Halleluah!!!

MJ got adopted! A friend who I've petsat for in the past adopted him yesterday. I just dropped him off at his new home an hour ago. He has a new kitty brother, and two doggie siblings. I think he'll do just fine there. He's a very high energy cat. A little too high energy for me and Mama.

A few (okay, a lot) of my favorite pics of him:

This is quite possibly my favorite picture of all time.

Rafael, cool but rude.

Tropical Storm Rafael (now a hurricane) is just finishing up with us. We're just catching the coat tails of the storm, which is still pretty intense with heavy rainfall and winds. I lost power at my place around 4:30am yesterday (Sunday) morning and it was still out when I left for school this morning at 7:30am. Yes, Ross still had class. They just now (12:30pm) sent out a text closing campus as of 1pm today. So they had us to come to class because apparently it was safe enough to drive through massively flooded, muddy roads to get here, but now that they've decided that it isn't safe anymore we're all supposed to leave. The logic hurts.

I have to throw away a bunch of meat from my freezer, but other than that, I'm not terribly upset about the power outage. Unlike a lot of students, I still have water when my power goes out, so I can still shower, albeit in cold water. I'm well-stocked for emergencies with lots of canned food and sterno fuel. Yesterday I heated water for tea and canned beef stew (which with the addition of a little granulated garlic and white pepper, was actually pretty good). I spent most of the day reading by candlelight. It was actually kind of relaxing and felt like I had a day off.

Here's a few photos/videos of the damage:

Getting healthy.

I'm not sure why I've been bitten by the health bug, but it's pretty good timing. Soon I'll start 7th semester and then clinics, where I'll be on my feet quite a bit. I need to drop at least 20 lbs to be kinder to my feet and back during rounds and surgery.

I used to hate running. Even when I was on swim team in high school and I was working out 3 hours a day/5 days a week, running was my least favorite component of our practices. Recently I went for a 2.8 mile walk/run with my friend, Elly. I walked probably 2/3 and ran 1/3. I felt sore and out of breath afterward, but honestly, I felt pretty good, as well. Endorphins. The next day, however, I could barely move. I'd forgotten that running basically uses every muscle in your body, including your abdominal muscles.

I started reading up on running and found that I'd really overdone it that first run after such a long absence. Basically, I was lucky to get away with just severe muscle soreness. I could have been laid up with shin splints or a stress fracture. So I kept reading suggested websites my friends who run linked me to and found a routine that I think is doable for me and will eventually work me up to a 5K or 3 mile run three days a week. I also bought a new pair of good Asics running shoes. It's amazing the difference between actual running shoes and a cheap pair of $30 tennis shoes from Walmart. I put them on and it felt like I had springs under my heels. There's also a nifty, super dense strip of material under the inside arch to prevent you from rolling your foot inward and forces you to have good posture and alignment. Kinda nifty.

I've been going for long walks and doing some running in chest deep water in my pool the last three days to prepare for starting the routine next week. Taking it easy on my poor muscles because of what I did to them on Sunday. Honestly, I feel great. I feel charged and motivated to keep going, which is pretty damn unusual for me when it comes to exercising. Normally I'm forcing myself to get into the gym, now I look forward to getting out for a jog.