:: eye of the storm ::


About Me

A 27-year-old PA student who wants to visit all seven continents, write a book, work at a pediatric clinic in Africa, and basically meet as many of the world's challenges as possible.

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current mood:
current mood

Life List

(already accomplished)

Become a PA

Visit all 7 continents

Take a SwimTrek trip

Bike through Western Europe

Raft the Grand Canyon

Improve my Spanish proficiency

Go on safari in Africa

Trace my roots at Ellis Island

Vacation in Hawaii

Work on a hospital ship in a Third World country

Celebrate New Year's in Times Square

Visit all 50 states (29 to go: AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, RI, SD, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY)

See the ruins at Pompeii

Swim in Capri's Blue Grotto

Tour Mt. Vesuvius

Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain

Tour the Colosseum

Visit the D-Day beaches

See the Mona Lisa

Visit the palace at Versailles

See the Acropolis and Parthenon

See the Egyptian pyramids

Hike the Inca Trail

Walk El Camino Santiago

Take an Alaskan cruise

View the Taj Mahal at sunrise

Hike Table Mountain in South Africa

Climb through the Amazon canopy

Walk at least part of the Great Wall of China

Get laser hair removal

Learn to surf, ski, and snowboard

Learn to drive a stick-shift

Learn to play the piano

Go on a tropical cruise

Ride horseback on the beach

Ride in a hot air balloon

Get tickets to the Olympics

Go to adult Space Camp

Witness a shuttle launch from up close

Build a full-sized snowman

Sew a quilt out of my old race T-shirts

Update and continue my Life Scrapbook

Become the oldest person to ever do the River Run

Live to be a happy, healthy 100 years old - at least!

(unlikely dreams)

zaterdag 26 september 2009

So my weekend kicked off with some Car Drama -- I walked out of the house yesterday morning to a dead battery, which is a first in my ten-plus years of driving. I had a minor heart attack for a little while, then calmed down when I realized it was probably "just" the battery and could be resolved relatively easily. Terry, one of L's and my "surrogate dads", came over, assessed the situation, gave me a jump, and followed me to the Advanced Auto so that I could get a new battery. (The man should qualify for sainthood -- he lives in Pittsboro and drove all the way to Raleigh just to help me out. I've got to remember to inscribe his name on a plaque or something!) Ninety bucks later, it was installed and working perfectly. Exhale.

It might have been a blessing in disguise, actually, since L was about to take my car (since it's supposedly the more reliable one... ha) to Tennessee to visit an old friend. So the drama was actually right on time, since if the car had to die, I'm definitely glad it croaked right here in the parking lot on a weekday when I didn't have to go to work and had the time to take care of it, rather than in Tennessee on a Sunday with L by herself with no one to call on. That would have sucked.

The other 'blessing' part of that situation is that it led to me finally get off my butt and get the rotors/calipers/brakes fixed; for a long time now, the car has been vibrating heavily every time I brake, and I haven't had the money or time to get it assessed since I knew it was probably just the rotors. When I called my parents to tell them about the battery, we talked about the rotors and they offered to pay for that repair too (I have had so many wonderful adults stepping up to the plate in my life this weekend!), and I decided I'd rather (a) give L the safest possible car to go drive through the mountains in, and (b) use the 'in for a penny, in for a pound' mentality and just get all the car stuff done in one day. So off I went to my regular mechanic. Which involved driving to Chapel Hill on my day off, but what the heck. They squeezed me in at 2:30 like the wonderful people they are, and by five o'clock I had a car with fresh oil, rotated and balanced tires, and brakes that work like butter. And, of course, a new battery. The car feels like new! :)

Anyway, Car Drama aside, I've been pretty productive over the past 48 hours... did my long run for the week, did my grocery shopping, used a coupon and got some free photos printed at Target, requested yet another official copy of each of my transcripts for my Duke interview (oh! yeah! I got an interview at Duke! November 12th), did the laundry, bought a couple of new Kindle books, cleaned the apartment, and spent over two hours buying and investigating the online materials I need for my organic chem class (which starts on Monday... ugh). I even found the time to start plowing my way through the DVDs of the first season of Gilmore Girls. I copied them from my aunt once upon a time and never really watched them all the way through, and since the third season is high up on my Christmas list this year (because it seems like most of my favorite episodes fall in that season), I figured I should start catching up.

On tap for the coming days: work next weekend (I've been a deadbeat when it comes to picking up weekend shifts because we've been out of town so much lately; I need to start pulling my weight again), enjoying all this new TV we're finally getting (Grey's Anatomy! Biggest Loser! Brothers & Sisters! Flash Forward!...) and going to see Whip It when it comes out. For those who haven't heard, Whip It is a new movie with Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore, centering around roller derby... and Oh. My. God. I haven't even seen the movie yet, and I'm already oddly hooked on wanting to try the sport. For some reason, I just feel like I would be so good at it! Not to mention, having permission to knock people over would be awesome. *grin*

Actually, the Carolina Rollergirls are having open tryouts on the 10th (yes, I've looked, and yes, I seriously deliberated whether or not to go for it), and they have their matches ("bouts") right around the corner from our apartment... but I decided against it in the end due to (a) the amount of gear I'd need just to try out (pads, etc.), (b) the need for attending a few of the open practices before tryouts (since I haven't been on skates in several years), (c) the level of the skills they ask you to demonstrate at tryouts (most of which would be okay -- timed sprints, gliding squats, strength testing, etc. -- but some of which, like jump turns, would be a little intimidating), and (d) the biggest reason... the time commitment if I actually made the team. There would be practices 2-3 times a week and bouts on the weekends. If I were "just" a regular 40-hour-a-week worker without much else in my life -- without my sights on PA school, without juggling online classes and everything else that I have going on, then I might think about it more seriously... because part of me is really sad that I won't even be trying out and getting a taste of it... but given my current life situation, I just don't see it happening. :(

Think that's all for now.

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