Approximately four years ago, I began my undergraduate journey at Washington State University. I was already two years behind my class, and almost 120 credits deep into a different degree. I'm glad I hung up my apron, and switched into a pair of ACUs and then a set of scrubs. Four years ago, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Four years ago, I was afraid that I was making the wrong decision. Four years later, on this day today, I know that decision was the best one I've made yet.
I consistently say through my writing that I never thought I'd be suited for a career in healthcare, and that I never thought I would join the military. Yet here I am today, preparing myself to take on training and my first big move. As I stare at the large Tupperware of my dog's belongings, and the pile of dishes that need to be boxed, I can't help but think that it hasn't hit me yet that I'm leaving in seven days. My dog is sleeping peacefully in her bed right now, but I guess I would be too after the traumatic event of my first bee sting to the face... Special case this dog, haha. But earlier, she cuddled with me. Not the forced cuddle that I normally give her when my cuteness aggression gets the best of me, but the kind of cuddle like she knew I was preparing her stuff for something other than the occasional play date we have with Chloe and Alex. I feel like my pup knows that I'm getting sadder and sadder every day. I feel like pets just know those types of things, and I know it's going to break my heart when I leave for training and I hear her cute little howl. I'm going to miss this. All of this free time that I've had for the past four months. Well, I guess three months, since the first month I had to study for my boards exam. All of the time after that has just been vacation. Weird right? In the past six years, I feel like I've never actually had a vacation where I didn't have anything to think or worry about. No assignments I needed to get ahead on. No deadlines for paperwork or anything. I simply woke up every day, and I needed to think of something that I could do that day. Even if that something was sitting in a lake for four hours trying to even out my skin in preparation for whatever tan line the Army is going to give me in these next three months. I'm preparing myself to start this countdown, but I'm just not ready yet. Today, I will get my doggie's things ready for her move to her dad's house. Today, I'm going to finish doing my laundry so I can finalize whatever I'm actually bringing with me to training. Today, I will unpack the rest of the dishes from my ottoman. Then tomorrow, I will take on something bigger. Because Friday is coming around quickly, and I don't want to have to deal with getting something mailed to me simply because I forgot. Tomorrow, I need to kick my butt into gear, because in seven days, I'm going to be full on adulting.
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Today I didn't give a damn! Haizel and I decided to just chill and take advantage of the 96 degree weather today. I cannot believe that it got up to that high. Just a few days ago I went on a run and it was 78 degrees. That means it went up almost 20 degrees in the past two days! Insane. It was fun though. I came to Haizel's house in the afternoon to figure out what we were going to do on this Friday. We ended up just blowing up the kiddie pool that we got from our friend John's niece's party. Thanks John's niece :)! We had a lot of fun because of you. We filled up the pool and we pretty much just sat in the cold water. It's more refreshing than you think! After we chilled in the pool, we pretty much just hung out for a couple of hours before we decided that it got too hot. Linda stopped by and hung out for about an hour and when she left, Haizel and i decided to call it a day. We went inside and we got ready for dinner and for the night. Michael woke up when I decided to come inside, so it was perfect. I'm glad that I was able to wake him up in the morning. It's one of the few things I look forward to in the morning. I'm going to miss being able to have 5:00 PM open for that. Hopefully I can keep doing that until he comes home.
Haizel and I ate pad thai for dinner and it was good. When we got ready, we hadn't realize it was 8:00 PM already! So we pretty much hung out until 8:45 PM and started to get ready. We went to downtown Olympia for a couple of hours until we realized that we felt out of place there. We walked a few blocks and it was just crawling with people who were not a part of our "scene". We ended up going to Olympia Taproom to grab a beer, and then heading home. When we got home, Linda came over and sang karaoke for about an hour. It was nice to be in the comfort of our house and feel safe. I think I definitely would take feeling safe over a night out. We had a drink and then we called it a night pretty quickly. In other news, Ami made an accident in Michael's room. It's been a really long time since she's made an accident inside. No warning, no signals, nothing. She just went and did her business. I was a little disappointed, so she's being punished by not being allowed to sleep in the room tonight. I was a little sad because I really wanted her to sleep in the room tonight because she usually sleeps in her cage since it's a lot cooler outside. Poor girl. Oh well. My day was pretty eventful somehow. Nine days and counting. I've spent a couple of days back-blogging all of what's happened in the past two years. I took the time to sort through photos, and I would go back to that date, and write about it. I could do that with my fitness journey, but I feel like it'd be so choppy and screwed up, that everyone would get confused.
