Studying, working out, and not being awkward!

So I've been sticking to my schedule of working out and studying pretty strictly for the past couple of weeks now. Studying is going well, but I just feel like there's no way I'm ever going to know everything. I wonder if anybody actually gets to the point where they feel ready...I'm not counting on it. I take the test in a little over a week and it feels like even if I had another month, i'd still feel not as prepared as I should be. I just have to get a much in as I can and pray that during the test i'll be able to find the answers...cuz i know there in my head somewhere, it just takes me a while to find them. I have really enjoyed being able to sleep in (until 8am lol) and wake up on my own schedule with no requirements to be anywhere...except for the pool! Some days I just stay at home and study but others i need to get out. I will say this, I never really doubted it, but I've confirmed for myself that I could never work from home...or be a stay at home mom for that matter. Being at home all day makes me lazier than ever. Even if i'm studying, it sucks, i need to be out studying somewhere or doing things. It's nice every now and then to relax at home, but I think i would drive myself crazy. I sometimes complain that i overload my plate with responsibilities and goals and say "there's never enough time to get it all done!" But when I think about it and now that I do have the time...I still don't get it done! So, i'd much rather be running around crazy and accomplish the 8 out of 10 things on my list for the day, than take my time and still only accopmlish 5 things. But that's just me, I sick and enjoy stress. :)

In other news, I have my free personal training session (came free with gym membership) this week. I know i'm pretty out of shape at the moment, but maybe if they can quantify my out of shapeness...i'll just be that much more motivated! I just hope they don't pinch my fat with that pinchy thing for body fat...i have always HATED that thing since middle school and i swear they always pinch way more than they should!!! (well that's my excuse) I'm going on my first ride with Strada Racing Club this Saturday, I'm pretty excited/nervous. I've never ridden with a big group before and knowing me, it could be disastrous. Maybe I should warn the head coach of my klumsiness and gift of ensuring that everything that can go wrong, does. Speaking of my murphy's law gift...i had a sasha moment last weekend! It was actually kind of funny. Went for a ride, 8 miles in got a flat....fixed the flat (took me forever)...realized my pump didn't work....still had a flat...realized i know nobody in tempe that could pick me up (crap!)...asked a cop for a ride home...he said no cuz he had to go get a drug bust...was stranded for an hour and a half before i realzied i had 1 friend in town....i was rescued!!! My early morning workout-so i can study plan only got me a 8 mile ride and sweet bike short tan lines...gotta love it.

Anyway, my week is full of more studying and more working out...oh and figuring how to make small talk. FYI med students (or maybe just me, but i'm sure i can generalize here) are the most awkward people to talk to...unless you talking about squamos cell cancer of the lung or a big test coming up. I have met about 4 guys in the past couple of days around my apartment or at starbucks that have been nice and potential friends (my friend count here is low).....but of course, me being a huge spaz, an incapable of making small talk for some reason. I'm a weirdo and i freeze with this look on my face like i'm in shock that a guy is talking to me lol. Or maybe its just that they catch me at bad times??? (doubtful) Either way, i need to practice on being a normal person again, able to have normal conversations with normal people...not about medicine! That's my plan for the week. I'll let you know how it goes!

Getting back in gear...

This week has confirmed for me, because it hadn't hit me yet, that I am finished with class! YAY! My schedule for the past week has been study at home 8-12, lunch, study at starbucks 1-6, workout, walk abbey, sleep....and repeat. To you this probably seems like the worst week ever, but I'm actually loving it!! Granted, I woudn't be studying if i didn't have to, but i'm sort of enjoying studying on my own schedule for once, no classes to work around or stupid labs to attend. And even more surprisingly is that I'm more focused here in Tempe, with a million distractions around me, than I was in Kirksville, the land of nothing to do. I guess I just know that at 6pm i'm free to distract myself with the gym, the pool, or my bike, well not so much the bike anymore because I busted the air valved on it last night getting ready for a ride! grrrr. I was all geared up to go too...man! I guess its not a huge deal, I just need to get it fixed asap so i can get back to riding!

