New Orleans Part 3: CSM

CSM stands for the "Combined Sections Meeting" but is essentially the national conference. It seems like everyone in physical therapy is at CSM, some 3,000 people and 400 exhibitors meet to discuss the newest and greatest information in the field. There are job recruiters, vending booths, product demos, and sale pitches...I must say a little overwhelming.
This is a picture of a product demo for a medical harness system. They really have everything at this convention. I was amazed at how large the conference was and how many people attended. It was a serious nerdfest, but I loved it. Every vendor was giving away free pens (I collected 37) and asking you to sign-up to win an iPad. Of course all they really want is to get your information and contact you to use their product/service. Since I have been home from New Orleans, I have received 17 emails from vendors who were "glad to have met you at CSM".

This was the real reason I went to the conference...to present our research poster. And it didn't hurt anything having half of the trip paid for by the school.

And of course the below picture is something I bought at the convention. It was my one product I bought. I thought Kamaron would appreciate it being a personal muscle massager. It is the newest product design. And yes, it works pretty well.

New Orleans Part 2: Bird's Eye View

We stayed at a huge hotel in downtown New Orleans, right outside of the French Quarter (not my best hotel experience, but that is a whole different story). We were staying in prime real estate. The hotel was 18 stories high and we were on the 17th floor. We had an amazing view of downtown and a small restaurant named Mother's.

From our room we could watch the lines forming outside of Mother's. It is apparently one of the best dirty spoons in all of New Orleans, and the lines show it. It was funny to come back to the hotel and see a line of 50 people. We never did go eat there because they were always busy when we went for lunch and dinner.
The restaurant had one entrance and one exit, and an old fashioned sign. Mother's was established in 1938 and is home of the "world's best baked ham". I think if I ever go back, I will have to try it out.
I loved watching the city streets at night with all the lights and traffic. Below is a picture of the lights, as we faced into the French Quarter.

New Orleans Part 1: A Streetcar Named Desire

The city of New Orleans is so full of history and character, especially the French Quarter. That is why I was so excited to visit. The busy life and the bustling city, makes for an amazing place to visit, but never a place I could call home. Traffic is simply horrible, just ask Emily... she had a bad experience. The roads are confusing, most of them one ways that join with other streets. Divided intersections are everywhere downtown which makes it a nightmare for out-of-towners. Below is a picture of an intersection and a streetcar, something we don't have to worry about here in Indiana.

The streetcars were my favorite part of the city. I thought they were quite interesting and not something you see everyday. Did you know that the screenplay "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams was inspired and written in New Orleans? In fact, the next picture is the hotel in which he stayed and wrote the play.

From the outside it is very ordinary, very old, and not all that inspiring. We did not stay here, but I can only assume it is a very nice hotel...after all it did have a Ferrari parked out front.

This was my favorite picture of the trip and the reason I started my New Orleans series talking about streetcars. I just love how it looks "old world" and represents the character of a city.

An Inch of Ice + Closed Work = Cabin Fever and Few Cool Pictures

I never was much for ice skating, even after our parking lot became an ice rink this week. It was bad enough out that my clinical actually closed for Wednesday. I am not one to just sit around the house and not do anything, so I am getting a serious case of cabin fever after just 2 days. Emily and I did go out and clean off our cars, for a total of 2 hours.

And of course I had to take some pictures of the cool ice. These are a couple pictures in tribute of Terry Gray. I tried to channel her nature photography with these two.

Finally...ezwhaley updates their blog!

I know we've been getting complaints about not updating our blog enough, but to you tell the truth there isn't anything exciting going on and by the time I get home from work (8:30-9:00) I'm just not in the mood to post. I apologize and will try to do better on posting.

Well here is the update on my life! I've been teaching, but also have been coaching 6th grade girls basketball since the middle of December. This is a picture of my team. So far we are 3-0 (all thanks to the coach...haha)! I'm enjoying it so far this year and hope to have a good season. Go Lady Raiders!!!

Field Perspective

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to stand on the sidelines during an NFL game? I definitely have. I used to dream about being field level, especially for my Indianapolis Colts. I have always had a small dream to be an NFL photographer, but knew I would never land a sweet job like that in my lifetime. On Sunday, I got my one shining chance to finally live my dream.

Thanks to the amazing people at Canon and the Indianapolis Colts, I had the fan experience of a lifetime. I had a field access pass to the Jaguars' game during pre-game, 4 front row seats in the end-zone, and the use of a very nice pro quality 70-200mm lens to fit my newly received Canon Rebel T2i camera.

Here is just a taste of a few photos I took on my exciting day:

Yesterday, I was required to submit an action photo to Canon for the "Shoot Like A Pro" Contest. To see my entry photo and my competition for the Grand Prize, check out the website at: http://www.colts.com/sub.cfm?page=2010_canon

A Good Day for the Whaleys

Although Zach and I are still sick and coughing like crazy, today was a great day at the Whaley household. To start it off, I found out that school was cancelled. Normally I don't like this because we have to make it up, but since I've been feeling miserable I knew it would be a day of nothing but relaxing. That hasn't happened in awhile and trust me that's all I did!

Also, Zach took his last final EVER today! I was worried about the weather, but it was timed perfectly. His final wasn't until 11:00 so he was able to leave after rush hour once the roads were a little clearer. When he came home he said it was the hardest one he took this week and we found out later he got a 95 A on that final (just a little bit of info for you in case you wondered). Only one more semester left and he's officially a PT!!!

To top off the day, Zach received his "SPECIAL GIFT" today from the UPS man. Yesterday they tried to deliver it but no was here to sign for it. But since I didn't have work, I was able to be here to sign for it and not have to have it delivered to the office and go through that extra hassle. Below is a picture of what he received inside the box.

A Canon Rebel T2i camera kit, camera bag, 2 SD cards, 4 tickets to the Colts game Sunday and a parking pass to Lucas Oil's garage. He was so excited and so was I (even though he is the one who won). But I got really excited when I looked at the tickets...

In case you can't see that is Section 117, ROW 1. That's right...were in the very first row at Lucas Oil on Sunday right next to the endzone!!! We are both pumped for the game and excited to try out our camera. Thanks again "Canon Shoot Like a Pro"...and for Zach applying every single day for the last 2 years!!! It was definitely a good day for the Whaleys.