-megabus up to the big apple = $27.00. sat next to a quiet guy who read and napped = awesome. sat in front of asian kid who played his DS and was very vocal throughout the trip = not so awesome. free wifi definitely helped a 4-5 hr turned 6-7 hr bus ride more tolerable.
-met up with bin in the classiest lobby of the swankiest building of my life, aka JP Morgan.
-dropped off my stuff at their super cool apartment in the kiehl's building near NYU and union square and went for a quick tour of NYU.
-dinner at ippudo: delicious ramen, kalbi beef with lime jello sauce and mushrooms, and chu-hai with fresh grapefruit juice you squeezed yourself with a juicer they brought you.
-back to the apartment, met bin's roommates, and then went out to the smith with ravi and had a few beers and the pink pussy ice cream sundae with red velvet cake. convinced bin that photobooth pics were a good idea. and they were.
-met up with bin's friends alyssa and marica at piano, some bar in the lower east side. this has been so far the only bar i've been to with more guys than girls trying to get in, and the bouncers were only letting girls in. we got in because bin was with me, and i have swagger. haha! had shots of tequila and then gin and tonic, and danced away until 4:30 am with bin. meet pierre, this french guy towards the end of the night, and he gives me his number.
-drunk food at artichoke which bin swears is the best pizza in NY: two huge spinach artichoke slices with white sauce and TONS of cheese (the specialty), a slice of margherita, and a slice of sicilian. i can barely finish a slice of the spinach artichoke, but it is fucking delicious.
thursday:
-slept in all morning til 1 pm.
-ate the slice of margherita pizza for breakfast. still fucking delicious.
-bin wakes up at 3 pm. hahaha.
-we decide to get thanksgiving dinner reservations at les halles, anthony bourdain's restaurant, with bin's friend humai, and go on a meat filled food tour before dinner (sausages, meatballs, etc.)
-none of the places bin took me to were open save for this amazing little german hole in the wall that we stumbled into. had THE BEST SAUSAGE OF MY LIFE. curry wurst = sausage with tomato-y curry sauce and fries. also, very light and refreshing wheat beer that i can't remember the name of.
-this greek guy at the sausage place makes very long and interesting conversation with bin and i. he is insistent that i move to new york immediately. and i rather agree with him, if i can have sausage like this all the time.
-dinner at les halles: roast turkey with fois gras and green beans, bin decided to have steak, and humai has salad. we share our desserts: banana flambee with coconut ice cream, pecan pie with vanilla ice cream, and the most decadent chocolate mousse. thumbs up mr. bourdain.
-back at the apartment, we watch youtube cat videos of maru the cat and weed through resumes of college kids trying to apply for jobs at JP morgan until bedtime.
friday:
-slept in again. bin went to his office for a couple of hours. meet up with marica and alyssa at the met. the met RULES.
-meet up with bin for THE BEST UDON NOODLES OF MY LIFE. they make the udon fresh in front of you. and i get the curry beef b/c i am still on a curry high from the curry wurst. and it definitely lives up to my expectations.
-marica, bin, and i go to the moma and meet up with bin's friend christina. the moma RULES.
-christina, bin, and i get dinner at boka: korean. dinner: beef soon doo bu, righteous korean fried chicken, pickled daikon radish, and sizzling fried tofu with kimchee, which doesn't sound so fancy, but OMG. it blew my world apart. we eat everything.
-we go for a crazy hunt for korean ginger tea, and end up at this japanese tea house. i get some genmai cha, bin gets white tea, and christina get some black tea.
-christina is still craving korean ginger tea, we buy some at a konbini type store and go back to bin's apt to experiment with it. we make it with a little too much cinnamon, but it tastes pretty decent anyways.
saturday:
-another late morning. i try to get some work done, but end up just listening to bon iver and enjoying being lazy on the couch.
-bin takes me to have brunch at spitzer's: we share vanilla pancakes with fresh berries, stumptown coffee, and crispy crispy bacon.