I used to be really good about going to the gym, going for runs or swims, attending PT, and all of that. Until I got to Nursing School when my fitness took a turn for the worse. I started out really well. I'd do my short 15 to 20-minute workouts in the morning, I'd go on runs, and I did yoga almost every day to de-stress myself. Then homework assignments started to pile up, clinical hours and paperwork took more and more of my time as I started to pick up patients, and it came to the point where I would have to make alarms to remind myself to eat. If I didn't have an alarm, I'd usually have a pizza guy ringing my doorbell because Michael knew that I'd forgotten to eat all day! It's crazy to think that I spent the past few years learning how to take care of others with special diets and exercise routines, but wasn't doing any of it for myself. Healthcare professionals I feel are the worst at taking care of themselves. I feel that many of the "burnt out" professionals I've met are the ones who forget to take time for themselves. I've yet to start my career (10 more days guys!), but I want to make sure that I'm setting myself up for success by incorporating routines into my day to day life. This summer I've been doing a lot of activities to keep myself busy. I've gone on a few hikes, I've gone running every other day, and I do a fitness program through Nike! Okay, I have spurts of running, and then I'm like, "I hate cardio so much I'd rather die." But the Nike app is a really great way to get a workout in! I feel like I'm going to be promoting the download of this app in this post, but I just can't help but say how much I love this app. I have both the Nike Training Club and Nike Running+ app on my cellphone. It's available on both Andriod and Apple products! In the NTC app, you can create a plan that's specific for you. You can choose how long you want your program to be, you can choose whether you use equipment or not, you can choose if you want to do it for strength, cardio, etc. I've completed two plans already! I started with the Start Up which is a 4 week program to help get your body conditioned, and then I started Lean Fit right after. This app schedules recovery days, so you don't have to worry about not getting a day off if that's what keeps you pushing! With the Nike Running app, you can start a similar program. I really like this app because you can choose between four different types of runs: Basic, Time, Distance, or Speed. I normally do basic runs because I like to see how far and how long I can go. With timed runs, you can set how long you want to run, and you just have to try and meet that goal. I think it's a good way to figure out what pace you like to run at. You'd have to do it for awhile though. With distance runs, you can set how far you need to run. I usually do this when I start training up for the Army Physical Fitness Test. I set it to 2.10 miles, and run like hell! The only thing that I don't like about the timed/distance runs is that the app tells you how far you've gone, how long you've been running, and what your pace is. When I'm running just to run, I feel like it's a lot of pressure on me to go faster, so I typically burn myself out quicker. Plus it gets in the way of my music, and I hate that. So now that you guys all know what I'm using to get into shape, it's time to layout my details. I'm weighing in at 122 lbs, 19% BMI. I have to be really careful when I start training like this, especially when I'm headed off to military training, because I tend to drop weight very quickly. The problem with that is that I wouldn't pass my height/weight because I'd be considered underweight, and I would have to eat a lot more to keep it up to at least 18%. I can only run up to 2.5 miles non-stop right now, which is a severe decrease in mileage from what I used to run pre-Nursing School. I can do 58 push ups and 63 (hehe) sit ups in 2 minutes. I'm happy with my push ups for right now, and I'm very disappointed in myself with my sit ups. My short term goal is to be able to run 3 miles non-stop, do 60 push ups, and 70 sit ups. I want to complete this goal by the end of September. My long term goal is to maintain my weight of 122 lbs, 19% BMI, be able to run 5 miles non-stop. Another overall goal is to start eating a healthier diet. I already eat a pretty healthy diet because my household at the moment is currently trying to transition to a paleo/pescatarian diet. My mom is kind of on the fence of what she eats, but she mostly eats a lot of vegetables. I would have more goals in terms of weight training, but