EASTER!!

Tiffany just pointed out to me that it was Friday night and I have my nose shoved in an anatomy book. "Studying Anatomy" and not in the wink wink kinda way.

I have an Easter story.

Gather round children:

While visiting Liz I ran out to get something out of the car. I hear a screen door slam, and in looking over my left shoulder see this crazy man .....long grey/black hair frizzed out in a cone shaped white mans afro.....no shirt on, dirty cut off jeans...scratching his big belly with both arms giving out a yawn. Fine specimen. I laugh. He looks over....I quickly look into the jeep trying to remember what I'm looking for as I say quietly (oh my god!).

(he yells in the crazy man rasp voice) Hey! Easter!

Oh my god. What is he yelling...easter? Like the holiday?

Easter! ........(shit I have to look.....oh god he's facing my direction)

EASTER!

Holy crap this guy is crazy

EASTER! GET THE HELL OVER HERE!

Whoa. Wait. Get the hell over what? Where is my dog? Yes, good girl is now standing pinned to my leg like the trusty protector that she is. I look down, she looks up at me with a very distinct 'that guy is crazy , get your shit and lets get out of here! look' her eyes dart back towards him and so do mine..... crazy guy is headed over...he's got an awkward walk, still scratching his skin.

Crap. Abort Jeep mission I repeat abort Jeep mission.

Easter! God Damn dog!

Oh shit.

I gotta do something, where's my mace? He's walking with a mission now crossing the street.

Fumbling in the car, full on panic fight or flight mode I somehow get out...

"Um, this is my dog"

((in my head))....I'm about to mace this guy...I wish I had a stun gun)

He stops dead in his tracks in the middle of the street.

EASTER!

"THIS IS MY DOG."

(that's me. I have new found courage....and the mace)

"WHERED YOU GET THAT DOG?!

(mad as hell like I stole the meth heads dog)

IN SOUTH CAROLINA 10 years ago!

EASTER!

MY DOG!

He turned around, twitched his way back down the street. I run back into Liz and Dannys house. "I almost just maced the crazy crackhead that lives down the street! He thought I stole his dog!" Liz looked at me with an overly confused look.

This crazy shit only happens to me.

Could it be that her name is now

Sativa Maria Cookieface Columbus Pastel La La La EASTER King?

I'd celebrate if I had an ounce of energy

Well, the work comp case officially settled today. It's official once your lawyer has you check right? Maybe I should wait until the check clears.. Pinnacol Insurance wins the award for the most unethical company in the world.....just barely one step above Enron. Shameful.
Case #2 is in full swing now, as Ryan has handed over document after document to my Boulder lawyer. This guy gives ME a panic attack when I talk to him, and I'm paying him. I can't imagine how it must feel to be on the other side of the table from him.

In non-lawyer news, the pup and I are both fighting our colds with what little strength we have left. I have to go to work this afternoon, the whole staff is sick. Poor patrons.....they have no idea what's going on behind the curtain. Ummmm, enjoy your meal. (cough cough)

An Indian and a Redneck walk into a bar.....

Keva started her 5 day raft trip on Saturday just down the road from Junction & phoned a friend to do a quick catch up before they sailed away.....well technically they would have paddled away.....

In other news, I'm one step closer to being a grown up. That's right ladies and gentleman meet the new love of my life.

Aaaahhhh. I never thought I could miss something so much. Im going to name them Bert and Ernie. And to think, just yesterday morning I was in the Laundromat practicing my Spanish with a 4 year old, while being creeped out by the guy in the corner staring at me while I fold my underwear.

new school

New School. Flo Jo and I went to bike maintenance class this week. Mainly because I don't know what the hell I'm doing, and I'd rather not be SOL the day I do blow a tire, or loose a chain on the side of the road. (Im not even sure if you can loose your chain, but for a second there it sounded hard core didn't it?) Next week I'll have them focus on how to speak 'bike'. I'm sure that too will turn out like my Spanish. Broken, leaving everyone involved confused.

Old School. White dog and I got some sun in today. 75 degrees is sweet.

.

shhhhhhh....

