Why I love New York in 100 words or less...

Plan for the day: walk to Brooklyn Bridge and see the Statue of Liberty.
Accomplished today: walked Brooklyn Bridge, saw G
round Zero, ate at Whole Foods, walked through Battery Park City and Battery Park (officially my favorite place in NYC, view is breathtaking), rode State Island Ferry, stared at the water for a long time, wandered Wall Street, checked out city from a rooftop, hung out with a great friend, and had yummy yummy dinner in Brooklyn. All you could ask for in a day and more.

Updates

So.... yeah, long time no post again. So much has been happening and I keep thinking I need to go back and blog it, and then I don't, and the avalanche of things to post gets bigger and bigger. Sorry.

What's new with me (in my favorite list format, of course):

1) work, work, work. I am getting much more comfortable in my nursing role and have found a happy working ground with my boss, a major feat if you've ever heard any of my work stories.

2) I'm applying to the Army Nurse Corps. Many of you probably already know that, but my application is really moving forward now. I have my military physical at West Point at 0800 tomorrow morning, which should be a trip. I'm still weighing the pros and cons of this decision, but thankfully I don't have to commit to anything for another several months. The super plus side: active duty military travels the world for pretty cheap. Anyone up for a round-the-world adventure?

3) Travel, lots of travel. So far in 2010 I have been to Seattle, Portland, Italy, upstate New York/New Jersey, and Arizona. This weekend I'm heading up to Vermont and possibly New Hampshire and Maine, which I'm really excited about! I've hit I think 29 out of 50 states so far, and by next week hopefully that total will be somewhere between 30 and 32. Plus, there's nothing like New England in fall, so it should be a gorgeous drive. I'm crossing my fingers for a Thanksgiving weekend trip to the Caribbean as well, but we'll see if time/money allow. And the year's not over yet!

4) I got a tattoo. I've been chewing on this idea for a year now, and finally decided it was worth it to have ink in my skin forever. The design is my own and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. There's a big long emotional story behind it all, but it's boring to everyone but me, so I'll settle with I have a pretty flower on my wrist. It's colored like Fruit Loops right now, awesome.

Life gets more interesting every day. I am keeping busy with all kinds of new adventures, hopefully I'll be better about getting a few of them up here every once in a while. Love you all!

It's been way too long!

I know, I've been way too lax in updating the blog lately. Most of my loyal readers (all 7 of you...) already know what's been happening in my crazy, busy life, but I suppose an electronic update is far overdue. So here's the recap:

1. I moved to Brooklyn. My friends Gennie and Sue have been sharing an apartment for 2 years, and as Gennie just vacated her room for cohabitation with her BF, I found myself taking her room and roommate as my own. It's been good. I LOVE Brooklyn. (Gennie, if you're reading this, I don't want to hear any I-told-you-sos)

2. I got a bike. The day after I moved to Brooklyn. I LOVE my bike. I forgot how great it feels to pedal around with the wind on my face and just bask in the sun and love the city. Awesome. Also part of why I love Brooklyn.

3. I went to Italy. Top position on my "bucket list" was to see Florence. Check. What an amazing country! I spent a week traveling Italy alone and with random newly-made friends. I squeezed in Rome, Florence, and Ischia in one week. Breathtaking, awe-inspiring, speechless. That's what I have to say.

4. I'm visiting Seattle again, 2 months after my last visit. So far I've been able to spend time with some of the most amazing family ever, hung out at Lake Chelan, visited my best friend in Portland, and had (so far) 2 dates with the hot guy previously mentioned. Looking forward to a long 4th of July weekend ahead of me.

I know I owe details on all of that, but it's 1:30am and I'm toast. So more to follow soon, I promise.

I have a date!!!

