Test time

Well, it is block time again at Pikeville College School of Ostopathic Medicine. The sounds of a silent home or the mumblings of phrases and words no man has ever heard before. All I need to know about the body I learn in a song, it goes like this: "the leg bone is connected to the knee bone.." Ahhh, if it was that easy, we would all be doctors. Guess that is why I let her do the med school things. For all you that don't know, the way Natasha's school does test is a different format. About once a month, they take block testing. They take all their courses test on the same day. This is suppose to prepare them for their boards, at which they take all areas at the same time. Let us hope it works. This usually means time for me to play cards and stay away from my lovely wife except to cook and clean, yet this time is different. Another test will be in place, my father is arriving---oh scratch that, arrived in the late hours last night. He got a hotel one mile from house because he insisted on leaving last night, the only night I told him I was busy. Anyway, I am changing my opinion on how this lovely adventure shall be. I listen to a lot of thought and or thinking material with Natasha. One striving reoccurring point is the fact that we are what we think about. It is the notion that if assume something to be negative that it shall be. I am firm believer in this. I'll give an example. I was sitting at the Apris Ski bar that Natasha ran a few days a week at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah back about this time last year. As I sit there and enjoyed my after work beer, a gentleman dressed in ski clothes comes in with a huff and a puff and sits down with his friend. As they immediately sit down, they begin to swivel their heads looking for service. He had not even taken his outer layer off yet. He began to huff and puff. "Where is service, where is service..." To knock the story shorter, he eventually came out with the great saying "This place has gone down hill" (your opinion is fine)and then the big one "I knew it when we pulled into the parking lot!" REally, Real--ly, when you pulled into the parking lot. Now, most people that read our blog understands this, but I am here write so let me explain the terribleness. If you are spending let us 200 a person for entertainment that day, you are going to bring your $2 attitude along with you. So my favorite question WHY ARE YOU HERE! In your head, you thought how bad the place was going to be, how is it going to be any different. How is the outcome suppose to be any different when you have already made up your mind it is going to suck. So let us ask ourselves today, what have we made up our mind about already. What have we told ourselves that we will lose, be mad, be upset, be lonely, be tired, be ugly about today? It is a valid question and a big one. Just think, if we had the attitude about every thing like we have the night before we leave on awesome vacation attitude. i can remember as a child being so excited about going to Disney. I couldn't sleep, I didn't sleep, I didn't bitch about not getting sleep. I have decided that this will be a great day ( i mean really it is Friday), a great weekend and I will be happy and relaxed all through out. I can't wait until we go skiing in Utah next weekend and get to say "I knew this place had changed when we pulled into the parking lot" ha ha, good day

Coffee

Is it good or bad? One day I hear this way then I hear this way. It is like the winds of time, they blow this way, they blow that way. Alright, enough of that.

With a extremely intelligent wife, I have begun to constantly here how more and more things are unhealthy. She is closer and closer to everyday pushing me to run every where I go, only eating carrots, organic lettuce, apples, and getting as much sun as possible without letting it touch my skin. Okay, may this is a little far, I mean, being a butcher, I will never give up the meat, but yes honey, I will cut back on the red meat, promise. Well, as soon as all the deer meat is out of the freezer. By the way, she killed that deer. Natasha is having more and more trouble shooting the animals. I blame this on her feeding the calf over Christmas at her dad's farm. It puts you in touch with animals that will later be burgers. That is such a weird wrong feeling I suppose.

So back to the coffee. I like it in spurts. I get to were I will drink for a few months, then I take a few months off. The best thing is that first cup after a few weeks without it. Like a good drug, coffee is there. Wow, that sounds like a State Farm commercial. Like...a...good...drug, Coffee is there. That was fun, back to point. "After analyzing data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America's favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders." By Sid KirchheimerWebMD Feature Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD

This article by Sid goes on the exclaim other great things coffee can do. Natasha is a big advocate of WebMD. It has a lot of great information and is a constant contact point for many things. Yet, we have to put this disclaimer in. There are by far to many people in the USA who have begun to self-diagnose themselves. Then they begin to go to their doc for this or for that. Docs don't mind to sell meds for this and for that (yes I use the word sell there, they are the best pharmacy reps out there) That is another post entirely. I will get a lot of Natasha's help for that one. I am excited already to write it, maybe it is the second of coffee though, oh well here is to good health, drink up!

