Well...it is that time again! The beginning of a new semester! I have 3 clinicals this semester. Pediatrics, Adult II (Focus on critical care), and crazy people (AKA mental health). It will be an interesting semester. People are already complaining about this and that. I am not thrilled about some things that are going to happen this semester, but nothing I can do about it. I am going to TRY not to complain...that much. So far, I have managed to stay on top of things. Even though I have a 3 day weekend, I am going to spend as much as I can doing some school work. Maybe I will even take my books to the pool to study. :)
I have my pediatric clinical at Scottish Rite. Adult at Parkland. Psych at Millwood (which is all the way in ARLINGTON! UGH!)
I am actually really happy about the clinical at Parkland. Our instructor is giving us a TON of freedom! I am able to go into a patient's room and give them medication without him or a nurse present. That is a big deal! Granted, we have to fulfill other requirements too, but still, yay for autonomy!
Since I have a Saturday clinical....ick right?....I won't be able to attend the free Crossfit WOD's. :( This really has me sad, because I was looking forward to it. But, what am I to do? Have to get through school. I will probably start my elliptical work beginning this weekend. Need to have notes to read before I can do it!
Hope to see you guys sometime!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
VACAY!
Since I am in triage doing nothing....I figured I would update you with my vacation! :)
Friday, we went to Turner Falls in Davis, Oklahoma. It was so pretty there! We went hiking and then played in the Falls. I liked trying to find the cave. There were two ways to get in. One by crawling on your abdomen or going down rocks. I chose the rock way. I did not feel like getting covered in dirt, especially when I was already covered in sweat. I was very proud of Phoenix. He does not like going in water where he can't see the floor or he doesn't know what is in the water. So, I was very proud that he went in the water. He is never going to let me live in down that he did that, but that's ok. :) Oh, and there was this GIGANTIC hill that we had to climb to begin looking for the cave. Yeah....it was not the easiest one, but since we are crossfitters...well, it still sucked, but it was manageable!
Friday, we went to Turner Falls in Davis, Oklahoma. It was so pretty there! We went hiking and then played in the Falls. I liked trying to find the cave. There were two ways to get in. One by crawling on your abdomen or going down rocks. I chose the rock way. I did not feel like getting covered in dirt, especially when I was already covered in sweat. I was very proud of Phoenix. He does not like going in water where he can't see the floor or he doesn't know what is in the water. So, I was very proud that he went in the water. He is never going to let me live in down that he did that, but that's ok. :) Oh, and there was this GIGANTIC hill that we had to climb to begin looking for the cave. Yeah....it was not the easiest one, but since we are crossfitters...well, it still sucked, but it was manageable!
After we left Turner Falls, we went to the town of Duncan (this is the closest place that had a hotel chain where we were able to get a free night). We went to this bistro called Peyton's Place, which the food was not very good. Phoenix found a hair in his food! Gross! We had planned for this to have been a fun date night......but as it turns out, there is NOTHING to do in Duncan! So, we decided to go to Wal-Mart, buy a movie and ice cream, and have date night in our hotel room. We ended up getting IRobot. Turned out to be a pretty decent movie! Ok, well, there was something to do in Duncan. We could have gone to the Casino, but I just bought a cute new shirt, and we didn't want to leave there smelling like smoke.
Saturday, we went to Wynnewood to go to the Exotic Animal Memorial Park! This was sooo much fun! It is kind of like a zoo, but they rescue animals. They have over 1400 big cats there! Some have been rescued from circuses, zoos, or other animal sanctuaries. We were able to walk around and look at everything. We paid the extra bit to go back to the back for a personal tour. At the end of the tour, we got to play with a baby tiger!!! Six (tiger's name) is 18 days old! He was the cutest thing ever! I did not want to let him down! We got to play with him for about 30 minutes and take pictures! Cubs can only be handled by direct human contact until they are about 12 weeks old. After that, they aren't supposed to be treated like "pets" and you aren't allowed to touch them. (Or at least that is what our tour guide said!)
It was such a great first vacation! I look forward to many more!