I've currently been doing body weight and light/moderate dumbbell exercises (15-30 lbs). So with that being said, I've completed my run and my NTC training for today! What have you done? :) So spontaneous adventure time, Haizel, Linda, and I decided that we wanted to road trip it to Mount Rainier. The drive actually wasn't too bad for us, so the trip was well worth it. We took the back roads instead of taking I-5 so it seemed like a longer drive, but it probably saved us at least 1.5 hours. Plus it was a scenic route compared to going on the freeway, so it was like we were already on our adventure. We started late in the day again because we thought we had other things we had to do at 2PM, but it actually worked out. It wasn't too hot when we got there, and there wasn't too many people. On our way up the mountain, a lot of cars were already starting to drive down. There's a $20 fee for those who aren't Active Duty military yet, so make sure you have that ready. Once we got through the gate to Rainier, we had about a twenty minute drive to Paradise Valley. There's a lodge and I think restaurant there in case you want to stay overnight, but we didn't get the chance to check it out after our trail walk. The trail itself was really clean, and I'm glad we went so late in the day because foot traffic wasn't bad at all! We only got caught up in groups when we decided we wanted to stop to take photos, but even then there wasn't a problem. There were different trails you could go on, and we decided to take the lighter route and go to Myrtle Falls. It isn't a very far hike, and it's very easy to do. It leads to the waterfall that goes under a bridge to other hikes. The view of the wildflowers was spectacular. I'm sure that when they're freshly bloomed, it's an even better photograph, but this one will have to do. The view of the wildflowers and clear skies made Linda feel like she was in the Sound of Music. I wouldn't blame her... if I could hold a tune, I would've been prancing around and singing too. The view of the mountain was clear the entire time we were there. It made me really regret not taking the time to actually go to Rainier and try to climb it. I have an associate who is training to climb the mountain with Olympia's Mountaineering Club, and I should have joined when I had the time. It's a lifelong goal to summit some of the world's finest mountains. I guess I'll have to start my trek in the Alps, but I'm not complaining. I'll just come back and make climbing Mount Rainier look like a piece of cake. Another good hike, PNW. You still continue to amaze me.
Damn, is it already my birthday? Weird... It hasn't felt like an entire year. This year went by so quickly, I don't even remember half of what happened. I guess it's a good time to recall the events of my 23rd year on Earth. I remember starting this year at freaking school! I signed up for an early OB rotation, and I was granted a spot to start 2 weeks earlier than the rest of WSU, with 9 lovely ladies. I had just gotten back from Hawaii the month before, and I was ready for more babies to come into the world. I did an entire day of school, and decided to just grab myself Red Robin, this new laptop, and chill at home to do homework. Boring, I know. I spent my entire birthday last year studying. But even though my actual birthday wasn't eventful, the rest of my year definitely made up for it.
I can only imagine what year 24 has to bring to me. As long as I've got everyone that's by my side now, I think it'll be just as great... if not better. Cheers to me bitches. I started packing my stuff up yesterday in preparation for my big move. I took all the clothes that I've accumulated in the past 5 or so years, and honestly, it isn't much at all... I think I've given away more clothes in the past 2 years than I have left in my closet. I mean, it's okay for me I guess. I don't really wear too many different things anyways. I like to be a bum as much as I can... I probably have about 4 or 5 bins of clothing that I'm going to be shipping off at the end of the month, and then the rest I'll be taking with me to Texas. I'm trying to pack smart because even though it's going to be hot as Hell in Texas for the next three months, it's going to be freezing when I get to Germany. So I am thinking of having one suitcase dedicated to uniforms and summer clothes, and then the other, I'm going to fill with pajamas, workout clothes, hoodies, and some winter stuff... It hadn't dawned on me that I am more prepared to live in the cold... Sweaters must have been my "thing" these past two years...
