5 Interesting things about me

Well, it seems I have been tagged and that I am supposed to post 5 interesting things about me....this could take a while, cuz I want them to truly be interesting...although it's surprising that what seems mundane to us is quite interesting to certain others. Also, some things that are interesting about me I would rather not divulge to people unknown to me, or known to me for that matter...
Here goes....


1. I moved away from home when I was 16 to study ballet in San Francisco Bay Area. I had gone to the summer school at Marin Ballet School the summer I was 15 and they offered me full scholarship,and it took 6 months to convince my parents to let me move out there. I lived with a family down the street from the ballet school, and I broke my foot 10 days after moving there! It was awful, and I had been understudying pas de deux parts. I stuck it out, gained a lot of weight, moved into the ballet school in a little room upstairs, where the bathroom was down the hall and the kitchen downstairs, and lost a lot of weight. I finished high school there (4.35 GPA out of 4.00) as one of five salutatorians. We had 2 valedictorians. I then went to San Francisco Ballet School on full scholarship, which didn't last long.


2. I moved just myself and my car from NM to Boston when I was 21, where I lived for 2.5 years. I had a little Geo Metro, 3-cylinder. Unfortunately, I was following my now ex-husband up there, the same one I had left in San Francisco 6 months previous. I never claimed to always have made smart decisions, just that I learn from them. I used to walk through Harvard yard every day to get to the subway. I got pregnant, was married 7 months pregnant in a $20 dress from Sears that was navy blue with flowers. I had my daughter out there, in Cambridge, and I lived a block from Tufts University and wanted to go there, but they wouldn't accept me with a child. Crazy, huh? So, I left my husband at the time (who was verbally and occasionally physically abusive) when my daughter was 5 months old, drove my stuff back to NM, and we both lived with my parents for a year, in the same room nonetheless!


3. I am a bit of a chameleon, or at least I used to be. I have "done" about every scene possible in San Fran and NM, from country, to rave, gothic, drug dealers, potheads, hi rollers, different ethnic scenes (especially Russians), not to mention super pharmacy geeks, and triathletes....wanna branch out into cycling and rock climbing more to really get a feel for what it's like...did the whole gymrat thing for a while and enjoy the balance I have more. I am now a single mom for the second time, have been a stepmom to much older children, was married to a man almost 15 years my senior until Dec. 12th, and I am sure I am missing some things here. I am always looking to experience new things, new lifestyles and ways of approaching things. It's amazing how many ways we can achieve fitness, let alone all the other aspects of our lives!

4. I am in my 8th year of college, and will have completed 10 consecutive years of college by the time I get my second degree, a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) in May of 2010. It took me 6 years to get my undergraduate. I always majored in biology, but I also had a minor in dance, and for a while I was double majoring in Spanish. I took 3 years of college-level Spanish, but I really can't speak much. Sad. I miss dance. I have done ballet, jazz, modern, Russian folk, Flamenco, other folk styles, but never tap. I had to quit dance, although I completed it as my minor, so that I could get my degree and move on. I earned a BS in biology, summa cum laude, in December of 2005. Not sure where I want pharmacy to take me...have looked hard at clinical pharmacy, or maybe even regulatory. We shall see how things unfold.

5. The secret is out. I am a bunny. I have been dubbed as such by many a boyfriend, and it finally stuck. Part of it is because I used to eat 5 pounds of carrots a week. Yes, it turns the palms of your hands orange. I ate that amount because I couldn't fit anymore into one of those plastic produce bags. My ears stick out, and I can move my nose just like a bunny. I have lots of energy and used to bounce more like a bunny....I think I have matured a bit, or maybe I have dulled, but I can still bounce and pounce. I go through withdrawal if I don't have a daily salad. Of course, the other is also part of it, hence my boyfriends and not my girlfriends call me that. My mother always said that I have a "healthy sex drive". She is pretty perceptive, that lady.

Distracted....

So much has happened recently...I finished SOMA well under my goal time, which was exciting...and I have yet to write a race report. I have been dealing with the separation from my husband....first living at my sister's, then living with my parents. Thank goodness my daughter gets her own room! Currently looking for a place to move. Finals are over December 15th, and I want to be outta here! I love my parents, but as a parent, 33 yoa, and extremely independent,...I just don't like not having my own space and having to ask to do things.
So....I also have met some neat guys....only one of which there seems to be a possibility of something in the future.... I have a lot of chemistry with 2 others, but one is in Tucson and doesn't seem interested in more than occasional intellectual conversation followed by sex, and the other one is local, but is too busy and got scared off somehow.
Now, Sean is the 3rd one. He lives in Durango, yet I have seen him 4 weekends since mid-October. He flew through ABQ twice and drove down twice. It's my turn to head up there soon, right after finals actually.
I need to save all of that for a later date, but thought I would put down basics....should be studying...have finals the next couple of weeks, and my lab practical tomorrow morning early... not into school this semester. ...right now, I am into my off-season training, learning how to rock climb, and enjoying becoming independent again and looking at all the doors that have opened up for me in the past few months....life is grand, no matter how hard it seems, because for every door that closes, another one (or more) opens. Hallelujah!

About me...

I "do" triathlon...it is my sanity when my life is turned upside down. It is my way of pushing my physical and mental limits and coming through, day in and day out. It is my social outlet.

I started with Team In Training (TNT) http://www.teamintraining.org/ in 2005, when I trained for and completed the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. I haven't stopped (for long) since. I became a mentor with Team In Training, and completed my first tri last season with them. It was the CapTexTri (Olympic distance) in Austin, TX. I had a blast!

I am currently training for the SOMA half Ironman on October 28th in Tempe, AZ with TNT. http://www.active.com/donate/tntnmep/ABaker. It's my first half, and I feel good about it. Someday, I plan to do an Ironman....but I won't have time until I am out of pharmacy school...or the money for the bike I want. Happily, I train with The Outlaws http://www.outlawstriathlon.com/, an awesome group of crazy triathletes.

I am a student pharmacist starting my second year tomorrow. That means that in 3 years, I will be a Doctor of Pharmacy, and I don't intend to work retail. I am interested in clinical and/or administrative/policy. I plan to complete 1-2 years of residency when I graduate, regardless of what people in my life think about it. I am highly involved in my school and in the community, and recently interested in policy and how we can make a difference as students in how we practice pharmacy in the future.

I have to cut this short because I need to prep for my workout today....7 mile run, 2 hour bike ride, 3100 yd swim. :0)