Haven't been out in the wild much this summer due to this doctor business. But we had an exam last Friday and a couple of days off this week AND the kids are at g-ma's house...so LET"S DO THIS!
Put on the climbing recruiting/guide hat and invited my PT class for a hike up Gray's Peak last week. We went Saturday and had a great time. Six flatlanders who had never climbed a 14er before to the top! AND I think I scored a few converts out of it. heh. Not that Gray's is AT ALL awesome, but it's a good starter peak and I figured people could still get up to the top even if they felt crappy - and it was true. Then we stopped at BeauJo's in Idaho Springs for some Mountain Pie and Tommyknocker Brewery's finest. Maple Nut Brown...mmmm. Want some more please. Prolly get some on the way home Saturday.
Fresh Meat:
Once I saw these days off SANS KIDS I instantly started pulling gruesome climbs out of the book for Chad and I to do on our free days. This was not met with the same level of enthusiasm from Chad, who was my victim, er, climbing partner. He was with the kids for Thursday through Sunday back in MI/OH so he had clearly lost some red blood cells. He was not about to sign up for a "becky special" two days after he came home. SO..Tuesday was the "training run" and this upcoming weekend is the "becky special".
I am quite satisfied to say that I have climbed Mount Elbert 11 times now. Chad had 0. I let him pick a Sawatch climb and that's what he chose. The routine is quite rehearsed and simple: get up at 2am, drive to Leadville, start hiking at sunrise. Got it. I had been averaging about 4 hours of sleep for the prior 10 days. He had just come home from the Armpit. The weather forecast was not good. Whatever, let's go. If I got a dumptruck full of newbies up there in my guiding days, I can get us up there in sad shape.
We began at 5:30am, the crack of dawn. I know that mountain like the back of my hand, so we took the East Ridge Route. It's so much nicer than the NE ridge where all the tourists go to suffer. It's just under 8 miles and about 4,500 vertical climb. It was SO good to be up there. It's like the normal wash cycle for my soul which as always is drawn to the mountains but cannot ever get enough time there. If I could swing it I'd never come back down. The sunrise was gorgeous.
It had rained earlier in the morning and he forest smelled delicious. The wildflowers were in full bloom. We felt good. I felt great. I feel like my body is built for this sport. I do enough of the fast and furious stuff with taequando and soccer. Climbing is an enjoyable low level boil with occasional bursts of kick-ass. It felt so great to get my body moving vertically! (Gray's was vertical but I honestly never even broke a sweat) This is what it's all about, yo! We got to around 14,000 and the clouds descended on the summit and it started to drizzle. While we were a little bummed about the fact we were not going to get the 360 summit view, we were happy that we were just in time to beat the weather by summiting soon and getting busy descending before the heat of the day kicked up the thunderheads. We topped out in 3 hours, by 8:30. We were pretty impressed with ourselves given our current state. Guess doing all those masochistic becky specials is good for something. It's nice to say that the tallest mountain in the state is just a walk in the park!
We stayed on top about a half hour eating and chatting with people from the NE ridge who were starting to trickle in. Got a little cold, so we did a little of our pole-running downhill and then decided to take it easy since we were out of weather danger quickly and didn't need to crank and ankle. Back to the car at 10:40. Not too bad at all. Relaxing and Supa-fun! Then we ate at the Golden Burro in Leadville. They have some really good breakfast burro-itos for $8 which I hadn't tried before since I don't think I've ever arrived to eat in Leadville after a hike while breakfast is still being served.
Now to the Becky special: SNOWMASS! YES, it's FINALLY happening and the right way too! We will be backpacking 8 miles in to Snowmass Lake tomorrow, resting up and doing a little fishing in the lake, then climbing the snowfield (my favorite) hopefully to summit on Saturday morning early. Although it is very sad that a fellow 14er climber died shortly after summiting a few days ago due to some unlucky rockfall, we have decided to go anyway and we will say a little prayer for him and his family when we summit. RIP Sean Wylam
I am so excited. I don't care if it rains or snows or if sasquatch visits camp in the middle of the night. We don't get to do things without stressful logistics for the kids very often and this outdoor suffering together is our idea of some perfect quality time. Well, if you ask Chad he may say it should involve less physical suffering and more Harry Potter movie. But he's wrong. I am going to smuggle a bottle of wine up in my pack with a few candles (headlamp doesn't quite give off the same ambiance) and make a well-earned date out of it. I think some skinny dipping could conceivably happen if the wine flows since that is when I tend have my best ideas and be the most persuasive...Boy, I'm a high maintenance date. Get it? BWAH ha ha hA! shit.
Will report when we get back. Hopefully delightfully exhausted with some great pics.
Live like rockstars while I"m gone people...make me proud!
One month into Medical school at UC Denver. Holy Jeezus. Now I know why doctors are doctors. This ain't playtime folks. This is big kid school.
I have class from 8am to 3 or 5pm every weekday for the next three years, and what they are calling 12 credit hours of classes but should be about 25. For example...my lovely gross anatomy class...we have 6-8 hours in lecture per week. Then we have 4-8 assigned dissection (yes cadaver) hours per week. Then we have 2 hours per week of palpation lab (this is where you get mostly naked and touch all the body parts of all of your classmates). The kicker is...you just have to get this dissection crap done on schedule becasue there are quizzes on your progress and quality. Sometimes 8 hours in the lab doesn't come close. I think one week I spent about 15 hours in there. You have three different sets of exams: palpation, cadaver/practical, written. Meanwhile, all of your other classes are being neglected and you sit there wondering what the hell they are talking about because you got home at 8:30pm after a 12 hour day and didn't have the energy to crack a book for another class for like 4 days in a row.
Another example...and this one's good..."Examination and Evaluation" class. It's listed as TWO credit hours, but there's 2-4 lecture/lab hours per week about posture and manual muscle testing and then an entire separate book of "self study" on joint range of motion measurment that we will be tested on for our final exam. Nevermind that you actually have to find some poor unsuspecting person(s) to practice this stuff on.
Don't get me wrong. Totally thrilled up my ass and backwards to be here. And so far my classmates are top notch mighty-fine people that I really like. Just trying to wrap my brain around it.
