More on women's sports-related injuries

I was just talking with one of my team mates (for college, not club) about the rampant injuries on our team. I hadn't given it too much thought beyond noting that we had a good number of injuries, but I actually took the time to add it up, and I'm floored.

Currently, out of 15 girls who will presumably be playing next year, at least 7 have injuries that will require substantial time off to heal completely. Of those, we have 1 strained hamstring (lingering injury), 1 torn quad, 2 have stress fractures in their shins (myself included), and 2 have injuries which will require surgical repair (the first is a second surgery subsequent to a fairly severe ankle break, the other a torn meniscus repair). I would also say that 2 more have chronic injuries which will certainly reappear next season, if they have even managed to go away (tendonitis, and various knee problems which have never been diagnosed).

A few posts ago I mentioned a story I had heard on NPR about the high rates of injuries in women's sports, specifically those involving sprinting and cutting. This really brought it home. Me and my teammate were discussing some of the reasons, and I think we hit upon a few of the more salient points for our team.

• People assume they know the reasons for an injury, and put off seeing a doctor because they are afraid they will be told to take time off, or because they already know what they need to do. I know in my case, I knew specifically that I would be told to take 6 weeks off and to cross train, and I was right. BUT I didn't do those things, or start to, until I actually went to the doctor. AND I found out some valuable info when I went to the physical therapist.
  

• We don't let ourselves completely heal before we start to play again. I know I have done this twice - once with my hip flexor, and now with my shins. For the former, fortunately (hah) my shin splints started up so that I couldn't play hard enough to hurt my hip flexor anymore. As for the latter, I took 3 or 4 weeks off, and knew it wasn't enough, and then started playing again because I felt left out, and really wanted to play.

• There isn't really an off season for frisbee. If it's not college season, it's club. We have summer league and fall league in between those two seasons, and pick up in between. I skip the pick up, but that generally only amounts to 4 weeks at most - not enough time to heal.

• We don't cross train properly. Right now, I am ONLY playing frisbee. I haven't been cross training, because I don't want to put more pressure on my body that I "have" to - i.e., because I put frisbee first and have limited time and utility of my body, I choose to do my favorite thing, at the expense of my health. During the college season, we have practice twice a week and a track practice once (to work on speed, agility, and endurance). While we do plyos and are encouraged to lift weights, I know it certainly doesn't happen as much as it ought to. There are several reasons I can think of for that - for myself, it is hard to dedicate much more time to frisbee and working out. Because of my full time job, frisbee IS my social life in the spring. I get 20 hours per week of "social time", and then weekends. If I spend about 10 of those hours, plus every other weekend, doing required frisbee stuff, it's hard for me to spend the rest of it cross training - I simply don't have time. I need to be doing work on my dissertation, spending a little bit of time with non-frisbee people, my family, etc, and also doing general maintenance - paying bills, cleaning my house, etc. I think even for the girls who don't have full time jobs etc, it is unfair to expect a lot more time towards frisbee - I think the freedom you have as an undergrad is incredibly important, and that social time should take up a larger part of your waking hours. Anyway, point is, not enough time to do the things we should do.
  

• Tantamount to that, for me at least, is that I simply don't know how to cross train effectively for the problems I have. I have never been instructed on how to weight train, especially not in a way that will prevent female-specific sports related injuries. It's a relatively new idea that women are vulnerable to these injuries, and that we need to train differently. This is something I am trying to find the TIME to look into, but it's hard.

• Despite being encouraged to take time off to heal, there is pressure (whether perceived or actual) to play through the pain. This is something we as a team have tried to address - it is true that no one will ever (or ever would) say you should play injured. But, when our leadership plays injured, or when other amazing frisbee players play through injuries, and you see how they are praised, or how much their efforts make a difference, it is hard not to feel that pressure. I know when I was injured for large parts of my rookie year, no one actually thought I was a wuss. But I think I felt like one, and I felt left behind in my training - and I KNOW my teammates resented the fact that I couldn't play as hard as I would have been able to (and as the other rookies were able to) had I not taken that time off - thought they didn't necessarily resent ME.
  

So regardless of whether you made it through that shitty attempt at bullets, my point is that we need to do something differently. As I am seeing a physical therapist, and I know others are (or will be soon), I think it is a good idea to get their input on specific exercises to strengthen opposing muscles and prevent additional injury to vulnerable areas - knees, ankles, hips, etc. I think we should pool the responses, and get together a cross-training program and then, at some level, REQUIRE it. I know, for instance, that it would be easier to implement if we had a buddy system that worked better. Me and Baker could force each other to do it, for instance. It's hard to do on your own.

Anyway, I think I'll get a book about it, and then read it while I'm on the stationary bike.

Oooh shiny

I am now the owner of a black 16GB iPhone 3G.

I mean, I don't actually have it... but it's on its merry way towards me, and I should have it in my hot little hands by the beginning of next week at the latest.

I'm a little disgusted with my own frivolity, but.... Frankly, I probably wasted enough time at work that just going ahead and purchasing it will defray the cost simply by putting a stop to all the day dreaming.

Yeah, and that whole tax stimulus refund thingy... there that goes. Way to do exactly what Bush wanted you to do, Susie. Good work. Oh god, no third person! We all know how irritating that can be (JKill, I'm looking at you. And I'm joking, calm down).

I'm sure at some point I will babble endlessly about my shiny toy, but I guess not until I've actually met it. Wow, it needs a name. All my various apple products have names.. Slurpy, Ducky, Penguin.. what will this one be? Hmm.

