Things have been so busy lately that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write out my days, hence why this is the first time I’ve blogged in nearly two weeks. Sheesh! I promise I’ll be better from here on out. I pinky promise! Here’s a recollection of the past 11 days, most in Cali but some in Nevada! Ready, set, go!
My first two days of work (May 6th and 7th) were awesome! I went in at 8 a.m. each morning and left at 5 p.m. each evening. I met with Anne and Jen (my supervisors) on Thursday morning for a few hours and they gave me a run-down of all the important stuff I would need to know then gave me a tour of the hospital. I got to play basketball with a few clients Thursday afternoon before I left, which was so much fun. Marco, Jean, Buck, and Romona were so much fun to hang out with. I had been teasing Marco, a client with cerebral palsy, all afternoon by saying “Polo” every time someone said his name, and when I was telling him bye, he said “Polo!” I thought I was going to DIE from excitement!!! That was the highlight of my day, fo sho!
Shelye, my roomie for the summer, set me up on a blind friend-date with one of her clients’ nieces. I was a little nervous but mostly excited to have a friend. She (and her uncle, who she’s staying with) is from Ireland and is visiting until the end of July. Her name was Ally and she was incredible!! We went to Universal Studios Hollywood on Saturday and Hollywood Blvd on Sunday. We are going to have no trouble tag-teaming to see all we can while we’re both here, that’s for sure! I’m so excited that the Lord put her in my life. That was one of the things I was most concerned about (not having anyone to hang out with) but that’s no longer a problem. YAY!
On Monday, I went to work til noon and then Ally and I went to the taping of the Jay Leno Show!!! Jay Leno and the show itself: amazing. Everything else about that day: horrendous. I had my first run-in with California’s rude population. Not ideal. Not to mention I had a parking ticket waiting on my windshield for me when I got back. Like I said, not ideal. It was, however, awesome to see Laura Bush guest star on the show! She’s such a proper, southern, cute lady. I was obsessed. I feel like her and Reba should be related. Just sayin’.
House boating began Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. Waking up at 4:15 a.m. was not my time of choice, but the moment I got there it was all worth it. At 7 o’clock a.m. eleven participants and eight staff/volunteers headed to Lake Mead, Nevada for five days on the water. It was so incredible! And it went by SO fast! Scott Allison, Scott Porter, Shelley, Stephanie, Ann Marie, Chris Lawhon, Chris Hobson, Theresa, Larry, Mary Jane, and Jeremy all had their own individual personalities that added so much to the trip. When I say there was never a dull moment, I mean it. Highs and lows were had by all, which only added to the adventure! Between a boat, a tube, a wakeboard, a knee board, two jet skis, and two kayaks, there was no possible way that fun was not to be had by all. We were all water babies for three full days. I have quite a few new tan lines to prove it. My shorts tan line is especially attractive.
Lake Mead is a breath-taking place. It is right in the middle of a canyon, with huge rocks completely surrounding you wherever you are. My favorite part of the entire week, hands down, was sleeping under the stars. The mountainous rocks outlined the sky and the shadow of the moon gave off the perfect amount of light. Uh. May. Zing. I wish I could have taken a picture of it, but there is no way that it would ever do it justice.
Psalm 8:3-4 has always been one of my favorite things to read, and sleeping under something so incredibly big instantly brought those verses to my mind:
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”
It is so amazing to me that with all of the things in this world that I have never seen, some of which I will never see, Jesus still thinks about me. He was with me during every second of this week, and he’ll be with me forever and ever. Blows. My. Mind.
Welp, we got back to Casa yesterday around 3:45 p.m. and unpacked/repacked from the trip. I got back to the apartment around 5ish and took my first shower since Tuesday morning. Just call me Miss Hygiene, since it’s so great and all. Good thing no one else on the trip was taking showers either, so there was no room for judgment. Deodorant: a house boater’s best friend.
As soon as I left work and turned on my phone, I got a call from Michal…who was calling to tell me that SHE BOUGHT HER PLANE TICKET TO COME SEE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Boy oh boy, I cannot WAIT until June 26th! FACT!!! And then, a few hours later I was having a skype date with Teesh and…HE BOUGHT HIS PLANE TICKET TOO!!!!!!!!!!! July 9th!!! YAY! I am SO EXCITED I can barely stand it!!!! WAHOO! I can’t believe it’s really happening! And there’s no turning back now!!! YAY! :-D
I also talked to Melly, Mommy, Shannon, and Daddy last night! It’s amazing how much more you miss someone without hearing their voices for a few days! I got a little homesick yesterday when we were on our way back to Casa because everyone got so excited when we starting seeing signs for Pomona. “I get to see my mom! I get to see my dad! I get to sleep in my own bed! There’s no place like home!” were just some of the things I was hearing coming from the back seat, and I was thinking “Orrrrrr we could just go back to the lake because I don’t get to experience any of those things!” No worries, though. I got over my self-pity quite timely. I should be good for the next few days. The trick is keeping myself busy. And I’ve been doing a great job at that.
Today is the first day that I have just stayed at the apartment and done nothing all day long-except for my big girl trip to the grocery store, of course. Although it would be nice to be sight-seeing and meeting tons of famous people, I’m very content just sitting here on the couch, watching a little Disney channel. Hannah Montana, to be exact. Ahh, perfection. I am super excited about 7 o’clock tonight because I have a skype date with P. Sawyer! YAY! I cannot wait to see that beautiful face on my computer screen! Sometimes, BBM just doesn’t cut it.
Tomorrow, Ally and I are hopefully going to the beach for a while and then having a drink at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Ally has been doing her research and that’s apparently the place to be to spot famous people. Good thing all those trips to Wilmy have trained me to be a professional stalker.
And speaking of stalking, I was telling some of the volunteers on this trip that I was going to go to Hemet, CA (in honor of James, of course) and they told me that I would need a bodyguard if I was going there. Interesting. Maybe James will come home and show me around himself. I’ll add that to my list. At the top. Maybe even before Disneyland. Yes, it is that serious.
Adios for now from southern California. Sending hugs and kisses to you always!
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