occasionally, i hate chicago

So here's the thing- I am absolutely, hands down in love with the city of Chicago. I love the architecture, the parks, the pizza, the bean, the river, the lakes, the pier, the people, and yes, the hockey team. But after last night, it ain't all love. But first--

Because i'm sure you're all dying to know, "the draft" was a success. I managed "the board" eventually, thanks to the help of Woody's wife Tamara, the math teacher.  It was tricky (i.e. subtract the team's first winning bid from 100, then subtract the remaining number of bids they have left and add 1 to find the max they can bid on the next player...), but it was fun. We hit up Perry Rock Pub across the street both before and after for some great food, drinks, conversations, and yes, by the end of the night, even some Cherry Bombs and dancing to Pitbull with the crew and their wives. All in all, a great night out on the town, especially when I didn't have to break out my wallet once :)

16 rounds and 3.5 hours' worth of stickers of football names I can't pronounce 

Mom arrived mid-afternoon on Sunday with some essentials in tow (things I couldn't fit in my car, and things I didn't realize I needed until I got here)-- such as my hockey bag, my binder of musculoskel articles, and even a tub of Sweet Martha's cookies from the fair (you da best, Ben). We set out to explore the town-- which didn't take very long. Went for a lovely walk on the river, ate dinner at the famous (down here, anyways) JMK Nippon Japanese restaurant, and then saw One Day at the theater up the street. I am still at a loss as to why we chose that movie over, say, The Smurfs, when Mom had read the book, and knew what was coming...(I guess I should have inserted a spoiler alert? Yes, it has a happy ending, but is not entirely a happy movie). 

Monday morning, we hit the road and drove south on I-90 towards Chi-town, and hit little traffic, so we didn't stop at an "L" (the local underground/above ground train) station until we were a few miles outside of the city-- a decision I SERIOUSLY regretted 12 hours later. (Have I sparked your curiosity yet?) We were downtown by 11, and had a great day walking the city. I especially loved Navy Pier, where we went on the ferris wheel (seriously underrated, people- it rocked), and took an architectural boat cruise through the city. 

We spent the afternoon at Milennium Park (next to Cloud Gate, aka "the Bean"), eating ice cream, and lounging at Barnes and Noble. That night, we made our way to the South side of the city to U.S. Cellular Field where we saw our Twins drop yet another game to an A.L. Central rival, the White Sox. Regardless, it was a beautiful night to watch outdoor baseball, my brisket sandwich was delicious, and we even ran into the captain of the Thunder Bay lawyers hockey team I play on each spring (small world, eh?). 

So, all was fine and dandy (despite the Twins' 3-0 loss) right up until approximately 9:53 pm. We took the train back to the station we parked at, only to walk out and see an annoyingly large "CLOSED" sign outside of our parking garage, and a sign with its hours listed: 5am-10pm. Since when do parking garages close at 10pm, let alone BEFORE 10pm, making the allegations of its hours completely untrue? We freaked out, slightly. Sketchy north Chi-town neighborhood, car-less, feeling grungy from the day, and seriously pissed off. Our solution was to take the train farther north to O'Hare, find a hotel, wake up at 4:45 am, take the train back to the garage, hope to avoid paying some huge fine for parking overnight in a park-and-ride garage, and drive back to Rockford so that I could make it into work by 7am-- which worked well enough, except for the insanely expensive chain of hotels at the airport (I'm talking Hilton-Hyatt-Westin...), the fact that we had to put the same clothes back on in the morning, and extensive construction on I-90 back to Rock that began that morning (in other words, that we would have missed the night before). 

