2008 is almost over ...Part II

So the last post really got me thinking. I don't believe in New Years Resolutions. There are many things that factor into the equation here. I am very much like a 5 year old child --reverse psychology will get me more often than any other form of manipulation. But it has to be done right. I don't like feeling like I "have" to do things. For this reason (and others ...let's be honest) I don't like Harry Potter. I've never read them, I've never felt the need to, I have absolutely no desire to. I've never seen the Indiana Jones movies, StarWars, Lord of the Rings, etc. If you tell me I have to do something, the thought that goes through my head is, "Oh yeah? Watch me!" By the same token, I will do things simply because I want to, or because other people don't think I can/should/would. I'm more than a little stubborn. Some might not find it an attractive trait, but I've embraced it :)

So. New Years Resolutions. I think they're stupid. New Year's day is in all reality just another day. Each day is a whole new beginning with infinite possibilities and limitless potential. There is nothing special about the beginning of a new year that is not also special about the beginning of a new day, week, or month. I think that we should be continually striving to improve, and continually resolving to do better things and become better people. Similar to my dislike for Valentines Day --I think it's commercial and over done. As I've explained to many a folk --I would rather receive one single daisy on some random Tuesday than a dozen roses on Valentines Day. It's a Hershey's and Halmark fueled annoyance that is a thorn in the side of all true romantics and nonconformists. Not to say that VDay can't be special and done right, but don't just get me a dozen roses because it's VDay and you feel obligated. Ahem. Pardon the side track. As I was saying, my feelings about New Years Resolutions are similar to my feelings on Valentines Day. Don't expect me to write a list of things I'm going to do better or fix about myself just because it's January 1st. If you're into such resolutions, that's fine, I'm not attacking you personally, but that just isn't the way my brain works. My resolutions are really more of a continually working and revolving bucket list of sorts. Things I want to do, things I want to see, and things I want to become. For this reason, I started taking piano lessons in August last year. The things that I have accomplished and become, I have accomplished because I decided that I wanted to be a better person. I decide this every day. That said, I won't be posting about any resolutions I'm making in the upcoming week, because I won't be making any. Just for the sake of balance :)

Year in review then. It has been an absolutely awesome year. Every year manages to get better and better than the last. This year I have lived in Southern California, been to Mexico, I picked up running while I was on the beach, a habit that has stayed with me since, I've lost 40 pounds, I've been to Disneyland and SeaWorld, I've driven from San Diego to Seattle on the Pacific Coast Highway --hugging the line between land and water the entire length of the country. I've done a lot of soul searching and self discovery. I've completed an entire journal and started this blog in the interest of developing my passion for writing. I've delivered babies, saved more lives than I can count, and helped others leave this world in as peaceful and dignified way possible. I've laughed from sheer joy, utter exhaustion, anger, and despair. I've cried tears of the same emotions. I lived in the biggest and greatest city in the world, and came out a better person for it. I've become more assertive, more self confident, and one hell of an ER nurse ...If I do say so myself :) (Yes this is a 'blowing my own horn' post --but it's my blog and my year in review, deal with it :) ) I visited Washington DC, seen the west wing of the White House, been to Arlington National Cemetery. I saw the Yankees and RedSox play in Yankee Stadium ...in the Stadium's final year. I saw the Knicks play, and Janet Jackson Perform at Madison Square Garden. I went to my first NFL game. I fell in love. I found what right now feels like my home --perhaps permanently, we'll see. I paid off three credit cards. I learned enough medical Spanish to get by at work. I ate sushi for the first time. I didn't like it. I made many many new friends and strengthened existing friendships. I went on my first Seattle ferry ride. I've been to the top of the Space Needle and the Empire State Building. I toured the haunted remains of an underground city. I had my feet in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. All in all it's been a good year. I've been busy, but I think this covers most of the things that were new and things that I worked on throughout the year. Here's to another fabulous year of new experiences! Happy New Year everyone!!

2008 is almost over...

-Did you date anyone this year?
Yeah


-​​​Are you going​ to kiss some o​ne when the ball drops​?​​​
Well, I'll be at work, and I have an aversion to kissing the dunk crazy people who like to hit on ER staff ...so unless I get an unexpected non-patient visitor it's not lookin good.



-Did you lose any friends?
No



-​​​Did you gain any frien​ds?​​​
Yes, quite a few actually!



-​​​Did you do some t​hing new?
I make it a point to do something new every week


-​​​Did anyon​e impor​tant to you die?
Not that I remember ...the start of the yeaer was a long time ago though, so who knows ;)


-​​​Did you chang​e?​​​
Of course. Everyone did.

-​​​Are you happy​ the years​ almos​t over?​​​
Meh, does it really matter?


-​​​Are you going​ to chang​e somet​hing about​ you next year?​​​
Sure ...my goal is telekinesis :)

-​​​Do you think​ 2009 will be a bette​r year then 2008?​​​
Yep ...Every year should be better than the last!