So I think I'm going to make this blog thingy invite only, so I don't offend anyone's fragile sensibilities, or intrigue any creepy stranger people (no offense to non-creepy strangers). So if you're actually reading this, let me know, and I'll "invite" you. As incentive, the posts will likely become juicier and more entertaining once I know who specifically is reading. but then again, maybe not. We're all about equivocation over here (oooh good word. just say it a couple times.)

Ok, byebye.

frisbeee

Went to SMUT (Smoky Mountain Ultimate Tourney, get your mind out of the gutter) this past weekend as it was AMAZING. Top to bottom:

Me and Kevin drove up 441 the whole way, rather than taking the Google Maps recommended route through Atlanta and Chattanooga. Aside from saving us 140 miles round trip, at the cost of about an hour, this route was beautiful. 441 shoots straight up through the Smokies, which I had the pleasure of visiting the previous weekend as well. They make me eat my words about there being no comparison between east and west coasts; everything is just so GREEN, and the mountains manage some measure of the severity that I love about the Rockies. The roads are wonderfully curvy, great fun to drive in my little manual. Plus Kevin had never been there, and it was nice to take him some where I'm more comfortable, for once - these mountains are where we spent all our familial spare time as children.

We left fairly late (around 5) on the 4th, and caught various fireworks shows between the northern edge of the park and our destination in Knoxville. When we arrived, the Knoxville fireworks were in full swing, and all the parking was jam packed. All that were left were scary, too-small parallel spots, conventiently located on steep hills. Not the best option, considering my car - and my parallel parking skills. So, we drove around for a bit, and finally parked illegally until the fireworks ended, watching them from the lawn of our hostess' apartment. Fixed the parking situation, and ran upstairs to hang out / pass out.

THe other members of our team (basically a pick up team, organized by Caroline) hailed from all over the Southeast: Atlanta (via Auburn, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Florida), Chattanooga, Athens, and Grown-Up Land (location unknown). I was the newest player, and I was pretty nervous about playing with all of them, as usual.. especially since some play for the ATL area cluband college teams (Chain, Alloy, etc.). But they were all nice, and I needn't have worried.

Saturday we had a first round bye (has that EVER happened to me?), so we rolled up around 10:30 for our 10:45 game. It was against a Louisville team, and they were running drills and tapping their feet impatiently when we showed up. About half of us ran a warm up lap (I was the only one who ran more than one...) and everyone else threw around a little bit, and then it was time to play. I don't remember anything specific, obviously, but I do recall the score: 15 - 5. Yay! And I was playing just fine - I had one easy doink, but other than that, I was having a great time, and didn't do anything absurd. My female team mates pegged me as a defensive player, since I was running a lot, which was fine by me - my throws go downhill when I'm nervous. So I was playing a LOT, because we started out on defense a lot (obviously... 15 - 5...) - and it was really cool to play that much, and to keep getting called on to the field.

So then the second game was against a team from Boone, which I think we ended up losing about 13-15? I think. That one I was still playing really well, and I got to pop a bunch in zone offense. Which is my favorite. And I was running it, and it was so much fun. Even though we lost... I can't remember what was going on, but I think a lot of it just had to do with intensity and cohesiveness, which we were lacking... I mean, it was a pick up team. But whatever, I had a grand time.

The third game was against Southside. As in Eileen's team. I was so nervous, because I really wanted to play well in front of her - she being my coach and all... and maybe not having the highest opinion of me, as a player or a human (that's my perception even if it's unfair, and I don't think it is). We all really wanted to beat Southside, for whatever reason... some because they are a "real" mixed club team, though not as good as Deliverance (or any of the more seasoned variety.. Rival, etc), some because of personal rivalries (hi!), whatever. They were the best team we played on Saturday. So, everyone was fired up, and finally warmed up (no arguing about that, we'd been playing for over 3 hours straight).

As usual, I can't give a run down of the game by any means, but my impression of it follows, peppered with some non-chronological anecdotes.

We reamed them. The final score was 15 - 7, I think, and they were pissed. We played hard the entire game, and it was fantastic - you wouldn't have been able to tell we hadn't played together before. Eileen kept marking up on me, and I was actually giving her a run for her money - it was like I had a whole game full of those glimpses of the player I can be when I stop worrying about what I'm supposed to be doing, and just play. O and D, I was beating her in straight sprints, and making her work on the dump and on the mark. She stopped to compliment me TWICE mid-game, and more later - I can't remember ever getting a specific, unsolicited compliment from her before. It was awesome, and just made me play harder.

I had two sweet bids, though sadly neither were completions.. both were in the endzone. On one, someone (of course I don't know) overthrew me, and I ran it down and laid out *perfectly*, and actually got my hand on the disc, much to everyone's surprise (it was quite overthrown), but didn't get control. That was the one I was most bummed about, just because I managed to run it down. I still don't quite know how I laid out - it just happened. But it didn't hurt, and everyone said it was text book, and I was (am!) so excited to have done that. The other one was for a disc that was thrown behind me, so I had to change my momentum and direction to make play on it. So the bid looked neat, I guess, but no disc for me. But it was funny because this guy on Southside told Kevin he got a girlfriend who likes to lay out as much as he does, which I took as a huge compliment considering how often Kevin bids. So yay, I'm excited.

Now, to become more consistent....

Right, so we got first in our pool by point differential (Southside beat the Boone team), and therefore got ANOTHER first round bye on Sunday. I sleptwalked through dinner (totally not used to playing that much!), and passed out around 11.

