New Friends, New Faces

** This is the conclusion of Alex's adventures in Southwest Kansas.  These adventures actually ended about a month ago but I already had this post started. However returning to the grind of school and studying has really cut in to my blogging so I just finished it.

Since starting my clinical internship a few weeks ago I have met a lot of new people.  This is good and bad.  I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories and about their lives but the downside is that then I have to remember more names and recognize more faces which I struggle with.  Also being a new person in a small town has been interesting since people know that I’m not from around here and are curious about why in the world I would be here.  This has made for some interesting stories.  My first Sunday here I attended church with my friend who I am staying with and her roommate Kara.  Kara and I were talking after church and someone came up to Kara and asked, “Kara, who is your friend?” Kara replied, “Well, she’s not my friend. Well, she is but she was Jessica’s friend first.  She’s just living in our basement.”  (I’m proud to say that Kara and I now really real friends—it even became Facebook official after I lived in her house for about 3 weeks.) 

Many times people who didn’t know who I was would just try to guess.  After all it is a small town so everyone prides themselves on knowing everything about everybody even the strangers they have never met before.  One lady tried to figure out who I was in what seemed to be a game of 20 questions.  “Didn’t you grow up in Coldwater?” No.  “Well, then you must be from Indiana.”  No.  “What are you teaching at the high school?” Nothing.  She then finally got around to asking me who I was and what I was doing instead of trying to guess.

As stranger in a small town people often wonder what could have brought you to their little town.  And since no one knew who I was it was very tempting to make up stories about whoever I wanted to be.  The best story I came up with was that I was a graduate student from K-State majoring in prairie biology with and emphasis in tumble weed migration.  After all, where would be a better place to study tumble weeds than southwest Kansas.  I was working on my thesis and needed to collect some data so I was spending most of my time putting electronic trackers on tumble weeds.  Alas, I never actually used this story but I thought it was pretty good and even somewhat believable.

During my time on my clinical I had quite a bit of fun with my old friends and new friends.  This included going to Zumba class at 6am on Friday mornings and then moaning and groaning about how sore we were the rest of the weekend, having a brunch with cheesecake and bacon, watching movies and then quoting these movies for weeks, making adventure books—now we just have to go on adventures, and laughing—a lot.

The Best Thing about Kansas

Happy Kansas Day!  I was driving through Western Kansas this evening and was reminded why Kansas is so great.

A picture is worth a thousand words so I think this says enough.

The Wild West

I (Alex) may not be at the edge of the world but you sure can see it from here-- just beyond the barbed wire fence and the tumble weeds blowing by.  I have temporarily relocated to a small town in southwest Kansas for 6 weeks.  I am doing a clinical internship in the physical therapy department at the county hospital. Compared to the hustle and bustle of Kansas City, I have enjoyed a more “laid back” life out here.  Actually, during my first three weeks the adventures never stopped and I am not foreseeing a decrease in excitement in the rest of my time here.

            When people in Kansas City heard I was headed to southwest Kansas for my internship, they expressed their sympathy that I had been assigned to what they considered the middle of nowhere.  I then had to explain that this was actually my first choice and I was excited for the experience. 

My clinical has gone well.  The highlight has been getting the chance to remove 37 staples from a patient’s leg.  Sometimes I wonder about how trusting patients should be if they are willing to let a student with no previous staple removal experience use a tool that looks like pliers to take out embedded metal from their leg.  On this clinical I have also heard more hunting stories than you can shake a stick out as well as watching hours of hunting shows on the Outdoor channel.  One day I assisted with an in-service at the nursing home and one of the men in attendance had on a ten gallon hat, a handle bar mustache, boots, and a vest (I could have sworn he had a badge pinned on his vest as well and was the spitting image of Wyatt Earp). 

            In a small town people often notice a stranger, especially if they hang around a while, so they begin to ask questions.  My friend and her roommate often get asked about who is with them so we have had some good jokes about me being the stranger who is staying in their basement. We thought it would be rather entertaining to start telling people I was a graduate student in prairie biology doing field research about tumble week migration so I am in the area putting electronic tracking devices on tumble weeds.

