Awesome Find

Well-- I'm still in a bit of a blogging swamp so I'm not managing to visit the blogging scene often, but this past week I was in a doctors office and I saw a Disney magazine that I hadn't seen before.  That day at work we had discussed our plans for Halloween.  These things are important in a pediatric hospital. :)  So, this magazine caught my eye because it was full of cute ideas for Halloween projects and decorations. I found the website and it looks really cute.  I thought I'd share.  Most of you probably won't be able to use the information contained therein for your jobs, but perhaps your homes or children.

Disney Family Fun

Just another manic Monday... (ooohhh)

Monday morning: 6:45am...oh look Nicki, you are sleeping through your alarm.  You should have been up at 6.

Quick shower, drink some water, brush my teeth, hair in a pony tail, out the door. Walk to the car with box to be sent, mail to be sent, purse, ready go! Lock the door handle before I leave.

Arrive at car...oh wait. Keys. Look through the top of my purse. No, I'm sure I didn't pick them up. I call a roommate who is hopefully awake and ask her to let me in the house. Kindly, she does. I walk downstairs to pick up my keys off of the key hooks. Oh wait, not there.  Look in purse. Hmm...look at that. They are right there. I didn't need to bother. Walk out the door again, now much later than I like to leave. Lame.

Fortunately, traffic is amazing and I still make it to work on time.

Parked at work, on the opposite end of the garage from where I normally park.  I walk into the stairwell and go up a level. The door that goes into the hospital doesn't have a handle.  Hmm...that's weird. There is a door that maybe leads outside, but I decide just to go to the other side of the garage. I walk back down a level and turn the handle to the door.  Locked. Unusual. I go down to the bottom floor of the garage. Door locked. This stairwell is really really hot and I can just imagine calling the front desk and asking to have someone from security come and save me.  Awesome work. Last try is the possible door that leads outside. It works. Phew. I am out free and headed into my office.

Now I'm at my desk and really thirsty.  I want some water in my water bottle. I reach for it....Not there. Down to the car. In the garage and at the car....oh wait. I didn't bring my keys. Up to the office, down to the car, keys in hand.  Unlock the car and look inside. No water bottle. I know I had it.  I walk back upstairs and there it is, on the shelf above my desk.  I've been awake less than two hours. Happy Monday. I'm a wreck!

Hahaha...I honestly laugh at this.  Three weeks ago I was feeling like life was going better than it had in years.  The last three weeks threw me for a loop.  My car broke down twice and I drove over a nail and ruined a tire on my way to the mechanic's. The second time it broke down a crazy woman pulled into the parking lot where I was pulled over and started...harassing?  me.  I honestly was afraid for my physical well being, possibly my life, and most definitely my car because she almost ran it over (intentionally).  So I got to call the police.

The next week Tania went into the hospital.  She had an artery tear, had bypass surgery, and then the rest of the artery tore. After a very long week in the hospital, she is home and stable. We don't know what her prognosis is or how much damage actually occurred and won't for about 6 months. After an unexpected trip to Missouri to help with the kids and visit the family, I came back to my life. I fear I never really made it back to organized and under control!! That said...things are still good. Fun times, good job, earning money, healthy...life is good!

Prayers

As many of you know, but some of you don't, my sister Tania had her 7th baby about 10 days ago.  She had a rare postpartum ccomplication: a coronary artery dissection. Basically, an artery on her heart broke open and she has had two "heart attacks" in the last few days.  Bypass surgery originally planned for Tuesday, but probably will be moved up sooner. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I'd appreciate it.

Summer Time

So, I've continued to be absent. Sorry about that.  Life has been eventful and busy.  Post graduation I finished my internship, went to the Virgin Islands and returned home to finish preparing for and taking my physical therapy boards. It was a long haul. Unfortunately for me, DC makes it extremely complicated to apply for a get a license. I spent weeks fighting with the DC Department of Health to get them to process and clear all my paperwork in order to take my licensing exam by the end of June. If I didn't get to take it in June, I wouldn't be able to take it until Sept. due to a change in the testing process. It was a nightmare. But, all was cleared, I took the exam (which was an awful experience), I passed, I had a week off and I started working.  Taking the exam was one of the most stressful things in the whole world, but passing was probably the best feeling ever. Ok...at least to this point in life. I had my whole career riding on the 5 hour exam and the first half of it was so hard I thought I was going to cry right there in the testing center.  The second half was more reasonable and I only had to wait a few days to find out that I passed.  Relief. I was literally jumping around my room.

The more exciting part of my very brief and very last summer break included a trip to Myrtle Beach, concerts and shows in DC, baseball game, Fourth of July festivities etc. It has been an excellent few months.  It is so incredibly nice to be finished with school and not to have projects, papers and readings hanging around just waiting for me to do.  I've love having free time and feeling like I can go out to do fun things in the evenings and on the weekends.

