Trip South so far

What an amazing weekend so far! Being on vacation, you'd think that all days are wonderful, but I am having an awesome time with my old Richmond buds!

I left northern Virginia Friday morning and drove down to the University of Richmond, my alma mater. It made me very nostalgic! I wondered how many times I drove up and back that 90-mile stretch of I-95. Millions, probably. Anyway, I was a very different person in college-- very shy, very much a workaholic, and, in many ways, I feel like I missed out somewhat on the "college experience." Richmond is also a very fun and beautiful city that I wished I'd explored more in my four years there. I met up with Dr. Kish and Dr. Stenger, two of my old biology professors, and it was great hearing about how everyone (in the department and others who I graduated with!) is doing. We also talked a bit about a student of theirs, Matt S., who just graduated and who is headed to Mayo for med school next year to continue the Spider tradition in the freezing cold state. The UR campus is gorgeous, and somewhat changed since I went to school there. One of the major changes: the year after I graduated, they integrated the sides of Westhampton Lake (formerly, girls lived on one sides and boys on the other). Craziness! Here are a couple of snapshots of the courtyard and front of the new Gottwald Science Center, where I spent a lot of time during my time there!

I then met Sadie, one of my senior year apartmentmates, at Palani Drive, a favorite Richmond wrap and smoothie place. She is working in Charlottesville right now with the UVA athletic department but is not sure what this next year holds for her. It was very fun to catch up! She also showed me some pictures from a recent wedding she attended, of two people we went to college with-- the groom actually just graduated med school at Emory and will be one of Tia's internal medicine co-interns in Boston! Small world, eh?


After lunch, I continued down on my way south on I-95/I-85 and made it the three or so hours down to Durham. I have forgotten how close things on the east coast are! I met Tony at his and Laura's finished huge (4 bedroom!) house that they moved into after their wedding last summer. They are definitely real people now :) We hung out, had yummy Caribbean chicken wraps (Laura's specialty), and then went out bowling.

I have to share a few pictures of the strange sculptures at their gym (right next to the bowling arcade), which makes Tony not want to go. :)

Then I have to share some pictures of bowling and the bowling score cards. I'm a terrible bowler, but somehow Laura and I managed to beat Tony-- twice. Good thing I practiced on Brandon and Kristen's Wii before I left Rochester (you'll be happy to know that I remembered to release the ball here).

The first game. It only got worse (for Tony) after that :)

And because he had been quite sure two "girls" could not possibly beat him, Tony had to come through on the wager of his bet. And although Tony is quite goofy and crazy, even this made him a bit uncomfortable.

Here is him posing at the Bodies exhibition at the South Point mall.

And here is him taking a lap around a nearby shopping center.

He also had to give us massages, which were great! I had somehow, Friday morning, slipped and fallen down the stairs at my parents' house and had a sore back/shoulder, so the massage was appreciated!

Yesterday, even though it was over 90 degrees, we headed out to Eno River State Park to do some hiking. Can I say how much I LOVE hot weather?! I love not having to bring a sweater everywhere and to actually wear summer clothing :) Laura also gave me some of her reject clothing that I can take to California.

This is totally staged

My cheapie sunglasses broke (before I lost them! This is very rare). Time to go back to the dollar store.

We had smoothies and some adventures with oreos for lunch.

We briefly stopped by Tony's office (AmeriPrise) in Raleigh-- doesn't he look kind of studious? :)
For dinner, we hit Merlion, a really nice Singaporean restaurant in Chapel Hill that Tony often takes his potential clients. We all had to save room for this amazing dessert they have called the Exotic Bomba, a mix of raspberry, mango, and peach (I think) sorbet, in a white chocolate shell. We then headed outside to watch Bridge to Terabithia on the outdoor Screen on the Green. Unfortunately, it started to thunder and lightning kept almost-zapping the movie screen, so, partway in, they cancelled the rest of the movie. But it was still a fun experience for the bit that it lasted. One of my things-to-do-before-I-die has been to go to a drive-in movie somewhere, so this came close. But I still have to find a drive-in theater somewhere.

