Thankful Thursday!

So much to be thankful for these days. Some mornings I wake up and truly wonder if this is my life. I started out my list wanting to blog bimonthly about things I am thankful for, but have severely failed at that.  Here are things I am currently thankful for...

family in town

My nephew's sweet squeal when he is excited

carving pumpkins

live music and opportunities to attend

living in the city that I feel most at home

phone dates with friends far away

my job

waking up to a sweet text message 

falling asleep knowing I am loved

friends

celebration of birthdays

traveling to cities I love and visiting people I love

a God that loves me

my apartment and lovely roommate

encouraging coworkers

My nephew James

#54 Oktoberfest!

Steins!

I am playing a little bit of catch up on some of the items I have been crossing off my list, so please bear with me. Two weekends ago my friend Kristen and I journeyed to the small Bavarian town of Leavenworth WA to partake in the German traditions of beer drinking, brat and giant pretzel eating and of course, sitting around long tables with perfect strangers prosting over new friendships.

Fall in the Pacific Northwest is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Driving to Leavenworth requires a jaunt through the mountains that twist and wind to the cadence of the Wenatchee River.  The orange and red colors cast their glow as they peaked out between the green firs. The drive was not only lovely due to the gorgeous scenery, but because I got to enjoy it with my best friend. Long over due conversations filled the air and the meaningful silence that allowed us the freedom to process independently was also a blessing.

When we arrive into the town of Leavenworth it was like being dropped into Lower Saxony in Germany.  This town is truly authentic and on a weekend such as this, it especially portrayed Bavaria well. We wasted no time in joining the celebration. Donning our "costumes", we obtained a stein and met some new friends. From what I remember, the music and entertainment was fantastic as was the steady flow of various German beers from our newly acquainted friends.

One of our high school friends lives and works in Wenatchee, so he joined us on Friday night and we ended up staying the night at one of his friends house. Turns out hardwood floors and recliners are not the most comfortable for sleeping. We went back for day two on Saturday which included a traditional parade, keg tapping ceremony by the town mayor and more celebrations! We caught a fantastic entertainment group called the Ally Cats in the affectionately dubbed "party tent". We danced, enjoyed people watching and concluded our Oktoberfest weekend in the same tent it all started in the night before.

The drive home was wet and I was reminded that I was back in the Pacific Northwest. We stopped at two of my lovely friends' house in Monroe for dinner and then journeyed back to Seattle. Having that Oktoberfest celebration under my belt, I think it is time for the real thing in Munchin! Who's with me?

Parade

Fall with my bestie

#52 Music Monday... concert recaps!

I have been fortunate to catch some fantastic live music lately. 

Joshua Radin's stage

The best show I saw recently was Joshua Radin last week at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland. I have seen him three times, but this time was the best for several reasons. He played most of his newest album and he was all about the crowd. The Crystal Ballroom is not my favorite venue in Portland (due to the acoustics), but it is a close intimate space and if the artist engages the crowd, it can be a lot of fun. I was fortunate enough to be VIP for this concert and was able to stand less than 10 feet from the stage.

A Fine Frenzy opened for him and I was disappointed in her performance. She played "Almost Lover" last, which was by far her best song performed all night. I really like her music, so I was bummed she did not perform well. Lucy Schwartz sung with Joshua on some of his duet songs and was amazing! Her perfect harmonizing was mesmerizing.

A Fine Frenzy

A few weekends ago I saw a favorite from my teenage years! Alanis Morissette!!! I think her CD was the first I ever purchased. She put on quite the show! She played all the classics and a few songs I had never heard. When she played songs like Ironic, Thank U and Jagged Little Pill, the crowd went crazy! I really enjoyed her new song Guardian, but wouldnt purchase her new CD. She was quite the performer (likely was drunk), but we were VIP and loved every minute of being 15 feet from the stage!

Alanis @ Crystal Ballroom

I never had the opportunity to recap Norah Jones from this summer. I saw her at Edgefield and was also fortunate enough to be VIP for the show. She was everything I hoped she would be and more! I listened to her first album all throughout college and knew every line. She released a new album recently and it has some good songs. Its amazing how music will take you back to perfectly undisturbed memories from song long ago... Amazing show that I am so glad I got to see live!

