Different Place ... Different Person??

I've been in Virginia just over two weeks and it occurred to me that maybe I'm not the same person when I'm traveling that I am normally. I feel more confident and independent here, having no problem going out to dinner by myself, seeing a movie or being solo at a tourist spot. I almost feel compelled to do these things as opposed to sitting on my butt. Tomorrow, I'm seriously contemplating going to the water park because I LOVE water parks! What kindof 32 year old person goes to a water park by themselves?? (Other than creepy types wanting to stare at women and children in bathing suits?) But why I should forgo the water park just because I don't have anyone to go with me? I'll still have a good time and when I'm on my own, I find I'm even more social with strangers. Like tonight, I went across the street to a local pizzeria and sat at the counter for dinner striking up a conversation with the waitress and a cook. I may be on my own, but that doesn't mean I have to lead a pathetic, lonely type of life. I actually find it liberating to do things on my own, maybe it would be more fun having somebody else to tag along, but it is what it is. I know a lot of people wouldn't be doing this - taking a travel job and living a slightly itinerant life, so I should embrace it because eventually I'm going to want to stop and stay in one place ... maybe buy a little house and start acting like a grown up.

Do you workout??

I've been meeting a lot of people since starting my new job and in general the questions are your typical where ya from? how long have you been a nurse? are you married? any kids? The other night one of the girls asked "Do you workout?" to which I immediately replied "Yes!" We then started talking about local gyms, where to run etc. Later on I was thinking about it and wondering at what point did I become one of *those* workout people? Let's be honest, I really never liked those kindof people. In college, there were the girls who were like "oh, I feel so fat because I haven't done aerobics for 4 hours." There was also the girl who used to iron her t-shirts AND underwear before going running but she had issues so I didn't like her for other reasons :)

Since starting this whole fitness thing, I've always considered myself out of shape and most definitely a beginner. When my friend Mary referred to me at her 4th of July party as the "runner" I was like "No, not really - I just jog a little." At some point, I've come to the realization that I AM the workout sort.
I AM a runner.
Yes, I'm pretty slow and I definitely have tons of room for improvement, but it has become an important part of how I define myself. When I moved here, I was stressed because I had been so busy that I hadn't had time to workout, and to top it off I didn't have the faintest clue where to run around here. Since then, I've found a great place to run, the trails at First Landing State Park which is a just a few miles down the road. The main trail is a multi-use one that is 6 miles one way through the woods and apparently at some point (to which I have yet to make) it connects you out to the oceanfront and the boardwalk. I've been running there exclusively since discovering it.

Speaking of running, though it hasn't been mentioned recently I am still planning on doing the Lewis & Clark half-marathon in St Charles,MO on September 17th. My cousin Travis is doing the full marathon, and Dean "Ultramarathon Man" Karnazes will be starting the North Face Endurance 50 quest of 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 days. I must admit that I have not been remotely following my training plan and as such I expect that I will be doing a lot of walking and not breaking any speed records. At this point, I don't care how long it takes me, I just want to do it and push as hard as possible. I've got plenty of time to actually be able to run a full half-marathon and in the end, 13.1 miles is a pretty big accomplishment for someone who used to be irritated by workout type of people.

Goodbye Columbia!!!

Three years and almost three months ago I left Denver and embarked on a great adventure.

I quit my well paying job and left the wonderful weather of Colorado to become a 30 year old nursing student at the University of Missouri. I traded my fancy city apartment for a federally guaranteed student loan and my easy-going 9 to 5 state job with thousands of holidays for a night shift of bed baths and wiping bums in the SICU for $8.75 an hour. And did I mention the Missouri humidity and my intolerance to heat?

By the end of that first summer as my savings was dwindling to nothing and three semesters of study still loomed ahead, I SERIOUSLY questioned my sanity.

But then Columbia grew on me ... maybe it was the dichotomy of living in a town where there are bleeding heart liberals trying to end the war, save the animals and end capital punishment on the same street as a person born and raised in Boonville – thinking that moving to Columbia is the “big city” - and angered by all those people around here who don’t speak English. When I finished school, it didn’t seem like the end of the world to hang out for a while – so I did.

