My 10 favorite things about Pullman

     I came here for graduate school, and during my move I was already telling my dad about where I wanted to live next. I never intended to stay long, but it's been almost 4 years since I moved here. My only reason for staying has been to support Craig through his PhD.

     I wanted to to acknowledge 10 positives about living in Pullman, WA.

New job & the escaped mouse workout

     I found a new job! It's in a lab on the fourth floor of the same building where I worked prior. I didn't even need to interview or anything (huge relief). The downside is my employment is contingent on my new boss's funding so will probably only last a few months.

A Walk in the Snow

     I've been in a bit of a sad mood lately. I was basically laid-off less than a week ago, so I guess it's to be expected that I'm a bit down. A long walk in the snow at Kamiak Butte was just what I needed to lift my mood.

Resilience in Scientific Research

Lab-coat selfie!

     I've had a rough few months. Since August, my employment status has gone from employed in an awesome and challenging job, to struggling to hold on to a part-time job, and now to laid-off. Basically, the department I work for had mismanaged funds before hiring me, and did not realize that they did not have enough funding to support my position long-term. This is a super bummer because I really liked my job and my boss.

HELP! I can't move my hand.

     In a turn of events, my broken pinky finger ended-up requiring 2 surgeries to fix! My hand was in either a cast or brace from August-November. I pushed through this struggle, and finished off the year with a half marathon.

Eating thai food after my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon

Broken Pinky Saga

     

     This summer, I my running fitness was improving, so I decided it would be a fun challenge to try a sprint triathlon. I researched and bought a new bike. A week later, I crashed my bike, fracturing my pinky finger. It was my first-ever broken bone! The fracture was at the base of my finger so required surgery. Basically, life just got a little more interesting/challenging.

Spring Updates

   
     Wow! It's almost June. Since I last wrote, mostly I have been searching for a job, walking around town and reading a bunch. Also I have been in physical therapy since January. Both my doctor and physical therapist recommended (very adamantly) that I take a break from running. So from March-April I took long walks instead. I was still able to participate in a couple runs though. Here are some races (and experiences) I've done since I last wrote.

5K Along the Water

     This morning I participated in  a virtual 5K for the blog Runs For Cookies. I have never run for a virtual "race," but it was free and sounded fun, so I went for it.

Scenes From the Pacific Northwest

   

     Craig and I have been enjoying an extended winter break in Western WA. Craig got a new camera and has been taking gorgeous photos. We went for a walk at Lord Hill Park and got some beautiful shots.

Garmin Forerunner 235 Review

      Hi! It's been awhile since I have posted anything on the good-old blog. Mainly this is because through December I was in a mad-rush to finish writing a thesis, defending, and graduating with my Masters. And guess what!? I did it!

     

     As a graduation present, Craig bought me a new running watch- the Garmin Forerunner 235. I was not necessarily needing a new watch, as my old FR15 was still working fine. However, I had mentioned to Craig all the things I wanted in a watch, including activity monitoring, live tracking, text messages, and running features like VO2 estimates, which I had not seen put together all in one product. Until now! 

     Anyways I thought it would be fun to share with everyone my personal experiences with this watch compared to my old model. Below is a run-down of what I found to be  most useful in this product and what I wish I could change.