It's still extremely cold, plus it's very windy now... We let the dog stay inside even tho she's a big wolf-like one that shouldn't have issues even at these temps. But w such sudden temp drop even she is not ok w this. Blanket, coffee, Excels... Meeting in 1hr.
Lizzie, fingers crossed for HCBF!
Margaret, ha, ankle and scotch tape... Well, in February it seemed even that wouldn't do.
HCK, omg, I know you're reffering to am-football Philly, but ''Philly'' and ''heartbreak'' totally fits in one sentence for NHL too... Being a Flyers fan has been tough. They hold North American big league record for most consecutive losses in cup finals. UGH. Latest being in 2010. I think I cried. Not sure if they will get the Stanley Cup during my lifetime. Last time they did was 1975. No comment.
Tessa, nice LR!
''What will happen if I run up the hills? Ah, volcano muscle soreness!!'' (c) Margaret
''Who needs quads anyway!?'' (c) Damaris
Cupcake Connoisseur
7.2 easy miles for me. Heading to the gym after work for some abs.
Ugh, that 4am alarm clock was not wanted this morning. OK run...feet and calves were achy and angry. I really need to spend some time foam rolling - which I HATE. I gotta make myself do it everyday though..especially with my increase in mileage lately. Anyway, its done.
We are in for some snow overnight tonight. Supposed to start at midnight..the weather guy says "between 2-3" OR 4-5"". WTH. LOL. Looks like I have to bring back out the trax! I actually LOVE running WHILE its snowing. So pretty and quiet. I have a tempo run tomorrow but might need to scratch that. We will see how bad it is out there. BUT I am going to take my laptop home tonight..I don't care if MAMMEL judges me..2-3" shuts this city down..
I am really looking forward to birthday cake. Its all I can think about.
Susan – Happy birthday to your DD! YAY for wedding dress!!! I cant wait to see pictures!
Run4kupcakes – Nice run yesterday! Oh gosh, doesn’t that drive you crazy about your parents?! AHH.
Margaret – Let me just say that I would be happy with banana bread all day, too. I lovvveee banana bread. You know yesterday when HCBF and I went to the store, we saw (and bought) these special edition English muffins – BANANA BREAD! Yum. My favorite bakery makes my favorite cake – chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. Its very moist (hehe). And very good!!
Tessa – I agree on the frosting – but there can be too much. I didn’t realize how common my moms problem was. Scary to see first hand. Did that procedure help him at all? NICE job on that 20+!!! Way to start the week!
Kilmisters – Awe, I bet your pup was glad to be inside Any snow in the forecast?? Good luck at the meeting!
Does coffee make anyone else pee like crazy?! I swear I have gone 5x since 6:30. AHHH. TMI.
Happy Tuesday!
October 4 - Milwaukee, WI - 26.2
November 14 - Richmond, VA - 26.2
March 21 - Virginia Beach, VA - 26.2
Back to work . Blah. Did core this morning. We are supposed to get cold weather again tonight.
TURD for me. Had plans to run but RB texted and canceled a little after 4. -2* (which wouldn't have been bad) but windchill of -20 something. Plus the paths have yet to be cleared (probably today) and the roads aren't great. Plows were out, too, which are always fun to dodge. Ugh. Yes, I coulda changed gears and went to the gym but didn't have it in me to run in circles in that nasty dry heat. Excuses excuses, I know. Supposedly tomorrow is the last day of the deep freeze and then above 0 the rest of the month. Oh how I hope so! I need to move.
Gatsby - sounds like a lovely day off! Funny how one more day of the weekend makes all the difference. Happy Birthday to your DH! Glad he was able to make it home to celebrate. Did you go out for a beer? Yeah, I guess I would call myself a Vikings fan. Just not a die hard. Hopes have been dashed tooooooooooooo many times. Plus, I like college basketball better
Cathy - oh man, shopping like that is a serious workout! Kinda what I did last Sat in lieu of 3mi of running haha. I bet DD looks cute in her parka! And I'm totally cracking up at you saying parka parka parka for Lizzie. Wow on the blogger guy! Wondering how annoying it was dodging all those people, though, the ENTIRE 26.2! I've heard of that throat widening procedure, too, but I can't remember from where. Oh you got that right about a Packers fan not so much a fan of the Vikings haha. Oooh, maybe Mr. Math can be my sugar daddy! I could move to MKE - it's warmer there, right? KIDDING
Elina - BADASS! Nice run!!! Glad the ankle is holding up enough to run!!! Do you guys have much snow? I think that slipping and sliding in addition to the cold and wind is what I couldn't get excited about. That stuff is hard to run in.