Norah Jones @ Edgefield

 

#48-Hawaiian Lifestyle

Maui

Paradise. I was fortunate enough to take a trip to Hawaii this past August to celebrate the wedding of two of my favorite Germans, Alex and Britta.  I originally met Britta in 2007 when she was on exchange to Portland. Since then, Britta and Alex hosted me for six weeks on their couch in Germany in 2008 and in 2009 we all took a trip to Seattle and Vancouver BC before I moved to Denver. Jen Hughes is also a good friend of the two (she also went on the Seattle/Canada trip and has stayed with them in Germany a few times) and was able to join us from Vermont for the celebration.

Britta and me in Germany 2008

Britta had always wanted to get married in the States and it was her and Alex's dream to get married in Hawaii. When she emailed me almost a year ago asking if I would fly to Hawaii to witness their wedding, I accepted without reservation.  It had been over a year since I saw Jen, so it was an especially wonderful trip.

I will let the pictures tell the story, but here are some highlights! We were on the island of Maui, which was absolutely breathtaking! The beaches were pristine, the mountains beautiful and the ocean full of animal life to observe.  We spent most of our time at a beach passing our time snorkeling, soaking up the sun or just jumping in and out of the waves.

The wedding was a genuine fairy-tale story of two lovers. Britta's dress was beautiful, Alex was stunningly handsome and their daughter Lily was so well behaved and looked like a little princess in her dress. The weather was perfect and they were able to get some amazing shots! We followed the wedding with a picnic on the beach; German style!









The sunsets were incredible and the views from the cliffs in the rainforest were like I've never seen.  We drove to Hana (on the other side of the island) where the beaches are known for their black sand and privacy. The road wrapped around the side of the mountains, at times funneling into one lane to cross a bridge situated over a waterfall.

We took in local fare, shopped the markets and went to a luau on the beach one evening. Hawaii is a beautiful place, but it is somewhere I might only need to go once. It was great spending time with my lovely friends and enjoying relaxing time on the beach, but I think I would rather spend time traipsing through the windy roads of a European city.

New Perspective on prayer

I have always struggled with prayer. Struggled with knowing how to speak to someone who exists in the Spirit. Struggled with the elegance of my words and the stillness of my heart. Essentially, communicating with the Creator of the Universe is not what you would call my strong suit. But the past few weeks have really helped to refresh my mind and subsequently I feel more confident in my understanding of prayer.

This week, I have been working to wrap my mind around the concept that the Scriptures were written for ALL people for ALL time.  That means they were just as much written for a 1st Century Jew in the Ancient Near East, just as for Martin Luther in Germany in the 16th Century, as much as they were written for me, a twenty-something living in Portland Oregon in 2012.

Here are some key thoughts I have had this past week regarding prayer:

-God wants to bless the world (see Genesis 12,18) and thus wants to bless the world through ME (that same twenty-something that Iives in the most sinful city in America).

-God viewed Abraham as a partner and if the Scriptures are truly for ALL people, he also views me as a partner

-Prayer is coming close to God and talking... nothing more than having a conversation

-God is far more merciful than we can imagine (Gen 18 story of Sodom/Gomorrah)

-God is far more responsive than we expect. God listens and when the time is right, he responds

God is really working on my heart to better understand how it is to communicate with Him. Seems kinda funny when you say it that way... Learning how to communicate with the Creator of the Universe is NOT as difficult as I've made it out to be. What is more, we as followers of the gospel are doing ourselves a disservice if we think otherwise.

This weekend I...

...I celebrated Oktoberfest with my best friend in Leavenworth WA, a quaint little Bavarian town 2 hours east of Seattle

...I wore a Nordic hat and a Bavarian "shirt"

...I blissfully enjoyed the first real weekend of Fall weather in the Pacific NW

...I spent time with high school friends

...I spent uninterrupted hours with my best friend talking and listening and then talking some more

...I tailgated at a Seahawks game (they won!!!)