-wander around soho to work up an appetite for 'lunch'. marica meets us at uniqlo. spoils of soho shoppign: sweater tights from uniqlo, a ring, umbrella socks, and a complexly fashion forward top from top shop. there are many many other things i want, but shouldn't buy.
-alex meets us for a late lunch at new green bo: pork soup dumplings, green onion pancakes, sauteed sichuan eggplant with rice. OMNOMNOM.
-go back to the apt to change and meet marica in times square for off broadway avenue q. marica got half price tickets and we sat in the 4th row. an usher did back handsprings while we waited for curtains to rise. tried not to sing along, but failed. it was FANTASTIC. :)
-met up with bin and all 3 of his roommates (ravi, nick, matt) at city crab for oysters and drinks. moved to a beer bar, sampled all the beers on tap, and settled on one. bin is baller and pay for all my drinks. made everyone play fantasy threesome game. other friends meet us and leave us. a few of us moved to another bar/club, where we try to get into the scene, but it doesn't quite work. but still ballin, as my baller cousin and his roommate pay for my cover and drinks.
-marica decides to spend the night, so we go back to the apt with a good buzz and ravi, bin, marica, and i change into jammies and hang out on ravi's bed with ravi's bear collection. ravi makes sure we each get a bear to sleep with, (i get gordy) and we turn in.
sunday:
-wake up very very late. make plans for brunch with bin's friend liz at the smith at 2 pm, and make plans to meet alex and hang out for bit before then.
-alex meets me at bin's apt and we go to the strand, a bookstore that boasts "18 miles of books". meander along the art books, the comic books, the banned literature section. visit a huge halloween store that has a lifesize bust of darth vader with his mask off from return of the jedi and geek out a little.
-brunch: smoked salmon eggs benedict with home fries, hot coffee, and a bloody mary. best fucking brunch of my life. bin thinks i am an eggs benedict kind of person. i think he's right.
-go back to the apt and can't think of anything to do that doesn't involve food. ravi makes french press and then we finally decide to hit the holiday market at union square until dinner, since we aren't hungry enough to do food tours.
-the holiday market reminds me of the street fairs in seattle...kitschy and cute and fun to poke around.
-go to yakitori bar with bin and christina for dinner: assorted yakitori platter which includes chicken skin, chicken heart, and pork belly. we also get creamy salmon spaghetti and grilled chasu pork with avocado, which is surprisingly very very tasty together.
-pack up and bin hails me a cab over to the bolt bus stop, and catch the 10 pm bus back to DC.
-roll into my apt around 3 am, missing the big city and all the food, and not wanting to go to work at 7 am.
on my last day in seattle, we visited seattle u for a nostalgic walk about campus. things were so different. people i didn't recognize, new buildings, new paint, new furniture, new pavement. and yet, things were the same. i felt the same sense of home, the same sense of this dense little microcosm of a world that focused on student life. and it was so painfully clear that i am no longer a student, but an alumni, a visitor.
on our way out, i visited the chapel, just to see it one more time, to feel the beeswax wall one more time. and i sat and looked around, and tried to keep the lump in my throat at bay, but failed. i looked at the altar, at the alpha and the omega. and i came to realize something. this is neither the beginning, nor the end. i am not at the end. i'm smack in the middle of this ridiculous journey, and i have to respond to this challenge, this obliteration of what i know. i have to haul out the little courage i have, and keep my fear from consuming me entirely. and i have to trust that i will somehow make it through this, and that while everything is changing drastically, i have so much love, and so much support from my family and friends, that it would be impossible for me to fail in their eyes. and i can keep moving forward, knowing that they are behind me, and beside me, and cheering me on.
keep moving forward is the moral of the story from disney's meet the robinsons. it is a highly underrated movie, and i love it immensely. i love the cheesiness, the humor, the story, but most of all, i love the message. to keep moving forward, to not look backwards for very long. i have been repeating these three words to myself over and over. keep moving forward. keep moving forward.
i am going to washington d.c. for those who haven't heard, i got the job there, at washington hospital center, on the cardiac unit. i start on oct 18th, and am flying out there for a physical on the 8th and to try and find a place to live.
i am:
-terrified
-excited
-exceedingly sad to leave seattle and everyone i love here.
