Oh, so THIS is what a monsoon is like...

a.k.a. BIKE DETOUR

So last night one of the coolest storms, hugest storms in 30 years hit this area. 100 mph winds, power poles down, and an 8.4 million dollar bubble dome for ASU torn apart. And the sweetest lightning ever. Now, I was in the hospital last night, so it wasn't as cool for me as for Brad, who tried to drive in it. Our computers just went out for about 1 minute and we could see a little of the lightning. 

My bike path this morning looked like this: 

Have I mentioned it's also a flood wash? I rode home on the sidewalk of a busy street. Craziness.

My bum is so happy

I got a new bike seat. I rode my bike to work and it was wonderful. I got new tires. I felt like I was flying. I did not get two flat tires this time. I did not swallow any more bugs.
My first patient is a doctor, was training for a triathlon, rode his bike to work with his backpack, and got hit by a car and fractured both his clavicle and humerus.
It almost killed my ride-to-work buzz.
But not entirely.

Contact High

Bridget and I went and saw Dave Matthews perform last night. Oh wonderfulness. One thing I have quite the deficit of in my life is concert experiences. Luckily, Bridget knew this one was coming up and woke me up on Saturday afternoon...

And we then proceeded to get the party started. 

First, we got amazing tickets off Craigslist. Center Center I would say. And we got a smokin' deal 'cause he hit really bad traffic and we missed the opening band and told him that we were deducting a dollar off for every minute after 7:40 he showed up. We were kidding, but he basically said ok. 

We ended up waiting like 3 hours in the parking lot in which we met a cute guy with a cowboy hat with a shirt that said "Sasquatch stole my underpants," who offered us a hamburger after we just downed Whataburger. Sadness. 

A couple guys in casts also limped by. The one on crutches crashed on a mountain bike. The one on a leg scooter (?) had a slightly more interesting story. "Well," he said, "I got extremely drunk at a party and decided to go streaking and got tackled by a neighbor and broke my ankle." We were laughing so hard. It might have been a lie, but then again, maybe not. He seemed pretty sincere. And we met another lady who gets very friendly when drinking at  Dave concerts and came over and put her hand on my thigh and told me it was okay if I cried at the concert. Because sometimes Dave can do that to you. 

And really, in all honesty, this concert almost did. 

So the saxphone player for the band, LeRoi Moore, died on Tuesday the 19th. This was their 4th show since his death, and was very emotional. Lots of the songs were about death, dying, heaven, and souls. And so intense. There was so much energy there. (And a lot of pot...) I realized how many Dave songs I actually didn't know (here's the set list). Bridget, on the other hand, knew them all. Mostly I just danced and sang along when I could figure out the words. 

It was such a great experience; I am so amazed at the combination of talent of the band; the smiling guitarist, the new saxophonist and his 3 saxophones, the violinist and his gorgeous arms, and Dave, the sexiest 41-year old to ever come out of South Africa and grace us all with that delicious mouth voice. 

Training Really Begins

Here is a sweet picture of the 2006 See Jane Run Triathlon. There are currently 38 days or 920 hours until the 2008 version begins. Which means besides my few dips into the pool, it's time to get in gear. A little refresher: in 2005 I did the "Y Not Tri" triathlon. It is a tiny triathlon. 440 yd swim, 6 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. I did it in 56 minutes with a month of training. Considering I'd never had a swimming lesson or run 2 miles before making this decision, I did okay. 

Except that I really thought I was about to drown the entire time I was swimming. It was, my friends, completely terrifying. And the whole rest of the race I thought, "Wow. I could be doing so much better had I not just almost drowned back there." 

This one will be the same length swim, 11 miles of biking, and 3 miles running. 

Swimming is still the hardest part for me. Luckily, Bridget and Ariana lent me their expertise a few weeks ago, which helped a bit. As well as Robert in January (see post) which also helped a lot. But now Bridget and I have swam together twice at a nice pool in Scottsdale (I still miss Gold's on Parkcenter) and I have to say she has been the best swimming coach ever. We used kick boards and paddles and now, apparently, I make the correct splashes in the water and look like a swimmer. 

Excitement! : Yesterday we were at the gym and while I was swimming, the lady in the lane next to us says, "I wish I could swim like you two." Yeah!! That means I didn't look like I was drowning! I looked like a SWIMMER! 

See Jane Run here we come!!

(oh, and in the January post I didn't swim that triathlon in May because the water in Tempe Town Lake has a pH that is generally unsafe for swimming and scares me. Contrasted to the California water in which I will be swimming, which is lovely!)

Renegade

So I did it. After much planning and scheming,  I actually became an alternative transportation commuter. I really truly rode my bike to work.  The bike ride was actually really nice, but I think I'll be getting a new bike seat soon. Ouch. 