I started working two weeks ago.  For those of you who don't know, I'm working at the same children's hospital where I completed my last internship.  It's definitely been a challenge to get going.  We are painfully understaffed and we had a handful of new admissions to the unit I am working on this week, so I've worked some very long days and been on the rather stressed out side, but as I get more acquainted with the patients and get used to not being supervised and being able to make decisions, things are going more smoothly. I honestly can't believe that I am a physical therapist.  I'm done with school, I'm Dr. Schoonmaker, I'm legit. People actually look to me for answers and for help.  So weird. I still feel like a kid some days and most days I feel quite under qualified. I suppose like the rest of life, I will eventually grow into it.

 Mom and I on the beach

 

There were people in the markets who braided hair, so I had mine done.

 

And this is what it looked like!  I loved it cause it was so easy to do my hair for the next week. 

 Loving lounging on the beach

 There were all kinds of random animals just walking around all over the island. It always made me laugh. This beach had ducks just wandering around.

 I really loved the architecture and feel of the "city" on St. Thomas. I thought it was quaint and lovely. It was really interesting to see the neighborhoods and people's lifestyles.  Very different than the mainland U.S.  Much slower paced and simpler.

 There were iguanas everywhere! I decided that they are the squirrels of St. Thomas. This one is actually quite big though it's hard to tell from the picture. It's body was at least two feet long.

 This is Ft. Christian, named for the king of Denmark way back when.  We went to go inside and see it, but alas, it is under construction. 

 More random animals on a different beach.  Today it was chickens and iguanas. You can see both in the picture. Baby chickens none the less.  I'm surprised they don't get devoured by the lizards. 

 Stray cats all over the place, especially at our resort.  I think there are whole programs to try and control their cat problem. 

 This lovely iguana lived outside of our room at the resort. He just hung out on this tree branch, sometimes for a whole day or more.

 

 The water in the Virgin Islands is definitely the best part. It is perfectly crystal clear and so warm.  It was delightful to go swimming and snorkeling. You could see the bottom of the ocean as far out as you could see and the blue colors were nothing short of stunning.  The water is also very calm compared to many beaches which means you don't get to play in the waves, but it's better for actual swimming and such. 

Last day at the beach. Loving the water. 

 Myrtle beach, day 1. Unfortunately I got burned like a lobster on this day. It made for a bit of a rough trip cause it hurt like crazy to move. 

 We went to watch the sunrise one morning, but it was unfortunately stormy so we didn't really see the sun.  Matt took a nap and we enjoyed watching the waves and listening to the ocean. 

 He refused to look at the camera so I took a picture of his back instead.

 It was surprisingly cold in SC. Not really cold, but cool. I didn't bring anything warm because it was so hot last year while I was there, but I guess the beginning of the summer isn't so hot as the end.

 The Lagoon adventure. Putt putt golf. You gotta love it. MB is the putt putt capitol of the nation.  If you don't believe me go there and drive around for...10 minutes or so on Hwy 17 (the main road) and you will no longer doubt me.  It's true.

 The Jungle Adventure; isn't the tiger terrifying?

 Ah Myrtle Beach, how I love thee.

 Renae (my friend who we stayed with), Matt and Me

 Renae and me

 The three of us again

Matt and I headed home. 

 Rascal Flatts came to the Nisson Pavilion and much to my delight, I got to go.  This is my wicked cool fake tattoo.

 Rich and Me at the concert

 I went to my first Nats game. I've gotten stuck on the metro many times with Nats fans on their way home from the game, but I finally got to go.  Much to my surprise, and delight, they were playing the Rockies. Don't worry, I cheered for the Rockies.  I know where my loyalties lie. And they won (just barely, I was totally holding my breath the last inning).

Rich and me at the game. This is the part of the game where I acted like I like him.  He was cheering for the Nats and we had a hard time getting a long for a minute there.  I straightened him out though! :)

Wow- there's a lot to tell!

So, I've been absent from the blogging world for a bit.  Things got a little crazy and I just couldn't have blogging at the top of my priority list. So here's the beginning of some catch up- graduation pictures. That is right. I am now officially and forever Dr. Kama Nicole Schoonmaker. What a relief.  It's been an amazing challenge and completely rewarding experience.  With all the struggles of the last few years, I think it is nothing short of a miracle that I made it.  I couldn't have done it alone.  So here's to me for surviving, and succeeding even, and to everyone who helped pull me through this! And cheesy as it sounds in a blog, I thank God for this.  I know that my belief, my prayers, and the very help of heaven is what has carried me through this time of life!

