working out for Disney

[Sans Souci]

I've been having a really hard time getting in my exercise. The weather is NOT cooperating for me to get outside, and our overly stuffed house with all the stuff we have cleaned out of my in-laws' house, plus the stuff we had to move for our own renovations means I can't do anything INSIDE. I used to get a good workout just going to work, but this job isn't far enough to really give me the bike ride, and while I'm on my feet all day, I'm not getting my steps in. I'll probably be switching jobs in the near future, but we'll see. I have an interview on Saturday for a store I shop at sometimes. They are a German company and they sell clothes, including larger sizes, and a bunch of household stuff like baking pans and storage containers, a few toys, etc. I also applied to a store I worked at YEARS ago and liked, and a sort of discount store that sells a little of everything. Hygiene/beauty products, kitchen products, novelty, party decorations, jewelry...but it's almost next door to where I work now, so probably wouldn't help a whole lot in the exercise department. Actually none of these would. I may have to start going out in the evening to walk, but I don't want to be walking in a wooded area in the dark.

We are also not eating as well as we used to. I work until 6 or 8 pm, depending on the night, E doesn't get out of school until 5:00 three nights a week, and my husband works until 5 every day. A has tennis and chess on nights I usually work, so we don't even get to eat together because he has to eat before I get home from work. But none of us get home early enough to go grocery shopping and cook a good healthy meal, and we keep having to eat seperately anyway because something comes up, like my husband has to go over to his parents' house to move a piece of furniture to their nursing home, or pack up the rest of their clothes, or a cousin is picking up the quilting supplies we won't use, and my daughter has a school thing she has to go to, like her friends have a music program, or there's exam training that's mandatory. Our schedules are just so wonky right now and I'm feeling so drained.

Do you have a slow cooker? If you do, you can always throw some veggies and meat into and have a meal waiting for you when you get home. I don't know what your Sundays are like, but maybe you could do things like chop veggies and ahead of time, store them in the fridge for the week and make a quick stir-fry when you get home. Or you could even make a big batch of something like chili or a stew, portion it out, and stick it in the freezer for meals on hand.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning-

I did a 45 min leg workout this AM. It was a little bit torturous, but it went by quickly.

My husband stopped at the new Raising Caine's that just opened down the street. We'd never had it before. It was OK. I'm not understanding the hype surrounding it, but it's probably just me. I was up all night drinking water, though. It was a little salty. lol

It's going to be 65 here today, so I am going to go for a stroll later.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Good grief. That's ridiculous about those coaches. They sound like they are in it for their "winning reputations" and like you said, making the girls play without regard to injuries to win. This is softball, right? Did these coaches go after you for pulling Sam out? What were they even doing that caused these injuries to Sam and other players.

I started out going to ASU. I had a medical issue that caused me to withdraw for a semester and then I went back. I really didn't like it. I loved living in Tempe/Phoenix, though. It's a very large, party-centric school. I knew that going in, but I thought I could work with it. So many of my classes were in large lecture halls with multiple TAs per class. I did not return to school to finish my psych degree until about 10 years later, after I got married and had my son. Fun times. I went to a smallish Jesuit university with small classes few blocks away from the apartment we were renting and it felt like such a better fit for me. Even though it was a Jesuit school, it was pretty diverse. There was a Hillel International chapter on campus, there were prayer rooms for Muslim students and organizations for Hindu students. I liked that, because it led to great in-class discussions.

I prefer to see a therapist in person, too. I need to see the body language when I am talking. It's part of my evaluation of a therapist. If I see lots of crossed arms, pursed lips, jaw tension when I am speaking, it's not going to work. I am seeing someone who is not open or not believing what I am saying.

It's a long story, but they got this crazy idea that they were going to make Sam a catcher (after promising her and four other girls a starting spot at second base) and thought their 40 minutes of "expert" training was all she'd need. We have 3 varsity level catchers and at least 2 JV level catchers, so we're unsure why any of this was ever part of their plans. Sam felt bullied into it. Instead of playing her in any games, they had her catch an excessive number of bullpens in one night, to the point that she couldn't walk. She told one coach she was hurt and was told she could sit, but they reneged on their agreement and said that she should go home if she's unwilling to do more catching and further injure herself for the good of the team. They even tried to pass the buck, saying it's insufficient to just tell the coach that was training you...as if the two coaches don't communicate? The coach she did tell wanted to go as far as saying she didn't mean it for the next day. Ummm...they were done playing for the day, so what else could it possibly mean? She wasn't even offered ice and they wanted to blame her for not finding some...saying it was obvious where it was. We saw her in gear (not even full protective gear- because they said there wasn't enough time) ... like she was going to follow through with their bullying orders and that's when we broke their rules and intervened. The other girl broke her arm in a preseason game in early January. They had her carrying heavy equipment over her cast, telling her it was fine. The original break didn't heal correctly and new breaks formed due to the continued stress on the broken bone. These coaches are awful!

