bragging about my friend

i want to keep my friend erin folded compactly in my pocket. that may sound a little weird.
let me explain.
she has more information about audiology stored in her brain than i will probably ever have. one friday in class she displayed knowledge of some fact that i don't think i ever learned... or even thought i needed to know. but apparently i do, because she was questioned by a patient. she knew the answer (which was extremely complicated) and i did not have even the slightest clue how i would have answered it. this is why i need to keep compact erin in my pocket. so that when i am faced with a tough question, i can whip her out and she will provide me the answer.
here's a little picture of us. studying. because that's how she got so smart. and ps. she doesn't do that thumbs up thing often.

one fact that most people don't know is that i have moved A LOT. i didn't realize this until recently, but since 1997 i have never lived in any city over 2 years. its not that i want to move. it has been a product of my long journey to find a career and purpose for my life. currently that is audiology. it could change.
so living in dallas for over 2 years has both been a challenge and a blessing. i am past the 2 1/2 year mark already. and i love this place. granted, it looks nothing like my hometown along the gulf coast.but i still love the people and my friends' sincere desire to love Jesus more.

i have always constantly felt in limbo, moving from place to place, where even the town i grew up in doesn't feel like home anymore. so having finally found a place that's close to my heart and having to move ONCE AGAIN, brings a mix of emotions.

i am moving to San Diego at the end of May. i made this decision several weeks ago, when offered an externship (internship) there. it is required by our audiology graduate program to complete our fourth and final year doing full-time work in order to graduate. and i was ecstatic! i will get paid (which is sometimes rare for an externship), i will be able to work with adults (which i love), i don't have to worry about the patients paying for their hearing aids (a fact i also love).

then i got that strange panicky, sad feeling i get right after i make a life-altering decision and realize the implications. i will be moving the farthest from my family i have ever been, who live in florida. they have all promised to visit me and i know they will, but sometimes a hug is better than any voice on the phone.
after decisions like this, my obvious first reaction is to freak out and panic. this reaction is witnessed by my friends all the time. i don't like change. i'm an introvert... and the list goes on of negative reasons why i should be a basketcase. but i must end this blog on a positive note.

so with all the trepidation i feel about moving some strange and foreign place, i have been trying to be positive about the impending move. so i made a little list.

1. beach. i mean, come on. they have beautiful beaches. and it looks like this



2. the ability to be doing things outside, like hiking & running, all year round
3. i will still be incredibly close to my best friend, erin
4. my job!!!
5. the possibility of my little sister moving with me, which would be awesome
6. all the new interesting people i will meet
7. least of all, if i don't like it.. it's only for a year

and after that who knows where i will go!

i never anticipated ending up in dallas or handful of other cities i have lived in. the move wasn't planned far in advance, and each decision was made with the aforementioned trepidation. but in every one i have met friends that i couldn't imagine my life without and with their friendship have shown me God's love and His provision for me. in every city, i have met people who grow me in my relationship with Jesus and teach me things about myself and loving other people. i don't doubt for a moment that He will do the same with me in San Diego. i just have to let go and let Him.
and i come full circle back to being ecstatic about the fresh possibilities of my move!

Toto's been carried off by a twister

there's nothing that strikes fear into my heart more than the sound of a tornado siren.

i remember when i first moved to dallas in 2006 and i first heard the siren. i'm not even sure what the siren indicates... maybe it's just when the wind speed reaches a certain point... but when i first heard them i ran for cover. meaning, in the bathtub with a pillow, on the phone with erin.

fast forward three years... i hear the siren. sit in the hallway, with a pillow, on the phone with erin.
because we are still scared. i don't think the fear goes away.

the first time the siren went off last night i was dripping wet from the shower and had not yet put on clothes. and my first thought was.. "the roof's gonna come off. then they'll find me dead and naked. i'm naked." obviously that didn't happen since i am here typing, but that was my first thought.
and i pictured myself as a little dog, shivering, about to pee on myself cause i was so scared, with wide eyes and that 'run for cover' look, but paralyzed with fear.

and today the sun is shining, no clouds in sight, and it's beautiful. i guess it's gotta do that every once in a while to set things to right.

but i gotta say, these tornados, i could do without.

beware the runner's high

okay.. so you hear people talk about the 'runner's high'? it really is true. i am not sure the chemical reaction that happens in your body when you've been running for a while, (i'm sure i could 'google' it) but it happens. your body just hits that stride where you really feel ALIVE. (snicker if you must).

so for the first time in (i'm ashamed to say) 4-5 months, last night.. i ran. on a treadmill. like a hamster in those little round balls that go round and round, but nevertheless. and achieved the runner's high. i was feeling so good, and so focused on the fact that it feels so good to run, that i walked outside and he location where i parked my car flew right out of my head.
of course, this is funny. and i laughed. for about 30 seconds. then i began to feel like a little ole' lady (no offense to those little ole' ladies, it's not their fault). but REALLY. i'm not even 30 and forgetting where i parked my car. this is hilarious and i hope someone watching got a big laugh.
after almost 5 minutes of walking around and one panicked phone call to my exercise partner, who kindly was coming back to help me, it dawned on me where i parked my car.

and thus, i am again blaming my embarrassing moments on chemical and biological mysteries of my brain.