Saturday, we went to Wynnewood to go to the Exotic Animal Memorial Park! This was sooo much fun! It is kind of like a zoo, but they rescue animals. They have over 1400 big cats there! Some have been rescued from circuses, zoos, or other animal sanctuaries. We were able to walk around and look at everything. We paid the extra bit to go back to the back for a personal tour. At the end of the tour, we got to play with a baby tiger!!! Six (tiger's name) is 18 days old! He was the cutest thing ever! I did not want to let him down! We got to play with him for about 30 minutes and take pictures! Cubs can only be handled by direct human contact until they are about 12 weeks old. After that, they aren't supposed to be treated like "pets" and you aren't allowed to touch them. (Or at least that is what our tour guide said!)
It was such a great first vacation! I look forward to many more!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Trauma Drama!
Well, as I sit here in the Trauma Pod (aka Trauma Drama), I figured I would sit down and write a quick blog.
Now, usually, there is Drama in the Trauma Pod (hence the reason I have so lovingly called this area, Trauma Drama), but Friday, I had some drama in Meadows (the fast track part of the ER where they see sprained ankles and colds, easy stuff). So, I am sitting at my computer, minding my own business, when some lady comes up and is like, "I am the mother of the patient in room #, and I looked at the computer and he does not have 'Cold Like Symptoms'. He has ........(lists off his symptoms). Needless to say, she was not happy. I responded to her and was like, ok, I will let the nurse know. She didn't seem to like that answer, but then went back to her room. (Oh, and did I mention that her son was like 30 something?) She comes back out a few minutes later, and wanted to know is she could speak to him again. So, I asked her, "Who is he?" in my helpful voice (Since I have 3 men working up in that area at that time, I really didn't know who "he" was. And I wanted to make sure that I got the right person.) She was like "I don't know his name, he didn't tell me." So, I told her that I would go and check and tell "him" to come back and speak with her. I went back and talked the doctor who was on the phone, and let him know that she wanted to speak with "him" again. I go back to the patient's mother, and updated her on what I did. And she asked who he was, and I said, "Oh, it was Dr. So & So." Then she was all rude and was like "See, you knew who he was the entire time". Grr...people just frustrate me. But oh no, it doesn't end there! After I brought back a new patient, she is at the front desk asking for the Chief of Staff's number (which we don't know), and everyone's supervisor (the nurse let her know that she will have the clinical supervisor come up and visit with her). She then asks the nurse for the name of the "blonde girl who sat at that computer's name" (meaning me). Then she turns around and looks at me, and is like "What is your name?" So, of course, I give it to her.
Anyway, the clinical supervisor comes up and speaks to her, and apparently the woman was upset because she thought that EVERYONE was rude to her and that we were not taking her son seriously because they have medicare. Ug. People just irritate me! Even though she will complain against me (I am guessing because I asked who "he" was....), I won't get in trouble. I got to tell my side of the story, the clinical supervisor wrote up the incident, and she was like, don't worry, I know you don't have attitude so you aren't in trouble. I don't care that people complain, I just don't like it when I didn't do anything wrong. Also, I don't want this to look bad since I want them to hire me. But my supervisor told me not to worry, so I am not. I just have to remember to not ask people "Who is he?" LOL.
Yesterday, we did our weekly errands and I got a really cute haircut. I hope to get some pictures posted soon. :) I also think that I will soon be starting a cooking blog since everyone keeps asking for my recipes. Phoenix and I are working out all the details. But I will keep everyone updated. :)
Well, time for my day to begin in "Trauma Drama"! :)
Now, usually, there is Drama in the Trauma Pod (hence the reason I have so lovingly called this area, Trauma Drama), but Friday, I had some drama in Meadows (the fast track part of the ER where they see sprained ankles and colds, easy stuff). So, I am sitting at my computer, minding my own business, when some lady comes up and is like, "I am the mother of the patient in room #, and I looked at the computer and he does not have 'Cold Like Symptoms'. He has ........(lists off his symptoms). Needless to say, she was not happy. I responded to her and was like, ok, I will let the nurse know. She didn't seem to like that answer, but then went back to her room. (Oh, and did I mention that her son was like 30 something?) She comes back out a few minutes later, and wanted to know is she could speak to him again. So, I asked her, "Who is he?" in my helpful voice (Since I have 3 men working up in that area at that time, I really didn't know who "he" was. And I wanted to make sure that I got the right person.) She was like "I don't know his name, he didn't tell me." So, I told her that I would go and check and tell "him" to come back and speak with her. I went back and talked the doctor who was on the phone, and let him know that she wanted to speak with "him" again. I go back to the patient's mother, and updated her on what I did. And she asked who he was, and I said, "Oh, it was Dr. So & So." Then she was all rude and was like "See, you knew who he was the entire time". Grr...people just frustrate me. But oh no, it doesn't end there! After I brought back a new patient, she is at the front desk asking for the Chief of Staff's number (which we don't know), and everyone's supervisor (the nurse let her know that she will have the clinical supervisor come up and visit with her). She then asks the nurse for the name of the "blonde girl who sat at that computer's name" (meaning me). Then she turns around and looks at me, and is like "What is your name?" So, of course, I give it to her.
