Chicago Trip

Darren and I got home from Chicago late last night (this morning, actually). It was great seeing everyone, and we always love to visit the Windy City (even in February). Here's a quick rundown of our activities.

Day 1: We got stuck at Philly's airport for an extra hour while they cleared the runways from the blizzard of '08 (two inches). Sylvia and Niko picked us up at the airport and we drove back to their house on the North Side. We had Giordano's famous Chicago deep dish pizza and turned in to bed early.



Day 2: The highlight of the day was going to Hot Doug's Sausage Superstore for lunch. I'm vegetarian and even I love the place. The line on a cold Saturday was still nearly half an hour to get in the door. Where else can you get hotdogs like wild boar with chipotle dijonnaise and raschera cheese or duck sausage with mandarin oranges? I, of course, got the veggie dog. Here is a funny video of Niko's new favorite game, headbutting relatives.

We spent the rest of the day at Lewis University watching men's volleyball. Darren and Eric may be old and out of shape, but they still think they could play with those guys. They're so cute.

Day 3: We woke up early and had brunch at a cafe near Eric and Sylvia's house. Niko is apparently obsessed with ice water and we have to keep him away from the glasses. We then watched the UofL v Pitt game. The afternoon was spent at the Shedd Aquarium, which is one of my all-time favorite places to go. It was a little over Niko's head, but I think we all had fun. Dinner was at Costa's, my favorite Greektown restaurant. The best saginaki in the world!

Sorry about no sound on the videos, but they were done on my camera.



The dolphin show! (just wait, they'll show up)

Triathlon training weeks 11/12: run 3.35 mi/ bike 76 mi/ swim 10700 yd, totals 68.53/230.4/34450 (19mi). Hopefully I can start running again in another week or two.

Random Thoughts

1. Back in Kentucky, people from northern climates would always mock us for our extraordinary news coverage of 2 inches of snow. School would be cancelled, people drove like morons, and bread and milk runs became necessity. We got 2 inches of snow here in Philly last night. The exact same reaction occurred, telling me that northerners are, in general, full of shit. Damn yankees.

2. When at the gym, I have certain songs that actually get me dancing on the treadmill or bike. I look like an idiot, but that's okay. These are songs that the 16 year old version of myself would kick my ass for listening to. In no particular order:

-Hollaback Girl: Gwen Stefani. Stupidest. Song. Ever.

-Thriller: Michael Jackson. I am the only person in the gym old enough to remember when it came out

-Crazy in Love: Beyonce. Again, kicking my own ass.

-The Way I Are: Timbaland. Dumb fun.

-Summertime: Fresh Prince/ DJ Jazzy Jeff. Although I've been running around Philly in the winter, it makes me feel warmer.

-Amblikmees: Push Up. This is an Estonian pop group singing in Estonian. I only know that "amblikmees" translates to "spiderman".

3. Going to Chicago this weekend to visit Darren's brother and family. Why we chose to go to Chicago in February is a total mystery.

Gimpy McGee

I've decided not to be a bad patient (this after running 3.35 miles yesterday in a personal best 30 minutes on a treadmill) and actually treat my foot. ASO brace for the next few weeks; no running for a while. Yeah swimming and bike!

I'm Down with PTT

The problem with being an orthopaedic surgeon is knowing (or thinking you know) exactly what is wrong every time something hurts. I had the same problem in med school when I thought I had every disease we discussed (oh no, a bruise! I must have sclerosing cholangitis!). But, since I am on a foot and ankle rotation and diagnose posterior tibial tendon deficiency about 179 times a day, I am convinced that is what I have. At least tendonitis. My right foot hurts, but I refuse to stop running. I think one of my attendings may throw me in a cast if I don't stop. We'll see how this turns out.
Triathlon training week 10 (with stupid foot pain): run 11.5 mi, bike 34.4, swim 3800 yd; totals 65.18/154.8/23750

Funny

Why I love the Onion.

Groundhog Day

10 years ago today I got arrested. In retrospect, the whole thing was pretty funny, but it sucked ass at the time. To make a long story short (too late!), I was 1(one) day late paying a speeding ticket. This is in Jefferson County, KY, where the average time to serve bench warrants is 5 years. So, I got hauled off to jail for the day until my dad could pay the fine of a whopping $100. Nice job, county. You wasted more than that on my transport, mug shot, fingerprinting, and processing. All I did in jail was watch crappy talk shows and avoid the other people there. By the way, I've realized that Jerry Springer stays on the air for the entertainment of prisoners and hospitalized patients. Seriously, you cannot walk down the halls at 10am without every TV turned to it. Then the Price is Right at 11.
Back to my story, I was a sophomore in college at the time, and Feb. 2nd happened to fall on a Monday. I had 3 (three) tests that day. That was great fun to explain to the professors. My swim coach got the biggest kick out of it, as I was the last person on the team he figured would miss practice for being in jail.
My friend JP now works as a prosecutor in the county attorney's office. He tried to dig up my mugshot, but alas, all records have been expunged.

Triathlon training weeks 8 and 9. Did great last week, but working >70 hours this week and being sick today killed this one. 8.1/26/5850 totals:53.68/120/19950