There have been a few times where I have seen something, and instantly in my head I can hear David Lock.........shhhhhhh....shhhhhhhh.
It's in this moment that I realize how precious this life is.

sweet spring

Some sure signs it's springtime. Not only is everything in bloom, and the grass in the yard needs mowing, but here are my top 5 amandaland reasons the change has begun:

1. I have a blister on my foot from the my chacos. Even though I've had them for 3 years, it's inevitable that during the winter, this side of my foot goes soft and by spring it's time to form a new callous.

2. Turning on the AC. Now this one is new to me as I haven't had an air conditioning unit for the last 5 years. You just don't need it at 9000 feet. SC, yes. WP, no. Who knew, GJ in April, yes. When I turned it on it shot dirt and dust straight across the livingroom. Uuummmm. That stale dirty air feels nice.

3. Planted the seeds for the garden. This being my first year with a garden, I've set my goals low. I just want to successfully grow and eat ONE edible vegetable from my garden.

4. This morning at 7:30 am I walked the dog in shorts and flip flops.

and finally #5, the sure sign that its spring.......

The Mexican Merriachi band playing in the quad on campus.
ai yai yai

Talk about a small world...

After running some errands yesterday I skipped over to Liz and Dannys house to help prep food for their First Spring BBQ. That girl can cook up some ridiculously delicious gourmet food. I was mostly just along for the ride, although I did make a key lime and apple pie. (*Note- even following moms apple pie recipe to the T, it doesn't taste anything like hers. Must be the air at the farm that makes it so good) Yes. I know. Dangerously good looking in the apron.

2 hours later we had successfully blown up the kitchen, and Meg (the backyard neighbor) came in to invite me on a hike with some friends. Flash forward to halfway up the trail (I'm leading with 4 behind me) chatting away. The conversation went something like this......

Me: that's cool, you guys live right by the park by my house. I run right there sometimes.

Guy behind me: Really? Wait. Do you ride a bike?

Me: Yea I do.....(something clicks in my head) Oh my god. (I stop and turn around) I race you don't I?!?

Guy behind me: Auuggghhh......IT IS YOU!

(kicking his ass since Feb 7th, 2006. See archives for the first ride)

Out of my element

Yesterday started out as a regular routine day.

I'm still glowing from the rad tech acceptance and have been hi-fiving random people. In fact I forgot to mention in the last post that at the fundraiser I not only had to keep myself from drinking from the chocolate fountain like you do a water, but also resist the urge to grab the microphone from the DJ and pull a Check Check......What's Up I'm Famous!' Give it up for me! Whoa!' (frequently pouring through my head on a hourly basis)

So back to yesterday. As I'm in line at the bank drive thru thankful that we have Saturday morning hours, I notice in the rearview that REI has a big tent outside and lots of people walking around. This could only mean one thing. Warehouse sidewalk sale. Sweet.
Next thing I know I have about 8 pair of sunglasses laid out on the counter and am stopping people as they walk by to tell me which pair looks best on me. (Shameful. I know).
A bag full of goodies later I'm sitting at a cafe looking over at the sucker that listened to this for an hour in REI..
'ok, now the blue ones...no wait, what about the black.....Ignore the fact that they look crooked, that's my ears, I'll fix the glasses after I buy them.....look at these their called cream of wheat'

Oh snap.

I'm on a date.

The suckers me! I got picked up at the REI sidewalk sale. I fell for it. I didn't realize what was going on until 5 minutes into lunch

I must have suddenly had a look of shock on my face and panic ensues in 5...4...3...2...

flippidy floppidy fluuu

Ok so there is just the slightest bit of catch up to do. The Flip Flop Fling Fundraiser (oh, sorry, did I just spit on you?) was Thursday night. That made an already chaotic day even more so. I did go solo even with the girls valient attempts to set me up with Tahverlys uncle and Johannas neighbor. I pointed out to them that Snow White went to the ball by herself and met Prince Charming. They reminded me that it was Cinderella, not Snow White, and she had little mice to help....like them. (the best I could come up with was rolling my eyes as a comeback) Class, class, class, coach, (squeeze in a beer here with Teesha to celebrate my rad tech and her RN acceptance) run home, put on a dress, flip flops, eat a power bar and drive out to the winery. Dessert and wine. Luckily there was not a single thing that I wanted to buy in the silent auction. I was flooded with memories of winning a hot air balloon ride the last time I was at one of these. By the end I was dying for some non-sugar based food. Trust me, I had my fair share of the chocolate fountain. I did restrain myself enough from the urge to just hang my head under it and lapp up chocolate fondue. Ummmm chocolate fondue......
I found myself at 10pm at the Slide eating pasta in attempt to lower my blood sugar. My dress was very Sarah Jessica Parkerish. Sorry I didn't get many pictures. If you've never seen me in a dress with makeup on, well today isn't going to change that for you. I was cute, let's leave it at that. This is the best I could do at the end of the night.

