Busy with fun!

The last few weeks in California were spent with lots of work and play. My other travel nurse friends, Katy and I, hit the streets of Santa Monica with a couple of other friends one night. This is such a cool area of the city. There is a lot to do there and explore, we just chilled and talked, it was fun. We were going to go salsa dancing again but everyone at the club already had partners so we didn't want to stand there looking dumb waiting for someone to dance with!

Katy and Mandeep

Katy and I

After a busy four days straight of work I got a break and some time to finally do some hiking! Griffith Park is where the Hollywood sign is located and is only about 10 minutes from my apartment. It turned out to be a very long hike, but awesome because for most of the hike there was no one or hardly anyone else around. I actually felt like I was getting some peace and serenity in the middle of the city! It was crazy! Ended up being like a 4-5 hour hike also that went up and past the Observatory, to behind the Hollywood sign, then back down to the front of the sign and off the mountain. Later that night I went to a comedy club, first comedy club I have been to. It was interesting, would like to try a bigger and better one next time! One of my last days off in Cali I explored some of Long Beach area around Belmont Shores. It was a pretty area. Got to walk along the beach and see a lighthouse! I also got to eat at an amazing French restaurant, had Alaskan Halibut, not really French, but it was good. LA has such a great variety of restaurants and so many, I wish I could have tried more of them. Then I worked four more days in a row, they turned out to be three terrible days followed by my last amazing day! I had the same patient three days in a row, and finally got to deliver her on the last day. It was a good end to working at that hospital.

LA

The next day I packed up my apartment and car and drove to meet Luke for some mountain kiteboarding! Luke has been talking about doing this with me for a while, and I have been scared to do it ever since! He just got a mountain board to use with his kite specifically on the dry lake by the base he works at. He has only tried it on the grass behind his house, so he was excited for the dry lake. And he just got all the elbow and knee pads for it. So I met him at the dry lake with my nerves running! We got him all set up first and he did great! There wasn't a whole lot of wind, but on the dry lake it doesn't take too much to get you going, just harder to keep the kite up.

Go Luke!!

Then it was my turn...! I was so freakin nervous! My legs and arms were shaking so bad. Luke even said he couldn't believe I eventually was able to balance on the board cause my legs were shaking so bad. I had to have Luke put his leg behind the board and a hand on my shoulder at first cause I felt so unsteady. It was hard for me to get the confidence at first to stand on the board. I have a tendency to try to stabilize the kite too much and for too long before I get on the board instead of just going for it. After my first little run on the board my heart was pounding so hard I told Luke this was gonna be a good workout if that kept happening! I finally got a little more confidence, not much though. I managed to ride a ways, only fell like once I think because the wheels got stuck in some ruts. It was fun, Luke if a good person to try new things with. He is so patient and a great teacher. He gives me confidence and time for what I need. By the end of the day Luke got really good to where he was riding heel-side and toe-side, a very hard thing to do with the kite only pulling you in one direction! He had fun.

My turn

All padded up

I stayed with Luke one night then left the next morning to meet a bunch of people in Moab, Utah for some camping, mountain biking, climbing, and hiking. I knew as soon as I was headed to California for this contract I wanted to stop in Moab on the way back. So I started talking to Luke, Jackie, and Luke's childhood friend, Mark, early to start planning! Turned out to be Mark inviting a bunch of his friends and me meeting them. Luke and Jackie had other things they needed to do, and it is a long drive for them for just the weekend. I wished they were there though, it was an awesome time! It was a busy weekend so it took a while to find some camping, but we finally did! The first night there were five of us and we went hiking the first morning. And three of us biked Slick Rock that afternoon. The hike was fun, we went to Corona Arch, then climbed up to top of the arch. Not the easiest climb, but it was fun and got the adrenaline going! Apparently Mark was there one year and saw a group of people self repelling off the arch, crazy! We almost did it but ran out of time, maybe next time. Slick Rock was a challenging, hot ride, but always a fun ride. This is the first and only other mountain bike trail I have done in Moab. It is such a unique trail! No pictures of mountain biking, didn't was to bring my camera and risk danger to it!

Mark, Scott, and I on top of the arch

That night I rinsed off in the waterfall close to the campsite which felt amazing! It was cold, but refreshing. Later the rest of the group met up with as at the campsite. Turned out to be 11 total people. Only knew Mark and one other guy from high school previously. They all were pretty cool and fun to hang out with. It was a good group of people. The next day we biked Porcupine Rim. This is supposedly the hardest trail in Moab, or one of the hardest I think. It is a 14 mile ride, the first 4 miles being tough rocky uphill the whole way, awesome view at the top, then 10 miles of challenging downhill. It was a tough ride, probably the toughest I have ever done. There were 7 of us riding together, 2 of which kinda of rode off by themselves cause they were so fast. I was nervous riding with the guys but I didn't slow them down too much. There was one other girl with us as well so that was good. I was beat by the end of the ride, but loved it!