Lizzie - nice job at BP and OMG, fingers crossed for HCBF!! That would be an AWESOME birthday gift!! Besides eating cake, any other plans for Sat?? Awwww that's super sweet of your dad to be so supportive of the marathon! What in the world was in Fargo for his job? It's not a very big town. I'll shoot for close to 50mi in one week this cycle, I think? It's super hard to train for a spring marathon in these parts with the sketchy weather and such. And, to clarify, I would like to shoot for an old lady PR at Fargo. No way I could get a real PR since that's sub 4:07. Old lady PR is soft and slow so it's totally doable haha
Sue - super exciting on the wedding dress! Yes, pics, please!
HCK - BUMMER on the Strava "prize". But, I bet you don't regret any of those miles hee hee. I did NOT know that about Philly. So, it sounds like the Vikings DO have a chance!
Tessa - hey, maybe not perfect, but you are KILLING the dry veganauary! Wow on your long run yesterday - way to go! And, carrying a book?? Pretty sure I woulda come back for that haha. No doubt you were tired!
Lizzie2 - ouch on the achy feet and calves and early bird wakeup! I hate foam rolling too but have to do the same for a cranky IT band. Good plan on bringing the laptop home tonight - fingers crossed for a WFH for you tomorrow! OMG I LOVE English muffins. That's often the only bread item I have in the house. I've tried those banana bread ones - they are interesting haha. Let me know what you think!
RB just texted to meet for a quick run at noon. Yes, please! Will be short and probably faster than I want to go but better than nothing. A perk for WFH. And now I'll actually get out of my pajamas today. Doh. Have a good Tuesday, everyone!!
Morning! Fever has been gone for 13+ hours (maybe it's 14 already, not sure). I have Pilates tonight and I assume an RD. Feeling much better today, just wanting all this chest and nose congestion to GTFO.
Elina, awww, hoping the pup is happy inside, ha.
Lizzie, nice 7.
Susan, nice job on the core.
Sandy, waking up just to be canceled upon is bad. Hoping the day gets better.
Damaris
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Since the TM was not being used Monday, I did 60 minutes running on it. Felt good.
Today I think I will check to see if anyone is on it. My intention today is to work on yoga.
Safe and happy runs, All!
Where is the "any" key?
judyruns
Tessa
Judy, only one TM? Is that because of space constraints or because not many people want to use it?
Damaris, glad you're feeling better.
Elina, if you have to bring the wolf inside, it must be really cold. So the Flyers for hockey are like the Cubs were for so long for baseball? I had a race buddy back in the 1980s who had been born and raised in Chicago and was a diehard Cubs fan. Tom wore his Cubs cap to every race and usually found a few fellow expats there who would commiserate with him about their performance (or lack thereof).
Liz, the procedure seemed to help Dan with the difficulties he was encountering swallowing. He didn't regurgitate food nearly as much afterwards. And it is regurgitation, not vomiting, you are right it never reaches the stomach -- which is probably better because at least the stomach acid and bile aren't coming up too. He died the next year but it wasn't from the stomach problems, he had congestive heart failure and renal failure and dementia which all seem to have been secondary to long term poorly controlled diabetes.
When is your actual birthday?
Susan, photos of the wedding dress? Exciting!
Sandy, what is your gramma PR? And I hope you do have a good run with your RB today, yay you two for a noon run!
I wussed out this morning, tired and both Gwen and Iota were snuggled next to me, but am planning to go at lunch. Really not looking forward to this evening. Vestry (church governing committee) meeting at which the main topic is the budget for 2018. We don't have enough money to continue the music program in its current form and the conductor/vocal director, who also happens to be the priest's wife, is very angry and bitter about the probability that her position will be either eliminated or cut back. I know the treasurer crunched every option and the only option that would keep the program puts us scarily into the red, and we don't have an endowment fund to fall back on. One more year on the vestry and then I am off, and will be glad to sit out for at least a year.
The entire Houston area, heck, all of SE TX, is having a snow day today. It's not snowing. This is why northerners mock us. But the high is only going to be 31, and a storm system is coming through so we will at some point get some freezing rain or snow. And it did rain earlier so there is some ice on some roads. I'm taking another rest day, although I may easy pedal my bike on the trainer this afternoon just to get the legs moving. Still tired from Sunday's race - I guess the reason the last few miles were so hard was that I was indeed pushing to my limit! Plus out of nowhere, my left ankle was acting up at the start of the race, and is a little wonky today. I'm thinking about taking the entire week off (except for Saturday morning, when I meet my group for our celebration 3-4 mile run followed by breakfast and mimosas). I haven't done that since after The Woodlands Marathon last March and I'm feeling kind of rundown.
Just looked out the window and it's sleeting now! DH checked the pool temperature and the water is down to 48 degrees.
I did go ahead and email the race Sunday night about my chip not registering at the start and included a link to my garmin file for the race. I didn't expect to hear back from them anytime soon as I'm sure they are swamped (I've heard there were a batch of marathon bibs where the timing chips were one number off from the bib numbers, so all those people's results are someone else's). But this morning they had adjusted my results and now show me finishing in 1:47:55 instead of the 1:51:03 they had before, so hooray! That put me 7th in my age group. DH said "out of how many, 7?" and I told him I was listed tenth before, so he said "out of how many, 10?" Smart ass. So I had do look......that's 7 out of 530, thank you very much!
Anyway, I used to do race reports on a blog, but I haven't done one since Boston 2014. Yesterday I started to write a quick fb post about the race, and I ended up writing and writing and writing, and finally put it into the blog and added a couple pictures. I linked to it on fb, so most of you probably saw it, but if you didn't and you're interested, it is here: https://karenrunsfar.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-perfect-day-for-racing-in-houston.html
HCK, I heard that same rumor about the Strava challenge, which sucks because I already get a 25% discount on all their stuff. I was hoping for a pair of running shorts since they quit making the ones I love and I want to try the ones they are making instead. But I don't want to pay that much for a new pair! I guess it's not a big deal for me, because I wouldn't have done anything differently without the challenge (already on Strava, already have my Garmin linked to it, and I do all my runs outside anyway). But I feel bad that I may have gotten everyone's hopes up for nothing.
Tessa, nice long run yesterday!
Diane, from the other day, I'm sorry social media is bumming you out. Like others have said, what people post and what their life is like in the real world can be very different. I know I don't post much bad stuff - for me, it's because I had some serious anxiety and depression issues several years ago, and I don't want my parents and other family members to worry about me. That doesn't mean I go through life happy and stress free all the time though, I just don't let a lot of people see it. Poor DH has to live with it though! Anyway, I saw your 9-miler - great job!
Elina, yikes on your cold temperatures! And now realizing my dog is a big baby - I let him out this morning to pee and he looked at me all sad that I was sending him out in this....it's below freezing here, but barely.
Liz, foam roll! Stretch! Wait, your dad went to Fargo all the time? I didn't know anyone went to Fargo other than to run a marathon in North Dakota! I'm still trying to decide what I want to do with that one, it kind of depends on whether I run Boston hard or just run to enjoy it, I think.
Susan, the cold is coming your way. We had a beautiful, sunny 60-degree day yesterday, and won't get above freezing today.
Sandy, I'm glad your TURD is turning into a lunch run day! Not getting out of my pajamas here today. Oh, my college boyfriend was from Minnesota, and he sort of made me a Vikings fan. His reasoning was how can you not like a team with horns on their helmet? I don't really care at all about professional sports though (except Cardinals baseball, and even then I don't care enough to actually watch), so that is really all I know about the Vikings. Wait, do they still have horns on their helmet? I don't want to have to be a Rams fan....
Damaris, glad you're starting to feel better.
Judy, good of you to look after the forlorn treadmill!
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WINE o'clock somewhere!
Elina, sounds chilly there. Glad the pooch has a warm spot.
Lizzie, sorry about your Mom, thinking of her/your family. When is your Bday? What kind of cake??
Hi Sue!
Sandy, nice your RB messaged you for a run. Will it be any warmer?
Damaris, glad you are starting to feel better.
Judy, enjoy yoga.
Tessa, warm beasts snuggling do make it really hard to get up. They are so precious then.
Karen, glad you got your coffee beans. I need some vino. Luckily I can walk to the convenience store if need be later. Congrats about the race, that is AWESOME!!! 7th out of 530 is incredible. I would be the opposite, 7th from last!!
