Comedy of Errors

This past weekend, the last stretch of my school break, I zipped up to Boston. My primary goal was to have face-time with Dr. Stephen Franson, my chiropractor from Beverly MA, with whom I would like to "associate." An associateship is to a freshly-graduated chiropractor, what a residency is to a new MD, or a post-doctoral fellowship is to a just-minted PhD. Dr. Franson runs one of the most successful, high-volume practices in New England: his business model is a well-run ship, to say the least, and the opportunity to train in his practice would be pretty much like learning how to start up a company with Donald Trump as your personal mentor. Dr. Franson and I have been in spotty contact since I came here to Georgia (did I mention that he is the reason I decided to embark on the journey to become a chiropractor, and also the reason I am here at Life U in Atlanta?) and for the past month or so, we have been trying to set up a meeting with him. He is a busy man. He can be very difficult to connect with - i get that. So when he said that sometime the 11th or so would work, I went ahead and arranged a trip, though I had no solid date, time, or meeting place. There are very few people to whom I would extend that kind of trust.

The trip, as it turned out, was a comedy of errors - the kind of thing that you have to maintain a sense of humor about. Let's start with Wednesday, and five hours of yardwork in the mucky heat of a Georgia summer, and mild heat exhaustion / dehydration. OK, stage is set. Thursday, my flight was due to leave at 3:10 - so, still moving kinda sluggishly, I got it all together Thursday morning and left the house at 1:15, for a 20-25 min drive to the airport. (note to Dad: seeeeeeee how early??) Mid-day in Atlanta, no prob, right? Heh heh construction vehicle abandoned in the center lane of 285. Ten mile backup, right before the airport, crawling bumper to bumper. Ooooo-kay... So I finally get to the airport and scam it into the terminal thinking oh, crap, I'm so gonna miss my flight... Thankfully the flight was delayed for 2hr, due to thunderstorms. (warning bells!) That gave me enough time to backtrack to Kat's car to text her very specific directions on where it was parked, since she and Jake were due to arrive the next day and pick it up (file this fact for future reference, it becomes important).

Several more flight delays. I am now about to miss my connection, in Chicago. What's that you say? NEVER fly through Chicago in the summer on an afternoon? Oops. I look at the radar map. There are two bands of thunderstorms - one in Atlanta, the other swooping down across Minnesota towards Chi-town. Looks like it should hit... right as we land. And that it did - we zipped into O'Hairy not 5 min before all hell broke loose. The incoming front was just a wall of black. We got stuck on the tarmac for an hour, due to lightning strikes. I'm thinking, hell, I'd better decide whether to just tell them to put me on a flight tomorrow... after all, I am 80 miles south of Mike Hayward, and it's his 50th birthday (happy bday again, Mike!!) I was pretty close do doing that - but I really wanted to get to my meeting with Franson. So i decided to stick it out.

We left O'Hare at 1230 Central time. And I don't sleep on planes. Landed in Boston at 330 eastern time. (Note: my reaction to the Boston skyline was similar to a sailor's first view of land in months!) Michelle picked me up at Logan - and she will be getting a LOT of cookies for that airport run!!!!!! We get back to Chez Michelle at 430, and i'm thinking, how the hell am I gonna get it together to meet with Dr. Stephen? I am not really functional on sleep deprivation - as many of you know. I decide to check my email at Michelle's: message from Doc, he has had to shift plans around due to a funeral, is 11am ok? No prob, at least now we have a solid time and place. I go to reply... and Michelle's internet crashes. It's now dawn.

Cambridge, 9am, I am showered and about ready to scootch down the road, the phone rings. It's Franson. "Did you get my message? I was hoping we could meet at 9am here in New Hampshire." oh CRAP! Indeed, no. We rescheduled for Saturday - frustrating, but probably better, I was more likely to be functional by that time :)

Shift of plans. Like i said, the purpose of the weekend was to meet with Doc - all else was to be juggled around that. So, juggle I did.

