Maybe someday

I have realized that I could never be a critic or reviewer of any kind. (Okay, really, there are lots of things I could never be...). I have an almost total inability to communicate in a 'big picture' kind of way, and am constantly getting tangled up in details. Any time I try to describe what it is about a book or movie that I love to another human, I fail pretty miserably. I love details too much.

That said, I do think that someday I would like to try and write something and send it out into the world. Since finishing school and getting a little more comfortable at work, my brain has been demanding an outlet. Recently I've started carrying around a little notebook (not a moleskin, for readers of Stuff White People Like), and find myself writing sentences/paragraphs/passages as they come to me. Nothing very interesting or worth reading, but experiences and observations and stories. It's sort of becoming something that I must do when the urge strikes, much like having no choice when your bladder signals that it's full :)

Maybe in the next 10 years I will develop enough discipline to write something worthwhile.

But sometimes I forget...

I've been feeling oddly nostalgic lately. Whatever it is about a time and place that carves a spot for itself inside your heart...and then tugs at susceptible moments (Like, for instance, during 'crazy week' which you only understand if you're a woman... or happen to live with a woman...or have ever met a woman). Anyway, things I have recently found myself longing for include: St. George Island (and the people who vacation there), Jeremy and Shannon's former house in Memphis (and the people who reside there), random places in the Lou like my favorite Thai restaurant in the loop, the Barnes & Noble that I used to work at in Chesterfield, and the lake across the street from my parent's house where I took Tessa for walks. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm still glad that I'm here, and have no desire whatsoever to move back to St Louis. Just, like I said, feeling nostalgic. 

I have a print hanging on my wall that I found in an art boutique down the street. This is what it looks like:

This is what the words say: 

"The heart aches for One Great Love. Life does not seem as wonderful as we dreamed it would be. Happiness is not as complete as we thought it would be. The heart is not full. Missing something. How can we miss something that we have not yet lost, nor ever really had? Are our spirits so connected? Why do we dream of something more? Poignant, piercing feelings as we stand in that crowded room. Alone. Unbearable desires. Passion looks for an opening. An open window. But we stay in our shells, our boxes, our houses. We get up. We go to work. We eat. We sleep. We smile, but our eyes have no light, no life. Open, but we are closed. But the heart aches for One Great Love. Just open the door. Open the door, and go forward. Outward. Toward. Courage gives us the power to move the heart. Opening the windows of the soul."

Something about it resonates with me, and it's also pretty to look at :)

What are the times/places that you find yourself missing for no apparent reason?

View from the Top

Happy 5th of July, everybody! My three-day weekend has been nice and busy. Amy's friend Ray is in town visiting from Chicago, and I've joined them for a couple of adventures. 

On Friday, in spite of what happened the last time I went hiking with Amy, we (Amy, her roommate Daniel, Ray, and I) drove east into the mountains to climb up to Rattlesnake Ridge. It was a much shorter, much easier hike than Lake Serene, but it still kicked my butt (perhaps because I've been to the gym only once in the last month). There is also a certain amount of mental fortitude needed to climb up a mountain (of any size), and I'm just not sure I have it. Will work on that.

The view from the ridge was pretty nice...okay, amazing.

Lake at the trailhead in which hordes of people were frolicking. It would be the perfect place to bring a kayak. 

Amy and Daniel took a 'jumping' picture, and though they were very safe about it (and far from the edge), a concerned bystander scolded them and said, "somebody died here a few weeks ago doing that." Which is true. Cannot imagine seeing that happen.

Amy has been here three times now. It's her favorite hike for visitors to Seattle, and in her opinion, the best view from the top.

Here is a friendly chipmunk. Daniel and I offered him tasty cashews which he loved. We thought it was funny that he liked to eat them perched at close to the edge as possible. 

After returning to civilization, Amy, Ray, and I went out for some delicious Indian food. I think the closest thing I've had to Indian food before this was when I visited England at the age of 13, and our family friends (Eric & Emma) prepared a delicious (and spicy) curry. Anyway, I ordered chicken tikka masala, and was not disappointed. Keeping with the theme 'India' (and because neither Ray nor I had seen it), after dinner we all came back to my place and watched Slumdog Millionaire. 

I've put off going to the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle, because it costs money. Having grown up in a city with a really nice zoo that is free...I didn't see the point of paying to look at animals. But after spending a day there, I must admit it is a very nice zoo, and it supports/lead conservation efforts around the world. I learned a lot, and will gladly return. It will be especially fun to take my niece(s) and nephew(s) there when they are old enough to appreciate it.