So, interesting day yesterday. My kitty's vet hinted to me several times that they are hiring for a FT position as they will be expanding soon. I wavered but sent him a casual note with my resume for shits and giggles. Without even an interview, they asked me to do a shadow day. So I spent a few hours following folks around yesterday then talked to the office manager for maybe 45 minutes about the job. As I was leaving my vet and I chatted and he wanted me to call him if I was interested. The OM is looking into pay and asked when I would be able to start... Strange process.... My head is spinning, though there is no official offer yet - and realistically there might not be.
My conundrum is do I take it if offered. My job currently is extremely well paid, very easy, and few hours for FT. The problem with it is that I have no feeling of security. I wonder every day if I will be replaced. (I am not the best big corporation employee, I just don't fit the mold...) But the new job would be 8 hours more a week and add in 5 hours every other week. Less pay. Harder. Less time off. But a family feeling and definitely more security. Hmmmm.
Annoyed, so we are getting freezing rain in areas, with it getting possibly worse. One of the staff messaged me, our market manager has sent emails to the staff about not having to go in, but hoping they will. Not a PEEP to the Dr.s.
Guess I should go shower so I can go...
K
Kettle Moraine - June 2024
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Javelina Jundred - Oct 2024
Sandy – Yay on a WFH day! I get not wanting to run at the gym blah. But YAY on a noon run!!! Have fun! Birthday weekend…Saturday we are going up north to celebrate all 3..Sunday is my actual bday so I am thinking a lazy day of eating cake. LOL. I don’t know what I want to do and don’t really care actually. I just want to spend it with Ruger and HCBF! Maybe seafood for dinner. My dad worked for AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) and helped put together some part of the MCAT. I don’t know the details..but he would travel to Universities to proctor the exams and assist with some medical teaching and he was saying he went to one in Fargo or near it. He has been everywhere. He even proctored an exam in Iran! Your PR is 4:07?! WOW! SPEEDY over there. Uhm, I still think you could do that BTW. What makes you think you can’t?! I am guessing you didn’t like the banana English muffins?!
Karen – GREAT news on the chip time! I am also surprised they got back to you so quickly. 7th out of 530..WOW. You are having some crazy weather!!! Take a rest week! When do you “officially” start training for Woodlands? I loved reading your blog..made me cry! You are so awesome. You and your baby runners
Tessa – I am so sorry about your DH L I can’t imagine going through something like that. Ugh..let me change the subject now. My birthday is Sunday, the 21. But I think that means eating cake everyday for a week. Oh man, good luck at the meeting tonight. Hopefully you can get some recovery miles in at lunch time today!
Judy – I hope you are referring to the treadmill you have at your complex! I don’t know a gym that only has one treadmill
Docket – Glad you are feeling better! Did you go to work today?
Kathryn – Holy crap, that is awesome about the job! I would be in the same predicament as you. Hmm..can you build more time off the longer you are there? Job security would take a lot of worry off your back. UGH I am trying to think of what I would do and I don’t know! Its always easier to go with the “easy” option. Do you know for sure if it is less pay? Raises possibly in the future? I am no help, sorry. LOL
Okay I gotta go walk someone around the cafe for exhaust hood inspection. Real exciting stuff. Talk with you ladies later!
Kat, that's a tough one. If it were me, I would probably lean towards the new job - the work atmosphere has always been really important to me. But, and this is a huge but, I'm extremely lucky that for the last 20 years or so I haven't had to worry about how much money I'm bringing in. We've always set ourselves up so we could live on one income. At first it was so I wouldn't have to work when we had kids, then when that didn't happen, it was so I could flake out or fall apart and quit my job without financial strain. And then once I got my head straight, it was just bonus money and the ability to retire early. So it was a lot easier for me to make a decision like that.
Well, since it's only 6.5 weeks away, I should have started weeks ago! I'm going to ride my bike a time or two and maybe do a short easy run later in the week, plus the 3-4 miles the group is running for our "we're awesome" celebration followed by breakfast Saturday, then try to jump back in hard next week. I'll get in a 20 miler the next weekend (the trail race Lisa is running the 50K and Kathryn is running.....the 20 miler or the 50K, I forget which she decided), and then am going to try to get in another 20 either the following weekend or sometime during the week after that.
