Virginia Here I Come!!!

I really should be packing right now ... actually I probably should have been packing all day, but since I am doing everything in my power to avoid it this is a perfect time to blog!

I gave my official notice at work and my last night at the hospital is August 9th. It's kind of sad to think of leaving, especially since this was my first job after nursing school. There are so many nurses there who have been a blast to work with, not to mention have taught me so much about the kindof nurse that I want to be. I don't think it will really hit me until my last night that I won't be seeing these people routinely anymore. So I'm just choosing not to think of it - instead I'm focusing on the excitement of traveling!

I start my new job on August 14th at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA. It sounds like a fabulous place to work and even if I absolutely hate it, I'm going to be near the ocean!!! I've been doing some research on the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area and I think there's going to be so much to do that I'll be hard pressed to do it all in the 13 weeks that I'm there. I'm most excited about being near the ocean, I honestly didn't realize when I took the position that it was a *real* beach - I mean who knew there were beaches in Virginia?? I thought it was a state of civil war battlefields, whiskey distillers and people who weren't sure if they were yanks or johnny rebs. I mean people actually surf on these beaches! And there's not only beaches in the area, but nice state parks with opportunities for kayaking, hiking and camping. Of course I need to remember that I will actually be working while I'm there, just hopefully not working too hard.

Of course in between the surfing, the kayaking and hanging out with lots of sea men (did I mention that Norfolk is the largest naval installation in the world??), I will need to keep up with my training. I'm still planning on making the Lewis & Clark half -marathon and hopefully I'll find a few local races to do once I get to Virginia. Oh and did I mention that my 15 year high school class reunion is the same weekend as the half-marathon?? I still haven't decided if I want to take that painful trip down memory lane, a time characterized by black nail polish, crappy teenage poetry, smoking ridiculous amounts of Marlboro lights, marching band and lots and lots of brooding. I've never been to a reunion but it seems a strange coincidence that it is the same weekend that I'm planning on flying to Illinois for the race anyway. At the very least, it might be amusing, very painful, a complete waste of my time or a combination of all the above.

well, I REALLY need to start packing. Did I mention I'm moving to Virginia??