On Sunday, we weren't as cohesive (I blame Karl the drunken wonder - he walked up at 10 already double fisting... and also everyone else's late night activities) but we did beat the first two teams we played (who were they? I can't remember). We finally went down in the semis against one of the two Deliverance teams, in a fairly ugly game. Utter chaos, cutting each other off, turfing easy throws, etc. No one hit their stride. I was incredibly tired, after having played more than I ever have in my life ever. But my shins didn't hurt too much! so yay.

Sooo we drove home, and that was that :D

Women and Sports

Today on NPR I was listening to a really interesting piece on Fresh Air about the higher rate of injury in women's sports compared to men, specifically in sports with lots of cutting and jumping (frisbee... duh).

Pretty interesting stuff. Go check it out:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92181946#share

I might post the audio later. And I might say more.

Or I might not.

winner winner chicken dinner

We ended up going to Poultry Days last weekend, after Kev's GMa rallied and is now completely fine. I still think we ought to go visit her sometime though... Anyhow, we drove up to Ohio for the tournament on Friday, and arrived just in time for the beginning on some great thunderstorms that stayed through most of the night. I love camping in those conditions, though obviously setting up the tent can suck, as can a leaky rain fly... fortunately I can sleep almost regardless of circumstances. I think I might have actually slept more effectively because my peers were having so much trouble. Seriously. It's like in undergrad how I was better at studying when other people were around me wasting time playing video games or something. I think part of my brain (you know, the arrogant part) only wants to do a good job at things when other people aren't.

Anyhow, it rained all night, and I might have had some rum, and the moral of that story is that Saturday was a little rough. Never one to learn from previous experience, I forgot that even one drink (much less ~4) begets poor coordination and endurance for me. Also, apparently, it reduces my intelligence to the point that I choose not to wear sunscreen. At all. You know, because I'm blonde and fair-skinned, and my freckles will shield me from the damaging rays of the sun. Smart, aren't I.

So Saturday started out poorly for me, as I couldn't catch ANYTHING. Maybe because one of my contacts was absurdly messed up. I guess depth perception is moderately important... Got that fixed and things started improving. Li'l Peep Show made a strong showing, winning the first game against someone or other (with minimal help from me), and also winning out fourth game against Chickenooga (also not much help from me). In our second and fifth games, against some Colorado/Wisco hybrid of doom, and a GA team with many people who intimidate me, I stepped it up and tried really hard, with mixed results. The ColoWisco girls were so much better than me that I couldn't begin to inhabit the same stratosphere... they dominated our men as well. They didn't occupy gender roles at all on the field. It was ... cool? and unfortunate for our little team's hopes and dreams. The GA team was, obviously, not trying their hardest, as it consisted of mainly Chain/Ozone people, and it was a small army. We lost when they finally realized we were capitalizing on their laziness and tendency to implode on themselves, and subsequently stepped it up a notch. But, the real story there is that I laid out, and actually caught the disc (strategically, this occurred in the line of sight of my future captain), so I think it's clear that I am the real winner.

After the fifth game, we were tired and hungry, so we got some infamous chicken dinners and then watched some vicious baby pool hotbox (a great sport to spectate, btws). Then some random dude decided he wanted to lay out into the baby pool, but missed, and broke his collarbone (for real!). Then, he laid out once more (brains! he's got 'em!), and walked away in pain. I felt bad, but also not that bad, because wtf? But then bad again, for not feeling bad. Then confused, because my brain can't handle all of that thinking (one more parenthetical!!).

Other stuff probably happened, but who really knows. On Sunday, we played a game in the B bracket, lost after we remembered how tired we were, and then made the long ass trek back to Athens.

Phew. What a great recap. You get a cookie if you read the whole thing. Except you have to come get it, and gas ain't cheap. Sucker!

Weekly-ish update...

Summer league started this week, and so far it's been fun. When we picked teams last week, we focused more on social dynamic and availability than we did on skill. Our UGA players are me, Baker, Jordan, Kevin, and Billy. Other than that, we have some folks who used to play, or some folks who have played elsewhere, or some folks who simply like to run around and/or have really good attitudes. That goes a long way in summer league, I think. Baker and Jordan are great because they are generally patient and good at explaining things, as is Kevin. Billy is funny... he's really good (shut up, JAM), but half the time he doesn't do what he ought to. I mean, he gets half our D's, but it's because he poaches off people a ton. He chills deep sometimes but doesn't cut under a lot, but he is never what kills a point. I guess really what I mean is that he's a terrible example for new people, but he plays well in his own way. And he always comes out of nowhere to do something cool. And he and Kevin have this bizarre connection of the field, which is cool to watch. I mean, obviously I'm partial, and I simply enjoy that Kevin clearly enjoys himself when he and Billy are doing their thing, but it's nice how often it results in our doing well..

Okay, right, back on track (hah). I'm really psyched because I'm playing all right, slash getting some cool catches, and I currently feel all warm and fuzzy because Baker and Jordan and Kevin were all impressed by some of the catches I've gotten this week. Granted, Kevin has to be impressed or else he won't get any lovin', but still. Okay, honestly, I'M impressed with a couple of them. And I'm so happy to have that feeling back - the joy of doing something well, athletically. I feel like the college season sort of left me feeling inadequate and timid, and I hate that. Also cool, though it sounds ludicrous - I wore my heart rate monitor at frisbee yesterday, and I allegedly burned almost 1200 calories in the 2 and half hours we played. Baker and I played like 85% + of the points, and my heart rate stayed basically between 130 and 200 the whole time. Which, actually, is a little sad... if I didn't play a point, my heart rate didn't recover well AT ALL yesterday. I wasn't feeling very well though, and the monitor pretty well reflected the spaciness/dizziness combo I had going on. Anyhow, I don't really believe the calorie count, but it was sort of entertaining.