In my time here, there are some things I’ve truly come to love and other things that I am more than ready to leave behind. In that spirit, I thought I’d make a list.

Things I Won’t Miss About Columbia
1. The need for a Super Walmart on every corner
2. Blonde, college aged girls haunting downtown in ridiculous pieces of fabrics some call a shirt
3. The general lack of shoulders on the road.
4. Spectacular car accidents on I-70
5. The lack of unmarried men over the age of 18
6. Meth moms and/or people without teeth (either due to or completely unrelated to meth)

Things I Will Miss About Columbia
1. Hyvee – I LOVE that store and almost found myself crying as I wandered through a pathetic Virginia Beach Kroger supermarket
2. The Mizzou Rec center – again almost cried as I toured a local YMCA here
3. The MKT and KATY trails
4. The ability to get anywhere in town in 15 minutes or less
5. Low rent
6. The University atmosphere

Though not mentioned on my list, I will definitely miss all of my fabulous friends and NICU co-workers!! I’ve made it a habit in my life of moving on every 3 years of so, therefore I am used to leaving people behind. I always focus on the adventure ahead of me and try not to dwell on the sad part so don’t take it personally if I haven’t shed tears or sobbed a time or two. It probably won’t hit me until I’m at work one night and see a particularly FLK (funny looking kid) and then I suddently realize that I can’t make a joke about it with my normal partners in crime. Or when I have a really inappropriate thought and I can’t just say it to my pod partner because they’ll think I’m really strange (whereas you’all have long since figured that out so I don’t even try to hide it).

No, I’ll really miss you and I’ll place those fun times and memories in the back of my head and pull them out when I’m needing a laugh ☺

There's salt in this water!

Today I had a day off - see it was so rigorous having 8 whole hours of training yesterday. I had to fill out forms and read papers ... let me tell you I was long overdue for a day of rest.

So today I decided to brave the tourists and the souvenir shops and I headed to the Virginia Beach resort area. It's just a left turn outside of my complex then a mere 12 miles down the road. On the way, the road takes you past First Landing State Park which is on Cape Henry. This is where the original Jamestown settlers landed back in 1607. Apparently they hung out here for a while and didn't like it (can't imagine why, likely the men thought the women would spend too much time sunbathing) so they headed up the James river a ways and built Jamestown. I think there's something or other there like a lighthouse and a monument but I'll explore that another day.

Anyway, I quickly turned onto Atlantic Avenue which goes along the ocean front. Large hotels line both sides of the road with the fanciest directly on the ocean front. Along the avenue there are dozens of shops, mainly your garden variety tourist traps where you can get a VA Beach magnet with your name on it (unless of course you're born in our NICU and are named MaKayiTeita), exciting tshirts of all varieties including the world famous "My (insert family member) went to VA Beach and all I got was this lousy shirt," and my favorite touristy thing- the cheesy postcard. My favorite was one with teddy bears in the sand stating "Having a Beary good time in VA Beach." I was thinking to myself - what kindof idiots buy this crap? Then I got a souvenir Virginia Beach towel, coffee mug and postcard.
After buying my souvenirs and having an ice cream cone, actually point of fact it was a frozen custard cone - who knew they had frozen custard outside of mid-Missouri?? but I digress - so after eating my custard cone I found a spot on the beach. It was relatively crowded as the picture on the left shows, but it wasn't ridiculous and there was plenty of sand for anyone to claim. I laid out my brand new Virginia Beach souvenir towel and headed into the Atlantic for the first time!

I should mention that my ocean experience is pretty limited, or more precisely non-existent. When I was about 12 my family went to Panama City, FL so I have swam in the Gulf of Mexico. Of course I got so sunburned on the first day there that I could barely move and my eyes were almost swollen shut ... that was a fabulous vacation - excrutiating pain and people staring at me as if I was a circus freak... again I digress. So other than that experience, I haven't been in the ocean.

