Friday's Photo.

Okay time to get away from my controversial posts and get back to my more boring typical post. Guess what? It's FRIDAY!!

This weekend is looking rather nice with sunny 70 degree days and the Arizona Cards in the Superbowl. Tomorrow I hope to get a nice long ride in to get ready for the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo in two weeks. My team is in the four person women's division and I am going to be the slowest lady by a mile on my team of super studs. So I am practicing my jokes so that I can at least contribute to the humor and spirit of the team even while my lap times drag us down.

Just paid my acceptance fee to PA school...woohoo! I am locked and loaded my peeps. Now I just need to make it through Organic Chem Lab, Psychology 101, and a couple more months of work. The classes seem easy, the work...lets just say painful.

I will leave you with a photo that just can't help but make you feel warm and fuzzy. This is courtesy of the livestock market in Otovala, Ecuador starring little cute boy and his sheep.

Question of the Day

Last night I was asked a question that made me think. The question was this: What do you think is unpatriotic? Well after some debate, I went with the obvious: instant coffee. But really, in all seriousness, I think that Mr. Limbaugh's comments about hoping that President Obama fails is about the most unpatriotic thing you can do. Seriously. You would hope for the country to remain in a disastrous down spiral so that you can win Rush? Go take some oxy cotton and shut up.

Along the lines of American ideals is our ability to find ways to fight back and cheat the system. I heard the most astounding concept yesterday. Here the back story.

Here in Phoenix, we have had a very badly hit real estate market. In good centrally located neighborhoods (Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale, etc) it hasn't been as bad, but in new developments that cropped up on the outskirts of town during the big boom three years ago for example Maricopa, Arizona, things are very very bleak.

As an example, a friend's house in Maricopa which was purchased for $225,000 two years ago, is now estimated to be worth $95,000. Ridiculous. Really what is a house owner to do? They can foreclose on said house to save their butt or keep paying on a house that may never recover to what they bought it for. My friend is choosing to foreclose, take 7 years of bad credit and move on with his life. These aren't bad financially irresponsible people, just people who are in an untenuable situation.

Then last night, I learned of the inguenity of the American people in this brilliant way of sticking it back to the man. A couple who had purchased a house in Maricopa found the perfect solution to this situation. The couple who are still very much happily married are going to go get a divorce. The mortgage is fully in the husband's name and as such will become his property in the divorce. He will then stop all payments and foreclose on the house killing his credit. His then ex-wife whose credit score will remained untouched will then purchase the same house from the foreclosure bank for a much much lower price than it was at previously. She buys the house, they get remarried and voila, they are back in business. As amazing as this story is, I think it could actually work in the right situation.

Is this amazing, idiotic, or ethically wrong? I am interested in hearing people's opinions. I for one think that while definitely ethically questionable, is one of the reasons that we as a public will make it in the end. Essentially, we are fighters and will take a lot to be taken down. What think u?

Today's Feelings..sorry.

Just in case anyone cares, yesterday's count for the BMI (bathroom mystery investigation) was dark stall: unflushed 2x and half light stall: flushed 2x. So we are still seeing the systematic odd behavior symptoms associated with darkened stalls and memory loss. Interesting.

In other news, we no longer have cable television but with youtube and Hulu's new HD streaming options, there has been no halt in watching essentials like whether Hillary Swank is hot or not on The Office. My vote is def. hot. Come on people, just cause she is muscular and atheletic and interesting looking, doesn't mean she isn't hot.

In other other news, my knee sucks.

It is a topic I have avoided bitching about because I haven't had the time or mental capacity to face the fact that that 1) There is still something wrong with it that may require fixing and 2) I just may have to live with how my knee is now.

A quick synopisis of my frustration. Swelling and/or Pain. Everything I do causes swelling and/or pain. Basically, I don't feel it when biking (although I do swell after I stop), but all running, cutting, and jumping activities cause immediate pain and delayed swelling which basically forces me to do nothing for 2 or 3 days until I can bend it again. I took a break from adventure racing to give my knee more time to heal because the running hurt. I am now worse than I was 4 months ago. I am trying to start playing ultimate frisbee league in about a month and when I go to practice, I make it about 1 hour before pain and limping forces me off the field.

I am not sure what to do at this point. I either need to give up on doing athletic things that require me to move faster than a walk or move without two wheels beneath me or I need to return to a Ortho Doc, get a new prescription for p.t. and shell out more money for a therapist to tell me to take it slow and give myself time. Is a year not enough time (12 months since surgery in Feb)?