Colorado River

The next day we just packed up camp and decided to do a little climbing. Mark did the lead climb and made it look very easy! After one other person it was my turn. The wall looked like tons of fun from the bottom. It also looked a lot easier than it actually was from the bottom. The climb took me a while to do, but I did it, making it not quite, but pretty much to the top. If I had longer arms I might have been able to make it to the top. I kept working and working at it right at then end, wearing out my arms to where they just finally couldn't do it anymore. But it was an awesome climb! About 6 of total did the climb. I love it, I wish I could do more climbing, it is so amazing. And just being able to chill there in the sun watching and cheering everyone on, was the greatest.

Zach, the official baleyer of the day!

Mark, the lead climber. He made it look easy

The wall we all did, only had time to do the one

My turn!

About halfway

Scott

I got back from Moab last night and now I had today and tomorrow to unpack, organize, and repack all my stuff for Oklahoma and Europe. Dad and I drive to Oklahoma Wednesday and I fly to Germany on Thursday! I can't believe it is almost time!! I will not get back from Europe until June 12th, then spend a week in Oklahoma with Kylee, Clint, and the new baby, Clark! I'm excited. So this will be my last posting for more than a month. Then I will have a lot to catch up on...!! I will not have internet or cell phone access that I know of yet. May sneak on the internet every now and then, but no guarantees. Looking forward to getting to share all the amazing experiences to come in Germany and Italy!! Hope everyone has a great start to their summer!

Los Angeles

In case I haven't mentioned it before, Cedars-Sinai Hospital (where I am working right now) is a Jewish hospital. Around the hospital and where I live is a very large Jewish population. We have many Jewish patients. Sometimes they are not the easiest patients to deal with, but I have had a few great ones. The picture shows above is one of those great patients. I actually triaged her and sent her home, it was when I was working 4 days in a row, so I told her if she came back in the next few days she could ask for me, and she did! So I was able to connect with her and bond. She had a very tough delivery, but made it through! She didn't know what she was having but when she had her boy she invited me to his Bris, which they perform when they are 1 week old. The Bris, or "Brit Milah" is the "covenant of circumcision," a Jewish ritual performed on a baby boy 8 days after birth. The parents owned two Kosher restaurants so they held the Bris at one of them, which might seem gross, but was actually a good idea because there was so much food it made preparation and clean up a lot easier, and there was lots of room. I was very honored she invited me and thought it would be a very good experience for me. And man, was it an experience. I felt totally awkward because it was mostly all Persians...and there was me, white girl in the corner feeling awkward! Then during the actual ceremony so many people were gathered all close, so I couldn't really see anything, but heard a lot of chanting and praying! It was very interesting, and the food was good! One thing I really like about this population and their parties, is they show up, stay during the purpose of the party, fill up their bellies, then leave. They don't feel guilty eating and running, its normal, the party is over, time to go. Glad I went, even though I felt very weird.

I have learned a few things about the Jewish religion while here. One important one affects our care to patients significantly. On Friday nights after sundown until Sat. night sundown they are not allowed to work or involve themselves in anything technological. So, for example, this includes not being able to drive anywhere, not pushing buttons in an elevator, and no pushing call lights for their nurse. So women in labor will walk to the hospital and if they need the nurse they have to find the nurse or will just wait until the nurse comes in the room again. So we have to be aware to check on the patient more often since they might not call for the nurse. And the hospital actually has their elevators automatically stop on every floor on Saturdays since they cannot push the buttons, interesting they can actually use the elevator though! And on Friday evenings and Saturdays you notice how big the Jewish population is because they are all out walking instead of driving! Passover week has been especially abundant with that as well!

A couple weeks ago I decided to go to Las Vegas. I was going to meet Brea and Tom there to do some mountain biking, but the weather decided it wasn't going to be good for mountain biking, so we cancelled the biking plans, but I still decided to go for a night because I got a night at Circus Circus for only $30!! Thought I couldn't beat that! So I got there on a Thursday afternoon, drove around a bit, checked in then decided it would be fun to see Phantom of the opera. When I was in middle school we had a field trip to Boulder for the Phantom of the Opera dinner theatre. It was awesome and I have loved this play ever since. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it in Vegas. Before the play I walked around the Venetian a while cause that is where the play was at. It was fun. Wasn't too weird at the play by myself, only after while I was waiting for my car that I had Valet parked because the group of older guys was looking at me weird, probably wondering why I was alone! Back at the motel I got free chips and salsa and a drink. The next day I found a good all you can eat sushi place then walked around the outlet mall and got some stuff for going to Europe (I leave in less than a month)! The outlet mall is fun to walk around, but still very expensive stores for an outlet mall! But it was a fun quick trip to Vegas.

