Walking in Memphis, and Vegas...

The feeling of finishing the seminar on last Friday was one of the most elated moments I'd had the entire week. I felt released from the chains of my captors... and I hadn't even left the building. I put on my running clothes, dropped my presenter at the airport for her earlier flight, and then went for a run in Lee Park along the Mississippi in Memphis. The sun was shining and I just kept running for almost 35 minutes (okay, there was some walking in there...). It really reminded me why I loved this job, and what I need to do to keep going now that I'm not so thrilled about the day-to-day aspects. Once I was done, I walked through a neighborhood for a while to cool down, and then I managed to change into proper Vegas clothes in my car, since the park bathrooms consisted of two port-a-potties. Thank you changing in cars all the time for dance classes in my youth.

My flight wasn't until 7:50, so I still had time. I drove around Memphis, going past Beale St. Once I finally got to the airport, I had a coffee and some BBQ before getting on my way to VEGAS. It was a great time there... going out with the crowd, checking out the hotels and doing some wandering of the strip, getting all primped, seeing Jersey Boys, and getting a nice dinner. Then finally, going out to Tao and seeing Kim Kardashian and her mom who were "hosting" the event. We danced and had a blast, and the girls in the group definitely enjoyed the free-ness of being female (I only spend a few dollars at Tao on tips for the free drinks from 10-11pm) while the guys enjoyed not wearing shoes that inflict constant pain.

Now, I'm back in the deep south for a week, on my way to picking up state #48 (MS) on Wenesday (although I could MAYBE get out of the car on my drive tonight and get it today...). So far, I've clogged my arteries with crawfish etoufee and hush puppies, soon there will be beignets and coffee, and then who knows! I need to go for a treadmill run tonight...

One of Those Days

Waking up today was a bit rough. I'd had a long night on a sleep number bed (yuck) and fighting with the heating system in my room which seemed to regard being set for 70 degrees as instructions to continue pumping over-heated air into my room all night. My alarm went off and I was so deep in sleep that I was completely disoriented. Yet, I got myself up and out of bed, only to notice that the sun was coming up. Fayetteville is surprisingly pretty at sun-up.

I was putting on my clothes, giddy at the bright pink dress I was planning on wearing, when there was a knock at the door. Standing there was my sweet and diminutive presenter, near tears.

"Is your hot water out?"

"I haven't checked... What's wrong?"

"Oh..." she said, lip quivering. "I went to iron my suit and when I opened the closet, the iron fell out and hit me in the head." She lifted up her bangs to show a growing red lump on her forehead. "Do you have any Tylenol or Advil?"

I rushed to my first aid ziplock to find her something all the while thinking, how is she going to do the whole seminar if she has a concussion? Should I take her to the ER? I doled out some Advil and told her she should just rest for a bit before going down to the room, but she had no intention of doing that. I told her I'd be about 10-15 minutes, as I was only half dressed.

Upon arriving down at the meeting room, I saw my presenter looking forlorn and talking to the banquet staff person. Another day, another failed room set up. The room looked nothing like what it should have looked like and the next 10 minutes was a constant shuffling of tables and seting up, in which I managed to jam my finger against my tech case, jarring my fingernail in just the right way to cause intense pain. Finishing up the set up, we heard the speakers and just about broke down, as they sounded about as bad as I've ever heard.

I went out to set up the reg table and heard a massive crash behind me. The hotel staff had dropped a big stack of glasses, shattering them. The vacuums came out as the first participant arrived, half an hour early.

Now, the hallway is so cold that I can hardly stand it so I'll be spending the day in the back of the meeting room which is a tolerable temperature.

The good news is that my paperwork is done, I've got my to-do list, and best of all, it turns out that Fayetteville is cute enough to go wander around in. Plus, I have it on a good recommendation for a restaurant not far from where I am (thanks Lisa!). I'm in my 47th state. I get to have Memphis BBQ for dinner. I'm going to be in Vegas in two days.

AND there's an awesome thrift store here. Cheap Thrills. I got a purse and a necklace that scream VEGAS!! Things are looking up.

Breaking the Girl

Seattle never ceases to remind me why I want to come back. Over the last week it was amazingly gorgeous and after spending lots of time with friends and family I just can't wait to be based back there, to have my own apartment, and just actually live somewhere... and have the energy to do things while I'm there. I managed to do a few fun things: a spa day, the Stranger's Valentines Bash, some serious shopping, a haircut, my taxes (yay return!), and some food dates with various people, but all in all I really just slept, read, and disconnected for the entirety of last week. It was glorious.

I have never wanted to stay home quite this badly. But I'll manage this week as I pick up Oklahoma and Arkansas (46 & 47 respectively on the quest for 50), and then it's off to Vegas for the weekend with some other PM's. It's a three-week stint and a three-dress wardrobe for me this time, but I'll manage as long as I can find a laundry somewhere towards the end of next week.

Boredom apparently is my middle name, but it's time for me to hunker down and take care of myself for a few weeks (excepting the Vegas 36 hours of course!!). Don't expect exciting blog posts from Fayetteville, AR.

