Shamrock On!

I doubt anyone is even checking this lil thing anymore! I know it's been a while but now I have another event to recap. My half marathon!

It went so great. It was soo much fun. For anyone who doesn't know, it was in Virginia Beach which is technically just about a 3.5 hour drive from Arlington. I say technically as traffic will often get in the way, just as it did on our trip home after the run. Anyway...

I am so happy I did this! My roommates basically dragged me into it at first. After all, I had never been much of a runner. I don't think I had ever run much farther than a mile before this whole thing started. Then my training began in January and BAM before you know it I'm running a half marathon :)

It was a beautiful day on the beach. Veryyyy cold but that was to be expect

ed. It ended up perfect because we woke up at 5:30 (the picture on the right is me, Mindy, and Becca right when we woke up in our hotel room), and by the time we were running at 7 it felt just warm enough to not be miserable. Then by the end the sun was out, my face was burning, and the cold wind was my best friend. That run was probably one of the top 3 most physically challenging things I've ever had to do but that makes me feel so much better to say I finished! My time was 2:20, just over 10 minute miles. I couldn't have asked for better! All I wanted was to run the entire time, never stop. And I definitely accomplished that! I even jogged slowly in place when stopping at the water stations. I just did not want to stop at all. What a rush! Finishing the race was such a blur I couldn't believe it was over. Then we got back into the car almost immediately for what ended up to be the longest car ride of the century. 6 hours to get home! Usually it would be ok, but my muscles were not happy. I've been super sore for almost the entire week after because of that car trip! Can't be super positive for my body but it's alright. Here's a picture of us at the end...

Anyway the race was amazing! So much fun and a great experience. I might even do another one day :) And I will definitely, after a much needed break, keep running. I've decided that I love it!

very much delayed...

I know I had promised everyone multiple inauguration week posts and I did have my heart in the right place! I just...somehow let that slide for a while. But here it is for all those interested!

Inauguration, as most have already heard, was full of surprises. Some good, some amazing, some bad, some downright depressing. Of course 

Kevin and I fell victim to the widely publicized "purple tunnel of doom." We were basically stuffed in there with thousands of people only to be released hours later with no where to go. Purple section fell through..but we didn't lose hope! Through a painful and almost exhausting series of events Kevin and I may have experienced every bit of the ceremony that we could: crowds, crying, excitement, sharing of emotions with strangers we will never see again. It is everything I could have asked for. Here is a picture of just how many people there were in the streets celebrating and that's the wee bitty Capitol building in the background..

That night was the Youth Ball where Kevin and I met Rosario Dawson!! She was beautiful and so nice. She basically loves us. I met Usher and Kid Rock, saw Kanye West perform, got a sliver of my face onto MTV (or so you guys all tell me) and of COURSE the one the only Barack and Michelle. I guess the two the only. They were adorable, humble, inspiring. Everything you would hope and expect. What a rush! Here is Kevin and I with our BFF Rosario...

The next night was definitely, by FAR, the highlight of the week. The staff ball started off obviously better than the other one, as it was much more organized with actual smar

t, competent, and friendly people working there. Once we were in, we sighed a huge breath of relief and enjoyed the night to the fullest!! It was great. Open beer and wine bar for one, which helped with the success of the evening. And not only did the Obamas make a lengthy appearance, but the Bidens did as well! Gotta love them with all your heart. And as a last minute amazing surprise to us, Jay-Z came for an incredible performance (see picture below). Everyone was so excited and it was SO much fun! It is a night I will never ever forget. Actually,

make that a week I will NEVER forget!! With the concert on Sunday (incredible), the actual inauguration day, the youth ball, the staff ball..I was so lucky. In great part I owe Kevin basically a life of gratitude for all that. Or at least a meal or something =)

Sorry this came so late yall probably won't even see it...at least for a while. Haha. Looking forward to Isaac's big day coming up in about a month! As well as Dad's big 5-0! Maybe I shouldn't broadcast that on the internet...I love you ALL!! Thanks for reading =)

we are one!

And so the inaugural festivities begin!!

Obama, of course, is sworn into office tomorrow as you all surely know and this city is CRAZY! There are just so many tourists and so many people in general! And I haven't even gotten to the big event yet so that's just how crazy this all is! 

