Mardi Gras: T minus 4 days

Hey who is counting?

Wrapping up

Well, I bought ALL the airline tickets! Whew! Each leg is with a different airline it seems, so I have STACKS of tickets. Not to mention car rental confirmations and Australian dosmetic tickets for when we fly back down to Sydney to pick up Cappers in April. I am this close (__) to be overwhelmed. There is just SO much to do in such a short period of time. It is hard to be flexible when dates are now set and tickets purchased. I found out yesterday that Cappy + her crate are 13 pounds over the limit to check her as "baggage" so I was told that she must go as "cargo". Instead of costing us $100 to send her from Dulles to LAX it is now $395. How can I possibly say "Nah, that is too expensive" when I just bought her an $1800 ticket from LAX to SYD? I can't, which is why I will suck it up and just pay the fucking $400. My piece of mind just got more expensive and $400 seems trivial at this point.

Cappy seems to know something is up. She sticks to me like white on rice when I come to visit. She also gets veeerrrry nervous when I go to the car. Poor girl just doesn't understand. The quarantine station called last night to confirm her reservation for 30 days at Hotel Quarantine. I won't even go into how much that costs a night. I wish I could say "NO thanks, she'll stay at home with us." I promised her that when we come to pick her up, i will take her swim'n. I promise promise. We are also bringing our camping gear with us from Hawaii so we can camp on our way back to Brisbane once we leave Sydney. That should be lots of fun!

I also gave my 7 day notice to work and my last day is Tues the 28th. I couldn't miss the Mardi Gras party could I? Then we leave on the 5th to go see some peeps in LAX, then visit Todd's fam in San Diego and then off to Hawaii for some R and R. Ahhhh, R and R. It seems so elusive today. Particularly when I have not slept well for a week. Nervous tummy and all.

Country weekend

Since Todd was gone this weekend, I thought I would use the opportunity to get some R and R in the country with my dog. We had a great Saturday. We played Frisbee, dug holes, carried shoes around the yard, collected smelly things, etc. All the things dogs love to do. My girl is doing just fine at mom's, but I miss her terribly and leaving her breaks my heart. She doesn't understand why I leave her. Uhhh the frustration. Try rationalizing with a golden!

My sister was kind enough to give me a massage today. She rocks! Who else would give me a 2 hour massage for free? That's right...only someone who you have been blackmailing since 16! She better massage me or else I will tell our parents her "little" secret!

Step 1 Securing a visa: Mission Accomplished

Visa application: accepted and granted. Step 2: Cappy's medical clearance.

What a nice b-day present!

BTW check out the picture of Tai Shan in his first encounter with snow last week!

Happy Birthday to ME!

In celebration of my b-day this year, I decided to walk down the Australian embassy and lodge my visa application. The BEST present will be to get it back in a timely fashion. We will wait and see. Australia and the US have a lot in common, like culture, food, work ethics, etc. The one thing that sticks out as our most common attribute is this: our governments love paperwork. Lot's of it! They adore it! Need it! Crave it! As a Federal employee I know this first hand. You have to fill out some form called "US-GOV-12-121" to take a long bathroom break. I am sure Australia has something similar. My visa application weighed 2.2 pounds (about 4.4kg) when it was finished. Ahhhh soon it will all be over.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy a nice lunch at Breadline. I am going to have the tangy curry chicken salad on a whole wheat roll. The roll is so European that it takes the roof off of your mouth. Mmmmmm. Then for after work I am doing happy hour with my pops next door. Finally, I will go home take a bath and crawl into bed early. Todd is gone which means the bed is MINE and all 8 pillows! What more does a girl really need?

Of mice, men, and Lyme disease?

My dog has Lyme disease. A routine blood test just brought be the happy news. Is the WORLD against me? How come EVERY time I try to get to Oz something fucking happens. If it's not us, it's the dog! Urrrrrrr! No matter! It is nothing a round of antibiotics won't clean up. Only 21 days of 350mg of doxy. For those not familiar with ab dosing this is about what you would give to an adult. My dog is 80 pounds and 3ft long not a 5'5 man weighing 160 pounds. Holy smokes! Well, with that dosing she should be free from about everything including most STI's. No chlamydia for my dog!