The Ace up my sleeve

Everything is under control

The Betty Ford clinic picked me up promptly at 8am.

Today I've spent the majority of my waking hours running from town to town, meeting with some of the girls mothers in a last minute attempt to get their registration forms for the race turned it. Palisade doesn't look too bad at 8:30 in the morning. All the meth addicts must be in their hidden corners having crack candy dreams and twitching in their sleep. But who am I to talk....the Betty Ford wagon is circling the block as we speak.

For anyone who is interested in running the 5k for a great cause (AKA: me and my girls) please visit www.girlsontherungv.com and register, or if you can't make it feel free to make a sizable donation. The race isn't until May 6th, so you have plenty of time to train or make a sign & come cheer us on.

Some background info on the story I have to tell today: On the 30th there is a silent auction fundraiser called the Flip Flop Fling for the Girls on the Run. Very cute, semi-formal with flip flops, all proceeds go to the organization. Before Heather left we were discussing this event & Heather foolishly asked me in front of the girls if I have a date. If you've ever seen 13 9 year olds flock into a conversation, it's similar to a clip I once saw on the Discovery Channel where the young descend in on the old and kill them. I thought I can put a positive spin on it about being confident and comfortable enough to attend an event by yourself.... Nope....Not a chance. Those girls were on me like.....Well, like Betty Ford on my hidden liquor stash. It is how every practice has started for the last 2 weeks. Me...Ladies, how are CSAPS going? (as we sit in a circle stretching out before the run) Them...'ok/easy/today was hard/I fell asleep....Whatever' inevitably a few start to whisper and then get louder.......Me...'whats up?' Them (always two or three at once)....'do you have a date yet?' Me...I don't think I'm going to take a date, and if you ask again, we're running 6 extra laps. (which by the way has not phased them one bit)

So fast forward to today. Im in the Hollywood Video parking lot in Clifton when Taverhlys mom pulls up with her registration form. Jumping out grabbing the form Mrs. Tahverlys mom says......'So Amanda do you have a date for the fundraiser yet? The girls mentioned over spring break that you didn't and we thought maybe you could take Tahverlys uncle. He hasn't been out of the house in a while.'

Seriously. That's at least an extra 12 laps for them all.

2 postings in 1 day! Your so lucky!!

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the hell happened to your bra and panties. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. " ~Frank Sinatra

The only proper southern way to leave an 8:45 am wine tasting is to walk away with a bloody mary in hand.

Dad says to me tonight....'so you had a lazy day huh?'

Me....No. not at all. I had a employee meeting / wine tasting this morning, lunch, then went for a bike ride. It's 75 degrees here so I laid out on the dock and took a nap. Now I'm watching a movie. Wait. What the hell am I talking about. It was a completely lazy day.'

The interview was last night. It's hard to say how those things go. There was a panel of 6 made up of 2 professors and then 4 from the hospital. Six questions were asked, I remember 4 and I think I may have blacked out during two. Please god don't have let the black woman in me come out to answer those two questions.....or do the electric slide. I was the absolute last interviewee at #56 and the accept 18 into the program. (big sigh)

Afterwards I went to the Slide, had a beer, and drove out to the lakehouse where I fell asleep on the couch. I like that place. With the exception of the highway running off to the side, it's very peaceful. I'm planning on hauling the kayak into the lake today and paddling around. Having had all of my midterms on Thursday I actually have a weekend where I'm not flooded with homework or anxiety.
But first I have to head up to work for a employee wine tasting. Drinking wine at 9am. It's like running through the communion line over and over again. I just might find a way to make lake boating into an extreme sport.

Bye Tiffany! Have fun storming the castle!

