All The Pretty Girls Go To The City

I'm not claiming anything about myself, I'm just quoting Spoon.

Did you miss me? Did you even know I was gone? I guess I'm not posting frequently enough to have my absence be very glaring.

I just spent about 5 days in NYC visiting my friend, Tamara. She has a great apartment up in Washington Heights. The best two things about it are that she can have pets and that it is big enough for me to visit.

I got there late Friday night/early Saturday morning. And after looking for the elusive parking spot back at Tam's and then staying up too late girl-talking, we had a hard time waking up and getting going on Saturday.

Saturday, after getting up after 1pm, we wandered through Greenwich Village and Bleeker street. I've been to NYC many times but without mountains to orient myself, I sometimes get turned around when I first surface from the subway. So it took us a while to figure out the right section of Bleeker street. Luckily, like most of life, good things happen even with the wandering.

A few years ago, I had been introduced to Beard Papa's, a great little cream puff shop from Japan with stores in NYC. Tam and I decided it was a must see and must eat. We googled it but then surprise, when we came out of the subway, there was one we hadn't even planned on. Cream puffs while wandering! Joy!

I had 2 goals, new necklaces and a new hat. I found a great red necklace while "lost."

We finaly made our way over to Bleeker St, visited lots of cute shops, a very popular Italian bakery with an even more popular bathroom, and then decided to wait in the line for some delcious thin crust brick oven pizza at John's. This is where I took my only picture of the whole trip. I carried my camera every day but I'm terrible at remembering to use it. And this is it, Tam and I eating pizza and our celebrity "sighting" Johnny Depp's picture above our table. Of course, his is the only face blurred out by the flash.
Sunday we went our separate ways and each met up with college friends for brunch. I've known Serge since my junior year when a girl in my poetry study group took me to meet the guy she had a crush on. Sadly, her story with him didn't last very long, but he and I have remained friends. I couldn't make it to his wedding in February to the "Lovely Sabrina" due to being a poor student. Catching up with him over strawberry waffles, delicious. We then met up with Tam, went to H&M, where Serge offered to give his opinion on clothes and hold my purse. He had told me he was The World's Best Husband, and while I am not prone to believe self-proclaimed titles, after this, I might just believe him.

We then went over to 6th and 26th, an area full of antique stores and flea markets. Again, cute necklaces for sale and I was buying.

That night we went over to Union Square and again, just wandered. Trader Joe's recently opened there and anyone who knows me, reads either of my blogs, or has eaten at my house, knows, TJs is my favorite store and much missed now that I live in UT. But all that love wasn't enough to make me wait in the lines that wrapped around the entire store.

Monday, we met up for brunch with one of Tam's friends who was also visiting NYC. The food wasn't great but Ashley was lots of fun. Later that day, we stumbled across the City Bakery (stay away in Feb) we had heard of and knew they were famous for their "hot chocolate." I have to use quotes because it was really tepid chocolate soup. We each had about 3 sips and were done. Done with the "hot chocolate," done with food until much later that evening, and done with feeling good for the next few hours.

When we were ready for food, we were also ready to stop walking and relax. We decided to go to Whole Foods and get a smattering of favorites, go back to Tam's and then later go out to see Marie Antoinette. At Whole Foods, in addition to the delicious Indian samosas, Italian grilled veggies, Greek pasta salad, Thai coconut chicken, and French orangina, I had a REAL celebrity sighting. I saw, are you ready for it...

Sarah Chalke, from Scrubs! I know, not as great as Johnny Depp but she was a real person.

Dinner was delicious. We decided to get candy for the movie and although they seem to have taken over the city, we knew there wasn't a Duane Reade near the movie theater so we stopped at a bodega in Tam's Dominican neighborhood. And what should I find, Coffee Crisp. Canadian candy in a Dominican store in NYC, I love serendipitous moments.

Marie Antoinette? Meh. The movie got out so late that the next day we decided we would rather sleep that have a fancy brunch, although Tam did make some fancy pancakes. And that was it, we went to JFK, wondered if it was open because there were about 3 other cars there, and I flew back to SLC.

Thanks Tam for a great visit. Can't for March in Mexico!

Spatially Inept

I have never been good at things requiring spatial skills. I can finally read a map but that's about it. In wheelthown pottery, I could center it and thin the walls to get a great cylinder but could never get the shape I envisioned in my head into the clay. I can't do those questions on the SAT or IQ tests where you have to say which design on a flat paper will end up on top once the paper is folded into a box.

So I'm impressed by anyone who can.

Or anyone who can solve a Rubik's cube.

But I'm especially impressed by this guy. He takes one sheet of A4 paper, cuts it and folds it so that all the paper is still there, the flat part and the 3-D pop-up part are both amazing. This website has other projects of his too.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

I've had my nursing license since late June but I've been an employed nurse for only about 6 weeks.

It's been exciting:
Learning so much in such a short time
Meeting lots of new people that I work with
Starting my first IV
Placing my first NG tube

But last week was hard. I started night shift, which I like but is always difficult at first. The initial sleep deprivation causes me to not regulate my temperature as well, feel really cold, stops my digestive system (ewww, sorry), and I'm more emotional.

Most of the patients I see are fairly healthy, have a procedure, get some meds, and go on with their lives. Last week was different. 3 of my patients, all under 35, had cancer. Big, scary, spreading cancer. Add to that patients who wake up to find that the accident wasn't only painful, they had to have major surgeries, and their family died. Plus there were language barriers. I speak French, they didn't. Lots of other staff speak Spanish, still they didn't. So I can only use small sentences, hope they understand the call light and how to call me, hope they know the words for water and pain pill when I ask if they need anything, hope a smile translates well.