Is this due to removing the meniscus (40% wacked in my last surgery)? Is is due to having two consecutive complete ACL reconstructions/meniscus repairs in 3 years? Is this all just part of the healing? Or is there actually something wrong with my knee and/or nerves in my knee that is preventing me from healing completely and causing massive swelling when I push it at all. Should I push through the swelling and pain that may be necessary before I retrain my knee to take pounding? I will say that waiting till it gets better and doesn't hurt isn't really working.

With my upcoming school program which will consume all my time, maybe I won't even care that I now feel like I have an 87 year old knee. Ya think? Thank you for listening to my feelings of which I have many.

A great mystery of life from the bathroom.

So I noticed something weird at work today. There seems to be a direct correlation between light in a bathroom stall and flushing the toilet. Random? Yes. True? Right on.

So due to our recent economic collapse and the subsequent tightening of budget, the bathrooms at my work have started turning off one of the two lights over the three stalls. That leaves one dark stall, one half dark stall, and one light stall.

Never fail, the dark stall (which is the closest to the door) is never flushed. I find this weird because you would think in an educated place with educated people, they would flush the toilet. The half dark stall is periodically not flushed, but mostly seems butt gasket free (the thing you sit on). The light stall is always always flushed as should be in a public restroom. It is so weird. Do people in the dark forget to flush because they can't see the toilet as clearly? I don't feel like lighting should matter in this situation, but I am proven wrong again and again.

Any thoughts? This is keeping me up at night people.

MLK Day at Verde Hot Springs

Fossil Creek on MLK Day (Photo taken by Sarah)

I decided to take a floating holiday on Monday since my work doesn't believe in celebrating the King. Really, it was just that my friends had off and were planning a little adventure and I really really wanted to join.

We headed up to the Verde Valley area and bumped over the dirt road for an hour to get to the Verde River. Our destination was a natural hot springs about 1.5 miles upriver known as the Verde Hot Springs. I have been before this time, but there was a big difference this time from then: freezing cold winter river versus nice low warm summer river.

See the hot springs is on the other side of the river, and now the river is freezing and swollen from snow runoff further north making crossing it quite the adventure. We looked for a good crossing place and eliminated a couple due to too high of a current. We finally went further past the hot springs before finding a doable spot. It ended up being a bad spot because we had to cross the water twice and it was higher and faster than we thought. Did I mention the water was freeeeeeeeeeezing? It was.

This part was the wide slow part. We later had to join hands to cross a rapid area but
no pics could be taken due to the need to not die.

Once across we got across the river, did I mention it was cold, we rushed our poor frozen legs down to the hot springs and jumped in. There were some hippies there who had the same idea as us. The outside pool seen below is 100 degree and the pool inside the little house (2nd photo below) is 104. It was awesome.

We then had one more freezing trip across the river but we found a shorter, less deep and less rapid spot to cross. We stopped off at the always turquoise water Fossil Creek on the way back to the highway for a little hike. Followed that up by some Mexican from the little joint in Payson. Overall a great day. Now back to reality. I started classes last night since I still have to take a couple of prerequisites. Laters.

The Answer.

Today, I decided to take some nerve and call the PA medical school that I have been trying to get into. I was told that they would probably decide who to accept on Thursday and would then send out a letter in the mail next week, but since I didn't want to wait, I thought I would give them a call. I was really freaked out to call them because I was so scared of what the answer would be. If a yes, I knew it would be an excellent way to start the weekend. If no...well, I would have all weekend to regret that call. But I decided that before I could call, I had to get my mind in a good place mentally to handle either answer. Below are my thoughts which I typed up directly before the call.

If I get in, my life will never be the same. I will have officially altered its path in a way that is remarkable, because many do not. It will be my greatest achievement as an adult. My path to this point although convoluted feels so right. Like destiny.

If I don't get in, I am back at a place where I have major decisions to make. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, so this is just another branch on the tree of life. One this process has taught me is that I truly can achieve what I put my mind to. I am not afraid of hard work, so I still believe that great things are ahead of me. It will be a difficult setback to get over, but I have no doubt that I will move on and overcome. I see brighter horizons ahead.

Then I made the call.

The answer?

