Pretty much just Farmer's Markets and Sunshine

After a few days of rain, the promised sunshine has arrived. It’s been mild and lovely this weekend, and the sun is shining. I spent some time refilling my Vitamin D storage cells sitting on the roof, writing this post.

I had a three-day work week because of Veteran’s Day, and I got all my errands out of the way on Tuesday, then spent Thursday morning at the beach. It was pretty cold when the sun ducked behind the clouds, but it was still the beach. Sand, and water, and seals barking off across the bay. It’s nice to have a beach 15 minutes away (even if the water is frigid), but I suspect I”ll feel differently next summer when I’m dreaming of a balmy Florida vacation. The upside is that flights to Hawaii are pretty cheap from Seattle, and the tourism industry there is suffering so badly right now that I could probably get a great deal. The downside being that my family (with assorted babies and dogs) would probably not be able to join me.

Also on Thursday I got my hair cut, and was (as usual) talked into purchasing the products that Richard used on my hair. I’ve realized that I’m sort of a sucker when it comes to things like that. The same character trait (flaw?) that makes it difficult for me to haggle over a price in a foreign country also kicks in whenever I get my hair done. I feel like refusing to buy the product is insulting to the stylist who just made my hair look really fabulous. I should work on that.

Amy and I went walking around Green Lake yesterday. We took some goofy pictures and videos, and watched the parade of people and dogs that passed by (stopping to pet the cutest of dogs, of course).  It’s so great that she lives here and we can do things like that on a regular basis.

Today we went to church (I now look forward to going to church each week!), then I headed to the Farmer's Market. I know I said this post was going to be about work, but I don't like thinking about work when I'm not there...as the tendency to think about it all the time and obsess over everything that happens is too tempting. So maybe next time. Here are pictures:

Introducing...ducks! They were pretty fearless, letting us come within inches before they waddled away, quacking in that disgruntled duck kind of way.

It's not often that you see giant inflatable turkeys on someone's porch, and I felt the need to document it.

Senior picture pose #1...

This was Amy's favorite picture of the entire 'shoot'...I think I look like a doofus, but the colors are nice :)

Senior picture pose #2

Our fellow walkers and some fall foliage. This trail circles the lake and is about 2.5 miles...and on nice days, it almost feels like you're marching in a parade with all the people.

Nature pictures...a giant Christmas tree!

I just really liked this bunch of trees.

Hm...looks like any other lake, but it's special because it's mine.

Couches and Concerts

Our couches finally arrived on Thursday, and my bunda can sit in comfort once again. I'm quite pleased with the way they fit into our apartment, as both Kara and I were worried (since we have a pretty teeny living room). But they fit nicely, and the apartment now has a cozier feel to it (just in time for the holidays!). 

The view when you first enter the room. It no longer looks like we have a third roommate squatting in our living room... a slightly accusatory suggestion made by our suspicious building manager.

The loveseat. That round table back behind it to the right is supposed to live on our patio, but we had to bring everything inside due to the construction.

The couch.  Three people can sit comfortably across it, or one person can lay (but no pants-less sleeping is allowed!)

Here is me, testing the couch for the first time. I give them a comfort score of 7.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. They are certainly not as comfortable as the leather monstrosity couches of my adolescent years, but slightly better than the armless sectional that now resides at 407.

I had another exciting Friday night this week; two in a row...it might be too much for me. After work I decided to try a traveling experiment. Normally, I wait about 20 minutes for a bus that takes me 7 blocks west (down a HUGE hill), then 12 blocks north where I disembark and walk 2 more blocks west to my next bus. On my 12-hour days, I usually leave the hospital around 7:10, get on the first bus around 7:30, and catch the second one at 7:50...putting me home at 8:30. On Friday I decided to walk it. I saw a truly spectacular view of the city at night (I will try and take a picture of it sometime), made it onto my 'second' bus by 7:30, and was home by 8:10...in spite of walking 25 blocks total when I usually walk 3. So, I'm probably going to do that every time from now on.

The reason for the experiment was that I had tickets to see Eric Hutchinson (www.erichutchinson.com), and wanted to get to the High Dive (www.highdiveseattle.com) by 9. Which I did, after driving around in the rain frantically looking for a parking space close to the venue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont,_Seattle,_Washington). 

