Month Eight: Bit by the Bug, Again — The Path Less Choiced

Month Eight: Bit by the Bug, Again

11/5/2023

Minnesota - Iowa - Kentucky - Texas

We had been pretty stagnant in the last month spending all of it in the midwest. This month was all about getting bit by the bug again…

Football season is in full swing. That meant another weekend tailgating to start off month eight. We had the whole gang for this one.

Minnow Farmers at Welch Ave Station watching the game

It took our tetris king to get everyone to fit for sleeping in the lot, but we did it with minimal headaches. Great start to the month.

Jake headed back to Minnesota with Leinie and the Yellow Submarine while I drove south to Louisville, Kentucky. Why, you ask? Only the best work-related time of the entire year: The ACVS Surgery Summit. An annual party learning opportunity where you can reconnect with old friends and learn something new. Jake flew down to meet everyone after getting a few work days in.

This year I decided to torture myself expand my boundaries and volunteered to present on the super sexy topic of live streaming from the OR. Oh yea, IT is so attractive. I didn’t vomit or faint, so I call it a win.

The surgery summit has the habit of reigniting my excitement for veterinary surgery. Let’s face it, I am a huge nerd and I could talk fracture physics for hours. Show me a novel technique on tacking down the meniscus and I get giddy. Bit again by the surgical bug.

Jake drove the car back to Minnesota and I flew to Austin, Texas. This time it was a veterinary technician conference geared towards my personal soapbox of technician growth and support. I have no excuse other than I must have been drunk when I volunteered for not one, not two but four professional presentations in a two week span. One done, two to go for this conference. This time I was presenting on client compliance and surgery safety checklists. I know, try to contain your enthusiasm.

While in Austin, I took a day off from conference learning to explore the city. Tuesdays are free at the art museum on the university campus so I took full advantage. I’m the first to admit that I am definitely not an art person, so after an hour of looking at contemporary paintings that was more than enough for me. With the LBJ presidential library on the other side of campus, I meandered through enemy territory (hiss Longhorns) and explored LBJ and Lady Bird’s contributions to our great experiment. There was a quote from Lady Bird that may or may not resonate with you.

And that’s as far into politics as I care to dive.

Anywho, I wandered through the Capitol building and took a free tour. Beautiful buildings, fascinating history, and throw in a protest on education as our tour progressed, it was wild! I was hungry and thirsty so I explored a highly recommended neighborhood undergoing crazy expansion. Hopscotching around construction equipment I stopped at a Bavarian biergarten that brings a whole new level to food fusion. Enter, the jalapeno cheddar wurst. Amazing!

If the state of Texas was indiscreet with the city of Portland (OR), the love child would be Austin. That was the vibe I got from the city. It was artsy, loud, big, and full of fabulous tex-mex styled food. I loved it. Exploring the city and its culture hit me like a brick wall. I missed the roulette trips Jake and I would take where we would get the cheapest plane tickets available regardless of destination. The travel bug bit hard. Jake stated he was feeling it too.

Before I knew it I was flying back to Minnesota for the last presentation, a webinar on open fractures. Wounds and fractures, does it get any better than that? Don’t look at me like that.

Just like that, the month was already past the halfway mark. Halloween was quickly approaching. Anoka, our old home, is the Halloween Capital of the World. It is a big deal here. Naturally, Jake & I are very active Halloween participants. This year’s theme, Dungeons & Dragons (the movie characters)

Edgin Darvis (bard), Fat Dragon & Xenk (paladin)

Anoka hosts a wonderful tent party every year, and this year was just as amazing. The tribute band was on fleek (Jake, did I use that correctly? He says no).

The weather was less than ideal, it is Minnesota after all. Anytime after August, you risk snow. First winter was knocking on the door as the temp plummeted below freezing and it ended up being a white Halloween with snow falling the night before.

While pretty, it was frigid and it wasn’t even the standard arctic temps. The thoughts of sand, margs, and beaches was front and center in my mind. Jake was in agreement, this cold weather stuff was for the birds and even they fly south for the winter.

Thankfully, Iowa State’s drinking team football team decided they actually wanted to play this year and have pulled off some completely unexpected wins. Told you it was character building being a Cyclone. This month closes out with homecoming tailgating and a rough loss against Kansas. Bowl game season is just around the corner. Fingers crossed that ISU makes one, maybe in Texas or Florida. The warm weather bug is biting.

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