As promised to my sister, this is my new home in Wasilla, Alaska! Don't judge me for the poor video skills :)
Other Summer things
10 years ago
Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Another novel by Andrea
I apologize for again blabbering on and on in these posts, but my blog doubles as my journal -- kill two birds with one stone ya know?
I wrote this while I was flying to Tasmania:
Differences between Australian airports and American airports: I never once showed any identification, I didn’t have to take off my shoes or my jacket, I took liquids in containers larger than 3 ounces, I was allowed to take aerosols on, they didn’t confiscate my little nail scissors.
Surfing experience: I went surfing for the very first time on Saturday April 10. I almost didn’t go because I was sick and had only slept about 4 hours the night before, but I ended up going anyway and am SO glad that I did. It was an absolute blast. I woke up at 6:30 and took the bus into the CBD and then the ferry over to Manly. The surf guide picked a group of 4 of us up at Manly wharf in his beat up van (totally surfer style) and drove us over to Dee Why beach. The other 3 people were lovely – I can’t remember their names for the life of me, but I enjoyed spending the entire day with them. One was a cute boy from Georgia who is living here in Australia for the next year working for the Neilson ratings company. The other two girls were here from Canada for a conference. We got to the beach and the surf guide provided us with wet suits and surfboards, and we headed to the sand. Our instructor was a 19 year old surfer dude who grew up surfing at Dee Why. I quickly realized that (a) I would get more help with surfing and (b) it would be more fun if I worked it with the kid a little bit. Don’t judge me J. So anyway, the walk from the van to the beach carrying the surfboard felt like a mile, but it was probably only a couple hundred meters. My arm felt like it was going to fall off by the time we set the surfboards down though. Not the best start J. I was using a soft longboard that was freaking heavy. We then practiced paddling and standing up on the beach. MUCH, MUCH harder than I expected and I wasn’t even in the water yet. You have to be pretty quick to pop up onto the board, and it is a pretty narrow board! If you have never been surfing try this – put a line of tape on the floor and lie on your stomach on it. Then jump from your stomach to your feet in one smooth movement without stepping more than 3 inches on either side of the line. All four of us kinda started to break a sweat just practicing. Then we headed into the water and started catching some waves. Again, WAY harder than I expected – standing up on such an unstable surface takes talent! We were catching waves that weren’t very big at all, thank goodness! The surf instructor (I think his name was Tom) would push us into the wave from behind as we paddled and then we would try to stand up. I caught on pretty quickly, but I found that I had to get to my knees first and then up to my feet – not the most effective way to do it. And I definitely ate A LOT of salt water, or “stacked it” as the Aussies say. Interestingly, it is a quite effective remedy for a cold—clears your sinuses right out. It was so fun. I got along really well with the other people there and I tried to be really friendly and cheer everyone on and create conversation as we waited for the good waves. We were out there for 2 hours and then we came in for lunch. The surf guide provided us with stuff for a gourmet sandwich and some Cadbury eggs. After lunch, we took a little 20 minute snooze and then it was back to the ocean for some more lessons with a different instructor. This one was named Jemma and older than the first, and definitely had the cute surfer thing going on. Still probably younger than me, but a girl can’t be too picky. However, I did find it rather annoying that he had better hair than me. Dang you surfer dudes with pretty hair. We went back and surfed for 2 more hours, in which time I think I digressed in my surfing abilities. But the water was beautiful and it turned out to be a nice sunny day and it was just a good time. Then our surf guide took us for a little driving tour of the area and showed us different beaches and lookout points before taking us back to Manly wharf! I then walked to Manly beach and rested my weary little head for 2 hours til the sun went down.
The night before I went out with my coworkers after a management meeting and it was the WORST night ever. The meeting was after work on the 11th floor, which had views of the Harbor and the Opera House and all of Eastern Suburbs. I would never leave the office if I had a view like that! The meeting wasn’t too bad because I got to hear all of their marketing and business strategies. However, at one point they started taking about the clinical education program and wanted my feedback and I got so flustered cuz they were all looking at me and I turned bright red and I literally started sweating. I was so embarrassed. But I couldn’t help it! It just happens – I can’t control the redness! The meeting started at 5:30 and at 6:30 they brought in the wine and I had to tell about 3 people that I didn’t want any, and then the secretary asked if I wanted beer or tea or coffee or coke, which I didn’t want either and they just thought that was so bizarre. The meeting lasted til 8:00 and my stomach was imploding by that time! I’m usually starting in on my post-dinner snack by then! We all headed over to a Japanese restaurant, at which point I again had to repeat that I didn’t want anything but water to drink. No. No. No. Everyone was just making sure that I was taken care of, but I got tired of saying no. No I don’t want coffee either. Water is fine. No I’m not just being polite, I really just drink water normally. No I don’t want a coke. No, Mormons are allowed to drink caffeine, I just don’t think it tastes good. Then they started passing around the food plates (we were all just sharing a ton of different dishes), most of which were sushi, which conveniently, I don’t like either. Mormons aren’t allowed to eat sushi? No, fools, I just don’t like it. So I ended up getting fed up with saying no and eating some of the freaking sushi. I literally had to gag it down. I have this talent where I can plug my nose without actually touching it, so I did that and chewed each piece maybe twice and practically swallowed the stupid thing whole. The rest of the evening was spent telling drinking stories and telling dirty jokes. Andrea why are you being so quiet? Because I have nothing to contribute to this conversation and I feel completely out of place! And the dinner went on and on and on…. And I’m thinking, I hope my bus runs this late. I didn’t end up getting out of there until 11:00. Luckily, my bus runs every 20 minutes until midnight. Now, I really like all of the people that I work with and they have been very kind to me and I think they are great people, so don’t get the wrong impression. But it is just difficult to be so different from everyone else. They just don’t understand why I don’t drink even coffee, why I don’t have sex, why I wear weird white underwear, etc. It isn’t that I wish that I could participate in the drinking or that lifestyle or whatever, it is just frustrating to feel on the outside because of your beliefs. And I’m getting really tired of hearing the F word.
Other random notes: The short shorts for boys fashion is much more popular here. The Aussie men like to show a little leg. This can make for some very awkward moments when you are in a physiotherapy clinic and ask them to bend in different directions to assess their injury. But, there seem to be a lot of awkward moments since modesty is apparently not a concern for most of our patients. You would think that if you knew you had a physio appointment and you knew they were going to have you take your shirt off, you would AT LEAST wear a bra that isn’t see through. Apparently that is just me though.
The Australian’s know how to do mayonnaise. That is quite a compliment coming from me. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m kinda a mayo connoisseur. Their mayo isn’t as thick as American mayo and they have tons of different flavors. It just makes sandwiches that much better. I won’t be bringing many souvenirs home from Australia, except for food items: chocolate and mayonnaise.
That is all the randomness I have at the moment.
I wrote this while I was flying to Tasmania:
Differences between Australian airports and American airports: I never once showed any identification, I didn’t have to take off my shoes or my jacket, I took liquids in containers larger than 3 ounces, I was allowed to take aerosols on, they didn’t confiscate my little nail scissors.
Surfing experience: I went surfing for the very first time on Saturday April 10. I almost didn’t go because I was sick and had only slept about 4 hours the night before, but I ended up going anyway and am SO glad that I did. It was an absolute blast. I woke up at 6:30 and took the bus into the CBD and then the ferry over to Manly. The surf guide picked a group of 4 of us up at Manly wharf in his beat up van (totally surfer style) and drove us over to Dee Why beach. The other 3 people were lovely – I can’t remember their names for the life of me, but I enjoyed spending the entire day with them. One was a cute boy from Georgia who is living here in Australia for the next year working for the Neilson ratings company. The other two girls were here from Canada for a conference. We got to the beach and the surf guide provided us with wet suits and surfboards, and we headed to the sand. Our instructor was a 19 year old surfer dude who grew up surfing at Dee Why. I quickly realized that (a) I would get more help with surfing and (b) it would be more fun if I worked it with the kid a little bit. Don’t judge me J. So anyway, the walk from the van to the beach carrying the surfboard felt like a mile, but it was probably only a couple hundred meters. My arm felt like it was going to fall off by the time we set the surfboards down though. Not the best start J. I was using a soft longboard that was freaking heavy. We then practiced paddling and standing up on the beach. MUCH, MUCH harder than I expected and I wasn’t even in the water yet. You have to be pretty quick to pop up onto the board, and it is a pretty narrow board! If you have never been surfing try this – put a line of tape on the floor and lie on your stomach on it. Then jump from your stomach to your feet in one smooth movement without stepping more than 3 inches on either side of the line. All four of us kinda started to break a sweat just practicing. Then we headed into the water and started catching some waves. Again, WAY harder than I expected – standing up on such an unstable surface takes talent! We were catching waves that weren’t very big at all, thank goodness! The surf instructor (I think his name was Tom) would push us into the wave from behind as we paddled and then we would try to stand up. I caught on pretty quickly, but I found that I had to get to my knees first and then up to my feet – not the most effective way to do it. And I definitely ate A LOT of salt water, or “stacked it” as the Aussies say. Interestingly, it is a quite effective remedy for a cold—clears your sinuses right out. It was so fun. I got along really well with the other people there and I tried to be really friendly and cheer everyone on and create conversation as we waited for the good waves. We were out there for 2 hours and then we came in for lunch. The surf guide provided us with stuff for a gourmet sandwich and some Cadbury eggs. After lunch, we took a little 20 minute snooze and then it was back to the ocean for some more lessons with a different instructor. This one was named Jemma and older than the first, and definitely had the cute surfer thing going on. Still probably younger than me, but a girl can’t be too picky. However, I did find it rather annoying that he had better hair than me. Dang you surfer dudes with pretty hair. We went back and surfed for 2 more hours, in which time I think I digressed in my surfing abilities. But the water was beautiful and it turned out to be a nice sunny day and it was just a good time. Then our surf guide took us for a little driving tour of the area and showed us different beaches and lookout points before taking us back to Manly wharf! I then walked to Manly beach and rested my weary little head for 2 hours til the sun went down.