Graduation

"Physics is everywhere!": The Time Paradox

Can you tell me who said that quote? (don't worry, he's not famous so if you don't know it, you aren't missing something obvious)

So...time.  It's a funny thing.  Especially in traffic.  Every so often since I started my most recent internship, I have to drive in to clinic.  Now, I debated at the beginning about whether it would be better to drive or metro for my commute.  I decided on metro because I get too irritated in traffic and figured that driving everyday in DC might increase my stress a little too much (just as an FYI, I'm pretty sure that was a good decision). So, most days I metro, but a few times I've driven into the city.

Here's where the awesome time paradox comes in.  When I drive in to clinic I use my GPS.  The purpose is two-fold:  a) I don't know the way very well b) if there's a huge accident or something and I have to get off the one or two routes that I know, my handy dandy GPS can tell me where I need to go and I won't even have to dig it out of my car. My GPS tells me what time I will arrive at my destination so I always know how close/far away I am.  When I get to the part of the drive where I am 10 minutes away from the hospital, I always notice.  I don't know why.  It must be a break from the crazy parts of the roads right there (more about the insane roundabouts in DC in future posts), but whatever it is, I always see that it's 10 minutes to go.  And then I drive for another 2 minutes...and I still have 10 minutes to go. And I drive for another 5 minutes....and I still have 10 minutes to go. Its a very weird phenomenon because it always happens at 10 minutes and then I'm 10 minutes away for 20-30 minutes.  Somehow I don't get overly irritated in that part of the drive...I guess cause I'm so astounded that I can be continually moving towards my destination and still be 10 minutes away for 20-30 minutes.  Perhaps there's a fold in the universe there or something.

New Orleans

The weekend before my clinical started, I got to go to New Orleans to attend a physical therapy conference.  It was so awesome. Good company (my close friend, Rachel from PT school), delicious food (love Cajun, love sea food), new knowledge (I actually did attend lectures!), fun place!

Hawaii II

So, Hawaii.  Ah how I miss that place. Seriously my favorite place in the world.  Love it.

It's been long enough that the thrill of it is over, but I wanted to add these extra pictures.  While Mom and I were there, we made friends with a woman who owns a clothing shop in the hotel that we stayed in.  Her husband works for Hilton there in Hawaii and the weekend that I was there, she and her husband and daughter were staying in the owners sweet at the Hilton.  The coolest part about this is that there is a staircase and patio that are right next to the dolphin pools.  Sunday morning, I got to go over and sit and enjoy the dolphins for a few hours.  It was awesome.  I tried my very hardest to touch one (even though it's totally against the rules!), but the dolphins in the pond closest to me were not feeling overly friendly.  Still, they were so much fun to watch!!

Quick update

So it's been a few weeks and I'm back in the "real life" part of things.  I shan't lie, I think I prefer Hawaii, but I didn't come this far just to give up and quit, right?  I mean after two and a half years, the next twelve weeks will dash by in a breeze and be totally worth it! (I have to remind myself of this daily...maybe one of these mornings I will believe it).  The best part is that I definitely see the end of the 12 weeks...ugh.  I expected this to be a clinical that I love, but there's no lovin' going on yet. Hopefully it will come....hopefully very soon.  tomorrow would be great.  A complainer?  Yes, I am a bit right now.  Instead of working with babies 0-3 my clinical instructor's (CI's) caseload is primarily teenagers right now. Most of them are boys and none of them are too happy to be in the hospital.  The change happened last week, much to my CI's dismay as well as my own. Lame staffing problems.  The caseload isn't my primary complaint though. I'd be cool with it.  Here's the thing:

I decided that being a student intern is like being a teenager. Ugh!  Adolescence was NOT my favorite time of life and I am not happy to be in a comparable situation.  After the last 5 months of interning, I was pretty much carrying a caseload independently.  New setting, new diseases and impairments, new skills needed and even more importantly, new CI= no trust. Which means I do basically nothing yet. I'm so bored, so tired of having my every move watched and corrected, so frustrated with being so close to graduation and yet feeling so far away, so tired of feeling like the underdog and never being treated equal to coworkers. I get it.  I'm a student. I'm so done with it. So trunky. 12 weeks...that only three months, I can count that on one hand.  In two weeks, I'll be able to count the weeks on one hand.

I know...it's definitely not the worst thing that could be happening in life.  I realized Thursday on my way home that since I work 4 ten hour shifts, I have three days off which is about as close to half and half as you can get.  4 on, 3 off.  Not bad right?  Right.  Work hard, play hard. It's all worth it...right?  Twelve weeks and I'll officially be Dr. Schoonmaker... it has a nice ring to it.

