Me in my Turtle

My Kelty sleeping bag came today while I was at work. It's a little big don't you think? But hey, who could pass up a $35 deal? I probably won't ever use it when I would actually need the 30 degree rating anyway. The back is grey and the front is green, makes me feel like a bit like a turtle or a strange caterpillar. Now I'm ready to go camping...

All-Night (and afternoon) Softball

Team Shazam! at midnight before their first game. Because they had such a good record, their first game wasn't until 12:15.

After game one (where Ryan hit 2 home runs and a triple) at about 1 AM. We already look a little tired... As you can see I carried lots of camera equipment.

At 3 AM it started pouring so the games were postponed until Sunday afternoon at 3 PM. Shazam! was still undefeated but in the middle of a game with Bartender Jack, one of the best contenders.

Before the games on Sunday we went down to Cohutta Springs to watch a bit of the Triathlon. Here's Stepahnie in her volunteer garb and Kari calling out numbers as the swimmers come out of the water. Below is a picture of Ryan and I waiting for Ryan's friend Carlson to come back from the bike leg of the relay.


With the sun out, my dilemma became: picture vs. video.
Here's Ryan making an out at first during part 2 of the postponed game with Bartender Jack. (He hit another home run during this game by the way.)

During the championship games my dilemma became: Who do I watch, Ryan or Robin? In the end I paid more attention to Ryan's game but here's a few pictures of Robin (Ryan's sister) playing with Chic This. They lost but put up a good fight against the beastly team Unity whose members have been dominating girls softball at Southern in some form for years...

We got a nice break waiting for the competition to weed themselves out. In the end the guys championship was Rebels vs. Shazam! with the Rebels having to beat them twice since they were undefeated. The teams were definitely well matched but after a good fight, the Rebels won by a narrow margin. Below is a picture of Shazam! with all it's supporters. I wish you could see the backs of our shirts, they were pretty funny. Mine says Ford Tough. Now it's on to football...

Sabbath (& the self portrait show)

After church Ryan and I decided to take some pictures. These are self portraits, believe it or not, with the help of my trusty tripod.

Then we headed to Kari Shultz house for some mexican food. Here's a few more pics while waiting for the food...




Below you can see the whole group: Kirsten, Anthony, Stephanie, Kari (mom), Dave, Nick, and Ryan's hands. After lunch it was off to take a nap before All-Night Softball.

To change or not to change: THAT is the question

I finally acted on the feelings that have been nagging me for several weeks but I've been too chicken to do anything about. Last semester I spent a day following one of the cardiologists that specializes in electrophysiology (basically the electrical conduction of the heart) and I really really enjoyed it! I caught on really quickly to the stuff in the EP lab where they do ablations and put in pacemakers. The doctor told me they'd hire me if I ever wanted a job. At that point I wasn't ready to switch positions but... lately I've been feeling a little on autopilot at work, in need of some shaking up, some mental stimulation. So, today I talked to that cardiologist's nurse about working in the electrophysiology lab. Turns out they have 8, 10, and 12 hour shifts and take call on weekends and holidays (which could be really really nice). I'd have to work in the cath lab as well as the EP lab but I'm not sure I'm totally adverse to that idea. Now I've set the ball in motion a bit cause I'm sure Debbie will talk to the manager over in the lab.

So... I have to decide whether to stay in my comfortable little bubble with the people I know, where I interact one on one with awake patients, and am basically a floor nurse or get out of my rut and try something new that will shake my brain up a bit, probably make me very uncomfortable for about 6 months, make me learn 500000000 new things in a very technically oriented job, and give me experience in another area of cardiology. I do not like risk and change = risk. Especially in the middle of a master's degree. Anyway, I would like your prayers while I think about this...

One more prayer request... One of my coworkers has a 2 year old who has been having seizures (now up to 20 every hour) has found out in the last few weeks that there is no cure for his problem. Each seizure is causing a little more brain damage despite medicines and he is too weak to survive surgery. She's been in contact with Dr. Carson at Johns Hopkins, a doctor in MI, and at Emory without any hope. She has been told that he will probably have to be institutionalized some day and may never progress developmentally beyond his current level. So please remember this little boy and his family in your prayers.

random pictures from a random weekend

This weekend was probably one of the most relaxing and laid back in awhile. Maybe it's also because I wasn't exhausted since my week wasn't that crazy because I only worked two days and successfully procrastinated on some of my homework. Carrie and I decided at the last minute that she should come down for the weekend since nothing exciting was going on at Highland. As usual, you can look at MJ's blog or Carrie's blog for some other pics!

Sabbath morning Ryan, Tanya, and Stephanie joined us for breakfast.

After going to the Third for church, we came back and made lunch: chicken and rice casserole, rosemary potatos, and veggies. (The menu is for your benefit, Dad. ;-) Here's Ryan and I on clean-up.

Before Ryan had to work in the dorm, we took a trip to the Veteran's park for a quick game of catch. Unfortunately it started raining and we had to go back home. I'm trying not to fall off this guy's really hard, small lap.

On Sunday, Carrie, Tanya, Stephanie, and I went to Joylynn's house (my old boss in the President's office) for brunch. We FINALLY got there after going halfway to Shallowford because we weren't paying attention to our destination and getting stuck while a pulverized car was pulled out of a ditch. Here's Carrie with Joylynn's dog Kayde (I think that's how you spell it). She's part Akita and usually very fluffy.

Here's my newest addition to the living room art collection. Carrie drew the organ picture on the left during a vespers way back when we first came to Southern and she took the picture on the right after vespers one night when I was in photography class doing a project of self portraits. She matted them last time she was here and I picked out frames. This time we hung them up!

This week is going to be lots of working - M, W, Th. Fortunately, yesterday was an easy day so I'm not starting the week wiped out from working. Unfortunately, I'm having a really hard time getting my brain in gear to do my homework. I think it's decided to resist going to school any longer. It's telling me: "You've gone to school for 17 years, I'm THRU!" (Wow, that's depressing...) My symptoms are: not getting homework I don't like done until the last possible second and getting frustrated with assignments I think are unnecessary. Maybe this is partially because I'm going into education and I don't always agree with my teacher's poor instructions on assignments or teaching methods. Whatever it is, I'm gonna have to fix it... soon...

In other news, last night I got to the last 5 minutes of Ryan's 2nd softball game, just in time to see him hit a homerun over the left field fence! They won both games, too bad I can't leave work at 5 instead of 7ish.

(almost) Undefeated

Tonight was a big game for team Shazam! They put up a good fight and came back from behind but unfortunately lost 9-8. Considering they've won every game up to now by a wide margin, I'd say they're doing pretty well. Once again I was fighting the lighting to get good shots but here are a few for your enjoyment...

The studly first baseman warming up... Gotta love powerful zoom lenses!


The team gathers to "Shazam!" before the game

Eric in the air on his way to first base

Miller Time and Abercrombie and Litch on the run

In the midst of the comeback

Ryan with my fellow spectators/commentators