Another snow day during which we still have power

I've received more alerts of potential power outages in North Carolina than in any other place I've ever lived, even without adjusting for the fact that I've lived here for a relatively shorter time. Despite this, we've only experienced a few brief power outages. The current snow storm has been no exception; I've received approximately three warnings about a possible loss of power, and here we sit, warm and well-lit. Beyond the presumptive closures of almost everything, here's what happens when it snows here:

 Our tiny pine tree was bent with the weight of the snow and ice, but recovered nicely after being brushed off and coaxed upright once again.

 Cyril was gravely displeased with the weather. Here he is being carried in the front yard to find a place to relieve himself. 

Cyril was much relieved (pun intended) that we could move the yard waste bin and reveal a small patch of grass for him. 

 Once we came back inside, he was very willing to let me try on his winter hat in progress. 

The cats' desire to frolic in the out-of-doors has been conspicuously absent this morning and afternoon.

Just another rainy Sunday and a dog video that is only impressive if you knew Walter (Day #4)

Although people closer to the coast are continuing the feel the effects of the wind and rain from Hurricane Florence, those of us only experiencing the effects of Tropical Depression Florence are mostly doing alright. There are some downed tree limbs, and a little bit of standing water, but mostly we are okay. We keep getting texts from the electric company letting us know that they are working hard. We've had power consistently, so are just keeping our fingers crossed that they can get the lights back on for the many people who are still on flashlights/generators/sunlight.

Yesterday morning it wasn't even raining, and we played outside with the dog. For those you who knew Walter, you may recall that his version of fetch involved running about halfway toward the newly thrown ball before losing interest and eating some grass or a stick. He would then run enthusiastically alongside you while you walked to retrieve the ball and amble back toward whatever the starting point was and repeat the whole process. Fetch with Walter was profoundly aerobic exercise for the person throwing and retrieving the ball, but mostly allowed the dog time to bask in the sun and frolic in the grass a bit. Although I knew that there were Boston Terriers who did fetch things, I'd always attributed Walter's unique approach to the game to his breed. I'd laugh and casually think, "Well, he's definitely not a retriever..." Imagine my surprise, then, when it became clear that Cyril was not only enthusiastic about playing fetch, but was actually pretty good at it. Here's a video of him demonstrating his skills yesterday during the break in the rain:

In the background of the video, you can almost see the most substantial of the branches that fell in our yard, wedged into our baby pine tree such that it looks like some sort of graft/hybrid situation.

The cats have actually been weathering the storm surprisingly well, perhaps because there isn't much thunder, just rain. They have both enjoyed actively participating in our indoor fun ranging from the somewhat typical rainy day activity of board games to Lynn's decidedly unusual Saturday activity of building screens for our windows. The pre- and post- photos of the screens are for another day. 

Eli takes his turn at the board game. 

Eli is fairly certain that the scraps of screen were in fact the entire point of the screen-making enterprise. He will not give them back. Don't even try to take them. 

As I'm writing about the rain and all of the time we've been spending indoors, I am reminded that my Bike MS: Waves to Wine ride is actually next weekend. The hurricane has definitely put a little bit of a damper on my training, but I'm still planning to ride. My distance may be slightly diminished, but my enthusiasm and the need for amazing fundraising efforts to get us toward a world free of MS will not be lessened in the least. I'm a little over halfway toward my goal - can you help me get there? 

Life on the edge (Day #2)

Today was another uneventful day on the edge of Hurricane Florence. We have been following the news, and know that more than half a million people are without power in NC, and that they have already had to do some attic and rooftop rescues of people from New Bern, NC, but the Triangle remains relatively unscathed. We've heard a little thunder, felt a little wind, and noted some rain, but it feels more like an end-of-summer storm than a hurricane.

The sky is a bit grayer today, and there's more rain. Cyril is disinclined to go outside to pee, but otherwise we've had minimal ill effects of the storm. 

Weathering the storm...

Missing the hurricane (Day #1)

The path of Hurricane Florence was initially predicted to hit the Triangle region of North Carolina. It has since turned south and then will swing around such that much of the state will get much heavier exposure to the storm than we do. We've got all the requisite preparatory things, courtesy of Lynn, so for now all is well.

