House Buying and Dating: A Comparison

I've started the search for a house of my own. An interesting process and one that has me thinking quite a bit. I'm totally excited to have my own place, but will admit it's something I never thought I'd be doing alone. The process is strangely similar to dating . . .

This one's too small.
This one needs too much work.
This one's is too cheap.
This one's yard is unkept.
This one has a leaky basement.
This one has an odd smell.
This one is on the verge of falling apart.
This one's just plain ugly.
This one lacks charm.

Oh, I do wish my dreams of the right house and the right man would fall nicely into place. But until they do, I keep living my life. What else is a girl to do?

Reach the Beach

I'm very happy to report that I reached the beach today. What, you ask, does this mean? Let me tell you. Reach the Beach is a benefit bicycle ride for the American Lung Association. You can chose a couple different routes, all of which end at Pacific City on the coast. I chose the 26 mile route. I'd previously only gone up to 15 miles on my bike, so 26 seemed like a worthy goal.

The ride was amazing. At no point did I regret my decision. In fact, I'm quite sure I could have gone further. I felt amazing!

The race ended at the Pacific Ocean on a beautiful and clear 75 degree day. Thousands of bikes and tons of smiles . . the biggest one being mine.

Tornado Watch

Only I would end up leaving the beautiful Portland weather this week for a trip to Cincinnati . . where there is currently a tornado watch in effect! A tornado watch?! WTF? Snow expected tomorrow. Sunny and 70 in Portland, though. Grrrr!

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

I couldn't help myself and decided to write one of those "25 Random Things About Myself" documents. Haven't quite felt ready to put it out there to all 117 Facebook friends, so for now, it's going here:

25 Random things.

I am known for NEVER filling out things like this, so pretty darn random that I’m even doing this.

Despite having an MIS degree, I am fairly ignorant when it comes to anything too technical. I know just enough to get me into trouble.

I go stir crazy if I don’t get out of town at least once a month. On the flip side, I go just as crazy if I don’t have some down time by myself at home.

My favorite thing in the whole wide world is walking into my brother’s house and having my nephews run up to greet me. Pure joy. Pure love.

I have traveled to England, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, and many cities across the U.S. I have dreams of continuing to add to that list and Alaska and Argentina are currently at the top.

Whenever I’ve traveled to Mexico and I tell a local my name is Kris, they immediately repeat back that my name is Kristina. I don’t like being called Kristina, mostly because it’s not my name. I think this stems from years of teachers mispronouncing my full name off the class roster. I mean, if your name is Sue and someone calls you Betty, are you going to enjoy that? I don’t think so . . . unless you’ve always liked the name Betty.

I am funny.

My cheeks get red when I drink and I get chatty. It’s at this point that my friends usually pour me another drink. This only adds to #8 above. Or at least in my mind it does.

My mom used to sew and would make me and my dolls matching outfits.

I’m artsy. I can spend hours in a craft store.

I LOVE random nights. Those times when you go out with no plans and end up having the best time in the world.

I enjoy washing dishes. After Thanksgiving dinner, for example, I love to clear the table and get everything clean again. My family loves this as well.

I was voted “nicest” in high school. Ahhh, shucks. Just proves they didn’t know me very well! J

I grew up on a farm with sheep, goats, geese, and chickens. Which reminds me, I hate birds. I hated gathering the chicken eggs when the hens were sitting on them and usually cried until my little brother did it for me.

Speaking of goats, I remember we once got a new billy goat and he was mean. My older brother locked me into the back yard with the new billy and laughed his ass off while the goat chased me around. I still to this day do not think it was funny.

I nearly drowned while white water rafting in Costa Rica over 14 years ago and still get a little uneasy when I hear rapids.

I used to have allergies, but now I don’t. Except when I go home to see my parents. Hence the idea that I’m simply allergic to my parents.

I took piano lessons for many, many years. However, I’m now so out of practice that I find it hard to even play the beginner songs my nephews are learning. I plan to one day have a place to put my parents’ piano and learn how to play again.

I want a dog.

One of the happiest days of my life was completing my triathlon. It represented a lot of work, both physically and emotionally.

I can rarely finish a full can of soda. My mom laughs at me when I come home to visit because she finds half full cans sitting around. I don’t really enjoy the fizz, but sometimes the idea of a nice, cold soda just sounds good.

I think every once in a while, it’s a good idea to just let your hair down and party like a rock star.

I consistently fall asleep during the last 10 minutes of a rented movie. This is why when people ask me if I’ve seen a certain movie, I often reply, “Yes, but I don’t remember how it ended.”

