Marathon and Pushing Through

Guess who survived the marathon! Me. (Kind of, barely.) Thanks for all of your supportive comments beforehand!

The before pictures:

The during pictures:

Not smiling quite as much in the during pictures.

It was really intense. I felt great the first 13 miles, and it was kind of downhill from there. Mark was very supportive and kept me going a few times, my favorite part being singing Bon Jovi to distract ourselves around mile 18. However, by the end I was really dragging. As soon as we crossed the finish line (6 hours later!) and downed a bottle of Gatorade, I magically had energy again. Lesson learned: Eat more when running for hours and hours, even if you don't like gel.

Things were so good with Mark that weekend that we got back together for a few weeks until it became unmistakably apparent that we do not value the same thing in a relationship. What can I say-- Love is exceedingly optimistic.  

On the upside, I am now far more confident in interpreting and trusting my feelings. I know how I feel when someone loves me for me (like in the beginning) and I know how good it feels to care about someone, talk through things because I care (even if I prefer to avoid hard discussions), and make plans together. I also know one person can't make the relationship work. When it's healthy and right, it's going to be great.

So where am I now? Back in Rhode Island. I started a painting that I've been wanting to do, bought the materials to make this cute bag, and am arranging regular volunteering. Tune in next time for pictures from my much-needed vacation to Arizona and Chicago. :)

Swimming around (Rhode) Island

Check out this little comic strip. It's how I feel sometimes-- but I'm happy to know that there are so many things waiting for me to uncover them when I get off my island!

Limbo Life

So I said it wouldn't be another month til I posted, but it turns out I am consistently and undeniably terrible at predicting the future (and I'm not just talking about blogging). There are three other drafts of this "update on my life" post sitting unfinished, because every time I start to blog about things settling down, something changes again.

Last week I was a mess because I had no health insurance, no job, and was very shortly to have no apartment. I'm just glad I was finally able to pick up my new car on Saturday (and quite proud of myself for having been able to negotiate well). I'm all for spontaneity, but everything at once is too much for my likes-planning self to handle. On the upside, I'm learning that you can still have a five-year vision even when you can't solidly say what you're doing in the next twenty-four hours.

This week, I'm hoping the job (and, by connection, the insurance) will shake out. I have the first of two interviews tomorrow to finally solidify my permanent position at Quality Partners. Surprise! I'm staying in Providence for... awhile. Even though I've already started meeting with the new team I'll be working with, I just want to see it on paper. I've been in limbo since March and I cannot wait to know what the majority of my life is going to look like for the next little bit so I can move forward with grand plans.

I'm also looking at more apartments this week. Jason and Kelly are temporarily letting me stay with them, which is so, so appreciated. But since I'm going to be in Providence for awhile, I might as well get on with it and get settled (and I don't want to overstay my welcome). Plus, I'm kind of feeling like a hobo since I'm still dragging a few things around in my car. Or maybe a gypsy since I have moved every year since I left my parents house. I am hoping not to move again until I move out of Rhode Island to a new adventure. (After all, no one likes the process of moving. It's moving somewhere new and exciting that makes it worth it...)

I guess there are perks to the hobo life though-- it is kind of amusing to see my potted plants waving to me from the back seat every time I get in my car. Here's hoping I can keep them alive though this transition. :)

Graduation Part I

So... Sorry about the lack of posting for an entire month.  If you're reading this, you are one loyal blog reader!  I mentioned graduation, which was great.  My parents came to visit:

I got to wear the Master's robe, which has strange, long, bat sleeves:

I briefly coveted the hoods that the PhDs got to wear, but a PhD is officially off the list for the next couple of years.  That's one decision down.  It may come up again later, but I'm going to get back into the clinical side that I enjoy and then decide, after a couple of years of experience, how I can get a PhD my way-- without having to give up working with people.
 
I got my degree, which is completely in Latin:

And, of course, I got lots of congratulations and support from a lot of other people too!  Thank you so much, not just for being there at the end, but for helping me through the last two years!

Despite all of this, the fact the I am finished didn't really sink in fully until I saw the extra letters after my name on a poster we presented for work. And I got to change my signature line, which now reads, "Rachel Voss, MPH."  Kinda cool.  Kinda cool like these pictures, which are some of my favorites from the weekend:

Can you see the words?  These are etched in the stone under the Brown bear on the main green, and I could not have said it better myself. It took a lot of work, and it feels really good to be finished!

Next post: Graduation part II and Becca's wedding!  And the status of the June list.  Stay tuned-- I promise it will not take me another month. :)

Isn't it about... Time?

Guess what? 

I SUBMITTED my thesis last week!!!!!!!  I have one more paper and a portfolio to put together, and then I am home free.  That means there are only 25 pages still standing between me and my degree!  It almost feels like this day was never going to come, and it's still a little surreal.  But it's here!  And when I actually graduate, you will hear all about that too. :)

In the meantime, I have a decision timeline.  If it's on the June list, you might as well give up asking me about it until then, because I'm not even thinking about it and will have no updates. ;)  Believe me, I will be shouting it from the rooftops when I am even 70% certain of what I'm doing after August 31st.