I had heard ASU was a party school. My school was also a party school and I knew a lot of happy kids that never joined into the party scene, so I was hoping there would be enough at ASU for someone that wasn't just there for drinking, etc. So, it wasn't an initial turn off. We really liked our driving tour of the Tempe campus, but we learned things during our presentation and tour that made it a very clear "NO" for K.
- They admit so many kids that they no longer have room for everyone in classrooms or on one campus. If you're admitted to one campus, you could potentially attend them all. It looks like she'd be part commuter/part online if she attended ASU. Some of the commutes could be as far as the Lake Havasu campus and many of her classes would be downtown Phoenix. While they gave her a decent scholarship offer, it's still not enough to justify paying to be predominantly online and a commuter.
- While she knew they didn't have the most selective admissions process (at least right now) and we were targeting them for money, she didn't like that the guy giving the presentation said that they don't like excluding people and would let in anyone that wanted to attend. It doesn't quite match up to the noted requirements online, but it made it sound like a money grab for anyone that wanted to say they got into college.
- Most schools, including our high school, will fail and sanction kids for using AI/ChatGPT for assignments. ASU not only allows it but promotes it. It's hard to go from an environment where it's considered cheating to one where it's encouraged.
- We saw a lot of homeless people on and around the campus. One of their so-called innovations is a glorified bike cage with a guard. i.e. you pay extra to help keep your bike from getting stolen.
- The libraries closed early, which didn't give the best impression...especially with the party reputation.

Her issues were right after Covid. They had just come off of being shut in and doing things virtually. So, seeing someone online was out of the question. I can see what you mean about getting a better read on the therapist if you can see them face-to-face.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I paid for upgrades when I flew to Hawaii and I had a bad knee. It was expensive but worth it. I'm not sure what I did for BWI to Houston, but from Houston to HNL I paid for United's premier plus, which is basically like regular first class. Their first class was lay flat seating. It was like $250 and so worth it. It also paid for my bags on there plus they fed me twice and they provided alcohol, so I felt it was worth it. And my knee was happier.

Yeah, those compression sleeves never worked for me. My legs are so short that they don't hit me correctly; they just dig into my skin. The best braces I found were off of Amazon. I can imagine walking around during the day helps too.

I would totally pay for the upgrade on a longer flight. My parents have started flying first class for this reason. It's a bit out of my budget for all the time flying, but I could see splurging on the upgrade for something like Hawaii.

Sam's really liking hers. I was worried because I had to measure her and she was in between sizes. I followed the advice to go for the larger size and it seems to be good. She's got long legs, so that may help. I bought hers on Amazon. This is what they look like...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Congrats on K having made a decision on college! That's exciting! Too bad she didn't like the two schools, but if it helped narrow it down, that's probably a good thing!

And I'm so sorry about Sam's injuries. What is it with the world thinking everyone is expendable as long as THEY benefit from it? That's the same problem I had with Aldi. In the end, they expect you to kill your body to get the work done faster. It's not healthy!!

I think it was worth it. Mind you, I would have liked to skip the travel expenses, but it's cheaper than finding out you picked the wrong school.

I still can't get over them having the nerve to call us selfish. I don't care whether she's 5 or 15. They've been working with Sam for around 6 months. They know she's dedicated and will really push herself, including pushing through routine soreness. When she says she's hurt...she's hurt. It's toxic foolishness and their own ignorant selfishness to push a kid to permanent injury. Yes...it sounds like Aldi is the same way. What good are you if you're pushed to the point where you can't do anything?

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I would totally pay for the upgrade on a longer flight. My parents have started flying first class for this reason. It's a bit out of my budget for all the time flying, but I could see splurging on the upgrade for something like Hawaii.