On the bright side, I slept in a bed for the first time in two weeks (nothing against my air mattress- we get along very well). Amazingly, I was only 41 minutes late for work (and even let myself stop for a pumpkin latte on the way). Mom went home and slept for a few hours before the drive back to MN, while I did post-op shoulder manipulation-under-anesthesia and trochanteric bursitis evals within minutes of arriving. Needless to say, it was a long day. But what made my day was discovering that Mom had made a grocery store/Target run before leaving, and had stocked my condo with food, flowers, liquor, wine glasses, DVDs, and essentials that I'm too stingy buy for myself (printer ink and CDs). Let's just say that my shower tonight was perhaps the greatest shower I've taken all year. Time to dig into my tub of Sweet Marthas...if I don't fall asleep first. 

draft day

Another week down in the clinic, which culminated Friday afternoon with being assigned my first patient, a woman recovering from rotator cuff surgery (RCR, SAD and DCE to be exact). And boy, I was excited when Dave gave me the news. This week, I'd already done ultrasound, e-stim, patellar mobilizations, Mulligan's mobilization with movement on the ankle, a heck of a lot of therapeutic exercise, and quite a bit of documentation- both evals and progress notes. So, I certainly felt like I was ready for more of a challenge. 

But, my emerging excitement turned to horror, as Dave kept talking. It went something like this: "Anna, you're getting your first patient today. She's 1 week, 3 days post-op RCR, and I saw her last year for the same surgery on her other shoulder. OH, and she has 17 personalities." Well, it turns out she wasn't so bad (so far, at least). She was very nice and compliant with her exercises, and not too weird, as far as I could tell. I'm just hoping that doesn't change when the painkillers wear off.

Life's been pretty interesting outside of the clinic, too. On Thursday night, I expanded my horizons by going out to eat/to a bar by myself. Let me tell you, this was scary. But with some moral support from Kaitlin, I first went to a sports bar the guys at the clinic have talked about, RBIs. I felt a little awkward sitting at the bar by myself at first, but then I noticed that they guy sitting next to me (around my grandpa's age, btw), had a shirt with the new Winnipeg Jets logo.  He was shocked that I recognized it, let alone knew anything about hockey. We had a nice convo, but I was hungry for dinner, so I went to Granite City, which I chose because it's one of my absolute fav places at home. All in all-- it was refreshing to get out of the house and talk to people! 

we <3 twins baseball.

Tomorrow, Mom comes! We'll spend the day in Rock, then head to Chi-town Monday, and go to the Twins-Sox game that night. But before that all happens, tonight I have to survive "the draft." All week at the clinic, whenever I'd see Woody and Dave huddling the corner, I'd rush over, thinking I was missing valuable patient decision-making time. Silly me. Instead, I'd hear "How much are you willing to spend on a running back?" "How do we avoid another Chris Johnson fiasco?" "Eli or Peyton?" Woody and Dave are on the same team- tonight, competing against 13 other teams in an auction-style fantasy football draft. I'm honestly amazed at how much time, effort, research and $$$ everyone is putting into tonight. 

Funny that they thought I'd fit into anything I wore in 4th grade...

They even ordered the official draft package from cbssports.com, and I am in charge of "the board," putting pre-made stickers with players' names under their respective teams and keeping track of how much money each team has left to spend. Despite the fact that there will be plenty of alcoholic beverages, I'm too worried about not screwing this up sober, let alone after a few drinks. I tried looking over names of players so that I'd know which position each played when their names come up, but they may as well have been in a different language, because I couldn't pronounce half of the names, let alone remember them. Considering they were dead set on paying my mom to overnight my baton costumes to wear, I'm wondering just how crazy things will get...  WISH ME LUCK!

7 things

You may already know this about me, but I like structure, organization, plans, charts. Just ask Kaitlin, Paige, Alisa or Layla. So, here's what's been on my mind lately, in a nice, tidy, structured list:

1. Today, my CI was sick. Yes, tragic, but do you know the worst part about it? That meant no BWWs-- no free wings, no free drinks, no networking, no social life. The one social anything I had planned this week slipped through my fingertips oh so quickly at 6:10am when Dave called in sick. So much for getting out of the house tonight. (I can't complain too much, though, when I have full supplies of wine and Friday Night Lights to keep me occupied.)

2. I went for a run at lunch. It was a hot and balmy 95* outside at 11am. At noon, that + pizza + a 401k meeting made for one tired chica. Note to self: bring a supply of caffeine for the afternoons, particularly when meetings involving the stock market are in store.

3. A pair of fuzzy, pink, deliciously comfortable slippers arrived in the mail today. Who doesn't love getting packages? And FedEx-ed, no less. You're the best, Grandma!