Visas, medical clearances, money, dogs, oh my!

Good GOD does it take a village to get the Peterson-Watkins clan overseas. It seems everytime I turn around there is some stupid requirement or money. One or the other, and often both. Cappy went in for her blood draws today, yep $400 gone. Not to mention the $400 we have already spent on rabies titers, vaccinations, check ups and God I can't remember. Oh, than there is us! 2 chest x-rays (not covered by insurance), 2 medical examinations (partially covered), months of prescriptions, and a whopping $325 visa application fee. Nice...

Oh yeah, and to make matters more stressful we can't buy a ticket until we have our visas and Cappy has her quarantine clearance. So that puts us into the beginning of March and oh my...I have to be there by March 24. Yeah right! Todd wants to see his family on the way out. We are also planning on stopping in Hawaii for some R and R. The longer the visa process takes the more time we have to cut out of family and friend visits. One thing we decided is off limits is Hawaii. Selfishly the family and friend visits have to be minimized so we can maximize Hawaii and REST. "Sorry 85 year old Grandma, but I have beaches to tan on" It is a NECESSITY at this point that I wean myself off the Xanax and back on to good old wine. I can not go into my doctoral program in the state I am in now.

Through this process I have learned one lesson. God help you if you need a wellness check up with your PCP. Many docs could not see us until May/June. Just the other day I read that the US is having a primary care physician shortage crisis. NO SHIT! What is even worse is that most of the practicing PCP's are over the age of 55. Guess who will be retiring soon? Even the radiologist who did my paper work said that if the country continues in this direction he just might come over and join me. Good luck Mr. Radiologist in getting that PCP appt! I just keep reminding myself that this is all in the name of having a better quality of life:)

SNOW!

Oh my GOD, could it be true? Will we see snow in Feb? I hardly believe it considering last week the temps were in the 60's. Todd left for work with shorts in his bag. No mas! Alas the temps are falling and a BIG low pressure is moving up from the gulf. They are predicting 5-8in at least in the DC area and if the system stalls out, it could be a lot more. Lori, good luck comin' down cause I hear Boston is going to be feeling a blizzard. What a shitty weekend for travel. Oh well, for some reason I agreed to run tomm morning. What the hell was I thinking?

My friend Cornelius just sent me a picture of his 18 mo old Christian. I am going to hire him to shovel my driveway as he appears to be very experienced. Those Germans, their so fastidious when it comes to snow shoveling. My CA boy needs some more training.

I'm leaving on a jet plane

So long DC, I am out of here. I have taken Australian matters into my own hands (as they are the only hands I really trust) and I am making it happen. Details aside, we are out of here. I need to be there by March 24 which means we are moving very quickly. Hopefully we will make a pit stop in Hawaii to visit our adopted dads. So much to do, so little time. Anyone need some furniture?

Waiting

Applications for my scholarship close on Thursday and I am very impatient. Meanwhile I am looking at other jobs across the country, that sucks too. I need a vacation to sort everything out.

Some good news(?):/

So I think I might have some good news. I was the recipient of the "2005 19th St Gold's Gym hardest ass award"...No not the hard ass award (although I probably derserve that too). After the committee reviewed the polaroids (don't I have to give permission for someone to take a picture of my ass-when the hell did they do that?)I was given the grand news after spin class. It seems the competition was tough, but I pulled through. The criteria was straight forward according to the guys. One had to be assured that a quarter could bounce off of it. Here's to running! Too bad my ass can't get me a scholarship to grad school. Alas, I will not be burdened with my schooling quest today. Today I shall celebrate my hard ass. Thanks Gold's Gym and thanks to my running shoes!

Stars not aligned

Ok, I have to blog again today. I decided last week that since I am going through a tough period I would live vicariously through my friends. I figure, "hey, someone out there has got to have some good news to share." I have enough friends that there had to be at least one thing to be excited about. So I sat down and contacted my friends and family but alas; no. You have let me down. I have come to the conclusion that the stars are not aligned because I was hard pressed to find ANYONE with some good news to share. What is going on people? You have disappointed me in my time of good news need. Here are some snipets I got back...tisk tisk...pathetic:

"K good to hear from ya, dog died last week...rough times."