I eventually got there, met up with Amy, Daniel, and Deb (a friend and former Segue who was in town for a conference), and calmed down during the very mellow opening acts. The place was packed, and it was hot and steamy the way it gets when there's a crowd of people in a small and poorly ventilated space and it's raining outside (sort of like the bus, which one nurse referred to as a Tuberculosis incubator). And there was the freakishly tall group of people standing directly in front of us who kept saying things like, "I hope this Eric Hutchinson guy is good...yeah this guy better be good" and sort of made me want to kick them. Then Eric came on, and he was amazing. A talented, funny, and energetic performer who was really too good for the crowd he was playing for (why is there always at least one drunken d-bag in every crowd?). I'm pretty sure this kid will be very famous one day, and encourage you to check out his album Sounds Like This on iTunes. 

This smudged stamp is the only proof of my being at the show. I forgot my camera :( and don't even have a ticket stub because Amy had my ticket and got there before I did.

Excited for the three-day week ahead. Leave me comments!

All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray

I know I've been slacking in my blogging duties, and I apologize. Most of my mental energy is going towards learning right now, and it doesn't leave much for creativity and expression. But I'll try...

Autumn is in full swing here, and there have been some truly spectacular days with blue skies and colorful foliage. But now the skies are grey and rainy, and I expect it to stay that way for the next 6 months. It's kind of weird to me that it can rain sooo much without flooding being an issue, but I guess that's one of the perks of being on the coast (haha, I stick my tongue out at you, midwest). I'm getting used to walking in the rain, and always having a hat and/or umbrella (depending on the force/amount of rain falling), and also being able to gauge whether or not I'll need to wear my rain boots by the sound of rain falling outside (since it's dark when I wake up). 

Here are my rain boots when they were still shiny and new:

Halloween was fun this year. My friend Amy lived in this community house for a couple months when she first moved here; it is huge...I think 10 or 12 people live there at a time. So, they have a costume party every year at Halloween, and charge people $5 at the door and then donate half the proceeds to charity. I wasn't expecting much; maybe a strobe light and some Jack 0'lanterns.  But these people go all out, apparently spend a week decorating the place, and it was awesome (the entrance was a dungeon, then there was a swamp room, and a disco room, even the bathroom was decorated and creepy). And it was packed with people. In spite of the fact that I'd woken up at 4:30 that morning and worked for 12 hours, I had a great time. I didn't take any pictures at the actually party, but everybody came over to our place to get ready, and here's a group shot:

From left to right, back row: Luke (Amy's roommate), Mike (Kara's friend), Brian (Kara's friend), then Daniel (Amy's other roommate). De (Amy's friend visiting from Chicago) and Amy are standing in front of them, then Kara is sitting on the floor. And I was taking the picture.

Here is me, De, and Amy getting ready in my bathroom. A princess, Peter Pan, and some sort of Jazzercising acrobat from the 80's (who ended up winning the dance contest!)

Here is my costume. $15 at a thrift store, with only one stain on the back and a slightly musty odor. I'm thinking it's a leftover from somebody's Renaissance-themed wedding many years ago. It's really too bad you can't see my gold shoes...they pulled the whole look together. 

So Tuesday night was interesting. First of all, on my bus ride home (around 8:20 pm Pacific) the bus driver came on the speaker and said "Ladies and Gentlemen on the bus, the new president of the United States of America is...Barack Obama!" And pandemonium erupted. Everybody started cheering and clapping...it was kind of crazy. Then this homeless guy (who was black) stood up and started raving about how finally his people were finally going to get some respect, and it was about time they started getting some respect. Then this homeless lady (who was white) started telling him how black people don't have it hard, but white people do. I believe she said something along the lines of "you don't have it hard, you don't need respect...we need respect, because everybody calls us racists all the time." It was kind of funny to watch two crazy homeless people have a debate. At least it didn't escalate into violence. And of course they both got off the bus at my stop...15th and Market NW = crazy homeless people capital of seattle.

Then it was like New Year's Eve or something. Fireworks going off, people cheering, and blowing those noisemaker things. They really, really do not like George Bush in this city...and they really, really believe that Barack Obama is going to make things better. Here's hoping they're right.