-​​​Did you go on a summe​r vacat​ion?​​​
I live on vacation


-​​​Did you lie to your paren​ts?​​​
I'm sure I might have about something or another

-​​​Did you get into a fight​?​​​
No ...I'm a lover not a fighter :)

-​​​Did you leave​ the count​ry?​​​
Twice. Mexico and Canada ...lol ...sad :)


-​​​Did you have a good birth​day?​​​
Yep ...I didn't even get another year older!

-​​​Do you think​ you grew?​​​
I shrunk :)

-​​​Did you dye your hair?​​​
Actually, yes but only twice ...shocking ...I know

-​​​Who do you think​ you were on the phone​ with the most?​​​
Probably my family



-​​​Did anyon​e sing to you?
Yep, lots of drunk crazy people at various ERs from coast to coast

-​​​Did you sing to anyon​e?​​
Yeah ...I've been known to break in to song spontaneously in the middle of conversation ;)

-​​​Did anyon​e tell you they loved​ you?
Yes ...of course!



-​​​Did you ever go to the hospi​tal?​​​
Lots ...an average of 200 hours a month


-​​​What did you drink​ and eat the most?​​​
Water and twisted puffy Cheetos :)

-Did you get a tatto​o?​​​
Uh, no.


-​​​Did you vote?​​​
No, I'm registered to vote in UT, I'm pretty sure they don't even count votes in UT, they just mark the state red, so I figured it wasn't worth sending in my absentee ballot.

-​​​Are you going​ to make a new years​ resol​ution​?​​​
No, I don't believe in New Years Resolutions, I think they're dumb.


-​​​Where​ will you be when the ball drops​?​​​
At work :)

-​​​Do you think​ you will make new frien​ds in 2009?​​​
Of course! I have to keep making new ones, my old ones keep getting married and having babies! I need some more friends who realize that I'm the most important thing. Is that selfish ;)


-​​​Are you hopin​g to meet someo​ne speci​al in 2009?​​​
I meet special people every day. On the bus.


-​​​How do you feel after​ anoth​er year has passe​d you by?
Old. But not that different :

Words are eaten... ate... whatever, winter sucks!

Ok, so I woke up all excited to go grocery shopping today, and go get Christmas decorations, and there was an actual measurable amount of snow on the ground! And I am very sad to admit that I am snowed in. There is no more than two inches on the ground, and I, Toni, from Logan UT who has driven 90mph across I80 in a total and complete white out past countless jack-knifed-ran-off-the-road semi trucks because we didn't want to miss the tip-off in Reno, am rendered without a car because of two measly inches of wet snow. Sad, I know. The thing is, I literally cannot get past all the cars who attempted to do drive down the hill on the way out of my parking lot. So I'm here with some string cheese and frosted mini-wheats --the only food left in my entire house, and nothing to do! I had to re-think the snow angel idea when I realized there was not an adequate patch of flat land --ie should be grass, because everything here is landscaped. And I could make a mini snow man in the bushes, but snow is cold!! Plan aborted. So I took pics instead :) Enjoy, and happy holidays everyone! Maybe I'll break down and have to order some icky non-ny pizza ...I miss ny --They deliver actual groceries to my house!

View from the porch at my front door --the creepy-at-nighttime forest I was telling you about

Brr

Seattle Round II

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...well, ok, not at all. But it did snow like half an inch here the other day. It was the coolest thing! It was warm enough on all the roads and sidewalks that it literally looked like it only snowed on the grass. And, the cars, but that doesn't really count. I was so excited! Weird for me, I know, but all I wanted to do was go outside and make snow angels and snow men! They would have been VERY tiny snow men, but I was so excited that I couldn't go to sleep. It didn't start snowing until around 3am, and I didn't realize that it had snowed until I went to bed around four. I didn't end up going outside because a) it was freezing and b) outside my house is kinda scary by yourself at night. My apt is great, and the view outside my front door is cute and woodsy and forest-y with lots of squirrels which I love, but when it's dark it's scary, and I'm sure all kinds of monsters live there. So I stayed in bed too excited to sleep. What I should have done is gone outside and taken pictures because the "massive" storm was all melted away by the next evening when I ventured out with my camera. People here are so funny! Granted I grew up in Satan's freezer in Logan where it snows feet at a time and the high for the day is single digits above zero if we're lucky. But people prepare for snow well there. Half and inch of snow is dramatic here because people don't know how to drive in it. It's like UT the first time it snows and freezes and everyone forgets how to drive. The difference is the first time it snows in UT there is a foot of it on the ground on top of an inch of black ice. But, it's over. We're supposed to get another storm tonight, so perhaps I'll be able to get you some snow pics tomorrow :) I did manage to upload pics of the new place and the trip up with my dad though, so here ya go.

