Made it to Wales!

Monday 6/8/09
This is the end of a very long day. It is almost 8pm here which means that we have been mostly awake for 32 hours. I say mostly, because there were scattered 15-30 minute naps on the plane that weren’t interrupted by turbulence or people squirming in their seats. We managed to navigate Dublin airport quite well, and had no trouble catching our bus to Dún Laoghaire. Once there however we started to run out of steam. The weather outside was not cooperating for exploring the village on foot so we took refuge in a coffee shop, and whiled away a few hours until it was time to take the ferry to Holyhead. The trip went smoothly from there; we arrived in Wales and got our rental car. I held my breath when we first started driving on the left hand side of the road, but I was relatively quickly relaxed by Morgan’s skills. He has done a great job driving, and has yet to screw up and turn incorrectly or drive in the wrong lane as I would have undoubtedly done. We arrived in Betsey Y cowed just in time to check into our room and get dinner. Our room however was where we hit a minor snag. Instead of being an inn like it was described online, The Eagles is actually a ‘bunk house’ which means that the only sleeping accommodations that they have are bunk beds. Not exactly what we planned. Other minor snags include that breakfast is not in fact included and that you have to rent towels if you want to shower. Much less like the bed and breakfast that I had pictured, but I can’t complain much because the countryside here is more beautiful then expected, and it makes up for the less then expected sleeping arrangements. Now I’m off to bed to see if a full night of sleep leads to better things in the morning.

Hair Cut

I've been meaning to post this for about a week now, but I haven't gotten around to it. So here it is, the before and after shots. Fourteen inches donated to Locks of Love.

Update

It has been quite some time since I’ve updated this blog. It seems like time has flown by the past couple months. I’ve been hard at work on rotations, and between 60 hour weeks and studying in free moments, it sometimes feels like I haven’t had time to breath. I just finished my internal medicine rotation, and I am so glad to be done with it, I can’t even begin to describe how good it feels. On Monday I’m starting my Pediatric rotation, which is good, but since it’s the middle of flu season, it’s almost guaranteed that I’ll get sick at some point.

Morgan and I have been doing well; we’ve just started up with a new small group at our church. We’re very excited about this group. It’s a better fit for us, the people are great, and the location and time are better, so we feel very blessed to have found them.

We have been passing the time this winter with little projects around the house. So far we’ve made a new shelf area for Morgan’s plants, and reorganized all the plants into nicer pots. We’ve also picked out fabric to make curtains in the kitchen, something I hope to work on finishing this weekend. We’re both whiling away the time till graduation; May seems so far away, and yet, somewhat scary all at the same time. Having both of us graduate at the same time will be very freeing, but it also means the start of some very real responsibility. I am optimistic that we’re up for the challenge.

About a week ago Morgan’s car decided it wouldn’t start, and despite being jumped, we haven’t been able to get it started since. So now we’re down to one car. Our mechanic gave us an estimate on what it would take to fix Morgan’s car, and its past what the car is worth at this point. So now we’re attempting to fit two very different schedules into one car, and we’re finding it a bit frustrating. There is the possibility of a ‘new’ car, but we don’t want to rush it, just because we need it, we’d rather find a good value if we can. So we’re going to keep looking, and in the meantime carpool. It means more time for Morgan reading in the library, and that I’m bringing a book with me to work.

“Patience is a virtue and I want it right now.”

Generally frustrated.

