Wigs on Tap

Harnessing my inner Lady Gaga...

For tonight's Wigs on Tap, sponsored by the Gilda's Club of Louisville at the Bluegrass Brewing Company taproom on Main St.

The Skinny:
The BBC Taproom on Main St.
7-11 pm
$25: 2 drink tickets, food, wig contest/door prizes
Support Gilda's Club which is a nonprofit that supports those living with cancer.

 “Having cancer gave me membership in an elite club I would rather not belong to.” - Gilda Radner

Red River Gorgeous

Fall means it's climbing season!  Time for the summer heat to dissipate and the crisp mornings to put fog on your breath.  My first ever trip to the Red River Gorge was in the fall of 2007 and I fell in love with the colors and the way the sunshine warmed your back on the exposed rock.  This trip did not have as much sunshine, but it certainly did not lack in amazing climbing.

  

 I should first show my appreciation for my climbing friends.  Without Patrick and Chris (below), I would be miserable and have super weak forearms.  When we met during my July trip to the Red, we became instantaneous friends-- even sharing phone numbers at the crag! So when they extended the invitation to join their yearly fall RRG trip, I changed around my schedule to get down for a few days.

The boys had been dreaming of Creature Feature (Phantasia Wall, 5.9, four stars) at night for nearly a  year.  Creature is right!  Bugs, spiders, and creepy crawly things skirted out of the light of our head lamps as we mantled the roof and flew over the rest of the plates to the rings.  

My crowning glory of the weekend was a 5.10 in Pendergrass Murray Recreational Preserve named Brown Eyed Girl at Chika Bonita Wall (four stars in the book, five stars in my opinion).   We had been playing on some .7's and .9's under a roof all day, trying to avoid the rain.  As we were finishing up the last routes, Patrick came from around the corner where he had found a protected 5.10 slab-- my favorite!

After climbing it once, I told Patty that I knew I could lead it.  "Well what are you waiting for?"  Uh.  Ok...  So I sent it.

As a girl, I feel like slab highlights the best of my climbing abilities.  I love the yoga-y moves that take lots of balance and flexibility.  A good foot-hand match also looks pretty and seems to impress the boys that can barely touch their toes.

So this green eyed girl showed that it's not only Brown Eyed Girls that make the Red River gorgeous.

Sunday night egg sandwich

2 eggs

a couple of slices of cheese

2 pieces of buttered toast

pepper

ketchup

(and tonight, a pumpkin ale)

... makes my Sunday night.  Since I was a kid, Sunday night egg sandwiches were a Carson tradition.  In fact, they go back to when my Dad was a kid. 

When you're hundreds of miles from home, it's all the more important to do the things that make you feel like you're there.

Bon appetit 

Orientation in review

Today was my first day off orientation.  I signed my own prescriptions, billed under my name, and didn't have to discuss my patients with anyone else.  Three months ago, I would have never believed this day would come. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still wet behind the ears, appropriately scared and very quick to ask questions, but I have a new found independence that is very exciting.

So this means I've been in Louisville for 3 months now... I've been a busy girl:

- Several good friends that I spend my free time with
-Co-workers that I enjoy working and socializing with
-A dog and dog friends
-Climbing buddies and a gym
-Made 3 quilts this summer
-Housed 8 guests (and 1 doggie guest)

But there's still a very long way to go.  Louisville and I are not BFF's yet and I'm waiting on a few things:

-Professional development (NAPNAP meeting tomorrow night)
-Find a church that I jive with.  Whodda thunk that Louisville was more conservative than Chapel Hill... uh, duh.
-Find a posse.  Next to my family, that's what I miss most about Chapel Hill.  I'm still looking for "my people"
-Make a calendar.  Know something to do every night of the week
-Take more pictures
-Invest in my community.  Although I'm not really sure what medium I will find to do this, I need to give back to the place that has given to me.

I'm a very goal oriented person.  And I've been doing short term goals since I was a freshman in college.  I always look back with 20/20 hindsight and laugh at how things worked out perfectly.  Gosh, I hope that happens now.  I love to plan, but I am always willing to adapt my plan when a new opportunity presents itself.  I think that making goals and writing them down helps to keep them in the forefront of your mind, while also making you accountable for making them happen.  Now ya'll are going to help keep me accountable.

Happy Birthday Adam!

It's hard to believe that it's been 8 years (I had to count on my fingers just now to make sure... and that's a lot) of birthdays that we've been celebrating together.  Time flies, obviously, because we were busy being a little bit ridiculous.

Adam and I met each other the first night of school while we were passing through a doorway.  Serendipity at its best.  We struck a conversation and bonded over Western North Carolina, his home, my roots.  From that night (minus a few hiccups) we started pooling our friends into the Fan Club.

You're one of the best, most charming guys I know and one of my very best friends.  Our phone conversations are nothing short of day-making (I tried calling you at the stroke of midnight east coast time, but your phone is not working so plug it in and call me back!).  It's been close to 3 years, but, mark my words, this will be the year that I make it to Hawaii! (As in give me 12 months to forget about being a graduate student!)

I'm thankful for that fateful meeting.  I'm thankful for our friends.  Shik is thankful for our listserv and that's enough for me.  I sure do miss you and your sweet little family being in NC, but we'll see you soon!  Have a very happy birthday drink one for everyone in the Fan Club!

P.S. The recent popularity of Elijah Wood (on the TV show Wilfred) makes me miss you even more.  Love you little Frodo.

The Dog Days Are Over

Labor Day means the end of summer-- the end of lemonade stands and watermelon seed spitting.  The fireflies will sleep for the winter and the heat lighting will fade into the cool nights.  Swim suits will be traded for scarves and bare toes will hide inside warm socks.

