San Diego, The House, Fusion

San Diego

This past week I spent a chunk of time in San Diego for a work conference. The conference was "Dilemma's in Wound Care." It came to my attention recently, that not many people really have an idea what I do at work these days... but trust me when I say, you may be better off, or at least able to hold food down, if I don't give too many details. What I will tell you, is that in a nut shell, what I do is wound care. I'm not talking about clean surgical incisions, I'm talking deep, dead tissue filled gaping, beside surgery nasty nasty wounds... yeah- I wield a mean scalpel. One of the perks (or the stressful part depending on how you look at it) is that it requires a ton of extra training, so I get to go to conferences, conferences that are usually in fun places....like San Diego. I went down Wednesday evening, had the conference Thursday and drove home Friday afternoon. Now, I am fully aware that I could have cut one of those days out, San Diego is only two hours away. But I turned off my cell phone, left my school books in the car, and took some time for a personal retreat. Truthfully, I looked into staying friday night as well, but the weekend rate for the hotel I stayed at was absurd. And oh, what a hotel it was (pictured above). It was called "The Dana" and sat right on Mission Bay/Beach. My room was on the second floor and had a balcony that overlooked the water. But what was better than the room was the absolute beauty of the hotel grounds. There was lush tropical plants, ground lighting along waters edge paths, an out door restaurant where the only lighting were wrought iron torches. enclosed heated outdoor pools- it was beautiful. In spite of all that, I just wanted to rest and be quite for a bit. I spent the majority of the time in my room. on the balcony away from the other hotel guests... I am realizing that scheduling time away from my crazy world is something I need to do more often....

The House
Hopefully sometime this week my house will officially be on the market... hopefully. The fact that it's not already is no one's fault but my own. I have the paper work, it's just finding time to fill it all out and fax it (tomorrow I have the day off and it's at the top of the to do list). It has actually taken me quite awhile to come to the decision to sell it. I love that place, even in all it's ghetto-ness- it's one of the things that ties me to Pennsylvania. I have so many memories in that house.... But Jamie is moving out in Oct, and winter will be upon...the northeast...soon. I'm not excited about dealing with an empty house from across the country, or about finding new renters. Since I'm pretty set about staying here, selling it, or at least attempting too, is the smartest option. Honestly, I am both sad and relieved by the decision, but I definitely have peace about it. So if you think of me and/or the house, please pray that it sells quickly (inspite of the market).

FUSION (LC this is for you!!)
Last but not least, my friend Laura requested some information from me that I thought others might be able to use. A little background- Fusion is the young adult ministry of the church Christian Assembly (Eagle Rock). The ministry has grown so large (400+ 18-35yr/olds) that it has it's own worship service on Sunday evenings. I had been praying for a place to get involved and get connected with people my own age but I didn't want it to interfere with my involvement in my home church and thus force me to constantly be choosing which to go to. Fusion was a suggestion of a friend and I have been enjoying checking it out for the last little bit(ummm yeah... where but So Cal would you find a small group that goes surfing every saturday morning followed by biblestudy on the beach?? Yes please!!). I checked the website several times before venturing to it to see what it was all about and stumbled onto the "Life Journal" (okay not really stumbled, it's really easy to find on the opening page). It's an online daily scripture reading tool great for people who are stuck at a desk for a portion of their day and tend to be slackers (or over-committed) in their free time (I'm speaking about myself). Basically, it gives you a link to the scripture and then has spaces for you to free text what it's saying or what the Lord is speaking to you through it, how you're life will be different because of it, and a prayer of response. Each gets saved to complete a "journal" that you can later look back on(should you so desire) to see the theme of Gods work in your life. Best part, it's free and you don't need to be a member or even live in the state to register and begin using it. So journal away all you fellow desk jockey's!!! (I linked it to the CA homepage... the life journal link is on the right side).

the littlest "playa"

This is a conversation I had recently with a 2year old while holding his newborn baby brother.


Sam (moving super close to me): "Isn't he sooo cute?"

Me (smiling): "Yes he is. Do you love him?"

Sam: "yes, I dooo love him. He is my brother. He is a boy."

Me (trying not to laugh): "A boy like you?"

Sam: "yes, a boy like me."

Me: "I guess that means I'm a girl."

Sam (putting his hands on my cheeks, pulling my face so close to his that our noses almost touch) whispers: "No, you're not a girl. (pause). You're a lady."
.....I am in love.....

Changing Seasons

Summer is always ended by the only thing that has the power to end it... the beginning of school. Summer officially dies tomorrow (I know, you're rolling your eyes right now. You're right, it is always summer in Southern California). But tomorrow my sisters go back to school, my mom goes back to school, all the kids in the youth group go back to school and I go back to school.

School means the end of weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) beach trips complete with boogie boarding, surfing, sun tan lotion and post beach trip aloe parties. It means the youth group goes back to their regular sunday school and will stop coming over to the house on Sundays for pancakes, french toast, breakfast burritos or whatever my girls dream up. It means no more surprise visits from kids at work. It means homework, paper writing, test taking & late nights after long days at work. It means new, but not necessarily fun, priorities.

Yesterday, to mark the end of summer, we took the youth group to the beach for the last official "beach day." We left later than usual and stayed well into the night to have a beach bon-fire. It was a very long, but fun, day. I left the group sometime between smore's and loading up the car to take a walk by myself.

I walked along the waters edge letting the cold water roll over my feet as the waves came in until I felt I had put a significant space between myself and the kids I had just spent the day with, the kids I hold near and dear to my heart. I found a spot in the cold, wet sand just out of the waters reach and sat... and sat... and sat... and sat. I sat alone, in the dark, staring out at a black sea speckled only with the lights of ships in the distance, mesmerized by the enormous waves that came crashing in and then just as quickly were pulled back out. It was both beautiful and dangerous. As I sat alone in the dark staring at a black sea, I tried to quite my mind. But instead, my thoughts turned to exhaustion from a day spent with kids, the decision to pull back from the youth group a bit and focus on school, the school journey itself, the thought of selling the house and the reality of transitioning friendships as my permanence here becomes more real. Being overwhelmed by a job that takes 2years to learn but having to able to do it in 3months..... all things both trivial and meaningful about california life flowed freely in and out of my mind until I asked a question I have thought often in the past few months but ever only whispered and never dared to wait for an answer.... "why am I here?" only this time I listened. There was nothing overwhelming, no lightening bolt from heaven or a grand revelation of my future only a soft yet strong voice saying "I am here."

I sat in the dark, staring at the sea, watching the waves steadily, faithfully and confidently, as if with purpose, roll in and get swept back out for a bit longer. It was both beautiful and dangerous. Then I got up, walked along the waters edge, letting the cold waves wash over my feet, until I reached the bon-fire I had left.

Welcome To The World......

Congrats to Alex, Jacquie and big brother Sam on the arrival of Joel Reed!!!! Joel was born c-section 8/13 (two weeks early) weighing 8lbs 5 oz. Everyone is doing well and are expected to arrive home today!!!

A Long and Sad Goodbye

Tonight I said goodbye to one of my most favorite boys.

John was honestly an unlikely friend. He was the close friend of someone I was seriously crushing on. Initially he hung out to be the "third person" when we would do things. In the beginning I was slightly annoyed by him. His presence kept conversation from getting too deep (and quite frankly kept me from flirting shamelessly) but as my crush faded, we continued to hang out, and he is now one of my closest friends here. Only a handful of people can make me laugh as hard as he can (seriously, who wears a sparkly pink girl shirt with cap sleeves that says "Let's focus on me" to his birthday party) while remaining a amazing sounding board, not to mention a strong voice of reason.

He has very quickly become one of my favorite things about California life. So why goodbye....? here's the kicker- Tomorrow at 6am he is leaving to move to..... wait for it..... Philadelphia!!!!!!! Ironic huh?? Tonight was the last I'll see of a friend whom I'm used to seeing or talking to almost daily until October, and saying goodbye nearly (but not quite) brought me to tears.

Good bye #2 Kymbri is one of the most amazing unjaded, trusting young women I have ever met. There is a sweet innocence about her that makes it hard to believe that she has experienced any turmoil in her life ever... but that's definitely not the case. God has blessed her with amazing resiliency. She and I became close when we were the only two girls on a Colorado trip this past spring. We did everything together for a week, and I mean everything!!! I marveled (and still do) at her ability to have complete unwavering faith in God. She, with John, who happens to be her boyfriend, is leaving tomorrow morning at 6am to head to east coast where she'll be starting at Messiah in a few weeks.

The past few days have been a big long goodbye party. My heart is both sad for me, and excited for them (truthfully I'm a little more sad than excited... okay much more sad actually)!

Immortality

One of the coolest perks in my life right now is a close friendship with a wonderful married couple name Alex and Jacquie. Jacquie is an artist and a stay at home mom. Alex is a musician and is part of the incredibly cool band Five O'Clock People (not to mention the worship leader at my church). He also is a producers for bands he deems fit (seriously this guy has an impeccable ear). They are the type of friends that are obviously a gift from God in my life. My sundays are usually spent at their house, eating lunch, playing with there amazingly cute son Sam, napping..... you get the point. This Sunday was a bit different.

Alex has been working with a new band named Atlantic. The band is comprised of 4 guys; Josh, Nathan, Alex (not the aforementioned Alex) and Jeremy. This band is phenomenal!!!!! One would think that the perk to being Alex and Jacquie's friends is that you get to rub shoulders with up and coming artists (as if their incredible friendship weren't enough), and it is. Hanging out at the Walkers so frequently inevitably means hanging out with Atlantic, as well other musicians. Today, however, hanging out and rubbing shoulders took a crazy turn.

After eating at Chipotle (a mexican restaurant) Alex mentioned that he was going to the Wire (a small art/music/recording venue) to "lay down" some guitar tracks for an hour or so. Knowing that Jacquie (who is nine months pregnant) would be napping, not to mention being very intrigued by the whole track laying down, I asked if I could accompany him. He agreed explaining this wasn't a very "studio experience" it was just a few guitar parts (seriously, it's all the same to me).

We arrived and I played "coffee girl" and made a Starbucks run. When I had gotten back, Josh, Nathan and Alex were just about done setting up with the engineer Dave. I took a spot out of the way on the floor by an amp and silently (well kinda.... these boys are all really really funny, so there was a lot of goofing off that happened. But lets just say I tried to stay out of the way though it didn't always work out so well:-). On the "to do" list was a chorus for Nathan, and verse and chorus for Josh and a whisper track. Nathan began and worked his part out for about 20minutes. Next was the whisper track.

A whisper track is just what it sounds like. It's whispering that will go in and around certain parts of a song. There were two that need to be recorded. One was whispering a line in the chorus to insert between the chorus and the verse, the other was random whispering for the end of the song. It works best when there is a small group of people standing around the mic whispering. This is where I became immortal in the music world. By luck (and a friendship with perks) I was in the studio and happen to have amazing (yet rarely used) whispering skills. So for several takes we all (5 of us) stood around the mic laying down a whisper track. When we finished Josh laid down his part and we heard the rough cut of it all together. It sounded so freaking cool!!!!

Now, I am fully aware that a whisper track does not make me a super star, but hanging out in the studio for the afternoon was a look into a world that I know nothing about and it was awesome! Truthfully, it made wish that I were the slightest bit musically inclined. And when Atlantic makes it big (and trust me they will, look for their CD sometime in the near future... I think, they sent the rough mix to be mastered. I don't know what all that entails let alone how long it takes) I will be able to say I was there at The Wire when they recorded parts of their first album and it's my voice you hear in the whisper on "What do you want from me."

These are some of the pictures I took with my phone so they're a little dark

Summer, Summer Summer....Camp

This past week was summer camp. Camp is one of the most amazing places to me. I swear the trees drip grace. It's where I was saved, where I spent every summer from 9th grade until I was a sophomore in college.

This summer camp was bittersweet to me. It isn't what I remember it to be (But is anything every really what we remember once time has stripped away the bitter parts and left us only with the sweet? ). Even though it didn't compare to past experience it was still a great week- here are a few highlights.