Hello from The Bolivian/Brazilian border! I thought I would send an update on my travels! I am currently in week 3 of traveling, with 1 more left to go. I landed in Sao Paulo after thanksgiving, headed to rio for 6 days, then to Ihla Grande (an unbelievable place off the coast of brazil), back to rio for a day, then to bonito, Brazil via Campo Grande. I have walked through the slums of Sao Paulo, learned to samba with some children from the favelas, climbed an 40meter rock face overlooking rio, gotten seriously sunburned climbing that rock face, snorkeled in the most secluded lagoons in the world, drank cachaca with the Godfather of Cachaca, swam beneath beautiful waterfalls, and repelled 70 meters into the Abismo Anhumas (a 15 million year old cave full of cristal clear water and breathtaking limestone formations). Those are just a few of the highlights so far. Right now, though, i am sitting in what might be the grossest hostel ive ever been in my life in the biggest shitball town in brazil. All part of the adventure, right? Tomorrow, we will take an overnight train through the Pantanal wetlands on our journey toSucre, Bolivia, where we hope to visit the Salar de Uyuni. We may not make it due to weather setbacks, but if we don't, we will head to La Paz and Lake Titicaca instead. So don't worry, I won't be sitting around twiddling my thumbs :)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
You have GOT to be kidding me.
Ever since I got my cast off, my wrist has bothered me a bit. It's not usually unbearable (note the use of the word 'usually'), but I have shooting pain every few days, especially after playing volleyball or doing any serious exercise. I've gotten away with popping some Ibuprofen before exercising, and the pain usually subsides. Since I had never broken a bone before this one, I figured that perhaps, humans aren't really like iguanas, and we don't just grow back perfect new bones. Well, the other day, I was heading to Walmart to pick up the most recent 3 Wolves Howling at the Moon t-shirt, and somehow I ended up in the so-called "ghetto" of Denver. By the way, "ghetto" in Denver translates to "East Memphis" where I'm from. Anyhow, I pulled a U-turn in an attempt to get un-lost. I don't know if it was the way I twisted my hand around the steering wheel or what, my I swear I thought my hand had detached from the rest of my body. Seriously, I instantly looked down to make sure it was still there. I was somewhat disappointed when it was still attached to me, because I would think losing it completely would have hurt less than the pain I felt. Now I know I can't expect 110% use after breaking something, but I was pretty certain that after almost 18 months, my wrist should NOT feel like someone just stabbed me with a bayonet.
So I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Awkward again. Great, this should be friggin fantastic. I hoped he would tell me I was a weakling, needed some physical therapy and and send me on my way. WRONG. As the nurse took me in to get new x-rays, I started having flashbacks of the last time I was there. The twisting. The pushing. The news. The cast. The tears. I shuddered. When the doctor came in, he introduced himself to me. Thanks, Doc. You went through a very traumatic experience with me about a year ago and you don't even remember meeting me? Aren't they supposed to look at the chart before entering the room to avoid being that rude? Sheesh.
Well, he pulled up the x-rays, and even I could see there was some serious inconsistency in my scaphoid. You know when you have to use the hole puncher on a stack of paper and it doesn't go through the first time? And then the 2nd time, you re-punch the hole, but the paper isn't lined up right, so you end up with a hole like looks like an 8? Well, that's what the inside of my bone looks like. There's a friggin figure 8 punched into it. I don't figure skate. So I have no appreciate for damn figure 8's. Now as you will recall, the scaphoid is like the worst bone to break in the body besides MAYBE your neck. It's also apparently difficult to read on an xray, which was the excuse the doctor gave me for taking me out of the cast last year. I think he was trying to avoid getting sued. Anyhow, after the cat scan I get next week, which I'm sure will cost me more than this computer, he will be able to determine whether 1) I have a cist growing on the inside of my bone, in which case I need a bone graft and a few weeks of recovery, or 2) my bone never really healed, and I actually DO have to have a pin put in it this time. Recovery would be around 3-4 months with that one. F my life. The doctor literally said, "Start mentally preparing yourself for either scenario. I don't want you crying in here again like last time." I thought he didn't remember me, but I think my smart ass sarcasm throughout this encounter jogged his memory a bit.
