So Long, UT

Tuesday was my last day of undergrad - I finished my psych exam in < 20 minutes. On to bigger and better things. Hallelujah.

Sad days at the training room.

I got to have French patisseries with Wheeler in SLC. Have I mentioned how delightful that man is? Dee is the luckiest.

What a stud, seriously. 

Carolyn and I went out for Persian kebabs (almost as good as the Turkish kind). She, too, is a wonderful individual. Let's stay friends.

I wish we could hang out more, even when I lived in Provo.

The madre got to town, did her hair, ate lunch at the closest thing Provo has to a NY bar, and took us shopping.

Then she shoved into a car with five other people as we drove up to Evan's pool for a party. Between the mission, school, and church, it appears that I actually have a decent number of friends.

My BFF replaced me with pizza, so
I'm gonna have to one-up her.

We even hit up Ben & Joy's for some Hutchins-sized pazookies and family loving. I'll miss them and their adorable puppies. Also Joy's spectacular cooking.

Pig-Woman-Tree is a lucky man. 

Weeny K and I headed up to Clearfield for some tasty bevs and sandwiches with Granny B, Papa Bear, and the Wilde things. Also I ate an entire bowl of Lindt chocolate because why not.

The crew.

In the gazebo :)

Rachel May and I chilled for a bit. She's getting married soon too and I'm sure it will be a straight P-A-R-T-Y, as Moriah would say.

What a babe. Slayyyyy.

After, Jacob and some of his friends met at Denny's to celebrate a friend's birthday. I didn't know her, but she was pretty cool and had a great deal.

Kassie came over late to bid me farewell also. It was a nice break from packing the car. I'll miss our deep discussions that attempt to invoke some emotion in my body.

Because this was the best picture of me.

Kell and I left early for AZ, where it's been record-level hot. It took us ten hours and one bathroom break. Mom even checked off 'drive over 100mph' from her bucket list. Good work. And guess what? It doesn't even feel that hot since there's like 12% humidity.

I moved in, unpacked, and we went out for steak at Texas Roadhouse. Mom copied my order, but it was fine because she let me eat all the bread.

I live with a lovely family of Heidi (mom), Autumn (21, Mexican RM), Ben (17), and another girl who's gone for the summer with her dad in Utah. They have a dying dog (Ted), an energetic dog (Flash), and a cat (Calvin, who I call Cletus Jones for kicks).

These ducks just lollygaggling across the street.

Saturday, after I had the best sleep of my life on a real human bed, Kelloggius and I went out. I did not get a library card, I did file a change of address slip, and we got lots of food and items necessary for my survival.

I ate a thousand blueberries and took a nap.

Scott, the guy who hired me, met me at the clinic to show me around and explain a little more what's going down. I'll be working with a new PT named Paul and get business cards and a free gym membership.

Then Kelly Diane Schrum and I got some shoes at Finishline and ate at Chili's. The bartender made me a special blueberry drank and the chef made some killer ribs.

I dropped the mom off at the airport that was NOT ten hours away, went to church, played the piano, wrote a book, ate family dinner, and finished setting up my room. Quality week.

All My Clothes Are Black

Does everyone know that I can walk by now? There seems to be some confusion on the matter. I can walk fine and easy. I just can't do anything fun. Hope that clears it up.

I finished my last chem lab report. Ever. Chem finished 2 weeks earlier than scheduled and I can't complain. If only my psych class would follow suit. Then I actually went to FHE this week, since it was just dinner at the Evan's. Man do the Bybees know how to deliver. I ate more than my fair share and it was delicious.

Why is this me.

I did a lot of errands this week (thanks to Greg's car :) ). I used my Swig gift card, got Ash a bday present, got my free ice cream at the creamery, got fingerprinted, acquired a FULL reimbursement for my New Mexico trip, got a Tb test, got a haircut, sold my old phone, stole food from the FB team BBQ, and had a useless doctor's checkup. I'm almost still an EMT and I'm almost moved out and I'm almost 100% graduated.

Ash's request for her birthday was that we lay out by the pool. She also asked if I'd go hiking, but I told her I can't. Because I hate hiking. And my leg is relatively unprepared for the unstable lands it would be forced to trek. But I do hope the Little Brown Girl Downstairs had a great day. She taught me everything I know about face masks. You're welcome, world.

Easiest war paint ever.
And your skin gets so clean.

Lauren came over for our Randall's (classic beverage of the amigas) and the 2017 Commemorative Duck Walk. We reminisced and twerked on the table and took the most gangster photos. It's really too bad our five year streak must end here.