I'm spending the next few hours waiting for my couches to be delivered and cleaning the apartment...thrilling way to spend my day off. Especially since the construction on our building has begun, and there is constant LOUD noise all around me. I seriously wonder if I could bargain down my rent over this (considering the woman we are renting from never told us that the building would be under construction for the next 9 months). 

My next post will include pictures of the couches, and a list of things I love and things I hate about my job. 

Playing the Whale Waiting Game

Ahh, weekend. A chance to breathe and decompress and sleep. Last weekend was none of those things...but it was a wonderful, fun, fast-paced, car-filled, mini-reunion of siblings in Seattle.

Jeff and Amie arrived on Thursday (my day off), and I drove to the airport and snuck up on them at baggage claim. I could write a corny poem here about how great it is to see people that you love after a time apart....but I'll spare you all. The weather wasn't fabulous; kind of cloudy and drizzly, but they were excited for the cool temperatures. After a tour of my still couchless apartment, we went walking around Ballard. In my favorite store, Jeff found a thoroughly Seattle accessory that I'll let him talk about in his blog post. Although they were hesitant to go in at first, I think everybody ended up enjoying the weirdness at Archie McPhee (www.mcphee.com). 

We walked to the botanical garden and the Chittenden Locks (my third visit, but still enjoyable). They were draining one of the locks, and we got to see these huge starfish that were living at the bottom. The fish ladder was quite sad...apparently the great Salmon exodus is over by now, but there was one sad and tired-looking fish still trying to make his way up the ladder. I doubt he made it :( Rest in peace, my friend.

We stopped for lunch at Hamburger Harry's, so I now know a local place to go if I suddenly desire to watch sporting events on big tvs in public with strangers and tasty burgers. We also swung by Cupcake Royale for dessert. I think Jeff and Amie have a similar opinion to mine about said cupcakes: they look better than they taste. But the icing is delicious. 

We rested for awhile back at my place, and Jeff and Amie got to meet my roommate when she got home. We all sat and chatted for awhile, and entertained ourselves by reading the 'Missed Connections' on Craigslist. If you have never done this, it is quite amusing and a fun way to waste time. 

Dinner that night was at Ray's Cafe. The sunset was lovely, although blinding to Jeff who I had considerately seated facing the water :) Kara came with us, and Dora & Steven met us there when they got off work. Ray's has yet to disappoint me, and I think everyone else enjoyed the food (best calamari evah!), drinks, and ambience as well. 

Friday I had to work till 3:30, so I'll let Jeff tell you about their day in his post. In the evening, I picked up Jeff and Amie from their hotel, and we drove 10 miles north to his friend's house in Lynnwood. Normally, I love Lynnwood. There's a great mall there that I've been to several times, and it usually takes aroun 20 minutes by highway. Unfortunately, it was a Friday at rush hour, and there seem to be only three roads that run north-south. I started out on a four-lane (highway 94-ish, for those of you from the Lou) road. After an hour of the traffic and hitting pretty much every single red light, I decided to try the highway. Bad idea...as it was a parking lot. Then we wasted time trying to get back to our original road. It was painfully humerous, and we were all exhausted and famished. Eventually we made it, and after finding 1 1/2 hour plus wait times at a couple of restaurants, ended up eating at the Nordstrom bistro, which was pretty good.

Saturday was whale day. I picked up Jeff and Amie around 8, and we drove 77 miles to Anacortes (apparently pronounced Ana-cor-tiss, not Ana-cortez like I thought). We drove through some really heavy fog and clouds, but when we arrived at the coast it was sunny and beautiful. After checking in at the gift shop (where I found a stuffed whale that makes whale sounds when you push its tail that Amie wouldn't let me buy for my future nephew), we stopped for donuts on our way to the dock. We sat and took some pictures until the captain of the boat rounded up all 120 of us and gave his spiel about rules/safety/expectations, etc. Then we were off.

Amie and I, excited to begin our whale adventure. At this point, we were both at optimum body temperature in our light layers.

This is our boat, the Island Explorer 3. We mostly stayed on the top deck, in the back (aft) the whole time. 

Our second wildlife sighting of the day (the first was a mature bald eagle that we saw as we were setting sail from the marina). He's a California sea lion, and it seemed like he was posing for us as our boat circled his buoy.