I haven't started on any household goods yet though. I am pretty excited that I finally get to reclaim my bed and my dresser from my old room, and my beloved Tempurpedic mattress. I guess moving from Spokane and not unpacking anything is what will make this move easier. I am actually thinking of unpacking everything to have the movers put them in nicer boxes with better wrapping. Michael and I just used newspapers to wrap them up, but I don't think that my dishware will sustain a trip across the Atlantic with just that to protect them. I guess it's just a weird thought right now... I feel like it's all still a little too surreal for me. Just imagine, almost 4 years ago, I was in this same spot waiting to hear back from the Army to see if I had gotten a scholarship for nursing. 2 years ago, I was in this same spot waiting to hear back from WSU College of Nursing to see if I earned a seat toward my nursing career. I always imagined myself going back to Europe, but I never thought I'd actually get the chance to go back... Might I add, FOR FREE. I always thought that my next trip to Europe would have been to visit my mom or a honeymoon or something. Now I'm going there this year to work as a Registered Army Nurse. I don't know if reality hasn't hit because I haven't done much since I received my nursing license, or because I don't really do much in general... Which reminds me, I should really get started on my modules, and maybe start some CE training to keep myself occupied with more productive things... In a few short months, I'll actually be on my own... Looking for my very first house. I think it's different living in an apartment during school. It's not the real world type of thing. Now I'm actually going to look for a house for me, and fill it with my own furniture, design it with my own style, and make my own memories in it. I look around my house and realize that I'm not going to have a full house anymore. It'll take awhile for me to get my stuff put together. I guess I'm pretty excited to start this chapter of my life... More to come, the future awaits. Here is to the memories we've made in yet another year of being the bestest friends to each other. Here is to the laughter and the tears that we've had together. Here is to my favorite hello, and my hardest see you later. Here is to the fur-poppa of our two love bugs. Here is to my Soldier. Here is to my shoulder to cry on. Here is to my other half. I don't think the higher ups could have made a better person for me to love.
Michael, there are a lot of things that I could say to describe the infinite amount of happiness you bring me, but even that wouldn't suffice. You have shown me what it is to (still) practice patience, understanding, and unconditional love. I know that our time together has only made me into a better person. Yet again, we are apart on our favorite day, and it seems to just get harder and harder for us to be with each other. But despite the miles that school and work puts between us, I know that where you are is where my heart can call home. Soon we will embark on our next journey, and the distance will grow with continents and oceans between us. Our love will be stretched to new limits and obstacles that I wouldn't want to endure with anyone but you. I love you Michael. (Now that I watch that 70's show, I can only imagine myself saying that like Mila Kunis to Ashton, and it's funny, because they are married and have two kids. Yeahhh, Jakki and Michael 5ever!) #ssxjjf "Everyone has been to Long Lake, Jak." My brother made me feel so dumb when I told him about me going to Long Lake for the first time since I've been in Washington. This lake is located close to home so it's easily accessible. The swimming area in the lake is pretty small, but it does have a dock and two lifeguards on duty at all times. It's a very popular area for parents to being their kids, as they are required to wear a lifejacket if they do not pass a swin test. Safety? 10/10! I have been to this lake two times this summer. The first time I went with just Haizel, and we laid out on the grass to sunbathe. The grass there is in great condition, and is clean for the most part (there is occassional goose poops, but not much!) The second time we went, we brought Chip along. This time we came ready with our floaties. There is an area specific for those who want to float. The only annoying part is they won't let you pass the lifeguard chair with a floatie, so if there is a lot of people in the area, it tends to get crowded.
Haizel and I pretty much decided that we wanted to take entire week off from responsibilities. I guess we both have been trapped in our houses lately with cleaning and packing or unpacking that we needed to see some sunlight before we lost our minds. We started a little late in the day, but we made the drive to Lake Cushman anyway. My first time going to Lake Cushman was after Michael and I tried to climb Mount Ellinor with my family. We didn't actually go into the lake though. This time, Haizel and I came ready to float in the river. When we got there, it was $9.50 to get in, because they give a generous 50 cent discount to military, big savings! There were a lot more people than we expected to see on a weekday. There were families all over the picnic area, and we had to settle for finding a little "shore" on the lake. When I say little, I mean big enough for our towel, and that was it. The river was really nice to float in, and even though it was painful at first to get in because it was cold, it was well worth it. Lake Cushman is a clean glacier lake that is about 20-30 minutes away from Mount Ellinor's trailhead. You have a great view when you are in the lake. A lot of people brought floaties, kayaks, and a few people had boats! We stayed for almost 4.5 hours, and came back at least 2 shades darker. I can't wait to go again.
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