Anyway, the clinical supervisor comes up and speaks to her, and apparently the woman was upset because she thought that EVERYONE was rude to her and that we were not taking her son seriously because they have medicare. Ug. People just irritate me! Even though she will complain against me (I am guessing because I asked who "he" was....), I won't get in trouble. I got to tell my side of the story, the clinical supervisor wrote up the incident, and she was like, don't worry, I know you don't have attitude so you aren't in trouble. I don't care that people complain, I just don't like it when I didn't do anything wrong. Also, I don't want this to look bad since I want them to hire me. But my supervisor told me not to worry, so I am not. I just have to remember to not ask people "Who is he?" LOL.
Yesterday, we did our weekly errands and I got a really cute haircut. I hope to get some pictures posted soon. :) I also think that I will soon be starting a cooking blog since everyone keeps asking for my recipes. Phoenix and I are working out all the details. But I will keep everyone updated. :)
Well, time for my day to begin in "Trauma Drama"! :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Ok, here is a REAL update!
Sorry for the quick updates. Truth is, I haven't been in the writing mood recently. I would come on here to start, and then would be like I don't feel like it. But I feel like it today!
So, since the CHL, I have pretty much been doing the same thing I have been doing all summer. Working, tanning, reading, cooking, cleaning, and other everyday stuff! Carrie and I had a girls' pool day, and it was fun! She finally got to try some of my home cooked goodies, and loved them. :) I wish that our nursing class would have come up with the idea to do a cookbook for a fundraiser. That would have been sweet. People could have submitted recipes that don't take too long to make, and everyone could have really benefited, but oh well. They didn't. (This is what happens when I don't get elected Secretary...just saying! LOL).
I am ALMOST finished with Atlas Shrugged. Just about 200 pages to go. But I have been also finished Dear John and My Sister's Keeper. Both great books. I needed something to do while I was at work in TRIAGE (did I ever mention how much I hate triage?). But yes, in two weeks, I was able to finish two books. Yay! Now to just finish Atlas before school starts.
As you know, my biological father (the one who lives in Oklahoma) has not been too crazy about me dating Phoenix (only because Phoenix is an atheist). Well, a few weeks ago, I got a 7 page letter from him in response to my facebook posting. Long story short, he says that he can not support my relationship with Phoenix, and that he prays for me every night. He also had several low blows about my mom, and just how can I claim to be a moral person if I don't go to church? I mean, if we want to get into the subject of morality here, I wasn't the one buying my 15 year old brother tobacco and alcohol. Or I wasn't the one who when my brother chased me around the house with knives turned a blind eye to it all. I have never claimed to be perfect, but I am trying my best to live my life in a moral way. I am going to be responding to his letter, and I will be sending Atlas Shrugged with the letter. It has been ranked (depending on which list you look at, I was referred to a USA Today posting) the second most influential book. (The Bible was number 1). Well, for a philosophy such as objectivism (still trying to come up with my own definition) to be such a horrible thing, why is this book so popular? So, like I said, I will be mailing my letter with this book, in hopes that he will read it and try to understand the morals and principles that he (and the ones that I am agreeing with) live our lives by.
