Hello again!

This past week has been interesting:

1. On Sunday, I kind-of-made-a-decision to make Austin Stone my church! I didn't even realize I was doing it until I was walking out of the service to my car and suddenly felt REAL and AWESOME joy because that part of my heart was filled! Praise God! I'm excited to check out their versions of small groups and possibly get involved with the youth group. Ah, so exciting!

2. My boss asked me to speak about exercise at next week's Support Group meeting we have for the former cardiac rehab patients. I obliged, but I have a feeling it will mostly be answering personal questions instead of those that are beneficial for the entire group.

3. I got the go ahead to work on one of my long-term projects/dreams: Exercise is Medicine. It essentially asks MDs to prescribe exercise just as they prescribe drugs to treat conditions. My job in it will be to compile a list of referable individuals (those with personal training cert., gyms, etc.) and bridge the gap between these individuals and the MDs. It's like getting a Rx for exercise like getting one for physical therapy. Same idea. So exciting!

4. A patient threw up on me on Thursday. I was working in the ICU with a post-CABG patient and was working on transferring him from his chair to the bed. Oftentimes patients can get nauseous with sudden movement, and the nurse must've recognized the signs before I did because she asked quickly for the blue bag, which took a split-second too late to acquire, and it went all over the floor and splashed on my shoes. I actually almost threw up myself. I felt bad for the guy, though - he couldn't help it!

5. I found out I did NOT get the job at REI. Kind of sad, but more just frustrated that it took 3 weeks to figure that out. That's a long time! Now back to the drawing board.

6. Today I am working on my niece's scrapbook of her first year. She turns 2 in like a month, so I have limited time to complete it! I've never done a scrapbook this fast, so we'll see how it goes!

Conference!

Starting on Thursday up until today, I was at a conference called the Health & Fitness Summit, put on by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), which is the leading organization promoting health and fitness in America. Later this summer I'll be taking a big certification exam that they offer: Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist (RCEP). They also offer certifications for personal trainers and involvement with MDs. It's a pretty neat and good organization to be a part of (I'm a member), and the conference was a great chance to learn what's the latest and get connected, or "network" if you will.

The moment I stepped into my first session, I was at home. People who are wearing workout clothes as their everyday attire! People who love to exercise! People who love to help other people exercise! It was amazing. I learned so much and found so many ways to get involved with national campaigns, I think my head might pop.

(This is the Frost Tower - a downtown landmark with awesome architecture).

I also did a NEW THING. The conference was here in Austin, but downtown, and parking each day was going to be somewhere in the $7-$15 range, plus the cost of me driving down there. So I checked out the local public transportation: the Capitol Metro. I was scared to death, and double-checked my routes like a thousand times, but in the end it was great! Sure, it took twice as long, but lucky Derek was resting quietly in my garage all day and I was using mass transit! Very fun. I'm not sure I could use it everyday, but it's good to break through that barrier and know it's available.

The rest of today I washed Derek & cleaned him out, hiked with Dawn just minutes from our houses, and ate some yummy taco soup. I'm still exhausted from the conference, even after a 3 hour nap this afternoon. I must get to bed.

Book Review: Secret Life of Bees

It came out awhile ago, but I spotted it at Half Price Books for only $3, so I figured I could afford that. It was a quick read and kept me interested; it also had very convenient chapter lengths, perfect for that 10-15 minutes after I get in bed and before I fall asleep.

Synopsis: The novel follows Lily, a white girl immersed in Southern black culture in the summer of 1964, right after the Civil Rights Act is declared law. She doesn't remember much about one afternoon when she was younger when her mother was killed, but all she has is her father who really is not a father. She runs away with their housekeeper, Rosaleen, and by divine intervention are taken in by 3 sisters who are beekeepers. Through her time with the sisters, she essentially deals with her past and learns to love and find healing in her newfound family.

What I liked: Like I said earlier, convenient chapter lengths. I also liked how there were several events that made you keep reading to find out what happens. And the way it all comes together at the end, including the interweaving of the bees and beekeeping is well thought out.

What I didn't like: Not much!

Has anyone seen the movie and would recommend it?

There's Always Sunday

Yesterday during lunch, my coworker Joanne mentioned to me that every Good Friday when she was growing up, she would notice how it would always be cloudy and then storm around noon. I thought it was pretty interesting and couldn't remember if that was the case of my childhood. We discussed how it was really Biblical and also kind of cool. The references in the gospels don't mention a storm, but they do mention "darkness over the land" and an earthquake.