Exotic Bomba

Screen on the Green

Today, we are headed out to Emerald Pointe Water Park in Greensboro for some outdoor times being Wet and Wild. In general, I am not a big fan of being wet (especially wet and cold) or wearing swimsuits, but it's HOT and should be a good time. More pictures (I'm sure) from today and the rest of the weekend will be posted later!

Samurai Sudoku!!! .... and other tidbits

Thank goodness Wendi is blogging again. I was running out of reading material.

Bullets are surely the best way to get things across. Especially for lazy people. I have ample time.

Finished reading: The Double Bind (Chris Bohjalian). Very good book.

Currently reading: Accidental Woman, by Barbara Delinsky.

One of my current preoccupations: SAMURAI SUDOKU. I have never seen this before! Check it out! Hours and hours of entertainment. The Washington Post has great Sudoku that my mom saves for me now.

The dodgies went to Warrenton today to get haircuts. I think Freya was a bit cuter with the long hair in her face, although I think she can see now. Duncan seems a bit more "sharp" with less hair. They came back with (pink and blue, respectively) bandanas on, which I think looked ridiculous.

I am obsessed with our dogs. I play with them approximately 3.4 hours per day and missed them greatly when they were gone today.

Justin came over for dinner today with (me and) my parents. They had a great time discussing their opinions on various political situations while I smiled and tried to look cute. No one seemed to want to hear about the Krebs cycle.

I changed my Sprint plan to have (unlimited) evening/weekend minutes starting at 7 p.m. (and free Sprint-to-Sprint), which means that, even with living on the west coast, I might actually be able to talk to people at a reasonable hour. Thanks, Kelsey, for the tip. Good piece of luck: UC Davis has the same discount as Mayo did.

I went to Bed Bath and Beyond today to check out air mattresses. I think, once I'm back in Cali, I will invest in an aerobed for all the visitors I hope to have.

I finished my Africa scrapbook. What an undertaking (although very fun).

Tomorrow, I leave to go down south (Richmond and then Durham) for the weekend to see Sadie, Dr. Kish, Laura and Tony, and Eva.

Tomorrow's temperature highs:

• McLean, VA: 96
• Durham, NC: 96
• Sacramento, CA: 87
• Rochester, MN: 72.

Call me Goldilocks.

Lazy or laboring...

I've been pretty lazy since being home. Last night, I was so exhausted that I was in bed by 8:30 (eastern time!!!-- this was 5:30 p.m. Pacific), having to excuse myself from a dinner with my sister and godparents. I then slept until 9:45 this morning, which is basically unheard of for me. Although I thought I slept okay on the red-eye the previous night, all that unpacking and shopping (and maybe unconscious lack of sleeping) apparently wore me out!

After all that moving and stuff, it's so nice to be entirely on vacation (my friends with whom I'm trying to meet up say, "so what are you doing during the day?" to which I reply, "Nothing. Just working on meeting up with people. I'm totally free and flexible." :)). I am working hard, though, on a scrapbook album for our Africa trip. While I really enjoy putting these together and reliving all the memories, they certainly are labor-intensive. I stocked up on supplies before I left MN and thus have all the fun stuff to do it, but it has been a challenge so far to just get the pictures on, not even adding too much in the way of decorative additions. We'll see if I can get it finished before residency starts!

My good friend Laura recently sent me the link to the MS (Multiple Sclerosis Society) Homepage, as she (certainly NOT lazy), along with her husband, Tony, and mom will each be riding 150 miles over two days in September in/around New Bern, NC, as part of the MS 150 Bike Ride. This is an awesome cause that would be well worth it to support-- she has her own fundraising page and would LOVE to get more sponsors (hint, hint...)!


As far as my own laziness... I think I will head back and do some reading, perhaps in bed... Currently reading: The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian. My Mom says I have a deadline (can't take it out of town this weekend) since it's on 14-day loan (no renewal; already been out for a week or so-- she read it first) from the public library. I love this author and it's great so far!