"...didn't get the job or the raise, f*in sucks."

"My JOB is sooooo boring, I want to kill myself..."

"Me and B broke up, I caught him cheating on me at..."

"Mum's arthritis is getting worse, I worry about her."

"My cat ran away, we have no idea where she is."

"I auditioned on Broadway last week, but I didn't get the part."

"OUT OF OFFICE REPLY: Due to a family emergency, I will be out until Feb 24..." (damn!)

COME ON PEOPLE, work with me here. Lori is the only one with any decent news. She had a kick ass interview but no word yet on the job. Come on girl, save us all! Tell me that this non-profit is going to start you at 80K with a parking spot and 4 weeks of vacation!

PINK VIDEO

I am not really a fan of Pink but I thought her new video "Stupid Girls" was well done. She really makes fun of those celebreties who love to get their name in the news and I think it is hillarious! See if you can pick out the celebs she goes after.
Click on the "Pink Video" and it will take you to the site.

Things I miss

My dog
My bed
My kinck-nacks
My Greta
My wine rack
My dog's hair all over my black pants
My dog's dried drool all over my black pants
My dog's water dish that I always manage to step in
My paper towel holder
My sanity and ability to be rational
My energy
My check book (where are you???)
My tan
My long runs


Ok to be fair, I have to give thanks for the things I have:

My Todd
My mom and dad
My friends who love me no matter what I do, or don't do
My excellent health and extraorinarily low cholesterol:)
My job (sometimes)
My temp housing
My bottles of wine
My money (even if it inaccessible)
My determination and stubbornness
My hope for Australia
My thick skin
My ability to say "I don't care" and mean it
My inability to be fearful of most things, particularly men in power.
My balls to stand up for what I believe in when most would run and hide, even if it invokes controversy.
My size 6 jeans that are probably an 8, but say 6 anyway and make me feel skinny
My big container of peanuts
Pandas
Madonna

Anybody seen winter?

I am seriously concerned about this warming trend. It just might be a slow warm up to prepare us for our entry into hell. Yesterday, Jan 30, at National Airport the temp at noon was 64 F (17.7 C and for those science nerds 290.85 Kelvin). People have been blaming global warming, but a meteorologist at NOAA blame it on a high pressure system that has parked itself off the mid-Atlantic coast. Everytime cold air comes down from Canada, the high pressure essentially sends it back to Canada (keep your fucking cold air eh)and to the north east. This Jan is going on the books as one of the 10 warmest Januaries since the late 1800's. YIKES! In the Post somebody called the Hidden Oaks nature center to report praying mantises were hatching. Another person reported seeing bats on Sunday. We are effectively experiencing Florida temps in Jan. BIZZARE! However, you won't here any complaints from me. After all by the time the world goes under water, I will be long dead. Plus there is nothing like running in shorts and a t-shirt in the dead of winter. Bring on the global warming!

Wynton Marsalis

I got tickets...nannie nannie boo boo! May at the Kennedy Center top tier box seats! I only had to mortgage my first born, sell my soul to Wall Street, and have sex with strange girls. But it was worth it! I am so EXCITED and I am still shocked that I was able to get tickets. Talk about working the connections...I will owe favors for a LONG T-I-M-E. Oh well, at least when I am scrubbing floors I can remember the sound of Wynton.

Ok, so the concert is not until May. I may be here, but I may not. I thought it was better to plan on me being in the US. If I am in the US, but not in DC, I will come back for sure. Anything to hear Wynton serenade me with his trumpet. Ahhhh, Wynton.
So for those not up to date on jazz, Wynton is the Artistic Director for Jazz at the Lincoln Center in NYC. He is an amazing jazz artist, specifically New Orleans style. He makes me melt.

Racing

This is a picture of my bestest friend in the world water garden. I want one too dammit. If we move to Oz I just might steal hers. If Todd doesn't steal it first.