That Friday evening I left Vegas to meet Luke and Jackie in Lake Havasu, AZ. Jackie's parents live there and we were going for a weekend of fun times and jet skiing! It was a little chilly and stormy on Saturday so we didn't jet ski that day, instead we went to a boat show then Luke and I decided we needed to practice some lake swimming for our triathlon. It was a good thing we decided to practice! We knew the water was going to be cold, but it was very cloudy and windy as well, so I was not looking forward to swimming then running, but we knew we needed to do it. With just our shorty wetsuits on we get into the water and I attempt to start swimming, but I was overcome with the cold water and many waves. I couldn't catch a breath worth anything and was shivering. There was a little point across the way we were just going to swim back and forth to from where we started. When I was about half way and Luke at the turn-around point he looks back and sees me struggling. I couldn't swim. I was cold and couldn't breathe because it was so wavy. I was kind of panicking and hyperventilating. Finally I made it to the turn around point. The way back wasn't much better. I was swimming, but still couldn't put my head under because I couldn't breathe. The 2nd attempt went a little better, and by the 3rd I was finally feeling a little more comfortable. I finally started swimming instead of just surviving. It was interesting. When we were done swimming, we rushed up and put on our running clothes with frozen fingers and feet, making it an interesting process. We took off running and by this time luckily the sun had come out a little bit, still windy though. About halfway through the run I finally got feeling back in my feet. It was a good learning experience for both of us! Glad we did it, it wasn't necessarily fun, but constructive!

Then next day was nicer so we were able to take the jet skis out. Between Luke and Jackie and her parents they have 7 jet ski's total. So we were all able to have a jet ski. I really didn't want to get in the water because it was still freezing, so I was a little nervous staying stable on Jackie's unstable jet ski, but I managed. It was fun riding along the lake, cold going fast with the wind, but a good time. And Luke did well avoiding the water on his standup. We got to play around on the jet ski's a little, I got to ride Jackie's dad's, which you can get up to more than 75mph, but the speedometer caps at 75. I got it up to 70 for a second and that was definitely fast enough for me! It was fun! Jackie's parents have a 90% solar powered energy efficient home. It's gorgeous, they have a pool and hot tub overlooking the lake. Very nice house, and they like the heat so it is a good, fun place for them to live! No pictures of jet skiing unfortunately, kinda hard to be on the water and take pics!

Anybody watch Glee? I have to admit I do, and I really like it. I am asking because I was at the gym last week after work. I was walking around trying to find a medicine ball and I see the back of a guy who I think looks like one of the characters on Glee. I only saw the back of his head and when I walked around I saw the side of him and was even more convinced, so I kind of started walking slowly looking back and he turns and starts heading right towards me and then I knew it was him! He walks up and I ask him if he is the guy on Glee. He said jokingly and plainly No, and kind of teasingly touched my medicine ball. I walk next to him and tell him I really like the show, he says thanks then heads into the gym to play basketball. I got to watch him play a little ball, with other, completely normal people. Well he is normal too, but you know...he is famous! It totally made my week! I couldn't believe it, I mean, I should believe it, my gym is right on Hollywood Blvd, but still. Afterwards I felt like a complete idiot, starstruck and girly. But what else was I gonna say, "Hey man, how are ya?!" Anyway, it was Mark, the guy that plays "Puckerman." He has a very distinct haircut! In the picture above he is the one on the bottom right.

The other day I was riding my bike to the gym and I saw a robbery in action at a bank along my way. All the cops were outside with their guns up and waiting. That was entertaining! Mom and Papa, don't be scared, I wasn't in danger, I just went to the other side of the street!

Now, time to talk about the triathlon! Finally, last weekend Luke, Jackie, and I woke up on Saturday morning at 3am to drive to Lake Perris, about 70 miles east of LA. We arrived at about 5:30, registered and got all prepared for the race. We were happy to find out he and were starting in the same heat together. He was in the military category so he started in the same heat with all the other women, lucky he signed up for that category so we could start together. So we are waiting for them to tell us to go, we tell each other good luck and give each other hugs. Then off we go. I see him once right after we started, then it was time to get serious. But, I had another similar experience as the test run in the lake, there were so many people around, kicking and splashing. I was hyperventilating and couldn't swim right. I was using a lot of energy. All I could think about was how far away the buoy looked and I had to make it all the way to it and back again. Finally I started actually swimming and got in my groove. Made it to the buoy and I knew I was going to be fine after that. It was a good swim. Then as I am about to make it to the end of my swim to get out, I see Luke getting out of the water. I couldn't believe it. Out of all the other people in the water we finished the swim at about the same time. It was great. Jackie was holding our sunglasses and watches so after she handed Luke's his I had to holler that I was coming up so she could grab mine. It was a long, hill run up to the transition area but not as bad as I expected. I took off on my bike with Luke behind me. He passed me, then I passed him, then he passed me again and stayed ahead of me. But I could see him the whole time. As I ride up into the transition area, he is just running out. So I saw him the whole run as well. I got dizzy right at the beginning of the run, it faded a bit, then dizzy again at the end. But I made it through, about one minute behind Luke. Luke finished 4th overall in the military category, 40 something of guys, there were a lot of guys! The guy that got 3rd in military was like 15 minutes faster, so it would have been very hard for Luke to beat that, so at least he didn't miss 3rd by just a little bit! I finished 9th overall girl, and 2nd in my age category! Luke really enjoyed it! We both won something in the raffle afterwards, Luke won a free entry at their next race in October, so he may be doing another one! It was a fun time and it was good to have our support person and photographer, Jackie, there cheering us on!

