Folksvacation

I know you've all been thirsty for another post by Brian The Procrastinant, well prepare to be quenched!  Cuz here's a post comin at ya!  Warning, this will be fairly self indulgent and rambly.  You've been forewarned (the best kind of warned).

My folks came to visit over my birthday weekend.  This is the first time they've been out since we moved to San Diego, so I was eager to show them our new place and all of the great spots we've discovered in the city.  I was on an Orthopedics cast-room rotation, which is a relatively light rotation as far as intern year goes.  Unfortunately they still make you work.  So my Lovely Wife hung out with and entertained them during most of Thursday and Friday.  She's pretty amazing (I don't even know if she reads this blog so this is unsolicited praise).

On Thursday she took them to some of the museums in Balboa Park.  Balboa is a big park to the Northeast of downtown.  We live right at the edge of it.  It has a bunch of running trails, museums, the Naval Hospital, (and a really cool bridge, if you're into that kinda thing, which I am, so for real, it's cool).  She took them to the Museum of Man, which is in a building that looks like some old Spanish church (I'm pretty sure it was built during the world expo in the park in the early 1900's).  They had some cool exhibits that I got to hear all about when I got out of work that day.  Intern year has a pretty good track record for keeping me from doing cool stuff.  Anyway, we went to a restaurant right across the street from our place called Chaplos which is new, good, kinda weird, and always worrying me that it's gonna go out of business.  We had some vino, good foods, and made our way back over to the Park.  There's a theater right by the museums called The Old Globe that was playing Pygmalion.  That's the play that the musical My Fair Lady is based on.  Maureen and I had bought tickets a month before and had it all planned out to take them there.  At the box office they didn't have our tickets, so I took out my iPhone to show them the records.  Unfortunately, my records showed that we had tickets for Sunday, not Thursday.  My folks didn't mind the mix up, so we took them downtown to a restaurant/bar called Neighborhood that has a speakeasy in the back called Noble Experiment.  They didn't have room for us at first and I began to despair that I wouldn't be able to entertain my folks at all. We walked around the block and my Dad bought a bottle of wine (knowing my Dad, not a cheap one) and we were just gonna head back to the place and drink and chat, but I got a text from the speakeasy that they had a spot for us at the bar.  So we decided to drink and chat there instead.  I was a little worried my folks wouldn't like it, because the place is pretty hipster trendy, but they loved it.  The bartender makes drinks based on your general booze and taste preferences.  I got some kind of scotch/ginger blend, Maureen got what ended up being a mojito/shave ice/changing bitters flavors as it melted confection, my dad got a Hunters Moon, which blended egg white and whiskey.  My Mom told the bartender she liked Brandy straight.  The bartender accepted the challenge and made a crazy good brandy with some other liqueur.  Half the fun is watching the bartender make up all of the crazy concoctions.  If anyone reading this is ever in town, we'll take you there, it's an experience.  It made for a good night, it was great seeing the folks in person, and we all went home happy.

Friday I worked again.  Maureen took the folks to the Zoo (seriously, stupid intern year keeps fun blocking like a pro).  I got home and Amazing Wife had made dark chocolate pistachio cookies and they'd opened the bottle of wine my Dad got from the night before.  I joined right in.  Then I got to open presents!  It was double presents as we'd held off on Christmas till they got out, and I got birthday stuff from them too!  I got an awesome wood and glass watch box from them aaaaand my wife (great minds!)  They were worried I wouldn't want both of them, but having two made room and an excuse for my rapidly expanding watch collection, so I loved 'em!  Then we went out to Coronado to 1500 Ocean, a really nice restaurant in Hotel Del overlooking the water, for my birthday dinner.  Great food, a really fun waiter, and a great time with the folks.  Once I got over my teenagery angst (around age 26 for me), I realized I have amazing parents, and I love hanging out with them.

Saturday we strolled the Little Italy farmers market and went to Prep Kitchen for brunch.  Then we headed out to Point Loma.  There's a museum, a monument to Cabrillo the Portugese/Spanish explorer who was the first European to land in San Diego bay, and a light house that has been returned to its early 1900 conditions as a museum.  Fun and beautiful afternoon.  Went to Lion's Share that evening, one of my favorite SD restaurants and had a great meal.

