A Little Dating Ego Boost

So, I told a friend of mine recently that he needed to establish more of a dating ego. What I maen to say is that he is highly confident in his athletic abilities, but seems to be lacking in confidence when in dating situations. I think we can all relate to this one, and I have definitely doubted my ability to attact a worthwhile mate.

I decided to post a blurb from an email I recently received that definitely helped to boast my dating ego. A little back story: while waiting for my fellow RTB team members at a local dive bar, I fended off some advances from the older patrons while a younger gentleman looked on. I tried to get this guys attention and sigmal that he should come save me, but he did not approach me until my friends showed up a bit later. We chatted a with him about our big race up in NH, and before leaving he gave me his business card and asked me to keep him posted on how we did. So, I wrote him last week to brag about how team One More Beer did, but also informed him that I was seeing someone (true at the time, although recent events have changed that). Here is part of his reply:

Well, I guess I could take a reprieve and say that I was not hitting on
you- though, it wouldn't be completely accurate. I was mostly saying
hello, as I was curious as to your reasoning for being at that place
alone at 5:30pm. So, my curiosity was going, and the catch of your smile
was lovely, so I took a chance at saying hello. No real intent on
anything other than making an acquiantance, though if you were absent a
boyfriend, then I certainly would be asking you out now. :) That's as
straightforward as I can make it. :)

That email is getting filed away for those days when I need a pick me up... kind of like my voicemail collection which includes 2 drunken calls from Wick & Grey telling me how much they miss me, and the recent addition of Matt telling me how F-ing cute I look with my new haircut :)

Scott & I at the finish

Last Leg!
Originally uploaded by jessriggs.

Here's a picture of Scott and I at the end of the race. Scott ran our last leg and definitely deserved the gatorade I brought him :)

Scott was one of the faster more competitive members of our team. JMo and he started a competition to see who could pass the most runners on their legs. Since JMo ran right before Scott, he would always tell him a number when he passed of the wrist band at the transition point and this would give Scott a goal to achieve. They referred to people passed on the road as "roadkill," and we kept an accurate tally for al team members in the van. Final score: Scott 88, JMo 69!

I was not really involved in the competition, but I was definitely proud of my 20 :)

My friend Matt was competing with them on another team... I don't remember his final tally though. I'm sure it was close. The 3 of them are crazy fast runners! Scott was never passed, and JMo was passed only once. I would love to have all 3 of them on my team next year!

RTB team: One More Beer

RTB team One More Beer
Originally uploaded by jessriggs.

The weekend before last I participated in one of the best athletic competitions: Reach the Beach. This is an event where 12 member teams run a 200 mile relay across New Hampshire (from Bretton Woods to Hampton Beach) in 24 hours time! There are 300 teams that register every year and each one starts on Friday according to their projected finish time. They try and plan it so most teams finish around the same time. We started at 10:40am.

Each runner is supposted to complete 3 legs total with varying start times. Because we were down a runner (my friend was injured last minute) and Anna was already injured, 4 of us ended up running 4 legs total. My total milage was 18.7 miles, with my longest leg being 6.9 miles @ 5 am Saturday morning. Oddly enough, despite a constant battle with my stomach, I felt great during my legs and even managed to pass 20 people total: 13 of those at 5am! My last leg was a bit painful and took a lot of willpower to finish.

Here is a picture of my team, although a few of us are hidden. We all wore the Boston HHH One More Beer T-shirt, which was our team name. We ended up finishing 78th out of 296 teams. My team was amazing, and I think we all had a great time. Enough to even consider doing it again next year...

Back to School

Yuck. So, I am now full fledged into the fall semester and I think I am keeping my head above water. I can't tell if this semester is easier, or if I care less at this point in the game. I definitely find the subject matter interesting as we are now doing spine and neuro. My clinical placement for this semester is Beth Israel Outpatient for 6 weeks than the Brain Injury Unit @ Spaulding for the 2nd 6 weeks. Much more involved patients, but I'm excited about it.

I guess the hardest thing right now is that I have been out of town every weekend since I came back from VT: the wedding in Upstate NY, Reach the Beach (which I plan to write more about when I have pictures), and now a random event in NH... next weekend I'm staying in Beantown, going to my favorite coffeeshop, and taking some time for me! Woo hoo, I like that plan!

After

After
Originally uploaded by jessriggs.

So, I went to get my haircut today and it was long enough... so I let her cut it short in order to donate it. Hopefully someone will enjoy some nice golden locks while I get used to the cute new do. It definitely is an adjustment.

I think I may really be shocked tomorrow when I wake up and it is still gone!

Sara, you inspired me... hopefully I still like the decision in the morning :)

Before

Before
Originally uploaded by jessriggs.

I decided to donate my hair back in the spring and it wasn't long enough then, so I've been growing it out since...

Farewell Hash

Farewell Hash
Originally uploaded by jessriggs.

This is a picture from my farewell hash up in Burlington, VT. Heather took this picture of the two of us after I set a trail that made everyone run 5+ miles. Notice we are both still smiling, so it couldn't have been that bad!

I had so much fun running with them this summer, and I miss them all now that I am back in Boston. People here are in such a rush and they never seem to have smiles like these on there faces :(

My Mercedes

My Mercedes
Originally uploaded by jessriggs.

The rental car company did not have my Dodge Neon as promised, but they did have a Mercedes at the same price. I got to arrive to the wedding in style! Hard to convince people you are a poor grad student when you roll up in this vehicle though...

I totally look like I am trying to sell this car, not like the owner. Perhaps I should work on that for the next premium car I get to drive.

An amazing ride!

Before the drive

Before the drive
Originally uploaded by jessriggs.

I headed out to upstate NY for Igor and Ainsley wedding, and stopped off at a friend's place in Albany. I think he wanted to document my wearing makeup... it doesn't happen often :)

I am hoping to have actual pictures from the wedding to post, although people seem to be slow to get their pictures posted.

The wedding was beautiful. They got married up in the Thousand Islands and had the reception at her family's place on one of the islands. There was a boat taking guests over and everything. All the usual Brown CS guys were there and I had a blast with all of them. Makes me wish there was another wedding coming up soon...