May 14: Dog Walking

Trying to walk these two together can sometimes be a feat, at least it was beautiful outside...I would like this weather to stick around for awhile Georgia!

January 15: Stress(ful) Release

I don't like days with back to back meetings.  It doesn't leave much time to get things done.  Nor does it allow much time for interaction with students.  Today was one of those days.  It also doesn't help when meetings run over.  It wasn't a bad day, just busy.  Two highlights, however, were my deep tissue massage (25 minutes) and coming home to January and February's issues of real simple.  My back has been bugging me for awhile.  The knots and headaches at the base of my skull are not pleasant.  I know this dang PhD is doing a number on my body.  Anyway, I found a 30 minute block to get in and have them rub the left side of my back and neck.  I am so grateful for the health center.  Ohh it helped so much.  And...the lady told me I may qualify for medical massages (under my graduate student insurance).  Definitely something to talk with my doctor about (especially since I have to go see him for my annual thyroid appointment anyway).

December 16: Dogsitting

I have been dog sitting for Winston & Baxter since Sunday.  Yesterday we enjoyed a fire, a walk, and some cozy time watching tv shows I don't get at home.  Today after work we went for a walk to witness one of the biggest moons I've seen in a long time.  The walk was nice, although trying to walk two at once always provides entertainment.  Moreover, I thought only women went to the bathroom in pairs ;)  Apparently when one went, the other just had to go too.  

December 5: Athens Christmas Parade

Today I had a phone interview for a faculty position at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX.  The position would involved teaching (and research) in their master's program.  Phone interviews are always awkward (and it was my first for a faculty position)...especially when they start by asking you if they can record it.  What?! Yikes?! Ummm, okay.  Here are my notes, curriculum vita (CV), and cover letter.  Having notes helps me feel like I'm prepared...although can you ever really be?! 

Tonight we also had our annual UGAspa (masters & phd) holiday potluck dinner followed by the Athens parade.  Here are some pictures from the parade and some highlights of the event.

Yep, those are storm troopers.

Yep, and a REAL camel.

Tiphaine and I...and last but not least, Santa.

November 16: ASHE dash & City Tour

The weather on Saturday was suppose to be in the 30s and raining.  Fortunatley, it was absolutely beautiful weather for a 5k run.  The route took us around downtown St. Louis to many of the historic views including the arch, the courthouse, and Busch stadium.  The run was cut a cit short because another run with over 3,000 women scheduled.  Anyway, it was fun to get out and see some of the city.  Moreover, it was a great chance to run with people I didn't know, talk about my research, and meet new people.  I spent most of the time talking/running with a woman, Megan, from a small college nearby.  As you know, I don't particularly love running, but the ASHE dash (or walk) is a wonderful opportunity to connect with people I probably wouldn't have otherwise met at the conference.

That afternoon I went to my second most favorite session and heard the most fantastic discussant.  Dr. Dafina Lazarus Stewart…oh she.is.phenomenal. I was so so so impressed by her feedback for both the audience and the authors.  

Later that afternoon Kristin and I explored parts of St. Louis.

We also went on the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour.

That night a group of us went out to dinner and then Kristin, Dallin, and I went to the City Museum.  It was incredible.  It's a museum made out of recycled stuff and has TONS of slides … for adults.  It's like a giant jungle gym for big kids.  Below is the best picture I could get of one, yes ONE of the play areas.  I climbed up the silver spiral piping on the left, through the whale, and came out on the 2nd story.  It was fun and if I'm ever back in St. Louis, I'd like to explore it more (when it's not raining outside…because they have a ton of slides and things to climb on out there too!).

That's a 10 story slide that goes from the roof to the caves below! So fun!

Post Prelims

Well, I realize I've been m.i.a. from the blog world...let's be honest, m.i.a. from much of the real world as well the last month.

The Olympics happened, right?!

But what have I been doing? Well, one word...studying.  On August 1st, I started my preliminary examinations.  These are essentially the comprehensive exams over a four day period.  The first, second, and third days you meet in a computer lab, receive a question, and have four hours to answer it. Then on day three, you are also given a take home question that is specifically written for you, you have twenty-four hours to read/write/submit your case.

On August 4th at 1pm, I submitted my case study.  And now, I wait.