Dad and me at the park by Pike Place

Dad at the park by my house on Lake Washington

and me

and dad and me

Entrance to my new apt

My favorite sign by the entrance to my apt. It makes me giggle every time I come home. I have yet to actually see any ducks not in the Lake though ...maybe when it's warmer :)

All is well :)

So, I'm here!! I'm in Seattle --well, Renton actually, but most of you don't know what that is. It's like Smithfield to Logan -- and I love it! It feels so right and so much like home and just the normal way things should be it is like I never left. And therefore, I have nothing new or exciting to tell you. Friends are great, work is great, my apartment is great --It's right on Lake Washington, and I have my own tanning bed and hot tub and dry sauna to use! Nothing beats warm fake sunshine followed by chlorinated water and a roasty toasty wooden room to dry off in every morning after work. Pictures are to follow --I've been so busy enjoying the "right" feeling and hanging with friends that I haven't taken any yet. Weird, I know. That's all I have to say for now. I love it here! I'm home!!!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

As I sit here my last night at home, about to embark on the next great adventure in my life, a lot of thoughts are running through my head. Thanksgiving has long been a favorite holiday of mine. I think even more than Christmas, slightly less than the Fourth of July. I have so much to be grateful for, and I love the entire holiday dedicated to pondering on my many blessings. I have been privileged to get to see a lot of the country for my job. I must say that no place has struck me quite the way Washington DC did. Not the great city of New York, not the pristine beaches of Southern California, and not the magical wood and water lands of Seattle. I'm sure many of you are surprised to hear this. It was absolutely indescribable to be in the place were the history of our great nation has been and is being written. To visit the cold stone monuments and memorials to those who authored the history of our country when they were warm alive and vibrant. And most of all to walk somberly through the rain soaked grounds at Arlington where the very essence of what the country stands for lays to rest; the place where valor rests. I have been fascinated wit US history since I was in 5th grade and read the book Johnny Tremaine. From the Revolution all the way up to the present day ...I love it! I have often even thought that I would love to go back to school and get my masters in US history. Honestly it's a pipe dream, and will likely never happen, but in the meantime I pacify myself by delving into every piece of historical literature I can get my hands on, fiction and non.

You're probably wondering what all this has to do with Thanksgiving. Well, I am enormously grateful for my American heritage, but that's not why I was thinking about history this Thanksgiving. I have been waxing philosophic about the way we are writing our own pages on the books of history lately. I have spent a lot of time in the last few months wondering why things happen the way they do, and why we are prompted to do certain things and take certain paths. The only thing I have been able to come up with is that I don't know. But I do know in whom I have trusted. I know that the Lord has a plan for me and that his plan is perfect, and it does me no good to be a backseat driver and whine over where I think we should and should not have turned. Every moment of every day is a day in history. It is a day that we won't get back. Each decision we make is a different thread in the fabric of the quilt that is our lives.

Four months ago I left Seattle for New York City. It was a decision that I knew was right, but it still caused me all kinds of inner turmoil. I had never felt more at home in my life than I had in Seattle. I love Logan, and I love my family more than you can know, but I must admit that on all my journeys I have never once been homesick for Utah. I've missed my family and I've missed my friends, but not a single ounce of homesickness for Logan. Seattle was a different story. I loved New York, and I wouldn't trade the experiences I had and the friends I made for anything in the world. I have no doubt that I was supposed to be there. I have no doubt that I am supposed to go back to Seattle tomorrow, but why? I don't know.

So I sit here on the eve of the next page in my history book. I love being at home. There is a lot to be said for sleeping in my old bed, doing not a darn thing but whatever I want and chillin' with my awesome family. No matter where I go, this place, here, my parent's house, will always feel right. What am I the most grateful for? You might say that it's everything I'm leaving. Go figure. I like to think that I'm not leaving what I'm the most grateful for. What I'm the most grateful for stays with me always. My parents are always my parents wherever I go. My brother and sister are always my brother and sister wherever I go. I am the same person wherever I go. Who I am, what I am never changes. And that is what I'm grateful for more than anything. I'm grateful for the ability that I have to write my own history. I'm grateful for the ability I have to change the world. My world, and in some small part the greater whole of the world. I'm grateful for all that have gone before me and are at rest in Arlington National Cemetery and in unmarked graves and battlefields throughout the world so that I can have all that I have today. I'm grateful for the legacy I have from my family. I'm grateful for the support of the greatest of all friends and family. The things we are the most grateful for should not change. So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And happy history making!

