Apparently, LA is the homeless capitol of our country, and I'm not saying that sarcastically. Oasis Church, where I've been attending, has really helped make the community aware of just how extensive this problem is here in LA. It's estimated that over 600,000 people are homeless here. Oasis had a "Christmas in LA" campaign that was geared towards several ministries, one of them being a rescue mission and partnering with EDAR to provide a collapsable shelter. EDAR stands for Everyone Deserves A Roof. It's a great idea...but the price tag is a bit much! On just about every corner you can find someone who is homeless and I've been trying to think of something that I can daily do to help them. While I don't feel comfortable directly giving them money since:
a) it draws attention to the fact that you have money on you
b) you don't know what they are using that money for: drugs, alcohol, cigarettes
c) I rarely carry cash
So today, I found myself at a traffic light with a homeless man approaching my window and I reached into my purse...only to grab a fiber one bar and pass out the window. Then it hit me! That's a perfect thing to give them! This way, I know I am providing them with food, and healthy food at that. Hopefully he has access to a public restroom because those things can really help get things moving! I'm now going to make it a point to keep granola bars in my car to pass out. So what can you do to help?
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Rain Rain Go Away!
I'm going to make an assumption that the East Coast is reporting on the ridiculous deluge of rain that SOCAL is experiencing since we report on all your snow! So, you may have heard or seen that relentless rain started last Thursday and is supposed to last until this Wednesday. LA is not built for such large amounts of rain, creating flash flooding and making driving through LA even more difficult than usual! Originally the plan was for some friends from San Diego to come up and visit me, but I decided to go down to them since they were experiencing less rain...I couldn't fully escape it :( Visiting with Emily and Kai over some pizza and lasagna in Little Italy was definitely what I needed to help boost me in my resolve to get out of my "I'm so lonely at Christmas Blues". I then went back to Emily's where we watched a movie and looked at some pics she had taken of me when I'd visited her for my birthday. Emily and her husband Vic have recently started their own photography business and it's amazing to see how far they've come in the past 6 months! I knew Emily from college, where she actually went by her middle name Raley, and then later ran into her at my church in Raleigh. All too quickly she met Vic and moved out to California where she excels in her Cali fashion sense and now in photography! Check out their work on their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bluepolystudios
Anyway, I got up this morning with the intent to get back to LA and drop a friend off at the airport and do some Christmas shopping with another only to make it into LA, to then stop for gas, and proceed to get into my first fender bender :( Not exactly what I was planning on for the day, especially since I'd just spent 3+ hours driving from San Diego into LA amidst the bad weather, flooded highways, and heavy traffic without harm. So here's my side of the story that I submitted as a written statement to my insurance agent:
I was backing out of the spot at Pump#2, this is a very busy and small gas station. I looked over both my shoulders for cars and pedestrians, seeing no one I backed up slowly, only making it about 6-8 feet before I felt resistance and heard a tap. I looked over my shoulder to see a car behind me who appeared to be backing out of a parking spot and a woman walking out of the gas station, towards the passenger door, about to get in. I immediately motioned to the couple that I was going to pull into a parking spot, which I did, gathered my insurance & registration and walked over to their car. I apologized for the inconvenience and informed them I was going to call the police. They are an older Korean couple who did not speak enough English to converse with me about what they thought happened. While waiting on hold for the police I offered for them to sit in their car since it was raining but they did not understand my words and hand motions. I am the only one who contacted the police via phone and provided the basic information, and requested if possible someone who spoke Korean to assist. The officers came, only to inform us that they do not file police reports unless someone is injured, but they did assist in information exchange. Above is the information provided to me. Again I apologized to the couple, informed them that I was going to contact my insurance, and wished them a Merry Christmas, but they did not have the courtesy to do so back. I spoke with the attendant at the gas station and he was unsure if the surveillance camera would capture the accident, but told me to contact Susan his supervisor on Thursday.
I am ok, and my car isn't damaged so much that I can't drive it. Initially I was just frustrated at having to deal with this stress (in the rain!) while trying to be as polite as I could with this couple who barely spoke any English! I learned a new pet peeve of mine today: If you are going to LIVE and DRIVE in my country then SPEAK my language! Since LAPD doesn't help resolve the situation it will be interesting to see what this couple reports to their insurance agent as to what their side of the story is. I really feel it was one of those flukes where we both looked, didn't see anyone and backed into each other. I held myself together during the moment, and feel that I contacted everyone I needed to, took pictures, got all the information I'd need for my report then came home, filled my dad in and cried...a lot...only to hear my dad yelling at me on the phone. I hadn't hung up! Oops! So now we're both upset and honestly, I think I was crying more over missing my family than my car situation. And the damage to my car isn't that bad. It's a linear dent on my back passenger bumper and some missing paint. I can't help but believe that God did have His hand over my accident, as evidenced by:
a) It could have been A LOT worse! It would have been much worse if I would have had a fender bender while on the highway with all that rain and hydroplaning it's amazing I made it back to LA!
b) It happened in a safe place where I was not alone or stranded on the side of the road
c) NO ONE was injured as it was a tap at a very low speed
d) Just last week I received a check from the city of Cumberland to cover damage to the passenger side of my car caused by city property
and e) I had no yet had my car repaired from above mentioned damage so hopefully I can get all this taken care of at once!
So for any skeptics out there, how can you argue with this? Could all these factors just line up as fate? I'll keep you all posted on what happens as I'm sure our insurance companies will have to duke it out since we don't speak the same language! Hopefully I'll get credit for being a responsible citizen, kind to some non-English speaking fellow citizens, and for my very detailed report and photos that I submitted! And I'll try to post pics later when my internet decides to cooperate!
Anyway, I got up this morning with the intent to get back to LA and drop a friend off at the airport and do some Christmas shopping with another only to make it into LA, to then stop for gas, and proceed to get into my first fender bender :( Not exactly what I was planning on for the day, especially since I'd just spent 3+ hours driving from San Diego into LA amidst the bad weather, flooded highways, and heavy traffic without harm. So here's my side of the story that I submitted as a written statement to my insurance agent:
I was backing out of the spot at Pump#2, this is a very busy and small gas station. I looked over both my shoulders for cars and pedestrians, seeing no one I backed up slowly, only making it about 6-8 feet before I felt resistance and heard a tap. I looked over my shoulder to see a car behind me who appeared to be backing out of a parking spot and a woman walking out of the gas station, towards the passenger door, about to get in. I immediately motioned to the couple that I was going to pull into a parking spot, which I did, gathered my insurance & registration and walked over to their car. I apologized for the inconvenience and informed them I was going to call the police. They are an older Korean couple who did not speak enough English to converse with me about what they thought happened. While waiting on hold for the police I offered for them to sit in their car since it was raining but they did not understand my words and hand motions. I am the only one who contacted the police via phone and provided the basic information, and requested if possible someone who spoke Korean to assist. The officers came, only to inform us that they do not file police reports unless someone is injured, but they did assist in information exchange. Above is the information provided to me. Again I apologized to the couple, informed them that I was going to contact my insurance, and wished them a Merry Christmas, but they did not have the courtesy to do so back. I spoke with the attendant at the gas station and he was unsure if the surveillance camera would capture the accident, but told me to contact Susan his supervisor on Thursday.
I am ok, and my car isn't damaged so much that I can't drive it. Initially I was just frustrated at having to deal with this stress (in the rain!) while trying to be as polite as I could with this couple who barely spoke any English! I learned a new pet peeve of mine today: If you are going to LIVE and DRIVE in my country then SPEAK my language! Since LAPD doesn't help resolve the situation it will be interesting to see what this couple reports to their insurance agent as to what their side of the story is. I really feel it was one of those flukes where we both looked, didn't see anyone and backed into each other. I held myself together during the moment, and feel that I contacted everyone I needed to, took pictures, got all the information I'd need for my report then came home, filled my dad in and cried...a lot...only to hear my dad yelling at me on the phone. I hadn't hung up! Oops! So now we're both upset and honestly, I think I was crying more over missing my family than my car situation. And the damage to my car isn't that bad. It's a linear dent on my back passenger bumper and some missing paint. I can't help but believe that God did have His hand over my accident, as evidenced by:
a) It could have been A LOT worse! It would have been much worse if I would have had a fender bender while on the highway with all that rain and hydroplaning it's amazing I made it back to LA!
b) It happened in a safe place where I was not alone or stranded on the side of the road
c) NO ONE was injured as it was a tap at a very low speed
d) Just last week I received a check from the city of Cumberland to cover damage to the passenger side of my car caused by city property
and e) I had no yet had my car repaired from above mentioned damage so hopefully I can get all this taken care of at once!