-trying not to be sad about leaving
-constantly nostalgic for all the little routines and rituals i have come to know.
-mostly optimistic about the adventure and starting fresh.
-apprehensive about the total culture and life shock i am about to experience.
well...apart from being a giant ball of feelings, the days have been going by easier than i expected. maybe they'll get harder as we count down, but for now, i'm getting by. leaving with this:
"This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal."
sooo...after a summer of sitting in a cubicle and worry-warting about why i haven't gotten anywhere with the job hunt, i suddenly find myself in a very odd situation. and i have no idea how to proceed. so, prepare yourself for a plethora of lengthy, haphazardly digressive speech.
first things first, i have an interview for a residency in washington dc. it's on sept 24th, and i'm flying out for a day. i told my parents once i got the confirmation email about it, and surprise of all surprises, they were both REALLY SUPPORTIVE and really excited about it. i feel like i'm in inception or something and i'm going to wake up somewhere crazy, because they've been kind of been pushing for me to go back to california this whole time. and so this is all very very exciting, especially since my girl natalie got the job!! it definitely has been a big reassurance that she's going through the same thing and that there's a possibility we might do this together! (i am trying to squeeze out all the silver linings i can!) but at the same time, it's absolutely TERRIFYING. hauling ass to the east coast? if i get the job, i have to leave seattle in two weeks and adjust to a completely new city all over again. as everyone keeps telling me, this is the best fucking time for me to pick up and just leave and experience something new and different, but thinking about leaving everyone and everything i've come to know and love here...well, it's incredibly sad and i can't even begin to process any of that yet.
next, i had a mini interview for another residency at providence hospital in everett. it was just a 5 minute meet and greet info session sort of thing, and so i'm waiting to hear back from them as to whether i can move on to a real interview. i think i did well, and the hospital sounds/looks fantastic, they're doing a lot of construction and opening a new campus, and the residency program is good too. this is sort of on the back burner as compared to DC, but god...i guess it's still on the table, and when push comes to shove, i don't know which one i would rather pick. both programs are good, but there's a good possibility that i would be able to start in critical care with everett, which is eventually what i want to do. the only thing is...do i want to be an hour north of seattle by myself?
so, both of these things came up so suddenly, and even though nothing has actually happened, my mind just started getting ahead of itself, and everything just seemed so overwhelming and unbearable. i keep saying this, but i keep feeling like i'm just counting chickens before they hatch...all these half baked plans that have a very real possibility of not going through. i feel silly for all these little panics i've been having, just periods of utter doubt in myself...i think because i'm feeling so on pause right now, like i'm waiting for my life to start, because there really isn't much that's grounding me. everything is temporary, a weird transitional and existential patch. and i dunno if it's this office job or whatever, but i feel so trapped at the same time, like all my future is going to consist of is staying in the lines, paying off loans and building up a 401k, and getting 2 weeks of vacation a year. my own little boring slice of the american dream pie. and then i die. it's all very depressing...mostly because it's true. i just feel so disillusioned and disenchanted with this lifestyle that so many people just seem to accept. like i'm not allowed to do anything but these things, because it would be irresponsible. i dunno. rambling.
finally....i got an email from the supervisor on my senior prac floor at swedish ICU, and she said that they were going to open a couple positions soon, and to apply and let her know so she can flag my name for the recruiter...applied for that today, and cannot believe the ridiculous timing! i emailed her weeks ago about any openings, and of all times, now is when i get an 'in' to swedish.
