life in ami-land: 2007.01

1.28.2007

week in review

So... last week was kind of crappy. I think the first week of the semester is always weird because I'm trying to figure out what my schedule will be like. There was some other stuff going on too, so that didn't help.

I had physical therapy last week and my therapist decided that I need to have PT at least once a week now. I had been going once every three weeks. I've mentioned before that I have some sort of overuse injury in my knee, and it seems to be getting worse. My therapist says I have iliotibial band syndrome, which is kind of like tendinitis. It's frustrating because I want to keep exercising so that I can build up strength in my leg, but now pretty much any exercise I do irritates my knee. I think I'm behind schedule in my rehab. I have an appointment with my knee doc in a couple of weeks, so maybe we can get this figured out. For now I'm on anti-inflammatories, and I'm trying to stretch that area several times a day.

Some other stuff is going on now (or will be happening eventually) that I can't talk about on here, but it's completely distracting. I've been feeling pretty stressed out and upset. I want to just be able to concentrate on school so I can finish up my last semester.

I could outline everything else that's stressing me out right now, but I think I'd rather just watch cartoons. Well, this week will be better.

Here's a picture I took a couple of days ago. I wish I was there like a minute earlier. Oh well.

1.23.2007

update on stuff

So I didn't get in to UW-Madison. I'm disappointed, but I'm trying not to let it get me down too much. From what I know of that department, I'm not sure if I would have fit in anyway. I think there are better schools out there for me. The only thing that bothers me is that I wish I knew why I was rejected. I felt like all of my application materials were strong. It would be easier if I knew there was an obvious weak point, and I could blame my rejection on that, and work on it before the next round of applications.

I have a lot of stuff going on this semester. This is the first semester since the accident that I've been a full-time student. I only have 12 credits though, so it should be okay. I have to re-take macroeconomics (gross) and human nutrition, since I dropped them both after the accident. I also have a lit class that's pretty interesting so far. I'm not worried about my classes really - I'm stressed about everything else that I'll be doing. I'll be teaching at Menomonie 2-3 times a week, doing more grad school applications, arranging music & preparing for my recital, going to FOURTY CONCERTS, and trying to find a work study job. Oh, and the trial will happen sometime this semester, and that's bound to stress me out. Oh yeah, and I need to work out every other day or so. Skipping workouts isn't an option, or my leg will never get stronger.

I don't have the energy to do all that stuff.

My ankle has been really sore lately. It hasn't hurt this much in months. I've tried everything I can think of: exercise, stretching, heat, ice, rest, Tylenol, painkillers - nothing seems to help. It must be the weather. My "good" knee has been bothering me now too. I don't know what the deal with that is. It's probably irritated from overuse, since I tend to favor that leg.

This post = a lot of complaining. But isn't that what blogs are for? ;) I'm just feeling a little stressed, but things will get better once I get used to this semester's schedule.

1.16.2007

vacation

I just got back from vacation. It was amazing. Here are a few photos (in low resolution). Click on a photo if you want to see a ridiculously big version.