#27 - Run 100 Miles

The view during the SpeakUp 5k

After years as a cross country and track runner, I've definitely done this before, but I was always terrible at keeping track of my mileage.  It also seems bizarre that in the last 2 years I couldn't get to 100 miles.  That's like 2 miles a week.  Kinda pathetic for someone who considers themselves a runner.

However, last January, I realized my time in San Diego was limited, so I focused my workouts on things I wouldn't be able to do regularly once I left.  I surfed and played beach volleyball multiple days a week.  I practiced yoga at Mosaic.  I tried to fit in at least one hike a week (and did not include that in my running mileage).  I took a wakeboarding class.  Running just couldn't compare, and when I did run, I often did short hill workouts in my neighborhood because the hills were BANANAS, and I like running hills.

My favorite SpeakUp 5k water station

So, it took me all the way until December to rack up 100 miles.  I only recently started running with GPS tracking, so it's possible my count isn't quite accurate, but close enough.

Nearly all of that running was by myself except for the SpeakUp 5k in San Diego and Yulefest in Cambridge.  The SpeakUp 5k course was lined with SDSU Sport Club athletes who were volunteering and made me feel like a celebrity.  It was a beautiful course along the Embarcadero and the weather was perfect.  Friends in Boston convinced me to do Yulefest with them, so I had fellow runners, but well, the weather was less than perfect.  I finally felt my toes around mile 2.  I ran much faster at the SpeakUp 5k.

Boston is a total running town though, obviously famous for the Boston Marathon.  I am really thrilled I fit in one race, even just a 5k, so I could feel like part of the running community in a city that is home to the most famous run out there.  So while I grumbled a lot about the cold, thank you, Alan, Jessie, Angela, Malinda, Ryan, and all of the other friends out there who convinced me to get out of bed and run in more layers than I have in probably 20 years.

The Yulefest Crew

#10 - Go to a New State

It was only a night, but it was a super fun night with one of my favorite people in the world exploring my thirty-third state, the little green one in the upper, right-hand corner.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I hate my birthday and always try to leave town with a minimum of one friend in an effort to be present with them and have a great time.  It's always a great time, and Laura Masters has joined me for 5 of the last 8 years!  Very impressive commitment to adventuring on my birthday :)


2009: Las Vegas, NV
2010: Louisville, KY
2011: Kalamazoo, MI
2012: Hollywood, CA
2013: San Juan, PR
2014: Catalina Island, CA
2015: Kona, HI
2016: Portland, ME

This year, I'm in Boston, and a lot of my friends couldn't make it work.  Boston is a lot further from Michigan and Chicago, where a lot of my friends are, and almost the furthest you can get from San Diego.  However, I'm super broke from this stupidly expensive town.  I am so thankful Laura Masters, champion of life, booked a flight early and put my mind at ease.

Great drinks and vibe at the Bearded Lady

However, I was so preoccupied with trying to make ends meet in Boston that I never booked anything despite loads of ideas: Nantucket, the Cape.  Then, one of my coworkers suggested Portland, Maine, as the most fun place to visit within driving distance of Boston.  (Keep in mind New Englanders have a different definition of "driving distance" than I do, but that worked out great for this trip.)

Laura and I went out with Boston peeps for a super fun Friday night.  Then, on Saturday, we searched for hotels and booked a night in Portland.

It was a lovely 24 hours filled with delightful drinks, lobster rolls, and conversation.  Some foodie highlights were the cocktails at the Bearded Lady and the lobster rolls at J's Oyster.  So delicious and reasonably priced.  The owner and two bartenders at the Bearded Lady were super fun, attentive, and had a killer playlist.  J's Oyster was had a dive bar vibe, which I dug.  The lobster roll had huge chunks of fresh lobster and was served with butter and mayo, so the lobster was the star.  I would definitely go back to Maine... at least Portland!

Yum!

UPDATE:  I honestly cannot remember if I've ever been to Connecticut before.  It feels like I probably should have, but I can't remember, so I might as well add it in here as my official thirty-fourth state.  Or maybe thirty-fifth state...  I also can't remember if I've been to West Virginia.

I only made it 6 months as a New Englander, so when I got an invite to Peggy's tree decorating party, I couldn't pass it up.

I spent a lovely evening in the Salisbury home.  Spending time with camp friends always warms my heart and makes me feel more like myself, so some quality time with seven camp friends was even better.  In addition to just being happy to be with everyone, the highlights were 4) watching the very risky game of Beanboozeled, 3) the goodbye hugs from Katherine & Ruth, 2) this badass ornament that Anthony designed -- he did not care that I liked it, and 1) Maryanne's "I'm Batman."  Thank you for having me!

Coolest ornament I've ever seen

#3 - Visit a New 826 Location

I first learned about 826 in 2010 when I was visiting my friend Rachel in San Francisco.  She asked me if I'd heard of / been to the Pirate Store.  I asked, "What?"  So Rachel introduced me to 826 Valencia.  

You can read the whole story here, but basically, Dave Eggers (the writer) wanted to start a non-profit for tutoring and creative writing in San Francisco.  He chose a location across the street from McSweeny's, where he worked.  The location was zone for retail.  It couldn't be a tutoring center.  So Eggers decided to sell pirate-related merchandise in the front and, behind a curtain, provide a space for tutoring local kids.

While I was at the Pirate Store, I purchased a small telescope and a collection of written work edited by Judd Apatow.  At the back of the book, I noticed the list of the seven chapters.  The seven chapters each have 826 in their names, a retail store selling ridiculous things and books related to 826 or written by students in the chapter, and a tutoring center in the back.  Each of the chapters have a different, strange theme.  Something that would make you think, "Why would this neighborhood need a (pirate) store?"  I saw that both Ann Arbor and Chicago had chapters.  Chicago is a big city, so it's not that weird that I hadn't stumbled upon a non-profit in a city full of a wide array of organizations.  Ann Arbor, however...  

