3500.1 miles later...

...I've driven across the country.  Holy crap. 

Thank you Google Images...not my exact route but good reference!

Tomorrow, I start my new contract.  The night before starting a new contract is eerily similar to the night before the first day of school.  I experience this feeling every 13 or so weeks and still hate it!  No worries...my outfit is picked out, nails are done, and I've got scrubs packed too just in case they want me to treat for an hour tomorrow.  Pre.  Pared.

I figured now is a great time for another entry as well as a great way to reflect upon the past INCREDIBLE 10 days of my life. I'm going to utilize bullet points to highlight my cross-country adventure.  Here it goes:

• Day 1: Boston,MA > Bethlehem, PA- We stayed with my cousin and his family.  Let me tell you, he's set the bar high.  He's the first one to get married, start a family, and become a legit homeowner.  Not only does he have a beautiful family...but his house is definitely impressive.  Helps that his wife has impeccable taste.  This drive was wimpy but the visit was worth it.
• Day 2: Bethlehem, PA > Prospect, KY- 10 hours- Another family visit!  LZAK and I were able to visit with my aunt, uncle, and 2 other cousins.  Again...another impressive home (we were spoiled the first 2 nights of our trip).  It was SO great to spend the night here.  We were entertained with old family videos (hard evidence of my family's insanity), delicious food, drink, and laughter.  
• Day 3: Prospect, KY > Oklahoma City, OK: UP EARLY for a nice 11.5 hour drive through corn fields and straight highways.  We learned that the world's largest rocking chair can be found in Missouri AND that the shopping cart was invented in Oklahoma!  Who knew?!  We arrived at the hotel, who lost our reservation, and hightailed it to the restaurant.  After a few Corona's, enchiladas, and cowboy sightings, we watched an episode of "FRIENDS" and went to sleep.  
• Day 4: Oklahoma City, OK > Flagstaff, AZ: 12.5 hours- Oh, hello route 40.  More fields, rolling hills, and SNOW.  We arrived late night in Flagstaff and nearly froze our butts off.  19 degrees and snow on the ground.  We were highly delirious from the long day of driving and the girl at the front desk found us less than amusing when she asked if I had brought any animals with me and I pointed at my sister.  I thought it was funny.  Oh...this is also the night where I learned that I LOVE room service.  

Day 5: Flagstaff, AZ > Grand Canyon > Hoover Dam > Las Vegas, NV:  In theory only 5 hours...but we took 8.  If you haven't been to the GC and would like to go...I will go back with you!  I've never been more overwhelmed and skeptical of something I'm looking at than when I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time.  First, I didn't know where to rest my eyes. They kept darting around trying to decipher the different depths, colors, and directions.  The view is spectacular and so unreal. I had a hard time believing that it was real which is why I'd like to go back and spend a few days absorbing it.   From there, we headed into Vegas with a pit stop at the Hoover Dam where we were thoroughly entertained by jumping back and forth from the Central to the Pacific time zones and saying "hello" and "goodbye" to Arizona and Nevada as we did so.  Huge.  Geeks.  The Hoover Dam was cool, though, and provided great entertainment for me.  My sister hates bridges and I dragged her out onto what is possibly the highest bridge I've ever walked across...she spazzed a little :)  VEGAS was so much more wonderful than I ever imagined!  I loved it!  Too bad we only had approx 15 hours to enjoy it...so we must go back!  We stayed at the Vdara in a beautiful suite, enjoyed an amazing dinner, gambled a bit, and divulged in a few adult beverages with the money my sister won on the slot machines!  The lights, water show, and energy were completely invigorating.  If you'd like to go to Vegas...let me know...I'll go there again too.

LZAK on the bridge :)  

Water show at the Bellagio

Le Sigh...Paris

• Day 6: Las Vegas, NV > San Francisco, CA: (after a morning of room service...I really do love it) 11 hours...California is HUGE.  Seriously.  Living in New England my whole life has completely skewed my perception on how big the rest of our country really is.  Also...driving from NV > CA sucks.  I thought the Midwest was boring.  There's really nothing to see...unless you really love dirt...I don't love dirt.   We did arrive safe and sound, at my new home, on Treasure Island.  

