Good Week :)

First of all, I fail at updating regularly. But I've had a really fantastic week and I wanted to gush about it over the internet a little.

Probably the best thing that happened this week was that I got a really good grade on my first physics exam . . . to be honest, it was one of the best science grades I've gotten in college. I usually try not to be a huge grade-bragger, mostly because the stuff I tend to get really brag-worthy grades in is stuff that comes easily to me (foreign languages, writing papers, the parts of science I happen to really "get" just by hearing about them the first time, etc.). Usually, in my pre-med classes, I feel like I'm busting my ass just to stay enough ahead of the curve to come out with a decent grade. But for this test, I worked really hard, invested a lot of time, and it payed off. And that makes me really happy.

Secondly, I found out this week that the scribe company I work for (my ER job) is starting a pilot program at First Hill, one of the Swedish campuses in Seattle. They're sending a few scribes over there to work with doctors and hopefully convince them that they want to pay to use scribes regularly, and I get to go! I'm really excited, and hopefully I will successfully impress the doctor . . . maybe I'll bake him brownies or something? Baking brownies is kind of my fallback plan for any situation that arises in my life.

Thirdly, I got a car! A 1993 burgundy Ford Taurus, that I have named Rufus. Rufus's two main virtues are that he runs, and that he was cheap. His main deficits are that his windshield is badly cracked (but even if you add in what it'll cost to get that fixed, he was still cheap), that he has leather interior (I don't believe in leather), and that the guy who owned him before me was apparently not a big fan of respiratory health, so he smells like cigarette smoke. But I drive with the window down, and I'm getting the interior cleaned ASAP, which will hopefully resolve that issue. I am so happy to have a car! Can we talk about taking the bus to the ER in Issaquah? And back? After 10:00 at night? Actually, never mind, let's not.

Tomorrow, Rufus and I are leaving for the Lake Quinault Lodge for the weekend, because my Aunt Marion and her fiance Mark are getting married on Saturday! They're getting married in the rainforest (yes, Washington has a rainforest, because we are rad), and everyone's dressing up in the theme of "Woodland Magic." I'm pretty excited. I'll post pictures when I get back.

Also, fall, especially in Seattle, especially on the UW campus, is gorgeous. That is all.

Photo from biggarphotography.com

Besalu Deliciousness

I went to Cafe Besalu, in Ballard, today, for the first time in a really long while. I'd forgotten how much I love it! My quasi-uncle Andy (he was actually my mother's best friend, they knew each other since high school, but he's like family), introduced me to it right after I moved to Seattle. He's been going there since they opened, so he knows the owner and a lot of the staff. The owner's name is James, he has a philosophy degree (random), and he's super nice. Anyway, Besalu has great coffee and DELICIOUS pastry. I had a blueberry danish today, and I also really love their ginger biscuits and nectarine tart . . . everything there is amazing. So go! They're closed for the next two weeks because James and his wife are going on vacation, but normally they're open Wednesday-Sunday from 7am-3pm. There's sometimes a really line, but it's well worth it, and also they're right next to the Java Bean, which also has really good coffee and shorter lines, so some people buy Java Bean coffee while they wait in line for Besalu (which has better coffee and infinitely better pastry).

"And what would happen to me, may I ask, if I loved all the children I said goodbye to?" (Mary Poppins)

I was thinking a lot about that quote today. It was the last day for many of the children in the prekindergarten class I've worked in almost every day for almost a year. I've gotten really, really attached to some of the kids, and it was hard for me to tell them goodbye. I think it was hard in a way for some of the kids, too, but they handled it the way five-year-olds handle a lot of things . . . by acting goofy and overexcited. One little girl spent the whole afternoon running away from me, jokingly refusing to give me a hug, acting like a little spaz when I tried to take a picture with her . . . and then right before her dad took her home for the day, she came and wrapped herself around my legs and said "Goodbye forever, Beatrice." I came very, very close to crying. I also came very, very close to making her father sign a legal contract that he would have me over to babysit, ("This is my phone number, here's my email. Call anytime. Seriously!"). The other time I almost cried was when I was giving a goodbye hug to a little boy I really love, and I guess my eyes were already welling up, cause he looked confused and said "Why does it look like you're going to cry?" Um, because you're adorable and I'm going to miss you like crazy, that's why!!

Another quote I've been thinking a lot about today:

"Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing." ~G.M. Trevelyan

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

I just finished this book; actually, I'm pretty sure it's been one of the major factors, second only to post-work exhaustion, that has kept me from unpacking at my new place over this past week. I loved it! It's earned a permanent spot on my bookshelf and on my "favorites" list. There is not a single person I wouldn't recommend it to.

The book is told, mostly from the point of view of Codi Noline, a woman in her thirties with an unconventional past, who is very uncertain of what she wants in life. The book begins when her younger sister, Hallie, from whom she has been inseparable since birth, moves to Nicaragua to do humanitarian work. After her sister leaves, Codi moves back to her hometown in rural Arizona to visit/set up care for her father, who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her father was a doctor and a single parent -- their mother died when they were little -- and he was always stern and distant. She didn't keep in touch with him in adulthood, so it's awkward for her to go back and see him now. Furthermore, when she arrives in Grace, her hometown, she discovers it's on the brink of an environmental crisis.

. . . that's really all the plot information I can share without giving too much away. I could never be a professional book reviewer. I always find it impossible to really describe why I think a certain book is good. I'm a Comparative Literature major, I can analyze books from here to next Christmas, but I can't seem to adequately describe why certain books tug on my heartstrings in ways that make me love them. I'll settle for sharing some of my favorite quotes from Animal Dreams:

"It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around."

"God, why does a mortal man have children? It is senseless to love anything this much."


"'Why do you suppose the poets talk about hearts?' he asked me suddenly. 'When they discuss emotional damage? The tissue of hearts is as tough as a shoe. Did you ever sew up hearts?'
"I shook my head. 'No, but I've watched. I know what you mean.' The walls of a heart are thick and strong, and the surgeons use heavy needles. It takes a good bit of strength, but it pulls together neatly. As much as anything, it's like binding a book.
"'The seat of human emotion should be the liver,' Doc Homer said. 'That would be an appropriate metaphor: we don't hold love in our hearts, we hold it in our livers.'
"I understand exactly. Once in ER I saw a woman who'd been stabbed everywhere, most severely in the liver. It's an organ with the consistency of layer upon layer of wet Kleenex. Every attempt at repair just opens new holes that tear and bleed. You try to close the wound with fresh wounds, and you try and you try and you don't give up until there's nothing left."


Incidentally, two other Kingsolver books that I really enjoyed are The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees.

My fabulous day in Pike Place Market

On Saturday, the lovely Megan and I headed down to Pike Place Market to enjoy Seattle in the sunshine (when that happens, you take advantage of it!). We had a great time, and hit up some really cool places, so I thought I'd share some photos:

"Sisters," where we had lunch. This place rocks! It's in Post Alley, and it's a pretty tiny place, like most places in Post Alley, but man, their tomato and mozzarella paninis are excellent! Plus, it's an open cafe . . . there's basically no front wall or window; if you're sitting at the counter, you're practically outside. There are actual tables outside, too, which is where Megan and I sat, and what with being on a cobblestone street, and having a street performer not five feet from us, we both agreed that it felt a little like being in Europe. And hey, who doesn't love a chance to pretend they're in Europe


After lunch, we grabbed some iced coffee at Local Color. It's Megan's favorite coffee place, and would be one of mine, except I don't like it that their 120z beverage only contains one shot (I feel like every espresso drink should have at least two shots in it, but that may be just me). Aside from that, though, it is truly excellent. Good coffee, if you pay the extra 55 cents or whatever for the extra shot, and lots of pretty quality art by local artists on the walls, often Seattle-themed. I've never once gone in there and not felt compelled to hang around and check out all the pictures, and have more than once considered buying something (never have, though).


We went to this little bookstore in the downstairs part of the market . . . I wanted to live there! I couldn't find a sign to take a picture of, and actually didn't know what it was called until just recently: it's the Lionheart Bookstore. It has lots of used and new books at really good prices; I got a copy of Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver in perfect condition for $7.50. They sell a lot of the Dover Thrift Editions of the classics; they're all around $3.00 NEW, which is pretty rocking in my opinion. And the guy who was behind the counter when we were there (I think he must be the owner) is friendly and hilarious. He calls out random things to you while you're shopping, like quotes from the books you're looking at, or, in my case, when I was looking at a journal "Young lady, that journal has a secret pocket!" The way he said it cracked both Megan and me up. But anyway, since I couldn't find a good sign to photograph, I just photographed the front of the store. And yes, that is the children's classic Everyone Poops in the window. We debated buying it and reading it to Megan's class of prekindergarteners . . . that wouldn't cause a full-scale riot of five-year-old giggling or anything.

We got some ice cream, sat by the water, and watched the boats.


And on our way out we stopped to watch these guys . . . my favorite street performers EVER. These guys are amazing; I see them almost every time I go to the market. They're an a cappella group called A Moment in Time, and they sing oldies songs like "My Girl" and "Somebody to Lean On" and they usually attact a pretty sizeable crowd.


So the moral of the story is that every day should be a sunny Saturday in Seattle spent wandering the market with an awesome friend :).

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Last Thursday, several of my co-worker friends and I gathered at the Ram to celebrate the continued existence of the amazing Aaron Miller!


Aaron in his birthday regalia.


Yes, the Ram serves a kind of beer called the Buttface, and I find that hysterical because my inner four-year-old is alive and well. That is all.

Anderson Island and Cute Furry Animals

So this trip literally happened more than two months ago (the date of this post is an approximation, I can't even remember exactly when we went), but I was looking through photos and decided to post some from my first visit of the year to Anderson Island. My family owns a little cabin there that's one of my favorite places in the world; you may have heard me talk about it. For you geographically-minded people out there, Anderson Island is the southernmost island in Puget sound, it's technically part of Pierce County, it's about 20 minutes by ferry ride from Steilacoom, and it's very close to McNeil Island, where the prison is (now there's a charming recommendation . . . Anderson Island's very safe, though, no worries).


On the ferry ride over.


This is the one grocery store on the island, where we stopped for some supplies. We also stepped into the nursery that's next door, where we met the adorable little guy pictured below . . .


Cocoa Mo!!!!!! He belongs to the lady who owns the Anderson Island Nursery, and he's basically the dictionary definition of adorable.

Then we went to the cabin!



We still use kerosene lamps in the main cabin; it doesn't have electricity because my grandfather wanted it to stay rustic and historical. The annex in back of the main cabin does have electricity. Oh, and the painting in the back was done by my Aunt Marion; it's of driftwood on the beach.


Here's the beautiful, rocky beach, the kind of beach I think you only find in Washington.


Before I headed back to Seattle, I went to my Uncle Neil and Aunt Jamie's house and met their new litter of foster kittens! They do this thing where you adopt a pregnant cat, house her while she has her kittens, keep the kittens until they're old enough to be adopted, and then Mama and babies go back to the shelter, and hopefully (knock on wood) to good homes. This was their second litter, and it was basically all I could do not to adopt every single one of them on the spot.