In other news, we had our 10 year wedding anniversary the other day. That was nice, except I was tired and defeated over getting passing ("passing" at CU medical school is 73%) but not-so-hot grades on my first anatomy exams. We always thought we'd have a big whoop-de-doo for our 10th but I am not allowed to leave the damn city or it must be submitted to the "student absence committee" for approval and all the work must somehow be made up. So this will have to wait until we're celebrating Doctordom. Chad got some new golf stuff and I am I think eventually getting granite countertops...but I did make it clear that if we move I get some sort of equivalent gift that I can take with me...like a Toyota FJ or a trip to Mt. Everest. Love you Poo, you're the shiznit. Save your money.
Took the wolf pack for a hike at Golden Gate today. It was a whopper 3 mile outing for Cam and The Madi. I am calling her The Madi because she's a complete pisser and just a plain name doesn't do her justice. There are better pics, but these are my favorites:
Maybe I have not introduced you to The Madi...she's a Jack Russell Terrier, she's 4 months old, 6lbs but thinks she's 60, uses my house as a toilet, and also thinks she runs this place...she keeps my beloved GOOD dog Joey, who does not use my house as a toilet, company since I'm away all day at school now.
bad dog
good dog, and happy since she got to swim today.
In other thoughts...I have been thinking lately about how people come and go in your life, because I've had a lot of them, I mean A LOT. It's not a bad thing, necessarily, as I have previously thought. I used to think that the people I get attached to, which I'm a tough nut to crack in the first place so they've passed some sort of massive subconscious screening process, should just be there forever. Well hell no. I realize most relationships are meant to be transient. Furthermore, you didn't do anything wrong for it to happen that way. There really are only a few people on this earth that will be with you to the bitter end, so you had better appreciate anyone who comes along and does happen to stick around. I digress...But these transient relationships...they have a reason for being even if they leave a bitter taste. You can call it fate, or divine intervention, or karma, whathaveyou...Sometimes you are brought into/out of a person's life for a very good reason. Whether it's for you to help them with overcoming or learning something or vice versa - and then they are gone for whatever reason. There are reasons to be hurt or angry, indeed, since you probably liked some of these people and it never gets all pretty tied up with a bow in the end. But that's life, punk. It's not indifference, but acceptance. There is no need to feel angry or walk around with this chip on your shoulder because you feel like someone has done you wrong or mistreated you. When you somehow catch up with them down the road and see that they are doing really well...you can be happy for them, and for yourself, because it's quite obvious that the fleeting relationship you had meant something and turned out for the best...Rest assured you'll see them all in hell anyways...so why worry? (j/k dad - I fully intend to pick up the slack and probably avoid hell.)
SO, new policy lately...I meet you, you represent as no more than a low-level sociopath, and you're my friend. Do whatever you want to me...I know if it's meant to last it will, and if it isn't then I will get out my ninja weapons at some point and you'll learn a lesson, and I"ll get some impromtu practice. just kidding...I'll probably just kick and punch you. I'm not that good at the weapons in freestyle yet. Bring it sucka!
There's a rare "deep thoughts" by Mrs. so far shitty jr. dr. becky white...hot damn.
No, we did not go heli-skiing in BC...BUT we geared up for backcountry skiing. "Oh, they saved up their bonus money like responsible people", you may say...nope. Buying AT/Randonee ski gear is not much cheaper than a heli-ski trip, actually. And, well, we bought a car also. That put us over a little...
Bought a 2011 Civic EX, and it has been named Frank. I needed a car that gets better than 15 mpg for my next three years of daily shit commute through all the finest rush hour traffic that Denver has to offer to get to school. We were looking at a FIT Sport, but the Civic was nicer, same mpg, and ended up being cheaper as they needed to move it off the lot and they sold it to us for $2K under invoice. We couldn't pass up the deal. We kept both the trucks. The 4Runner has like 168,000 miles on it and the insurance on it is like $400/year at this point. We've beat the hell out of that truck and it aint worth much...so we put a new suspension on it, new tires, and decided we're running Big Iron into the ground...plus I love that truck and we need it for our mountain adventures. The Muthaship (Sequoia) is needed for family trips to fit people + dog + crap. So yes, now we are one of those idiot three-cars-for-two-adults families...
Back to the gear. I am going to pick it up from Bent Gate Mountaineering in Golden, today. We bought a few pieces of demo gear to cut costs, which for me was the binding...but here's the setup:
Dynafit TLT 5 Mountain TF-X boots we both got these boots, they were the splurge...they are unbelievable...lighter than our LaSportiva mountaineering boots! Maybe even more comforable, since they are custom fitted by the shop and actually hinge at the ankle in walk mode and the LaSportivas are very stiff...
I got Dynafit Manaslu skis. Bent Gate had a pair in my size on clearance...they weigh 6 lbs! Then I got a demo binding for them to put on there. Chad got the same boots and some K2 demo skis.
Going to tkd every day is wearing me down, but only six more weeks of this intense training before the big test. Had some major hip/gluteus medius issues early in the year from sitting on my can for all of Oct - Dec. My hip was actually catching sometimes when I walked. After over a year of being therapy-free, I had to go see Bob. What a shame. Shortly thereafter, I wrecked my back shoveling snow. Then I kicked a person in the knee sparring and badly bruised, maybe even fractured, my foot. Then I kicked someone in the elbow two weeks later in the same exact spot. Now the only good thing that came out of any of this is that I got the full treatment form Bob...which is always fun and involved him touching my butt. BONUS. :) I'm almost better now...still some stiffness in my hips, a touch of "patty-ass" but as Bob says...the way I play, and I'm probably malnourished, dehydrated, not warmed up enough, and/or drunk all the time: something is always going to hurt. So, I interpret that as: a) he wants me to make a weekly standing appointment forever for him to fix me regularly. b) he never wants me to come in again. Or, c) I need to start playing sports like a goddamn old lady to preserve my fragile body...whatever...none of that is happenin. As a concession I promise to drink more water, less beer. there. I did manage to wean myself off of the chocolate and avoided the obligatory 10 lb winter weight gain...that's been nice.
Cameron just told me he was going to count to 100: "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11, 14, 16, 80, 90, elevendy, 29, 28, 27, 25, 100."
Music: recently into The Epilogues, Black Keys, Rise Against, AwolNation. I have actually warmed up to Rev Theory too. Bought the Hell yeah song a while back after hearing it on the radio and thought it would be a good workout/skiing song, so now I got the new album and it's pretty good. The usual fare I guess...but glad to have some new material to cover.
~~~~OK...so I saved this as a draft for two weeks, now I"m back...~~~~~
The new Foos record owns me! Walk is my favorite, then Burning Bridges and Rope...the hard ones. Dave Grohl is totally yummy. I read in Rolling Stone that he is big into mountain biking...rock star that is also athletic? Impure thoughts....
CJ has started taekwondo again and had his blue belt test last weekend. He did so well that they gave him a student of the month award...only two kids out of about 50 people got it! I was really proud of him. He worked hard to do well, and even surprised me during his test. Here we are the happy martial arts mommy and son:
Cam had his 4th birthday last week too! He has made it another year without being locked in the dog kennel...barely...heh...I can't believe he's 4, I feel like he just showed up at this gig! He is definitely the karmic answer to "I hope you get a child just like you" for me. He and I butt heads a lot...it's going to be interesting when he gets older, indeed...but I wouldn't have it any other way. We'd be a pretty boring family without him. He's the "life of the party", for sure, whether that in a productive way or not.
So the day after I picked up our skis at Bent Gate, I took them for a spin up at Winter Park. Great on soft stuff, totally sketch on ice. These skis are so light and have a rocker tip so they ski really short. It took me a bit to get the confidence to carve on them but once I did, and I stayed off the ice, they were sweet. Poppin down moguls on the front of Mary Jane like there wasn't even any bumps there. What bumps? These are just tight turns!
So we were very excited to try out the skis for their intended purpose - spring mountaineering...Chad took the day off and we went up to Quandary this past Friday. He hasn't done Quandary and the skiing is mellow with no real avy danger to speak of, so we were all in and psyched! We resigned to the fact that we were heading out on new gear and that there was inevitably going to be some difficulty at some point, so we should just take it easy and have fun. I think we started around 9am, which was fine because we neeeded the temp up to warm up the snow a little bit. However, we noticed that the wind was picking up above as we left the parking lot...The skinning through the trees was totally fun. Snowshoes just became obsolete. The mountain had 4-5" of snow on it from the night before, and I cut trail the entire time and wasn't even sweatin' it. The boots were very comfortable. I felt good for a minute when we got about a mile in and there were a few ladies out on snowshoes who were not experienced in winter navigation and were turning back because they couldn't find the trail and were lost. We had a little chat with them stating that no I didn't bring a map or GPS...you just need to go up and you can't go wrong here as long as you follow that rule...at first I could tell they thought we were a little nuts, but what do you expect the trail to be visible under 4 feet of snow?! So we left and weren't sure what they were going to do, but saw that they were following our tracks after a while. Finally, we were the people who knew what we were doing and not the 'tards...only took 10 years. Chad and I agreed that you have to pay your 'tard dues out in the mountains, and we've paid up by now...So anyway, we were having a great time for about an hour and we got to tree line. We took a little break behind some of the last big evergreens and ate a bit and put on our ski helmets and goggles...by now the wind was howling down the ridge and we knew that this was our last respite before we made a go of it. So we then entered the effing Jet stream. We made it up the first tier of the ridge getting blasted in the face the entire time. The thing we ended up being unprepared for was the temperature. It was a nice sunny warm day, but with the wind it was actually very cold and our hands and faces were feeling it. We had another mile or so to the top in the exposed, I'm guessing 50-60mph, wind and we knew we weren't going to make it. So, we called it and with our hands being cold plus the wind we struggled a bit to wrangle our skins and lock our boots/skis into ski mode and headed down. This portion of the ski down alternated between wind drifts and complete rock hard wind slab and I was having trouble staying upright on my skis. Chad fell once and his ski popped off. But once we got back into tree line it was very fun. Then I fell once when I hit a surprise ice slab in the middle of a nice pillowy meadow and tweeked my wrist/thumb but it wasn't that bad. I quickly gained the understanding that you can't just rip it down here in the trees...you don't know what the hell you're sliding over or if it's sufficiently covered. We generally followed our tracks from coming up and got back down to the base in about 15 minutes...the joy of having skis was solidified at that point. Then we went to the Dillon Dam Brewery for some celebration. We felt like it was a good first day out, I mean, we couldn't expect to make it under those conditions...I have some video but can't find my wire to download now so that will have to wait. We're going to try to go again soon.
I broke down and got my hair streaked. It's pretty cool to me and Chad, but it was mellow for a first time so nobody is noticing - I'm still deciding if that's good or bad. It just looks like I"ve spent time in the sun. But that's an improvement over the doo-doo flat brown I had. At least the doo-doo has a little flair now. Now the seal is broken. Next is dental work, liposuction and a boob job. Naw, that's only if we move to southern California then I can be on the Real Housewives. No - in fact, sometimes I hate the boobs I even have. THey just cause problems for sports. I think I was meant to be a dude. Here's the theory: my parents have actually never had sex...my conception was mythologically immaculate and by Zeus. I was supposed to be the reincarnation of Perseus. But Athena found out and was ticked that Zeus was messing with a mortal, so when the Y sperm was about to get in, Athena called in a hit and her super X sperm ate that Y sperm right before it got in. So really, that explains a lot, see? As for my sister...well, she was adopted from Russia. That's what I've always told her anyways. (and yes, I recently watched Clash of the Titans)
Medical school starts in 7 weeks and I received the schedule for the summer yesterday. Holy shit. I have 5 hours per day of anatomy - split into a 1 hour lecture and 4 hour cadaver lab. Then there's another 2 hr class in the morning...alternating between subjects - exercise science and histology. SEVEN hours solid of class per day with a 1 hr lunch, and sometimes there is meetings scheduled for lunch hour. WELL, my plan of treating this like a full time job just went out the window. Looks like it's tax/audit busy season for the entire summer...I'm probably looking at 60-70 hr weeks. sweet. However, the pressure to be a rock star is off, I mean, I'm in the club now, so I can get a few Bs here and there. Perfection is not the plan...survival is the plan...
We're going to Siesta Key, Florida again the second week of May. We realized it's the only possible week to go on a family vacation while it's nice and warm in Florida this entire summer. We had such a great time last summer that we didn't want to experiment with a new place. Excited to get my tan on. I'm currently disgustingly pale.
