December Nights

So it's essentially finals week and I should be working on my papers, projects, and the like--instead, I'm writing this post in typical Maureen fashion.

One of the big events here in San Diego is called December Nights. It's a huge, two-night event held in Balboa park. There are rides, games, tons of international food & spirits, performances on the organ pavilion stage, free museum entry, and people watching galore!
(For more information visit http://www.balboapark.org/decembernights/)

Brian unfortunately had to work, but I went with a bunch of the other interns & residents to see what all the fuss was about. A couple of things we learned/experienced there:

• Huge crowds of people! --As in way more than I think any of us had expected. 
• Delicious food--With so many different food vendors, it was kind of like going to an international food fest. 
• More "Carnival" than "Christmas-- Maybe I was expecting something different or maybe it's because of not having to wear a jacket at night, but the whole thing didn't feel very "Christmasy"--which is ok, just not what I was expecting. (I think I'm pretty biased because of visiting the Toledo Zoo's Lights Before Christmas every year that I'm home.)

Overall, it was a really neat experience. I would have liked to spend more time wandering around, visiting some of the museums or listening to some performances, but it was wonderful to simply get to hang out with some good friends and relax for a bit in the middle of all of the school craziness. I am a little sad though that we didn't get a picture of all of us together, but I guess it just means we'll have to do it again next year! Well, those of us that are still in San Diego anyway... fingers crossed that that includes us!

Carnival section with games and rides

Walking towards the San Diego Museum of Art

Exploring the Prado Pub at the Square.

Reason #1532 Why My Sister Is Awesome

Those of you that that we are friends with on Facebook (which is probably a majority of you) were probably unable to avoid the bombardment of pictures/status updates about my sister Erin coming to visit and running our first half marathons together--I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry. Here's why:

My sister is someone who never identified herself as a runner--that was always something that I did and that she never really enjoyed (as a side note, swimming is the same but reversed for us--I hate swimming!). This past year, around February or so, something changed and she decided to give running a try. She started with shorter distances, 1-2 miles at a time, and built her way up from there. I remember her calling to tell me how rough it was at first and celebrating with her over the phone about a new distance she was able to go and how many times a week she was able to run. Since then she has worked her butt off to run regularly on her own... and even running for fun! What??? My sister is running for FUN?? I was sooooooo excited! You have no idea! :D

Not wanting to scare her away I was hesitant to ask if she wanted to come run the Silver Strand Half with me--that can be a pretty daunting concept for a new runner! She had run a few 5Ks before but adding 10 miles to the end of that race is a totally different ball game. I was super stoked when she agreed to my crazy plan, so much so that I signed her up & helped arrange travel plans almost immediately so she couldn't back out on me ("You said yes! No Take-Backs!").

During the training period Erin was dedicated to her workouts and was awesome about fitting in runs around her constantly changing work schedule--heck, she was even more consistant with her running than I was at times! We would check in with each other to see how the running was going and talk about our plans for the upcoming week along the way, so when it came to race day I knew she was ready--and I think she did too.

Erin, I am so very proud of you, your hard work, your bravery, commitment, and resilience! And not just because you raced with me, but because of the wonderful young woman you have become. Thank you for coming out to visit and for running with me! You dominated that course and finished so strong at the end--it was a joy to see you accomplish your goal and I'm happy that I was able to be a part of it. I love you lots and hope we can do something like that again soon! <3

Making Friends

"Make new friends,

but keep the old.

One is silver,

the other is gold."

from 'Make New Friends', a Girl Scout campfire song

Something I dreaded about moving to the west coast was having to make new friends... again. It doesn't matter how old/young, nice/outgoing you are, or how many times you have moved--it's hard to make friends!  It takes a lot of time to get to know someone, to trust them, and to make sure you won't scare them away with your weirdness--let alone find ways to meet new people in the first place! When people ask how I like San Diego so far I often respond with, "I love it! I just wish I could bring my friends here with me!"

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't like the people out in San Diego--we've been blessed with having some great friends from USUHS come out here with us and have met some wonderful people here already in Brian's program and in my grad classes--I'm saying it's hard to make strong, positive relationships in one place and then have to leave them. 

