Yiayia

well, yiayia has gotten a good amount of attention on my blog recently. my sweet, goofy grandma passed away early monday evening. although it is definitely sad, i'm very happy for her. i'm pretty sure she is making people laugh in heaven!

i've been thinking about her and trying to reflect on what i have learned from her life. a lot is tied in with papou since they were so close.

i keep coming back to the example that she gave me in the area of marriage. she and papou didn't get married until they were 30. she had a serious boyfriend in college but held off on marriage. they had a good marriage but it wasn't perfect...i think that is important to remember. papou had a big vision and she jumped on board. that is the position that i would love to have at some point!

they came from very diverse backgrounds: yiayia was rich (she had braces as a teenager!) and papou spent a good portion of his life in an orphanage because his father couldn't afford to feed him. she balanced him out too. papou was more serious and conservative. yiayia was crazy. i definitely got my crazy facial expressions from her. life was fun for yiayia and she made our life much more enjoyable too. even with Alzheimer's, you could catch her "dancing" to music or coax her to demonstrate her cheerleading prowess for the nurse's aides!

we definitely will miss her presence in our lives, but we are thankful for the wonderful 91 years she had here!

Taylor Memories

So, last night i decided to go ahead and apply to school again. i'll talk about that later tonight.

i need my taylor transcript and in trying to figure out the best number to call, i ran across this list of "40 things to do before you graduate". some of the things just weren't possible for me to complete because they didn't exist when i was there, but it is fun to read. enjoy!

-Live in a cardboard box for Social Justice Week. It's only a few nights for you, and you'll gaina new appreciation for those who live in poverty around the world.
-Stargaze on the secret dock behind Randall.
-Go to the 1812 Festival. There's good food, and you might accidentally learn something.
-Dress up for Silent Night. Go ahead, go all out!
-Become friends with one of your professors. They are people too, and you can learn just as much from them outside of the classroom.
-Attempt to finish the Ivanhoe's "100 Club." You have four years, 25 a year is 12 a semester with one over January. Totally do-able.
-Get involved in a campus ministry; you have more than enough to choose from.
-Eat a multi-course dinner in the DC-spend at least an hour, and talk to as many people as you can.
-Participate in a TU theater production - act, design sets, run lights or sound, usher or just attend.
-Randomly visit the Habeckers, but only when the "students may visit" light is on.
-Attend a senior's art opening. Not only is there art, there are snacks!
-Throw a snowball during boxer run (or participate, if you can).
-Attend an open house in Swallow. I've heard they're fun.
-Go on an "ask out, go out" date. Ask Dr. Maloney about this one.
-Share a "DTR" with someone at the Jumping Bean. The drink is good; try to avoid the conversation.
-Go to the James Dean festival. Make sure you try some deep-fried Oreos.
-Decide if/where you want to go to grad school. This might be the most important thing on this list.
-Go to the Matthews covered bridge festival. Once again, good food, and the perfect way to fully embrace small-town life.
-Take a class just for interest's sake. Finance or photography will come in useful for your whole life.
-Build a huge snow man or snow fort. If you get a bunch of friends, you can have an old-school snowball fight.
-Go on a spring break vacation. Don't go home; don't stay around here.
-Pull an all-nighter. If you make it through TU without pulling an all-nighter, you might be a boring person.
-Make midnight runs to Wal-Mart. The lines are shorter and the best of Grant County is out on the town.
-Kidnap freshmen on your wing and take them to Steak and Shake. You won't forget it, and neither will they.
-Go to vespers. Or attend a Spiritual Renewal speaker's talk.
-Roadtrip to Canada over a break or weekend or overnight. Depending on your route, all three of these are possible.
-Be an o-group leader. This is a great way to make an impact and also to get to know people from another class year.
-Go see a movie at IWU's Globe Theater. Yes, they have a sweet student center... but it's not so far away that you can't take advantage of that!
-Play on a volleyball team over J-term. It doesn't matter if you're good, it's about fun.
-Sneak something out of the DC-past Barb. Good luck.
-Go to the Marion Walkway of Lights. Make sure you sing the "12 Days of Christmas" at the top of your lungs.
-Go to the Marion water park. It's not huge, but all you really need is the lazy river.
-Go on a Lighthouse trip. You'll learn more than you thought was possible in 3 weeks.
-Get a polar pop from Handy Andy. If you haven't done this before you graduate, you are spurning generations of TU tradition.
-Go to My Gen and Nostalgia nights. They are just as good, if not better, than the infamous Airband.
-Study abroad. You can go over a January or a semester.
-Go an entire winter without falling on the ice.
-Create your own concoction in the DC. Stop complaining and start inventing.
-Submit something to Parnassus. You never know what might happen.
-Play Frisbee golf. Don't be intimidated by the regulars.

i am on a kick...

a pistachio kick. i love these nuts.

i think about that time of PA school where we learned about the list of questions you should ask if you are worried about a patient's drug patterns...do you wake up in the morning and smoke a cigarrette? do you drink alcohol in the morning? do you always need alcohol in a social situation? there was some sort of pneumonic, but i don't remember what that is.

that is how i feel about pistachios....i never had them before i went to greece. they showed up in clinic about 2 months ago and i was super hungry. i tried and loved them. i bought my first bag a couple weeks ago and now i recently asked my coworker to pick up a bag from Costco. she brought it in yesterday. it weighs 4 pounds...4 pounds of wonderful goodness!

so i will go to bed and dream of dancing pistachios....and wake up with my craving!

website

i am interested in this website: http://www.airtreks.com/

i think you will know why...