Take a seat

Ok guys. Im obsessive about things. I think that's quite obvious if you have spent any time at all with me. So being denied from the rad tech program was like being shot down by a blind hunter. So I went over, and over, and over again in my head with it until I finally gave it up......And went to the head of the department to find out why. Not a comfortable feeling going in knowing someone is going to tell you what is wrong with you. But I do. And I see my transcripts, and I hear from her how I was 11 points shy from the cut offs for an interview. And I leave her office. And I start to go over it in my head. And over it again. And on the third time I see in my head my GPA written on that sheet of paper and........ It wasn't right.
So I go the registrars office and I don't have my ID, so they wont give me my transcripts. So I go to study and start talking to Tish my A&P lecture study partner, turns out she works in the registrars office. So I get my transcripts. And I call Winthrop (at 5pm last night SC time), and print out on the computer their transcripts. And then this morning I met with the registrars office to review, and my GPA was calculated incorrectly.

So I go back to the head of the rad tech office in hope that my higher GPA will earn me more points on my application. And it did. 10. One point shy. I thought I was going to pass out. She suggests that I find my A&P professor and get a print out of my current grade. So Im now running around campus, (literally) searching for Dr. Chowdry. And she was in her office. (what are the odds of that?) And I get the print out. And run back across campus with 11 minutes left to get to the head of rad techs office hours for the week (ironic the 11 minutes isn't it? I thought that too) My grades bought me 3 points. Im over the limit.

I have the last interview slot. Friday. 5:30.
Well at least I'm using my craziness to my advantage. Its kind of like learning how to harness the wind.....

I had this dream last night. I was sitting at the little coffee-bagel shop downtown, typing away furiously at the computer when out of nowhere I begin to cry. It started out as the slow tears that ripple down your cheek, and then morphed into this sobbing blubber of a mess where I was crying so hard that I got crying hiccups. Out of sure embarrassment and panic I have my hands covering my eyes and cheeks that have apparently caught on fire from the heat radiating from them. Then a man I don't know walks up, picks me up, sets down and holds me on his lap until I stop. I get up, completely composed, close the laptop cover, grab what I can only imagine is my latee 1/2 shot vanilla, and walk out. When I hit the door I call over my shoulder 'see you tomorrow'. And I wake up.

And there is no heat in the house. (I'm at my house while Tiff is in town because we can't take the cat to the lake house)


Soon after I'm busted microwaving my skivies. http://akadventuring.blogspot.com

To my own amazement I finally traded in my cell phone for a new updated fancy smanchy one today. This of course meant that I had to give up some text messages that I had kept around for way too long. Why you ask? Because....well I apparently enjoy torturing myself from time to time. Three cheers for cutting off a few strings today.

See ya tomorrow

Ah can't beat it

Well I'd take a picture of the house explosion if I didn't think that Tiffany would smother me with a pillow in the night.
It's amazing how much an apartment fills up with another person, another dog, and a cat that makes me sneeze. But I love them anyway....Well.....Maybe not so much the cat, but Tiff and Pooh King are keepers. I guess I can't blame the cat that much, poor Oz must think her days are numbered with all of my cat anatomy pictures laid out on the kitchen table. Imagine what she must be thinking.......
Tiff is hauling her tri-monthly gypsy train to Oregon and will be here until Thursday. I have 2 midterms this week so I'm sure she is very excited to look at anatomy pictures and quiz me on the trapezius muscle system.


On the plus side I started house sitting today for Coach Heather and her husband Dr. Trig. That's got to be about the easiest job ever. Im focusing mainly on making sure that the washing machine and dryer stay in good working condition while they're gone. (can't let those things sit too long) Sativa is working on her dog paddle. (she of course is a natural)

2 weeks of living on a lake looking at these views....it's going to be rough.

Oh Saint Patty

Saint Patrick. That's the patron Saint of drunk bikers right?

Currently Staring in my own Soap Opera

Simpsons episode anyone?

Sir I demand satisfaction!

Liz and I did a little riding downtown yesterday with the weather being so nice and it being my day off. Hey. It's spring break. There's nothing like taking your mind off of personal disappointment like margaritas and conversations of the local commune.

Now I'm off today to go sling green beer at people for St. Patty's. Of course we have to wear all black at work, but I've spiced it up with some green panties in case challenged.

Don't take it personally I'm not talking to anyone right now.