So today as I was walking across a large parking lot during work I looked around. Darkness and lots of clouds. And I all of a sudden got fearful - that kind of godly fear that strikes you when you realize how powerful God is. I understood that on that day, so many years ago, when Christ did actually, physically die, it was like this. It was dark. It was sad. The Father was sending His Son to die, and He had to forsake His Son in order to pay for our sins. I understood how grave and serious it was. And I was in awe of God's power, realness, and mercy.

But there's always Sunday.

In a conversation tonight with a friend, I learned of a most beautiful and inexplicable joy: a relationship redeemed and restored. This relationship had been full of misunderstandings, hurtful actions, and realizations of each other's deepest fears. I had walked with one of the friends through the tough time, prayed for her, and pleaded with God for restoration, forgiveness, and open hearts. And it happened! I was so happy you would've though someone was getting married, having a baby, etc. But I realized that I was so joyful because it was an example of Christ rising from the dead - He did so that He could redeem our relationship with God. Redemption, forgiveness, restoration, open hearts, all there.

How joyous!

I'm Officially a Texan

Monday was my day off, and boy did I get a lot accomplished! A few highlights:

1. I got my car registered and had the KS title transferred to TX. It took, like 5 minutes. I sat down at a desk, and the lady typed some stuff into the computer, and BAM! She gave me my new tags. I wanted to stop her and say, "Wait, don't you understand? This is a HUGE deal! I'm becoming a resident of a new state! I love KS! I'm new to TX! Aren't you going to do a ceremony or something?" But no, there was no ceremony. It's okay - I had a little one with the roomie when I switched out my rear plate. So long, REBA!

Hello Texas!

2. I got a driver's license! I totally forgot about looking nice for my picture, but it didn't turn out too bad. They make you smile for so long, I think I look like I'm almost peeved. :)

3. And! I got a library card! Now, I have thousands and thousands of books and movies at my fingertips! For free! Nothing excites me more than a public library (well, maybe, Dr. Pepper). I grew up in one, so I feel so at home and free to learn and read. Yay!

Interview at REI

Don't go crazy - I'm not quitting my job. I LOVE my job. I just realized that with some extra income I could pay off my medical debts a bit faster and that would be much appreciated considering I could buy a house with my student loan amount. I though to myself, "If I had to work more than 40 hours a week, where would I enjoy doing that at?" REI was definitely a good option; one of my coworkers even suggested it. So, I applied online, got an email, and showed up.

To a group interview.

Yuck.

I'm not outgoing and I'm not a salesman. I do well one-on-one and have no capacity to "sell myself." Well, too bad, because that's what I did today! We all gathered (17 or so) in a room for about 10 minutes while the HR guy went through a powerpoint of REI's history, job responsibilities, benefits, and all that fun stuff. Then we broke up into two groups in separate areas. When we sat down in a circle, the leader asked us to just take a few minutes and introduce ourselves, what activities we like in the outdoors and why, and what we can bring to the table. IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER? Really? I do not like boasting about myself, especially in a group, and it felt super uncomfortable. I kept trying to make eye contact with the leader as if to say, "how about we do this later? like one-on-one?" So after that was over, we did two exercises: one where we paired up and taught our partners ANYTHING, then in turn we would teach that to the class, sort of to assess our teacher's ability and our ability to translate. My partner taught me about aggressive inline skating. I tried to make it sound interesting. He totally butchered my topic: your heart. I wanted to scream, "I do this everyday! I teach people! I'm so much better at this!"

The second activity was to get in groups of 4 and brainstorm a definition for customer service. That was good, no problems there.

Then we all gathered back into the room and the HR guy talked a bit more. We filled out a small worksheet, then I left. TWO HOURS LATER. Who goes to a first interview that lasts 2 hours? I suppose when you're interviewing 100 people for 20-30 slots, you need an efficient way to do so. I just fear that because I'm not outgoing and annoyingly prideful, I will get looked over.

Oh well, there's always Hobby Lobby! :)

Cheap Drugs & Moldy Lungs

Two things, short & sweet:

1. In one week I will have health insurance!!!!!! Last month, I spent $300 on my medicine. Next month: $6. Amazing!

2. My wonderful pulmonologist figured out that I have a type of penicillum mold in my lungs. He had to send it all the way to the State Dept of Health, and then he conferred with the infectious disease doc at his hospital. So, apparently my sputum is making the rounds. :) He's putting me on anti-fungal medication for 6 weeks, and it just happens to be in liquid form. I would rather take a pill, and I have this bad feeling this stuff is going to taste nasty and nothing like Dr. Pepper. Yuck.

I'm working this weekend! And have the day off Monday! Yay!