What a difference a week makes

After one full week in Gainesville, I have a learned a few simple truths:

• As far as Gainesville is concerned, Tim Tebow is the chosen one
• I am now a pro at riding the bus
• Restaurants or stores that I thought went out of business in California, have simply moved to Florida (long live Hungry Howies!!!)
• If you live in a town that lives and breathes for college sports, you must either wear a jersey or T-shirt of that college on Fridays before the big game or be able to color coordinate your scrubs to match the school colors
• Mexican food is not your only option for late night snacks
• I am definitely in the south, and without a doubt, will return home with the thickest southern accent any of y'all have ever heard (and probably use words like "yes um, fixin', kin")

I am sure over the next six weeks I will be adding to this list but I think I have successfully learned what any newcomer should know in their first week. A shout out to all my peeps (inside joke) in Cali. I miss you already.

The wheels on the bus go round and round...

Well, its official. I am the world's worst bus rider.

Today I started my first PT internship. I had mapped out the different bus routes, planned extra time for catastrophic events. I was ready. Or so I thought.

My bus stop is right at the end of my apartment building. So, I leave the apartment (making sure neither of the mischievious cats follow me out as I quickly squeeze through the door, not an easy task) to meet the bus at 6:45am. Thats right, 6:45am. But as I round the corner to the stop, I see a bus coming towards it. Could that be my bus? How could I be late? I had planned so well. So as I run like an idiot to beat it to the stop, I approach the doors out of breath, only to realize this was not in fact my bus. Smooth, Ryann. Really smooth. So, I have some informative words with a girl at the stop and realize she is waiting for the same bus, and going to the same stop. Sweet, someone to follow.

Oh, yeah, this might be a good time to tell you that I have never been on a public bus before. Continue reading.

The bus comes along, I have my exact change of $2 (just like the transit guide suggested) only to find out that the fee is $3. Darn you recent increase not mentioned in my month old guide!!! So far, not coming off as a regular bus rider. But I make it to my stop and eventually meet my CI and proceed to orientation. After orientation, I knew that I would need a monthly pass for the bus, which must be purchased at the downtown bus station. So I successfully ride the bus to the station, purchase the passes (at student discount, yes!) and return to the bus towards home.

Here is the catch. This bus I am on is the one I will need to take to work everyday, but it does not go back to my apartment. A change must be made at some point. I know where this change must occur, I have done my homework. But as we approach this stop, I start to realize I don't know if I am supposed to pull the cord to alert the driver, or will it stop automatically? I begin studying the moves of those exiting at stops prior to mine. Pull the cord, voice comes over the loudspeaker announcing bus will stop... no cord pulled, no stop. Okay, so I have to pull the cord. Easy enough. But now I am faced with the realization that unless the Gainesville roads look like straight purple lines like they do in the transit guide, I really have no clue when my stop is approaching and, therefore, no idea when to pull the cord. I am keeping my eyes focused, looking at every street sign, every identifying building we pass, when I hear, "Um, do you know what stop you are getting off at?" I look to the guy sitting next to me and say, "yeah, Shands hospital, why?" His reply..."cuz you look a little anxious." Great, I am not pulling this off at all. I give him some excuse that didn't make any sense and pull the cord in humiliation, waiting for the bus to stop so I can leave this embarassment behind me.

While waiting for the next bus to take me to my apartment, I become more and more determined to look like a pro in front of my new audience. The 35 bus comes toward me, I enter, flash my new month pass (only locals have these, I think to myself) and find a seat. I stare aimlessly out the window, making it seem as if I know exactly where I am, when in reality I am memorizing every inch of the road. I casually send text messages. Only someone who really knew the area would pay no attention to where the bus was at any given moment. Then, we turn onto my street (the inner dialogue was in overdrive as you can tell). Here is my moment. My turn to pull the cord. But I realize, without looking around, I can't remember how many stops there are before the one in front of my apartment. And now I am seated behind a giant wall on the bus and can't see down the street. So I let one go by. I bet its the next one. And if not, so what, I walk a block. So I pull the cord, so sure I made the right call. And then the bus stops. I get out and assess my decision.

WRONG!!!

Oh, well, so I begin to walk, following the exhaust of the bus I just exited prematurely. Just a block, I think I see my apartments already. They are at the top of that hill.

WRONG AGAIN!!!

But now, nothing looks familiar. And then a sign catches my eye. A sign that, strangely, doesn't have my street name on it. WHAT??? I'm not even on the right street. Did I overcompensate so much and try to be so cool that I am on the wrong street? I pull out my guide, while still walking, which makes me look like I am searching a treasure map down the streets of Gainesville. And now I realize my mistake. In order for the bus to get turned around and start heading back on its route, it has to pass my street and do a loop. Well, so what, I have to walk a little further to follow the loop.

An hour later, approximately three to four miles, I arrived safely, yet exhausted, to my apartment. Live and learn, people, live and learn.