            This weekend has been full of entertainment and adventure.  On Friday night we drove out to a family’s home so we could practice target shooting—or instead of practice I should say learn how to shoot a gun.  I learned more than I ever thought I needed to know about guns, ammunition, and shooting.  I am certainly not a great shot but now I can say I have done it.  I also might understand the difference between a rifle, hand gun, and revolver as well as what different caliber of bullets are--- maybe.  We also enjoyed some s’mores and staring up into a sky full of stars.  Today we went to the Dalton Gang Hideout.  The Daltons were originally from Kansas City as well and decided to come out here for a change of pace just like I did- or maybe it was easier to rob banks and trains out here (This is not my motive) .  We didn’t go inside to see the two-headed calf in the museum or the escape tunnel but took some pictures outside.  With these activities I have been able to cross a few more things off my bucket list for my time here in Western Kansas. 

Plan B

My friends often joke with me that I have a 30-year plan with outlines of objective personal and professional goals for each decade to make sure I am on track.  This is almost true but not quite.  However, I do like to make plans about the future.  Going into college I was often told it was okay if I changed my major a couple of times since no one really knows what they want to do when they are 18.  I didn’t-- I’m basically exactly where I planned to be my first day as a freshman at K-State.  One reason for this could be that I just never thought about or took the time to develop a plan B.  Since starting grad school I have given more thought to back-up plans just in case I’m not cut out for being a physical therapist.  While studying for big tests or reading mountains of research articles or daydreaming in lectures I find myself thinking, “Well, if PT school doesn’t work out I could always.....

Open a gourmet peanut butter and jelly deli.  This is one skill I feel like I have had the opportunity to hone and master in grad school since I make a PB&J every day for lunch.  Peanut butter and jelly is a classic that everyone loves (unless they have peanut allergies).  There are endless variations as well—different jams and jellies, fancy breads, a variety of nut butters, adding extra ingredients like honey or bananas, and of course even just cutting the bread in rectangles or triangles gives a special look.  Every great restaurant needs a catchy name so the deli would be PB&J Fridays.

Open a gourmet s’more shop.  People go for anything that takes the simple and makes it gourmet.  This is the whole idea behind Starbucks and other coffee shops.  Take something simple like coffee that anyone could make with a coffee pot, switch it up just a tad so it is special, and then people are hooked.  I think this would be the case with s’mores.  Once again a food that almost everyone loves (and if they don’t they have no idea what they are missing) and usually associate with happy memories such a camping trip as a kid.  This is also kind of a spin-off of fondue which is simply melted chocolate or cheese and finger foods.  It is also kind of a do-it-yourself experience like OrangeLeaf where the customer gets to let his or her creativity run wild.  I envision a shop with a few built-in fire pits and a buffet of all the makings of great s’mores.  Of course there are the necessities such as chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers but then options would be fudge grahams, other candies (using Butterfingers makes a mean s’more), and peanut butter.  The business could eventually expand to include more main dishes like pie irons.  The one down side would be the liability issues that would arise from people catching their marshmallows on fire and then waving a flaming object on the end of a pointy stick around in panic. 

Start Spuds-n-Suds.  Spuds-n-Suds is my idea for a potato bar and laundromat.  While potato bars and laundromats really don’t have anything to do with each other, it makes for a great business name—after all, it is all about the marketing.  Plus, who doesn’t get hungry after spending a few hours doing their laundry?  Might as well provide a hearty (and possibly healthy) alternative to vending machine snack food. 

Become a dog groomer.  This is another job in which I do have some experience.  It seems to fall to me to trim our dog Clementine’s fur when I am home on break.  Poor Clem doesn’t get a choice and it is probably a go thing she doesn’t leave the back porch because I would hate for her to be embarrassed about her haircut in public.  This one would be a stretch for me but I think I would do better with dogs than actually being a hair dresser. 

Join the circus.  I think everyone should have joining the circus as a back-up plan at sometime in life.  Think of the adventure of a life on the road.  While I don’t really have any skills to offer a circus—I don’t juggle, I’m not going to stick my head near a lion’s mouth, I am not known for having the best balance, I have a terrible fear of clowns, and I object to wearing spandex—I figure there could possibly be the need for an athletic trainer to travel with the circus.  After all, there are probably some pretty major injuries if someone slips flying through the air from a trapeze or if an elephant steps on someone’s foot. 

