Long time, no post!

Well, hello there. I'm glad you're still following and haven't completely given up on me. I have a lot to update you on!


Friday
Friday I woke up nice and early to get the last of my packing done and then head to the gym for training with Emily at 10:00 a.m. It was my last training session with her and she kicked my butt, per usual. I didn't do much cardio beforehand or afterwards, but that was okay with me because I had Chi Running training with Ken Andrews, We spent a little over two hours together, during which I learned the very basics of chi running. We spent a lot of time going through the proper form and then we did a tiny bit of running. I learned a lot and I'm really excited to actually go out and do some running.


After running, I got some lunch for Alicia and myself and then headed home to take a look at the packing situation.

After we finished up packing, Alicia took me to the UHaul place where I spent a half hour hassling with the reservation people and then came home to shower before running over to Jenna's house to see her, her husband/my husband Tyler, and her parents.

And they fed me! Mrs. Brown made some awesome chicken, a great pork roast, and a bunch of delicious veggies! Here's a photo that doesn't allow you to see pretty much anything...

After enjoying an awesome meal and great company, I headed back to my apartment to pack all of my belongings in the UHaul with the help of Alicia, Mark, and my mom. It took us about two hours, but I'm glad we didn't have to pack and unpack all in the same day. After packing, I headed to my mom's house for the night.


Saturday
I woke up nice and early to get on the road at 9:00 a.m. with Mark, Alicia, and my mom. Mark drove the UHaul with me and my mom drove Alicia in her van. We got to Grand Rapids around 11:30 a.m. where Matt was waiting for us. We got everything unloaded in about an hour and then had some Jimmy John's for lunch. Yum! And while we were relaxing, I snapped some photos of everyone who helped me move!

My mom and Alicia (who is constructing my bookcase) 

Matt who got to help Mark move all the big stuff

Me and Mark looking oh so enthused

After my internet was set up by the Comcast guy, we headed back to Midland and both Mark and Alicia headed home while I returned the UHaul. Then I did more packing up of my apartment and headed to my mom's house for one last night of no unpacking. 


Sunday
Once again, I headed back to my apartment in Midland to grab more stuff and then I drove to Grand Rapids. Once there, I made my bed and napped. I woke up and headed to Matt's house so he could feed me.

We had chicken salad with beans and potatoes. Yum! We also made a trip to Wayland for ice cream and to visit with Matt's friend Kylee. Then we headed back to his house so I could bully him into finally signing up for his GRE. I'm pretty sure he hated me for that. Whoops! But I left before he could do me any real harm and went straight to bed.


Monday
This was the first day I started truly unpacking. My friend Curt came over and lined my kitchen shelves (which was freaking awesome because I hate doing that) and helped me move some of my big stuff. We also went to lunch at Marie Catrib's and then it was back to unpacking. Curt headed back to work (he worked a split) and then I went to my orthodontist appointment. 


I saw two orthodontists who were both impressed by my completely open bite. But the good news is that they recommended Invisalign rather than conventional braces. They asked if I was okay with that. Uh, making my braces less obvious? Sure!


After my appointment, I headed to the mall where Matt's sister Heather gave me an awesome haircut. I did a tiny bit of shopping for my white coat ceremony and then finally headed home to finish up unpacking my kitchen and bathroom. Then it was time for bed!


Tuesday
I decided to get up early and head to a new gym. I met with Scott at MVP Metro Club in downtown Grand Rapids. He was a great help in setting up my membership and took me on a quick tour of the facilities. The gym was really nice and decently-equipped. However, I was the only person there. Anyway, let me tell you a bit more about it. On the first floor they had their group fitness rooms. On the second floor was all their cardio equipment including treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes. On the third floor was their weight room.


I decided I would stick with some cardio and headed to the second floor. All of the machines were touch screen with extended cable, and, though I thought this would be awesome, it was actually kind of crappy because you couldn't do any preset programs and it didn't track your stats - the screens just went back to television show you were watching. I tried programming the treadmill, elliptical, and stationary bike and they all only let you do quick start programming. There was no staff around to ask so I gave up and headed up to the third floor and did about 45 minutes of weights. I was a tad disappointed by their lack of machines and left upset that I signed up for a membership.


I came home to shower and then headed to Ann Arbor for lunch with Stephen and Noel before heading to IKEA where I met up with Anthony and bought a desk. I don't have any pictures from the day because I left my camera. Womp, womp.


