Thursday, June 22, 2006

I heart New York...

So this past weekend, I went to NYC to visit Kimmy for a long weekend. It was great to have a local to guide me around and of course she's always fun to hang out with. We had a wonderful time just walking around, shopping at Chinatown, haggling, eating ice cream and seeing shows, etc. I think one of my favorite parts was just walking around in Times Square and 42nd street the first night I got there. It was hotter during the day than I would've liked (after all I was trying to escape the Texas heat) but at least it never hit 100 degrees... so I guess I can't really complain; the evenings were generally the perfect temperature.

This was only my second visit to NYC, but it was probably the best. The first time I went my mom was so worried that someone would mug and/or kill us that we didn't get out and do as much as I'd hoped we would. We did see quite a few shows though, so it has a leg up in that department. My most recent visit was more relaxing and laid back, so it felt more like a vacation than a sight-seeing, pack-it-all-in kind of trip. I actually spent quite a bit of time roaming the city by myself, which was great and amazingly I never felt unsafe. I loved going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and being able to look at it all at my own pace and with my own soundtrack (provided by the "shuffle songs" feature on my ipod mini); I highly recommend it! On the cab ride over, the cabbie asked me about art and what my favorites were... and then said, "perhaps you will be an artist in a future life; you never know, you could be an artist inside." It was really cute, and took me by surprise how persistent he was in this belief. I have always wanted to try out be an artist, but never got to take the classes (too many other fine arts classes). If med school doesn't work out, maybe I'll go to photography school (and/or be a back up singer, of course)!

I did some shopping on Fifth Avenue to pass the time (I stayed out of the hoity toity "designer" shops; I've seen "Pretty Woman" and how they can sense "those who don't belong"!) I got a really cute skirt at Ann Taylor (on sale of course, to make it jive with my med student budget) and then shopped around for a shirt to match. It was a lot of fun... despite the fact that my original plan was to go to the Museum of Modern Art on my last afternoon. I showed up at the museum at 10:30am (the open around 10am) and the line was already almost all the way down the block. I decided that I didn't want to spend my last few hours in the city in a line and then not have time to actually look through the museum.

My celebrity sightings for this visit number three. I saw Wendie Malick (the "old" model on "Just Shoot Me"), she walked past me on the street; David Hasselhoff and Brandy from about 30 feet away at the Today show. I'm not sure if Al Roker and Ann Curry count or not, but I took pictures of them anyway, since I watch them most mornings!

Kimmy and I also tried out for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" on Saturday. We had to take a multiple choice test with thirty questions and out of about 50 people, they took about 6 to interview. Neither of us got an interview, so I guess we didn't cut it! I've decided I don't watch enough TV shows to be good at a show like that... I've never seen Bernie Mac, so how would I know what his youngest child's name is?! It was a fun experience, allowed us to see a different part of the city (I even got to walk by Julliard, which made me feel more musical!) and I got to chat with some native New Yorkers who were really friendly. It's another random thing that will be fun to tell my grandchildren someday. New York has such a palpable, exciting energy... I hope to visit again soon. That's it in a nutshell! I've posted some pictures from the trip too for your viewing pleasure.


Radio City... I couldn't resist taking a picture on one of my shopping excursions. Posted by Picasa


Kimmy and I went to see "The Wedding Singer" which is a wonderful musical! It kept us laughing, had some catchy songs and some hilarious costumes... all in all, a perfect vacation musical experience. Posted by Picasa


Here's one of my attempts to be a "street photographer"! I kind of felt like a stalker, but at least my camera has quite a zoom, so it was a little less invasive... I won't bore you with any of the others :) Posted by Picasa


Central Park... it was a warm day and a Sunday, so there were tons of people out enjoying the weather. Posted by Picasa


I heart The Metropolitan Museum of Art... really wish I could live there! And I love how everyone just sits around on the steps after we were all herded out. Posted by Picasa


Moesha, Moesha, Moesha... Brandy was giving someone in the audience some attitude. Posted by Picasa


The judges for "America's Got Talent" were at the Today show to audition some New Yorkers. Posted by Picasa


Hey... don't hassle the hoff! Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Die another day...



I'm sure I'll face tougher tests in my life and I'm not necessarily looking forward to those days, but it is nice to have this first one under my belt and out of the way! I added up all the ones I wasn't sure about and I think I passed... Now let the vacation begin! I'll be leaving for NYC on Friday to visit Kimmy and I'll be back on Monday. Then class starts again on Thursday. So I guess I'm about 3 weeks away from starting my surgery rotation... ay yi yi! I think I probably should start studying right now... but I won't, I've got nothing left. Thanks so much for all the thoughts and prayers, I think it will be 3 months or so before I have and kind of results in my hand; but I have a feeling I'll have plenty to do to keep my mind off the anticipation. :)

I'll be sure to take (way too many) pictures and post some of the highlights. I'm really looking forward to buying some good books to read for my plane, cab rides and lazy days, etc... so if you have any suggestions, please let me know! Or if you have any NYC needs...

I'm brain dead, so I'm off to be to regenerate and to get some much-needed beauty sleep!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Death march...

Stephen and I are leaving for Abilene this afternoon, which means that we'll be taking our boards tomorrow. WOW. Please pray for our success, I am super-duper nervous! I'd appreciate it... and if you're in Abilene, maybe I'll get to see you while I'm there!

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Let the countdown begin...

T-minus 10 days!! I came to the stark realization earlier this evening that tomorrow marks the beginning of the single digit countdown to the boards. Wow. This test is paradoxical to me... the more you study, the less you feel you know... it's like the information required grows exponentially as I learn one new fact. Perhaps I should just stop now and cut my losses!

I hope to kick it in to high gear tomorrow. The family that's been here all weekend will be leaving, which will help. I love seeing my family (especially Zane) but it's so hard to study when you have guests; especially a little guest. Zane has climbed into my lap numerous times this weekend to see what I was doing and to "help" me push buttons on the keyboard! Well, enough whining for now... I could use any and all prayer! Happy June!

Friday, June 02, 2006

Forget the forgetting...

geez! So Heather T. gave me the link to my Johari window thingy (you da bomb!), so now I can actually look at it! So go ahead and visit if you haven't already and thanks to all of you who did. It is nice to know how you come across to other people. Apparently there's another similar one but that has bad adjectives on it... I don't know that I'm quite ready for that one yet. Perhaps I will be after my surgery rotation and have been yelled at everyday... As you can tell I've already started having nightmares about my rotations :( I'm still hoping for the best. Peace out!

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Come to Jesus...

While visiting my sister a few weeks ago we went to church with her and during the church service the childrens' choir sang "Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)" by Chris Rice. I'd heard the song before and loved it, but there was something truly special and moving hearing the kids sing it. Since then, Stephen and I have become obsessed with it (aka put it on the iPod and listen to it wherever we go) and I'm going to try and find the sheet music! I really do need to get a piano, I'm getting desperate. Let me know if you anyone comes across a reasonably priced piano or keyboard (so I can drop some birthday hints to the hubby)!

Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) by Chris Rice
Weak and wounded sinner,
Lost and left to die,
O, raise your head for Love is passing by

Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus and live

Now your burden's lifted,
And carried far away,
And precious blood has washed away the stain... so

Sing to Jesus,
Sing to Jesus ,
Sing to Jesus and live

And like a newborn baby,
Don't be afraid to crawl,
And remember when you walk sometimes we fall... so

Fall on Jesus,
Fall on Jesus,
Fall on Jesus and live

Sometimes the way is lonely,
And steep and filled with pain,
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain... then

Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus,
Cry to Jesus and live

O, and when the love splills over,
And music fills the night,
And when you can't contain you joy inside... then

Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus,
Dance for Jesus and live

And with your final heartbeat,
Kiss the world goodbye,
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side... and

Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus and live
Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus,
Fly to Jesus and live

"Foget about it..." hard to type accents!

Forget about that last post... somehow lost the link to check what people have entered! Foiled again. I guess I'm destined to be in the dark forever!