So far it's sprinkled lightly and there is a breeze that's gotten a bit stronger as the day has gone on. Doesn't much compare to the 105 mph winds that are happening on the Outer Banks right about now... More updates to come.

Back in the saddle, again

Not so much an homage to Gene Autry as just using a turn of phrase to describe the feeling of September, 2018. I'm one month into my faculty job, and in the past few weeks I have been reminded of several things:

• Transitions are hard. No matter how many new positions I start, or how many spreadsheets I create, starting something new is all at once exciting, wonderful, overwhelming, and terrifying.

• When the going gets tough, the tough get on their bicycles. 

Finding time to ride my bike through all of the transitions of 2017 and 2018 has been really difficult. This meant that reprising my #200in2016 endeavors was all but impossible this year, and it made me a little sad to realize how long it had been since I'd ridden my bike. In fairness, only some of this was the crazy nature of my life, because some of it was just because of crazy nature. It has been so hot and humid here! Excuses aside, I've now set up my commuter bike on the trainer upstairs, so while it doesn't commute much at this point, it does provide a convenient way to exercise without leaving the house. I've also signed up for the 2018 Bike MS: Waves to Wine ride. They offer the option to ride as a "Virtual Rider," so I can train and fund raise as part of Team Menstrual Cycles, and then ride on my own in North Carolina at the same time that my team is riding up the coast of Northern California. I've not yet decided what distance I'll be riding - the Saturday routes in California are either 100, 86, 43, or 22 miles, and the Sunday routes are 63 and 42 miles. So far, I'm up to about 20 miles training, putting really only the 40-ish mile distances in range. Further reports to come.

While I'm training, however, I'd love for all of you to donate to Bike MS! I ride every year in honor of an amazing mentor with MS, with the goal of ultimately reaching a world free of MS. This is my fourth Bike MS ride, so consider donating $40 or $400, and it is the team's tenth ride, so $10, $100, or $1,000 all seem reasonable to me! And if you aren't in a place to donate right now, consider reposting this or passing it along to someone who might be.

I got a new bike-mount for my cell phone and I captured this terrible photo without stopping. I think it might be cool to try to get one from the handlebars each ride, but I already forgot to do it on today's ride... 

This is the moonset in the morning before I catch the bus for work. It's already hot out...

First training ride, and a Clyde update

Today was my first official training ride for Bike MS: Breakaway to the Beach! I rode a little over 10 miles, exploring some of the parts of Chapel Hill that I haven't seen before. Turns out the UNC golf course is fancy... and to put the hills in perspective, on my usual little 14 mile loop around San Francisco I would gain approximately 1,600 ft of elevation, whereas my 10 mile loop today was just shy of 500 ft. Despite the grade not even approaching that of San Francisco, I am out of shape enough to shift down significantly and pant my way up even the little ones around here!

And in case you were hoping for a reminder, here it is: Click here to help to meet my fundraising goal of $1000! Thank you so incredibly much to those of you who have donated already.

There are a bunch of lush bike paths all over Chapel Hill. Here's one I hit on my ride this morning.

In addition to doing my part to get to a world free of MS, I'm also contributing to the beautiful greenery that defines the North Carolina summer landscape! Here is my most recent photo of Clyde, who has really been flourishing in the rain. He even has some of the darker color in his leaves now!

Still not quite filling the pot, but looking more like a normal plant every day.

And now for something completely different

I've been her in North Carolina for almost a month now, and life is so different from San Francisco. Here is a little table I've prepared to illustrate just how different it is (click to enlarge):

You can appreciate that fellowship is objectively, quantitatively better than residency, despite the steamy weather that heats up early, and that many aspects of living in Chapel Hill are amazing. I miss some of the food options (read: State Bird Provisions and Uji Time Desserts) that were close and delicious in San Francisco, but there are tasty things here that we're discovering every day (like The Root Cellar, which is literally right outside our side door).

Walter does not enjoy the heat. He is, however, loving having more rooms in which to lounge and a guest bed to sleep on during the day. Here

he is recovering from a long walk in the heat, and drinking from a twirly straw:

Just kidding, he cannot drink from a straw. I just posed him like this in solidarity with a friend who was limited to liquids for a bit. 

Good by to the slogan "Brown is the new green!" that was all over municipal green space in San Francisco during the drought. Here in North Carolina freeway rest stops are beautiful!