I don't like change. I've become content where I'm at, and frankly I feel like I've gone through enough of it already this year. This may be my craziness coming out here, but I feel like the second I take a deep breath and become accepting of my life, suddenly it gets a flick from the side and I'm knocked on my ass all over again. I'll trust you to hold the football, just please don't move it when I go to kick. Damn it not again.

I did get a message from my grant advisor, who I have a conference call with on Monday. I haven't lost the grant.....Yet. Her voice mail suggestion was as follows: Colorado has 2 other rad tech programs. Call them, see if I can still apply and if accepted get my ass to either one of those schools. She also said that there were some other options we could go over and will do that on Monday. Right now I just feel like an ass for betting that it would work out. I am so bad at gambling and I put a lot on the line with this and just lost the first round. I've gone ahead and opted out of the education route. I know it was the fallback plan, and as lovely as summers off would be, I have no desire to do it. I know what your thinking 'but your great with kids'....yea, your kids, but I wouldn't have your kids. I'll have satans spawn year after year. Amys right, it takes a special kind of person to be a teacher, and that's not me.

Mesa doesn't offer up a masters program either, so I can't sell them on that and stay to get my Masters. To remain in GJ on this grant they would have to pay for another year of me at Mesa in hope that I get accepted into the program next year. I don't know if that's even realistic. I'll know more by Tuesday. If I do have to go it wont be until the summer, so I could at least finish out the training with my girls, and finish out this semester in school. I am totally bummed, but I'm guessing that you know that.

plan b anyone.....anyone?

The special girl lives upstairs

Aweeeee My Skis! Don't say it. I know I'm the coolest person you know. The pictures prove my timeless fashion sense. But wait, you'll be envious. I'm certain the person who got the best show today was the guy in the dentist chair downstairs. Imagine sitting there, waiting for the dentist, big bay window to look out of , watching the birds, hearing the wind chimes, when suddenly you see me. Ski cap on,(it's nice and sunny here today) green jacket, blue jeans (rolled up to my knees so that I can see how cool my new boots are), skis on (there is no snow on the ground), poles hooked onto my hands (lets reflect on my lack of simple coordination), and a white dog running around me at this fiasco barking wildly. I bet he questioned whether or not the nitrous was left on causing this hallucination. I was just trying to walk actually, but those really high exaggerated steps because I have long skinny skis on. Plus the poles are very long so it was an awkward feeling limbs flying everywhere, trying not to stab myself or the dog, and lifting my knees high enough to keep the skis from hitting each other or the poles. Yes yes, sheer poetry in motion.

Now as you can tell the skis have red stripes on them. To me, this means that they go faster. (this has been my belief since I was 7 and had a pair of red shoes to run in. Red Strip = Fast) I even went as far as to clean off the red strip so that they could do there magic in a race. Special I know.

And no, you don't even have to ask. I haven't taken the boots off yet. In fact I just might sleep in them.

Sake to Me Baby

You know I said it. This is Liz, her boyfriend Danny and I at the downtown sushi restaurant in GJ last night. Happy hour followed by sushi and plum wine with sake mixed in is a perfect combination for a night filled with giggles. Come to think of it I'm surprised that there isn't a picture of me riding that buffalo downtown. (or did I.....) Granted at 2:30 this morning my body was not so fond of the sake/wine mixture, but here in about 30 minutes it's all going to be sweat out in yoga. Hummmm, for some reason I don't think that it's going to smell as sweet as it tasted. Oh yea, and I dislocated my finger......yea, not sure when or how.

A dogs life

Sativa Maria Cookieface Columbus Pastel La La La King
I want the simplicity of my dogs life.
That way I would never wonder about life (I would wonder about whether or not that neighbor cat was in the backyard)
I wouldn't care if people didn't follow through (I would be so excited when anyone and everyone showed up at the door.....Then sneak out to chase that cat in the back yard and listen to them cheer me on.....I'm always sure that noise in the background is cheering!)
Who needs money? If you look at things from this angle.......

Sun to Snow

Sorry Neal, no more bikini shots.
Can you see it? Can you see the snow? (it's mini snow, but that still counts)It just went from rain to snow about 20 minutes ago. Now Im debating whether or not to make the girls run in the snow tonight. Tuesday we ran in off and on rain and they did fine........


Meanwhile in anatomy...... (this guy reminds me of Zwiefel) ..........


Not everyone can play god. Let it go man, she's gone.