Sam's really liking hers. I was worried because I had to measure her and she was in between sizes. I followed the advice to go for the larger size and it seems to be good. She's got long legs, so that may help. I bought hers on Amazon. This is what they look like...
View attachment 770450

Yeah, usually I fly Southwest, and I have their credit card so half the time I'm not paying for flights. I could absolutely afford the United upgrade.

Yeah, for me the problem is because my calves are very curvy and short, the sleeves, even the larger ones, slide down, dig into the skin...I had to wrap it myself for compression. I found a brace on Amazon that was Velcro and wrapped around that I liked. Short people problems...

 

[Lilofan]

Good grief. That's ridiculous about those coaches. They sound like they are in it for their "winning reputations" and like you said, making the girls play without regard to injuries to win. This is softball, right? Did these coaches go after you for pulling Sam out? What were they even doing that caused these injuries to Sam and other players.

I started out going to ASU. I had a medical issue that caused me to withdraw for a semester and then I went back. I really didn't like it. I loved living in Tempe/Phoenix, though. It's a very large, party-centric school. I knew that going in, but I thought I could work with it. So many of my classes were in large lecture halls with multiple TAs per class. I did not return to school to finish my psych degree until about 10 years later, after I got married and had my son. Fun times. I went to a smallish Jesuit university with small classes few blocks away from the apartment we were renting and it felt like such a better fit for me. Even though it was a Jesuit school, it was pretty diverse. There was a Hillel International chapter on campus, there were prayer rooms for Muslim students and organizations for Hindu students. I liked that, because it led to great in-class discussions.

I prefer to see a therapist in person, too. I need to see the body language when I am talking. It's part of my evaluation of a therapist. If I see lots of crossed arms, pursed lips, jaw tension when I am speaking, it's not going to work. I am seeing someone who is not open or not believing what I am saying.

ASU I heard is definitely party central. On campus housing has some pools so ASU pool parties with cute babes and brews! I wish I had gone to college in warmer climates.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

ASU I heard is definitely party central. On campus housing has some pools so ASU pool parties with cute babes and brews! I wish I had gone to college in warmer climates.

We had heard about the ASU dorms having pools. Of course, they didn't show us any of that on our tour. Different schools seem to be party spots for different reasons. Miami and some of the SoCal schools get dubbed as such for the nearby beaches. Tulane and UNLV almost always end up on party lists because of New Orleans and Las Vegas. I remember that Syracuse would routinely make the list because it's so cold and snowy that there's really nothing else to do.

 

[Sans Souci]

It's sad because, at least from what I've observed, the vast majority of passengers are polite, but it's the few who are making life difficult for these FAs. And they were probably bad before COVID but are now worse.

And the thing is that most FAs genuinely want to be helpful. Last time I was on a flight, I got very dehydrated. Ever since I lost my thyroid, it seems like I need about twice the amount to drink as a normal person. And then suddenly I'll be like "oops, dehydrated" even though I wasn't feeling thirsty. I'd had a lot to drink before the flight (water, not alcohol) but got on and it was like, oops, I'm dehydrated. I asked the FA to bring me the entire can of water. He quickly realized I was dehydrated. That man brought me four cans of water in an hour and a half flight. I sent Southwest a note saying he went above and beyond.

The only time a FA has ever helped with my bag was right after I broke my finger. I had done it in SC, and I was getting onto the plane with my 80 something grandmother. I had crashed a bike; that was how I broke the finger and mangled my knee. I was all bruised up. One of the male FAs helped with my one bag. It was appreciated, but certainly not expected. I would have gotten another passenger to help had the FA not helped. But it was clearly something he only did because I was visibly recently injured and also responsible for an elderly grandparent. I flew twice more with it after it was fixed surgically. The one flight another passenger helped me, and the other flight I was with my parents.

I don't know if you are able to use it, but I find Liquid IV life saver when I am traveling. I curtail drinking water before longer flights, because the lavatories skeeve me out and I don't want to bother the person I am sitting next to 45 times to go to the loo. They also help me outside of traveling, but I don't drink one every day. I don't seem to drink as much water in the winter as I do in the warmer months, so when I am feeling dehydrated, I drink one.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Trying to get back into the swing of things with working out after having a bit of time off and unconventional activities. Sam has me taking her to school around 6:15am so she can work with the trainers. It's probably enough time for me to workout before logging into work, but I just haven't been feeling it. So, I worked out during lunch. Same old routine, but I think it's working because the scale is moving in the right direction (even with some of the rich food we had in AZ). I biked about 15.75 miles today and did my standard arms and abs. Like I said before, it's better than nothing. The scale...as much as I have a love/hate relationship with it...is some incentive to stay on track.