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Therefore, I'm not going to type them. I apologize to all my faithful readers *rolls eyes* (wink-wink) but I have just not felt up to updating my blog. You KNOW how hard it is to get me to do something that I just flat out don't want to do. And I suppose that it's not that I didn't want to update it, I was just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of topics that I felt obligated to cover. It's been an absolutely chaotic and wonderful last few weeks. I'm home in UT at the moment, and it was so chaotic the last few weeks, that all I did for the first three days I was home was sleep and hang around the house, enjoying time with my family and food cooked by mom. I literally didn't venture outside until yesterday. Now that I'm done with the bulk of decompressing, I'm feeling bad for not writing. I just can't do proper justice to all that I've seen and done and felt over the last little bit. I ended a wonderful stay in the greatest city in the world, left behind many great friends and coworkers, visited our cations capitol and saw EVERY monument and memorial and gift shop and sidewalk that there was to see, I entertained four separate groups of fabulous friends and family from home and played tour guide around the city (three times), and FINALLY completed my list of things I wanted to do in the city (the monstrous list I'd been working on for 6months and two weeks of living there) oh, and I was still working full time nights. I have compressed all this into the last three weeks. Each one of these subjects deserves a novel unto itself. I'm a big believer in the philosophy of not doing anything that you can't do right --perfectly. Then a familiar phrase came to mind as another wave of guilt washed over me about not blogging my many adventures and feelings. A picture is worth a thousand words. I have kind of a picture taking sickness, in that I am addicted. I take an average of 1,200 pictures a month. More if I'm vacationing with friends/family. I have a photographic detail of nearly every minute of my life the last few weeks, so for the most part I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. I have 6 complete photo albums that I've uploaded to facebook in the last three days, and I'm not going to upload all 360 pictures here. So I'm going to further narrow down the ones that I already narrowed down to the "bare minimum" to put on facebook. So if you want to see more (and I humbly submit that you do :) ) Check out my facebook or myspace pages. Or you can email me if you don't have those and I'll see if I can send you the link. So here we go.

My Mom, Aunt Pam, Me and cousin Kelsie (clearly at the statue of liberty :) )

My mom and me in Central Park

at the Fire Museum --coolest place ever ...you just have to go


ex-roommate Kirsten and I in Central Park


At the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village --the biggest Halloween Celebration in the US

Danielle and Me at the Bronx Zoo -- I love zoos!!

My favorite Gorilla at the zoo

My first Knicks game

Me and Danielle at the game

Central Park South

Central Park South looking at the Plaza Hotel

The gang from work at my 'last weekend in the city' party

Jill and Me in Brooklyn

Me sleeping on the bus to DC

So Mike says, "Just bring your luggage to meet me at the white house and I'll keep it there in my office." We weren't sure about walking up to the white house with our luggage, but we didn't get arrested :) (note Starbucks cup :) 3 hours of sleep on the bus was not enough!)

The President's motorcade, for which a bystander near by where we met Mike thanked us for the opportunity to witness. :)

WWII Memorial 'Here We Mark the Price of Freedom' There are no words.

Jill and Me at the Lincoln Memorial

Korean Memorial

Again, no words. Korean Memorial

Jill and Me at the nurses monument at the Vietnam Memorial

Jill Mike and Me on the White House front lawn waiting to see the President and First Lady take off in the Marine One helicopter. Are you seeing why I can't describe everything that has gone on lately?!

Me and Jill on our own private tour of the West Wing of the White House



Me and Jill in front of Marine One. That's a big freakin' helicopter!

Indescribable

On the wall outside the Holocaust Museum. This says it all.

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Arlington

Iwo Jima

Jill and Me on the Jonathan Larson bench at the Life Cafe back in NYC

My favorite doorman, Rupert. Every day I'd walk in and say, "Hello!" and he'd respond with a cheery, "Okay!"

And that's my life the last few weeks. Thanks to those of you who shared it with me and to everyone who made it possible and incredible. Memories impressions and feelings were created that will not be forgotten after a lifetime.

Double 0, double 0, double double double 0!

That was a ridiculous cheer that we used to do where each class would repeatedly shout the year they were graduating and try to be louder than the other classes. I don't know. Weird stuff was cool in high school :)

SKY VIEW HIGH SCHOOL 2000

1. Did you date someone from your school? I went on dates with a few people, but no one serious.

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? Uh, no. I used to think that I would have to marry someone from high school, because then we could reminisce about the good old days and keep in touch with the entire rest of our class. Then I grew up :)

3. Did you car pool to School? Yeah ...a few different carpool groups, depending on when people moved/graduated. Bus rides were mixed throughout --holla!

4. What kind of car did you have? '97 Nissan Sentra --Her name is Nellie.

5. What kind of car do you have now? Nellie is being driven back in UT by my bro, because right now my car is the subway.

6. Its Friday night...where are you (then) Hmm. Depends on the season. At whatever sporting event was going on then at a friends house for movies and hanging out or playing night games if it was warm. Or in Jamie's RV with friends telling scary stories.

7. It is Friday night...where are you (now)? Well, depends on what season it is. JK --I can still be found at whatever sporting event may be taking place nearby, but I am frequently working or going out with friends, or spending time in my favorite place --bed --being grateful that I'm not at work.

8 What kind of job did you have in high school? I had a summer job at the SnoShack making snow cones, then the spring of my senior year I got a job as a phone surveyor at Discovery Research --shoutout to the DRG and the ol' Q-crew! lol!