The night before I went out with my coworkers after a management meeting and it was the WORST night ever. The meeting was after work on the 11th floor, which had views of the Harbor and the Opera House and all of Eastern Suburbs. I would never leave the office if I had a view like that! The meeting wasn’t too bad because I got to hear all of their marketing and business strategies. However, at one point they started taking about the clinical education program and wanted my feedback and I got so flustered cuz they were all looking at me and I turned bright red and I literally started sweating. I was so embarrassed. But I couldn’t help it! It just happens – I can’t control the redness! The meeting started at 5:30 and at 6:30 they brought in the wine and I had to tell about 3 people that I didn’t want any, and then the secretary asked if I wanted beer or tea or coffee or coke, which I didn’t want either and they just thought that was so bizarre. The meeting lasted til 8:00 and my stomach was imploding by that time! I’m usually starting in on my post-dinner snack by then! We all headed over to a Japanese restaurant, at which point I again had to repeat that I didn’t want anything but water to drink. No. No. No. Everyone was just making sure that I was taken care of, but I got tired of saying no. No I don’t want coffee either. Water is fine. No I’m not just being polite, I really just drink water normally. No I don’t want a coke. No, Mormons are allowed to drink caffeine, I just don’t think it tastes good. Then they started passing around the food plates (we were all just sharing a ton of different dishes), most of which were sushi, which conveniently, I don’t like either. Mormons aren’t allowed to eat sushi? No, fools, I just don’t like it. So I ended up getting fed up with saying no and eating some of the freaking sushi. I literally had to gag it down. I have this talent where I can plug my nose without actually touching it, so I did that and chewed each piece maybe twice and practically swallowed the stupid thing whole. The rest of the evening was spent telling drinking stories and telling dirty jokes. Andrea why are you being so quiet? Because I have nothing to contribute to this conversation and I feel completely out of place! And the dinner went on and on and on…. And I’m thinking, I hope my bus runs this late. I didn’t end up getting out of there until 11:00. Luckily, my bus runs every 20 minutes until midnight. Now, I really like all of the people that I work with and they have been very kind to me and I think they are great people, so don’t get the wrong impression. But it is just difficult to be so different from everyone else. They just don’t understand why I don’t drink even coffee, why I don’t have sex, why I wear weird white underwear, etc. It isn’t that I wish that I could participate in the drinking or that lifestyle or whatever, it is just frustrating to feel on the outside because of your beliefs. And I’m getting really tired of hearing the F word.
Other random notes: The short shorts for boys fashion is much more popular here. The Aussie men like to show a little leg. This can make for some very awkward moments when you are in a physiotherapy clinic and ask them to bend in different directions to assess their injury. But, there seem to be a lot of awkward moments since modesty is apparently not a concern for most of our patients. You would think that if you knew you had a physio appointment and you knew they were going to have you take your shirt off, you would AT LEAST wear a bra that isn’t see through. Apparently that is just me though.
The Australian’s know how to do mayonnaise. That is quite a compliment coming from me. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m kinda a mayo connoisseur. Their mayo isn’t as thick as American mayo and they have tons of different flavors. It just makes sandwiches that much better. I won’t be bringing many souvenirs home from Australia, except for food items: chocolate and mayonnaise.
That is all the randomness I have at the moment.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Too many possible titles
Title #1: If you can't beat em, join em.
So I've been complaining about the apparent lack of deodorant here in Australia for the past couple of weeks. It seems like there is a disproportionate number of people here that skip that morning step. Perhaps it is because there are so many backpackers in the area. Well... this weekend I stayed at a hostel in Manly on Friday night and I...uh... kinda forgot my deodorant. So I was the smelly girl all day long!! Good thing I just spent the whole day at the beach :)
Title #2: Don't hate cuz you ain't.
Australians are pretty friendly people. They seem to like everyone -- very open. But there have been a few derogatory comments made about America. Just a few people on the bus or some random place like that. Not very many at all. In my mind, my response to these people is this: if you are gonna be watching American movies, listening to American music, going to America to buy clothes cuz it is so much cheaper, etc. then stop dissing on America! Don't hate cuz America freaking rocks.
Title #3: Swear words
So apparently the curse word da** isn't considered a swear word here in Australia (I can't bring myself to type it out). It would be comparable to an American saying crap or something. This caught me quite off guard for a little while before I realized that it wasn't considered swearing. It is quite disconcerting when people are saying it as they teach a lesson in church or making a spiritual comment.
Title #4: Nudie beach
I went to Palm Beach today, which was about a 2 hour bus ride from downtown Sydney. It was a perfect day again and I had the best time. However, about half way into the day, I look up from my book only to find the beach has turned into a nudie beach. Okay that may be a slight exaggeration, but I look up and 10 feet to my left is a group of 2 girls and 2 guys and the girls are just sitting there with no tops on! A few minutes later, I hear a ruckus to my right and there is a man running through an obstacle course that culminates in a slip-in-slide into the ocean, wearing nothing but neon yellow suspenders that hold a narrow strip of fabric in front of the gentleman's private parts. What the heck? This is a family beach people! I do not wanna be seeing that!
Title #5: Heather would be so proud.
I've tried sushi twice since I've been here. That's right TWICE! That brings my grand sushi-eating total up to 3 times in my entire life. I'm really branching out here and going a little wild. I would still never order it if I was by myself, but I actually thought it tasted okay.
Title #6: Crazy bus lady.
I sat next to an old lady on the bus the other day and she just started yakking away, telling me her life story. You always kinda cringe when that happens cuz you know you are going to have to talk to that person for an entire hour cuz you are trapped on the bus. But this lady was actually pretty entertaining-- she led a full life to say the least. She spent all of her younger and middle age years traveling the world, and on one of her plane flights she met her future husband-- only he was already married. So they started an affair and he left his wife for her, then as she puts it, they "lived in sin" for 2 years before getting married. Then when she was 65 years old and he was 70, they backpacked around Europe for 4 months. Full out backpacking -- as in staying in hostels, having nothing but what you can carry on your back, days without showering. 65 years old!
Title #7: My redlight experience
My CI set up an experience for me to go watch some surgeries at a local hospital. They told me to be at the hospital at 7:30 am. Since I was unfamiliar with the area, I decided to give myself extra time to get lost. To get there, I had to take a one hour bus ride into the city, then get onto the subway, then walk about a quarter of a mile to the hospital. Well, they failed to mention to me that the hospital was in the freaking redlight district of Sydney!! I get off at the stop and there are ladies of a certain type standing on the sidewalks -- they may not have actually been prostitutes, I'm not sure if it is legal here or whatever, but almost every store along the street was an adult shop or gentlemen's club. In addition, there were lots of homeless people sitting on the side of the street. Not exactly the place a young female wants to be wandering around at 6:30 in the morning! And of course, I get lost on my way to the hospital! But I finally found it, went inside only to find that no one seems to know I'm coming or where to send me. So I basically wander around the hospital, opening doors and walking in. I finally find what appears to be the operating rooms, which they call 'theatres', so I just walk into the bathroom, get some scrubs off the shelf, walk into the operating room and tell them I'm here to watch the surgery. The lady that knew I was coming didn't get there for another hour or so. So I literally just walked into the operating room! I could have been anybody! They didn't know me from Adam -- I could have been deranged!
Oh boy, there are just so many things to tell, but not enough energy to keep typing them all. Suffice it to say, I'm having a great time out here and really enjoying myself. The only thing that would make it better is if I had someone to share more of these things with! I'm making new friends and everything, and have had people to go do things with, but crazily enough they have real lives and can't drop everything to come tour Australia with me. Weird. So I do end up doing a lot of things alone. Better to do them by myself than not do them at all. But as the great Whitney Houston says, "What's the sense of trying hard to find your dreams, without someone to share it with, tell me what does it mean?" I find that people want to go do fun things, not hear me tell them stories about me doing fun things. But, hey, I spent the entire day at the beach, so life ain't really that bad :).
So I've been complaining about the apparent lack of deodorant here in Australia for the past couple of weeks. It seems like there is a disproportionate number of people here that skip that morning step. Perhaps it is because there are so many backpackers in the area. Well... this weekend I stayed at a hostel in Manly on Friday night and I...uh... kinda forgot my deodorant. So I was the smelly girl all day long!! Good thing I just spent the whole day at the beach :)
Title #2: Don't hate cuz you ain't.
Australians are pretty friendly people. They seem to like everyone -- very open. But there have been a few derogatory comments made about America. Just a few people on the bus or some random place like that. Not very many at all. In my mind, my response to these people is this: if you are gonna be watching American movies, listening to American music, going to America to buy clothes cuz it is so much cheaper, etc. then stop dissing on America! Don't hate cuz America freaking rocks.
Title #3: Swear words
So apparently the curse word da** isn't considered a swear word here in Australia (I can't bring myself to type it out). It would be comparable to an American saying crap or something. This caught me quite off guard for a little while before I realized that it wasn't considered swearing. It is quite disconcerting when people are saying it as they teach a lesson in church or making a spiritual comment.
Title #4: Nudie beach
I went to Palm Beach today, which was about a 2 hour bus ride from downtown Sydney. It was a perfect day again and I had the best time. However, about half way into the day, I look up from my book only to find the beach has turned into a nudie beach. Okay that may be a slight exaggeration, but I look up and 10 feet to my left is a group of 2 girls and 2 guys and the girls are just sitting there with no tops on! A few minutes later, I hear a ruckus to my right and there is a man running through an obstacle course that culminates in a slip-in-slide into the ocean, wearing nothing but neon yellow suspenders that hold a narrow strip of fabric in front of the gentleman's private parts. What the heck? This is a family beach people! I do not wanna be seeing that!
Title #5: Heather would be so proud.
I've tried sushi twice since I've been here. That's right TWICE! That brings my grand sushi-eating total up to 3 times in my entire life. I'm really branching out here and going a little wild. I would still never order it if I was by myself, but I actually thought it tasted okay.
Title #6: Crazy bus lady.
I sat next to an old lady on the bus the other day and she just started yakking away, telling me her life story. You always kinda cringe when that happens cuz you know you are going to have to talk to that person for an entire hour cuz you are trapped on the bus. But this lady was actually pretty entertaining-- she led a full life to say the least. She spent all of her younger and middle age years traveling the world, and on one of her plane flights she met her future husband-- only he was already married. So they started an affair and he left his wife for her, then as she puts it, they "lived in sin" for 2 years before getting married. Then when she was 65 years old and he was 70, they backpacked around Europe for 4 months. Full out backpacking -- as in staying in hostels, having nothing but what you can carry on your back, days without showering. 65 years old!
Title #7: My redlight experience
My CI set up an experience for me to go watch some surgeries at a local hospital. They told me to be at the hospital at 7:30 am. Since I was unfamiliar with the area, I decided to give myself extra time to get lost. To get there, I had to take a one hour bus ride into the city, then get onto the subway, then walk about a quarter of a mile to the hospital. Well, they failed to mention to me that the hospital was in the freaking redlight district of Sydney!! I get off at the stop and there are ladies of a certain type standing on the sidewalks -- they may not have actually been prostitutes, I'm not sure if it is legal here or whatever, but almost every store along the street was an adult shop or gentlemen's club. In addition, there were lots of homeless people sitting on the side of the street. Not exactly the place a young female wants to be wandering around at 6:30 in the morning! And of course, I get lost on my way to the hospital! But I finally found it, went inside only to find that no one seems to know I'm coming or where to send me. So I basically wander around the hospital, opening doors and walking in. I finally find what appears to be the operating rooms, which they call 'theatres', so I just walk into the bathroom, get some scrubs off the shelf, walk into the operating room and tell them I'm here to watch the surgery. The lady that knew I was coming didn't get there for another hour or so. So I literally just walked into the operating room! I could have been anybody! They didn't know me from Adam -- I could have been deranged!