On my way back to Grand Rapids, I did a major grocery shopping trip at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in Ann Arbor. I spent quite a bit of money, but hopefully I'll have lots of really good quality food for a while. Then I finally headed home. However, I realized that I could stop and see my sister's apartment in East Lansing so I didn't home until a little after 11:00 p.m.


Once home, I unpacked the cooler and headed to bed.


Wednesday
Today I woke up around 9:00 a.m., showered, and signed up for some med school stuff. Then I talked to the people at the skydiving company who told me that the weather may not hold until 6:00 p.m. when Allyson and I were scheduled to jump. So, we pulled some strings and met in Mount Pleasant at 2:15 so we could jump out of a perfectly good airplane for fun. Allyson brought my mom and both her parents with her. So, here are some pics from my adventures today!

The baby plane we jumped from 

Getting suited up

I thought this picture was so funny 

Ready to jump! Well, maybe we should have a parachute...

Allyson and Jake (we did a tandem jump)

Me and Scott, the man I was attached to

Dancing because I was so excited

Making Allyson dance with me

Me and my mom before I risked my life

Allyson and I demonstrating how to arch properly when you jump out of the plane 

Me!

Coming in for the landing 

Woo! Allyson coming in for her landing

The first time we saw each other after falling 11,000 feet 

Hugging because we were still alive and able to!

Celebrating our jump

After our jump, we went out to dinner with our respective parents and had a drink to celebrate. So how was it? It was pretty awesome! The free falling part of it isn't anything like a roller coaster - your stomach never drops. But it's definitely fast (and loud)! You cover about 5,000 feet in 35 seconds. Then you pull the 'chute and it's super quiet. Scott did a few fun spins with me and he videotaped the whole thing. So, in about 5-7 days, you can look forward to a video of me jumping from an airplane.


After dinner, my mom and I went to meijer (the meijer here is so much less confusing than the ones in Grand Rapids!) and then shortly after getting home, Allyson and I decided to hit up the Midland County Fair. However, we were less than impressed and left after Allyson bought an elephant ear.

We headed back to her house and hung out for a bit before I headed home to do a huge update for you all! I'll be heading back to Grand Rapids tomorrow and doing yet more moving, so hopefully I won't be too tired to update you guys again!

Moving Is Rough

Today I woke up nice and early despite not having to work so that I could get started on packing. I am amazed (and perhaps somewhat impressed) by how much stuff I own. I was completely overwhelmed and really had no idea where to start, but Alicia was amazing and got my butt in gear. We packed for about two hours and then took a break for lunch and to make a trip to Salvation Army to donate about 6 bags of clothes and miscellaneous items. Gotta love purging!


We headed to lunch at La Zeez where I packed in a nice full plate of Indian food and then we headed to the bakery for some deliciousness. We came back to my apartment, stared at all the work to be done and then decided it could wait. I took Alicia home so she could enjoy some nice time unconscious/sleeping and I headed to get my sweat on for the last time with Mark. I'm not going to lie, it makes me very sad that I won't be training with Mark anymore. But, it's not the last time I'm going to see him because he's helping me move. Woo! Bet he doesn't realize all the fun that's in store:

The good news is that I'm just as strong as he is!

After a solid two and a half hours of packing with my mom and Alicia, we were finally done for the day. I should be finishing up the little stuff, but my knees are aching and you definitely needed an update!


But I should go get my butt in gear because Alicia and I are going to go see the Help tonight. Wish me luck with my move tomorrow - it's going to be a lot of work!

The End of My Life as a Chemist

Since I blogged yesterday, I spent another afternoon at work bored out of my mind and left early. Then I headed to see a table after work with my mom. Though it was the size I wanted, it wasn't exactly the quality I wanted. But, I bought it because it was $25. Now I'm kind of regretting it and am thinking of just reselling it (it needs to be refinished and who has that kind of time?), but I'm also thinking I could just throw a tablecloth on it and not deal with that either. We shall see.


After buying the table, I headed to the gym to get my sweat on. I don't know why, but I was really craving a nice, sweaty workout. Luckily, while I was there, my friend Ali showed up and jumped on the ArcTrainer right next to my elliptical. It was nice spending my last 20 minutes (I did 32) talking with her. She went to Grand Valley State University for her undergrad (which is in Grand Rapids) and we chatted for a bit about GR as well as life in general. It was a really great workout. I worked up quite a sweat and really enjoyed myself.


Shortly after I got back home, Lisa showed up with some goodies for dinner and for me!

