3/28/2013

I had a good day in clinic. I was very productive and efficient. I finished 2 hours early and used my extra time to find matza. I went to 9 different stores before I finally found some. They also had a very big kosher food section so I bought fake bacon. Yum!
I celebrated the end of the week by going climbing. It was really good. I felt amazing.
I got home around 11 and finished all my business homework for the week because I'm going to be away this weekend.
This weekend till next Tuesday I will be hiking with Kat, her boyfriend, his best friend, and another girl that they work with- Maddie,Kat, Billy, Bird, and Grace.- We are hiking the great ocean 121.6km in 5 days. If you search it's called the great ocean walk(sorry I didn't have time to link it) I'll have lots of pictures when I get back and may or may not have signal to upload while I'm out. Have a good weekend/Easter/end of Passover!

3/27/2013

I forgot my shoes! It was terrible.  I got to clinic and found that I had 2 left shoes of different colours! oh the horrors. Fortunately-I had a second pair of shoes. Unfortunately-I am still a bit swollen so I really had to shove my feet in.  I would call myself almost recovered I still have a few blisters on my legs and ankles and a bit of swelling.  I came home from clinic and did my homework in an ice bath.  Hopefully that helped.  I'm getting cleaned up and packed for my next adventure.  I am going on a 5 day hike leaving Friday morning.  I looked up passover camping meals but couldn't find anything:( I have also been having some trouble finding Matzo, three grocery stores with no luck.  I finally googled it and found a store on my way to clinic so I'll get some tomorrow.
Also if you'd like to check out just how tired I looked Sunday: Ironman pictures
Biking to work tomorrow. Yay!

3/26/2013

Back to clinic today.  It was good. My patients from last week are progressing well and I have a new one that I really like. I had a friend give me a ride in because my legs are still a bit dead.  They don't hurt they just don't move like I want them to.  I made some strawberry jalapenio ice cream when I got home, totally delicious.  Kat and Billy came in and told me we were hosting a dinner party.  It was pretty sweet.  It we made wings, sausages, salad, and ice cream.  mmm It was a good evening but I still have a transition area in my room that needs to be cleaned up.

3/25/2013

The ironman excitement continued today.  Well I didn't go to work and spent the majority of the day doing chores.  After my guests departed, I picked up the remainder of my gear and bought some pens.    I also ate and napped a bit.  Then I biked to the awards dinner.  My legs felt like lead, like there was nothing in the world I could do to convince them to move but they did 6km there and 6km back.  Dinner was fun and so inspirational.  I made some new friends too! Back to work tomorrow.  Bummer!

3/24/2013

I AM an IRONMAN!!!! In 12:34:59

3/23/2013

The bike is checked in the gear is checked in at 4:30 my wet suit and I will join the rest of the stuff in the pre-race holding area. Ironman! Wahoo. You can track me on ironmanlive.com number 248. Yay. Thank you to all my friends and family for being a wonderful support. I am thrilled every time I get a good luck message. You are the best and I hope to make you proud

3/20/2013

It's been a busy week. I have a good deal of school work, I'm getting ready for the ironman and I'm trying to get ready for my international guests. By the time I finished clinic, went swimming, made muffins, and did homework it was time for bed. 3 days and 3 workouts until ironman Melbourne. I'm so excited.

3/19/2013

Today I did rehab in the home. I got to drive around and give people PT at home. During lunch I biked back to the other hospital for a tutorial on assessments in the afternoon. Two more workouts this evening and I only have 4 more before the race. Getting scary! I did do a bit more race preparation this evening buying spare tires, reading race check lists and such.

3/17/2013

Happy st. Patrick's day. I don't think I wore anything green all day. Between studying and the backward seasons I really have my holidays mixed up. Much like yesterday I ran, biked, cleaned, and studied. I also made some ice cream of a secret mystery flavour. It's quite tasty. We're getting close to the Passover season which means eat Easter candy before the week of salads starts. Australia is particularly good with Easter treats. Cadbury cream eggs have 25% more sugar. Mmmm and they also have a speciality called hot cross buns. Which is a roll similar to what you get at Texas road house with chocolate or fruit in it. They are fantastic. I might have eaten 4 today.
In case you were holding your breath wondering about my laundry it got rained on some more today. It was finally dry enough to bring in around 9pm but most of it is still hanging around my room finishing drying.
Less than a week till the ironman. I'm so excited/nervous/ready to do it! :D

3/18/2013

Today was my first day of placement in Neurological physiotherapy.  It's a bit slower than my last placement.  I have a partner and together we see 2 patients this week.  So much less patient contact but we fill our extra time with detailed analysis of patient problems and research into appropriate treatment strategies.  I am at the Royal Talbot for this placement, where I was last year.  It is a much faster bike ride but I cross the world's scariest bridge to get there.  I was lucky enough to have a beautiful rainbow over the city as I rode in today, the picture doesn't capture just how vivid it was.  I also have indoor bike parking at this clinic so I'm happy.  I cleaned and did homework this evening so that I have more time to do pre-race things later this week.  Only 6 workouts left till I do the ironman on Sunday!!!