It was so fun to hang out in the waves and I completely forgot about the salt water until I got the first taste of it in my mouth. I bobbed in the waves and body surfed like a little kid until my fear of overwhelming sunburn kicked in and I went back to my souvenir beach towel for more sunscreen.

After the swim, I walked along the "boardwalk" which any person from farther North will mock given that it's cement and there's not a board in sight. As you can see in the pic on the left, it's basically an oversized sidewalk, but it does run 3 miles along the beach and seemed popular with runners. I headed up to the fishing pier (seen in the distance on the pic on the right) but refused to pay the $2 charge to walk out on it - it was $8 if you were planning to fish or catch crabs, though I would think that the marine life would spread the word to stay away from there. Thus concluded my first day at the ocean. I should mention that I didn't see many single men, except for ones that appeared homeless ... and I'm not THAT desperate :)

also, FYI my friend's baby is much improved. Still in the NICU, but it looks like he'll be out in a few days which is great news!! I think they should come surfing here next month - after all he does share a name with surfing legend "Bodie" the surfing bank robber played wonderfully by Patrick Swayze in Point Break. For those of you reading who are movie snobs (ahem ... Dave ... Mary) it also contains the cinematic legends of Keanu Reeves and Flea the bassist from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Seriously, it's a tour de force!

This is Bode's going home picture, ain't he a cutie??

First Days ... Hey there's a beach here!!!

It's been a busy few days since arriving in Virginia and I just now feel like I can stop and catch my breath. I'm about as settled into my apartment as I'm going to get and the dogs really seem to have adjusted without any problems. On Sunday, I started the day by taking the dogs to the beach for the first time. I'm about a mile and a half from Chick's Beach which is on the Chesapeake Bay. The ocean side is about 10 miles down the road but apparently the locals avoid it like the plague because of the sheer volume of tourists, difficulties parking and overall craziness. Unfortunately I can't walk to the beach because of the sporadic nature of sidewalks, but either way it's super close. Dogs are allowed before 10 a.m or after 6 p.m. so we went nice and early in the morning - well early for me which is 9 a.m.. It wasn't crowded but there were a lot of folks walking, throwing sticks into the surf for their dogs, and even leisurely drinking their coffee on a beach chair. It has a really laid back feeling and I'm looking forward to starting my days off here. From where I'm at, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel which takes you up to Delaware is visible and to the south the tall resort hotels. The waves are nice little rollers and the beach is by no means pristine, but it beats the hell out of Lake Michigan or Lake of the Ozarks. As we walked along there are some fabulous houses on the other side of the dunes, sailboats in the sand, and people just hanging out everywhere.

Both dogs were a little leary of the water, and when it would creep up by their feet they would instinctively take a step back. Tosca kept trying to sniff the washed up jellyfish while Oakley was just happily trying to say Hi! to every dog we passed. I was so wishing that I had well behaved dogs ... you know the type that will listen ... even off leash. But anyone who's met my dogs knows that's not the case which is why there aren't any pictures that include them, they were busy wrapping their leashes around my legs as I tried to snap these shots.

I'm not beach savvy, but for a midwestern girl like me - it's absolutely beautiful!