Oh boy, there are just so many things to tell, but not enough energy to keep typing them all. Suffice it to say, I'm having a great time out here and really enjoying myself. The only thing that would make it better is if I had someone to share more of these things with! I'm making new friends and everything, and have had people to go do things with, but crazily enough they have real lives and can't drop everything to come tour Australia with me. Weird. So I do end up doing a lot of things alone. Better to do them by myself than not do them at all. But as the great Whitney Houston says, "What's the sense of trying hard to find your dreams, without someone to share it with, tell me what does it mean?" I find that people want to go do fun things, not hear me tell them stories about me doing fun things. But, hey, I spent the entire day at the beach, so life ain't really that bad :).
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Australian word of the day
Word number 1:
Naughty. For example, "I was very naughty today." These Aussie's use it all the time.
Naughty. For example, "I was very naughty today." These Aussie's use it all the time.
Monday, March 1, 2010
So this is what it is like to have a wife…
I’ve always been jealous of my classmates who have these fantastic meals prepared by their wives or lovely little sack lunches. Well, now I get to experience the joy of having someone prepare my lunches for me – the sweet lady that I am staying with here in Australia offered to make me a sack lunch for work. And when I got home from work today, dinner was waiting for me on the table! How awesome is that? I’m probably more excited about that than I should be, but seriously, coming home after a long day of work or school and having to either cook something or eat frozen microwave bleckiness is not nearly as much fun as having a warm, tasty meal on the table when you walk in the door!
Going back a little bit, I arrived in Australia on Saturday morning at 7:15 a.m. The trip over was quite brutal (2 hours early at SLC airport, 2 hour flight to L.A., 2 hour layover in L.A., 14 hour flight to Sydney), but luckily I had a great book that took me about 6 hours to read, so that helped the time go by much faster. At the airport, a lovely girl from one of the wards named Anna picked me up (after I spent about an hour going through immigration/customs). Thank goodness for Annie, a lady in my parent’s ward, who helped find accommodations and a ride from the airport for me! I’m staying with a wonderful family in Castle Hills – it is a young couple with two boys (ages 3 and 2). They have been so amazingly kind to me so far. I have my own room and everything.
It was a beautiful day, about 80 degrees, quite humid, sun shining, smell of flowers in the air, so they took me to Collaroy beach and we spent the afternoon playing in the surf and eating fish and chips. I also had my first Australian hamburger, which consists of everything pretty much – bun, hamburger, lettuce, tomato, egg, onion, pineapple, and barbeque sauce. Very delicious.
I went to church the next day, which was pretty much the same except for crying babies. I’m going to a family ward because there is only one singles ward in the whole area and rumor has it that it isn’t very good. Plus it would take me an hour to get there every Sunday. It sounds like most young single adults go to the family wards. They have a young single adult Sunday school class, but I’m not a huge fan of it so far – everyone is very nice and the teachers were absolutely fantastic, but it just kinda had the feel of being back in seminary again rather than an adult. The funny part is I have had the same Sunday school lesson the past 3 Sundays-- once in my parent's ward, once in the 37th singles ward, and once here. Each class focused on a totally different part of the lesson out of the manual though, which was interesting to me. I went to a young single adult fireside that night as well, which was fun.
I’m getting a tad bored of typing, so here is a summary of the rest – rode the bus into Sydney this morning, went to my internship (very modern, high tech place), wandered around a bit, rode bus home, had dinner (missionaries came over), read the kids bedtime stories, and here we are. I’m going to enjoy my internship a lot, maybe I’ll write more about that later.
Being in a different country, staying with a family I’ve never met before, starting a new internship, and having to make new friends is a little bit overwhelming, but I’m enjoying it already. There are so many things that are done differently here and it has been fun to learn them! The language is actually giving me more problems than I thought it would. They use the same words, but they have totally different meanings. For example, instead of napkin they say serviette and I’m 80% sure they use napkin to mean diaper-- or maybe it is nappy. They love to abbreviate everything too – Feb instead of February, Macker’s instead of McDonald’s, Uni instead of University, etc. Rock up means to show up (i.e. my boss told me to rock up at 9 am). Those are just a couple of examples, but seriously, sometimes I have no idea what people are saying. I either have to have them repeat it a couple times or I just smile and nod like I know what is going on.
The driving on the other side of the road thing is kinda trippy too. It is the turns that are the weirdest. You wouldn’t think it would be that complicated, but to break the habit of 24 years of driving on the right side of the road is kinda difficult. I’m still trying to figure out which side of the sidewalk I’m supposed to walk on.
Anyway, off to bed I go! It is only 9:00 p.m., but I’m still a bit jet lagged. It is a 19 hour time difference.
Going back a little bit, I arrived in Australia on Saturday morning at 7:15 a.m. The trip over was quite brutal (2 hours early at SLC airport, 2 hour flight to L.A., 2 hour layover in L.A., 14 hour flight to Sydney), but luckily I had a great book that took me about 6 hours to read, so that helped the time go by much faster. At the airport, a lovely girl from one of the wards named Anna picked me up (after I spent about an hour going through immigration/customs). Thank goodness for Annie, a lady in my parent’s ward, who helped find accommodations and a ride from the airport for me! I’m staying with a wonderful family in Castle Hills – it is a young couple with two boys (ages 3 and 2). They have been so amazingly kind to me so far. I have my own room and everything.
It was a beautiful day, about 80 degrees, quite humid, sun shining, smell of flowers in the air, so they took me to Collaroy beach and we spent the afternoon playing in the surf and eating fish and chips. I also had my first Australian hamburger, which consists of everything pretty much – bun, hamburger, lettuce, tomato, egg, onion, pineapple, and barbeque sauce. Very delicious.
I went to church the next day, which was pretty much the same except for crying babies. I’m going to a family ward because there is only one singles ward in the whole area and rumor has it that it isn’t very good. Plus it would take me an hour to get there every Sunday. It sounds like most young single adults go to the family wards. They have a young single adult Sunday school class, but I’m not a huge fan of it so far – everyone is very nice and the teachers were absolutely fantastic, but it just kinda had the feel of being back in seminary again rather than an adult. The funny part is I have had the same Sunday school lesson the past 3 Sundays-- once in my parent's ward, once in the 37th singles ward, and once here. Each class focused on a totally different part of the lesson out of the manual though, which was interesting to me. I went to a young single adult fireside that night as well, which was fun.
I’m getting a tad bored of typing, so here is a summary of the rest – rode the bus into Sydney this morning, went to my internship (very modern, high tech place), wandered around a bit, rode bus home, had dinner (missionaries came over), read the kids bedtime stories, and here we are. I’m going to enjoy my internship a lot, maybe I’ll write more about that later.
Being in a different country, staying with a family I’ve never met before, starting a new internship, and having to make new friends is a little bit overwhelming, but I’m enjoying it already. There are so many things that are done differently here and it has been fun to learn them! The language is actually giving me more problems than I thought it would. They use the same words, but they have totally different meanings. For example, instead of napkin they say serviette and I’m 80% sure they use napkin to mean diaper-- or maybe it is nappy. They love to abbreviate everything too – Feb instead of February, Macker’s instead of McDonald’s, Uni instead of University, etc. Rock up means to show up (i.e. my boss told me to rock up at 9 am). Those are just a couple of examples, but seriously, sometimes I have no idea what people are saying. I either have to have them repeat it a couple times or I just smile and nod like I know what is going on.
The driving on the other side of the road thing is kinda trippy too. It is the turns that are the weirdest. You wouldn’t think it would be that complicated, but to break the habit of 24 years of driving on the right side of the road is kinda difficult. I’m still trying to figure out which side of the sidewalk I’m supposed to walk on.
Anyway, off to bed I go! It is only 9:00 p.m., but I’m still a bit jet lagged. It is a 19 hour time difference.
Monday, February 15, 2010
I'm on a roll...
... Two blog posts in less than a week.
People are so nice.
If I stop and think of all the nice things people do for me every day, I am overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and generosity of the people I'm surrounded by. For example, this weekend my mom, dad, and brother came and helped me move all of my mounds of stuff to my parent's house. That same Saturday, one of my patients at work gave me a little box of chocolates as a Valentines Day gift. My roommate Red also got me a little something for Valentines Day. My sister is always sending thoughtful little notes and thank you's, and this V-Day she sent a little card from my nephew. It is always the little every day things that mean so much -- when you come home from an awful day at work and you get a little card in the mail, or your friends sit and listen to you whine incessantly.
It reminds me of a story I recently read in the book My Grandfather's Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging by Rachel Naomi Remen, the author of Kitchen Table Wisdom. If you haven't read KTW, I HIGHLY recommend it. Anyway, here is a cut and paste version of the story (my book is packed away, so I had to pull this story from different websites) ...
Dr. Remen told a story about Molly, one of her former patients who had been hospitalized with fractures of both elbows. She had been in an automobile accident as she was driving to the airport in a city 2,000 miles away from her home. When she awoke in the hospital, her arms were encased in rigid casts that went from her shoulders to her wrists. She could become dangerously ill if she inadvertently ate the wrong things. It was critical that her food needs were addressed while she was in the hospital.
Soon after she was settled in her bed, a dietician took more than an hour to document carefully her unusual food needs. "The questions that she asked were so thoughtful," Molly told Dr. Remen, "she really knew her stuff. In all of these years, no one has ever asked me some of those questions or understood so quickly and completely how things were with me. I was really impressed."
Within a few hours, special food was ordered for Molly. Three times a day, this food was served to her by food service staff that brought it to her bedside, put it on her bed table, and left it on a tray. Then they left. The first time this happened, she told Dr. Remen, "I just sat there looking at the food unable to feed myself. I was certain that someone would come in to help me, but no one did. After a while, the woman in the next bed noticed that I could not eat. Trailing her own IV lines, she got out of bed and fed me my dinner." That same thing happened at every meal in the 4 days that Molly was in the hospital without the use of her arms. No one on the staff ever offered to feed her. Day after day, the right food would be bought in and the patient in the next bed would feed it to her.