This past weekend, we bought my motorcycle gear! I love my jacket! It fits like it is a second skin. I am so glad that when I wear the jacket, I no longer look like a linebacker! My helmet won't be in until the end of the month since the style I want is very popular. My gloves should be in this week or early next. But I have my jacket and my awesome shoes! :) Phoenix and I have matching shoes. Except his have a red stripe, and mine have a white strip. It is so cute! Yes yes...I know. We are disgustingly cute. But we are okay with being "That couple". LOL. I will post pics when I have all my gear on. It was funny, Phoenix told me that my equipment is officially better than his! Hehe...that's because I have good taste! I also think that since I don't have a bike, he is going to slowly let me ride his a bit. But since the bike is his baby, it is taking a while. And that's ok. So far, he has agreed to let me sit on the bike. Baby steps. But before you know it, I will be riding around the parking lot!
Plans for this week are hopefully to go look at new apartments in Las Colinas. I think I have already found the one I want, we just need to go see it in person, and put a deposit down! Will update you guys when I have further information!
OK....enough for now. Time to make another new recipe!
So, since the CHL, I have pretty much been doing the same thing I have been doing all summer. Working, tanning, reading, cooking, cleaning, and other everyday stuff! Carrie and I had a girls' pool day, and it was fun! She finally got to try some of my home cooked goodies, and loved them. :) I wish that our nursing class would have come up with the idea to do a cookbook for a fundraiser. That would have been sweet. People could have submitted recipes that don't take too long to make, and everyone could have really benefited, but oh well. They didn't. (This is what happens when I don't get elected Secretary...just saying! LOL).
I am ALMOST finished with Atlas Shrugged. Just about 200 pages to go. But I have been also finished Dear John and My Sister's Keeper. Both great books. I needed something to do while I was at work in TRIAGE (did I ever mention how much I hate triage?). But yes, in two weeks, I was able to finish two books. Yay! Now to just finish Atlas before school starts.
As you know, my biological father (the one who lives in Oklahoma) has not been too crazy about me dating Phoenix (only because Phoenix is an atheist). Well, a few weeks ago, I got a 7 page letter from him in response to my facebook posting. Long story short, he says that he can not support my relationship with Phoenix, and that he prays for me every night. He also had several low blows about my mom, and just how can I claim to be a moral person if I don't go to church? I mean, if we want to get into the subject of morality here, I wasn't the one buying my 15 year old brother tobacco and alcohol. Or I wasn't the one who when my brother chased me around the house with knives turned a blind eye to it all. I have never claimed to be perfect, but I am trying my best to live my life in a moral way. I am going to be responding to his letter, and I will be sending Atlas Shrugged with the letter. It has been ranked (depending on which list you look at, I was referred to a USA Today posting) the second most influential book. (The Bible was number 1). Well, for a philosophy such as objectivism (still trying to come up with my own definition) to be such a horrible thing, why is this book so popular? So, like I said, I will be mailing my letter with this book, in hopes that he will read it and try to understand the morals and principles that he (and the ones that I am agreeing with) live our lives by.
This past weekend, we bought my motorcycle gear! I love my jacket! It fits like it is a second skin. I am so glad that when I wear the jacket, I no longer look like a linebacker! My helmet won't be in until the end of the month since the style I want is very popular. My gloves should be in this week or early next. But I have my jacket and my awesome shoes! :) Phoenix and I have matching shoes. Except his have a red stripe, and mine have a white strip. It is so cute! Yes yes...I know. We are disgustingly cute. But we are okay with being "That couple". LOL. I will post pics when I have all my gear on. It was funny, Phoenix told me that my equipment is officially better than his! Hehe...that's because I have good taste! I also think that since I don't have a bike, he is going to slowly let me ride his a bit. But since the bike is his baby, it is taking a while. And that's ok. So far, he has agreed to let me sit on the bike. Baby steps. But before you know it, I will be riding around the parking lot!
Plans for this week are hopefully to go look at new apartments in Las Colinas. I think I have already found the one I want, we just need to go see it in person, and put a deposit down! Will update you guys when I have further information!
OK....enough for now. Time to make another new recipe!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Boom some more!
Phoenix and I finished our Concealed Handgun License class last night! We took the 10 hour classroom session on Saturday, and then took our qualifier last night. It was very exciting! We are sending the paper work in tomorrow and then we are fully qualified to carry a gun! :) I know, not the most feminine thing, but who ever thought of me as the girliest of girls?
