Bigger or Better: Life outside of Texas

Sometimes I have moments of examining life in a detached fashion. In these out-of-body experiences, I have the same thought: life is weird . I feel like that's a pretty open-minded evaluation. Recently I went shoe-shopping with friends. I really am not a shoe-shopper, so while they debated functionality and aesthetics of their footwear, I went around picking out the oddest creations I could find. Surprisingly a lot of options. I'm environmentally-conscious. I like to leave as small a footprint as possible. Even if it increases the odds of me falling over Let me check out my reflection in my basketball/heel shoes here. I've also found a lot of interesting perspectives on food. For example, this shake flavor from Sonic: fat really is delicious... I guess that was their thought process, too I have some very organic friends. Poetically put, mealtime is an affair between your food and your body without the third-wheel interference of outside chemicals or genet...

Apparently I have no sympathy for my butt. On glancing through pictures of what I've been up to so that I could pass this information on to you, I realize that a lot of them involve road trips of usually at least 3 hours one way. Sitting...and sitting....All for a good cause.     No road trip involved here. This is my parents' backyard, and I am in the tree that I have been waiting all of my since-this-tree-was-planted life to grow big enough for me to climb. Kelli humored me. Krause Springs. The water was cold, but it was, as you can see, incredibly bewitching. That same trip, I went ziplining through some trees (although there was a point where I was in danger of ziplining into some trees because I was going so fast. Of my own volition. It Was Exhilarating)  At the beginning of April, I ran a mud run with friends, and I have proof that we thoroughly enjoyed it (as well as getting thoroughly muddy). For further entertainment, we dressed up; I chose to l...

It's really odd sometimes where Life takes you. [Which makes me think, actually, is anyone surprised where death takes them?] Anyway, this anthropomorphic Big-L Life and I seem to be running along in the journey of little-l life, and it feels like Big-L, besides being way ahead of me, keeps throwing things at me just to see how I'll handle them. One of the major tripping hazards lately: living accommodations. Since I turned 18, I have moved every single year. EVERY ONE. After each year of college, I'd put stuff in storage, go home for the summer, and come back to a different apartment. So technically I think I moved several times every year. I have really learned how to capitalize on space with packing: dishes are padded with socks, picture frames are protected with blankets, and everything container-ish (trash cans, baskets, buckets, mailing boxes, suitcases, etc.) is stuffed with books, clothes, and whatever else is in my little-l life. What doesn't fit (i.e. what I...

My first year back in Houston after college, I was all about cycling. That summer, I am pretty sure I cycled every day, along with doing several charity rides. Last year, I switched to running. From August to December, every day I wasn't working, I was running. I jumped from my first 5K to my first (and I swear my last) half marathon. This year, I seem to have found the mix of the two. I did a mud run last month (a post to come on this eventually), and this month I did my first charity cycling race in two years. I didn't train as officially as perhaps I should have. Sure, I've been going on a bike ride every week for about 5 months, with a month break in March, but that's hardly 'training.' The week of the ride, I rode the furthest I had in years: 40 miles, then 30 miles, then the 63 mile charity ride. That's a total of 133 miles last week, to add to approximately the 320 miles I had logged for the year so far. In other words, my butt hurts. But as my mom ...

Yes, this is another nursing post. I've had a REALLY anxious patient for the past couple of days. She questioned every part of her care (which actually is a good thing. I like when my patients are involved in their care. It's like they are paying attention to what I do) and then became agitated when we answered. Sample conversation: what does my EKG show? Answer: Sinus Rhythm with PVC's. What are PVC's? Those are when the bottom part of the heart pumps blood a little too early. Why do I have that? There are many causes, but in your case infection, stress are most likely the causes. I thought the conversation was going really well. Negatory. She was freaking out. I didn't know why. I really wanted to give her Ativan (anti-anxiety drug). But I was thinking that if I told her why she was getting Ativan, she would freak out some more, and not really like me either. Why not give it to her without telling her? I don't particularly like excluding patients from making ...

My first year in college, my parents (in my opinion) hit a mid-life crisis and bought a summer home in Wimberley, TX. I suppose now they have hit a mid-mid-life crisis, because just 7 odd years later, they are selling it and moving to Utah. Strangely enough, I'm more attached to this summer home than the home where I spent all of my adolescent years. So under pressure of losing it, I took a trip up to Wimberley to prove to my future forgetful self that I love this place. The trip was a one-man deal, since no one else had off, or wanted to go. This made taking pictures of me in Wimberley a little difficult, but very entertaining. Timed shots are wonderful as long as you know where to pose and can get there in 10 seconds. I went down to the river in the neighborhood to let fish nibble my toes and to practice skipping rocks. Mostly I just get 1 skip, but for one rock, I got 3. I wish I had pictorial proof. I actually had to wait for the sun to come out before...