Channel Surfing

For whatever reason, Sunflower Broadband decided to change the order of channels about a month ago. This means that I mourn the loss of my favorite station, Bravo. But, I now get the Travel Channel, TLC, MTV, VH1, National Geographic, and Animal Planet.

I learned an interesting fact from Animal Planet a minute ago. Aparently the "musk" fragrance in perfume originally came from a deer's anal glands. Nice.

And there is some good footage of Prague, mostly the Charles Bridge, in Kanye West's new video "Diamonds from Sierra Leone". I think it's strange that a rap artist who almost always sports some bling would write a song about the evils of diamond mining.

Lastly, has anyone ever seen Arrested Development? Funny stuff.

Where do I belong?

My endless debate of city vs country. This is gonna be a long post.

Ok, so I was born in a small town (cue John Mellencamp song) and "raised" in the country just outside of it. We had some land with a field and a pasture plus a huge red barn and some out-buildings. At some point in my life, we've had just about every imaginable, legal pet. These include: horses, a pony, cattle (one of which I named Cutiepie), dogs (one of which I named Sweetiepie), cats, frogs, salamanders, goats, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, snakes, chickens, geese, ducks, fish, and oh yeah miniature horses. Ryan never has gotten that monkey he always wanted. Maybe someday...

I suppose I liked it well enough at the time, but I always thought that after high school I would get the heck out of there and live in a city or at least a much, much larger town. Maybe Boston, maybe New York or somewhere in Florida, definitely east coast I thought. Now I'm not so sure where I want to call "home" for the long term. I need to stay in the U.S. because of the whole professional licensure thing. I've had the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling, and it has made me appreciate simple, country things more. It's quite cliche. That said, there are things I love about city life.

First, the advantages of living in the country.
1. Taking naps outside
I love to take a nap on a warm afternoon either in a hammock or on a blanket under a tree. My favorite spot used to be underneath the apricot tree. It smelled nice and was more hidden.
2. Privacy and quiet
Of course there's always the possibility, as was the case for us, that your nearest neighbor will be an elderly binocular-wielding couple that closely watches your every move. Also, not having neighbors living very close allows you to blare classic rock while you work outside if you so desire (Dad).
3. Stars
They just look better from the country. I used to be really into stars and astronomy at about age 11.
4. The outdoors and nature
We had countless adventures from swimming in farm ponds to hide-and-seek in corn and soybean fields, making up our own icy games in the frozen creek, and jumping terraces in the pasture. There were also walks around the section and picking up pretty rocks.
5. Safety or the illusion of safety
Most people don't lock their doors and think nothing of it. NOT a good idea in my current neighborhood. See Rude Awakening.
6. Pets
I think I pretty much covered this already. What can I say, I love animals.
7. Everybody knows everybody
Friendly hellos abound.

Disadvantages of living in the country.
1. Everybody knows everybody's business
2. Distance to ANYWHERE
We lived about 10 miles outside of town. I remember pleading with my parents to drive me to the pool or a friend's house or wherever. It was inconvenient to go almost anywhere.
3. Lack of goods to buy
This sounds really shallow, I know. But it kind of sucks to have to drive at least an hour to shop for jeans or shoes. And once I tried to buy tahini. No such luck.
4. Bugs and spiders
Ewww.
5. Produce
I love fresh fruits and vegetables in the summer. It would be great to either have my own garden or at least a readily available farmers' market.
6. Gravel roads
Everything is always dirty. This is a minor point.

Advantages of the city.
1. Paved roads
2. Shopping
The consumer in me loves the options and the convenience. It is nice to go to a grocery store and actually find everything on your list.
3. Culture
There's always something going on. In the city you get CONCERTS, art, museums, Wrestlemania, etc.
4. Bigger = better?
It is nice to see a movie at the theater on a screen that doesn't have holes in it.
5. Business competition
It seems like certain businesses in small towns can get away with more than they should be able to, because there is little or no competition. This is kind of vague, but I can't think of a good example.

Disadvantages of the city.
1. Traffic
I'm not a very good driver and right now I get kind of scared driving in heavy traffic. Maybe it's something I could get used to. Also, I tend to get road-rageous.
2. Traffic
Did I mention that I really hate driving in congested traffic? I'd really like to be able to ride a scooter until I'm 82.
3. Lack of privacy
No sleeping outside.
4. Crime
I learned today that 25 cars are stolen on average every year from the parking lot of the hospital I work at despite 24-hour security. But then there was that time Annie's car was stolen from outside our high school. It was then wrecked and burned. Bad stuff happens everywhere. It's just that more bad stuff happens where there is a higher concentration of people.

