-23 feels so awesome!!!

                38 degrees one week and -23 the next.  61 degree difference!  This weather has been crazy up here, most locals say we don’t normally get this much snow, but I love it nonetheless.  I’ve still been trying to embrace the snow and coldness and just take in all that it’s throwing at me.  I have always loathed wind.  It is a relentless force that can be loud and debilitating at times, almost infuriating.  But the wind combined with subzero temps is a new kind of torture.  You can’t run in and out of the store to your car to escape it because you have to make sure you don’t slip on the ice and cause even more harm.  You have to carefully, consciously, take each step on the ice while taking and accepting each gust of glacial breath.  I am not an expert in surviving suffering, I have not had to endure many severe hardships in my short life, but while I am withstanding the cold and wind, be it walking from the parking lot or standing outside waiting for my pups to take a frigid pee, I have really been trying to accept the challenge, carry on thru the unexplainable rush of senses my body is feeling. 

                Ok, enough complaining about the wind.  I have had some fun in between gusts!  I finally went sledding J  The hill wasn’t very steep or extravagant, was actually just behind a high school in Anchorage, but it was still fun to get that first experience sledding in Alaska.  We got a sled right before going and after sledding a few times we noticed that bit by bit, the sled was breaking.  Pieces of orange plastic littered the hill, but the sled was still intact so we carried on.  We then found a hill with a couple of jumps built it.  My sled partner was less than thrilled about the idea of going down it seeing that it was mostly made of ice.  But, in my new found ‘go get em’ attitude, I said ‘what the hell! I’ll go by myself!” and off I go. 

One bump. 

Caught some air, not too bad. 

Second bump. 

Whoa. 

This is gonna hurt. 

Flying in the air, sled to the right, steph to the left.

 BAM. 

Crash into a big pile of snow on my left side.  Didn’t hurt as bad as I was bracing for, but I still felt the, hard, land. 

                My friend was not about to be shown up by a North Carolinian when it comes to sledding, so he takes a run.  Goes similar to mine, except for when he hits the second bump the sled breaks right down the middle.  No more sledding for us.  Good thing was, we were able to take it back to the store with the receipt and get all the money back!  Not only did I get to go sledding, but I got to go for free!

                I have been trying to get the dogs outside more, but I’ve learned that if its below 10 degrees, the cold is just too much.  They can handle the snow as long as it’s not deeper than a few inches, but even if the roads are cleared, they start shivering and limping in below zero temps.  When it was slightly warmer we made it to the Eagle River Nature trail.  It is so beautiful out there and the hike is relatively easy and flat.  I think snowshoes would have been optimal because even though most of the trails were groomed, we still had to trudge in 6-8in of snow for most of trek.  The dogs did great, they ran around, jumping in the snow, walking on the ice, and running around. They are def feeling the strain of the weather too.  I wish I had more things for them to do inside to get rid of that energy, but they are holding strong, no emotional breakdowns yet. 

               

                I’m not taking any classes this semester so I am spending the time focusing on my grad school application to get into the Nurse Practitioner program at Univ. Alaska of Anchorage.  Up until this point I have been taking courses as a ‘non degree seeking student’ until I officially apply to the program.  Deadline is in March so hopefully soon after that I will find out my fate for the next years to come.  My roommate got engaged on NYE (yay Marie!) so I will have to find somewhere else to live as well.  The valley has treated me well but I may need to slide on down to Anchorage if I get into the program. 

                Dating has been very interesting in Alaska, and that is putting it lightly and in the most PC way I can.  Takes a lot of time, energy, and drive to go on dates with new people on a consistant basis, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race of ‘finding someone’.  I’ve learned quite a few things about men in Alaska and also about myself, enough things to probably last me for a while.  So with that being said I think I will spend the next few weeks focusing on making new girlfriends and trying to get out there and do things on my own (which has always been intimidating to me).  But, in a year of new challenges, why not add a few more? 

well hello sunshine

so ready to get off work

snow piles around mcdonalds

beautiful sunrise

people practicing with the parasail

so cold up at hatchers

sunset after suffering thru the wind

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year!

I can’t believe 2012 is already here, seems like 2011 has flown bye.  The last couple months have been pretty jam packed to say the least.  Here’s a brief synopsis of what I’ve been doing:

-          Went tubing behind a snow machine on a frozen lake for the first time!  Was lots of fun and the similarities of it with tubing in the water behind a boat.  Marie’s two nieces (neither of whom have a driver’s license yet) were pulling us so needless to say we got stuck on some snow piles a few times with them trying to knock us off the tube.  Also had a huge bonfire there, and when I mean huge, I mean the size of a minivan huge.  Tons of whole trees stacked together and just lit ablaze in the snow, next to the frozen lake.  This was at the same place we had a fire and roasted hot dogs this past June, so that was pretty cool to see the place transformed into a winter wonderland.

