And so it begins.

This week was my first week of grad school! And I think my obligatory first day of school pic (requested by my Mother) shows exactly how I felt about it...

We had new student orientation on Tuesday, and after meeting some of my classmates, I was even more excited than before. I've never been among so many people who are so much LIKE ME. Several have been on trips all over the world, and most have a passion to get more involved in it in the future. Yes, the Peace Corps was filled with lots of wanderlusters, and that was fantastic, but there's just something about being among medically-minded people who also love to travel and do good. I think we're all going to get along just fine.

And... I'm already driving to and from campus with NO gps assistance! I can hardly believe it myself. Now, I must admit I did get lost a shameful amount of times on Tuesday, but by Wednesday I was a pro.

One of my classes this semester is "Healthcare & Missions." I don't think I've ever been so excited about a class in my life! As I read through the syllabus, I can already tell there will be an internal struggle. I'll most likely want to leave class each day and board a plane immediately to go to the places & cultures discussed. But you never know... once that diploma is in hand, maybe we can do just that!

I am still a bit nervous about all the juggling that will be necessary over these next few years... School, marriage, work, Keebler. But I honestly could not have a better husband on my side through this. He's a keeper.  :)

1 week down... MANY more to go!



Changing it up...

Just for the sake of security, I have changed the domain name of this site. So set your browsers to:

http://crazyauntllaura.blogspot.com

Be sure to have the 2 L's-- there's another Crazy Aunt Laura out there with only 1!

Excess rewards.

I had lunch at Panera the other day... and boy to do those people love their Panera cards. The guy at the counter asked no less than 3 times if I wanted one, and then acted as if I were a crazy person for saying no.

I've been noticing this trend lately. Every company who is anything special (or at least thinks they're special) now offers either a rewards card or a credit card or something of that nature. And then they commend their employees for bombarding you with offers to sign up for said cards. Frankly, it's annoying.

Not only do I not want to carry around your card in my wallet (after taking the time to go online and "activate" it), I also don't want to spend the extra money that will go along with buying or consuming the stuff I wouldn't have thought to buy before you sent me your coupons & discounts. Just because I can get it cheaper doesn't mean I actually need it. 

So, Mr. man behind the counter at Panera-- while I'm in love with literally everything on your menu, if you continue to ask if I'm interested in special offers, I will jump over the counter and flog you.

No joke.

The conversation in the living room after I got home from work tonight--


Me: You know, there is such a thing as soccer poisoning.
Leo: No there's not.
Me: Yeah, watching too much and playing too much has been proven to lead to death.
Leo: Nope.
Me: Hold still. Let me assess you for signs & symptoms.
Leo: *Darting his eyes around, pretending to be blind.
Me: I think it's too late for you.

Silver Lining.

I wasn't having such a great day on Friday. In fact, it was one of the worst days of work I've ever had.

 

 

Between the physical abuse inflicted by patients, a code blue that did ultimately end well but was not fun to endure, and the other multiple CRA-ZY people we're currently taking care of on the unit... it was not good. I literally skipped down the hallway after clocking out and even teared up a little as the elevator doors closed. Before I had even made it to the hospital lobby, I had made a decision to stop and get wine & ice cream for dinner. (Leo was working late and couldn't force me to eat normally.)

 

 

But as I made it to the front doors of the hospital, I stopped. There was a new Mom being loaded into the front seat of a car by her nurse, and the Dad was trying frantically to snap the carseat into its holder in back. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen, and as I waited for the shuttle to take me to my car, I couldn't help but smile as I watched them. Parkland has one of the busiest labor & delivery units in the country. (They go back & forth for #1 with Los Angeles) They deliver about 16,000 babies a year, but we very rarely get to see them.

 

 

 

And that night, it was a good reminder. Someone had a wonderful day. Someone had the best day of their life so far, or even the FIRST day of their life! Yes, mine still sucked. But it didn't ultimately matter.

 

 

 

It was nice to get some perspective, but I did still eat wine & ice cream for dinner. And it was delicious.

The Great Purge of 2011.

"Living More, With Less"

I love that quote. I think it sums up my ideal lifestyle perfectly.

I'm not big on stuff. We live in an apartment that's less than 650 square feet, and most people would probably come in and still think it's pretty empty. Cozy, but definitely not over-packed or especially decorated. And we LOVE that. I do enjoy color, so there's plenty of that, but as for picture frames everywhere, or random little sit-arounds... if it's there, we know exactly where it came from and what the story is behind it. If it doesn't have sentimental value,and serves no actual purpose, it's probably not in our home.

I don't know that I'll ever earn the true title of "minimalist" and that's ok with me. But I like to try.

And one major reason for that: flexibility. At this point, I really don't see Leo & I ever "settling" just one place. We're pretty nomadic, and living with fewer physical possessions makes that much easier. We have a beautiful apartment, with very nice furnishings, but all of it could be easily sold or donated within hours and we could be on our way in a matter of days if necessary. Buying a house just seems so permanent... and not for us right now.

We do have a small storage closet out on the patio that holds certain items like camping/travel gear, a cat carrier & moving boxes. But other than that- if something hasn't been used or worn in the past year, it's gotta go. And that's been part of my 3 days off this week! Purging. Now, I'm not going crazy about it... but it never hurts to prune. Do I really need to keep that pair of Dr Martens boots that I've had since 8th grade and keep convincing myself I'll wear at some point? Um, no. Or the extra dish towels that don't even fit into our one little "kitchen linen" drawer? Definitely not. And it's good to remind myself of that.

We've got what we need. There's not much space for anything else. And that makes me happy.

hp

I have been in need of a new laptop for years. Seriously. The only one I had ever bought was almost 6 years old by the time I left Botswana, and stayed behind with a local friend there. So I got to the States with the plan to buy a new one ASAP, but then got an excellent offer from Mom. She was no longer in need of her 5-yr-old laptop and was willing to send it my way. And since it worked, and saved me hundreds, I gladly accepted! And it's served me well for over a year now...

But with grad school on the horizon, and the fact that my current one would freeze up if more than 2 programs were opened at once... it was time to make a move.

So I've been shopping... and shopping... and shopping some more. I'm that kind of shopper that will research and know everything about every little option before deciding on one. Plus, the idea of putting that big of a dent in our checking account makes me continually think along the lines of- do I reeeally need this??  But luckily, Leo stepped in while we were in California and gave me a deadline. Basically, he made the deal with me that if I hadn't bought something by this Tuesday, he was going out Wednesday and buying the first thing he found. I'm guessing he was getting sick of the "What do you think of this one??" questions.

So on Tuesday-- I went and invited this little guy into our family.

 

Awww... cute, right??  His name is hp.  (and that doesn't stand for Harry Potter.)

I tried to get the sales lady to sweeten the deal with a free external hard drive, or backpack, or wireless mouse, or something-- but no luck. I guess my market-developed negotiating skills have gotten rusty...

Slowly but surely, I'm copying, and backing up, and bringing files over from old to new. And so far, I'm really liking all the new bells & whistles. I guess it was time to upgrade from Windows XP, right?