I COMPLETELY left out the fact that it's also Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Props to all of you who support progress made through somatic stem cell research and those of you who have been touched by a strougle with breast cancer. Special shout out to Mrs. Trout and Granny Bev!
Go let somebody feel your boobies, it might save your life!
www.nbcam.org
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Halloween Costumes Rock
October contains the most monumentally amazing 31 days in the calendar year for multiple reasons.
- It's the epitome of fall. The temp. is no longer hot enough to melt your face off, but still warm enough that you don't wish you were indoors every time you step out. Not to sound too much like a tree hugging hippie, but the colors in nature are awesome. Then, of course, football's on all the time.
- My birthday is on the 22nd, which means 3 things. Cake, presents, and pumpkin parties. The firt two are undeniable perks for anyone who's reasonably sane. The third can be explored by a brief divergence to my childhood. My mother began 2 birthday traditions for me. 1) Make tootsie pops into ghosts to share at school (tissue, a marker, some ribbon and you're all set) and 2) Decorate miniature pumpkins at my party. I've kept the pumpkin party alive and whether it's just me and Steph or a big group of friends, I decorate a pumpkin every October. It's one of the highlights of my year. (Ranks up there with 4th of July fireworks, sparklers on new years, decorating Easter eggs and Christmas morning) This year it's looking like I might actually get a couple days of pumpkin fun. Can life get better? I submit that it can NOT!
- Dressing up for Halloween. I love coming up with Halloween costumes. As a kid I was afraid that you had to quit dressing up once you were an adult, but then came the memorable year that my parents both dressed as California Raisins and went out in public. Oh yes, friends. There is photo documentation from what seems to have been a reasonably unruly costume party.
This year, Halloween is going to be an especially great time for me, as it will be my first trip back to TEXAS! I'm so excited. Not only will it be halloween, but it's the weekend of the Tech Vs. Texas game in Lubbock. Wash your drinkin' pants, it's gonna be a good time! I'll have all kinds of friends and family in town for the game. I've been looking forward to this weekend since....oh....May-ish? I'm sure it will not disappoint. However, it is imperative that I have a kick-ass halloween costume. I'll have to try and outdo last year's Rainbow Brite.
So far, ideas include The leg lamp from A Christmas Story (original idea - awesome but incredibly random), Elastigirl from the Incredibles (could totally rock the hips), A gold medalist in the Sparkler Olympics (see entry), Little Bo Peep (awesome props...I'd bring a staff and some sort of sheep), and Alanis Morissette as God in Dogma (contingent upon me finding that awesome white plastic jacket she wore)
I need some more suggestions. Help, please!!
- It's the epitome of fall. The temp. is no longer hot enough to melt your face off, but still warm enough that you don't wish you were indoors every time you step out. Not to sound too much like a tree hugging hippie, but the colors in nature are awesome. Then, of course, football's on all the time.
- My birthday is on the 22nd, which means 3 things. Cake, presents, and pumpkin parties. The firt two are undeniable perks for anyone who's reasonably sane. The third can be explored by a brief divergence to my childhood. My mother began 2 birthday traditions for me. 1) Make tootsie pops into ghosts to share at school (tissue, a marker, some ribbon and you're all set) and 2) Decorate miniature pumpkins at my party. I've kept the pumpkin party alive and whether it's just me and Steph or a big group of friends, I decorate a pumpkin every October. It's one of the highlights of my year. (Ranks up there with 4th of July fireworks, sparklers on new years, decorating Easter eggs and Christmas morning) This year it's looking like I might actually get a couple days of pumpkin fun. Can life get better? I submit that it can NOT!
- Dressing up for Halloween. I love coming up with Halloween costumes. As a kid I was afraid that you had to quit dressing up once you were an adult, but then came the memorable year that my parents both dressed as California Raisins and went out in public. Oh yes, friends. There is photo documentation from what seems to have been a reasonably unruly costume party.
This year, Halloween is going to be an especially great time for me, as it will be my first trip back to TEXAS! I'm so excited. Not only will it be halloween, but it's the weekend of the Tech Vs. Texas game in Lubbock. Wash your drinkin' pants, it's gonna be a good time! I'll have all kinds of friends and family in town for the game. I've been looking forward to this weekend since....oh....May-ish? I'm sure it will not disappoint. However, it is imperative that I have a kick-ass halloween costume. I'll have to try and outdo last year's Rainbow Brite.
So far, ideas include The leg lamp from A Christmas Story (original idea - awesome but incredibly random), Elastigirl from the Incredibles (could totally rock the hips), A gold medalist in the Sparkler Olympics (see entry), Little Bo Peep (awesome props...I'd bring a staff and some sort of sheep), and Alanis Morissette as God in Dogma (contingent upon me finding that awesome white plastic jacket she wore)
I need some more suggestions. Help, please!!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Things I Don't Understand (The Short List)
Why I love the smell of coffee and (some) cigars but am not terribly fond of the taste.
