meet Gophergirl at the exchange and begin the night legs. My second leg had been adjusted to 5.1 miles, pretty flat, and still all along CR-35. I was worried about this one as well because the muscle pain and stiffness from leg one had started to set in. And I was a little apprehensive about how lonely it would be on the road. Despite being passed by 7-8 people on my first leg and people offering water, my first leg had felt a bit lonely. And this one was going to be in the dark. At about 10:30pm I got the slap from Buggy and started running. Happily, it didn't feel nearly as lonely as I'd feared. I got passed by another 7-8 people, there were tons of race vans going by and cheering, and there was one runner from another team who ran most of the leg about 20 yards behind me so I could usually hear footsteps if I got nervous. And running into the circle of light from my headlamp was nice. I just kept heading towards the light on the road in front of me and didn't have to really think or absorb too much from around me. Finished in about 59minutes so 11:45ish mm?
My body had had enough at this point so I crawled into my sleeping bag in the back seat of the van, rearranged as much gear as I could and crashed. I couldn't even stay away enough to cheer for my van-mates (sorry). I didn't even get out of the van for a shower or a sleeping spot when we got to the high school. I just passed out back there. The black sky is just starting to lighten a tad in the east when we got the call to go to the next exchange in Stillwater. My final legs was 2.9 miles and began at about 7am I think. I was really sore at this point but after 2-3 minutes of a limpy sort of gait, I was able to loosen up enough to run normally. It was reasonably cool that early in the morning and this leg was run on adrenaline and the knowledge that after these 2.9 miles I was DONE. I think I finished in about 30 minutes or so.
Our team ran across the finish line together at about 4:30pm for a total running time of 33 hours:15 minutes:25 seconds for an average pace of 9:59.
Here we are at the finish!

Looking good, right?

I found out that I have a lot more strength and mental toughness than I thought I did. I was hurting but when it was my turn I don't think I bitched too much. I just got out there and got it done. And in between I ate pringles and Ho Hos and talked to my awesome teammates and cheered for all the runners. And then I got a massage at the finish and ate pizza and dressed Momo and it was so awesome. My only regret is that I never passed anybody, but I got passed by a ton of people. My leg 2 stalker passed me briefly but then a teammate gave her water and she walked while she drank so I got back into my spot a few yards ahead. But since she started after me it wasn't really a "pass". But it's a minor regret in the face of all the fun I had. I would love to do it again!
On Sunday I was sore, but it was manageable and I decided to drive up to Cumberland, WI to meet some friends at their cabin and attend the last day of Rutabaga Festival. So after about 2 hours of driving I spent the afternoon napping, pontooning, swimming and snacking. In the evening we went into town for the festival and played skee-ball, danced to The Dweebs, ate a corndog and drank Leinie's Summer Shandys. On the way into town I realized that I'd forgotten my walled at home (2 hours away) so I had about 32 cents in change and no cards. Thankfully I didn't get carded and my friends kept me supplied with beers and a corndog. I love my friends! We got back at about 11pm and I made it through about 11 minutes of Office Space before crashing on the couch. The next morning I stayed for fabulous blueberry pancakes, bacon and fruit and then got back on the road and headed straight to work. I ended up having to work from noon to about 8pm but it was totally worth it. And I invited myself back for Rutabaga Festival next year!

'nother yarn contest- whee!

Check out Fibreholic's blog and enter her 2nd blogiversary contest to win some cool yarn prizes! Make sure you mention that I sent you!
And I am working on getting a camera so I can add some photographic interest to this blog. At least some cute dog and pretty yarn pictures.

Red Scarf Project

So while surfing the knitting net, I came across this post.