In Hell people are seated at a table overflowing with delicious food. But they have splints on their elbows and so they cannot reach their mouths with their spoons. They sit through eternity experiencing a terrible hunger in the midst of abundance. In Heaven people are also seated at a table overflowing with delicious food. They, too, have splints on their elbows and cannot reach their mouths. But, in Heaven, people use their spoons to feed one another. Perhaps Hell is always of our own making. In the end, the difference between Heaven and Hell may only be that in Hell, people have forgotten how to bless one another.
People are so nice.
If I stop and think of all the nice things people do for me every day, I am overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and generosity of the people I'm surrounded by. For example, this weekend my mom, dad, and brother came and helped me move all of my mounds of stuff to my parent's house. That same Saturday, one of my patients at work gave me a little box of chocolates as a Valentines Day gift. My roommate Red also got me a little something for Valentines Day. My sister is always sending thoughtful little notes and thank you's, and this V-Day she sent a little card from my nephew. It is always the little every day things that mean so much -- when you come home from an awful day at work and you get a little card in the mail, or your friends sit and listen to you whine incessantly.
It reminds me of a story I recently read in the book My Grandfather's Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging by Rachel Naomi Remen, the author of Kitchen Table Wisdom. If you haven't read KTW, I HIGHLY recommend it. Anyway, here is a cut and paste version of the story (my book is packed away, so I had to pull this story from different websites) ...
Dr. Remen told a story about Molly, one of her former patients who had been hospitalized with fractures of both elbows. She had been in an automobile accident as she was driving to the airport in a city 2,000 miles away from her home. When she awoke in the hospital, her arms were encased in rigid casts that went from her shoulders to her wrists. She could become dangerously ill if she inadvertently ate the wrong things. It was critical that her food needs were addressed while she was in the hospital.
Soon after she was settled in her bed, a dietician took more than an hour to document carefully her unusual food needs. "The questions that she asked were so thoughtful," Molly told Dr. Remen, "she really knew her stuff. In all of these years, no one has ever asked me some of those questions or understood so quickly and completely how things were with me. I was really impressed."
Within a few hours, special food was ordered for Molly. Three times a day, this food was served to her by food service staff that brought it to her bedside, put it on her bed table, and left it on a tray. Then they left. The first time this happened, she told Dr. Remen, "I just sat there looking at the food unable to feed myself. I was certain that someone would come in to help me, but no one did. After a while, the woman in the next bed noticed that I could not eat. Trailing her own IV lines, she got out of bed and fed me my dinner." That same thing happened at every meal in the 4 days that Molly was in the hospital without the use of her arms. No one on the staff ever offered to feed her. Day after day, the right food would be bought in and the patient in the next bed would feed it to her.
In Hell people are seated at a table overflowing with delicious food. But they have splints on their elbows and so they cannot reach their mouths with their spoons. They sit through eternity experiencing a terrible hunger in the midst of abundance. In Heaven people are also seated at a table overflowing with delicious food. They, too, have splints on their elbows and cannot reach their mouths. But, in Heaven, people use their spoons to feed one another. Perhaps Hell is always of our own making. In the end, the difference between Heaven and Hell may only be that in Hell, people have forgotten how to bless one another.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Today Is A Very Sad Day...
My wallet and I are going through a trial separation. Do you recognize this wallet? Think back a decade and a half and that might trigger your memory. If you recall, these shiny wallets were quite the craze back then. I bought this at Claire's when I was in elementary school and it has been my trusty companion ever since. Sadly, you will notice that I have too much stuff to zip it all the way now, but the zipper is broken anyway. It has seen better days to say the least. I bought a new wallet over a year ago, but just couldn't make the switch. But, in attempt to be a grown-up, I've switched to a snazzy new black wallet today. Not loving it. I'm giving it a week and then if I still don't like it, I'm going back to my trusty wallet.
In other news, I'm moving to Australia in a little over a week. Woohoo!
Is this the blog update you were going for Mom?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Man in the Arena
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt; “Citizenship in a Republic”, Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
BYU football junkie
So... uh... this may come as a surprise, but I enjoy following BYU football and staying up to date on what is going on with the team. I thought I might help spread the joy and share some of the websites that are good.
So my favorite website is www.deepshadesofblue.com. The analysis is fantastic and the articles are posted by former players, so they have great insights. The comments section hasn't been invaded yet by people who just want to stir things up and create controversy. If you just have time to read one, this is the best.
The next site you will want to check is www.byucougars.com/football. Official site, has all the press releases from the athletic department and has some fun player stories. It also has player profiles for each player, the schedule, multimedia (check out the wallpapers), etc.
I also like www.cougarblue.com. The site isn't as good as it was a few years ago, but just about everything that happens with BYU football is talked about here. I am just selective in what I read -- there are a lot of postings that are stupid and are just arguing and sharing opinions. But if you check this once a day, you will always be in the loop.
Another recent discovery is www.cougarcorner.com. This site is what cougarblue.com used to be. One of the posters, mcgregor, has some connections with the program and has good insights. He used to post on cougarblue, but left because cougarblue started going downhill.
A popular website is www.cougarboard.com, but I rarely get on it because the format is hard to follow. Usually if something interesting is going on at cougarboard, someone will repost it on cougarblue.
A website that used to be awesome is www.cougarlegion.com. There used to be alot of insider information on this site, but then Bronco asked them to stop sharing it, so now it is mostly just opinion by fans.
Jonny Harline just started a BYU football this year. http://jonnyharline13.blogspot.com/ I think people are still discovering it, so it is just starting to take off. He posts pretty regularly, but his analysis isn't as in depth as on deepshadesofblue.
Greg Wrubell has a blog called cougartracks on ksl.com (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=498). Greg Wrubell is great, so I enjoy this site.
A great video site is www.justanotherdumb.com/byu. There are highlight videos from every game on there.
So the ultimate site is Total Blue Sports (http://byu.scout.com/). This is a subscription website. It has some golden information, and some of it is free but all the good stuff requires a subscription. If you aren't a broke student, then the cost isn't too bad.
An interesting one is Utah Legends. http://www.utahlegends.blogspot.com/ It follows players in the NFL that played college ball in Utah.
Did I miss any?
GO COUGARS!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I'm growing up so quickly
I am officially 24 years old!! I've been telling people (mostly patients) that I'm 24 for about 6 months now, so it is nice to not be a little liar anymore! Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday and helped make my birthday wonderful! Join me for a trip down memory lane as I make a tribute to myself...
Apparently I used to be a morning person and would wake up with bright, shining eyes... hence my nickname Twinkler
Apparently I used to be a morning person and would wake up with bright, shining eyes... hence my nickname Twinkler
Me and the sis... don't you miss the days of linoleum and burnt orange draperies Mom?
These were my immodest days when I wore shirts that showed my midriff... luckily the swing covers it up here.
Heather and I gave some great performances over the years on that fireplace.
Could I be any cuter? I think not. Look at that angel face.
Some things never change. Once a food lover, always a food lover.
My 4th birthday. Classic hairstyle.
First day of Kind-e-garten.
6th birthday.
My very first bow. And yes, that is a unitard.
I definitely rocked the fro look.
One day your little girl is coming home from Girl Scouts, the next she is taking a pelvic floor anatomy and rehabilitation class.
My fashion sense has definitely gone downhill since these days.
8th Birthday.
Back in the days when I was taller than my little brother.
There are so many awesome things going on in this picture.
Baptism Day.
One of our favorite past times. Braces ruined all of our fun.
17th birthday on crutches after knee surgery.
Christmas in Hawaii my Junior year of high school.
High school graduation pics.
Heather's wedding 2005.
My 20th birthday.
Undergraduate graduation. I can't believe it has been 2 1/2 years! I'm still a Cougar at heart.
Birth of the CUTEST NEPHEW EVER!!Tuesday, September 8, 2009
I have a problem
My productivity has drastically decreased since Saturday. All I think about is football, particularly BYU football. My ability to focus on anything besides football is practically non existent. I wish that there was a degree in football. My desire to be competent in all things related to BYU football is much stronger than my desire to be a competent physical therapist at the moment. This is a very bad thing. In an effort to combat this unfortunate situation, I am now studying up on how I would treat a patient if they came to me with an AC joint sprain – how I would diagnose it, treatment, prognosis, etc. Best of both worlds. Unfortunately, studying about Sam Bradford’s ability to return to sport is not going to help me with my doctoral project.
Monday, September 7, 2009
WE WON!! WE WON!! WE WON!! WE WON!! WE WON!!
So I am a little bit excited that my wonderful Cougars pulled out a HUGE victory against the Oklahoma Sooners this weekend! I'm even more excited about the fact that I GOT TO BE THERE!!!! Yes, it is true... I was among the loyal and faithful Cougar fans who made the long trek to Dallas, Texas to support the Cougs. Best decision ever. I almost didn't go because the tickets were SO expensive (thank you Jerry Jones). But last Wednesday, they opened up a bunch of standing room only tickets for $25 a piece (plus $10 in processing fees of course). So, after counseling with my trusty classmates, I purchased one despite the fact that I had no way to get down there and no place to stay once I got there. But then I started making calls and it all turned out like magic. My dad had enough frequent flier miles to fly me and a friend down there for free. Then my friend had some connections and was able to get us transportation, lodging, and food FOR FREE!! I never even opened my wallet on the trip, except to show my I.D. at the airport!
So the coolest part was that we got media passes, which gave us access to the whole stadium! We got to the stadium at about 1:00 pm and walked around talking to the tailgaters and OU fans. Then at 2:00 p.m. they let us into the UNBELIEVABLE stadium and I just kinda sat there in awe for 2 hours while they got ready for their pre-game show. Seriously, the main video board was as large as a house -- actually probably more like 2 houses. Plus there were 2 other screens on the sides of it. The views they showed on ESPN didn't do the place justice -- it was quite the stadium. Of course, when something costs 1.15 BILLION dollars, it had better be freaking amazing. They gave us stat sheets on the stadium and it said the video board weighed 1.2 million pounds and cost as much as the entire Texas Stadium was to build. Anyway, at 4:00 p.m. they started letting everybody into the stadium and so I wandered around for about an hour talking with the OU fans and the BYU fans. So lemme say this about OU fans -- they are a classy bunch. I went to the UW game in Seattle last year, and those fans were AWFUL. They literally made me want to cry. But the OU fans were so nice and friendly. Even after the game, they had nice things to say. Then I went back up to the press box and watched the game from there. Talk about a great view -- and the best part was sitting next to 3 guys who know the game of football inside and out and getting an analysis of the game as the game was happening. I was amazed at everything that they noticed in a 15 second play -- so many technical aspects that the majority of fans, even the most diehard, would never pick up because they haven't played at this level. I was in heaven. Of course, the fact that we were totally outplaying OU helped with that euphoric feeling. I won't even try to describe the excitement that I felt as BYU made the last touchdown and as the clock ran out and THEY WON! After the game was over, we hustled down to field level and went into the interview room and I waited in there for Coach Mendenhall with a sound recording do-da while the other guys went into the locker room to get player interviews. Then I got to be there and help record interviews of the players. So any of the interviews or press conferences you saw on TV or the internet -- I was there for that!!!!! Oh, and I was in the room when Jerry Jones popped his head in! Seriously, I was dying of happiness. I totally played it cool though, don't worry. Then we went back up to the press room and were there until 1:30 a.m. doing the post game show. Well, I just sat there and ate cookies while they did it. Oh that reminds me -- they fed us amazing food in the press box. Could life get any better? I submit that it cannot.