So for any skeptics out there, how can you argue with this? Could all these factors just line up as fate? I'll keep you all posted on what happens as I'm sure our insurance companies will have to duke it out since we don't speak the same language! Hopefully I'll get credit for being a responsible citizen, kind to some non-English speaking fellow citizens, and for my very detailed report and photos that I submitted! And I'll try to post pics later when my internet decides to cooperate!
Lindsey & Co.
2 weeks ago I had some expected and unexpected company and it was a much needed pick me up! You learn a lot about yourself when you live alone, and especially when you spend most of your time alone...which is a new thing for me. I already knew I was a social person, but living here in LA has really shed some new light on just how much human interaction---especially that of good friends means to me!
I loved living in DC because it put me so close to my college friend Alicia, who's married to Bobby and is the mother to the cutest 1 yr old twins I know. It was nice to be a short drive from her for those few months and and I dearly missed her when I moved out here. Thankfully, her family gave her and Bobby their Christmas present early and sent them out to LA for 5 days. It was fun having company and showing off how much I know my way around LA. We packed a lot of fun into those few days! Of course we made a stop at In-N-Out burger as soon as they got off the plane, we went to the Jay Leno show (which I highly recommend, it's the best taping I've been to yet), got some sushi off Sunset Blvd. and then we crashed! Unfortunately, I had to work while they were here but we squeezed in a late show at my favorite comedy club (staying out that late after work, and then having to go back in for another 12 showed me that while I may look younger than 25 I no longer have the college all-night stamina!) and they ran all over town while I was gone. Bobby's favorite part was probably Madame Toussad's wax museum! I can't tell you how many pics he took their. Those wax celebs are so real looking it's scary! I loved having a shopping buddy to help spend my coupons at the Loft! I found this chic place for us to grab lunch and was SO excited to take them to Joan's on Third but it almost ended up being a REALLY expensive lunch as we walked back to the car to find an officer writing a parking ticket! I wish I would have taken a picture of the confusing parking signs so you could fully understand my parking dilemma. It was a packed side street and I was so excited to find a space, but then we made Bobby get out of the car to read the sign to make sure it was ok to park there. Let's just say, it was confusing. There was one sign reading "No Parking Anytime" and below it another saying "2 hour parking 8am-8pm" and another "No Parking on Sunday for Street cleaning"...needless to say, not the clearest YES or NO on whether we could park there. So here we are, walking back to the car and see a cop writing a ticket for my car. Me, being my verbal self, yells out "Officer, excuse me sir, that's my car!" and then I began to plead my case and throw in a southern twang to help verify my NC license plate! He wasn't feeling too sympathetic to my "I'm not from around here" plea but fortunately his partner was and took the time to ask me where I'm from and then to tell me that I don't belong here and that I should go back! (To which I agree). This second officer was so sweet, agreed that the signs were confusing, and finally convinced his partner to let me off with a warning and go in search of another car that they could ticket instead! He ripped it up right in front of me and I haven't received anything in the mail so I'm in the clear! What a relief!
On top of having the Cox's, I also got to have dinner with some unexpected college friends! I don't even know how it all came about, but on Saturday night I found 5 friends from LU in my apartment! They came from all over: outside of LA, San Fran area, and various places in Virginia! Our friend Paul was nice enough to feed us girls! It was so nice to have company visiting in my apartment and sit around and see where we all were in life. Most of these friends I hadn't seen in over 3 years!
Having all these friends here was such a blessing to me! I've definitely been battling loneliness here in LA. Most of the people that I meet are superficial in their offers of friendship, or are more interested in what connections you have. All these people I just wrote about could care less who I know or what I do, they simply enjoy me and that is such a great gift!
I loved living in DC because it put me so close to my college friend Alicia, who's married to Bobby and is the mother to the cutest 1 yr old twins I know. It was nice to be a short drive from her for those few months and and I dearly missed her when I moved out here. Thankfully, her family gave her and Bobby their Christmas present early and sent them out to LA for 5 days. It was fun having company and showing off how much I know my way around LA. We packed a lot of fun into those few days! Of course we made a stop at In-N-Out burger as soon as they got off the plane, we went to the Jay Leno show (which I highly recommend, it's the best taping I've been to yet), got some sushi off Sunset Blvd. and then we crashed! Unfortunately, I had to work while they were here but we squeezed in a late show at my favorite comedy club (staying out that late after work, and then having to go back in for another 12 showed me that while I may look younger than 25 I no longer have the college all-night stamina!) and they ran all over town while I was gone. Bobby's favorite part was probably Madame Toussad's wax museum! I can't tell you how many pics he took their. Those wax celebs are so real looking it's scary! I loved having a shopping buddy to help spend my coupons at the Loft! I found this chic place for us to grab lunch and was SO excited to take them to Joan's on Third but it almost ended up being a REALLY expensive lunch as we walked back to the car to find an officer writing a parking ticket! I wish I would have taken a picture of the confusing parking signs so you could fully understand my parking dilemma. It was a packed side street and I was so excited to find a space, but then we made Bobby get out of the car to read the sign to make sure it was ok to park there. Let's just say, it was confusing. There was one sign reading "No Parking Anytime" and below it another saying "2 hour parking 8am-8pm" and another "No Parking on Sunday for Street cleaning"...needless to say, not the clearest YES or NO on whether we could park there. So here we are, walking back to the car and see a cop writing a ticket for my car. Me, being my verbal self, yells out "Officer, excuse me sir, that's my car!" and then I began to plead my case and throw in a southern twang to help verify my NC license plate! He wasn't feeling too sympathetic to my "I'm not from around here" plea but fortunately his partner was and took the time to ask me where I'm from and then to tell me that I don't belong here and that I should go back! (To which I agree). This second officer was so sweet, agreed that the signs were confusing, and finally convinced his partner to let me off with a warning and go in search of another car that they could ticket instead! He ripped it up right in front of me and I haven't received anything in the mail so I'm in the clear! What a relief!
On top of having the Cox's, I also got to have dinner with some unexpected college friends! I don't even know how it all came about, but on Saturday night I found 5 friends from LU in my apartment! They came from all over: outside of LA, San Fran area, and various places in Virginia! Our friend Paul was nice enough to feed us girls! It was so nice to have company visiting in my apartment and sit around and see where we all were in life. Most of these friends I hadn't seen in over 3 years!
Having all these friends here was such a blessing to me! I've definitely been battling loneliness here in LA. Most of the people that I meet are superficial in their offers of friendship, or are more interested in what connections you have. All these people I just wrote about could care less who I know or what I do, they simply enjoy me and that is such a great gift!
I think my blog has an eating disorder...
Hey Friends!
Sorry for taking a few weeks off. I tend to not blog for a week, then write a few posts in a day. that's my explaination for the title. I wonder if there is a support group for bulemic and anorexic blogs? Or at least a creative workshop I could attend to learn how to be better blogger!
It seems that the holidays have caught up with me...but I can't say that the absence is due to excessive Christmas shopping! I'm the lamest gift giver this year :*( Since I'm so far away I opted for gift cards. Really exciting, I know! I think my last post was right before Thanksgiving...so to update you on that, this was actually my first Thanksgiving off work for the past 3 years, and no, I did not get to spend it with my family. However, I did get to spend it was A family. A college friend, Jessica (mentioned in previous LA post) lives about an hour away and invited me to spend the day with her family. It was so nice to get out of town, meet new people, try new holiday foods, relax, try geo-caching...it was not at all like my typical Thanksgiving but I was grateful for something to do! I did miss my family, and setting up the Christmas tree, and the possibility of snow...but maybe next year!
These past few weeks haven't held too much excitement until just recently. I think I've finally fallen into the groove at work, can locate most things I need, know most people's names, etc. I've had some unexpected days off and then some unexpected OT shifts so it all balanced out. I finally am caught up on paychecks from UCLA (they weren't submitting my time card...not cool) and of course it gets straightened out just when I'm getting ready to leave. I've only got 1 month left! Where does the time go?
Sorry for taking a few weeks off. I tend to not blog for a week, then write a few posts in a day. that's my explaination for the title. I wonder if there is a support group for bulemic and anorexic blogs? Or at least a creative workshop I could attend to learn how to be better blogger!
It seems that the holidays have caught up with me...but I can't say that the absence is due to excessive Christmas shopping! I'm the lamest gift giver this year :*( Since I'm so far away I opted for gift cards. Really exciting, I know! I think my last post was right before Thanksgiving...so to update you on that, this was actually my first Thanksgiving off work for the past 3 years, and no, I did not get to spend it with my family. However, I did get to spend it was A family. A college friend, Jessica (mentioned in previous LA post) lives about an hour away and invited me to spend the day with her family. It was so nice to get out of town, meet new people, try new holiday foods, relax, try geo-caching...it was not at all like my typical Thanksgiving but I was grateful for something to do! I did miss my family, and setting up the Christmas tree, and the possibility of snow...but maybe next year!