Checking out the map at the start of our day.

Giraffe. He got excited and started running around in circles in his enclosure. It was fun to watch...you could tell he was having a blast.

Amy, Ray, and I in a replica of a primary school in a Kenyan village. Actually, the village is modeled after the one Jabes (pronounced Jah-base) grew up in. He has worked with/for the zoo.

This would be my 'bedroom' if I lived in a Kenyan village. It was interesting to see how things in a rural east African village differ from an urban west African one.

Behold, the most fearsome creature in all of Africa! 

Amy and I aren't scared of no stinkin' hippos (when they're fake).

This Macaque gave us a pursed-lips, chin-up gesture like any other cool guy would have :)

El Tigre. Heehee...it reminds me of Calvin & Hobbes: 

"Tiger sprawling in the sun!

Fast asleep, his day is done.

Lying here, 'twas warmth he sought.

The sun has make his tummy hot.

One sad fact he overlooked:

His brain is now completely cooked!"

Wolf pups. Even though they're fake, I love them. I only caught a glimpse of a real wolf. 

River otters. This was hands-down my favorite exhibit. They swam back and forth, and did flips and twirls in the water. You could tell how much they LOVED swimming.

I could have watched them frolic for hours. Also, if I had shape-shifter powers and could turn into any animal...I'm pretty sure I'd want to be an otter.

For your viewing pleasure....

After the zoo, Amy and Ray were heading down to the park for Seattle's sweaty-mass-of-humanity 4th of July celebration. I wasn't in the mood for that, and spent the afternoon relaxing in my 80 degree apartment (stupid wave of heat!). I went out for dinner with my roommate and her family, then watched the fireworks from our rooftop deck. It was great, we had an unobstructed view and didn't have to fight hordes of people afterward. Fun day...

Hakuna Matata

I woke up one day this week with that song playing in my head on repeat. I don't particularly feel 'worry-less' right now, but I'm enjoying the pace of things here as summer stretches out in the distance. Summer officially begins in Seattle (I've been told) on July 5th, because it's almost always cold and rainy on the 4th. The weather has been uncharacteristically sunny and warm recently, which is fine by me (except as it affects public transportation, which I will address below). 

Work has been...work. Things are a little more exciting, what with more people out and about and hurting themselves. Some days are great, others are terrible...such is life, right? I'm certainly starting to feel comfortable in certain areas (and with certain doctors), and have even had to be a preceptor a couple of times. While I feel kind of unqualified for teaching a new person, it has helped me realize how far I've come and how much I've really learned. I still love spines, and get to do them fairly regularly. Consequently, those are the only cases where I really feel like I know what I'm doing. 

I had to go in and 'help' with a crash a few weeks ago. I've never felt so helpless in my life. There were tons of people in the room, blood was everywhere, and I didn't do much aside from running out to try and find an instrument that they needed. When I got back to the room, they didn't need the instrument anymore...they had decided that the internal injuries were too extensive to continue. Lots of 'firsts' for me; things I didn't want to learn or have to think about or do...but things that will be necessary for me to know to be able to do my job. 

On a lighter note, my friend Amy is great at meeting great people, which resulted in the two of us going over to Jabes (a new friend from Kenya)'s apartment last weekend. He cooked us a delicious dinner (which we ate without utensils), and talked and hung out for a couple of hours (while African music played in the background). It was wonderful. Perhaps Amy and I will start saving up for a trip to Kenya, now that we know people there :)

As the weather gets nicer and the days get longer, riding the bus becomes infinitely more annoying. People flock to the city from who knows where (because it is admittedly a great place to spend a beautiful day), and clog the public transit system. It's especially bad on Thursday and Friday. A bus ride that takes 20 minutes in the morning will take an hour in the evening. And the nice weather makes all the crazies just a little bit crazier. Fun times. Come visit me and I promise you can have your very own Seattle nutjob encounter. 

Nick & Katrina 2009

It's always kind of awkward to write a post about an event that the majority of readers of my blog also attended, nonetheless, here goes...

I flew into Chicago the Wednesday before my cousin Katie's wedding. Of course I sat next to a businessman who flies all the time, and therefore enjoys passing the time on flights by having awkward, getting-to-know-you conversations with the unfortunate passenger next to him. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's nice to chat and learn all about the details of a stranger's life...but not when there are no means of escape for 4 hours.