She got me flowers and an awesome balloon to congratulate me on getting into medical school. It was so sweet of her and the flowers are gorgeous!

After arranging my beautiful flowers (thank you so much, Lisa!), we set to work on the salad we'd be having for dinner. We also peeled the husks off the corn we'd be having. We finished making everything right as Alicia was arriving, so her timing was perfect. Here's our spread:

Yum! While enjoying dinner, we had some really honest, great conversation. It's evenings like these that make me wish that all of my friends had been chemistry majors at U of M and were coming to medical school with me. Life would be so much better with them around all the time!


After dinner, I made two batches of brownies for work and then hopped in the shower. Alicia and Lisa entertained themselves while I was busy and then we headed to go bowling - one of our favorite past times!

We tend to take a lot of random pictures when we bowl:

Bicep curling like a beast 

We also have lovely bowling names

Lisa attempting my Elvis lips

My Elvis lips 

Love this photo of them!

Somehow Lisa lost at both games we played

We headed back to my apartment after bowling for some brownies and then the girls left a bit after 11:00 p.m. It was pretty much a perfect night.


This morning, I woke up and weighed in, per usual. I didn't take a pic mostly because I didn't feel like trekking to the kitchen to get my camera. I am the exact same weight as last week, probably because my eating has not been so hot as of late. Whoops! And it didn't exactly get better when I had two [small] brownies for breakfast.


I took the rest of the brownies in for my coworkers along with a thank you note as today was my last day of work. I also dressed up a bit because it was my last day. It helps that I haven't done laundry in a very long time and didn't have much else to choose from.

Ready for my last day!

Work was pretty boring. My boss sent out a lovely e-mail announcing my departure (pictured below - double click to read it in a larger font) so I had a few people visit to say goodbye and a few e-mails to return during the morning.

I hung out with Dillon until it was time for lunch. We went to Big Apple Bagels and then headed to the bakery next door for dessert. I didn't take pictures because well, I didn't want to when all the attention was already on me.


The afternoon was pretty boring. I cleaned out my desk and threw away all old data printouts. I cleaned off my shelf in the lab and made sure to brief Sheli and Carrie on all my ongoing projects (so, like two things...) and then had nothing to do again. Around 3:30, I was getting really restless and decided to head out. I had my boss called out of a meeting with some bigwigs from our parent company (Lubrizol) and we said a quick goodbye. Then I went around saying some short goodbyes and left at about 3:50.


It felt very odd leaving for the last time. I know I'm moving on to bigger and better, but that was my whole world for a year. And though I didn't necessarily like the work I did or all the time I spent there bored out of my mind, I will definitely miss some of the people. I honestly feel really blessed for being able to work there and learn about an industry that I knew nothing about beforehand.


Once home, I decided to finally watch the Glee Project from this past Sunday. Um, why in the world would they kick off Hannah!? She was pretty much my favorite contender. She was so positive all the time and she would fit the show so well! Instead, they let Lindsay continue. Ughs. That girl really rubs me the wrong way.


After catching up on my TV, I took a quick nap before going to training with Emily. I was toying with the idea of doing some cardio after our session but I have a lot to do before my big move on Friday/Saturday, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do. However, when I saw that my water bottle had leaked all over my gym bag, I took it as a sign that I should just do my session and head out. So, after training, I headed home for a quick dinner and then headed to my mom's to begin doing a crap ton of laundry.

Leftover salad from last night with some extra spinach 

Spinach pizza from the other day

Now I'm waiting for my laundry to finish. I've been munching on my mom's candy from her candy drawer. This is bad. I think I've been too liberal with the candy/dessert in my life lately so I'm going to cut all dessert out of my life again - at least until after August 20 when I hopefully meet my goal! I have 5.4 pounds to go! I know I can do it - I just think I've been using eating as a method of procrastination and stress relief as of late. And now that I've realized it, it's time to stop!


Okay, I'm off to collect some laundry and head home. Little does my mom know (well, she will after she read this), but I'm bringing over approximately three more loads tomorrow. Woo!


When you've moved/ended school/left a job, have you ever felt strange? Were you sad, excited, or indifferent?

Blogger's Guilt

I'm sorry for taking so much time off. Nobody tells you how ridiculous it is to move across the state. And I haven't even done it yet. I'm just prepping myself mentally. I'd like to have said "mentally and physically," but let's face it. I haven't done any packing. And now: an update!


