Impending Travel Plans

The simple thought of traveling excites me. Add in friends, new places, and a cause for celebration and one can imagine the anticipatory excitement I feel for the upcoming month. A friend of mine currently goes to college in New Orleans and I have been wanting to visit ever since he moved. By the time my friend experienced his first Mardi Gras, he was thoroughly engrossed in the culture of the “Big Easy.” His excitement about the Mardi Gras festivities was infectious and I have deemed it an item worthy of The List (#35 under Not-So-Impromptu) to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

This year, I have the good fortune to fulfill that item and I am so grateful! Mardi Gras falls on the 17th of February, the Tuesday of the second week of my spring semester. My friend is lucky enough to have the entire week of Mardi Gras off, but because I do not, I will be visiting the weekend before. It just so happens that I do not have classes Thursday or Friday, so I have the opportunity to spend an entire 4 days and 3 nights in New Orleans! My hope is that it is enough time to sight-see, visit with my friend, meet his friends, and enjoy a few Mardi Gras parades.

Are there any tips for traveling to Louisiana? Any must-see places in New Orleans or must-attend events?

2015 New Years Resolutions

I do love good lighting. Wintertime is the best time for mood lighting – and what better way to light the mood than by stringing white Christmas lights up everywhere?

My new years resolutions are based on six characteristics I would like to foster in the new year. The chosen characteristics are ones that I may have but are underdeveloped or ones that I feel I lack entirely. I have written resolutions based on the characteristics I want to exemplify – and some things I just want to accomplish.

The six characteristics are as follows:

1) Patience

One can never have enough patience. This year especially I have noticed how my patience has grown and how much I still need to improve.

2) Trust

I have been challenged more than ever to be trusting of others in my professional and personal life. I hope that in the next year I can develop a sense of trust that will enable me to care for my loved ones.

3) Wisdom

Of course, this does not simply mean “learning.” It goes without saying that my education will not end when I graduate next May. I want to develop the wisdom that comes from experiencing joy, tragedy, love, and laughter. I hope that this next year I can truly devote myself to the relationships I have previously nurtured.

4) Faith

My faith journey is a very long and twisty one. I hope that in the coming year I can foster good habits in my prayer life and pass along only the best for my friends.

5) Courage

This one is a difficult one to explain. While I may be able to advocate for my patients, I want to develop my own sense of courage. I want to be able to withdraw from relationships and revoke bad habits that hold me back from becoming the best person I can be and providing the best care I can as a nurse. This will be especially beneficial as I progress in my nursing career.

6) Compassion

The above being said, I hope to have the compassion to understand others and develop relationships that will benefit others. I want the compassion I develop to transfer to the patients I care for.

Now I know this post does not necessarily cover my new years resolutions themselves but there will be another post coming that will cover them. Although, I’m curious as to what others’ new years resolutions are… Two of my more practical ones are to exercise more regularly and finally learn how to snowboard.

Moving: What is Home?

Our newfound best friend.

The summer, it seems, is the best time to relocate. I moved out of the dorms about a month ago, my sister recently moved out of her apartment, and a friend will be moving into a house come August. It must be the renewed sense of purpose associated with summer that encourages people to create new niches. Or it could be simply that summertime is less busy and therefore a less stressful time to move. Either way, I am all for helping people during the transition.

The puppy was all over packing – literally.

A week ago, I flew down to Southern California to help my sister move from her apartment back home to Washington. We packed up her things over the course of three days and watched as movers took most of our hard wrapping and packaging work away. Then, we hopped in her car and started the 24+ drive home. Unfortunately it was not as easy as it sounds.

The moving company posed some difficulties that were hard to overcome, my sister’s recently acquired puppy constantly caused trouble, and to top it all off, there was a lot of stuff! When we finally managed to get on our way, we realized to our horror that we were already behind schedule. We had booked a room 12 hours away, anticipating we would make it there reasonably late in the evening.

Despite our late start, we enjoyed the hours of driving, catching up on our lives and discussing everything that came to our minds. Arriving at 3:30am, we checked in and immediately crashed into our beds. I awoke a few hours later to an alarm I forgot to reset. I took the opportunity to clean out the car, take the puppy for a walk, check in with our parents back home, and grab some breakfast for us. Needless to say I was not particularly looking forward to another long day of driving.

The puppy had never stayed away from home before! He was so confused.

My beloved sister knew exactly what I needed – Starbucks! For some reason, Starbucks and the newspaper always makes me feel more comfortable while traveling. Fortunately my sister offered to drive first and I was allowed to devour the news for an hour before I fell asleep. My hour-long nap left me refreshed and ready to take on the next 7 hours of driving. We were able to make it to my aunt’s house in Vancouver to rest a bit before traveling the last few hours.

Our welcome party consisted of my parents, brother, and family dog. As I expected, they were more excited to see the new puppy than they were to see my sister and I.

As annoyed and tired as I was, I am grateful I was able to experience the move. I disagree somewhat with the saying, “Home is where the heart is.” I think there are places created to encompass the love a person has experienced in their life. It does not necessarily have to be where loved people reside or a favorite spot where loved ones gather. For instance, I have always considered my family home as my Home, whereas my sister’s Home has been her apartment for the last few years. I have also considered my campuses Home, my grandparents’ house Home and my aunt’s house Home. Needless to say, they are all places where loved people reside, but they are also places where I love to show love. As do most people, I hope that one day I can create a space of my own that others may consider Home.