Sprinting it out, trying to beat the guy next to me and not fall over due to dizziness!

Ride Luke Ride!

Way to go Luke! You did awesome.

No! Don't do it!!

Sunday after the triathlon we played frisbee golf at the very first frisbee golf course. About 30 min from my place. It was a 20 hole course. It was fun, and the weather was perfect. And this past week I have done a little more LA life stuff. I got a facial with Katie, another travel nurse. I highly suggest doing this, it feels great! We had a small pool party on our roof of the apartment and we went to a salsa club for some salsa dancing. This was very fun, it is tough, but a good workout and very fun to do! Takes some time getting used to. And you feel like an idiot because most everybody there knows what they are doing. Another day I went to Newport Beach with some ladies I work with where we got an hour long massage for only $15! It was a very interesting massage too. They used all their bodies and force to get in your muscles, and they stretched you and pounded you. It was painful sometimes, but overall felt great. Then we had all you can eat sushi and hung out at a yacht club for a bit. Figured out that one of the ladies, who is an older Korean lady, is awesome to hang out with! She knows how to pick up the guys and flirt, haha, she is entertaining.

After this week I only have a week and a half left. Time goes by so fast...

Time flies

Didn't I just move to California? Wasn't I just all worried about being able to handle and tolerate the city life and the big hospital? I feel like I just got to California. Hate to break the news, but I only have less than 4 weeks left in LA! That's crazy. Less than a month left. I do have to say, I know LA is not for me, haha. But I didn't even have to go to LA to know that. Living in LA makes me become someone that stays within a 3 mile radius of my apartment and the hospital. When I do branch out, bad things happen with me and traffic! No worries, no accidents or anything like that, just too much traffic and really bad road rage! I needed to go to REI the other day, the closest one is at Santa Monica beach, so I decided to spend the afternoon there, (which I will talk about more later), and it ended up taking me more than an hour to get back home. I didn't even leave the beach until 7:30 that evening, I thought I would have avoided the traffic, I was wrong. Definitely took away from the effects you get from being at the beach! Nice area though, for a beach in the city...need I say more?

I am staying very busy and enjoying my time even though I dont go too far too often. One thing I am sad I am not doing more of is hiking. There is hiking around, but it takes forever to get to anywhere decent and by the time I get back home thru the traffic I will just be frustrated again, not worth taking the hike. A few things still on my list that I hope I get to do include eating Korean BBQ (I have heard its amazing!), go to the Chinese Theatre, and go to San Diego.

Chinese Theatre

Middle of March mom and dad came for a visit. We had planned on going to China Peak Ski Resort with Luke and Jackie but then Luke got a very late notice TDY and was gone the whole time the parents were in California. It was really sad. So Jackie came to LA and spent some time with myself and my parents. First day we did a little LA exploring. We did the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Then we went to Universal City. Not Universal Studios, just walked around the city area. Had some yummy sushi for lunch! Then we drove around UCLA campus. It is a pretty campus, not as big as I expected, kinda crammed in a small area next to Beverly Hills. Mom couldn't believe I live so close to Beverly Hills. I can run to it from my apartment. I also run by the LaBrea Tar Pitts all the time, very close to my apartment and just down the block from my gym. I just saw a movie the other day that was so funny because the dad was asking his little girl if she wanted to go to the Tar Pitts or to the Farmer's Market, which I drive by all the time going to work. Very fun and good Farmer's Market. Not as tempting as I thought it was going to be, I have only gone two times, with Luke and Jackie, then with my parents. I should go more for the fresh produce, but again, I don't like battling for parking and all that stuff! Mom is very jealous of the farmer's market being just down the road from me! We also drove around and saw some of the houses in Beverly Hills. Most of the really nice houses you couldn't really see because of fencing and plant walls! Not cool! Some good views of the city though.

WALK OF FAME

The second day we went to Knott'sBerry Farm. No, this is not really a farm. Well it used to be and they still have the farm somewhere to grow berries for their jams, but it is a theme park. I never knew this until Jackie was telling me about it. Never imagined Knott'sBerry as an adventure park. It was fun. Did some good roller coasters. There weren't too bad of lines. Mom did a lot more rides than I expected her to. And dad and I did a coaster that goes from 0 to 82 in like 2.3 seconds. It was fast! You see everyone sitting in the coaster while your waiting in line, then all the sudden...their gone! They disappear so quickly!

