Goooooo Panthers!

Well, last Sunday was my first ever pro football game! I took a bus trip sponsored by the Jacksonville, NC parks dept. It was very exciting. It began with an early wake-up so I could be on the bus at 6am...it's a good thing I only live 5 minutes from where the bus was picking us up. I slept most of the way as most sane people were doing since it was still dark out. We arrived there shortly before 11am so there was little time to kill. I just wandered around and then got to my seat early. There were plenty of tickets left over which the organizer sold to someone who then turned around to sell to someone else. Money makes the world go round! Fortunately, she kept one ticket to use as a spacer which my friend bought. Molly is another OT traveler who had just started an assignment in Charlotte and lo and behold she only lives a short distance away. It was great to see her and spend some time with her while watching the Panthers beat the Saints.

Our seats were in the nosebleed section but we could still see everything because of the design of the Bank of America stadium. However, you do miss a lot of the details that you get when watching the game on television, like the commentaries and the replays. The funny thing was that it was breezy and cool on the lower levels but once we got to the top there was very little breeze and it was sunny. Consequently, you freeze on the lower levels and bake at the top. I think I even got a sunburn on my forehead.

There were plenty of people tailgating..lots of bbqs and beer flowing in the parking lots. It was $20-30 to pay for parking near the stadium. People paid the money and were partying for hours before the 1p game. I hear in the south, people take the football very seriously, at all levels, even the tailgating!

NC so far

Well, I've been at the new job 2 weeks, that's already 1/6 of my time here. It was slow to begin with but it's picked up the last week. Don't get me wrong, I like it when it's busy since it makes the time go by so much faster. The other therapists are all very helpful and most are all fairly young. I would say that most of them are also married to someone in the military, either marine or navy. The paperwork is a little different, we dictate our evals, which is a little disconcerting to me as I like to see everything written down. I'm such a visual person that I have to get my thoughts down on paper before verbalizing them so it seems like twice the amount of work to finish up an eval. However, since I've had so many the last 2 weeks, I have gotten better at it. I also didn't need to buy so many shirts when I stopped at the outlet in MO. They provided me with hospital polo shirts but I am glad that I bought a couple more tan pants as that it also part of the "uniform". It's the first time that I've had a uniform, so to speak.
So my first weekend, I got settled; the second weekend I spent just relaxing and trying to get a little more organized. Wouldn't you know it, this weekend is mainly raining and I'm sick so I don't have much energy to go exploring. I had been so good about exercising, running a couple of miles and following some videos for weight-training, yoga or toning over the last couple of weeks. Now I feel that it's all shot since I haven't been able to do anything the last few days. The one thing that hasn't waned is my appetite, I can still eat a full meal.

I found out that the mother of a co-worker in WA is very sick, so whoever reads this please say a prayer for her and the whole family. It is a very sad situation.

North Carolina arrival

I spent the night of the 25th at my cousin's in Champaign, IL after having spent some time at an outlet mall, ostensibly to shop for clothes for work in NC. I probably didn't really need to but it was fun. It was a short visit with my cousin but I'm glad I stopped in. From there, I took off for the long drive to Raleigh, NC. I drove through IL, IN, KY, WV, VA and into NC, traversing through various terrain and noticing that it became much more mountainous and green as I headed southeast. The roads also become more windy and it began to rain which made it more precarious. Driving along side of me were many 18 wheelers who should have not been driving so fast...combine that with the rain-slicked roads and it made for some white-knuckled driving.

I finally arrived at my friend's dorm at NCSU in Raleigh. It was a Friday night so, of course, she was ready to go out and party. I'm really getting old! All I wanted to do is relax and sleep...staying out late was the last thing on my mind. In addition, she had to get up early to go on a day trip to Wilmington and I wanted to get up and go at the same time. I needed my beauty sleep!

The next morning I got on the road about 745ish and arrived in Jacksonville about 2 hours later. I met the roomie and got moved in. I pretty much spent that day unpacking and trying to have some sort of organization to the room. It was pretty warm and humid but sunny. I slept well that night. The next day found me walking through the main thoroughfare in the city to find out how long it would take me to walk to work, if I chose to do that. Well, it would take me a good hour at a decent clip to get me there so on my way back home I stopped in some stores to find out how much a bike would cost. I figured it out and the cost of a bike and lock would be more than the cost of gas to get to/from work the entire 12 weeks I'm here. That's because work in about 4.5 miles from home and I work 4-10 hour days. So much for being green and healthy! I guess I'll just have to find another way to exercise and be earth-conscious. It'll also allow me to get more sleep in the morning. Remember I need my beauty sleep!