Conclusion:
All told, what really matters is the people. I think I could be happy living anywhere, under the right circumstances. Maybe a loft downtown, maybe a small house in a sleepy town. But, I LOVE LAWRENCE. I think it has a nearly ideal blend of country/small town and city characteristics. It has been said before, but Lawrence rocks. In hindsight, I think that my east coast (and Europe) fantasies where mostly about independence and challenge. I wanted to move really far away and do my own thing. But I kind of did that already. I didn't really know anyone when I moved to Lawrence, and I've met some of the best friends I've ever had. Plus, I'm still within driving distance from most of the best friends I already had. And heaven knows my parents won't be moving anytime soon. I like living near them.
I'm going to try to live in the moment. In this moment I quite happily live in a tiny apartment in Lawrence. I'm going to not worry about the future, knowing that I will be happy here or wherever life takes me.

Question of the Day

It was raining powerfully during my afternoon commute on I-70 today; so powerfully that an SUV hydroplaned and rolled over, and one of my windshield wipers broke off. It's ok though, the man in the accident seemed to be fine and it was my passenger side wiper. I was, however, upset about having to step onto the muddy highway shoulder with my sweet, sweet new shoes on.

I saw two guys riding Harleys in this deluge, and my question is this: are they living the dream or living a lie?

Roadtrip Reflection

The trip to Iowa was a lot of good times, but it really feels good to be back home. There is just something magical about sleeping in one's own bed. It was fun for the three of us to get together, although clearly times have changed a lot. It's been 5 years since high school (I suppose it's been 6 for Candace and Meghan but you get the point) and we've all kind of gone our own directions. North, south, and east, to be specific. Haha. It is nice to know that we're all still good friends despite the changes that come with growing up.

One of the highlights was visiting Ledges State Park. I had never heard of this Park, but it is beautiful. Apparently, long ago, glaciers had carved some amazing walls of sandstone. There are many tree covered hills that look enchanted. (I thought of Narnia.) In the bottom is a peaceful little creek that winds around the area and criss-crosses the road in several places. We walked along the creek and hiked some. It was over 100 degrees that day, and Meghan slipped and fell down quite hard on a rock in the creek, so we didn't stay too long. (Sorry Meghan, at least I don't have a picture of it.) If the weather had been more agreeable I'm sure that we would have stayed and explored more shaded, but sometimes ridiculously steep trails.

The afternoon reminded me of my childhood in the country. There will be a post on this later.

My remote control may or may not be in the washing machine. I can't find it anywhere, and I just put in a load of laundry.

Roadtrip

I will keep this short and sweet. Today Meghan and I drove to visit our friend Candace, her husband, and 2 year old son in Iowa. It was about a 5 hr. drive made longer through a few faults of mine. The drive consisted of some rain, some bickering, some old school Michael Jackson, and detours a-plenty. Tomorrow we're going to do some sight seeing. "Sight seeing in central Iowa? What is there to see?" you might ask. I do not yet know. I will have an update probably on Monday. Until then, I will probably remain to be unreachable as Cingular doesn't seem to have a decent tower up here.

I'm a Hero

So says the t-shirt I was given for donating blood yesterday.

Let me preface this by saying that I will probably give blood again some time in the future. Yes, it sucks, but it's worth it. I don't want to discourage anyone. Having said that...

I was on my way to the rec center, when in the parking lot I saw the bloodmobile. I didn't really feel like working out that morning. So, I figured that donating blood would be a way for me to not work out AND not feel guilty about not working out. Also, I've always wanted to give blood. That is, I've always wanted the to have to guts to give blood. It is a good cause. In the past I've excused myself because I was convinced that I would pass out due to low blood pressure. Recently, anxiety has cured any problem I previously had with low blood pressure. That excuse is out.

I called the Red Cross to make an appointment this spring, but chickened out. Having a specific time slot would only make me dread it all the more. If I was going to donate blood, it would have to be spontaneous.

When I stepped into the traveling bloodmobile, the first thing I noticed was the freezing cold. All of the workers were wearing long-sleeved lab coats. I immediately wanted to bolt. "No. You can do this," said the little voice inside my head. After answering a battery of personal medical questions, I was escorted into a tiny room to have my hemoglobin tested. A part of me was hoping that this would be my out. My blood failed the first test, so another more sensitive test was performed. Darn. My blood was just barely acceptable.

I was then taken to one of the cushy chairs to have my blood drawn. This is where I broke down. I was so anxious and scared that I started crying before my arm was even poked. It is worth mentioning that I have terribly elusive vains and have had horrible experiences with needles in the past. The lady asked me a couple times if I was ok. Obviously I wasn't, but I mumbled pitifully, "Yeah." Another donor, whom I was facing, looked at me like I was out of my mind.