Other than that, I am just enjoying the last month off of school. I am ALMOST finished with Atlas Shrugged! Fantastic book! :) I am working a few days a week, and then work on trying out new recipes. I made a carrot cake from scratch yesterday, and I was quite impressed! Tonight, I am trying out lasagna for the first time! Wish me luck! :)
Other than that, I am just enjoying the last month off of school. I am ALMOST finished with Atlas Shrugged! Fantastic book! :) I am working a few days a week, and then work on trying out new recipes. I made a carrot cake from scratch yesterday, and I was quite impressed! Tonight, I am trying out lasagna for the first time! Wish me luck! :)
Monday, July 19, 2010
BOOM!
Well, this past week has been fun! I got my motorcycle license on Wednesday from DPS! I only missed two on the test. Not bad. I will take it. :)
Had two fun shifts at work. I got to do my first NG tube (which is where I stick up a tube down a patient's nose, and it goes into their stomach to decompress the stomach). It was soooo easy! My nurse was like, this is not the norm. Usually the patient gags, or throws up. But this guy was so understanding about the whole procedure. Made for a good experience. Oh, and then a different patient wrote on a comment card what a good job I did, and how sweet and nice that I was. :) Those things count! They look at those when raises are being handed out.
Saturday, we saw Inception. Seriously, go see it. It was amazingly awesome! :) Don't want to say too much in case you haven't seen it, but it worth the money.
Sunday: Fun fun fun! My stepdad bought some Tannerite (which is a small explosive) and we put them in some stuffed animals, and well....we blew them up. :) We had so much fun! Just the look of excitement on my stepdad's face, was worth everything. We will be geting out concealed hand gun licenses on the 31st, so more gun shooting for us!
Had two fun shifts at work. I got to do my first NG tube (which is where I stick up a tube down a patient's nose, and it goes into their stomach to decompress the stomach). It was soooo easy! My nurse was like, this is not the norm. Usually the patient gags, or throws up. But this guy was so understanding about the whole procedure. Made for a good experience. Oh, and then a different patient wrote on a comment card what a good job I did, and how sweet and nice that I was. :) Those things count! They look at those when raises are being handed out.
Saturday, we saw Inception. Seriously, go see it. It was amazingly awesome! :) Don't want to say too much in case you haven't seen it, but it worth the money.
Sunday: Fun fun fun! My stepdad bought some Tannerite (which is a small explosive) and we put them in some stuffed animals, and well....we blew them up. :) We had so much fun! Just the look of excitement on my stepdad's face, was worth everything. We will be geting out concealed hand gun licenses on the 31st, so more gun shooting for us!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Vroom Vroooom Vrooom
So, if you haven't been on facebook in a few weeks, you would have missed the part where I was going to take a motorcycle class! Well, that class was this past weekend, and it was fun! So, I will give the shortened version of my weekend.
Friday:
I first walk into class, and some guy is like, "Are you Amy Reid?". I was like...."yes....let me guess, I am the only girl in the class?". Yep. I was the only girl, with 9 guys. If I was single, I would have REALLY liked my odds! Hehe. Anyway, the teacher tells me to sit at the table with Dean. So, I did. Later, another guy named John sat down with us. We watched some video, and then we were assigned questions to look up in the book, and then we read the answers out loud. No biggie right now.
Saturday:
Day began at 0700! They introduced us to our bikes, and we got to sit on them first. (And enjoyed some nice drizzle and humidity.) We eventually got to turn the bike on....exciting! However, I have never driven a standard vehicle in my life, so this whole clutch and shift thing....brand new. I probably stalled the bike at least 30 times on Saturday. We had to Power Walk (basically you walk the bike while it is in first gear) the bike for about a quarter of a mile. (Now, also remember that my bike weighs about 300 pounds.) So, that took FOREVER and a day. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got to ride! It was so much easier than I thought. I loved it. Even though I was only going like 5 mph. Still fun! We started adding on more skills. I started weaving in and out of cones, and taking turns, and leaning with my turns. During one of the exercises, I had a question so I went to stop the bike, grabbed the front brake way too hard when my tire was turned, and fell off the bike and broke part of the bike handle. Yep...I broke the bike. (Funny thing is, I kept joking around with Phoenix that I was going to fall, break the bike, and die. He kept saying that I wouldn't, that I would be fantastic). Well, I didn't die, but I did fall and break part of the bike's handle bar. Oops. Well, I was so embarrassed. That was the worst part. I wasn't hurt, but just the embarrassment was horrible. After that, the guys were all being so sweet and telling me the stories of their first crashes. Made me feel a little better. The last exercise of the day was doing two U-turns in a row. I hated that! I was so horrible at it. :( But I started to get better at the end. After that, we broke for lunch and then had a couple more hours of class to get through, and then had to take the writing portion of the class. My table passed with 100s. It was a pretty easy test, but it was good for some encouragement. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and laid on the couch for a few hours. Riding takes a lot out of you!
