A Couple of Scenes From Our Beach Today

With my birthday cash, I outfitted our beach experiences. We got two backpack-chairs that also have room for a cooler on the back. My sister also sent me an umbrella, so we're pretty much set! It is against city ordinances to drink alcohol or smoke on the beaches, so the fun is limited to wholesome activities. The perk to that however is the DBs stay away and the beaches are clean. Also, a colored nalgene is good camo for white wine or beer if willing to go against the grain. The island on the other side of the bay however is the harbor police den (not that we've ever seen one) and Ty's cousin Mike works over there.

It's Effing Hilly Here

I was very proud of my skills in making it to the top of this hell, I mean hill, that Ty made me bike up. It sucked, but the view was fantastic. I am awesome.

Decisions Decisions

On the employment front I made a decision to not accept the job that's been offered to me. After a lot of soul searching and disappointment that I haven't been offered other jobs, at one point I was seriously considering this opportunity. However, I have heard from somebody that works there, and a recruiter that sent nurses to this floor that there were some serious issues with the helpfulness of other staff. And the sense that the manager gave me was that she was looking for some experienced nurses to help out all the new grads that work there and there were a lot of "leadership opportunities." I think that's just code for there's a lot of shitty people that work here and you could move right up if you don't suck too. But I decided to check it out for myself and shadowed a nurse for a couple hours on my own time to see if it was really that bad and I found that it wasn't really THAT bad. What I did find was that I would be working on a Neuro/Trauma unit.....and those patients suck! What was I thinking? It's all patients with head injuries, broken bones, and strokes=heavy lifting and crazy people that there is no way to reason with or medicate. So tonight I'm going to tell that floor, thanks so much for the opportunity, but no thanks. It's a bit of a risk, but I would definitely be settling. I think in my situation, I should be able to find something that I'm excited to do or else it's going to make this experience in San Diego a lot less fun.

I am going to go back to work this week, though. I am hooked up with an agency that staffs registry nurses. Basically, hospitals find they have holes in their staffing and call up the agency to send nurses over. I've been working with this lady at the agency for a few months, she was initially looking at getting me a travel nursing assignment. She, out of ALL the people I've been dealing with, has been the straightest shooter with me, telling me when there wasn't much work to be had in the travel nursing industry, and at one point basically telling me to get my shit together or else move on. I appreciate that candidness, I can be that frank with people at times and I appreciate the respect it takes for one's self and to others to speak the truth in an awkward situation. At any rate, when I told her that I was considering taking the job that I have now decided not to take, she said that would hinder us working together because I would already be working in the hospital system where she puts most of her nurses to work and the hospital system won't let nurses double dip (so to speak). So that was another factor in deciding to pass up this opportunity. What she can do for me now that I've decided not to take that job, is she can put me to work for much higher rates of pay on my own schedule. Of course the work is never guaranteed, but I make about 20% more per shift with a portion of it being tax free due to my traveler status related to our home in Colorado. Additionally, there is no weekend or nights commitment, no holiday commitment, and when I need time off, I just don't sign up for shifts. Very simple. And, it looks like I can start working on Thursday of this week, which puts money in my pocket sooner!

My plan is to continue to pursue opportunities in other hospital systems. I can work on an "as needed" basis for a specific hospital, and then I at least have two opportunities for work when I want it and still keep the flexibility. I can also continue to have a high standard for where I choose to work. I think it's important as the only income earner while in San Diego that I do what it takes to make myself happy. If I hate my job but need it to keep us afloat here, that leads to bad things. My hunch is that the job I've been offered is a short route to that scenario, so I need to pass. I hope this all works out, I'm trusting the universe to be abundant and provide the right opportunities to allow for wealth and happiness knowing that I deserve no less.

Hike at Cabrillo Monument

We did this cool little trail at the Cabrillo Monument. We did it on a Sunday and it's a national park, so it was not our best timing, but still cool. Short and slightly steep. Apparently Sr. Cabrillo landed on this point which is just to the west of our condo and the furthest point west in San Diego. It's cool because it's like the where the cliffs drop off into the ocean. We saw lots of sailboats, and then some surfers who accessed the surf with little motor boats and road some pretty big pipes. The coastguard also occupies this area, and part of the monument is where big batteries were built into the side of the point in case of attack during WWII.

Please notice that it was the first time I boldly sported the Broncos paraphernalia in the San Diego public. Thank goodness I went the Chump Bailey route with the t-shirt rather than the Cutler jersey.

Adventures With Gwyneth

Tyler named our navigation thingy Gwyneth, which fits nicely. She tells us where to go so that we don't get lost, but sometimes she is impaired. Ty thinks it's pills, I think she's clearly an alcoholic. At any rate, we generally get where we are aiming to go one way or another, and Gwynie is a great help (thanks, Dad). Today, however, we decided to go check out Balboa Park, which is the huge park in the middle of San Diego. The only bigger city park in the United States is Central Park in Manhattan. It's a stunning place as it turns out...but we'll get to that in a minute. I typed in the Visitors' Center to get us there from home, and Gwyneth drove us straight into gay Pridefest as a sort of "I'll show you who's in charge here." A funny experience for the most part, although parking was a pain in the butt.

It was a beautiful place. There are several museums and gardens and amphitheaters throughout, as well as numerous trails for hiking and running. I definitely want to go back soon and check out the body worlds exhibit which I missed in Denver. We couldn't go in anywhere cool though because I made the large mistake of thinking my dog would enjoy going to a park. However, it caused the first full-blown freakout in San Diego. Mae was shaking and panting at about 100 times a minute, causing all the people around us to think that she was hypoglycemic, or just ran a marathon without access to water for 5 days prior. Little psycho dog---scared of skateboards and many other things unseen. No more Balboa Park for Maenerd.