We went to see The Epilogues about a month ago, and saw Bad Religion with Rise Against on Saturday. Both shows were totally awesome, and I got to get all sluttied up so that's always fun. I had a really low cut and tight zipper-up-the-front top on and super skinny jeans with heels and when I got to security they were patting people down. I walked up to the dude and put my arms out and said..."I don't really have space to pack heat tonight" and he got a big smile on his face and said "I can see that" and ran his hand down my spine and sent me thru. That was funny. The Fillmore only had Miller Light, MGD, Fat Tire and Dales for beers. I don't really like Dale's and Fat Tire has run it's course for me, so I was stuck with MGD all night. Talk about a hangover and I didn't even drink that much. Then the next day I had to go to church in the morning and black belt test practice for two hours. That was enjoyable.
So that about covers it for now. I've been skiing a lot in the waning weeks of ski season, just doing the minimum to get by in physics, and working out feverishly for the black belt test.
Got accepted to both Regis and CU medical schools. While that was quite amusing and astonishing for a few weeks, I waited too long to post and now it's just a fact.
Facilities are brand new and sweet! ( Anshutz Medical Campus ) For example, would you rather spend 30 hours a week dissecting a cadaver on the 5th floor of a bldg, one table per room, with glass walls facing the mountains - or in a basement with no natural light and 20 tables in a row? (think smell factor after about 10 weeks) Would you rather have several chain restaurants and hospital and school cafeterias to choose from or one single crapeteria for lunch?) Would you rather pay $82,000 or $54,000 for this school (private vs. public)? CU places higher emphasis on clinical experience, less on research. Good, cause if I wanted a PhD, that's what I'd be signing up for...but I'm not...Also, the faculty and current students at CU were completely professional but very inviting at the same time...I can't quite say the same for Regis. One of my interviewers was actually trying to bait me into bad answers, and the dean got up and said "At Regis, we're interested in building leaders. If you want to be a Leader, come to Regis....If you're not, go somewhere else." I kind of couldn't believe she said that. SOLD to CU! It's just a better fit for me.
SO, I am going to medical school at Univesity of Colorado Health Sciences Center! Although I will have to drive a ridiculous 60 miles a day to CU for three years...I feel like it's worth it. Everyone's like..."I thought you were going to school to be a physical therapist...not a doctor?" Uh....yeah. I'll be a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)...as opposed to MEDICAL doctor (as in MD). No, it's not similar to massage therapy school. No, you can't get this degree at a community college. Yes, I'll be taking classes with your future MDs (and probably smoking them at it)...I will do clinical work integrated into my 9 semesters instead of a residency like an MD would do...so...this is the bigtime...and I'm very excited and up for it. BRING IT! I start in June.
OK...so since we're saving $28K in school tuition and I see that I have no summer - scratch Europe and we bought a Honda Civic for a commuter car and we're going back to Siesta Key in May. We named our 2011 Honda Civic EX, Frank. Got a great deal on Frank: $2,000 under dealer invoice. They had an overstock problem and needed to fix it. We were happy to help. Frank is dark silvery/gray (with a sun roof) and got lonely today, as I left him here in the garage for the first time by himself, but he didn't have insurance yet. Also, we only have a three week window in May between my physics class ending and my start of med school...so we booked a trip back to the same lovely resort in a condo right on the beachfront that we stayed at last summer for a week at Siesta Key, FL. It's really just the best beach for kids I've ever seen. Clear water, small waves, no undertow, sugary white sand, and the water is like 85 degrees...so mommie likie.
It'll be our fun little family time before I enter the gauntlet. THEN immediately upon return from the vacay, I get to test for my black belt. WELL, at least I'll have a tan for that. THEN I start school.
Right now I'm taking physics II back at good ole Red Rocks Community College to finish up my prereqs. I was wary of this class since it's basically what flunked me out of engineering school back in the day...but this is ritard algebra physics...not Diff-EQ physics. I got 110 out of 100 on the first exam and I swear I could have gotten that same score on that test in 9th grade. So, it's a great class so far...
Chad's getting this big bonus and my latest idea is trying to talk him into going heli-skiing in British Columbia over spring break. Cause that's a truly responsible way to spend a bonus...we'll see.
Well that sounds fancy, but I feel that it raises expectations higher than necessary for this post....
It was busy. Lots of travel. I guess it was pretty good. Key points:
Cam quit crapping his pants and started preschool.
CJ officially started his X-games career by starting BMX racing, but then immediately broke his collarbone during a flag-football game.
I finished up at CU for my undergrad classes - which is good cause it almost caused "death by groupwork"
Chad further developed his Jedi mind tricks...he can levitate the X-wing out of the swamp now on the first try without Yoda calling him a Sally.
Lots of travels to weddings and everyone we know who didn't already have babies had one.
Climbed Little Bear...the toughest job you'll ever love.
I don't know...that was last year, I can't remember.
2011. And turning 37 (sunnuva!). Looking forward to a great year. If I can just stay out of the wheelchair. Speaking of that, I am going to see Bob tomorrow about my junky hip. Whatever. Mostly it's a scheduled meeting to get some pointers on my grad school interviews that are this weekend, but I needed a medical condition for it. He says I need to get the hip looked at since it's actually catching sometimes when I walk...perhaps this is not good. I thought I was being quite savy by easing myself back into soccer and tkd after sitting on my ass for August - December. It didn't work. Then I went bombs-away with the skiing. But it was EPIC this past week! Basically everything hurts all the time for the past month. Ibuprofen OD just to sleep. I have to have a serious talk with Bob...meaning I shall officially bestow upon him the responsibility for my body feeling good after tomorrow. I'm sure he'll accept the challenge. He really has no choice. Then I will inform him that he must commit to hiring me when I get out of grad school in three years.
My friend Sam from the UC Bearcat era who used to play for the Giants and Jets and recently coached for the Panthers is apparently coming along with John Fox to the Broncos as a DB coach. So...what I'm saying is...look for me on the sidelines during games and periodically grabbing Champ Bailey's heiny. I mean, I'll try not to when the camera is on, but I'm just sayin' it could happen. Let's, for a moment, consider this also as a prospective future job opportunity, shall we? Maybe I can meet everyone and be a PT for the Broncos and touch all of their heinies! (Sorry poo...but it's my job!) ha ha!
