What a Week!

Goodness, goodness. I can't believe my life. So, as I type, I am sitting in a hotel in Syracuse, New York after just driving down the streets of this (rather warm!) city trying to find a good place to eat. I found one, but it wasn't so good. La Bella Pizza didn't make my head turn, but I guess any food is good food when you don't have much time or desire to eat. I worked out tonight as well; it can be hard to find the time and the sanity to run on a hotel treadmill (imagine dark, low ceiling, stuffy rooms with old equipment and loud televisions), but I managed a few times last week and I will this week, too. I seem to sleep better when I've had exercise that doesn't involve running for my connecting flight.

So. Last week was a whirlwind of fun, and stress, and excitement, and nervousness, and triumph. I started off in New Orleans with my training group and it was so much fun. We spent Sunday night on Bourbon Street at a traditional restaurant (I ate shrimp jambalaya and creole) and moved to a jazz club on the strip. When we left the jazz club (one of many), we walked across the street and who finds me there, but an old friend from Green Bay who I've known since I was about 10 years old! It was fate, but it was so bizarre to see her in New Orleans of all places when (since she moved to LA a few years ago) I barely see her in Wisconsin! Craziness, I tell you. Then, we moved to a super ghetto (in an awesome way) club in which we physically were quite out of place. We were 5 white folks in a largely black person's club. I did the worm (I promised my group I would) and then one of the women in the club ("Shorty") came over and started to dance with us. Eventually, she spent the majority of the night teaching me how to shake my ass like a black woman. It was AMAZING. I think I've got it down. It's like the ass has a mind of it's own! It took me a while to get the hang of it (she even put her hands on my butt and proceeded to physically show me what to do), but I finally got it while almost everyone in the club clapped to the beat because they probably thought I needed the extra encouragement. By the end of the night, I was practically a member of their little gang and when I formally introduced myself, "Shorty" gasped and rolled up her sleeve to reveal a tattoo of my name across her upper arm. Needless to say, we took many pictures with the gasp-inducing tattoo.

The seminar went well the next day, but we ended up getting delayed in New Orleans because of storms in Houston. Lighting, flood warnings -- it was running the gambit and I was getting antsy in the airport, so I did some much-needed push-ups. I swear, during this job, I must get in a good amount of physical exercise or I'll die!

Houston was not as amazing as New Orleans (once we got there), but I tried Sonic (a fast food restaurant) for the first time and the hotel was stayed at was AMAZING. Best one yet. Luxurious sheets, flat screen TV, great rooms - I love it. Seminar went well, nothing interesting to report.

Then, we partnered off on Wednesday and I was off to San Jose, California. This ended up being a super nightmare! My partner flew in Tuesday night, but left me to my own devices after 10am the next morning when everything proceeded to go wrong. I almost broke down, but kept my wits about me and trudged through the day with my head high. It helped that Sarah came for lunch and we got to hug and catch up! Hallelujah!

By the time we got into Salt Lake City, I needed to work out. I did my preparations for the night and ordered room service before hitting the exercise room and picked up my BBQ chicken sandwich after my sweat sesh was finito. I showered and ate dinner in bed on one of those amazing in-bed tray tables! Delish!

The next day was the most interesting, stress-inducing, and (ironically) fun of them all. I woke up ready to roll (everything was going GREAT!), except for the fact that I was having severe abdominal pains. These were concerning only because I found blood in my stool (something I've never had before) the previous day. I called the nurse line that corresponds with my insurance and she told me to go into the emergency room immediately. I freaked! So, I made the arrangements to take a cab to the University of Utah hospital, talked to my boss(es) and the instructor, and made my way (albeit, crying) to the middle of Salt Lake City proper. (Funny enough, this is the only reason I got to see the city - it's gorgeous!) I was nervous filling out papers once I got there, but all went well and I was triaged into this room where I paced and paced while keeping in constant contact with work. (Well, you would be freaking too if it was your 4th day on the job and you were in a foreign city with no one to go to the emergency room with you for the first time!) Eventually, someone came in to give me an ultrasound (it was amazing -- I saw my spleen, ovaries, uterus, kidneys, colon, and heart!) and I found out that my aorta splits amazingly early into my legs. (The cute doctor was so impressed!) Oh, and my femural artery is visible only because I'm lean. (Apparently, people are usually too fat to see this.) Then, I got my blood drawn, which, as they promised me, was painless. I had a few "down under" exams, but everything seemed to check out and I got the best care EVER! It was wonderful! So...they think it was just stress that caused my symptoms, but at least I got them to help me with the crossword puzzle I was distracting myself with! I win the award for best patient ever! :) I even caught my early flight out of Salt Lake because they were so punctual!

Finally, last day of the week was in Denver. That went all fine and good -- but I was trying to catch up from the day before. Nothing significant happened except for the fact that I ate a bison burger. It was hella good. Flew back into Seattle on Friday night and got home around 10pm. Chatted with the roomies and got to bed for a whopping 11 hours of sleep. Woke up and did errands that day with Kelly, then packed until the wee morning hours with Adrian. Got up this morning at 5:15am (PDT) and spent the day flying to the East Coast where I am now. In fact, it's getting quite late and still need to shower. I hope this has entertained you for now! :)

I have my laptop with me this week, so you won't have to wait as long for news on my whereabouts...