In other news... we (me, Kevin, Kenny) are supposed to go to Poultry Days this weekend in Ohio. I've been hearing about this tourney forever (slash since this time last year, as the tourney occurred right after summer league began, and therefore right after I decided I was hooked on this sport). Supposed to leave tomorrow morning, but there is a chance we won't be able to go. Kevin's grandmother is ill, so we two might be going to NC instead. Bummer, but obviously family comes first. In addition to the obvious bummer of illness, I'm strangely excited that Kev wants me to come with him. I told Baker that, and she might have actually said "duh" and looked at me blankly, but it's foreign to me -- being invited, included in family shit. It appears I should simply stop drawing comparisons, but in my last two relationships, I was pointedly shut out of all family affairs for most of the relationships, and made it in eventually only through circumstance and persistence. I'm talking about being walled out for 1 out of 1.5, and 1.5 out of 2 years, respectively, for things as severe and affecting as Parkinson's, family deaths, and having to pay all your mom's bills because of illness. That shit will have an impact on a person that I think would be better shared with a significant other, at least to some degree. That's another can of worms, though.

Anyhow, might be in NC this weekend... I hope it all turns out okay. I have certainly never mastered what to do in those situations, what to say. I usually just try to make myself useful, and stay quiet. I do recall that the last time I went to help in someone's familial grief, I tried to make everyone some food so they could focus on each other, and I shattered a pyrex baking dish. It was spectacularly embarrassing. So hopefully none of that, though I guess that is standard Susie.

Hindsight

I started playing ultimate(as in, not bullshit pick-up with no rules) a year ago. I went to summer league with some friends, and as I was freshly out of a shitty job and shitty relationship, I decided to rebuild my social life in the frisbee world. It was really hard, and I think I only succeeded because I was so determined. I can be really shy around people I don't know very well, even sometimes around people I DO know pretty well. Yeah, if you know me, you know that that statement can often be a load of crap - but I think I am equal parts reserved and extroverted, at different times and in different situations.

At any rate, I infiltrated the frisbee social circles, and played as much as I could. Obviously it worked, as I ended up playing for the women's club team last year at my university, and now live with several people I met through frisbee. While I am not as heavily involved in the social scene as I was last fall, I still surround myself largely with people I know from ultimate. And I spend the majority of my time outside of school/work doing frisbee related things with frisbee related people.

Last night I attended the "draft" for summer league, which starts on Monday, officially, and I have gone to pick up a few times this summer already. I had this moment of appreciation while sitting in the Mutton's living room, playing with their baby that wasn't born when I started playing, surrounded by people that I am somehow friends with now, when last year I never dreamed I would have a life this rich with quality people, or a sport to fill the void left by climbing. I am sort of enthralled by how different it is for me this year, as an insider (as it were) compared with last year, as an outsider.

Socially, I see the people who don't know anyone, and/or haven't played too much, and how hard it is for them to really interact with the inner circle (for lack of a better concise term... that's not really accurate though). I have been trying to learn people's names and be nice and chatty, but honestly I have a terrible memory, and small talk makes me anxious. So I am sort of guilty (insomuch as it's a crime -- it's totally not) of the same things that made it difficult for me last summer. I stick with the people I know, which helps to exclude the new kids. I mean, obviously if they make a concerted effort to infiltrate, as I did, I'm sure many of them would be successful (barring toxic personality problems), but regardless it is an interesting dynamic to see from the other side.

In terms of playing this more laid-back brand of ultimate, I am incredibly frustrated. I remember in the fall of last year when I transitioned from coed to women's leagues, and how much I hated playing with all girls. Now I don't know how to play with boys anymore. Many of them don't know how to play with girls either, which creates a good bit of tension. It's amusing (in an incredibly annoying sort of way) to see boys who aren't particularly good look off players like Red and Baker simply because they are women, though either of them could school most of the guys at pick up without breaking a sweat.

Also, I already knew I have trouble when people who aren't very good play in ways I don't expect. Amoeboid mass of players in the middle of the field? I'm hosed. I don't know what to do, my cuts are all cut off by people running in random directions, and I am wholly ineffective despite my modest abilities. I am not good at poaching when playing defense, because that is a suicidal thing to do at my level in women's ultimate. I don't handle because I am used to being one of the least qualified. It has taken me the better part of two weeks to learn to pick up turned discs rather than to run past them, leaving them to someone else who, in all likelihood, can't even throw a flick. It's going to be hard to rewire myself for this kind of playing, and I bet once I finally succeed, it'll be time for women's fall league again.

Anyway, all that to say it's cool to look back and see how much has changed in the past year. I wonder what will happen next?

Diplomacy

We got a new roommate recently. She seems very nice, quiet, clean. Haven't gotten to talk to her too much, really, as I haven't been home too much, between work, frisbee, and what have you. A few nights ago was the first night I had been home to sleep since she moved in. Me and Baker talked to her for a bit before turning in for the evening, told her she should come to frisbee with us. La di da, lollipops and rainbows, everything is peachy.

So I retreat to my room to putz around a bit, and I get a text message... from Baker... who is 10 feet away in her room. Evidently, the new roomie (A) is partaking in a malodorous and illicit activity to which I am particularly averse. With her door open, without asking if anyone minded. Brilliant. As if it were scripted, the AC switched on, and the scent filled my room, and I transformed into grumpy Susie.