If you're a pirate, like me, you're instantly attracted to the name of my new island.  Island's, in general, are attractive.  This one, however, is not.  I can't ignore the fact that I haven't found a more spectacular view of San Francisco than the one down the street from my house, but, I live in old navy barracks.  Very sterile, uniformed way of living.  I've been spoiled by the beautiful architecture found in New England (the concierge in Oklahoma said he loves "This Old House" because it's often filmed in New England...no lie).  The positives, which I will be focusing on, are:

1. rent is wicked cheap
2. location is amazing
3. my roommates are awesome (from Iceland, Italy, and the US)
4. we have a dog.  done.  
5. oh...the view is seriously unreal:

Bay Bridge/SF from TI (you can also see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate from the island)

right?  

All in all...I couldn't be happier with my new city.  I've already explored Muir Woods, Sonoma Valley, and a small portion of San Francisco!  The people here are incredibly welcoming and I'm loving the 60 degree "rainy" season.  I've only experienced 3 "almost" panic attacks (once I finally admitted that I had driven across the country, woke up the first morning and looked out my window, and dropped my sister off at the airport to fly home) and have recovered nicely.  

As much as I miss my friends and family (seriously...a lot), I'm excited for what I'm about to experience.  There are so many amazing sights, museums, vineyards, and restaurants to experience...a whole new culture to appreciate and learn from!  I cannot wait to have friends and family visit me and help make this city more personal.  This weekend starts the first of many visits from friends I deeply love.  We're exploring wine country and SF (via go-cart!).  It's going to be great :)

I cannot wait to share further experiences with you!  

With love, from Treasure Island :)  

"Thank You" Doesn't Even Cut It...

November, 11...Happy Veteran's Day.  How can you REALLY thank those who sacrifice their lives to protect our freedom?  I don't think I'll ever know the answer to that question.  Especially after the conversation I had this week with my 94 year old patient.

We all know someone who has served/is currently serving.  We've studied multiple war's growing up in school and have even participated in reenactments (or observed them) in an effort to gain a greater appreciation for our veteran's.  Or...maybe I'm the only one..::cough:: nerd.

My Grandfather earned a purple heart in WWII.  One afternoon (I think I was about 10), while I was snooping around my grandparent's attic, I found one of his old uniforms.  In the mind of a 10 year old, the right thing to do is obviously play dress up!  I proudly donned the uniform and made my way downstairs to show off my new threads.  As I burst through the door, I quickly learned that this probably wasn't the best idea.  My Grandmother escorted me upstairs where she helped me change into a more appropriate "dress up" costume.  She explained that my Grandfather wasn't mad at me but I probably shouldn't play with his uniform again. Oops.

Thank you, Google Images.  

Based on memory, this picture here is close to what I found.  Heavy wool, big brass buttons, and beautifully colored patches.

A few years later, equipped with a better sense of judgement and maturity, I was able to sit and talk to my grandparent's about their experience with the war.  Mixed in with sad and scary recollections of things I will NEVER be able to understand, was a beautiful love story.  I learned that they met before the war had started (my Grandmother swears she didn't like him despite her mother insisting he was "a nice Polish boy") and he decided to court her through the mail.  60+ years later...she still has the letters.

I've unfairly assumed that most people are able to share similar stories of fear, courage, and love.  I'm dumb.

As previously mentioned, I've been working with a 94 year old man.  He, like my Grandfather, is a WWII vet.  We're going to call him "Smokin' J"...he's AWESOME.  He might be 5'2" on a good day, wears suspenders, over-sized pants, and a semi-toothless perma-grin.  The PT I currently work with brings him a small apple-pie from McD's every day which he thoroughly enjoys as he starts his morning exercises.  Smokin' J LOVES food, ordering me to clean his glasses, and thermostats reading 100+ degrees.

It's starting to get pretty cold out...I've stopped wearing flip-flops.  Smokin' J does not like the change in weather and chooses to boldly exhibit his feelings by shouting,  "It's f*ing cold in here...whaddaya tryin' to do to me?  Preserve my a**?  Does anyone know how to turn on the g-damn heat? It's stupid!"....yeah...how was I supposed to respond?  A hug isn't appropriate.

-"Smokin' J", I said, "Why do you want to be so hot (not just warm) all the time?!  I happen to know it's 75 degrees in here...you'll be fine".
(P.S- he can't hear at all...so we're literally shouting back and forth to each other)
-"I'm used to 120 degree weather...IN MY UNIFORM!  This weather is for you pansies!"
-"Uniform?  120 degrees?  What are you talking about?"
-"I fought the war!  We beat the Japs!  In 120 degree weather!"
-"Oh yeah?  Where were you, Smokin' J?".
-"I survived Guadalcanal and Peleliu."