In the midst of waiting, I started classes yesterday and I am working on the introduction, literature review, and methodology chapters for my dissertation.

I should find out at the beginning of September if I passed my written prelims at which point I'd schedule an oral defense.  So for now, I wait, and work, and go to class, and write.  This is a big step in the journey and I'm grateful to have it behind me (and I'll be even more grateful when I find out that I've passed).

Happy New Year! (yes, I measure my year's by the academic calendar)

Firsts!

This trip is full of firsts (and will continue to be)!  First...the internet here can create a challenge in blogging.  However, my hope is to blog twice a week about my experiences.  Since it is late (and I am still finishing up some things for class tomorrow...yikes), I am going to keep this short.  Here are a few pictures thus far.  

After leaving Atlanta on Friday, spending 12 hours in Frankfurt airport on Saturday, Johannesburg on Sunday into Cape Town, it's been a whirlwind.  My traveling companions (Christina (who is also my roommate here) and Chase (who I'm partnered with for the trip)) had a lot of memory making opportunities on the trip.  I will share the longer story later.  For now here is a picture of us. 

Along with never leaving the North American continent (first first), I had never flown in a double decker plane.  I was intrigued (and it was super nice)!

While on our 12 hour layover in Frankfurt Germany, we treated ourselved to Haagen Dazs (sp?).  I mean, you can't be in Germany and not have Haagen Dazs icecream right?! ;)

But seriously, it was quite the adventure getting here, but we all made it.  And the long days and amazing adventures have begun.  Well, that's it for now.  I'm pooped and I have got to get to bed.

Ohhh, did I mention our hotel is right on the beach of the Atlantic ocean?!  Oh, it is.  I'll post a picture of the amazing sunsets sometime!  Breathtaking!

Don't Buy Flight Insurance

Unless...you plan to book your ticket to Texas for a weekend you have to be in Georgia. Then by all means, purchase the flight insurance.

I made a blunder and purchased my ticket for a time when I have to be at training for my trip to South Africa.  It's a bummer, mainly because I had to pay a change fee (did you know they charge $150 to change a flight?!)...and it means I won't be seeing my Tehas friends for a little longer.

Anyway, I will now be visiting Texas at the end of April.  It may actually work out better, because I'll be done with most of my semester, so I can truly enjoy the time...without distractions.

Quick Update & Prayer Request

On Tuesday, I went to the doctor to have the MRI read.  To my surprise, the MRI revealed a cyst.  It's pretty amazing they found the cyst before it began causing me any pain (it's about 2.3 inches around) and a little shocking.  From there the doctors worked with me to scheduled ultrasounds and other appoitments to determine additional information.  After meeting with the obgyn, and after having the radiologist read the ultrasounds, they recommended I see a surgeon to have the cyst removed. 

Again, a bit of a shock.

But since Tuesday, I've had lots of people praying and I've had peace.  The doctors are pretty confident it's benign, although it is an unusual type of cyst.  I have an appointment scheduled for the 30th with a surgeon.  Depending on the type of surgery it's a 2-4 week recovery.  It's very inconvinient, but what a blessing that it was found before it caused pain or worse...burst. 

Please pray for my appointment on the 30th, that the less invasive procedure is an option or surgery, that it can be done quickly (as the semester will get more complicated), and that God will use this to bring him glory in some way. 

There are so many ways I've seen God go ahead of me in this situation already.  This is no surprise to Him even if it was to me!

MRI

Back in October, my mom came to visit.  On a three hour car ride, I noticed my bum began hurting.  Figuring it was probably just from spending too much time in the car I paid little attention.  As the month went on, and the pain continued, I scheduled an appointment with the doctor.  The woman said there wasn't much they could do and sent me home with some drugs.

Skip forward to June when my bum was still hurting.  Yeah, pain in the butt...literally.

So my new doctor at the University Health Center (Joy Ford...who is awesome!) recommended I see a specialist.  Of course, nothing is just that easy...right?!  Unfortunately, Joy recommended I see a specific doctor and the administrative woman made the appointment...with the WRONG doctor.  But I didn't realize that, until I was back in Joy's office for a torn ligament in my toe.  Yes friends, I tore a ligament in my toe by tripping on my pajama bottoms.  But that's another story.  Back to the bum.  After seeing the wrong doctor (a physical therapist), Joy set up an appointment for me with Dr. Doerr, a back, spine, and neck specialist.  

