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!