These past few weeks haven't held too much excitement until just recently. I think I've finally fallen into the groove at work, can locate most things I need, know most people's names, etc. I've had some unexpected days off and then some unexpected OT shifts so it all balanced out. I finally am caught up on paychecks from UCLA (they weren't submitting my time card...not cool) and of course it gets straightened out just when I'm getting ready to leave. I've only got 1 month left! Where does the time go?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Prickly Adventures and Sticky Situations
On Monday, my cousin Charity and I set off to explore the Huntington Botanical Gardens and Library near Pasadena, CA. 3 things to know about Charity: she lives just outside of Charlotte, she's also a nurse (guess it runs in the family) and she loves cactuses! While working at camp I made friends with the interpreter, Greg, who offered for me to visit the Huntington sometime with him. I'll do just about anything free, so I took him up on his offer just 1 day after camp and who better to go see one of the largest Cactus Gardens with than my cousin! Thanks to Greg's membership we both got in for free, and he proved to be an invaluable resource as the Huntington is an extensive property that houses a library, art collection in the original mansion, and multiple gardens. We had perfect weather for spending an afternoon outdoors strolling the grounds! With cameras in tow we set out first for the Cactus Garden (hence the "Prickly Adventures"), where Charity took 200+ pics...enough to last a lifetime! I can't say I'm a huge cactus fan, but here a few fun shots I took:
As you can see, Charity really enjoyed herself here.
Here is some Cousin love in the Japanese Garden
Sadly, when we were leaving the gardens and walking with Greg to his car we walked upon Security cleaning up debris that not only surrounded his car, but also covered the front end. Turns out a tree branch broke, landing on his car, resulting in a cracked windshield, broken side mirror, several scrapes, and a big dent :( We assisted him as much as we could, trying to keep him calm, and get info together. Here comes the "Sticky Situation", who is at fault? Nature or the estate? After a quick drive to his house (where Charity had to ride with him and hold the dangling side mirror), and a few phone calls, we were on our way to dinner, in an attempts to cheer him up! Greg introduced us to some local Korean BBQ, a first for both of us, that was SO yummy! Followed up by a visit to Yogurtland so Charity could go home having tasted my favorite part about Cali---the frozen yogurt! I'm so glad she got to visit since I won't be seeing any family during the holidays and I only wish there would have been more time together, but work calls...for the both of us!
I'm a Turtle lover!
This past wkd I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Painted Turtle (TPT) located in Lake Hughes, CA. If you've been reading my blog you may remember that TPT was my connection to RHPS, via my best friend Jenn who is the camp's Nursing Director. Let me give you some background to the camp: TPT exists so that kids with chronic diseases can attend a week of camp and/or family wkd totally free of charge, in a safe and fun environment, with a full medical staff and state of the art facilities that include The Well Shell (think Urgent Care), a full pharmacy, staffed by doctors, nurses, RT's, PT's, and a number of highly talented volunteers. At this camp the kids have no limits! They can ride horses, do a high obstacles ropes course, fly on the zip wire, go boating and fishing, have arts 'n crafts and woodship time, and so much more! Also, on these family wkds there is something for EVERYONE! Siblings of all ages can come, we have special parent discussions and activities and during this time the "family pal" babysits/entertains the kids. I was just blown away by these kids and their amazing families! You have to understand that my exposure to kids at work is when they are at their worst, so to see them at their best doing such adventurous things was truly amazing!!! There are so many memories from such a short wkd and I don't know where to start!
First, it was so great to share this experience with Jenn! She has been a steady rock in my life these past 3+ yrs and it was great to share this experience of her new camp life and see just how much she loves her job, how many people she touches, and how great she is at what she does! Second, it was amazing to see this kids overcome obstacles and fears and just be kids, surrounded by their peers, who are in the same circumstances of themselves. I'd say that 1/3 of the kids were in wheelchairs, 1/3 in walkers, and 1/3 still able to walk. I got a kick out of how fancy some of these wheelchairs are! Shiny pink to royal blue, Wheelie lights, amazing turn radius'...I've never had so much fun dancing as I did when twirling these kids around in their chairs! Funny story, during the Carnival one boy rolled up to me and asked me to dance. Needless to say, I was quite flattered (don't judge, no one ever asks me!) and as I start to spin his chair this other little girl rolls up and yells at him "You want to dance with HER?! over ME?!" Haha...it was so cute/funny/priceless.
Another favorite part was helping out at the ropes course/zip wire. There were lots of pep talks to be given and even more cheering to yell out as these kids, some of them that are wheelchair bound were harnessed, then belayed up to a 20ft high platform, where they could either do the ropes course or ride the wheelchair across the planks for their turn on the zip wire. As I mentioned earlier, there are tons of very talented volunteers and especially so working the ropes course! The smiles on these kids faces as they flew through the air...it was priceless!
I think we all know that no camp would be complete without lots of signing and dancing! Not only was there a talent show---which you could tell these kids had practiced their jokes, magic tricks, and songs for WEEKS, but there was also singing and dancing at every meal time (I guess to work off the calories from the exceptionally yummy camp food!). I grew up attending and volunteering at camps, but they were all church camps where we sung "Christian camp songs"...let's just say I learned a lot of new songs this wkd and their motions for the songs are all out dancing! It was quite a lot of fun and again, it was so neat to see how the kids did as much as they could despite their physical condition.
For those wondering about the medical aspect of this camp, and if I actually did any nursing let me report that more adults were treated than campers! Haha. We had several dads with allergies, a volunteer with a splinter, a boy with 2 blisters from woodshop and one girl who needed antibiotics for a UTI. Overall, not too shabby! I was free to roam the camp with a walkie talkie in case the MD at the Well Shell needed me.
I have to say, one of the most eye opening moments at camp for me was in meeting our "modern family". We had one family that was comprised of 2 dads and 3 kids with Spina Bifida. This gay couple knowingly adopted each of these children at young ages, knowing their diagnosis and being willing to take on the challenges they would face. 2 of the kids were old enough to participate in camp, ages 5 and 7 and were some of our favorites (I know, you shouldn't have favorites!) It just blew all of us away with how well they cared and provided for these kids, and that they undertook 3 kids with special needs when most "traditional families" can't even take one! Personally, I really enjoyed meeting Daddy Ben and Daddy Tom and hearing their adoption stories & challenges, and seeing their compassion helped soften the blow I received just last week at the TV taping. Of course, my psychosocial inquisitive self can't help but wonder "What do these kids think? Have they asked about "mom"? What will they teach the children about relationships? How will their upbringing affect the children's view of relationships?", etc.
Overall, it was a FUN*tabulous experience and I can't wait to do it again...hopefully in March! Who knows, maybe even for a week in the summer! Sadly, I don't have any pictures from the wkd but if you are interested in learning more about Hole in the Wall camps, or know of a child in California with special needs who would want to attend camp then please visit: www.thepaintedturtle.org .
Thursday, November 11, 2010
I'm not "politically correct" but at least I'm polite
Yesterday in my efforts to embrace LA I went to the taping of a TV show. As I waited in line the group in front of me, 4 gay men, decided to befriend me. You know me, I'm always game to talk to strangers and make new friends. We chatted about LA living, favorite places to go, how they met, etc. They were your stereotypical over-complimenting gay men with acclimations of "Shut up, you've NEVER died your hair! Those highlights can't be real!" & "You have gorgeous eye color". One of the guys and I chatted about how our parents live about 45 mins from each other in OH and how we grew up shopping at GABE'S! Things were going well...until one of them declared rather loudly "High five for supporting gay marriage!" to which I responded "High five for making new friends!" and that's when things went downhill. These chatty, welcoming, compliment dripping men surrounded me, turning on me, and each yelling at me their own arguments of: how close minded I was, that I was brainwashed by the Bible, that I'd come to see how wrong I was after living here for awhile, and who was I to determine sexual chemistry. Never was there a chance for me to defend/explain where I stand on the issue. No one else in line offered support...or a distraction that would lesson their escalation of accusations against me. Do I see why they are offended? Yes. But, they asked me and I answered honestly, in a polite manner. Never did I say, "Don't talk to me because you are gay", nor did I question them on their homosexuality. Standing in live for a TV taping is not the time or place to ask these questions, especially to people that you just met. Honestly, the most upsetting aspect to me was when they called me a "Closed minded C#$%". I've never even been called "the B-word" so skipping to the "C-word" was a slap in the face. We proceeded into the TV taping and were seated in separate areas, much to my relief. It was fascinating to see all that goes into the taping of a show, but after what I'd just experienced I was ready to go home. After the taping I waited for my "new frienemies" outside the studio and attempted to mend things and thank them for talking with me while in line but they responded in kind by giving me the silent treatment and rushing off. Oh well...
And if you are interested in seeing a glimpse of me on TV they promised to pan the studio audience. You can watch E! on Mon, November 22 @ 10 for the Chelsea Handler Big Interview with Christina Aguilera.