The view from the passenger's seat on our drive in.

From the other side of the drought...

For the first few years that we lived in California, there wasn't much rain. I thought this was pretty great, as I bike to work most days, but recognized that it was affecting farmers and also people with nice-looking lawns in many parts of the state. There was much discussion about how best to conserve water, and apportion the water that was available to the most necessary tasks. Enter late 2016 and on into early 2017...

We have so much rain! There have been many recent stories about the havoc the rain has wreaked across the state, from images of people being rescued from river-like streets to threats of old dams and spillways overflowing to the breaking point. Meanwhile, I've been alternately lazy, using various ride services to carpool with strangers, and super intense, suiting up in my rain gear to brave the weather by bicycle. And then there are my succulents. They cannot decide whether to be thrilled or destroyed by the rain. While some are showing a little brown around the edges and there is tropical-looking moss growing on the dirt in one, others are blooming! Lemonade, I suppose.

 Some of the succulents look fancy when they bloom

 This one has grown so tall with all the water that it falls over whenever there is a lot of wind

This one is threatening to outgrow it's pot

Walter hates the rain, but on the sunny days we do have, he loves grazing in the flowers that bloom

Too tired to boast... almost...

It's already been a week since my last ride, which is hard to believe. and I'm just getting to this post. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to everyone who donated over $2000 to two great causes, the residents and fellow who helped me to arrange my call schedules so that I wasn't working either Saturday, and to the lovely Lynn, who spent an immense amount of time helping me to get to and from the start- and finish-lines. 

On Friday, September 9 I drove directly from work to Carmel. Early Saturday morning, my cousins and I headed to the starting line for the Best Buddies International Hearst Castle Challenge. I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to keep up! I held my own for about 65 or 70 miles, thanks mostly to their willingness to let me draft behind them, and then rode with a slighly slower crowd for the next 15 miles. We met up at the last rest stop, and they slowed a bit and I pushed myself, and we all rode in together at Hearst Castle. It was a fantastic ride! I had to work the next day, so I got on the early bus back 100 miles north back to Carmel. I picked up the car, and drove to San Jose, where I met up with Lynn so that she could drive home. I slept most of the way...

I then worked on Sunday, and started my new rotation on Monday. I worked all through the next weekend, only biking as a commuter. On September 24, early in the morning, Lynn dropped me off at Cow Palace for the starting line for BikeMS: Waves to Wine. I rode most of the ride with various Team Menstrual Cycles riders, most of whom were doing some portion of the 82-mile route. I turned off on my own for the inland loop that distinguished the 100-mile route, and found the Marshall Wall to be a scorching, miserable climb that I do not plan to repeat. I was much, much slower without the benefit of my very fast family (7:50 moving time instead of 6:43 moving time), but I still had a great time. I slept on the way home that day, too. 

#200in2016 complete!

Also, thank you to Strava for diligently recording my rides, and to my Nexus 6P which has a decent battery life that allows me to record my rides

My cousin Chris and I in the fog that engulfed almost the entirety of the Best Buddies Ride

A cute lizard that joined me at the Hearst Castle Ranch

Another Menstrual Cyclist tackling Waves to Wine

(Don't worry, I'm stopped and standing on the ground while I take this photo.)

Looking sunny in the official Team Menstrual Cycles jersey

The view from part of the hot, desolate segment of the 100-mile route on the Waves to Wine ride

Less thinking, more pets

This week was a whirlwind of driving and call, so I've done very little cycling or anything else. Here are some highlights of my week.

This is how Walter greeted me post-call yesterday. He desperately wanted me to rub his belly.

 Eli does not fit in the small box, but he is not willing to admit that he needs the larger box to accommodate him. I think he prefers the fit of the small box because it is snuggling him.

 Here I've captured Aleks climbing down off of my back where he thought he should ride after I leaned down to pick up the cat food. 

I stopped at the Lafayette Reservoir to knit for a few minutes post-call on Friday. I had a little time to sleep overnight, and an appointment in the East Bay that was just a little later than I'd expected. It was lovely. 