4. Music update. Unfortunately, Rockford's radio stations are nothing to brag about. Thankfully, I've relied upon Fitz and the Tantrums, Mat Kearney, Foster the People, Adele, Matt & Kim, and Ben's energetic summer playlists to get me through my drives, showers, and kitchen adventures.

      Here are my top picks right now (in no particular order):

          -to chill to: Switchfoot~Dark Horses

          -to run to: BliSS~Summer Girls

          -just because i have a thing for this band: Needtobreathe~Slumber

          -top country: tie between-Jake Owen~Barefoot Blue Jean Night and Eric Church~Homeboy

          -best old school: Matchbox 20~Disease

          -best at putting me in a good mood (contrary to the title): Mat Kearney~Down

          -best mashup: DJ Trademark~Summer Weekend

          -best cover: Mike Posner~Rolling in the Deep

          -best up-and-coming band: tie between- Fitz and the Tantrums~Don't Work It Out and

            Foster the People~Helena Beat

                      { ...I could go on all night. more later.}

5. The Messerlys are now the proud owners of a new car. No, this is not a joke. I won't attempt to guess what that brings the total up to now-- but, pictures coming soon when Dad picks it up Friday. In the meantime-- anyone interested in buying a 1990 red BMW 325i convertible?! (seriously)

my best guess as to what Dad's latest buy looks like. love.

6. I have some fantastic weekends planned for the remainder of my stay in Rockford, most of which (no offense, Rockford) involve getting out of Rockford. 

A typical weekday night: ...the view from my bench in Rock Cut, where I enjoyed a lovely summer evening, Outlander in hand. 

6b. BREAKING NEWS. Mikko Koivu just accepted my friend request on Facebook. I don't remember friending him, but apparently I did. That was totally worth interrupting 6) about. (This brings my professional hockey player "friend" count up to 6, I believe? Cool, eh?!)

obsessed with the Wild? how could you say such a thing?!

my "friend," captain Mikko

6. (cont.) This weekend- Mom's coming to down! In September- I'll be heading to Iowa, Detroit, New York, and completing a sprint tri with my very first friend ever. I'm also hoping to get up to Eau Claire, and down to Chi to see Ken/Kathy and fam, Megan and/or a Blackhawks game. 

IOWA to see Mrs. Nelson on Sept. 9  

 IOWA to see Shlee

Sprint tri with Lindsey on Sept. 18

hopefully Detroit to see Sully on Sept. 23

NY to see this creeper on Sept. 30

and if I can pull it off, Eau Claire for Labor Day to see this crazy Packer fan...

7. Last but not least, I think it's time I begin the countdown. Not necessarily because I'm excited- more because I don't have very much else to do. So, here it goes: 26 days till I turn 25. EEK!

Oh my. It's a full two hours past my bedtime. XO from Loves Park.  

This oldie from '09 still makes me laugh. OLE HOCKEY 4ev.

SKOL vikings

For the first time in my life, I think I love Mondays. Coffee at Panera (thanks for the gift card, Mom :), where I was extremely productive attacking my to-do list. Ran 5, then cooked some lunches for the weeks ahead (think chicken-broccoli stromboli, lime-marinated zucchini and homemade cinnamon granola). I happily spent most of the night on Pinterest, one of my current addictions. (If you don't have any time on your hands, watch out. It will entrap you.)

Whew. Things really got rolling in the clinic today today. Started with Dave, who is a co-owner of ORS and just returned from his fishing/family vaca in Hayward. He left me a lovely gift in my office...

Hundreds of articles to read? GOOD MORNING!

{I guess that's karma for saying I wished I was back in class.}

I jumped right in-- did a shoulder eval at 7:15 am, and refreshed my longitudinal hip distraction skills throughout the day. Later on, I even set a patient up for e-stim (eek! I need to review my modalities!). One thing I can get used to, though-- 2-hour lunch break. 4 hours before lunch and 4-5 hours after is a nice way to break things up. Over lunch, I organized the articles, and got a great workout in, including on the slide board- so fun, but so hard. I also dictated my first note- it took me a little while to get comfortable talking to myself (aka I locked myself in my office, wrote out an entire script, and proceeded to read it into the voice recorder), but according to the guys, I'll get used to it in no time...

