Team Lawn Chair

This post is going to take a different turn then the last few, I mean how long can I keep talking about my stupid injury...boring.

So today...FRISBEE. My love, current obsession, and passion. It's so great. 

Last year at this EXACT time, I joined my first frisbee league, starting out in what is called "Skillz League", which is basically a really laid back beginners league. It was amazing amounts of fun, and along with making fantastically colorful and awesome friends, I also found I had quite a knack for it. A lot of my team members say I'm fearless and quite aggressive when I play (not in a bad way, I hope), but honestly, after being a gymnast for 10+ years, not much phases me. I mean, how intimidating can it be jumping up after a disc, or diving to catch a frisbee, if before I was used to flipping, twisting, and sprinting...usually at very high heights. I was by no means fearless in gymnastics (just ask my old coach Paul, he used to call me a chicken all the time), but in comparison frisbee seems mild. Kind of. Don't get me wrong, I still get nervous every time I play, and some of those players are crazy talented and focused, but in a different sorts. 

But, the point to this story is that I made some great friends through frisbee, and especially my summer league team, which eventually turned into more than just a "summer fling". Facilitated through my coach, Ryan, we began to have regular practices, and even entered a tournament or two. All great fun with great friends. It's hard to move "up" in the frisbee world because there aren't necessarily a lot of options for beginners, like myself and my teammates. There are lots of club teams in Portland, but many of them are at a higher skill level than one or two years of frisbee playing will get you. And so, this formation of semi-inexperienced players, allowed for a venue where focused, talented beginners could do drills, practice, and scrimmage all year round. 

This group of frisbee friends has now turned into a full fledged club team. Once upon a time, two weeks ago or so, my friend Whitney and I sat down at her house, after an evening throwing session, and hammered out all the details of our new team, such as: weaknesses, strengths, vision for our team, our realistic goals, a real name for our team, and a color. All of this was done over several hours, and over a bottle of wine (aka thinking juice). Whitney and I were very serious about taking our team to the next level, and in that one night catapulted us into a legitimate team in Portland, at least in the paperwork sense. All in all, it's really coming together. It's exciting to be a part of something new in Portland, the city I love.

So....we are team Lawn Chair (it's an inside story) and our color is forest green. Our practices have become more structured and organized, even including a warm-up put together by yours truly, and we have several tournaments planned for the future***So I posted our logo and the link to our page on Portland's Ultimate Frisbee webpage. Check it out!

Love always,
Lizbee (Liz + frisbee=Lizbee)

http://portlandultimate.org/where-to-play/teams/lawn-chair-mixed

***basically frisbee tournaments include a day full of frisbee games, followed by a long night of drinking, followed by another day of frisbee games (at a slightly less enthusiastic level of play, due to the drinking previously mentioned). Awesomeness. Oh, and also they usually include camping out, or bunking up with your teammates.

  

Mending Along

Hello folks. Here I am, on the other side of surgery. I made it out alive. Compared to the last surgery this one was child's play, and I was up and feeling (relatively) good two days out. Wahoo! Unfortunately, I am still in the cast and unable to walk, so for now I'm on crutches. Looks like no Ultimate Frisbee for Liz...oh wait, what? What's that you say??? I recall my pervious statement, it seems that a mere 4 days after surgery, Liz was spotted back in action at her teams frisbee practice. Incredible...

Okay so maybe it wasn't that dramatic, and mostly included me on my knees the entire practice throwing the frisbee short distances, but I was there. And I did very little sitting too; I have the disgustingly dirty knees of my pants to prove it. It was great fun and I always love practicing and hanging out with my frisbee fam. Hopefully next week I will get my walking cast on, then I'll be unstoppable :)

Also, thank you all for your thoughts and concerns for me on surgery day. I was flooded with love (aka text messages) from friends and family, near and afar. I had several visitors on Wednesday too checking up on me, which was lovely but my meds made me dizzy and sleepy, so I probably wan't great company. So thank you Portland family for the support, and thank you California family for staying away (but put in a nicer, more diplomatic way) and supporting me from afar. Both were appreciated, and I'm now on the mend.

So adios, for now, and hopefully talk to you soon (unless you're my brother, who NEVER calls me) :p

Liz (gimp-along is the newest nickname)

Broken all the same

Good news, followed by bad (although semi-predicatable), news. I hurt my ankle playing frisbee last month, and as most of you probably already know, either being my family or close friends, I was in a moon boot for a month. And damn did I look good ;) This didn't help the underlying problem though, so I self-diagnosed the moon boot as a waste of my time, and presently scheduled a new doctor's appointment with an Orthopedic Surgeon in Portland.