Yesterday Becca and I braved the early morning and river-freezing weather (the Potomac river outside our place is frozen over!) to attend the free public We Are One inauguration kick-off concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Yes, we arrived at 9:30 AM and the concert didn't start until 2:30. Yes, it was about 30 degrees and 20 with the wind chill factor. Yes, there were moments when we wondered what the hell we were doing there but it was SO worth it!! I know Mom and Dad watched the concert, but did anyone else? It was incredible. Famous actors and artists were there for speaking parts (all these really inspiring words and quotes from past presidents, as well as Obama) and musical performances. It was a truly star-studded event and it was totally free to the public! And of course the Obama family attended =) Here's a pic of Becca and me there:

The best part really was just how incredible the turn-out was. Hundreds of thousands of people all huddled together for warmth celebrating around the reflection pool. At one point Becca and I escaped the crowd to watch the rest of the concert on top of a hill nearby and looking at the crowd was awesome. Everyone was in such amazing spirits despite the temperature and hours spent standing. It made me even more excited for the actual inauguration because that will be similar but on an even bigger scale! Incredible. 

I feel so blessed to be a part of this whole thing. I can't believe I am here in DC for one of the most inspiring moments in American history! Very cheesy but couldn't be more true. I know a lot of people that didn't go to the concert because of the weather and just stayed in to watch it on TV. I will tell you I'm not missing one single moment of this!! Even if it means thawing out frozen limbs all next week. 

and here we go again...

Andddd I'm back! It's good to be back here. Nice to see everyone, nice to have my bed and room and apartment back...minus the fact that we went all day/night yesterday with no running water! Oh the joy of ancient apartment buildings. Pipes bursting, toilets refusing to flush, and the quaint and terrifying quirky sounds rattling through our echoey home throughout the night. Only slightly unsettling when you're home ALONE! My "Strangers" fears always seem to come back to me at the least opportune times...

School hasn't picked up too much yet but what I can tell you all about are my new clinical sites which I am fairly excited about! I had my first clinical this morning at INOVA Fairfax Hospital, which is obviously in Fairfax Virginia. This place is a freakin' palace compared to Georgetown Hospital!! They have a brand new fantastic cardiac center building and it looks Lilis times 12 or something (insider knowledge for the Ducks I guess...). And its huge and clean and nice and SO impressive! We got to tour the hospital and one place that was really fun, sad and inspiring to see was the Children's ER center. We get to pick our clinical site for our senior year and I'm definitely adding that to my list of considerations! Children's ER, Neonatology, and ? Lots of options and very little time to decide! Anyway I'm excited to be in a new site, but the unit will probably be similar to the old one with not a whole lot of exciting things going on. Mostly just caring for patients and making sure they're comfortable during a considerably long, medication-filled stay at the hospital. 

My OTHER clinical site is Holy Cross Hospital for my Women's Health location. I don't know too much about that one yet because it doesn't start until next Tuesday but what I DO know is that I will be seeing LOTS of babies being born. My clinical instructor (who is also the class professor which is REALLY good for me...and my other clinical instructor is the professor of the other class as well!) told me and my friend Jenny to come prepared because we will see births on the very first day of clinical. So I have a feeling that this rotation, if anything, will NOT be boring! 

And so starts a new semester for me! I know it will be rough and a test to my endurance, just like last semester, but hopefully my break refreshed me enough for another go at it all. Thanks everyone for such an amazing break I love you ALL and I loved seeing you all! I'm happy to be back but I will definitely be missing many people back in Oregon. 

Oh. And countdown to the social event of the decade, aka the inauguration, has begun and I cannot WAIT! 

happy!

Well. Here I am! New York! JFK Airport! LOVE this place!! It's become like a true second home to me. At least the jetBlue terminal...I've spent WAY to many hours here. Anyway whatever..I'm on my way home!!! 

I am SO happy to be DONE! My first semester of nursing school is finished! It feels weird. It hasn't really sunk in yet. No more PATHOPHYSIOLOGY! As long as I pass :) I will. It was such a crazy semester. So much work! I know it's going to change. Not necessarily get easier, but there will just be more hospital time coming up and less class time. I have one less class next semester than I did this one. Hopefully that will help a bit! The schedule is pretty crazy though because I will be going to hospital twice a week instead of just once. It really is like having a very part time job while going to school. A part time job where you are on your feet and cleaning various bodily fluids all day! Interesting.. 

Anyway like I said, I am SO happy to be done and SOOO happy to be heading home! I have a lot of plans to take care of while I'm there but hopefully I'll be able to spend a lot of time relaxing too. With absolutely NOTHING on my mind! Not renal failure, not Cushing's disease, not white blood cells, not bed baths. Nothing to do with nursing school!! Needless to say I was desperate for a break. Very desperate. 

Can't wait to see everyone!!!

and you thought the day would never come!

Well it's been a while since I've updated this thing, hasn't it?? I did get a few scoldings at Thanksgiving so I figured maybe it was time for a new one...

