Welcome to 2009... I get the distinct impression that things are going to continue to move at mach 5; so really, until New Year's Eve of 2010, I'm not really going to know the difference between '08, '09, or '10. I was talking to one of my classmates this morning. She mentioned the fact that we have one year and eleven months to go-- definitely could have gone without that little tidbit. Not a particutlarly inspiring bit of news.
Today I had another session with the personal trainer. Let me clarify, he's not really my personal trainer. Maybe someday when I'm bringing in the big bucks... ;) One of the women that I play soccer with hired him to create soccer-specific workouts for her, and she likes having teammates there to join in on the 'fun'. Of course I signed right up! I never get to workout with anyone, let alone having a trainer there to guide me through everything (and by 'guide' I mean drag my breathless butt along from one confounding activitiy to the next). I really like this trainer. His workouts are incredibly challenging, and we never do the same thing twice. I've been going for over a month now and I've noticed a pretty substantial improvement in my plyometric fitness, as well as overall strength on the soccer field. Today's workout was particularly difficult (read: sadistic). Walking and I may not be friends tomorrow, but at least it got me away from the dreaded accounting for a while.
Happy New Year! (well, Happy New Year in 2011... but in the meantime, here's hoping for a tolerably challenging 2009. Cheers!)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Saturday-- is that you?
I woke up to an alarm this morning. I have spent the better part of the last 14 hours doing accounting and marketing, stopping for a 1.5 hour break during which I figured out the spring tournaments for the girls I coach. Much more fun in my life and they may have to put me on blood pressure medication...
Monday, December 8, 2008
Accounting
I have discovered that accounting is not going to be my gift. In fact, I have determined that it takes a very special person to do accounting as a living. Next time I meet a CPA I'm going to pick their brain in order to discover what it is that would lead a person into this thrilling (a term we'll use rather loosely in this case) field. In the meantime, I'm going to have to navigate this strange world as best I can. The good news is that my other class is marketing, yay for something that might involve my vastly-underutilized right brain!
Today I was in Louisville all day for work. We went to a 'green' building. It was fascinating! They air condition the building in the summer by blowing air over a massive tank of ice chunks encased in plastic! They sloped the roof so that it captures the storm water and drains it off onto a rooftop garden. All of the wood in the building has either been rehued from the initial structure, or brought in from other old, torn-down structures. Apparently old building materials make up about 10% of landfills. This was one fascinating work space... incidentally, it was also beautiful! Who says green can't be elegant? I dare that person to come trapse around this building for a while.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081128/NEWS01/811280434/1008
Today I was in Louisville all day for work. We went to a 'green' building. It was fascinating! They air condition the building in the summer by blowing air over a massive tank of ice chunks encased in plastic! They sloped the roof so that it captures the storm water and drains it off onto a rooftop garden. All of the wood in the building has either been rehued from the initial structure, or brought in from other old, torn-down structures. Apparently old building materials make up about 10% of landfills. This was one fascinating work space... incidentally, it was also beautiful! Who says green can't be elegant? I dare that person to come trapse around this building for a while.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081128/NEWS01/811280434/1008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Minnesota Nice
Thanksgiving is my mom's favorite holiday. It's the only holiday at which she truly requests my attendance; which, if you're the child of divorced parents with three re-marriages between the two of them, is a bit of a blessing. Several years ago, she moved to Minneapolis from Ohio for a new job opportunity. I gave her a hard time about it; for someone who doesn't like the cold very much she sure was moving the wrong direction.
Contrary to it's uber-winter status, Minnesota is actually a beautiful state. It gets way more sunshine than some of the other midwest states (for reasons I have yet to figure out), and is home to a derivation of people that my mom and I refer to as "Minnesota nice". There's nice, and then there's Minnesota nice. For example: Once, when I was flying to see my mother for Easter, I got on the plane and the woman sitting next to me was having a hard time getting her carry-on in the overhead storage compartment (in my mind that that makes it no longer a carry-on, but that's another story entirely). This woman literally handed me her purse to hold for her while she wrangled with the overstuffed "carry-on". I believe the assumption was that I was Minnesota nice, just like her. Fortunately, I'm not a clepto and I obviously returned the purse to her untouched, but me and my MLK address could not get over the fact that she just handed me her entire purse without a second thought. I suppose that's 'stupidity' not 'nice', but regardless, I have seen more examples of that sort of behavior in Minnesota than anywhere else.