It's about the Red Scarf Project for the Orphan Foundation of America. (I didn't know they still used the word "orphan". Seems like our politically correct culture would be all over that. But I digress.) Apparently they collect hand knitted red scarves for college-bound foster kids. That is such a cool idea! I don't know much about America's foster system except for the fact that teens are far less likely to be adopted and often just "age out" of the system at 18. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about this!) At that point they are on their own. I imagine that there are some social services, but I remember being 18 and totally clueless on my way to college. I can't imagine not having family support! So if I can send a scarf and a gift card to someone who could use some support and encouragement, it seems like a good cause.
For more information about how you can help (they happily accept cash donations for shipping costs etc. if you're not a knitter) check out their website
here.

Now to find some red yarn!

"It's a hell of a day at sea, sir!"

First, my title is a quote from a movie. I'm a nerd like that. I especially love friends who can (and will) quote movies to me in normal conversation. Anyway, I'm a couple of thousand miles from any sea, but it's been a hell of a day, anyway.
I am running a relay race in a week. 206 miles with 11 other women. www.ragnarrelay.com if you want to check it out in detail. Recently my 6.1 mile leg was increased to 9.5 miles. Uh oh! I was barely on track to be prepared for the 6.1 mile distance, my longest run having been 4 miles.
So I got out and ran 7ish this morning in preparation for my newly lengthened relay leg. It took me 1:28. I took Belle (the grown-up cute pup in my avatar) with me for about 5ish miles and then dropped her off at home, grabbed some water, and finished the last couple miles. Belle apparently had more energy than I gave her credit for because when I got home I found the remains of the two favor boxes from my sister's wedding torn up on the living room floor... with no sign of the Dove Promises chocolates that had been inside. All I wanted to do was sit down in the bathtub but instead I got to fight a 50 pound dog who did NOT want to have hydrogen peroxide poured down her throat. She hated it but didn't bite me, (even when I got some in her eye *bad mommy!*). Eventually it started working and she puked up the chocolate and all the foil wrappers. She was so miserable, and so was I. I hate doing "mean" things to her!
I weeded in my garden for while until I was sure she was done puking and then took a shower, ate some lunch and finally took a 2-3 hour nap. I went from 4 miles 2 weeks ago to 6 last weekend and now 7ish and my body is definitely feeling the pounding. I am still feeling pretty beat.
I think tonight will consist of leftover Thai food (YUM) and vegging out with a book (Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life - highly recommended), or knitting my scarf and watching Olympics.

Yarn... Yum.

Last winter I took a free knitting class and something clicked. I really liked the medatative aspect of knitting something simple, and at the end of it you had a hat or a scarf or something! Pretty cool! Since then I've discovered Ravelry, an online knitting community. It has patterns, discussion boards and it's a great place for ideas and advice.
It's also a cool place to find out about new stuff. The latest cool, independent yarnista (like a barista- but creator of cool yarns instead of fancy coffees) is at http://www.yarnsprout.com/. It's gorgeous and I WANT some. Go check it out and you will want some too.

Holy cow! What now?

As the last person on earth without a blog, I've finally caved to the pressure and set up this one. Ok, so there wasn't any pressure. Zero. Zip. None.
As many of the titles I tried were taken, I finally settled on "Holy cow! What now?" and it's actually pretty appropriate for my situation in life. In two weeks I'm going back to school. Ten years ago I graduated from college with a degree in Biology and no idea what to do with it. I fell into a job in the software field that has been slowly sucking the life out of me for the last nine years. So in less than two weeks I'll be starting the first of my four prerequisite classes that I will need to apply to Veterinary school.
So yeah. Holy cow.
The school-anxiety dreams have begun. The other night I was dreaming that I had a paper due the following day on The Catcher in the Rye. I hadn't read the book in years (and didn't like it when I read it) and I'm taking a physics class so I could not figure out HOW this applied. I'm sure the naked-in-class dreams will be coming along any time now.
Anyway, right now I feel like this is a note in a bottle to be tossed in the ocean; unlikely to be discovered by anyone. But if you're reading this... welcome to my life. There will be some freak outs, and some boring, boring days, and probably a fair amount of questioning myself, God, and the universe. But hopefully it will all work out.
Soooo... what now?