Become a test dummy for Gatorade or Nike.  This idea is probably the most realistic and the one I would have the best qualifications for.  Actually, I could probably make it beyond lab rat or guinea pig and be involved in research or product design.  I can’t really think of a better job than getting to work out while drinking various flavors of Gatorade or testing out the latest shoe designs. 

Be a late night talk show host.  Jules suggested this idea. Basically the characteristics needed for this job would be a sarcastic personality and a knack for making fun of people.  She thought that I would be a perfect candidate for those qualifications and I already have a lot of previous practice.  The one downside would be the hours for this job.  It probably wouldn’t be good if the host falls asleep on the set since it is past her bedtime.

This is the list for now.  I expect with another 2 years of school I might have some more brilliant ideas.  I think it is strange that several of my ideas involve a foray into the restaurant and food service industry.  For the mean time I will keep plugging away at school- so don’t get to concerned Mom and Dad. 

Marathon Madness

One of our last posts was about Jules and Alex enjoying the arts.  We have now moved to forays into athletics.  Our latest adventure was participating in the Kansas City Marathon a few weeks ago.  Jules participated in the half marathon while Alex ran in the team relay for the marathon.  Here are our respective accounts of the event.

Jules dictating to Alex while cooking:  This was my first road race ever, and of course I decided to start big with a 13.1 mile half marathon. This might not seem logical except that I have never walked/jogged more than six or 7 miles at a time.  If I had started out doing a 5 or 10K, I probably wouldn’t have been able to work up the motivation to do a half-marathon.  So, I went with the mantra “Go big or go home.”

As all serious runners know, the pre-race meal is vital. We were not serious runners, so I joined Alex’s family for dinner the night before at Stroud’s, a restaurant in the area specializing in fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and cinnamon rolls.  Our conversation came around to the topic of running.  During the Chicago Marathon the weekend prior, a lady ran the race and gave birth within hours of finishing.  We were discussing about what an amazing feat that is and Alex’s brother (note from Alex: my brother is known for his sympathy and understanding) stated, “Well, it did take her over 6 hours to finish 26 miles so she wasn’t going that fast.”  We all about choked on our food while laughing at this outrageous statement. 

Since I have cheered my roommate Alex and our friend Jessica when they ran two half marathons, it came as no surprise to me that we would have to get up early.  But we had to rise even earlier (5:15 AM) for Alex to make it on a bus to her designated starting point for her leg of the relay.  Fortunately, Alex’s brother was willing to drive us there and contend with the crazy pre-race traffic.  We found a place to park at the Liberty Memorial and then had a nice downhill warm-up jog to where the starting line was.  We failed to figure in that this would mean we would have an uphill trek after the race when our muscles were throbbing. 

Lining up at the starting line with 8000 other runners was such an experience with everyone crammed like sardines, trying to find the area for their predicted paces.  Luckily the music at the start did help rev people up for the race, so it wasn’t such a drag to start at 7 AM.  I started next to an older lady, probably in her 60s, who was a fellow walker/jogger.  It was interesting to see everyone ditching extra layers of clothing and then homeless people walking around “shopping” for what looked good.  It was an absolutely gorgeous fall morning to tour Kansas City by foot.  It was fairly enjoyable until about mile 8, and then I started to feel it in my quadriceps (fortunately did not hurt anywhere else during the race).  So I ended up running more than I thought I would since it hurt less to run than to walk.

 There were interesting people along the route cheering on the runners while shaking cow bells (this seemed a little out of place while running through the Plaza).  Around mile 9 there was a guy doing flips in a park which provided some entertainment to break up the monotony.  And then shortly after that the first marathon runner passed us and he didn’t even look winded.  I was also inspired by a soldier who was walking the race with a full pack and gear.  I finally crossed the finish line and was rewarded for my effort with post-race chocolate milk and some bread.  Afterwards I went to Panera for lunch and ordered a huge salad and soup and therefore got a funny look from the cashier.  I felt slightly like a pig when it took a couple trips to take my two trays of food to my table, but I felt I had earned it.  It was also nice to have the entire weekend to recover and eat whatever I wanted and not really get full.  The soreness hit right after the race, and I couldn’t walk straight for a couple days. While I may not take up a career in road racing I am glad I did the half marathon on a gorgeous fall day.