Lost

I really want to write today. I am at a low level of words though. It seems nothing has struck me to put on the paper today. I was glad to see the celebration for the new president went off with out a hitch yesterday. It is amazing how people see things completely different. I followed along with all the communication devices of today as the process went along. It was amazing to see all the views of the new beginning. I find myself getting angry at what I feel is stupidity. I constantly read people's remarks about how much they fear the new president. Either the world is going to end in 6 months, the USA is going into a downward spiral, or we will have a communist country now. It is not the fact that they believe all this that bothers me. It is simply that none of them realize all this has already happened under the Bush administration. Furthermore, some of them even have the notion to applaud Bush in his efforts.

I have learned to channel this anger. Natasha has informed me that I tend to come of angry and airogant when I talk politics. Since I have not come over these thoughts, I choose not to discuss them with people. Yet, I do want to make this one point. No wait, never mind, it will just make some look stupid. I can't be hurting ignorant people's feelings.

To move on, I will change this to a happier post. I think we might be going to Park City for a few days in a couple weeks. This means I need to go work out hard to get into ski shape. I can't wait! I wish I was going to Belize to scuba dive instead, but it isn't always my decision. This is a lot of words to not have a lot to say.

I am beginning to get more involved in Pikeville. I have befriend the local bar owner here. Go figured right. Anywho, I think we share of a lot of great ideas for this town. This place has a lot of potential for developing into a nice small town. It just needs more activities. (Lots of room for activities) If I am going to be stuck here for three years, I might as well make a stab at change. I have a lot to do today, so fair well my friend.

Carthage

This is the bad politics that Natasha's dad is going through in Carthage, MS

The article about the bid is on the front pg. Natasha's letter to editor is on next.

http://www.eclassifiedsnetwork.com/content.aspx?IsHome=1&MemberID=1182&ID=1342&Module=Quickpage

It is awesome! She is my hero. They took the word Bullshit out with a few other statements, but overall in got the point across. We'll write more on this later or maybe not.

Sunshine and Summer time

It's not here, but doesn't mean I can't talk about it. We alluded to this in the previous blog. There is a great book called "The Geography of Bliss." I am not going to take the ideas of this and put them as my own, yet I will reference it. This is great book for any one who loves to travel or has lived many different places. I feel that many of us fit into this category. With that being stated, you should look for this book (if you are located in a third world country, I can get a copy sent to you).

This book references the different reasons of what makes a country happy. It discusses how it is not always the riches, the hardest working or the laziest places that are the "happiest." It goes through 10 "happiest" countries and examines what he thinks that makes their people bliss.

It made me think a lot about what truly makes a person think and feel bliss. One of my thoughts is that it is the amount of sunshine a place receives. I like to use the word receive there because it's not that just the fact the sun shines yet how much the people are able to enjoy it. In Belize, the sun shines amazing. The people that are receiving that sun shine are regarded as happy. Utah, although cold, had a huge amount of sunshine. The people that felt this, seemed to be happy. I can remember days of March, when it warm up over 32, the restaurant would open the deck. I loved serving on the deck. It didn't even feel like work really, just a day in the sun hanging out getting people drinks and over priced but amazing food.

I think there are many other factors that come into play with bliss. The book does continue to drive toward the fact it's not just the simple "vacation" spots that have happiness. It goes on to describe the fact that people need to have purpose as well. Laying around on a beach all the time won't make us as happy as we think. I agree, people do need purpose.

It is amazing how some Americans believe that since we have the opportunity to make as much money as possible in this nation that we are the happiest. This illusion that every one has the same opportunity to get that 4 billion dollar pay check. It is funny how that countries that have a more equal balanced country are rated as a happier place. A country were people are awarded for doing the things they love. What an amazing concept?

All that aside, Pikeville does lack in the sunshine department. At least downtown has seemed so far. This is mainly due to the fact that it takes the sun to come back over the mountain on one side and gets blocked quickly by another mountain on the other side. There is a bar downtown that is beside the bank we use which is a large US Bank building. The outside is complete glass/mirror type of structure. When the sun is going, this creates a huge amount of shine. I have decided this why I frequent this place. So when I head down to Champs Sports Bar (I have already gotten to know the owner, he shares his court side basketball tickets with me) Natasha asks, Why are you here? I think I will reply "It's for the sunshine, Hun!"

