Still Waiting

I'm still playing the waiting game. I finally got an appointment at the consulate to get my visa paperwork finalized, but the first available was Tuesday afternoon. Most likely I'll be leaving next weekend, which is October 3rd. The original plan was to leave on September 9th. Thank you really slow and ridiculous new visa process. I'm trying to stay positive and see the good things about still being in the States. Feel free to add to my list, sometimes I need some encouragement, particularly when it's 9:30am and I'm still laying on the couch in my pj's with little intention of moving.

-extra time to move out of my apartment

-living in my parent's house for a while (they're currently both out of town)

-2 extra triathlons with my friends

-a few extra play dates and dinners with friends

-time to relax, sleep, and read some new books

-tv (I got rid of mine a few months ago, I forgot how easily tv sucks you in!)

Top 10 lists

This idea was lifted off of my friend Julie's blog, she just moved to Costa Rica for a year with the Vineyard church. I'm still waiting for my visa, the consulate was closed several days this week for Mexico's independence day so I still haven't gotten my paperwork finalized. Hopefully I can get it done on Monday and then get a flight on Wednesday.

10 things I'll miss most in the States

1. Clear River Church and the girls in my lifegroup

2. My little friends who grow up so fast

3. Triathlon training/racing

4. My car

5. Liquid coffee creamer

6. Going for a run whenever/wherever I want

7. Always understanding what people are saying

8. TriTippecanoe and YMCA training buddies

9. My cell phone and texting

10. Autumn (which sounds much classier than fall)

10 things I'm most excited about in Mexico

1. Living on the side of a mountain range

2. Learning to speak a second language well

3. Working with the awesome staff

4. Sharing my training on crisis intervention/foster care/adoption/attachment disorders

5. Real mexican food

6. Ponytails and athletic shorts are normal daily attire

7. Having a roommate again and living in community

8. Summer for 9 or so months of the year

9. Helping with groups who are on missions trips

10. Life changing experiences

Hasta Luego

Today my good friends had a little "see you later" fiesta for me at the park. I even got a Mexican flag drawn on my arm, which I was trying to wash off before I went into WalMart and offended people. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and I think so did everyone else. Or they already know I don't like having my picture taken so they purposefully left them at home. Anyways, it was great fun and a wonderful chance to see them again before I leave. This next week is going to be a rush of packing and moving my apartment into a storage unit, picking up my visa and other paperwork, sending off my application for physical therapy school, packing for Mexico, and trying to see everyone one last time. I should be flying to Mexico on the 20th or 21st!

The past two weeks I've been doing lots of shadowing at a physical therapy clinic in town before I leave. I got really lucky and got to shadow the physical therapist I saw for my various injuries, and she was one of the huge influences in me deciding to go back to school this spring. The shadowing experience was great confirmation that I made the right choice in going back to school after working for a while. So while I'm in Mexico I'll be waiting to hear if I got into physical therapy school which would start in August 2011. Life is never boring!

Questions Answered

To answer everyone's burning questions, I'm not moving on Sept. 9th, which would be tomorrow. I still don't have my work visa back yet, although it should be any day now. I think the tentative plan is to leave next weekend, although at this point I'm basically saying at some point in September I'll be moving to Monterrey. I'm really glad that God plans these things for us, because left to our own devices it would be disastrous! For example: my plan was to fly to Mexico on the 9th. As of the 8th, my apartment is still not packed/painted/moved out, my physical therapy school stuff isn't finished yet, and I haven't even started packing for Mexico. I'm working on it though, and it WILL be done by next week so that I'll be ready to leave whenever I can.

Some of you have also been asking about Ironman Kentucky, which I participated in on August 29th. It consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run, which totals 140.6 miles in one day! I made it 132.4 miles before having to drop out of the race because of heat exhaustion and dehydration. I got pretty sick out on the bike course where the actual temps were 92 or 93 and the heat index was definitely over 100. However it was one of the best days of my life, and I'm hopeful that I can do another full Ironman in 2012. Here are just a few pictures from that day (swim start, on the bike, on the run, and after getting out of the medical tent).