London, England (Say it with a British accent, it's much more fun)!

London, I have wanted to go here ever since I saw “Parent Trap” (the one with Lindsey Lohan before she went… well, you all know that story). Anyway, I must say that it really did live up to my expectations. It was awesome! Let’s start with a list of the attractions London has to offer that I was fortunate enough to be able to visit…

1) Big Ben. He really is BIG! And did you know that he wasn’t named “Big Ben” because of the size of the clock? In fact, “Big” refers to the bell, and “Ben” refers to Sir Benjamin Hall, a politician at the time Big Ben was built.

2) Westminster Abbey. Obviously a must see for a Westminster College graduate (no correlation between the two, just a name commonality). However, I was quite disappointed. Maybe it’s wonderful and amazing normally, but when I saw it there was a bunch of construction going on detracting from its appearance. But still, I can check that block.

3) The Houses of Parliament. Located right by Big Ben. AMAZING architecture of this palatial building! Intricate in a way that is completely different – in my opinion – than what you would normally think of when you think about all the older buildings in England.

4) The London Bridge. Really amazing picture opportunities here. I walked this bridge not just once, but twice… and it’s not a short little jaunt… more on this adventure later.

5) St. Paul’s Cathedral. The place of Princess Diana’s and Prince Charles’ wedding. So much intricate detail in the architecture of this building. Definitely fit for a royal wedding. Although as far as I’m concerned, being royalty shouldn’t entitle you to something more grandiose than what the average person would be afforded; but what’s the point in arguing that?

6) Tower of London. I didn’t see too much of this; it was really dark by the time we got to it. Although I did notice that the grass was immaculately cut, and as green as you might imagine a leprechaun’s pants to be.

7) Buckingham Palace, of course. A visit to London would not be complete without a visit to the overly lavish residence of the Queen. Like I said, I don’t think being born royal makes you anymore entitled or special than anyone else, but many would disagree with me on that, and the Buckingham Palace proves this. It really is awesome though. The gates to the palace seem about 5,000 feet tall, inside of which those poor guards stand outside in the windy cold doing absolutely nothing but looking miserable, which I think is required. Anyway, naturally the palace is huge, and I am left wondering what the Queen does with all the extra rooms. Perhaps she’s extra crafty and uses the innumerable rooms as hobby rooms…

8) And finally, I’m about 36% convinced that I saw the guy who plays Pete on “Private Practice.”

Now I know you’re all waiting with bated breath to find out why I walked the entire London Bridge two times (okay, I agree, it would have been more impressive if I said I had walked it seven times, but I can’t lie to make my stories more appealing to my audience). So anyway, we decided that it would be nice to take a boat trip to get a view of all the sites at night. Well, we get on the boat and it just so happens that this boat is only going one-way, not round-trip. This being the case, we end up going from Westminster City all the way to the Tower of London (quite a distance, really). We didn’t think this would be a problem until we got off and found out the train back to Westminster from where we were was closed down. So we walked, and walked, and back tracked, and then walked some more (meanwhile crossing the bridge multiple times) until finally – after two hours of walking in non-walking shoes that resulted in shin splints and screaming feet – we found a train station that took us back to our hotel. But on the bright side we surely got the recommended amount of daily steps in!

Aside from getting lost, I really did some awesome things, to include:

- Eating the best Fish and Chips I have ever had. Now normally I really do try to avoid fried food except for the occasional order of french fries, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do… or in this case, as the Londoners do, and I’m pretty sure that they eat Fish and Chips there all the time; and if they don’t and it’s really just for the tourists, then I think they should start, because they’re missing out on a great part of their very own culture.

- Visiting M&M World. I know they have this place in the states, but I’ve never been, and visiting it in London is exponentially more awesome! I even indulged and mixed my own bag of M&Ms; very pricey, but it’s a once in a lifetime thing!

- Going on a tour of places where Harry Potter scenes were shot. Actually, this was a bit of a letdown, it wasn’t nearly as cool as I hoped it would be, but hey, it’s still not something everyone can say they’ve done.