On the perils of goal setting

Most people, including myself, would place the setting of goals solidly in the Venn diagram circle of "good" things. Today, however, I found myself reflecting that goal setting might instead be more accurately placed in the Boolean intersection of the circles encompassing "good" AND "bad" things. Some thoughts I had today while on my bicycle:

PROS Simply by setting goals I find myself to be more motivated to meet them, and doubly and even triply so if I've articulated them aloud or in writing and shared them with someone else There is almost nothing that I love more than checking things off of a to-do list Writing down specific goals often helps me to break up a task into more doable sections

CONS Sometimes goals cannot be met for an assortment of good reasons, and one can undertake crazy or unreasonable things simply for the sake of meeting a previously stated goal Items piling up on a to-do list are overwhelming Even the broken down goals may be way too much

Here I am at the top of Twin Peaks. You cannot see anything around me (nor could I) because I am surrounded by fog. I am soaking wet from the rain, and did not wear my bright green cycling rain jacket. I was inside the clouds, and not in a euphoric, cloud nine kind of way. In my defense, it was not raining when I left the house, and having recently created some very large cycling goals (more on that later), I couldn't bear the thought of missing out on a ride today. About 12 miles in, I am trying to look happy in this photo, despite being very cold and wet. Check?

The clouds of SF

I've continued to lament the lack of breathtaking beaches and mountains in my bike rides since returning from Hawaii. There is nothing quite so satisfying as sharing not only that I biked some longer-than-expected mileage, but that I also saw an oceanscape that would make most postcards jealous. After moping about this for some time, however, someone wiser than I suggested that most people consider Northern California to be quite beautiful in its own right, and that I might be selling the Bay Area a little bit short. Since that conversation, I've gone on some pretty spectacular rides - through the Marin Headlands, around Twin Peaks, up and down in the Presidio, just to name a few - and must begrudgingly acknowledge that San Francisco is quite a lovely place to ride. Lately, in particular, I've been noticing that while the fog is not generally considered beautiful, it seems to sometimes lead to lovely clouds. Some examples below.

 Over Sausalito

 From the lookout in the Presidio

 On Ocean Beach

 From Twin Peaks

At the corner of Gough and Eddy

A change of scene

Since returning to California, I've been cycling to work again, which is lovely. I greatly appreciate that I do not have to get into a car on most days. This commitment to commuting by bicycle has, however, been challenged by the rain. I think the only up side to the yearlong drought that has (had?) afflicted this part of the country was that I did not have to get out my rain gear for nearly a year. The down side to that was that I forgot how important appropriate preparations were to cycling in the rain. This has led to some important bike lessons...

 On a particularly blustery day, during which I was required to be at multiple campuses, I discovered that an impermeable boot cover from the OR makes a perfect seat cover! It even works if the seat is already soaking wet from being rained on during your entire robotic surgery...

 And today I invested in some fancy shoe covers of my own. I didn't think it would work to just put the blue ones from the OR on under my rain pants, though I guess that is my back-up option...

Everyone will be happy that they have lights!

Goodbye, Hawaii!

I've been home for a week now, and am hopeful that I'll be able to keep up with a little bit of photo-sharing. I can only hope that the trials and tribulations of one ridiculous little dog can compete with the sweeping ocean vistas I've been sharing... Here are the last Hawaii photos to share!

 Can you find the critically endangered monk seals in this photo taken at windy Ka'ena Point? We watched them sleep and flop around for at least an hour. Perhaps they were post-call, also?

 The highlight of snorkeling here was a giant (>5 ft) eel we saw swim below us. We have some very avant guard video footage of us swimming, but did not successfully capture much in terms of the beautiful fish we saw. It was much more enjoyable once we stopped trying. 

Can you believe this is the same ocean? It's the SF side - I'm back to biking in the bay! 

More post-call days

It turns out that taking q3 call means that I have a lot of post-call days. I know that some of you will be thinking about how coddled current residents are, not working even more the day after being on call, but I'm okay with that level of gentle accommodation, because I'm pretty destroyed at the end of a 24 hour call during which I sleep less than an hour and no one could possibly want to receive medical care from me at that point. I've slept (a lot) less on my last few calls, but my adventures have still been beautiful, if slightly abbreviated due to occurring post-nap.

 I drove to Makapuu Lighthouse a few days ago and en route stopped and saw this.

 Then climbed up past the lighthouse for this view.

 And today I biked up the windward side of the island.  

Apparently Walter was walking in the rain yesterday, so after biking the last five miles today in a torrential downpour, we were similarly soaked and muddy...