A change in scenery

Today was my first day up here. Orientation doesn't actually start until Monday but there's a lot of background stuff that I need to take care of before I can begin my internship. I got in last night and was greeted by three adorable kids. The youngest one, D, is 18 months and has decided that I'm his new buddy. The parents were amazed because he doesn't take to new people very well. I wasn't even here for 20 minutes before he was running into my arms. I think that's the effect you have on kids when you don't want any of your own. I stayed up with K last night watching the latest episode of Brothers & Sisters. I've now doubled the amount of estrogen in this house and she has someone to watch all of her shows with. It's a new episode of Glee tonight so I'll be excited to watch that with someone who can appreciate the witty humor. But enough about tv.

Today, I needed to have my occupational health screening done. I had planned on getting this done first thing this morning but because of the fact that I have had 3 hours of sleep since Sunday night, I needed to sleep in. So I did until the very late hour of 9:30 am when N came wandering into the room. I got up and hung out around the house with K and the boys. I finally got ready to head out. I got into my very spacious rental car .. a Chevy Cobalt .. which is more of a clown car than anything else. It makes me feel like a giant. I headed off to Baltimore. It's not a bad drive at all but I don't know what traffic will be like early in the morning. I struggled to find a parking garage for the building I was looking for and finally asked a random attendant where I could park. He said I had the right garage and then told me that Occupational Health doesn't validate parking but just to tell whoever was working when I was done that he said I could park for free. Oh ok. My visit took THREE hours, most of which was spent sitting in a waiting room. They made me do a drug test which I'm actually unsure about passing. I take Xanax for my anxiety and I took some yesterday so it might show up. All that will happen is that I will need to go talk to someone about what I take and why. Then they drew my blood for several tests. I should be cleared by Friday, Monday at the latest. Then I came home and hung out with K and the boys, washed dishes, and am just waiting for J to come home so K and I can head off to ladies night. I think that's a plus for living with people - there's always something going on.

It started to hit me today as I drove into the city. One, I forgot how much I like the hustle and bustle of a big city. I think metro areas are the best. I like the quaintness of a small town but love all the things big cities have to offer. That's what I have going on here. K & J live outside of Baltimore but are so close to it that they can go there for anything they want. Did someone say mall? But another thing that is starting to set in for me is that I have an internship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. And that's just how they say it too, THE Johns Hopkins Hospital. The campus is massive and there are only 11 social work interns. ELEVEN. And I'm one of them. This is such an exciting time in my life. I really can't wait to see what the future holds for me. This week I get to take it easy and try to rest up from this past semester but next week, I'll be on the campus for orientation and then shadowing Lacy. It still kind of feels surreal like it's not happening but I'm sure it'll really hit on Monday.

Getting excited!

Ok .. so I've known that I'm heading out of here in December and, for the most part, I'm pretty sad about it. Waco has definitely grown on me and I love everyone that I've met along my way. That doesn't mean that I'll never be back but it does increase the chance of that happening. I've been pretty hesitant about my upcoming move for several reasons with the biggest being my fear of change followed closely a worry that someone can't let go of a past relationship (but that's a story for another day or probably never). I can see God's hand in my journey to this point in my life and, well, He has chosen some pretty odd vehicles along the way. I do trust that He will continue to guide me wherever it is that I'm meant to be. BUT. I'm still worried. I really have a lot of trouble with this whole "let go and let God" philosophy. I mean I love it and I think it's absolutely wonderful but my letting go still involves a whole lot of worry. I'm trying though. I really have started off this new school year with a new frame of mind. I'm trying to reach outside of my comfort zone and grow as a person. I think it would be much easier to do if I wasn't drowning in school work.

Speaking of school work. I'm supposed to writing my intro and rationale to my research project that I will be presenting on in May. I LOVE my topic and am so excited about doing research on it because I know that I will personally benefit from it and I hope that others will too. However, I've been trying to write this thing all day. Turns out my concentration is shot to pieces when I'm sick. I have not felt this bad since April 2007 when I couldn't walk because I was in so much pain. The symptoms seem to change based on the day and I'm not sure what's causing it all. I'm not a doctor. I do know that I have laryngitis. AGAIN. Seriously, it wasn't fun the first time around and I think I proved to everyone my lack of ability to not talk - even when my voice is gone. I had a horrible fever and muscle pain Thursday night and for me to be experiencing muscle pain beyond what I feel on a daily basis is pretty unusual. I was beyond miserable. So I've been sleeping a lot and drinking a ton of peppermint tea. Anyway, I feel that when I'm really sick, I just can't focus. Hence the fact that it's 2:35am and I'm still only 20% done with my assignment. What I have done is:
- swept the floors
- learned the lyrics to MC Young's Bust a Move
- washed dishes
- tried to learn the Crank That dance
- played fetch with Bella
- took pictures of the baby snake outside
- tried on all the coats and jackets in my hall closet

And this last one is why I'm excited. I'm so nervous and hesitant about moving but for some reason trying on the coats and jackets has now made me excited. I have three trench coats - khaki, black, and hot pink (which is my favorite!) and three coats - black, brown, and black/white plaid. I cannot wait to wear these again! Texas does not have the right weather for winter wear and I don't recall really wearing a decent coat this past year. I just love being able to wear coats because that means that it's a brisk fall day with the leaves changing from their normal lush green colors into reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks. I love fall and then winter when it snows and there's a silence that falls on the land that you don't hear unless it's snowing. Amazing. So I guess I'm finally getting excited about my move. Now if only I could convince my friends to move with me ....