I have had a super crush on the once-upon-a-time guy next door for what feels like forever and a day. When I lived in Lynnwood umpteen million years ago we danced around hanging out for a while, but I was always in a complicated mess with that someone else. So it never managed to go anywhere.
Yesterday, however, I went to say hi to Mr. Cute Guy for probably the first time in 4 years, and it was like picking up right where we left off. There was some casual flirting, a lot of stupid grinning, and relatively easy conversation. But we never made any plans for anything else. Which makes sense, since I live in NYC, not Lynnwood. But darn it, it's time I got to go out for real, with no extra attachments. With a super cute guy who makes me smile just thinking about. So this evening I went back over there and asked a boy out to dinner for the first time ever. Totally embarrassing, but it worked! And now, after I don't know how long of waiting, I have a date for this week!
And the nerves are totally kicking in. Here's hoping I have some tiny idea of what to do on a first date, with a guy I've liked for a long time and now live a continent away from! Wish me luck, I just might need it! He's so cute I get a little tongue-tied. And he looks an awful lot like this:



*post-date update: holy crap, that was one amazing evening! not a crazy romantic kind of date, but very comfortable and (mostly) easy. we had dinner on the waterfront, walked on the beach, then took his dog for an hour+ long walk. we chatted comfortably, and it was really nice! too bad for the 3000 miles. and the goodbye *hug*, which was very gentlemanly and a little less than I'd hoped for. but what more can I ask for from an evening. and now I'm going to go to bed grinning!*

Free at last!

Today was the last day of my Nurse Residency program! Nurse residency is the one-year orientation program new nurses go through to get up to speed and get support in learning the trade. Well, that's what it's supposed to mean anyway. Overcoming this one year mark, intact, means one thing: I'm free!!!
I've worked all kinds of jobs in my life, from waiting tables and tending bar, to retail sales, to accounting, to research science and databasing, to hand hygiene observations, and a lot of other fun stuff in between. But none of those jobs has been nearly as crazy as the one I have now as a nurse. Quite possibly none of them have been nearly as rewarding and fulfilling, either, but definitely not as crazy. In any given work day, I'm a medication pusher, nagger, waitress, therapist, physical therapist, social worker, nutritionist, diagnostician, housekeeper, secretary and confidante. That's being a nurse. It's quite a job. Made that much more intense by the environment in which I work, which is chaotic on a good day, terrifyingly awful and abusive on a bad day.
I've been really torn about how I want to shape my career once I hit this point, and frankly I still am. But today marked the point where I get to really make that choice, instead of just dreaming about it. Freedom means I can go do anything I could possibly want to do, like Labor & Delivery or Pediatrics. But it also means I could stay right where I am and enjoy the relationships I've fought long and hard to build and the respect I've developed, because I want to and not because I have to. It's amazingly freeing to know the choice is in my hands now! For all the days I'm stuck in the boss' office being reminded of all my flaws, over and over again, it's good to know I can tolerate it as a learning experience, or get the heck out of Dodge. Funny how even the worst of situations can be tolerable when I know it's for me and not for anyone else.
So I have some thinking to do in the next few weeks. So many choices! Wish me luck!! And feel free to weigh in if you have any sage words of wisdom...

How did I get here?

Today, March 24th, 2010 I did something I can honestly say I never thought I would do. And I've done a lot of random, weird things in my life (including the mechanical bull riding from earlier this week). But today might be the winner. Because today I gave and received a lap dance. Yes, a lap dance. I'm pretty sure that fun class I take every Wednesday was meant for exercise, but apparently it's also for learning bizarre new tricks in life. And I gotta tell you, they aren't easy to do. Particularly when the girl in the chair is a complete stranger and you're embarrassed out of your mind.
Seriously, when did this become my life??? Not that I'm complaining, I'm really not. It's a pretty good life. But for those of you who knew me a decade or more ago, how did I get here? It's sure been a crazy ride. On the plus side, I'm pretty sure I can do just about anything now. Yay for being multi-talented...

The best things in life are free...

...like the first real day of spring, walking in the rain, at night, soaking wet, surprisingly warm, and deliriously happy with it all.
Funny how the best moments sneak up on you.