I used to be afraid of the Mayan 2012 prediction. I'm actually sort of looking forward to it now.
So I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Awkward again. Great, this should be friggin fantastic. I hoped he would tell me I was a weakling, needed some physical therapy and and send me on my way. WRONG. As the nurse took me in to get new x-rays, I started having flashbacks of the last time I was there. The twisting. The pushing. The news. The cast. The tears. I shuddered. When the doctor came in, he introduced himself to me. Thanks, Doc. You went through a very traumatic experience with me about a year ago and you don't even remember meeting me? Aren't they supposed to look at the chart before entering the room to avoid being that rude? Sheesh.
Well, he pulled up the x-rays, and even I could see there was some serious inconsistency in my scaphoid. You know when you have to use the hole puncher on a stack of paper and it doesn't go through the first time? And then the 2nd time, you re-punch the hole, but the paper isn't lined up right, so you end up with a hole like looks like an 8? Well, that's what the inside of my bone looks like. There's a friggin figure 8 punched into it. I don't figure skate. So I have no appreciate for damn figure 8's. Now as you will recall, the scaphoid is like the worst bone to break in the body besides MAYBE your neck. It's also apparently difficult to read on an xray, which was the excuse the doctor gave me for taking me out of the cast last year. I think he was trying to avoid getting sued. Anyhow, after the cat scan I get next week, which I'm sure will cost me more than this computer, he will be able to determine whether 1) I have a cist growing on the inside of my bone, in which case I need a bone graft and a few weeks of recovery, or 2) my bone never really healed, and I actually DO have to have a pin put in it this time. Recovery would be around 3-4 months with that one. F my life. The doctor literally said, "Start mentally preparing yourself for either scenario. I don't want you crying in here again like last time." I thought he didn't remember me, but I think my smart ass sarcasm throughout this encounter jogged his memory a bit.
I used to be afraid of the Mayan 2012 prediction. I'm actually sort of looking forward to it now.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Nala
I have officially, for the first time in my life, fallen in love with a dog.
She belongs to Tyler. But I love her like she is my own! He got her about 3 months ago from the Colorado Puppy Rescue, an organization who rescues puppies from all over the country and brings them to Denver to find a new, safe home. After looking at the available dogs online the night before the adoption date, we had both agreed that an ADORABLE black and brown hound mix would be the first choice. Well, the man who was in front of us in line picked that puppy. We were instantly heartbroken. When it was our turn to visit with a puppy of our choice, we decided to look at another white, black and brown hound mix. It was love at first sight, and we realized that not getting our first choice had been a blessing in disguise. She was a maniac. Jumping and climbing and gnawing and rolling all over both of us. My initial reaction was, "This is Tyler, but in dog form."
Names...I came up with some truly incredible names, all of which Tyler scoffed at. Seriously- he came up with like 2 things. I have about 100 ideas and somehow they were all terrible. We finally agreed that since he got her on Derby Day, we would name her in honor of the winning horse. Well, this could have gone a number of ways. Her name could have been 'Archarcharch'. Or 'Mucho Macho Man'. Or better yet, 'Boys of Tosconova'. Luckily, 'Animal Kindgom' won. And Tyler being Tyler, he loves the Lion King. Well, Animal Kingdom + Lion King + female= Nala! Nala also means "gift" in Swahili, so sometimes we tell people that's how she got her name, so they don't judge us for naming the dog after a damn Disney movie.
She is truly a rescue dog, as her initial craziness was subdued on day 2 when she started showing signs of serious dehydration, malnutrition, and lethargy. By the way, if you are ever curious as to whether or not you have contracted Giardia, these are the primary symptoms. I would consult a doctor immediately. And if you have contracted Giardia, it means you have either been eating poop or drinking water from the floor of an alley- very gross if you ask me, especially if you are a human. Anyhow, she did not voluntarily eat or drink water for about 5 days and managed to lose 3lbs in a week, which was more than 1/5 her entire body weight. Needless to say, we were both very worried, and Tyler became very broke, very quickly.
After some serious dough and some serious intravenous fluids, she was back in action. Sometimes we actually wish she would go back to being sick- she sure didn't chew up expensive bras or phone chargers when she was sick.