I CAN PUT AN RN, BSN AFTER MY NAME NOW. it's crazy town!! i got through nursing school, somehow, and passed the NCLEX, by the grace of god a little luck, and the prayers of good people. hahaha. it scares me a little how well i've progressed on the plans i've laid out, despite them being pretty short and achievable (i think?). well, bottom line...i am officially status ACTIVE. go me!
i am also realizing the huge importance of job satisfaction as a factor to happiness, work enthusiasm, and productivity. every day, i am thankful to have a job. well, internship. but every day, i don't want to go into work to stare at a computer and wrestle with why the software doesn't do what i want it to do. i get up every hour to go to the bathroom, get coffee, do anything else than be at my cubicle and crunch through excel sheets. i want a real job!!! and its getting more and more depressing when i see facebook statuses updated with people getting jobs and starting their first days. it seems so easy for everyone else. but i guess i'm not really at grovelling point yet. i'll get there soon enough. @_@
so...now onto the hard stuff. finding a job, or a residency. somewhere. which means maybe i'll have to relocate. something that hasn't really hit me yet as a reality. i just can't wait to be out of that cubicle, i guess. but not quite ready to accept all the reponsibilities of growing up either? i don't know.
anyways, i want to end on a happy note, so here we go.
1) congratulations to all my friends who just made it out of the CON, and best wishes for all of your very very bright futures!!! :)
2) and also a shout out to the amazing and beautiful people who passed NCLEX, found jobs (grr! hahaha), and are going to rock the nursing world. my eternal affections go out to you. :D
-i graduated from nursing school...yay! -i got a full time summer internship that pays! it's kinda boring, but could be worse. i never thought i would have a 9 to 5 job in a cubicle....BUT its a job. -i'm sort of homeless...hahaha. currently crashing at christine and brian's place at the broadway building. an incredibly good location for people watching at cal anderson. -i am taking the NCLEX on july 30th....insert nail biting/teeth grinding/profuse sweating/terribly short attention span/exponential increase in coffee consumption. -i keep trying to study, but don't get very much done. summer just doesn't inspire me to hit the books. especially after graduation.
sooo...this is the master plan so far: -pass the NCLEX RN licensure exam the first time. -apply, interview, and get hired somewhere, hopefully the ICU where i had my senior practicum, when i get my license processed. -once i get a steady income, get a better place to live. -after getting some experience, and paying off my loans, save the world.
blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh. i wish i had more concrete plans. and there's so much i want to do! i want to travel, and do amazing things. but i have loans to pay off and experience to get. all i know right now is that i want to stay with my friends up here and get my experience here. i've not yet had enough of seattle i guess. it's weird when you want things to tie you someplace and want to be free to cut loose any minute at the very same time. i wish i could articulate to you better what i'm feeling, but i can't even articulate this feeling of lostness to myself.
the celestial companion Still, courage, my friend. Still, all is not lost and you are not yet done. Still, there are fires to burn in the darkness and light to cast amongst the shadows. Still, there are moments that must be taken, fighting and spitting to the ground. Still, nothing has killed us yet. Still, the sky smiles on the brave. Still, have the strength to try and hold the sun in the palm of your hand, once more. Still, ever burning. Still, the most beautiful things come from beneath the ground. Still, the light is cast from the darkest of places. Still, we labour on under the cover of stars. Still, we know the truth rides high in our chests. Still, the world has yet to end, no matter how hard any of us try. Still. Until we are still. -I wrote this for you
i so needed to read this when i did. good luck to you, if you are struggling too. i will not give up.
i know a few of you, but not all of you. i just wanted to say, your shows were all AMAZING. original, beautiful, thought-provoking, risque, FUN. i loved every single concentration. you guys make me want to take up photography, but not at the same time, because i would never live up. congratulations, and fantastic work! soak it up, you deserve every bit of the praise.