It couldn't have been more then a few minutes, but the time it took the woman to prepare my arm felt like much longer. She checked out the veins on both arms and looked disappointed. I know. I'm sorry. Deep veins. Then the actual needle stick came. It wasn't half bad. Not bad at all. But I quickly learned that she missed the vein. She called over who I assume was a more experienced phlebotomist who wanted to "look at it." Great. She dug the needle around in my arm a little (ouch) and...success!! In my nervousness, it didn't take long at all to fill up the bag. Actually, my blood pressure that morning was about 20 points higher than usual. Unfortunately, this meant that I lost blood (and therefore electrolytes, oxygen, and glucose) very quickly. I began to sweat profusely, shake a lot, become nauseous, and very nearly faint. I don't remember this part very well. Anyone who has fainted knows that very distinct feeling that goes with it. Senses become dull. There were about 4 people standing around me with ice packs, apple juice and an emesis basin. I was not in good shape. It was embarrassing. I stayed there until I felt better. The whole ordeal took over an hour, and I felt crappy all day. Right before I left, they gave me the aforementioned t-shirt. I was feeling slightly less than heroic.

The Optimist

So I'm at work right now. The last patient was a girl wearing a shirt that said "Olathe Optimist" across the front. Except that it didn't say Olathe; it had another town's name on it. I don't want to be accused of violating HIPAA, so I'll stick with Olathe. She was picking up her Prozac. Maybe the optimist club is part of her therapy.

BladderScan

I saw one of these at work yesterday. The device's name caught my eye. Pardon my ignorance on the matter, but what the heck is a BladderScan for? What possible use necessitates an entire machine? I mean, this is a very specific niche. The website tells me that it estimates bladder volume. Knowing this fact just leaves me with more questions. Why can't a conventional ultrasound machine be used for measuring bladders? What are they hoping to find? Why is it helpful to know how much urine a bladder contains? What the heck? Perhaps I underestimate the importance of bladder health. Maybe someone with more knowledge of urology can help me out.

This Post is About Bologna

"We are lips and thighs of a donkey. Please eat us but do not think that we are lips when you eat us otherwise you'll throw up." -Eddie Izzard (Circle)

I purchased some bologna during my last trip to the grocery store. It was sort of a personal dare. I typically don't eat that sort of thing. I'm very particular; an occasional vegetarian. Mom has called me a "meat snob". Steak, hot dogs, bologna, and any meat with bones in it are out. But I'm making a concious effort to be less neurotic, so I bought the bologna. I used to like it as a kid, why not now?

I watched "Circle" other day. After hearing this part, I worried that it would haunt me and that bologna would forever be ruined for me. But my resolve was strong, and I forced myself to make a bologna sandwich for lunch. "Don't think about it. Don't think about it." Then I bit my lip. Ouch.

"We are lips..."

Walker Texas Ranger

I feel validated that Conan O'Brien makes fun of Walker. Mom and I used to do that every week when Walker Texas Ranger was still on network TV. It seems as though every episode had a featured race. For example, one week Walker would save the day by rescuing Mexicans that some despicable gringo was smuggling into slavery. Another week, he was righting a moral injustice inflicted against Korean grocers. Or something like that. I don't quite remember the specifics, I just know that Mom and I would try to guess which demographic the next week's show would target.

My Rock & Roll Lifestyle

The concert was a blast. If I could pick one thing to change about it, I would have given Cake a longer set. They only played for 40 minutes or so. If given 2 things to change, I would have Weezer play more of their old songs, like from the blue album. Actually, I would just have them play the whole album. Like Travis said, they had an hour and a half and that would have been enough time to play three of their albums entirely. Overall, it was good times. Other bands that we saw were Story of the Year and Straylight Run. Also, I ran into 6 people I knew, that I didn't know were going, so that was good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROFRO!! 

This Week's Celebrity Guest Is...

Well, this is a half truth I suppose. I have a guest, but not one that's also a celebrity. My friend Travis, seen here whaling on a freshman a few years ago, is in town. He will be making an appearance at the Swansons' 4th of July picnic tomorrow, and I'm sure he'd be happy to sign an autograph or two. I picked Travis up from the airport this evening. He had been in Virginia for the past 2 weeks. Along with Ro, we are going to The Buzz Beach Ball on Tuesday to see Cake, Weezer, Straylight Run, etc. Travis's birthday is on Tuesday, and Ro's in on Thursday. Happy birthday to you both!

The Quotable Myrinda Warner

For those who've not yet heard, allow me to welcome to the blogging community Myrinda!! It took a wee bit of persuation, some peer pressure, and even a few threats but she has set up an amazing blog. I'm looking forward to reading her thoughtful and entertaining posts. It seems that Myrinda always has something interesting to say. For example: "Wow! I can't believe it's already been a week since last week." Seriously though, she is a cool chick and I'm sure the new blog with be wonderful.