Michelle and I headed out to Salem to have lunch with Charley, ah, Indian food in Atlanta is just not as good!! Charley decided to be really bad and play a little hooky - it was friday afternoon, after all - and we went out sailing on his 16" Hobie Cat! Conditions were just stellar:































Got back to Chez Charley, zipped back into Cambridge, and Michelle generously lent me her car so I could drive out to meet up with ACBK. Amy K and I had a lovely visit, including yummy red wine and decadent tiramisu at Bertucci's :) then I drove back into Cambridge, to prepare for Meeting with Doc, round 2.

Saturday am. Still didn't sleep well. I get ready and leave at 1045, the drive should be about 45 min and we are due to meet at 12. Except....... I forgot something very important. The Hampton Tolls. Total CF; I didn't make it to the cafe until 1230. Doc is a busy man, and has set aside an hour to meet with me, and look what I do... but wait, it gets better. I walk into the cafe and he has brought one of his kids - beautiful towheaded four-year-old, long hair. In my exhausted and traffic-addled state, I forget that his daughter Emma is less than two years old, and don't realize that the kid with him is his SON Sam. Hint: If you are trying to gain ground back after showing up 30min late for a 1hr meeting, do NOT suggest to the man's man who you're meeting with that his son looks like a girl. Bad.

It was lovely to catch up with Doc, but I didn't feel like the meeting went all that well. He knew I was looking to ask him about an associateship; unfortunately, he has a lot of really amazing projects he is digging into right now, and he is not sure where his practice is going to be headed in the near future, so he's not able to give a definitive answer to anything until October - to me, or to the other 2-3 people who have expressed interest.

I have to admit I am disappointed. In my best case scenario, I hoped to leave Boston with an offer, and to know where I will be in nine months. This will not be the case. However, the door is not shut, which was the worst-case scenario. It's simply a wait-and-see. But with such a comedy of errors surrounding my meeting with Doc, I have to wonder whether working for him is what the universe has in mind for me. There are other docs in Boston with whom I can associate, for sure. And to return to Boston is still my firm intention :) especially after the absolutely lovely time i was able to spend with a few of my peeps - I am so lucky to have a hometown to return to, that is home base to so many of my great friends.

Which brings me to the happier part of this post - Being up in Boston was wonderful, i can't wait to go home. After meeting with Doc, I drove over to Darcy and Chris' new place in Groton, MA. The pix I had seen were terrific, but Darcy hinted that they may not accurately convey the place's awesomeness, so true - Their new home abuts an expanse of greenspace, with endless opportunities for biking, hiking, snowshoeing, xc skiing... Beautiful. Darcy and Chris had arranged a late afternoon BBQ, so I got to visit with Tom and Brenda, Owen and baby Zach, and Andi and Russell.


Russell, the crazy handsome Brit, and Chris had been for a ride (i had been hoping to join them, but scheduling nixed that); Owen has grown into a recognizable human being with good taste in hats (Tom and Brenda rule!!):


Zach is so cute that he could make just about any woman want to have a kid; and Andi requested that I update my blog more often, a comment I have heard from a few of you... So ya can't curse the length o' this one!!! Darcy, the amazing woman she is, managed to find a six of my favorite beer, Stone IPA, which is DANGED hard to come by - Duuuuuude. Darcy, u so rock :) in a dozen ways!

After people exodused (ya i know, not a legal scrabble word) Darcy and Chris and I got to hang out. Their sunroom is divine:



and we watched some animated Batman shorts in their entertainment room.

I got a few short hours of shut-eye (actually four, then i had an asthma attack and decided to take a barefoot walk around the neighborhood at dawn), then hit the road at 7am for my flight, stopping by en route in Cambridge to walk Michelle's pup Billy (no longer a pup, that's for sure!!! He's taller then Moose!). I got to the airport and thought hm, why do I feel so woozy? OH! because I forgot to eat today, and because I haven't had a full night's sleep since nearly a week ago??

So it turned out that Kat and my ingenious plan to car-swap at the airport crashed and burned. Kat and Jake forgot their keys in Boston... and some other stuff. I'm not the only one who had a rough trip to Boston! Luckily I had not locked their keys in their car at the airport as we had originally tossed around :) That would have sucked. So it was pretty easy for me to get home, and I didn't have to bother anyone for airport pickup.