Nick and Katie picked me up from the airport, and we spent the next several hours in the car (due to an airport mixup that I won't go into, beyond asking: is Midway really necessary? Really?). It was fun though, in an unexpected road trip kind of way. Also, if anyone enjoys the rush of adrenaline when one is sort of afraid one might die, but doesn't want to pay for skydiving lessons...ride with Nick on the highway :) He could have a second career in NASCAR.

On Wednesday night, Katie and I had a medley of Katie/Rachel traditions (which sadly did not include any games of Rummy). It did include a delicious meal of empanadas and margaritas at On the Border, ice cream at Colonial, and a last minute arts & crafts project for the wedding. 

Cousin friends! "I can't believe you're getting married on Saturday!!!" "I can't believe I'm getting married on Saturday!!!"

I honestly don't remember what we did all day on Thursday. I'm pretty sure it involved 5 or 6 hours of running errands...there are faint memory remnants of going to Target, Kinkos, Michael's. Oh yeah, and spilling coffee on my foot at Panera. 

On Thursday evening, we headed into the city for Katie's bachelorette party. Her sister Melissa hosted a LOVELY dinner at her apartment. There were restaurant-quality cocktails, appetizers, and a delicious meal. And for dessert there were inappropriately shaped cookies :) It was one of those dinners that feels like an event in and of itself, and lasts for hours. After dinner, we went to Howl at the Moon, a piano bar. It was a fun evening, in spite of obnoxious guy in a red shirt, who kept bugging us to get up and dance with him. There were many amusing people to watch, among them leopard print shirt lady, making-out British couple, and large contingent of Portuguese people. I think I've officially crossed the threshold into adulthood (or middle-aged-hood?)...I had a better time at the dinner party than the bar. 

The ambience, as well as the food, was wonderful.

We camped out at Melissa's place that night, where I apparently, sat up and spoke gibberish in my sleep. I guess I talk in my sleep sometimes...usually when I'm very exhausted or stressed out. I'm going to blame this episode on exhaustion, as I hadn't gotten my customary 12-hours of sleep (on my days off).

Friday was pretty low key. Once we got back from the city, I went shopping for a dress for the rehearsal dinner with my sister-in-law Amie while Katie went to get her nails done. It was fun to spend some time shopping with her...it's one of our 'things' and I can't walk into a mall without thinking about Amie and wishing she were with me. end sappy moment

The rehearsal and dinner had an air of anticipation about them...the fun night-before-the-big-show feeling. 

Finally Saturday arrived. My parents were kind enough to swing by Katie's house with a large coffee for me, which is a necessary start for any good day. Several of the bridesmaids went with Katie to get our hair done at a local salon. I had a picture of what I wanted, and was quite pleased with the result. Actually, pretty much everyone's hair looked fabulous when we left. 

Katrina, the bride to be. Please note her veil in the background.

Back at Katie's, things were a flurry of getting dressed and made-up. We took some pictures and then got into the limo (my first limo ride ever) and headed for the church. 

The ceremony itself was lovely and without any major or minor hiccups. Even the 6 children involved did exactly what they were supposed to. My only complaint was my shoes. My feet did not like them very much, and I felt like I was shifting my weight every three seconds because of it. Oh well, at least nobody passed out.

The reception was really fun. I got to sit next to Katie's friend Nicole, who is awesome, at the head table. We were of course served before the riffraff (as was our right as the 'wedding nobility'). The food was delicious, and there were some heartwarming speeches and videos. And then...dancing. I had previously decided that I was going to dance all night, and not worry if I looked stupid doing it. That decision proved to be a good one...the party was a blast (in spite of DJ's who always insist on waiting till the end to play requested songs...which never makes any sense to me).

After everything was over, I took a long bath in my huge jacuzzi tub and removed the 300 bobby pins from my hair. Then I climbed into my king sized bed and had some highly satisfying sleep.

Sunday was brunch at Pheasant Run (another one of those four hour meals).

Here I am saluting Captain Amie. Her ensemble was very nautical.

Russian picture. These really do go much more smoothly when Jon is not involved...he cannot keep from smiling.

This is such a Jeff expression. I have seen it many, many times throughout the years.  

Not sure what he's looking at, but he doesn't like it. 

Xavs McDroolygums and BigNose McGee. WE'RE WATCHING YOU.

After brunch, the party moved to Ruth & Tracy's. We enjoyed many hours underneath the pergola and learned that our family is full of mortadella vultures. 

Thea loved her cousin Xavi (and he loved her too!). If he looks strangely creepy, it's because I tried to fix his red-eye in this picture. I may have overcompensated. 

Lanterns and snugglies. Eating, talking, laughing all day long...this is why I love my family. And a good picture to end on.

