Recent pics of Indy

Indy likes to play with her friends at the dog park on the Mississippi River.













She also likes to ask for treats.

Distractions!

I had such great ambitions tonight of getting a lot of freelance done. I have about 12 pages of Web content to do for Clarian (the company I used to work for -- now I just get projects here and there to help save $$ for grad school), and now I'll have to do it this weekend. Oh well...it's supposed to be rainy and stormy AGAIN this weekend anyway. So then maybe I won't feel so bad having to stay in. But anyway, back to the reason why I didn't get my work done: a little thing called Facebook. Man, social networking sites like that are addicting! I just joined today, as Stacy so pleasantly found out at work, and I'm not sure how much I'll update it, but setting it up and reading what people write about you and then seeing the pictures people post with you in them....it just makes getting anything else done very difficult. I might need to turn off the notifications -- they email you every time any change happens. I've had a myspace profile for a while too, but I don't update it too much. I mean, come on, people, is a girl in her mid-20s supposed to update a blog, myspace page and facebook and then also keep up with emails, text messages and voicemails? When did we all get so technologically advanced? I'll tell you when....it was back in 1998 when IM became popular. I remember sitting in the library (cause we didn't have Internet service at home) and IMing with my friends (who were sitting comfortably in their own homes). But the big-time IMing really happened during my freshman and sophomore years of college. It was how all the high school friends kept in touch during college. I'd have a witty away message up while I was in class, and then when I'd get back, I'd check to see if I had any messages from friends while also making sure my illegally downloaded songs came through onto my computer ok. Ahhh...that's where it all began. Personally, I like the blog thing. It's a little more personal -- more anecdotal, if you will. It's not just a place where you can browse around spying on old classmates to see what they're up to now (like myspace -- although that is super fun sometimes, esp now that a bunch of my classmates from WHS are all pregnant and married and some are on baby #3!).

With that, I am off to read and go to bed. I've given up on my night of productivity. At least I did clean my apartment a bit and take the dog out for a long walk. I'll work on making the big bucks this weekend.

Thief asks out woman after robbery

I just read this article in the "Oddly Enough" section of the Pioneer Press and had to share. I can't imagine what answer this guy was expecting...

MILWAUKEE- A thief found out the hard way that robbing a woman isn't the best way to capture her heart. Two men robbed a U-Haul store around 3 p.m. Sunday, taking an unspecified amount of cash, according the store's owner. But instead of fleeing, one man lingered and tried to strike up a conversation with the woman he had just robbed.

"He stuck around and was trying to get the female employee's number," U-Haul general manager Patrick Sobocinski said. "She said he was just saying, 'Hey baby, you're pretty fine.'"

According to Sobocinski, one robber went behind the counter, put his hands around both employees' waists and demanded money. The robber forced one employee to open the register and grabbed cash. Then he forced the workers to the ground and fled, but his accomplice waited for a few moments and then asked one clerk whether she'd go out with him, he said.

"She said he was saying, 'Can I get your number and go out sometime,'" Sobocinski said.

No surprise ending here—the woman turned him down, and he fled.

0 for 4

I received my fourth rejection for a graduate assistantship today -- that makes 4 applications and 4 rejections. Yuk. That's okay, I just need to keep on looking and applying for more spots. My friend Angie, who just finished up grad school last year, said that she and most of her fellow classmates didn't get assistantships lined up until the beginning of the school year, so let's hope some more positions open up as the school year gets clsoer. One of my bus friends who works in the president's office at the U told me to send him my resume, so hopefully he can get my name out there a little more with University Relations or other departments. See, if I can get an assistantship, then I won't have to pay tuition. If I don't have to pay tuition, that means less stress, less debt and the ability to pay normal expenses and have a life. So please keep your fingers crossed, say a prayer, send good thoughts, etc.! THANKS!

Last call: Chickens wanted!

Someone posted this on our intranet classifieds at work, and I couldn't NOT share:

WANTED-CHICKENS-ANY VARIETY CONSIDERED
We want to include chickens in the back portion of our small acerage. Need to hear from you by the end of May. Prefer 25 mile radius from the Wyoming, Mn. area.

My co-worker responded to the ad, and this is what he had to report:

I replied with "I've got chickens, do you prefer grilled or breaded?" and she accused me of being Republican.