Moose did quite well, Celeste and Aryn took awesome care of her! I was a little worried, as this is the longest I had left her since her surgery, and she still has a tricky stomach. But she did awesome. I need to stop by the vet at some point and see how much she has put on. She might be cracking 90 pounds at this point. I'm looking forward to when it cools down around here a bit and I can walk her more - with her black fur coat, walking is at a minimum right now. But we'll get in some hiking this fall :)

It's now wednesday, and i'm still recovering. Classes have started, same crap thrown at us, a few different teachers (one, McCoy, is a real arse - his inferiority complex is evidenced well by his domineering management of the class). Looking forward to some playtime this weekend. Headed to Foster's Falls to climb with a group from Atlanta Rocks.... see, anywhere I go, I get drawn into the climbing community :) Not that I mind. At all.

checklist

phew. our three week break between quarters is already over. dangit. i was pretty productive tho. i managed to knock a bunch of stuff off of my "short" list.

- cleaned the house, top to bottom;
- finished the stone patio out back;
- did quite well in clinic: logged 65 adjustments on 20 different patients, four xrays and five accessory credits, started up two new patients, did two complete CMRs and am midway thru a third;
- set five new routes at Atlanta Rocks;
- spent some time with some climber people here in Atlanta that I've wanted to get to know better;
- finished Atlas Shrugged, and re-read the Way of the Peaceful Warrior;
- got out on my bike;
- took a trip to Boston. I got to meet with Dr. Franson briefly, and got some wonderful quality time in with friends whom I miss dearly.

i'll write a separate blog on that one within a few days :)

A few things didn't get ticked off the list tho - I didn't get out climbing in North Carolina with Webster as planned, due to REI scheduling conflicts and an injury sustained by Webster; I didn't manage to get to a swimmin' hole as planned WAH!!!; I haven't picked up new kayak yet (pictures will be forthcoming soon); and I chose to not write a new set of Norm's Notes for Biochem I, due to a philosophical issue I realized I have with spending my time creating something that I know will be plagarized and misused, and that I know I will not be properly compensated for. (Ayn Rand moment). All in all, though, I feel like i accomplished a lot.

Back to the drudgery of classes tomorrow. Show me the hoops! three more quarters of school (about nine months), and it'll be time to move on with my life...

First Day of Summer..... MUD!!!!!!

Apologies for the lack of updates of late. I've been out playing. I'd post pics, but for the most part, they are on Matt W and Matt H's cameras, and they've not burned CDs for me yet (hint, hint) Been doin' some climbing at Yonah, Foster's Falls, and Lost Wall (I led Guzzler, a 5.8!! knocked that puppy off my life list), doing some caving, which is SOOOOOOO FUN!!!!!, some kayaking with Ash and then Ryan, and today, back on my bike. I had been debating how to spend my first day of summer (pagan holiday, of course): the Muddy Buddy Atlanta was today, some friends were talking about caving again, a few people were discussing plans to take a trip to a local swimmin' hole, and then Thurs eve at Taco Mac with a bunch of REI people, my friend Doug says to me hey, ya wanna go check out the new North Loop at Blanket's Creek?

Ooooh yeah. So Doug woke me up at 830 this morning and i hauled it outta bed to collect my toys. Siren has not been out to play since January (tragedy!!!) and all of my bike stuff is therefore strewn about. Un-caffienated, I threw a bunch of stuff in my camelback, we tossed the bikes in the back of Doug's new Xterra, and off we went!

Doug flatted about 1mi into the trail, he hit a sharp rock while crossing a creek. Sssssssss. Come to find out that my tire levers were, well, not in my bag, and since the tires on his 29er were new with a wire bead, pulling them off without leverage was not possible. That'll learn me to pack without coffee. After some consternation and help from several passing riders, we got it taken care of and continued, but not before this exchange:

Doug: "Is that thunder?"
Me: "Nooooope."

The new North Loop at Blanket's is also called Area 51, the Van Michael trail. Tee hee. It's marked as an "advanced" trail, ie beginners turn back here. I, of course, assume that even without biking for 6mo, I can ride it no prob. Sorta like I always expect myself to climb 5.10 and 5.11 after a hiatus of any length. Thank goodness for muscle memory - I may not have much anaerobic capacity, but I can still handle a bike! The new trail is SCRUMPTIOUS oh my goodness DIVINE i think it is the most fun trail I have found on the east coast!!!!!!! SORBA did an absolutely *fantastic* job on the Van Michael trail, and it was worth the wait. I hate to say it but I think it's better than Tsali. Just shorter. Twisted singletrack, creek crossings, switchbacks galore, 2'wide hillside crosscuts over 20 -foot drops, hurl-inducing climbs, and jumps ALL OVER the place. Siren was very happy.