Naw, in all seriousness, I'm pretty nervous about even getting into grad school. Yes, I thankfully landed interviews at both Regis and CU, but acceptance is only about 25%. I'm historically gifted at interviewing, but have not done that for a good 8 years. Everyone is just saying "be yourself"...so hopefully I can just push the "filter" button on the pie-hole control panel and get through it without dropping an F-bomb. The part that ain't so hot is CU starts in June. Regis starts in August but is $28K more expensive...I'm having a hard time justifying $28K to have my summer off. Just a little...
Plan B is big trip to Europe that we've wanted to do for several years. The Haute Route trekking through the Alps from Chamonix to Zermatt. With climbs of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn as bookends. I've been climbing at the gym and I'm reasonably comfortable on 5.8-5.9 now so that's pretty good for the girl with the bionic man-legs accompanied by wet noodles for arms. I really don't expect to get any better than that...but that's good enough for the Matterhorn. We realize the probability of us climbing Mont Blanc, trekking 70 miles and then getting up the Matterhorn over two weeks is pretty much like 1 percent logistically...but...it's the goal.
Plan C is get a job. What field is the question...do I keep trying to get into school and find a job as a PT office assistant or something like that...or do I go back to the dark side and dust off the CPA license? Hell...I'm not even going there until we are done with plan B...so...
FURTHERMORE...I got an A- in Biochemistry and I NEVER HAVE TO TAKE CHEMISTRY AGAIN!!!! HA HA HA! HA HA HA!
December 20, 2010
Rebecca White
Golden, CO 80403
Dear Rebecca:
The faculty of Regis University’s School of Physical Therapy is excited that you have selected physical therapy as your future career path. After initial review of your application, you appear to exhibit the skills and abilities essential to develop into a successful physical therapy practitioner. We invite you to participate in an interview for the Doctor of Physical Therapy class beginning in August of 2011.
The interview is the final stage of your application process. It serves two purposes. First, the interview helps faculty to identity those students who are a match with our University and School mission and curriculum design, and second, your visit to our campus gives you an opportunity to become better acquainted with the uniqueness of our program so that you can make an informed decision on your physical therapy education. We are proud of the tradition Regis University has of academic excellence, values-centered education, and service to the community, and encourage you to take advantage of this occasion to more fully discover the opportunities you will have while at Regis University.
Your interview has been scheduled for Monday, January 31, 2011.
Please contact me by Monday,January 3, 2011 to confirm your interview or let me know if you have chosen to decline the interview so that we may give another qualified applicant the opportunity to interview with us. You must confirm your attendance no later than Monday, January 3, 2011 to hold your interview spot. You can communicate your intent to participate via e-mail at XXXXXXXX or you can reach me at XOXOXOXOXOXOXO.
Registration for your interview day is at 7:30 A.M. Please arrive on time and plan to be on campus until 1:00 P.M. as we have a number of activities in your schedule.
The interview day will consist of the following activities in various order: two, one-on-one faculty interviews, a student guided University tour, and an opportunity to better understand faculty/student interaction through a classroom observation. In addition, the faculty would like to have an opportunity to meet you informally over appetizers.
Your interview will take place at Regis University on the Lowell Campus in north Denver. When you arrive on campus, please check in with me in Carroll Hall, Regis Room, located on the first floor. Free parking is available on campus at all entrances. Hotel information, shuttle service options from Denver International Airport (DIA) and directions to campus can be found at www.regis.edu/candidates. If you are traveling from out of town, Denver International Airport is approximately 35 minutes from campus. For additional information on Regis University, you can go to our website at www.regis.edu.
We hope you will consider accepting this invitation to interview with us. If I can be of further assistance, please contact me directly at XXXXXXXX or via e-mail at XXXXXXXXXXX.
Based on the quality of your application, the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the University of Colorado is pleased to invite you to interview for the class starting June 1, 2011. All interviews will take place January 28 or January 29, 2011 at the CU School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus located in Aurora, CO. Specific interview date and times, directions to the campus, as well as lodging information at local hotels will be e-mailed to you upon receipt of your RSVP to this interview invitation.
The plan for each day is the same and includes informational sessions regarding our curriculum and financial aid, a complimentary lunch with faculty and students, and a tour of our campus and facilities. There will be plenty of time during your visit to talk with our current students who are eager to meet you. A social gathering will be hosted by our first and second year PT students early Friday evening. We hope that you can include this event in your travel plans regardless of whether your interviews are on Friday or Saturday. This opportunity to meet our current students has always been a highlight for prospective students.
Please RSVP by e-mail to xxxxxxx as soon as possible, or by December 17, 2010 to confirm your interview participation. Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions. We look forward to meeting you and sharing our vision for your professional education.
So I have 16 hours of credits at CU rollin. It's laughable. I don't have time to crap. I had to take a break from taekwondo two months before I was supposed to test for black belt. I pretty much rotate between here in this chair and at school. I drive to Boulder EVERY DAY. And if I'm not in one of those two places, I'm at soccer. So...yeah.
The most useful bit of information that I have attained is in my Exercise Physiology Class:
I just have to say this for the record since I thought it was pretty cool for me sitting on my ass in this chair for three months.
VO2max via indirect calorimetry bike ergometer test: 52.1 ml/min/kg, Lactate and ventilatory threshold: 68% of VO2max. In case you don't know, for an old lady that sits on her can other than playing soccer twice a week, this is rockstar status.
Peace out from your neighborhood idiot savant cardiovascular rockstar.
We had a trip to CT planned for Chad's sister Kelly's wedding this past week. This would have been just fine except for the fact that the wedding was on 8/21 which is CJ's birthday, and then school started on 8/23. Hmmm. Well, gotta go, so make the best of it. Chad and I planned to head out a day early and take a day down in NYC for a Broadway show and some light sight seeing. Neither of us had been to NYC for a long time. Sounded fun.
I had a hard time motivating for packing, as evidenced by my last post, done on the day I was supposed to be packing...I had just taken the GRE the day before and I was completely mentally and emotionally wiped out. What I was also supposed to be doing was sewing a snap on my hooker outfit, or I really was going to look like a hooker. This got delayed until we were at our destination due to the above, but I did manage to round up the supplies and pack them. This will become pertinent later in the story.