I was immediately left speechless.  He just sat there, staring at me, waiting for my response.  He took a bite of his apple pie and just smiled at me.  If you're not familiar with these battles, here you go:

http://www.hbo.com/the-pacific/index.html#/the-pacific/episodes/0/01-part-1/article/historical-background.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Peleliu

Honestly, before religiously watching HBO's "The Pacific", I had only really focused on the battles fought over in Europe.  This INCREDIBLE mini-series reenacted WWII's battles in the Pacific with raw live footage and interviews mixed in with the magic of movie making.  Do yourself a favor and watch it!

Smokin' J's scheduled 30 minute treatment session turned into me eating lunch with him later that afternoon. He completely opened up to me about his experiences with the U.S. Marines.  He described the harsh conditions they were expected to live in, lack of food, intense loss, fear, and what it was like to realize he had survived TWO of history's most deadly battles...and was heading home.  (Smokin' J can't hear anymore because of the residual effects of being around so much gun fire, bombs, etc...)  Considering everything he has experienced in life, Smokin' J is extremely well settled, a great conversationalist, and...adorable.

Thank you, Google Images. 

I decided to ask why he was never married.  At this point on our date, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.  Inside, he exposed three pictures:

1.) Solo shot of him, dressed in his uniform, with his gun.
2). A photo of him and two islanders.
3). A photo of him and the female from photo #2.

This photo, here, is obviously not one of the 3 he showed me. BUT...similar quality...and just for a reference point :)  

"That girl, right there...love of my life.  Her father gave her to me in exchange for a pack of cigarettes.  Crazy son of a b*tch!".

He explained that she was the Chief's daughter in this tiny village he had helped to protect from the enemy.  They spent 30 days together before he was ordered to move on to his next battle.  "I didn't know if I was gonna make it...so I left without saying goodbye.  She knew I loved her, though."

Smokin' J managed to keep that perma-grin on his face during this whole conversation.  I, on the other hand, had a hard time fighting back the tears.  He admitted that, even though having a family of his own would have been nice, he never found another woman "worth sharing cigarette's with."

Thank you, Smokin' J.
Thank you, Grandpa.
Thank you to everyone else who embodies more courage than I'll ever be able to muster up.

God Bless.

T-3 weeks

(Sunset from my Grandparent's beach)

My life is blessed.  I was born into the most beautiful, loving, crazy family I've ever met.  My friends are incredibly inspiring, supportive, funny, and loyal.  Oh, and I am completely in love with my job.  I can easily access all of these things within a half hour drive...in New England.  I love New England.

"The 'boro", Newfound Lake, Old Silver Beach, and Durham, NH (in reality, this list is endless) can take credit for solidifying my love for this area.  Fall is my favorite season: foliage, apple picking, camping, pumpkin beer while sitting fireside...it's done right here.  The last 4 years of my life have been spent living in Boston, absorbing its chaotic energy, and discovering life as a "city girl". It's perfect.  I'm leaving.

In three weeks, the remainder of my life's belongings will be placed in one of two places:
1). storage unit
b). trunk of my car

LZak and I are driving cross country where, once we arrive and I'm moved in, she will hop on a plane and fly back home.  If I didn't have amazing bladder control, I'd probably pee my pants...I'm nervous. Spending a week in a car with my sister...you'd be nervous too...

I kid, LZak.

I'm temporarily leaving for many reasons.  I've accepted a job contract at an acute rehab hospital where I will be able to work with stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury survivors.  Populations I'm extremely passionate about and professional skills I will be able to wrestle out of hibernation- more on that another day.  Obviously I'll miss the geriatric patients I've been bonding with for the past year, aside from the persistent bullying from the "Purple Haired Posse" of course, and will be forever grateful for their advice and inspiration.

Another reason- I don't think I know how to fully appreciate the present.  I'm constantly preparing for my next plan.  Distracting myself with friends.  Or looking for my next travel destination/place I "belong".

Hopefully, through this experience, I'll learn how to be comfortable by myself.
Hopefully, through this experience, I'll learn how to communicate more effectively with people.
Hopefully, through this experience, I'll learn how to fully appreciate the present...with some good company...and a glass of Pinot :)