Random beachy bits

Beach vacations are fun. Especially when you can have them with good friends. We made friends with a couple, Keith and Laurel, throughout the week, and on Wed night Aaron and Laura flew in so we had the remainder of the week with them. They're also fun if you can enjoy lovely food of all sorts!
We saw crabs and gulls and pelicans and iguanas, and - my personal favorite - lots of frigate birds. If you haven't heard of them, look 'me up! They're super cool!

Catamaran!

Justin and Michelle treated all of their guests to a sunset catamaran ride on Thursday. The waves were strong (which made it rather exciting at times) but it was a beautiful, beautiful ride and a great way to have all the guests together for some ore-wedding celebration. So fun!

Tulum

Wednesday was Tulum day! Tulum is the biggest Mayan ruin site in Mexico (I think) A bunch of us from "the wedding crowed" including Justin and Michelle went on a guided tour of the ruins. I think everyone really liked it but it did end up feeling pretty "touristy" - there were TONS of buses and tour groups when we got there. I guess it's a good thing that that many folks are interested in history, but I couldn't help wondering if there are some days that are less busy. It was hot and sunshiny and a bit hard to concentrate with all the crowd about.
It really is an interesting site - Tulum was clearly built for primarily religious reasons; almost all of the standings structures are devoted to some aspect of religious practice - baths to 'purify' the human sacrifice victims, altars to various gods, a tower to drop the victims down to their deaths, and a "palace" a really big building designed for worship. Some of the structures don't even have doors - they're just meant for the gods to come and go. Humans lived there - but only the upper class ones and only in homes made of perishable materials. All that remains of them are the platforms where they were built. All of the buildings are built in line with phases of the moon, stars and sun - and the Mayans knew exactly where they were in terms of latitude - 21 degrees, I think it was. Amazingly advanced knowledge, so I think it's just interesting that the focused so much on keeping the gods appeased and happy.
After wandering about the ruins, we were all ready for the next part of the morning's tour - time on the beautiful beach at Tulum. White sands, huge rolling waves, and clear beautiful water - what's not to love?? We played there for quite a while before it was time to pack it in and head back to the bus.
Wednesday afternoon and evening were more beach and being mellow time. Ahh, the life!
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Ruins

On Wednesday a group of us went off site - to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum. It was neat to see and our tour guide was very friendly and helpful - if he did wander a bit in his presentation. The size of the ruins is just amazing


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Scuba and other nice things about Mexico

Monday was a blur. A blur of staring at the wind coming off the ocean, reading, exploring different restaurants, and catching up with folks. It's amazing to be forced to slow down like this. The food has been great but (and??) the service is SLOW. In the US the main goal is to get you in and out and your table cleared for the next group. Just not a priority here. We wait 1 1/2 hours after being told the wait will be 45 minutes. We wait ten minutes for the waiter to appear once we're at our table. The food is lovely, the waiters are really pleasant - but we're FORCED to slow down. To talk to people. To savor the food. You know, human sorts of things that we forget when activity and obligations (self inflicted or otherwise) boss us around continually. I'm enjoying this new approach. I find that I'm actually EARLY to stuff! Ha.
Justin and a bunch of his family has really been looking forward to SCUBA diving as part of this trip. I was open water certified in 2006 (we got to go when we were in New Zealand) but I hadn't been on a dive since. So while I really liked the idea of going diving with them, I was really hesitant. I'd forgotten so much, and knew they would all be much more experienced than I - I really didn't want to slow them down.
In the end, they were so friendly and welcoming about it that I decided to go. And gosh was it fun. I really did forget some pretty important stuff about it, but our instructor was patient and got me back on track - and it really wasn't too difficult after all.
On the first dive we saw a huge lobster waving his long spiny arm-things at us, and then we found a sea turtle! He was smallish but we followed him around for a while. Later we found a bigger dude - even more fun! The sun wasn't shining, so there wasn't quite the color there might otherwise be, but even so the variety and color of what we saw was just amazing.
Hand signals are really important when you're diving, since you don't really have another way to communicate with each other down there. So when the swim instructor came near me to check in and I gave him a "thumbs up" he gave me additional weight for my weight belt. I didn't know how to tell him that I didn't think I needed it since I felt fairly comfortable with where my buoyancy was at. Once we surfaced I asked him about it. Turns out "thumbs up" means "surface" - so he thought I was letting him know that I couldn't stay down and was going to need to go up - hence the additional weight! We laughed (me sheepishly), I gave him the weight back, and I was sure to use the "OK" sign on the second dive.
In between dives we took a safety rest in a hidden cove that was pristine and beautiful - and featured a Mayan ruin! We explored around, found iguanas and hermit crabs to poke at, and generally amused ourselves until it was time to return to the open water.
On the second dive we saw another sea turtle and this time I was brave enough to swim up next to it and reach out my hand just as it was swimming with its flipper and "high five" it. I think they caught it on film - if so, I will share it later!