Today in my spin class we ended with some sprints. Pretty typical but I learned something really interesting about myself that I kind of always suspected. First of all, I know I am really competitive and I hold myself to very high standards (curse and a blessing I guess). My instructor said "close your eyes and picture yourself ahead of the pack with the pack coming up behind you." Ok, so I do that. "Ok, picture yourself looking over your shoulder to see them coming up behind you as you sprint to the finish" Ok, I imagine myself doing this and evading them, but the thing is when I look over my shoulder the people behind me are hundreds of Katia's. Gee what does that mean? So my lesson is, don't turn around to look behind you...it might just be your worst enemy.

Quote of the day:"sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself."-Baz Luhrmann

GIS

I am learning some new GIS software from ESRI. While I am not the best programmer, I do understand the basics of SQL and other easy programming stuff so I figured this would not be a major feat. I was wrong. I am learning the new field of spatial epidemiology and using GIS software to track diseases and epidemics. I am finding two problems. First the issue of importing information. I am transferring data from one format (usually SAS) into the Arc/GIS format. A few years ago the two companies created a SAS/GIS bridge but I found it very user unfriendly and shyed away from using GIS because many datasets I work with are SAS. Being an astute epidemiologist (ok, you can laugh) I have to make sure data is not lost or transformed. So I can spend ooodles of time doing Q and A. This year they improved it drastically and little work has to be done to get the data from point A to B. So that is a plus! Secondly, I learned in my class that using classical statistical tools to analyze spatial data do not apply. In fact, they can be grossly inaccurate and down right misleading. SO I have to learn NEW statisical methods and new standard coefficients. There are books devoted to statistical analyses of spatial data. Greaaattt...more books to buy!

The idea sounds exciting but the exeuction is very hard and I am getting quite frustrated. I will just have to learn it, as this will eventually become a standard tool and I have no doubt the MPH students entering this year will have to learn it.

Now I know how all the old folks felt when they had to learn Windows. Sheesh!

Madonna Video

I saw the video for "Hung Up" in the gym today. HOLY SMOKES, Madonna is seriously HOT. That pink leotard is really something else. Makes me want to be a lesbian. Actually, it makes me want to be a lesbian in a pink leotard. If I had one, I would wear it all the time. Yeah, I was turned on. I would so do her, as long as she didn't bite too much. She is doing some serious dancing in this video and I could not help but dance along. When I stopped and looked around, everyone was looking at me. I was really embarrassed. I had no idea that I had an audience. Then again I do follow the saying "...and dance like no one is watching." Watching that video just made my day. Oh, and I found out today that I have lost 28.7 pounds (12.6 kg) since June 2005. Very unexpected but watching Madonna was still better.

Risky business

I dream big! My goals in life are substantial, yet very simple. I want to get the best education I can, give back to my global community through hard work, and I want to be the best person I can be. Because I dream big, my risks are big too. However my rewards are SUBSTANTIAL. Granted right now is an example of risk taking. We are in limbo with no lease and no idea of what the rest of 2006 will look like. BUT, if this Australia thing goes through, good for us, because the next couple of years will have a big payoff...HUGE. Like I said, big rewards usually require big risk. So why do it, is what I was asked today. Good question! My question is why are so many people content to play it safe and lead boring lives. Granted I don't expect behavior like ours from everyone, but why are so many people resigned to just exsisting?

Those people who live their lives staying away from major risks also do not experience major gains. Playing it safe by buying a $600,000 home, with 2 kids, 2 dogs, and a steady job does not appeal to me. What are your rewards? A job you schelp away at everyday to pay your huge mortage and SUV. Trips to the beach once a year and a slowly expanding waistline. Fine if that is what you want. However, I would kill myself. I need big reward and I am willing to put my pride, time, and money on the line to have something bigger than all of that. I NEED to wake up in the morning with a purpose and paying a $700,000 mortage is not purpose enough for me...or even that interesting. I need to travel to exotic places, work interesting jobs, help people in need, and share countless bottles of wine with friends yet to be met. My life is an exciting journey and I will use that time wisely. I want to see all the wonders of the world, hike every mountain top I can, and have endless passionate love on every beach I come upon. I do not want to lie on my deathbed and wish for things I never did.

So I sum it up this way with a saying that was passed on to me:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in one hand-strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screamming WOO HOO-What a fucking ride!" Thanks G!