everybody else remotely close to seattle u...go see it!! it's in the fine arts building gallery. you will be blown away by all the talent, i promise. and let me know when you go, i am totally willing to be a viewing buddy! :)
because i took what was supposed to be a 30 min nap around 5:30 pm. and i ended up sleeping til 12:47 am. and now i can't go back to bed.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. i'm still strategizing on how best to get back onto a semi-normal sleeping schedule. which has basically boiled down to: a) staying up until tomorrow night and turning in sort of early but not as early as today! or. b) dozing til about 6 am then getting up early.
the birds are starting to chirp. still trying to decide. hahaha. good morning.
picking up where elaine FAILED. hahahaha!! :P here's my january...a bit for every day. i'm cheating and posting it all at once. so beware. this is heinously long.
Day 01 Your favorite song my favorite song ever is don't stop believin by journey. glee does a fantastically epic version. i love this song, i never get tired of listening to it, and i never get tired of singing loudly along with it, off key, and if the occasion calls for it, air guitaring. put it on your to do list; with the car windows rolled down and some awesome people. :)
Day 02 Your favorite movie ugh...too many! i guess i always default back to little miss sunshine. such a fantastic cast of people, hilarious, touching, true to life yet fantastical at the same time. just enjoyable, start to finish. i saw it at the arclight in LA, and it's a true trip to the movies, even off the big screen.
Day 03 Your favorite television program wow...overall, i have to go with scrubs, even though it's off the air now. it just has so many elements of things i enjoy in a tv show - it makes you laugh, cry, and think. there's great multi-faceted characters, quippy sarcasm, slapstick bits, love stories, life issues, truth and wisdom in comedy and tragedy. and, of course...the medical stuff that gets mushed in there occasionally. a show currently going on...i like glee a LOT. and heroes. but definitely glee more!
Day 04 Your favorite book after many a summer dies the swan, by aldous huxley. i love this part in the beginning where one of the characters is reading off signs and billboards while driving through LA, and when all the phrases and titles and names are smushed together, it becomes complete gibberish...i love how cleverly that points out that all that we notice and take in but don't actually SEE is mostly gibberish. and the main themes that run through the book, about immortality and longevity, ego and corruption, happiness, transcendence, virtue, the greater good, etc. etc, etc. and the complete irony of the ending...of de-evolution, of regression, of decadence. fascinating, all the way through.
Day 05 Your favorite quote i obsessively collect quotes. document them. cling to them with my brain, and if not, with pen and paper. or a keyboard. but here's a favorite i always go back to: "Listen. Do not have an opinion while you listen because frankly, your opinion doesn't hold much water outside of Your Universe. Just listen. Listen until their brain has been twisted like a dripping towel and what they have to say is all over the floor."- Hugh Elliott
honorable mention: "'My fire is in that fire: / that is the shore that holds my light.'/ And sudden strength returned to my weary arms, and the waves seemed calmer to me” - Ovid, Heroides XVIII
Day 06 Whatever tickles your fancy hmmm...ummm...so this quarter is off to a kinda crazy start- full speed ahead, ready or not, here it comes sort of feeling. it's alright, i guess...i'm keeping up for now, and not at all at the same time. i'm slightly resenting have saturday clinicals, mostly because of SEARCH retreat, dance marathon, international dinner, and missing a whole day that anna will be here. especially since amanda told me she'd be done by the middle of february! blarrrgggghh...annoying. i really hope that this isn't the quarter that takes me down! i don't want to go down, never never. i'm just ramblinggg...this stuff floated up first in my thoughts to mention.
Day 07 A photo that makes you happy definitely the secret santa christmas photo from last year...i know we took another one, but the one from last year is still so amazing...haha. it makes me smile every time i see it, even though there's someone in it who sort of kills it for me.
Day 08 A photo that makes you angry/sad huh. well...pretty much any picture with that someone mentioned above in it makes me angry. i know that shit was a long time ago, but the pictures still piss me off because they remind me of how stupid i was back then, and how stupid he still fucking is now. as for sad...currently, any pictures with liz and joe in it, but especially the photobooth one on our fridge from the puyallup fair. :( Day 09 A photo you took my favorite photo is one from milan that i took while we were walking by everything in a big rush...it's an upward angle of a really cool street lamp, and i drew/painted it a couple years later for aimi for a christmas present.