I was much more excited than my face shows in this picture.
A not so good picture of me in the interview room waiting for Coach Mendenhall and the players to come for the press conference.
View from the press box, just before the game started.
This is the only video I have with me actually in it.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Sometimes all you can say is "Oh well, that's life."
So get this...
Classes start at 7 a.m. every day except Wednesdays this semester. On Wednesdays we start at 9 a.m. So I'm thinking, "Perfect! I will go to the temple on Wednesday morning before class." So I go to the temple and have a wonderful experience doing baptisms. I get to my car and it takes me FORTY MINUTES to go from temple square to the U of U. That is like 5 miles! Apparently there was some walk-a-thon going on and then also just excessive amounts of drivers. Nothing I can do about it though, right? So I don't have enough time to go home and shower as I had planned. The night before I had gone running and took a shower, but didn't wash my hair cuz I knew I was going to the temple the next morning (is that TMI?).
So I get to the parking lot about 9:08, get to class about 9:12. Except the professor has LOCKED THE DOORS!! There were about 12 of us that she locked out of class because we were late! She literally shut the door at 8:59. She physically pushed one of my classmates out the door (who had just had ACL surgery!!) and told he was not welcome in class. Now keep in mind, we had no warning in previous classes that she would be enforcing this policy or that she would be giving us grades based on attendance. For the majority of us that were late, it was because of accidents or other traffic conditions -- conditions that WE COULD NOT CONTROL!! Well, I was bugged, but not too bent out of shape because of it because (a) it doesn't really matter to me whether I get an A, A-, or B+ -- it isn't going to affect how good of a therapist I am-- and (b) not a huge fan of the class anyway. I got to spend an hour and 45 minutes working on my doctoral project instead. So suffice it to say, it didn't totally ruin my day.
Then I get home around 2:30 only to find that the water has been turned off for like the EIGHTH month because my landlord "forgot" to pay the water bill. Again. So in the past, what he has done is just gone outside and turned it back on with a wrench or something. That is what he did 2 days ago when they turned it off. Apparently, they discovered he did this and came back and turned it off again, this time locking it.
We are pretty upset that this is happening again and that we are not going to have water all night long, but we handled it very well. Well some other things happened that weren't really in our control that I won't go into detail about, but he apparently had already had a bad day and this really pushed him over the edge. So he decides to serve us with a paper informing us that he is raising our rent by $200 a month!!! Unfortunately, our lease had expired in August and we were going month to month and so it is legal for him to do that. He is having us sign another year lease with the increased rent, or we have to vacate the premises by Oct 1. I've dealt with so many landlords the past 5 years, most of them crappy, so this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me, nor is it the worst thing that has happened to me. So again, I was upset but not too bent out of shape.
But what really ticks me off is that here I am, a full 24 HOURS LATER, and the water is still off. I can't shower (we're going on days now), I can't use the bathroom here, I can't cook the pasta that I had planned, and I can't even get a drink of water! I'm parched (said in a pouting voice)!
So in reality, my life ain't too bad if this is the worst I have to complain about, but COME ON!!!
Classes start at 7 a.m. every day except Wednesdays this semester. On Wednesdays we start at 9 a.m. So I'm thinking, "Perfect! I will go to the temple on Wednesday morning before class." So I go to the temple and have a wonderful experience doing baptisms. I get to my car and it takes me FORTY MINUTES to go from temple square to the U of U. That is like 5 miles! Apparently there was some walk-a-thon going on and then also just excessive amounts of drivers. Nothing I can do about it though, right? So I don't have enough time to go home and shower as I had planned. The night before I had gone running and took a shower, but didn't wash my hair cuz I knew I was going to the temple the next morning (is that TMI?).
So I get to the parking lot about 9:08, get to class about 9:12. Except the professor has LOCKED THE DOORS!! There were about 12 of us that she locked out of class because we were late! She literally shut the door at 8:59. She physically pushed one of my classmates out the door (who had just had ACL surgery!!) and told he was not welcome in class. Now keep in mind, we had no warning in previous classes that she would be enforcing this policy or that she would be giving us grades based on attendance. For the majority of us that were late, it was because of accidents or other traffic conditions -- conditions that WE COULD NOT CONTROL!! Well, I was bugged, but not too bent out of shape because of it because (a) it doesn't really matter to me whether I get an A, A-, or B+ -- it isn't going to affect how good of a therapist I am-- and (b) not a huge fan of the class anyway. I got to spend an hour and 45 minutes working on my doctoral project instead. So suffice it to say, it didn't totally ruin my day.
Then I get home around 2:30 only to find that the water has been turned off for like the EIGHTH month because my landlord "forgot" to pay the water bill. Again. So in the past, what he has done is just gone outside and turned it back on with a wrench or something. That is what he did 2 days ago when they turned it off. Apparently, they discovered he did this and came back and turned it off again, this time locking it.
We are pretty upset that this is happening again and that we are not going to have water all night long, but we handled it very well. Well some other things happened that weren't really in our control that I won't go into detail about, but he apparently had already had a bad day and this really pushed him over the edge. So he decides to serve us with a paper informing us that he is raising our rent by $200 a month!!! Unfortunately, our lease had expired in August and we were going month to month and so it is legal for him to do that. He is having us sign another year lease with the increased rent, or we have to vacate the premises by Oct 1. I've dealt with so many landlords the past 5 years, most of them crappy, so this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me, nor is it the worst thing that has happened to me. So again, I was upset but not too bent out of shape.
But what really ticks me off is that here I am, a full 24 HOURS LATER, and the water is still off. I can't shower (we're going on days now), I can't use the bathroom here, I can't cook the pasta that I had planned, and I can't even get a drink of water! I'm parched (said in a pouting voice)!
So in reality, my life ain't too bad if this is the worst I have to complain about, but COME ON!!!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Recap of my recent life
Sincerest apologies to mi madre for not updating my blog sooner. I am now back in Utah, living in Sugarhouse, and finishing my LAST semester of classes FOREVER. After that, I will have two more internships until I'm Dr. Burton!!
So starting from the present and going backwards, here is a recap of my life since I last blogged.
Last weekend, I went to Moab with my BFF Red and it was FABULOUS! It was 99 degrees (NOT HUMID!!!) and not too crowded. We drove down Friday afternoon and hiked to Delicate Arch as soon as we got to Arches. We sat there and watched the sunset and then walked back under the twinkling stars :). Then we drove around and happened to find a local high school football game, which of course, brought joy to my heart. By then it was about 9:30 and we figured we better find a place to camp. We decided to sleep under the stars, and it was absolutely lovely. The next morning we went back to Arches and hiked to Landscape Arch, and then to Sand Dune arch (where we laid in the sand underneath the arch and took a nap). Then we went back into Moab and got some lunch and ICE CREAM. At 4:00 we went on a ranger guided tour of Fiery Furnace -- LOVED IT! By the time we finished, it was 7:30, so we headed back for home! Fantastic road trip, but then they usually are when it is just me and Red.
I started school on August 24th, and it started off at a sprint! This is gonna be one crazy semester for me. I'm taking 18 credits, plus my doctoral project is due on October 21st.
The week before that, I went to Education Week down at BYU for one day and I loved it. Nothing better than taking classes on BYU campus again... Oh how I've missed it!!! :) GO COUGARS! The other days of the week, I spent A TON of time reading books FOR FUN! I didn't do a lick of reading for class, even though I know most of my classmates were feverishly working on their doctoral projects. I would start a book about 10 am, finish it around 3 or 4, then go on a hike or play soccer with Red or something like that.
The week before that was spent at the Utah Operation Smile Student Retreat in Deer Valley and preparing for it. That was another wonderful experience. It was a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday event and someone had donated two of his "cabins" that were actually mansions for us to stay in. We had several motivational speakers come, the Magees were there, and I felt like the breakout sessions that I led were successful (despite the fact that I'm a horrible public speaker/motivator). It was in a beautiful setting -- up in the mountains surrounded by trees and nice crisp air. One of the houses had huge windows that overlooked Jordanelle Reservoir, and both nights it rained and there were amazing lightning storms and rainbows just outside the windows. Plus, I got to interact with the Magees, MY HEROES, on a one-on-one basis. It doesn't happen very often that you have an Operation Smile brainstorming session with the Magees a part of it!
The Saturday before that was my last Saturday in D.C. Very sad. I'm glad to be back in Utah with my friends and family, and I really really love it here in Utah and am happy here, but it was VERY hard to leave D.C. But, my roommates were so sweet and threw me a going away party and a bunch of the people I was close to out in D.C. came to say good bye. It was a perfect way to end my time living there.
That week immediately preceding my move back, I was in Southern Virginia for the Operation Smile International Student Leadership conference. Another fantastic, motivational experience. There were 450 Operation Smile students from all over the world there. There was a huge group from Ireland, Honduras, Vietnam, and South Africa, among other places. I was SO HONORED because I got an award at the opening ceremonies for my work here in Utah. The conference was held on the BEAUTIFUL campus of Christopher Newport University and everyone stayed in the dorms there. Because I wasn't there as a student, and I wasn't really in charge, I got the best of both worlds -- I got to participate in the conference events that I wanted to, but I also got to hang out with the VIP's like the Magees, the speakers, Senator Tribble, etc. It made me feel like I was something special too :). I tell you what -- I have never felt so motivated and inspired as I did at this conference. There were some AMAZING speakers and break out sessions. If you ever get a chance to hear Robert Pruitt speak, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!! His lecture took my breath away -- I'm pretty sure every person in that assembly hall felt the same way too. Marci Shimoff also spoke, and that was especially cool for me because I was put in charge of being her handler -- basically making sure everything went smoothly for her, helping her in whatever way she needed, escorting her to the places she needed to be, etc. She is one of the writers behind the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and she recently wrote a book called Happy For No Reason, which she was kind enough to give me a free copy of, as well as the CD packet that goes along with the book. She was a fantastic speaker as well. There were numerous other speakers like Dallas Jessup (a 17 year old girl who has started an entire movement across the country and has been interviewed on shows like Larry King and Good Morning America, and has lectured for the FBI), one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a presenter from Dale Carnegie, etc. We also got to go to Busch Gardens for one afternoon and ride the roller coasters. It was just a fantastic week.