The next few days my parents and I went to China Peak. It was a long drive there, but once we got into the Fresno area and headed up the hills, the drive was gorgeous. So many rolling, green hills. Didn't feel like we were headed to skiing. Made me want to go wine tasting or something! We made it to the mountain early afternoon so dad and I were able to get a few days of riding in. Then we went the next two days as well. We got free passes to China Peak with our Monarch passes, so it was a good deal! The motel at the resort was not good though. First, it was kind of set up like a dorm room, the more expensive rooms had bathrooms, but most rooms just shared a community bathroom in the hall. And each room had tons of beds. Kind of makes me think of a hostel actually. And there was nothing else at this motel, not even a hot tub! And to top it off, little selection in food. I haven't had a hamburger or chicken fingers in years, and I was forced to order each of these. Made my stomach hurt! The snow was very icy in the morning, had to stay on the groomers, and would get very soft and mushy in the afternoon. It was so warm. Probably the warmest I have ever rode in. Well, actually last year the second time I went to Mt. Hood in Oregon it was very warm too. We had to catch the few hours top of the day where the snow is soft, but not too mushy that you can't even move! We enjoyed it though. I think dad's knees were horribly sore afterwards. Of course, he is so tough he never said anything, but I know they were. My knees were even sore, of course his was. That thick snow is tough!

The last day of their visit was girl's day. I took mom for a massage. We were actually supposed to massages, facials, and mani's and pedi's, but they could only do the massage. After the massage we went for tea. We had fun but were a little disappointed. Part of the LA disappointment. So expensive here, we couldn't even get different types of tea without paying for another full pot. Our favorite tea place in Oklahoma City you can try as many types of tea as you want and you get a muffin included in your meal. We like that place! All in all it was a fun visit with the parents! I am glad they were able to come.

So in the past month I have had appointments with a Neurologist and an ENT specialist. And neither of them could figure out what is wrong with me and getting dizzy every time I run outside. So frustrating! I hate it. I wanna just be able to go out for a run not dreading the feeling it is going to give me. Keeps me from doing things I want to do, like longer races! Good news is the Neurologist said my balance was fine, which I knew, and that there was no indication I needed any kind of scans, it didn't sound like I had any neurological problems or anything. No, just this really bad problem that happens when I run or hike too fast!! So annoying!

A couple weekends ago Luke and spent some quality time together learning to do a new extreme sport! Kiteboarding! He has been into learning how to do it for a while and talked me into it. It was something I was always slightly interested in because I would see all the boarders out on frozen Dillon Lake in Silverthorne riding on the lake with their kites and I though it would be fun to be able to do it. So Luke came out to LA and we spend the weekend learning. The guy we took the class with was really cool and into just expanding the sport. He ended up spending at least 3 hours longer with us than he was supposed to. The first day was spend just on the beach learning to manuever the kite. Which Luke picked up fast because he has a harnes and trainer kite that he has been practicing with. It's amazing how difficult the kite is at first, but once you start playing with it a little it is fairly easy to catch on to how it works with the wind. The trick is, you have to know the wind and be very careful. It is very easy to dip the kite into too much wind power...and off you go! We were watching a training DVD the night before and I knew I was just going to do tons of faceplants! I think I ended up only doing one actually, in the water.

So after day one on the beach, day 2 we were in the water, and supposed to get up on the board. This was really scary, and difficult. Not only do you have to worry about the kite and keeping it up in the air, which can be difficult to do, and if it falls it can be hard to re-launch. Then you add the board into the situation and have to learn to maneuver the kite with one hand while picking up the board and carrying it into the water. Before we got the board we learned body dragging in the water. This was so much fun! Just letting the kite pull you through the water! It is interesting how both Luke and I when it was time to get on the board, things we had learned with the kite kind of got forgotten. There is so much to think about! We had to learn to take our time and really concentrate. The kite has to be in the perfect position in order to even put your feet in the board. Then you have to get the kite through enough wind power to get you up and stay with enough power to keep you going. Luke and were a good team to learn together. Neither of us gets frustrated with the other and we both were moving at about the same time in our learning process, Luke slightly faster because he had more practice and naturally has a little more capability to pick things up faster, but I'm used to that! By the end of it I was able to get up a few times, once fairly well for a little. And Luke got up a few good times. It was awesome. Then to top it off, on Luke's last run, when he was up on the board, a couple dolphins came up behind him. It was amazing! Luke didn't see them of course, he was a little busy, but it was the coolest picture ever. Made the day for sure! I can't wait to go more and learn to get on the board better. And the ultimate goal...riding on Dillon Lake! Thanks for a fun weekend Luke, I highly enjoyed it! I love you!

I went to the beach the other day because like I said earlier I had to go to REI. I walked around a little and then went down to the beach for a little run. It was nice. The beach wasn't as packed as I thought it was going to be for a California beach, but the beach is also really big, very long and wide. It was a little more difficult to run on this beach than it was in Oregon because the sand wasn't as hard packed as far up on the beach as it was in Oregon. There is a big difference in how the beaches are in Oregon vs. California. The reason there is so much harder packed sand in Oregon is not because it rains so much there, but because the beach stays so shallow as you go out into the water, it doesn't ever just suddenly get deep. Most beaches you have shallow for so long out then you drop down and it gets deeper. In Oregon the tide changes so drastically due to this fact that the beach inclines so gradually. It makes for good running. Here I had to stay right up along the water line in order to run well at all. But I am glad I got to experience it, even though my run didn't last long just because I got sick, oh well. That is all for my beach experience while I am here that I know of. Not planning on going again. Unless Luke and I get to go out and kite-surf again soon!

