Some activities.

I had the most lovely visit to the river today. I attached my new bike rack to my car and filled the tires on my one speed. The dogs got a nice swift run for about a mile until we found a bit of beach. We played swim-fetch with sticks and holes were dug in the sand. The dogs were the most thoroughly tired imaginable! Although apparently they are both fairly sore.

I bid on a digital piano today! Hopefully I can get a cheaper one, perhaps something well-used but good quality.

I started a kombucha brew a couple of days ago. It takes up to a month, but by then I will have a culture to make more! On Saturday I'm making Arabic food: tabbouleh, hummus, and baplau soup (fish soup), and an attempt at Laban.

I can't wait to be back on day shifts! Only a couple more nights.

Overnight shifts are the worst

I had a bad run today. I don't know if it's because it was so damn hot or because I'm reaching a thorough exhaustion from overnight shifts at school or both. I had a minor meltdown during the drive back. I'm so fucking tired. I'm starting to lose patience with one of my rotation-mates, even though I've tried to stay on the opposite shift of the rotation as much as possible.

I feel pretty well shelled out. I feel like I'm just going through the motions at home and at school. And I'm having a ton of anxiety about being alone forever.

Music is helping. I've been breaking the rules and watching too much consecutive tv. But fuck.

Busy Saturday

Today was good. I rode my bike for 38 miles, my longest single day mileage yet. I had lunch at a delicious bakery in the tiny town of Uniontown with friends. I finished audio-reading The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (interesting story, sometimes frustratingly slow and repetitive dialogue, decent narrator, though her American accent was ridiculous). I got through reading a couple of papers for my senior paper. I added at least an inch onto a hat I started knitting the other day. I played a couple of songs on the guitar even.

I had planned to go to a barbecue tonight, but I decided to bail when the thunderstorm started. My poor cat came in fairly wet, but she's fluffy enough to avoid thorough drenching. Instead I made the lamb chops in my own kitchen, and made myself a sidecar, with much greater success than last night: less lemon juice, and no sugar in the drink, just on the rim.

Tomorrow I'm driving to Boise for an overnight visit, which I can do because the shifts for my next rotation don't start until Monday at 5. It'll be good to see some old friends, plus I'm taking the dogs with. Hopefully we'll be somewhere nice like Riggins by lunch time. The drive to Boise really is beautiful, plus I'll have lots of time to get well into the next audiobook.

I am not as social as the norm, I don't think. I'm happy to stay at home and entertain myself. Or maybe it's just since I'm a bit older now, going out on the weekends is less appealing. I'm not complaining or concerned, it's merely interesting to see my interests change over time.

A passed test

Finally we got our results from the first round of the in-school proficiency exam. I passed! Apparently a very large proportion of our class did. It's one of the big hurdles on the way to finishing this school. It's great to have it out of the way.

Some people stay active as they age.

Today I saw a woman, in her 50s at least, mountain biking around Moscow Mountain with her dog. This made me very happy. And my trail run tonight was almost entirely on actual trails, not gravel road, with some excellently steep parts that require full body involvement, and made me pretty tired. It was fantastic. I do wish I could exercise for several hours every day. Maybe I'll start doing morning triathlons. Chili and Pepper would approve.

I am really enjoying Clin Path. It's like all of vet school diagnostic learning bundled up into a very small classroom. Large animal overnights are next. At least they'll be out of the way? I'll definitely still be riding my bike to school at the very least - but I will need a headlight.

I started looking at pianos today on ebay. I impulsively bid on one, but got outbid. I don't know very much about electronic pianos, but I really don't want or need a 'keyboard' with prerecorded beats or melodies. A built in metronome would be nice, but other than that I just want grand piano approximating tone.

Ok, time to wash the dogs. And listen to more audiobooks.

Ice cream, paperwork, recovery

Whoops, I ate another whole pint of ice cream. Probably I just shouldn't buy them. I also finished preparing the rest of my cases for the week. No more homework this week! Except what I need to be working on for my senior paper.

I used the rain as an excuse to skip out on bicycling and trail running today. I promised myself I would do yoga and strength work but I haven't started yet. But I need to fill out more forms to take more tests for school. Paperwork is a major soul-sucker, but sometimes it just can't be avoided. Bleurgh.

Oh, and now I realize I need to get 'certified copies' whatever those are, of all my court documents from my very bad ticket, in order to apply to take the NAVLE for Washington. Hopefully they'll just let me change my state to Montana. Because that's what I meant to put. Montana. I have a headache now. And  I haven't done much to be happy today. At least Kelly is acting more normal. And Pandora was very good to me. And what the hell, I guess if I can't get licensed I'll just have to go off grid.

My panic is subsiding, but I think I need to do something to relax. I mean, sometimes there is just nothing you can do. But I didn't do nothing. I left a message with my attorney. I texted my mom. I already emailed to see if I could change my application to Montana. I emailed PET to see if my SIPE still exists. I emailed the SIPE lady to see if I need new paperwork. I emailed Doug to see if he can certify copies. I have been a busy little bee. I hope I didn't just waste $50 on a Montana application.

Ok, it is one-armed pushup time (wall pushups, I am not that cool). I think I'll read something of the Pratchett variety, and eat cheese, and then I'll relax. Hopefully.

Bike rides and bed frames

Riding my bike to school is the best thing for my day. It's a million times better than coffee to help you wake up properly. And I was so excited when it was time to go home.

I had to disassemble my bed frame today. I lifted the mattress up so that my dog, who is being a big weirdo ever since I got back, couldn't hide under the bed for no reason, and I realized that the 2x4 that's been anchoring the frame (as jerry-rigged several years ago) was collapsing. So now my mattress is on the floor, my bedframe is in pieces and stacked against the wall, and I must add physical/manual labor to my good list. It was fun! I got the drill out, I didn't drop anything on my foot, and I accomplished something, even if it was small.

This senior paper is going to give me trouble. It's hard to make any progress on it, although maybe now that I have a sort of outline I can just go section by section. Alas, organization, why are you so unfamiliar to me?