We got up at 5am on Weds. Our flight was at 10-something. We still had some packing to do and wanted to beat rush hour traffic out the door. Mission accomplished. Had a layover in Minneapolis, everything went well. Only snafu was that I left the wheels for the car seat about 2 miles back in the terminal we offloaded into in the hallway next to the women's bathroom. Sleep deprivation, whattya expect? So Chad had to run back there to get it shortly before we were boarding for Hartford. I would have, but wan't feelin' so crackalackin'.
Got to Hartford without incident. Then made our way on the van over to Alamo rent a car. So far they had been great. We like the self-check-in kiosks so you can bypass all the 'tards waiting in line and then you get to go out and pick your vehicle, instead of being at the mercy of the set of keys you would get form the desk person...a la Avis. Well this time, Alamo struck out all in one swing. We got there, extremely tired, not excited at the prospect of a 1.5 hour drive to Milford...and...there...are...NO...cars in the lot! ALL of the cars were in the line to be checked back in. So we had to wait for them to unsnarl the pile and dig out a minivan, then wait for it to be cleaned, fueled, washed, etc. That took about 45 minutes. Ok...so now it's rush hour going through Hartford. Tack on an hour to the drive.
We finally get to the hotel (SpringHill Suites) and it's a dump. It is NOT what I would call a Suite, more like a hallway with furniture shoved into it. They lied about the beds and we got two full beds instead of two queens, there is peeling wallpaper, it smells, and black mold in the grout of the sink basin. Can't change rooms because it's full. At this point we were defeated and tired so we didn't even consider leaving...plus everyone else from the wedding was staying there (in better rooms) so we just took that one for the team. For some reason we needed to meet up with Kelly and Tobi and go out to dinner. We needed someplace quick. The kids were really a mess. We ended up at this totally weird Italian place. I didn't bring my phone so I couldn't take a picture, but the inside of it was like a mint sponge cave. It looked like someone took a drywall canon and blasted mint colored plaster all over the walls...AND we were the ONLY ones in there. WTF??? Whatever. We ate it. It apparently was terrible but I was so hungry I thought it was fine. We went back to the hotel. Except that as we were getting ready for bed we realized we forgot most of our toiletries...contact saline, shampoo, toothpaste, woolite clothes de-wrinkle stuff, etc...One last task...go to Walgreens.
The next day was our NYC day. Perhaps things will turn around? Well, not yet. I was trying to sew the snap on my blouse and ended up butchering it. Not only could I not line the snaps up right, but I actually cut a hole in it! Outfit plan B. It is at this time that I realize I forgot at least half of what I intended to pack. Well, at least I have a back up hooker outfit so I guess I'll go with it. Gram Kay and Gramps Charlie had been in NYC Wednesday night for the premier of Camp Rock 2, because Charlie's daughter, Alyson Stoner (google her, she's this whole phenomenon), is famous and is in the movie and is touring around with the Jonas Brothers. So they got home REAL late and weren't hippity hoppin' early to take the kids. Finally around 11am we got a hold of them and finished getting everything ready to go. We had to pack all of our stuff for the evening into a backpack to carry around since we had no home base in NYC. We were going to change at the restaurant into the hooker/pimp clothes...
We walked out the door at about 11:50 and Kay handed us a train schedule for Stratford train station. OH, the train leaves at 12:12...we'd better bust some ass to get there. We hit a Walmart on the way there and decided we needed some water and SPF for the day. I thought this would be a 3-5 minute affair...nope. You know all those people on the "people of walmart" website? Well, they were all there and all happened to be at the checkout at the same time as me. It took about 10-12 minutes and when I got out we had about 5 minutes to get over there and get tickets and get on the train. Fat chance. Not like it was a huge deal, another train comes in an hour. But it wasn't an express...you have to stop at every dumb station along the way on the regular train. So we get to the station and see no train, so we're stoked. Park, run all the way back to the street to cross sides of the tracks, hurry up buy tickets for $50...ready. Whew! Well, it was just then that we started hearing grumbles from teh waiting crowd. Word was that the train was down and wasn't coming anytime soon. Aw hell. So I get on the iPhone and start trying to figure out what our options are. This really loud classic NYC black dude comes over and wants info STAT. He doesn't believe what I'm reading and wants to read it himself. Warnings are going off in my brain over this, but I just let him anyway...seems fine enough. I let him mess around for info on my phone for a few minutes. He's yelling about this and that, thrashing around the station interrogating everyone for information. Then we notice this tiny little lady next to us interjecting, as if we need an interpreter...The whole scene is highly humorous...Finally after about 15 minutes, some tall businessy looking dude says buses are coming to get us and take us to Stamford train station, which is 30+ miles away, south of the trouble. We say screw that...we're driving. Who wants to go? About 8 people raise their hands...loud guy and tiny lady have been sorta our crew on this so we say we're taking them. Here we go. Meet Darren and Maureen our new posse.
We have no idea where we are going, so Chad is driving and we get the same thing...Darren yelling out stuff with Maureen quietly interjecting in between rants. We're on the road for a few miles and we get this: NYC accent:"YO DUDE! I don't know how you roll, but I gotta tell ya that needle is on E!" We look down, and sure enough...no gas. It's Kay & Charlie's rental...not ours, we didn't even look at the gage. So we need to drop Darren off at a different exit (which he failed to mention when we were picking people for the ride) so we'll get gas there. It's like 5 miles away. Well this all seems really easy, but the gas station is about half mile in off the highway. If you have not experienced this area in a car, I'll tell you that there is more traffic than you could ever imagine - e.g. you don't want to get off the highway - and the gas process/dropping off Darren takes at least 30 minutes. We say our goodbyes to Darren (I sorta liked him and was sorry to see him go, really, who wants to get rid of the entertainment?) So we settled in for our last 20 miles with Maureen. We had a typical convo up to Stamford. She was acting all along like she really knew where she was going, but when we got off the Stamford exit...nada. We were sorta drifting around trying to find signs to the train. Got it. One last left...turn...SHIT! CHAD! Missed getting smoked by a car coming around the bend the other way by about 20 feet. Note to self: Green arrows in CT do not mean the same thing as in CO...FYI. Traffic is not stopped on the other side...