Estoy en Mexico

For the last two-ish months I have been trying to brush up a bit on my Spanish. I took it in 8th grade, and then took bunches of Russian after that. Oddly enough, I remember more Spanish than I do Russian - and that really isn't saying much. However, my public library offers a program called Mango Languages that has been a really neat way to brush up a bit. I can't say I can speak well AT ALL now, but it has been fun to figure out a lot more of what folks are saying than I did before starting the course.
And why Spanish? Why, because my friends Justin and Michelle are getting married in Mexico this Friday! It turns out that over 50 folks (including Patrick, Jamie, Aaron, Laura, and myself) will be flying down and joining them for the fun. And so here we are! Aaron and Laura are joining us Wednesday, so in the meantime, Patrick, Jamie and I have been relaxing in a whole new way (I've never done an "all inclusive" beach-style vacation before - wowsa!). Es muy divertido!
















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Sweet times in Iron River

I think the title pretty much sums it up! I got up here without too much difficulty Friday night. Saturday morning Amy and Tim and I went out to the Delta Diner. They make just the best food there. I usually go for their blueberry-and-mascarpone-stuffed French toast, but I branched out this time and tried the red-eye biscuits and gravy: espresso flavored gravy with prime rib and bacon smothering two of the most delectable biscuits you ever tried. Rich, but YUM!

Next up was making cookies! It had been forever since I'd had a chance to bake and Tim's upcoming birthday provided the perfect opportunity. My friend Mary sent me a picture of the recipe since I didn't have my favorite cookbook with me, and the outcome was a hit.

Then it was off to a break-your-own-trail, lovely sort of skiing. Tim did most of the trail breaking and we made our way through the woods and out onto a nearby lake for a good-sized loop before heading back.

The evening was filled with messing about with Amy and Tim's laptop - it needed some cleanup - and then a few games of Up-and-Down the River. Then it was time to celebrate Amy and Tims' upcoming birthdays! The four kids went together and got them kindle cases with lights, and they were a definite hit. Amy had been talking randomly all weekend about how she was thinking about getting one, so it was fun finding something that she already was thinking about.

Mix into all of that good conversation and catch-up, fabulous food, and everybody going off at times to do their own thing, and you pretty much have the perfect weekend.

Until I realized that the weather was just too nasty for me to want to brave around 300 miles of rainy-icy-snowy roads. The entire north side of the state was swathed in too-warm-for-safety weather for pretty much the entire day Sunday. After all sorts of internal debate, I opted to stay for another day. And that has been a luxury in and of itself. How often do you just let yourself take an unplanned day to do... nothing?? I read, took a tiny nap, and then Grant and I headed to the After Hours trail for a nearly-5 mile ski. Wow is that trail gorgeous - particularly when the entire sky has turned to snow and is falling off your head. More bumming around, a 1 1/2 hour Young Life meeting over the iPhone, and then tucking in to blog a bit... stuff I never get (take?) time to do. Here's hoping the roads will be good tomorrow (but - don't tell - with as nice as it's been, I wouldn't mind if I were forced to stay another day!).

doctor's note

From: "Erica"
Date: Feb 6, 2013 2:34 PM
Subject: Strange request
To: "Alan"


Hi Alan,

I have an odd request of you. At the end of last year and for over a month, I was ill, but I did not call the doctor. By the time I had finally resolved to do so, I was starting to feel better. To encourage me to call the doctor, Angela withheld my Christmas present. Though I am fully healthy again, she is still withholding until I bring proof that I have spoken with a doctor. In the spirit of literalism, I'm wondering if you, Dr. Parks, would write a note saying that I conversed with you. :) Knowing Angela, I'm sure she would honor that. If you're game, an email would be great.

