Exhaustion

As I sit at work trying to stay awake, I thought I'd give a quick recap of the weekend events that made me so tired.

Friday - After a full day of work, some last minute scrambling and preparation we (Jenn, Jeremy, Kim and I) took off for Sleep Train Amphitheater in Marysville to see Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. We arrived at around 7:30 and heard the last few songs of Cheap Trick's set as we were driving in and walking towards the venue. After cruising through what can only be described as the most pathetic bag check ever we made our way to the general admission lawn seats. Kim and I have both been to concerts here before, but we both agreed that this was the largest crowd we had ever seen. Normally you can bring a blanket and spread out a bit. Not this time, it was standing room only and we were packed in tight.

As for the show, Heart put on a great set with most of their classics and a killer rendition of The Who's Reign O'er Me. Ann Wilson can still belt out the vocals. Then it was time for Journey. They played a good mix of new and old stuff, although they definitely got a better response from the crowd with their older songs. Their new Korean lead singer impressed us all. I have some video of "Don't Stop Believin" that I may try and post later.

We had a great time despite the large crowd and the inevitable annoying people who end up right next to you.

Saturday - So after getting home from the concert at around 12:30 - 1:00 in the morning it was straight to bed so that I could get up at 7:30 to prepare for my triathlon. More of a mini triathlon, but you can still be impressed. Every year Becky (a college friend of mine who lives in nearby Los Molinos) hosts a "triathlon" on her birthday. Its a family and friends event, nothing too official but fun nonetheless. Every year for the past 5 years I have been invited, and every year I have managed to find an excuse to not go. This year however I felt up to the challenge.

Becky's family has some orchards near the Sacramento River. So our mini triathlon consisted of approximately 1/2 mile run from her parents house to the river, followed by a short 100 yard or so swim, another 1/2 mile run from the river back to the house where we left our bikes, and finally a 12 mile bike ride. Of the 4 legs the hardest part was most definitely the 1/2 mile run after the swim. I'm not in the best shape of my life, but I'm in good enough condition to handle a few mile jog, swimming however really took it out of me. I realized I am NOT in swimming shape. Once I made it to the bikes though I was able to enjoy the bike ride through the orchards. It was a beautiful day thankfully. As for the results I finished in 6th place out of about 15 people with a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes and 44 seconds. I'm confident that with smaller rests between stations and a better bike I could shave at least 10 minutes off that time. That will be the goal for next year. Anyway once everyone finished it was BBQ time. All in all it was a great time.

However, needless to say by Saturday afternoon I was physically exhausted and quite sore (again I think I need a new bike). I spent the rest of the day cleaning up around the house and relaxing. After picking Jenn and her friends up from their girls night out at around 1:00 in the morning it was time for some much needed sleep.

Sunday - Ah yes the always exhausting football day. Ok, yesterday was neither tiring nor demanding. It was just what I needed. A full day of couch time watching football games at Nick's apartment. I'd like to use this chance to say GO BUFFALO BILLS! 4-0! Its been a long time (over a decade) since Buffalo has been a team of relevance. With a soft schedule and the Tom Brady-less Patriots, this could be the year that Buffalo takes their division.

Anyway, back to work today and softball game tonight. No rest for the weary!

Why My Girls are "de bomb!"

It has recently occurred to me that I am very lucky to have the girlfriends that I do.

Let me start with a little backstory.

My choice to attend Chico State happened at a pretty tumultuous time in my life. I really needed a change of pace, a change of friends and a change of scenery. While I still maintained close friendships with a few of my pals from Southern California. I began to forge some new friendships while at Chico. I went through the "normal" ups and downs of roommate drama, friend drama and other drama, and ended up making more friends at work than I did while at school.

But all was not lost for little ol' Jenn. When I entered the Master's Program at Chico State I was not expecting to make the types of frienships and bonds with 4 girls that I happened to meet at Chico State.

So this is a shout out to my gal-pals Katie, Meghan, Andrie and Shalea, who are the best and most special girlfriends I could ask for!

From Left to Right. Andrie, Katie, Meghan and Me!

**Shalea not pictured.

Why Can't They All be Like Richard Gere?

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since we last blogged, and I've been busy with school and such, but I've recently been thinking about some interesting things, that all tie into one another. At least in my head. This might bring you to wonder at the curious title I put for this blog, but eventually (I hope) it will all make sense.

As many of you read on our blog recently, my sister and her family just welcomed a new baby girl. We were all very excited, especially their family, to welcome this new little person. My sister Larissa, just posted some thoughts on children herself, from the perspective of a mother, and I've found myself drawn by similar thoughts as I begin to contemplate starting a family of my own.

