in the trenches

SC

Sitting in a hotel somewhere in Birmingham and have had an interesting couple of days.  Driving up to NC was a quick breeze-through, although I did have a tractor trailer blow a tire in front of me in South Carolina so that made for an adrenaline rush for a moment or two.  The trailer was in the right lane, while I was behind it in the middle lane, and there was this douchebag who decided he was going to pass me on the right, behind the trailer, and then scoot in front of me.  I feel bad calling them a douchebag since they got a windshield full of rubber and debris, but hey...at least it wasn't me. 

Got to J's around time expected, which was awesome because I had left an hour late (see my procrastination post), but had swollen feet to show for it.  I really need to make sure I stop and walk around more often. 

We ended up skipping Charlotte for the night since J's friend was still in DC, but we did stop so she could grab

Rte 49 through the Uwharries

So we got to roam around campus a little bit, and it seemed every piece of architecture was inspired by sexual organs.  I don't feel the need to explain, merely show. 

There were some pretty parts, too, and if you go there, you'll soon have buns of steel with all those stairs...

So we left Charlotte with the goal of making it through Atlanta before stopping for the evening.  Driving through northern Georgia was a treat, and the kudzu!  OMG!  It covered whole stands of trees, took over grassy areas, and turned whatever it covered into some kind of shape...bears, old men, clowns (we're imaginative, what can we say?).  J turned to me and said, "Who needs clouds?  We've got kudzu!"  We also had the most amazing sunset, but that might have been because of my sunglasses. 

Well, we got through it with no problems, and decided, as we were having dinner at a Sonic, that we would press on to Birmingham.  I didn't realize that we would be pasing right through Talladega and that there were so many mountains, or I would have waited to do the drive until morning so that we could see.  Oh, well.  It was midnight by the time we found a hotel after getting just a little turned around in Birmingham.  A piece of advice...there are very few hotels off of the interstate.  What's up with that?!  I actually had to turn around and go back through the city with my GPS to find a hotel in a place that looked like we'd survive the night :-) 

Here we are, though, bright and early...well, ok, it's 9:30, but we're off to go play!

Woman hanging out legs

Sitting at my computer this morning, procrastinating a little because I don't want to finish picking up before I leave :-)  Heading up to NC to pick up J, and we start the actual trip tomorrow morning.  I'll have to fit a 3-miler in there, since I'm being forced to take today off.  Training for the Breast Cancer 3-Day is starting to pick up, so I really don't want to miss much. 

I'm experimenting with carting a small cooler along so that I don't have to eat McDonalds all week long.  We'll see if I actually use it or if it just takes up space in the trunk.  All right, must finish so I can get out the door.  I'm hoping it will be a little bit cooler 12 hours north.  People have been trying to crush it, but I will persevere.  :-) 

I get to knock out quite a few states in the next few days....I'm kinda psyched!!

Rte 52

"A remarkably freeing experience!"

How it made me feel: Contented

How I did it: I spent a few months planning my trip, and in the end just ended up doing what I felt like at any given moment.  I wrote lists and lists (I'm a list-maker) of places I wanted to see, routes I would take, people I would visit, cheap hotels...and in the end, the people won out over places and routes. 

I brought along my camping gear, stayed a few nights in state parks, stayed with family and friends, and even a few nights in highway rest areas.  Only two nights did I spend money on hotel rooms. 

I was on my own, so I had a great playlist put together, and if I didn't feel like doing a planned activity or sight, then I didn't go.  If a billboard on the highway moved me to some weird corner of the backwoods, so be it. 

All in all, it was a great way to see the bit of country I saw, catch up with friends and family, visit some old haunts, and have some quiet time for self-reflection.

Lessons & tips: Make sure your car is in good, working order.  Nothing worse than having to call AAA in The Middle of Nowhere, South Carolina. 

On that note, make sure you have AAA, or a similar roadside service.  If you're that far away from home, no one will be able to come to you when you lock your keys in the car at a rest area in Michigan.

If you choose to stay at a rest area to catch some zzz's, you might consider doing it during the daytime, and drive at night.  If you do sleep at a rest area at night, choose one that is monitored by the police.  I slept next to the cop car both nights.

Don't be afraid to TALK TO PEOPLE.  The people make the trip memorable, and they can offer you lots of info for the places you land in.

Resources: Good maps are absolutely necessary, and there are plenty of guides - especially if you are sticking along a major highway. 

If you have a GPS system, they are a nice tool for finding some of the more "out-of-the-way" places.  Also for finding something to eat other than McDonald's.

AAA.  Period.

