(belated) SPF: TOWELS and a (bonus) quick update

I wasn't planning on playing this week seeing as how I was going to be out of the country! But I did happen to check out the assignment before I caught my plane. Fast forward a few days and there I was, sitting in the sun in Mexico, just minding my own business when this towel guy came wheeling around the corner. I couldn't help myself:)

Got lots of stuff to do before I turn back around and fly to Paris on Tuesday. So probably won't dish the dirt on Cancun until I get a travel break here in another couple of weeks. And, of course, by then I'll have French fun to share as well! Just two things real quick:

1. Happy birthday Sam! Hope you had a great weekend and that your pedicure held up to all the fun:)
2. Got an offer from Baylor while I was away . . . details to follow!

Adios/Au revoir!

truck stop junkies

Have been keeping it pretty low-key over the past week or so. Just spending most of my time by myself. Several reasons, but the most predominate is this:

I am not a good traveler.

More specifically, I'm not the best travel companion.

Don't get me wrong, I'm usually hella fun and up for just about anything. But I desperately need my alone time. You know? I am so not one of those people who surrounds themselves with others 24-7. I'd go insane. Seriously. Unfortunately, when you're on a trip with someone, constant company is kind of a hard thing to avoid. So sometimes, I get a little grumpy. Sometimes, it borders more on sulky. And sometimes, I am a complete and total bitch.

I try so, so hard to catch the warning signs. I really do. And I'm getting a lot better at it as I get older. I usually know when I'm hitting my limit and I need to disappear for a while. And some people just take less out of you, if you know what I mean. Others read those warning signs themselves and give me my much needed space without comment. Then there's my family who typically recognize the signs just fine but then lay on the smothering just to get a rise out of me. Gotta love family!:)

Regardless, if possible before a trip, I try to stockpile a little amy-time just to be on the safe side. And with both Mexico and Paris trips coming up in the next 2 weeks I needed that pile to be substantial. So I've been sitting back from my social life. Reading insignificant books and listening to James Taylor. I think I may have eaten some pizza. And possibly even done a little cooking. Feeling recharged and ready for some out-of-the-country fun!

Decided to ease back into the world this past Saturday night, a sort of dry-run. Went to cousin Julie's (and Brian's!) art show and then out for a few drinks. Drinks were drunk at a place called Lee Harvey's here in Dallas. This place is kind of amazing. It's like a little back woods bar smack dab in the middle of the city. It's surrounded on all sides by sketchy, and slightly scary, neighbors but has this kick-ass outside stage and seating area. I drank Bud Light (the locale seemed to call for something domestic and familiar) and listened to a fun rockabilly band. Good stuff.

About half-way through the evening, a large group of unique women entered the establishment. Even better stuff. They were roller derby chicks. And I am in awe. There was lots of piercing and even more fishnet. It seems as though there was some kind of big competition in the area and all the girls headed out to celebrate, presumably still in their skating attire. I've never seen anything like it. Honestly. I felt like I was in a movie. A cheesy, low-budget movie but still a movie. And it made me smile. A lot:)

Alone time is good. Hell, alone time is great. But the world beyond me? Pretty freakin' cool too. And worth the occasional social effort:)

SPF: HERO

Let me introduce you to Josie. Josie is something of a mutt and belongs to my little sister Sarah. She has loads of excess energy and sometimes forgets to listen. Earlier this week Josie thought it might be fun to gnaw a little on my glasses while I was sleeping. Josie did not, however, seem to think much of the "time out" she was punished with as a result. She can melt your heart with a look (see above) and try your last strand of patience with equal frequency. But she is always, without fail, there when you need her. She never says no to a walk or to a cuddle. She can provide comfort with just her presence and she is endlessly entertaining. So meet Josie, the current canine lead in my life story. And today's hero:)

"She lives in Texas now where nothing ever moves."

Midwestern earthquake?

Well, huh.