-          Peed in the snow

-          Ran into my first ditch in Alaska.  Was quite anticlimactic (thankfully) I was switching lanes and instead of stopping in the lane I was in, I kept sliding to the left and down into the ditch.  Didn’t hit anything or anyone.  The best part?  I got out by myself!!  No need to call AAA or anyone to help me.  Just inched my way back up onto the dry pavement.

The most important and meaningful thing that happened in the last month is that my mom and dad came for Christmas!!!!!  It was incredible to see them, at the same time it seemed like they were just here and yet I had missed them so much.  They looked adorable in all of their ‘Alaska Winter’ gear.  Hats, gloves, scarves, long johns, boots.  They are always prepared for anything and this trip was no different.  It was so entertaining to me to see how much I am just like them.  When I picked them up, we stopped at stop light and pops took a picture of the snow with the gas station prices in the background.  When I visited last December, what was the first this I took a picture of?  The snow and the gas station prices.  Dad kept saying ‘this is so freakin cool!’ talking about the snow everywhere and I remember having the same excitement last year as well. 

They were both exhausted after their long journey so we just hung out the first night and made it an early night.  The next day I told them to pack up for an overnight trip (there were so stoked!) and I wasn’t going to tell them where we were going.  I felt like Santa.  After eating a great meal at the Brewhouse (a terrific brewery/restaurant in Anchorage) we made our way down to Girdwood.  The drive is always amazing and we got some nice pictures at the stop off points.  Finally arriving in Girdwood, and what’s in Girdwood?  Alyeska.  What’s Alyeska?  It’s a extremely nice ski resort; in fact it’s the only ski resort in the world that ends at sea level.  You can see the inlet from the top of the slopes, very surreal.  (SN: the more I live here, the more I hear things about Alaska, and at the end of whatever fact is being stated, you can almost bet there’s an ‘in the world’ ie: best fishing in the world).  We got settled in and rode the tram up to the top, packed in with all the skiers and snowboarders as they go to the top to try and master the slopes.  I had made reservations at Seven Glaciers which is a swanky fancy restaurant at the top of the slope.  When I say fancy, I mean so-fancy-our-waiter-has-clearly-made-this-his-career fancy.  We probably laughed every time good ol Mike left the table, his extravagant gestures and elaborate descriptions of the menu were just too. Much.  I’m sure the drinks we had also helped with the hilarity of the situation, but again, another memory made for the Gregg clan of three. 

Once we had driven back to the valley from Girdwood, it was time to go shopping and start to get ready for all the Christmas cooking!  We spared no expense.  Christmas Eve mom made her delicious ham and world famous pasta salad.  Dad also got part one started in his 47 part process of cooking his tantalizing turkey.  Jeff came by for a bit to eat and then it was time for the family tradition of watching “White Christmas” and heading to bed so we can wait for Santa!

Christmas morning was great, had a good breakfast and opened all our presents.  Dad cut his thumb getting the turkey ready, but I doctored him up in real RN fashion.  We had an awesome lunch and me and dad took a walk with the pups in the snow while it was snowing.  So peaceful and beautiful with all the fresh white snow falling all around us.  A few friends came by that night to hang out, it was a wonderful day full of good food, family and friends.  Ended the night catching up on some movies with Jefferson.

The next day we went to the reindeer farm, this marked my third visit.  Mom and dad thought feeding the reindeer was so cool and I always love seeing my favorite moose, Denali.  He stuck his head in between the gate and nuzzled us all a kiss.  It’s beautiful out there but it is markedly more cold.  My fingers were frozen after being outside for 10 minutes. 

I had a great time with my parents even though it was such a short visit.  I love spending time with them and letting them see what winter is like up here.  We can have a good time doing anything, even if it’s just sitting on the couch watching Food Network reruns.  We laugh, joke, and discuss anything and everything.  I can’t wait to come to NC and visit in the spring.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and that you have a great start to 2012!

Mean what you say and say what you mean

Have you ever decided that you were mad at someone and had a period of time from the moment you decide to be mad and the moment they know you are mad?  I may be the only one, but during that time, be it minutes, hours, or days, I tend to get a surge of energy and start planning out all the things I could say and might say if the right time comes; it’s as if I am preparing for battle.  Once that moment comes and the other person realizes ‘hey, something is awry’ I usually would get, for lack of a better word, excited and pumped for the fight to begin.  I’d get ready for all the passive-aggressive behavior and below the belt comments that have nothing to do with the actual disagreement.  Not to get all Dr. Phil, but I’m pretty sure that reflexive excitement and preparation I would get was due to the select unhealthy relationships I’ve had in the past. 