Maybe I say this about every season when the time arrives, but fall is my favorite season.  The brisk chill on my face feels so refreshing in comparison to the blistering heat of summer.  Best of all, it's my birthday season!  Fall means pumpkin spice and running through leaves, wearing warm sweaters and enjoying cool nights under the stars in sleeping bags.  Fall brings people together because while everyone travels and gallivants during the summer, everyone treks home to settle down for fall: homecoming, thanksgiving, my birthday (did I mention my birthday?!).

I missed out on a lot of the fall last year because of my life in Tanzania, but I am thrilled to be settled into a beautiful part of the country where I can watch the colors change and see another season.

They say you have to see all four seasons in a place before it feels like home.  I've just checked summer off the list and I'm waiting patiently for it to feel a little more like home.

Kentucky Bluegrass Festival

It's about a hundred degrees with 99% humidity this weekend.  I almost didn't make it out last night because my friend didn't want to battle the heat.

In a bold move, I ventured out on my own to the Kentucky Bluegrass & Burgoo (like a hamburger chili) Festival down at the Water Tower.  I plaited my hair in a braid, laid down my blanket, and took off my shoes, so hungry to hear the music that reminds me of home.  When a banjo and mandolin play together in harmony, it makes my heart want to dance.

I sent a quick text to a new friend who was a bluegrass novice and he came out to see what thrills so many people about this genre of music.  I started by telling him that it's not country.  And more than anything, there's a mentality that goes along with bluegrass.  It's very natural and organic, built on Southern Hospitality, and encompasses a sense of peace and happiness to live simply.  His friend lamented that he didn't know how to dance to bluegrass so I pointed out the fans at the stage.  This is not a sixth grade dance where you have to do the Dougie (or in my case, the butterfly) perfectly and no one is going to make fun of you when you dance.  Look at that girl, her head is swaying side to side, her arms look like she's about to take off, and her feet are doing a little jig.  Or take that girl, I'm afraid she's going to trip over one of her feet clogging around like that, but she's got it under control and you can tell she's having a good time.  Or take those girls over there, they've got drinks in hand and are really just running in place.  You do whatever the music moves you to do.

Lucky me, I got to hear my old high school friend Bobby Britt play fiddle with Town Mountain, a band out of Asheville, North Carolina.  I caught up with Bobby after the show and we chit chatted about Chapel Hill, Louisville, and the journeys we've been on since we last caught up in the spring.

Come on out the rest of the labor day weekend for more great bluegrass and food!  Tickets are $7 before 6 pm and $10 after.
Sunday:
Custom Made Bluegrass- 5 pm
Relic- 6:15 pm
Hog Operation- 7:30 pm
The Fiddleheads- 9:30 pm

Monday:
Fresh Cut Grass- 1 pm
New Town- 3 pm
The Cumberlands- 5 pm

It's a 3 day weekend ya'll

Bout to have a good time!

On living alone, cont'd

There has been a stiff learning curve with the whole "living alone" thing. If you saw my previous post, then you'd know that I was somewhat lost with how to adapt to the quiet. In the past two months, I've grown a lot and came up with a list of Do's & Don'ts of Living Alone:

DO do (yes, I'm aware I just wrote do do) things that you would normally do if other people were around*, i.e. if you would normally close the bathroom door, then close it. If you would normally sit at the kitchen table for a meal, then sit there.

*Note: this does not apply to wearing pants.

DO get a dog! Lulu was a great choice for me! I had wanted a dog for a long time. She keeps me company and changes up the monotony of being inside. We go for walks twice a day and always go running in Cherokee park on my days off. She's something to look forward to at the end of my workday. Although she makes life a little less lonely at home, she does not take away the fact that I miss home, family, and friends. If anything, I miss them more because I want her to meet everyone!

DO invite company over. If your house becomes too much of your domain then you're likely to feel imposed upon when friends come to visit. Have your safe haven, but welcome guests and entertain frequently because it really will make your house feel like home.

DO eat real food. TV dinners don't count, chips and salsa doesn't count, a bowl of cereal doesn't count. Eat foods that are fresh from the ground and require a bit of preparation. Go to the local farmer's market (and carry your own bags!) or plan out a weekly menu of culinary treats.

DO save for a rainy day... or a plane flight home. There's nothing like a little retail therapy or a weekend trip home. There's definitely nothing like a hug from your Mom & Dad.

DO keep up with your hobbies. Do the things you love most. Try new things that you've always wanted to do but never had the cash flow or time. Take a class, learn a language, paint, join the climbing gym.

DON'T put things off until later... Advice given to me by one of my best friends, Jordan. He said if you get in the habit of leaving things until later then your house will become a disaster area and more work in the long run. Wash your dishes once you use them, empty the garbage when it's needed, make your bed in the morning. Good advice!

DON'T stay inside all day. Sunlight has a direct effect on mood and health making you perkier, sun kissed, and more able to absorb that bone-strengthening calcium. The grass is prettier than your dirt-stained carpet, and the Carolina blue sky always makes me smile.

DON'T get sucked into social media. Facebook, twitter, and the blogosphere are not your friends. In fact, they're probably detrimental to your outlook on your life and they distort your perception of reality. Go find real life friends and leave the status updates to people baking cookies with their 10 cats on a Friday night.

DON'T get a gun. You're more likely to injure yourself or someone you love with the gun than an intruder. I've met more people in Kentucky that have a firearm (or seven) than people that don't have one. To me, it's more dangerous. Instead, pick a safe part of town with lots of neighbors and lock your doors.

I'm no expert, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job at balancing home life with work life with social life. There's still a lot to learn and explore, but I'm slowly getting the swing of things.