So if anyone is wondering where I am going next, I do not know. Too early to know. I have personal travel plans to complete before I go somewhere else, but I will keep you updated!

Working in LA

North and South towers

Adjusting to working at this hospital takes some time, I don't think I will ever feel totally comfortable there before I have to just leave again. It is a busy place, I like the experience I am getting, but I don't think I could work here full time. It is difficult to really get to know anyone. Everyone is so busy doing their own thing many times you don't see someone that has been there the whole day until it is time to go home! I have been lucky to have mainly all very nice patients. The patient culture here is different than anywhere else I have been. More people here that are older, married, and have money. Many times I am working with patients that are younger than I am, single, and on Medicaid. This hospital allows a lot of autonomy, which is nice, but at the same time makes you hope you are doing everything like they like it to be done. The orientation is so short, you get a small snip of what they like, and then set you free, its nearly impossible to do everything like they want it done. And every hospital double charts, but this unit is especially bad. They not only have some paper charting but they have two computer charting programs we have to use. And you can't have both programs open at once so you have to close one to chart in the other, a pain in the butt! I did receive an encouraging comment the other day though. We were talking about one of the new travel nurses (which we get at least 2-3 new ones every week!), we were worrying whether she would be able to handle working at a place like this. One of the nurses said to me, "yeah, you fit in well here, you gotta get in there and be ready to work fast." I never feel totally comfortable, hard to as a travel nurse. And many times I have no idea where things are, what doctors want, or what to do, but I try. So it was really nice to get that comment. Since I have started working there I have definitely had at least one delivery, sometimes 2. I have had some emergency situations with just my patients in only a few weeks. The c/s rate at this hospital is 40%, sometimes seems higher than that. I am working with residents again, so that is kind of nice to have again. Most the time these residents seem to really know what they are doing.

Full hospital view

For some reason, the City of Los Angeles requires nurses to have fire safetly class. It is the only county that has this requirement. So we had to go sit through this all day fire class with this guy that I very passionate about teaching this. He would be a good teacher for an elementary school fire safety class, a little over the top for us. But we did get to go to the roof of a parking garage and put out some fires. I would have to say, much more informative than the normal computer tests we take for fire safety. Those don't teach you as well how to use a fire extinguisher than actually using the fire extinguisher!

Enough about work! More about California. I have to admit, I haven't done too much exploring. A couple things keeping me from that. First, I am scared of the traffic. Not really scared, just trying to avoid it because I know it will put me in a bad mood. I will explore with other people, I just don't think I want to face the traffic alone, nor the gas prices! Also there is so much just right around me I don't have to go far. There are many little cafe's, restaurants, and shops. I mentioned the other night to some people that this is an area that you don't seem to see too many Mexican restaurants. If you think about it, almost anywhere you go there are tons of mexican restaurants. There are so many other types of restaurants here they don't need much mexican! The culture here is so diverse, it is cool. My patient population has ranged from African-American, to Caucasian, to Hispanic, to Asian, to Philippino, to people from Holland, Russia, England, and Germany. One patient was skyping her family oversees right after she had the baby. One day I was in the locker room at the gym changing and tiny girl from Russia I think was talking to this Asian lady about how long she has lived in LA, why she likes LA, etc. She said that she is fluent in 4 different languages! It was cool, she looked like she was 18. People around here don't seem to be as star struck as everyone else in the nation are. Whenever we have someone famous on the floor, nothing changes. You don't hear everyone talking about them or trying to see them. Things continue just the same.

The weekend of the Academy Awards I was driving back to the city from my brother's house. The exit I normally get off on was closed due to the awards, so I took the next exit then turned back and could see that I was about 2 blocks from the awards. I was in this backroad with parking spots available so I decided to park and walk up to see how close I could get. I got right up to the red carpet. I was on the corner of the sidewalk where they walk out on the red carpet and get in their cars to leave. It wasn't crazy crowded with people or hectic. It was kind of surreal. At first I couldn't get any good pics, there was this huge fence in front of us. But as I was leaving I noticed there were people standing on the newspaper racks, so I climbed up also! And I got some great pics!!

The gym I work out at is just a few blocks down from here

Getting down with it! One of those random street circles of people dancing in the middle you see in the movies

Dance circle was in from of Ripley's Believe It or Not

Transition to Cali!

So much to talk about and catch up on! I am now living in Los Angeles! I have been here now for almost three weeks! That's crazy. Time just goes so fast. I still don't feel like I have had any time to really settle in. Definitely haven't explored the area much, the traffic kinda keeps me from doing that!

So I guess I need to catch up! After the cruise, we went to Miami beach to walk around. This downtown area is really cool. One street we walked on had tons of restaurants and shops. It was a fun place to window shop. Lots of sushi restaurants. If we hadn't just gotten of a cruise I am sure we would have tried one, but I was definitely not wanting to eat anything! On the way there I got to see the Miami Dolphins stadium. They are my second favorite team, after the Broncos, so it was cool to see the stadium.