Rest areas/Welcome Centres on the highways.  The always have deals and resources for the state you are in.  Because do you really want to miss DinoWorld?  Okay, maybe that's one worth missing, but I caught a beautiful state park I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

(originally posted 12/1/08)

"I'm excited and proud!"

How it made me feel: Proud

How I did it: Honestly, hard work is the only way to do this.  I am in the middle of a graduate program, and I have never - EVER - gotten all A's.  I was teaching full time and going to school full time, so I'm actually a little suprised.  One class especially had me concerned because the professor had never returned a graded piece of work, but It all turned out well. 

Lessons & tips: When the mid-term rush was over, I let things slide a little because I figured I deserved a break (and I did - writing over 200 pages will do that to you).  But I missed a few deadlines because I let myself go a little bit.  Luckily, my professors were kind about late assignments, but if they weren't, that's what would have killed me.    

Resources: 43 Things actually helped me out by motivating me to take care of this.

Studying at Borders and the library got me out of the house.

Seattle's Best and Starbucks kept me awake through most of the semester.

(originally posted 12/19/08)

"It's better to be a non-smoker with cigarette cravings than a smoker who wants to be a non-smoker."

How it made me feel: Determined

How I did it: Honestly, this was my 4th serious attempt at quitting, and I have finally gotten to the point where I consider myself a non-smoker.  Back in April - about 8 months ago - I woke up on day feeling really gross after a party the night before where I had smoked too much, and for some reason was able to keep convincing myself that it would be a bad idea to pick it up again.  After the first week, I was given a book called "Alan Carr's Stop Smoking the Easy Way" written by a British therapist, and while not everything he writes is great, many of his thoughts really helped me through some of the rougher moments (like just after dinner and with coffee or alcohol).   I don't know why I stuck with it on the morning I woke up with an impulse and not when my quits were carefully planed, but there it is.

It's not easy, and I lost most of my friends over it because I no longer wanted to just sit on the porch and smoke anymore.  They felt like I looked down on them for smoking - which wasn't the case - I just couldn't be around it, myself.  I have found other friends, but that hurt.

Lessons & tips: It all comes down to determination and will-power.  I had to decide
that I wanted to be a non-smoker more than I wanted to smoke.  Someone
in a message board wrote:

"It's better to be a non-smoker with cigarette cravings than a smoker who wants to be a non-smoker."

That quote alone gave me strength in many cases where I might have given in.

It is not easy, and after 8 months, sometimes I still forget that I don't smoke.  Your whole life changes because you no longer deal with stress the same way, nor entertainment, nor socializing, etc.  You must find other coping mechanisms. 

One other quote that helped me was from Alan Carr's book, and it said that smokers smoke cigarettes to feel like a non-smoker feels without them.  Whenever a smoker gets a craving, they must smoke a cig to feel normal again.  Non-smokers have that feeling already. 

Doing other healthy things kept me on track.  I did yoga once in a while, I started going to the gym, I tried to eat healthier.  I didn't keep all of that up as much as I wanted, but it got me through the tough period. 

Resources: Alan Carr's "Stop Smoking the Easy Way: for Women"

www.stopsmokingcenter.net - great message boards and the support groups are wonderful!  Also has a counter which tells you how much $ you've saved, how many cigs you HAVEN'T smoked, and how much life you've gained (by the most conservative estimate) by not smoking. 

(originally posted 12/22/08)

"An odd experience, but a relief to get the information."

How it made me feel: relieved

How I did it: I went to my primary care physician who felt the same lump I felt and then sent me to a radiology clinic.  They decided to do an ultrasound of that breast first, because I am so young, and that warrented a digital diagnostic mammogram (different from a screening mammogram in that they squeeze your boob a few different ways).  When the results came up negative for anything, my doctor sent me to a breast surgeon who evaluated me, gave me an exam, found 2 more lumps in the other breast, and diagnosed me with fibrocystic breast disease.  We've scheduled a follow-up for 3 months from now to make sure there are no other changes, but for now, I'm glad that I got the mammogram and exam as it has provided some relief from normal fears of cancer.

Lessons & tips: Especially if you are young, 85-90% of lumps turn out to be benign. 

I found the ultrasound to be painless (they even warm the gel now!) and the mammogram to be rather uncomfortable, but nothing actually crossed into pain territory.

It is best to get a mammogram done within the 1st 10 days AFTER your period when there is less swelling.  The farther into your cycle, the more the test hurts. 

Make sure to follow up with your doctor about your results.

I was able to get my mammography and sonogram films and like the idea, since the possibility that I will be moving is a real one.  Now I have a "base" mammogram since I need to be checked more often now should any other lumps come up.