My favorite Seahawk boys

For the Win!!!!! 

Currently loving

These past few weeks have been a blur... the past month really.  I cannot count on one hand how many times I have logged in to blog and I am so overwhelmed by thoughts that I just log back out.  I follow some brilliant writers and I have even been too overwhelmed to catch up on their writings. Tells you something.

So, I thought I would update the blog world on whats been happening in my little life!

I loved spending time with my family two weekends ago! My sweet little nephew is easily the love of my life. I had such a good time with my brother and sister-in-law. I feel incredibly blessed by our relationship and our close proximity. We went to Eugene and enjoyed the Saturday Market (blog to come on both the Portland and Eugene markets) and of course, a Voodoo Donut or two!

Loving spending time with grad school friends.  My friend Mike came up for a friends wedding and we caught an Oregon game in Eugene and our friend Carolyn was able to join us.  It was so great to spend time catching up and cheering on the Ducks!

 

I loved taking "my boys" to the corn maze! This year it was in the shape of the Mayan Calendar (well played, right?) and we wandered around until we found all the stars on the map. Afterwards, we enjoyed a carmel apple and picked out pumpkins. The weather was absolutely perfect for such a fall occasion.

I loved spending time with college friends and enjoying yet another amazing breakfast restaurant in portland, Slappy Cakes! They give you pancake batter, fixings and toppings and you create your own pancake.  Of course, I made a Mickey Mouse one (just like my dad made me as a kid)!

Slappy Cakes!

I loved celebrating birthdays! Last Thursday was my roommate Jenn's bday and she wanted to go line-dancing! It was a good time and as always, love that country crowd.  Only regret was not taking Friday off of work...

I love going to live music. This past week I was able to go to AWOL Nation on Wednesday night and Alanis Morissette on Sunday night.  I could not believe the show Alanis put on! Her husband opened up the show and she followed in what was one of the most entertaining shows I have seen in a while! We were VIP for the show, which did not suck at all :) Next week I am going to see A Fine Frenzy and Joshua Radin at the Crystal Ballroom, which will no doubt be a fantastic show!

Alansis

I love my church family. This last week we spent time as a church praying for the city of Portland.  I am planning to blog more about this in the coming days. Essentially, prayer has been something I have struggled with my whole life and I feel like God has really been working on my understanding (and my self-imposed limitations) of prayer.

First night of "Seven"

I am loving work.  Although a few days a go I had a sizable vent session on here, I am truly loving my co-workers and feel like I am getting into a grove at work.  My days can be long, but at the end of the day, I know the impact I had on those I have treated.

A broken and flawed system

I have found that at the end of the day, my capacity to "pretend I am interested" severely diminishes. Today, I blame my job. All day I work with patients who come from all diffent backgrounds. Each of them need and require something different from me.  Some just need someone to listen to them and validate their pain. Others need manual intervention that only a skilled therapist can provide. Others need advice on further medical treatment they need/should seek.

At the end of the day, I am spent. I have given all of my capacity to demonstrate how much I care and value them, first as an individual, second as a medical diagnosis. I often leave work wondering if I should have given more? Wondering if I could have asked just one more question, would I have gotten to the root of their concerns.

On a day like today when I completed 7 evaluations, I feel exhausted. I am tired of listening, tired of scrambling my brain to determine what might be causing their shoulder pain, hip pain or back pain.  I am tired of being pressed for time and worse, not getting paid for the time I have to put in order to document all the things I did find wrong with said patients well after they leave.

Our medical system is broken, we know that.  What an average American may not know, is what medical providers are being forced to do to break even (we are not even talking about making a profit). Patient time is cut so we can squeeze in more patients because we are not being reimbursed for the care we provide. This not only leaves patients feeling like they are rushed through the system, but it leaves providers feeling like they weren't adequate in providing care. It's truly a lose-lose situation.

And yet, on nights after days like this, all I can think about is going back tomorrow.  I love my job. I love my co-workers and I love working for a hospital system that provides specialized care to individuals regardless of their background or diagnosis.  I love my profession and the direction it is headed.  And those are the things that keep me coming back for more.