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 . 

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. 

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! 

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!