Sunday:
Back to "The Range" (that's what they call the area where we practice in) at 0700. Such a beautiful day already. No rain clouds in sight, had a great breeze. It was going to be a good day. Started the day off with turns and cornering. OH, and we had to ride over "obstacles", i.e. a 2x4 plank. That was fun! I got to lead that exercise. You have to come off of the seat a little bit and use your legs as shock absorbers. I did this exercise perfectly. Maybe riding horses when I was little finally paid off for something! We ended the day by taking a riding test. (You have to pass both the written and the riding to get your certificate in order for you to go to DPS to take another writing test to get your license).
There were a few skills on the test. The first one we did was the two U-turns in a row. F*ck! I hate this skill. After the U-turns you have to swerve to avoid an obstacle going at least 15 mph (doesn't sound like much, but it feels like a lot when you first start out). I was the last one to go for every skill. I did my U-turns without crossing the lines of the box or putting my foot down (which was perfect) and get out of my swerve and all the guys clap for me. :) Next skill.....quick stop. Damn those stops! I "anticipated" the stop (which you weren't supposed to do), so I had to do it again. I thought I did well. I didn't fall or anything, and I remembered to downshift to first like I was supposed to. Now, for the last skill. Cornering. I felt pretty comfortable with corning. The first corner we had to take was a 90 degree one, then you had a 130 degree corner. The point was to be able to adjust your speed before going into the turn. Oh, and for this part you had to make it under 3 seconds for the 130 degree turn. I went for my attempt, and I got called over halfway through my turn. Uh oh. :( Well, I didn't understand where the cones were set up. Which is ok, because I wasn't the first. It was confusing how they had the cones lined up. And they were like, it's ok, you could fail this and still pass (They saw how upset I was.) That was nice, but I still wanted to do well. So, I went back and proceeded along the correct path. And then I went to park my bike.
Everyone in my class passed! And then they read aloud our scores. Only one guy got a perfect score of 0 (they counted deductions as points, and you had to get under 21 to pass). Preston (one of the coaches) finally gets to me. He is going through each skill. Perfect on the U-turns, perfect on the swerve, perfect on the quick stop breaking, 3 points off on the turn because I took 19 hundreths of a second too long. (You were supposed to take it in under 3 seconds, but I took it in 3.19. Oh well. And I got the second best score!! Kind of funny, the person with the least experience got almost the highest score. I have good technique! Dean and John said that they were wanting me to do well more than they were worried about themselves doing well. They were so happy for me. :)
Everyone keeps asking me what kind of bike I want to get. I really have no idea. I don't even know when we will get me a bike. Phoenix is going to outfit me in all new gear once I get the license. He has also said that if we can find a good deal on a bike, he will buy it, and I can pay him back when I graduate and get a job and start making money on a consistent basis. Which is pretty cool, but I am a little cautious about that. A bike could be about $4K, so it will be something that we discuss. But, don't you worry! I will get my own bike soon! :) And will be practicing A LOT on it before I even get on the highway!
Friday:
I first walk into class, and some guy is like, "Are you Amy Reid?". I was like...."yes....let me guess, I am the only girl in the class?". Yep. I was the only girl, with 9 guys. If I was single, I would have REALLY liked my odds! Hehe. Anyway, the teacher tells me to sit at the table with Dean. So, I did. Later, another guy named John sat down with us. We watched some video, and then we were assigned questions to look up in the book, and then we read the answers out loud. No biggie right now.