She was (and still is) adorable. Her nose was originally half black, half pink, but most of the pink has grown off by now. She loves a stuffed monkey I gave her, hates her food, and really enjoys chasing her tail. Hopefully she grows out of those last 2.
She belongs to Tyler. But I love her like she is my own! He got her about 3 months ago from the Colorado Puppy Rescue, an organization who rescues puppies from all over the country and brings them to Denver to find a new, safe home. After looking at the available dogs online the night before the adoption date, we had both agreed that an ADORABLE black and brown hound mix would be the first choice. Well, the man who was in front of us in line picked that puppy. We were instantly heartbroken. When it was our turn to visit with a puppy of our choice, we decided to look at another white, black and brown hound mix. It was love at first sight, and we realized that not getting our first choice had been a blessing in disguise. She was a maniac. Jumping and climbing and gnawing and rolling all over both of us. My initial reaction was, "This is Tyler, but in dog form."
 |
| Pink Nose! |
 |
| Sick Puppy |
 |
| Nala at 35+ lbs...still eating poop apparently |
After some serious dough and some serious intravenous fluids, she was back in action. Sometimes we actually wish she would go back to being sick- she sure didn't chew up expensive bras or phone chargers when she was sick.
She was (and still is) adorable. Her nose was originally half black, half pink, but most of the pink has grown off by now. She loves a stuffed monkey I gave her, hates her food, and really enjoys chasing her tail. Hopefully she grows out of those last 2.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
A-hole
I think I might qualify as an asshole. I tend to talk bad about people when they are standing right behind me, shout the f word at petting zoos, and ask fat ladies if it's a boy or a girl. I mean seriously, I'm not the most...tolerant person in the world. But ya know what? Some people don't deserve to be tolerated. Because they are assholes too.
Girl that just made up a word to beat me at online scrabble- asshole. Wasted dude breaking beer bottles on the cars outside my apartment building- asshole. Bouncer that took my fake ID in college- asshole. Kid that almost scratched my sister's eye out in the 2nd grade- asshole.
Other bouncer that took my fake ID in college- bigger asshole. Guy who drove on the shoulder to avoid I-70 ski traffic- asshole with a moving violation. Hitler- big asshole. People who say "bomb dot com"- assholes. Security guard in my building who looks like Smithers from the Simpsons- asshole. People who take the elevator to the 2nd floor- assholes who are probably fat. Hermaphrodite who stole my purse TWICE from the locker room in 9th grade- asshole. People who scream "DAD?!" at the guy walking into the strip club- funny assholes. Bum who stole by bike tires- asshole. Bum who stole my car tires- ghetto asshole. People who think they are smarter than you, even though they graduated from the University of Phoenix- assholes. Nick Cage- asshole. Communist 21 year old kid in my Korbel class who thinks the business students are going to hell- ignorant asshole.
See? I deserve to be an asshole- everyone else seems to be doing it.
Feel free to add to the list...
Girl that just made up a word to beat me at online scrabble- asshole. Wasted dude breaking beer bottles on the cars outside my apartment building- asshole. Bouncer that took my fake ID in college- asshole. Kid that almost scratched my sister's eye out in the 2nd grade- asshole.
Other bouncer that took my fake ID in college- bigger asshole. Guy who drove on the shoulder to avoid I-70 ski traffic- asshole with a moving violation. Hitler- big asshole. People who say "bomb dot com"- assholes. Security guard in my building who looks like Smithers from the Simpsons- asshole. People who take the elevator to the 2nd floor- assholes who are probably fat. Hermaphrodite who stole my purse TWICE from the locker room in 9th grade- asshole. People who scream "DAD?!" at the guy walking into the strip club- funny assholes. Bum who stole by bike tires- asshole. Bum who stole my car tires- ghetto asshole. People who think they are smarter than you, even though they graduated from the University of Phoenix- assholes. Nick Cage- asshole. Communist 21 year old kid in my Korbel class who thinks the business students are going to hell- ignorant asshole.
See? I deserve to be an asshole- everyone else seems to be doing it.
Feel free to add to the list...
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