Working with Dave has been a great experience already- not only will I get to know his specialty, the shoulder, quite well, I'll also get to know more about the inner workings of a large, therapist-owned clinic. He has fantastic relationships with local orthopedic surgeons-- in fact, tomorrow night, I'm heading to Buffalo Wild Wings for some networking (and free wings, obvi) at a reception hosted by Rockford Orthopedic, which employs several of the top orthopedic surgeons in Illinois. 

Here's a link to ORS's YouTube channel: Welcome from Dave . Keep an eye out for the Vikings gear hidden amongst Cubs, Bears, Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks memorabilia. Football season around here is going to be interesting- Dave has season tickets to the Vikes (that's a lot of driving), while everyone else lives for Chi-town or St. Louis. Everyone was talking about this Saturday's fantasy football draft at the clinic. We're hoping Dave and Woody's crazy friends don't hide bottles of beer around the clinic like last year, knowing Dave doesn't work Mondays, leaving other PTs and patients to find the treats... I was pleasantly surprised when I walked outside and saw Dave's truck. Not only is he a ginormous Vikes van, but apparently there is $$ to be made somewhere in PT! 

(the plates say Min Vik 1)

Alina: call me.
 Kristy: hope the new job rocks!
Jess: ahh vet school...so happy for you!
Abs: how are we almost 25?!
Mac: keep climbing those mountains <3

homegrown

Friday, day 4 in the clinic, was slower than usual. I had lunch with the ladies in administration who order out every Friday, and did my first solo exam on a woman with some serious posture problems (her C6-C7 vertebrae formed a right angle--talk about forward head posture). Our last patient was at 2:15, so I was outta there by 3. I had a blast with Woody this week, and am excited to learn from Dave starting next week.

my plan :)

SO- my first full weekend in Rockford. And I was bound and determined to get out of the house and explore the town. I did just that Friday night after work-- I threw on a summery skirt, loaded the Google Maps app on my phone, and eventually found downtown Rockford, situated on the Rock River. My destination was the Rockford City Market, a farmers' market plus live music and beer. I picked up some spicy Texochile cheddar cheese from across the border in WI, some homegrown fresh green beans, and a pretty fancy red and purple sunflower to spruce things up around here. I hit up RedBox on the way home, and would highly recommend Source Code to those who love movies that make you think (and/or who don't mind looking at Jake Gyllenhaal).

@ the Farmers' Market in downtown Rockford, right next to the Rock River

Saturday, I hit the road as soon as the rain stopped, and ran through Rock Cut State Park (I impressed myself with 8.5 miles). Click here for a visual. I also set out in search of a gym with a reasonable monthly rate, but no such luck (I'm spoiled at LA Fitness at home with my $15/month bill). Although, I admit that I did not visit two of the gyms in the area, Asylum and Inferno, for obvious reasons. I also bought tickets to fly out to see Jack in NY the last weekend in September! I fell in love with Hamilton during my very short visit to pick him up last spring, so I can't wait to go back. I visited Ben the same weekend last year but unfortunately didn't get to see him play rugby because he messed up his head, but I'll get to see Jack play against RPI. I talked to Dad at the cabin, then opened a Blockbuster account and treated myself to a House marathon. I was supposed to go out for drinks later that night but fell asleep instead. Oh well.

Today was a beauuutiful day in Winnebago county. Cooked up some delicious coconut banana french toast, and hopped on my bike. Explored Rock Cut again today- this time all the way around Pierce Lake (check it out). I would have liked to have gone farther, but it wasn't too comfortable biking with a hard splint on my wrist. (It is feeling better, by the way-- pretty sure it's just a sprain and not a scaphoid fracture, but it's still not quite healed.) 

Ok, ok, so I actually took a picture of myself so you'd know I wasn't making all of this up.

Next, I ventured south of Rockford to Cherry Valley, and to Valley Orchard. While it may not be prime apple season yet, the Early Gold and Paula Red apples I picked were divine. The best apples I can remember eating-- ever. I even picked a few bell peppers, and picked up some homemade apple-cherry butter. YUM. 

