if you are anything like me (or my family), we love year-in-review things. usa today did a pretty good recap. i had forgotten about some of the events....i just wish they would include more positive events too!


http://www.usatoday.com/news/2009-12-20-decade-in-review_N.htm

for me, without thinking too long, a few things stick out for me from 2000-2009...

--the fun that comes with college as well as wonderful friends and professors
--grad school...and finishing it!
--beginnings and ends of relationships
--generosity of others
--an amazing first job and the ability to be a part of people's difficult circumstances
--going to greece with my family
--the opportunity for my grandparents to live close by

what stands out for you in the last decade?

this is in chicago with kathi and sarah (PA school friends). please excuse the huge forehead and glazed look. merideth was about a foot away from my face while taking this picture!

we hit downtown chicago....

if you are going to celebrate christmas anywhere, it should be in chicago!

proof that it did "snow" in houston!

another gym musing.

okay, a few months ago i wrote about the new gym that i was forced into paying through the nose to attend. see the post: http://triforpancan.blogspot.com/2009/06/naked-meter.html


i have some more antidotes today...let me set the scene:


the clock says 5:30 AM and everyone is getting on their spinning bikes. the skinny blond that leads the class comments that "the other gym i teach at is much more friendly than this crowd". okay...thanks. another spinner, the teacher, and myself start dialoging about it and they both conclude right off the bat that it is because this gym is by the med center and the other has a lot of oil and gas employees.


so, we start spinning and then entire time all i can think about is my sore gluteous maximus from the day before and why my gym is "unfriendly".


i have some theories:

1. it isn't really our gym, just the fact that she teaches in the evening at the other gym. people that exercise in the morning aren't looking to be noticed.....afternoon people...well, look at the prevalence of greasy hair in the morning and make up in the afternoon. it just isn't fair.


2. really....who wants to have long drawn out conversations at 5 or 5:30 in the morning? it would distract us from sweating which is why we set our alarm for that early!! we are focused.


3. the occupation difference really might matter. if the majority of people at my gym work in health care, they probably know they are going to be talking all day....about important things. the oil and gas people are likely thankful to talk to people since they will be stuck in the cubicle.

overall, i guess i better be a little friendlier. it doesn't hurt....people can run from my greasy hair and goodwill shirts if i disgust them too much!

Video link

Hi all. I'm going to place a link to the website of The Village Church.

I listen to a number of podcasts on a regular basis and one of them is Matt Chandler's messages from The Village Church. He is sometimes controversial, but he speaks honestly and about Truth. They just found a brain tumor and he had surgery last week. This is a message that he recorded before going into surgery. May we all have the strength and faith that he possesses.

http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/

exciting announcement....

i'm going on a trip. i know you aren't surprised by that, but the location might be surprising! I'm going to Niger, Africa. It looks like I will be leaving February 25th and returning March 21st. It certainly isn't written in stone until I get a visa and a plane ticket!



For those of you that need a little geography refreshment, please see below:





Niger (actually pronounced with a French accent) is just north of the more commonly known country, Nigeria. French is the national language, although the majority of people speak one of the native dialects. It is one of the hottest countries in the worldd. Note, the location relative to the Sahara desert below:



I'm going through an organization called Medical Teams International that partners with non-profit organizations around the world. They try to help fill temporary needs for medical providers. A lot of organizations haven't found that wonder of PAs yet in international medicine!


The organization that is in Niger is SIM (Serving in Missions). They have a hospital in Galmi, Niger. It is approximately 6 hours by bus from the capital of Niamey.

Of course I have done research....below are some websites showing the sobering statistics related to this country. On the Human Development Index (HDI), they are dead last in the world. Their women have the highest birth rate as well...I have seen a couple stats. One said 7.5 kids/woman and another at 8.5 kids/woman. Overall, a lot of kids! Another interesting stat is that 50% of the population is age 15 or under. Crazy!

http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_NER.html

flights!

so, a couple weeks ago i realized that my continental flights toward the end of the year wouldn't count toward delta/northwest frequent flyer elite status. this didn't bother me too much until i realized that i was 15 miles short of elite status this year.....15 miles! After thousands of miles and 2 additional continental flights that now don't count....crazy. i sent an e-mail to delta proclaiming my loyalty, but they shot me down.

so...i decided to book an extra ticket in order to get the miles. i fly enough that the extra mileage next year and the free baggage could pay off. i also found an old $60 voucher and used that to take the pain away. so, i'm going to be on the plan a lot the next couple weeks.

here is my itinerary:

Chicago----this Friday night through Sunday night to visit Merideth. yippee!!

Atlanta----next Saturday, the 19th...i'm flying out at 9:30 and i'll be back in houston around 3:20. obviously, this was the added flight.

Detroit---for Christmas, of course!

at the end of the year, i always calculate how much i spend on student loans, tithing and charitable donations, and flights. those are BY FAR my greatest expenses....actually, student loans blows everything out of the water!

the trip to atlanta at least allows me to read a good book all day!