Now, my issues with pot are pretty ill-defined, even to me. There is a mixture of rational and irrational aspects to it, rooted in the long time (and in my opinion, excessive) use by my parents. I disagree with their choice to smoke while I was growing up, though I never realized what it was until I was 16. Near the end of highschool, I tried it myself several times, but never really appreciated how it affected me - it simply made me feel lethargic and stupid, slow to notice things and quick to forget them. I suppose I enjoyed how humorous inane things seemed, but I can easily achieve that level of silliness without having to smoke anything. And I hated the act of smoking - the burning I could feel in my chest, the taste of the smoke, the sickly-sweet smell of the plant. So I haven't done it since. I've thought about lighting up from time to time, when I have felt excluded or left out as the only one of my peers not smoking at some gathering or other. But I just haven't felt compelled.

I have noticed I tend to judge people when I find out they smoke - even rather harshly at first, if I don't know them well, or if I already don't like them. But rationally, I don't really care, especially about occasional use. (I have more of a problem swallowing the frequent smokers, the pot heads; I just see it as an enormously expensive waste of time, not to mention exceedingly unhealthy - O, the carcinogens!) I tend to believe that most things are just fine in moderation.

It has proven to be a bit of a dealbreaker in the relationship department, though. The first guy I dated in college smoked a LOT, as in, daily. I wouldn't let him smoke anywhere near me, and if I could easily guess he was stoned I would not be around him. It just irked me... I didn't think that much about it though, about why it bothered me. Another guy I dated for a while had never smoked anything when we began dating - cigarettes or otherwise. I remember being oddly excited when I found that out, not having previously realized how much I cared. Then, after we'd been dating a while, he wanted to try it. I told him I didn't want to be there, and I also got upset that he might make a habit out of it. It became a contentious issue. That was when I realized how much it annoyed me.

For the past few years I sort of operate on a case by case basis. I don't tolerate it in my boyfriends - it's simply not something I want to be exposed to on any level in that kind of relationship, especially as I recognize I can't rationally discuss it. I lovingly chide my parents that they shouldn't smoke it if they must have it so often, as eating it circumvents much of the toxicity. But I don't let them smoke around me, and I get angry if I find out they are stoned around me. I don't prefer to be near when friends are smoking (that pretty much goes for cigarettes as well, though), and I notice a change in my demeanor if I am around it. I get... quietly arrogant, I guess? But I don't really care, because it doesn't affect me that much.

The roommate thing hasn't come up yet, though. I think it's two issues. Firstly, that if she must, she can do it outside the house - no smoking anything in the house - I'm a freakin' toxicologist, and lung cancer is particularly nasty. Secondly, that she did not ask, and that was incredibly inconsiderate. I think this is the bigger issue, and I am not sure how to handle it. I would like to express how rude I found that, especially as she is the newest roommate and had been there barely 24 hours. But I don't want to burn bridges. I've never understood how to handle things like this properly...

I think my master plan currently is to pull her aside if it happens again, let her know it ticks me off for both reasons, and that if she must, she ought to go ahead and pretend she's a kid and her parents can't find out. Don't ask, don't tell. It totally works for the military and those new-fangled gay kids, right?

In the news...

http://strengthsandweaknesses.org/Weaknesses/evol_quotes.htm

The above link will take you to a website I reached via this NYT article. It has left me sputtering, not quite sure from which I angle I should mount my unnecessary defense. And so, rather than go on at length, I will make only a few points.

1. Have you read the label on a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap before? Somehow this litany of ridiculous and off-point observations is reminiscent of that, for me. Maybe it's simply all the exclamation points, or bizarre grammatical constructs, or repetition...

2. The quote at the top of the main page beautifully sums up my current attitude towards evangelism and creationists, contrary to its original intent:

"I wish I were younger. What inclines me now to think you

may be right in regarding [evolution] as the central and

radical lie in the whole web of falsehood that now governs

our lives is not so much your arguments against it as the

fanatical and twisted attitudes of its defenders."

- C. S. Lewis

3. This article, and this attitude, or rather the realization of how widespread it is, strike fear into my little scientist heart. I am only beginning to grasp how differently I and my familiars view this issue, along with others ranging from homosexuality to sustainable agriculture, from our privileged little hamlet of academia.

Compulsion

Gah! I'm back. No need to fill you in, I'll just plug along as if I were here the whole time.

Lies, actually. I'll do a quick recap of my life over the last 12 months. An approximation, actually; please do not fact check. Also, for kicks and added confusion, lets do this in reverse order starting from the outlook for this week.

Now/June:
1. I'm planning on meeting with UGA people this week about the potential job switch (fingers crossed, and legs, but that's because I drank too much diet coke).
2. Kev started at his new job this morning. It was funny when he had to get up before me. Sucker!
3. Last week of pick up before summer league starts! I am filled with apprehension, and excitement, and also cookies.

Before Now:

1. May: My birthday month! I am 24. Woo!

Kev, me, Kim, and J before my bday dinner

Went to Raleigh for a biological modeling instructional course, cementing my status as computer-nerd-in-training. Went to the beach twice, once for lounging and once for a hat tourney over Mem. day weekend.

Don't steal my doritos when I've had this much rum.

Other than that, tried not to play frisbee because my shins are superfucked. Moved to the Batcave (mostly) to live with Baker (yay!), but also Bino and JAM (among others) skipped town, which = lame.

2. April: Sectionals and Regionals and the end of the frisbee season. Mixed feelings about that - it marks the end of spending all of my free time with 20+ girls (read: overly emotive) who are mostly in a different place in their lives than I am (read: undergrads), as well as the increasingly painful shin splint adventure I've been on for so long. It also marks the end of spending all of my free time pushing myself physically and mentally towards a common goal with 20+ girls who are all different from I and therefore more interesting, as well as my much-loved near daily exercise. Goodbye body, hello swimsuit season! Ahh, who gives a shit -- clearly not me.