I was reminded of this a lot over the past few weeks. Two weekends ago I went back to DC and got to see my teacher friends and my cross country runners again. It was so wonderful to see them and honestly it re-energized my soul. I made some wonderful friends there for sure! And then I got to talk to some of my best girlfriends from college over the phone & texts, and they lifted my spirits too. I made some forever friends in college for sure! And just this weekend we celebrated Halloween with some new friends out here, and I grabbed brunch with another couple of them today. We're making some great friends out here too!  

I'm glad we're living in a time where it is easier to keep in touch--via email, Facebook, Skype, phone, and even blogs--but I miss my friends. And these new friends that we're making out here, I will miss them too when the Navy says it's time to leave again. 

But for now, I will go out of my comfort zone and make new friends. I will cherish the moments I have here in sunny SD with the awesome people we've met & will meet--and I will do my best to keep in contact with those back in Michigan, New York, and DC/NoVA--friends that I never want to forget. 

Silver and Gold. Thank you for being our friends and know that we love you guys, no matter where we are!

Where I'm From

For my Multiple Literacies class this week we were asked to do some creative writing of our own to eventually convert into digital storytelling. Working through this poem brought up lots of great memories for me, and even though it is just a rough draft I thought I'd share if with you.

Let me know what you think or how I could make it better. And family members, if you have any pictures from Grandpa's house that you could send I'd really appreciate it. I don't have any with me here in San Diego. Thank you for letting me share these memories with you!

Where I’m From

I am from climbing trees,
from Apple and Maple.
I am from the small red and white farmhouse,
cozy and warm,
that always smelled of fresh baked cookies.
I am from the sassafras tree, the mint patch and rhubarb
that Grandpa would show us and pluck off to share.

I am from hard fought cribbage matches
and Sunday pro football,
from Wayne and Rhea and Mary Ellen’s loving care.
I’m from the prayers before dinner and
the walks outside after,
from Remember your Savior and You be good Babe, ya hear?

I’m from Jackson and Adrian,
apple pie and molasses cookies.
From the fort building with Michael so deep in the forest,
from the long talks with Grandma that soothe tired souls.
I am from family, unconditional love and tradition,
a story that lives in me wherever I go.

A Room with a View

To preface this, you have to remember that I have lived in:

• more college dorms & apartments than I care to count (but thankfully all with my roommate Christine).
• a super small, yellow, one-person house that we insisted could hold three girls (ahh, good times in the C.S.).
• a basement apartment in NYC with no real windows to the outside world (but with a decorative window in the living room that even fooled the building safety inspector).
• two different NoVA apartments surrounded by traffic congestion (AKA The Beltway).

Because of these unforgettable, and actually wonderful, experiences I have learned that I can live almost anywhere and make the best of it. Big or small, windows or no, I will make do with what I have. And thankfully I have been blessed with awesome roommates over the years that made all the difference in the world!

Brian on the other hand is very picky about where he lives--not picky in a stuck up way by any means, but picky as in particular and knowing exactly what wants/doesn't want. His biggest sticking point is that he LOVES natural light--the more light the better. He would almost go crazy when he would come to visit me in NYC due to the lack of natural light in the place.

Well when we moved to San Diego he finally got his wish. Our new place is almost more windows than walls and he has all the natural light he could ever want. Even I have to admit how great it is to have so much light. We're going to have to tell the Navy that we can't ever move because almost any other place will pale in comparison to what we have here. And the view! I can sit at the kitchen table and look out the window all day (which is so not good for my study habits!). The apartment still has its shortcomings--not enough storage space, no screens on the windows or porch door to keep the cats in & other things out, walls that mark up too easily if you brush something against them, etc.--but overall it is an awesome place and we couldn't be happier. 

As promised in an earlier post, here is a badly narrated video tour of the place. And seriously, you should come visit! We'd love to have you! :)