The week before that was my last week at my internship. Tear. It really was sad for me to leave there too. I enjoyed it SO MUCH. I fit in very well there and I felt like they respected me as a physical therapist. I felt competent in what I was doing -- by the end, my clinical instructor would sit in the break room and make phone calls and just let me do my thing because she trusted me. I also felt very special because several patients brought in cards and gifts to say goodbye and thank you. The secretary also said that by week 6, I had patients actually requesting to be on my schedule!! That made me feel SO good!
Let's see... two weeks before that, I went to NYC for the first time for a weekend. I rode the Chinatown bus up for $46 roundtrip (a BARGAIN when you take into account gas and the insane amount of tolls on the way up there). It was about a 5 hour ride up, but after driving to and from Alaska, 5 hours ain't no thang anymore. I met one of my classmates up there, and in the 2 1/2 days we were there we squeezed a ton in. We went to Times Square twice, Central Park twice, the MET, Ground Zero, Greenwhich Village, Staten Island, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Catholic mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Mormon Church... I think that is everything. We stayed in a hostel by Central Park (I am a HUGE fan of staying at hostels). The whole trip was so much fun.
On July 4, I went down to the Mall with my roommate for all the celebrations. If you are gonna be anywhere for Independence Day, the Nation's Capitol is the place to be. We set up our blankets in between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument and went and watched the parade and wandered around. It was REALLY hot and humid, and I started to break out in a heat rash. By three o'clock things started to get really bad for me -- I RAN to a restroom in one of the Smithsonians, and ended up having to lie on the floor of the bathroom stall for about 5 minutes because I was about to pass out. Gross, I know, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So I ended up hopping back on the metro and taking it to my lovely friend Melissa's apartment, which isn't too far from the Pentagon, and taking a nap there. I ended up watching the fireworks from her rooftop (she lives in an 18 story high rise), which was really neat because it was still really close to the fireworks at the Mall, but I could also see literally hundreds of fireworks displays all over the area at the same time.
Now, part of the reason I gracefully passed out in one of the Smithsonian bathrooms was due to the humidity and heat, but most of the reason I did was because I got a PARASITE while I was in Mexico. One evening after a carnival that we put on for the little town, one of the ladies made us dinner. The options were soup or some variation of tortillas, tomatoes, lettuce, and meat (which we had been eating for almost every meal for 9 days). So I'm thinking, sweet I'll have the soup! WRONG!!! There were 3 of us that ate the soup: one guy who had been home from his Spanish-speaking mission for 6 months, me, and another guy. Me and this other guy end up getting REALLY sick. Let's just say if I was more than 30 seconds away from a bathroom, I was in serious trouble. I won't go into detail, but think of worst case scenario, and that is what it was like. I spent the last few days flat in bed, barely ate anything for days, had a fever, and was taking about 16 pills a day. One night was particularly bad. I got up to go the the bathroom 2 times and barely made it back to my bed before I felt like I was going to pass out. The third time, I didn't make it back. The last thing I remember is sitting on the toilet. I vaguely remember hitting my head on the sink counter, and then the next thing I know, I'm laying on the cold bathroom tile with my underwear still at my ankles. I was so exhausted that I laid there for probably 10 minutes before I made myself decent, and then I laid there another 10 minutes before I was able to get up and go back to my bed. I got a priesthood blessing the night before we left Ocotlan, and I know that is the only reason I made it back to Utah without any "interesting" experiences. We had a two hour bus ride to Guadalajara (no bathroom on the bus), stayed the night there, then got to the airport 3 hours early, then had a four hour flight back to SLC. I was supposed to have a 5 hour layover in SLC, but as soon as my parents picked me up at the airport, I was right back to how I was before the blessing. Luckily, my dad was able to change my flight to the next morning, and then luckily, my work didn't want me to come back in on Wednesday or Thursday and we had Friday off for the holiday. Thank goodness because I laid in bed that whole time except for when I went to the restroom.
This is the moment of my big mistake -- I knew it was gonna be a mistake, I just didn't realize how big of a mistake it was. But when a very poor person offers you food, what can you do??
Me at one of the places that we did physical therapy consults at. These were homemade parallel bars (for walking) for little kids.
A group of us went to Mormon church on Sunday.
Anyway, that is a VERY LONG update on what is going on in the life of Andrea Marie Burton.
So starting from the present and going backwards, here is a recap of my life since I last blogged.
Last weekend, I went to Moab with my BFF Red and it was FABULOUS! It was 99 degrees (NOT HUMID!!!) and not too crowded. We drove down Friday afternoon and hiked to Delicate Arch as soon as we got to Arches. We sat there and watched the sunset and then walked back under the twinkling stars :). Then we drove around and happened to find a local high school football game, which of course, brought joy to my heart. By then it was about 9:30 and we figured we better find a place to camp. We decided to sleep under the stars, and it was absolutely lovely. The next morning we went back to Arches and hiked to Landscape Arch, and then to Sand Dune arch (where we laid in the sand underneath the arch and took a nap). Then we went back into Moab and got some lunch and ICE CREAM. At 4:00 we went on a ranger guided tour of Fiery Furnace -- LOVED IT! By the time we finished, it was 7:30, so we headed back for home! Fantastic road trip, but then they usually are when it is just me and Red.
I started school on August 24th, and it started off at a sprint! This is gonna be one crazy semester for me. I'm taking 18 credits, plus my doctoral project is due on October 21st.
The week before that, I went to Education Week down at BYU for one day and I loved it. Nothing better than taking classes on BYU campus again... Oh how I've missed it!!! :) GO COUGARS! The other days of the week, I spent A TON of time reading books FOR FUN! I didn't do a lick of reading for class, even though I know most of my classmates were feverishly working on their doctoral projects. I would start a book about 10 am, finish it around 3 or 4, then go on a hike or play soccer with Red or something like that.
The week before that was spent at the Utah Operation Smile Student Retreat in Deer Valley and preparing for it. That was another wonderful experience. It was a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday event and someone had donated two of his "cabins" that were actually mansions for us to stay in. We had several motivational speakers come, the Magees were there, and I felt like the breakout sessions that I led were successful (despite the fact that I'm a horrible public speaker/motivator). It was in a beautiful setting -- up in the mountains surrounded by trees and nice crisp air. One of the houses had huge windows that overlooked Jordanelle Reservoir, and both nights it rained and there were amazing lightning storms and rainbows just outside the windows. Plus, I got to interact with the Magees, MY HEROES, on a one-on-one basis. It doesn't happen very often that you have an Operation Smile brainstorming session with the Magees a part of it!
The Saturday before that was my last Saturday in D.C. Very sad. I'm glad to be back in Utah with my friends and family, and I really really love it here in Utah and am happy here, but it was VERY hard to leave D.C. But, my roommates were so sweet and threw me a going away party and a bunch of the people I was close to out in D.C. came to say good bye. It was a perfect way to end my time living there.
That week immediately preceding my move back, I was in Southern Virginia for the Operation Smile International Student Leadership conference. Another fantastic, motivational experience. There were 450 Operation Smile students from all over the world there. There was a huge group from Ireland, Honduras, Vietnam, and South Africa, among other places. I was SO HONORED because I got an award at the opening ceremonies for my work here in Utah. The conference was held on the BEAUTIFUL campus of Christopher Newport University and everyone stayed in the dorms there. Because I wasn't there as a student, and I wasn't really in charge, I got the best of both worlds -- I got to participate in the conference events that I wanted to, but I also got to hang out with the VIP's like the Magees, the speakers, Senator Tribble, etc. It made me feel like I was something special too :). I tell you what -- I have never felt so motivated and inspired as I did at this conference. There were some AMAZING speakers and break out sessions. If you ever get a chance to hear Robert Pruitt speak, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!! His lecture took my breath away -- I'm pretty sure every person in that assembly hall felt the same way too. Marci Shimoff also spoke, and that was especially cool for me because I was put in charge of being her handler -- basically making sure everything went smoothly for her, helping her in whatever way she needed, escorting her to the places she needed to be, etc. She is one of the writers behind the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and she recently wrote a book called Happy For No Reason, which she was kind enough to give me a free copy of, as well as the CD packet that goes along with the book. She was a fantastic speaker as well. There were numerous other speakers like Dallas Jessup (a 17 year old girl who has started an entire movement across the country and has been interviewed on shows like Larry King and Good Morning America, and has lectured for the FBI), one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, a presenter from Dale Carnegie, etc. We also got to go to Busch Gardens for one afternoon and ride the roller coasters. It was just a fantastic week.
The week before that was my last week at my internship. Tear. It really was sad for me to leave there too. I enjoyed it SO MUCH. I fit in very well there and I felt like they respected me as a physical therapist. I felt competent in what I was doing -- by the end, my clinical instructor would sit in the break room and make phone calls and just let me do my thing because she trusted me. I also felt very special because several patients brought in cards and gifts to say goodbye and thank you. The secretary also said that by week 6, I had patients actually requesting to be on my schedule!! That made me feel SO good!
Let's see... two weeks before that, I went to NYC for the first time for a weekend. I rode the Chinatown bus up for $46 roundtrip (a BARGAIN when you take into account gas and the insane amount of tolls on the way up there). It was about a 5 hour ride up, but after driving to and from Alaska, 5 hours ain't no thang anymore. I met one of my classmates up there, and in the 2 1/2 days we were there we squeezed a ton in. We went to Times Square twice, Central Park twice, the MET, Ground Zero, Greenwhich Village, Staten Island, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Catholic mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Mormon Church... I think that is everything. We stayed in a hostel by Central Park (I am a HUGE fan of staying at hostels). The whole trip was so much fun.
On July 4, I went down to the Mall with my roommate for all the celebrations. If you are gonna be anywhere for Independence Day, the Nation's Capitol is the place to be. We set up our blankets in between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument and went and watched the parade and wandered around. It was REALLY hot and humid, and I started to break out in a heat rash. By three o'clock things started to get really bad for me -- I RAN to a restroom in one of the Smithsonians, and ended up having to lie on the floor of the bathroom stall for about 5 minutes because I was about to pass out. Gross, I know, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So I ended up hopping back on the metro and taking it to my lovely friend Melissa's apartment, which isn't too far from the Pentagon, and taking a nap there. I ended up watching the fireworks from her rooftop (she lives in an 18 story high rise), which was really neat because it was still really close to the fireworks at the Mall, but I could also see literally hundreds of fireworks displays all over the area at the same time.
