It's official!

I took my national board exam on Tuesday in Spokane, WA. It was not exactly the easiest thing I've done in a while, but I had a feeling I had done well enough to pass. You never quite know, though, with these standardized tests... So I've been checking the Montana licensing website about every 2 hours to see if they had my results up. This morning I looked, and behold, it said I had an active license -- not just the temporary license I'd been using. Which basically means I passed and am a true DPT!

No more having another PT cosign my paperwork. No more required supervision. I'm on my own, and I'm very excited about that! Plus, I don't have to feel guilty about not studying all the time now, either. :-)

Day on the lake

I finally -- finally -- took the kayaks out over the weekend. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining but not too hot. My friend Allie, Ben (another PT at the clinic) and one of the students at the clinic grabbed the kayaks and borrowed a canoe and headed out for a float. I say float because we didn't do as much paddling as we did just hanging out in the water, chatting and taking in the sights. The "current" kept bringing us back toward where we started so we kept passing the same houses several times before we actually cut across the lake back home. I'm sure the people sitting on their decks were getting a kick out of watching us go back and forth. The water was pretty chilly but I did manage to get in. It's so nice to have a lake steps from the house, and with all the warm weather we've been having it's great to be able to walk across the street and put my feet in.

Check out that backdrop -- that's Whitefish Mountain with all the ski runs

Another friend and I have been talking about taking the kayaks down the Flathead River and camping overnight. We haven't decided when but hopefully we'll get it in while the weather cooperates. Everyone keeps talking about how quickly it transitions from summer to fall to winter so we'll just have to squeeze it in!

Back in business!

Week 4 (actually week 6, but I missed 2 weeks) of Thursday Night Race League on Big Mountain came and went and another blue ribbon was added to my fridge collection. (Yay!)

It was hot and sweaty, but I had the best ride of the season and even beat out my other times despite the longer course. I'm pretty sure I was the third person to finish in the entire beginner division out of all the age groups and genders. So I was pretty proud of myself :)

There is one more week of races next Thursday and then that's it for the season. I'm really glad I participated since it got my butt out and riding harder than I would just on my own. And I got to know some of the trails that I would not have ridden, too.

Also, speaking of biking, yesterday I went with a friend to the top of Big Mountain on the ski lift and biked the Summit Trail down to the base. On the way we stopped and picked some huckleberries and took them back with us. It was a little bumpy so by the time we got to the bottom they were a little squishy and juicy, but I got enough to put on ice cream and make a sauce out of, so I'm set. They are really good!

Tomorrow I might be hiking to the top of Great Northern Mountain, and then Sunday the plan is to do some kayaking in one of the lakes around here. Finally going to break out the kayaks that my landlord has kindly left for me to use -- can't pass that up! I'm trying to make the most out of what's left of summer since I'm now healed enough to actually get out and do things....

Have a good one!

My apartment -- finally!

Okay, I did it. I got some film, took some pictures, and now you're finally going to see what my apartment looks like.

It still has a lot of stuff that needs done to it to make it feel like a home, but it's getting there. I have a bunch of photos that I want to hang on the walls, and I ordered a few pieces of furniture to help organize the space... so it's definitely a work in progress.

But for now, you can take the virtual tour at my Picasa web album here.

Enjoy!

Oh, and in case you want to update your address book, my address is now 339 Dakota Ave, Whitefish, MT 59937.

Ouch!

Just wanted to share my latest "Emily moment", aka episode of accident-prone-ness.

As I said in my last post, I went rollerblading yesterday. After getting warming up around my neighborhood I decided to try the bike path -- a good idea since there would be no cars and very few intersections, all nicely paved. Well, I came across a Y in the road, and both said that there was a downhill. I went right, and decided that I would just prepare for a short jaunt downhill and just really try to keep my balance as I sped up.

Well.... turns out they haven't finished the paving on that section of the bike trail, and at the bottom of the little hill, hidden around the corner the paved path turned into a rock path. There was no way I could stop, and there was no soft grass to skate into, so I just squatted down as close to the ground as I could while staying upright, and prepared for the worst. I made it about 5 feet before I crashed onto my hands, knees, and hip. NOT COOL. I had to sit there for a little while just holding myself before I could stand up and head home. Every once in a while I had to wipe the drips of blood from my knee to keep it from going into my skates. It was pretty funny watching the people in cars stare at me in horror as they drove by me, though.

I didn't really feel the pain until I got home and had to clean the scrapes out. I'm still pulling little tiny rocks out of my hands and knees every time I change my bandages. Luckily I didn't do worse than I did, though I'm sure I'll have some major bruises on my left knee. What I'm really bummed about is the fact that I'm not going to be able to go canoeing tomorrow with the girls. I was really looking forward to getting out in the water, but since now I can barely take a shower, it's probably not in my best interest. On the plus side (if there is a plus side), I'm pretty sure I'll be a first aid expert by the time this is all over with.