So this is how it went down. I woke up at 3:45 pm (I'd worked Mon & Tues nights) and went to Sport Chalet and to Target, where I found this sweet sling bag for $26.99. (I had planned to just use my backpack from Gap Kids from my freshman year in college until Ariana came over with her Jansport sling bag on Tues and I realized how completely perfectly that would work for this. And how awful my other backpack would have been)

The list for the backpack was long; it had to include all the shower stuff I needed. Side note: Obviously, I have to shower after riding here. It's about 95 degrees, even at night, and it takes about 45 minutes.  Even though our Commuter Connection brochure says showers are available, there is really only one in the basement in the guys' restroom (near the MORGUE) and one in the ER, which isn't really approved for anyone besides ER staff. But I heard it rarely gets used, and the Commuter Connection lady told me I should just ask to use it, so I did. One of the ER nurses gave me a tour of that shower on Monday night. On Wednesday, during the day, my manager nicely arranged for my badge to let me in the locked ER doors, and by the time I got there, it was ready to go. 

So again, this backpack had to hold shower stuff- including a small towel, makeup stuff, my lunch, my scrubs, socks, sunscreen, a water bottle, my cell phone, and anything else I might need for work. It was a tight fit, but it worked. I got to the ER in my sweaty workout clothes and walked straight through the waiting room. My badge worked just fine (thanks Linda!) and nobody was even in the staff lounge. I actually showered and got completely ready without seeing a soul. It kind of felt like sneaking into somebody else's house and showering, and I totally felt so cool. Considering the amount of stuff I had to remember, I was pretty proud of myself for only forgetting two things: 1) my mascara and 2) my bra. I had to wear a sweaty sports bra all night. I tried to dry it off by spinning it around in the air in the shower area, but it didn't really work so great. Oh well. 

The bike ride took 45 minutes and with everything I was still about 15 minutes early for work. 

And the ride home was uneventful (I was a little worried how I would manage being so tired, but the ride definitely woke me up. And I found out that hot people are in the park in the morning!) Oh, uneventful except that: while most of the time this experience made me feel cool, it wasn't a 100% consistent feeling. Take me and my dorkalicious pale white girl self with my princess pink backpack, helmet, and scrubs biking around a hot little tan girl with a tiny black dirty girl tank top and little black shorts walking her two Rottweilers. Yep. Sometimes I just felt dorky. That's okay. I'm still a Renegade.

Fresh & Easy

Fresh and Easy I love you. I love how cheap your mangos are. I love that your olive oil and balsalmic vinegar are packaged so cute and are half the price of anywhere else. I love your baby roses and your organic orange juice and your $3.99 IZZEs. I love the possibilities that lie in your semi-prepared dinners and your store-brand string cheese that is delicious. I love your bread aisle on which lies the possibility that one day I may locate all the bread the Rachel Ray suggests.
You are so close. You are so new. You are so great. Yay!

It Takes An Hour to Bike to Work

It takes 3 hours to:
Find your helmet, keys, bike lock, and cool smurf-like Nike Frees
Crash on the sidewalk right outside your gate because your foot got caught in the toe clip
Bike to work in 98 degree weather
Get made fun of by the hot paramedic for not knowing how to use the bike lockers (fyi: he didn't even know that it WAS a bike locker)
Find the TB test place and get my TB shot for work. Also, re-fill water bottle and enjoy their air conditioning.
Bike head-on through a tree you thought was leaf-like that turned out to be more twig-like and scratch your arms all up.
And then get a flat tire.
And pull into Arizona Corvettes and ask to use their phone.
Get a ride from a guy there to the bike shop with your bike in the bed of the truck.
Pay $13.70 on trust (because it's not like you brought your wallet with you on this bike ride) to the nice bike shop owner to replace the tube on your back tire.
Re-trace yourself back home via Arizona Corvettes to retrieve forgotten helmet.
Arrive home to 86 degree house with broken air conditioning.
one day I will have a normal run-of-the-mill bike ride. today was not that day.

We're Sorry; That Item's been discontinued

Perhaps because of my brand loyalty, perhaps because of my love of the novel and original idea, perhaps because I'm just a little bit eccentric, I seem to fall in love with things that get discontinued often. For example, the orange Downy Tropical Breeze, Haagen Daaz Hazelnut Gelato, Jell-o Popsicles, Pond's Moisturizing Lotion, Dove Mint Chocolate Chip (that one's for Jessica), and my favorite toner, Nivea Visage, which is not discontinued but is now only available on the internet, and last but not least, my favorite facewash Benefit Fantasy Mint Wash, which has just succumbed to the sad place of Not Enough People Love You to Keep Creating You. 

Revolting

So, in 2005, this blog began over my favorite brands, my favorite items, what I thought constituted the Best. I don't think I've ever devoted an entry to The Worst. Until now. 