Since my folks like the Little Italy market so much, we went by the Hillcrest farmers market on Sunday and got even more stuff.  Then we headed out to Torrey Pines for a walk.  We were not the only ones with that idea though, and the parking lot at the base of the cliffs was closed because it was too full.  So we headed back to the sun deck at our place and had a picnic with all of the stuff we'd gotten at the market.  A friend of mine had given us a bottle of Pliny the Elder beer too, so we cracked that open to fully enjoy the sunny San Diego January (it was about 70 degrees out).  Nice afternoon.  As we were resting to get ready for the play in the evening I got a phone call stating that a cast member was sick, and the evening's performance was cancelled.  Pygmalion was not to be.  So we walked downtown without any time constraints and went to one of Maureen's favorite spots, Cafe 21.  We had sangria and great food.  My Mom in particular really like the place.  We had a blast with the folks and then all too soon they had to head out.  We took them to the aeropuerto on Monday morning and they headed home.  We're gonna go see them at the end of February and I'm already all excited about it.  Fortunately my wife puts up with me wanting to hang out with the folks all the time really well.  They absolutely love her too, so it makes it pretty easy on ol' Gorgeous and Humble (little nick name I came up with for misself).  Anyway, great times.  Hope you've enjoyed the ramblings.  It gives you a taste of whats in store for you if you come visit (Tailored ((pun most strongly intended)) to your preferences of course).

Brian's birthday dinner at 1500 Ocean

Holiday Happenings

Hello friends!

It's been a crazy month or so, which means much less posting than the intended 1+ post per week, but these things do happen. I feel like we've lived a lot of life and emotions over the past few short weeks and to sum them up may not do them justice, but I will do my best:

• Residency Matching: Probably the biggest life-affecting event from the past month has been finding out our future via the Military Match (where all interns are told whether they get to go straight through to a residency program or are going to be out in the fleet for two years or so as general medical officers, etc). At first we were told that Brian was an alternate, which was rough news to hear. We had really been hoping to go straight through in order to stay in one place for a little while and to make it easier for me to finish up grad school. We accepted the news and were mentally preparing to travel to some far off place when Brian was told that a spot opened up and that we would be staying in San Diego for his residency. Whew! What a relief! Even though it would have been an adventure, I don't think I was fully ready to pack up and move again so soon. It's a huge blessing to be able to be in San Diego for another 2+ years and we're excited to continue cultivating our relationships out here. Also, now that I know that we're staying I can start looking for a teaching job for the fall. I really miss being in the classroom so it will be wonderful to return to teaching if, God willing, I can find a job in the area.
  
  
• Maureen's 10 year high school reunion: I can't believe that high school was already ten years ago... and yet I can. We've lived so much life since then and people have definitely evolved and changed, but in good ways from what I can tell. It was really nice to see everyone and to catch up, especially with those who aren't on Facebook. Social media has surely changed the 'need' for high school reunions to keep up with classmates' lives, but I think it also allows for more real conversation to happen rather than purely giving superficial facts over and over again. For example, I knew a classmate is currently active duty because of Facebook so we had a really great conversation about our experiences so far. Granted this conversation might have happened anyway, but it felt natural and was nice to have a little bit of background information to supplement people's stories as we talked. Overall, I had a great time (more fun than I had initially expected) and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next one will bring.
  
  
• End of USD grad semester #1: Going back to school full-time has been an adventure in itself. Time management, mass production of work, and not having students of my own have all been challenging to adjust to but I've really enjoyed the chance to really focus on my studies and have learned so much already. The end of the semester was a little rough with large final projects due for multiple classes, but I got through it--and thankfully did well in the process. USD is a great school and I feel very blessed that I have this opportunity to focus on learning and hopefully become a better educator in the process.
  
  
• Home to Michigan for the holidays: Since Brian had to work nights over Christmas and New Year's I took the opportunity to go home to see my family. It was great to celebrate Christmas the way we always have: Christmas Eve candlelight service, presents with family Christmas morning, Orange Ruffy dinner at Grandma Max's, a rowdy cribbage tournament, and a nice Christmas nap :) The rest of the visit was filled with family adventures and seeing local friends (but unfortunately no trips to Holland). I love that there are people in my life that have known me since my middle school years or before and still want to hang out! :) Even if it's been years since we've seen each other last, the friendship is still there and still strong. Definitely left feeling very blessed for having all of these wonderful people in my life!
  
  
• New Year's Eve in the hospital: After many years of elaborate NYE plans it was time for a more mellow one. Bri was still working nights on the pediatric wards so I went in to ring in the new year with him there. As to be expected in a pediatric unit, things were pretty quiet and calm since all of the children were already sleeping, but we still had a countdown and a sparkling cider toast at midnight. To encourage the lighthearted fun we brought a handfull of party favors (hats, glasses/masks, leis, etc) and I baked up some desserts for those that had to work overnight with him. I thought there was sure to be leftovers but Bri came home with empty containers so I guess it all turned out alright :) Even though I wasn't there long and they all had to go right back to work, it was nice to be able to start the new year off with my better half especially since we didn't get to celebrate Christmas together.

2012 was a pretty awesome year and 2013 is sure to be one of growth, change, and excitement. I can't wait to see what new adventures lie ahead and hope that you all will continue to be a part of the experience with us.  We love your guys and wish you the Happiest of New Years! 

AHS 10-year High School Reunion
(Photo credit: Jenny Sanderson)

Tigre helping me finish out the semester

Family time over Christmas

Ringing in the New Year

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! :)