3/16/2013

I got up early for a 73km bike ride. It is the first rainy bike ride that I've had this year. When I got home the sky looked clear so I did laundry.... It has not stopped raining since I put my laundry out:( . The rest of my day has been pretty lazy. I did a bit of homework, cleaned some, and went for a short run. Lazy Saturday. One of my last before footy season.

3/15/2013

I got the last component for my bike today, a new tire. I picked it up before meeting my friends for dinner so I got to walk around the city carrying a bike tire. I went out for dinner with some friends for pizza and ice cream. It was fantastic! While I was in the city I saw some fantastic cars that are here as part of the show for the Grand Prix, but I forgot my phone so no pictures:(

3/14/2013

First placement done! I did well. Monday I'm off to my neuro placement. I have a busy weekend but I took the day off to swim, run and relax.

3/13/2013

I had a really good day today. I passed my clinical exam, and it wasn't even the right type of patient. I'm on a cardio placement and my patient had an elbow problem. My bike moves like a boat on a still lake at 5am. It is beautiful. I didn't realise how bad my bike had gotten but it is glorious now! I also had a fantastic run this evening after getting home from my bike ride. 10km in 45 minutes. I passed a bike:) So in all aspects I feel really good about life today. Tomorrow is my last day of my first clinical block. On my way to becoming a professional! Yay

3/12/2012

Last week in my cardio placement. Too bad that I haven't gotten to do much cardiac or pulmonary physiotherapy but it has been fun. Tuesday and Wednesday are clinical exams then we have Thursday to wrap up and I'm off to my next placement.
My bike is getting it's pre-race service today which means that I have the joy of taking public transport. Since the hospital is on the other side of the city I have to go into the city to go back out to the hospital. This means that I can leave at 7:15 and get there by 8 on my bike but I need to leave at 6:28 to make it by train.
Clinic was fun today. Not only have we been off for a 4 day weekend out supervisor was too so we had plenty of patients to see.
The pool was rather gross today. It's been really warm and the water was cloudy and nasty. :( but I still did my whole workout.
My bike is fixed and beautiful. It rides so smoothly I almost forgot that I was riding. I'm so excited

3/11/2013

I enjoyed a day off today to celebrate labour day.  Labour day is a public holiday to commemorate the eight hour day as it started in March of 1856.   In the 1850's two major campaigns took place for the rights of workers in both Sydney and Melbourne.  Melbourne's movement is the one that is widely known for the success that changed general rights of workers for the better.  The outcome was 8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, and 8 hours of recreation.  For a list of all the events today you can check www.labourday.com.au 

I did not do any of these events.  I did some homework.  I went shopping. I did some homework.  I turned down a bike ride since it's my day off.  I did some homework.  I made a mexican salad for lunch tomorrow, indian curry for dinner tonight and coffee, fudge, and chocolate chunk ice cream.  yummy! And then finished by doing a bit of homework.  
The picture is the ice cream plus left over chocolate flan from yesterday

We also have quite a few dishes

3/10/2013

More homework today. I also took my bike in for it's preface tune up. My favourite bike shop is 10miles away so I road down and ran back.
This weekend is the mooba festival with parades, carnivals, and activities. I didn't actually go but I did pass the road closures for the parade and a flower garden.
I also made a chocolate flan. It's tasty but somehow inverted so the custard is on the bottom not the top.

3/9/2013

Today was homework and training. They have started setting up the ironman expo on the bay. Just tents and barricades at the moment. It was really empowering to see the ironman signs while riding. It was a good ride down but a very hard ride back against the wind. Otherwise it was an in eventful day. I feel like my long weekend is too short.