Jeff, Amie, and little Xav's first ever whale-watching adventure. Here's hoping there will be many, many more in the years to come :)

Me and Amie. You can see that I've added a layer of clothing, because I don't have a mini-human inside my womb to keep me warm. Eventually I switched from cute hat to warm hat that covered my ears, switched to a warmer scarf, and zipped up my windbreaker. I should have worn long underwear.

Highlights of whale watching:

- Our eternally optimistic Captain Mike, who kept reminding us of all the wildlife we had seen so far, and encouraged us not to give up because we could still see a whale

- People watching our fellow passengers. Some of our favorites were the whale paparazzi with their giant cameras, and the large group of German (or maybe Dutch) people who were with us on the top deck. Our not-so-favorites included: cranky couple from Ohio, constantly making-out couple, and odd boy wearing a blanket as a cape.

- Being out on the water on a gorgeous day

- Chili cheese nachos from the galley

- Seeing: a bald eagle, several sea lions, several harbor seals (the friendly dogs of the ocean...love the way their little heads pop up out of the water, curious to see what's going on), a bunch of porpoises that I can't remember the name of, and two Minke whales

Lowlights of whale watching:

- We went whale watching, and the biggest thing we saw was a stinky Minke (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minke_Whale)

- Being really, REALLY cold at the end of the day

- Getting totally humpbacked by the humpbacks

Sunday we got up early and went to my church. Unfortunately for us, the service started at 8:30, not 8 like I thought, so we got up 30 minutes earlier than we needed to. More unfortunately, the early service is super traditional...meaning pews and organ music. But the message was still good, and we even got to meet the pastor because Amy knows him and we were there so early. 

Then it was off to the airport, where I bade fairwell to my family. Sad to see them go, but so glad that they were able to come. Hopefully they'll be back next summer for an Orca watching tour, and they'll bring the rest of the fam with them. 

 

It's not all farmer's markets and sunshine...

There are lots of very unpleasant people who ride the bus. Until today, I had observed but never been the object of said unpleasantness. But today, for no discernible reason, an older women sitting across from me called me some not nice names. She was speaking to the man with her, but loudly enough that I know she wanted me to hear and react. They were probably in their late 40's/early 50's, and looked like people who had not found many occasions to be joyful in life. I chose to ignore her and kept reading my book, and she didn't say anything else. After several minutes had gone by, I glanced up at her face as she stared out the window. There was a look of such incredible sorrow there; I could tell that this woman had been battered by the years of her life. Instead of anger or contempt or defensiveness, I felt pity for her. And I also felt thankful that I've been so blessed with the family and life that I've had. And I also felt a little ashamed that all I could do was ignore her. How would God have me respond to such blatant ugliness from a stranger? What words could I have said to her, if any, to 'turn the other cheek'? Thoughts??

Day of Rest

You know what's really heavy? 

Lead.

And for the last three days, I have spent the majority of my workday wearing a lead apron under my sterile scrub attire (to protect my unborn children from extra limbs and such). Getting out of bed in the morning I felt like a ninety-five-year-old with a monkey on my shoulders. Consequently, I was very VERY ready for this day off...and a massage. I didn't get the massage, but I did sleep for ten hours last night. And I've spent quite a relaxing day reading on the roof deck (it's a bit chilly, but the sun has been out off and on), and taking a quick field trip to the post office across the street. I'm trying to take it easy and rest because I seem to be having a little trouble kicking this cold, and my throat started hurting again last night. And I really must be healthy by next weekend because...Jeff and Amie are coming to visit! Soooo exciting!

Work has been going pretty well this week. It is challenging for sure, but as long as I remind myself to stay calm and that mistakes/imperfections are inevitable as I'm learning, it is do-able. It is both mentally and physically exhausting though. For anyone who has ever lived in another country and tried to learn the language, that is the kind of exhaustion I feel at the end of the day. It's like your mind is hyperaware or constantly tensed up (if your mind can be tense...you know what I mean?). As for the physical demands of standing for 8-12 hours (with the added weight of lead if you are in an ortho or spine case)...well, nothing that can't be dealt with by weight lifting and pilates, support hose, and a good pair of shoes.  The scrub person I was with yesterday has a bachelor's in kinesthesiology (sp?) and showed me some weights exercises that will build back/shoulder/upper body strength. I'm also probably going to buy a fitted lead set next time they offer us a discount, because if I get a vest/skirt combo, the weight is more evenly distributed across the hips and shoulders.