Free time, Friends from afar, and Flu shots

This weekend was the first weekend I've had off in 4 weeks.  Also, our friend from back East, Lauren Vasta, was coming in to town for a visit.  Needless to say, I was excited.  Unfortunately, my immune system was not.  It finally gave up the ghost just coinciding with Lauren's arrival last Wednesday.  We went out to dinner at La Puerta in Gas Lamp (excellent Mexican food) that night and I wasn't doing too poorly, but the next morning I woke up feeling like someone had taken sandpaper to my throat.  To be fair, I was already starting to get sick earlier in the week, but seemed to be fighting it off, or at least holding it at bay.  Then I had the bright idea of getting the flu mist, and I think my immune system decided if I wasn't going to be nice to it, it wasn't going to be nice to me. 
Thursday was rough at work but I soldiered on (sailored on?), and that night we went to a Padre's game.  One of my fellow residents has season tickets and he'd worked a deal with his ticket seller to be in the "steal a base" competition.  Between the innings two people run from opposite outfields to second base, grab one of 2 bases set out, and run back.  He'd been training for a week, doing deep lunges and such.  However, they announced the race and our friend was still sitting amongst us.  Someone had screwed up and he didn't get his chance to compete (my theory is they felt he'd dominate and make all future events look pathetic and weak in comparison).  On Friday I was sent home from work and slept for numerous hours trying to recover from the most epic sickness that anyone has ever had, and Maureen and Lauren went to the beach.  That night I awoke from my Odinsleep and we went to Cafe 21 and sampled many fine sangrias (...sangriai?).  We met up with some friends out in town and then came home and watched The Avengers.  This paved the way for an epic Saturday of epicness.
I was somewhat recovered from my illness so we went to Little Italy for their farmers market.  We got to show Lauren the goat cheese seller who looks like a goat, we got some new delicious avocado cilantro hummus, and some sweet strawberry rhubarb jelly.  Then we returned to the apartment and watched some college football.  We then went out to Pacific Beach Shore Club to enjoy the view and also see the beach.  By "the view" I of course mean the people watching.  I described Pacific Beach to Lauren as San Diego's version of the Jersey Shore.  It did not disappoint.  There were the Red Bull-Vodka slushies in chalices which I had promised.  There was also a white trash costume party.  It took us about an hour and a half to realize that this is what was happening because most of the outfits weren't that different from what you usually see in PB.  It was awesome.  The beach was also beautiful.  We then came back and went out to Neighborhood in East Village.  We immediately went back to the wall of kegs and went into the speakeasy, Noble Experiment.  Lauren got a big kick out of it and it was a blast.  We then wandered around downtown San Diego hitting up Zanzibar for dinner, Henry's for dancing, and Salt Box for a night cap before heading home.  It was a great weekend and I'm mostly recovered from my cold.  It was great to see Lauren Vasta and we can't wait to have her out again.  Anyone else interested in coming out and visiting.  This is a taste of what you have in store.  Come on out.

 Padre's game vs. LA

The bustling Little Italy farmer's market

Enjoying Noble Experiment

The wall of skulls at Noble Experiment

Dinner and Beverages at Zanzibar

Clean!!

Our apartment is clean & almost completely put together as of today! Whoo hoo! (Only took us 3 months....geez). The only thing left is to hang the rest of our pictures on the wall and our "home" will be complete :) It may seem like a simple thing but it makes such a huge difference and is one step closer to making San Diego our home--for however long that may be. The cats are not happy though :( Any time we run the vacuum or the house smells weird (read: clean) they freak out. They'll get over it though, the big babies. I'll have to post pictures soon for those that we haven't given the "skype tour" of the apartment.

And the wonderful thing that spurred this recent bit of organization? Our friend Lauren is coming to visit this weekend! It will be so good to see her & I'm looking forward to a bunch of fun adventures to be able to tell you about via blog :)

San Diego Restaurant Week 2012

Restaurant Week--two words that make me drool with anticipation no matter what city we are in. 

This year we went with a group of friends to Acqua al 2 Ristorante to take advantage of the prix fixe menu. 

Oh. My. Goodness. So delicious!

Apparently on Thursday nights they do a Happy Hour at the bar with complimentary hors d'oeuvres--lucky for us yesterday was a Thursday :) After sampling some of the goodness to come we were shown to our table for the feast to begin. 

We all started out with the Assaggio di Primi, which is a Chef's choice tasting of 5 of the first course options. Five delicious plates of pasta later my mouth was sighing with content--and we still had the main course & dessert to go! A balsamic filet mignon and a creamy tiramisu later I can safely say that I'd like to go back again sometime (soon). 

Good times, great food & wonderful friends. Life is good. 

Welcome!

As much as Brian we love telling the same stories to new audiences, we thought it might finally be time for a blog :) We're excited about the opportunity to share our adventures with you in a new way and to give our family & friends another way to touch base (even if it is just electronically). So please enjoy our ramblings and we look forward to Taylor-izing a few stories for you!