So after rendering my bike unridable i decided to run to my new gym and swim a bit! I just joined Lifetime Fitness here, its not far from my apt at all. I LOVE IT!! The pools are great (a little cold but i'm always cold) and its soooooo nice, and actually not very expensive. I'm really excited about it...I just have to get familiar with everything so I don't look like that girl who's never been to a gym before! (i was her yesterday)

It's only been about a week but I already feel better in my workouts. Slowly but surely i will win this battle with the arizona dry air! It's not so fun when you feel like your lungs are full of dust and you have the worst cottonmouth ever! But its ok, i'm getting better. I found some awesome bike shops in town that I need to visit this weekend, i love bike shops...its like my candy store. I've also emailed a couple triathlon clubs here about joining. I want to start getting more serious about training and actually train with a group again. The Phoenix triathlon club is pretty serious and it seems awesome, but i'm not sure how far i'd have to drive since I live in Tempe :-( But i'm about 80% sure I'm going to join. If not that club, I'm looking at Strada racing club. That's through the bike shop and its more of a cycling team but they do have a small triathlon team. I have to look more into them this weekend. Ok well time to study!!! For some reason Friday's don't have any real significance...maybe since i have no real requirements during the week anyway lol. Maybe i'll treat myself to some tv tonight with my girl abbey :-) I'm such a rebel......

Fresh start...

So it has finally hit me now that my family left that I'm actually living in Arizona! I had such a great time seeing Sedona and the Grand canyon with them, i'm so happy they were able to make the trip. It very rare that I get to do things like that with my aunt and uncle, they had a blast!

I love the "new" feel of my apartment. Everything is so new and unused and clean! (thanks to my aunt) I love fresh starts, and AZ is exactly the kind of fresh start i was waiting for. Today I started my real hard core board studying and workouts. The studying went well although i was interrupted by the fact that my internet was down and it was driving me crazy. The run was not so good. I really need to get used to this dry air...nosebleeds while running aren't fun. Not to mention i was running like I hadn't ran in a month...oh wait, I haevn't!! Eeeek! The good thing is that runs like tonight make me want to kick my own butt back into gear, it was just pathetic. I'm still debating whether or not to race in the sprint tri in Flagstaff on the 9th. I really don't have the money :-( I'm going to keep thinking about it, but my bank account is scaring me right now since I just moved across the country!

But regardless of that tri, i'm going to get on a strict workout, perhaps 2 a day, schedule. I need to sign up at a gym ASAP so i can swim!! So basically my life for the next month will be board studying + training...yay!

Abbey is loving the apartment. We are right by the tennis courts and she watches people play all day. I'm sure she's laughing at how terrible they are in her head. I think I'm going to start a blog for her. My cousin came up with the idea, and it'll give me another thing to take up my time, awesome. She's great though, she deserves her own blog!

I really just am so happy to finally be in AZ. I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. Many great things to come!

I made it!!!

So I'm finally In Arizona!! Above are a couple of pics from the drive...I'll post more soon!!! We've been here since Tuesday evening actually, I just haven't had access to internet and have been crazy (in a good way) unpacking and getting settled. The drive was fine. My mom and I were in my X-terra while my uncle and aunt were in the moving truck. We made it here faster than expected, which is awesome...more time to hang out with the family in AZ! (not to mention being stuck in that car/truck and staying at hotels where I had to sneak Abbey in wasn't too fun) We've spent the past couple of days unpacking all my boxes and setting up my apartment. It's an awesome thing that both my aunt and my mom insist on helping me clean, set up, cook, and buy things for me...i'm super grateful to have them!! It is kind of funny though when they fight over how they disagree on how MY apartment should be set up and where I should put things. They are both over 50 but still fight like they're 5. I just sit back and laugh at them with my uncle! Even more awesome was when my mom bought some "beer" (smirnoff ice) for her and my aunt to relax... 5 minutes and 1 drink later they're drunk trying to organize my kitchen...all this while fighting with eachother on where my coffee pot should go!! I really love my apartment though...and so does Abbey! (this is very important because she pretty much rules it anyway haha) The best part so far...there are bike paths everywhere!!!! I'm itching to get out and really ride but I'm going to enjoy the family company and do whatever they want while they're here. Not to mention my board studying has been kind of sporadic the past few days. That's ok though, I purposely planned boards later for this reason. It's not very often that I get this time with them. Starting Monday though...it's on! Sprint Tri in Flagstaff on July 9th is getting close!!! Ahhhhhh!

