Kathleen's Adventures

In my last post , I discussed in detail my first round of egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation.  When I wrote that post, I was on the fence about whether or not to do a second round.  I ended up meeting with my doctor the next week and decided to go ahead and plan for a second round.  I was very at peace with the decision as soon as I walked out of the office, and I'm thankful for that.  Per my doctor, an average round produces 10 eggs and that gives you roughly a 40% chance of having one child.  I have 16 eggs frozen so we could possibly call that a 60-70% chance at one child.  I do not like those odds.  I am risk-adverse by profession, and heavily insured (yet have no problem jumping out of planes or climbing tall things...but that is a different story).  I feel I will be able to rest much easier knowing I have 25-30 eggs sitting there waiting for me vs the 16.  Granted round two is not necessarily guaranteed to go as well as round one,...

It is no secret that there have not been many men in my life - especially not any that seemed like the right person to procreate with.  I bought a Chevy Tahoe when I was 23 and was certain I would have kids in it before I was done driving it.  I drove that car seven years and the next SUV for four...then moved to Finland...and still no kids.  Perhaps I should have purchased the two-door sports car at some point if I wanted this to go a different way.  Anyway, that is all to say life certainly has not taken me where I expected it to at this point - turning 36 in less than two weeks.  For the most part, I am okay with that.  I have had a pretty awesome life and have gone on some pretty amazing adventures.  I live a life I am proud of and one that I am happy with.  My family is amazing, work is not too bad, and as of recently, I am a homeowner.  Living the American dream, right?  Mostly.  I do not spend much time focusing on what I do ...

January 30, 2015 - the day my boss took me to lunch and asked if I wanted to move to Finland...aka "the day my life turned upside down."  Note: upside down isn't necessarily a bad thing...it is just entirely different. In the ~ 22 months since that date:  114 - number of flights taken 22  - countries visited (21 of those new) - Finland, Norway, Estonia, France, Singapore, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, UK, Peru, Panama, Hungary, Indonesia, Iceland, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland, Czech Republic, Spain, Scotland, Russia, Thailand. 15 - number of times I crossed "the pond" (I went the other way once) 6 - number of trips to Amsterdam to see Caitlin (and most recent two trips to see her adorable baby, my Godson, Theo.  And Peter, let's not forget Peter - my Amsterdam running buddy.) 5 - number of trips to France and Norway, including a tour of the American D-Day beaches that for me can only be described as indescrible.  4 - number of trip...

I've written a million blog posts in my head over the last year plus, but none of them have made it out of my head.  This one is finally going to make it to print though!  I've been writing over several weeks, adding to it when I think of something. Hopefully down the road it will help me look back on my time here with fondness, and also to remember to appreciate the conveniences and comfort of  home. Things I'll miss about Finland: Instant hot water from the faucet, and reasonably cold (tasty and refreshing) water after a short wait The sauna in my apartment Riding my pink piece of shit Jopo bicycle around town.  I realized approximately 2 seconds after handing a guy way too much cash that the bike was mostly likely stolen and in way worse shape than advertised.  I wrote it off as an insurance policy - as in if it looks like a POS, hopefully no one will steal it.  So far, so good.  It also still works just fine after being outside all winter ...

(written on August 27 - just now posting) Tuesday marked three months since I moved away from Austin.  I wouldn’t really say I’ve been in Helsinki three months since my schedule has been so crazy, but I’ve definitely been somewhere other than home for that time.  The thing that happens each time I think three months is another number automatically pops in my head – 21.  Probably not great if I’m already counting down the months – if not consciously, subconsciously.  I’m on the plane from London to Austin with several hours on my hands and am hoping I finally post an update or two (or draft them – no wifi which is highly unfortunate). Overall, I’d say the last three months have been fairly high or fairly low – not much of an in-between.  The highs are when I’ve traveled with family or co-workers or when they have been visiting me.  The lows are when I’m in a new place alone or in Helsinki without much to do.  The unfortunate thing about the hig...