Friday
I headed down to Ann Arbor for one last shebang (read: night o' drinking) before medical school.  I stayed with Anthony and he and I went to Jerusalem Garden for a delicious Mediterranean dinner.

Our spread included hummus, baba ganoush, fattoush and pita.

Mmm...fattoush!

My falafel and baba ganoush sandwich - delicious!

After dinner, we headed to MDen so Anthony could get a Michigan Alumni shirt and so that we could be twins!

We also got all the alcohol ready for the pregame we were having.

Eventually everyone came over and an inebriated night was had!

Jim and me - our first cute pic together! 

My favorite new teacher!

My first Irish car bomb 

Organic vodka

After our epic pregame, we headed to the club to dance. A good time was had by all, trust me. 


When we got back to Anthony's, Shelley (his roommate) insisted that we have drunk food, also known as Pizza House. So, I ended up having a milkshake and probably about oh, I don't know, four pieces of pizza. Yikes.


Saturday
Anthony and I woke up pretty early and headed to breakfast. I had a slight headache and he wasn't feeling 100% either, but alas, such is the life of a college graduate! We were, however, able to enjoy our breakfasts.

Large fruit bowl, which we split 

Anthony with his omelette

Me with mine

After breakfast, I headed home to nap and then went over to my mom's for some delicious salmon and to watch Lincoln Lawyer.

Shortly after the movie, I headed to Alicia's house to play with kittens and chat.


Sunday
My mother and I basically spent Sunday in the van. We drove to Grand Rapids to pick up my keys for my new place and to hunt for some furniture. Though we didn't find anything I needed, I did find a new entertainment center(ish) thing and some matching end tables. We ended up having dinner at Olive Garden (which is so not good for you, but oh so good!) around 5 so I was lucky my oh-so-nutritious breakfast held me until then.

Then it was back to Midland for more kitten time with Alicia with a special guest appearance by Lisa!


Monday
I had planned to wake up early and go to the gym, but I was exhausted and decided against it. Instead, I woke up at 7:30 a.m., rushed through my morning routine and made it to work at 8:05 a.m. During the morning, I did about an hour's worth of computer work and then sat around entertaining myself until lunch.


At lunch, I met up with Alicia and Lisa for Pi's, the best Chinese in Midland. I only made one trip up to the buffet and then simply sat and enjoyed the company of two of my best friends. Then it was back to work where I did hmm, let's see, um, nothing. Per usual.


After work, I met Lisa and Alicia at the community center. They were going to work out while I had my butt kicked by Mark, but then Mark invited them along. Alicia politely declined, but Lisa voluntarily worked her ass off with me. We were sweaty and struggling pretty much the entire time. And Lisa informs me that today she is walking bow-legged.


After our workout, we headed home for some steak and shrimp! The steak was just okay, but the shrimp was awesome!

And because I only have two kitchen chairs, I sat on my exercise ball, which, incidentally, is the perfect height for shoveling food into your mouth.

After dinner, Lisa and I ran to have my car checked out (my engine light came on and then went off after two days), ran to my mom's house, and then went blading/biking. Lisa rode her stepmother's bike while I bladed. We did a quick 5 mile loop and then headed back to my apartment where we met up with Alicia again.


We sat around watching tv, eating overnight oats (which, of course, weren't so overnight), and this awesome fat-free cake Lisa's stepmother gave us. It was a lovely night which ended when I kicked them out so I wouldn't die of exhaustion at work today.


Tuesday
Unfortunately, I am currently dying of exhaustion/boredom at work. There's really no point in me going to work because I have nothing to do and no one is looking to give me anything to do being that my job ends tomorrow. Meh. It's not like it's that out of the ordinary for me to spend a day doing nothing. But since I was bored and hungry, I left early for lunch. That's why I've finally got enough time to blog!


I've been feeling bad about not getting to it but there's so much to be done (and I should really be doing some of it now) before I move that I haven't even had the time to creep on other people's blogs!


Anywho, for lunch, I made my last spinach pizza. It was a tad deformed.

But, don't worry! It tasted just fine!

As for the rest of the day, I probably won't do anything of any significance at work. After work, I am going to see a table that hopefully will fit nicely in my new apartment. Then I'm off to the gym for a bit! Once I'm done getting my sweat on, Alicia and Lisa are heading over for some gnocchi and salad. What good friends they are, helping me eat all of my frozen food!


Thanks for reading! I am thinking the next few updates will be catch-up style like this, but we shall see.