9. What kind of job do you do have now? I'm an RN in the Emergency Department at St. Lukes -the level 1 trauma center for Harlem, NYC :)

11. Were you considered a flirt you think? Yeah, I was all talk though :)

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? None. I was in choir in Middle School.

13. Were you a nerd? What do you mean were? I still am!

14. Did you get suspended or expelled? Nope.

15. Can you sing the fight song? We're loyal and true to our white and our blue, fight on you bobcats! So let's give a cheer for the team of the year, let's go, let's win, rah, rah, rah! We are the best and we'll beat all the rest, down with those _______! So let's win this ballgame and build up our school's fame! Let's have a victory!! I can do the school hymn too --Where the mountain peaks meet the starry sky, where the green hills meet the blue ...ok I'll stop.

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)? Mr. Mullen --AP Chemistry, although I cried in his class a couple times cuz it was so hard! Mr. Fife --AP Calculus, I was always good at math, even though I hated it. Mrs. Parkinson --Medical Anat & Phys. Mrs. Cole --US History. Mrs. Falslev --Human growth & development.

17. Where did you sit during lunch? With friends in the hallway my sophomore year, my junior year in the student center with friends, and my senior year it varied depending on who I was hanging out with for the day. I remember a few lunches in the library with Kristy eating chocolate discussing what the way we disposed of our Hershey kisses wrappers said about our personalities.

18. What was your school's full name? Sky View High School

19. When did you graduate? June 2000.

20. What was your school mascot? Bobcat

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I loved every minute of it while I was there, but I don't think I'd redo it if you paid me.

22. Did you have fun at Prom? Yeah. It was actually really cool! We had it at the ballroom at USU, and our pics were on the terrace --so pretty!

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? Well, he lives 2,000 miles away and is married, and I believe has a child, so we don't see each other a lot, but when we're in the same state, we usually run in to each other and chat for a while. Usually at Lee's -the grocery store :)

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? Nope. It hasn't been long enough that I miss anyone all that much yet. I see the people I care about still.

Here's me and my 3 bff's from HS at Jenny's sisters wedding reception this August --Jenny's holding her daughter, Kristy and I are holding her twins and Becky's boys are getting food with their dad.

Mickey and Minnie Visit the Jungle

Yeah. Next in my tales from the Jungle (aka work for those of you who missed the last story --and shame on you, it was a good one): Why Asian-IvyLeague-underage college students shouldn't drink while dressed up as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. That's right folks, once again, you can't make this stuff up! Thankfully last night at work, we were so painfully slow that the entire department was able to sit back and laugh at the hilarity that was my patient. Our friendly FDNY ambulance crew brings us a 20 year old female who had been drinking, passed out, fell down and hit her head on concrete. She was caught and assisted to the ground by her boyfriend. This is a common every night run-of-the-mill story until you take into account that the girl was a Japanese Minnie Mouse. Ears and all (including dress tights and shoes). And her boyfriend who drunkenly stumbled in behind the ambulance crew was dressed as a Japanese Mickey Mouse, spandex, ears and all. We get her moved onto our stretcher and plan to let her sleep it off since there appear to be no obvious injuries. We flop her into standard passed out drunk position, with the head of her bed elevated 30 degrees so that when she vomits she won't suck the stomach acid laden alcohol into her lungs. I start her IV, draw basic labs, and start the bolus-ing of saline --all while she is sleeping. The resident is getting the story from the still intoxicated but rather helpful boyfriend. We like the boyfriend. We feel good about clearing the girl to go home under his care asap. As the resident is talking to Mickey, Minnie --in her passed out state --vomits. For those of you who have never seen and/or smelled alcohol vomit, it's a special experience. Highlighted by rancid bits of whatever food they chose to eat in an ill attempt to sober more quickly. It's not pleasant. And since she is passed out, the vomit doesn't projectile across the room --thank goodness --I would have been in the line of fire. Instead in just oozes and dribbles down her chin and throat downward to her neck and backward in her ears and hair. Are you seeing the comedy in this situation? Is it just because I've been up for a while and had a really boring night? I've got a vomit and alcohol covered Minnie Mouse passed out drunk on a stretcher while Mickey Mouse attempts to drunkenly explain the happenings of the evening to the baby doctor. It doesn't get any better than this. One of my coworkers begins to sing the theme song to the Mickey Mouse Club in the background. I find this funny. I cannot contain my giggles. Nor can any of the other staff within ear shot. Next while we all rolled our eyes, the baby docs decide that we need to order more labs and a CT scan because the girl isn't acting right. Well, she isn't acting right because she is insanely drunk, and still being under the legal drinking age doesn't have a whole lot of experience being that drunk. She's not going to act normal. She was acting much more normal than any of the other drunks that we get. Stupid baby docs. So three hours later Minnie has been medically cleared via CT scan, meaning that when she can walk with a steady gait, she can go. She wakes up soon there-after, and is indeed ready to go. She doesn't understand why she is dressed as Minnie Mouse, nor why she is so cold. We recount the last 4 hours of her life for her, and "road test" her. She is indeed ready to go. So baby doc tries to wake up Mickey. And tries again. Turns out Mickey is passed out drunk, and doesn't want to wake up. We are contemplating giving a quick banana bag iv to mickey even though he is not technically a patient --ya know, like a buy one get one free type of deal. Minnie does not like this idea because she is cold and wants to go home. Luckily Mickey woke up, had a steady gait, and they were both able to leave. As they were leaving, Matt, the other nurse on my team turns to me shaking his head ans says, "See. This is why Asians shouldn't drink." Matt is Korean. When I look at him with one eyebrow raised, he says, "Yeah, me included, I haven't been Mickey Mouse before, but I'm not a good drunk either." I SOO wish that is wasn't unethical on so many levels to take a picture of them both passed out in full costume! You'll all just have to use your imaginations!