Memorial Day Hike: a chronicle in pictures

As many of you know, I come from a family that enjoys hiking. Growing up, I spent many a spring/summer/fall day hiking at Babler State park or Rockwood, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I was pretty excited to try out some of the great hiking trails I've heard about since moving here. Amy's roommate Luke is an avid outdoorsman (likely descended from a line of yeti-people), and he recommended a trail to us for our Memorial day hike. He was even kind enough to lend us a guidebook and parking pass...thanks, Luke, if you're reading this! We learned that the total hike was 7.2 miles, with an elevation gain of 2000 feet, passing Bridal Veil Falls, and ending at the aptly-named Lake Serene.

On Sunday night, Amy and I geared up for the next day. I purchased a backpack and water bottle (as I haven't used a backpack with two straps since highschool), and gathered up supplies including but not limited to: my Leatherman, a flashlight (just in case), Band-aids, extra socks, a windbreaker, toilet paper, and trash bags. I felt pretty confident that we were as prepared as possible for whatever might happen. 

We set out on Monday around 10am. The drive to the trail head took an hour and 20 minutes, due east into the Cascades. The weather was lovely, and had been lovely all weekend, and Amy and I noticed that traffic heading back towards Seattle was quite backed up. Oh well, we said, hopefully by this evening it will be better...

We parked in a large gravel parking lot, and set out. 

 

Here we are, fresh faced and excited at the beginning of our hike. The forest was beautiful and very pacific-northwest-y...with lots of moss everywhere. 

Amy crossing a treacherous bridge. It was just a small creek about 5 five feet below. 

The trail was pretty flat and only mildly strenuous for the first leg. It was cool enough under the trees that t-shirts and long pants were comfortable.

By the time we reached Bridal Veil Falls, the t-shirt had come off, and the spray of the waterfall felt so nice. Kinda like those misting showers on a hot day at Six Flags :)

You just don't get waterfalls like this at Rockwoods.

So refreshed, and ready to keep going. Little did we know what was waiting ahead...

As we climbed, the views got prettier.

Amy hugging a giant log.

Lest you make the same mistake, let me take a moment to expound on an elevation gain of 2000 feet. It may seem like nothing, when you're at the gym working out on an elliptical machine or stationary bike. But when you're climbing a mountain, it is endless rocks, stairs, and switchbacks of DEATH! I did feel, on several occasions, that my heart was likely to explode. Thankfully, it didn't. Equally nice was having a hiking companion who was willing to let me rest whenever I needed to (for the prevention of an exploding heart). For a very long time, I could no longer be bothered with taking pictures, as it took all I had to make it up the mountain. 

On our way up, we passed several people heading back down the trail. Occasionally, in desperation, I would ask if we were nearing the top. One charming 10-year old boy in a shark t-shirt replied, "Not really. It's still pretty far." I wanted to launch the kid off the side of the mountain.

We finally reached this waterfall, which I knew from the map was close to the end of the trail. 

On crossing the water, we met with this site:

Yes, that is our trail disappearing beneath two feet of snow. 

But never fear, some intrepid hikers before us made a trail on top of the snow. Sure, it was melting and slippery in places. Once my leg went through to the knee (thankfully without injuring anything). And there were places where there was nothing stopping you from sliding a very long distance down the mountain if the snow trail should happen to give out. Continuing on was perhaps not the smartest or safest decision we've ever made, but after climbing up the mountain, not making it all the way to the lake was unthinkable.

And we got views like this one.

Here's Amy, at the end of our 1/2 mile snow field and on top the world. We were about to go around a bend and reach our lunch destination, Lake Serene.

One photo (or several) really cannot capture the magnificence.

We also decided it was kind of a bummer that snow still covered so much of the lake. 

But it was warm and sunny and beautiful, and full of happy people (and several frisky dogs) who had reached their destination. 

We relaxed on this log and ate our lunch. Few meals have been so satisfying in my life. 

I drank WAY more water on the way up then I was anticipating. I ended up filling this water bottle from a briskly-flowing, ice-cold stream we had passed on our way through the snow field. I was thirsty enough to risk it. So if I start to go crazy anytime soon, tell the doctors it's probably due to some sort of parasitic encephalopathy from drinking mountain water.

The "trail" near the top.

Wouldn't mind building a little log cabin and having this view every day.

The way down was easier on the muscles, but harder on the joints. Amy and I were kind of silly (not to mention exhausted), and she decided she really liked this 'rock statue.' She has an equally ridiculous picture of me posing as a mountain gnome outside of a cave. I will add it to this post when I get it from her.