Hawaii

I love Hawaii!  The Big Island is so different than Kauai and Ouahu. It's much more barren and desert like.  The whole island is covered in lava flows so even the beaches are rugged (at least where we were).  Mom and I stayed at the King Kamehameha resort in Kona.  It was an interesting little place.  We didn't have a car, and it's hard to see a lot on the big island without a car because everything is spread out due to the lava flows.  So, we didn't do a lot of sight-seeing, but that was fine by both of us.  We spent most of our time reading and relaxing and enjoying the quaintness of the area.  For Hawaii, Kona is a pretty busy little place.  I mean little too.  I am sure there is more to the city than we saw, but the part by the ocean is packed full of shops and people.  It's really hard to describe.  It was such a different feel than the other parts of Hawaii that I have been to.  Apparently a lot of people love Kona and come back year after year.  I personally prefer the more rural, slow paced areas like Kauai.  But it was especially fun to see the people who lived there in Kona.  Their lifestyles are so much simpler than ours. Not that that makes life easy, they have to work hard to maintain anything cause the cost of living is so high, but...life just seems simpler there.

A few things I love about Hawaii: first, the fruit.  Oh my goodness.  I love fruit and they have tons and tons of delicious fruit there.

This is the one fresh coconut I got while I was there.  It is tragic, but in the continental United States I have never tasted really delicious fresh coconut.  This one is a young coconut.  Oh so delicious.  The man selling it at the farmers market made a hole in it and put a straw in so I could drink the coconut juice and then we took it back to him and he cracked it open so I could eat the fruit.  Heaven.  It's so tender and juicy and sweet.  Ah- I just crave it.  So sad I can't get it here!!  The man was nice enough to make me a "spoon" to scoop the coconut out of the shell by hacking (yes hacking) off the outside of another coconut so I could use the smooth side as a scoop.  Awesome.

I also love this little fruit call rambutan.  It's a crazy looking little fruit, yes?

To eat this deliciousness you peel off the outside, the red prickly looking part is a skin, and you eat the inside.  It's a good mouthful and has a big seed in the middle.  The fruit is a very light white color and it is about the consistency of a grape.  Oh so delicious.  It's sweet with a mild flavor almost like coconut, but not quite.

Another delicious one we had that I don't have a picture of is longan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longan) which is similar to the rambutan.  It doesn't have any pokeys- it just looks like a dark nutshell.  You peel the outer skin and eat the inside which has a smaller seed in the middle.  It's less sweet than the rambutan, but has a similar mild, juicy taste.  

Finally, one of my favorite things to enjoy on Hawaii is the Hawaiian shave ice. Ah-Maze-Ing!  I had at least one every day that I was there.  SOoooooo good!  My favorite flavor thus far is raspberry.  While we were in Kona, I tried them from a few different places and let me inform you that all hawaiian shave ice shacks are not created equal.  Hawaiian shave ice (for those who don't know) is like a snow cone (but ten times better!) except that the ice is shaved to a much finer consistency and generally speaking the syrup that they flavor it with is better.  The best part- you can get vanilla ice cream either in the middle or at the bottom of it.  Let me recommend that if you ever go to Hawaii, you partake of this delicious goodness.  In Kona I stopped at a shack that was really good up by the grocery store and drug store, but closer to us there was a place called Scandinavian Shave Ice (no idea why) and they also had excellent options.  Mom and I went there more than once. 

Mom's- Raspberry, lychee, and i think pineapple

pure raspberry for me!

Soooo good!

Mom's come to visit multiple times in the last year and I never get pictures of her, so I told her this time she had to be in some of my pictures!

Pictures from Kona:

These are the grounds for the palace below.

This is King Kamehameha's palace.  It's interesting to me the difference between a palace here than so many other places in the world.

This was the first Christian church built in the Hawaiian islands

And this is a very small cemetery that goes with the church.  The people here are mostly missionaries who came to the islands.

The trees on this island grow huge root systems above ground because of the lava.  It's awesome to see.

Just an ocean side restaurant that gets a lot of business at night!

The hotel was right by a long pier so a lot of ships would come and go.  People would also swim in the bay area in the morning (as in laps, not just fun) and there were a lot of people that would kayak or canoe.  This is the little shack that rented out the canoes and kayaks and who knows what else.

Saturday, Dad flew in for his business trip and mom and I took a (very expensive) taxi up to Waikoloa which is on the northwest end of the main island. We stayed in the Marriott resort there cause that's where Dad's convention was.  When we got to our room and saw the view I said to her "I think it's a crime that there are places this beautiful in the world and I am living in DC".  Yes, that was my general feeling on the trip.  Certainly I was glad to return to my home, but the winter here has been so dreary and miserable.  The area is so urban and busy and high strung.  It has been an awesome experience to be here, I wouldn't give it up for the world and I might end up staying after graduation, but when I stepped off the plane in Honolulu, I entered a whole new world for the next six days.  It really was paradise.  It was refreshing to see natural beauty and life after gray, cold, snow and ice storms.  So here are some pictures I took at the Marriott, most of the are from our lanai (a patio sort of thing).  I'll share more about Waikoloa later, but this is enough for one post, don't you think?