What is Church?
For those who know me well, you know that I grew up in a Baptist family...as a "PK" (pastor's kid), attended small Christian schools and then a large Christian university and still hold the values of the Bible and church community to be important to my life. If you didn't know that, now you do! While in college I began my own search for a church that fit my needs of community, style of worship, and that preached the Gospel and not a "feel good" message. That search continued when I moved to Raleigh, and I was blessed to call Providence my church home for almost 3 years (shout out to my FLC peeps!). That search also followed me to DC where I attended Mark Dever's church Capitol Hill Baptst...and now I face the same search here in LA.
As I experience every day, West Coast living is so different from East Coast and the church is not exempt from this. You may be wondering, how do I go about finding a church in each place I move to? I google and talk to people who have lived in that area. For my move to LA my friend Jennifer Prentice (who I first met while living in Raleigh and now lives in the Central Coast area) was very helpful in chatting it up with her friends in and around LA to come up with some church recommendations for me. After pulling up the church websites to review their statements of beliefs/times of services/etc I then google their locations and just kinda go from there!
This past Sunday was my first chance to "church shop" and as you've come to expect, yes, it was interesting. You have to keep in mind that in DC the church I attended was in the District, it was a young crowd in power suits who worked on the Hill, it was type A, conservative, met in an old church, and a bit more traditional than I prefer, but the teaching was challenging. The first church in LA I decided to try was The Hollywood Church. After some research I learned that they were part of the Acts 29 church movement and is located in the Hollywood area at the Michael Jackson Auditorium. So like the little adventurer that I've become I grabbed my Bible, put on my Sunday duds and set the GPS. You know that phrase, you can't judge a book by it's cover? I shouldn't have judged the location by a name. Turns out the MJ auditorium was located at a run down school and only seated about 200 ppl. Keep in mind, this is just my experience and impression: It was a very casual, young, new church and it was so opposite what I had just come from. They struggled to sing basic hymns that I had grown up with. But more importantly, no one welcomed me. Maybe this wouldn't bother some of you, but as the "new" person, I did want to be called out and be invited to join in their fellowship. I want to go to a friendly church, I want a "safe" social network in LA. I left a bit discouraged, no new friends and while the msg was Gospel based, it wasn't as theological as I was looking for. Later that night I went to the next church on my list, Mosaic.
Now if I thought the Hollywood church was opposite DC, the Mosaic is then opposite Hollywood. Sorry if this is confusing. Getting to Mosaic was interesting as my GPS took me to the north end of the street and not the south end, which landed me in Chinatown! After circling the block a few times and resetting the GPS I found my way to the correct location...at a Mayan temple themed night club! I followed the droves of people in, found my way to the balcony and claimed a spot. The worship team was talented, but it was overpoweringly loud. The lights were...non-existant, but blue. The architecture, incredible but foreign from your typical church structure. The people were trendy and distracting---several girls had their small dogs on their laps and spent their time playing with them instead of opening their Bibles. The message, watered down. More time was spent discussing how qualified the pastor was to pick the best OJ since he's from Florida than on the Gospel. As soon as it was over the place cleared out and it just felt like "I went to church, yay, on with life".
I realize, it might sound like I'm being really picky and it might sound like I have unrealistic expectations for church out here. I hope to eventually find something. Yes, I'm a bit discouraged, but I'm not giving up. To answer the question in my header, to me the church is a body of believers who come together to learn the Gospel to then live the Gospel. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what the building looks like, what clothes the people wear, or what style of music they use in worship...to me it's what the people believe and how they live out those beliefs.
As I experience every day, West Coast living is so different from East Coast and the church is not exempt from this. You may be wondering, how do I go about finding a church in each place I move to? I google and talk to people who have lived in that area. For my move to LA my friend Jennifer Prentice (who I first met while living in Raleigh and now lives in the Central Coast area) was very helpful in chatting it up with her friends in and around LA to come up with some church recommendations for me. After pulling up the church websites to review their statements of beliefs/times of services/etc I then google their locations and just kinda go from there!
This past Sunday was my first chance to "church shop" and as you've come to expect, yes, it was interesting. You have to keep in mind that in DC the church I attended was in the District, it was a young crowd in power suits who worked on the Hill, it was type A, conservative, met in an old church, and a bit more traditional than I prefer, but the teaching was challenging. The first church in LA I decided to try was The Hollywood Church. After some research I learned that they were part of the Acts 29 church movement and is located in the Hollywood area at the Michael Jackson Auditorium. So like the little adventurer that I've become I grabbed my Bible, put on my Sunday duds and set the GPS. You know that phrase, you can't judge a book by it's cover? I shouldn't have judged the location by a name. Turns out the MJ auditorium was located at a run down school and only seated about 200 ppl. Keep in mind, this is just my experience and impression: It was a very casual, young, new church and it was so opposite what I had just come from. They struggled to sing basic hymns that I had grown up with. But more importantly, no one welcomed me. Maybe this wouldn't bother some of you, but as the "new" person, I did want to be called out and be invited to join in their fellowship. I want to go to a friendly church, I want a "safe" social network in LA. I left a bit discouraged, no new friends and while the msg was Gospel based, it wasn't as theological as I was looking for. Later that night I went to the next church on my list, Mosaic.
Now if I thought the Hollywood church was opposite DC, the Mosaic is then opposite Hollywood. Sorry if this is confusing. Getting to Mosaic was interesting as my GPS took me to the north end of the street and not the south end, which landed me in Chinatown! After circling the block a few times and resetting the GPS I found my way to the correct location...at a Mayan temple themed night club! I followed the droves of people in, found my way to the balcony and claimed a spot. The worship team was talented, but it was overpoweringly loud. The lights were...non-existant, but blue. The architecture, incredible but foreign from your typical church structure. The people were trendy and distracting---several girls had their small dogs on their laps and spent their time playing with them instead of opening their Bibles. The message, watered down. More time was spent discussing how qualified the pastor was to pick the best OJ since he's from Florida than on the Gospel. As soon as it was over the place cleared out and it just felt like "I went to church, yay, on with life".
I realize, it might sound like I'm being really picky and it might sound like I have unrealistic expectations for church out here. I hope to eventually find something. Yes, I'm a bit discouraged, but I'm not giving up. To answer the question in my header, to me the church is a body of believers who come together to learn the Gospel to then live the Gospel. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what the building looks like, what clothes the people wear, or what style of music they use in worship...to me it's what the people believe and how they live out those beliefs.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Call Me Little Miss Fix It
As most of you know, while my stories are entertaining, but pictures would make them a whole lot more enjoyable! I have finally figured out that I could not upload pics due to my Picasa album being full. However, the dilemma still lies in that I have a horrible internet connection and it takes about 20 minutes for pics to upload. Trust me, me and Verizon are working on it! But YAY for starting to make my page more interesting!
What does comedy+cupcakes+scientology=__________?
This was my first whole weekend off. Let me take a moment to brag that I'm writing in "real time" and not 3 weeks after the fact! I think I'm finally catching up on life! Since it's only Saturday night I can only fill you in on half my wkd, so here goes:
My friend Jess came into town, she lives about 1.5 hrs outside of LA. Jess and I went to college together, where we were both tour guides, and often mistaken as sisters :) I was so excited for her to come to town! Jess is a kindred spirit, has a great sense of humor, is always up for adventure, honest, and has a heart for God. Needless to say, she's exactly the right person to have nearby as I explore LA!
We started our time together with grabbing dinner at The Grove, an expensive outdoor shopping area before heading over to West Hollywood for a night of laughs. Thanks to Yelp.com I discovered what I think is going to be my favorite place in LA...the Upright Citizen Brigade (UCB). It's a comedy school that puts on shows, ranging from free to $10, with occassional celebrity guests! The show we went to was called "Soundtrack". Audience members volunteered the use of their ipods and iphones to which the "actors" randomly picked a song and acted out a scene to the music...it was hilarious! The place itself is such a dive, and it's a small theater. Our seats were on the stage which was fun! One of the best surprises of the night is that "Gabe" from "The Office" was part of the comedy troupe that night. I will definitely be going back to this place again! I checked out their schedule and they have skits based off of audience member's text msgs and facebook profiles, who wants to come with me?
Saturday morning we walked downtown and grabbed brunch at The Pantry, a well known breakfast spot in LA that's been open 24/7 since 1924. It's one of those iconic places that never changes and always has a line! The wait was worth it. This place is so busy that we didn't even wait 5 minutes for our food, they make it that fast!