Dolphins Stadium

Later that day, my friend from Oklahoma, Tiffany, flew in to Florida to hang out for a few days. It was fun having her there! We really didn't do a whole lot, but we relaxed, walked on the beach one night, played games. We got to catch up and talk a lot.

One evening we were walking on the beach and saw these jellyfish washed up on the shore. They were everywhere! And they were a clear bluish color. It was interesting. We decided that was not the beach we would want to swim in! It was too chilly there anyway though to swim in the ocean.

Don't touch!

The day before we were flying out I must have gotten some food poisoning or something because I was not feeling very good. Lucky me I had to fly home sick, that is never a fun experience having stomach issues and having to fly. It turned out ok though. When I got to Denver I was welcomed by Clint! This was funny because he lives in Oklahoma, but flew to Denver that morning and picked me up at the airport that night. It was cool. He picked me up, we went and saw his family, then drove to BV. He came out to Colorado so I could teach him how to snowboard. First I took him out snowshoeing and then to practice on the board a little. He enjoyed snowshoeing but discovered early how it can be hard work! Then on the way to go snowboarding, I was just driving and bragging about how great my car is when I get stuck in the snow! Bad stuck. We couldn't dig it out, luckily a truck drove by and towed my out. This still wasn't working too well and we had to dig down deep to the gravel in order to finally get out. My first stuck in the snow experience. Guess I had to really welcome Clint to the Colorado snow! It was fun, after my car was unstuck!

After the day, we walked out onto Cottonwood Lake. Clint's first time to walk on a lake!

The next three days Clint and I spent at Monarch. First day was slow of course being his very first day on a board. But I could tell he was picking it up quickly. And he was tough. Didn't complain after all the many normal falls of learning to ride. He was sore of course, but he stuck it out and rode hard all three days. He didn't even have to take many extra breaks. I was proud of him. And I think I might have made a snowboarder out of him! At least that is what he says. He says he really enjoyed it and hopes to get to go more often. Unfortunately that is a little tough to do in Oklahoma, hence the reason I left there as soon as I could and don't plan on going back. Sorry to all my friends there, it just makes for a great place to visit.

After unfortunately having to take Clint back to Denver I had one day to go back to Pueblo to move out of my apartment. It was funny because I left Pueblo like January 12th to go to Florida and then didn't go back until the 3oth just to move out. Didn't even spend another night there! That was ok with me! I was ready to leave. It was nice being there to get to go snowboarding a lot and see friends in BV and Denver, but as my life is right now, it had been three months, time to move on! My amazing mother came with me to Pueblo to help me move out! It was so great to have her help. I love her!

Then I was going to have a few days to snowboard and repack for California, but that was right when the storms hit and the temperatures were in the negative 20s at Monarch. I managed to go up one day for a few hours, but riding alone in that cold of temps, isn't the most fun so I didn't go as much as wanted to. Oh well.

Packing to drive out to California was so much nicer than any other time so far because of my new car! It's great to have a bigger car and not feel totally jam packed inside it! Since I was headed to California, I took advantage of the opportunity to go up to Salt Lake City to visit Brea and Tom. A little out of the way, but totally worth it! Just spent the evening with them, but anytime I get to spend with them is always a good time. Then the next day I left early to meet up with Luke and Jackie on base. Luke works at Edwards AFB now about 2 hours outside of LA. Luke and Jackie came with me to LA to help me move all my stuff in. Man, it's so nice to have help! I didn't even realize at first that I would have them close by to help me, but having them there to help made a huge difference. Usually I arrive somewhere like the day before I have to start and I am rushing around getting everything done that needs to be done that it is at least a week before I feel like I am somewhat organized. With Luke and Jackie helping this time, everything was moved in and organized in less than two hours! Thanks Luke and Jackie! Left us with lots of time to explore the area and have a little fun.

My new apartment kitchen

View from my porch. Yep, that is the Hollywood sign in the background

That afternoon after getting everything moved in we went to play frisbee golf. We found a park that has 27 holes. That's a lot! We only played 18, that's enough for me. Luke was ready to keep playing all night if he could! But Jackie and I were ready to be done. We played Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon the park we played at was along a side of the hill. Made it more challenging and more of a workout with the risk of your frisbee rolling all the way down the hill.

I tend to enjoy climbing trees when I play frisbee golf. This tree looked fun...it was!

I was driving around the park and noticed this sign. Just cool to see a sign that says Buena Vista on it. Guess this is a Buena Vista rec area, there were a lot of Buena Vista signs

View of the Los Angeles hills

Downtown LA

Saturday night we went to the Santa Monica Pier. This is a famous beach; if anyone has ever seen Private Practice, the lit up ferris wheel you see all the time on that show is the Santa Monica Pier. So we walked around and took a ride on the ferris wheel. Cool place to walk around. Not sure if it is somewhere I would chill on the beach for the day though. It is a very large, busy beach. The houses along it are cool, just very close together and skinny!

The Pier. Can't really see the ferris wheel, but its there!

Sunset on the beach!