Kendall made a run to Michael's because she wants some ribbon for her hair, but we should be making everything official this evening with the college stuff. It will be nice to get that ball rolling because I feel behind even though there's time. At least we have other things moving along. I got a call from the tailor over the weekend and he's going to start working on her prom dress. She's also got a boyfriend, so we're hoping it lasts so she can have a date to prom. If not, she's got friend in their prom group, but I can't blame her for being excited to have a date. As for Sam, progress is slow, but she feels improvement. I really hope she can make a full recovery because she's got a really full travel schedule for the summer. With the budget, I'm not sure how much of it we can accommodate. She's got a couple in TX, one in OK, one in KS, two in CO, and one in CA. We also need to get her into some collegiate camps. She asked me about a health sciences related trip to Italy and Switzerland next summer...her prime summer before her recruitment window officially opens and all I could do was laugh. I mean, I would gladly do it if she wants to move away from this softball idea, but we can't do both.

 

[Sans Souci]

It's a long story, but they got this crazy idea that they were going to make Sam a catcher (after promising her and four other girls a starting spot at second base) and thought their 40 minutes of "expert" training was all she'd need. We have 3 varsity level catchers and at least 2 JV level catchers, so we're unsure why any of this was ever part of their plans. Sam felt bullied into it. Instead of playing her in any games, they had her catch an excessive number of bullpens in one night, to the point that she couldn't walk. She told one coach she was hurt and was told she could sit, but they reneged on their agreement and said that she should go home if she's unwilling to do more catching and further injure herself for the good of the team. They even tried to pass the buck, saying it's insufficient to just tell the coach that was training you...as if the two coaches don't communicate? The coach she did tell wanted to go as far as saying she didn't mean it for the next day. Ummm...they were done playing for the day, so what else could it possibly mean? She wasn't even offered ice and they wanted to blame her for not finding some...saying it was obvious where it was. We saw her in gear (not even full protective gear- because they said there wasn't enough time) ... like she was going to follow through with their bullying orders and that's when we broke their rules and intervened. The other girl broke her arm in a preseason game in early January. They had her carrying heavy equipment over her cast, telling her it was fine. The original break didn't heal correctly and new breaks formed due to the continued stress on the broken bone. These coaches are awful!

I had heard ASU was a party school. My school was also a party school and I knew a lot of happy kids that never joined into the party scene, so I was hoping there would be enough at ASU for someone that wasn't just there for drinking, etc. So, it wasn't an initial turn off. We really liked our driving tour of the Tempe campus, but we learned things during our presentation and tour that made it a very clear "NO" for K.
- They admit so many kids that they no longer have room for everyone in classrooms or on one campus. If you're admitted to one campus, you could potentially attend them all. It looks like she'd be part commuter/part online if she attended ASU. Some of the commutes could be as far as the Lake Havasu campus and many of her classes would be downtown Phoenix. While they gave her a decent scholarship offer, it's still not enough to justify paying to be predominantly online and a commuter.
- While she knew they didn't have the most selective admissions process (at least right now) and we were targeting them for money, she didn't like that the guy giving the presentation said that they don't like excluding people and would let in anyone that wanted to attend. It doesn't quite match up to the noted requirements online, but it made it sound like a money grab for anyone that wanted to say they got into college.
- Most schools, including our high school, will fail and sanction kids for using AI/ChatGPT for assignments. ASU not only allows it but promotes it. It's hard to go from an environment where it's considered cheating to one where it's encouraged.
- We saw a lot of homeless people on and around the campus. One of their so-called innovations is a glorified bike cage with a guard. i.e. you pay extra to help keep your bike from getting stolen.
- The libraries closed early, which didn't give the best impression...especially with the party reputation.

Her issues were right after Covid. They had just come off of being shut in and doing things virtually. So, seeing someone online was out of the question. I can see what you mean about getting a better read on the therapist if you can see them face-to-face.

So, I take it Sam is out for the season, given the coaches cavalier attitude towards injuries. Ice seems like a basic amenity when playing a sport, players get hurt regularly. So, was it her being in the catcher's position for long that injured her? I hope I don't sound stupid, I never played softball outside of PE. lol Are the parents of the girl who got more fractures from carrying equipment going to sue? That is so negligent.