Now, part of the reason I gracefully passed out in one of the Smithsonian bathrooms was due to the humidity and heat, but most of the reason I did was because I got a PARASITE while I was in Mexico. One evening after a carnival that we put on for the little town, one of the ladies made us dinner. The options were soup or some variation of tortillas, tomatoes, lettuce, and meat (which we had been eating for almost every meal for 9 days). So I'm thinking, sweet I'll have the soup! WRONG!!! There were 3 of us that ate the soup: one guy who had been home from his Spanish-speaking mission for 6 months, me, and another guy. Me and this other guy end up getting REALLY sick. Let's just say if I was more than 30 seconds away from a bathroom, I was in serious trouble. I won't go into detail, but think of worst case scenario, and that is what it was like. I spent the last few days flat in bed, barely ate anything for days, had a fever, and was taking about 16 pills a day. One night was particularly bad. I got up to go the the bathroom 2 times and barely made it back to my bed before I felt like I was going to pass out. The third time, I didn't make it back. The last thing I remember is sitting on the toilet. I vaguely remember hitting my head on the sink counter, and then the next thing I know, I'm laying on the cold bathroom tile with my underwear still at my ankles. I was so exhausted that I laid there for probably 10 minutes before I made myself decent, and then I laid there another 10 minutes before I was able to get up and go back to my bed. I got a priesthood blessing the night before we left Ocotlan, and I know that is the only reason I made it back to Utah without any "interesting" experiences. We had a two hour bus ride to Guadalajara (no bathroom on the bus), stayed the night there, then got to the airport 3 hours early, then had a four hour flight back to SLC. I was supposed to have a 5 hour layover in SLC, but as soon as my parents picked me up at the airport, I was right back to how I was before the blessing. Luckily, my dad was able to change my flight to the next morning, and then luckily, my work didn't want me to come back in on Wednesday or Thursday and we had Friday off for the holiday. Thank goodness because I laid in bed that whole time except for when I went to the restroom.
This is the moment of my big mistake -- I knew it was gonna be a mistake, I just didn't realize how big of a mistake it was. But when a very poor person offers you food, what can you do??
Me at one of the places that we did physical therapy consults at. These were homemade parallel bars (for walking) for little kids.
A group of us went to Mormon church on Sunday.
They took us on tours of two different tequila factories one day, complete with complimentary drinks. I'm pretty sure there was a lot of underage drinking going on.
We did A TON of painting -- trees, buildings, playgrounds, etc. You name it, we painted it.
We did A TON of painting -- trees, buildings, playgrounds, etc. You name it, we painted it.Anyway, that is a VERY LONG update on what is going on in the life of Andrea Marie Burton.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
I Heart My Mom and Dad
I have the BEST PARENTS IN THE WORLD. Because of them, I have a wonderful life. They both have worked so hard and sacrificed so much in order for their kids to be happy and have every opportunity in the world. They are so kind and thoughtful and are always thinking of others. I know that anytime I'm having a rough time, I can turn to them. The past year, I was the only child living in Utah and it was fun to hog them to myself and become even closer to them. I loved being able to meet my dad for lunch on the spur of the moment when I had a free hour come up. I loved going up to their house on Sundays and talking with my mom as we made dinner.
My mom is really cute because she has passion for little things and has the ability to find excitement in everyday things like a good newspaper article or rocking out to Bon Jovi in her little sports car. She has a super strong testimony and is always trying to be more Christ-like. She goes to the temple 1-2 times a week to serve those who have passed on. She is always getting things for other people or thinking of them, such as writing a note to someone who gave a good talk in Church, or buying little dolls for my cousin's daughters, or saving a newspaper article that she thinks I'll like.
My dad is also fantastic. He is one of the most generous people I know. For example, he has gone to Young Women's camp and Oakcrest for like the past 10 or 15 years to teach archery out of the goodness of his heart. He takes the Scouts snow caving every year, even if it isn't his calling. He is always going out of his way to facilitate me and my friends enjoying ourselves, like renting a SUV so that we could drive to California without car problems. He has a great sense of humor and I love to hear him laugh. If you want to make his day, ask him to tell his Big Nose joke.
I've had SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES because of them, both now and growing up. My mom totally sacrificed her own life so that I could do activities. She would take me to dance lessons, Girl Scouts, soccer practice, etc. For 12 years, she came to every game I played in twice a week, and went with me to out of state tournaments. When I had my knee surgery she was there for me anytime I needed her, even if it was 2 a.m. I remember one of the times I had food poisoning in college, she came down and stayed with me all day until I felt better. My dad has worked so hard to provide for our family and make sure we had more than he did growing up and has done a fantastic job. All of us kids have been able to see and do so many things because of how hard my dad works. I remember when I was living in Hawaii and having a really hard time with some things, I would talk to my dad on the phone every day, and he would help me feel better.
Most of all, I'm grateful to my parents for raising us in the Gospel. It is the most important thing in my life, and I can't imagine how different I would be if I didn't have it and if I wasn't taught the gospel as a child.
So, Mom and Dad, thank you for all your support -- for doing a wonderful job raising me and for being my best friends now.
My mom is really cute because she has passion for little things and has the ability to find excitement in everyday things like a good newspaper article or rocking out to Bon Jovi in her little sports car. She has a super strong testimony and is always trying to be more Christ-like. She goes to the temple 1-2 times a week to serve those who have passed on. She is always getting things for other people or thinking of them, such as writing a note to someone who gave a good talk in Church, or buying little dolls for my cousin's daughters, or saving a newspaper article that she thinks I'll like.
My dad is also fantastic. He is one of the most generous people I know. For example, he has gone to Young Women's camp and Oakcrest for like the past 10 or 15 years to teach archery out of the goodness of his heart. He takes the Scouts snow caving every year, even if it isn't his calling. He is always going out of his way to facilitate me and my friends enjoying ourselves, like renting a SUV so that we could drive to California without car problems. He has a great sense of humor and I love to hear him laugh. If you want to make his day, ask him to tell his Big Nose joke.
I've had SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES because of them, both now and growing up. My mom totally sacrificed her own life so that I could do activities. She would take me to dance lessons, Girl Scouts, soccer practice, etc. For 12 years, she came to every game I played in twice a week, and went with me to out of state tournaments. When I had my knee surgery she was there for me anytime I needed her, even if it was 2 a.m. I remember one of the times I had food poisoning in college, she came down and stayed with me all day until I felt better. My dad has worked so hard to provide for our family and make sure we had more than he did growing up and has done a fantastic job. All of us kids have been able to see and do so many things because of how hard my dad works. I remember when I was living in Hawaii and having a really hard time with some things, I would talk to my dad on the phone every day, and he would help me feel better.
Most of all, I'm grateful to my parents for raising us in the Gospel. It is the most important thing in my life, and I can't imagine how different I would be if I didn't have it and if I wasn't taught the gospel as a child.
So, Mom and Dad, thank you for all your support -- for doing a wonderful job raising me and for being my best friends now.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
This one goes out to you Dallin... :)
I've decided I travel too much. I just got back to D.C. from being in Central Mexico for two weeks and this weekend I'm going to NYC for the weekend (woohoo!!). I love traveling and checking out new places and people, but after a while, you just wanna be home with your family in a comfortable bed with a pillow (I didn't have room to pack a pillow for my move to D.C. so I'm pillow-less out here). Sometimes being around the familiar is nice. For my own entertainment, I'm going to recount my travels as best as I can remember. This will probably be boring to anyone but me, so you'll probably want to stop reading here. But hey, a blog is just a more efficient way to write in your journal, right?
March 2010-May 2010: Syndey, Australia for internship
August 2009: Newport News, Virginia for Operation Smile International Student Leadership Conference
July 2009: NYC for the weekend
June 2009: Ocotlan, Mexico for two weeks (with a day layover in SLC with the family on the way out and back)
May 2009: North Carolina for Duck Beach 2009! Woot woot! Body, body, body language
May 2009-August 2009: Washington D.C. for internship
March 2009: Eugene, Oregon for a week to visit sister, brother-in-law, and nephew (amazing times of jewelry making and BBC movie-watching)
February 2009: Las Vegas for 4 days for physical therapy conference, D.C. for 4 days to visit friends and check the area out
January 2009: Idaho for the weekend to go duck hunting
December 2008: Las Vegas for BYU football game (Perfect weekend with my BFF, except for the fact that BYU lost... that has a tendency to ruin my day.)
October 2008: Eugene, Oregon for a week (I believe this is the weekend I solidified my standing as Dallin's favorite family member)
September 2008: Seattle for BYU vs. UW football game (SO MUCH FUN-- went and watched BYU win, had a BBQ with old friends, and then went to a Mariner's baseball game. Perfect day, right?)
August 2008: Brazil for two weeks (absolutely unbelievable experience)
July 2008: Valdez, Alaska for 4 days for a glacier kayaking trip with roomies (I imagine heaven looks like Valdez. Lots of good stories from this trip)
June 2008: Anchorage, Alaska for a weekend temple trip
May 2008-August 2008: Fairbanks, Alaska for internship (possibly the greatest experience of my life)
end of May 2008: Eugene, Oregon for Memorial Day visit (missed my flight back to Alaska, had to call in sick to my internship)
April 2008: L.A. and Newport Beach California for Diane and Fernando's wedding (LOVED this trip because it was to see my friends marry each other-- SO COOL!)
March 2008: Eugene, Oregon for a week
Hmmm I'm forgetting some in between here.
December 2007: Las Vegas for BYU football game. (They won this time-- went with the family and unlike a lot of people, we stayed the whole time so we saw the blocked field goal)
Beginning of December 2007: Mexico for orphanage trip. (these trips are when I feel most alive-- I think this trip is when it took us 17 hours to drive home and there were 5 of us in a 2 door coupe)
November 2007: Idaho for duck hunting, Eugene, Oregon for Turkey Day (this was the trip when I flew home earlier than the rest of my family so I could go to the BYU vs. Utah game)
October 2007: Las Vegas for BYU football game, Mexico for orphanage trip, Eugene, Oregon (I went to school in between all of this, I swear.)
August 2007: L.A. for Diana and Junior's wedding, Idaho to go fishing with Dad, brother and uncles
July 2007: Mexico for orphanage trip
May 2007: Newport Beach, California for Memorial day with friends (awesomely awkward/ fun and creepy)
March 2007: St. Louis for a week, Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona for a weekend to check out grad schools, Denver for a weekend to interview at Regis University
February 2007: Denver for a weekend for interview at UC, Seattle for a weekend to check out UW
December 2006: Kauai, Hawaii for Christmas (this is when Heather told us she was pregnant with Dallin!!)
November 2006: Thanksgiving in Idaho (this was the weekend of the "John Beck is on the run, he throws behind him, it is... CAUGHT FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!!!--- just in case you forgot).
