The End of The World as We Know it

Sorry, I have had these lyrics stuck in my head all day and it seems fitting since the Mayan's "predicted" the end of the world tomorrow. Or as I like to think, they stopped charting the calendar because it was so far in the future that why should they continue? But here is the REM song so you can all get it stuck in your head too!

I had another thought on this matter as well. If the world is ending as we know it, maybe that means there will be peace and the world will be a better place? Just an optimistic thought.

Break has been relaxing. I may or may not have been sleeping in till noon everyday. I think my body needs all this sleep.

But mostly I have been cooking, relaxing, working out and seeing friends.

Here are two examples of my lovely dishes. They are zucchini lasagna and beef pad thai (See Shelly, I can cook).

On Friday night, for my friend Lance's birthday, we all dressed up in our finest (some of us were in our prom outfits) and heading to Targy's on Queen Anne. The night was a blast and it ended with some of us at Dick's (the burger joint in Seattle).

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Tomorrow, Chris and I are heading to Portland to see some friends. I will keep you updated on my travels.

Is your holiday season going well?

Ten Things About Me

Here are ten things that most people don't know about me. I thought this post would be fun!

1.) I prefer plastic silverware over metal. My mom bought me re-useable plasticware from Crate and Barrel one year for my birthday and if given a choice, I would always use plastic over metal.

2.) My two favorite foods are chocolate and ice cream, but I don't like chocolate ice cream.

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3.) I love bananas, but I don't like banana flavored things. I love watermelon flavored things, but I don't like watermelon.

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4.) I read magazines from back to front. There are less ads in the back, so it keeps my interest up.

5.) I have worked construction - okay, it was in the office, but I did get to go onto the job site once and a while.

6.) I don't like mustard or mayo, but I am trying to get into mustard on my sandwiches.

7.) I am professional singer in the shower and in the car. I don't get paid, but I should.

8.) I can play piano and guitar. I am a little rusty on both, but as you can tell, I am really into music.

9.) I ski, run, cycle, and I was a gymnasts. Theme? Yes, I don't play team sports

10.) I don't like board games...that is why they are called BORED games. I endure them with friends and family because I have fun hanging out with them, but I would NEVER suggest playing a board game EVER!

What are some quirky things about you?

Down Time

I'm done with my semester. Let me tell you, it was a doozie. Classes from 8am to 6pm most days with more projects than ever before, but I still had to find time to study (sleep, eat, and exercise). Yes, I am looking for sympathy, so feel free to give me cookies, chocolate, and presents (or just say, that sounds like it sucked :) But I am done, I passed all of my classes and starting in January, I am in the clinic for 3 months, almost like a real PT. Scary huh?

My 6th out of 6 finals, which happened to be on Dec 6th (you see, my program is satan), finished up around 9:30am, so naturally, a few of us went to the store to buy mimosa makings. It is totally acceptable to drink mimosas and bloody mary's before noon! Later that evening, we partied like we have been studying for 3 months straight. It was awesome.

The next day (Friday), I headed up to L.A. to see my entire family (Ben flew down from San Fran, and My mom, dad, and Shelly were in from Seattle), including my faux family the Corre's. We had dinner together at a lovely restaurant in Manhattan Beach, then headed back to the Corre's house in Brentwood.

Bonnie and her daughter, Melissa started making one of the kind jewelry. My mom bought beautiful gold and platinum earrings. http://loveandpiecejewelry.com/. Check out their stuff. It is all beautiful and both Bonnie and Melissa are personal jewelry's that can customize any piece of jewelry.

On Saturday, the Short family headed to the Valley to see some cousins we haven't seen in 20 years. It was amazing to see them again! They live on a lake and we took a Duffy (party boat) to a cute little restaurant. Our two families (well we are really one family!) talked as if we see each other every weekend. It was so fun to catch up! It is really nice to re-connect with family.

Swans from the boat

The Fam on the boat

The "kid" cousins at lunch 

Sunday, my mom and I ran 8 miles. We ran from Brentwood, down San Vicente to Santa Monica (the beach). Sitting on your butt for 2 weeks straight is a really great way to get out of shape fast. I ran a half marathon 2 weeks ago, and running 8 miles was extremely hard. I ended up having to walk a little bit of it, but moving felt so good. I am so excited to get back in shape this next month.

Currently I am catching up on my television programs (Dexter!) and spending as much time relaxing as possible.

Here are some fun pictures to end this post :)

photo credit: Shelly's FB

 Here the story of George meeting Lyla for the first time. He was confused to what "that" is

A picture of the Seattle Space-needle the day Pot became legal to smoke. Overdoing it a bit Seattlelites?

Thanksgiving Week

This past week was Thanksgiving. We had a brutal presentation on Tuesday and a final right after that. The presentation was for my ortho class and we were "presenting" to doctors, so we came up with a Physical Therapy clinic and I created a website for that clinic: http://leanonourshoulderpt.blogspot.com/ - just for laughs, here it is. The presentation was nerve racking, but at least I had fun making this website!
Tuesday night after the beating, I headed home to Seattle!