The MOVE - finale

Act 3: Virginia is Pretty but the drivers suck

After making it so far the first day, I only had about 4- 4 1/2 hours (or so I thought) left to go. I was really struck by how beautiful the mountains of western Virginia were in the morning – even more stunning with the light rain and mist hanging in the valleys. The drive from Lewisburg to Richmond was very enjoyable and I only wished that I had time to stop and hike around and see some of the sights. At Richmond, it all fell apart. After filling up with gas, I was excited by the prospect of only another 90 miles to my destination!! I took the bypass around Richmond then hit I-64 again headed for Hampton Roads. Immediately it was bumper to bumper and crawling around 20-30 mph. I ignorantly assumed there must be some accident up ahead to explain it given that the west bound traffic seemed OK, but after the miles passed on – I realized there was no accident. I have no idea how long it took me to travel those 90 miles (I quit watching the clock because I was trying to stay calm and collected) but I did have to stop and pee not once but twice! I was recalling how Buddhists perceive these types of lines and waits as “found time” so I just enjoyed my audiobook. So this slow 30 mph crawl pretty much went the entire 90 miles, but apparently Virginia drivers defy traffic!! Folks were weaving in and out (not using their blinkers of course) trying to buy that elusive 5 seconds in their overall journey. Tailgating and aggressive weaving were actually more irritating to me than the traffic, I kept waiting for a 10 car fender bender (actually was kindof hoping for it with a few particularly dangerous drivers) but it never happened. After getting to my apartment, I learned that it’s just a busy route on the weekends for all the folks heading to the Hampton Roads area. Something I would assume the Virginia drivers would know and be prepared for!!

The best part of my drive was coming out of the town of Hampton and hitting the I-64 bridge/tunnel and seeing the Chesapeake Bay for the first time. To the left it seemed to go on forever, and on the right there were sailboats cruising around and huge Navy ships docked in the naval station at Norfolk. I’ve never lived near the water before so this is going to be exciting!! Tomorrow, exploration is planned!!

Post script – while spellchecking this post, I found it humorous that some of my typos for “Virginia” come up with the recommendation “virginal” It takes so little to amuse me…..

THE MOVE cont.

Act 2: The Midwest is Long and Boring
So I made it 750 miles on Friday, from Columbia, MO all the way to Lewisburg, West Virginia. It was a relatively uneventful trip with stops in Mt Vernon, IL; Winchester, KY; and Beckley WV. Mainly I saw a lot of trees – trees lining the interstate all across southern Illinois and Indiana and hills with trees across West Virginia. Basically it was like driving across Kansas and Nebraska only substituting endless prairie as far as the eye can see for trees lining both sides of the interstate. There were also a few car accidents, mainly rear ending but one spectacular looking rollover in Kentucky with lots of cop cars and flashing lights. Given how calm all the bystanders were and that several apparent passengers were sitting in the grass, I’m guessing there were no major injuries. Or maybe they just take roadside tragedy with a grain of salt in the Bluegrass State. Speaking of Bluegrass state, I didn’t realize how thick the accents are in Kentucky. At McDonalds I couldn’t tell whether she was asking me what kindof “sauce I needed for my nuggets” or if I was “lost and needed some huggin’s.”

In West Virginia, right around the time I started to feel fatigued I stopped at a major crossroads and quickly learned that ALL of the hotels were full. I had no choice but to go another 50 miles to the next town of consequence only to see a sign indicating that the State Fair was going on there. I had already decided to just park somewhere well lit and open in town and crash in the car for a few hours- but I tried the Super 8 just in case. They did have one room and I admitted to having 1 dog knowing that with 2 I had little to no chance of entry. The guy was nice and put me in a room in the back, but I realized that they have security cameras he was monitoring and since it was after midnight he was likely to make sure I got in alright. I actually tried to shove Tosca (my terrier) into a duffle bag thinking I could pass her off as luggage but those of you who know her, know that there was no chance in hell that would work. I decided to just quickly and brazenly walk down that hallway with both dogs and pray that I was left alone. If he came to my door, I was so exhausted that I would have had no problems manufacturing some convincing tears, but luckily my deceit was not detected … or it was and he just didn’t care.

THE MOVE - A Horror Story in 3 Acts

Act 1 :Preparations
First of all, I moved my work schedule around and had every intention of leaving Columbia Wednesday, spending the night in Springfield, then leaving bright and early Thursday morning. This would give me a whole weekend to enjoy in Virginia before starting my job. Well, in true Jenn fashion those plans went horribly astray!