Speaking of my baby runners, one of them posted this on our facebook group:
Karen, you did it. You successfully trained us all to meet our goals and you did it in a way that infected us with a love of running. You were an awesome example of strength, endurance and compassion, making running (even the early dark long runs) fun and fulfilling. I can’t thank you enough for what you personally did for me or for how you inspired me over these months. 💗💗
I'm not crying, you're cryin........who are we kidding, I'm crying.
Damaris - glad you are feeling better! Fevers are the WORST.
Judy - your apt treadmill action reminds me of when I used to travel quite a bit for work. I'd stay at Embassy Suites or Hampton Inn or similar and the "exercise room" (more like closet) would have one treadmill and one eliptical and mayyyyyyyyybe a couple hand weights.
Tessa - ummmm, you are NOT a wuss for sleeping this morning! Did you forget you ran 20+ mi yest?!! AND you are planning on some miles at lunch. Ya goof. Nope, you do not get wuss status. Oh, and I think I keep forgetting to comment this: I love love love the slang "moggies". I have a very good friend from Milton Keynes that I use that with - since I learned it from you quite some time back. Like back when I was a lurker hee hee Gramma PR is 4:48.
Karen - now Karen, on the other hand, is now a TX weather wuss. LOL - you know I'm totally teasing. I know you've spent many years in the cold and snowy northern parts of the US. It must be pretty funny to witness the difference in attitudes. But, I also get it - not too many sand trucks or snow plows in TX, I would imagine. I LOVED your blog entry! You are a really good writer. Full confession - been following your blog since before your last post. Always thought that picture of you was so awesome running Boston! Your baby runners are sooooooooooooo lucky to have you! I wish I could join your group. Especially on Saturday for the mimosas!! Yikes on the wonky ankle. Smart to take a week of rest especially with all the miles you've been putting in lately! And holy crap on 7/530 - that's awesome! That DH, funny guy. But, what a KEEPER. College DBF from MN?! Welllll, how cool is that. Where did you go to college? Where in MN is he from? Maybe I know him! The world IS small. Topic to discuss on drive to Fargo Yep, Vikings have horns - pretty funny reason to be a fan haha. Though it IS kinda fun this year. Mostly because Keenum (QB) is a nobody and super down to earth and humble. And my favorite, Thielen (#19 WR) is REALLY a nobody from Detroit Lakes, MN (where we will be staying). Got a $500 walk on scholarship at a MN State school and came out for that Pro Combine thing (or whatever) and eventually made the team. Just good old fashioned smarts and hard work. LOVE those stories!!
Kat - it WAS slightly warmer! 8* with not much wind and super sunny! Much better than negative temps in the dark. That's super awesome about the job offer! But, you are right, lots to ponder. My big thing - not like this will help much - is the commute. Is one better than the other? Fun to have options, though. Stay safe with the ice!!
Lizzie - oh man, lazy day on Sunday eating cake sounds DIVINE!! And with your boys, too. Awwwww. Will you go out to dinner to celebrate up north? Where to? Oh, and I've been meaning to ask about Emerson - how's he doing? How are the parents doing? So many questions!!! Sounds like your dad had an interesting job! Ah, makes sense about going to the schools in Fargo - there are a few for being such small town. And, in the middle of nowhere in the frigid north LOL. You are sweet but that 4:07 PR was from Grandma's 2001!! That's 17 years ago! OMG, I was YOUR age!!!! Now, if THAT doesn't make me feel old... Could I get back there? Oh, idk, maybe? But, it would take lots of hard work and discipline and not sure I really want to put in all that effort and pain. It also would help if I leaned down about 7lbs and I really like my beer. The honest truth!!
Karen2 - awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I LOVE LOVE LOVE the positive feedback you got! Not surprised. AT ALL!! But, such a warm fuzzy. I'm super excited to meet you IRL!!
Cathy - missing you today!!
Okay, so if you couldn't tell from all my lengthy, giddy shouts above, I got in a LOVELY 4+ SPEEDY miles with a fastie on my lunch break. About 8*, very little wind and BLARING sunshine!! OMG, tough in the slippy slidy edge of the road mucky snow but felt SO GOOD to get out there. Man, I wish I could do that every day. Come on retirement! Or, sugar daddy LOL. Been trying to teach a bunch of people to fish today (you know the saying) and I now have more patience for dealing with such. Have a good night everyone! This Is Us on my agenda!