I thought and thought and thought about what store in Ann Arbor had bugged me for years and years about its mere existence.  I finally had to look it up, and, indeed, it is a store that had bugged me for years and years and I had actually taken pictures of questioning its existence: The Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair store.  

Pre-826-Knowledge Megan: "Does Ann Arbor really have enough of a demand for robots to necessitate a robot supply and repair store?"

Post-826-Knowledge Megan: "No.  It does not"

Soon after, I started volunteering with 826Chi, which at the time was the Boring Store (Definitely Not a Secret Spy Store): for all of your mundane needs.  Now it's just the Spy Store.  I loved it there.  The volunteers and staff were a diverse group of hilarious, creative, supportive people who just wanted to spread silliness, creativity, and a love of writing in Chicago.  I enjoyed each and every "shift" I worked as a tutor, workshop volunteer, golf fundraising volunteer, all of it.

While in LA last summer for FYF Fest, I stopped at one of the 826LA locations: the Echo Park Time Travel Mart.  It was silly and creative and full of nonsense.

I'm so thrilled my new job took me to another city with an 826 location.  Last week I went to an info session and cannot wait to start volunteering with 826 Boston: The Bigfoot Research Institute, a center dedicated to cryptozoology.

#92 - See a Friend I Haven't Seen in at Least 3 Years

Moving across the country seems like it's going to connect me with a lot of great people I haven't seen in a long time.  The first old friend I managed to connect with was Joe Wang, a camp friend and thus a favorite.  This weekend, Joe took me to dim sum in Chinatown, taught me a bit about the area, and then took me on a very thorough driving tour of Boston and some of the surrounding areas.  I'm so thrilled he reached out and I hope to hang again soon and meet his wife Diana!

(There are no pictures here but maybe next time I see an old friend I'll snap a few and update this brief, visually lacking, mentally/emotionally/socially important post.)

#51 - Get Dim Sum

I did not take any quality pictures.

Apologies for the picture quality and quantity.  I was doing my best to enjoy the experience instead of documenting it...

I just moved to Boston.  The first 10 days were a bit rough.  I did one of those cryptic facebook posts.  My old camp friend Joe Wang sent me a message and we made plans for brunch this weekend.

After a dentist appointment, Joe picked me up, made a few suggestions, casually mentioned dim sum, and I was like, "Oh... dim sum, I've always wanted to get dim sum but never have."  I tried to be casual and not reveal just how pumped I was.  So Joe took me to Chinatown, told me a lot about the area, and took me to one of his favorite banquet halls.

Since it was my first time, I didn't have favorites, so anything that sounded good, I was like, "Sure."  Shrimp and rice pancake?  "Sure."  Shrimp dumpling?  "Sure."  Egg bun?  "Sure."  We had some of Joe's regulars and a few that were new for both of us, like the egg bun.

It was a really delightful way to eat, food rolling past the table, saying yes to whatever looks good until there's too much food.  It was like eating all appetizers but not having to wait for any of them.  Plus, it was really cheap.  Double plus, it was nice to catch up with Joe and learn a bit more about Chinatown.  I'm thrilled to have connected with several fantastic people with this move.

#9 - Move to a New State

Moving to a new state is mostly an extension of finishing my Ph.D. and getting a new job.  Since those stories are told in other posts, I'll focus on the journey to and arrival in Massachusetts.

Anderson all packed up and ready to go.

My last week in San Diego was tough.  I had so many people I wanted to see but so many things I had to do to prepare for my cross-country move.  I had to get packing materials, pack up 4 years of my life, my cats, my car, sell things I wasn't bringing with me, arrange the travel (which my parents certainly helped with a lot), figure out how I was going to move my bike and surfboard, and I was still working because after 4 years of being a doctoral student, I couldn't afford not to.  I managed to squeeze in a little extra time with some extra special people.  It was really hard to say no to anyone, but if I wanted to also sleep, I had to.

(Extra thanks to Connor, Grace, Julie, and Mariko for bringing me moving supplies!  Thanks to Theresa & Tony for taking some of our stuff!)

I packed up most of my car on Saturday night and then got up at 6:00am to pack up the rest on Sunday morning.  I had to leave by 8:00am because my dad was landing in Phoenix at 1:00pm, and it's a 5-hour drive from San Diego.  I loaded up the cats, strapped my bike, surfboard, and skateboard to the car, said goodbye to the best roommate ever, and set off for a week of not having a home.

Eastern California is a strange place.  It's where most of our food comes from but it's all desert.  There are quirky statues and abandoned towns that made me wonder why there had ever been a town in the middle of nowhere.  It's also incredibly beautiful: rolling hills, cacti, and sometimes even sand dunes.

I made it to Phoenix around 1:50pm, and my dad seemed impressed I made it that early.  I am not a morning person, and I'm grateful that he knew what he was getting into.  He also bought me Jimmy John's for lunch that day.  What a great dad!

Fastest visit to a cliff dwelling ever

We made the goal for ourselves to make it all the way without GPS.  We told each other facts about how GPS makes you stupider and you don't appreciate your location.  We made it for the most part.

Arizona was hot.  So hot that with cats in the car, we couldn't really stop.  So we didn't.  Well, we kind of stopped for a few minutes when we passed a sign for national monument.  I ran into the visitor's center, asked how far we'd have to walk to see Montezuma's Castle, parked in the shade, and ran the 50 yards, snapped a couple pictures, and ran back.