I had a dream right before I woke up that there was some kind of apocalypse (economic, perhaps?), and all the survivors were living in a warehouse-y Costco type store, and fighting over the goods. I found a whole rack of chocolate cakes and was standing guard over them with an axe. Weird...

Also experienced a moment of panic this morning when I put my sweatshirt on backwards. There's something about having your face trapped the wrong direction in a hood that is quite traumatic. 

No pictures this time, sorry.

Careful with that scalpel, Dr.

Because I was sick all weekend, and barely got to enjoy any of the beautiful weather, I was quite excited that the weather forecast for today (my day off) was sunny with a high of 78. Dora and I made plans to hang out, and I thought it would be a perfect day to have a picnic lunch on the beach. And then I woke up, and saw that my plans have been thwarted by this:

A giant cloud which has decided to park its fluffy white self right in the middle of my city, on my day off. I hope the sun comes and burns it away.

On a completely unrelated topic, I think I might be a farmer's market addict. I find myself longing to go the farmer's market, even when I don't need fresh and delicious produce and animal products. I love all the people, with their kids and their dogs and their re-usable canvas bags. I love the vendors with their home-made soap and jewelry, their artisan breads and cheeses and wine; even the hippy vendors with their assortment of colorful bongs. It's so reassuring to know there is a farmer's market a mere 6 blocks from my apartment, and that I can go there any Sunday of the year (rain or shine) and pick up some grass fed ground beef or home-made mozzarella cheese should I find myself in need.

Again, unrelated: For a city that is so 'green' and conscious of its carbon footprint, I've found that Seattle seems to have a curious obsession with disposable toilet seat covers. They reside in almost every bathroom that I've been in here, and I can always hear the tell-tale rustle of the tissue paper seat coming from inside the stall next to me. I've always had a strange relationship with toilet seat covers. Part of me does not want to sit where a stranger has sat/peed/who knows what else on the seat before me, but another part absolutely dreads fumbling with the cover (that will inevitably be too small for the seat and fall in before I can sit down) and trying to get the middle part separated from the seat part, usually ripping the whole thing apart accidentally...all with a full bladder. So in the past, my use of these covers has been pretty inconsistent. I don't recall learning about very many diseases which are transmitted by skin-to-toilet seat contact, but I could be wrong. I don't want to be the person who moved to Seattle and got a raging case of scabies because I didn't use a toilet seat cover. So tell me, what's your opinion, toilet seat covers good or bad and why?

Yesterday at work we did a mock surgery. Four of us scrubbed in and set up the back table and draped the 'patient' and performed the 'surgery' while the other four were circulators and got the room and patient ready and handed supplies to the scrub team. Then we switched. The goal of all this was to help us get comfortable with draping, passing instruments, loading blades and needles, and always having 'surgical conscience' and maintaining the sterility of the field and our tables. Well, I was in the circulator group first, and got to be the patient. It was weird, but relaxing. I was just zoning out behind the drape, while my peers stapled drapes around me and sutured my pants. Then we switched and I got to be the surgeon and demand instruments and make stitches in someone else's pants. The nurse who was watching us got very nervous when I picked up the scalpel and pretending to cut. The scalpel was clearly about 4 inches from the 'patient' and she jumped up and said "okay, enough with the scalpel." I guess I should accept that in the eyes of everyone else in the OR I am incompetent until proven otherwise. I will say, I am so SO thankful for the semester I spent in the OR in Saint Louis. At the time, I felt like an idiot who didn't know how to do anything, and was very insecure when I did do things, and moved really slowly because I was thinking SO much about what I doing and was paralyzed by self-doubt (which was quite frustrating for my preceptor). But I see how much that time helped, because now I do have confidence, and I can do things quickly and carefully, and its less annoying to the people trying to teach me.  Funny how I'm surprised when I look back and see that God did know what he was doing, after all.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

- Have you ever noticed the expression on someone's face right before they yawn? It's one of the grossest facial expressions I think I've ever seen, and I can't figure out why I never noticed that before. It's like they've smelled something disgusting, seen something terrifying, and are listening to the worst sound they've ever heard...all at once.

- Rachel's italics = Jeremy's CAPITALS