I loooove orchard photography (reminds me of my trip to Bayfield with Mom last summer)

I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking dinner. I don't know what's gotten into me this past year, but all of a sudden I love to recipe-search online, read my new Skinny Bitch cookbook (yes, that's the real title), and try new foods. I'm pretty sure Mom will tell you I didn't get this itch from her. I think it's a combination of having to cook for myself (aka not living at home), and seeking out healthier snack and meal options. I promise this won't turn into a food blog, but I'll give you a little taste of what I've been up to (figuratively, not literally-- unless you come visit me, that is :). This weekend, I've been experimenting with quinoa, a grain (an expensive one, I might add) that's been called an alternative to rice.  Friday, I tried quinoa stir fry (I didn't love it), but tonight I cooked up some awesome quinoa burgers. Think potato pancakes/latkes, but stuffed with more veggies and with a little kick (I put hot sauce on/in everything I eat). I even whipped up a new recipe- spicy Asian green beans (with my farmers' market buy), and topped the meal off with some roasted sweet corn. Now, I am envisioning my dessert for when I get home-- it's a toss-up between a banana split (the healthy version) or baked apples with cinnamon and brown sugar (from the orchard, of course). 

quinoa burgers!

Pretty much, ask me what I'm doing in my free time here in Rock, and the answer will probably be working out (training for my sprint tri in 4 weeks with Lindsey!) or cooking/shopping for homegrown foods to cook. I'm managing to keep busy, and am terribly excited that my weekend doesn't end today. I get all day tomorrow to myself, as well. And I just got off the phone with Mom and Dad, and Mom bought Twins-White Sox tickets for next Monday night, when she'll be down for a visit. I know what you're thinking...and no, I will not be making a Circle Me Bert sign. But you can still look for us on tv, ok?!

Lastly, I have a confession to make. As I'm sitting here at Starbucks, surrounded by local high school and college students, I kind of wish I was in class. I know, I know, call me crazy (I know that's what Alisa is thinking anyways), but this will be the first year in 20 years I won't have a first day of school. Turns out, I'm one of those eternal learners. Guess I'll just have to start teaching myself medical French for Africa. (Don't worry, I've planned for this sudden urge to learn. My English-French medical dictionary is supposed to arrive in the mail tomorrow :) A demain, mes amis.

five guys made my day

Another day in the books. I'm getting antsy to do more on my own- but that will come next week when Dave (my real CI) gets back from vaca. For now, I'm loving talking to the patients, challenging them to do their exercises, and even thinking over the occasional mystery diagnosis. At this point, I'm already used to the (good-natured, of course) gasps and sympathetic looks on people's faces when Woody explains that I'll be at ORS for 9 weeks. They jokingly tell me how much of a struggle it will be...But in reality, the environment here is fantastic. Everyone jokes around with each other and has a good time, but when it comes to getting down to business, they work together, and consistently get good results with patients. After seeing a variety of workplace cultures since I began spending time in PT clinics, I can hands down say that ORS has the most fun and engaging atmosphere. Lucky, lucky me. 

Chelios and Thome-- I found these guys buried in a drawer--they now give my office a little flavor.

[By the way-- without violating HIPPA, I evaluated a patient today with the exact same name as a certain ex-boyfriend of mine (I'm sure many of you know who I'm talking about). It was humorous, considering he was a little guy who drives a truck for a living and doesn't know his shin bone from his sternum.]

But, 10+ hour days are feeling long already. I'm starting to squeeze in workouts over my lunch hour because I'm too exhausted to do much more than crash when I get back to the condo at 5:30. My dinners are becoming considerably less creative (and healthy--see below), and my bedtime is becoming progressively earlier (it is dark out, at least-- but barely). But I know I'll appreciate these never-ending days come Sunday night, when I'm brainstorming what to do with my Monday instead of packing a lunch and for the next day. 