October 2006: Colorado Springs for BYU vs. Air Force game (the beginning of a fabulous tradition with Red)
January 2006- May 2006: moved to Laie, Hawaii for school
August 2005: went to Hawaii for ten days to visit old roommates
December 2004-May 2005: moved to Hawaii for school
I haven't even included all of my moves on this list. Again, for my own entertainment.
Move #1: moved out of my parents to Raintree apartments for my first semester at BYU
Move #2: moved to Hawaii for a semester
Move #3: moved to Glenwood in Provo for 3 months
Move #4: moved back home for a month because of insane construction at Glenwood
Move #5: moved to Regency apartments in Provo for a semester
Move #6: moved to Hawaii for a semester
Move #7: moved into Stonebridge in Provo for TWO WHOLE SEMESTERS!!
Move #8: moved into Enclave 211- The Clave Cave (best decision ever!) for a semester
Move #9: moved into Enclave 107 for a semester(doesn't sound like a big move right? Wrong-- I have a ton of stuff-- just ask Pere)
Move #10: moved into Enclave 104 for a semester
Move #11: moved to Turnberry in SLC for a semester
Move #12: moved to Alaska for a semester
Move #13: moved to Sugarhouse for TWO SEMESTERS!
Move #14: moved to Washington D.C. (well, Vienna Virginia technically) for a semester.
There is a serious lack of stability in my life. Don't get me wrong-- I love my life. But sometimes it just wears you down to always be out of your comfort zone and always have to make new friends, and then once you get comfortable with them-- then leave again. However, I wouldn't trade my experiences the past few years for anything. I have met some of the most amazing people ever, and even if I'm not able to keep in touch with them, I will always remember the fun times and how much they meant to me. I have a lifetime of fantastic memories.
March 2010-May 2010: Syndey, Australia for internship
August 2009: Newport News, Virginia for Operation Smile International Student Leadership Conference
July 2009: NYC for the weekend
June 2009: Ocotlan, Mexico for two weeks (with a day layover in SLC with the family on the way out and back)
May 2009: North Carolina for Duck Beach 2009! Woot woot! Body, body, body language
May 2009-August 2009: Washington D.C. for internship
March 2009: Eugene, Oregon for a week to visit sister, brother-in-law, and nephew (amazing times of jewelry making and BBC movie-watching)
February 2009: Las Vegas for 4 days for physical therapy conference, D.C. for 4 days to visit friends and check the area out
January 2009: Idaho for the weekend to go duck hunting
December 2008: Las Vegas for BYU football game (Perfect weekend with my BFF, except for the fact that BYU lost... that has a tendency to ruin my day.)
October 2008: Eugene, Oregon for a week (I believe this is the weekend I solidified my standing as Dallin's favorite family member)
September 2008: Seattle for BYU vs. UW football game (SO MUCH FUN-- went and watched BYU win, had a BBQ with old friends, and then went to a Mariner's baseball game. Perfect day, right?)
August 2008: Brazil for two weeks (absolutely unbelievable experience)
July 2008: Valdez, Alaska for 4 days for a glacier kayaking trip with roomies (I imagine heaven looks like Valdez. Lots of good stories from this trip)
June 2008: Anchorage, Alaska for a weekend temple trip
May 2008-August 2008: Fairbanks, Alaska for internship (possibly the greatest experience of my life)
end of May 2008: Eugene, Oregon for Memorial Day visit (missed my flight back to Alaska, had to call in sick to my internship)
April 2008: L.A. and Newport Beach California for Diane and Fernando's wedding (LOVED this trip because it was to see my friends marry each other-- SO COOL!)
March 2008: Eugene, Oregon for a week
Hmmm I'm forgetting some in between here.
December 2007: Las Vegas for BYU football game. (They won this time-- went with the family and unlike a lot of people, we stayed the whole time so we saw the blocked field goal)
Beginning of December 2007: Mexico for orphanage trip. (these trips are when I feel most alive-- I think this trip is when it took us 17 hours to drive home and there were 5 of us in a 2 door coupe)
November 2007: Idaho for duck hunting, Eugene, Oregon for Turkey Day (this was the trip when I flew home earlier than the rest of my family so I could go to the BYU vs. Utah game)
October 2007: Las Vegas for BYU football game, Mexico for orphanage trip, Eugene, Oregon (I went to school in between all of this, I swear.)
August 2007: L.A. for Diana and Junior's wedding, Idaho to go fishing with Dad, brother and uncles
July 2007: Mexico for orphanage trip
May 2007: Newport Beach, California for Memorial day with friends (awesomely awkward/ fun and creepy)
March 2007: St. Louis for a week, Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona for a weekend to check out grad schools, Denver for a weekend to interview at Regis University
February 2007: Denver for a weekend for interview at UC, Seattle for a weekend to check out UW
December 2006: Kauai, Hawaii for Christmas (this is when Heather told us she was pregnant with Dallin!!)
November 2006: Thanksgiving in Idaho (this was the weekend of the "John Beck is on the run, he throws behind him, it is... CAUGHT FOR THE TOUCHDOWN!!!--- just in case you forgot).
October 2006: Colorado Springs for BYU vs. Air Force game (the beginning of a fabulous tradition with Red)
January 2006- May 2006: moved to Laie, Hawaii for school
August 2005: went to Hawaii for ten days to visit old roommates
December 2004-May 2005: moved to Hawaii for school
I haven't even included all of my moves on this list. Again, for my own entertainment.
Move #1: moved out of my parents to Raintree apartments for my first semester at BYU
Move #2: moved to Hawaii for a semester
Move #3: moved to Glenwood in Provo for 3 months
Move #4: moved back home for a month because of insane construction at Glenwood
Move #5: moved to Regency apartments in Provo for a semester
Move #6: moved to Hawaii for a semester
Move #7: moved into Stonebridge in Provo for TWO WHOLE SEMESTERS!!
Move #8: moved into Enclave 211- The Clave Cave (best decision ever!) for a semester
Move #9: moved into Enclave 107 for a semester(doesn't sound like a big move right? Wrong-- I have a ton of stuff-- just ask Pere)
Move #10: moved into Enclave 104 for a semester
Move #11: moved to Turnberry in SLC for a semester
Move #12: moved to Alaska for a semester
Move #13: moved to Sugarhouse for TWO SEMESTERS!
Move #14: moved to Washington D.C. (well, Vienna Virginia technically) for a semester.
There is a serious lack of stability in my life. Don't get me wrong-- I love my life. But sometimes it just wears you down to always be out of your comfort zone and always have to make new friends, and then once you get comfortable with them-- then leave again. However, I wouldn't trade my experiences the past few years for anything. I have met some of the most amazing people ever, and even if I'm not able to keep in touch with them, I will always remember the fun times and how much they meant to me. I have a lifetime of fantastic memories.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Fun Few Weeks
Well I've been living here in D.C. for 3 weeks now, so I thought I'd give an update of what I've been up to.
I work Monday through Friday at a physical therapy clinic. I love working there-- the physical therapists there are great, my patients are awesome, and I feel like I do a good job and I feel like I am well liked. I feel a lot more competent at this internship than I did during my internship in Alaska last summer. Sometimes I am a tad bit bitter that I am not getting paid and am paying tuition, but hey what can you do? The only other downside is that I have to wake up at 5 A.M.!!!!!!!!! I am not a big fan of that and wouldn't do it voluntarily, but since I have to, there are some cool things about it. When I leave to walk to the bus stop, the air still has that crisp morning feel and the past few days there has been a layer of fog rising up from the trees and it is very beautiful.
Over Memorial Day weekend, I had the chance to go to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for Duck Beach. BEST WEEKEND EVER!!!! I seriously could not imagine a more perfect weekend. My best friend Red flew out for it, and we drove down with my friends Melissa and Kari (about a 5 hour drive). We stayed in a beach house with about 25 guys and gals. It was dirt cheap AND food was included-- the girl who put the house together made us dinner every night too. I didn't have to bust out my wallet once on the trip. We spent all day Saturday at the beach playing in the ocean, playing soccer and football and hanging out with people. Oh I forgot to mention that Duck Beach is an annual event for single LDS people (it has been going on for 20 years). People from all over the country fly in for it and people just rent out giant beach houses and then just spend the whole weekend having fun. There were probably 600 Mormons there. So we had tons of people to play with on the beach and get to know. That night there were parties to go to and even just hanging out with everyone at our beach house was fun. Sunday we didn't do much besides reading scriptures and conference talks and hanging out, but it was perfect. It was very relaxing and refreshing. That night we went to one of the beach houses where they were having an acoustic night/party and that was a blast. Monday we spent the whole day at the beach. We had so much fun playing soccer on the beach and throwing a football around. I can't even describe how perfect this weekend was. The atmosphere was amazing, I made a lot of new friends, I laughed a lot, I felt like myself the whole time-- didn't feel self-conscious or lame or whatever--. It wasn't the kind of beach trip where you just go to meet guys and wear super nice clothes and try to be popular. It was just a ton of awesome people gathering to have fun. I loved it.
Oh, my sister was in town (D.C.) for Memorial Day weekend. I, sadly, was not so I didn't get to spend much time with her, but we did squeeze an hour or so in after work and before I left for North Carolina. I met her and her friends at one of the Smithsonians, then we went and wandered around Georgetown and then went to one of the cupcake shops they have here. It must be an East Coast thing, but they have tons of shops that just sell cupcakes. That was a lot of fun and the cupcakes were heavenly. We each got one and then shared.
Then this weekend, I had a blast going to the Herndon Fair with Melissa. It was exactly what you would imagine a hick fair to be. There was live bands, fireworks, a carnival, fair-type food, and a crazy assortment of people. There were the gangstas with their doo'rags and bling pushing strollers with their babies in em and talking about riding the merry go round. There were high school guys and gals dressed in their little summer outfits trying to impress each other. There were your typical hicks with their wife-beater tees and cigarette in hand. You could find just about every type of person there. Melissa and I loved it.
We waited in line for AN HOUR for funnel cakes and played a camera game to help pass the time. We would say an expression and then quickly snap a picture, so the other person had to react very quickly and act out that expression.
pensive
confused
angry
surprised
We were the very last people to get funnel cakes-- all the people in line behind us who had been waiting 45+ minutes were out of luck.
This upcoming weekend I am going to Chesapeake Bay with the Relief Society in my ward and we are having a little slumber party and then going sailing on Saturday. I'm really excited!
Other than that, I've just been getting to know the D.C. area. I've been able to do quite a bit of exploring, despite my lack of car. :( I am now an expert of the public transportation here (bus, metro, etc). It has been a lot of fun so far!
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