And then it got even better. Mountain biking ethics dictate that on a well-traveled trail, one should not ride in the rain - it causes too much erosion. But hey, if you're already out on the trail...

WHOOSH! Soaking rain. And you know how much I love riding in the mud. We still had about 5mi to go. My legs were nearly dead, the slightest uphill was eliciting a throbbing burn. Muck from red Georgia clay was running in rivulets down the center of the singletrack and splashing back to cover us both head to tail. The trail was nearly empty, due to the afforementioned ethical consideration.

Me: "Are you as happy as I am right now?"
Doug: "Oh yeah!!!"

I have to let you in on a little something here. Doug had a massive brain aneurysm less than three months ago. He should not be alive, by most standards. He had been out biking, and all of a sudden felt warmth in his head, and then developed what he described as "the worst headache of his life." Because it was caught early, he got treatment within the VERY short time limit for success. Doug had three surgeries (two involved removal of and then replacement of part of his cranium) and was in a coma for ten days. When he woke up, he was so weak he couldn't walk. That's some kind of hell, for someone who has hiked the AT and lives for filling his soul with fresh air.

So we fed his soul today a bit, I think. Did I mention that he is an absolute monster on the trail? Laid up for as long as he was, he still just smoked me. Given, I'm not in 100% of my best shape, but Doug is amazing.

We had post-ride burritos at Willy's and a beer, sitting on a patio on Barrett Parkway. It was a lovely way to welcome in summer.

This eve I think I will hang with the Moose. I had had tentative plans with my friend Baker to go caving again this evening (yeah, since there's no light in a cave, it really doesn't matter whether you go at night or during the day!) but his group's timeframe changed and we missed one another since Doug and I got back from riding mid-afternoon. So I decided to take a nap, now I will make some dindin, then I think I'll curl up on my sofa and read some more of Atlas Shrugged.

Oh yeah my latest quarter is over, finished finals on Thursday. Not sure yet but I think I pulled a 4.0, waiting on Jurisprudence. Moral of the story: Work hard, play harder, it'll all work out :)

an apt quote

from a series called Men in Trees. which has a great soundtrack, and occasionally a quote such as what follows, which is why when Aunt C told me that ABC had cancelled the series I was heartbroken...

"It is our responsibility to keep fighting for clarity. Because in the end, we teach people how to treat us. Which means the responsibility lies not on the shoulders of others, but on ourselves."

Ayn Rand speaks, through a pop-culture medium... truth is timeless.

oh dear

from Mike H, who again has me in stitches. His description:

You would swear this is a Monty Python skit, then you want to scream when you realize this politician is serious.

moose

I have a feeling that not a lot of people have had the relief of seeing their most beloved one turn back from the proverbial "edge". I am blessed to be able to experience that now.

Moose and I have been through a trying month. Directly when I returned from the Bahamas, it was clear to me from her chewing that Moose needed to have a growth on her leg removed promptly. (You can see the tumor fairly clearly in the third video of my last post, it was about half the size of a tennis ball and protrudes from her left hindleg) Within a few days of my return, she went under the knife. What the vet and I had assumed was a lipoma, was not. The mass had a necrotic center, which is an indicator for a fast-growing malignancy. The surgery went well: the vet noted that the tumor was encapulated, a good sign, with no involvement of the local lymph nodes or adjacent knee capsule. So, Moose got to keep her leg, and now we wait and see whether the cancer obeys capsule boundaries.

To say that Moose has been a difficult patient, is a little like saying her puppyhood was uneventful. (I can hear you laughing from here!!!) She has always been a "big chewer," as evidenced by the dozens (hundreds?) of massacred dog toys and tennis balls. This time, though, the object of her affection I mean affliction has been her leg. Keeping her away from her leg has been, well, not possible. Elizabethan collar, adhesive bandages, and crate be damned - not much can stop my pup. She has pretty much needed constant supervision - which conflicts ever-so-slightly with the fact that my school has a mandatory attendance policy, violation of which is punishable by none other than course failure (and, conveniently, the requirement to take the course again, at cost).