The blessings to be found in children, I think are unique and special. They are full of so many challenges, surprises and so full of growth and daily expansion, sometimes it's hard to feel like you're keeping up. I know when I went to visit my sister, I was overwhelemed with joy by these little people. Consumed with love, sometimes full of frustration, and of course accompained by a generous dose of tiredness. But would you change it for anything? No. I think the miracle of children is one of the most precious blessings that can be bestowed upon us, and I think it takes patience of the heart and spirit to always be there for your children, even when they've grown.

Now I'm sure you're thinking, "What does all this have to do with Richard Gere?" Well, let me try and explain. While watching the end of Pretty Woman on television the other night, I couldn't help but think of what a dream-boat Richard Gere is in this film. Now before you jump all over me for crushing, slightly, on Mr. Gere, I'll explain. While watching the closing scenes in one of my favorite films, I got to thinking about how much our sense of the "right kind of man" or the most "special kind of man" is influence by the men we see on film or read about in books. Men, that cannot possibly approach a sense of reality at times, yet we still find ourselves yearning for the type of undying devotion, surrendering of will, and utter romanticism. Not that I would consider these films bad influences, or even many of the books I read as unfair representations of what a relationship is between a man and a woman, but I also thought of how fine the line is between fantasy and reality, especially when it's such a part of our culture.

What girl doesn't sigh when Richard Gere gets that dreamy-eyed brooding look, when he begs Julia Roberts to stay with him? What girl doesn't want a man to chase after until the end of the earth, just to proclaim his undying love and devotion for her? What does it say about us women that we grow to expect some of these behaviors, and then struggle with disappointment when "it doesn't happen like it does in the movies?" I would never say that my life is like a fairy tale, but I guess watching Pretty Woman the other night just made me think of this enigma surrounding relationships.

It's also interesting to me that those films and books about real relationships aren't always the biggest money makers, the best selling novels, or even the films and books that people enjoy. They're usually followed by comments like "It was really sad, it made me cry." Or other comments like that. It's no surprise that when this is what we have to compare, "real relationships" pale in comparison to their fantasy counterparts. Who doesn't crave participation is a good fantasy?

Personally, I think real relationships, with all their hardships, difficulties and struggles are so much more meaningfull than something generated out of pure fantasy. I think it's about making your own fantasies, and setting time aside to fulfill each others dreams, even if its something small and insignificant.

Now back to how this relates to children. Thinking about Richard Gere, made me think about how I would want my children to see relationships. I would want their expectations to be real and concrete, but also meaningful to them. I would not want them yearning for some impossible ideal. I would want their happiness above all else, but I wouldn't want them to be unsatisfied in their relationship simply because it falls outside of what they think the "parameters" are.

But I think I've been on my soap box long enough. Suffice to say, I'm happy and contented in my relationship, even though he's not Richard Gere. :)

Wunderhund

Some videos of the amazing feats of Apollo.

He can Dance!

He can Catch!

He can even Walk!

Yeah thats about all.

I Survived!!

4 Venti Lattes from Starbucks: $15.00
4 Text books from the Student Bookstore: $300.00
Surviving the first 4 days of the semester: Priceless

Well I made it through the first week of school without any major mishaps. I've decided to take a full course load this semester so I can graduate on time in the spring. This means, I'm taking a Cross-Culutral class, a Law and Ethics class, a Research and Evaluation Methods Class, my Group Practicum class (which means leading 3 groups of students, plus class, plus individul supervision) and a sex and drugs class. As if that wasn't enough, I've also decided to be a TA for one of the other graduate classes, just to get more experience and learn more behind the scenes from one of the best professors in the program. Crazy you say? I just prefer to think that I'm working eagerly towards my future. I guess it should also be said, that I did cut down my work load to only 2 days a week at Sycamore Glen so I have a lot of time during the week for homework, projects and everything else. I also managed to get Sundays off, which is now the most sacred day of the week to me.

Even though this semester looks like it's going to be tough, it's great to be able to see my friends again, and more regularly and to be learning things that are going to take me so far in my career (hopefully at least). It also provided me with more opportunities to brag about my adorable new neice and show her off to all my colleagues. Everyone thinks she's adorable.

Here's the new school year, and the eventual end of graduate work!

Did I mention I started working on my Master's Project too? Oye!

More of my wonderful new neice!

So I "stole" these pictures from my sister Larissa's blog, but I just had to share them with everyone! I am so proud of my sister and her husband for the way they made it through the last few months. I knew it was a struggle for both of them, especially for my sister, but everyone is now overjoyed at the new arrival, who is stunning everyone with her size despite being 4 weeks early! Though, she looks tiny next to her giant of a daddy. Enjoy the photos!

Petra Anastasia Has Arrived!

Congratulations to my wonderful sister Larissa and her husband Will, who finally welcomed their baby girl into the world on 8/21/08 around 12am. Petra weighed in at 7lbs 2oz and was 20 and 1/2 inches long.

I am so happy and excited to be welcoming another precious little girl into our family! Her brothers are in for a handful and I know my sister and her husband are overjoyed to finally have "a princess in manland" and I quote.