The importance of stretching

I learned a very hard lesson last night, and it's a lesson I know and love and almost always follow...until last night. I was at my softball game, and it was the top of the first inning. We had just finished throwing the ball around and taking some infield practice, and then the game was starting. After an out or two, a batter hit the ball high and short to left-center field, where I was playing pretty deep. So I sprint as fast as I could to try to catch the ball, when suddenly I feel my right leg muscle rip....and then the left....and then I just stopped in my tracks and let the ball drop a few feet in front of me. Oh my god....I have never felt such sudden, ripping pain. It hurt so bad, I just kept uttering $#%! or ^*&#! as I made my way off the field to try to stretch, which was really difficult, by the way. After sitting there trying to stretch, calling my dad and crying and seeing if the pain would go away, I finally got a ride home from a nice teammate (mid-game) and called the triage nurse line, who recommended that I come in to the ER.

After a few hours in the ER with my lovely mom, I learned that I most likely tore muscles in both my quads. I knew that pain wasn't just a pulled muscle. It literally felt like someone tore my leg muscle. Now I have to use crutches just to let my leg muscles rest for 3-4 days, and I'm going to see an orthopedic specialist on Friday morning for a follow-up to see what he thinks about when I can start being more active again.

LESSON: Please stretch before you do anything active! I am usually the person that takes lots of time to stretch and tells others they should do it. This was just a one-time mistake that hurt like crazy, so take it from me -- stretch! STRETCH! Your muscles will thank you.

One of the saddest parts is that I was going to play in my first kickball game tonight, and now I can't play. However, I will be attending the game to cheer everyone on. Maybe I'll take action photos. That could be fun...

Out of office experience

I spent the majority of the day at Fairview's Quality Leadership Conference -- a conference put on to rejuvenate workers, motivate them in life/work, etc. (Side note: mostly managers and those "chosen" workers are invited to the conference; I was not invited but volunteered to be a greeter/bell ringer so I could get out of the office and participate in the fun.) Some speakers were okay, but there were two that really stick out in my mind, and I feel lucky to have heard them present today.

1. Nando Parrado - one of the survivor's from the plane crash in the Andes mountains 35 years ago. Remember the movie "Alive"? Well, this guy's rugby team and their plane crash and amazing story of survival was what the movie was based on. It was just crazy to see some of the pictures from the crash site and hear this man's account of what he went through. He said that many researchers and professors and medical professionals have researched and researched about how they could have possibly survived for 2.5 months at 14,000 feet in -30 degree temps, and they have all said that it is impossible -- they shouldn't be here today. Now, this man is married, has two daughters and has led this great life motivating others to live their lives and really LOVE the people who are important in their lives. It was just so interesting to hear his perspective and hear him describe what is truly indescribable. When asked how he survived, he just said, as long as he had a reason to survive (his loved ones), then he knew he'd make it. It wasn't a matter of "how" will I survive, but rather "why" will I survive? His closing remarks just urged us to tell our friends and family how much we love them and to just live your life because you never know what will happen tomorrow.

2. The other speaker that I really enjoyed was Dan Clark. He was one of the contributing writers for "Chicken Soup for the Soul," he writes for the NY Times, he is a motivational speaker, musician, ex-college football player....the list goes on. Really, he was just a very entertaining speaker that made you think. He would start one story, go off on another tangent, throw out a few random philosophical ideas to ponder and then jump right back in to the original story to make his point and make you laugh or cry. And it all made sense, leaving no one behind to wonder what the heck he was talking about.

Anyway, there's my essay on "what I did at work today." It was very interesting -- not the typical day in the life of Heidi at Fairview, but I'll take it. I have another day of it tomorrow with different speakers. Perhaps if you're lucky, I'll fill you in on any noteworthy presenters.

I got a hit!

That's right...give it up for me finally getting a base hit on my softball team. See, during our first game last week, I kept "striking out" by hitting the ball foul twice. It's a slow-pitch league with a 2-strike rule and a 3-ball walk rule. Weird. I hate that.

Anyway....so I was up a few times earlier in the game and kept making contact, but getting thrown out at first. So it's the bottom of the last inning, two outs, runners on first and second, Heidi is up to bat. No pressure! Here's the pitch.....I connect with the ball and hit it hard between third and shortstop and make it to first.....oh wait, there's some bobbling going on and they throw the ball home, so I make a fast break for second. SAFE! Then Kyle went up to bat and got another hit, bringing in Emily and me for a win! Our first win of the season! Yea!!!

It's fun playing softball again -- I find myself remembering my old habits of being really chatty in the outfield (not sure if my teammates find that annoying or good) and just really getting into the game. I love it! It kind of makes me want to play in a more competitive league again, but really, who am I kidding? Could I ever hit a fast pitch again? Do I get tired just running to first base? Ummm....yeah, I thought so.

Tomorrow night is the first kickball game! Ang and I will be showing up late after choir practice, but we will be there to cheer on the team eventually. Go Grateful Red! I'll take some team pics of both softball and kickball and share them with the blogosphere soon!