Alex: For the team relay I ran the final 6.4 mile leg to the finish line.  Supposedly it is an honor to anchor a relay and get the glory at the finish line.  However, when the team decided I would run last I don’t know if they meant it as an honor since I found out later that the first three miles of the leg were all uphill.  Our team name was The HasBeens which was pretty appropriate.  We were all runners in high school but then have gotten older and therefore slower.  It was fun to be a spectator and watch part of the race before having to run in it. 

When I got the hand-off the people I was running with were all running the full marathon.  I felt slightly guilty for passing them since I had only ran a half mile and they were chugging away at mile 20.  I then felt even worse with some of the marathoners were passing me—nothing is worse than getting passed by old guys in a road race, especially when they have already been running 2 hours before you started. 

One of these guys ran with me for a while and we chatted before he left me in the dust.  I simply asked him how many marathons he had run previously- simple running conversation but I didn’t expect the answer I got.  He was running his 148^th marathon.  He had run one the weekend before but couldn’t pass up the chance to do another.  For some people running a marathon is a phenomenal challenge, and even being a runner myself, it is a challenge I really have no desire to take on.  And then there are the people who seem to be freaks of nature and running marathons is simply child’s play—this isn’t natural and maybe on the verge of crazy.  However talking to this guy was a great conversation which made one of the miles fly by and I even had to pick up my pace a little bit to stay with him. 

The HasBeens finished 4^th in the Coed division- just shy of the awards.  My older brother who also ran on the team tried to convince me that if I would have pushed a little harder at the finish we might have been able to catch them (the 3^rd place team beat us by 10 minutes).  The HasBeens may have lost our speed but we hadn’t lost our competitive spirit. 

Quotes

During a discussion about a social outing and why Alex wasn’t attending:

            Alex: I’m not against social activities, I just don’t really care for the social aspect.

            Jules: So, basically you just go for the food.

While talking about a new recipe for grilled cheese sandwiches a kid in Alex’s Sunday school class shared with her.

            Alex: What does it say about my cooking if I am getting cooking advice from a first grader?

The Gridiron

There is only one movie that makes me cry.  In the movie Rudy, I always get misty-eyed during the final scenes when Rudy finally gets to play after all the years of hard work.  While Rudy is probably my favorite movie, there are several great football movies.  This weekend Julianna and I have having a football movie marathon.  We started out the evening by tailgating in our kitchen- hot dogs on the George Foreman, chips, and root beer floats.  After our first movie- The Blindside- we had hot apple cider during halftime.  We finished off the evening with Remember the Titans.  One of my fall traditions is to spend an evening watching the best football movies of all times and usually my friends are somewhat willing participants (Julianna spent the evening knitting). 

Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons in the fall were made for playing football.  (I have attended several football games where the conditions have been less than perfect but we don’t need to go into that right now.)  As a little kid, my older brother put my younger brother and I though summer football camp so we would be in top condition for our family flag football games against our parents on Saturday afternoons.  In high school I watched most football games from the percussion section of the marching band.  When a touchdown was scored, fireworks were shot off, and the band played the fight song.  While in college I loved going to K-State football games.  There is just something about the atmosphere and all the fans coming together to cheer for the Cats.  For a person who doesn’t like to sing, I can’t help myself when it comes time to belt out Wildcat Victory.  As an athletic trainer I also got to spend a fair amount of time at football practices and on the sidelines of high school football games.  While this isn’t the way most college students would prefer to spend their Friday nights I enjoyed it (my Friday nights are usually pretty lame anyway).  Also in college I played on the Boyd Hall intramural flag football team.  I was the quarterback (if anyone has seen me throw a football this will give you a clue about how competitive we were).  We had some great victories- probably more moral victories than actual victories.  A great bonding experience with the other ladies on my floor and we still love sharing memories about our glories on the gridiron. 

So if anyone is looking for some great entertainment- you are apparently desperate for a good time if you are reading this blog- a football movie is always a wonderful option.  Here are my top 5 picks:

1.      Rudy- As previously mentioned, this is my favorite movie.  It is a great story of someone who is willing to dream big and work hard to achieve those dreams that everyone else has told him are impossible.  Watch it with a box of Kleenex.