We drove to Flagstaff, dropped the cats off at the hotel, and found a place to eat.  I found a highly rated, reasonably priced place called Tinderbox Annex through Yelp.  It was perfect after a long day driving: a great outdoor space, relaxed people, decent beer and wine, and great food.  Seriously, ask my dad about their french fries.  I dare you.  He'll never, ever stop talking about how good their were and how forgetable french fries usually are.  He'll probably also mention the watermelon salad and how he doesn't even really like watermelon and then he'll list the ingredients and tell you how to make it yourself.  After that delightful dinner, we went back to the hotel, I watched the Game of Thrones finale, and we got a good night's sleep so we could get up early the next day for our trip to the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon

Considering it was tourist season, we timed our Grand Canyon trip perfectly.  We got up at 7:00am (which is 6:00am Pacific, mind you), and my dad drove while I slept.  We went to the Desert View, wandered and wondered for a bit, had breakfast, stopped at another viewpoint, and then headed back to the hotel, impressed with our decision to go that way as the line of cars going the opposite way was overwhelming.

Then we packed up and headed to Albuquerque.  That took slightly longer than anticipated as both cats had hidden.  Kyle was just between the comforter and the solid bed frame.  Mox was no where to be found.  In a small hotel room.  Eventually I pulled out a second collar I had kept just in case it was helpful.  It was.  Mox loves collars.  Loves them.  Like, if his falls off, I can call him, and he'll come and sit excitedly as I put it back on.  So I pulled it out, shook the bell, and he emerged from behind the microwave, eager to find the collar.

Painted Desert

Since that stretch was only four hours, we took a detour in the Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park.  That day, it was too hot and there was no shade, so we left the car running and took turns viewing the desert.  It was incredible how the colors and landscape shifted every second as the clouds moved, rolling the light over the desert.  The pictures don't do it justice.  It was really beautiful.

In Albuquerque, we got some pizza, walked around the area we had dinner, stopped and had a drink, and then headed home to rest for yet another long day of driving.

Mox had yet another successful hiding attempt upon leaving Albuquerque.  I looked and looked and every now and then heard the tag on his collar scrape against something, sounding like he was in the bathroom.  But there was no where to hide in the bathroom.  The collar trick didn't work this time.  I was about to open a can of tuna (that's right, I came prepared) when I decided to look under the sink.  He had found a ledge under the sink, above some shelves.  Impressive.

Somewhere in Indiana

I slept most of the way through New Mexico.  I'm sad about it because in between naps I caught glimpses of beautiful hills with patches of green.  But dang, I was just so tired.  This year has been exhausting.  January-March were intensely dedicated to finishing my dissertation.  February-May were intensely dedicated to finding a job.  June was intensely dedicated to moving across the country.  Then, the first day of the trip I was up at 6am.  The second day of the trip I was up at 7am... Mountain Time, so still 6am.  The third day of the trip I was up at 8am... Central Time, so still 6am.  I am not a morning person and I was exhausted.  So I slept.  And slept.  Until the eastern part of Arizona, and in Oklahoma I perked up enough to drive.

I drove us through Tulsa, which is apparently, affectionately known as T-town.  I drove us through... lots of Oklahoma and Missouri.  It doesn't sound like an exciting part of the drive, but I was blown away by the green.  After 4 years of living in the desert and mostly visiting the Midwest in the winter, my eyes were starved for thick foliage, and that section of the plains / Midwest was all trees, grass, shrubs...  It was really beautiful.

My mom gets me.

We got to Springfield pretty late.  We bought a bottle of wine in the lobby, watching some TV, and crashed.

The last day of driving was by far the longest.  We drove from Springfield, Missouri all the way to Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a bit of an unintentional detour along the way.  Somewhere after St. Louis, I missed the highway we were supposed to take to Ft. Wayne.  Instead of turning around, my dad decided we should use paper maps to get us through the middle of nowhere Illinois countryside to another highway.  It probably wasn't the quickest way but, again, it was beautiful, just rolling Midwest farmland and very small towns.  Then we detoured into Ohio (gross) to pick up a pass so I wouldn't have to stop for tolls on my way to Massachusetts.  By the time we got to Ann Arbor, everyone was beat, including my mom who had stayed up to greet and feed us.

Had to

I stayed in Ann Arbor for three restful nights.  I slept a lot and hung with the cats since they were staying with my parents for the summer.  Chris & Casey stopped by for breakfast on our first morning back since they were headed up north for the holiday.  I managed to visit with Evelyn and her family, which is always great.  Then I was off again, on my own this time.

I drove to Syracuse with just one major stop when I was out of gas and out of patience with the radio.  I found an exit with a Target and went to buy Rihanna's ANTI album because I'm obsessed.  I couldn't believe the weird organization of Target's CD collection, a place I hadn't checked out in awhile.  So then I went and found a Best Buy, and again, very confusing but I finally found it.  (Hey, places that still sell CD's, just alphabetize them.  I don't know what genre you consider things.  Nor do I know that there's also a separate "new music" section.  Stupid.)  Then I was off to Syracuse cruising to "Desperado."

I got to my hotel, dropped off my stuff, and headed to the Imboden's place.  Peggy, of my second/camp family, had reached out to me via the facebook to see if I was passing through town, so I did, and she promised me dinner and entertainment.  She followed through on both.  Momma Imboden made me dinner (or rather warmed up the dinner everyone else had already had because I was later than expected) and tried to chat with Mom, Peggy, Joe, Teddy, and Corey while Peggy's five hilarious children jumped in and out the room with hilarious comments.  Ruth was particularly on point after a five-hour nap.