"Swankified groovy hep cat prankster"

Kassie and I had a long chat about life and radio. I miss those. I spend most of the conversation being sassy and avoiding emotional recognition. What a wonderful human Kass is to play these games with me.

Mitch is leaving for his mission to Philly, so we had his farewell on Sunday. It was nice to have early church with people that are less concerned about getting married (because they already are...), and to just chill. I ate my fill (and then some) and stayed at their house until late just napping and watching Merlin, and cleaning. It was nice.

Bridals and Boys and BOCs, oh my

Well, folks. It's done. The test (for which I've been studying 6h+/day) is done. I was kind of going a little crazy beforehand, but now that it's finished, my brain feels significantly lighter. I felt really good about it, so either I passed (and am an ATC now) or I failed spectacularly and will have to retake it. Let's hope for the best.

I was this close to going compLETEly insane.

With that out of the way, I went food shopping, exchanged my fitbit, made some returns, did a DI drop, packed somethings, threw away a few others. I read and watched movies and wrote books and completely finished my chemistry class.

Treat yo self. Always.

I got to hang out with Wheeler Heck this week. Have I mentioned how wonderful this human is?? I love him with all my heart and it makes me so happy when I get to see him. We went to a hole-in-the-wall burger joint / bar - where the buns are homemade. And we talked about our lives and it was just a general breath of fresh air. Gosh, that man is wonderful. I am so excited for his wedding. I hope he will be the literal happiest because he deserves it.

Speaking of weddings, Chels is married now! At her reception, I lost my keys, tried six different types of cake, and never gave up until I had to wifi password so we could skype Lauren in. A small girl peed her pants, another one got lost, and another one caught the bouquet (not even mad). I hope you guys are so happy too, Chels.

Look how cute. 

After a few days of lounging, I figured i should probably actually get my life together. So I worked out for a long time Friday and Saturday. I watched a sketchy version of Sleeping Beauty on Netflix. And then Mals came over to chill. She told some wonderful stories of her adventures in Europe (of which I am extremely jealous) and came to church with me. Mmm, friends.

On another note, it's Funcle Aaron's bday today. Have a good one, guy.

#NMATA is Lit

The first half of the week was boring - chem, studying, psych, paper-writing, and a whole lot of me wishing I had already taken the BOC (which is happening next Wednesday, BTW). 

Here's what FB says about my life. (They're not wrong...)

Thursday after chem, Hannah and I drove down to Rio Rancho, NM (in record time, with 0 costly police encounters). We checked into the Inn at Rio Rancho, which was one of the first things built in this town, and looks it. It's kinda sketch, but cheap and it's got some cool statues. And it's good enough quality for a couple of college students who may or may not be getting reimbursed for this. 

We chilled with James at the hotel bar. He fed us the Burgerrito - a mix between a burrito and a burger. It was delicious. And he told us lots of stories of creepsters and ineffective police. Comforting.

Friday I finally got to see Tim. And he even saved me a seat, the lovely man. He's just as cranky and delightful and all-knowing as ever. He sent his first tweet under my watchful eye (#NMATA is lit). He even worked on my knee for a bit. What a guy. 

My guy, Tim, aka "Doc". He's a real champ. 

A lot of the talks were actually pretty relevant to what I've been thinking about lately - in regards to part of my new position as an AT doing HS outreach part time. It was a lot of concussion, emergency care, spinal injury stuff. 

I also met Jeb, a kindred soul who is almost as sarcastic and honest as I am. Either way, he's a fun guy. 

...And sometimes, when you push handcarts back across
the plains for a living, you look like this. Or not.

At night, Hannah and I went to the Old Albuquerque and walked around. We got some free snacks at an art gallery opening that had a picture I really liked but can't find online. I got ice cream and socks and a trip to the Rattlesnake Museum. Which was awesome. I don't like cats and dogs - I like ferrets and bats and snakes and lizards and turtles. Which explains why Snapper was my favorite pet. 

The conference day 2 was draining. I mean, it's just a lot of sitting and info dumping. I did kind of get teased for my attire - a t-shirt and golf shorts, as opposed to 'business casual'. But all the ladies were regretting their skirts when we had to do a lab that required you to crouch down like this:

Get it...

Of course, I can't lean on or bend my knee like that, so it was irrelevant. But I chuckled to myself anyhow.

Then they told me the Hall of Fame banquet was even fancier. And I verified this with my guys back in Provo, who confirmed it. So I bought a freaking dress (Lauren, I'm ready for your wedding bc it's the perfect color). And then probably would have felt fine in shorts and a t shirt. Ugh. I hate people and their insistence on dressing up. 

I was invited to the after party, but I was sleepy, broken, and not in the mood to hang out with a bunch of drunk, old people. Next time.