Thanks!


From: "Alan"
Date: Feb 6, 2013 2:52 PM
Subject: Re: Strange request
To: "Erica"


Dear Ms. (or, perhaps, Miss) H,


It is always a pleasure to consult with you on matters of interest to your health and welfare. I refer to our conversation on the sixth of this present month concerning the disposition of certain material goods. While the giving and receiving of Christmas presents is uniformly regarded as optional, especially between those socially related, such exchange must be strongly urged when the putative recipient has been "very good," not to mention "nice," and not the least bit "naughty."


Of course, the evaluation of one's conduct by others is a matter of individual opinion and private judgment — to them. But one may hope that friends would seek unity in such judgments. In suggesting that your conduct would bear well under the keenest scrutiny that an elf could muster, I remain


Yours very truly,
Dr. Alan E. P.
BA, MS, PhD

Happy New Year!

Eeep! Don't look now, but I believe we're well into 2013 already. Do you ever get a weird nostalgia for the things that will never be again - like writing "2012" when you write out checks? (Or maybe, check writing altogether?!).

The holidays were quite lovely: I spent more than half a week with my family in Eau Claire playing with/holding kids and puppies and catching up with everyone (and knitting a hat for Jody!). I also stayed one day with my college roommie Joce and her family, met up with my Aunt Dar & Uncle Dean, and with high school friend Shane, his wife Jana and Shane's parents. Once I got back to Appleton my step-family all came to me! (Step-family is a rotten word... so don't be misled - they're wonderful!). Amy and her husband, kids, mom and granddaughter all got together - and six of them stayed with me! We had a great time, making food, catching up, going on a sleigh ride, and generally enjoying each other. They left on Sunday morning, at which point I joined up with 8 other folks for a downhill ski trip at Ski Brule in UP Michigan. It's funny - we had more snow here than we did up there, but we got 2 nice days of downhill in, and generally had a great time. Nice way to kick the new year off!

I don't know that I'm doing New Year's resolutions per se... I don't know that they 're new anyway, but my main goals at the moment are: 1) get out skiing while the snow is good! Goal is 2-3 times/week. I think I may log my skiing out here, more for my fun than anyone else's (sorry about that). And 2) pack my lunch more! I did this faithfully for maybe 6 months at one point, but really fell off the wagon over this past year. It's cheaper and better nutritionally.

I also started off the new year with a new endeavor: tutoring English! I went through a training course with Fox Valley Literacy Council in November, and met with my "peoples" for the first time last Wednesday. It's a couple in their late 70s/early 80s that wish to learn English to work toward their citizenship. To be honest, I was a bit dismayed with the assignment when I first learned of their ages - I was thinking of helping someone maybe get a better job or something. On having met them, however, I really am excited. The wife in particular worked hard to have me understand that she expects homework each week and will work very hard on her lessons. She gripped my hand with both of hers when I met her, and when I left she hugged me and walked me through both doors on the way out. Their English is challenging to understand, so I think we'll have a lot of fun getting to know each other. It's funny to think about going back to the whole lesson planning thing after so many years out of teaching!

Knitting!

So - I've been knitting a lot lately - sometime in September I got the inspiration to knit little animals for three of my nieces for Christmas, and I haven't really looked back!