Love these Hos

3. March: Let's travel! I go straight from Terminus to a conference in Seattle for work, and then immediately to Centex. Then, I go essentially right to Tybee to meet Kevin's parents. I can't remember anything else that happens this month, because my brain exploded on the sixth plane ride.

4. February: Schoolfrisbeework dominates me. I say hi to my boyfriend every night before I pass out, and then bye when I wake up to do it all again. I lead a very fulfilling life.


5. January: I finally try out for frisbee, at the first tournament. I think they take me partially because maybe I will be good one day, but also because I sat on a fence for many hours filming the games despite intense intestinal distress, which keeps me from playing. Who cares, I made the team. Blah blah blah schoolfrisbeework.

Popcorn demonstrating a stack offense

6. December: Hi Kevin! Finally, I begin dating the boy I should have begun dating a long time ago. I also work, and sleep, and that's pretty much it. I am not allowed to play frisbee because my throat might hemorrhage. TMI? Oh, sorry. December is a very boring month, except for that fun new boyfriend part. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks.

Me and Kevin at his house on Tybee

7. November: My hip flexor hurts! I still have strep! My tonsillectomy occurs two days after turkey time. This, with my hip flexor, precludes my participation in try-outs for frisbee. Instead, I get to hang out in limbo for two more months. Ahh, joy. I throw a going away party for my tonsils, and fail to play tonsil hockey with anyone at this last opportunity. The tonsillectomy sucks, but not as much as one might think. I get 2 liters (!) of liquid lortab, and have absurd and lengthy conversations on gchat. I spill lortab on my beloved laptop, and it goes to sleep forever. So much for that half-written thesis.... Ahh well, I can't be bothered. It's time to fall asleep with my finger on the keyboarddddddd oops.

8. October: My hip flexor hurts! Wahhh! I can't really play frisbee! Oh, and I still have strep!My general practitioner observes that I am "unlucky." He refuses to find a medical explanation for my continued streppiness. I become angry, and go to an ENT, who decides I should have my tonsils removed! But not yet. How's Thanksgiving sound? No big plans? Great. Also, at the end of the month, I go to Club Nationals to watch/drink. It is.... an experience. The single most debaucherous experience of my life. Fiddy still owes me $30 for gas, that bastard.


9. September: Blahblah blah frisbee is eating my life. I go to some tournaments, hang out with a bunch of teenagers, you know, that sort of thing. I begin trying to be productive at work again, and learn that I detest writing scientific papers. Terrible, that. Oh, and I still have strep. As in, give me antibiotics every 3 weeks, this is never going away, kill me, strep.


10. August: School begins, and I make the unexpected and poorly thought out decision to change to the PhD track (again). This, amid barely doing anything at work. Though I had previously thought myself DONE with classes, forever and ever amen, I find myself taking Risk Assessment twice a week. Summer league ends, people move away, and I begin spending my time primarily with girls (eww) as fall league kicks up. The transition to all women's frisbee is difficult for me. Also, I still have strep. Yay! I make a name for myself by distributing it to friends. The name is Streptar. Streptastic!


11. July: Operation Make Friends continues with our heroine inviting herself to as many social functions as possible, and leeching on to several unsuspecting frisbee kids who did nothing but cast an innocent smile in her direction. Work performance seems to carry an inverse relationship to love of frisbee, and by the end of the month has dropped to an embarrassing level. This coincides with the unlikely re-kindling of a highschool friendship, which facilitates bad behavior outside of work. I play in my first frisbee tournament -- Sweetwater, savage, and with strep throat.


12. June: I start playing summer league, and am immediately hooked on frisbee. Finally something to fill the void left by climbing! And, bonus: apparently that pesky wrist surgery that ruined so much for me had one immense and obvious benefit -- magically, I can throw a flick. The flow of beer increases as the days of this month wear on, resulting in some poor (albeit very fun) decision making.

Reading is FUNdamental

I've been meaning to post about books for a while now (hell, I've just been meaning to post... clearly that didn't happen), and after an enjoyable edition of To the Best of Our Knowledge on children's literature, I figured I would get my act together.

I have read a LOT lately. I went to the beach 2 weeks ago, for five days, and read 6 and 2 halves books, which were mostly frou frou beach reading. Notable from these were Charmed Thirds, Nickel and Dimed, and Little Children.

Charmed Thirds is the third book of a now 4 book series by Megan McCafferty. I haven't read the first two; this was an impulse buy mid-way through the beach trip. I read this in less than 24 hours, and enjoyed it very much. It's the best "chick lit" I have read since my first foray into the genre, with In Her Shoes. It probably helps that I relate very much to the main character, Jessica Darling (no, not the porn star!), as she makes her way through her undergraduate years in college, and comes out pretty confused and little bit cynical. I am definitely going to read the other books in this series - I'll probably save them for vacation reading, as they are pure and simple brain candy. 4/5 stars.

Nickel and Dimed is a thought-provoking read, and really fast (another sub-24 hour book). I think the issues Barbara Ehrenreich brings to light have grown more important and and have gained more attention since she wrote this in 2001. I found her writing to be overly sardonic, and sometimes disdainful and arrogant... but I am very glad to have read this. I tend to spend far too much time in my middle-class white kid bubble or privelage, and this got me thinking outside my own experiences. 4/5 stars.