Luke and Jackie left Sunday afternoon to catch the end of the Super Bowl. I settled in and explored the area a little bit more, then got ready to start my busy week of orientation at my new hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. If anyone has never heard of this hospital, it is right in Hollywood. It is where many of the stars go. It is actually a Jewish hospital. They even have a whole Kosher section in the cafeteria! But orientation was the longest orientation days I have had yet. Very boring and a lot of it was a waste of time. I figured out right away that this hospital has a lot of travel nurses. There were 6 new travel nurses just in labor and delivery starting with me, and more to start soon. I guess their labor and delivery unit has had a lot of changes lately and lots of nurses leaving. They were in desperate need of some help. But the whole hospital has somewhere between 250-300 travelers, and most these travelers are all with the same company! It's crazy. That's a lot of travel nurses. So I met some people right away! One girl that I have gone to the beach with once and hung out with a few times lives in the same apartment as me. Another nurse on my floor I figured out lives right next door to me!

It took some getting used to how things work here in the city. Actually, correction, I don't think I will ever get used to it, just took some time to get oriented to how things work. For example, we have to pay $50 a month for parking here, all employees have to pay that, and staff don't get this reimbursed! I get it reimbursed through my company but I think it is ridiculous that if your staff there you have to pay that much just to park to go to work. Not only that, but every day when I get to the parking garage I have to get a parking ticket, then before I leave I have to go to the cashier and get my ticket verified. EVERY DAY!!! It's crazy. I don't want to have to wait in line every day after getting of a 12-13 hour work day. I just want to go home! Such a waste of time. You have to pay to park everywhere you go here. You get a parking ticket everywhere you park. Now I can relate whenever I see on TV or a movie about people getting their parking tickets validated. If you park somewhere for a store or something like that, many places validate the ticket so you don't have to pay to park if you are a customer. You figure out that process quickly living here. Sometimes it is interesting just figuring out where to park when you go somewhere. Kind of frustrating. I got my first LA parking ticket within the first week. I was going to the gym, couldn't find a parking garage, so I parked on a side street. Didn't see a sign anywhere saying I couldn't park there or needed a permit. But apparently it was permit parking only so I got a ticket! Lame.

So far everyone on the floor have been nice and friendly. Its so busy that sometimes it is hard to find anyone to help you out, but my patient assignments havent been too bad. One weird thing here is we do self assignments, so in the morning we walk in and decide what patient we want. That is a little strange, but hasn't been too bad yet. Just sucks when you pick a patient and the baby ends up being a bad baby requiring lots of interventions during labor. In normal language this means that the baby's heart rate during labor is not reassuring so we have to continue to make sure the baby is doing ok by doing different things with the mother. I have had decent patients though. They have in general been nice and appreciative, that is always a nice thing to have! Can make a big different on your work week. And they try harder here to make sure you get your break, that is really nice! So besides feeling completely lost in just how they do all their paperwork and technical stuff here, things have been going fairly well!

Last weekend I went to Luke's house and we went snowboarding at Big Bear on Friday. It was awesome!!!! The snow was decent, but the best part was that this resort is made for snowboarders. It is a very small resort, but they have tons of rails, boxes, and jumps. It's crazy. So fun to ride down the mountain and have so many options of things to do! Plus it was just tons of fun to get to go with Luke and other people he works with. I go so often by myself, it was fun to go with other boarders, especially with Luke. I love snowboarding with him! By two o clock a storm rolled in and the snow started coming down hard. So by the time we left, we were soaked! It was a great day though.

Luke was supposed to be taking a picture of us, apparently he likes himself because he only got a shot of himself! Silly, would have been a great pic!

Luke and I are training for a triathlon (I talked him into doing it with me!) so Saturday we did a little training, but that was after he introduced me to some kiteboarding. As a beginner, you have to get used to kite on land first before you take a board and kite out on water. So we took his kite out to the field behind his house. We spent a few hours getting me used to the kite. It was fun. I enjoyed it, now I am ready to try it with a board, but very nervous. Not looking forward to the many face plants I am sure I am going to have in the water!

Saturday night we headed back to LA so we could go to Magic Mountain on Sunday. It was a chilly weekend but it was great to go to an amusement park and not be dying of heat while waiting in line. It was busy, but the lines were never to terrible that we had to wait extremely long for any ride. We ended up doing lots of rides. Magic Mountain has tons of roller coasters. That is all we did except for the spinning ride that you just lay on the wall and it spins in a big circle really fast. I was nervous to do this at first thinking it would make me really dizzy, but I was ok. Most the coasters we did were big and fast! It was fun! Not sure if I have ever been there before. I don't think so because nothing looked familiar.

This week at work, we had two famous people on the floor. I can't say who, it is against the law. But I can say they were not having the baby, they were visiting the couple having the baby. It wasn't crazy on the floor having them there. Everything was normal except for the two bodyguards they had standing outside of their door. I expected it to be a little different when there was someone famous on the floor, but I guess it was good to know things don't go crazy when this happens! I still kind of hope I don't take care of a famous person though, it is a little nerve wrecking!

I invite anyone to come visit me in Hollywood! We can go experience the LA life!!!