The Longest Month

I avoided Canada in January. Too much cold. Too much snow. Unfortunately I didn't escape traveling there in February. First, Canada knows how to clear roads fast. Second, when four blocks stand between your office and your hotel, you survive the cold by stopping at strategic points along the way: caramel hot chocolate, macarons, and Tim Hortons.

 

The snow kept coming and coming Virginia. This was my car after a day of constant snowing. I did what any self-respecting Utah girl would do: I suited up and dug out my car.

The morning after...

Surprisingly, a week later, it warmed up enough for me to get out and tackle my first run in four months. My legs ached in a good way.

A New Beginning

2013 started off really, really well. I had a job interview in the Bay Area so I made a weekend trip out it. The people I interviewed with were great, but it was such a new, new, new startup and my current job was sucking the life out of me that I didn't want to take the job.

Two interesting lessons I learned through that job process were 1) I was worth more than I had thought and 2) I need to act when I know an answer. The first insight sounds obvious. But it wasn't to me. I had degraded my own worth because of failed relationships and lack of immediate success in a job transition that I had begun to doubt me. Where my current boss continued to stall requests for a raise or promotion or both, this company courted me. Offered me my asking price. Wanted me. I hadn't experienced that feeling in such a long time that it was a startling wake-up call to my current reality.

The second lesson reminded me that I often do know the right answer but it was all about having the courage to act. I kept debating if I should take the job or not, and I was studying conference talks that morning the words that kept jumping at me were courage and act. So I left my room and declined the job. I knew my answer. I had just lacked the courage to say no.

This month also captures two of my favorite events: the engagement of two of my new friends and the marriage of another dear friend. I was glad to be in California to celebrate the former and in Utah to celebrate the latter. At the end of the month, I needed an escape from the snowy, cold winter and headed to Mexico to visit my parents.

Dave and Kambria

Sherstin and Jay

Time for a warmer climate

Spring Morning

Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent, and soft, and slow
Descends the snow.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Rendered Speechless

This month has been busy! I counted and realized I have slept more nights in a hotel than I have in my new place. With all this traveling has come walking around all day in the cold and taking very little time for sleep. When this happens, my body rebels against me. Translation: Thamina got sick. Now, it was all pretty manageable until Christmas Eve when my siblings and I decided to go skiing up Fairview Canyon (aka ghetto skiing).

Now I live in a family of physicians. Four of the five people going on this trip had either been in medical school or were currently in medical school. Dad: family practice physician. Sister: emergency room physician. Brother: second year medical student. Sister-in-law: second year dental school. They've all been tested on the simplest and complex viruses. I may have been asked once or twice if I was feeling well enough to go but no one pushed for me to stay back. Now, to give my family a fair shot. I am me. I'm pretty stubborn. If I have it in my head to do something, I'm going to do it. I didn't want to miss out on the fun and decided skiing was worth any repercussion.

Little did I realize what the consequences of that decision would be. Christmas day was wonderful, but as the day wore on my energy level dropped and my voice began to crack, creak, and croak. The day after Christmas showed no signs of improvement. In fact, I croaked multiple octaves as I tried to speak, and as I was talking on the phone with my sister, she started laughing because she couldn't understand me at all.

I realized the time had come. To save my voice, I had to speak in a whisper or stop talking. Day one. Then day two. I'm now on day three where I am trying so hard not to talk. You all know me. Me and talking are inseparable. I always have something to say. But now even the slightest effort drains me. So for now, I'm speechless. I'm mute. The only way to get better is to rest my voice. I'm hoping it will be back tomorrow. I'm hoping this illness has run its course. I'm hoping.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

...because I did not drive home! So happy to have an aunt who will let me crash at her house so I don't crash on the roads trying to make it home. Plus I have to be at work early tomorrow, so an added bonus for only having a fifteen minute drive in the morning.

Snowpocalypse

Last week a snow storm hit the state and created complete havoc. Two hours before the first snow fall, the roads were clear and dry. I knew a storm was coming but figured it wouldn’t be that much of a hassle. Turns out, this storm generated quite the adventure for all those stuck in its path. My usual forty-five minute drive turned into a two hour battle with the elements. To keep myself calm instead of white-knuckled, I distracted myself by devising a list of DOs and DON’Ts for driving in snowy weather.


DON'T...
* Slam on your breaks! You will only spin out. Tap them repeatedly. First, you are more likely to stay in control. Second, the car behind you will notice the flashing lights and be prepared to slow down too.
* Try to change lanes just because you are slower than the car to your right, particularly when said car is only a few feet behind you. One of the few times I have honked at someone.
* Ever cut in front of a diesel especially when the roads are icy. They will jack-knife and shut down the freeway. Gratefully the backup was far enough I could get off the freeway at a different exist; however, the icy roads in town were much more treacherous than the interstate.
* Stay behind a diesel. The spray makes it difficult to see. Gather your courage and pass him. Better to increase your speed for a few seconds than travel between a concrete barrier and a slush, spraying semi.

DO...
* Make sure you can see out your windshield which means have plenty of washer fluid and good wiper blades. Time to change the wiper blades.
* Go slower than you normally would, even if you have snow tires or 4WD. Traveling 35mph sure seemed too fast at times that night.
* Recognize how snowplows work. They work left to right so the “fast” lane is usually clearer than the “slow” lanes. Thankfully most people haven’t figured that out which makes a nice, safe driving radius for me.
* Leave later in the morning so the snow plows have time to clear the roads. It also makes for a nicer commute.
* Plan to stay at your aunt’s home next time. Check!

Ghetto Skiing

Back in January, I went skiing with my brother Paul, his wife Ashley, and their friends Mark and Amy. We didn't go to a ski resort. We went to a place near my parents' cabin. The road and landscape are such that you you can shuttle people up to the top of the slope. We rotate driving which makes for a great day. Though I call it ghetto skiing it really is cheap and fun! As you can see from the picture, we aren't the only ones who enjoy this little known ski run. I brought a few friends up to this spot a few weeks later and they too were convinced of the greatness of ghetto skiing. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of that trip. With school coming to a close, maybe I can get one more trip in before the snow melts.