THE MOVE (with many successes)

Whew. The traveling continues.... what a packed last week. Since Monday, I have been in nine states (plus the nation's capital), crossed 5 time zones (2 + 3), moved out of an old and into a new apartment, and am now finally relaxing at home in Virginia.

After a well worth-it visit to Lake Tahoe, my Dad and I left early Friday morning for Sacramento, about 100 miles away. The scenery was beautiful and, as we soon were going downhill into the valley, we had to worry no more about the UHaul's "I think it can, I think it can" engine making it without overheating. We parked in the back alleyway by my fourplex and started unloading... and were successfully done by about noon, even with just one "old man with a bad back" (Dad's words) and wimpy little me!

I met my landlord, Paul, who seems like a really nice guy (I had only met with the leasing agency before). I was also able to get a mail key, which was key (no pun intended) because somehow I hadn't realized that my airline tickets (Sac-DC-Sac), which I bought pre-Africa and had promptly forgotten about, were paper, and, as of Sunday, were sitting at my (well, my parents') nice little townhome in McLean, VA. So my Mom had to overnight them to California so that I'd be able to fly home!

After nice salads at a favorite midtown restaurant, Jack's Urban Eats (where they took us on my interview evening and yes, even thought I've spent less than a week total in Sac, I have favorites!), Dad and I went back to the apartment and I spent the remainder of the day unpacking and organizing, which was exhausting, but which went quite smoothly. My Dad helped greatly by dusting off furniture and blinds (things I don't really think of or care to do very much) and breaking down my boxes. Kyla called, thinking I may be in town (good memory!), and then she, Kate, Dad, and I went out to have Mexican food at Tres Hermanas (Three Sisters), another midtown place.

Saturday was also an efficient, action-packed, and very successful day.

• Due to the financial assistance of my uber-generous parents (who somehow claim I've saved them from paying lots of money in tuition as well as by being "cheap" and that I am quite a good kid overall), I am now an owner of a Toyota Prius, an awesome hybrid car. My parents got one when they moved back to VA and love it (and love the gas mileage) :) With prices the way they are (esp. in California), this will be a humongous blessing. I still plan on biking to and from the hospital (that is, once I find a bike-- it's about a mile and a half away), but it will be great to have wheels too.
• The outfit pictured here is the result of the success of two friends (Lesley and Natasha) in donating their old/reject clothing to someone who would appreciate it-- recognize anything, guys? :)
  
• Dad and I also went furniture shopping, yielding some great deals at a furniture warehouse on Arden Way. Although I am really trying to be a minimalist when it comes to "stuff" (esp. given my tendency to move so often...... and you'd think this is somewhat paradoxical because I also hate to throw things [that is, useful or edible things] away) and it was so freeing to be able to, before I left Roch, just get rid of an old computer desk, the free couch, and a dying dresser, my Dad convinced me that I should probably get a few other items of furniture. I was tempted to just get a replacement dresser (I found a nice birch chest on sale to fulfill that one real need) and leave the lazy boy as the only piece of living room furniture, with plans to get at least one good air mattress for when people come visit (you will, right?!). However, Dad reminded me that I will be living in CALIFORNIA and that, not only will I have more frequent visitors than I did in Roch, I'd also probably like to have guests over for dinner, movies, etc. (assuming I have the time, intern year!) and thus they might appreciate not having to sit on the floor. Okay, good point, pops. I still refused to get a bed. I will sleep on my futon bed until I'm married or something :) But, in any case, at Mattress Discounters, we found a really nice click-design (hard to describe) futon/sleeper with removable pillows that can function as arms; the neatest thing is that the other (short) side also folds up, to form something resembling a chaise lounge. I wish I had a picture, but they are going to deliver it when I return to Cali. So, fear not, there are comfortable places to sleep (and sit) guests!!!! Somehow, he also talked me into getting a table for my little kitchen nook and I have (not yet assembled though) a dark wood pub table (high) with two stool/chairs. Although I agreed with something Kelsey said once (about wanting everything you own to fit in a small car) and it is liberating to not own very much stuff, I agree that these items are quality purchases and will stay with me for a long time. I just hope this apartment works out and I stay put for at least four years. I hate, with a passion, the physical act of moving.
• And... I just successfully ended that paragraph, which was the longest bullet point in the history of the world.
• My apartment has been successfully unpacked! I just have to assemble some and obtain the other furniture, put up some pictures, and find some place to store my extra boxes (in case of a future move... I hate running around trying to gather up boxes). I do have a few days when I return to Cali, before starting residency orientation (June 18), to run some other errands... including getting a phone (yes-- I will have a land line, as AT&T runs a phone-internet deal), getting extra keys made, etc. However, it was a very successful trip and I got a ton done! Here are some pics of the place as it is now. I'm sure you can recognize some of the same stuff from MN (if you ever saw my apartment there). :). And oops-- sorry, Wendi, I again forgot to take a picture of the outside. I think it's light blue though.