Little Children, of which I have about 50 pages left, is an interesting look at suburban life. I had heard good stuff about this book from friends, and though honestly I don't like the writing that much, it has raised some interesting thoughts for me. The story centers upon the rather vapid affair between two stay-at-home parents, which in itself is pretty silly to me. It has made me evaluate how I feel about staying home with kids versus staying in the professional world - and I don't know which I think is best for me. I guess I won't know until I am experiencing it, eh? At any rate, the subject material is interesting, but I don't think this book is that great. 2.5/5 stars.

I have also listened to all of my Harry Potter audiobooks in the past couple of months, and was devastated to find that the final book isn't coming out until July! I thought it was coming out this month. Alas. After listening to the children's literature reviews on NPR, I think I might have to venture back to this genre in my post-HP life. I graduated from the kids/young adult section of the library at the tender age of 9, and didn't look back until I started reading HP in 2002 or so. Honestly, I get enough "adult situations and content" on the news and at work everyday - when I read, I want to be transported to a happier place. I won't give up my classic and contemporary "adult" fiction, but I am going to be sure to read more kid's books.

Not a kid book: I am currently listening to a recording of A Tale of Two Cities, by Chuckie Dickens. Not what I thought it would be. Hard to keep up with though - I keep having to listen to sections over and over again, but I am getting into it.


Random: I think this is really cool - photos of balloons popping.

Under Pressure

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You know how when you put something off for too long, it becomes harder and harder to get it done? I didn't post for a bit, because things were moving too fast - the end of the semester, final exams, friends graduating, my birthday, vacation... And because I had left my knitting at my parent's home, and didn't want to post without pictures. I just kept coming up with excuses.

So here I am, posting with no pictures because my camera is in my car and I'm feeling lazy. Here I am, wondering how it is already June.

But lots of neat stuff has been happening in my knitting world. I will post pictures soon, but here is a quick run down:

While my Cables and Os was at my parents' home, I got some Sugar & Cream and started a wash cloth revolution. I am very excited about making useful stuff for my apartment. Very. I really want to get my sewing machine fixed now.

I got inspired yesterday to cut down on my grocery bag useage, and whipped up a Saturday Market Bag. I love this. I will be making more.

I finished my Cables and Os. It is beautiful, and a major accomplishment for me.

When I went to my LYS for buttons, I was showing it to the woman working - and she asked if I might want to knit samples for the store. This blew my mind. I might get to knit with expensive yarn I have only ever dreamed of touching. And I might get compensated for it. Holy crap. Speechless over here.

Subsequent to this, I freaked out that I don't even know how to knit socks. So now I am making a sock. Monkeys, my Cookie A. I am enjoying myself thoroughly.

I'm still on a pattern search for my next big project... We are in the interview stage with Eileen, from No Sheep. I am also considering Indigo Ripples. I'm very excited about cotton, as the Georgia summer temps don't facilitate much wool knitting.

Later on (next month? heh) I will round this out with pics.

100 things

I love reading these on other blogs, and I also love the way this was done over at Fricknits, so I am shamelessly copying it. Here goes - the first of what I hope will be weekly installments of 100 Things About MEEEEeee!

Chapter One: Susie - recent history

1. I am pursuing a Masters degree in Toxicology. I had a really difficult time deciding what to study in college - I was torn in all different directions, quite literally between art, english, history, physics, biology, geology, mathematics - I love(d) it all. But science, I couldn't get away from that. It speaks to my soul. And my fascination with blood and guts. I mean, what?


2. My undergraduate degree was in Biology, and in pursuit of this degree, I spent an inordinate amount of time in the Poultry Science Department. This was more fun than I can explain, and has earned me a reputation among family and friends as a bit of a chicken lover. I am great fun on road trips due to my expansive knowledge of farm animal facts.

3. I also climbed rocks during my undergrad years – it was my favorite activity, ever in my whole life. I was even sort of good at it, considering I am not athletically inclined.

4. I lived in a truck for three months in 2004 with my friend Mere. We drove around the country and climbed all summer. It was the best time ever.

5. Somewhere in there I messed up my wrist. I didn’t realize how badly until a good while later, when I could no longer put on sports bras, open door knobs, or lift pots of water. I slowly stopped climbing because of my wrist, which completely changed my post-baccalaureate plans from moving back into an automobile and climbing, to graduate school.

7. Really, I accidentally went to grad school. I got food poisoning, and I tend to make life-changing decisions when I am cooped up by myself for too long. I was looking at programs to start in 2006 or 2007, but I got in faster than I expected. I regretted this for a good long time, because it turns out that I chose a super-jerk as my advisor. It was fun for a while though – I worked in an aquatic lab, with fishies.

8. After some obnoxious misdiagnoses, I found out I had torn a ligament in my wrist and that’s why it stopped working. I had surgery to fix it in January of 2006, and it took forever to heal. Now I wish I had a bigger scar to show for it.

9. I began knitting in early 2005, making 2 scarves out of acrylic boucle, both of which I still wear. They are horrendous. I put the needles down until the following winter , at which point I had to re-learn everything. I started a baby blanket for a coworker, which I now regret was also made out of acrylic ickiness. You live, you learn.

10. After my surgery, I used knitting as a way to loosen up and strengthen my wrist. Now I am an addict.

D'oh

So, my Cables and Os has gotten pretty unwieldy, as I have reached the armscyes.