I stayed up for a bit in the hotel, savoring one night alone before moving in with a roommate I didn't know in my Airbnb.  I went to bed around 2am, allowing myself to set the alarm for 9:30am, just before the breakfast buffet would close, and still enough time for a nap before checkout if I wanted.  There was no rush to get to Boston.  I'd be living there.

BA BA BA BA BA BA BA

At 7:00am, the fire alarm in the hotel went off.  So much for one interrupted night of sleep.  I went to the parking lot with everyone else.  One staff member circled around, cheerfully apologizing, explaining that someone had burnt toast, and that it happens all the time.

What.

Happens all the time?

FIX IT!

Sunset my first night in town

I was not pleased with her cheerful, dismissive attitude and her comments that "at least we're all awake now!"  No.  I did not plan to be awake now.  I planned to be asleep now.  In a hotel.  That I'm paying for.  (Well, my mom paid for because she didn't want me driving all the way to Boston in one day.)  I was not happy.

Eventually I got up, much more sluggish than I had planned and headed to Boston.

I had forgotten how beautiful upstate New York is.  I had driven through parts of NY on the way to Camp Michigan East many times, but it's been awhile, and I fell in love all over again with the rolling green hills.  Massachusetts was equally beautiful... and it meant I was almost there.

I temporarily live on the western part of the city, so I didn't have to drive far in to find my Airbnb.  There was even a spot right out friend and a key right where they'd promised.  I unloaded my car, went for a walk, and smiled that my journey had taken me here.

#74 - Skateboard

When I wrote this item, I wrote, "start, skate at least 100 meters, stop."  At the time, that seemed impossible.

Last year, I chose to surf at least 10 times.  I knew I loved surfing, so I made it a priority, put it on my to do list.  In January I decided to sign up for a wakeboarding class.  I'd been wakeboarding for years but wanted to really learn more.  I also went snowboarding this year.  I have come to realize I truly love board sports.  There's something about connecting to the ground, the water, in a new way, moving fluidly, moving laterally.

With just 2 weeks left in California, it was now or never in learning to skateboard.

Well, not really.  I could skateboard anywhere.  But I had access to a board and it is such a California thing.  For those who haven't spent much time here, many people truly skateboard everywhere.  It's so popular that there are bike/skateboard paths on campus at San Diego State University and there are not only bike racks but skateboard racks outside my place of work.  It seemed like the right place to start.

Riding & Foot Selfie-ing

I'd spent probably a year playing with the board indoors.  We have a huge living room and long hallway, so I'd push around, knowing there were walls to stop me before I gained much momentum, even with the sloped floors.

On Monday, I decided to take the board out and skateboard to grab lunch across campus.  There are so few people on campus in the summer, and, like I mentioned, there's an actual bike & board path.  So I kick-pushed, slowly, across campus.  And realized how much skateboarding is like any other board sport.  And how much I love board sports.  They're so wonderfully challenging and comforting at the same time.

It's been over a week that I bring my board to work every day, ride from my far away parking spot every day.  I'm still bad at it, but I love to ride, and I'm getting better all the time.  Thankfully I've spent enough time on other boards, wheels, and blades that I know when to bail, and I'm too chicken to go down any steep inclines, so it's been a good week injury free.

I can't wait to be a poser Californian riding around campus, fighting for a campus path, searching for other board sports so I can keep riding in Massachusetts.  While I'm sad it took me so long, I'm pleased I didn't let a limited amount of time stop me from trying something I'd always wanted to do.  I hope to bring that attitude with me to Massachusetts too.

#33 - Do Yoga Every Day for 14 Days

I started 2015 with some intentions: to be more present, to prioritize my appreciation of the beautiful place where I live, and to reconnect with myself.  Perfectly timed, Mosaic yoga studio, about which I had heard so many wonderful things and happens to be just two blocks from my home, offered a Groupon deal.  I purchased the Groupon, invited others to join me, and started a true yoga practice.  I practiced yoga every day for 7 days, alternating between classes at Mosaic and practicing at home with videos.  2015 had a very rough start, and taking the time to dive into the moment and into myself each day brought me to a place of healing and resilience instead of dwelling in hurt and frustration.

When I first started practicing yoga with Campus Recreation at Northeastern Illinois University, I enjoyed the practice but was inconsistent in my attendance.  After that I would drop in classes at various studios but never stuck to anything.  Ever those 7 days in a row in 2015, I have been attending yoga at Mosaic, particularly Kevin Freiberg's Tuesday 7:15pm class.  I attended at least 31 yoga classes at Mosaic in 2015 and have attended at least 16 more so far this year.  The best way I can describe my visits to that space is that it feels like a combination of exercise, therapy, and church.  It's good for my body and good for my soul.  While there are moments of struggle in each class, there are also moments of realization, of strength, of learning, of awareness, of forgiveness.  

Six weeks before my departure, I ran out of pre-paid classes and knew I could not afford to pay full price since I have yet to start my full-time job.  Again, Mosaic heard my call and offered a Memorial Day discount package.  I was skeptical I would use all 10 classes, but if I even went once a week, the price would be worth it.  To encourage myself to use even more of the classes, to max out my time at Mosaic, I decided to practice yoga every day for 14 days.  It turned out to be 15 days with 6 classes at Mosaic and the other 9 days at home.  I made it to Kevin's class 3 weeks in a row and added a few new classes.  I particularly enjoyed John's slow, meditative yoga, which sounds relaxing but was instead particularly challenging in its slowness.  I'm sad I won't make it to anymore of John's classes in the remainder of my time here, but I do plan to go to Kevin's class one last time.  It's important enough to me that I've refused to make social plans that evening, my last Tuesday in town, unless it's after class.

As I am leaving San Diego, I am very sad to be leaving Mosaic.  But, like I told Sophie, my time at Mosaic taught me what I need -- in yoga and in other aspects of my life -- and I'm hopeful I will find another space to continue my practice. 