Living room and kitchen nook

Living room/desk. The Tibetan carpet is one my parents had kept for me in storage but which is now mine to display!

The chair to which I'm very attached (plus boxes). And the stairstepper which somehow made it into the UHaul.

Bedroom. I'd like to point out the down comforter currently scrunched against the wall. I hope it stays there. There's a good chance it will NEVER GET COLD ENOUGH to need it! :)

Bedroom with (*new*) dresser

• Another success: Antihistamines. If you recall, I had terrible allergies the last time (about 3 weeks ago) that I was in Sac. With a three-month supply of Allegra I got under my Mayo insurance (effective, as I had little problem this time!), I am totally set!
• We successfully returned the UHaul, with no troubles or accidents and well within our mileage limit. I think we drove a total of 2070 miles or something. Yikes!
• Successful wine-tasting: We had a good amount of time to kill at the Sacramento airport, so my Dad and I went to a wine bar for a bit! The success was two-fold-- I feel like I could actually, to some degree, describe what I was tasting and distinguish the red wines of the "California Kings" flight. And, secondly, I refrained from singing Lion King songs.
• We successfully made it on two flights and made it to Virginia WITH ALL THE LUGGAGE. Hooray! :)

So that's about the news for now. I think that's enough success for one post.

Hello, California!

We made it to Lake Tahoe today! We left Elko, Nevada, fairly early this morning and got to eat lunch near Carson City; then, we headed onward to South Lake Tahoe (right on the border between Nevada and California). Dad was a little concerned with the truck making up the mountain incline and, indeed, we had some engine heating issues, but had no catastrophes and managed to make it back down to the lakeside just fine.

I got my first glimpse (this trip) of California as we crossed the state line. It's still very hard to believe that this will be my home state for at least the next four years. Do you think I can be a California girl? The adjustment will be interesting.

Lake Tahoe is beautiful! There are peaks with snow on them this late in the year, lining the lake front; I can certainly imagine how big a winter playground this is come that season! As soon as we checked in to our motel (Rodeway Inn; again, with free wireless!), I was headed to the lakefront beach to chill for a little bit. The temperature was amazing, sun shining brightly, and it was just perfect for some reading and napping. And, Hans (who should start his own blog, I think)--I had my very own geese right there-- no need to go to Silver Lake for squawking poultry! :) Since I'm big into "interesting poses" for photos and don't like too many photos sin personas in them, here are a couple shots of me (well, various body parts of me) at the beach. I'm kind of self-conscious about asking others to snap me (and Dad was not going to be joining me, even though he does have along his safari hat), so you'll have to forgive these bizarre images. Don't worry, though, I wore sunscreen.

A stomach

A (my) foot

While I was lounging around in the lovely California sun, Dad scoped out some options for dinner and entertainment for the night. We ended up at a wonderful buffet at Harrah's casino (still abundant here), on the 18th floor with a lovely view of the Sierra Nevadas, shown below.