Lizzie, foam rolling or tennis/golf ball approach, which is a really underrated one. But like you said it - you did it Think about that cake! Tempo run in such temps? Aren't you at risk of catching too much cold air in the lungs or the balaclava helps enough w that? (One of the reasons I've given up on speedwork in winter. That and ice. And dark. And, well, willpower ). There is barely any snow here at the moment, forecasted for tomorrow, tho; we'll see. That's what I loved in Estonia - it's more towards north; also capital (Tallinn) is closer to open waters; equals humidity; equals frost if not snow; equals white wonderland everywhere... Nothing similar here so far... :/
Sandy, can't blame you for not doing those awfully boring circles in the gym. Especially if the weather should change soon. Thought of you when saw the miracle that Minnesota Vikings pulled off in NFL. As I've stated many times, couldn't care less about NFL, but the Twitter feed was flooded by ''omg!'' tweets, so I watched the video and even read some articles Congrats Also, laughing about sugar daddy hopes... C'mon... You're better than that
Damaris, glad that you're feeling better!
Kat, that's great news, but tricky situation... I'd go for the tougher job w bigger security... Because, you know... A tougher one is better than ending up w none one morning...
Tessa, wolf begging at the window always has to do w her being overly social rather than the cold (or rain or whatever is happening outside), but at this point it might even partially be the latter too. Not sure about Cubs or the extent of their misery, but, as I said, Flyers hold the N-American big league record of most consecutive finals losses, which now stands at 6 (!!!!). Last one was particularly devastating and I hate Chicago Blackhawks ever since that overtime loss, which came at around 7am LV time.
Karen, snow day when it's not actually snowing? Yeah, this northerner here is smiling as well. I think we have a snow day when one can't physically open the door or get the car engine to jump. 7 out of 530 is amazing, congrats! Take a rest and guard that ankle!! Especially w ice on the roads. And the 20 miler planned so soon after a great HM!
Thanks, everyone; the meeting went well. Now I have 2 days to finish a very important file. Nothing too complicated, but every tiny detail has to be properly done, checked and then checked again. And then again. Which w not too much time is not always that easy. Hoping I won't have to work evenings/nights till Friday; I've somehow managed to avoid that lately.
The floorball practice... Amazing! (The 2mi warmup run wasn't bad either, considering the cold ). Hadn't felt that good on the rink in ages! Well, ok, since mid-December But still, a great feeling - when both physically and technically you can do whatever the hell you want and 90% of the time it works. Hoping this will carry over to Sunday's game... But there's still 4 days till that. No idea how to plan my runs to reach sort of a weekly peak on gameday. Honestly, it's a crap shot. Different stuff works in different weeks.
Karen you are awesome, but we all knew that before! How neat.
4 miles on TM Sunday, 2 today and trainer.
Ginny
http://ginnybess.blogspot.com/
6/8 Hatfield/McCoy Half, 8/18 lake Erie Shores and Islands Half, 9/21 Mighty Niagara Half Lewiston, NY, 10/7 Cleveland Rock & Roll Half 10/6 or Detroit Free Press 10/20, A Christmas Story 5 or 10K Cleveland 12/7, Santa Hustle Half Cedar Point 12/15
Karen, you rock. Hope your new marthoners/halfers appreciate how much you have contributed to their success -- sounds like the one posting realizes it!
Kat, difficult choice, honestly though I would go for the job with more security. Working for a large corporation is risky in that regard -- if they decide to close a location, or cut a service, you are gone. They consider employees to be fungible. (And bear in mind I work for a very large corporation and have seen this in action.) I know it's more hours but it does sound like a more secure position. One thing I didn't see -- which place gives you more of the work you like to do? You've mentioned you don't like surgery, would that be required in the position you're being offered? I would imagine some of that would be extremely repetitious -- I can't imagine being a vet at a spay/neuter clinic, for instance, arriving at work to face a long row of animals' shaved bellies and exposed nether regions all day.
Liz, I'm guessing your dad might have been going to Grand Forks, which is where UND is located. The University of [insert state] is usually where the med school is. Fargo has NDSU which is more likely to be a teacher training college and an ag school. Gohawki who used to post on runango is a prof at UND in Grand Forks.
Phew. 6.44 on the TM. I feel better having run. Still dreading this meeting though. It's not gonna be pretty.