Nat, betting Mrs A is now saying something along the lines of I told you so. Remember all those earthquake drills we had in 7th grade? We gave her such a hard time about making us get under our desks. Sorta glad her efforts have been validated at least a little:)

SHE'S A REBEL. Who, me?

am blogging soundtrack: Green Day's American Idiot
am blogging sustenance: Allegro Breakfast Blend organic coffee
am blogging topic: the meaning of life (or, what I did yesterday)

I woke up early yesterday morning in an effort to get organized. I made coffee. I did my typical morning blog rounds - where is everybody lately? And I contemplated my future. Contemplation of future brought on by a (then) pending job interview and an awareness of the shrinking nature of my bank account.

When the coffee pot was empty, my hair was semi-dry, and my future was thoroughly contemplated I headed out for said interview. Some clarification: this wasn't really an interview. I've previously met nearly everyone in this particular hospitalist group and count 3 of them as close personal friends. It was more of a "hey, I'm interested, are you?" kind of thing. Incidentally, I am and they are. But during the course of our conversation I realized something important.

I AM ON SABBATICAL.

Yeah, good call Amy. Right? I mean, didn't I already know this? I guess I did, to a point. But not really convinced that I knew this fact in an ALL CAPS way. Know what I mean? Also realized that it would probably take 3 plus months after I accepted the position before all the paperwork would be completed and I could start working again. Which means,

I AM STILL ON SABBATICAL.

Again, a somewhat obvious conclusion. But revolutionary at the same time. Time. TIME. I still have time! But what to do with it? Already have trips planned for Mexico and Paris. Extended Missouri visit also in the works. What else?!? I felt an urgency to get started immediately!

So this is what I did with the rest of my day:

1. talked to my cousin Julie
2. took a walk
3. made (really yummy) black bean burgers
4. watched the first 15 minutes of E.T.
5. re-read a book for probably the fourth time
6. spent an hour and 45 minutes chatting on my cell with my little sister Sarah

And this is what I figured out about life:

1. You have to let the little things make you happy.
2. Friends that also happen to be family are God's greatest gift.
3. Black beans are a good source of fiber.
4. And fiber is an important part of a healthy, balanced diet.
5. Work is work, life is life. They are not the same thing.
6. Time spent alone is time well spent.

SPF: BAD!/GOOD!

This past week has been bad - very, very bad. Should have been easy to complete my SPF assignment. But a few things happened:

1)Yesterday's "the week in review" was very cathartic.
2)I actually slept well last night. In pajamas.
3)I made an entire (10 cup) pot of coffee this morning that I am diligently working my way through. Added bonus, I remembered to buy milk!

So, when faced with the task of "bad" I was distracted by my brain shouting GOOD!

Decided to go with the distraction, embrace the good, and indulge in a little opposite Friday:)

the week in review

Sunday.

I had made plans with the cousins in the 'Mound for a lounge around afternoon. And because of the beautiful Texas spring weather that will too soon turn into more of the nasty/sticky summer variety, the lounging was to commence out of doors. And commence it did. All the essentials were accounted for: tasty thirst quencher, high calorie snacks, mindless fluff of a novel, padded chair positioned poolside, and oh-so-excellent company. Perfect. Except the pesky detail of forgetting the SPF 50.

That evening found me out to a movie (don't bother to see Married Life, by the way) with an old friend followed by her weekly trivia night at a pub nearby. I thought hey, I know some random stuff! Should be fun. Can I say? These people are way out of my league. No amount of cold beer could counteract either the immense heat radiating off my sun burnt body or my feeling of total intellectual inadequacy.

My skin was so fried as a result of my negligence that I had to sleep completely naked. Is that too much information?

Monday.

The day was spent in painful quiet. By the time the evening rolled around I was so tired of my own company that I medicated myself with an obscene amount of ibuprofen and begged a ride to Karaoke. I somehow let myself be convinced that just because I could sorta halfway sing a song along with the radio that it was ready for a debut at the Tipp. It was not.

And again with the naked sleeping.

Tuesday.

I don't wanna talk about Tuesday.

Wednesday.

By the time I got to "hump" day I had concluded that this particular week in the life of Amy was crap. Complete and utter crap. I am usually a really good sleeper. It's actually one of my best skills. But my normal sleep habits had been so disrupted because of my traitorous skin that I was exhausted. Spent all day laying on my couch. That in itself would normally be an acceptable way to pass the day. If not for the fact that my cable is out. Way out. Have now watched all my John Cusack movies one time too many.