So, this Thanksgiving was no different than the last several in terms of making the 11+ hour drive northward. I don't care how nice Minnesota is, there is no denying the length of that drive. The six hours through the Wisconsin hinterlands, as I call them, is truly the worst part of the whole ordeal. There. Is. Nothing. Dead deer, dairy cows, semi trucks, and random Cheese Haus' (yes, with the German spelling). If you want cheese or venison, you have come to the right place. For anything else, i.e. civilization-- it's best to keep on driving. Eventually, if you stay on I-94 long enough, you will reach the promised land of the Twin Cities. After 11 hours in the car it feels like the promised land regardless of the outside temperature.
It's always worth it. My mom insists on Thanksgiving because it's one of the few holidays without pretense. Come together, have a meal, find some respit before the holiday rush. Frankly there's nice, and then there's Minnesota nice.
Contrary to it's uber-winter status, Minnesota is actually a beautiful state. It gets way more sunshine than some of the other midwest states (for reasons I have yet to figure out), and is home to a derivation of people that my mom and I refer to as "Minnesota nice". There's nice, and then there's Minnesota nice. For example: Once, when I was flying to see my mother for Easter, I got on the plane and the woman sitting next to me was having a hard time getting her carry-on in the overhead storage compartment (in my mind that that makes it no longer a carry-on, but that's another story entirely). This woman literally handed me her purse to hold for her while she wrangled with the overstuffed "carry-on". I believe the assumption was that I was Minnesota nice, just like her. Fortunately, I'm not a clepto and I obviously returned the purse to her untouched, but me and my MLK address could not get over the fact that she just handed me her entire purse without a second thought. I suppose that's 'stupidity' not 'nice', but regardless, I have seen more examples of that sort of behavior in Minnesota than anywhere else.
So, this Thanksgiving was no different than the last several in terms of making the 11+ hour drive northward. I don't care how nice Minnesota is, there is no denying the length of that drive. The six hours through the Wisconsin hinterlands, as I call them, is truly the worst part of the whole ordeal. There. Is. Nothing. Dead deer, dairy cows, semi trucks, and random Cheese Haus' (yes, with the German spelling). If you want cheese or venison, you have come to the right place. For anything else, i.e. civilization-- it's best to keep on driving. Eventually, if you stay on I-94 long enough, you will reach the promised land of the Twin Cities. After 11 hours in the car it feels like the promised land regardless of the outside temperature.
It's always worth it. My mom insists on Thanksgiving because it's one of the few holidays without pretense. Come together, have a meal, find some respit before the holiday rush. Frankly there's nice, and then there's Minnesota nice.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Residency
Residency ended Friday at 11:30 sharp. Two down, three more to go (one of which is in Argentina) I survived-- actually in better shape than I had originally imagined possible. My group worked hard, struggled, accomplished, laughed, and had many memorable moments. If I have to walk through the insane journey that is grad school, I'm glad that I get to with these guys. They'll change the groups on us next summer, but for right now I am counting myself among the very, very lucky. Our big, final presentation is next Monday night. We've got a lot of work to do between here and there, but we'll get it done one way or another.
What a journey this is going to be.
What a journey this is going to be.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Maxed Out
Utterly sleep deprived, HATE Quantitative Analysis, wondering why this seemed like such a good idea last year... at least I have a great group-- definitely the saving grace of the week. Have been doing academic work for 18 hours straight now; my brain is 100% maxed out and there's no end in site. Time to dig in, unfortunately coffee stopped helping days ago.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Purdue, Home Sweet Home
Residency officially starts tomorrow. Taking a deep breath, because here we go. I went for a run around my old stomping grounds today. Aside from the sleet, it felt good to be back. I'm sure the week is going to be utterly awful, but the run brought back a lot of good memories. Boiler Up!
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