The weather was cold, crisp, and at times, rainy, but I loved every second of it!

Plus I got to see friends and family!

Including all of my cats. This is George!

On Saturday after Thanksgiving I completed my 26th half marathon: The Seattle Ghost Half

And here is the medal to prove it (and it is a beer opener). The Seattle Ghost half marathon is the "ghost" of the Seattle half and full marathon from 26 years ago. It was the same route and on Saturday until the current Seattle Marathon changed to the Sunday after Thanksgiving and starting/finishing at Seattle Center.

This was a really nice race. Only about 300 people can sign up. There is a half marathon, full marathon, and for those crazy folk, a 50k. It is along Lake Washington Blvd from Seward Park to Leschi and back, so not only is it beautiful, it is completely flat. I highly suggest this race to anyone who is looking to avoid the crowds, burn off some Turkey dinner, and loves beautiful scenery. http://www.nwultras.com/ghost_main.htm

There were 2 water stations, so I brought my own water bottle, but at the end of the race there are bagels and cream cheese (typical post race food), coffee, hot dogs, chili, chicken noodle soup and beer. Amazing, especially after running 13.1 miles and especially at 10am!

When I got home, I placed my new medal in my collection of medals. I am missing 5 from this board (two are hanging on my wall in California and three are Tiffany necklaces), but it is fun to look back at the races that I have done and how much fun they have all been.

I am currently back in Orange where I have 2 practical tests this week and 6 finals next week, but then I am done for 3 weeks! I have been spending a lot of time at school studying and so have all of my classmates

I don't think this classmate made it. Oh well, at least they don't have to go through finals week.

Spirituality

I am taking a psychology and cultural diversity class this semester. One of the topics we talked about was religion and spirituality with healthcare outcomes. Studies have shown that people who are more spiritual tend to have better healthcare outcomes, are less depressed, less anxiety, and live longer.

I thought about this for a second and thought "well I'm screwed." I have never considered myself a very spiritual person. I practice Judaism and enjoy the culture and traditions of my religion and I am excited to celebrate Christmas and Easter with my new family, but I don't dive into either religion with much depth.

Then I thought about it. I am a spiritual person.

The Mayo Clinic states:
Spirituality has many definitions, but at its core spirituality helps to give our lives context. It's not necessarily connected to a specific belief system or even religious worship. Instead, it arises from your connection with yourself and with others, the development of your personal value system, and your search for meaning in life.

With this definition I AM a spiritual person. Running, yoga, hiking, music, etc are what make me a spiritual person. I don't go to Church or Temple every weekend, but I do ritualistically take a long run every weekend. I have a whole process that I run through (ha ha, play on words) and I must do all of my rituals before I head out the door. I prefer to do long runs with other people, but I am happy to run on my own. It allows me to clear my head, it gives me a purpose (usually I am training for a race) and when I do run with others, it allows me to connect with them. It is a time when my thoughts are concentrated on either the music I am listening to or the people I am running with. 

I could go on about the other aspects of my life that make me a spiritual person, but I won't.

I will say, that it is important to be spiritual. It gives you something to look forward to, whether it is walking with a friend every Saturday afternoon, reading the newspaper every morning, taking an exercise class the same time every week, or watching a TV show. These are things that you look forward to, that make life more fun, give it context, develops your personal value system.

So here is to Spirituality and Health!

http://improve-your-running.com/running-tips/running-form

What makes you a spiritual person?

Only if There is Time...

There is not enough time in the day to do everything I want. I had to make a a tough choice recently and that was to cancel my yoga membership. I go to Yoga Works in Costa Mesa and I really enjoy the studio, teachers, and the classes they offer, but it is too far away and I am paying way too much money to only be going a few times a month. Luckily there was a Groupon for another yoga studio that I have been to and enjoy (Center Yoga) that is much closer. I love going to yoga and I would go 4 or 5 times a week if I had the time, but that is just not possible right now :(

Otherwise, I am almost done with the semester (exactly a month from today). And although I am not getting the same stress feeling as I was last year, that concerns me even more, because I have a lot to do in the next 4 weeks...and boy is time flying.

Onto some Fun news...I bought a wedding dress. That is all I am going to say about it. I tried it on a few months ago and have been thinking about it ever since. A local bridal boutique had a trunk show that was featuring the dress I had tried on at a discount. So I forced Lauren to go with me, tried on a few other dresses (just to make sure) and when I put on "my" dress, I knew that I had to buy it. I can't wait to get it.

Also, Chris and I are choosing a date and a location within the next two weeks, so stay posted. So far we have a few places in mind...

Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, CA

 Alderbrook - Union, WA

The Bellwether Hotel - Bellingham, WA

Has anyone had to give up something they love because of work, school, time, etc?

Sorry for the Delay

Life has been coming at me full force.  Let me catch you up on the past couple of weeks. There have been a few events since I last blogged.

1st of all, the middle weekend I was in San Fran, Chris flew into town on Thursday Nov 11th, and a few girl friends and their significant other flew into Berkley on Friday night. I met up with them after work. It was a quiet Friday night and we went to bed before midnight.

