Vacation!

Actually, it's more like a staycation. One of the perks of being PRN is that I get to make my own schedule. The basic rule of thumb is: you work, you get paid; you don't work, you don't get paid. Obviously, it's a lot more beneficial to be on the working side but, at times, one must look at their workload and decide if they need a break. This couldn't come at a better time for me. After last week's awful mishaps, I think a break is in order.

My friend, JM, is coming in tomorrow for four days. I made sure not to schedule any on call shifts and am taking Thursday and Friday off. I'm so excited to have some time to explore this city. JM did a lot of research too and sent me a list of some possible fun things to do. However, I am choosing to ignore the Wildflower Center and beach volleyball. No thanks. I am excited though about going to a preserve and seeing peacocks ... or peafowl as the website keeps saying. Luckily, JM doesn't get in until 11:20 tomorrow, so I'll get to sleep in. Thank goodness, I'm sooooo exhausted. All this work tires a gal out.

Stay tuned to hear about my adventures this week!

Stranger Danger! Revisited...

A little over a week ago, I wrote how I felt that my avoidance of strangers and social situations was limiting my life. Well, I'm here to tell you that I have really tried to work on that with some surprising results (both good AND bad).

Let's start off with the avoidance of social situations ....

My friend, Ashley, is very kindly letting me stay with her while I wrap up school. I am SOO fortunate to have friends like her ... especially since she knows how I am and makes me partake in social gatherings. She brought me to Zumba and her soccer practice and I've actually had fun.

Then this past week, I went kayaking with Brianna, Marissa, and Patty. I had such a blast with them and am so thankful that Bri didn't fall into the Brazos River. My arms actually weren't that bad the next day. I just wish we had done it sooner.

This past Friday was Katie's Bachelorette Party up in Ft. Worth at the 8.0 Bar. It was a cute little place. We sat outside and chatted with each other waiting for the 80s band to start. I had a ton of fun. I just wish I had worn more comfortable shoes! I also rode up there and back with a girl that I knew through friends and ... a stranger. I had never met the driver before but she was cool and we had some pretty cool conversations. I'll admit I fell asleep on the ride back home so I kinda missed out on the chatting then.

Now apparently something happened over the weekend. On Saturday, I went down to Austin to see my friend, Lisa, for some quality girl time and her birthday. We went bowling with some of her friends and then out to a bar in Weir, Texas (pop. 631). Now, for those of you that know me know that I don't drink, so I really have no good explanation for the picture below except that somewhere during the course of the day my avoidance of social situations and strangers flew out the door. Oh yes, this is a picture of me dancing in an empty bar by myself.

But oh does this get better. During the course of our night at the bar, a certain drunkard at the bar (okay, so there were 3 other people there besides the 6 of us) decided he wanted to dance with us. He first danced with Lisa and that's when we realized he had peed his pants. After he finished dancing with Lisa, he went back to his table and we thought that was the end of it. OH NO .... he came back at which point we were all trying to hide behind each other. I was hiding behind Lisa when he came towards her and she ran off leaving me by myself! He grabbed my hands and started dancing with me. All I could think was to make sure I avoided his pee pants. Then at the end, he grabbed me and shouted for someone to take a picture. I'm pretty sure the look on my face says it all. I don't like strangers and I don't like to be touched.

But there has been some good that has come from talking to strangers. Thursday night at the family dinner, I met Stranger. Yes, I'm calling him Stranger because the first thing I said to him was "I'm sorry, I'm not avoiding you completely on purpose, I just don't talk to strangers". Yes, yes, I did say that. Surprisingly, he answered that he didn't talk to them either. What? Can it be? Are there more people out there like me? There was some chit chat about Meyers Briggs Type Inventories (can you tell we're in social work??) and some other lovely chit chat. It's a good story. Really. Maybe one day I'll share it with you. The end of the story results in me having a date with Stranger next week ... or I guess this week. He's also asked if it would be okay with me if he came to my Colloquium. I smiled a lot that night and the next day. I'm super excited.

A blessing for my friends ...

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds, nor a life on a bed of roses,

Not that you might never need regret, nor that you should never feel pain.

No, that is not my wish for you.

My wish for you is:

That you might be brave in times of trial, when others lay crosses upon your shoulders.

When mountains must be climbed and chasms are to be crossed; when hope scarce can shine through.

That every gift God gave you might grow along with you. And let you give the gift of joy to all who care for you.

That you may always have a friend who is worth that name. Whom you can trust, and who helps you in times of sadness. Who will defy the storms of daily life at your side.

One more wish I have for you:

That in every hour of joy and pain you may feel God close to you.

This is my wish for you, and for all who care for you.

This is my hope for you, now and forever.

Self Care

My research project has pretty much been freaking me out and causing me to have anxiety attacks. Not cool at all. The need for self care has increased. I thought that everything was already figured out given the sobriety of my internship but apparently not. So this week I started running.

I love running. I love the high that you get when you just finished running a distance you didn't think possible or the good kind of soreness you feel afterward. I love being out alone with my thoughts and some good running music. In April 2007, I had quite a health scare where I honestly thought that my days of being able to even walk were numbered. The pain and frustration that I experienced cannot be verbalized. I've slowly been recovering and despite my doctor's orders to give up running, I can't. I love it too much. I don't know if I'm putting myself on a fast track to new hips/knees/whatever but I can't have someone tell me I can't do something that I want to anymore. Now granted, I'm not being stupid and taking it easy. Today was day 3 and is my endurance running day. K joined me and we went for 45 minutes of nonstop running followed by a 15 minute cool down. I didn't really break a sweat and was never out of breath. It didn't even feel like a workout. But it felt good. I loved being able to run for that long.

Last night, I met up with a social work intern from the hospital for dinner. I felt so bad because I thought it was a group of us and when I got stuck at work talking to a patient, I didn't think too much about being late cause I thought I was meeting up with a group. Oops. So we ate at Pazo and then RA Sushi. Oh my. I love sushi. Waco is not the town for sushi lovers. I love to eat. Being back in a metropolitan area has been great for my appetite! It was so good to spend time outside of work and outside of the house. I needed it. But it made me miss all my friends back in Waco so much more. I'm definitely ready to settle down into an area for a good long time.