This is Trader Joe's Essential Veggie drink. Wow. Is it awful. Now, let's not consider me completely naive. I knew buying it I wouldn't be in love. It is, if you read the label, 2 full pounds of liquified veggies. No where on the bottle does it say tasty or delicious. But I hadn't had too many veggies lately, so I tried it out. For $3.69! Lets just say I fought waves of nausea for about 5 hours. So did Ariana, who I somehow convinced to taste it. And Bridget, who didn't think it was that bad (okay...), but still felt a little nauseated later. It's a cross between liquid cucumber and liquid celery with a little kick of...hmmm...Radish? at the end. Just save yourself. Eat a head of broccoli or two. And take a multi-vitamin. Do not attempt this. (By the way, Trader Joes has already been notfied via a letter very similar to this posting. And they will let me take it back. Which I very likely will.)

Pictures from the Reunion.

Yep. These are also on Maria's blog, but we don't have a 100% shared readership, so I'll post them anyways again :o) Maria lent me her hubbie for one picture, if you look closely you can see Ashley the Zebra hunter's cool hair, 3 out of the 4 of Tara's beautiful girls, and Katie & none of her kids, which my mom chastised me for. And even the elusive Cim Carr made an appearance. Hooray!

Sprinkles

With Lilly Jane's of Boise and Lulu's of Phoenix under my belt, I must admit I felt a little guilty subscribing to a chain cupcake store. Despite the fact that it started in Beverly Hills and is ALL the RAGE. To have one in Scottsdale that just opened is kind of a big deal. So we went.

The flavors we got:

• Strawberry
• Peanut Butter Chip
• Orange
• Vanilla Milk Chocolate

Flavors on the next trip:

• Lemon Coconut
• Key Lime
• Dark Chocolate Almond
• ??
  

Ok, they were amazing. Bridget, John, Ariana, and I all divided them into quarters. So we had, essentially, one sinful cupcake each. We may have gotten a little excited about them and started a monthly tradition. And I am thrilled. Chain store or not. 

Who, you ask, is this John who appeared out of nowhere? John is a guy in our ward who Bridget thankfully, if oddly, recruited to be our friend. He'd been to a dinner party here, but we'd never hung out before. And now we do all the time. Because he is very cool. And he's from LA. Where the pretty people are. :o)

Sometimes all the estrogen and Glamour is a little much for him, but the testosterone is a welcome addition around here! 

Why My Target Habit Beats out my Wal-mart Habit Every Single Time

So Candice and I ran to Wal-mart while I was in Bullhead to get some travel-sized things for cheap for the Women's Shelter (Target was already closed). While in line, I realized I had left my canvas bags in the car. While the lady took 5 1/2 years to start ringing us up (some "Drawer" issue), Candice and I [relatively loudly] debated the pros and cons of going to get the bags. It basically came down to her not feeling comfortable going outside at midnight in Bullhead City. Fair Enough. So we emptied out one of her bags, combining groceries and set her used bag back on the bag carousel, thinking- "This way, no extra bags get used and my conscious is clean!"
Oh no.
Not only did the lady DOUBLE BAG my cotton balls and body wash, she also found Candice's wrinkled bag and threw it away. Yep. She threw it away. I used 3 stinkin' plastic bags on that trip.
If you're wondering how on earth this entire scenario could have happened without the cashier even taking notice, I have no idea.
Except that it's Wal-mart.
In Beautiful Bullhead City.
Classic.

I Love Idaho Grass

hmm...just realized someone might think I'm a pothead from that title. Oh well. I'm not, in case you didn't know. You might think this picture is of me enjoying the beautiful wonderful Idaho Falls grass. But upon further inspection, you may notice the grass is framed by asphalt. This is a little patch of fake grass newly installed in my parents' neighborhood in Bullhead City. It's close, but not quite the same.
So last weekend I went to Idaho Falls for my 10 year high school reunion. People seemed a little surprised I came up just for that, but for some reason, it seemed like a landmark event in my life, and I wouldn't have missed it, despite the fact that I really didn't know a lot of people in high school. Probably only 30 classmates came (with families, there were probably 100 people there). It was really laid back and just chill. It was a little barbeque at Tautphaus park and everybody was just so cool and interested in each others' lives.
I brought my camera, but forgot the battery, so I borrowed Maria's camera and took pics. As soon as I get them, I'll post a few up here.
What else did I do with my 4 days in Idaho Falls? Not a lot! My Nana just had hip surgery so I hung out there and made dinner a few times, napped and slept in my favorite house on Earth, and just enjoyed the quaintness that is Idaho Falls. :o)

Wednesday Brunch

Im standing in line for a free burrito from Chipotle. Pretty sure we will be here 4 an hour. And im starving! How did i get talked into this?!
(p.s. THEY WERE DELICIOUS! And it only took an hour and a half. Luckily they also passed out bottled water to all of us. Really, this company is making good very quickly!)