Derby Name Debut

Hey Folks! It's the moment you've all been waiting for. The awesome reveal of my kick-ass derby name. Well, here it is in all it's nerdy glory!

The last three months...

In the last three months I went skydiving, went to Bonnaroo and Rock the Garden, and became a North Star Roller Girl. The roller girl bit was the hardest part and it still is. I'm very out of shape and twice a week I get my ass kicked by the trainers. Instead of writing everything out I've decided to provide photographic evidence courtesy of facebook.

First, skydiving!

Next, Bonnaroo and Rock the Garden.

And finally, pictures from North Star tryouts.

I don't normally do this but...

Hey everybody! This Sunday I'm participating in a walk to help raise funds and awareness about MS. I'm a little late to fundraising thing but I was hoping some of you would be willing to help out. I'll put in the footwork, you just need to click a few buttons. I know some people that would really appreciate it.

It's not insensitive if it's funny...

Happy Easter everybody! My life has been going pretty great lately. I was in Minneapolis this past weekend for the Minnesota Roller Girl championships. I don't know why I've never seen this sooner. It was athletics and theatrics all combined into one awesome night. It got me to thinking, not only do I want to be a roller girl for Halloween, but I want to be a roller girl in real life. Jing and I got to thinking about what our roller names would be. I, of course, want to do a play on the whole blond hair, blue eyed thing so I was thinking, thinking, thinking. And then it came to me in a flash of genius..."E** *****" (apparently one is supposed to keep their name super secret so it isn't stolen). It's cool though because I ran it by a bunch of the derby crowd and they loved it. Jing's name would most likely be "Killa the Hun." I'm going to hit the gym hard and relearn how to roller skate. I think I've found my true calling.

Lost: Section By Section Reaction (SPOILERS!)

Because I don't have anyone to watch "Lost" with and discuss these things, I'm going to write them here in my blog. Because nothing is funnier or more entertaining than my disjointed ramblings about wacky TV shows. If you haven't watched the episode yet and actually care, don't continue, it might give away stuff.

Pt. 1:
Who's that guy? New people? Dammit! Wait, were they on the plane to Guam? Are there more survivors from another crash? WHAT?! So, the whole plane went down? I thought the Oceanic 6 just sort of vanished.

HE'S ALIVE AGAIN?!

Pt. 2
Wouldn't Locke be full of embalming fluid and all his blood removed. Because he lasted a pretty long time. Why didn't he travel with the island? Why is he in the desert? Oh no! His legs! Rebels? That can't be good. What's wrong with him? Who's that creepy guy behind the mosquito netting? Oh, those were antibiotics. OH GOD! How'd he break his leg so badly? Charles? There's more leaders? I still want to know why Richard never ages. Widmore doesn't seem like that bad of a guy. A war? Over an island? Whose power can't be harnessed effectively? I still don't know how it can be used for evil.

Pt. 3
Locke is special because he's special. That's circular reasoning. Was there some sort of crazy star alignment when he was born? Whoa! It IS that guy from "Fringe." Uh oh, wheelchair. Sayid speaks Spanish? Was this whole timeshift to explain why Walt looks so old? He's such an awkward teenager! No, his dad is dead. Is Walt considered part of "everyone?"

OOH! The Watchmen!

Pt. 4
MY MIND IS BEING BLOWN RIGHT NOW! Why is that guy so creepy!? I wish Kate would just die. Let her go back in the coffin. And then don't bring her back to life. Terry O'Quinn is an amazing actor. Creepy guy is a snappy dresser. Look at him mixing baby pink and chocolate brown. Helen's dead? She was so good for him. Noooo!!
Who's shoooting? That guy can't die! He's too important! He finds stuff. That accident can't be how he dies. Locke is too hardcore for that.

Pt. 5
Oh good, that didn't kill him. Last season when Jack was all alcoholic he was freaking out about how they shouldn't have left, how they need to go back. Is this before or after? Jack is angry about Locke seeing his dead father on the island? Didn't Jack see him all the time? Shoot, what did that note say? How can he stand? He's paralyzed when he's not on the island. Oh yeah, he hung himself. I don't know who to trust anymore. Ben or Widmore? John has to die. Richard said so. John shouldn't have told Ben that Jin is alive. Wait, he didn't hang himself. Now, why would Ben go and do something like that? I'm just so confused!

Pt. 6
Ben Linus is CRAZY! Are they in the hatch? I thought it blew up. So, the Six did vanish. But the plane still crashed and other people got stuck there. Ben Linus is dead? Injured? I have to wait a whole week?

No real inspiration

Hey folks. I'm sitting here at a speech tournament with nothing to do until 1:30...maybe. I've judged some interp and some PA. It's been real uneventful. Almost a month has passed since I've gotten back from Mexico. For those interested I've got pictures of it here and here.

After I got back I started focusing on my career again. I'm still in that quarter-life crisis that started back in mid-December. It all began with my heart breaking and then dissatisfaction with my job and then a family tragedy. I realized that if I was going to fulfill all of my goals and dreams then I should get started because life is short and you can't wait for awesome things to happen to you. So I talked to the supervisor of the autopsy lab about the work that they do and some possible leads in other parts of the clinic that deal with pathology. It was very interesting. Then I got to talk to an assistant pathology student and she gave me some great advice and put the process into realistic terms. I've also tried to chat up one of our specialists about getting me transferred to somewhere in anatomic pathology. She says she'll write me a really good recommendation and pull some strings. I love this woman!!

But at the same time I feel bad for wanting to leave my original lab because the majority of the people I work with are amazing and make my day great! But it shouldn't be just the people that make your job good. There shouldn't be a lot of days where you come home from work and need to shower just to feel normal again. I want to go to work for the sake of my work. Not for the paycheck or benefits or anything like that.

Sorry if I sound whiny, but I've been wanting to get that off my chest. To make up for it, I'll leave you with the cutest thing I've seen since I looked in the mirror this morning.

Matthew McConaughey

How does somebody go from this to this?

Gah! So excited!

Merry New Yearmas! Is it just me or was Christmas awesome this year? It wasn't just me? That's great! I was so on the horse this year. I got Christmas letters out, I got all my presents wrapped before I got home to Brookings, and I even managed to get to a Holiday party in St. Cloud too! I rung in the New Year with friends and was able to walk home without passing out in the snow. That is a successful holiday season if I ever heard one (Evidence of which is provided below). And now, in a week and some hours, I'm going to MEXICO! Like the good part, not the sketchy, drug smuggling part. I've got a swimsuit, an acceptable amount of tank tops and skirts, and an amazing dress...and enough sunscreen to keep me covered for a week (which is one family-size bottle). Happy January everybody!

CHRISTMAS!!

I like this so much I might just leave it up all winter.

Good day

Hello faithful readers! Are you aware that I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan now? I am. It all started with an innocent invitation to watch the game at a bar. Now I'm a bloodthirsty Pittsburgh fanatic. You know what's even better? I've been working Saturdays so when I go to a game on Sunday, I can over-celebrate a win and spend Monday recovering. So I spent today recovering. I went to get a burrito and I got one for free. An employee walked up to me and said "Today your burrito is free." That was awesome! And now it's snowing like crazy and I've got Christmas lights in my house plants and I LOVE CHRISTMAS! Yep, I'm excited for the Holidays.