10 Things About Me
10. I’ve been rock climbing in Austria. Yes, in 6th grade, when I lived in Germany, my class took a trip to Hildebrand lodge where we had a nice little adventure in the mountains. During that trip, we drove to Australia where were given an opportunity to climb a rock. I LOVED it. I climbed the smaller demonstration rock and then decided to go for the big challenge and climbed really high, almost making it to the top. I sold myself short by not going to the top when I knew I could. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but for some reason I didn’t want to take that extra step. However, I can say I was the top climber in my class among the girls.
09. I was on TV for completing the Spartan race. In 2014, my husband and I completed the Spartan Race Sprint competition in Washugal, WA. While waiting in line to rinse off the mud from our faces post race, two people came up to us and asked if we would like to be featured in a promo set for the Spartan Challenge. Heck yes! So we followed them to this space, answered a few questions while looking into the camera, and a few months later, when that specific race aired on TV, we saw ourselves. It was pretty incredible! The race was fun too. While I didn’t run or “sprint” it, I did complete all obstacles in the obstacle course and only had to do burpees for the last two obstacles. I couldn’t climb up the rope and I didn’t lance the spear into the hay stack on the first try. Otherwise, I did run through the ring of fire like a bad bad!
08. I can sail a boat. Ok, so Summer of 2014 I declared that I would not only get on a sailboat but I would learn how to sail a sail boat. We lived in the Puget Sound area of Washington State and I loved to watch the sail boats set out during my ferry commute to and from Seattle for work. I signed up for sailing lessons with the Bainbridge Island Parks and Rec and learned the fine art of rigging and hoisting sails, steering an F5 and righting a capsized boat. Yeah it was awesome!
07. I’ve completed 3 cross country 'road' trips. The year after we got married and shortly after we finish grad school, my husband and I drove across the U.S. from Maryland for a job opportunity in San Diego. When we arrived, received a much better offer for a job in his hometown of Kennewick where the cost of living is great and the earthquakes are minimal. So we continued north, driving through California to Washington state to put a Smile on the U.S. The second cross country trip came 7 months later when I accepted a job offer in Atlanta and we drove back down to the place where we first met and fell in love. The 3rd cross country ride was across the northern states and included 33 other people because…
06. My 3rd cross country trip was on a train with the Millennial Trains Project.
05. Michelle Obama delivered the commencement address at my undergraduate and graduate schools and I attended both events. Bonus: Barack Obama waved at me during one of his campaign events. Yeah we’re cool like that.
04. I love lemon flavored things, including Lemon Oreos. ;p
03. I played the violin actively from 4th grade through college.
02. I’m a builder of things, mostly organizations. Call me an architect.
01. I’ve visited 23 countries and have lived in 3 outside of my own. What’s my favorite? I’ll leave that to a separate post.