This weekend we're heading up to Sedona to take a couple tours of the Red Rocks and The Grand Canyon, it should be awesome! I'll most definitely have pictures after the weekend and will keep you updated once I get my own internet.

p.s. high of 101 today = i'm in heaven!!! I love this heat!!!

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ARIZONA HERE I COME!!!

So I'm ready to start the drive to AZ tomorrow! Everything is packed and all that is left to do is hop in the car and drive the 2.5 days to Tempe!! I'm very very excited to start over but I'm sad to leave some great people behind (for now anyway). Although I complain and moan about Kirksville a lot, it really has not been all that bad. I can now cross my "small town living" experience off my list. I've learned so much about myself, others, and life in general while in Kirksville so I won't say it was a bad 2 years. All in all it was great actually. Things I won't miss about Kirksville: the COLD, feeling like time is moving backwards in walmart when I'm stuck behind the slowest moving people on earth, driving 3 hours to the airport, driving 2 hours to a decent restaurant, the classroom, JC Penny being the best clothing store in town, having everyone know exactly where I am at all times cuz i'm one of the few who drives and X-terra, and just your plain old "oh kirksville" moments. I will miss great friends, being able to ride my bike anywhere, saving on gas, cheap rent, quiet nights, no traffic, my spin class, runs through the country.

The move is somewhat bittersweet but I coudln't be more excited to start fresh in Tempe. The rotations, people, new friends, training opportunities, bike and running trails, etc...i just can't wait. Now if i can only get there with my mom, aunt and uncle and dog in one piece! I'll try to post while on the trip but who knows if I'll be able to get internet. We're planning on staying at Air Force bases along the way (cuz its cheap!) and they usually have internet access. If not, I'll post pics once I get there. You know I'll have a lot!



p.s. check out my photo blog!

I HATE MOVING!!

Can I just say that i despise packing and moving. The past 2 times I've moved the AF has moved me...i'm spoiled now. I never realized how much crap i've accumulated in the past couple years!! It's bad. My apt is a maze of boxes and it doesn't even look like anything is off the walls or shelves...not a good thing. I'm supposed to drive out on Monday, its Thurs night and I'm nowhere near being packed. Also not good. I'm getting frustrated because there is so much to do in so little time. I haven't had time to pack because I've been in school aaaallll week until about 5 or 6. Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive with packing, or i'm screwed. Ok well I'm complaining now when I should be studying for my ACLS test in the morning!!! (yet another thing to study for...does it ever end?) Also frustrated that i've gotten 1 swim in this week!

This is how my mom "helps" me move....this move going to be awesome.

Re-learning the definition of a weekend...

This weekend in St. Louis was probably the first time I was able to really relax (not feel guilty for not studying all weekend) in a loooooong time. Cardinals game was fun (not very eventful) but still a good time. It was also my first trip to St. Louis in which I didn't have to worry about running or be freaking out nervous about a race! I did recognize the hill of death around mile 15 of the marathon a couple weeks ago and I really had flashbacks. It was steep in my car...crazy that my legs managed to show that hill who's boss. Anyway, the weekend was crazy and I'm quite impressed that my group (9 crazy med students total) of friends managed to have such a great time and de-stress without getting in any bar fights or having to bail someone out of jail. We work hard, but play harder. Sometimes that can be dangerous.

In moving news, i have exactly 1 week to pack up my entire apartment while still attending class (worthless week of class to take time away from board studying). I have so much to pack, its overwhelming!! But I'm glad to do it and get out of Kirksville and head west. I have a feeling that my 70.3 training won't truly start until i get to Phoenix. I've been running and swimming a bit but with finals and now moving and stress, i can't settle into a set training schedule...which is frustrating me. But it will be fine, i'll jump right back in the saddle (literally) in no time. I'm hoping i can start working out with this triathlon club I found near me. I guess its a good way to find routes and meet people...and of course, stay on top of my game.

In other news...i've started 2 more blogs. One is with my cousin that I'm really excited for. It's mainly a photo blog that we're doing just to keep practicing our photography and sort of stay connected with eachother. Check out PLACE+PERSPECTIVE. The other blog is a med school blog that is through my school. Kind of a way for new students to read about what their peers are doing and learning out on rotations. So, i'll have a lot to blog about now that school is over (thank goodness).

Here are some pics from the weekend...