The reason for all the Seattle peeps flying into the Bay area was because we were doing the Nike Women's race (2 of us the 1/2 marathon, 2 of us the full). The expo was a little crazy and I didn't really stick around after I picked up my bib because it took me an hour just to get that. But the race was great! Chris and I stayed 2 blocks away from the starting line, the weather was wonderful and as always, the scenery can't be beat. I did a moderate time, but I wasn't looking to push myself. I officially finished my 25th half marathon once I crossed that finish line and got my shinny Tiffany's Necklace/Medal

Entertainment as I was waiting in line to get my race packet

I really love the medal and I have been wearing it as much as possible.

After the race, my friends and Chris went back to Seattle, but I had one more week of work, exploring the city and hanging out with my brother.

Ben and I watching the Seahawks game at a bar

I have always wanted to run to the Golden Gate Bridge, so my brother and I ran there the Wednesday after my race. I think it was about 7miles, but it felt good.

 The picture is a little blurry, but I was excited to check off my list run to the Golden Gate Bridge.

After an amazing two weeks in San Fran, it was time for me to leave. 1st stop, Seattle. Actually 1st trip...to the Oakland airport...On Friday the 19th, my plane took off from Oakland at 8pm. I got off work late that day and still needed to pack when I got home. At 6:20pm, I realized that I needed to leave for the airport. Andy, Ben's roommate and one of Chris's buds, drove me to the Bart station downtown (driving to the airport would have taken longer). Luckily the train I needed pulled up as soon as I got there. But we only made it a few stops and the train stopped for what felt like an eternity (probably was only 5 to 10 mins). It was now almost 7pm and I should be at the airport already. Once the train started moving again, a woman (named Annie), stood next to me. Since I am a chatty person, I struck up a conversation with her. It turns out that her 18 y.o. daughter goes to Chapman. I also asked her how I can get from the Bart station to the Oakland airport. Long story long, it requires a shuttle and $3 cash, which my pockets were empty. Annie (the stranger, not me), reached into her wallet and pulled out all the cash that she had. It was $2, and insisted that I take the money. She felt horrible that she didn't have an extra dollar. That is when a man stood up and gave me a dollar. Here I am, probably looking flustered, and two strangers reach out and give me their kindness. I told both of them that I was so appreciative and didn't even know how to say thank you, except that I am going to pay it forward at a greater magnitude.

I managed to make it to the airport at 7:55pm and my flight was delayed. I didn't know that, so I ran with my luggage to the far end of the airport and realized that they hadn't even started loading the plane. At least I made it.

The next night was Mike and Emily's wedding:

The ladies at the wedding

The whole gang

It was a beautiful wedding. Chris and I definitely took notes.

I flew back to Orange the next day for a week of school and then Chris flew into town for Halloween. I will sum up the weekend with pictures:

The mask to Chris's wolf costume (team Jacob)

Friday night party with the classmates

Saturday night party with the homies (team Edward)

It has been a busy few weeks and I didn't even bore you with the details of all my school work. But the past few weeks were definitely fun.

San Francisco Dreamin'

Last week sucked. I had 3 tests, 1 practical and a quiz. And to top it all off, I was really sick.

It was a bad week. I needed lots of carbs and sweets to eat.

But that is all over...

I am up in the bay area for a 2 week clinical at California Pac Med Hospital. I have always wanted to live in San Fran, and I think this is a great way for me to have my cake and eat it too. I drove up with my roommate, Lauren, who showed me a lovely time around the east bay (Oakland and Pleasant Hill).

Here are some pictures of San Fran from a hill top in Oakland.

 A lovely street in Oakland

 Amazing Ice cream shop in Oakland. "Fentons"

 View of San Fran from Oakland

I made it into San Fran on Sunday night right before the start of my clinical. So far the whole experience has been great. My commute is an easy bus ride less than 20 mins away. I am working in in-patient rehab which means that I work with people who have just had a stroke or complications with surgery. I got to treat my first patient all by myself today. It was exhilarating. The days go by fast and I am having so much fun. I really like in-patient rehab because it is a nice mixture of ortho and acute care PT. Plus you can wear scrubs which is about the same as wearing PJs or yoga clothing.

I really enjoy San Francisco. I love the way big cities feel. After work I took the Muni downtown. Public transportation is so convenient. When I got off the train downtown, there were so many people. The city is so alive. Plus all the old buildings have so much character. I met my brother downtown at his office.

Here is my bro working on what ever he does at work :)

Then we went went to happy hour

My brother and I drank martini's at the House of Shields in the Financial district in downtown San Fran

 We walked up Montgomery...and saw the Transamerica Pyramid.

Down town San Fran

Photo Credit: Ben Short

And when we finally made it to the top of Telegraph Hill across from the Coit tower. The view of the Bay Bridge was absolutely beautiful.

Photo Credit: Ben Short

Ben and I ate at a delicious pizza place at Tony's Pizza Napoletana in North Beach. My brother and I got meatballs, beer, caesar salad and a huge Italian Style pizza. We got so much food that I definitely have lunch and dinner tomorrow.