Airports and Flying

With my increasing interest in traveling, I thought I would do a post about my traveling essentials. (Not that I am in any way qualified as a traveling guru.)

 

Firstly I gather all my traveling bags. I start off with choosing a bright, versatile purse. Then I bring out my gunslingers – my backpack and suitcase. My backpack is deceivingly large. I typically use it for overnighter stays as it is easy to pack and carry and is suitable for almost any change in weather I may experience. The suitcase is actually borrowed from my father, but I loved it so much that he “permanently-temporarily lent” it to me. It has separate compartments perfect for electronic cords, shoes, and liquids. The compactness and reversible wheels of the suitcase make it all the more appealing for traveling. 

Next up to pack are the electronics: my laptop, camera, and earphones. My camera is a Nikon Coolpix – not the best, but perfect for traveling. I use rechargeable batteries for my camera so I typically also pack the battery charger. Depending on the destination, I may also pack an external battery pack for my iPhone. The earphones I use are Skullcandy. I have had them for years and I will never use another kind! They have a volume adjuster and a microphone on the left ear strand which makes multitasking so much easier. They also stay in my ear really well during exercise making them all the more valuable.

I also pack an empty water bottle – REMEMBER TO KEEP HYDRATED!

I typically arrive around 2-3 hours before my departure in order to bustle through security and whatnot. As bad as everyone makes getting through security seem, it is not the worst experience one could have. Granted, I do spend a majority of my time the night before a flight checking and double-checking security information to make sure I am in compliance.

Once through security, I immediately head for the nearest Starbucks or other coffee stop available. Although flying can be dehydrating, I make sure I am caffeinated for the flight so I do not experience jet-lag.

Sometimes I will buy extra snacks, as pictured. Lately I have been trying to not snack as much and stay healthy while traveling, but I felt a few solid weeks of nursing school was deserving of a small tin of Pringles and gum.

After my mini-shopping spree, I settle in for about an hour with various forms of social media, such as Blogger, Twitter, and Tumblr. As much as my online interaction relaxes me, oftentimes I find myself befriending others on the flight – which can prove useful in situations when there is a full flight!

Occasionally, I spend some time writing out lists or jotting down thoughts as they come to me. Then, I will simply sit and people-watch for the remainder of the time before boarding.

After I board, I try to make myself as comfortable as possible to endure a long flight. Frequently my friendliness pays off and I am able to enjoy a conversation or two before either dropping off to sleep or settling into a good book.

At some point during the flight, I make sure to fill my water bottle if I have not already. I also try to remember to take a stretch break every once and a while to walk to the bathroom and back. I tend to get restless toward the end of the flight when seatbelts are required and aisle use is limited, so taking stretch breaks alleviates any tension that accumulates.

Upon landing, I make sure to thank and say goodbye to all those that I encountered on the flight. Depending on the airline, I sometimes see the stewards and stewardesses on my return flight. I figure if I am nice to them then they may remember me the next time and will return the kindness. 

Gathering my belongings can be tedious, but I try to remind myself that despite its discomforts, flying allows me to enjoy my destination for longer.

Resourcefulness + Creativity = Surprise!

Don’t judge me. I’ve never been very creative. Plus, I didn’t have any poster paper. Or many markers. Or someplace completely dry to shelter it from the rain.

 Today my aunt returned from a very long, arduous business trip. Having been away from home quite awhile, my aunt deserved a proper homecoming.  With the skills resulting from many years of procrastination and mischief, I made it my mission to provide a nice, if not amusing, reception.

It was surprising how easy it was to track her flight information down without her knowing. Long story short, I utilized her check-ins on Facebook and crossed the information with flight details from the departing and arriving airports.

 

Once I had her flight information, I sent her a few text messages to throw her off my scent. (Not really, I just figured I would check up on her while I could without seeming conspicuous.) Then I looked up streetcar and Max line schedules and formulated a plan to get to the airport at the appropriate time. After constructing my plans and setting the necessary timers, I proceeded to design a beautiful poster to present to my aunt upon arrival (or wave fanatically as I ran toward the escalator my aunt was descending, squealing). It turned out better than I expected. I even gathered a supply of Halloween candy for her, complete with a festive decorative bag!

 

My plan was foolproof! Despite the drizzle, I made it to the airport with just enough time to settle in at the designated baggage claim carousel for her flight. Instead of waiting to see her, I texted her to come to the carousel. Honestly, it would have been better if I had not texted her, but I was so afraid I had missed her arrival despite having check the arrivals compulsively on my journey to the airport.

Sesame bananas are ridiculously satisfying with tea…

 

Anyway, my aunt was pleasantly surprised by my presence and I was satisfied with her reaction – and with having her home, of course! Getting to walk around Portland in search of coffee and ending up at a Chinese restaurant at 10pm, catching up with my aunt over tea and fried bananas made all my efforts worth it.

 

Also, we both got the same fortune from the fortune cookies we gave each other… Coincidence? I think not.