Dinner was excellent, the buffet complete with fresh fruit, yummy Asian dishes ("Asian cole slaw" with cilantro and sesame dressing... mmm, pot stickers, bok choi, and my favorite, sushi with various seaweed salads), fish, other meats, and full desserts, among tons of other things. It was one of the best buffets I think I've ever been to! I'm really looking forward to Californian-done Asian food. Dad and I split a half-liter of a cabernet.... this is one other reason he was happy to get out of Utah! :)

Like father...

...like daughter ("it's about time," says Dad)

We then got tickets to a magic show at the Horizon Casino. It was really well done, complete with lots of humor. Interlocking rings, appearing doves (and disappearing birds named "Sanjaya" :)), changes of dress, metamorphoses of persons, you name it... they did it. It was a very fun evening!

We leave in the morning to drive the 100 or so miles to my new home! I hope unpacking goes as smoothly as packing did!

WY to NV (via Salt Lake)... and, maybe I just like internet

I write this from another hotel-- this time the Comfort Inn in Elko, Nevada, also with free internet. Can you believe this? It really is the thing nowadays. And I didn't mention it yesterday, but along interstate 80, the REST STOPS are advertising wireless internet. How weird is that?! My Dad and I aren't driving crazy, crazy hours in that we are usually at "camp" for the night by 8 p.m. So we have some free time to do fun online things:)

Today we left Wyoming and drove into Utah. It was a very pretty drive-- with nice snow-capped mountains lining the highways. We then visited the Mormon Temple and Temple Square. We weren't allowed to enter the temple, which is used for special sacramental things, but did get a tour of the complex by two missionary "sisters," from Hong Kong and Mongolia (!) here for their mission stint. I did learn a good bit about the history of the Mormon Church starting with Joseph Smith and the golden tablets-- more than I knew before, enhanced by our visit to the Museum-- but I still find the whole faith a bit strange. I couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable by all the proselytizing from the people around the temple, but, then again, I was visiting their grounds. We got to peek into the Tabernacle, which is renowned for its acoustics (apparently you can hear a pin drop from across the room!) and choir of 300-plus members, which is currently hosting a series of organ recitals. We also saw the assembly hall and some nice galleries with biblical and prophetic art. After we had eaten a nice lunch in the Garden Restaurant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and had our fill of Mormon teachings, we wandered around downtown Salt Lake City a bit in search of coffee for my addict dad. Let's just say that that was a challenge! Not a lot of caffeine/hot drinks to be found in that city, predictably. Hmm. One reason why I could never live in Utah.

Mormon Temple

Tabernacle

Adam and Eve statue

As we drove out of the city, we had some nice views (although my photos through the passenger window are arguably not great views) of the Great Salt Lake and desert, complete with sparkling salt crystals, right off the highway. I haven't seen anything like that before!

We made it all the way to Elko, Nevada, jumping another time zone to Pacific Time. The contrast with Utah is startling-- we immediately started seeing signs for casinos once we crossed the border. In fact, we briefly thought about staying at the Red Lion Casino but opted instead for this Comfort Inn. We did eat dinner at the J.R.'s at the Gold Country Casino, and we just ate. No slots for us :). Do you think Nevada does so well because it's next to Utah? Ok, enough about Utah. That's far behind us.


Tomorrow, we finish driving across Nevada. There's not that much here, especially in the northern part of the state-- all desert and big sky; in fact, in one of our road atlases, Nevada doesn't even get its own page-- it's grouped with California! I think I've convinced my Dad that we ought to make the slight detour from Reno to head towards Carson City and maybe spend the night in Tahoe. It would be better to leave early the next morning to get to Sac and then unload and stuff while we're fresh than to get to Sac late tomorrow night, I'm thinking... (don't you agree?!). I guess my main things are that we have the time now-- I think a day and a half is enough time to, for now, get situated in Sac (we fly to VA on a red-eye leaving Cali Saturday night), and I certainly don't want to make it through my intern year not having visited Tahoe, a mere 90 miles or something from Sac. I do worry that I'll somehow get too busy. So-- let's hope our UHaul makes it up around the mountains tomorrow.