Our next stop was to retrace our steps to West Hollywood and tour the Scientology Castle. While waiting in line for the the show, we were admiring this beautiful "castle" across the street. After some research we saw that they offered free tours so we did what any good little Baptist girl would do...or not! The castle was an old hotel building that was acquired by the church of Scientology and is now used as an events venue, a ritzy restaurant, and also houses classrooms for "Auditing". We met with a tour guide, who promptly showed us to a theater room where we watched a few short movies on Dianetics (which basically had the message of "If you are a Scientologist you will be successful") and then were shown the gardens. While out there, speaking with our guide we did learn an interesting fact that you can be both a Scientologist AND Catholic/Muslim/Christian, etc. Our guide explains that Scientology allows him to understand his personal existence specifically, beginning to end to more fully enjoy his religious connection while his Catholicism and the Bible allow him to understand the beginning and end of mankind in general. That was something I'd never heard before, but to be honest I didn't know much about Scientology before today. I still have lots to learn and understand, and I have a hard time understanding how people believe this to be true. It's a relatively young "religious lifestyle" and is founded by a man who was a nuclear scientist and made his name by writing Sci-Fi novels. We were a bit disappointed with the tour. We really just wanted to see the building :( Moving on...
Our next destination was Beverly Hills to do some window shopping and try some Sprinkles cupcakes! I've heard about Sprinkles for awhile from my friend Emily, who lives in San Diego. Some of you would think that I must be all cup-caked out from my time in DC but no, I had to check out my options here! The line definitely was nowhere close to that of DC/Georgetown cupcakes and in my professional cupcake tasting abilities that's because they are not as good. Don't get me wrong, it was yummy, but the East Coast wins this round. Walking Rodeo Drive is such an experience. There is so much to take in from the window displays, to the flashy cars, to the people who definitely look like they can afford to shop there...and the ones who don't!
Sadly, Jess had to get back home for a friend's play :( I'm already looking forward to her next visit to town and planning our next adventure! Check out my facebook page for some pics!
My friend Jess came into town, she lives about 1.5 hrs outside of LA. Jess and I went to college together, where we were both tour guides, and often mistaken as sisters :) I was so excited for her to come to town! Jess is a kindred spirit, has a great sense of humor, is always up for adventure, honest, and has a heart for God. Needless to say, she's exactly the right person to have nearby as I explore LA!
We started our time together with grabbing dinner at The Grove, an expensive outdoor shopping area before heading over to West Hollywood for a night of laughs. Thanks to Yelp.com I discovered what I think is going to be my favorite place in LA...the Upright Citizen Brigade (UCB). It's a comedy school that puts on shows, ranging from free to $10, with occassional celebrity guests! The show we went to was called "Soundtrack". Audience members volunteered the use of their ipods and iphones to which the "actors" randomly picked a song and acted out a scene to the music...it was hilarious! The place itself is such a dive, and it's a small theater. Our seats were on the stage which was fun! One of the best surprises of the night is that "Gabe" from "The Office" was part of the comedy troupe that night. I will definitely be going back to this place again! I checked out their schedule and they have skits based off of audience member's text msgs and facebook profiles, who wants to come with me?
Saturday morning we walked downtown and grabbed brunch at The Pantry, a well known breakfast spot in LA that's been open 24/7 since 1924. It's one of those iconic places that never changes and always has a line! The wait was worth it. This place is so busy that we didn't even wait 5 minutes for our food, they make it that fast!
Our next stop was to retrace our steps to West Hollywood and tour the Scientology Castle. While waiting in line for the the show, we were admiring this beautiful "castle" across the street. After some research we saw that they offered free tours so we did what any good little Baptist girl would do...or not! The castle was an old hotel building that was acquired by the church of Scientology and is now used as an events venue, a ritzy restaurant, and also houses classrooms for "Auditing". We met with a tour guide, who promptly showed us to a theater room where we watched a few short movies on Dianetics (which basically had the message of "If you are a Scientologist you will be successful") and then were shown the gardens. While out there, speaking with our guide we did learn an interesting fact that you can be both a Scientologist AND Catholic/Muslim/Christian, etc. Our guide explains that Scientology allows him to understand his personal existence specifically, beginning to end to more fully enjoy his religious connection while his Catholicism and the Bible allow him to understand the beginning and end of mankind in general. That was something I'd never heard before, but to be honest I didn't know much about Scientology before today. I still have lots to learn and understand, and I have a hard time understanding how people believe this to be true. It's a relatively young "religious lifestyle" and is founded by a man who was a nuclear scientist and made his name by writing Sci-Fi novels. We were a bit disappointed with the tour. We really just wanted to see the building :( Moving on...
Our next destination was Beverly Hills to do some window shopping and try some Sprinkles cupcakes! I've heard about Sprinkles for awhile from my friend Emily, who lives in San Diego. Some of you would think that I must be all cup-caked out from my time in DC but no, I had to check out my options here! The line definitely was nowhere close to that of DC/Georgetown cupcakes and in my professional cupcake tasting abilities that's because they are not as good. Don't get me wrong, it was yummy, but the East Coast wins this round. Walking Rodeo Drive is such an experience. There is so much to take in from the window displays, to the flashy cars, to the people who definitely look like they can afford to shop there...and the ones who don't!
Sadly, Jess had to get back home for a friend's play :( I'm already looking forward to her next visit to town and planning our next adventure! Check out my facebook page for some pics!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
What do you do when it's 96 degrees in November?
You go to the beach!
I moved to Raleigh, NC thinking that I would have the best of both worlds as I was living in the middle with the mountains to the West and the ocean to the East. Ask me, how many times in 3 years did I got to the mountains? ZERO. How many times did I go to the beach? Maybe 10 times.
I'm proud of myself, only 3 weeks into it and I've already spent a few hours on the beach at Santa Monica! God was so gracious to provide me with 2 friends at work, Jill and Erin. You see, at DC I started work with several other travelers and there were lots in the PICU which made for instant friends (plus a really friendly staff- shout out to Becca and Anastasia). But at UCLA I started alone, and didn't have "that" person. You know "that" person is the friend that you can talk to who understands your situation at work, sympathizes, tells you when to suck it up, etc. Fortunately, both Jill and Erin are experienced nurses from CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philly) who are facing the same difficulties as myself. As I referenced in a previous post, West Coast nursing is different than East Coast. As we laid on the beach we shared our concerns over patient safety, unit policies (or lack of), how the doctors could care less that we exist and know what's going on with our patients, etc. It was so nice to make friends! And an added bonus, no sunburn for me!
This is either a dream come true...or someone's idea of a nightmare!
On Thursday, Oct 28th I had one of the most surreal experiences of my life. It was either someone's dream come true...or some people would think of it more as a nightmare! My dear friend Jenn ( I have a few, so let me clarify: the one I met working at Duke who has now moved out to CA and works for "TPT" The Painted Turtle) got me a ticket to a star-studded performance that benefits her camp. I had NO clue what I was getting into! Drum roll please...the event was the 35th Anniversary of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Wiltern.
The evening started with Jenn and her co-worker Scott coming by my place to change into their costumes. I missed the memo about dressing up...but oh well! This was also the first time I got to see Jenn since I visited her in June. (This is the part where we break out singing "Reunited and it feels so good...") We headed to Koreatown to meet up with some of their TPT camp friends...but after an incredibly awkward few moments of sitting in the restaurant, where no one spoke English, and where the menu was pasted on the wall with only the words "Intestine" and "Spleen" in English, accompanied by a horrible stench! Needless to say, we didn't last long and rounded the corner to a more pleasant smelling "Korean Sushi" place.
After a yummy dinner we crossed the street to The Wiltern, which is an incredible Art Deco theater in LA. I was not prepared for the sights I was about to see! I had never even heard of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) before moving out here, so I'm sure you can imagine my shock and reaction to all I was about to see. I know that some of you are probably laughing at your image of my shocked face and some of you are probably wondering what all this build up is about. Let me explain, this play/movie is tells the story of a young couple whose car breaks down, leaving them stranded at a castle, filled with dancing and singing transvestites! There is a cult-like following across the world for this movie, and the audience's costumes were spot-on! It was quite a sight to behold even before the show began! The performance itself was a star-studded shadow play, meaning the movie was playing on a screen above the stage while it was being acted out move-per-move below. The celebrities fit in when it came to speaking and singing roles. Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Leah Michelle, Matthew Morrison, Ricki Lake, Julius McMahon, and George Lopez were among the most notable...and that's just to name a few! This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience! On any other occassion this would not have been "my sort of thing", but I had such a great time! I wasn't expecting it to be so interactive with the audience. There are these slight, dramatic pauses in dialogue that the audience have perfectly timed out particular phrases to say that fit both what the character just said, and then also the next line. To say that it was hilarious, is equal to saying that it was inappropriate. I was really impressed by the perfect timing, and the quality performance that the celebrities delivered! The music was fantastic...but I should've expected it since 2 of GLEE's biggest stars were there!