Miscellaneous:

- The couple who passed us on the way up who were running. They passed us again on their way down (while we were still going up).

- This hike was supposed to take 5 hours. It took us 6. I told Amy that an obese-person modification addendum needs to be put in the guide book. 

- It was very strange to be comfortable in a tank-top while walking on/surrounded by snow. It made my brain hurt a little.

- Did you know you could get blisters on the instep of your foot? You can, and they can be two inches long. 

I'm glad we did it, and glad that no one fell off the mountain or got eaten by a bear. Of course, that traffic we had passed on the way to the trail head now reached the trail head. Two-lane highway going into the mountains + city-dwellers who love camping/hiking/rafting + holiday weekend = seriously annoying traffic jam at the end of a very physically strenuous day when all I wanted was a bottle of Vitamin water and a shower. Whatev. I'm just glad that my legs still work and haven't decided to secede from my body because of what I put them through. Thanks, legs! And thank you, readers. What did you do for Memorial day?

My Big Fat Leavenworth Weekend

My friend Amy and I really love the church we go to. We've been attending since September, but find it challenging to get involved because we both have pretty variable schedules. So a few months ago we decided to sign up for the women's retreat... and this past weekend we attended it.

The retreat was located in Leavenworth, WA (www.leavenworth.org) a Bavarian-themed mountain town about 2 hours east of Seattle. The drive out on Friday was beautiful, once we got past Seattle traffic.

Amy and I stopped by the side of the road to admire the view and take a photo shoot on the way there. Please note the tiny crescent moon that can be seen directly above Amy's head.

Through the pass. Amy and I discussed how we would survive an avalanche should one occur while we were driving. We decided our best option would be to roll down one of the back windows so we could escape from the car once it was buried. Any thoughts?

There was a patch of hillside across the street from our Inn that was fenced in and contained three goats. This goat stared at me as I approached and I took its picture. 

The May pole at the center of the Bavarian shopping district. 

The weather was gray and rainy on Saturday, but we went for a nature walk and shopping trip anyway. There was a cool trail that wound around the river and through woods. It was crazy to me how green it smelled. I guess I haven't really been away from city in a long time. 

The shop devoted entirely to large lifelike dolls was only the tip of the iceberg of kitschy, ridiculous things on sale in Leavenworth. The dolls featured in this picture were about 3 feet tall...I should have stood next to them for sizing purposes, but didn't want to get that close in case they turned into zombie dolls tried to kill me. It seemed quite plausible at the time.

This delicious cinnamon roll explains the "big fat" part of my weekend. Each morning there was a breakfast buffet complete with omelets made to order and so-tasty-they-have-to-be-loaded-with-fat baked goods. Add the baked potato bar for the lunch, the bavarian bratwurst at the beergarten for dinner, and the cute welcoming bags of M&M's that greeted us on arrival...and you start to get the picture. 

We awoke on Sunday to blazing sunshine. The dining room was on the top (4th) floor of the Inn and filled with windows. It was an enjoyable place to dine.

This adorable man in lederhosen played a song on his Alphorn each morning. He's been doing it for 25 years. 

Oops, I forgot to remove my name tag. 

View from the balcony.
Charming decorative deer heads on the wall in the dining room. I like to pretend that they can communicate with one another telepathically and spend their days exchanging snarky commentary about the tourists. 

Amy and I were thrilled to find a 'picnic spot' on our way home. We enjoyed delicious Subway sandwiches on a rock next to a river.

This hawk ate lunch with us. We saw him swoop down from his nest and grab a fish out of the river. 

Amy was very, very glad she didn't fall in.

It was more difficult than you'd think getting up on that rock in flip-flops.

My toes started to go numb in the 3 seconds that they were submerged...

Because this slab of snow and many others like it feed into the river. I still want to go white water rafting though. I will buy a wetsuit if necessary...

Amy's favorite sign. She likes that it just declares: ROCKS.

So, it was fun meeting/hanging out with women who go to my church. The three other girls in our room were pretty great, and we exchanged contact info with several people we met. That said, I'm not sure that I'm a women's retreat kind of person. Not going to elaborate much on that...

In five days I'm flying down to meet my family in St. George Island! Things I'm looking forward to:

-my niece and nephew...both of whom are cute little chub-chubs out of the 'slug phase' 

-three dogs to cuddle with

-white sand beaches

-an ocean that is warm enough to swim in

-kayaking!

I will post about it soon...