First I did a bunny. The pattern called for white yarn, but I just couldn't seen that being practical for a 2-year-old who will actually PLAY with it! So a brown bunny it was! It still got pink ears and a cream-colored tail. [More pics & details on Ravelry]

And then it was on to a hippo! This was made of a super-stretch wool. I watched a tense movie while I was knitting the second foot, and it turned out MUCH smaller than the first leg. I re-did it, but I did have to laugh at myself. [More pics & details on Ravelry]

Last but not least were a Mama and Baby Koala. Great fun! They had spiky black claws in the pattern, as well as velcro to enable the arms to attach around each other, but I couldn't seen the velcro staying good for long - and I thought it would ravel the yarn itself eventually. So I made the arms extra long so they could be tied around each other - perfect! [More pics & details on Ravelry]

And then... I thought I should knit some hats. I had the idea of doing one for a Secret Santa exchange I was doing for work, and started making the hat only to realize it was INCREDIBLY detailed and time intensive. So I gave it to my friend Christy instead. When I found that hat pattern, I also ran across the perfect hat pattern for my musical sister, Jody. So I made her a piano hat! That one was an adventure - that pattern required learning stranded knitting - knitting with two colors at the same time. Very fun and a challenge to learn! I was going to give it to her for her birthday in mid-January, but finished it by Christmas and couldn't wait any longer to give it to her! She liked it - hooray!! [More pics & details on Ravelry]

Treadmill Desk!

So I've been thinking about it for a while. Articles like this one: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/reviews/walking-while-working-should-you-try-a-treadmill-desk-13336477 speak of the benefits and improved health that can be a result of having a treadmill-and-desk combination. The idea is that you walk slowly enough to be able to type and mouse (1-2 mph) because even a slow pace is way better for your body and joints than sitting or standing.

With my job I don't often work for 8 hours solid on the computer, but I do often work for more than two hours at a time on my home PC. It also can be wayyy too easy to justify working/playing on the computer rather than getting out and exercising. While I haven't yet done cardio (getting out of breath and significantly raising my heartbeat) on the treadmill desk, I have already found myself here (yep, I'm using it now!), walking and burning calories instead of just sitting.

I'm thinking it will also be nice for when I'm reading or on the phone, though I have yet to try that. I've tried going for a walk while I'm on the phone, but if it's even a teensy bit windy out it becomes a less-than-lovely experience for my poor phone buddy. I've never bought a significant piece of exercise equipment before, so let's hope it's not a regrettable purchase!

Courage

I just read my Uncle John's post on courage, and it got me to thinking (It's worth the read!)

How am I being courageous? Is it courageous to stay where I am, trying to be faithful with what is put in front of me and doing what I can to be ready for the next adventure? Will it come in the guise of "normal, first world problems" that really can be challenging, but are laughable when compared with the struggles of many throughout the world and through history? I don't know if it's funny or sad that I've been struggling with this question at least since high school: what does God have for me? Where does He want me to focus my time, energy, and effort? The options are mind-boggling. Everywhere I look there are opportunities to engage, to help, to serve, to give. One thing I loved about being with my dad in the last two weeks of his life was the sense of peace and certainty that the time brought: in the midst of the sorrow and loss I was where I needed to be, and could fully focus on simply being there. I've had that feeling again when I've gone on work/mission trips with kids, and even to some extent on just regular ol' vacations. There's something so freeing about having the options pared down, and to know that there is nothing other required then simply being present to the folks around me and fully engaging in the opportunity at hand.
I just participated in a week-long class through work that's all about getting to know yourself better. In pursuit of becoming a more effective leader and better support to the people around you, you are asked to look frankly at your own weaknesses and "areas of opportunity" as well as areas you're already strong in.  So I look at all that and say, "now what?" Professionally I need to make some decisions about where to go next - do I aim for more formal leadership roles within the organization? Or continue to function primarily as an informal leader, focused on getting the work done and supporting the organization in becoming more efficient and better prepared for a challenging future? Personally, I need to make some decisions as well. Friendships, family relationships, location - all areas in which I face challenges and wonder if I'm on the right track.
I don't know if I have the courage I need for whatever may be ahead. 'Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I don't. Joseph eventually found the courage needed for the situation. Maybe I will too. But it sure would be nice where exactly to point the bits I do have! Guess I'll just hope they're lined up in the right direction when they're needed.

it's St Louis time!