Stormy Weekend

well, it was a stormy Friday and now a dreary Saturday here in Houston. I work in a monster tower and both my clinic workroom and my desk don't have any way to see the outside world. Around 4:00 yesterday I went to fill up my waterbottle and I saw one of the most ominous skies ever. i decided to head out about 15 minutes later to try to beat the rain.

now, many people know that i don't like spending money just to spend it. this results in me parking in one of the farthest away lots in the medical center. we have to pay monthly parking and it isn't cheap....in fact I cannot justify an international plane ticket every year just to get covered parking. so, it came back to get me yesterday. i stepped outside and the clouds opened up....i mean opened up! it was downpouring. i decided to make the best of it and took my shoes off and started running in the rain. it was thundering and lightening as i ran. it was crazy. when i got close to the car, it started to hail. nuts! i was absolutely drenched all the way through to the core by the time i got there. it was pretty fun!

today is stormy too....it makes me want to take a nap.

this is yiayia and her kitkat bar. i went home a couple of weekends ago quickly as her health is failing.

isn't she cute?

this weekend

hmm..i think there are a few things to talk about today. we'll see how long the blog lasts without the triathlon as the tie!

yesterday, i spent the day at the gym and then hit the library. i love the downtown houston library! i finally read the book "the last lecture". it is something that i've been meaning to read. one of the physicians that i work with is mentioned in the book since Randy Pausch was seen at MD Anderson for part of his care. it was a quick read and interesting. if you want to see some of the emotions that people with pancreatic cancer go through, i recommend it. it does shed some light onto the complexity of the people that i work with in clinic everyday.---i don't know why i can't place a picture here---

of note, i felt completely normal by Wednesday...not sore at all! i can't decide whether that means i prepared well or if i didn't push myself enough! put it this way---i'm not opposed to doing another. we'll see!

i also got a lonely planet book on australia that i'm trying to work through...kind of fun to dream!

today i went to Easter service with the Alford family and Olvin. We then went to Mark's...a fancy restaurant in houston. it is one of the fanciest dinners i have ever had...and absolutely delicious too. my first course had prawns, oysters, and scallops. the main entree was an egg omlet and empanada....it was definitely the most simple thing. everything else had tons of meat! for dessert i had s'more---basically a molten chocolate cake, marshmellow, chocolate ice cream, and cinnimon graham crackers. delicious!

so...i completed the race

well, i completed the half ironman yesterday. april and i drove to galveston on saturday and picked up my packet and went to a mandatory meeting. we went to an italian dinner that was pretty good. we were just sad that we couldn't take our leftovers! we stayed at a hotel...beach hotels are nothing to brag about!!

i woke up about 4:30 and had difficulty sleeping past that point, but tried to rest. we left the hotel around 6:30 and headed to the start. there is a lot of prep involved. you have to set up your transition station...put your bike in the right spot..position all your shoes just so, etc. then i had to conquer putting on my wetsuit...and then you wait...and wait. my heat (group of people that start) was supposed to begin at 8:35 and there was a delay so I didn't start until a little after 9. by that time, i wasn't too nervous.

at that time, it was in the low 70's and pretty calm. the water was 67 degrees. the swim went pretty well. it was in salt water so i did ingest a little at one point and felt a little nauseus. i much prefer swimming in a pool to open water because you can't see anything. when i got out of the water i felt a little disoriented. then they helped me strip off my wetsuit.

i then switched into my cycling shoes and hopped on the bike. i felt absolutely great for the first 30-35 miles. then the wind kicked in and i began feeling it a little more. i was able to keep a pretty consistent pedal stroke for most of the time...the last 15 miles were a little rougher but still okay. on the bike i tried to keep myself hydrated and i also tried to eat a little bit. i wasn't very good at the eating thing. by this point (as i found out later) it was in the low 80's.

the run was okay...the wind was pretty forceful at that time. the first 6.5 miles were good but the last 6.6 was a little tougher. it just is hard to keep a good pace after everything else that has been completed. i was hot and beginning to sunburn. they did a great job with the race and had hydration about every 1-2 miles which was so appreciated!

overall, i was very happy with how i did. i didn't really know what to expect, so my goal was to finish. if i go for it again, i will definitely have some ideas for improvement!

yesterday

here is my photo diary of yesterday. i'll write about it seperately.

this is me in the wetsuit as i tried it on a couple weeks ago...it was an experience!

getting my bike down early in the morning...i didn't actually start until about 9:00...there was almost a half hour delay.

this is my number...594


putting on the wetsuit!

they obviously had no idea that i can't stand florescent pink....oh well.

april was nice enough to come with me for the event!

that is my wave in the pink caps.

they divide everyone up into age

groups and you start in shifts.

in this picture i'm running...who knows at what point this is...

this is the end of the race...sorry that my cap is covering my face so much!

T minus one day

i have one quick workout this morning that is more to prevent cutting off my legs due to inactivity than anything else! then april and i head to galveston this afternoon. i have to pick up my packet and everything else. we have a meeting to discuss the rules so that is good. then april and i will carbo load tonight---likely at the mosquito cafe. if you are ever in galveston, it is the best place ever. i got the recommendation from my department head.

i am going to be sad to miss the michigan state game...i'm hoping to at least catch the end of it...i'll see them in the championship game i guess!

then sunday i hit the water about 8:30. i'm sad that my wave is so late, but it will be okay. the weather is supposed to be nice. the predicted high is 75 but i'm hoping they are overestimating a little. rain isn't expected so that is good.

my main concern is mentally tackling this thing and getting it done....also pray that my tire doesn't pop. i learned how to change it, but it would definitely set me back.

well, guess i won't be on here until monday---i took a flex day (answering calls and e-mails from home) as i'm expecting my muscles will be rebelling!