#16 - Submit a Piece of Writing for Publication

Oh, academic research.  You're so useful and important and sometimes engaging and also tedious and time consuming.  This one piece took way longer than anticipated... and I have 5 others in various stages of completion.  While 4 of those should have been simpler to produce in an article format because they're based on my dissertation, which is already written, this article got done first.  Why?  Because DeJuan Benford, my supervisor at San Diego State University, allowed me to set a goal for the year of submitting a piece of writing for publication, turn a work assignment into a full-blown research project, request assistance from one of our student leaders, and work on it at work periodically.

The original assignment was to gather sport club dues information to assist San Diego State's sport club teams in setting their team dues.  At the time, I was just starting to analyze my data for my dissertation, so I realized the value in turning information gathering into formal data collection for academic research.  At that point, I did not realize how stupidly tedious and time consuming data cleaning and formatting can be.  

After I had agreed to do the project, in a meeting with our Sport Club Executive Board, DeJuan asked the five student Sport Club Executive Board members if anyone would like to assist me with the project.  For some reason, Mark Slader volunteered.  Mark is great.  At the time, he was also in school full-time, president of his sport club team, Executive President of sport clubs, and studying for the MCAT.  Then he was signed with the San Diego Growlers, a professional team in the American Ultimate Disc League.  Plus probably some other things.  And the project was all voluntary... as in he wasn't getting paid.  So I hope some form of this research is accepted for publication so he at least gets a line on his resume out of it.

Me & King Mark

Instead of describing all the tedious steps, here's a quick summary:
IRB: me
Survey design: me
Survey testing: Mark & DeJuan
E-mail address collection: Mark & me
Survey distribution: me
Data cleaning: Mark & me
Literature review: me
Data analysis: me
Synthesis: Mark & me
Writing: me
Editing: Mark & me
Article submission: me

I actually find the literature review, data analysis, and writing to be interesting.  Data cleaning, however, is the worst.  It's one of three reasons I could never be a researcher.  (The first reason is that I'd be too lonely and the third is that I don't sit still well.)  I'm so thankful Mark helped with that part because I might not have made it to the end if I had to do all of on my own.

The article focuses on the increasingly costs of higher education, the demonstrated value of highly involved campus programs like sport clubs (particularly for low-income students who are also more likely to be members of populations already underrepresented in higher education), a summary of the findings about the variability of the costs and funding strategies in institutions, and an exploration of relationships between institutional characteristics and costs for participation in sport clubs.  I'm hopeful to further explore this topic because our findings have the potential to be useful to the profession and additional responses and validity would add to that.

So, I've now co-authored and submitted a piece of writing for publication.  I can't wait to do the next one... mostly because the data has already been cleaned and analyzed :)  I do hope to continue to do academic research, to always be working on a project, because it's really gratifying, at times fun, and so important to further the legitimacy of my profession and for informed decision making.  I'm also saying that knowing this article will likely come back with revisions (since it's the first article either of us has submitted), so maybe I'll feel differently after receiving that harsh academic feedback.

#13 - Eat at Hodad's

We stole this spot from some children.

When I first showed Jenn Hayes my list, she was like, I want to do these things.  The one she was most emphatic about was going to eat at Hodad's.  Other people had offered to do that one, but their heart wasn't in it like hers.

Thumbs up.

When I got my job offer, I texted Jenn telling her we needed to go get Hodad's or drinks soon.  She only saw the Hodad's part.  Fortunately, the evening we picked, she was already with Corry Vogel, so the gang got back together again once last time.

I really thought the line would be terrible and long.  It looked like when I got there, but the 3 of us have entertained each other through really tedious office work, so I figured that line was no match for us.  Then it took less than 10 minutes, so I was almost disappointed that we didn't even have time for weird conversations.  

I love the lisence plate game.

I got the Blue Jay burger and they both got mini burgers.  Jenn & I both got baskets and Corry meant to, but it's a good thing we didn't because there were SO MANY FRIES.  The food was great.  The company was better.  I know this post should be more about this legendary burger joint, but I'm just too sad thinking about it.  I wasn't emotionally prepared for any goodbyes yet, but Jenn was off to Hawaii the next day for a few weeks, so I wouldn't get to see her again before I leave.  So many adventures as well as so much boring office work that turned into so much fun we sometimes cried tears of joy.  And saying goodbye to that made me cry tears of sadness. Miss you already. #soulbread4lyfe #3rahims

#31 - Get a Full-time Job

I really missed city living, so as I was finishing my Ph.D., I focused my job search on Chicago, New York, DC, Boston, Philly, and San Francisco.  Working in higher education, the further advanced in the career path, the fewer positions there are at each university and thus in each city.  So while it might seem like searching in these six large cities would give me a big enough net, I think I only applied to three positions in those six cities.  I (begrudingly) applied to 20+ positions outside of those cities.

(Quick pause: Yes, I understand San Diego is technically a big city.  But it doesn't have the big city
feel.  It's not quite "urban."  Even downtown is flooded with tourists who have heard how cool the Gaslamp District is.  It's not that cool.  San Diego is great.  It is.  I get to surf, play beach volleyball, sail, and wakeboard year round.  I cannot tell you the last time I checked the weather before deciding what to wear.  It's all kinds of beautiful.  The beach.  The mountains.  The desert. The sunsets.  I mean... damn.  But I miss public transit and walking between neighborhoods and world class museums, art, performance and music.)

Alan and Jesse met me for pre-interview dinner.
Yay friendship!

