PhD: 4 weeks done, 200 to go

[Chris] Is that it? Only 200 weeks left? Of course, that assumes I get it done in four years. Well, so far it's all going well. I really enjoy all of my classes, am working on building my private practice, and am working on a paper to submit for publication. The program is a great fit for me and I'm definitely happy about my choice.

I've actually been pleasantly surprised at my work-load. I work from 7am to 11pm a few days each week but I have been able to take one morning off each week and don't work too hard on the weekends. In large part, this is due to working for very flexible professors for my research assistantships. There are also a few large projects that will crescendo near the end of the semester. But at least for now, it's all pretty smooth.

My Other Blog

On my website for my private practice (www.CJMtherapy.com) I have a blog that I try post on every Sunday. The topics are almost always related to therapy, relationships, and mental health. Some posts are more informative than others (i.e., sometimes I take time to write something good and sometimes I post for the sake of getting something up). In any case, I could always use more traffic at my private practice's site (it helps Google know I matter)- so check it out once a week, or once a day, or more.

Backpacking below the smoke in MT 2011

[Chris] This is a trip I took with my cousin, Steven, in August 2011 to the Bob Marshall Wilderness and surrounding areas in Montana. Emily and I did a trip on the west side of "the Bob" in 2010 and Steven and I did another trip in MT in 2010 as well. I have not written about those trips yet as Emily and I are trying to work through our trips somewhat chronologically. In any case, I just got back a week ago so I thought I should write about this while it is fresh. It will be short and sweet.

As I wrapped up my last semester for my Masters program and geared up for my Doctoral program, I thought it would be a good time to get away for a bit- not to mention the added stresses of this last year and a half. Steven and I decided drive out to the Bob and do a little backpacking and fly fishing. We planned a loop that would take us past some of the more popular features of the Bob, namely the Chinese Wall.

Drowning doesn't look like drowning

I guess it does look like drowning...because it is. What I mean is that is doesn't look like you might expect it to look. Listen to this... "of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening" (article).

Here is a great article about what to actually look for and be aware of around the water: http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

Backpacking in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

[Chris] A backpacking trip Emily and I did in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in 2008. We think it is definitely a place you should check out.

In 2008 we packed in a number of trips and adventures. After a week at the Galvin family reunion (Em’s mom’s side), we stopped for a backpacking trip in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Superior side of the U.P. in Michigan. This was an easy-going, on-trail trip with spectacular scenery. We had a little more experience going into this trip than we did in the Grand Canyon. We also had some new gear, including a backing stove (MSR Simmerlite) that boiled water a little more efficiently than my home-made fuel-tablet stove.

We started this trip at the trailhead to chapel rock and would cover 30 miles over 4 days. We saw quite a few day hikers at the beach by chapel rock but would only see a few people over the middle two days. Chapel rock is one of the many amazing rock formations along the lakeshore. On the top of the formation is a tree with massive roots that span the gap between the neighboring cliff. From chapel rock we headed east along the tops of the cliffs toward 12-mile beach. It was on top of these cliffs that our trip almost ended in disaster.

A short story about a girl who smiles

Let me tell you a short story- a story about a girl who knows pain intimately and still smiles.

This girl was born into a family that had tragically lost a daughter at 9 months old to cancer, but they were moving on- the doctors said this was a rarity. But alas, this girl didn’t know a normal childhood—whatever that is—past her second year when her big brother was diagnosed with brain cancer as well. She remembers laughing with her brother, hiding in his closet, playing with him and his friends, and being protected by him- because that’s what big brothers do for their little sisters. She also remembers him being sick. She remembers that he loved strawberry shakes in the hospital and that he wore bandanas to cover his head, which was absent of hair and skull from chemo and over a dozen surgeries. She remembers that in spite of all this, he just didn’t like needles- and neither does she.

Working and playing in Europe

[Emily] I’m reflecting on my trip to Europe (May 2011) as I sit in my hotel for my last night in Paris. What a crazy trip this has been! It was exciting, challenging, fun, stressful, and amazing all at the same time.

I got the opportunity to travel for work; Carlson has ownership in a hotel company called Rezidor and a travel agency called Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The international tax team at Carlson files the US tax returns for these entities and their subsidiaries. With a co-worker, Liz, I spent four days working in Brussels, Belgium which is the location of Rezidor’s headquarters. Then we spent a week and a half working in Paris, the headquarters of Carlson Wagonlit Travel. We spent time working on tax returns, having meetings, and—the fun part—lots of “networking”. On a normal work day, we woke up at 6am and did not return to the hotel until 11pm. Even though I was tired at night, it took me about a week to adjust to the seven hour time change so I would often wake up in the middle of the night and feel like it should be daytime.

BWCA: really, really cold, and really, really dark

[Chris] This post recounts my second winter trip to the BWCA with my friend, Jake. This trip was in the middle of December, 2010. I could probably just say that it was really cold and really dark and leave it at that, but I’ll give a few more details…

Our first trip to the BWCA was a lot different than this trip (read the post from the first trip here). Seriously though, it was a lot different. Instead of packs, we took homemade pulks; instead of sun and warmth, we had 16+ hours of darkness and subzero temps; instead of having to walk through a foot of standing water from melted snow, we had to walk into blistering winds; instead of only wearing a light base layer, we had to keep every inch of skin covered and often pulled our hats over our eyes when walking into the headwind. We started out on Brule Lake for this trip and headed west.

I should back up a bit. We drove up north on a morning that was -27 degrees in Ely. When we got to the final turn toward Brule Lake we learned that the last 5 miles of road to the lake are unplowed in the winter. We drove the jeep over the snow bank and made it about 20 feet before we came to our senses and decided that another 4 miles and 5260 feet would be too risky of an endeavor. So, we started our day with a 5 mile walk to the entry point. After the drive up and unplanned additional trek, we only made it a short ways on the lake before we had to stop and set up camp. When I say “stop to set up camp” you may be thinking it’s evening, and maybe it technically is evening, but I’m saying we had to stop at 3pm since the sun set around 4pm. That makes for a short day of moving.