Day 10 A photo of you taken over ten years ago hahaha...so...i love the one of me without my front teeth in my school uniform.
Day 11 A photo of you taken recently ummm...most recent i guess was dinner at chili basil?
Day 12 Whatever tickles your fancy we talked today in ethics class about virtue, and what makes a person virtuous, not just doing good because you're afraid of the consequences, but having the right motives, and also the right emotional responses (feeling good about doing good, feeling guilty about doing bad). and also, assessing a person's established patterns of behavior is important in looking at virtuousness. i asked if creating an established pattern for the purpose of being able to have lapses in the future and those lapses being more easily forgiven as a result of the established patterns made one immoral...and it turns out that it does, even if the lapses weren't planned...just accounted for as part of the original motive for behavior...and it occurred to me then that i am definitely immoral, for this is my life's philosophy.
Day 13 A fictional book i just finished reading shutter island, which that movie with leonardo dicaprio coming out is based on. it was a good addicting read, had some very intense moments; overall wasn't too mindblowing but it made you think a bit too. a perfect page turner for some downtime.
Day 14 A non-fictional book i don't really read any nonfiction!! nursing books don't count. they just don't appeal to me as much as fiction, no idea why. ummm...i'm going to have to go with this awesome book i got for christmas last year, passive-aggressive notes. for anyone who has some pent up aggression, this is your therapy.
Day 15 A fanfic hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Day 16 A song that makes you cry (or nearly) c'mon through - lasse lindh. a theme song for your melancholy.
Day 17 An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.) ooohhhh....this section opens up so many possibilities...! do i put something of mine up, or do i pick a favorite piece from another artist? let's do both! hahaha. so one of mine...probably my favorite piece i've created is this melon head one...the suit and tie was inspired by mr. bean, and it was the first time i used straight up ink on a major piece. the melon was inspired by another artist's cracked melon painting, and i loved the details in both and putting them together - they just fit, like pieces of a puzzle. as for a favorite piece ever? ummmmm.....that's difficult. i have to go with the garden of earthly delights, a triptych on wood by hieronymous bosch. it's so intricate with such fine details, amazing to behold. i have a big poster in my room of just a small section of one of the 3 panels, and there's so much to see, so much to think about. it would be so EPIC to see the whole thing in person, including the outside (you can fold it in, and there's a painting on the outside too). oh and guess what i just found out? it's the cover art on the fleet foxes album. what do they both look like? well...i unfortunately don't have a good pic of the first, and i recommend googling the second, and maybe looking at some of bosch's other pieces.
Day 18 Whatever tickles your fancy things i've been highly enjoying the past couple of days:
cooking
lazing on the couch
playing mario galaxy until i acquire what christine lovingly and humorously observes as "the claw"
newly acquired movies (500 days of summer, sunshine cleaning, inglourious basterds, lady vengeance)
swimming for the first time in a loooonngg time
Day 19 A talent of yours ahaha. natural or acquired? i'm actually a pretty fast reader and writer. i tried speed reading a couple times, it's hard! you have to skim to pick up words on the pages and sort of piece it all together/summarize what's going on so you can move on quickly. this is why i skip some big stupid descriptive paragraphs, because they don't really add to the plot if the book is silly (cough twilight cough emie!). i don't usually skip though!!! i read everything if the writing is good (harry potter!)/seemingly needless passages actually contribute to the themes running through the book, to symbolism and motifs, etc. as for writing, i do pretty well taking notes by hand in lectures, as long as i manage to stay awake! (sleeping in class is another great talent of mine.)