Blah, blah, blah...final outcome = surgery for Liz. Yet again. Does anyone else find this incredibly ridiculous and annoying?!?! Can't a girl just get some rest from endless doctor's visits, physical therapy, and gnarly scars. Oh, but I did mention good news followed by bad news. Well, the good news is that my previous surgery, which proved to be extremely intense and painful, is still intact. Good? Yes, let's go with good news. The bad news you already heard...surgery. I wonder if I get a discount on this surgery...you know, like buy 2 get one free? Might be worth looking into...

The main reason for this post, besides informing you all to my ever dynamic string of injuries, is to send a shout out to my parentals. Hi mom, hi dad. I seem to be continuously relying on them for various expenses and financial support. This is the third surgery in 6 years (or something like that, they all run together). That isn't cheap. So thanks mom and dad for not complaining (too much) and scolding me (all that often) about my many battles with ankle stuff (usually I would say "ankle shit", but I'm trying to be more classy). I swear someday I will have a functioning ankle for longer than a year. That, or they will just give up and give me a robotic ankle. Because let's be honest, there is no possible way for me to give up all of my sports and outdoor activities...including, but not limited to, dance, Zumba, Ultimate Frisbee, bouldering, and running.

Keep your ankles healthy people.

Love Liz (aka: gimp, limpy, broken, robo-foot)

And don't think I have forgotten about my goal for more pictures, it is a work in progress, but it is coming.

Published at Last, Published at Last.

Something amazing happened today when I got home from Science Pub (it combines innovative science talks and beer, yes Portland is amazing)...I got a package from my old research leader, and friend, Jake. Me and another great friend of mine, Danielle, helped Jake with his Masters Project research for a disjointed 3-5 month period. He was working with Axolotls, aka funny looking salamanders, and the result of adding varying amounts of the hormone BPA, bisphenol A, to their tanks. Anyways, it was tedious and he put several years of work into it. So finally, after years of frustrating work and research, and several restarts, he was published and earned his Master's Degree!!!

Opening the package was especially exciting for me, especially since I was there from the VERY beginning of his research, back when we were still trying to set up the tanks and arrange the best set-up for his creatures. He was great to work with and I am so excited he finally has his hard work and dedication in solid, print form. Beyond excited actually.

But the idea of having something concrete with your OWN name on it, well it's kind of foreign. So much of our communication is via computer and phone these days. I think that's why the physical published work of Jake's gave me such an intense emotional thrill. He put me and Danielle's names in the acknowledgment page along with a generous thank you. When else in life do you get to see your name printed in an actual book!?!?! I think the answer is, rarely. If I lost my computer, or for some reason the memory was wiped, 95% of all my Europe pictures would be lost, along with all my college essays, emails, papers, etc...same with my phone, except it would be all my precious Instagram brunch pics. So much communication is over the internet and iPhones (or whatever phone people use who don't have the iPhone...I think those people exist), it's just nice to see something come to me in print, and know it will continue to exist in this definite form, forever.

On this same note of encapsulating our experiences and time, a new goal of mine is to take more photos. I wish I was a good photographer like my dad, or had a fancy camera, but I suppose I'll have to make due with my digital Sony. I was thinking the other day, that I had literally only a couple pictures of my life and friends from here in Portland. I made a conscious effort in London because I knew my time there was indefinite, but there seems to be no urgency nowadays. It's my home, it's not going anywhere. But my experiences are changing and my life has already altered so greatly from when I first moved here just over a year ago. I need to be documenting my life and friends here; it feels so special to me, I want to remember it years from now as I see and feel it now. So the next post I make I will make a collage of pictures of just some of the very unique and special people here in Portland that make my life here a home. Because there are many, and I love them oh so much <3

Be noticed, be concrete.

Love Liz

Bootless Dancing

I haven't had a post in just under a year...then I read a random blog of a friends and it made me want to resurrect my ramblings. That probably no one reads, except my grandma. She of course reads everything I write. I pose it as a comical fact, but it is indeed true that my grandmother texts me more than my brother and sister combined. Love you grandma, even though you hate my nose piercing :)

So I only have a few random thoughts for tonight, after all I have to start out slow. My writing skills are a bit rusty and I think I'll leave the deeper issues for a more practical hour, other than 11:00 pm.

First random thought: Dancing

I love dancing. I love it. I like to think I'm in my natural habitat while I dance. It allows a freedom that I can't get doing most other things. I did a big taboo act that Friday and ditched my moon boot (that's another story), for a spectacular night of Madonna, Michael Jackson, big hair, and "girls just wanna have fun". It was spectacular. Even though the night in general was filled with some unusual disappointments and surprises, overall I consider any night where I get to "shake what my mama gave me", a good night. So hooray for the free and natural expression of movement and rhythm through our amazing bodies.