I have to say that lately I've been pretty frustrated with life. Things just don't seem to be going the way I planned, and I hate delaying gratification. The most frustrating thing lately is school. I'm on my Psych rotation, and I have to say that I hate it. I don't like the work, I'm frustrated with my coworkers, and I don't know how to handle people who feel so helpless in life that they frequently try to kill themselves. I've been coming home from work so depressed that I end up crying out my frustrations to Morgan, and inevitably I end up bringing him down, and then we're both in bad moods. The one good thing about psych, is that I'm usually so frustrated after work that I go for a run. I find that I can run a lot longer and a lot harder when I'm pissed off, and when it's done I feel mildly better. The bad news is that even though I'm running and biking more frequently, I feel like I've completely stalled in the weigh loss department. I was doing so well for so long, and I am so discouraged to hit a plateau like this. I haven't gone down any since Ty and Beth's wedding. :( I mean, I guess it's still good that I haven't gained it back, and I managed not to gain weight on the cruse which are supposedly notorious for making people put on pounds.
Money continues to be stressful mainly because the financial aid department at school is the most dysfunctional place I have ever seen, and the people there have no idea what they are doing, and they routinely screw up disbursement checks, which messes with my budget. Morgan and I had been hoping to go to Europe this summer as a way of celebrating both of our graduations from school, and making it the transition to the next big step in life, growing up, getting real jobs, starting a family. But with the economy the way it's going, it doesn't seem possible at this point. When I was in high school I was able to travel to Italy for 10 days for less then $1,500 which I paid for out of my summer job earnings. Now, it's hard to even find air fare for that. So that's a big disappointment. I know how much Morgan wants to go on that trip, and life circumstances would be perfect if we could afford it, but that doesn't seem possible now.
Another big strain is that Morgan and I want to start a family, but timing is a tricky thing. Baby and school didn't seem like a good mix so we waited. Now I'm less then 9 months from graduation, and it still doesn't seem like a good idea because I'll need to be working at a job for at least a year before I'll qualify for paid maternity leave, which would be really helpful because we're still going to have loans to pay off.
Top everything off with stupid random stressors like Phoebe getting her spay/neuter operation at the vet. I say 'spay/neuter' not because I don't know which one is which, but because she had both. Literally. The started to do the operation and stopped when they realized that she had the external genitalia of a male... so our cat is a boy.. ok, I can deal with that. But wait, it gets better. I get another call after they're out of surgery, and it turns out that she had both. She had two ovaries, one testicle (the right one incase you were wondering) a uterus, and a stunted penis. So we figure since she had a full girl set, and only half a boy set that we'll still call her a girl, cause it's simpler that way.
The latest thing that's bothering me a little is that I have officially found grey hair. I'm 25 and I am going gray. This is not ok. I consider myself to be a pretty reasonable person, and I don't think that I am normally vain, but seriously? Gray hair at 25? What the heck!!
So that's the update on what's going on in my life. To recap since I've gone on for quite a while: Psych sucks, exercising more, Not losing weight, Not time for kids, Money issues, hermaphrodite cat, gray hair.... Generally frustrated.

New England Cruise

So Morgan and I are back from our family vacation. We spent a week traveling up the New England coast with my parents, brother, aunt and grandmother. We had a great time enjoying the beautiful countryside as well as exploring some new cities. The cruise left out of Boston, and stopped in 1)St. John in the Bay of Fundy, 2)Halifax, Nova Scotia, 3)Sydney on Cape Bretton, and 4)Bar Harbor Maine. We took lots of Pictures. I'll tell you more about it when I have a chance, but right now I've got to get ready for my new rotation which starts tomorrow morning. No rest for the weary.

Tyson and Beth Garner

I just wanted to say congratulations you guys! I am so happy for you. I see how good you are for each other, and I know that you will make each other happy. Beth, I am so excited to have you as a sister-in-law. Welcome to the family (officially). You had such a beautiful wedding, I was happy to be a part of it. I hope you guys have a fantastic time in the Caribbean on your honeymoon. Love you both!!

Phoebe

I just wanted to post some pictures because a bunch of people have been asking if I have any, these are a few of my favorites.

Phoebe is almost 5 months old now, she is amazing, she's fun, playful, and very social. We love that Morgan is not allergic to her, it means that she can cuddle with us at night, unfortunately it also means that she may wake you up at 5am by pouncing on your head. All in all she is simply fantastic. She gets along with the other pets, and brings a unique personality to the group.