Day 20 A hobby of yours i write a LOT. i think that's my biggest hobby as of late. i write about stuff i'm thinking about, to destress, or writing letters, or stuff like this - sort of self prompting stuff. i like being introspective and sorting out my feelings with finding the right words to make them tangible on screen or paper.
Day 21 A recipe i just made this interesting soba noodle recipe with almond butter and red curry paste as the base for the sauce. it's easy to make, delicious, really filling, and pretty healthy too! it's also good cold, which made it perfect for a packed lunch. i used broccoli, and next time, i might add a little balsamic vinegar or a little more lemon juice. i definitely recommend trying it!
Almond Soba Noodles Recipe: 2 teaspoons red curry paste 1/3 cup unsalted almond butter 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice very scant 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 - 8 tablespoons hot water 12 ounces dried soba noodles 12 ounces extra-firm nigari tofu 4 ounces pea shoots (or other greens, or tiny pieces of broccoli) 12 leaves fresh basil, slivered 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Make the almond sauce by mashing the curry paste into the almond butter. Stir in the lemon juice and salt. And then whisk in the hot water one tablespoon at a time until you have a pourable dressing that is about as thick as a heavy cream. The dressing thickens as it cools, so feel free to thin it out with more water later on if needed. Taste, and add more salt or more curry paste if you like.
Cook the soba in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender, then drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain and shake off as much water as possible.
While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into matchsticks or 1/2-inch cubes. Cook the tofu, along with a pinch or two of salt, in a well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Add a tiny splash of oil if needed to prevent sticking. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. About 15 seconds before the tofu has finished cooking, add the pea shoots to the hot pan.
In a large bowl combine the noodles with 2/3 of the almond sauce. Toss well, be sure all the noodles get coated. Arrange the tofu and pea shoots on top of the noodles, drizzle with the remaining sauce, and garnish with the slivered basil and toasted almonds.
Day 24 Whatever tickles your fancy music i have been listening to lately and loving:
bon iver = no, i do NOT like them just because they were on the new moon soundtrack. (not sea wolf either, for that matter!). it's just mysterious, calmly painful and woodsy songs for any occasion of heartbreak. and i will usually fall prey to anything acoustic anyways.
phoenix = yes. that awesome cadillac commercial song (1901) just sucks you in. but despite all that, all phoenix songs just catches you and makes you want to dance/listen to it over and over.
matt and kim = another band that made a commercial breakout. lessons learned is my favorite track at the moment though.
the 500 days of summer soundtrack = fantastic movie, amazing soundtrack...enough said.
80s music = is so good. i know what you're thinking. but 80s music isn't all synths and michael jackson and cyndi lauper. i encourage a listen to some of the slightly lesser iconic songs that you will still recognize and love...REO speedwagon, i salute you.
bad romance a la lady gaga = i know. but you're lying through your teeth if you aren't also weirdly intrigued by her.
Day 25 Your day, in great detail i woke up at 10:30ish, ate a bagel for breakfast, got dressed and went to med/surg 2 class at 12:15. we learned about heart problems. then i had a quick lunch at subway with lindsay and we talked about this guy mike that she sort of had a thing with. then i went to work, which was mostly me sitting around then doing a bit of work at the end. i went home to change and grab a snack, then headed off to ethics class. came home and made a quick dinner of potatoes and salad, then went to the clag quad for heroes. we watched heroes, then i played mario galaxy til 1:30 am! i wasn't tired yet, so then i watched elizabethtown and a little bit of discovery health channel before finally going off to sleep.