Was again driven to leave my apartment for an evening out with friends. And again found myself at a location dedicated to Karaoke. I swear that I'm not a junkie. Really. This particular place was new to me but visited as a favor to our Monday night Karaoke guy. Yes, the same one that hates me. And no, I have no idea why I was in the mood to grant such a favor. What was it you called this place Julie? Something about a buffet in Beirut? Perhaps at some point I'll find the energy and the necessary humor to describe this evening in detail, but for now I'll just say that it wasn't exactly my scene and I don't see myself returning. Ever.

Another night where I was unable to tolerate anything touching my skin while I slept. Wondering how many times I'm going to feel the need to point that out in this blog? Me too.

Thursday.

Woke in a semi-panic when I realized what day it was. It took me a bit, however, to remember why the day of the week was important. It just hadn't mattered in such a long time. But, you see, Thursday comes right before Friday. And Friday, I remembered, was to be my initial tentative return to the real world. Because Friday - tomorrow - I have a job interview. Yep. I finally decided to do something constructive about rejoining the work force. The reason for the panic? I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Seriously. I have spent the last 3 months in jeans. And the year before that? All scrubs, all the time. I suppose I could have hit the stores, shopping usually makes me smile. But not really my idea of a good time right now seeing as how it takes me about 20 minutes to put a t-shirt on over my skin each morning.

So here I sit. In a kind of reverie. Except not as pleasant. Hoping for a good night's sleep that may put an end to a week that has been less than fun. A sleep that will leave me energized and ready to tackle the world outside my apartment tomorrow.

And really hoping to take on both - sleep and tomorrow - fully and appropriately clothed.

two mules for sister sara(h)

Happy Birthday little sister!

flowers in our hair

It was a beautiful Spring afternoon three years ago and I was in one of my favorite cities, San Francisco. Only my second trip to the city, I was actually there under the guise of continuing medical education. Somehow managed to find ample time, however, to explore what I had missed the first time around:)

On the afternoon of exploration hinted at above, I found myself in Haight-Ashbury. I was accompanied by two friends and we were on a mission. A shopping mission. Not for drugs or its associated paraphernalia as our chosen shopping district might lead you to suspect. We were shopping for clothes, cute-one-of-a-kind-only-in-San-Fran kind of clothes. As this trip was 3 - and not 30 - years ago, we were very successful in our endeavors.

We decided to reward ourselves with a small celebratory drink. This week in San Francisco had been filled with similar celebrations:) We found a bar easily enough and were charmed into entering by its name - The Punch House.

I believe at the time that we were expecting some very traditional decor with perhaps a house drink special. A "punch." I remember "E" inquiring about the possibility of a punch drink and I very distinctly remember the blank stares we received as a result of her inquiry. I know that we did each have a drink - limit set by "T" at 1 - but don't recall the specifics. We drank quickly and exited just as quickly. This, we concluded with unspoken agreement, was not a place to linger.

There was nothing specifically sketchy about the place. It was just a feeling we all had. A definite lack of welcome for three, obviously non local, happy women on a shopping high.

We left the area and completed the interrupted celebration, characteristically, at another locale. A little clueless, but satisfyingly so.

"Go and love some more . . . "

Back in high school there was a guy. He was "hottie-hot-hot drama guy." I'm sure a version of my drama guy was present in every high school across America. My best friend used to swoon every time someone said his name:) I, of course, was entirely too mature to swoon for anybody.

I just couldn't speak in his presence. Seriously.

He was that hot. That moody. That talented. Just that everything.

I could have, perhaps, gone throughout my high school years in this same nonverbal state. After all, me and HHHDG didn't exactly run in the same circles. He was a year older and very much into the creative/artistic scene. I was much too busy dividing time between being the president of everything and mission: get into med school. And never the trains shall meet.

Except they did. Meet, I mean.

Because I was more than the left-brained type A personality that everyone superficially saw me as. More than the stereotype. And so, it turns out, was he.