In other Jungle news, we were so bored last night that we had a fantastic time online. There is a great website that I don't technically remember the name of but you can get there through the website I'm about to tell you about. It's where I'm getting all your christmas presents --it's great inventions.com or something like that (that's right Kristin, you can actually see what you're getting and I won't make it be a surprise!). Back to being bored at work, last night we discovered that one of the nurses we work with was left by his wife a couple days ago. Now, the great thing about New York is that we don't sit around gossipping behind his back and telling each other how sorry we are for him, and telling everyone but him that we wished there was something we could do for him. Marvin, the charge nurse, says, (and I quote) "Well hell, John! You need another wife? I'll find ya one! C'mere!" Marvin then googles 'mail order brides' and it turns out there is a website http://www.mailorderbrides.net/. So we all (John included) laughed and joked about the pros and cons of mail order brides from various countries. This naturally progressed to finding a mail order husband website so that half of us didn't feel excluded. Ladies and gentlemen, I have found the man I'm going to marry. His name is Bertram (Sarah, I know you're proud of me already). And he's from Canada, which would make Josh proud (he remains convinced that I'm Canadian because I don't like milk or ice cream.) Unfortunately I can't copy his picture from the web page, and when I try to take a picture of it with my camera it just comes out blurry and thus does not do the glory that is my future husband justice. I can copy the personal by his picture though:

Name: Bertram

Clyde seeks Bonnie to be partners in crime... I am a trouble maker! Techno-hedonist prone to psychobabble and taking stupid risks. Fun craving, riot inciting, thrill seeking geek girls preferred. Choir girls need not apply, because I plan on committing a few sins and misdemeanors in my time. I got booted off Match.com for cyber stalking but I'm better now.

It's a match made in heaven! You'll just have to check out the picture for yourself. Trust me, you want to!!! Go to www.mailorderhusbands.net/order now scroll down till you see Bertram. And my fellow single friends, don't be shy if you see one you like. Maybe we can get a package deal. They have all been assigned to teams already, Bertram is mine, but bonus points if you can guess who gets whom on who's team and why :) We really shouldn't be allowed to get bored at work.

Oh, and one more random tidbit of why I love New York. As I mentioned before with John's wife, you just say what is on your mind here. It's total blunt honesty in a way that is refreshing and impossible to find anywhere else in the country. A prime example of this was a headline in the paper that I got in the morning on the way home from work yesterday. I took a picture so you'd all be able to share :) It's pretty self explanatory.

Have a nice day :)

I've heard it said...