How easy it is to convince myself that ten more minutes of sleep in the morning really WILL make my day better
The fact that everyone assumes I want to be married right now.
Miley Cyrus
Why the bus leaves my stop 5 minutes early every other day
How Colorado's public education system can suck so badly with such a high state income tax. Where is all that $ going, anyway??
Faux fur
The purpose of Braille on signs above hands’ reach
Why people in the military respond with their rank when asked what they do. Your rank doesn’t tell me what you do - and if you think I’m going to be impressed, you’re overestimating my knowledge of military hierarchy.
Denver’s weird turning lanes
People who text the word ‘Wat’. How difficult is it really to put the ‘h’ in there? Plus it reminds me of a less pleasant word.
How easy it is to convince myself that ten more minutes of sleep in the morning really WILL make my day better
The fact that everyone assumes I want to be married right now.
Miley Cyrus
Why the bus leaves my stop 5 minutes early every other day
How Colorado's public education system can suck so badly with such a high state income tax. Where is all that $ going, anyway??
Faux fur
The purpose of Braille on signs above hands’ reach
Why people in the military respond with their rank when asked what they do. Your rank doesn’t tell me what you do - and if you think I’m going to be impressed, you’re overestimating my knowledge of military hierarchy.
Denver’s weird turning lanes
People who text the word ‘Wat’. How difficult is it really to put the ‘h’ in there? Plus it reminds me of a less pleasant word.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Are You Important Right Now?
This is the way my sister answered the phone when I called yesterday - to determine if there was an actual purpose for the time that I was about to take up, or if I was going to verbalize half-developed thoughts and waste her time. If you're wondering whether or not I'm important right now, the answer is not really. I suppose the majority of my postings are that way....but just as a disclaimer, the following will be a random accumulation of stuff. Mostly because I'm just in a chill mood and have been asked for updates on life, so here we go!
Work: Great. Kinda slow with the whole training thing - standing around and watching people to get the feel for the overall flow of the lab. I won't get my own desk for a couple of months, but things should pick up soon.
Weekend: Fantastic. Went to Wyoming, saw the 'rents, partied with my cousins, attended the UW/Air Force game, visited Penney and the boys, came home and spent entirely too much money on a ski pass and related equipment (which I'm psyched about!)
Apartment: Progressing. I still have a few small improvement projects I'm working on and some organization that needs to get done, but overall it's great. Pictures to come, likely via facebook. (I know I keep saying that but I really mean it!) Internet and cable will FINALLY be hooked up this coming Saturday, so I'll be able to quit haunting the Starbucks every third day.
Generally, things are going really well. I'm happy here! I'm slowly meeting some people and that's definitely helpful as far as feeling at home is concerned. Elizabeth and Chad already have a trip out here planned - and my brother may be headed up for the SPE conference which would be awesome.
Hopefully that's enough of an update. I've got a chicken brining at home that I should probably go dry before it becomes completely preserved. Oh, and I have my first experience with RTD (the bus system) slated for tomorrow morning, so wish me luck. Hopefully it's a successful venture and I can rely on that to get back and forth between work...mostly because I refuse to pay close to 300 a year and park a quarter of a mile away from the building. It should save on gas too so that's a perk! I'm off to salvage the chicken. Buenos Noches!
Work: Great. Kinda slow with the whole training thing - standing around and watching people to get the feel for the overall flow of the lab. I won't get my own desk for a couple of months, but things should pick up soon.
Weekend: Fantastic. Went to Wyoming, saw the 'rents, partied with my cousins, attended the UW/Air Force game, visited Penney and the boys, came home and spent entirely too much money on a ski pass and related equipment (which I'm psyched about!)
Apartment: Progressing. I still have a few small improvement projects I'm working on and some organization that needs to get done, but overall it's great. Pictures to come, likely via facebook. (I know I keep saying that but I really mean it!) Internet and cable will FINALLY be hooked up this coming Saturday, so I'll be able to quit haunting the Starbucks every third day.
Generally, things are going really well. I'm happy here! I'm slowly meeting some people and that's definitely helpful as far as feeling at home is concerned. Elizabeth and Chad already have a trip out here planned - and my brother may be headed up for the SPE conference which would be awesome.
Hopefully that's enough of an update. I've got a chicken brining at home that I should probably go dry before it becomes completely preserved. Oh, and I have my first experience with RTD (the bus system) slated for tomorrow morning, so wish me luck. Hopefully it's a successful venture and I can rely on that to get back and forth between work...mostly because I refuse to pay close to 300 a year and park a quarter of a mile away from the building. It should save on gas too so that's a perk! I'm off to salvage the chicken. Buenos Noches!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Children's Hospital
I can sum up this entire blog with one word - AMAZING. Let's just go ahead and face facts though; I tend to be a bit more loquacious...so I'll go ahead and do my rambling thing.