We pulled into the first garage and parked and were all a little bit shaken up. Personally, I would just feel better if we could get on the GD train to NYC...So we go in, great, there's an express train in 10 minutes. Exchange our tickets and we're good to go. Oh, maybe I should pee...Maureen? Do we have time? Yeah, lets go quick. So we go in/out in about 2 minutes and come out to find Chad saying we need to run to catch it. We run down the steps and the doors close right as we get there, like in the movies. It was a few minutes EARLY and did not wait any longer than it usually would (which is about 30 seconds). So I just about blew a gasket. I hit this metal thing on the train platform, which made a really loud noise but didn't really hurt since I'm used to punching stuff, but seemed to alarm everyone, heh. I went back up to the station and sat down on the floor. I was sitting there all pissed off and then Maureen decides to tell me that I shouldn't feel bad because she's there to see her mom in the hospital who got in a car accident yesterday. Thanks Maureen. Well that makes me feel much better. Now I feel selfish in addition to everything else - frustrated, homesick, stressed, stupid.
Anyhow, the next train came a half hour later. We finally got on the damn train and it's like 2pm. The train ride was pretty uneventful. I was just happy to be going somewhere and not to a hospital, whether it was for me or my mom or whatever...We got to Grand Central at about 3:00 or so. Maureen hooked us up with the train line schedule and showed us how to read it so we wouldn't eff everything up on the way home. Then she got us out on 42nd st. and on our way pointed toward Times Square. She was extremely nice. We exchanged e-mails but I haven't written to her yet. I will.
Chad and I walked the 4 or so blocks to Times Square and decided we needed brew immediately. We were a mess. First thing we saw was Hard Rock, so we went in there and mellowed out a bit. We were finally there, what's next? We promptly found a nice tee shirt stand and bought everyone in the family your classic cheap white "I <3 NY" tee shirts for $3 each. We decided that we were going to go up to the Top of the Rock (30 Rockefeller plaza, e.g. NBC headquarters) because Maureen said it was pretty cool. We walked over there and, It was cool. Well done, 30 Rock! They sold time-slot tickets and thus closely monitored how many people were up there so there wasn't a huge line to stand in anywhere and there was plenty of space when we got to the top. There is a whole mall underneath 30 Rock, so we went to the bathroom and got some Starbucks while we were waiting. I think our time was 5:05. We had reservations at the Redeye Grill at 5:30 and at this point who cares? We didn't even bother to call and cancel we were so over the "schedule". Chad's friend had recommended this place called Blue Fin in the W Hotel which was on our way back to Times Square, so that was the new plan.
Ok, so this video sorta stinks. I am still getting the hang of the new little baby recorder. I went too fast around...but you will still get the idea of the vastness of NYC, which left me awestruck...
Luckily, nobody eats in NYC as early as 5:45, so we got right in and sat down without a reservation. They were going to have live jazz music later in the evening, and had a really cool bar area, but we had bigger fish to fry and had to get in/out. We ordered and took turns taking the backpack into the restroom to change and get prettied up. I felt good in the plan B outfit. Really good. It was somewhat sparkly (actually the big joke is that it has a sequined strip down the middle vertically in a black/silver alternating chevron pattern which creates the illusion of a runway going from head down to the crotch area) and I had my black skinny jeans and 3.5" heel ankle boots on. Got my makeup on ramped up to level streetwalker. Got my hair out of the bun it had been cooking in all day. I felt like I belonged there...which was cool. Chad had his cute little plaid shirt on and his dark True Religion jeans and he looked great. (I'm his stylist) The atmosphere was exactly what we wanted...non-tourist trappy, trendy, sorta dim and sexy. I wish I had the waitress take a pic of us, or that I took a pic of the place, but the flash would have disturbed people. The sushi was fantastic....we were happy. We got out around 7pm and started making our way back toward times square and the theater. Curtain call was 8pm for The Lion King at the Minskoff Theater.
Admittedly, I did a bad job on the pics. Oh well. I am not as stoked on that as I used to be and it shows.
No pics were allowed inside, so I'll just say that the show blew our minds. It was perfect. Like listening to a soundtrack. It was just unbelievable all the crap that was constantly flying around that stage. The adaptations to take the story from cartoon movie to stage were done in the coolest way imaginable. I want to take the kids when it comes back to Denver. It won't be as good...but it's ok, it's for the kids.
SO we came outta there all happy and sorta wanting something to do. We thought about finding a pool hall. Neh. We decided it would be romantic to go to the top of the Empire State Bldg in the dark to see the lights. We had delusions of our hair blowing in the breeze and sharing a few kisses, like in the movies. We walked the 8-9 blocks down the the building. My feet held up well on the way down. Then we got there and had to wait. And wait...and wait...Lines everywhere. No organization. Totally the opposite from 30 Rock. We finally got to the top and there were so many people up there than we could barely move. Basically it sucked. But we gave it a try. Then we had to walk back and my feet started to hurt a little bit...but it was a nice night and I was a 6' tall sexy sparkly amazon with an arrow pointing to my crotch. So I just ignored it and kept walking around like I owned the place.
This was the best outside pic I got because the exposure on our night setting is really long and it's hard to hold the camera steady enough.
So you might think Oh, that's a happy end to the NYC story...but it's not over. We wasted a little time shopping back in times square and then decided around midnight that we needed to head out. We got to Grand Central and looked up at the board. Oh good, there's an express leaving...now...just as we started walking toward the tunnel...the board flipped to "departed". Shit. So now we have to run over here to this not express one or else wait another hour for the last express train out of the city for the night. We got on with no time to spare. Then some drunk girls sat down in the seat across from us. At first they were good entertainment. But we got sick of them saying the same things over and over for a half hour and decided they were "grenades, man". (anyone watch Jersey Shore? Me neither, but that phrase stuck with me as pretty damn funny the one time I did see it) The one girl was even a double grenade. She would intermittently pass out in mid-sentence. Then we had, guy who storms in and starts yelling at everyone because his door did not open at his stop and he missed it. Then we had drunk lady who decided she wasn't paying and argued a little bit with the ticket guy until she finally just laid down and ignored him.
So 18 stops later...we get back to Stamford. It's like 1:00 in the morning. We walk over to the parking garage to find it locked. There's a number to call if you need your car out. We call it. They guys says he's coming down. Nobody comes. Then Chad goes over to the next parking garage (where we were supposed to park) and talks to that guy. He comes over and says...well this guy is just sitting up there in that building (we parked in an office building garage). So he calls and sends us up there. We pay 28 dollars, sign all these forms, and the guy lets us out. Then on the way home it even took us like 20 minutes to pull off the highway and get McDonalds. There were three REALLY long lights between us and that damn McDonalds and we had to stop at all of them both ways. We got home at like 2am and collapsed. Cameron woke up at about 6am the next day.