So please send some "get well" vibes my way, and maybe next weekend I'll have a better story to tell (that doesn't involve blood).

Adding to my ribbon collection

Another week, another mountain bike race. This time I chose the beginner category (1 lap instead of 2 or 4), so I did 5 miles, which was plenty for me. The course was different this week, and it was more ups and downs instead of just one loooong uphill and quick downhill. However, I did have to walk some of the uphills unlike the last 2 weeks, because I would come across a quick change in pitch and I couldn't shift quickly enough to keep my speed up.

Nevertheless, I got first place in my division! The funny thing was, I thought there were several girls in my age group, so I kept trying to pass all these females that I would come up to. But it turns out there were only 2... At least I came out on top instead of bottom, and got a pretty great workout! My fridge is now starting to get crowded with blue ribbons, hehe. ;-)

Here's a cool video of last week's race --



Those are the "experts", and they are freakin' crazy. In fact, the camera guy is on a single speed. They finish 2 laps before I've even finished my first. Just so you know, none of that video was sped up -- they're really going that fast. It's my goal not to get lapped by all of them by the end of the summer, but I don't know if that'll really happen... These guys are also pretty much all over the age of 35, by the way. I hope to be in that good of shape when I hit 40.

Also, one of the students who was here for the last clinical affiliation stayed on for another month before she has to go back to school, and I have been hanging out with her a bit. She's staying with a couple of girls up on Big Mountain, one of which I have also hung out with, and they like to bike -- one mountain bikes, the other road bikes and occasionally mountain bikes. So I'm excited to have some girls to ride with! I don't mind riding with the guys but I'd like to have someone more my speed. They also like to do a bunch of other stuff so I'm sure we'll be hanging out quite a bit. I'm actually canoeing with some of them on Sunday -- this time without the race part, so that should be a little more fun!

Now, off to go rollerblading!

Update: extended version

Alright, well now that I have more than just a couple of minutes to spare, I thought I would catch you up on a few things that have been going on in the life of Emily.

I am starting to feel a little bad for Zoje these days.... I don't spend a whole lot of time at home, and when I'm home I'm not often in the mood to be playful and chase her around the apartment. So I hope she's not feeling too bored sitting around by herself. I'm sure she doesn't even realize that she's home alone 10-12 hours of the day. She probably finds just as much amusement chasing rogue bugs around the apartment and looking out the window as she would with me. But it's making me consider finding her a playmate, maybe a new little kitty?? We'll just have to see.

Also, I've been living without a microwave. I kind of like the idea that I don't have a radioactive appliance (okay, so most appliances are radioactive to one degree or another, and my hairdryer probably emits more waves than my microwave ever did...). I also find it fulfilling to cook rather than reheat. But I sure do miss being able to shove some leftovers in there to heat up in a minute rather than waiting for the oven to heat up or dirtying a pot on the stove.

I still have at least 3 boxes that have not been unpacked, sitting in my living room. I also have a rug sitting on my dining room table, my road bike's front wheel has not once been put on, and my clothes drying rack is still the most prominent piece of furniture in my bedroom. Someday I'll have a presentable apartment. Someday...

I do not yet have internet in my apartment. I can get DSL in the house upstairs, but I hate to spend all my time up there when I could be comfortable in my place with my stuff. Someday I'll have real internet in my apartment and be able to update more easily. Someday...

I went waterskiing yesterday with Scott, his new wife Erica, their friends visiting this week, and Ben and his family. I'm very proud to say that I got right up on the skis no problem and didn't fall once! I skipped right over the wake and took several bumps and didn't embarrass myself one bit (well, not with the skiing at least....). Now I'm itching to try dropping a ski or giving the wakeboard a try. Maybe by the end of summer I'll have accomplished one of those.

My altitude headache is finally gone. It might have been the lack of iron in my diet, I decided, that didn't help. I don't really know. All I know is that it's gone and I'm much happier. :)

Work continues to be busy, but it makes the days go by really fast! I even worked this weekend with Scott at the hospital in acute care and didn't mind it at all. I have had several new evals lately to build up my schedule and there is a lot of paperwork involved, but it's nice to see my patient load increasing and being able to decide what to do with patients and see them progress. It's starting to feel like a profession now.

Okay, wow, that was a long post. I still don't have any pictures, but I know people who have been snapping shots so I'll have to snag some when they post them. Someday my life won't be so scattered. Maybe... ;-)