During the application process, I rested my hopes of moving back to an urban area on two faculty positions and one collegiate recreation position.  While the faculty positions seemed great, throughout my search process, my heart has stayed in collegiate recreation, specifically student development.  I'm still a little in awe of that the perfect position for me actually worked out.  I'm the new Assistant Director of Training and Development at Northeastern University in Boston.  (Not to be confused with Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, which was my previous full-time employer.  Just like University of San Diego, my doctoral institution, is not to be confused with San Diego State University, my part-time employer while I finished my Ph.D.  Maybe good things come in confusingly named pairs for me.)  In the position I get to supervise the student facility staff, which will be a great complement to my programming experience, as well as collaborate with all staff, professional and student, for a department-wide student development plan.  I literally get to take all of the leadership and organizational theories I studied in my doctoral program, collaborate with colleagues and students, and work in collegiate recreation to promote learning and community.  I am so excited for this next step.

#19 - Visit Harry Potter World

I am one of those people who is instantly skeptical about anything popular.  I avoid pumpkin-spice lattes and Grey's Anatomy and those drink-and-paint places.  There's just something about me that resists those bits of life that people of my age and gender are "supposed" to like.  I'd like to think that I'm just less influenced by marketing and societal roles, but really, it's likely due to my own ego, which insists on being unique... which is great, to the point that it becomes inauthentic.

I resisted Harry Potter until 2003.  Even though I've always been an avid reader, it was too trendy.  I wasn't going to cave to the everybody's-doing-it attitude.  In my early 20's, I read literature, not children's books.  

Then my mom started reading them and passed them on to me when she was finished.  Just pages into Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I was hooked.  I quickly read through all of the available books, and by 2005, I was one of those people who pre-ordered the book and had it delivered upon the release via Amazon.

Let 'er rip, Ern

(The story of my reading of the sixth book has a tragic twist.  I picked it up at midnight and then hid it from myself because I was studying for my personal training certification.  I made myself wait until the exam was over.  Unfortunately, I was also working at a summer day camp.  In between swim lessons, two 2nd graders walked passed me and one said to the other, "So-and-so kills so-and-so," though she used their names.  "Nooooooooooooo!" I cried.  "You can't just SAY things like that!"  I then told a friend who had finished the book that a 2nd grader had spoiled it for me, and she said, "That's okay.  If you don't know how, you're okay."  And I said, "She said so-and-so does it."  And she said, "Oh, yeah, it's ruined."  I never even used that personal training certification.  I still can't forgive that second grader.  Just kidding.  Kind of.)

I've read the books through twice.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen the movies.

Taking the Hogwarts Express with one of my
oldest friends

This year, my national conference was in Orlando.  (Or Kissimmee, or whatever.)  Every year, at said conference, I room with one of my very best friends, Nicole Green.  Months ago, as we were making plans for our stay in Orlando (or whatever), we brought up the idea of staying an extra day to hang out... maybe visit a theme park... maybe...  Coincidentally (or actually probably not at all coincidentally because it's one of the reasons I love her), Nicole is also very into Harry Potter.  I'm a broke student, so I told her that I'd work a few extra catering shifts to go to Harry Potter World with her but I probably wouldn't do the same for Disney, which I'd been to enough that it's not worth the money while I have none.  She agreed.  Yay!

Wednesday night, Nicole received a big award.  Thursday morning I was the one slow moving in the morning but we made it to Hogsmeade in plenty of time, rode the new Hogwarts ride, walked through town, took the train to Diagon Alley, walked around, and then were slammed in the face when we learned the Gringotts ride was temporarily closed.  We walked around Diagon Alley some more.  Had lunch at the Three Broomsticks (!!!) had some butterbeer (!!!!!), hung around, then finally walked around the rest of that side of Universal.

I'm so happy I was able to immerse in Harry Potter with my Muggle bff!

#25 - Defend My Dissertation

What an emotional roller coaster.  So cliche, but I can't think of any other way to describe this process.  Here's the brief story of how this all happened.

In 2012, after 6 great years at Northeastern Illinois University, I decided I wanted to do more.  I wanted to get a Ph.D. with the hopes of pursuing a path to a Vice President of Student Affairs position, where I could effect greater changes on a campus than I could as an Aquatics Coordinator.  Plus, with a Ph.D., I'd always have the option to go the faculty route if I so chose.

Man, did I sob when I left NEIU.  It was my first full-time position in collegiate recreation and it became my home.  Most days, I loved going to work.  I worked, I played, I learned.  It was at NEIU that I first learned about privilege and started to think about my role in the systems of higher education and our nation.  I also learned I had a unique perspective about student mental health as a child of two mental health professionals.  And I learned that what I love most in the world is community building and creating safe, fun spaces that promote genuine connections.  Plus, we laughed and played a lot, things I never really realized could be incredibly valuable components of a workplace.

Just another day on the job

Very soon after starting my doctoral program in Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego, I struggled with my place and professional goals.  I didn't get a graduate assistantship and I couldn't find a job.  I finally went to the recreation office.  They rejected me.  Twice.  They kept saying they didn't take unsolicited resumes and I could visit their job opportunities website.  I did.  It only advertised a kickboxing instructor position, one of the few positions in recreation for which I have absolutely zero qualifications.  Eventually I e-mailed the Intramural Coordinator who met with me, frowned a lot at my resume, told me he'd obviously give me a job, passed on my resume to the director who gave me 20 hours a week between the office and intramurals, and eventually became my friend.

As I voiced my desire to pursue a path to the Vice Presidency, my colleagues and instructors told me I needed to get experience outside of recreation and to put my studies in another context.  My reaction was always the same: "I agree, but...  You don't have to get experience in recreation.  And recreation is just as important if not more important than other Student Affairs offices."  Then I realized that my defensiveness came from my reluctance to leave recreation.  I loved recreation.  I had wanted to become a Vice President to effect greater change, but I could effect change from anywhere, and I chose collegiate recreation.