Trying to Stay Positive...

Snow driving is not so hard and it's beautiful

...except when the snow blows across the road and you can't see the road and your clenching the steering wheel so tightly your hands ache.

I'm flying home on a direct flight tomorrow

...from O'Hare with hundreds of canceled flights in the last two days and a huge cancellation backlog on the eastern seaboard.

I have a week off

...but two more days on the road, and I'm beyond exhausted.

I stayed in a hotel with this in the front lobby:

Yup. Nothing negative about that. :)

Ode to Working the Health Care

As I've done a solid run through my coverage the other day, and will continue to do so through the end of May, I have a few thoughts.

First off, how does anyone ever find a doctor they like? I've been bouncing around within the Group Health system because I find that really... unless I'm due for someone to poke and prod me, the email and phone networks they have set up work really well for me, especially being on the road. I like that I can fire off email questions, but I've never liked the doctors in my visits that much. The nurses are definitely more interesting to talk to and a lot warmer in personality.

Secondly, I'm not too keen on the fact that I went in to mainly talk about a nagging on/off problem with my anxiety, and the doctor suggested anti-depressants right away. SSRI's are not a laughing matter, and I'm not depressed. After the little 10 point "questionnaire" she said she might say I have "very mild depression," but really, I just get mini panic attacks when I can't sleep for a week straight and have to deal with craziness from my presenter at the same time... which is definitely not the same thing. I've done everything I can to deal with them, but diet and exercise can go right out the window on a BER week. I've had these in the past, and Xanex dealt with them really well... so well that I never even finished the bottle before they expired. So, instead of giving me something that would solve the problem I have (okay, so Xanex pills are potentially habit-forming, but I explained that I knew that and was very careful with them), she wanted to put me on a regimen of drugs for the next 6-10 months! Let's try something that costs less than $10, and monitor that progress before we throw the baby out with the bathwater!!

Lastly, honestly, I knew what I wanted when I went in. There is so much information out there, that I can make an informed decision without going in to the doctor, yet I have to waste most of the half-hour trying to talk her out of putting me on SSRI's and then being referred to someone else for another appointment for the other half of my questions.

At least the dentist and the eye doctor were more straight forward appointments.

I really would like to go to a doctor that was more holistic... but at the same time I hardly need a doctor. The annual tests and bloodwork are fine, but they take all of 15 minutes. And maybe I would like it for someone else to inform me of what tests I should have done at what times, but since I am mostly well, what do I need it for if all they are going to do is try to put me on meds that I probably do not need? I know what diet and exercise means, and I guess I'd love to have someone who is more of a psychologist and nutritionist than a pharmacist, but then again, I have the luxury of not being sick.

What exactly is preventative medicine other than eating a good diet and exercising?

Love/Hate...

Some days I hate my job: I stayed in the Owyhee (cowboy spelling for the 50th state) Hotel in Boise instead of going to the actual state of Hawaii this week.

But I love the silver lining: One of the fluffiest, cushiest, pillow filled beds I've ever slept in. Getting up at 6:30 has never been so hard.

Settle Down?

While this journey across the US has been wonderful in many ways simply because I have been places I never intended to go, and many places I never intend to go back to, there's some definite fun in picking the places that I would go back to. Here's a list of places I deem worthy of a second glance, or a long hard look:

• Boston, MA. I could see myself living here or going to school here for a few years. It's definitely joined San Fran on the list of cities I would live if I had to live somewhere other than Seattle.
• Portland, OR. Seattle-light is definitely a place I could spend some real time. With all the hipsters, bikers, coffee maniacs, greenpeacers and liberals, it's definitely a city where I could lose myself in becoming eco-friendly and bike every which where. It's flatter than Seattle too, as long as you stay in the river valley, and closer to both the coast and the mountains.
• Washington DC. I can almost see myself living here if it wasn't for the constant 60-hour work weeks and subsequent frat-party binging that I witnessed in the short time I was there. It was pretty fun, incredibly beautiful, and really friendly to an active lifestyle... Which I'd need to hold back the liquid calories.
• NYC... Oh but to live there for two years: one to get your footing, and the second to actually enjoy it. Only it would cost me more than I would make in 10 years to manage it. At least I can go back to visit.
  
• Portland, ME. I'd love to live here for a year. I know the winters are brutal, but in a way I'd just want to know what it's like to hunker down in one of those adorable little clapboard houses and eat seafood every day down at the local bar with all the crusty folks laughing and carrying on. And I'm dying to go to Maine in the summer.
• Phoenix, AZ. Just for the winter is the eternal clause on this one... and NOT in Scottsdale. While I'd live in ME for a winter, I don't think I could handle a Phoenix summer. Maybe I could make it here a year if I just did camping trips all summer up near Sedona and Flagstaff, or really anywhere in the southwest.
• Burlington, VT. Hippies, yoga, Whole Foods, Ben & Jerry's, a big beautiful lake, maple syrup, and colleges everywhere... I could definitely spend more time here... Maybe even go to school here.
  