Saturday:
Day began at 0700! They introduced us to our bikes, and we got to sit on them first. (And enjoyed some nice drizzle and humidity.) We eventually got to turn the bike on....exciting! However, I have never driven a standard vehicle in my life, so this whole clutch and shift thing....brand new. I probably stalled the bike at least 30 times on Saturday. We had to Power Walk (basically you walk the bike while it is in first gear) the bike for about a quarter of a mile. (Now, also remember that my bike weighs about 300 pounds.) So, that took FOREVER and a day. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got to ride! It was so much easier than I thought. I loved it. Even though I was only going like 5 mph. Still fun! We started adding on more skills. I started weaving in and out of cones, and taking turns, and leaning with my turns. During one of the exercises, I had a question so I went to stop the bike, grabbed the front brake way too hard when my tire was turned, and fell off the bike and broke part of the bike handle. Yep...I broke the bike. (Funny thing is, I kept joking around with Phoenix that I was going to fall, break the bike, and die. He kept saying that I wouldn't, that I would be fantastic). Well, I didn't die, but I did fall and break part of the bike's handle bar. Oops. Well, I was so embarrassed. That was the worst part. I wasn't hurt, but just the embarrassment was horrible. After that, the guys were all being so sweet and telling me the stories of their first crashes. Made me feel a little better. The last exercise of the day was doing two U-turns in a row. I hated that! I was so horrible at it. :( But I started to get better at the end. After that, we broke for lunch and then had a couple more hours of class to get through, and then had to take the writing portion of the class. My table passed with 100s. It was a pretty easy test, but it was good for some encouragement. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and laid on the couch for a few hours. Riding takes a lot out of you!
Sunday:
Back to "The Range" (that's what they call the area where we practice in) at 0700. Such a beautiful day already. No rain clouds in sight, had a great breeze. It was going to be a good day. Started the day off with turns and cornering. OH, and we had to ride over "obstacles", i.e. a 2x4 plank. That was fun! I got to lead that exercise. You have to come off of the seat a little bit and use your legs as shock absorbers. I did this exercise perfectly. Maybe riding horses when I was little finally paid off for something! We ended the day by taking a riding test. (You have to pass both the written and the riding to get your certificate in order for you to go to DPS to take another writing test to get your license).
There were a few skills on the test. The first one we did was the two U-turns in a row. F*ck! I hate this skill. After the U-turns you have to swerve to avoid an obstacle going at least 15 mph (doesn't sound like much, but it feels like a lot when you first start out). I was the last one to go for every skill. I did my U-turns without crossing the lines of the box or putting my foot down (which was perfect) and get out of my swerve and all the guys clap for me. :) Next skill.....quick stop. Damn those stops! I "anticipated" the stop (which you weren't supposed to do), so I had to do it again. I thought I did well. I didn't fall or anything, and I remembered to downshift to first like I was supposed to. Now, for the last skill. Cornering. I felt pretty comfortable with corning. The first corner we had to take was a 90 degree one, then you had a 130 degree corner. The point was to be able to adjust your speed before going into the turn. Oh, and for this part you had to make it under 3 seconds for the 130 degree turn. I went for my attempt, and I got called over halfway through my turn. Uh oh. :( Well, I didn't understand where the cones were set up. Which is ok, because I wasn't the first. It was confusing how they had the cones lined up. And they were like, it's ok, you could fail this and still pass (They saw how upset I was.) That was nice, but I still wanted to do well. So, I went back and proceeded along the correct path. And then I went to park my bike.
Everyone in my class passed! And then they read aloud our scores. Only one guy got a perfect score of 0 (they counted deductions as points, and you had to get under 21 to pass). Preston (one of the coaches) finally gets to me. He is going through each skill. Perfect on the U-turns, perfect on the swerve, perfect on the quick stop breaking, 3 points off on the turn because I took 19 hundreths of a second too long. (You were supposed to take it in under 3 seconds, but I took it in 3.19. Oh well. And I got the second best score!! Kind of funny, the person with the least experience got almost the highest score. I have good technique! Dean and John said that they were wanting me to do well more than they were worried about themselves doing well. They were so happy for me. :)
Everyone keeps asking me what kind of bike I want to get. I really have no idea. I don't even know when we will get me a bike. Phoenix is going to outfit me in all new gear once I get the license. He has also said that if we can find a good deal on a bike, he will buy it, and I can pay him back when I graduate and get a job and start making money on a consistent basis. Which is pretty cool, but I am a little cautious about that. A bike could be about $4K, so it will be something that we discuss. But, don't you worry! I will get my own bike soon! :) And will be practicing A LOT on it before I even get on the highway!
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