Talk to people.  Almost everyone I said anything to either had gone through the same thing, or knew someone who had.  People will generally try to help you through the waiting period (which I have heard is the worst part, even if the diagnosis isn't as good as mine turned out to be).

Resources: komen.org - Susan B. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research helped to calm my fears about cancer.

WebMD is a great resource for general anatomy info and steps about what to do, when to see a dr., and if you should be worried at all.

(originally posted 3.18.09)

"A roller coaster of crazy!"

How it made me feel: Proud

How I did it: I asked our school's drama teacher if I could help her with some of the backstage stuff during the spring musical, and ended up being the music director just because that's what I was good at and I made myself available for it.

Lessons & tips: Know your strengths and be willing to expand outside of them.  If you don't know how to do something, be willing to learn. 

If you direct, don't fall into the habit of letting cast members call the shots, especially when they outnumber you 50 to 1.  Everyone has an idea, and if they want to approach you quietly about it, fine, but not have big arguments because they think they have a better idea of how to accomplish the final look.  It becomes too overwhelming.

If you do a musical, in particular, make sure that the cast knows the music and lines before dance coreography.  If they learn dance first, they learn to dance it without singing and that trend will continue. 

Resources: Theatre Rights, Inc. for play and musical performing rights.

Duct/gaffers' tape and lots of it.  Then get more.

A good carpenter to come and look at your built sets.  We got great advice for making a structure more stable.

(originally posted 425/09)

"A sometimes brutally masochistic endeavour that makes you happy that it's over."

How it made me feel:  Ambivalent

How I did it: Work.  Lots of work.  Since I was working full time while going to grad school full time (and sometimes more than full time), I now don't know what to do with myself. 

Lessons & tips: Don't quit.  Anyone can survive anything (like this) for 2 years (or more, whatever - it's temporary).

You might feel a little lost when it's over, and that's normal. 

Make sure to be in contact with professors and classmates.  Puttig together a roster with contact info of everyone in my cohort would have been a great idea 2 yrs ago, but I only thought of it a few hours ago. 

Resources: i-am-bored.com for procrastination attempts.
Borders Cafe for a place to study and steady internet connection.
Support network of at least friends, then family.

(originally posted 4/27/09)

1. Bok Sanctuary
2. Hemmingway House
3. Elizabethtown, KY
4. Maid of the Mist
5. Gateway Arch
6. Beale Street
7. Houston Museum of Natural Science
8. Savannah Historic District
9. Historic Charlestown
10. Asheville, NC
11. Boone, NC
12. Gettysburg Cemetery
13. The Survivor Tree/Oklahoma City Memorial
14. Outer Banks
15. Nashville
16. Louisville
17. Red Rocks Amphitheatre
18. Olympic Peninsula
19. Forks, WA
20. Boulder, CO
21. Taos
22. Mesa Verde National Park
23. San Antonio
24. New Orleans
25. Appalachian Trail
26. Cherry Blossom Festival
27. Duquesne Incline (Pittsburgh)
28. Mackinac Island
29. Upper Peninsula
30. Ann Arbor
31. Cedar Point
32. Chicago
33. Chesapeake Bay
34. Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
35. Fell's Point (Baltimore, MD)
36. Blacksburg, VA
37. Harper's Ferry National Historic Park
38. Uffington White Horse Hill (England)
39. Memphis
40. Little Rock
41. Charlestown, WV
42. Roanoke, VA
43. Blue Ridge Parkway

1. Be more courageous
2. Do more yoga
3. Be more helpful
4. Go to the Lowry Park Zoo
5. Visit San Francisco
6. Travel through the Pacific Northwest
7. Move to North Carolina
8. Read the Bible cover to cover
9. Buy a car
10. Build a house
11. Pay off my credit cards
12. Simplify my belongings
13. Go downhill skiing again
14. Run a 5k
15. Learn Latin
16. Learn to be more spiritual
17. Start hiking again
18. Be a better teacher
19. Write in my journal when things are good
20. Volunteer more often
21. Create a budget and stick with it
22. Become a vegetarian
23. Identify 100 things that make me happy
24. Stop procrastinating
25. Read every book on my bookshelves
26. Belly Dance again
27. Read a book a week
28. Travel to England
29. See the Northern Lights
30. Get back onstage
31. Become more physically fit
32. Learn to drive a stick shift
33. Actually get my black belt
34. Rock climbing
35. Walk the Breast Cancer 3-Day
36. Visit all 50 states
37. Start saving money for retirement
38. Learn to speak from the heart
39. Watch more movies
40. Keep my apartment neat (not just for company)
41. Stop swearing
42. Be more self-assured
43. Learn to play the guitar