- Touring Hamley’s, London’s oldest and biggest toy store. And this toy store is substantial! It is five stories full of every toy imaginable (albeit overpriced). They even had a Darth Vedar Build-a-Bear (I almost got it for you, Fawdough B., but it was like a million British pounds, which is like a million and a half dollars… I’ll go back when I reach CPT and make one for you).

- Seeing “Chicago” on London’s version of Broadway. Amazing talent there! I really wanted to see Lion King, but it turns out that that’s one of the most popular shows – go figure - and tickets were 118 pounds… no thanks.

Wow! There you have it! What a crazy weekend it was! I saw some awesome things and even learned a little bit of history (truly an amazing accomplishment for someone as disinterested in history as I am). So here’s to more adventures!

I'm Baaaack!

Wow! I haven’t blogged in a long time, which is largely because I lack the writing skills to entertain reading, but also because I don’t feel like I’ve had much to write about. But alas, I’m back… maybe my post this time will bear a more read-worthy quality.

Lately I’ve been thinking… a lot. I find this is easy to do because when I’m not at work keeping busy, I have a lot of free time, something that is a bit weird after coming from nursing school where free time came… well… never. But I digress.

Anyway, yesterday after work as I was leaving I heard that the Dolphin’s Cheerleaders were coming to visit soldiers at the hospital. Having famous people come to the hospital isn’t uncommon, but there is one thing about it that really bothers me, and that is that so much emphasis is put on “welcoming” these people that sometimes it feels like the patients get lost in the mix. So yesterday when five or six perfectly picturesque girls in spandex and jerseys walked into the ward, I honestly found myself frustrated. My job is to take care of soldiers - many of whom come from downrange with multiple broken bones, shrapnel wounds, abrasions, amputations, and so much swelling you can’t tell what they really look like - and taking care of them is what I want to do. I don’t want to praise the Dolphin’s cheerleaders for being beautiful. It’s times like this that I am so grateful to do what I do. I salute these service men and women for their sacrifices, for preserving my freedom and allowing me to do what I love. Maybe these soldiers won’t remember my name or recognize my face if they see me in the future, but I would like to think I made a difference because I placed them first.

I have also learned that as much as I love nursing, if I plan to stay in the military I’ll be shoved into a desk job in the next four to five years. I can’t do that. I love the interaction, I love medicine, I am fascinated by the pathophysiology of the body, and I want to keep learning. This has led to more thinking. I have had so many ideas about what to do for graduate school, but recently, with changes in the military and nurse corps, I realized that being a Nurse Practitioner wasn’t realistic if I wanted to do it before I turn 30 (at the soonest). I had been thinking about applying for IPAP (Interservice Physician Assistant Program) on and off for a while, and then about a week ago something just clicked, and it’s like a voice in my head (not a psychosis type voice) said, “this is it, this is what you need to do.” Ever since then it’s been kind of amazing. I feel so at peace with that decision. Now of course I still have to apply and be accepted to the program, but I’m just having faith that things are going to fall into place for me. For so long I’ve expected things not to work out, but for once I’ve really been able to maintain enthusiasm and optimism. In the meantime I’m going to pour myself into nursing and be the best nurse I can be, and learn as much as I can, so that when I do apply I can be as well prepared as possible to enter Physician’s Assistant program.

And finally, I have been thinking, probably excessively, of just how much I miss everything and everyone back home. Being an ocean and thousands of miles away from my friends, family, and 110 volt outlets has really made me realize how much I appreciate these things. Being so far away from them has been difficult, but it has made me even more grateful for a what a great support network I have. I have been encouraged and supported in everything I have done, and I just hope that I never take this for granted again. I have truly been blessed to have such wonderful people in my life (and 110 volt outlets, too).

So there you have it, a new blog. Well overdue, and hopefully not too boring. Perhaps the next one will happen sometime before the turn of the century. :)