I went to ASU because I really liked their psychology department and I just wanted to put some space between my mother and myself. I also liked activities like hiking. I have to say, it sounds like it has certainly changed. There were 2 campuses back then the main campus and what was called ASU West, that was for people who were working and attending school part time. That is crazy about being expected to commute Lake Havasu City! That is like 3-4 hours one way! OMG. The library didn't close early--that is just--WOW. There were some homeless people on campus when I was there, too. There is a large unhoused population in the Valley. There were preachers with megaphones standing outside of the Student Union yelling at women that they were going to hell for wearing shorts. Sir, this is a desert. I'm not wearing pants when it's 105 because I make you uncomfortable. There were countless LDS missionaries, too, wanting to talk to you about the Book of Gideon. I had a collection of multiple copies of the Book of Gideon after my first semester. I think the population growth has exceeded the space ASU has. It probably makes sense for someone who is from AZ and not so much for an out of state student. I don't blame K for not wanting to go. I visited Phoenix for the first time since the mid-nineties last year and my husband asked me if I wanted to drive around Tempe/ASU while we were there. I declined. Overall, it was not a positive experience and I didn't want to relive the memories.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I don't know if you are able to use it, but I find Liquid IV life saver when I am traveling. I curtail drinking water before longer flights, because the lavatories skeeve me out and I don't want to bother the person I am sitting next to 45 times to go to the loo. They also help me outside of traveling, but I don't drink one every day. I don't seem to drink as much water in the winter as I do in the warmer months, so when I am feeling dehydrated, I drink one.

I've never heard of it, but I will have to keep it in mind. I am so easily dehydrated. In Disney I drink a lot of Powerade and can tell if I don't because I need the electrolytes.

I don't worry about using the bathroom on the plane. On SW flights, if it's only two hours (the travel time to MCO) most of the time I won't need the bathroom. For Hawaii, I try to sit next to only one other person, and when that person gets up, I get up. You should be walking the aisles anyway for longer flights. The last time I flew to CA, I grabbed the aisles seat so I didn't have to worry about it. I've done DC to Hawaii before; you get over using the airplane bathroom real fast on that long of a flight, lol.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I don't know if you are able to use it, but I find Liquid IV life saver when I am traveling. I curtail drinking water before longer flights, because the lavatories skeeve me out and I don't want to bother the person I am sitting next to 45 times to go to the loo. They also help me outside of traveling, but I don't drink one every day. I don't seem to drink as much water in the winter as I do in the warmer months, so when I am feeling dehydrated, I drink one.

I've never heard of it, but I will have to keep it in mind. I am so easily dehydrated. In Disney I drink a lot of Powerade and can tell if I don't because I need the electrolytes.

Another vote for Liquid IV. We usually keep a box of packets handy for all of our summer tournaments. It hydrates better than any of the sports drinks or Pedialyte and doesn't turn the stomach like Powerade and Gatorade can sometimes do.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

So, I take it Sam is out for the season, given the coaches cavalier attitude towards injuries. Ice seems like a basic amenity when playing a sport, players get hurt regularly. So, was it her being in the catcher's position for long that injured her? I hope I don't sound stupid, I never played softball outside of PE. lol Are the parents of the girl who got more fractures from carrying equipment going to sue? That is so negligent.

I went to ASU because I really liked their psychology department and I just wanted to put some space between my mother and myself. I also liked activities like hiking. I have to say, it sounds like it has certainly changed. There were 2 campuses back then the main campus and what was called ASU West, that was for people who were working and attending school part time. That is crazy about being expected to commute Lake Havasu City! That is like 3-4 hours one way! OMG. The library didn't close early--that is just--WOW. There were some homeless people on campus when I was there, too. There is a large unhoused population in the Valley. There were preachers with megaphones standing outside of the Student Union yelling at women that they were going to hell for wearing shorts. Sir, this is a desert. I'm not wearing pants when it's 105 because I make you uncomfortable. There were countless LDS missionaries, too, wanting to talk to you about the Book of Gideon. I had a collection of multiple copies of the Book of Gideon after my first semester. I think the population growth has exceeded the space ASU has. It probably makes sense for someone who is from AZ and not so much for an out of state student. I don't blame K for not wanting to go. I visited Phoenix for the first time since the mid-nineties last year and my husband asked me if I wanted to drive around Tempe/ASU while we were there. I declined. Overall, it was not a positive experience and I didn't want to relive the memories.