I saw him a couple weeks ago.  He is...quirky, but thorough.  After looking at the xrays, he decided we needed more information.  The exam revealed my tailbone is sensitive, and the xrays show my lowest disk may be smaller than should be.  Either may be causing my pain, thus he scheduled me for a pelvic MRI.  Its kind of like a buy one MRI get one free...we'll get more detailed pictures of both my lowest disk and my tailbone.

So the MRI.

I have had lots of friends who've had MRI's before and everything they told me was...not like my experience.  They took me to a private dressing area and handed me a set of scrubs (much nicer than the hospital gown).  Additionally, I was allowed to keep on any clothing that didn't have metal.  Honestly, getting my cartilage piercing out may have been the worst part of the whole thing.  :)  That or just trying to remain still through the loud clicking and beeping.  But really, they did everything to make the experience comfortable.  They allowed me to keep all my things in the room (locked with my own key), gave me ear plugs, offered me a blanket, gave me a pillow for under my head and knees...during one of the tests, the sound was kind of white noise like...and I could have probably gone to sleep if that test hadn't been one of the shortest.

The whole thing lasted about 45 minutes and I'll go back to Dr. Doerr next week to have the MRI read and discuss options.

Until the next update.

Weeks of Whirlwinds

It's crazy to think that two weeks ago tomorrow (Friday) my sister flew into Austin to begin the adventure to Georgia.

I went down to Austin a little before her plane was to arrive in order to meet up with Trey (former colleague) and Dave (former supervisor). It was great to visit with them and I can't wait to fly into Austin for my Waco visit and (hopefully) get to see them.

There isn't a trip planned yet, but probably sometime this semester.

Anyway...after visiting with the two of them and finding out my sister wasn't going to get in until later than expected, I headed to my favorite coffee shop. A few hours later, we were headed back to Waco.

Saturday we hung around the house during the day and went tortilla tossing that evening; yes it's true, I had not yet been tortilla tossing (final thing to check off the list)

I had mixed feelings about tortilla tossing. 1. it's a tradition, so you must do it. 2. it's a waste of food. 3. the ducks will at least benefit. 4. it's a tradition, right?!

Anyway, my feelings of my own wastefulness (and our bag of 10) were soon out-shadowed by a group of 10 young women. They each came out with a bag of 50 (one or two each). This was the display from their tortilla tossing experience, and by the time I snapped this, there were already an equal number in the water on the other side of the bridge.

Sunday we went to church, then met up with Sarah for some cafe cappuccino action. Sarah had already met my sister when Sarah and I made a trip down to Portland after NASPA last year :)

My sister is a tea snob. She LOVES tea, and well...they gave her a gallon of it at cafe cap! None of us had seen it come in this fashion before.

Sunday afternoon we went to the pool. It was a wonderfully relaxing time! My sister hadn't seen the sun in ages (as she's from the pacific northwest).

Sunday night we met up with Megan for some dinner and dessert. We went to a few places looking for starbucks ice cream...no luck. But we did find some fantastic alternatives.

Monday, we packed the uhaul with the help of some peeps (Thank you Tim, David, and Megan; we couldn't have done it without you!). Then off to the airport to pick up my dad.

Side note: I have been so blessed during this move. Many people have helped in some way or fashion. For example, I had TWO people offer me their cars to tow the uhaul. Since one car already had a tow-hitch, it was the winner of the trip to GA. Thank you Shelton! That alone saved me about $800. Again, amazing. God provides in big and small ways!

Monday night we had dinner at my favorite Mexican food place, altos de jalisco and coffee at CG. This was a wonderful time for my family to interact a few of my friends...and for me to say goodbyes.

Thus far everything seems to be going as planned.

But what's a move without some drama, right?!

Well, Monday night, we go to hitch everything back up and notice that the running lights on the uhaul aren't working. Great. So I call the uhaul emergency number and they send someone out. It was actually pretty quick, however, at almost 10pm when you have to be on the road by 4am, nothing is ever 'that quick'. At a little after midnight, the uhaul mechanic had gone through a few cigarettes, a trip to Wal-Mart for a tool, had redone the wiring, and finally had the running lights working.