I haven’t been really mad or angry at a person in a long time; it’s usually at situations or circumstance, not so much people lately.  I was angry with someone recently.  I had the lull between me deciding to be mad and them knowing I was mad, and during that time I was the usual pre-battle mentality.  But this time, after the inevitable conversation that cemented that something wasn’t right, I felt terrible.  I didn’t want to battle or go blow-for-blow.  I didn’t want to be mad at them anymore and I wanted to resolve it ASAP.  I hated the feeling of them knowing I was upset with them.  It’s as if I wanted to hit the FFF button to the instant that the actual issue was addressed, talked through, and resolution was made.  No passive aggressive remarks, no dodgy statements, no fruitless hours spent running around the issue.  Just Clear. Productive. Communication. 

After processing the new feeling I had towards confrontation (and my self-awareness of my extremely immature previous behavior) I realized a couple things: 

1)      I probably didn’t care nearly half as much as I thought I did about the people I used to fight with.  If you really care about the people you choose to have in your life, you won’t be able to tolerate the thought of them being hurt, let alone by you.  The friendships I’ve chosen to sustain are ones that are meaningful and ones that are worth keeping, which is something I think is to be proud of. 

2)      All those life inspiring poster slogans about communication were dead on.  It truly is the key.  Effective communication saves time, energy, tears, and hurt. 

Communication is helpful is just about every situation in life.  I’ve had a few examples recently that have provided those ‘case and point’ moments when it comes to communication. 

When I watch those “Why Am I Still Single?!” and “Tough Love” shows, they seem to constantly come back to the concept that us humans haven’t been blessed with the talent of mind reading.  Now I know if you’re dating a certain vampire, yes, he can read your mind, but I have yet to stumble upon him during his raids in Alaska.  You have to be able to voice what you need, what you want, and your concerns as they arise.  That last part seems to be key; you can’t wait for things to bottle up.  One of my closest friends, AJ, told me a good relationship tactic: you have 2 days to say you are mad.  If you wait until after that, you can’t say it because it is more than likely too late for the other person to really fix it and you have wasted 48 hours of your life being angry (which is real energy drainer let me tell you).  I’ve been on a dating website since moving here and have gone on a few dates.  They were decent dates, no weird quirks or inappropriate comments, just no spark or real attraction at the end of it.  One of the guys I went out with had texted me a few times after the date asking to go out again.  I felt bad so I gave a few vague responses, then I realized I just needed to say “you were a nice guy, but there wasn’t any spark”.  After I said that, the messages stopped.   No more let downs when I heard my text tone thinking it’d be someone I wanted to hang with, no more awkward responses.  It was just done.  I communicated what I wanted, how I felt and he understood and that was that.  Clear communication creates clear results. 

You use a turn signal to communicate with other drivers that you need to get over.  I never knew the value of preparation when it comes to driving as I do now after driving in the rain/ice/snow/slush/gross/ugly mess, and part of that preparedness is letting others around you know what your next move is going to be.  This way they can make sure to prepare and get out of your way because you will undoubtedly need more room to slide/slosh/fishtail into the other lane than you are anticipating. 

Last example has to do with work.  The hospital I work for has implemented hourly rounding.  This means that every single hour, either the nurse or the nurse’s aide will check on the room.  This sounds like a simple concept, but it is a lot harder than it seems, especially when you have 5 patients.  Say you spend 8 minutes in each room during each visit, that’s 40 minutes which gives you 20 minutes to every hour to:

·         prepare medications

·         try and decipher doctor orders

·         track down other nurses or that doctor who wrote the order when you decide you can’t safely decide what it says

·         call pharmacy to verify that those orders as, in fact, correct

·         document: assessments, care plans, vital signs, and blood sugars

·         (Lord willing) pee

Now initially hourly rounding seems like a daunting task, but (just like they said) it does help save time.  My favorite part of the hourly rounding concept is before you leave the patient’s room you say two things: “Is there anything else I can do before I leave?”  and “Me or the nurse’s aide will be back within the next hour to check on you.”  If you say those two phrases it’s like BLADOW! Call lights stop ringing as much and you finally have time to pee.  You communicate with the patient that they aren’t being abandoned when you walk out of their room, that you will be back and that they don’t need to lie on the call bell just to make sure that you exist.  I save time, energy, tears, and hurt (feet) due to effective communication. 

“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, an elephant is faithful 100 percent.” –Horton Hears a Who

Happy Turkey Birthday!