This place is AWESOME. If I'm ever reincarnated as a sick kid, I want to be stuck here. No joke. The entire hospital is more kid friendly than I ever would have imagined. They try not to stick the kids in wheelchairs. Instead, they have radio flyers with poles attached to hold on to their IV bags if necessary. You see kids being hauled around in shiny red wagons all day long. I don't know about you, but as a kid wagons were second only to a live horse as far as transportation went in my book.
The floors are separated by specialty, and are color and animal coded. For example, the first floor is the pink floor, or the butterfly floor. The third floor is the green floor, or the froggy floor. Pretty sweet, huh? By and large, the rooms are private. Each one has an Xbox 360 and a flat screen TV. Each floor has a gigantic play room fully loaded with every board game you could imagine, video gaming systems, arts and crafts supplies, blocks, the list goes on and on. It's meant to be large enough to accomodate a sick kid in bed PLUS his/her entire preK/grade school class, should they come to visit all together.
The decor of the entire hospital is unbelievable. The floors are giant tile mosaics of animals and characters and the walls are covered in children's original art. I'll put up some pictures when I get the opportunity. I haven't even begun to dig in to the awesome training the staff is given on the intricacies of child-specific healthcare. The technologies employed here are unbelievable. Unfortunately, my nasty little cold prevented me from touring the neonatal ICU, but I've unfortunately had reason to spend ample time in one before.
I've been in Allied Health training for a few years now, and it's so completely awesome to be in a room and speak with professionals who cover all disciplines from adolescent psyh to child life to radiology to research management to pathology/lab medicine. It's like I'm seeing all these aspects finally mesh together to functionally support a sick kid and their entire family from inital symptoms to completion of treatment and followup. For lack of a better expression, I'm totally stoked about the whole thing.
I was excited about my job for a lot of reasons (mostly completely unrelated to pediatric care) coming in, but knowing that I'm a part of this institution has really become a motivating factor. Today was simply overall hospital orientation. I'll get into the intricacies of the lab environment and the molecular menu tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll be just as wound up after that!
This place is AWESOME. If I'm ever reincarnated as a sick kid, I want to be stuck here. No joke. The entire hospital is more kid friendly than I ever would have imagined. They try not to stick the kids in wheelchairs. Instead, they have radio flyers with poles attached to hold on to their IV bags if necessary. You see kids being hauled around in shiny red wagons all day long. I don't know about you, but as a kid wagons were second only to a live horse as far as transportation went in my book.
The floors are separated by specialty, and are color and animal coded. For example, the first floor is the pink floor, or the butterfly floor. The third floor is the green floor, or the froggy floor. Pretty sweet, huh? By and large, the rooms are private. Each one has an Xbox 360 and a flat screen TV. Each floor has a gigantic play room fully loaded with every board game you could imagine, video gaming systems, arts and crafts supplies, blocks, the list goes on and on. It's meant to be large enough to accomodate a sick kid in bed PLUS his/her entire preK/grade school class, should they come to visit all together.
The decor of the entire hospital is unbelievable. The floors are giant tile mosaics of animals and characters and the walls are covered in children's original art. I'll put up some pictures when I get the opportunity. I haven't even begun to dig in to the awesome training the staff is given on the intricacies of child-specific healthcare. The technologies employed here are unbelievable. Unfortunately, my nasty little cold prevented me from touring the neonatal ICU, but I've unfortunately had reason to spend ample time in one before.
I've been in Allied Health training for a few years now, and it's so completely awesome to be in a room and speak with professionals who cover all disciplines from adolescent psyh to child life to radiology to research management to pathology/lab medicine. It's like I'm seeing all these aspects finally mesh together to functionally support a sick kid and their entire family from inital symptoms to completion of treatment and followup. For lack of a better expression, I'm totally stoked about the whole thing.
I was excited about my job for a lot of reasons (mostly completely unrelated to pediatric care) coming in, but knowing that I'm a part of this institution has really become a motivating factor. Today was simply overall hospital orientation. I'll get into the intricacies of the lab environment and the molecular menu tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll be just as wound up after that!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Colorado So Far
So my first day here wasn't stellar. I flew up from Amarillo, and carried on a music box my Poppy had carved for me. It was incredibly delicate and I wanted to avoid breakage. The poor thing survived the ENTIRE flight and airport fiasco only to be crushed by hapless placement of a purse in my car. Tear.
I tried to wash my poor filthy car (it had been sitting in a driveway for a month and a half) and the car wash took payment but didn't work. Then some korean dude couldn't understand enough english to understand why I wanted a refund. It took 30 minutes to get my $6.00 back.
