First shot at swimming

Since the new athletic center opened up at Macalester, Chris has gone swimming there a couple of times and he has asked if I wanted to join as well. I haven't been there yet, but I'm guessing that the facility is similar to the one that Scholastica finished my senior year and that was pretty darn nice. So I now have a membership. One of the activities I want to do is swimming, but I don't know how to do it properly (the swimming lessons as a kid only had me do this once).

So what am I talking about? I'm talking about being able to swim like triathletes do, like the swimmers in the Olymics do (but much slower and less powerful). I want good technique that will give me a good workout. I asked Kim a.k.a. Ironman if she would teach me. Today she taught me some basics. I feel like I made some good progress though in that Kim taught me some good drills to practice technique.

I shockingly found out that I can't handle having my nose underwater without pinching it closed. I've had this problem for a while. To remedy this, I am going to get one of those nerdy nose clips. Hopefully the nose clip will help me feel more comfortable and not like I'm going to suck in a ton of water and maybe then I will feel comfortable enough to try breathing out underwater.

Michelle, Guidance Counselor

I was contacted last week by a current student from St. Scholastica about my career as a financial analyst. He is very interested in working in the public sector and wanted to know more about what I do. It was very fun to talk to him and tell him about my job and about the key skills you need and about the various projects I work on, and about my educational path and what courses really helped me. It was great to here how enthusiastic he was about the things I was saying and it made me feel good to put him at ease a bit about not having to know everything when you come into the job; you learn as you go.

It amazing how easy it is to talk about a job you really like. I love the variety in the work that I do. Even though I may complain about it from time to time, I really do like my job and I'm so glad that everything worked out the way it did (meaning I'm grateful I got the internship and later the job!).

Carl

Our friends James and Autumn are heading out of town for vacation for a week and they asked me if I would watch their mouse Carl. Anyone who knows me knows I love mice, so you can all imagine how excited I was! They dropped him off last night and since he's active all night, he was running around all over the place. So cute! You'll be hearing more about him as the week progresses :)

Out of summer hibernation

I finally biked to work today after the too-hot-for-me days of summer, but then it turned out to be a pretty warm day for me on the way home. Weather really is unpredictable.

My body feels like mush, and that's exactly how it should feel based on how I've been treating it. I'm looking forward to cooler weather and I'm looking forward to trying some swimming with Chris soonish. It felt good to ride today even though I was struggling some this afternoon.

I really need to start doing physical cardio activity on a regular basis because I know that I'll feel better and look less mushy. It's going to be a challenge to break my non-active routine and let the brisk air of fall wake me from my summer hibernation. Wow - that sounded really lame and it's going to stay that way.

Being sick sucks

For the past week, I've had a cold that just won't go away. Chris pointed out to me that it was likely due to the Prednisone that I was taking. Apparently that drug destroys the body's immune system, but it's awesome for getting rid of inflammation. So I've been sick since Monday, and I keep thinking I'm getting better, but it just won't go away.

This weekend has been all about laying around, napping and trying to get better. I'm glad the weather has been crummy because it's been great for lounging under a blanket!

I'm free!

So after Lasik, my left eye decided that it was going to have some inflammation underneath the flap that the surgeon made. The surgeon didn't like it too much so he had me come in every couple of days. Annoying but necessary!

He has me taking Prednizone (found out that it is in fact difficult to sleep while taking it) and using a drop in that eye every hour that I was awake.

Right at the time that I had had about enough of having to leave work around 3 several times a week, the doc gave me the clear bill of eye health! I was so excited yesterday when he told me that!

So that means that I won't have to go in for a month for a final checkup. So I get to continue to enjoy my 20/20 vision by myself :)

Kimmi is an Ironman!

She completed her Ironman in Madison in 15:21:56! Congratulations Kim!!!! Wear your jacket with pride :)

20/20+

The LASIK was a success! I have 20/20+ vision!

The procedure itself was very quick. I was greatful for the woman that placed her hand on mine - very soothing. And everyone was extremely supportive through the whole procedure. There was only one part when it hurt a little, but not bad.

I kind of wish I didn't take the Valium because the morning, the combination of the Valium wearing off completely and the fact that I didn't eat enough yesterday made me sick to my stomach and only now am I able to keep everything down. This is definitely something unique to me though - most normal people don't have these kinds of problems.

My eyes only hurt for about 30 minutes after the surgery (that's when the numbing drops wore off) and sleeping helped immensely. When I woke up after about three hours of sleep, the pain was gone. Yesterday my vision was foggy, but when I got up this morning, it was completely clear. It's incredible!

I have a little bit of inflammation underneath the flap in my left eye, so the doctor gave me some stronger anti-inflammatory drops and is going to have me come in again Monday. He said that it's a fairly common problem.

I can see!!!!!

No glasses soon

My surgery is at noon today - wish me luck! I'm hoping that my vision will be improved enough to the point that I won't need glasses. Even if I had to get a really light prescription to wear every once in a while, I would be thrilled.

If the surgery's successful, I'm going to celebrate by getting myself a really nice pair of wrap-around sunglasses with changeable lenses, not that I've thought about it or anything :)

Rage

Last night, Chris and I went to the Rage Against the Machine concert at the Target Center. Chris has been a long-time fan and was thrilled when he found out they were coming here. I've only recently been truly introduced to their music and it's pretty good stuff (I'm guessing not too many people that read this blog would appreciate it).

It was incredible to see all of the riot cops both outside and inside the building. They were really expecting some crazy shit to go down. The concert really was incredible. Everyone got really into the music and had a great time (some more than others of course). Rage put on a great show with a ton of energy. I'm really glad that my ears stopped ringing by the time I woke up this morning though :)

While we were heading home last night, there was apparently a group of people that marched and around 100 got arrested. Before everyone left, the band tried to make sure that people would leave the concert peacefully and really most everyone did. Even those that got arrested, it doesn't sound like much happened. It was a great show.

Apparently I'm a lover, not a fighter

I fully realized today that I don't want to be involved in any activities surrounding the RNC. Chris has been photographing various events related to the RNC including some of the raids that took place over the weekend and several of the protests near the Capital today. He gave me the opportunity to go with him, and I said no.

I realized today that I don't even want to observe the protesters and the police response. I don't want to be there when the shit goes down. All of it scares me. I kind of freaked out at Chris because one of the media guys that he was going around with today accidentally got hit with pepper spray. I got upset because Chris almost got hit with pepper spray. Since when did I become an over-protective mother?

Instead of viewing in person, I read about several of the things that happened today. Even though many of the protesters had good messages and were not breaking any laws, there were a few others that spoiled that message. What does a broken window or a slashed tire say? Does it say that the U.S. should stop the war in the Middle East, or does it say that there's a bunch of people acting like rebelious teenagers simply trying to get attention?

What I know is that even though I didn't have the courage to go to the Capital to observe, I know where I stand. The conclusion I take from this is that those people don't know how to articulate their anger and frustration and instead use destruction of property as a means to vent that anger. I wonder if it's working...