So it’s been a few weeks since I posted last, handful of new adventures have taken place since then.  Was worried that the week of Thanksgiving was going to be a tough one, and I was right.  I worked Tues, Wed, Thurs, so by the actual day I was pretty exhausted anyways.  The day at work was like any other (hospitals have a way of just trudging on, no matter what day it is) so that was helpful in making the day pass.  We got free lunch as well- turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, apple pie.  I got the green bean casserole and forced down a couple bites because they make me think of my dad so much (not sure why he likes them...).  I got a few texts from family and friends saying ‘Happy Thanksgiving! Miss you!’ so it was nice to hear from some people back home and hear about what they were doing to celebrate.  I was in a pretty ‘blah’ mood for most of the day, but it wasn’t that bad.  I had to catch myself a few times when I was feeling especially sorry for myself and be thankful that I am in a hospital on Thanksgiving because I am getting paid (quite well with the holiday incentive) and not because I am sick and have to be in there like my patients had to.  I tried to put on a good face for them, be enthusiastic when they also received their traditional thanksgiving meal for lunch, but there seemed to be this unspoken understanding between them and myself that today pretty much sucks. 

The day after Thanksgiving was more than Black Friday, it was also my birthday!  I got woken up at 7am by Ms. Erika calling me to wish me a happy birthday and to catch up on the last weeks.  Was nice to talk to her, Jaime, and all the other people who called/texted wishing me a happy day.  I’m used to waking up and going downstairs to my mom cooking breakfast for my birthday with my favorite cake waiting for me, but I knew that wasn’t waiting for me as I got out of bed so its not surprising I didn’t get out of bed until noon.  To my surprise, I go into the bathroom and find a pink polka dotted balloon tied to a lollipop by my sink!  I have the best roommate.  As I go downstairs to take the dogs out, there are more balloons!  And a CAKE!  A beautiful cupcake cake that she made for me.  I felt so special.  My day was turning up after all.  A few hours later Jeff took me to see Happy Feet 2 in the theaters (along with 20 little kids) which was oh-so-cute.  Those penguins and seals get me every time, such a fun movie.  After the movie I got to have some real Thanksgiving food thanks to Jeff’s mom, Connie.  There is just something about having homemade food, knowing that it was made for family and friends and in preparation of a good time.  It felt good to have a piece (or 2) of that.  After ravaging Connie’s kitchen I ended the night with a bonfire with some friends.  I was a on a mission to get some drinking in and I clearly met it.  Certain folks at home will be happy to know that I resisted the urge of getting into the bathtub while I was laying on the bathroom floor…

Saturday I went out to a nice dinner with Laura and I convinced her to go see Breaking Dawn with me!  I loved it, I’m sure she was probably confused since she hasn’t read or seen the first 3 movies, but she was a good sport.  Those movies make you want to believe in love, as silly as it sounds since it’s about vampires and werewolves, but I think a rather large group of tweens, and adults would agree too. 

Sunday Marie and I took a road trip to Whittier.  Talk about a ghost town.  Whittier is one of the places cruise ships stop off to in the summer and the town survives on that tourism industry.  With that being said, in the middle of winter when there are no cruise ships, there is no town.  We saw 3 people, two of which were staring at us eerily thru the window of a convenience store, seeming to try and will us to come into their store so they could have some human interaction.   Town was very creepy and gloomy.  Found this scary old building that people lived in during the WWII era but has been vacant since the earthquake.  It was dubbed Shittier Whittier by the end of the day.  The cool thing was driving thru the Whittier Tunnel, which was the longest tunnel in the US before the tunnel in Boston that was built in 2003 for the Big Dig.  How do I know that?  Googled it. The Whittier Inn was nice though, we had a mocha and some soup before we headed into ‘town’ (=Anchorage) for dinner.  Even though Whittier wasn't much to look at, I had a good time catching up with Marie and seeing the ice-climbers and even a sheep on the drive down. 

All in all a good birthday weekend.  Did some fun things and enjoyed getting care packages in the mail from some special people.  I miss everyone at home tremendously, but I was happy to have the people out here close by to help make my birthday special. 

Good thing I weigh more than Dorothy and the dogs weigh more than Toto

HOLY. CRAP. IT. IS. WINDY.  I can’t express it enough, this wind it out of control.  Here is my literature painting of what it is like:

·         I feel like I’m stepping outside on a beach except that it is 11 degrees and instead of grains of sand blowing across the street/parking lot, it is a snowy-icy mixture

·         The pumpkins from Halloween are literally bouncing against the door right now and Mimi is going crazy thinking someone is trying to break in

·         When I came home this afternoon, the big green garbage bins had taken flight and were now in the neighbor’s driveway and my neighbor’s was in my front walkway.  I would have hated to have a vehicle in the way, definitely would have caused some damage

·         I found a shingle in the backyard

·         Windburn hurts just like sunburn but doesn’t last as long or peel (as of yet, I was only outside for 5 minutes coaxing the dogs to pee)

·         The sounds the wind makes blowing thru the screens on the windows and creaking thru the trees  rival some of the best special effects features in scary/horror movies

·         I get heart palpitations and borderline hyperventilate from the cold being blasted into m at 30-40 mph for less that 45 seconds as I (cautiously) run to my car

·         Last but not least, having a legit fear of getting knocked out by my Jeep door when I open it in the parking lot

Gigantic pile of snow in the PetSmart parking lot, I kinda wanted to run into it

Enough of that, it’s making me shiver just thinking about it.  I finally joined a gym!  I went with the fancy one per my mom’s request.  She thinks I will use it more if there are more bells and whistles to entice me.  I’ve gone every day I haven’t been working, granted one time was to do a fitness evaluation and one was to get a massage.  I didn’t learn anything from the fitness eval, but it was one of those things they make you do.  It was nice to get my measurements and have a starting point to track my (fingers crossed) progress.  Hoping to keep going and see some goals met. 

Massage Therapist made a toga for me! i felt like a cherub babe

I went out in Anchorage a few Saturday’s ago with a new friend, Kathleen, that I’ve gotten to know thru Jeff and Matthew.  She took me to a story telling event which was very interesting.  It was called Arctic Entries; they have 7 people tell stories 7 minutes long around a central theme.  They have them every month and seem to have quite a following- the house was packed.  Then we went to eat at a restaurant called Snow Goose (cute, right?) and had my first Alaskan Caesar salad.  It was very good, but I think I’d rather have chicken instead of fish in my salad. 

Kathleen with our very romantic nook to eat dinner and discuss the stories told

First Alaskan Salmon Ceasar Salad. yum.

                My last day of orientation is tomorrow!  Always a scary thing, but I think I’m ready.  Will be nice to get into my own routine with how things flow there.  We had our monthly staff meeting last night (this is my second) and they had pot lock so that always makes a staff meeting worth it.  I’m starting to get to know more people and have them get to know me.  Being able to joke around and cut up makes the shift go by quicker that’s for sure. 

                I’ve been missing 9100 this past week.  Not so much the yellow contact gowns and white furry eyebrows, but the people I worked with and the patients I cared of.  Not sure what has set it off, but I miss all the inappropriate comments, jokes, and situations we seemed to get ourselves into.  All the laughs, tears, Oprah and Dr. Phil moments at 3am are memories I think about and smile often.  I know that experience and environment can never be replaced, but I hope to find some new interesting nurses to get into some trouble with.  PS The Occupational Health nurse at my hospital used to work in 9100 at Duke about 10 years ago, had the same manager as me and knew some of the same people.  Freaky!!!

dont make me go out there in the wind.

please dont make me.

my manicure to prepare for my birthday!!

Step by Step, day by day...

This week has been another tough one.  It’s not even taking it ‘day by day’, it’s more like hour by hour.  Sometimes I wake up and I lay in my (cozy) bed, covered with my quilt my mom and her sisters slaved over making for me, and I just wonder why I decided to do this.  And then I’ll get up, take the dogs out to play in the snow, get my Starbucks and listen to a fist-pump-worthy song and I think that this was a great decision and it’ll be awesome!  So I literally seem to go back and forth daily about my contentment with being here.  I knew this would happen.  Everyone that I know of that has made a big move said it would suck. bad. for the first little while and then it gets better and you never look back. 

                Now that’s not to say I’m dragging around sayin ‘woe is me’ because that is NOT the case.  I refuse.  The great thing about it being an hour by hour emotional rollercoaster is I only have to wait a little while before I’m glad about moving here again.  Another big thing has been my friends here.  I try to be fiercely independent, but sometimes you just need/want some help.  Having my miniature handful of friends up here that mean a lot to me close by has helped me tremendously.  It is kind of an interesting feeling though I must admit.  So I’ve got these friends here, who I know without a doubt that care about me, want to look out and protect me, and also be around me, but at the same time, these same friends, I still don’t know that well.  For those who don’t know (ill spend another awesome blog post explaining more in depth) but my friends up here I had only previously been around for a total of around 15 days, stretched between three visits over 7 months.  The way the friendships grew were 98% digitally via text, facebook, and occasional phone call or skype session.  And as my intelligent mother says “you know someone but you don’t really know someone when its been a digital relationship”.  So while I feel extremely close with these people, it’s also been so nice to get to know them better at the same time.  I can talk to them about people at home and things that I miss and they know who I’m talking about, but at the same time I don’t their favorite beer or how crazy of a driver they are (SN: apparently doing a 360 in a vehicle is called a ‘Brody’ and Matthew popped that cherry Friday night while trying to turn, downhill, in the snow).  So that has been a great adventure in itself, not only getting to know completely new people, but getting to know my friends too. 

                Work is going well, hospital orientation is over (PHEW!) so I’m back on the unit with a preceptor.  It’s still a challenge getting to know who to call when this or that happens, or what to do when someone asks for French toast instead of their Rice Krispies.  I’m so thankful for all the experience I got at Duke, I know it has helped me so much have the confidence needed to make such a transition. 

                Lastly want to say that I appreciate people back home beyond words.  I love being able to talk to my parents every single day, even if its just for a couple minutes.  Love to hear about the progress my mom is making in regards to her endurance and energy level as she moves further and further past her treatment dates.  Also like hearing my dad not as stressed out with work and to hear him doing fun things (for him at least) like planting a tree as he did today.  I like talking on the phone with my friends, catching them up with my life and hearing about theirs.  It’s those select few that make me really appreciate the friendships I have gained over my life, some just a few years in the making and a couple close to eight. 

Never stop making progress in life and as my dear friend Adwoa told me tonight, sometimes you just need to give yourself permission to create options and envision new goals.   

Matthew and I being entertained with karaoke night

hiking up the butte

a glacier! forgot name of it...

Bald eagle!  His mate was flying around too,  but i couldnt catch them both in the pic

Laura and the pups making the trek

Laura and I at the Butte



Mountains across from Butte

i so wish i had gotten some pics with the pups, but i thought this was a cute one with Laura and Lexi at our little ledge we hung out and chatted on while we were hiking up the Butte.



this pic was the sunday before i left NC, was so nice to hang out with my dear friend Adwoa then and still amazing to catch up frequently from afar.

Chili, Cats and Case 39

Happy Halloween!!

I think this is my first white Halloween.  Not gonna lie, when I woke up yesterday and saw all the snow on the ground I was super excited.  Made for the perfect day to sit around at home, watch Jersey Shore and eat homemade chili.  It stuck around until today, and it snowed again this morning.  Big ol’ fat flakes.  The dogs were excited as well, but I think we were the only three in the area that shared the enthusiasm.    I kind of got scared when I realized I had to drive today, but I was reassured when 3 out of 4 of the roads were dry as a bone.  They know how to clear their roads up here for sure.  Was also nice to go to the grocery store with snow on the ground and not have a massive amount of people running around scrounging up all the bread, milk and eggs they can get their hands on.

I had my first genuine social outing Saturday (woohoo!).  Just when I was sitting at home making my chili and beef stew and had sadly accepted the fact I would not be doing anything for Halloween or on this Saturday night, my roommate texted me asking if I had plans and if not, her sister was looking for someone to go to a costume party with.  Initial thought- Yes!  I have plans.  Second thought- I don’t have a costume.  Crap.  I’ve never been one to go all out for Halloween but I didn’t even have a set a cat or rabbit ears to wear.  Luckily my roommate was going to grab her sis some accessories, so after some ears, a bow,  and tail on clearance-voila! I am La Chat.

I now see the obsession with fake lashes. In. Love.

I swear it is exponentially easier to talk to strangers when two things are involved: alcohol and costumes.  People just seem to be so much more approachable when they have fake moustaches and pleather flared pants on.  We went to a house party, and the house was decked out to the max.  great decorations, music, drinks, and tons and tons of food.  It was a really nice night, got to meet a lot of folks, exchange numbers, and have some laughs.  I guess the professional word would be networking, but that makes me sound like I have an angle, and my only angle is to meet people and make plans to have fun.  I worked on mastering my ‘story’, kind of scary knowing you can say whatever you want, be whoever you want, but no worries, I kept it real.  I get confused too easily to make up stories, I have a hard enough time keeping things straight as it is. 

me and Kim! (roommate's sista)

Jello Shot.  Alaskan Amber.  Glow bracelet. awesomeness.

Slight obsession with nice bathtubs

All in all, a very good weekend.  Even got a scary movie in thanks to Jeff refusing me to let me get out of the Halloween season without watching a horror film (Case 39).  Now let’s see if the two bags of candy I bought for the trick or treaters makes it until tonight…

Cat Burglar. haha

"did you get in a fight with paint can?"

As I’m sitting here trying to find something really cool about my new really adventurous really awesome life to write about, I’ve come up with, uh, nothing.  Well, maybe not nothing.  I’ve done some things since being here:

-          Started investigating gyms to join.  I didn’t realize it was so expensive to go somewhere and secretly judge everyone in the room whilst they are judging you.  One gym has a sauna, Jacuzzi, pool, classes, etc.  LOTS of amenities, and of course it’s the one that’s 60 bucks a month more than the other one with the basic large room with mirrors and equipment.  Decisions, decisions.  You’d think after deciding to move to Alaska, every subsequent decision would be a piece of cake.  Which leads me to my next ‘thing’ on my list…

-          Had my first hairdressing experience in Alaska.  Doing the responsible thing, I asked around to find someone who was reputable, but I learned that doing so cannot always guarantee a good stylist.  Now I know people have bad days, or years, especially in the creative risk taking profession of hair styling, but this chick was in a league of her own(I should have been warned that it may not end well when the salon also has an extensive selection of hats to purchase).  This chick was a jack of all trades: hairdresser, actress, painter and apparently a master of none.  I thought I was playing it safe by just having her match my red in the front and giving me all over highlights, but that was a task too mighty for this little jack.  After the wrong color, color bleeding, and cut I didn’t decide on, I called my good friend Daisy back home to commiserate.  Daisy has been doing my hair for over two years and also happens to be one of my most favorite friends.  She sympathized and advised me to use Dawn dish detergent to strip the color, which it did!  She’s always there to help me out whenever I need it.  Has been a good icebreaker with my patients though...hence the title of this post.

notice the hats!!!

-          Became Pediatric Advanced Life Support certified.  Why might you ask should a girl who is equally scared of kids as they probably are scared of her 5’11 stature (with bizarre hair) care about learning to resuscitate an “infant or child before the age of puberty”?  Because, at my new job I may be required to care for pediatric patients and was highly advised to take (read=saw my name registered for class on schedule).  Scary, I know.  I try to avert my eyes from that hallway in hopes that I never see my name on the assignment for the north hall.  That being said, I already feel more well rounded in my nursing abilities, just by spending a couple days discussing the various things that can arise with peds patients. 

-          Painted my room.  Actually just a wall, but that was the plan.  I chose a pretty plum color as the color for my accent wall.  Always felt painting was therapeutic.  Repetitive, yet tough, work to make a space your own.  To cover up the past or just to solidify movement into the future.  Paint can have many implications.  I wonder if the lady at Lowe’s knew the power that gallon pail held as she handed it to me and said ‘have fun!’

-          Carved some pumpkins.  I can’t remember the last time I carved pumpkins to be honest, so it was actually kind of fun.  I went with my roommate as her family had a little pumpkin carving night with good chili and pumpkin cupcakes.  I couldn’t find a big one so I ended up carving three smaller ones.  A happy face, a scary face, and uh…chicken?  Yes. Chicken, first idea didn’t pan out so next best thing I could come up with was a chicken. 

As I continue to get settled into what is my new home, I'm starting to get the itch to get out there are start getting the real adventure on.  Seems like the natural progression in a journey such as this.  I can't just sit back and wait for awesome things to fall into my lap just because I'm here.  Getting here was the first step, organizing my room and 'space' was the next, getting settled into my new job was another and now I've got to get going on the social aspect.  Makes me excited to be done with the whole settle in process but also means I've got to get back to doing work on this next step!!

what i see every time i get off my exit

sunrise at work 

learning learning

I’ve been in Alaska for two weeks and one day.  I have learned a lot so far, but still have so much to learn…

1.        New round-abouts require a pamphlet for this small town to understand such traffic signs

2.       Pajamas are acceptable outside of the bedroom and seemed to be encouraged at places like Wal-Mart and the Brown Jug (AK’s ABC store equivalent)

3.       Hand sanitizer is a gel form and soap is a foam as opposed to Duke having foam sanitizer and gel soap (sounds like a simple concept but those who know me, know  I have been fooled on more than one occasion so far)

4.       Heated garages do for a North Carolinian in Alaska as a heated blanket does for a febrile Leukemic- truly amazing and always appreciated

5.       I still need my daddy to help me set up my cable and internet

6.       I still need my daddy to help me buy a car

7.       I still need my daddy for a lot of things

8.       I still need my momma for just about everything else

9.       Floor heaters make a lot of creaking sounds as opposed to vents.  Very. Scary. 

10.   Being a non-Alaskan is not very alarming to anyone since no one is from here

11.   Being a non-military, non-married 25 year old, null parity, non-Alaskan woman is very alarming.  To everyone.

12.   In order to be a doctor in Alaska you must have a gnarly beard.  I feel that they require proof of facial hair on the application.

13.   My new Jeep Grand Cherokee is very cool

14.   Dance floors in Alaska are just as fun as dance floors in NC

15.   No one was as excited as I was about the first ‘snow’, it didn’t stick around, but still was kind of thrilling.  Need to get my snow tires soon

16. Living 3 minutes from work is emmaculate

17. Being the new kid at work still sucks as much as being, well, the new kid at work, but I'm getting there

18.  I still know how to start IVs (cheers to all my future patients...)

I have enjoyed being here for the most part, organizing my room and bathroom is always fun although tiring.  DIY night with my roommate has proven to be lots of fun and we’ve only had two sessions.  Looking forward to all the other crafty things I can create (with her help of course).  The pups seem to be acclimating just fine to Alaska, watching them slide into the back door due to the deck being frozen will never get old.

Still got a long road to go, but I feel this adventure got off on the right foot.  My family here with me to help support and lend advice and some great friends to keep me busy and give me tips on living the ‘Alaskan way’.  Also my friends and family back home, 4000 miles away, supporting me every step of the way and there to make me smile when I need it most. 

Happy birthday BFF :o)

Hatcher's Pass

wonderful parents :o)

Pops taking some pics at Hatchers

Where I work and what I get too look at every day I leave my house

Ridin dirty in the Valley

Looking like a Fall Hallmark card

Eklutna

Laughing because we have no bear mace. or guns.

Townhouse. Jeep.  :o)

First DIY night in progress!

Me and the roomie at my first Alaska Aces hockey ga

Goodnight moon

oh the places we'll go...

It is 6:20am Alaska Standard Time (I think that’s what they call it) and I am lying in a bed in a motel next to a bed that has my mom and dad reluctantly waking up to my lovely serenade of “Pumped up Kicks” by Foster the People.

Oh yea, can’t forget the two canines that are strategically placed in either bed.

There are three gigantic suitcases that look like they have projectile vomited clothes everywhere.

There is a blueberry muffin and some OJ in the mini fridge.

  A sauce pan on the floor being used as a water bowl for the pups and two cereal bowls for their food. 

And two dog crates that have more stickers on them than a 1960’s van.

Its 33 degrees outside and still dark (its only 6:20…).

I can’t help but think, if I hadn’t decided, oh say, 9 months ago to move to Alaska, what would my Wednesday be like today?

Well, for starters it would be 10:20am Eastern Standard Time and I would have gotten off of night shift this morning.

So I would more than likely be sleeping in my bed in Morrisville, gassing up for night 3/3 at Duke, preparing for my future 8 days off.

I would have probably spent the night prior administering chemo, giving antibiotics, doing fever work ups all while laughing and being ridiculous with some of my favorite co workers.

Most, or a lot of, people who you hear about making such an enormous change in their lives do so out of survival; they are in a situation that needs to change drastically and the only way to make that possible is to physically move yourself from it.

I can’t say that I am one of those most or many.

If I was sleeping in my bed, resting for the nightshift so I can see my friends and patients again, I would be perfectly content.

I have a wonderful life in North Carolina.

Friends and family that love me, things to do, progress to make, dogs to walk.

So the $1,000,000 question?

Why move 4000 miles away from something good?

My best answer is to make it great.

My good life in NC has prepared me, readied me, and equipped me with the strength and drive to make changes like this.

To challenge myself, grow, learn, and make new and lasting experiences.

A patient once told me “After you move and have this experience, NO ONE can take it from you.”

And she’s right, this time in my life will undoubtedly help shape the rest of it and be a catalyst of growth and sheer living for me.

Enough banter about growing and such, now onto the logistics of moving your entire life 48 states away that everyone keeps asking me about.

It has consisted of:

·

Shipping 10 cardboard boxes thru FedEx

·

Toting 3 suitcases, 2 bookbags, 1 purse to the airport and on the plane to Chicago and then Anchorage

·

Shipping 2 dog kennels by checking them as luggage and having them stowed in the (supposed) temperature regulated cargo area with the other luggage

Phew.

Now that those three things have been accomplished and safely arriving in Alaska (sans Lexi’s breakfast which she seemed to have lost en route), what else do you do?

You pick up the rental car and drive to the valley where I will be living.

The fall leaves are still on the trees as we leave Anchorage.

Every time I come to Alaska, the mountains are a different color.

December-white.

June- green.

October- golden brown.

Gives me a good feeling that I will consistently be amazed and humbled by the beauty of this place.

We arrived at our quaint motel, rest for 2.5 seconds and then go to Chilis (Yes, they have Chilis!) to get some alcohol, and some food.

At over $60 for the bill, we are quickly reminded that the cost of living is slightly higher than our usual down south fare.

But, nevertheless, full and happy.

Now onto the townhouse!

I was so pleased, my friends did a great job of picking the perfect place!

It’s a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 car (HEATED!!!) garage place. With a big open living area and nice updated kitchen.

The backyard is beyond perfect for my dogs to romp around in ( I cannot WAIT until they stumble upon a moose).

So needless to say, I was very satisfied and put at ease to know I will have a wonderful place to come and relax.

Day 2.

Sign lease. Open bank account.

Get approved for car loan.

Buy car.

Wait what???

Well, I got all of those but the last accomplished.

But I did pick a car and will go back today and make the purchase.

I love having my dad here for innumerable reasons, but being my buffer to the sleazy car salesmen was one of the bigger perks.

So glad he is here to help in so many ways.

  His planning and organization surpasses mine, but I'd like to think I've gotten some of it over the years. 

Along with my mom, she is incredible.

People say I’m strong and whatnot for doing this, and I say, well, look at who raised me?

If only ¼ of her bravery and perseverance rubs on to me by proxy of being around her for 25 years, then I am set.

  for life. 

Now that Day 3 is starting up, it is time to get many more things accomplished.

Sorry for the long first entry, this is a new thing to me, but I will do my best to keep those who care to know up to date and close to my heart.

This is truly the scariest thing I’ve ever done and I know it cannot be done without the support of those who love me dearly.

“This place has the potential to be very…very…cold.” –dad

 -Steph