I still struggled with finances and my not-well-defined position with USD recreation.  I eventually moved over to work part-time at San Diego State University with intramurals and sport clubs.  I love my position, my coworkers, and my students, and I'm doing my best to remain in denial that I have to leave soon.  I finally feel valued, valuable, challenged, and supported again.

Although I finally found a position that fits me, I have struggled financially throughout my entire time at USD.  When USD told me that they worked with students to ensure they had reasonable financial aid packages and that if I worked hard, I would be eligible for graduate assistantships and scholarships, I believed them.  I've worked incredibly hard.  My grades are great.  My work is even better.  My financial aid package has been comprised of student loans with decreasing grants every year even though my estimated family contribution is $0.  I have continued to pick up flexible part-time jobs so that I can pay my bills and at this point, as a Ph.D., have 5 jobs that I juggle and work as much as possible, which is usually 20-30 hours a week on top of my academic obligations.  I never have a day off completely.  The few that I have taken off, I'm riddled with guilt because I know that near the end of the semester I'll struggle to pay my rent and bills... again.

One of my happy places

When I started the program, holding a teaching assistant position and even teaching in the undergrad leadership program was voluntary.  I pursued both anyways.  Eventually they added a 1-credit stipend, which was nice, but only in that I have fewer loans as the amount was subtracted from my financial aid package, so I was still in the same place in the short run.  Every semester I requested a teaching and/or teaching assistant position and only received 2 in 4 years, including summers.  The process for choosing teaching assistants has been revamped and is supposedly more fair, giving preference to students without graduate assistantships, but I've still lost out positions to current graduate assistants who are receiving full tuition, a stipend, and benefits.  I also acknowledge it's not fair pitting us against each other.  We all want the experience on our resume.  It's just incredibly frustrating.

Another happy place

While my fruitless pursuit of funding has been overwhelming at times, the most frustrating aspect of the process is that nearly every single semester, my financial aid was incorrect.  By my second year, I was in the habit of writing to our "One Stop Student Center" a few weeks before the semester to confirm my financial aid was set to be disbursed correctly and on time.  I do not think there was a single semester that happened, and only once was it my fault (as we have to state how many credits we are taking, I registered for a different amount, but there was no where to check to see how many I had stated, so I couldn't check it).  By my last year, I accompanied each e-mail with a line to the effect of "I am registered for 1 dissertation unit, which qualifies me for full financial aid as I am a doctoral student.  Before you explain to me that 1 unit does not qualify for financial aid, please check with financial aid."

Yet another happy place

These financial struggles really affected my mental health, which was curious as throughout the program I focused my studies on campus mental health.  That, and the competitiveness I felt from some of my peers.  I still can't quite figure out why I feel as if I have to appear casually flawless in my academic and professional pursuits in the context of my academic colleagues when I do not feel that same pressure with my professional colleagues.  I do know that affected my social relationships to the point that I made a conscious decision to be less social in general and less social through my academic program in particular.

At the end of my third year, I decided to focus entirely on my dissertation and working as much as possible.  I chose the outlets of physical activity, nature, literature, and the relationships I have that make me feel the most like myself: with my parents, a few, select friends outside of San Diego, and even fewer in San Diego.  It was a difficult decision and I still feel guilty for neglecting some friendships.  However, I know that it was the right decision because the care and kindness I was able to show myself has led to healthier life choices and a confidence in my own capacities as I completed my dissertation (the biggest accomplishment of my life) and transition back to professional life.  I'm thrilled I took the time to really fall in love with San Diego and all of the activities that brought me energy and life when I needed it most.

The dissertation itself has been a bizarre process.  I was always open to changing topics and assumed I would throughout my four years, just as I had in my master's program.  However, I ended on a more-developed version of the same topic I had written about in my application to the program: campus mental health.

Growing up with two mental health professionals as parents and having mental health treatment as a common dinner table conversation, I had a unique perspective as a Student Affairs professional.  I realized how important outside-the-classroom learning opportunities and communities are for healthy campuses, how my role as a Student Affairs professional allowed me to connect with students and to create spaces for students to connect with each other, and how my knowledge of mental health and campus treatment options were vital in connecting students to care.  Not surprisingly, my dissertation results support just those ideas.  I am thrilled to have found results that support environments to intentionally foster genuine relationships and caring campus communities.  The work we do as Student Affairs professionals is so important to protect students from unnecessary distress and to respond to distress when it arises within our communities.

I am eternally thankful for my parents, who supported me emotionally, cognitively, financially, physically, and socially throughout this process.  They are and will always be my favorite people.  I was able to put my guilt aside to spend real time with them when they came to visit or I was able to visit them.  I'm thankful for the way they see me and that we have so many activities that we enjoy in common.

I am so lucky that I had courses with my dissertation committee members, Dr. Christopher Newman, Dr. Zachary Green and Dr. Lee Williams, and that they later agreed to be part of my dissertation journey.  I invited them to join my committee because I knew that they all had my best interests and academic greatness at heart.  While at times I was nervous for their feedback because I had worked so hard and the work itself was so dear to my heart, receiving the feedback was comforting as it was always given as a gift to push me and my work to be better.  I felt as if they truly believed in me and my work and were eager to see what more I could do.

I am particularly grateful for my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Christopher Newman.  I had many moments of frustration and distress, yet he always received my concern with an easy confidence that I would be fine, that I was more than capable of everything of which I was being asked.  That confidence kept me working and writing so that I finished the process a week earlier than timeline we had set.