However, I refuse to let this be a negative. For instance, I will definitely know where I should and shouldn't get off the bus tomorrow. Additionally, should I require furniture, dry cleaning, fake tanning, or the post office while I am here, I now know where these stores can be found.

With that, I bid you all good night, and hope that you have better luck with your new adventures.

P.S. Forgot to mention the guy sitting next to me who chose his bus ride as the perfect time to clip his fingernails. Yuck!

Chipotel... Chipootle... Chipototlay!!!

Greetings from Gainesville!

I arrived last night to a very pleasant surprise... my new digs are AWESOME!!! This apartment building is the only one of its kind in Gainesville, though I have seen some like it when House Hunters goes to urban areas. It is a loft of sorts, but the floors, wall, etc are all unfinished.

Floors... concrete
Walls... cement blocks

Vents and pipe... visible

Thats right, ladies and gentleman. I live at Chipotle, without the delicious yet ridiculously filling burritos (sidenote: must remember to search if there are any Chipotles in Gainesville). But, food or no food, this place is awesome. Take a look.

That is the view looking out to the parking area. That whole side is two stories of windows.

This is the kitchen, my room is down that hall to the right.

These are the stairs up to the loft and my new roommate's (Keith) room.

My room (with my own bathroom).

So, tomorrow is my first day, a full day of hospital orientation, and then Tuesday I actually meet my CI (clinical instructor for all the non-PT students reading this). I have my bus routes all mapped out and am looking forward to having something to do, because this last 24 hours of having nothing to do is driving me crazy. Last time I complain about having too much to do.

Good luck to all my fellow USA classmates! Think of me anytime you eat a tasty barbacoa burrito bowl, or when you order finger licking carnitas tacos from Chipototlay :)

P.S. Hoping all of you get the Jack in the Box reference.

Calling all Clumsies

Everyone has had one of those days when, at some point during the day, you realize you never should have gotten out of bed AT ALL. Well, I have had one of those WEEKS. Starting last Sunday, I should have called in sick, tucked myself into bed, nice and tight, with a stack of movies and books, and not shown myself for exactly one week. Now, to clarify, I wasn't having your typical "bad days" during this week, like failing a test or getting a speeding ticket. My bad week has been one packed full of physical beatings, both self induced and at the hand of others. Let me recount my fabulous week for you:

• Sunday: While helping Mike's parents move furniture out of almost every room in there house to have floors refinished (yeah, and by the way, Mike knew this was going to happen prior to our departure but chose not to share this with me, but thats okay, I like to help), Mike ran over my flip flop "protected" foot with a desk he was trying to slide, then he dropped a large rolled up Asian rug on my foot (which I was attached to because I was holding the shrink wrap roll that surrounded the rug, so I dropped to the ground with the rug) and then my foot was stepped on (again, with the fabulous security of a flip flop to safeguard it) while lifting a sliding glass door off the track.
• Monday: While at an honor code ceremony at school, one of my classmates pushed in a chair while leaning on it with all of his weight, not realizing that one of the legs of the chair had pinned my second toe which was exposed by my cute open toe/open back heels.
• STILL MONDAY: while leaving school (on the second floor of the building), the heel of my cute shoe broke on the first step down the cement stairs causing my knees to buckle and slam into the stairs while I slid down the cement stairs on my shins, having to throw all my weight onto my left hip to try to stop my momentum (which didn't help because I slid down the entire flight of stairs anyways). The result... two knees, shins and tops of my feet with some of the prettiest shades of blue you have ever seen, my right knee tweaked (a physical therapy term) and swollen from hitting the stairs full force, and my left hip with a bruise the size of a cantelope and more black than the night sky. I'd show a picture but the close proximity to the gluteal region might get me kicked off this site for inappropriate postings of pics.
• Tuesday: While telling the story of my fabulous and graceful fall down the stairs to my classmates... my second toe was yet again pinned under the leg of a chair while a different classmate pushed it in and leaned on it with all their weight. Seriously people, can we please forget some of the things we learned in kindergarten for the safety of my feet???
• Wednesday/Thursday: No new injuries, just a lot of aches and pains from the list above. I realize now, this was a false sense of security.
• Friday: While playing Wii at Mike's, I was walking over to hand him the remote, he stood up while I began to sit and his elbow went right into my throat, knocking me backwards (thankfully into the comfort of the giant lovesack in the living room). THEN, while trying to borrow a movie from Mike's in house Blockbuster (aka his roommates room) I slammed the inside of my ankle on the ever so soft and pliable WOODEN bedframe, right on the bone!!! (thats the medial malleolus for all my SPTs out there). Then, while pointing out to Mike, my new injury, which was turning a deep shade of purple as I spoke, I slammed my toe (same foot as the ankle injury one minute prior, and the same toe that had been smashed twice this week already) on the edge of their glass coffee table.
• Saturday: Went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning!!! Now, I know what you are saying... nuf said, right? Everyone knows that a teeth cleaning, while having no cavities (yay), is not the most comfortable thing in the world. I hear ya, and trust me when I tell you that the scraping of teeth and gums with pointy metal objects lived up to its uncomfortable expectations. But, alas my friends, I have found a new dental pain, which I am sure could only happen to me, in this week of absolute miserable physical pain. The hygenist, while scraping away, left the suction tube in a somewhat awkward position, where rather than sucking the spit out from the back of my throat as it should, was sucking violently onto the inside of my cheek. Thats right, folks! I have a giant hicky on the inside of my cheek, resulting in a swollen cheek ensuring I bite my cheek whenever I attempt to chew food.