I’m happy and believe life will continue to point me in the direction I’m meant to travel. I think I live a damn fortunate life and try to remember to be grateful for it every day.

Vision Board

I spent last Sunday morning putting together my vision board for the year. A vision board, if you aren't already familiar with the concept, is a mix of pictures and words that call attention to your desires for the year ahead. Mine is full of the usual suspects -- eating healthy, exercising, finding Mr. Right. I also put information on there about Reach the Beach (a biking trip) and Round the Mountain (a three day trek around Mt. Hood). Nowhere on there, however, did I put a trip to the Emergency Room.

I tweaked my back and as Sunday morning turned into evening, I could tell things were reaching the "bad pain" point. I crawled into bed hoping I would sleep it off. Around 1:00 a.m., I woke up needing to use the bathroom. A typically easy task took forever. Move an inch, scream, breath, move an inch, scream, breath, move an inch, scream, breath . . Only by sheer willpower did I crawl to the toilet.

As I was doing my business, I started to feel very faint and naseaus from my back pain. I had visions of me, basically unable to move, vomiting, and then passing out and falling off the toilet seat. As this vision was none too appealing, I screwed my head back on straight and told myself to Able Cable things back together. Thankfully, I succeeded.

After what seemed like 30 minutes later, I made it the few feet over to where my cell phone was. Thankfully, my neighbor was up and thankfully, I had provided him with a spare key to my place only days earlier. Devine foresight, perhaps? He took me to the ER and after 5 uncomfortable hours of waiting, I finally got pumped full of drugs.

I took two days off from work and let the narcotics do their thing. I'm happily up and walking again! I had to move my trip to Cabo off for a few weeks, but hard to dance and drink when you're back is out. Now I'm on the road to recovery.

Reach the Beach and Round the Mountain, here I come!

I am a Winner

I just got back from a quick 2-night trip to Vegas. I didn't win financially, but as I reflect on 2008, I think I'm a really big winner. :) Happy 2009!

Excitement

I'm not meaning to neglect my blog, but there really hasn't been anything blog-worthy over the last few months. The most exciting thing lately is the new Safeway that went in down the street. And my guess is that writing about saving 10% on all my purchases there until January 14th won't exactly make front page news.

Not to worry, though, I've dredged up a story that happened about four months ago that still has me laughing. Even though it's now old news, I thought you all would enjoy.

I had my first phone conversation with a new boy. He works for Intel and was living in the Bay Area, but transfering to Portland within a few weeks. Employed, intelligent, 35 years old, and the conversation was flowing fine. Except for a few weird pieces:

I asked him if he was renting a moving van. Nope, he was going to fit all his stuff into his car. OK, that seemed odd, but maybe he sold all his furniture and was just moving the necessities.

He mentioned that he'd need to learn how to cook. That, too, seemed a little odd, but he'd also mentioned how much he was going to miss his favorite restaurants, so maybe he didn't cook and just did takeout. I let it pass.

What I didn't let pass though, was the final comment that ended our conversation. "Sorry, gotta go. Mom's calling me to dinner."

Old vs. Young

I went from feeling young down to feeling like an old fart . . . all in one weekend. Let me explain.

I was in L.A. visiting Grandma. We were hanging out by her pool when the pool man came over to clean it. He couldn't have been more than 5-10 years older than me. We chatted and he asked, "So, what school do you go to?" YES! He thinks I'm still in college! Totally flattering.

Later that day, my aunt and uncle picked me up in the van they'd rented for the evening. It was one of my cousin's 14th birthday party. She, along with my 17 year old cousin, invited some friends to go to Fright Night down at Universal Studios. Nothing makes you feel older than stepping into a van with 9 teenagers. They were all screaming and texting the whole ride downtown. Just to feel a little younger, I decided I'd better start texting, too. I'm hip, I'm with it. I sent one to my mom, which I'm pretty sure un-did any coolness I may have gained.

Emergency Room?

So I almost drove myself to the ER yesterday. I came to this possibility after using the bathroom and saw that things weren't looking quite normal. Then I did what the Tylenol commercials suggest: Stop. Think. . . . What did I eat today? Ahhhh . . . beets! Nice RED beets.

Goings On

Tidbits of info about my life:

• Cupping. Ever heard of it? I hope for your sake you haven't. I have had shoulder pain for years and finally decided to try acupuncture. The needle part was fine; the cupping part not so much. The therapist took regular glass cups and lit a match under them. After blowing out the match, she quickly placed each of the four cups onto my upper back. My precious skin then got suctioned up into the cup, thereby creating a HUGE ASS HICKEY. Yes, that's right. I have huge ass hickeys all over my upper back. Deep purple circles of fun. And my shoulder pain? Still there. Now it just has some circular friends to keep it company.

