spring time mania

So much has been going on here in Anchorage. I have already sent a total of thirty boxes to Jason. It takes about a month for them to get to Rochester, and with him coming here for my internship graduation I need all the boxes to be gone the first week of June. The people here are so incredibly nice. I make a new friend every time I go to the post office.

 

My Alaska Psychiatric Institute Rotation is complete. It was a bit overwhelming. More because it was so short and they tried to fit everything in. I really loved working with the adolescents though. It is so amazing to hear what a teenager’s life is like in the villages compared to what my life was like as a teenager. At times I find it frustrating, but then I remember it’s what they know and I am making a judgment and most likely if I had grown up in a village I would do different things and enjoy much different things. There is also a Baptist Priest coming to anchorage soon to protest outside the native center because he is calling the natives heathens. It’s so upsetting. I can honestly say that my experience with anyone from a Native Alaskan background has been a positive one once they get to know me and I get to know them. Many of them are religious now, and they went through so many horrible events. I know many of my patients and colleagues plan to go protest against the priest and I am seriously considering it too.

 

Spring is here in anchorage though, and the sunlight is increasing drastically. It is now well after ten before it gets dark, and when I wake up at 5 am it is lightish. We gain about 5-7 minutes of sunlight a day. I am having some trouble falling asleep now. The mornings are great though. There is still snow on the mountains but for the most part the snow and ice ha melted in the valley.

 

As the internship year comes to a close I am no longer taking on new patients and instead working on transfer summaries for my patients to go to the new students coming in. It’s sad too. I mean I’ve worked with some of them all year long. I wish the best for them all. In more personal news Jason is also spending this time interviewing for his fellowship. His Alaska interview will be May 9^th and I am keeping my fingers crossed for that one. He has some good options though. They interview early for palliative care, so he won’t actually start until the summer of 2015. The places he has gone though have talked with him about helping me to find a job in the area if he chooses to come there. That is kind of awesome.

 

This week has also been kind of special for Jason and me. It was our first year anniversary. He sent me flowers and a stuffed animal. They were supposed to be delivered to my home, but ended up having to be delivered to work since the company doesn’t deliver after 3 PM. We also got to see each other after nine weeks. We went to Seattle and it was so amazing to see him after so long. I love traveling with him too. We always get a hotel with a full kitchen and do our grocery shopping and cook together. We also go to the gym every morning. I can run again! I am taking it slow, but I did three days back to back in Seattle. Plus we went on an amazing hike on a mountain to Bridal Falls. It was supposed to be easy, but we were jumping over streams and climbing up rocks. I was pretty sore after that. We also did some shopping, and I got some Kate Spade shoes for commencement. They are hot pink which I fitting since I defended my dissertation in a hot pink suit. Anyway just two weeks till I leave to go back for commencement. I am hoping the redwings are still in the playoffs, but they aren’t doing so hot. It would be great to go to a game though. Oh and I know what else is new. I have red hair again! Anyway, I hope all of you are doing fabulous and I look forward to seeing my Michigander friends in two weeks!!!!!

snow in september? what is this strange place

So since I last wrote I had a minor panic attack. Our first snow was predicted and everyone was busy getting snow tires put on. I freaked out because a)I don’t have snow tires yet and b) it sounded like every place was booked. So of course I set out to my family’s favorite store and main conversation topic Costco. They of course had what I needed, but were too busy to put them on for me. Jason called around and found a place to put them on. By the time I got there they said they were too busy. I explained my situation and how I would be out of town for several weekends, and they managed to squeeze me in. So my relaxing Saturday turned into a stressful Saturday and I didn’t get home till 9 pm after all was said and done. The snow of course came, but did I need snow tires? Nope. I’m still happy I got them though because I was in Seattle last weekend and need to prepare for my trip to nome this weekend. It’s really weird to see snow in the middle of well I guess not even the middle but the beginning of fall. I felt tempted to pull out Christmas music.

Last weekend was my trip to visit Jason in Seattle. We got in late late on Friday, but of course he was perfect making sure everything was taken care of and getting me healthy food before we went to the hotel. The next day was a relaxing trip to the gym and grocery shopping. We were going to hike but it was raining, so we ended up going to the space needle and then a comedy show. Afterward we made our healthy pizza in the microwave because well cooking in a hotel isn’t the greatest. Sunday included a gym trip and planning my Christmas flight to Detroit. Which actually looks like it will be a flight to seattle then the next day to Detroit then a drive to Dayton Ohio where his sister lives then back to Detroit and then a flight to Reno for a fellowship interview for him and then a flight to seattle back to anchorage. Exhausted yet? I am. I’m actually really excited for it. This will be my first Christmas away from my family, but I’m just really thrilled to be spending it with my amazing boyfriend. (yes I am sure I am making you all sick by now). Saying goodbye was hard of course, but he’ll be here first week of November.

Now I am freaking out about my trip to  Nome and then the chartered flight to the rural village Stebbins. I hate not working out in the morning, and I won’t have access to a gym. My foot still isn’t 100% so trying to run would not be good, plus its too cold outside now. I am taking my resistance bands and jump rope thought. Maybe we can get some hikes in too. Then of course Jordan brought up the fact our flight home from Nome is the most canceled flight. Grrrrr I want to get home Thursday night! Say some prayers! I am also kind of curious and excited at the same time. I mean this is not an opportunity a lot of people have. Ray (our supervisor there) has to go to the elders to ask for permission for us to even come. It’s kind of a big deal I guess. I think I have everything I need for the trip, but I need to get a compression bag for my sleeping bag and maybe some ski goggles. I plan to spend the majority of this weekend preparing, but I may be going to a festival with Jordan and his wife and then Sarah will be in town for her birthday so hopefully I’ll catch up with her at some point.

Okay all! Cross your fingers for me! In two weeks I’ll be back to normal hopefully.

(sorry there are no photos. I’m too tired to figure out why my computer won’t let me upload them tonight)

I got to see him!!!!!!

 

So it has been a little bit since I last posted. Work has literally been crazy. There isn’t a moment when I am at the clinic when I tend to have free time. My first week of having patients was this week, and I am pretty much booked. However, I did have some time to talk with my supervisor about what my elective will be and I’ve set myself up to do palliative care. I’ll get the chance to participate in the interdisciplinary team meetings as well as do home visits with one of the physicians. This is kind of Jason’s area of interest and since I have been helping him write a proposal for a research project in palliative care, it’s kind of been something I have gotten into. Also, I’ll be running diabetes group visits as well as starting a MOVE group for weight loss. I am loving every second of my time here so far!

 

This past weekend I got to go to Seattle to see Jason! It had almost been a full two months since I last saw him. I got in late Friday, and it was just amazing to be able to hold his hand and actually see his face. He really made the weekend perfect. On Saturday we woke up late and went to the gym, then we went grocery shopping and made some food. We went to all these national parks and the view was amazing. We made dinner when we got back and relaxed. I love how we can just enjoy every moment together. Sunday it was hard to say goodbye, but he will be in Alaska in 29 days now! Yay! It looks like he will be here for about 10 days, and I only have to work three of them due to labor day and a day off. I can’t wait to see him and we have some amazing plans like going to see the northern lights, going on a dinner cruise to see the whales, helicopter trip to denali, and going to walk on a glacier.

 

This weekend is going to be a little boring. The few people I know are out of town, and it is supposed to be rainy. I want to try and bike the coastal trail though. It’s supposed to be a fabulous view. I was invited to go to Homer, but I am going to have to work on my notes some, so it really isn’t feasible. Oh well.  Anyway, each day I am here I love it even more. We shall see how the winter goes!