It was frustrating. It was disheartening. It was part of life as a nurse. Learning to shut off part (but not all) of your emotions so that you can help them rather than just curl up in the corner and cry, so that you can move on to the next patient, so that you can sleep when you get home, so that you can go back the next day.

Maybe It Is Time For That Microdermabrasion...

10 year ago today I went into the MTC to then go on a mission to Geneva Switzerland. YIKES!

You Can Take The Girl Out Of Oregon But...

I'm wondering if I'm the only person in Salt Lake that is excited today is a cool, overcast, rainy, Saturday. I guess the skiers are happy too.

I know I just happy to have my new down comforter. It's warm and toasty and I love the kinda crunchy sound it makes when I wrap up in it.

Mish-Mash of an Update

I've been in Salt Lake for a little over a month now.

I've started my job at the University of Utah hospital. Everyone is friendly, helpful, and I'm learning a ton. I'm in orientation still which means I spend 8 weeks adjusting to the floor before they let me free to take care of patients on my own. I'm sure the patients are happy about that.

I just spent the last 3 days in a nursing orientation that was lots of 30 minute - 1 hour lessons on all sorts of hospital stuff. The MRI part was the best. We saw a video describing the dangers of the magnet and then actually showed wrenched and buckets smashing through bricks to get to the magnet. Sadly, I couldn't find a video online, but here are some pictures, including a chair and an oxygen tank, plus a video of a chair being removed.




So life is good, meeting new people, finally all unpacked and into my cute apartment, had a delicious birthday dinner with a beautiful lemon cake AND a dark chocolate cake too, and I'm in a ward where I am among the youngest people there, that's unusual at 33.

Pre-Partum Blues

First things first - I'm not pregnant.

I meant pre-partum from Portland.

Everyone keeps asking me if I'm so excited to move and, yes, I am but...

I'm also sad to leave Portland. I've lived here 7 years, the longest I've ever lived anywhere I wasn't born. This is my home or at least one of my homes. In some ways, this is where my life, adult life, began, this is where I grew up. And it's beautiful, artsy, weird, green, near the mountains and coast, and home to most of my current friends.

It would seem that the move would be more real because of the piles of moving boxes I've been filling and this morning put into the moving "pod" or selling my kitchen table and chairs. But it really hits me when I realize I will have to change all my car radio presets or when especially when I check the weather and realize I don't need a full 10-day forecast anymore.

So yes, I'm excited and hopeful about the future, but some of my heart stays here.

I also have to say thanks to everyone who helped me move today: Elizabeth, Laura, Sara, David, Jeff, and Jon...I couldn't have done it without you.

I'm Back But I'm Also Leaving

I'm back on this blog thing...I'm moving out of Oregon.

A lot has happened since my last post a month ago. I took the NCLEX (the licensing boards for nurses) and passed. I guess I said that in the last post but it's a big deal!!!

I had been thinking about moving when I graduated for a while and finally decided that I would do it. I'm moving to Salt Lake City.

KaRyn, a friend from Portland who now lives in SLC, came to visit for July 4th so I drove back with her and then stayed through Sunday. I spent all of Thursday walking around looking for an apartment. SLC has lots of hills and my calves were so tight the next day. I found a cute apartment in an old house that is now 4 apartments in the Avenues section on SLC.


Then on Friday I had 4 interviews. I accepted a job at the University of Utah hospital on a telemetry floor (that's cardiac monitoring). Everyone I met on that floor from the manager to the person who gave me a tour to a nursing student who introduced himself were so incredibly friendly, I think it will be a great place to work. Now I just have to buy scrubs.

Things are going well, although it is far too hot in Portland to want to spend any time packing boxes, it's hard enough to ever want to do that, but especially when it's 100 degrees in the non-air-conditioned Pacific NW. More on the packing, move, and thoughts on that later.

Graaaaaaduate, Good Times, Come On!

It has been a busy few weeks.

I had my last final on June 12.

I graduated on June 17. Nursing schools have pinning ceremonies.
My Mom, Grandma, Aunt Patty, Aunt Elizabeth, and her 3 kids Cady, Maddie, and Michael all came to see it.

So did 2 friends, Kathryn and Tamara. I really appreciated all the support and love.
After the ceremony, we went to dinner at Everett Street Bistro. If you haven't been, you should go. So good and my outfit matched the decor. My Uncle Mike was very distraught that my school didn't have nurse's caps so my mom made some and each family decorated one for me. When I asked my Aunt Patty if I looked dumb, she just laughed. I meant dumber than I should with handmade decorated caps on my head.
On Thursday the 22nd, I took the NCLEX, the national boards for nurses.

It takes a couple days to get the results so I threw a party on Friday night to celebrate the graduation and distract me from waiting for the NCLEX results.

Tamara made me this super-cute cake!
I got to bed at 2am, but I woke up at 7am and couldn't go back to sleep, wondering if my score was in. So I got up and checked. And it was. It took me 3 tries to get all my info and credit card number entered correctly to get my score, I was nervous and sleepy. But I finally was able to get my results.

It's official and legal, I'm a nurse!

7 Down - 5 Letters - Big Screen Entertainment

I should be writing about my graduation yesterday and I will soon but I just found out about this movie, Wordplay. It's about crossword puzzles and competitions. It's a documentary with Will Shortz, the guy who creates the NYTimes puzzles and is also the puzzle master on NPR. Plus Jon Stewart. I have liked him for at least 10 years, especially after I heard he proposed to his wife in a crossword puzzle.

The movie opens next Friday, the same day as my graduation party. I've never semi-regretted having a party. So this is my new mantra, "I can wait for the movie..."