Moose was pretty doped up and weak after the initial surgery. Getting her home was an adventure, thankfully I have some strong friends who helped to get her in and out of my trucky. It was a rough weekend: she was lethargic at best, which was rather difficult to see, much less to feed and poop. That monday, after Moose had the surgical drains removed (not so difficult for the vet, i'm sure, since moose had them halfway out herself) the vet prescribed tranquilizers so she would sleep (or stare at the wall in a dazed stupor) rather than pick at her leg. I believe she had a reaction to the tranquilizers: the vet said to give her three tablets, every four hours; to test, I gave her one the eve we got back from drain removal, and it zonked her for 18 hours. I couldn't get her to get up in the morning. I picked her up under her armpits, and she collapsed like a rag doll. I ended up sliding rock climbing webbing under her armpits and belly so I could help her walk outside. She ate a little - kibble by kibble, it's a good thing she's a lab and catching food thrown at her is a reflex - and had a few ice cubes. Then she started to shake and her gums went gray. I actually crawled into the crate with her to try to warm her. She came around after a few hours, but I have to wonder how close that was.

Her appetite was pretty marginal in the two weeks following the surgery - the tossing food at her worked a bit, as did feeding her out of my hand, but all told she bottomed out at 80 pounds. That's 40 lb she lost since last summer. I've had four people ask me whether she's a rescue dog... I finally figured out to mix her food with white rice, and she has eaten two meals a day for the past three days. Progress.

Today she accompanied me to REI paddle demo day, she got to take a ride in a canoe, go for a short swim, and visit a whole lot of people :) She is visibly weak, moves slow and with a limp, and tires easily. The vet had to take a good chunk of muscle tissue along with the tumor, so her strength will just take a while to return. For now, it's doggy PT - lotsa walking. I look forward to when Moose can come with me up Kennesaw Mtn, or maybe hiking in NC or north Georgia. It's so hard to see her this way, especially after all of the stuff we have done together - she has always been so strong and fit.

We can't keep them forever. But she seems to be in a decent place now, and I'll go with that. I'll finish cleaning up the living room tomorrow - it has been the doggy hospital, and i've been sleeping on the couch since the surgery. Last night Moose got up the stairs, with a lot of help, and I got to sleep in my own bed!! Right now she is crashed out next to me, snoring. She looks all shiny and pretty after her bath (and no longer smells like the v-e-t). Her leg is healing nicely, at this point it just looks like a really bad skinned knee that blends into a 4" slash, the healing remnants of the incision.

So there's the update from here. Oh, and I got my part 2 scores back, I passed everything :) proud to say that my highest score was in diagnostic imaging. I worked pretty hard for that.

Off to sleep for me and the Moose.

First day of Spring!!

Yucky week. To quote my freind 'Stine, wah.

Boards are done, for now. Two "parts" down, two to go. I did as well as I could. I will find out my scores Apr 25th. Hopefully, moving onward and upward....

Today was my Soft Tissue Pathology slide exam. Purportedly the most difficult of my schooling here. The instructor projected chest xrays with various developing diseases on the screen, and we had to figure out what it came from. Fun. I only needed 1 point out of 11 to pass the class (or 3, if he is in a bad mood), so I am in OK shape - tho of course I tried to kick butt, and we'll see how that went :) Dang that drive to achieve.

Next week, mon thru thurs, is finals. We'll deal with that next week.

Today is the first day of Spring: a Pagan holiday. Last year this day found me on my bike. This year I have been a bit sick (since, oh, january?), so equinox is quieter. Rest assured, that's temporary ;)

Simple acts of kindness

So I've worked at REI for a while now. Amazingly, 3.5 years. How did that happen?

When I started work for REI up in Boston, I had just abandoned my career in biotech and was in the process of figuring out what the hell an unemployed and disillusioned biochemistry PhD was supposed to do to pay the rent. At Tom's suggestion, and with Dan Blodgett's help, I started at REI right in the middle of the xmas rush in 2004. I soon re-discovered what I had been missing in grad school, thru my semi-prestigious Harvard postdoc, and in my fast-track biotech job as a young staff scientist / enzymologist: i was lacking joy and value in work.

