i am doomed to have strange tans

didn't go biking thursday because i got back late from camp heartland. friday i was touring the hospital's lab for 2 hours in the morning, and then at the retail pharmacy in the clinic across the parking lot following a pharmD student (who had a stash of almonds in his white coat pocket and would pop 1 or 2 almonds every 20 mintues or so) around. we got let out at 1:30p (instead of 5p)! so i decided to go for another bike ride! i was really tired, but somehow i still made it relatively easily to mahtowa (25 miles!) and back. the sun was super shiny on the way there, and when i got back i realized i finally got a sunburn. but instead of evening out my farmer's tan, i basically only burned my back because i sit so forward on my bike! + all sorts of straps: bag, camera, bra, tank top...it's a riot back there!

i finally took my camera along, which made me realize even more that, although the trail is wonderfully paved, there is really not a whole lot to see along the way.



after getting back from biking friday evening, i realized my tires were pretty flat. i went to alco and bought a super light tire pump and, on impulse, bought a little "bike computer"!

saturday morning i went on a search for a farmer's market! there is one grocery store in moose lake, and it is kind of crappy and not cheap. some people had mentioned that there might be a farmer's market on saturday in the parking lot of the hockey arena...and there it was! there were only 2 stands...apparently it is still early in farmer's market season. i purchased round yellow beets and long red beets, romaine, onions, some big round purple root thing, green beans, and a cantelope.

then set off (toward the south) for my bike adventure to finlayson! the whole trail has been really flat so far, but near finlayson there is a group of hills. i had to get off my bike twice, once on the way there and once on the way back ;( but it was fun to climb the hills and even more fun to go down them! i totaled 38.6 miles today! i was so tired the last 5 miles. and with my new bike computer, i've realized...i'm a really slowwww biker...i averaged 10.6mi/hr ;(

finally back, i was exhausted. i drove back to mahtowa to purchase some brats. apparently tj's corner store has the best brats. when i biked there, i couldn't really buy brats and bike back with them. for dinner, i had boiled yellow beets, steamed beet greens, and a chicken wild rice brat. it was DELICIOUS! i had never made beets before, i never thought i liked them, but the yellow beets were SO GOOD and sweet. i thought about taking a picture of my dinner, but then i was too tired and hungry, so alas, no picture.

maybe next time i'll actually blog about why i am here, the internship.

tired.

biked to barnum and back. i think about 12 miles. my butt is starting to hurt...

schedule of last 3 days:
monday. met with CFO of the hospital; occupational therapy
tuesday. ER
wednesday. quality improvement meeting; hospital pharmacy; chiropractor
take home message: paperwork, paperwork, paperwork

blah!

biked 18 miles tonight!

9 miles to willow river from moose lake.

crafts and cruising

i have no roommates in this 4 bedroom walters house, and i am officially lonely! last night i realized i had to shorten my dress pants (even though they are already "short"). i had the dinner table all to myself, and i was feeling especially crafty! i spread out my bath towel on the table, got out my iron, some safety pins, and my sewing kit. my hemming looks not too shabby if i do say so myself! first time i've ever hemmed too! i have another pair to do, but i'll probably do it tomorrow night. tonight i am pooped, because i just got back from a...

25 mile bike ride! i biked on the willard munger state trail, from mercy hospital in moose lake to mahtowa (a tiny town, literally 4 square blocks big) and turned back. on the way, i almost biked over a very slithery snake! and there is all sorts of mini-roadkill on the trail. from mahtowa it is another 26 miles to duluth. alternatively, the trail goes as far south as hinckley, 38 miles from moose lake.

i am in moose lake!

after a brief hiatus...back by popular demand! ha!

i am in moose lake, mn!

after an uneventful but glorious drive up i35...an awesome hwy: smooth, divided, sunny, blue skies, white puffy clouds, 80 degrees outside! there was a slight traffic jam on i35 heading south, all the people coming back from their 4th of july weekends, but i guess not many people heading up north at the end of a long weekend!

walters house, where i am staying, is modest, but new: 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1 living room/dining area, 1 fully equipped kitchen, central air. right now i'm on "moose lake wifi 214". is moose lake all on wireless? wow what a savy place. it's definitely a step up from phi rho. also, walters house essentially shares its parking lot with mercy hospital, where i will be doing most of my internshiping, so extremely convenient. unfortunately i have no roommates at the moment, and am not sure when i will get any, so it's quite lonesome here. so far i have settled in, made a giant pot of celery+carrots+chicken+pasta. and a sandwich for lunch tomorrow. some things never change.

tomorrow i will start to explore moose lake. i am most excited about: <http://www.munger-trail.com/traillogs.html>. too bad i can't ride a segment of it each day.

anyway, for those who are still interested in getting honors for summer session! yesterday i realized that moose lake is only 1hr45mins from phi rho...so all the noncampers+kalie should come up and camp one weekend!!! unfortunately i am not allowed to have any guests at walters house, but i bet there is good camping around here! or you guys should come up and bike with me for the day!

thus is the start of my 1 month summer internship in medicine (sim) in rural minnesota! i realized on the drive up that my summer is going to be all about going back to my "roots". even though i have lived in mn since i was 2 (save the 4 years of undergraduate), rochester is hardly representative of mn. for the first half of my summer i am going to experience up north mn for the first time! and then later, i'll take it back even further and go to taiwan for 3 weeks!

and so it begins.

crafts

new bike!