THEN I made a wrong turn trying to find the interstate, and the most stupendous thing happened. I got pulled over going 10 above the speed limit. I was accelerating to the speed sign posted 15 yards ahead, and explained that A) I was lost and B) I was new here and not entirely certain what the speed limit was anyway. His exact words were 'Welcome to Colorado - this isn't the best part of my job...'
Jerk.
I woke up the 2nd day here to a sore throat and have been progressing to development of a very healthy cold ever since.
*sigh*
On the upside, I'm loving my apartment and my family here is amazing! :) Despite all the unfortunate occurances to date, I'm having a good time and can't wait to start work on Tuesday!
I tried to wash my poor filthy car (it had been sitting in a driveway for a month and a half) and the car wash took payment but didn't work. Then some korean dude couldn't understand enough english to understand why I wanted a refund. It took 30 minutes to get my $6.00 back.
THEN I made a wrong turn trying to find the interstate, and the most stupendous thing happened. I got pulled over going 10 above the speed limit. I was accelerating to the speed sign posted 15 yards ahead, and explained that A) I was lost and B) I was new here and not entirely certain what the speed limit was anyway. His exact words were 'Welcome to Colorado - this isn't the best part of my job...'
Jerk.
I woke up the 2nd day here to a sore throat and have been progressing to development of a very healthy cold ever since.
*sigh*
On the upside, I'm loving my apartment and my family here is amazing! :) Despite all the unfortunate occurances to date, I'm having a good time and can't wait to start work on Tuesday!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sentimentalism
'Isn't it great to be back with real friends? I mean the kind you can tease relentlessly until they really hate you?'
Yes, yes it is...eventhough she was mostly referring to my ridicule ;)
It's also great to be with people who know that having your hair played with is one of life's greatest pleasures, and that snuggling 4 people to a bed is still proper protocol for sleepovers even at 24 when two of you are five months pregnant.
I have a story from the weekend, but it requries a preface.
Those who have slept with me know that I rarely snore, but do have another annoying/endearing (depending on your perspective) sleeping quirk. I click. Somehow I produce a strange clicking noise in the back of my throat every time I breathe.
This weekend, Erica and I were bedmates. Seeing as it's been six or so years since freshman year when we shared a dorm room, I suppose I can see how she'd forgotten about my clicking. In any case, apparently I fell asleep in the middle of Shiloh's (baby bump) evening calisthenics routine. The clicking started up, and she began to wonder if Shiloh had picked up some new communication method to supplement his kicks. She laid in silence feeling all around her stomach for a good 3-5 minutes before realizing that the sound was indeed coming from the pillow next to her and not, as she had suspected, from her stomach.
I think the incident illustrates how radically pregnancy changes your body - considering that the production of a strange noise at regular intervals could be considered normal development. Craziness. I'll leave additional commentary on the side effects of pregnancy out for the time being, but I will say this: If you're a female, don't assume that morning sickness and swolen ankles are the worst of what you deal with. Health class lied. At this stage in the game, I'm utterly shocked that women pull this off all the time. Maybe they keep us ignorant of the details as long as possible so we don't chicken out. I don't know...but I do know that I admire my friends for what they're going through and have an entirely new respect for mothers!!
Yes, yes it is...eventhough she was mostly referring to my ridicule ;)
It's also great to be with people who know that having your hair played with is one of life's greatest pleasures, and that snuggling 4 people to a bed is still proper protocol for sleepovers even at 24 when two of you are five months pregnant.
I have a story from the weekend, but it requries a preface.
Those who have slept with me know that I rarely snore, but do have another annoying/endearing (depending on your perspective) sleeping quirk. I click. Somehow I produce a strange clicking noise in the back of my throat every time I breathe.
This weekend, Erica and I were bedmates. Seeing as it's been six or so years since freshman year when we shared a dorm room, I suppose I can see how she'd forgotten about my clicking. In any case, apparently I fell asleep in the middle of Shiloh's (baby bump) evening calisthenics routine. The clicking started up, and she began to wonder if Shiloh had picked up some new communication method to supplement his kicks. She laid in silence feeling all around her stomach for a good 3-5 minutes before realizing that the sound was indeed coming from the pillow next to her and not, as she had suspected, from her stomach.
I think the incident illustrates how radically pregnancy changes your body - considering that the production of a strange noise at regular intervals could be considered normal development. Craziness. I'll leave additional commentary on the side effects of pregnancy out for the time being, but I will say this: If you're a female, don't assume that morning sickness and swolen ankles are the worst of what you deal with. Health class lied. At this stage in the game, I'm utterly shocked that women pull this off all the time. Maybe they keep us ignorant of the details as long as possible so we don't chicken out. I don't know...but I do know that I admire my friends for what they're going through and have an entirely new respect for mothers!!
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