In attempts to make up for my, er, lack of contribution to the blog world... I present to you... an epic post highlighting my life for the past few weeks.
- First and foremost, where I left off. Took boards. It was a long day, and it wasn't without its usual ups and downs in addition to simply getting things done. I now know that I have passed my boards, with a near perfect score nonetheless, and it is a super duper huge relief. The weekend itself was very difficult, mostly on the line of logistics, but it was fun to see some friends and meet up for some drinks and Thai food after the exam. All in all, this retake thing was horrible and I couldn't be happier to have it behind me. I keep waiting for the hatred to go away, but it doesn't. These examiners took something away from me that I can never get back. Included in the list is: a) over 400 training hours so that I can peak at the end of March (this peak was for nothing); b) the money (think $$$$) and time for a trip to take boards; c) about four weeks worth of sleep; d) time that my patients needed to take for this exam; e) Unfortunately, about 3 lbs gained, during the process, now gone, but it did put an unexpected halt on things for the past few weeks; f) I hate to admit this, a lot of tears, and I am a person who doesn't cry easily. Pic at dinner after boards:
- Graduated from dental school- I am now a D.D.S.! Pretty darn crazy, I guess, but it is a huge relief to close the book on one chapter, and begin the next. What this means is that I have about 10 weeks of what I am calling my 'first retirement' where I am essentially unemployed. Yes, you heard that correctly. I need to wait a while for all of my licensure to come through, so this is what I get. I am not complaining. :)
- with that being said, I am planning on taking full advantage of this time. I have two goals 1) move to Madison and get settled in 2) take advantage of this time off and race and train as much as I can. With the reconfiguration of my training to fit my, er, 'new schedule,' I am certain that I will find my breaking point.
- Got my SRM back, and got in my first race of the season. Coincidentally, I have found an increase in power #s with this new calibration. I'll take it. Won the cat 4 women at the elkhart TT. I'll take it for the first race of the season. Great race, good venue, horrible directions (note: if you want anyone from out of town to come to your race, please put more than just some geographical landmarks on your race flyer). Also raced the NE state championship TT this past Saturday. It was just one of those days that the #'s didn't come, and the legs never felt good. It was very fun to be back in the NE race scene, and I was happy to once again win the cat 4 state title before I leave the state. Pic from the podium:
A special yell out to my buddy Andy who stepped up to the plate from the tri world and raced his first TT and official 'bike race' this weekend. I give credit to anyone who steps up to the 'race of truth' because that is what it is- it doesn't lie. I have heard so many excuses along the lines of 'I'm not trained' 'I don't feel like it' 'I don't want to find out how slow I am' things. Here is the men's Cat V podium (they may need to work on their podium posing skills a little bit)
Another big shout out to everyone who was there and raced: M. Pav, Brian, M. Landen, Morgan, Jeremy, and the list goes on. It was a fun day with fun company, but all in all, I think it was a tough day for a lot of people.
- Right now, I am mostly moved out, living on an air mattress, with just my clothes, bikes, and a few kitchen utensils. Nothing more, really. It is almost a bit refreshing to live a more 'simple' life with out the clutter. I have internet courtesy of my neighbors, and radio to keep me company. I have been enjoying the Kim West Radio Cycling show podcast to keep me company in the evenings. In Omaha till next week sometime.
- My Brother, sister in law, nephews and niece came down to visit right before graduation Fun times. it was fun to visit all of the 'kid' places in town. All in all it was a great time with them, and this was their Christmas present to their whole family to have me cover this vacation. It worked out really well, and the kids had some of the most fun at the dental school. I tried to teach them proper infection control. :)
- Last, but not least, I have found a home in Madison! That's right- I bought a home that I will be closing on June 13! It was a crazy adventure last weekend! After racing, headed to WI to see the home on Sunday before the open house. Thanks to the interned, I have been able to weed out many homes before wasting my time driving to Mad-town. This is the first home that I have looked at in person, and bought. Some may say it is impulsive, some may say smart- I say I know what I want and this was the perfect house in an even better location. It is a bit scary dealing with this 'adult-like' and 'grown up' stuff of mortgages, titles, inspections, insurance, and the list goes on; however after living with 4-12 other people for most of the past 8 years, I could not be more excited to be going on to this next step in life. My 'new' (95 yrs old) home:
