Hoyt.

My day has been made.

I went to bed late last night, finishing up a paper that did not want to be written. Woke up this morning at 6:30am, forced to shower in order to turn myself into a professional. Walked to class that is held far to early every Monday and Thursday. Sat in class for an hour, discussing how swine flu is not as scary as it seems and how vital our liver is (our organ of metabolism!). Had a lovely walk to the Grinder with Miss Julia Hoyt during our first 10-min break. Was given the gift of a double tall americano by my lovely friend. Then...

SPLASH.

Hoyt washed the Grinder with her coffee. With a little, "Oh," and a big splash, 12 ounces of coffee went EVERYWHERE . . .

10 minutes later, we walk back to class in the sunshine. Come to class 5 minutes late. But, never mind. Hoyt made my day by not only buying me coffee, but by spreading her coffee joy to a few others (and the floor) too . . . . here's to you, Julia Grace Henry Hoyt. From Erin Elizabeth Warren Arkin . . . .

Note of the Day: Water is better with nuun any day.

TIRED.

So so so so tired.

Early morning. Class. 8 miles. Lounging in Gwinn instead of napping. Class. Eating dinner without my staff. Getting yelled at by my staff (ha!). 3 more miles. Perfecting my swing (THANK YOU, JAMES!), lifting weights next to two 6'6" basketball players. Eating PB&J instead of sleeping. Blogging instead of sleeping.

Now . . . off to sleep.

Note of the Day: I am not a switch hitter.

Brother Lawrence

The Practice of the Presence of God

That we should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him.
That we should feed and nourish our souls with high notions of God, which would yield us great joy in being devoted to Him.
That we ought to quicken - i.e., to enliven - our faith. That it was lamentable we had so little; and that instead of taking faith for the rule of their conduct, men amused themselves with trivial devotions, which changed daily. That the way of faith was the spirit of the church, and that it was sufficient to bring us to a high degree of perfection.
That we ought to give ourselves up to God, with regard both to things temporal and spiritual, and seek our satisfaction only in the fufilling of His will, whether He lead us by suffering or by consolation, for all would be equal to a soul truly resigned. That there needed fidelity in those drynesses or insensibilities and irksomenesses in prayer by which God tries our love to Him.
That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and nothing else.

Note of the Day: Cracking open the books on my bookshelf that I often skip over is perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Even so, on this Lord's Day, Palm Sunday, very relevant.

. . . . . .

Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me.

march madness

I have not stopped smiling since my last blog post. I experienced one of the best spring breaks of my life; roadtripping down to Cali with 7 beautiful people. Never have I had such an enlightening time.

Perfect camaderie. Breaking in new chacos. Zero workouts. Zero sunburns. Breakfast at 10am.
Catch on the beach. Failed hot tub quests. Jumping into Lake Shasta in 82 degree weather. Bread bowls. Two dynamic Cali sunsets. Cuddling under shooting stars. Vitamin D. New freckles. Akon "Beautiful." Dancing around NCMOs. Head massages. PB&J "crepes" over a campfire.

Heaven.

Note of the Day: My SMC makes ridiculously good cookies.

one fine wire

I remember a time, when my balance was fine, I was just walking on one fine wire . . .

I do. I do feel like I'm walking on a fine wire. But now. Now some of my balance has returned for the moment. I have closed the door on another tough quarter, have finished more than half of my time as 1e's PA, and have come to the brink of only 40 more weeks until I get to wreak havoc in Washington with my nursing license.

Tomorrow is a start.
Start 1: 21.
Start 2: WOC09 with 7 amazing people. Washington Oregon California. 8 days.
Start 3: Beginning to wrap my mind around 2nd year PA. It's hard for me to think about the possibility of a new floor, new staff, and holding this responsibility for another year.
Start 4: You'll have to guess. [said as mysteriously as possible in order to confuse my loyal blog followers as much as possible).

Note of the Day: From experiencing this last finals week, I have found that I have the ability to study without stopping for 11 hours straight.

bah.

You spin my head . . . . what do I do?

The week ahead of me = stomach ulcers. My head, spinning. Finals. Trying to find time to keep running. Trying to remember to do crunches before bed. Drowning in a course I unfondly call "nursing everything." Respiratory system, endocrine system, millions of medications, cardiology, acid/base balances. bah.

And my head still spins. From you. What am I supposed to think?

Now: Stepping away from my 100 slide powerpoint on the endocrine system. Stepping away from a presentation on the ethical stipulations of apathy. Stepping away from a philosophical essay on faith and science. Going for a 45 minute break to sweat my troubles away. And then shower. Glorious, yes?

Stilling spinning . . .

Note of the Day: Jai ho.