Working at REI, I remembered what it was like to actually enjoy a job, and to derive some sort of satisfaction from it. When I realized this, it was uber-clear to me that I had made the right decision to bail on science and biotech - I was not happy in that career, and was unlikely to be. I don't belong in a lab. Working at REI was also integral in my decision to go back to school to become a chiropractor. I know that as as chiropractor, I can actually help people. I know that I will deeply enjoy seeing my patients grow healthier, and go out and play and live a fuller life. REI has helped me to clarify my purpose: to help people be healthy, active, and happy.

This is why I have stayed with REI here at the Perimeter store in Atlanta - and every now and again, to my joy, I see the results of some influence I've had. Sometimes, someone comes in to the store grinning ear to ear about their new bike. I've also had several wonderful customers who have come in to thank me for advice on places to visit throughout the US (hell knows I've explored it, modern hippie style, to the chagrin of my parental units and my aunt) or to tell me how much they enjoy their new toys (Because, really, it's all about toys!!!). But the one described in the blog below really hit me.

http://autisticdad.blog.com/2777014/

Yes, I knew the kiddo that Tanner and I were helping was ASD, on the better-functioning end of the spectrum. He seemed like a sweet kid with a good heart and a lotta energy. So, ya take that into account and work with it. Bottom line, he's a kid looking for a bike, and Tanner and I were just helping to make that happen. The response to this has definitely made me blink, though. We helped Demetrius and his dad Jerry on Saturday. Jerry posted his blog about us on Sunday. News traveled pretty fast - by early in the workweek, the story of how Tanner and I had helped an autistic boy to find the perfect bike had been repeated at the morning huddle of every REI store in the southeast, and someone had sent the "story" to REI corporate.

Yesterday at work I found a letter in my box (HANDWRITTEN!!!!!) from Sally Jewell, the president and CEO of REI, thanking me for what we'd done. I'm not sure I've ever had more admiration for REI. I mean, we as a company do lots of good stuff - from our internal recycling programs (paper, plastic, batteries, light bulbs, cardboard), to the drive to make REI stores carbon-neutral, to the $10K grant given by every store last year to an environmental organization of its choice (anyone want to plant a tree?), or our PEAK and Leave No Trace programs designed to educate on no-impact camping and hiking - But a handwritten note to a mere peon from the CEO? That takes the cake. And disseminating the anecdote of Tanner and I helping Demetrius to find a bike? Who knows what that simple act of kindness inspired?

Holy cow, you really never know how far-reaching simple actions can be. I think Tanner and I put a lot of smiles on a lot of people's faces :)

So now, it's your turn. I challenge you: sometime in the next few days, commit a random act of kindness. Open a door for someone whose arms are full; stash a few flowers on someone's desk; bring in cookies for your co-workers (and send me some while you're at it). Make someone smile. You never know how far the ripple will spread in the pond.

Kennesaw hike

Yesterday I got a few messages from Darcy and Chris, who were at the Moat and sent me pix of snowdrifts (12') and beer (mmmmmm!!!). Made me kinda homesick.

Today, I couldn't resist the irony and the temptation to make use of the 72 degrees and sunny here in Atlanta... so I went for a hike with friends up Kennesaw Mountain, a short hike less than 15 min north of my house.



Moose did so well!!! She was tired, and we went slow, but she made it all the way to the top and back down. The hike is about 3 miles total, with an elevation gain of a bit less than 700 feet. She is no longer the young pup who hiked Moosilauke and Chocura with me, but she got it done and by the look on her face, had a fantabulous time. She is currently crashed out downstairs. I don't expect I'll be able to get her to climb the stairs for a few days!

Yeah, I should'a spent my day studying for boards. Oh well. I still have six good hours this evening.

Temperature fluctuations....

i THINK spring is here. The pattern lately is a week of 50s or 60s, then a day or two of cold (it was 24 degrees this morning and snowed the day before that) then back to warm. The snow around here is funny, it's this granular stuff. Wierd texture.

Well, at any rate, my daffodils think it's spring: