Four pears: $1 My baking: Priceless

I really love food, I enjoy the process of making it just as much as eating it.

Friday was the end of a semi stressful week, which included our first lab competency test, our first test in Health Assessment, and our first test in Pharmacology. I say semi stressful because when looking at next month we have seven tests, more lab competency, and since clinicals start this Friday, every Friday for the next 15 months will probably be booked from 5am till 7pm. That will be a bit more stressful.

Friday evening arrived and I really didn’t feel like studying, so I baked. I had recently bought 4 pears for a dollar at a local store (there were about 12hrs from being rotten), I decided these would worked well in a baked good. Even if there was some nasty bacteria or mold in the mushy parts, cooking them in the oven at temps between 425 and 350 is well over the temperature at which surgical equipment is autoclaved at. (121 C for 20min)

I started by trimming off the really nasty parts of the pears, and then diced all four up into irregular shapes. I had quite the pile of pears, so much so that I figured that I could probably do two different things with them. I decided to bake both muffins as well as some loafs of bread.

Unfortunately I have yet to acquire proper baking tins, bowls, pans.. therefore the muffins were mixed in a stove pot, and then cooked in the only muffin tins I had. Tiny ones.They turned out really well despite their small stature. The muffins contained the typical ingredients of butter, eggs, sugar, flour, soda, powder, and milk, but what really made them tasty was cup of diced pear, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and ¼ tsp of nutmeg.

They were easy and fun to make. Since they were so small it only took 12min to bake them, and since they are so small I can eat ten of them in one sitting and not feel bad about it. It is like eating ice cream with a small spoon. Always better.

The second tasty treat was indeed tasty. Baking loafs is slightly more complicated than muffins, and I wanted to change things up a bit.

Again for want of a proper mixing bowl I mixed the dry ingredients in a stovetop pot. Once the typically dry ingredients had been mixed together I decided to add a few handfuls of dried cranberries, and followed that up with a few handfuls of chopped walnuts. I mixed in the wet ingredients and placed it all into the pans available to me, a loaf pan, and a cake pan.

The bread turned out great. I wish you could have some. The dried cranberries give it a sweet tang, which is only accented by the unmistakable flavor of walnuts all the while surrounded by the taste of almost overripe organic pears. Not too light, not too dense, one of my best works. It is delicious.

Just a Quick Note

For the past few days I have been a bit down because of a number of little annoying things keep popping up. Some were as ridiculous as me being irritated that it was another 90-degree day with 90% humidity, others were a bit more legitimate such as the uniform store not having my order ready despite a phone call assenting that they did. I have been irritated that my knees wont leave me be, that my teachers are disorganized, that I have no money, and that I don’t really like homework.

But I have realized that in the same way I no longer get stressed for tests, there is no reason for me to get frustrated at much of what is currently going on in my life. It is about a 50/50 mix of things I can have an effect on, the stuff I don’t like, and those that I cannot change. However I can do something for each one of those categories.

I need to focus on what I can take care of, and do that well. I need to let go emotionally of what I cannot change, and then change my perspective regarding what I don’t like. Granted most of this relates to school, however sometimes it is easier for me to think of it in terms of running.

I cannot change the way that God made my body. I cannot change the years of physical abuse I took it through. I would like to be able to wake up each morning and run free and easy. I would like to knock out a 100 mile week like it was nothing. That just isn’t going to happen. I don’t like drills, stretching, and doing the little things. But if I can change my perspective, accepting who I am, and where I am, and begin to embrace what I have historically disliked, then undoubtedly I will see some changes.

Sometimes the big things matter, but more often it is the little things that will make the most authentic, and lasting changes in our lives.

Despite the histrionics that most days consist of, life can be quite simple if we choose to live that way.

PS: today is the most beautiful day in Virginia so far. It 74 and only 46% humidity. All 14 windows and the balcony door are wide open.

Living LARGE! Just kidding

A little about life here in Virginia, first thing to note is that it is much more humid than I am used to. I went on a run yesterday around 7am found myself drenched with sweat. I could ring out copious amounts of fluid that had been produced by my seemingly overactive sudoriferous glands. I took a quick shower before breakfast, and dried off only to find that I was still wet. It was strange.

 This is a picture of what I typically live off of; the only thing missing is some type of nut butter, tortillas, spinach, honey, wheat bread, and bananas. This is not all I eat, but I would call it my staple.

Today I went to the farmers market and bought two zucchini, two sweet potatoes, one bell pepper, and I also managed to get 12 white peaches for 2 bucks. (not everything for 2 dollars just the peaches). Lauran, her friend Laura, and I grilled up the veggies and a few hot dogs out on the patio. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. Tasted good too.

I like to travel light. Every time I have to pack up and move to a new place I am amazed and slightly disgusted at the amount of stuff I have accumulated. Therefore each time I try to condense what is necessary, and do away with what is not. Here is my room. 

My fine bed

my lovely desk

my clothes 

Nursing School and Ashburn Virginia

The past few days have been rather hectic, and classes haven’t even begun.

For the past four days we have been bombarded by welcome speeches from the Dean, from the associate Dean, the Director… and many more. I found out that there were over 270 individuals that applied for the program, and only 51 were accepted. I am one of 7 guys.

This semester I will be taking Transition: Nursing Profession, Health Assessment: Foundations, Med Surg I, Med Surg I-lab,  and Pharmacology for a total of 20 units. And somewhere in there will be a weekly 12 hour clinical in a hospital or clinic.

The two ladies that I am living with are also in the program. One of them has just finished up their first degree at Cornell, while the other has been out for a year longer than me. Our apartment is incredible… and incredibly expensive too. I chose to room with individuals that were also in the program rather than out on my own believing that it would facilitate my pursuit of this nursing degree to a greater extent. Although I am sure I could have found some cheep dump to live in, I am now living in a 1436 sq ft three bedroom two bathroom mansion for $1,875 a month.

Money is hard to come by, especially when one has not held a steady job. Sometimes I long for the sense of security that a consistent income would provide. However there is a constant danger of feeling self-sufficient. I don’t want to forget that God has brought me to where I am now, and God will take me through what is ahead. By attaining an all encompassing scholarship, and an ensuing high paying job it would be easy to loss my dependence on God. Living day do day wondering how to come up with $40,000 for this year keeps me trusting that the God that has been with me thus far will continue to be with me.

Since in the past it seems as though my life has been nothing but school and running, it would be wrong to not write a bit about running here.

I have always believed that I can to almost anything that I set my mind to. I think this is what has contributed to my injuries as well. I will wake up, shoot for the stars, and run like there is no tomorrow… and likely there is no tomorrow as far as running is concerned since I destroyed myself the previous day.

I still believe that I have a good bit of running left in me. All I need is to find the resolve to be committed… and see it through to the end.

West Virginia and the New River Gorge National Park

West Virginia is a very beautiful state, although there might be just as many tobacco fields as corn fields now, it is green and hilly once again. West Virginia is one of the United States top coal produces, second only to Wyoming. This was evident by the many ‘I heart Coal’ bummer stickers that I saw.

In the 1870’s over sixty mining towns developed on the New River Gorge. Much of this coal helped full the United States for over half a century during the industrial revolution. Now they are almost all abandoned ghost towns, remnants of the past fading into the foliage.

band of coal in NRG

The Allegheny Mountains that the New River Gorge is located in are deceptively larger than they seem. This is the case for the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains as well. I was impressed with hidden cliffs and rough landscape beneath the green canopy of trees.

The New River Gorge is not really appropriately named. It should be called the oldest river ever. It winding path is evidence of its millions of years cutting through the Appalachians, one of, if not the oldest mountain range in the continental US.

Some of the cliffs that we hiked around were easily over one hundred feet tall and yet they were completely hidden. The maze of magnolia trees wove their roots over our path and hung their vibrant leafs only just above our heads. Various vines climbed the rock, white oak, and Virginia pine trees. The visual beauty along with inescapable song of the cicadas’ made our hour hike along the rim of the New River Gorge a wonderful stop. 

Road Trip to Virginia (Kansas to Kentucky)

There is really not much to say about this portion of the trip. Once you get past Denver (which really isn’t that interesting anyway, just a big sprawling city) not much changes for the next 650miles. I was joking with my dad that if only we could just fold the map a bit, you know… delete a few middle states… jump from Denver to St. Louis, but we did have a pretty good stake in Kansas. From Moab, UT we drove to Hays, KS spent the night and then drove to just outside of Kentucky. The scenery progressively got prettier, but there were no longer the tall pines, redwoods, and rough wilderness that I have grown to love.

This is about it...for miles and miles

It was good to see Jim is doing well for himself

While driving the flatlands my dad and I read a book out loud to each other as we took turns driving. The book was Called When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin. Along with majestic views and good conversation, reading this book has been a major highlight of my trip.

The story is written from the perspective of a young man who has dedicated his life to understanding the human heart. Although the book has sections in which it is heavy on the medical terminology: (“Felt crepitus, suggesting subcutaneous emphysema, suspicious of partial pneumothroax left side.”) It has also been heavy on the healing of the heart.

I believe that this quote and a bit of explanation sums up the tone of the book: “We are all shipwrecked. All castaways… Once day, we all wake on the beach, our heads caked with sand, sea foam stinging our eyes, fiddler crabs picking at our noses, and the taste of salt caked on our lips… And, like it or not, it is there that we realize we are all in need of Friday to come rescue us off this island, because we don’t speak the language and we can’t read the messages in the bottle.” p. 240

For those of you that have not read Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Friday is a character that has a life changing impact on the life of shipwrecked Crusoe. When Crickets Cry takes the reader through the highs and lows of a man’s search for the healed heart. It is a fascinating book regarding the procedures behind open-heart surgery, as well as health friendships, I would whole-heartedly recommend it.

Oh and it also contains great quotes from writers such as Shakespeare, John Donne, William Blake, Saint Augustine, Isak Dinesen, and others.

It was a good book and a page-turner (and not just because we were driving through the dullest part of the country)

Road Trip to Virginia (California Through Colorado)

The plan was to leave Tuesday morning and arrive in Ashburn Virginia sometime before 8:30am the following Tuesday, and of course make a few stops in between. Our first major stop was in Yosemite, and major meant we stopped, ran up a granite hillside and took some pictures; traveling over 2,800 miles in less than a week does not allow for too much stoppage time, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t appreciate the beauty of the valley.

We ate a mid-afternoon dinner at the Whoa Nellie Deli. The half pound burger and fries hit the spot; it was impressive, I should have taken a picture. I was still full the following morning. Driving across Nevada was rather uneventful, however I did see some wild horses, I should have taken a picture of that too, but it’s tough to slow down or snap a picture when you are the only driving a straight road where the speed limit is 75mph…

We woke up in Ely, NV and drove out to Moab Utah. Although stopping in Moab would mean that the next two days had to be twelve or thirteen hour drives, it was worth the stop. Moab is nestled right along the Colorado River in between Arches National Park and Canyon lands National Park. I could of spent weeks there, however an afternoon would have to suffice. With four hours of daylight left, the arches won out when choosing between the slick rock, the arches, the river, the canyon lands, and a myriad of other outdoor activities.

We hiked almost every trial, and saw every major feature. It was beautiful, and I would love to return; the park and the surrounding land begs to be explored.

The drive out of Moab was just as stunning. We took the State Scenic Byway 128. This road fallowed the Colorado River turn for turn up the canyon and then pops one out into the desert; it was amazing. We came across some incredible little ranch/resorts with their own gardens, crops, and grazing lands, and of course horses, looked like an incredible place to live and work.

This was one of our long days. The short version: we went from halfway across Utah, straight through Colorado, and halfway across Kansas. The best part of this drive, other than the early morning drive up the 128 was taking the I-70 up into the Rocky Mountains. Leaving the desert of Utah for the green forests and majestic rocks of western Colorado was a sight to behold, a breath of fresh air, a drink of cool water. Perhaps it was this contrast of high desert to an evergreen forest speckled with aspen trees, that fed my astonishment, but Vail, Colorado and the surrounding mountains are certainly a location that I wish to return to.