May:

• Wedding arrangements (dresses, tickets, ideas for B's reception)
• Parents' visit!  Where to go, what to do
• Singles' ward vs. family ward for the summer
• Getting a gym membership since I'll no longer be a student with free access :(

June:

• Adopt a tomato plant
• Hopefully extend my lease (since it ends at the end of the month and I don't want to move)
• Becca's wedding
• PhD vs. 2nd Bachelor's vs. Move somewhere random (i.e., What in the world am I doing with my life?)
• Start freelance writing

July:

• Finish bridesmaid dress (sleeves on a dang strapless dress... grr.)
• Final decision on the PhD/Career/next steps  (Does anyone have a dartboard I could use?)
• Ashley's wedding

August:

• Hopefully pack up for the next chapter of Rachel Voss: A True Story
• Publish a couple of articles I will have finished at work (I hope!)
• Move to...??????

I'm also hoping these months will include lots of adventuring-- Red Sox (or Paw Sox) games, hiking, and general running-amok of the Rhode Island variety.  Come join me if you can!  :)   

Weekly Highlights / Hooray for Love

- After randomly craving split pea soup, I found this recipe, which I am sharing with you because it was phenomenal and easy. I skipped the potatoes and barley (because I didn't have any) and only sort of followed the directions-- so it seems fairly difficult to ruin. Precisely my kind of recipe! :) Eventually I'll probably try it with the barley.

- I finally spent some time with my local friends, whom I've been neglecting for the past couple of weeks due (mostly) to regional church activities. I am so grateful for the amazing people I have met during my time here! I hope we can keep it up when we (I) splinter off in different directions.

- Truly beautiful Valentine's flowers. On a first date, of course, because Valentine's Day is placed so awkwardly on the calendar. But it was still very sweet of him. C'est la vie, or at least c'est la vie merveilleuse mienne. (P.S., is that right? Anyone speak French?)

Anyway, we made pesto (courtesy of Natalie's awesome recipe blog). Yum!

- Cassidy, my adventuring buddy, spent Sunday with me and we made heart-shaped pizzas. The company (and the pizzas) were amazing.



And...Recognize these? (Maddie, I know you will!)

That's right, the best brownies ever. Mmmmm.

Final highlight:
- Today was unseasonably warm, so I got to run outside for the first time since... November? Thank you, February, for being so kind on my day off. LOVE.

Good Work

Once upon a time, there was a girl who felt like she spent all day every day thinking about work or school, except on weekends when she pretended neither existed and just played.

Sometimes she wondered if these weekend shindigs were a good idea since they usually resulted in lots of planning work prior and catch-up work after, but she continued going because all work and no play is DULL (as the saying goes).

Recent adventuring has included:

- Exploring a state park and getting wildly lost (but finding our way out again).

- Discovering a fantastic little town in Rhode Island called North Kingstown, which tastes a little bit like Newport (the touristy beach town to the south) but is not nearly as packed.

- Spending a weekend in Massachusetts for a regional activity, meeting lots of people, and finally finding someone who will let me speak Spanish when we're hanging out. :) I'm kind of rusty.

This weekend is a Pride-and-Prejudice style cotillion, and next weekend is Valentine's Day, which will include single-serving, heart-shaped pizzas as a tribute to one of my favorite childhood traditions.

So I'm not really just working. :) And the classes I'm taking are much more exciting this semester. I'm working on a health promotion campaign at the department of health for one of my "classes" and taking a credit for working on my thesis. The one real class I'm taking is all about measuring eating behaviors, which has reminded me that I do like school-- I love love love humans and all of the science that goes into helping them live happily and healthily. (Not sure that's really a word, but you know what I mean.)

I'd say that's a pretty good balance. Time to get back to rocking and rolling on the thesis... I am so excited to be close to the end!

Hmm...

I am supposed to be working right now, but I have billed only 2 of the last 5 hours because I can't focus; this is why I can't work from home.

However, I'm trying to be a socially responsible person (and good public health student!), so I quarantined myself after I came down with a fever Wednesday night (plus some other symptoms) that were probably a low-grade seasonal flu. Minimum guidelines say to stay home for at least 24 hours after fever goes away, which I did. I feel MUCH, much, much better, but in most flu cases you can be contagious for 5-7 days after onset of symptoms, even if you feel good.

Sigh.

So I canceled everything yesterday and went in to work just long enough to put all my files onto a USB so I could work from home. I canceled everything for tonight and tomorrow... except tomorrow night because I have a friend coming up from D.C. (who was given due warning!) But I will be disinfecting everything and providing Purell, so no worries. :) On the upside, I'm not coughing anymore, so that decreases my likelihood of sharing.

There you go-- public health in real time. And here's hoping that I don't get anyone else sick!