I am thankful to have had so many supportive people in and near my dissertation defense.  I had not fully admitted how stressful the final process had been.  I had not been eating nor sleeping well.  I coped by working and working out a lot.  I had lost a lot of weight.

Before my defense, Mariko Peshon offered to practice with me.  Her feedback and willingness to spend her time while I stumbled through my first verbal reading of my material was tremendously helpful.  Grace Bagunu let me call her late at night to run through my presentation the night before, which really helped me iron out some kinks for the next day.

The night before my defense I went to yoga at Mosaic where I felt the love from Sophie, Kevin, Gracie, and later, Kevin again plus two other instructors when they happened to be at Luigi's when I went to get pizza.  (To be fair, Kevin had mentioned pizza before class, and then I couldn't stop thinking about it, so it wasn't quite a coincidence, but it was still lovely.)

The Committee and me

The day of my defense I went to a sport club council meeting in the morning and felt genuinely supported by my coworkers and the students with whom I work closely.  I was excited and nervous that my two supervisors were planning to attend the defense itself.  When I arrived at the room, my dear friend Maria Trias texted to ask if I needed anything.  She came to meet me, helped me ensure the technology would be ready, waited in line with me when I went to purchase chocolate milk, and offered to meditate with me, which I wish I would have taken her up on.  She promised to laugh quietly anytime anyone (a.k.a. Zachary) asked an incredibly difficult question, and she delivered.  After Maria, in walked another dear friend, Kai Matthews.  She was full of the warm, excited energy she is always able to bring to tense events.  I was so grateful to have her unrelenting smile in the room through the entire defense.  I was also happy to see Warren Whittaker, another classmate who is always full of encouragement and some sports talk, which is such a relief.  DeJuan Benford and Andrew Lutz, my supervisors at San Diego State, had some issues with the USD tram, but they made it in time for the questions, the wait, and the celebration.  It meant a lot to me that they took time off to support and celebrate with me.

My committee was tough but allowed me to engage with their questions in ways that were beneficial to my work as a whole.

I was so happy to see my parents sitting outside when the defense itself was over.  It was a nerve-racking 20 minutes or so, but it was fun to introduce them to the people who had supported me from near while they supported me from afar.

Christopher came into the hallway and immediately said, "Congratulations, Dr. Krone."  I still haven't processed that.  Their suggested revisions were consistent with their feedback throughout the process: all items that would improve my work and allowed for my knowledge of the work to shine through.

I celebrated with my parents, DeJuan, Andrew, Kai, and two other coworkers: AJ Gonzalez and his fiancee Lacy that night.  It was so pleasant.  The celebrations continued the next day as my parents and I drank and ate around the city.  It was a really great day.

I was able go to Chicago the following week to celebrate with some of my very favorite friends, including a nice stay with the Zanns.  It was a fantastic 5 days.

I still haven't processed that it is over.  I am just now getting back to a regular eating and sleeping schedule.  I'm so thankful and happy and relieved and proud and encouraged.

#71 - Surf and Ski on the Same Day

Me & Jules after
killin' it on the Bay

Living in Southern California, one of the few places in the world where it's possible to hit up water sports and snow sports in the same day, this has been on my list since I moved to San Diego.  It took my student office coworkers to make it happen though.

 It also took some editing.  Ocean conditions and my desire to be cool turned "Surf and Ski on the Same Day" into "Wakeboard and Snowboard on the Same Day."  Both fit the ocean-to-snow concept, so it counts.

So pumped for tubing

A couple weeks back I signed up to take a wakeboarding class at Mission Bay Aquatic Center *(where I took my advanced sailing lessons this past summer) with Juliana Spina, one of my favorite student office assistants.  This past Friday was week 2 for me and although we had some pretty choppy water, I managed to land one jump, which made me pretty happy.  Then, since it was so choppy, we traded our boards for tubes.  Tubing was way scarier than wakeboarding but was also a ton of fun.  It was definitely a great start to the Best. Friday. Ever.

Then I headed to work, went to a meeting, washed some jerseys, printed some scoresheets, and waited for Jenn Hayes and Corry Vogel, my other two favorite student office assistants.  

Corry is way better than me
at snowboarding.  Like,
way better.

We packed up the car with all of our gear, -- and by "our gear," I mean Jenn's, Corry's, and Tara Edberg's gear as Tara lent me her snow gear as I somehow don't have any anymore -- and I couldn't get over that the car was filled with snow gear for use in 3 hours time, yet I was still comfortable in shorts, a t-shirt, and sunglasses.  (Side note: I should have changed before arriving as I was not so comfortable when we arrived and it was 40 degrees.)

We had a delightful road trip with music, stories, gambling, and a fantastically beautiful highway wall sighting.

Bonus: Mountain High Ski Resort is in Angeles National Forest, so I managed to fit in 2 list items on the Best. Friday. Ever!

I was so pumped to pull into the resort.  We parked.  I gazed up excitedly at the mountain... and saw a mix of mud and ice.  Uh oh.  All this time I'd been fed stories about how inferior Midwest ski conditions are to west coast conditions that I hadn't considered that "Southern California's Closest Winter Resort" was probably a carefully chosen slogan.  I'd certainly skiied bigger and snowier mountains.

We bought our $20 College Night lift tickets, I got my rentals, and we headed out to the snowiest-looking slopes.  

Jenn: "Please don't drop your phone."

I fell a lot.  And laughed a lot.  And had a fantastically fun evening with Jenn & Corry.  While the conditions left a lot to be desired, they were totally fine for a couple hours of fun and warming back up to boarding.  

By the end of the night, the muscles in my legs were sore from all of the day's boarding and the muscles in my cheeks were sore from all of the day's smiling.

Dang, what a great day.

Cheeks so sore from the smiles