There's a chance she may be eased in towards the end, but we'll see. She goes back to the orthopedist on 4/2. The last regular season game is on 4/19 and then there could be post season play if they do well in regular season district play. It doesn't sound stupid. I wouldn't know if I weren't around the game. The doctor felt that they had her do too much too soon and that it could be deemed excessive even for a seasoned catcher in many cases. When you're in the game, you're up, down and moving around. When you're catching bullpens, you do not move. Most people who are catching bullpens aren't doing it to learn the position, so they sit on a bucket to save their knees. Contrary to the coaches' lies, Sam was never offered this option because they were supposedly trying to train her to catch in games. As for the girl with the fractures...I honestly have no idea. I have a feeling they're going to just let it go. It's a real David and Goliath situation any time you take on the school like that. I've seen people lose with far stronger cases. It usually gets nasty enough that the kid has to leave the school, and even then, word usually carries over to the new school and still makes it hard on the kid.

ASU has a decently ranked biology program. Granted, the rankings probably apply more to the grad level studies, but it does have a trickle-down effect into undergrad. Unfortunately, after reviewing the packets they gave us, none of the bio courses were on the Tempe campus. If I could have found this info online in advance, I would have never agreed to travel. In fact, we would have cut the school from her choices. Most of the bio classes are downtown or online and some areas of bio were strictly Lake Havasu. The girl that gave our tour said that the main library closes between 11-12 most weeknights and even more limited hours on weekends. Maybe it's because more kids are using their computers vs. library resources? We didn't see any preachers or missionaries, but definitely a number of people that didn't appear to belong on campus. While we saw a lot of the same while driving in Tucson near the campus, we didn't see it once we were on the UofA campus. It's hard to get a clear current enrollment number on ASU because they seem to pick and choose how they represent their numbers. Initially I'd seen that the undergrad population was around 65,000, but I found another figure of 112,000 undergrads. That much larger number factors in all of the students having to attend classes on the five different campuses and online. I've heard of schools having campuses within campuses, like Rutgers New Brunswick (which already seemed like a lot to get around and gave K some concerns during her acceptance considerations), but this seemed beyond excessive. I really liked the Phoenix area, but when I left the ASU tour, I almost felt like I'd just left a timeshare presentation scam. My displeasure with our Tempe experience is a bit different than yours, even though it's from the same school, but I can completely understand not wanting to return to the area.

 

[Lilofan]

We had heard about the ASU dorms having pools. Of course, they didn't show us any of that on our tour. Different schools seem to be party spots for different reasons. Miami and some of the SoCal schools get dubbed as such for the nearby beaches. Tulane and UNLV almost always end up on party lists because of New Orleans and Las Vegas. I remember that Syracuse would routinely make the list because it's so cold and snowy that there's really nothing else to do.

I'm not surprised that a tour of the pools wouldn't be included. College kids drinking poolside and whatever happens in the pool area is not for interested applicants.

 

[Sans Souci]

Trying to get back into the swing of things with working out after having a bit of time off and unconventional activities. Sam has me taking her to school around 6:15am so she can work with the trainers. It's probably enough time for me to workout before logging into work, but I just haven't been feeling it. So, I worked out during lunch. Same old routine, but I think it's working because the scale is moving in the right direction (even with some of the rich food we had in AZ). I biked about 15.75 miles today and did my standard arms and abs. Like I said before, it's better than nothing. The scale...as much as I have a love/hate relationship with it...is some incentive to stay on track.

Kendall made a run to Michael's because she wants some ribbon for her hair, but we should be making everything official this evening with the college stuff. It will be nice to get that ball rolling because I feel behind even though there's time. At least we have other things moving along. I got a call from the tailor over the weekend and he's going to start working on her prom dress. She's also got a boyfriend, so we're hoping it lasts so she can have a date to prom. If not, she's got friend in their prom group, but I can't blame her for being excited to have a date. As for Sam, progress is slow, but she feels improvement. I really hope she can make a full recovery because she's got a really full travel schedule for the summer. With the budget, I'm not sure how much of it we can accommodate. She's got a couple in TX, one in OK, one in KS, two in CO, and one in CA. We also need to get her into some collegiate camps. She asked me about a health sciences related trip to Italy and Switzerland next summer...her prime summer before her recruitment window officially opens and all I could do was laugh. I mean, I would gladly do it if she wants to move away from this softball idea, but we can't do both.