So there I was. Driving in my rental car up I-5 through the traditionally icky Seattle traffic. This is made worse by the fact that I not only forgot that no one is in a hurry to get anywhere there AND I have been living in NYC where EVERYONE is in an urgent frantic hurry to get wherever they are going (usually nowhere). So I tried my best to relax and not be in a hurry and recover my buried west-coast laid-back attitude. It wasn't going well. I was so excited to see all my friends that I could barely contain myself. Traffic wasn't actually that bad, but it wasn't moving fast enough for me --I had places to be and people to see that I hadn't seen in WAY too long!! It was amazing to me as I was driving up the road and I came around the corner of a hill and the Seattle Skyline came into view on the right with Elliott Bay and all the long shore ports on the left that I was home. I felt like I was literally driving home after a long vacation and I was relieved and excited and at peace in a way that I can't describe to be back. I have been fortunate enough to make many friends everywhere I've been and I still keep in touch with most of them. Some are closer than others. To me the true test of the type of friendship is what happens when you're miles apart. With my closest friends we might as well have never been apart. We can pick up right where we left off without missing a beat or a moment of awkward pause --whether it's been a day week months or years since we were last together. I was not surprised to find that this is how many of my Seattle friends were. It was so wonderful to see everyone again and to have it seem like nothing changed! To chat and play like"the good old days" of two months ago when this was my every day life. It made me so very grateful for the friends that I have been blessed with-- In Seattle and everywhere. I just wanted to take a minute to attempt to express my gratitude for you. It can't be done, really, but know that I love you all and think of you all often, and I am more grateful for you than you could ever know. As per my latest vacation "home" --a couple examples. Siobhan is still the other half of my brain. We are still essentially the same person with a few (but vitally important according to some) differences. It felt like life was finally back to normal having her in the car with me and shopping for brownie mixes and ice cream at 3:00 in the morning. It felt so normal that I literally was confused when she was directing me back to her apartment so that I could drop her off before I went back to the airport. I forgot that she wasn't coming with me, and (surprise ;) ) I cried just a bit. Dinners with friends literally had conversations that picked up right where we left off without missing a beat. I spent 4-5 utterly delightful hours at a football game with Josh where we talked and joked and laughed and played like the good old days. And I will be eternally grateful (and a little bit pissed of) to him for introducing me to polish sausage with cream cheese. Don't knock it till you've tried it. You'll be hooked too! The only problem is you can't get them outside of Seattle! I also stopped by work and was immediately welcomed by warm hugs from Amber and Dr. Milne and Tooley and Jeremiah --I miss them all more than they could know --both in and outside of work! I celebrated Jaryd's 21st birthday with him Joe and Siobhan, and it was like the old days of drunk babysitting --not much changed there either. Joe still puked in the corner --twice --although to his credit despite yelling angrily at people across the bar, no punches were thrown. Jaryd was still a slightly angry and sad drunk, although after he passed out on the make-shift bed in the middle of Siobhan's floor, he was very sweet to make sure that Siobhan and I kept warm during the night. He kept covering us with blankets while we were sleeping, then we'd get too hot and kick them off. A little bit later Jaryd would wake up freezing, notice that we too were blanket-less, assume we must be cold as well, and cover us up again. It was a fun cycle :) Good times! So here's to all my "people" --in Seattle and elsewhere --clink! :)

Me and Siobhan at the start of the b-day celebration --yes I'm jet lagged.

Jaryd and Joe

me and Josh at my first NFL game --go Seahawks!

Why were some of these so hard to answer?

What was I doing 10 years ago?

1. Getting excited to go to my first homecoming dance ...ah to be sixteen again *rolls eyes*
2. Missing my summer job as a snow cone maker ... I heart snow cones!
3. Figuring out how I could meet Derek Jeter ...wait a minute ...
4. Babysitting. A lot.
5. Still getting over the enthusiasm of FINALLY being able to drive ;)

What are 5 things on my to do list

1. Go to my first NFL game --yay! Go Seahawks :)
2. Find a job in Florida
3. Finish Wuthering Heights
4. Go see Jersey Boys
5. Go to the Bronx Zoo

What are my favorite snacks? (By snacks you mean meals, right ;) )
1. Cottage cheese
2. Wheat thins
3. Popsicles
4. Twisted puffy Cheetos
5. Bananas

What would I do if I was a millionaire

1. Pay off my debt
2. Buy a cute little house on a tropical beach somewhere
3. Buy a normal sized house close to home
4. Go on an extended vaca to Greece
5. Put the rest in a savings account and live off the interest

Places I have lived
1. Logan, UT
2. Long Island, NY
3. Mission Viejo, CA
4. Seattle, WA
5. Manhattan, NY

Jobs I have had

1. Snow Cone Maker --still missin the days of free snow cones!
2. Telephone surveyor --one of the obnoxious people who call during dinner to ask if you'll take a survey.
3. CNA
4. LPN
5. RN

TV shows I love to watch:

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. SportsCenter
3. Friends
4. The OC
5. ER

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. Living on a warm sunny beach (FL, HI, etc)
2. Getting out of debt
3. Getting back in debt with a new car
4. Coming back to Seattle
5. Growing up
6. Coming back to Seattle
7. Basketball season
8. Coming back to Seattle

8 things on my wish list:

1. Getting my CEN
2. Money
3. Multiple tropical vacations
4. Men who don't exist
5. Shamu
6. Continued good fortune
7. Derek Jeter
8. My own hydroplane

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. Went to dinner with friends
2. Relived the Ozzie's/Pesos glory
3. Walked past H&M without going in --bonus points!!!
4. Slept from 0930-1530
5. Bought my first pair of ballet flats --in black patent leather
6. Watched pretty bartenders make pretty alcoholic beverages (not for me :) )
7. Started 2 IV's to cure post 21st b-day hangovers
8. Ate brownies and ice cream and half cooked garlic bread --and it was good!

To Whom It May Concern:

Dear Florida Board of Nursing: How long can it possibly take to get fingerprint cards mailed from Florida to New York City? Apparently more than A MONTH!!! I could have rode my bicycle (assuming i had a bicycle) to Miami to pick them up and back by now. Send me my fingerprint cards!!!!