I didn’t leave until Friday because as usual I procrastinated and was literally packing my car and cleaning my duplex at 11 p.m. on Thursday night! I have been so stressed the week its ridiculous and it all could have been avoided by NOT waiting until the last minute. I practically gave away everything I owned on Freecycle (who knew I had so much crap?) and jammed the rest into a storage unit. With care and planning, none of this should have been a problem, but care and planning are not a part of my repertoire. Example of my stupidity … while taking out the trash and waiting for the carpet cleaner to arrive on Thursday I LOCKED MYSELF OUT of my house. Yes, that’s right – it’s 100 degrees and I’m outside frantically wishing that I was a trained criminal, jamming an opened wire hanger into the lock (as if I have any clue what to do with it) and contemplating which window I should break to get in. The keypad on my garage door – which was always my trusty way to get inside - had been on the fritz for a week, and I keep my front door locked religiously which is something I failed to remember as I walked out the front door and pulled it shut to keep my precious air conditioned air in trhe house. I had to call a locksmith and pay him $40 to break me into my own home. Oh, and did I mention that this happened to me earlier in the week?? Only that time, I was lucky enough to have had my patio door unlocked. Let’s just say that I am glad to be living out of my car for the foreseeable future.

A New NICU Perspective

I now have a different perspective on my job as a neonatal ICU nurse. My good friend Kim had a baby born yesterday that was sick and transferred to a NICU. As I listened to her and her husband try to convey what was going on, I realized just how scary and unfamiliar a medical crisis is, even to educated people. Most of the families I deal with are either very young or very uneducated so I expect them to be pretty clueless. But listening to her, it gave me a whole new perspective on how a parent perceives the information provided to her by the nurses taking care of her baby. So many things are routine to me … an intubated baby, IVs, ventilators, tests etc that I often think of my patients as “sick” and “not really sick” when in their parents eyes they are ALL sick. I hope that I am compassionate and understanding when dealing with my patients’ parents and most importantly, I hope I convey information to them in a way that makes sense and is reassuring.

As for little Bodie – it sounds like he’ll be alright after a week of special care. I’ll certainly be sending all my thoughts his way.

When it has to all fit in one small car, what do you take??

I am making some progress on the packing front which is encouraging. Well in all honesty, I haven't packed so much as I have given away tons of stuff. When faced with the dilemma of taking only a few things and putting the rest into storage, I have decided that there are lots of things that I now need to part with. Hand me down couch and loveseat - gone, various clothing that is several years old and too big for me anyway - gone, things that have remained unused since I moved here from Colorado - gone. If you're ever needing to get rid of stuff, check out Freecycle it's a great network and many people have been very enthusiastic to receive crap that I no longer need. So though I'm not fully packed by any stretch of the word, I have whittled my life down considerably and started to place things I know that I'm not going to need into a storage unit.

The biggest problem I have is in deciding what I need to take with me. First and foremost there is a definite space issue given that all of my life's possession need to fit in my car and since I'm more of a tree hugging sort as opposed to an SUV driving, gas guzzling sort, my car is small to start with. And it's not just packing for me, but packing for the dogs as well. I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot of "we'll just buy that when we get to Virginia" going on because there's just no way to know exactly what I'll need and to fit it. I am a little torn by what to take though. For example, I'm putting my DVDs into storage but what happens when I'm depressed one night and the only thing that will fix it is the perfect Buffy episode? Or watching Dirty Dancing for the thousandth time?? And how about one of those days when I'm feeling nostalgic and I'm wanting to recall a Pi Phi party from 1995 but all of my photos are in Missouri. I don't necessarily mind simplifying my life, but every now and then it's those silly things that bring comfort. And music, I guess I'm going to have to load lots of stuff onto my laptop because when you're in the mood for 1980s Madonna or the Cure's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me it's gonna have to be accessible. So I think the biggest challenge is going to be deciding what I have to have, what luxuries I want with me, and what things I can do without. I'm sure that there will be lots of moments in Virginia where I'll think "man, I wish I would have brought x" but I'll just have to get over it. When I think about it, my life is pretty simple already. I think I'm a little less burdened by possessions than others so I should think of this as an opportunity for growth. If nothing else, when it's all said and done, I will have replaced all of my older crap with newer crap and isn't that what capitalism is all about??