3/8/2013

I'm feeling quite confident about ironman training today. I had a really good swim followed by a very warm but productive track workout that gave me a lovely new sun burn.
I made the hard decision not to travel on my long weekend because I have a long lost of things to do including taking a business final and writing 2 papers. I really meant to come home and finish the first paper today. However, I was a master at procrastinating doing all the chores and extra projects I could find. I even took my final and got started on next week's assignments. Finally around 10:30 I had a streak of guilt and got down to writing my paper. Several hours later, it is now almost finished except for the reference that is in Kat's room.
So this is where I should have gone this weekend, if only I had planned better and wasn't anxious about my race that is only 23 workouts away.
http://www.rutherglenvic.com/

3/7/2013

Yay for a 4 day weekend. Well kind of. I don't go back to the hospital until Tuesday. I do have plenty to do this weekend. I was hoping to go with my friend to northern Victoria this weekend but I'm too scared that I won't finish my assignments, workouts, and laundry if I go.
On the bright side my placement is going quite well I had my last chance feedback session today and I am passing all but my supervisor's least favourite category, evidence based practice. We agree that it is awkward but we need to find a paper to support everything that I do. Even if it seems to be common sense.
Also, the weather here seems to directly oppose that in the eastern US every time I hear about snow back home we get a heat wave. I'm not complaining I'm happy to keep the warmth. It is funny to hear complaints about snow back home while my friends whinge about the heat.

3/6//2013

Luckily I was back on my game today.  Oops. Today was much better.  I felt like I was accomplishing much more with my patients even if I needed a bit of instruction to get them to work with me.  I have the grumpiest Patients out there.  On a bright note, the one that is particularly bad and needed outside assistance to do PT last time actually works:) I also had a patient call me dirty today.  If she only knew how many times a day I wash my hands.  Other than that I've just had meetings, homework, and biking today and another flat tire on my bike.
So my business class topic for this week is international diaper sales.  So I've compared a few different marketing strategies.  I know she's busy but someone please tell Christie this is for her:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK0SobQovME 

3/5/2013

I think I'm just a bit tired and out of it today.  I was missing easy things and jokes.  Everything was going around me and over my head.  I was just half spaced out all day. Bummer.  Let's hope I wake up tomorrow back on my game.  I did despite my lack of concentration make short bread and lovely pastries for dinner.  Not quite how I planned but still delicious.

3/4/2013

Good thing I went to bed early last night.  Today has been quite busy.  I had 3 patients at the hospital today.   They all absolutely hate physiotherapy, way more than necessary.  Luckily they are still sweet to me and tell me it's not my fault that I have a terrible job.  I got to see an extra two patients today with the other physio.  One had inner ear problems.  I got to try to manoeuvre her but it is much easier to do on a classmate or sister than it is a overweight, non-english speaking 78 year old.  The other had huntington's disease.  They deemed him too fragile for students, plus he was couldn't speak.  So after doing his paperwork we got to write a paper about Huntington's disease to present tomorrow morning.  They it was off to footie training where we got some of the first injuries of the season.  2 quads strains, a dislocated finger, a pulled hip adductor, a hyper-extended elbow, and a back spasm.  Fun!
Then I accidentally took the I'm tired and not paying attention long way home 3 times.  I was set on not back tracking so I looped my house looking for the right roads.  Then I had a bit of work to do so I made Abbie's new favourite dish, flash fried tomatoes, while also making coffee ice cream and trying to finish my homework.  All three endeavours went deliciously well except for the homework that just had a positive outcome.

3/3/2013

Today was much like yesterday in reverse. I slept almost all day until 4:30pm and then went for an 11mile run. It was a good run and I felt fantastic for a few hours but started to go downhill again as I was making dinner. So it's off to bed early hoping that I'm better for work tomorrow

3/2/2013

Turns out I'm a bit sick. I had a 4:30 bike ride planned today but I ended up turning back early and only did 3:00. Then I slept and watched Sherlock for the rest of the day. Hopefully I feel up to more tomorrow I feel worthless lying around.

3/1/2013

Ah lazy Friday! No clinic just 2 hours at uni being terribly bored.  I ran into uni at 5:30 to have a track workout, a swim workout, and breakfast before class.  We went over some cases and were done by 11. I took my afternoon off to go to the beach.  Not St. Kilda, the real pacific ocean where I went boogie boarding for 2 hours.  I have a bit of an chest cold from woking in the hospital and the salty air was fantastic.  Unfortunately, I also started to get sea sick(from boogie boarding!! I know!) I'd like to blame the cold but it's probably just me.  I caught a few fantastic waves before I headed in for the evening.  For dinner I made chicken and broccoli alfrado. yum.  then spent the rest of the evening alternating between cleaning and being a bum.  Big friday evening, I know but I am a bit sick and headed to bed early for a bike ride tomorrow.