Some of my very fav PT girls, celebrating on the day of our last. final. ever. This pic makes me smile! (compliments of Sarah)

My after-work adventures were quite successful. I went to Target and splurged on a bar stool so I don't have to eat dinner on the floor, a chair so I don't have to sit on the floor to watch tv, and tupperware so that I can pack something other than sandwiches for lunch. At the suggestion of a patient, I then found Five Guys. Oh boy. I wasn't planning on eating out tonight, but I decided I deserved it after nearly 11 hours in the clinic today. 

Let me pause for a moment and say that if you have never had the pleasure of eating a Five Guys burger, please stop reading and proceed to your nearest Five Guys location, regardless of whether or not you're hungry (here ya go). If you have, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout. My burger was absolutely delish-- smothered in green peppers, onions, jalapenos and BBQ sauce, and my cajun fries-- well, I wish I could tell you more, but they mysteriously disappeared on the drive home. Well worth the temporary break from my attempt at healthy eating. (Yes, Kaitlin, the point of this entry is in fact food.)

Great day in the clinic, great furniture additions to my place, and great (x 10) dinner. Tomorrow is Friday, I get to wear jeans, and my last patient is at 2:30-- also great! And you know what else is great? Coming home to a tax refund check that will cover almost all of my rent while I'm here in Rockford. (Or 88.5 more trips to Five Guys...which will it be?!)

P.S. Any comment informing me of the nutritional value of my dinner will immediately be removed. 

Don't do it.

Seriously.

i survived.

Why this internship will rock:

1. 3. Day. Weekends. Eight in a row, in fact. That's right-- I work Tues-Fri. And I'm just fine starting at 7am. Grad school made me a morning person.
2. I can wear flip flops to work.
3. I get my own office- a conference room with huge windows.
4. Casual Fridays! I can wear jeans and my snazzy new ORS t-shirt.
5. My commute is approximately 8 minutes.
6. I won't have to write a single treatment note-I'll dictate all my documentation, which is then sent out to be transcribed.
7. Did I mention 2-hour lunch breaks?!

So, apparently my next 9 weeks are going to be pretty great. The clinic is gigantic- 12 treatment rooms, 2 gyms, an underwater treadmill, and wings dedicated to work hardening and hand therapy too. ORS employs 5 full-time PTs, 2 PTAs, 2 ATs, and 2 OTs, plus more techs and administrative staff than I can count. Oh- and every treatment room is dedicated to a different sports team. Despite the predominance of Chicago sports teams, there is a Vikings room!

My CI (clinical instructor) for this week-- Woody-- is hilarious, and from his patients' testimonies, extremely talented. Beginning next week, I'll be with Dave, the clinic's co-owner, who happens to be on vaca in Hayward at the moment. This week, I'll see a lot of spine patients (I need to review Maitland ASAP...), and with Dave, it'll be a lot more knees and shoulders. And to top the day off, I was even invited to next weekend's Fantasy Football Draft and promised plenty of free beer if I showed up. 

Slightly exhausted by the time I got home, I still forced myself to go for a run. And I take it as a sign that the Twins game isn't on TV- time to review. McKenzie and Maitland and muscle energy, oh my! All that reading sounds like I'm going to need a little help from a DQ blizzard.... (Gotta get there before closing time!) Over and out.

illinois' hockey town

Rockford is home to 15 straight HS hockey championships...isn't that crazy?! Unheard of in MN. I knew I should have brought my hockey bag, especially considering the rink is less than 1 mile away... 

Hockey aside, I'm a strong believer in the idea that there's no better way to explore a new town than to run through it. That way, you don't look stupid when you get lost at intersection or confused by a new part of town-- you just look like you need a breather. And fortunately, there are trails all over this town. I hopped on one right outside of my house, and my run unexpectedly turned into a history lesson. (Mom: this paragraph is dedicated to you.) I ran through the Peace Plaza, the Sister City Plaza (Rockford has 6 sister cities!), and past what appeared to be the city's stab at boosting its image-- a series of signs and pictures detailing all of Rockford's claims to fame. Apparently, Ronald Reagan and Jane Addams grew up in the area, Harley-Davidson started here, sock monkeys were invented here, and Cheap Trick hails from here. 

