Bus Love/Hate

A large portion of my life is spent waiting here for this beauty to pick me up and take me home

I have a love/hate relationship with the bus.

Hate about the bus:

-the bus only comes every half hour meaning I'm either really early or really late

-the bus arrival time is inconsistent - some days it comes 10 minutes late and other days it's right on time

-water of unknown cleanliness drips from the ceiling onto my lap during rainstorms - and unlike utah it actually rains heavily here

-the 4B bus takes at least 7 minutes longer than 4A or 4H - this is usually the bus that is running during my commuting hours. nice.

-one bus driver ignored my stop request because the turn light was green and he wanted to make the light...i reminded him to stop, he looked at me, ignored me and then stopped at the next stop saying "here you go". nice.

-it takes 25+ minutes to go 4 miles East to Rosslyn

-the bus doesn't go to Georgetown - i have to catch another bus from Rosslyn to get to campus

-i'm completely dependent on the bus. if it doesn't run because of snow (i heard that happened for a whole week last year) i'll be forced to drive and pay an exorbitant amount to park. it's a scary feeling.

-the drivers are sometimes scary. just sometimes but that's enough for me to be a little wary.

Love about the bus:

-the drivers and passengers are usually so friendly! it is unusual to watch a person just get on the bus and sit down - there is typically a warm and welcoming exchange from the bus driver like, "Good morning!" or "Hello" and as people get off at their stop they always thank the driver even if they have to yell it from the back of the bus "Thank you sir (or ma'am), have a great day!"

-it's inexpensive - $1.50 to ride wherever you need to go ($3 a day - not too shabby)

-they have cool SmarTrip cards that act like debit cards - you load money onto the card and then you pay your fare by placing the card near the reader - the fare is automatically subtracted from your balance. but wait, there's more, you don't even have to get the card out of your wallet - radio frequency senses your card even through a thick, leather wallet

-a cute older man sat next to me one day and told me that he makes a point to say good morning to someone on the bus every day - what a nice idea

-the stop is literally .17 miles from my doorstep - so close

-it's always a nice temperature inside the bus

-it's typically never - seats are almost always guaranteed

-i get to people watch like never before. interesting people in the area.

-the same homeless people at Rosslyn station now recognize me and say hello. neat.

-i get to see the Washington Memorial pierce into the sky every morning on the drive

ultimately the good outweighs the bad. i'm glad i have a reasonably convenient way to get home.

Fall has Arrived

I went to the Falls Church Farmer's Market this morning with my roommate. It was cold and rainy - totally indicative of fall - and so much fun! Things added to my refrigerator: zucchini, apples, and basil. I was particularly excited about the apples because I haven't been able to find any good, crisp ones since I have been here.

After the market we stopped at a cute pumpkin patch. I love fall!

What Got Me Through

I saw this picture and it made me smile from ear to ear - something that has been hard to come by lately.

So the past 2 weeks have been rough ones - the ones where all I want to do is run home and snuggle with my mom and dad and tell them everything. Although I don't have my parents close, my sister Jamie and her husband Jon live about 5 hours away in CT. They were so gracious to come to D.C. last weekend to get my mind off of some things. I love what my remarkable family can to do lift and strengthen me.

While they were here we talked about life - we did other things but the details don't matter. What matters is that they were here for me when I needed them the most.

Thanks for coming Jamie and Jon. You two are wonderful.

We are nerds together. I love Jamie's face, Jon's prominent chin, and the fact that I look like I drooled onto my shirt. Best picture ever.

Sour Milk

My brother Trevor (Mr. T) had to write a creative story about a topic assigned by his 5th grade teacher. He got sour milk. I have to remind you that he is 10 years old. Pretty sharp vocab for his age. He's adorable. Love him.

I trudged up the long, steep hill that led to my house. After a long grueling day in Mr. Malmrose’s classroom, the thought of a tall, cool glass of chocolate milk filled my mind. I took the last step, opened the door and excitedly sprinted toward the fridge. I opened the fridge and grabbed the milk and Hershey’s Chocolate syrup. Once I grabbed the cup, I carefully poured the milk into the glass. Then I added the delectable chocolate syrup to the perfect amount. I raced to the cupboard that held the spoons and grabbed one. Then I vigorously stirred, making sure that the chocolate was completely mixed in. I lifted the glass to my lips and took a huge gulp. Immediately my taste buds sounded an alarm saying, “This tastes dreadfully wrong!” Could this milk be rotten? I looked at the expiration date and, sure enough, the milk had expired two weeks ago. To make sure, I took a long whiff of that putrid gallon of milk. My nose hairs curled at the terrible stench of sour milk. After dreaming of chocolate milk, my expectations went down the drain, just as that sour milk did.

My Morning Run

Although I haven't been exercising regularly recently, I had the chance to get a morning run in last Friday.

Most clinical mornings (Fridays) go like this:

-wake up at 4:45, 50, 55 - 5:00 can't wait any longer

-shower and get ready

-pack a lunch for my long day

-catch my bus at 6:15 am

-read scriptures while riding for 25 minutes

-run across campus to the hospital

-start clinical at 7 am

A run before clinical sounds so refreshing right? SO - you're probably thinking that I was a maniac and got up even earlier to get a run in before clinical. If you were thinking that I actually did that, you apparently don't know me that well (but we should be friends because you have great expectations).

Last Friday I was taking my time getting ready and realized it was time to go. Thankfully I still had PLENTY of time before my bus was supposed to come (about 3 minutes). Most of the time they are late so that left me even more time.

As I meandered out of my apartment I looked down the hill and noticed that my 6:15 bus was already at the stop. My stomach dropped. The next bus wasn't scheduled to come until 6:45 and I would definitely be late for clinical if I waited and caught the later bus. Shoot. SO, backpack and all, I started to sprint. I J-walked/ran dangerously through the busy Patrick Henry & Leesburg Pike intersection and ALMOST caught my bus. I was about a half block away when it pulled away. BAH!

At that point I almost gave up. I thought about just paying $25 to park my car at Georgetown for the day or to just catch the later bus. Then I realized that with option a) I would lose $25 b) I would be extremely late for clinical - neither option I really wanted to occur.

So, I continued to run. And run. And run. My legs were wobbly from muscle fatigue and I felt my knee cap play with the idea of dislocating a few times. I was scared but I just couldn't stop. Apparently money and time are great motivators for me (my weakness is exposed - you can manipulate me later). I said a fervent but not very reverent prayer as I was sprinting to catch the bus. I asked Heavenly Father to allow me to catch the bus and for my knee to cooperate in the process. Thankfully my knee cap stayed in and the Arlington Blvd traffic light kept the bus waiting for a solid 5 minutes just in time for me to catch up with the bus. I knocked on the door and the bus driver was kind enough to let me in. Prayers are answered! Even if what you are asking for seems dumb. If it is important to me it's important to the Lord. Blessings.

You bet your bottom dollar I studied my scriptures for that whole bus ride while trying to catch my breath.

The irony behind this whole story - there was road construction on Arlington and so our bus sat in construction traffic for about 5 minutes. We finally got going again but were forced to take a random detour that added another 5-7 minutes to the bus ride. 12 extra minutes on the bus. Great. I got to Rosslyn station at 6:55 and had to catch another bus from Rosslyn to Georgetown (about a 7 minute bus ride). Guess who was late for clinical anyway? Me.

I should have waited for the 6:45 bus. The end.

Chinos

If I had a dollar for every pair of men's chino shorts I have seen on Georgetown's campus I would probably be approaching millionaire status.

Welcome to the land of well-dressed boys. Georgetown boys A) know what chino shorts are B) wear chinos regularly C) have chino shorts in every color - I have seen mint green, green, sea foam green, emerald, butter yellow, bright yellow, purple, navy, baby blue, white, pink, salmon, orange, and EVEN seer-sucker D) on occasion have their shorts embroidered with sail boats, anchors, or anything preppy E) wear belts, watches, and Sperry's to match these chinos.

To top it all off, their hair looks like this:

For all of you Bachelorette lovers, Ames would fit perfectly here

It's a different world over here in the Eastern part of the globe.

Georgetown

This is where I go to school. It's neat. I kind of like it.