Second random thought: The Lumineers

I'm completely obsessed with The Lumineers. Maybe it's the gloomy Portland weather, or their down to earth and simple, yet also powerful, lyrics...but I'm hooked. Just listen to them. I am especially endeared by the song "Classy Girls", because at the moment, I have had a few less than shinning "Classy moments". The song reminds me what I aim to be, and how I aim to be treated. I mean I'm no Audrey Hepburn (sigh*), but maybe I could just channel a bit of her effervescent and delicately charming aura. No more drinking straight out of juice cartons Liz! I refuse to give up beer in bed though...that's a deal breaker.

Third random thought: I love brunch

I am meeting my lovely ladies tomorrow for a delightful homemade brunch. I am getting sleepy (damn the beers in bed!), so for now I will leave it at this. But mark my words, there will be an entire post one of these days dedicated solely to my favorite past-time: brunch. I know, what am exciting life I lead...

Adios for now. Cheers readers.

Liz (Lizzy, Lizzard, Lizzers, Lemon, Lizbee, Liza, and all my other nicknames...)

I'M 24! Ahhhhhhh...

Yes, today is my birthday. 24 years ago I was born, and my mom was in pain. I figured today would be a good day for another post, especially since my last one wasn't left on the best note. But today I am feeling much better, plus I have my buddy Alyssa here to celebrate (many pics soon to come). We have been exploring Vancouver and mostly Portland, and have had a grand time so far.

It has been a while since my last post and the only excuse I have is that nothing interesting has been happening. Well, that's not completely true. Maddie and I have been housesitting for the last two weeks, and it has been quite an experience...I do not enjoy housesitting. Especially when there are animals involved. Because everyone knows I am the BIGGEST fan of animals (sarcasm, NO Dad I do not want to be a vet!). Plus the house was a solid 45-60 minutes away from my Aunt and Uncle's house! Not a fun commute.

On a more exciting note, my Ultimate Frisbee Team is undefeated! I am having a blast playing and getting to know my other teammates, they are a crazy fun group of people. It's a really chill league and every week someone brings a case of beer and we drink while we play, then we always go to a bar after the game. Probably not the most efficient for playing but sure makes it a lot more fun!

So today's big plans are hanging out in the morning then heading into Portland for a night of fun. Details are still a bit fuzzy so I will take lots of pics and post later.

I'm going to predict 24 will be the BEST YEAR YET! If I ever make it past the MCATs that is...

Thanks for everyone who posted/texted/wished me a happy birthday.

Rainy Day Blues

I find it extremely ironic that my last post was titled "no rainy day blues here", so decided to play off this irony for the title of this new post. I indeed do have a bit of the blues today, not meaning to sound too cheesy, and of course it is raining. Successful pun, I think so.  


I was supposed to get a phone call from the PT Office job today, and in preparing for this, kept my phone on and by me at all times. Well this was the first disappointment of the day, I never got the call. It's upsetting when you are expecting something and it never comes, good or bad news didn't matter as much as the continual "not knowing". 


I regularly take Zumba class at my gym on Mondays and Wednesdays. It's my favorite class! The instructor is FANTASTIC and the class is basically just dancing (which I LOVE). Second disappointment of the day, the class was too full and I couldn't get in. Complete let down. The one thing I look forward to every Wednesday is that Zumba class....and wouldn't you know the one day I REALLY needed it, I couldn't get it. Sigh...it's my one activity of the day that actually allows or a release of my pent up energy. 


As you all, I'm sure, know I am currently a week and a half in on my MCAT studying. It's going okay so far, as well as can be expected, and I'm fairly on schedule. But today, of all days, proved a very challenging and frustrating day in chemistry review. UGH. Third disappointment of the day. 


And as a topper to this very inspiring day, I get home from NOT taking my Zumba class and find I have an e-mail from the job I interviewed for, informing me that I did not receive the position. I just can't catch a break today. They explained to me that they went with a candidate who can set up a website for their business and has more bookkeeping/office/whatever skills needed to manage their front desk. Last (hopefully) disappointment of the day. 


Now I feel a bit deflated and slightly down in the dumps, hoping for a much better day tomorrow. My bank account is also hoping for some more interviews because, as surprising as it sounds, money isn't magically appearing in my bank account. Something about taking money out and not putting money back in....who knew. So I hope everyone else reading this had a better day than me, and more interesting for that matter. 


Gonna go sulk now.