Rockford's Peace Plaza

I spent the majority of the afternoon decoding my Comcast start-up package, and was relieved to learn that- after an annoyingly long time on the phone- the problems I was experiencing were Comcast's fault, not a failure on my part to plug the right cords into the right places. Regardless- I now have cable and internet (and an awesome new hi def TV to go with it)!

The view from my living room

How I love having my own kitchen!

My frustration with technology didn't last very long, because Kaitlin called to give me the low down on her first day. I can't imagine starting out internships with an acute rotation- let alone in Detroit-- and let alone heading to the burn unit where she saw a patient whose meth lab caused his house to blow up. Eek! I am still pretty jealous that she's at the Twins-Tigers game at Comerica right now. And a little upset that Delmon Young just hit a homerun at his first at-bat as a Tiger after we traded him this morning. But pumped that I found the game on TV- even if its a little biased towards Detroit- and that Thome just hit #599. GO TWINS!

Cooked a delish dinner of crispy sweet potato fries, roasted corn on the cob, and chipotle chicken sausage. Talked to Alisa (and if she felt a little overwhelmed on her first day, I'm even more nervous for tomorrow...), and chatted with Dad and Ben. I was laughing with Kaitlin about how this past weekend, I was surrounded by so many people-- this is a little bit of a shock for me being so on my own! So I thoroughly am enjoying my phone calls :)

One of the pics on my fridge. Ole love. <3

Tonight = Twins, Riesling (always fun to not get ID'd at the store), and some R&R before I report to ORS at 7:30 am! Tomorrow, I get to act like a real, grown-up PT. Let's just hope I can remember some of the stuff I crammed into my brain over the past 2 years...

and the adventure begins...

It took me the entirety of a 7-mile run to come up with the title for this... (can't start a blog without one, right?) And although I'm pretty sure I said I'd never be a "blogger" (or maybe I'm just thinking of when Paige told me never to date a guy with a blog??), I thought this would be the best way to keep in touch with family, friends and classmates this next year.  So-- this is my journey through my final year of grad school, through internships that will take me across the Midwest, to Africa, and finally to the Pacific Northwest, as my career as a physical therapist begins to take shape. I'll be traveling, helping, healing, learning, and exploring my way into my career- this is a(nna).mess in the making.

But first-- the weekend before my first internship in Rockford, IL was the Lerner family reunion at Spruce Haven. Not the warm and sunny weather I was hoping for, but nonetheless it was exciting to catch up with relatives from (ready for this list?!) Minnesota, Pennsylvania (most recently via Paris), Illinois, California, Ohio, Florida and Venezuela. I fell in love with paddleboarding, and even put my PT skills to use taking care of a few sprained wrists and ankles that resulted from a little too much fun in the sun.

I hit the road on Sunday morning after lots of goodbyes that took me right back to freshman year of college, when my parents dropped me off in Maine-- except that this time I'm exploring a new state all on my own, without roommates and without a meal plan. I made it from Cable to Rockford-- 370 miles-- in under 6 hours (that's a beautiful 22 mpg, Dad!). The traffic wasn't ideal and the landscape through the heart of Wisconsin certainly wasn't exciting, but I couldn't complain-- with my windows open, rocking to lots of awesome new music (courtesy of Ben), I even worked on my sunroof tan to make up for the lack of sun time at the cabin. And it helped to think that I was driving a fraction of the distance Layla had to drive to TX!

Mine's the one on the right!

I'm thrilled with my new living situation-- I'm staying in a townhouse owned by one of the PTs at the clinic I'll be interning at who was transferred to another clinic and has yet to sell it. With a gigantic living room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice-sized kitchen and laundry room, and even a fireplace, balcony and garage, I have more space than I know what to do with.  

 

And lucky me-- while most of my classmates start in the clinic tomorrow, I get until Tuesday to get acquainted with the area.  More tomorrow (when I get my own internet and don't have to go off in search of Starbucks for Wifi-- which, for better or for worse, is 1 mile away)... Finally-- I'd just like to say how relieved I am now that I can cheer for the Blackhawks without feeling like I'm betraying the Wild. Perf!

P.S. I miss this guy already...