But really, Why are you here?

Rain

It's funny how rain sounds different when you are in different places. In Pikeville, I have never heard thunder. I should research as to why that is but I presume it has something to do with us being in a bowl of the mountains. What a great thing to never have to fear of Tornadoes either. Rain in Utah always sounds like a soft snow, this most likely is because it is. I don't recall it ever hearing Thunder there as well, hard to tell with the exploding of the ski hills for avalanche prevention. I can remember laying in the bed in the early morning hours first learning that it wasn't thunder. The sweetest rain sound is in Belize. To understand more of this you can read Suzassippi's Lottabusha County Chronicles blog at http://suzassippi.blogspot.com/ I won't still here thoughts, I will just add what a relaxed rain feeling this is. In Hot Springs, AR; rain hitting the lake was such soft sound, but one that could come in a blink of eye. If you have never seen hundreds of boats rushing to get back to shore, you have never seen a sight. Once, we were involved in this. The rain began to fall peacefully. It wasn't a big deal, we were already wet by being in the lake. Then that exciting thunder came, which of course was brought on by it's friend, lightning People quickly began to scamper to get items into the boat and get back to shore. Then it happened, not one but two boats would not crank. As fun goes....Natasha and I had picked one of these boats to be on. Long story longer, ends with us having a train of boats being pulled by one boat in front. Now this seems simple enough, but I forgot to add in the simple fact that you have to throw a nice long day of alcohol. It took a good hour to get a half mile. The longest part was trying to keep every one in the boat as we tried to pull to safety. As Natasha says, "You can make this shit up"

In thinking of the rain, it reminds me of the sun. As we travel more, I am coming closer to the conclusion that the more sunshine a place is subject too is directly related to the happiness of it's people. The sun could be even more fun to discuss. This could be another entry though. Why are we here?

Back to Pikeville

We have made it back to Pikeville! The Christmas holidays were good and it was great to see so many people. The ride back was a simple adventure. We have a new addition to the family. Bear is our cotton de tulear dog. We did not name this dog; he has been adopted from other members of the family. He has been good and we look forward to the adventure of adding a dog to our many fish.
We realized on the way back that Mississippi is not really that far from here. This only makes us want to return there more often now. The trip back was fairly fast and it seemed to get Natasha really excited. It allowed me to realize that getting the trip to Oxford for Opening Day of Ole Miss baseball will be easier than first planned. That is truly my biggest non-work goal for now. It will be a good time for all.
So, in this thinking, why is it that Eastern KY feels so far from Mississippi? While in MS, I recall hearing people ask “How does it feel to be living with the Yankees again?” Really, would you consider the Appalachian Hills of KY to be Yankees? What is the difference between rednecks and hillbillies? I feel the southern hospitality is here. The people here are very inviting, very accepting. They also fit that small town mindset as well. They believe what they have for years and the thought of changing certain things is just absurd. There is a lack of travel much (actually hard to), University of KY is king (and the top place for travel), and you either live here or you are “born and raised.” Their peppers are hot and there moonshine is strong. The only thing I think hard on is the large separation between the have and have-nots here. Where is the middle class? Why are you here?

The Beginning

The idea of putting thoughts out onto the internet for the world to see has always been an uneasy feeling for me. Yet, with all that nonsense fear push aside, I think it to be necessary to begin putting words out to describe my adventures.
Many of you will already know this; I am accompanied in my adventures by my lovely wife. Natasha and I have been married since April 21 of this year. We were married in San Pedro, Ambergrise Caye, Belize. She is amazing in my life. I’ll leave that as for now, this will leave for better ramblings later.
So what are these works of art you will read? I am going to write on where Natasha and I are now, where we have been and maybe where we might be going in the future. The thought of this blog stems from a common question “Why are you here?” I have been asked this question for every where we travel. I have been asked that question by local people who want to know what brought us to their area and by past friends who want to know why we left their area. I hope this can brings the answer we might all need. I truly dream that it will bring more questions, as these are the best answers.