Dear Eye Doctor: Thank you for deciding that you needed to see me before allowing me to refill my contact perscription so that I can see. I understand that my eyes must have changed exponentially in the last 9 months since I've seen you, and it's perfectly logical for me to jet home to Logan to make an appointment to see you. Remember when I saw you 9 months ago (I know it seems like forever) and we discussed that I would be moving around the country so it would be a good idea to keep my normal two year interval between appointments, and would thus-ly need two years worth of contact lenses? What happened to that idea? I am not so much all about the risk of infection and corneal abrasion etc of wearing the same pair of contacts longer than recommended. And although I do look pretty damn cute in my glasses (see random thought #4) they get in the way at work. Which brings me to:

Dear creepy-going-to-go-postal-any-day-now-at-work-guy: Please leave me alone. It is creepy when you stand so close. When I am not friendly and outgoing toward you, I am not playing hard to get. When you are the only one not actively involved in saving a man's life, and I am forced to ask you to take my glasses off my face or risk having them drop on the bloody-vomit covered body of the man who I am doing chest compressions on, it is not a come on. It just means that I am compressing so hard that my glasses are sliding down my nose, and I would like you to remove them from my face and go place them somewhere away from the bloody vomit. This would not only save my glasses but give you something to do besides standing 2 inches behind me breathing on me as I try to save this man's life.

Dear Cute Man who hit on me on the way home today: Thank you. I know I told you I was married, but that doesn't mean I didn't secretly appreciate being asked, "Excuse me ...can we get to know each other and ...ya know ...socialize?" As I am walking home in rain drenched scrubs after working a twelve hour shift with a greasy face and messy hair in a messy ponytail.

Dear MTA: Thank you first for suspending all express train service this weekend so I can enjoy an extra 15 minutes on an over-packed subway while you maintain the express tracks. Thank you also for 'maintaining' the express tracks which always seem to run without a problem instead of the local track which broke a rail today suspending all subway service from 110th St. and 42nd St. I enjoyed choosing between a 70 block walk home in the pouring rain, or a 6 block walk to sit on a bus for 30 minutes.

Dear no-longer drunk and high on PCP and Crack 65 year old man: Thank you for buying an orange soda for me the other day at work. Although I told you no thank you, and to enjoy it for yourself, I want you to know that it honestly made my day that you would do that for me. You are a very pleasant and sweet man when you are not screaming profanities at us. You should not do drugs so you can be sweet and pleasant all the time.

Dear hot paramedic: Thank you for offering to drive me to the deli three blocks away in your ambulance at 2:30 this morning (perhaps wearing the glasses more often won't be such a bad thing :) ). I appreciated it, but I was really enjoying the nice walk. Perhaps next time you won't get sent out on another call so soon and I'll take you up on your offer. Perhaps next time when you don't have other medics in the back of the ambulance we can discuss other ways to spend my break. Call me.

PS: Dear Hot Paramedic, please send a friend hot paramedic to Utah to entertain my friend Jill on her breaks. The hospital she works at has many really big elevators and stairwells.

Nature Therapy

That's right, nature therapy. I'm a big fan. I don't know what it is about being out in nature, but there is something so serene and calming and centering about it. It is wonderful! Here in Manhattan we do nature in the form of parks. New York City does parks really well. I know that everyone thinks bright lights and big buildings and times square and Broadway and busy-ness when they think of the city; the city certainly does all those things well too. But they do parks really well --did I say that already? And not just Central Park. The first time I came to the city Central Park was my favorite place outside of Yankee Stadium. It was the only park I went to. When I lived out on Long Island, it didn't take long before Bryant Park was my favorite. Now, I'm in an adventurous mood and trying to hit all the local scenes, and I have had two favorites since I've lived in the city. First Riverside Park, and most recently Fort Tryon Park. Both of these are on the upper west side. Riverside park actually goes from right by my house all the way up the island and has a beautiful running trail right on the Hudson River. I found Fort Tryon Park the other day on the recommendation from a friend at work. I was having an icky day and needed somewhere where I could be outside in the daylight and dressed in normal clothes instead of scrubs. I walked out of the subway station into the park and instantly my bad mood evaporated! It was just being there. In the middle of the trees and the flowers, with quiet. And birds and squirrels playing in the trees. I walked all around and had a great time.

It's really kind of funny. When I moved from NY to the OC, I kept doing things in Cali that made me remember the city easier. When I moved from the OC to Seattle, I spent forever at Elliot Bay and at all of what they called "beaches" trying to keep the SoCal spirit. And now that I'm back in the city, I find myself seeking out lush green parks, and salty fish-y boardwalks, and looking forward to overcast days because it eases my homesickness for Seattle. I don't know how I'm ever going to pick a place to settle down! But in the meantime, enjoy some pics from my nature therapy over the past month!

Riverside Park

Central Park

Not a park, but twilight from my balcony --still nature-y :)

Morningside Park

Butterflies in Fort Tryon Park --In October :)

Fort Tryon

Fort Tryon

Me in Fort Tryon

George Washington Bridge at dusk from Fort Tryon Park