A New Kind of Happy

My birthday on Friday was really, really good. Thanks to all who helped make it that way. I think I got a job offer, but I dodged the call because it's my third choice for a job. But that was a good start to a birthday. It started out on the beach, this time witha full layering of sunscreen. I've learned my lesson. Allison came over, and together with Ty we crossed the street. (I love that.) Although it was Friday afternoon and sailing club was out in the bay, Mae and Althea swam by themselves in this little cove. Sailing Club is a bunch of young kids who are learning how to maneuver little mini-sailboats that are slightly bigger than windsurf boards. I want to sign up, but I think I missed the deadline by about 21 years. When the tide came in we knew it was time to move on, and so we had our first sushi experience. We went over to PB Sushi (Pacific Beach) which was highly rated and nicely priced. I think I have a revellation about the difference in sushi joints, too. In CO all the sushi places are totally shi-shi and even more expensive, where as out here they look slightly more upscale than fast food, slightly less scale than a casual dining restaurant---but just as good! Allison and I split a bottle of sake which was Allison's first experience with it. Then, we went over to Jeff Bolan's house for a party. I've met Jeff on two occassions (I think) and Ty went to Lake Powell with him several years ago. So I didn't know what to expect, but the people I met couldn't have been nicer. Jeff's girlfriend Shauna baked me a cake! Talk about the kindness of strangers. There were some very interesting characters there, Matthias from Germany who was 6'8" and a toe-headed surfer; and then The Hot Kicks, a brother and sister rock band from Melbourne, Australia who are out here on tour. Fantastic conversation, and again, everyone was so welcoming and very nice. I'm just so thankful.

The other real cool part of my birthday involved Facebook, oddly enough. I heard from a lot of folks who I haven't seen in many years, and that's probably the last time I talked to them too. It's such a great technology that has helped me feel connected when I'm out in a new city away from great Denver friends and a gaggle of the best family one could aks for. I feel very fortunate indeed.

The only complaint I can muster is the hangover I had yesterday was crippling. Must be because I'm now 31. Whatever, pain is weakness leaving the body, right? Another year older, and life just got a lot more interesting, that's for sure.

And a sunset

La Jolla Holla

Riding Bikes in PB

Ty and I met with Kristin Cowart, an old soccer buddy from high school who's been out here for several years now. We rode bikes along the beaches. Great times. Thanks, Kristin! Pics are taken from Pacific Beach.

Coronado Dog Beach

Much better! Mae had her first experience with waves crashing and how to navigate them. Still a couple of pitbulls around, but we learned today that pitbulls are the official dog of San Diego. Just kidding. I really don't get it, but anyway, much less of a shit show in Coronado. The water was on the chilly side, but in a twist it bothered Ty more than me! We got to see and listen to fighter jets land at the naval base just behind the dog beach. That was pretty spectacular too. I think it would be a bit too much to live near that though. It is very loud, and looks dangerous when they're coming in HOT.

The bridge to Coronado is really something to experience. Not much of a guard rail and it goes high in the air. I made Ty slow down and drive the speed limit. There are also signs on each side of the bridge about a suicide counceling 1-800 number. Can you imagine?!

In one of the photos, the famous Hotel Coronado is visible. It looks really beautiful, maybe somewhere to stay for an anniversary or some occassion.

Week 1 in Paradise

The first week in San Diego has been terrific, as we are both unemployed and live in a sweet condo a block from the beach. You can't beat the weather, always sunny and not hot. Ty is joking around again (after a long bout of seriousness) and when we see two clouds in the sky his new joke is "Oh, it's a cloudy day again." Ha ha. The weatherman is talking about the heat as he predicts 79 degrees the next three days.

I have been on 4 job interviews, and they all look promising. I have one more tonight at 10 pm! The job I want is an ICU training program, where you're treated like a new grad nurse again but learning to work in all the kinds of ICUs: medical, trauma, surgical, cardiac and neuro. They are super serious about training their nurses well which unfortunately is not my experience back in CO. The training ends at two years, culminating in a course for CCRN certification. It's a competitive program though, they have several candidates for 12 spots. I'm crossing my fingers.

I think I did well, I know I would be an asset to what they've got going on there.

Yesterday we met my friend Allison at Dog Beach. This is a place where everyone can have their dogs off the leash on a coast that has crashing waves. It's very pretty, and well maintained. However, people bring their massive pitbulls and it is scary. This big gray one came over to sniff Mae and Allison's dog Althea, and ended up biting Mae. Allison started yelling at the pitbull and threw a body block at the pitbull to separate the dogs. She is very brave! and a little crazy!! The owner picked the dog up, put him on a leash and carried the dog away without saying a word. It kind of left a bad taste in our mouths for Dog Beach, so I think we'll stay at the one a block away or maybe try the sheeshee dog beach on Coronado.

The condo is coming along well, we're down to about the last 10 boxes and at the point where we need to start hanging stuff on the walls and buy a little furniture. We are going to go to IKEA tomorrow and take a look. We really love our place. It is large, spacious, and well-outfitted. Our patio overlooks the bay and we watch the sail boats come in and out about sunset. It is really spectacular and a huge change of pace from Colorado--exactly what we hoped for. We have found one thing that we don't like, and that is the taste of the water. Oh well, we'll live!

I'm not lonely yet, we've got a lot of plans to see friends. Allison has invited herself over for my birthday, a day long at the beach. There is a free concert in Point Loma park, and a Padres game vs. the Rockies on Saturday that are possibilities as well. I've reconnected with a friend from high school soccer, Kristin Cowart, and we are going to ride bikes tomorrow and Ty and I will go to her sister's birthday party on Saturday. Also hopefully meeting Jeff Bolan on Wednesday. So lots to do, people to do it with, can't ask for much more!