Thus, I had decided to leave the bulk of the sweater for knitting on at home, and carry around the sleeves, for work and spare moments. I reached this decision, and excitedly ran off to work this morning with a mere 50g of yarn and a set of additional needles. I was pretty psyched, and cast on for the ribbing - on a whim, I started knitting the sleeves in the round. The 3 inches of twisted rib got me through class this afternoon, as well as some procrastination this evening.

As I was knitting in the round, the resultant fabric was quite stretched out for the first couple of inches. This fact allowed me to ignore the growing sense that something was not quite right, at least for awhile. But at some point, I had to face facts. In my Monday morning haste, I had completely forgotten that the ribbing at the bottom of the sleeves is worked on 3mm needles, whereas the body is on 3.5 mm needles. I'm such a space cadet sometimes.

So I went ahead and finished my 3 inches of ribbing, since I was almost done... hoping that maybe the smaller needles wouldn't make that much of a difference. Alas...

The sleeve fits quite easily over the largest part of my arm. If the fabric were to stretch out at all with wear, it would hang off of the largest part of my arm. Curses!

Ah well, I am off to the beach for a couple of days - hopefully I will have plenty of time to rework the ribbing, and get some other knitting done - Mother's Day is fast approaching, so I better get hoppin'. Mostly because I am itching to start some other things:


Eileen, from No Sheep For You!, with some serious modifications in mind (lace on both sides???)

EZ Seamless Hybrid, from Knitting Without Tears (go see one over at brooklyn tweed)

Not Yet Chosen Cabled Pullover for Sister-in-Law, in Jo Sharp Silk Road Tweed. Any suggestions?


I already made some tasty swatches... mmmm yarn

Stick a fork in me...

The story of my second edition Central Park Hoodie starts out simply enough. In January, I made the first hoodie out of a wool mohair blend, creating a toasty garment that wouldn't see a whole lot of action down here in Georgia. By the time I finished it, February was upon us and I could easily forsee a time when, despite my desperate love of that sweater, I would want to bury it in the backyard to placate the gods of southern summer, so they could not punish my longing for winter by nudging the mercury ever higher. But I would definitely need a replacement. Thus, I ordered yarn for a second CPH before the first one was done. I copied Carrie and got some yummy Cascade Sierra. I didn't even pretend I wanted a color other than green. And as soon as that yarn got here, I cast on for my second hoodie, while wearing the first.

I knitted the thing pretty quickly for me... I wasn't really paying attention, but I would guess it took me about 3 weeks. That's warp speed for me. Granted, it came to work... and school.... and the movies.... and I think that's about when I started encouraging friends to hold a knitting night... but I got it done. And then I seamed the thing together one night, threw together some quick button bands, maybe a little too fast. I wanted to wear it to an academic function in which I would have to interact with my old advisor, who happens to be a huge intimidating jerk face. For some reason, I feel empowered when I'm wearing a hand knit item.. Like hey, I don't care what you say to me, because I made my sweater OUT OF STRING. What did you do? NOTHING.

Or at least that's what goes through my mind. So, I threw it together and wore it, and while another knitter would have been slightly appalled at the unblocked sweater with a clearly wonky button band, it looked great to the untrained eye.

Oh, but there were issues. That morning I had wanted to take off and reattach a button a little higher...

and I cut the wrong piece of yarn. It was a terrible, tense moment. I had cut a hole in my sweater. Eek. I think I froze for nigh on 5 minutes, not moving. Then, I grafted over the hole, VERY poorly. It worked, and blended okay, but it was a temporary fix. I was too focused on wearing it that day to let something like a HOLE OF DOOM get in my way.

So I wore it that day... which was about, let's see, a month and a half ago? And then I wore it the next day. And the next day. I think you know where this is going. I kept thinking of reasons to wait to fix it... I wanted to wear it to this function.. that date... etc. And so I found myself last weekend, staring at a picture of me in all its unblocked glory.... wondering what had happened.

Last weekend I ripped out and re-knit the button band:

Before shot, purposely through plants to take the focus away from unblocked-ness

Close up of icky buttonhole, shitty grafting combo


Button Band guts, buttonhole side. Notice Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire audiobook case. If he can fight Voldemort, surely I won't be thwarted by something as unintimidating as yarn?


The sweater needed some liquid reinforcement before I could untangle the grafting mess (I think, when all was said and done, I had extracted 6 discrete pieces of yarn from the area. WTF??)

Can I blame this on you? See all those yarn ends? UGh!

I managed to pick up all the stitches and fix all the problems and re-weave in the ends, but then... I started wearing it again. Still. Unblocked. At this point, after fixing my rather embarassing foray into buttonbandland, I fixated on a new obstacle. The ball band of the yarn indicates that this is washer/dryer safe. I was pretty stoked about that fact when buying the yarn, but by this point, when the sweater and I had bonded so extensively already, I was tempted to leave it in its native (and increasingly stinky) state forever.

But the swatches washed just fine... I decided on some middle ground - washing machine, lay flat to dry. So I took a stiff drink (who am I kidding, I got a huge bowl of ice cream and some lemonade) and threw it in the washing machine. It came out just fine, and now is blocking happily.



Notice state of the art bulletin blocking board, complete with skivvies garlands of encouraging fabric. And THe Mom Vest bundled up in the corner, banished due to short attention span and need for instant gratification. On looking at this picture, I realize I have a bit of an obsession with green. Yeah, okay, I already knew that.

Specs.....
Pattern: Central Park Hoodie, Knitscene F06, 36" size
Yarn: Cascade Sierra, Asparagus (80%cotton, 20%wool, 192yd/100g, about 5 skeins. I think.)
Needles: Crystal palace circs, 7s for the body, 6s for the button band
Modifications: added 2 inches of length to the body.