After the performance we lingered around, finally sneaking our way into the after party/costume ball. The foyer of the theater had been transformed into a banquet hall, catered by Wolfgang Puck (yummy!) and it was a great opportunity to people watch, which is one of my favorite activities. Again, the costumes were just incredible...and I'm not talking about the actors and actresses! After milling about, Jenn, Scott, and I snuck into the main floor of the theater which had been converted into a lounge, with 2 full bars, lots of plush velvet couches, a dancefloor, a dj on stage mixing music for circ de soleil transvestites to twirl through the air...it was one of the strangest places I'd ever been. As we mingled, trying to act like we belonged we spotted Danny DeVito by one of the bars. The 3 of us approached him, and at least Jenn and Scott can say something to the effect of "I work for the camp, thanks so much for doing this for the kids" but what do I have? After taking their pictures with Danny he motioned to me for my turn. I was shocked, I actually bent down some so we'd be eye level...crazy right?!? (In case you're wondering, I'm only 5"1'.) I think I mumbled something really silly about "I loved you in Matilda" and as I turned to say thank you he pulled me close and kissed me on the cheek! Look, I don't get much action so I'll take a kiss on the cheek any day (no matter the age!). I'm ashamed to say that I then caught "celebrity fever" and wanted to just go meet all of them. Next on the list was Matthew Morrison of GLEE (for Lori).This "celebrity fever" was such a weird feeling and in trying to put myself in check I had to ask myself the following questions, why does it matter so much that I meet them? Or that I get a picture with them? What am I proving to people? What am I proving to myself? Why are they more important than me? So as I'm sitting on the couch, mulling this over I look up to see Matthew Morrison on the couch across from me, talking with Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls, a guy from Private Practice standing at the coffee table infront of me, and then this person comes up and starts shaking their booty in my face (totally ruining the surreal moment for me!) This "dancer" was none other than Ricki Lake, yes, former talk show host, turned Broadway performer. All I wanted to say was "Look, I remember when you were fat and had a talk show, I'm really proud of you for losing the weight, but could you shake it somewhere else!?" Instead, I just glared at her. Once I could finally feel my feet again (the painful price you pay for wearing new heels all over town) I headed down to the dancefloor where Jenn was being twirled around by men in drag and speedos! Little miss dancing queen was having a fabulous time! We ended the evening with everyone performing "The Time Warp" (a dance from the movie) which was a blast! It was such a surreal experience and everyone needs a crazy story like this! I never expected to see A list celebrities, let alone meet them, and even get kissed by them! Haha...even telling it now, I feel like it's so unrealistic that people think I must be talking about a strange dream I had. Glad I have pics to prove it!
I'm still having issues uploading pics, so please check them out on my facebook page!
The evening started with Jenn and her co-worker Scott coming by my place to change into their costumes. I missed the memo about dressing up...but oh well! This was also the first time I got to see Jenn since I visited her in June. (This is the part where we break out singing "Reunited and it feels so good...") We headed to Koreatown to meet up with some of their TPT camp friends...but after an incredibly awkward few moments of sitting in the restaurant, where no one spoke English, and where the menu was pasted on the wall with only the words "Intestine" and "Spleen" in English, accompanied by a horrible stench! Needless to say, we didn't last long and rounded the corner to a more pleasant smelling "Korean Sushi" place.
After a yummy dinner we crossed the street to The Wiltern, which is an incredible Art Deco theater in LA. I was not prepared for the sights I was about to see! I had never even heard of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) before moving out here, so I'm sure you can imagine my shock and reaction to all I was about to see. I know that some of you are probably laughing at your image of my shocked face and some of you are probably wondering what all this build up is about. Let me explain, this play/movie is tells the story of a young couple whose car breaks down, leaving them stranded at a castle, filled with dancing and singing transvestites! There is a cult-like following across the world for this movie, and the audience's costumes were spot-on! It was quite a sight to behold even before the show began! The performance itself was a star-studded shadow play, meaning the movie was playing on a screen above the stage while it was being acted out move-per-move below. The celebrities fit in when it came to speaking and singing roles. Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Leah Michelle, Matthew Morrison, Ricki Lake, Julius McMahon, and George Lopez were among the most notable...and that's just to name a few! This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience! On any other occassion this would not have been "my sort of thing", but I had such a great time! I wasn't expecting it to be so interactive with the audience. There are these slight, dramatic pauses in dialogue that the audience have perfectly timed out particular phrases to say that fit both what the character just said, and then also the next line. To say that it was hilarious, is equal to saying that it was inappropriate. I was really impressed by the perfect timing, and the quality performance that the celebrities delivered! The music was fantastic...but I should've expected it since 2 of GLEE's biggest stars were there!
After the performance we lingered around, finally sneaking our way into the after party/costume ball. The foyer of the theater had been transformed into a banquet hall, catered by Wolfgang Puck (yummy!) and it was a great opportunity to people watch, which is one of my favorite activities. Again, the costumes were just incredible...and I'm not talking about the actors and actresses! After milling about, Jenn, Scott, and I snuck into the main floor of the theater which had been converted into a lounge, with 2 full bars, lots of plush velvet couches, a dancefloor, a dj on stage mixing music for circ de soleil transvestites to twirl through the air...it was one of the strangest places I'd ever been. As we mingled, trying to act like we belonged we spotted Danny DeVito by one of the bars. The 3 of us approached him, and at least Jenn and Scott can say something to the effect of "I work for the camp, thanks so much for doing this for the kids" but what do I have? After taking their pictures with Danny he motioned to me for my turn. I was shocked, I actually bent down some so we'd be eye level...crazy right?!? (In case you're wondering, I'm only 5"1'.) I think I mumbled something really silly about "I loved you in Matilda" and as I turned to say thank you he pulled me close and kissed me on the cheek! Look, I don't get much action so I'll take a kiss on the cheek any day (no matter the age!). I'm ashamed to say that I then caught "celebrity fever" and wanted to just go meet all of them. Next on the list was Matthew Morrison of GLEE (for Lori).This "celebrity fever" was such a weird feeling and in trying to put myself in check I had to ask myself the following questions, why does it matter so much that I meet them? Or that I get a picture with them? What am I proving to people? What am I proving to myself? Why are they more important than me? So as I'm sitting on the couch, mulling this over I look up to see Matthew Morrison on the couch across from me, talking with Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls, a guy from Private Practice standing at the coffee table infront of me, and then this person comes up and starts shaking their booty in my face (totally ruining the surreal moment for me!) This "dancer" was none other than Ricki Lake, yes, former talk show host, turned Broadway performer. All I wanted to say was "Look, I remember when you were fat and had a talk show, I'm really proud of you for losing the weight, but could you shake it somewhere else!?" Instead, I just glared at her. Once I could finally feel my feet again (the painful price you pay for wearing new heels all over town) I headed down to the dancefloor where Jenn was being twirled around by men in drag and speedos! Little miss dancing queen was having a fabulous time! We ended the evening with everyone performing "The Time Warp" (a dance from the movie) which was a blast! It was such a surreal experience and everyone needs a crazy story like this! I never expected to see A list celebrities, let alone meet them, and even get kissed by them! Haha...even telling it now, I feel like it's so unrealistic that people think I must be talking about a strange dream I had. Glad I have pics to prove it!
I'm still having issues uploading pics, so please check them out on my facebook page!
Friday, October 29, 2010
FIRSTS...sorry, but this word just encompasses so much!
I originally wrote this post almost 2 weeks ago, but my poor internet connection failed to save the post and it leaves me starting fresh, trying to live up to just how great I thought my FIRST post was. So here goes...
FIRST DAY: Monday (10/18) was my FIRST day at UCLA, and it was also my FIRST experience with early morning rush hour LA traffic. Monday was also the FIRST of several rainy days (which I'm told by all the locals that rain is almost unheard of here!). Monday felt like a scavenger hunt where I ran all around campus trying to obtain and ID badge, parking spot, and the dreaded mandatory uniforms. All in all it wasn't a bad day. I had my FIRST glimpse at the unit. I met my managers for the FIRST time. Had my FIRST "fight" with HR about my uniforms...basically, since I'm "temporary" they gave me the bottom of the barrel and these scrubs were not only ugly (very faded, some stains, etc.) but also were the wrong size and had the wrong title on them! To be fair, the uniforms could be a lot worse...as in white. I'll take navy blue any day over white uniforms! However, it has been a 2 week ordeal to obtain 3 shirts correctly sized and labeled. I know some people would argue that mandatory uniforms make it easier to get ready in the morning, but because I'm only provided with 3 sets I find myself doing laundry ALL the time :( And to be honest, I really miss wearing my zebra print scrub top!