Day 26 Your week, in great detail sunday, i mostly relaxed, we watched top gun, and i took an online quiz with lindsay, natalie, and rachel, and then i went to mass. monday, is described above! tuesday, woke up, had coffee and a bit of yogurt, then went to the gym to go swimming. i swam about 1125 m, then i went home, showered, then made tomato orzo soup for lunch. watched bride and prejudice while cooking/eating, then we tried to donate blood, but were unsuccessful! went home and wrote my writeup, made pasta for dinner, and turned in my writeup around 11 pm. today, i woke up, went to a meeting up at the lab for work, then came home and watched a bit of glee, tv, and have been wandering around the internet. went to class at 6, realized that next week will be terrifically busy. thursday, i went to work, and then came home, ate dinner quickly, then went off to model call. friday, i went to class at 8 am, went to our cohort meeting, ran to QFC between classes to get cupcake mix and other groceries, and then went to my second class, went home and baked cupcakes and made dinner/lunch for the next day, then i up to the lab to meet everyone so we could go up to tiffany's house to visit her and her baby and have dinner. after that, came home, talked to cynthia and christine, then went to bed. woke up early saturday morning for clinical, and spent my day in the ER. so busy! so many patients! i regret not doing an IV start, but i wasn't very confident in myself then. later, i suppose, i will pluck up the confidence to learn. came home pretty tired, but wanted to eat out, so rachel and i went to cafe presse. i had delicious roast beef terrine and frites. we came home and i went to bed early! sunday, i did my writeup and midterm clinical evaluation, then crammed for med/surg with lindsay, then stayed up too late doing absolutely nothing productive!
Day 27 This month, in great detail geez. i'll do my best! i started off the year at a new years party in a warehouse in LA. i made a silly mistake, right off the bat. i hope it's not indicative of what this year will be like. i spent a couple more days at home, trying to relax and get a couple of last minute hangouts in. then i came back up to seattle, started school, and was very overwhelmed at first, like i usually am. it felt like it took longer to get my shit together, but not at the same time? this quarter i will be working through med surg 2, pharm 2, and ethics. it's not so bad so far. i'm liking my weekend in the middle of the week. it's helping me keep my sanity...and get adequate sleep at the same time. who knew? i'm doing fitness challenge again, and unfortunately not with my roommates. it's also going pretty well! i'm actually wearing my retainer and making it to the gym. i am also doing model call again...as fun as ever, but with too many people! it feels a little unfamiliar now, but at the same time, i have closer friends in it now too. very glad the fashion show is NOT around graduation, and hoping it rocks, as the alice in wonderland theme is super awesome!! my friend anna from la came and visited me on MLK weekend, which was amazinggg!!! and january came and went, the start of a monumental year of tumultous change. i hope i can rise to meet it.
Day 28 This year, in great detail how am i supposed to begin to address this?? i have no idea what this year will be like. i know that if i pass all my classes, god willing, and manage to plan pinning well enough, then i will graduate in june. after that, i will be studying to take the nclex, then actually taking it somewhere. after that...who knows? it's the real world, it's uncertain, and i'm scared and excited but mostly scared. i keep thinking that i'll cross that bridge when i get there, but i don't feel like i have that luxury at all either. trying not to stress too much...right now, i'm trying to handle what's in front of me now. later can wait a little longer for now, even though each day is pushing me forward, unwilling or not.
Day 29 Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days hopes? dreams? plans? such beautiful words. well. i hope to graduate, to pass all the hurdles in order for me to finally be an (employed!) RN. i dream of the chance to travel a little, and to do something for the world. i keep thinking about being all heroic and charitable and getting out of myself and doing SOMETHING because i am unbelievably fortunate and i have everything, but others have nothing. i plan to start making every day count, to stop making so many damn excuses and stop taking things for granted. i plan to get outside of myself more this year.
Day 30 Whatever tickles your fancy i was just thinking about what quirks or characteristics about me is actually from other people. sometimes i can't even remember who certain sayings or mannerisms are from anymore. they've all been integrated into who i am. i am an amalgamation of everyone i've ever met. i take little bits of them and make them into part of myself. this is a disclaimer to everyone i've met and to everyone i'm going to meet: facial expressions, funny phrases, quips, silly actions, all tastes in music, film, internet meme, art, television, literature; they're all fair game. hope you don't mind...it's all out of a very sincere admiration of each of your quirks. :)