• Charlottesville, VA. I'd LOVE to go to school at UVA, at least for a little while. This is just an adorable town with a nice vibe. Plus, TJ designed it.
• Charleston, SC. I could vacation here for a while... the slow, southern pace just makes it really peaceful. And I feel like there was so much more outside of the actual city that one could see. Savannah, GA is pretty much the same... but I liked Charleston more.
• Salt Lake City, UT. I want to go snowboarding out of here so badly it hurts.
• Rapid City, SD. Driving through the Badlands and surrounding areas rather than flying over them would be spectacular.
• Miami, FL. This city is just a riot of color, "culture," and craziness. I'd love to spend a longer weekend on South Beach, when it's not thunderstorming.

And probably many many more... Does anyone else have a fave I've left off this list? This isn't completely comprehensive--it's just the places I've visited for my job and on stayovers (keep in mind I haven't been to California yet. Nor have I been to Arkansas or Oklahoma...). What have I forgotten?

Southern Living

Savannah, GA has been on my short list of places to go for a while now. Last year, I spent a weekend in it’s sister city, Charleston, SC and had a fabulous time. This year, I found myself ending a week in Columbia, SC and I sent out a missive seeing if anyone else could make it. When all was said and done, Heather was the only other PM able to come, but we made the most of it.
I drove in from Columbia and had the chance to cruise around checking out Savannah before Heather landed. Just in case you were wondering, driving around the most haunted city in America on a night with not only a full moon, but the largest, brightest full moon of the year is not the best idea to get yourself ready to go out alone. I ended up spooked by the Spanish moss hanging from the trees, terrified by the creepy statues, and shaken by the crumbling architecture. I ate some groceries in my room and drank some wine with my chocolate to wind down from freaking myself out. (Evidently I scare easily). Heather arrived and we shared some bubbly at her suggestion and gabbed about BER and life in general. Soon enough, we crashed into our beds (one of the best beds I’ve slept on in ages… it was one of those bowling-ball mattresses!) and were up in time for the Krispy Kreme and coffee breakfast.
We picked up a rental car since the weather was not cooperating and then headed off to the downtown area. Paula Dean’s was our first stop. Lady and Sons has a southern buffet lunch, and DAMN. I ate so much, and drank so much sweet tea I really did think I was going to explode. I don’t want to think about how many calories I consumed (weekend stayovers don’t count anyways!).

We tried to walk it off, and ended up going into some fun shops and found ourselves at the Juliet Gordon Lowe house. We both felt a little nostalgic for our girl scout days since JGL was the founder of the girl scouts and the house was overrun with little brownies and juniors in their uniforms. I was tempted to buy the pin you can wear on your vest, but decided I’ve passed that stage of my life. We drove around some more to see the cool old architecture (the drizzle and cold simply prevented us from actually enjoying walking). We walked around the cemetery in the daylight (I was definitely not that interested in a ghost tour at this point, especially with how cold it was!), and did try to hit up a brewery for dinner, even if we could barely manage to finish half of the nachos we ordered to share. We got up to leave, gave up our prime location, and in walk the first cute guys we’d seen the whole time in the bar. Shrugging, we gave up and went back for more wine, trashy TV, and oh-so-comfy beds.
Sunday morning we went for a frigidly cold run in Forsyth Park, where my minimalist shoes and running style seemed to hold up remarkably well, even if our fingers never actually warmed up. Then we were off to the airport and I was off to Phoenix. I could wish that the weather had been better, or that more people had been able to come so that going out would have been more fun, but really, all in all it was a great time in a great city.

Report Carding for Groundhog's Day

So I tend to forget about new years resolutions just as fast as the next person. So I'm going to give y'all an accountibility/update post on this so that I keep going. So how am I doing?

• Floss Daily: C+
• Take Vitamins Daily: A-
• Drink Less Soda: B
  

Notes: Flossing is still eluding me... I started off strong and now it's right back to twice a week. Maybe I'll try aiming for the AM rather than the PM. Daily means counting Saturdays too, which is proving tricky for my vitamin intake. Lastly, I'm trying to allow myself only one Diet Coke a week, but I'm cheating by drinking ginger ale on planes which probably counts as soda...

I'm also really excited by my running, and am planning to focus on that as part of the new month. I went for a run in Savannah this weekend with Heather, and found that running outside (even in really cold weather) is not so bad in my "minimalist" shoes. I'm definitely capable of 2 miles straight in the shoes, and want to try eeking it up to three soon (anyone know of/want to do a valentine's/president's day 5K?). The big goal of running a 5m/8K race in under 45" still lingers... maybe by May's Beat the Bridge. If only my schedule will allow this year...

Before the Boarding Door Closes

Ahhh... On board a plane headed to Portland. I am ecstatic to be heading to the northwest and even more excited to be healthy this time. No more passing up the beer and wine on my horizon flights due to being knocked out on Nyquill like last year! No more being reduced to heinously brewed starbucks coffee at my hotel! Hipsters and hippies everywhere! Time to visit Powells books and get stumptown!

It's the little things that make me happy.