2.      Remember the Titans- This is a very close second.  This is the story of a high school football team that is formed during the integration of a black and white high school.  There are also some great quotes in this movie such as “Your overcookin’ my grits, Coach” and “Jump on that ball like a starvin’ man on a Christmas ham”.

3.      We are Marshall- Based on the true story, it is about the challenges faced in rebuilding Marshall’s football program after a deadly plane crash. 

4.      Facing the Giants- A good movie that focuses on the fact that real success in all about honoring God.  The head coach of the mediocre team decides to change his coaching philosophy and encourages his team to praise God no matter what the outcome of the game.

5.      Possums- So this movie is a little different and corny but still fun.  The high school hasn’t won a football game in years.  The school ends its football program but the local radio station continues to broadcast the games which the announcer makes up.  The imaginary team ends up making it to the state championship.  

   **So this post was actually written last fall but never made it out of the depths of the files stored on Alex's laptop.  Even though it is a year old all the information is still good and K-State football is even better this year. 

Symphonies, Speedways, and Salsa

Jules and Alex are reunited again!  Though Alex has returned from the Alaskan wilderness, new and different adventures are waiting in the Big City.  We have taken it upon ourselves to be more sophisticated in our adventuring which has led us to explore the arts.  

The location of our first adventure was Shawnee Mission Park which is usually the site of some of our best outdoor adventures in Kansas City.  However, on Labor Day we went to the park to attend a free concert by the Kansas City Symphony at the open air theater.  It was an absolutely glorious evening and we even got to see part of the sunset.  We joined hundreds of other patrons of the arts (I guess instead of fans people who like the arts are patrons) sitting on blankets listening to strains of Tchaikovsky floating through the air.  Another highlight to this concert was that a few of the selections were movie scores such as the Death March from Star Wars or the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean.  Finally, the other reason why this was so wonderful was the entire concert lasted less than an hour- the perfect length since we enjoyed the performance but it wasn't too long (We enjoy fine art to a certain extent but also have our limits.)

Our next outing was to the Plaza Art Fair.  Each year hundreds of artists set up booths in the Plaza to display their art and everyone and their dogs (literally) enjoys wandering around the Plaza being artsy (we pretended).  Again it was a beautiful fall Saturday morning (I think the weather has a big part in dictate how much we enjoy these events) as we strolled along discussing our favorite pieces.  There was some outstanding photography and paintings as well as some “art” that we weren’t quite sure what it was or what a person would do with it.  After fighting the crowds and walking around we were inspired by the art to go back to our quiet apartment, eat lunch, and take a nap.  The other adventure associated with going to the Plaza Art Fair was driving there.  Alex loves city driving anyway but decided to take on the challenge to driving to the Plaza, navigating the one-way or closed streets, the hordes of cars and pedestrians, and parking in a parking garage (this was better than the thought of attempting to parallel park).  

On a much less (I really mean very much less) sophisticated scale, Alex had the pleasure of working at the Kansas Speedway parking cars for the NASCAR event.  It was a fundraiser for her physical therapy class and required getting up at 4:30am on Saturday and Sunday to attempt to tell NASCAR fans how to drive and where to park.  The highlights of the day was getting to go stargazing and watch sunrise at the same time.  Over 130,000 fans were expected to attend the race on Sunday.  I noted quite a difference between crazed NASCAR fans and the patrons of the arts.  After standing for nine hours out in the clouds of dust and getting my first sunburn of the year I decided that there is a good reason why I am spending so much of my time going to school just for the fact that hopefully I won’t have to park cars for a living.  Although it was slightly enjoyable to tell semis were to park or tell an RV they need to move just because I had the authority of wearing an orange vest and waving my handy orange parking flag.  

Finally, we celebrated Columbus Day with a party.  (Basically this part is included in this blog just so the title can be an alliteration.)  We had enchiladas, chips and salsa, and mango fruit drink.  We listened to salsa music via Pandora radio.  (Pandora makes perfect dinner music or sound tracks for any occasion much easier now).  Now I realize some of you might be wondering why we were celebrating a holiday remembering an Italian by eating Spanish food instead of spaghetti.  The main reason is because enchiladas were already on the menu and spaghetti wasn’t (I don’t deviate from what is planned to be spontaneous even in the event of a celebration).  Also, Columbus sailed for the King of Spain so it still works (kind of) and we got to have a good time without being bothered by the minor details such as nationality.