Day 233 - Study Buddy

I met up with a fellow student from ASL class to study together today. I know it's not super scary, but reaching out and making new friends isn't always the easiest thing to do either. I figured, what have I got to lose, right? Best thing is, we met up at Dunkin' Donuts and she bought me some type of Oreo cookie coffee drink, and it was awesome!

Day 232 - Mud

Today I drove to the Dirty Girl Mud Run hosted in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. That's about 140 miles away from my home. Did I mention, it rained so hard while I was driving that I could hardly see four feet in front of my car? I was afraid and thought about turning around to go home. Yes, the weather was that bad! I pushed through the storm, and safely arrived to my destination courtesy of my Tom Tom just as the rain turned to barely a sprinkle. By the time I made it to the nearest port-a-potty, this is what I saw over the parking lot. Beautiful.



The closer I got to the event starting line, I saw signs such as...



and...



After I picked up my registration packet and bib, I saw the starting gate corral, filled with plenty of girls just waiting to get dirty.



It wasn't long before my gear was checked, and I headed to the starting line. I immediately introduced myself as Lynn, and started up a conversation with some fellow "Mudders". We worked our way through the first obstacle, the "Barn Burner" below, and then all the sudden my new friends started calling me Jill. At first I let it go. But three obstacles and tons of cheering on later, I finally said, "I'm sorry, but my name is Lynn, not Jill". And that's when they pointed out my bib said I was "Jill Patty". I have no idea who this girl Jill was, or how I got her bib, but I did feel sorry for her at that moment as I am sure not having a bib waiting for her at the registration tent made for an eventful morning for her! Poor Jill.



As the event continued, I got muddier by the moment. Obstacles like the water and mud pit below didn't help, but sure were fun!



My biggest fear of the course was conquering the wall climb. Since the wall came in 2, 4, 6 and 8 foot sections, I joked that I would take on the 2ft section and just jump over it. Once I was actually face to face with the beast, I challenged myself and climbed over the 6ft section instead. Maybe next year I will conquer the 8ft section.



The wall climb was a breeze compared to the second to last obstacle which was the cargo net climb! I confidently made my way up the net, and then froze once I reached the top! I felt like cat stuck in a tree! Thank goodness for great moral support and girl power, since two complete strangers started talking me down from the top. "Focus on me, don't look down", I heard one say. Another said, "OK, swing your leg over, you got this!", and the encouragement continued until I was safely off of the net. I thanked them, and God profusely for helping me tackle this two- story challenge.



After one last water obstacle, I was done! I completed my first 5K mud run!



As I headed to the "showers", I saw this fun sign...



This is me, post race and loaded with mud.



Oh, this photo doesn't include my shoes or legs, but the one below does!



Needless to say, I didn't feel the need to keep my water logged and mud laden shoes, so they ended up here...



I can't wait until next year's mud run, it was so much fun!

Day 231 - Shocked

Today was the worst pre-Chiropractic electrical-stim session I've ever had. And to add insult to injury, I got a half hearted and very lame, "sorry" from the administrator. Now, let me clarify, the session was not hosted by my actual chiropractic office, and was done third party. In addition, my misery was not caused by my chiropractor or an actual adjustment.

Based on the link above, electrical stimulation is supposed to help the range of muscle movement. Well I can attest that it sure does! Range of motion issues? I had no range of motion issues in moving my arms up over my head and behind my back in order to literally rip off the way too hot heat pack and over stimulating electrodes that were causing massive amounts of pain all while yelling, "THIS HURTS!" in hopes that someone would come rescue me. A few moments later, the "therapists" as I'll loosely call them, came into the room and asked what the problem was. Umm, you electrocuted me, that's what the problem is!

I like to pride myself on the fact that I am not a wimp when it comes to pain, but this session was just way too much, and definitely not relaxing as it was intended to be. I could have had the same session at home with a plugged in hair dryer and full bathtub, only much cheaper! So what is the lesson or scary thing here for me? That I actually spoke up and complained instead of enduring the pain was a huge step for me. In addition, not that it did much good, but I complained to my Chiropractic office as well as the people administering the "therapy" in hopes of sparing the next electric chair victim.

Day 230 - Reading

"The lessons of love come in many different forms. Fascinated by the affection [her horse, Lay Me Down,] accords a stranger, Richards notes the mare's courage and slowly begins to emulate it in her own life, opening up to a love affair and its aftermath and proving to herself that she will not run when life pushes hard against her heart." - Pamela Crossland for Booklist from the American Library Association

I just completed reading the book, "Chosen By A Horse" by Susan Richards. While "Chosen By A Horse" wasn't a bad novel (by any means), I felt that the story ended flatly. While there were lessons learned by the main character, I felt there was little development or examples of putting those lessons to use. Me personally, I have to be proverbially "beaten over the head" sometimes in order to learn a lesson, so I recognize my own bias of the outcome of this novel. In addition, I think what I missed most was a happy, fairy tale ending. Perhaps I still want to read how the changed heroine ends up with her Prince Charming, and that's just not quite how this story ends. While the ending leaves it's reader with hope, I can't say it left me with that "warm fuzzy" feeling I had expected. Call me a hopeless romantic, and call Susan Richards a great author, despite me feeling that the story ended a bit soft! If you love or have any interest in horses, Susan Richards is the author for you! Next read in progress is "A Dog's Purpose". I'll keep you posted!

Day 229 - Triple Score

I arrived at my part-time job and over heard my managers discussing a great compliment about an employee. The best thing was that, it was about ME! A client submitted a compliment to our corporate office about how fantastic I am (their words, not mine) and all the good I did for them and their pup. They also included how they can't wait to take the next level class with me, the highest compliment I can receive as a trainer. What a great way to start my night! Shortly afterwards, I closed the deal on 3 sales (for a slow Wednesday, that's phenomenal) and I had one of the best, first night Intermediate classes ever! Triple score for me, I get a gold star for this Wednesday!

Day 228 - Meanie Pants (Part 2)

I finally spoke to Meanie Pants about the derogatory commentary offered (see previous post). After a bit of back pedaling and excuse giving, I got my apology. In addition, Meanie Pants is supposed to apologize to my staff (I hope he does, they deserve it!). In the meantime, I feel vindicated. Yay for confrontations!

Day 227 - MMOM

1. How often do you pray?
Often, but increases are directly proportionate to the amount of chaos I'm surrounded by.

2. What do you order when you eat Chinese food?
First, I must confess the "Chinese" food that I was raised on is actually Cantonese food, so I do not like typical Chinese food. Despite sharing the same name, the Cantonese version of my favorite dishes are pretty darn different when compared to Chinese food. When ordering from my favorite Cantonese restaurant, Ming Toy, I will order 2 crispy egg rolls, and chicken fried rice. Occasionally, I will get Sweet and Sour Chicken.

3. If given a complete freedom to start afresh, what profession would you choose and why?
Medical Illustrator, as this was what I was born to do.

4. Do you prefer your toilet paper to come over the roll or under the roll?
Over.

5. What was your favorite TV show as a child?
Hmm, I don't know that I can narrow it to just one, and at what age? As a child my favorites ranged from Underdog, Popeye and The Flintstones to The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes.