OC

This weekend I went to visit some friends in Orange County, technically, Irvine, California. Here are the people I was visiting. I feel like it is easier to list them and explain how I know them.

Ty-Ty is a Japanese guy that I meet in Japan through BEST club. He was there visiting his good friend...
Eddie-Eddie was a Navigator short term worker in Japan for two years. He was part of the team I worked with while I was there. He is from Irvine and thus we were hanging out with him and his great friends.
Kyle-Kyle was also a short term worker in Japan. He was on another campus, but I met him on a retreat. He is in the process of visiting some friends before he starts his job in DC.

So, it was the perfect time for me to come visit. I got to see 3 guys for the price of one. :). In addition to those guys, I was able to meet a friend of Ty's and a few of the ladies that were in Japan this summer and spent some quality time with my good friend Joanna. That was really, really great. Being with them, in some strange way, made me feel like I was getting to spend time with her. Is that strange?

I was planning on driving with a friend, but at the last minute he decided that he was not able to come. Which is fine. But then I was thinking, I really don't want to drive that far by myself. Maybe I should fly. And I did. I bought a plane ticket and flew. Isn't that crazy? The best part is that I don't think I spent much more than I would have spent driving. And I didn't have to drive.

When I was in the airport I realized how interesting airports are. There are so many people from so many different places. It is really cool actually. Also, the fact that people start out in a central location (the airport) and just by stepping onto different planes, end up all around the world. That is so fascinating to me. The fact that we can ride on an airplane is crazy too. God has made some pretty amazing minds to come up with the stuff that now seems so normal to us.

I had a really great time. It was so fun to spend time with those friends and the other people that I met there. I really felt a sense of community. I realized that is what I feel like I am missing. I feel like this group of friends is really living out the Hebrews verse to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds." I had real conversations with people and was encourage in my walk with Christ and challenged in good ways. More than friends, that is what I really miss about college, the people that were my support system, the people that encouraged me daily to run hard after Jesus.

Over all it was a really great weekend, had some good times and excellent company.

P.S. on the flight home I thought I was going to die. There was a big storm and it seemed like the lightning was going to take us out. And, I sat next to a Christian guy from India. India is 3% isn't it nuts that this guy is a Christian? Sweet, Huh.

One day your in, the next day your...out

I am totally completely and utterly addicted to Project Runway. Seriously, I absolutely love it. Probably to the point of insanity. I actually had the thought "What if Rach and I are in our new apartment before the season is over. What if I can't watch it?" Who does that?

On another note, I was talking to my sister on the phone tonight and she says "Where is my cell phone?" HA HA HA! It was so funny, she was on her cell phone! Tee hee! Love ya Megz, where my friends at?

Mortgage?

I met with a mortgage lender on Friday. Nothing makes me feel more like an adult than talking about a mortgage. I was asked questions like what are my financial goals. Does this guy know that I have paid more in taxes this year than I have made most of the summers of working before this? It is crazy go nuts. And, Phoenix is crazy, and I do mean crazy when it comes to real estate. What it would cost me to by a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo could buy my parent's house in Iowa. My parents have a pretty nice house. I think that my mortgage (if I acquire one) will be more than my parents. Absolutely ridiculous.

Anyway, I am in the process of prequalifying or preapproving or something. I feel like the guy is talking another language when I go in there. I will find out on Monday what the good/bad news is. I think I am still going to end up renting. I don't know if I want to live here in 3 years. I don't know if I want to live here in 18 months. I have decided that the cost of renting is fine if I consider the freedom it comes with.

Since when did buying a house become a real possibility? Weird!

I Made It!

Well, I survived my first week off orientation. It was actually really good. I am so thankful to God for how well it went actually. I know that all weeks will not go that well. I can't explain it, but I had a peace that just does not make sense. My first night was actually kind of crazy. I admitted a patient that was not doing well. When the doctors came to see him they were trying to decide if they were going to keep him on my floor or send him to ICU. The doctors were wanting this and that and they wanted all of it NOW. They were asking me to do things that I had never done before. In fact, the few things that I did not get to do on orientation I did that first night. I had a great staff supporting me as well. Praise the Lord for excellent health unit secretaries.
The next couple of nights also went relatively smoothly. Nothing big, bad and scary happened. I am thankful for that as well. I don't know if this up coming week will go as smoothly, and I know that I am bound to have bad days, but this week was a true blessing.

Megan, Church, No More Orientation

Hi, yes. We all know that I don't update my blog often. So here it is, and I have to say, some of you all are whiners. If you really want to know what is going on in my life, call. I say that will all love and affection. And, my toe is doing well. It still does not look great and I can't tell if I actually have a toenail or not, but it doesn't hurt and there is no evidence of infection and that is good enough for me.

Megan was here last week. She got here on Monday and left last night at midnight. It was really great to have her here. We really didn't do anything. We ate, went to the pool, floated down the Salt River, went to the mall, hung out at the coffee shop, and stuff like that. Basically we relaxed and spent time together like we would if we were at home. Man it is so great just to get to spend time with her. I miss her like crazy. Oh sweet November, come quickly.

The venture down the Salt River was interesting. It was kind of boring. It is supposed to be one of those relax and float down the river, enjoy the scenery type things. It was, but I found out that I must be allergic to something in the river or by the river or something. About an hour into our trip my eyes started to water. By the end of the trip I was miserable. My eyes hurt so badly that I could not keep them open. I had to hand over my keys to drive back. The problem was solved with some benadryl that resulted in a 6 hour, yes 6 hour nap. My sleep schedule is so off.

One of the really fun things we did was go to IKEA. Seriously, I had no idea how cool that store is. The stuff is not that amazing, it is starter furniture and some is really cool and some is just not my style, but the way the store is organized is one of the coolest things I have seen in my life, as far a stores go. My favorite part was the mini-apartments anywhere between 300-800 square feet. They have the whole thing designed and that rocks my face off.

On Sunday we went to church. A friend that has moved down to teach found a church online that he wanted to check out. It was pretty sweet. My cousin and her boyfriend joined us. The church was pretty typical of what I am used to from Parkview and that was nice. There was a point when I was confused about how we were observing the Lord's Supper, but all in all it was pretty great. The music was good and the message was relevant and directly from the Bible. The gospel was clearly shared and it seems like a church that I could get involved in. The kicker was that even though it is a big (4000+) church, I got a phone call today to invite me to something that the church has to offer for my age group. Of all the churches that I have tried out, this is the first one to actually give me a call. I think that is pretty cool.

When I was in church I realized how much I miss going to church. I have had to deal with some interesting feeling about "church" that I won't go into detail with, but I realized that I am missing a place of corporate worship, a place to serve and a place to grow. My Bible study is still great, don't get me wrong, but it would be nice to get "plugged in" somewhere.

The only thing that really stinks is that the church is super far away for me, at least while I am living with my aunt.

Last week was my last week on orientation. Tonight is my first night all on my own. That is pretty crazy to me. But, the thing that seems the craziest is that I am ready. I know that I have lots of challenges and hard nights in front of me, but I think that everything came together at the right time.

And on that note, I must get some more sleep before work tonight. Blog back at you again in ages, after everyone has made a comment about how I don't blog.