When is the Prom? Is her dress a one-off or is the tailor fitting a purchased dress? It sounds like Kendall has a great plan either way-date or not.

It's good news she's feeling a little bit better. An opportunity to study abroad is amazing, but the timing seems less than ideal.

 

[Sans Souci]

There's a chance she may be eased in towards the end, but we'll see. She goes back to the orthopedist on 4/2. The last regular season game is on 4/19 and then there could be post season play if they do well in regular season district play. It doesn't sound stupid. I wouldn't know if I weren't around the game. The doctor felt that they had her do too much too soon and that it could be deemed excessive even for a seasoned catcher in many cases. When you're in the game, you're up, down and moving around. When you're catching bullpens, you do not move. Most people who are catching bullpens aren't doing it to learn the position, so they sit on a bucket to save their knees. Contrary to the coaches' lies, Sam was never offered this option because they were supposedly trying to train her to catch in games. As for the girl with the fractures...I honestly have no idea. I have a feeling they're going to just let it go. It's a real David and Goliath situation any time you take on the school like that. I've seen people lose with far stronger cases. It usually gets nasty enough that the kid has to leave the school, and even then, word usually carries over to the new school and still makes it hard on the kid.

Thanks for explaining this to me. I didn't know they had catchers sitting on buckets in the bullpen. It seems irresponsible to make someone squat for a long time. My knees hurt thinking about it and I can only imagine the burning in the legs from restricted blood flow. I can understand wanting to "toughen" players up a little bit, but having someone in a squat for a long time is too much, especially when the standard practice is letting them sit on a bucket. Personally, I'd spin out the injury as I could so she doesn't return only to get injured again. This is just my opinion, obviously you and Sam know what is best for her and her future.

 

[Sans Souci]

I'm not surprised that a tour of the pools wouldn't be included. College kids drinking poolside and whatever happens in the pool area is not for interested applicants.

I lived in a residence hall with a pool and drinking was not permitted poolside, even if you were 21+. You could only drink in your room if you were 21. I am sure it didn't stop people from putting booze in water bottles or other containers, but the pool was pretty laid back and entry to it was locked at 11 nightly.

 

[Sans Souci]

ASU has a decently ranked biology program. Granted, the rankings probably apply more to the grad level studies, but it does have a trickle-down effect into undergrad. Unfortunately, after reviewing the packets they gave us, none of the bio courses were on the Tempe campus. If I could have found this info online in advance, I would have never agreed to travel. In fact, we would have cut the school from her choices. Most of the bio classes are downtown or online and some areas of bio were strictly Lake Havasu. The girl that gave our tour said that the main library closes between 11-12 most weeknights and even more limited hours on weekends. Maybe it's because more kids are using their computers vs. library resources? We didn't see any preachers or missionaries, but definitely a number of people that didn't appear to belong on campus. While we saw a lot of the same while driving in Tucson near the campus, we didn't see it once we were on the UofA campus. It's hard to get a clear current enrollment number on ASU because they seem to pick and choose how they represent their numbers. Initially I'd seen that the undergrad population was around 65,000, but I found another figure of 112,000 undergrads. That much larger number factors in all of the students having to attend classes on the five different campuses and online. I've heard of schools having campuses within campuses, like Rutgers New Brunswick (which already seemed like a lot to get around and gave K some concerns during her acceptance considerations), but this seemed beyond excessive. I really liked the Phoenix area, but when I left the ASU tour, I almost felt like I'd just left a timeshare presentation scam. My displeasure with our Tempe experience is a bit different than yours, even though it's from the same school, but I can completely understand not wanting to return to the area.

When I went, enrollment was 45K. 65K -112K is just excessive. FWIW. I found it very hard to study and I was not crazy about walking from library alone at night. I ended up moving to an off campus apartment complex that I selected because it had adults with real jobs and young families living there. It was quiet. I could sleep at night without someone shouting in the hall or having some idiot pulling the fire alarm at 2 AM during Reading Week. I could study at night without having to leave. I realized I was spending so much money trying to force a square peg into a round hole, I just called it a day when my lease was up.

 

[Lilofan]

I lived in a residence hall with a pool and drinking was not permitted poolside, even if you were 21+. You could only drink in your room if you were 21. I am sure it didn't stop people from putting booze in water bottles or other containers, but the pool was pretty laid back and entry to it was locked at 11 nightly.

ASU is usually in the top 10 party schools in the country. One relative went there and he had a wild time but he only lasted one year.