• I had to call Comcast today. The guy pulled up my contact info and nearly fell out of his chair with laughter about my name. Glad I could provide him with entertainment.

• I left a voicemail for an OB/GYN candidate today. Her name? Dr. Bush. Yeah, try not laughing while you leave that message!

Taking the Spa Home with You

On the last day at the ranch, they gave a talk about how you can continue the spa experience from home. The talk was interesting and practical. But how long did I continue to feel relaxed, you ask? I did my best, but by the time I got to the airport and found out my flight was delayed, the spa feelings were all gone. :(

People keep assuming my trip involved alcohol and wild and crazy nights. Not this time, my friends! This trip was for well-being. Alcohol, despite what I'd like to think, does not contribute to my well-being . . . But I don't want you all thinking that my Mexican adventures didn't include at least a little fun:

Topless sunbathing. This was my first time doing it, and I must say, it's very freeing! I played it safe and the girls didn't get burned, thank goodness! :)

Strip tease workout: You've heard of this? There's another variation that involves a pole, but we used a chair instead. Sooooo funny! We were all giggles.

Hmmmm . . . so here I am tan all over with new striper moves, yet single as can be. The cruel irony of it all! :-D

The Age to Be is Thirty-Three

Doesn't it seem like just yesterday I was doing a post on turning 32? Yikes!

Kinda hard to describe what I've been up to this week. I'm down in Mexico at a spa/ranch. It's amazing! It has been great to spend some time in the sun (I even went topless!), to meet some wonderful new friends, and to get some amazing workouts in. I've taken pictures, so come find me next week and I'll show you with photos what is difficult to describe in words.

Thirty-three is off to a great start!

Can this Week go any Slower?

Destination: Mexico.
Weather forecast: Sunny and 85 with low humidity

Need I say more?

I leave on Saturday, which feels like forever and a day away. I'm tired of wearing sweaters into work. I'm ready to have nice brown skin again. I can't wait to get some good solid R & R.

Is it really only Tuesday?

Sweat

My co-worker and I had a fun time at SeaWorld last night. It was an event for the conference attendees, so we thought it'd be a good networking event. I only have one thing to say: Free Alcohol.

Yes, friends, this means my two month alcohol hiatus is complete. :) I will continue to be seriously cutting back, but as long as the drinks are poured for free, count me in. :) So . . . anyone who knows me knows that nauseous is my middle name. I think I'm sick to my stomach more often than not. Therefore, I tend to avoid roller coaster rides. Until last night.

With a few drinks in me, I suddenly found myself in line to ride a coaster. Oh dear. But I was feeling pretty brave and decided that it was something I should do. So I did. I screamed like a baby the whole time! I screamed out all my recent frustrations. I just screamed and screamed and screamed. And when we finally got back to safety, I laughed. I laughed so hard that I could barely stop. And then? I started sweating. A cold sweat. Thankfully, I pulled myself together and there was no vomit incident.

In order to keep the sweating going, but in a more fun manner, we danced the rest of the night away. I had so much fun trying to keep up with a physician from Chile. That man could dance! By the time all was said and done, my hair was was totally wet, but I was still laughing. :)

Male Sling

I always learn something new at these conferences. At the urology conference in San Diego, it was the vacuum pump. At the neurosurgery conference in Chicago, it was all about watching the brain surgery video over and over again. At this urology conference in Orlando, it's all about the male sling.

All day yesterday, I saw the signs at the booth directly across from me stating they were promoting their male slings. I kept wondering what the heck that meant. They couldn't get their video to work yesterday, but it is working today and the education of Able Cable continues. Today I get to watch a video loop showing them cuting into the area beneath the scrotum and inserting a mesh sling. They then put two hooks through the poor man's inner thighs and pull the ends of the sling through his thighs. The sling holds the uretha up, thereby helping with urinary incontinence. Eventually, the muscles grows over the mesh and the problem should be solved. Totally weird seeing a video of a man spread eagle all day long!

Ah, such is my life . . .

Orlando

No, not the hot young cabana boy, but the city down in Florida. Alas. Could really use a hot young cabana boy right about now . . .

I flew in today (and boy are my arms tired) and am excited to have a free day tomorrow before the Urology conference starts on Saturday. It should be sunny and this hotel has multiple pools, including a lap pool. This means I can get some much needed sun and can also get some much needed physicial activity.