Westward Bound... to Wyoming

Okay, before you think I am a total internet junkie, let me just say that I write this from (rural) Rawlins, Wyoming. My Dad and I are staying at a Super 8 Motel (one of the nicest I have been to, actually!), and there is nothing else to do (we ate dinner already at a local place, Cappy's), except play more Sudoku, watch T.V., or read more of my books which are getting read quickly. And this wireless is free.

The trip has been great so far! It started on Monday, Memorial Day, right after I got back from Chicago, when my wonderful, wonderful, wonderful friends Wendi, Ebby, Hunter, Cole, Natasha, and Nikola helped me move all my personal effects into a 10-foot UHaul. Although there were, at times, some concerns about whether it all would fit (I found myself saying, "I'm not that attached to X, or Y..."), the Organizer Wendi, with the assistance of the brains and spatial skills of Nikola, the Mighty Macedonian Man, miraculously fit everything in! It took just a little over 1 hour-- how amazing is that?! My Dad then rolled in on a shuttle from Minneapolis after the packing was done and after a nice last lunch at Pannekooken with the crew, we rolled out of Rochester. As Wendi has written, there were no real "goodbyes" but rather just more "see you laters."

And as I left Rochester, I was not sad in the slightest. I'm glad I drove away with someone (my Dad), as it would have been harder leaving everyone behind if I were by myself. But I think I've figured out why I haven't been more upset and emotional this time around-- it's because I know that I will see and keep in touch with all of the wonderful people I truly care about. Honestly, I think everyone should have a blog :) But I think what is sad to me is to think that I might never see some people again... which is most definitely not the case with my close Roch buds... Despite there being many things about Rochester that have been hard for me-- especially stressful times in school and struggles with moods, loneliness, etc., living there has blessed me with so many lifetime friends that I am so glad I called it home for four years. But as I drove out of town south on Broadway, I felt like I was leaving troubled times of the past behind and embracing the adventures of the future. I truly felt like a weight was lifted. I was at peace. I am finally moving on.

Within 2 hours, we had also said goodbye to MN! With so much help, my Dad and I were able to get a much earlier start than we had anticipated and made it down through Des Moines onto Hwy 80 (which is actually a straight shot to Sacramento!) and to Omaha, Nebraska, for the night. I got to cross off another state from my "list to visit." We even ate at a Cracker Barrel, on Wendi's recommendation-- cool place! Here are some snaps from yesterday.

Dad behind the wheel in Iowa. There was a beautiful rainbow behind him, but it didn't come out in this photo.

Cracker Barrel in Omaha
Proof that I did set foot in Nebraska. Even by John's qualifications, I was there.

Today, we left Nebraska and drove across the entire state to Wyoming. Let's just say that I feel like I've seen all that I need to see in Nebraska. We did have nasty weather-- including pouring rain, tornado watches, etc., but made it through in one piece. My Dad and I are switching off driving in shifts, and it's worked out nicely! The UHaul handles quite well, and we've been able to go close to the speed limit the whole way, making good time. And I'm so glad that, during our South Africa trip, I got used to reading and doing things in the car, which always used to make me sick. On this trip, I've already finished Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, written by Katrina Firlik, a neurosurgeon, about her training and job (thanks, Rachel, for the book recommendation!), done several Sudoku, and caught up on some AAFP, Minnesota Medicine, and The Lutheran magazines that had piled up during my time away. I am not bored at all!

Wyoming Wind Farm
Snow-capped peak! Scenery in WY has been MUCH nicer.

So this brings us to Rawlins. We even crossed a time zone today into Mountain Time, which let us gain an hour despite driving for about 11 today. Tomorrow, we plan to make it to Salt Lake City by lunchtime or so and spend some time exploring that city, which I hear is gorgeous! We will either make it to Sacramento the night after that, or the following morning (I'm trying to talk my Dad into a swing to/through Tahoe on the way, which is just south of Reno, the main city on Hwy 80). I'm already loving the west! California, here we come.