Things have been very busy over here lately! Now with finals around the corner everyone is either panicking or...well, mostly just that. This is what it all comes down to and either you're ready or you're not! I've luckily been able to check a few big things off my list such as my lab practicum which I took on Wednesday as well as my ATI exam. The ATI exam is a practice NCLEX, which is the nursing board exam. It's a frustrating thing because we are only one semester into the program so no one is at all prepared for a board exam right now! Yet we still had to take something similar to it for a grade in class. We were told we would do poorly on it and not to worry, but it was still counted as a grade for my fundamental nursing course. I need all the points I can get in there! Needless to say it is quite frustrating. 

Other than those biggies, I still have 5 more final exams left. Then the semester is OVER! One step closer...I will be so ready to come home for my break. It was so great being back for Thanksgiving but it was SO short! I get over 2 weeks for winter break and I won't have to worry about anything except my looming Spring semester.

I told a couple of you (if anyone is still reading this thing anymore...) about a little pre-Thanksgiving dinner my roommates and I put together for our friends here. I decided maybe I could share a couple pictures from that! 

Here is my attempt at carving the turkey with Kevin...this may have lasted 5 minutes because I wasn't quite up to par. Kevin and Neal took over because apparently turkey carving is a man's job...Good thing we had a couple there! Pretty rare in nursing school!

Also I did a little persuading and all the guests agreed to play along with my preschool project of everyone coloring their own hand turkey then taking a picture of the group in front of it! Must be genetic. Also we still have nothing decorating our wall out in the living room so those baby turkeys ain't never coming down. Honest.

Anyway adding pictures on this thing proves to be quite the hassle so that's all you're gonna get =) Hopefully this was a good lil update (not so little as per usual). Can't wait to see you all for Hanukkah/Christmas/Just at home/Watch Arrested/Steal more Ben Folds! say it.

Ally and ...Ally's DAY. OF. FUN!

I hope everyone understands my Friend's reference. Well, hell week is officially over! I think I've told almost everyone about my week of work, but for anyone who doesn't know...quick run through...

Monday was a holiday (Columbus Day..more like a fall "study break") but I still had a paper due. I had to email it to my professor for my Health Care Delivery Systems class. It was supposed to be my critique of Managed Care but I focused basically on the negative aspects of HMO's. It was actually really interesting to learn about and kind of an eye opener. Pretty much what I got out of that is that I have been really lucky in my fairly sheltered life. I have a lot to be thankful for in that I can even just get basic health care and that I'm healthy! Anyway...

Tuesday was my big Nursing 050 midterm exam. That is my huge 7 credit class where we learn all the fundamentals of nursing in a whopping one semester (traditional nursing students do it in 3). Needless to say there is a LOT of material already and it was pretty overwhelming trying to sit down and study all of it. Luckily it went well and I do already know that I got  B on the test. Huge relief! I've come to terms with the fact that people don't get a whole lot of A's here...

Wednesday was an exciting day because it was the first time my clinical group went to our hospital wing! We got to meet some people over there that we will be shadowing and had a tour of 4 Bles, our wing at Georgetown University Hospital. We were all excited to see it, but also pretty distracted because we knew in a few short hours we would return back to the lab room to take our head-to-toe assessment practical exam! We had to perform a full head-to-toe patient assessment in under 30 minutes (kind of hard when you don't know exactly what you're doing!) in front of our clinical instructor for a big percentage of our lab grade. Luckily my instructor is the sweetest lady ever and was really helpful. It ended up being less of a big deal than we had all thought and everyone actually did really well! It was fun too because we got to do them in these private lab rooms that look exactly like a real exam room. 

Finally yesterday I had two midterms in my "elective" classes. Theology and Environmental Ethics. Yikes! It's hard to focus much on those because of how busy we all are with the REAL reason we are actually here..to learn how to be nurses..Not philosophers and theists! It's alright though, because all through my time at Oregon I got to be pretty pro at these short essay type exams and pretending I understood everything..hahaha. Compared to my science classes here these tests were a piece of cake and all I regret is the unreal cramping in my hand from having to write so much for both. 

And there's my week! And ok, that wasn't such a quick run through sorry. It's finally done though and I couldn't be more relieved. Lin, I finally actually went running yesterday because I finished my 10 song playlist haha. And today I am going to go on a little adventure while all my friends are in labs and classes! I think I will go shopping at the Crystal City mall then take the metro down to Alexandria to see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist to support the boy who my son (if I have one) WILL be exactly similar to....

Love him. If Nadal is your "son" Mom, then Michael Cera is mine. Although that's a bit creepy because we are probably near the same age. It's ok you all know what I mean. 

Anyway thanks for sticking with me during this very long post. I guess I just had a lot of recap to cover...How many dot dot dots did I use in this thing??