We were off to take naps (as you can't truly constitute a few hours of sleep as anything more) for the 3am wake up. We were up at 3ish and packing the final items by 3:45. At 4:30am, we were pulling out of the parking lot.

But again, things can't be that easy. As I drove out of the lot, there was a sound.

Oh it was a bad sound. Like metal on metal.

Thinking it was the uhaul again, I began to mentally curse the uhaul shop that rented me this POJ (piece of junk). As we pulled into the gas station, my dad decided to run alongside the uhaul and listen for the noise.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the uhaul but rather the vehicle. Knowing that Shelton had recently replaced his front breaks, and not knowing what was wrong, we headed to his house to see if we could figure out what was wrong.

So at almost 5am, we were knocking on his door.

After a few trips around the block with the uhaul, it was certain it was the back passenger side and that something was rubbing. They (my dad and Shelton) unhitched the uhaul and raised the vehicle to look at the back breaks. After comparing both sides they realized that whoever did the breaks last (prior to Shelton owning the car) had not replaced the bolt that held the caliber in place, thus when I stepped on the breaks (with all the extra tow weight) the caliber would get thrown forward and rub against the inside rim.

Wow.

Easy fix, right? Just go get another bolt.

So we hung around until 7:30 when auto places opened. Had some breakfast, and waited more. At 7:25, they headed off to get the bolt. At 8, they were back, but unfortunately, with the wrong bolt. So they were off, again. At 9:30, I called my dad to see what was taking so long. Apparently, neither auto place had the right bolt, they tried an auto pull place with no luck, the chevy dealership could get the part in 4 days, so headed back to the auto place to get the most similar size bolt. Nervous.

But it worked, and at 10:30am, we were on the road and headed for Georgia. Only a six hour (ish) delay.

Tuesday we drove to Moody, AL and arrived in Georgia on Wednesday around lunch. WOOHOO!

All in all, once we were on the road, we had no hiccups. And besides, what's a good moving story without some drama. Ha.

More updates to come!

Packing (stage I)

Well, it's begun. In July I will transition to Georgia to begin my PhD (stage III (ish)). But for now I begin stage I, packing to move to my temporary Baylor apartment. On May 16th I will be moving I to a temp spot until I leave in July. This is necessary in order to start construction for the new faculty in residence apartment and other renovations. So why am I starting to pak already, you might be asking?! Here is a run down of events leading up to the end of the school year.

May 11th: end of year celebration that my committee has programmed
May 12th: building closes at 6pm for student not graduating
May 13th-16th: perform end of year closedown responsibilities
May 16th: move with assistance from Baylor movers hopefully :) and
make sure all closedown items are done!
May 17th: leave for Cabo!

And no I'm no joking about Cabo. :) it's going to be great. However,
there are so many things o do in closing down a building AND
additional things to do because of the construction that I'd like to
have all my personal packing done by May 10th.

Anyway...here's a picture from the beginnings of stage I.

Black Friday

Last year I experienced my first black Friday and to tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed. There were no crazy lines (practically no lines at all). No rushing, pushing, or anything of the sort. Realizing the economy probably played a large part in last years' uneventful Black Friday, I didn't have much hope of seeing any craziness this year. Lisa, Ryn, and I left Baylor at 4:30am in hopes of seeing some of Waco's crazies (those who got in line at 2am or earlier for some prized item). Well...when we arrived at Target 10 minutes before the doors opened at 5am, my dreams became reality. There was a line from one door, down the side, around the corner, and back to the door. Crazy. I got out of the car to take a picture then back to the car to wait until the doors opened.

Target was a zoo. After searching for a variety of Christmas gifts, we headed to the line. Getting into the line that fed into the lanes we waited patiently for our turn. Only an hour later, we found we were standing in line for isle 17. Yep, other people decided to form their own lines, but us rule followers stayed in the intended line (don't worry, I'm not bitter) :).

From there we hit a couple other stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohls (with a stop for Panera breakfast in between). It was a fun experience with some great company (I'm not interested in doing black Friday without fun friends to withstand the lines with!) and I was definitely able to see some crazies! :)