HHHDG and I met up in Speech 2. I, naturally, was there for some advanced public speaking and introductory debate. He was there to perfect his dramatic and comedic interpretations for competition. And, I think, because it was 1 less hour of "real" work each school day:)

If you are now thinking, "Oh, how sweet - they fell in love while rehearsing a scene from Romeo and Juliet," then you would be the very definition of wrong.

He was horribly, horribly mean to me!

He belittled my every attempt at creative expression. Even my successes - at our more academic assignments - were somehow shown to be just another example of my inadequacy. His contempt for me was palpable and a great antidote to my earlier small brush with hero worship.

I eventually found my voice and gave him back as good as I got. Our classmates, and even our teacher, found the tension endlessly amusing. I, on the other hand, was exhausted by the effort. But somehow, we survived the semester. And while I had definitely lost that pleasant "drama guy" crush, I had gained a love and appreciation for theater. I discovered in myself a little actress and a desire to entertain.

DG -he had lost the HHH designation! - and I met up again the next year when I surprised everyone by taking not only debate but also an hour of theater. We found ourselves paired up frequently for various scenes and almost always got placed in the same groups. We were eventually able to work together in peace and without insult. But he was always a constant challenge for me to be better, to do better. We performed a mean Harold and Maude where I, it must be said, died like a champ:) And we rocked a Children's Theater project where we stole the show with a live-action (no puppets!) version of Punch and Judy!

Although we ended up with a friendship of sorts, I have no idea where DG - Ricky - is now. And I haven't thought about him in years. But last night I had a dream - a really, really hilarious and surreal dream - that my drama guy had a guest appearance in. A little more background is required before the sharing of said dream. But we'll get around to it. Eventually:)

SPF: TRIANGLE

My grandmother is a quilter, an artist. When I think of triangles, I think of her and a unique kind of geometry. Whether alone in a row of "flying geese" or as only a small part of a larger pattern, triangles play a major role in her designs. This particular quilt set was a Christmas gift several years ago and has since covered my bed. And yes. I had to make my bed especially for this picture. I'm not that anal:)

and, I'm back

In the time it took me to write and post that last blog, the gray and overcast view outside of my window has been replaced with a beautiful sky. Blue, with discrete Simpson's-esque puffy white clouds. At the same time I noticed the change, a random lyric from my morning music choice caught my ear: evil's not my cup of tea. Why that should seem perfect and, somehow, meant is beyond me. But now, even as I contemplate it, I can see the "blurring" of the clouds. They are already losing that cartoon-like white purity to return to their previous gray. The wind is picking up. I think I might be in for a storm. I knew today was going to be a good day. I just love a good storm.

great scott!

This week the AFI international film festival is in town and I'm attempting to take advantage. Haven't made it to see all that interested me, but the week's not over yet.

As part of the festivities, Victory Park/Plaza by American Airlines Arena (where the Mavs play!) has been hosting showings of old movies. The plaza is surrounded on one side by the arena and on two other sides by buildings that house various restaurants. The last side, across from the arena, is open to the street but faces the W Hotel. There are always (very) large screen TVs hung on the buildings. In fact, there are four on each side that can be rearranged as needed. For the movie showings they are placed in a 2X2 square to form 1 super large movie "screen."

Tuesday night they had advertised a showing of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and I thought, sounds like fun!

Along with a couple of friends, I packed up my lawn chair and headed down. I had some vague sense of unease related to getting there too late and not finding a good spot. I shouldn't have worried. When we arrived, just a few minutes before the 7 pm start time, only about 10 other people had beat us to the punch. Others did eventually trickle in, but overall the attendance level was surprisingly low.

Perhaps it was because of the weather? It was cold. I forget what the sun really does for your comfort level in the springtime. Once the sun set over our little outdoor movie theater, the temperature plummeted. Earlier in the evening I had thought that maybe my sweater coat was a bit of an overkill. It is now my favorite article of clothing:)

The next hit? No Roger Rabbit. Apparently we were the only people not apprised of the change. Our entertainment for the evening ended up being Back to the Future. Although I've seen the movie many, many times I am young enough that I missed its theatrical debut. Something special about seeing a time-traveling DeLorian in all its glory on the big screen!

So, to summarize the evening: It was cold. And really freaking cool. And under appreciated by the masses. I loved it!