Option A. They welcomed me to the class of 2009 Physician Assistant Program at Midwestern University, located in Glendale Arizona. Life will not be the same. Welcome to the wild ride.

I have done all I can do.

Well it is over. Phew.

The interview really was not what I was expecting. There was way less face time than I expected with only one 45 minute panel interview where two PAs simultaneously interviewed three of us at the same time. With three of us answering the same typical questions, you had to constantly adapt your answer so that it is not the same as the person who went before you. Nothing was that hard or unexpected and although I felt like I did as good as I could have, it was pretty hard to stand out in that short of a interview with two other people.

So overall my feeling is that it is a complete toss up. I think my chances of getting in are 50/50 which coincides with the percentage of people who get accepted from the entire interview pool. Luck will probably play a role in it. I should know within a week and if I don't get the answer I am hoping for, I can honestly say there wasn't anything I could have done better at least in the interview.

Thanks for all the support and wishes of luck friends!!

What I did this weekend.

This past weekend was busy just as I knew it would be. First, I had to win a 6 person poker tournament on Friday night where I beat my husband head to head for the $5 buy in pot. Sorry bout that babe. Secondly, I did get a good four hour bike ride in on Saturday in the Pima/Dynamite area of Scottsdale. It is always great to bike in new places and this wild high desert area is pretty damn awesome. Some tough stuff, lots of sand and just wild wild desert. My fingers finished the day pretty bloody from all the cactus and thorny bushes that grab at your hands as you ride by. That evening Tom and I went and saw Slumdog Millionaire at the theatre and it was really a great movie. I highly recommend. Sunday was all work and no play = no fun. Big day tomorrow. Home Depot, maybe Bed Bath & Beyond. I don't know if I will have time.*

Pushing up a steep and very rutted hill.

We found this nearly complete rock arch.

*Quotin Wedding Crashers...duh.

When Dreams Float Within Grasp

My mind feels stuffy and full. There is a level of nerves and stress that is simmering through my blood stream that I can't get rid of. It has nothing to do with the fact that I have lots of Monday morning deadlines at work which will ensure a full weekend of effort. Nor is it really accounting the fact that I have a 24 hour bike race in around a month that I really need to be riding my bike for. Nope. This is all about next Tuesday, the day that will decide my direction and path for at least 2009 and potentially much further. Cause on Tuesday, it is do or die day for my desires to be a physician assistant: the big 8 hour interview at the only school that I can attend.

There just isn't that much room in mind for other things.

They say if you envision something happening in you mind, you can help physically manifest it. So this is what I am doing right now. I am envisioning myself answering their mundane questions with such dazzling answers that they wonder how they got so lucky in having me apply. I am envisioning myself receiving a letter in the mail in the week following and then opening the bottle of leftover from NYE champagne sitting in the fridge in celebration. I am envisioning the moment in which I run through the halls of oh great work facility yelling "suck it *$*%*". I am envisioning my life as I want it to be, five years down the road.

Dreams will always be dreams if you don't reach out and grab them.

Fiesta It Was Not

The Buckeyes second home, the Fiesta Bowl. And just like the annual Christmas
scrabble tournament, you win some, you lose some.

Although I did manage to get a B in organic chemistry last semester, I am pretty sure I am pulling a solid F (or E at The Ohio State) in blogging. I have been relaxing, entertaining guests, watching college football, riding my bike and generally just not in the mood to blog lately. Go figure. I will still finish my trippity trip on the Incan Trail as time permits.

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Fiesta Bowl featuring my very own Buckeyes versus those nastly Longhorns. I entered the game with much trepidation due to recent OSU losses in devastating large numerical amounts in big time games. However, I will always love and cheer my boys in scarlet and gray so off to the game we went.

We got to jam out with Brutus, TBDBITL (the best damn band in the land) and the cheerleaders before the game at the pregame party. No I am not rich, just have friends in 'high places' aka work for the Fiesta Bowl.

The game itself was everything I could have hoped for...except a victory for the good guys. We lost in the last minute of the game on a great drive by Texas, but I couldn't really complain about the suspense and intensity of the game. It was awesome, something we have missed the last couple of times we have played in BCS bowl games.

Next year my friends, next year.

Oh and fat annoying Texas fans shouldn't mock a team they barely beat ranked #10 in the nation when they believe that they should be crowned the National Champions...just saying.

Happy New Years from AZ

Happy New Years from the Grand Canyon &Sedona