But, as I type this, I am grateful that none of my clumsy episodes resulted in greater injuries, especially the stairs... that could have been bad. From now on, I will recognize the warning signs, and with the first sign that I might even be close to heading down the path of pain similar to this past week... I am calling in "clumsy"!!!

Exercise... 2008 style

Since I have been sitting in a classroom eight hours a day for the past year, lets just say my fitness level has declined. I used to workout everyday, doing exercises all day with patients. And now... nothing. Well, kiss that lifestyle goodbye. I would like to introduce you to my new exercise plan. The Wii Fit!!! For anyone who is not familiar, this is more than just the regular old Wii Sports games. This comes with a balance board that you stand on, it takes your weight, measures your balance, calculates your BMI (I'm still in the normal range, thank goodness). And then it lets you set goals on your fitness such as how many pounds you would like to lose, and by when, etc. Then is utilizes fun games and activities to help you reach your goals. These range from yoga, strength exercises like planks and lunges, and then my personal fav... hula hooping for aerobics. I am the hula hooping expert in the house, thank you very much.

Now, I have a sneaky suspicion that you are sitting there laughing at me. "How ridiculous is this girl that she thinks she can actually exercise using a video game?" Well, the joke is on you! After fifteen minutes of hula hooping, I was sweating and my abs were sore the next day. (It was also a ridiculously hot day, and I am deconditioned, so maybe it wouldn't have been such a great workout for someone who is already in shape, so maybe the joke is actually on me???) NO, it is a great, FUN way to workout. And it helps that Mike and I are completely competitive and will stay up to all hours trying to beat each other's scores. Keeps us motivated.

So for all of you, while you are sitting on your couch, watching tv and not getting in shape... I will be putting my tv time to good use and you can too (for a mere $350 plus accessories, the Wii Fit head and wrist bands are a must if you want to look the part). Laugh at me if you want, but I'll be the one laughing when I am looking hot in a bathing suit in Hawaii. :)

A new beginning

So, my second post this year, and there are only 4 months left in the year... right on track!

I've found that rarely a day goes by without something blog-worthy happening in my life, but I always find someone to tell before going to the old computer. So, I have decided to change my focus. While I will still try to report any seriously ridiculous occurrences in my life (cuz lets face it... there are a lot, mostly related to school), I will try to make this more of a daily diary about the life of a grad student trying to eek by in the days of high gas prices, disappearing loan approvals, and ever-increasing interest rates. See, my very first venting about the ridiculousness that is grad school. (Added bonus, my boyfriend doesn't have to hear my complain til I'm blue in the face). I'll be sure to add in the little anecdotes and craziness that I have accepted as my life, just so that it is actually interesting to read. Hope you like it.

Great to be back!

Time flies when your nose is stuck in a book

I find it hard to believe that it has been nearly four months since my last post. I guess that bee sting left a bad taste in my mouth. Where do I start?

I guess I should begin with the biggest change in my life... I went back to school. Yikes!!! After two years of suppressing the desire, a PT school opened in San Diego and I was suddenly put in the position where I could no longer ignore my true feelings. I applied and was accepted. So now I have completed my first trimester (and, oh, did I mention I got straight A's) and in two short years, I will be a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Two short years of crazy amounts of reading, writing and rithmatic. Okay, not so much writing, and really no rithmatic, but there aren't too many well known phrases that include joint mobilizations, goniometry and therapeutic exercise.

So that is how I have been spending the majority of the last four months, thus no time for blogging. But with one trimester down, I think I may be able to squeeze in the occasional post, not that there are too many people waiting with an unbearable anticipation in the off chance I might put some words out in the blogosphere.

Other than school, life has been great. Mike and I are doing great (a year and a half). Our lives have included a surprise trip to Vegas for my birthday (Amazing!) and a snowboarding trip over Christmas (I carved ten times in a row, and this was only my second time ever snowboarding). Many other fabulous moments peppered in here and there as well.

So now I find myself out of school for the holidays and aching for classes to start again. Man, I am such a nerd!

Hope the holidays brought you happiness and time with those most special in your life. I know thats what I was given.

Bye for now (I promise not another four months).