I'm off to St Louis for a week! We'll be posting status updates, stories and pictures here: http://appletontruenorth.blogspot.com/.

And - prayers are appreciated. Mike, the youth leader, and I are the only two chaperons, which means I'll be doing all the driving as well as, well, everything :)

California is the place you oughtta be

So - I posted stuff to other, connected blogs, but wanted to mention it here, too!

Tom and I recently joined friends on a backpacking trip in the Sierras, and then for a couple of days browsing about the city. We posted the updates on the group blog, so you can check out pics and the overview of a fabulous time out there:
Sierra Mountain Crazies

and

San Francisco

And here's the follow-up post of the extra days I spent in California while the rest of the Wisconsinites headed back.

San Francisco, cont.

once upon a time

A long long time ago in a forest far far away, there was a girl who started working on a master's degree in Business Administration with a health care emphasis. Often a story from long ago in forests far away revolves around a hero or a heroine, but I'm sorry to say that is not the case for this story. This girl was a procrastinator, and no matter how hard she tried, somehow she never managed to slow the rest of life down enough to give the proper amount of time toward her studies. Early in her school enrollment she was not required to turn in weekly assignments and would often end up doing half the course's homework in the last few days of the term. Even toward the end of her time when she was required to turn in weekly assignments weekly she would often be up late the night before the due date.
A heroine would have worked quite quickly through the coursework and toward the degree. As might be expected for our anti-heroine, the girl progressed quite slowly through her courses. Because her employer reimbursed her a set amount each year, the slower she went the less she paid out of her own pocket. Everyone knows that people appreciate that which they have paid for more than that which has been simply given to them, so there is a strong possibility that she did not fully and properly appreciate the education she was receiving.
Thankfully for everyone concerned, there eventually came an end to the whole sad affair. True to form, after she finished her second-to-last class in 2012, she was ready to push off taking the last class until later in the year. Her boyfriend, a true hero, came to the rescue just in time. He talked her into taking the next class right away, just to get it done. Given the abysmal lack of cross country skiing snow for the 2011-2012 winter, and the fact that the girl DID like to do fun things like kayaking and travelling in the summer, she acquiesced and started the class. Because the course was actually a capstone project, it took more time and work than any of the previous courses, but the girl did finally manage to put a wrap on the degree. And there is a reason this is not a story that should be shared with small children. There is no moral. A proper story would end with the girl not getting her degree and exiting the experience a sadder but wiser individual. As it turns out, she did achieve the degree and ended up feeling quite accomplished about the whole thing. You won't believe this, but they all ended up living happily ever after. Ridiculous! The End.

...and because it's SO MUCH FUN to talk about homework

I'll talk about it a teeny-tiny bit more. Mostly because I'm procrastinating. But it's probably worth mentioning that I'm on my LAST CLASS! Wooo hooo!!! I just looked it up, and it looks like I started the program in 2008... so jeepers, a bit longer than it took me to do my undergrad! I must say that tuition reimbursement through work is a beautiful thing and going slowly has allowed me to really maximize the benefit... and it's been great to apply the learning as I've gone. So, I'm halfway through my capstone project and so far so good. If I could only get back to studying, that is...

same song, bajillionth verse

You guessed it, I'm back in the midst of another class. The main difference between this class and the others is that IT IS MY SECOND-TO-LAST ONE!! You heard right, I have one class after this one and I'm done! Actually, there's another, fairly important difference. This class is asking me to come up with a project where I plan/help plan a significant technology implementation from start to finish. Thing is - I'd say that's about 60% of what I've done at ThedaCare for the past six-ish years. I have no idea how I'd do this thing if I were just coming out of undergrad, but this is one where work experience is priceless. I already checked with my prof and she thought that a project I'm working on full-steam-ahead right now would be perfect. So there you go! I'm hoping I'll be able to "plug in" the work I'm ready doing and come up with a 30-page paper without too much fuss. Nothing like starting out optimistically anyway!