FIRST SHIFT: Tuesday (10/19) was my first shift where I oriented to the unit. I could not have asked for a kinder or more upbeat nurse to "shadow" with. Lisette made my first day quite enjoyable, and we had some great patients! Each hospital is a bit different in their orientation. At DC I went to a whole week of basic hospital orientation, but here they literally just throw you in and call it "on the job" training. I got 3 shifts to basically learn their online charting system, their new bar code med scan system, where they keep supplies, how to do this and how to do that, etc. Like I said, Lisette was great, but so were our kids. One of my kids was quite a rambunctious little guy and had way too much energy to be cooped up in a hospital room! The children's area here at UCLA is the "Mattel Children's Hospital" as in Mattel the toy makers. Let's just say they left a good FIRST impression on me when they provided this little boy with a halloween costume that rocks! He's a huge Toy Story fan and they brought him a Buzz Lightyear costume and it even had wings that expand and an automated voice that says "I'm Buzz Lightyear, I come in peace". Now I know you are wondering about the wings, picture a back pack like contraption and then wings that pop out with the push of a button to be about 3 ft in wingspan. The look on his face was priceless! For 10 short, yet very long minutes we let him run loose through the unit, showing off his outfit and attacking his "girlfriends"...I mean nurses. It's so sad that these 10 minutes are the only time he gets outside of the room. Sure, he has plenty of visitors, and he is definitely a favorite among the nurses, but 10 minutes is just not enough....however, considering his condition, and his energy level these 10 minutes can feel all too long when we (the medical staff) think about him being off the monitor, his respiratory status, etc. However, it was worth the untangling of wires and cords, worth the momentary stress, it was priceless. Oh, and I can't believe I almost forgot to mention that God was so kind to give me a familiar face at work. Back in June, when I FIRST visited California Jenn was unable to get away from camp and sent a friend/stranger to pick me up and her name was Emily. Emily happens to be a nurse at UCLA (and her husband is a pastor at a Southern Baptist Church---crazy that those exist in LA!) and occassionally works in the PICU---and she was there on Monday! So essentially I went to my FIRST day of work and was greeted by the FIRST friend I made once landing in California! God is always looking out for me :)
FIRST LA TRAFFIC: What is the timeframe for this? It's ALL day, EVERY day! Honestly though, I don't mind driving through traffic and large cities, and I can handle the amount of cars on the 6 lanes, but I can't handle the road conditions! In my opinion, driving here wouldn't be half as bad if the roads were smoother. You can easily tell that a roadway was expanded, and where potholes weren't filled, and where lane dividers used to be. All of these factors leave your car bumping along, and there you sit just waiting to bounce into another lane and hit a nearby car! Fortunately, being on the hospital schedule has allowed me to avoid the busiest times on the road.
RANDOM FIRST IMPRESSIONS: My apartment is gorgeous! I feel completely spoiled by my marble and granite counter tops, and stainless steel whirlpool appliances! This is SUCH an upgrade compared to my accomodations in DC. The apartment building itself has a "Tuscan" feel and looks totally out of place amidst the buildings downtown. Yes, I am living in downtown LA! This is my FIRST time actually living in the heart of a city. However, one could argue that LA has multiple city centers. I'm more on the business side, not the Hollywood or acedamia side. To give you some perspective, the Nokia and Staples center are about a half mile from me, and I'm also within a mile distance of the LA Fashion Distric (don't get too excited, this is more for wholesale). Hm....parking is annoying. It's all about validation here so you better do your shopping in 90 minutes or be prepared to pay for it. I haven't attempted the metro system here yet, but not many coworkers suggest using it. I'll have to try it out and post later about my impression of it.
WEST COAST NURSING IMPRESSIONS: I'd been warned that it's a different style out here, and I'd have to say it's good and bad. I'm not a fan of their IV pumps, they look ancient, and they don't have guardrails (a program which allows you to label the drug/infusion and sets parameters). However, I am a fan of their breakfast and lunch breaks! Never before have I left to take a breakfast or lunch break without feeling guilty for spending so much time away from the bedside since there is always so much to do...not that I ever really took a breakfast break before now, and I'm pretty sure 75% of my lunches at Duke were spent sitting outside my patient's room at the ready to silence alarms, reset pumps, change diapers, etc. I'm LOVING my lunch breaks! I have eaten outside on the patio every day I've worked, and during the 40 minutes I'm not eating I walk around Westwood Village, grab a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks or chat on the phone with various friends and family on the East Coast. It's amazing. At night, people expect you to eat a fast dinner on your "breakfast break" and then go sleep for an hour on your "lunch" break. People take this to the extreme, as in I've seen them stretched out in the backseat of their cars, wrapped up in blankets! I'm not sure if I'll get to the point where I can sleep while at work. I was one of those kids that could never sleep during class, and it just feels wrong to sleep while on the clock (yes, I get paid for half my hour break!) Maybe if I tell myself that I'm eating during the half hour they pay me and sleeping during the half hour of not being paid...then I'll feel it's ok? I know you're thinking that this really isn't that bad, but when people don't know how good they have it they tend to complain about stupid things. It's hard to not yell at them about how lucky they are to get breaks, and have shopping/restaurants within walking distance. Oh well, moving on...
I think that is pretty much everything I wanted to write about to encompass my FIRST week. It was a busy week where every day was spent at UCLA, with just enough time to find the closest grocery store and unpack my belongings. Overall, it could have been a lot worse! Sadly, I've not had a chance to explore much of LA yet but I will, no worries. I'm open to suggestions of places to go and things to do!
FIRST DAY: Monday (10/18) was my FIRST day at UCLA, and it was also my FIRST experience with early morning rush hour LA traffic. Monday was also the FIRST of several rainy days (which I'm told by all the locals that rain is almost unheard of here!). Monday felt like a scavenger hunt where I ran all around campus trying to obtain and ID badge, parking spot, and the dreaded mandatory uniforms. All in all it wasn't a bad day. I had my FIRST glimpse at the unit. I met my managers for the FIRST time. Had my FIRST "fight" with HR about my uniforms...basically, since I'm "temporary" they gave me the bottom of the barrel and these scrubs were not only ugly (very faded, some stains, etc.) but also were the wrong size and had the wrong title on them! To be fair, the uniforms could be a lot worse...as in white. I'll take navy blue any day over white uniforms! However, it has been a 2 week ordeal to obtain 3 shirts correctly sized and labeled. I know some people would argue that mandatory uniforms make it easier to get ready in the morning, but because I'm only provided with 3 sets I find myself doing laundry ALL the time :( And to be honest, I really miss wearing my zebra print scrub top!
FIRST SHIFT: Tuesday (10/19) was my first shift where I oriented to the unit. I could not have asked for a kinder or more upbeat nurse to "shadow" with. Lisette made my first day quite enjoyable, and we had some great patients! Each hospital is a bit different in their orientation. At DC I went to a whole week of basic hospital orientation, but here they literally just throw you in and call it "on the job" training. I got 3 shifts to basically learn their online charting system, their new bar code med scan system, where they keep supplies, how to do this and how to do that, etc. Like I said, Lisette was great, but so were our kids. One of my kids was quite a rambunctious little guy and had way too much energy to be cooped up in a hospital room! The children's area here at UCLA is the "Mattel Children's Hospital" as in Mattel the toy makers. Let's just say they left a good FIRST impression on me when they provided this little boy with a halloween costume that rocks! He's a huge Toy Story fan and they brought him a Buzz Lightyear costume and it even had wings that expand and an automated voice that says "I'm Buzz Lightyear, I come in peace". Now I know you are wondering about the wings, picture a back pack like contraption and then wings that pop out with the push of a button to be about 3 ft in wingspan. The look on his face was priceless! For 10 short, yet very long minutes we let him run loose through the unit, showing off his outfit and attacking his "girlfriends"...I mean nurses. It's so sad that these 10 minutes are the only time he gets outside of the room. Sure, he has plenty of visitors, and he is definitely a favorite among the nurses, but 10 minutes is just not enough....however, considering his condition, and his energy level these 10 minutes can feel all too long when we (the medical staff) think about him being off the monitor, his respiratory status, etc. However, it was worth the untangling of wires and cords, worth the momentary stress, it was priceless. Oh, and I can't believe I almost forgot to mention that God was so kind to give me a familiar face at work. Back in June, when I FIRST visited California Jenn was unable to get away from camp and sent a friend/stranger to pick me up and her name was Emily. Emily happens to be a nurse at UCLA (and her husband is a pastor at a Southern Baptist Church---crazy that those exist in LA!) and occassionally works in the PICU---and she was there on Monday! So essentially I went to my FIRST day of work and was greeted by the FIRST friend I made once landing in California! God is always looking out for me :)
FIRST LA TRAFFIC: What is the timeframe for this? It's ALL day, EVERY day! Honestly though, I don't mind driving through traffic and large cities, and I can handle the amount of cars on the 6 lanes, but I can't handle the road conditions! In my opinion, driving here wouldn't be half as bad if the roads were smoother. You can easily tell that a roadway was expanded, and where potholes weren't filled, and where lane dividers used to be. All of these factors leave your car bumping along, and there you sit just waiting to bounce into another lane and hit a nearby car! Fortunately, being on the hospital schedule has allowed me to avoid the busiest times on the road.