Then CJ got sick. This was beach day, but I had to sit in the hotel room all day with him. He had a fever. I was so bored that I visited every single website I could think of to visit short of resorting to porn. We also missed the rehearsal dinner which was on the beach and a lovely dinner of various New England style seafood. The scoop was that the food was really good, but the no-see-ums and flies were out and everyone was complaining about that. I was sorta glad I missed that. I mighta had a hissy about it. I am not high maintenance, but one thing I ask is low numbers of insects while I am eating. AND I missed all the fun, everyone got shitfaced and was singing. I was very lucky to eat the leftover poo poo italian food from weds night. I still didn't think it was THAT bad. Maybe because nobody fed me the whole day again.
Then it was Saturday. CJ's birthday! Kelly's wedding! The things we've been waiting for! We didn't have anything planned for CJ's birthday, so in the morning I took him to Walmart and let him pick out a toy. Then we came back and loaded up the crew (Travis, Josh, Jaime, me, Chad, Cam, CJ) and went to...God help us...Chuck E Cheese. I have managed to avoid Chuck E Cheese up to this point in my life...but we didn't have anything else on deck...so we went. We bought $50 of tokens and made it our mission to get as many tickets as we could. We ended up with about 1400 between all of us and we thought that was good, but then CJ got about $12 of crap for it. Oh well, he had fun and the pizza actually wasn't bad. Having actual coke tasted good since I don't drink that much anymore.
Travis had been in Alaska all summer so he looked especially special...this is the trimmed beard. He had a full Jeremiah Johnson going when he first arrived.
Josh...don't ask me why I found it amusing to take pics when they were in this bubble thing.
Jamie seemed to be having more fun than all of us. And might I add, that she got the high score on the basketball game...*applause*
CJ was drawn to this like a moth to a flame...and was then promptly disappointed when all it did was go up and down a little bit. LAME.
Now this thing was pretty wicked cool.
I personally think that CJ had the most fun shoving the tickets into the ticket eater/counter thing:
All I have to say is, thank the Lord they didn't have the little robot band at this Chuck E Cheese. That might have sent me over the edge *again*
So we had to go home and clean up for the wedding. It was at 4:30 at a beach about 20 minutes away from the "suites" in Guilford, CT. I was glad it was casual. A thin layer of clouds came in and there was a comfortable breeze. That made it perfect on the beach.
The wedding was beautiful with Long Island Sound as the backdrop. Tobi and his friends had constructed this cool little area earlier in the day. It was farfegnugen...German engineering. (Tobi is German)
Here's all the siblings. I thought this was a great pic:
At the end of the ceremony Tobi serenaded Kelly with a song on his guitar. It was so sweet. I was trying to think of what the equivalent was on my wedding day...uh...maybe some quotes from Billy Madison such as "want to touch the hiney" and an ass grab. Let's just say these are different types of men we're talking about here...
Oh, and this is when Cameron started to come down with a fever.
We picked up the beach and moved to dinner. It was at this cute restaurant at the marina called The Stone House. This place was fantastic. Atmosphere, setting, service, food...all wonderful. Highly recommended. It was packed, but we had a private room in the back. Cam started feeling bad, so I ran to the nearest Walgreens to get some Tylenol. We brought in his car seat and he curled up in it in the corner of the room. He pretty much skipped dinner, but then the sorbet came out and he ate two of those and perked up a bit.
Josh and Melissa: "You're next...aren't you excited?" (Their wedding is in a few weeks in Toledo)
This was funny...Tobi has never heard of the shoving the cake in the face thing and was confused by all the cheering when he got ready to feed Kelly the cake.
The next day we had to leave around 8am to get up to Hartford airport. Everything was going ok until we got to the infamous Alamo station. We pulled in and it was raining. The girl comes up after we sit there ten minutes and says..."sorry, my gun is dead so you have to check out in the office...sorry for the inconvenience". So after we unload all our crap and the kids and drag it over to the office we are behind like 8 people to do this. Wait 20 minutes. Alamo is officially fired. We finally get to the airport...which I might add...Hartford airport is my favorite airport that I've ever been through...it is set up really well, it's not crowded, and they play classical music over the speakers to chill you out. I didn't mind hanging out there for 1.5 hours before our flight.
We ended up being delayed about 45 minutes from the rain. Great. We have a 55 minute layover in Atlanta to catch our Denver flight. We get to ATL and literally have to run to the next gate - of course we had to change terminals which involved a stupid train/whatnot. ATL airport might be my least favorite airport. The place was so packed that I had to hold CJ's hand the entire time so he wouldn't get swept away in the crowd. Chad was carrying a laptop bag AND the carseat with Cameron sitting in it. I couldn't believe he held up through that...but he always amazes me with his strength/lbs. ratio. We walked up to the gate just as they were announcing final boarding call. whew. Now would our bags make it? Unlikely.
We got to Denver and were delighted to get our bags. We then had to deal with Wallypark. We used to love Wallypark but now they must have cut vans so they now suck. They are fired. We decided that for short trips we're parking in the garage from now on. For long trips we're just going to hire a Towncar to drive us in and pick us up. We're done with this parking BS.
Finally we got home around 7:30pm...no food in the house. Here's a juice box and an apple. School starts the next day...damn. That was some trip...and no, I do not want to do it again...
On bended knee is no way to be free
lifting up an empty cup I ask silently
that all my destinations will accept the one that's me
so I can breathe
Circles they grow and they swallow people whole
half their lives they say goodnight to wives they'll never know
got a mind full of questions and a teacher in my soul
so it goes...
Don't come closer or I'll have to go
Holding me like gravity are places that pull
If ever there was someone to keep me at home
It would be you...
Everyone I come across in cages they bought
they think of me and my wandering
but I'm never what they thought
got my indignation but I'm pure in all my thoughts
I'm alive...
Wind in my hair, I feel part of everywhere
underneath my being is a road that disappeared
late at night I hear the trees
they're singing with the dead
overhead...
Leave it to me as I find a way to be
consider me a satellite for ever orbiting
I knew all the rules but the rules did not know me
guaranteed...
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