I'm still working on a joke and maybe someone out there can finally help me put it together. So I was in Chicago a few weeks ago for a Neurosurgeon conference and am now in Orlando for a Urology conference. The joke has something to do with the fact that those two specialties are really operating on the same body part -- brain vs. penis vs. brain. Get it? It's funny. OK, it's funny to me and quite possibly only me. But it's not formulated quite right. A writer for David Letterman I shall never be.

For the Record, I am Referring to the Animal, not the Body Part

I frequently have dreams about people breaking into my apartment at night. Well, as a noise woke me up this morning, there actually WAS someone in my apartment! OK, sort of . . .

I had to lay there for a minute to make sure it wasn't just a dream. It wasn't, so I got up and decided to look around. As soon as I got up, the noise stopped. I figured the noise must be outside, so went back to bed. A few minutes later, the noise starts up again. Hmmmmm.

I head out to the couch as that's where the sound appears to be coming from. I lay there for a few minutes and it starts up again. In my ceiling! A noise so loud that I expect the beast is 90 lbs with huge teeth and claws and is going to burrow its way through my ceiling! OK, a tad dramatic of me, but you get the idea.

This would explain why I kept dreaming about beavers last night. . .

If Coughing were Sexy

I'd be a Pussycat Doll. Meow!

Sucks to be in Chicago and be sick. I was sure I had the flu as I went to bed Sunday night -- achy muscles, chills, headache. Luckily, I woke up feeling better, but still sick. I'm pretty sure I kept my neighbors up last night as I hacked up a lung.

The Neurosurgeon conference is going OK. Not enough candidate flow, but I'm trying to talk to whomever comes within my reaches. Mostly I just cough on them as I can barely talk.

The booth across the isle keeps replaying a video of a brain surgery. I'm pretty sure I could remove a tumor now. Scrape here, cut there, out comes the tumor!

As we are pretty bored in our little booth, I had the great idea to bring my laptop in today. It's been nice to catch up on e-mails, surf the web, and just have something to do. I leave for home tomorrow and am anxious to sleep in my own bed again.

More travel

Ak! Busy life over these next few months with three, week-long trips! Off to Chicago on Saturday for a neurosurgery conference, Orlando a few weeks later for a urology conference, and then trip for myself down to Mexico for my birthday in June. Neurosurgeons, as a group, are a rather stuffy bunch, so I don't expect them to be much fun. But Urologists are pretty funny! I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of educational toys they have at the conference this time! Weather forecast for Chicago: rain and snow mix. Haven't I had enough of that lately?!!

I just stumbled upon a blog (www.joyunexpected.com) and the author of it found out three months ago that she has a thyroid problem. As I read it, her words remind me so much of all the same issues I was having -- hair falling out, heart palpatations, gross weight gain, skin problems, and just that overall tired feeling. It's almost like I wrote her blog. I so want to reach out to her and tell her it really does get better! It brought back a lot of feelings I'd been struggling with only a few short years ago . . . and still do. I don't think I'll ever have the same level of energy I used to, I think I've tried every hair volumizing product available, I still feel my heart skip a beat every once in a while, and I swear I can't regulate my body temperature half the time! And don't even talk to me about the struggle just to maintain my weight! OK, maybe I shouldn't tell her _everything_ will be better . . . but it will become more manageable.

Alcohol

We can now add alcohol to the list of foods I have given up. Yes, you heard me correctly.

I've been having an allergic reaction to it for the last couple of years and am tired of it. Trust me, I've tried all different kinds and it appears that no matter the variety, I still react. I came to the conclusion that my body must be trying to tell me something . . . although I was probably too drunk at the time to listen . . . Ha!

Now that I've been alcohol-free for about a month, it makes me realize just how many times a week I was downing a drink . . . or two. I have a pretty social life and alcohol seems to be a part of every activity. I got a pedicure yesterday with my future sister-in-law, which would seem at face value to be an alcohol free event. It wasn't. They serve alcohol while you get your toes worked on. I was visiting my parents last weekend and mom kept offering me wine (she knows I'm more apt to share personal information if I have a drink or two in me). I think she was bummed when I turned her down as it drastically cut down on the opportunities for her to criticize my dating life! A Ladies Wine Night here, a Happy Hour there . . . it all really adds up.

I don't particularly miss the stuff, although do get a craving every once in a while. I'm not sure I'm going to permanently give it up, but for now, I'm on the wagon.

Plus, this affords me more chocolate calories to make up for the now absent alcohol calories!