RANDOM FIRST IMPRESSIONS: My apartment is gorgeous! I feel completely spoiled by my marble and granite counter tops, and stainless steel whirlpool appliances! This is SUCH an upgrade compared to my accomodations in DC. The apartment building itself has a "Tuscan" feel and looks totally out of place amidst the buildings downtown. Yes, I am living in downtown LA! This is my FIRST time actually living in the heart of a city. However, one could argue that LA has multiple city centers. I'm more on the business side, not the Hollywood or acedamia side. To give you some perspective, the Nokia and Staples center are about a half mile from me, and I'm also within a mile distance of the LA Fashion Distric (don't get too excited, this is more for wholesale). Hm....parking is annoying. It's all about validation here so you better do your shopping in 90 minutes or be prepared to pay for it. I haven't attempted the metro system here yet, but not many coworkers suggest using it. I'll have to try it out and post later about my impression of it.
WEST COAST NURSING IMPRESSIONS: I'd been warned that it's a different style out here, and I'd have to say it's good and bad. I'm not a fan of their IV pumps, they look ancient, and they don't have guardrails (a program which allows you to label the drug/infusion and sets parameters). However, I am a fan of their breakfast and lunch breaks! Never before have I left to take a breakfast or lunch break without feeling guilty for spending so much time away from the bedside since there is always so much to do...not that I ever really took a breakfast break before now, and I'm pretty sure 75% of my lunches at Duke were spent sitting outside my patient's room at the ready to silence alarms, reset pumps, change diapers, etc. I'm LOVING my lunch breaks! I have eaten outside on the patio every day I've worked, and during the 40 minutes I'm not eating I walk around Westwood Village, grab a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks or chat on the phone with various friends and family on the East Coast. It's amazing. At night, people expect you to eat a fast dinner on your "breakfast break" and then go sleep for an hour on your "lunch" break. People take this to the extreme, as in I've seen them stretched out in the backseat of their cars, wrapped up in blankets! I'm not sure if I'll get to the point where I can sleep while at work. I was one of those kids that could never sleep during class, and it just feels wrong to sleep while on the clock (yes, I get paid for half my hour break!) Maybe if I tell myself that I'm eating during the half hour they pay me and sleeping during the half hour of not being paid...then I'll feel it's ok? I know you're thinking that this really isn't that bad, but when people don't know how good they have it they tend to complain about stupid things. It's hard to not yell at them about how lucky they are to get breaks, and have shopping/restaurants within walking distance. Oh well, moving on...
I think that is pretty much everything I wanted to write about to encompass my FIRST week. It was a busy week where every day was spent at UCLA, with just enough time to find the closest grocery store and unpack my belongings. Overall, it could have been a lot worse! Sadly, I've not had a chance to explore much of LA yet but I will, no worries. I'm open to suggestions of places to go and things to do!
Monday, October 18, 2010
First things First
It's hard to know where to begin, so I'll just state the obvious, real life fact that is staring me in the face to get this blog going. I AM LIVING IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA! Now that is not something I ever thought I would say. I've got a lot of dreams including those of traveling the world, being an SNL cast member (shout out to my NYC roadtrip girls!), being a wife and mother, but living in LA was never one of them! Some of you already know that I left my job at Duke in May after almost 3 years there. Looking back I'm so glad I left when I did, but at the time there were great moments of uncertainty. God was gracious in giving me both a supportive family and extensive group of friends and without all of them I'd not be where I am or who I am today! In reality, I wanted to start this blog after leaving Duke so you all could follow my travel nursing career at the beginning in DC...but that didn't happen, so here we are on assignment #2 and on the opposite coast trying to redeem myself and keep you all informed on the adventure I call my life.
After a splitting a lemon scone and downing a double shot cappuccino it was time to hit the road, with one more pit stop at Marshall to grab lunch with an old college friend, and then off to OH as the parents were anxiously awaiting my arrival! While OH isn’t “home” for me it does have many people that I love. I’m so glad I got to visit with my grandparents and help Granny Jo make apple dumplings, and visit with my little cousins. One of my sweetest memories from that visit was when my 3 y/o cousin Caleb was playing with my necklace (it’s a Tiffany Key that my family gave me for my 25th bday and said “it was the key to my future”) and in all childlike sincerity he asked me, “Do you ever lock yourself out?” All I could do was laugh and answer that yes, sometimes I do! All too quickly my wkd in OH flew by and on Monday morning I found myself on a flight to San Diego to get fingerprinted to expedite my CA RN license. I'm overwhelmed by how many friends God has provided me with, and with what wonderful locations they are located in! An old coworker, Britt (from both Duke and DC days) was able to pick me up, feed me, run me around, and babysit me until dinner with my college & Raleigh friend Emily, who then dropped me off at the airport for my red eye back to OH. After being up for about 40 hrs I crashed, only to realize I had to completely repack my car and so the reality of driving across country began to really set in as I mapped out where things should be placed in the car and where I should sleep each night to make my start date on time.
I hate to leave you hanging, and I know this is a horrible transition, but at some point I must end this forever long outpouring of words and learn how to upload photos for a more enjoyable experience, as well as create a little intrigue so you will come back for future posts! Please bear with me as I venture into the world of blogging!
Why did I title this "The adventures of a Kraftsingle" you might ask. That is simply because Em (my younger, talented, and beautiful sister) and myself have dubbed ourselves "the original Kraft singles" as adapted from the Kraft cheese commercials. Hey, you gotta make the most of a last name like ours! And this is way better than being dubbed "Mac" 'n "Cheese"!
If you are still reading, I thank you! While I know that I am not the only person to have a blog the idea that people want to read, and may regularly read what I have to write about my life seems so...pretentious. I'll try to live up to your hopes and expectations! With this initial post I hope to explain how I ended up in LA and detail the best cross country road trip I could have asked for!
I literally drove coast to coast from DC to LA, and the only part I regret is driving through Kansas for what felt like eternity! I’ve decided to only travel to cities that are abbreviated by 2 letters…just kidding! I can’t even think of any other cities that fit those qualifications. For those of you who are wondering about my “travel goals” I do have a list of different places I’d like to go. Some of you know that Fall is my favorite season. I LOVE the pumpkins, spices, apple ciders and apple crisps, layering on clothes, the leaves falling off trees and swirling into the air, and the crunchy leaves beneath my feet…and in MY head the next perfect assignment would be to go to Boston and be surrounded by all the Fall goodness and closer to one of my best friends from my “days at Duke”, my dear Mihoko. However, as hard as I tried it was just not my time to go to Boston. So then I pursued a job in Denver. It was a long shot for both, these are 2 of the top destinations, but I had to try! As my days in DC became fewer and fewer, and my prayers became more frequent and fervent it became apparent that California was going to be the best option for my next assignment…unless I wanted to go to Idaho (but I’m not that big of a potato fan)! So I started to rework my “plan” and change my thinking from all things Fall to all things seasonless. The new plan, aim for Northern Cali where it’s at least cooler so I can wear my sweaters and scarves! I know, it’s vain thinking. I got excited, there were jobs in San Fran and Palo Alto, that would work! What you ask was the next obstacle? I picked up a few viruses from my patient that left me with laryngitis for a week! When these hospitals called I had no voice to interview. That left me with UCLA who seemed eager to hire me and bump my start date another week back to accommodate my drive cross country.
These last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind! I’ll try to hit the highlights and not be too wordy (which you know is hard for me!) I left Children’s National in DC at the end of Sept., had made several friends at work (travelers and permanent staff), had a job offer to come back permanently or temporary whenever I want…it ended up being harder to leave than I thought. On top of all these reasons, I just LOVE DC. It’s familiar. I know the sights. I have lots of good friends within a few hrs. I have the childhood memories. Now I have the adult memories and with that thought I drove back to Raleigh for a quick un-packing and re-packing, weeding out what I did and didn’t use, what I should and shouldn’t cram into my car for the drive.
I then headed up to Lynchburg for a few last college friend farewells, and then off to WV to visit some family! While in WV visiting we ate at THE Dairy Queen (my aunt and uncle were renovating their kitchen). A few thoughts on this, you know it’s a small town when:
you refer to a restaurant with THE beforehand
you can order a taco salad at THE Dairy Queen
you overhear a local comment on the new addition of a coffeeshop as “the best thing to happen since we got that McDonalds”
I hate to leave you hanging, and I know this is a horrible transition, but at some point I must end this forever long outpouring of words and learn how to upload photos for a more enjoyable experience, as well as create a little intrigue so you will come back for future posts! Please bear with me as I venture into the world of blogging!
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