An early version of the headlamp.
I was trying to look coy, but instead I managed to look very evil, especially since my black coat blended in with the night. Scary!
I'm king of the world! It was really windy.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Camping Trip to Camano Island
Back in July, my friends Abby and Beth and I went camping at Camano Island State Park. The campground was very nice, the beach was very rocky and a loooonnngggg hike from the campground (it actually was just steep, not long). Abby and I came over on Friday and then Beth came Saturday night. The weather held until Sunday morning when it poured. We managed to pack up the camp (everything except the tents was put in the car the night before in anticipation of rain, this is Washington after all), in just under 30 minutes. Then we went to some cafe for lunch where I had the biggest club sandwich ever...I mean EVER! It was about 8 inches tall (ask the girls if you don't believe me) and I was only able to eat one fourth of it. I wish I had gotten a picture of this sandwich, just so people would believe me. Anyway, here are some pictures from our trip.
An early version of the headlamp.
I was trying to look coy, but instead I managed to look very evil, especially since my black coat blended in with the night. Scary!
I'm king of the world! It was really windy.
An early version of the headlamp.
I was trying to look coy, but instead I managed to look very evil, especially since my black coat blended in with the night. Scary!
I'm king of the world! It was really windy.
Trip to the Zoo
Yesterday Mom, Jenni, and I took Ethan and Gwen to the Zoo. The weather was great..overcast and cool in the AM and then sunny and warm around lunch time. I think we managed to see everything we wanted (except the nocturnal house as there was a line!). The kids even got to pet goats at the "petting zoo". Whatever happened to a variety of animals, such as pigs, cows, chickens, etc....just goats! That hardly counts as a zoo. Here are some pictures from our trip.
The kids riding the Komodo Dragon
Mom and the kids on the Monkey sculpture...they couldn't stop climbing for a good picture.
Gwen and I riding the baby elephant (don't worry, no baby elephants were harmed in the taking of this picture)
The kids riding the Komodo Dragon
Mom and the kids on the Monkey sculpture...they couldn't stop climbing for a good picture.
Gwen and I riding the baby elephant (don't worry, no baby elephants were harmed in the taking of this picture)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Night Shift Type A Personality
So folks, as much as I would like to deny it, I have a type A personality (at times, but especially at work). The other night (I can't remember which, a side effect of working nights is losing all sense of the date, day of the week, or time of day), I realized that I have not been sleeping enough. I have been moody (shocking I know), overly emotional, disoriented, and paranoid (especially about sleeping in my very safe apartment).
After much evaluation, I came to the conclusion that I was only getting about 5 hours of sleep on my days off, which is the direct result of me trying to keep a day schedule on my days off. After working my last 12 hour night shift, I would sleep from 9-12 and then take a nap from 2-3 and 6-7. Then I would try and force myself to go to bed at 11pm so I could wake at 9am so I could feel "normal". The result, is that I have deprived myself of sleep for too long and am now having a hard time sleeping due to paranoid delusions that there is some crazy demonic presence in my apartment (lack of sleep combined with to many late night episodes of Ghost Hunters and TAPS will do that to you). Note: I don't actually think there is anything demonic in my apartment, but when you are tired and you see something "move" out of the corner of your eye, the imagination runs wild!
In an effort to fix this lack of sleep and the ensuing problems related to that, I have set myself a pretty rigid schedule for sleep, eating, exercise, and even vitamins. Thank you type A personality I have inherited from my mother (its not a bad thing mom, really). Anyway, I thought you might be interested in this schedule, and feel free to beg, borrow, or steal anything that fits for you if you work nights too.
Sleeping:
Work Days: 9am-5pm
Transition Day (first off day following my last night shift): 9am-3pm, nap early evening if needed
Off Days: 4am-12pm, nap if needed mid afternoon.
Eating:
Work Days: B 5:30pm, Snack 9:30pm, L 1am, Snack 4:30am, D 8:15am
Off Days: Whenever I want, but am only allowed to eat out twice a week, not every day
*No processed foods on work days!*
High protein B and S. Balanced L and S. High Carb D
Exercise
Transition Day:5pm
Off Days: 2pm
No exercise on work days (sleep is much more important)
Meds/Vitamins:
BP Med: 5:30pm
Fish Oil/Multi Vit: 8:30am on work days and whenever I eat B on off days.
You will notice I have not assigned bathroom visits....somethings just shouldn't be scheduled!
This has gone into effect as of last night, so I haven't tweaked anything yet. Hopefully, this will get me up and running better in the next 2 weeks or so. I have also applied for a day position, which if granted, I won't actually start until next summer; but hey, at least its something to look forward to.
Well, I think I should get back to work. Good night (or morning to you day folks).
After much evaluation, I came to the conclusion that I was only getting about 5 hours of sleep on my days off, which is the direct result of me trying to keep a day schedule on my days off. After working my last 12 hour night shift, I would sleep from 9-12 and then take a nap from 2-3 and 6-7. Then I would try and force myself to go to bed at 11pm so I could wake at 9am so I could feel "normal". The result, is that I have deprived myself of sleep for too long and am now having a hard time sleeping due to paranoid delusions that there is some crazy demonic presence in my apartment (lack of sleep combined with to many late night episodes of Ghost Hunters and TAPS will do that to you). Note: I don't actually think there is anything demonic in my apartment, but when you are tired and you see something "move" out of the corner of your eye, the imagination runs wild!
In an effort to fix this lack of sleep and the ensuing problems related to that, I have set myself a pretty rigid schedule for sleep, eating, exercise, and even vitamins. Thank you type A personality I have inherited from my mother (its not a bad thing mom, really). Anyway, I thought you might be interested in this schedule, and feel free to beg, borrow, or steal anything that fits for you if you work nights too.
Sleeping:
Work Days: 9am-5pm
Transition Day (first off day following my last night shift): 9am-3pm, nap early evening if needed
Off Days: 4am-12pm, nap if needed mid afternoon.
Eating:
Work Days: B 5:30pm, Snack 9:30pm, L 1am, Snack 4:30am, D 8:15am
Off Days: Whenever I want, but am only allowed to eat out twice a week, not every day
*No processed foods on work days!*
High protein B and S. Balanced L and S. High Carb D
Exercise
Transition Day:5pm
Off Days: 2pm
No exercise on work days (sleep is much more important)
Meds/Vitamins:
BP Med: 5:30pm
Fish Oil/Multi Vit: 8:30am on work days and whenever I eat B on off days.
You will notice I have not assigned bathroom visits....somethings just shouldn't be scheduled!
This has gone into effect as of last night, so I haven't tweaked anything yet. Hopefully, this will get me up and running better in the next 2 weeks or so. I have also applied for a day position, which if granted, I won't actually start until next summer; but hey, at least its something to look forward to.
Well, I think I should get back to work. Good night (or morning to you day folks).
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Snail races and other things single people do to entertain themselves
So...what do a bunch of single 20 somethings do for fun on the 3rd of July....we have snail races! Actually, we had a BBQ for community group, THEN we had the snail race. The house we were at had a ton of snails, and one of the guys thought it would be fun to have a contest to see which snail was the fastest. Out came the fingernail polish to adorn the particularly lucky snails...they were covered in dots, a smiley face, and several styles of racing stripes. It was then decided that we needed a finish line, so the ribbon basket was brought outside and a nice pink ribbon was adorned with "finish" and stakes between two twigs pushed into the grass across the sidewalk. The contestant were lined up and then off they went! Smiley took the early lead, but then Norman put out the slime and pulled ahead. The race was antenna to antenna the whole time, but Norman won by a fraction. After a round of cheering, he was given the place of honor in the bushes, where he would be safe for a while. There are pictures and a video floating around, so when I can get a hold of them, I will post them here.
The other entertainment that us single people like to enjoy is making fun of the other members of the community group who are singing old school worship songs while playing bongos and keeping time with sticks. They were inside the house, singing away, while 5-6 of us (me included) were outside snickering at them and remembering how dorky we were in junior high and high school.
Fun times!
Anyway....my life is boring, hence the need to race snails. Work is going well, although I have not been overly busy for the past few weeks. I think I've read 3 books in the past two weeks and that was only reading them at work! I shouldn't complain, as there are days when it is super busy, but it sure makes the nights really long!
Not much else to say...so I guess I'll get back to work...I mean reading my book :-)
The other entertainment that us single people like to enjoy is making fun of the other members of the community group who are singing old school worship songs while playing bongos and keeping time with sticks. They were inside the house, singing away, while 5-6 of us (me included) were outside snickering at them and remembering how dorky we were in junior high and high school.
Fun times!
Anyway....my life is boring, hence the need to race snails. Work is going well, although I have not been overly busy for the past few weeks. I think I've read 3 books in the past two weeks and that was only reading them at work! I shouldn't complain, as there are days when it is super busy, but it sure makes the nights really long!
Not much else to say...so I guess I'll get back to work...I mean reading my book :-)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Amazing Sermon
If you have a spare hour, I would really encourage you to listen/watch this sermon that my pastor preached on Sunday. It's on worship...but not music, etc.....more like what we worship besides God. All I have to say is WOW! I can't get it to link properly, so...
www.marshillchurch.org
On the left hand side, click on Worship: God Transforms. Then just hit the arrow to watch the sermon, or go down a bit farther and you can download the audio.
www.marshillchurch.org
On the left hand side, click on Worship: God Transforms. Then just hit the arrow to watch the sermon, or go down a bit farther and you can download the audio.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Song
I was listening to some music by Bebo Norman today and I just wanted to share one of his songs with you. If you have never checked his stuff out, I would really, REALLY encourage it. I got to see him in concert a while ago and got hooked. I don't know how to get music to play on here, but if you go to my mySpace page, I have the song playing there.
I Will Lift My Eyes
God, My God
I cry out
Your beloved needs you now
God be near
Calm my fear
And take my doubt
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in
Chorus:
I will lift eyes
To the maker of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift eyes
To the calmer of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes
To the healer of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You
God, My God
Let mercy sing
Your melody over me
And God right here
All I’d bring is all of me
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in
Chorus
'Cause you are and you were and you will be forever
You’re all that I need to save me
Because you fashion the earth and
You hold it together, God
So hold me now
Chorus
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You
God, My God
I cry out
Your beloved needs you now
I Will Lift My Eyes
God, My God
I cry out
Your beloved needs you now
God be near
Calm my fear
And take my doubt
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in
Chorus:
I will lift eyes
To the maker of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift eyes
To the calmer of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes
To the healer of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You
God, My God
Let mercy sing
Your melody over me
And God right here
All I’d bring is all of me
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in
Chorus
'Cause you are and you were and you will be forever
You’re all that I need to save me
Because you fashion the earth and
You hold it together, God
So hold me now
Chorus
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You
God, My God
I cry out
Your beloved needs you now
Monday, June 2, 2008
Tired....
Well, I've been on night shift for.....actually I don't even know how long I've been on night shift. Long enough to lose all track of time, days of the week, or even what month it is. Ughhh...I now remember why $$ is the only reason to work nights, which is why I'm working nights. I have several pictures of Guatemala on my locker and one on my clipboard to remind me why I am putting myself though this misery.
Right now I am listening to Enrique Iglesias on my computer, in Spanish no less. I can only understand a bit of what he says, but I figure its good exposure. It also reminds me that I need to work on my Spanish today.
Lets see...what else is new......
I have a "new" car. The quotations are there because its a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, which is 4 years older than my other car (piece of crap that it is). Its older, but it has less than 75,000 miles on it and is in good working condition. I bought it from a couple at my church for a good price. It doesn't get the best gas mileage, but I don't have to worry about it making very funny noises, leaking oil, shimmying in strange ways on the freeway, or just afraid to go anywhere because the car might die. It was a good buy and hopefully will serve me well until I get back from Guatemala next year.
Not much new news on the Guatemala front. I'm still waiting to hear back from Dr Tito, the head of the medical team down there. He's been busy with clinics/trips and both of his boys have been very sick (which always happens when he is out on clinics...a definitely attempt by the enemy to disrupt work there). I'll be e-mailing him again here in a few weeks, just to touch base. I did, however, hear from Oscar...now don't get all excited...it was just a quick note asking how I was, how my Spanish was coming along, and when I was coming back to Guat. I'm hoping that Tito and Rolando are coming for a quick visit this fall to attend a medical missions conference in Tennessee and that Oscar will be able to join them. They usually make a stop in Seattle to speak at some churches to raise support, but I haven't heard anything for sure. I'm tentatively planning on going to the conference, as I'm definitely interested in medical missions.
Well, I need a nap.
Right now I am listening to Enrique Iglesias on my computer, in Spanish no less. I can only understand a bit of what he says, but I figure its good exposure. It also reminds me that I need to work on my Spanish today.
Lets see...what else is new......
I have a "new" car. The quotations are there because its a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, which is 4 years older than my other car (piece of crap that it is). Its older, but it has less than 75,000 miles on it and is in good working condition. I bought it from a couple at my church for a good price. It doesn't get the best gas mileage, but I don't have to worry about it making very funny noises, leaking oil, shimmying in strange ways on the freeway, or just afraid to go anywhere because the car might die. It was a good buy and hopefully will serve me well until I get back from Guatemala next year.
Not much new news on the Guatemala front. I'm still waiting to hear back from Dr Tito, the head of the medical team down there. He's been busy with clinics/trips and both of his boys have been very sick (which always happens when he is out on clinics...a definitely attempt by the enemy to disrupt work there). I'll be e-mailing him again here in a few weeks, just to touch base. I did, however, hear from Oscar...now don't get all excited...it was just a quick note asking how I was, how my Spanish was coming along, and when I was coming back to Guat. I'm hoping that Tito and Rolando are coming for a quick visit this fall to attend a medical missions conference in Tennessee and that Oscar will be able to join them. They usually make a stop in Seattle to speak at some churches to raise support, but I haven't heard anything for sure. I'm tentatively planning on going to the conference, as I'm definitely interested in medical missions.
Well, I need a nap.
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