Recent adventures (or a more obvious title)

I have completely lost all routine and balance in my life...but it sure has been packed full of fun!
I am on my 3rd night working after nearly 2 weeks away from my unit. Last week I shadowed in the Albuquerque neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), to get some experience handling premies and really sick babies, so that in the case that we have on up in Espanola, I can be more prepared to care for him/her, as there is no NICU or even pediatric docs in house at night. Hanging out with little 1 and 2 pound babies was definitely a worthwhile and strange experience.
In Albuquerque I stayed at my friend Eric's house, which is within walking distance to the hospital--a refreshing change from a 35mile commute. Following my 3 days on the day shift, I lazed about the house all day, then went out for tapas and salsa dancing with my friend Lisa. After an amazing dance, one guy asked where I was from, and when I said Iowa, he laughed--surprised and amused--and then said: "you fine!" People always have funny reactions to Iowa...

The next day, Eric and I drove down to Las Cruces, where we couchsurfed with some PhD astronomy students who showed us Saturn, the surface of the moon, and some solar flares on the sun via their super-powered telescopes. I had forgotten all about space, being too focused on my little microcosm here, and it was a refreshing shift in thought. We also went hiking with my friend from college, Sarah, in the deserty Organ mountains.
The next day we went to White Sands, which is an incredible gypsum desert, where we camped in our very own pristine dune. We froze at night, then woke up boiling in the sun, then dragged our sunworn and sandy selves to Alamagordo, where we couchsurfed with a retired airforce couple. There we delighted in showers and fresh filipino food and toured the base, which was interesting to me, as I had never been on one...and don't feel the need to again. Patrick had met Nori when he was stationed in the Philippines and brought her home with him 40 years ago.
The next day we drove to Carlsbad, where we climbed into "lower cave," 850 feet below the surface. We got to see cave pearls, clear crickets, and an array of different types of magnificent cave formations. We ate dinner at a Chinese-Mexican restaurant, which served menudo alongside lo mein, then went to a drive-thru movie, and camped outside White's City. The next morning we returned to Carlsbad Caverns to explore the natural entrance, and then slowly made our way back to Albuquerque via the beautiful Lincoln National Forest (where Smokey the Bear is from) and the mountains surrounding Ruidoso.

The past 2 weeks have further solidified my delight in my "wait list" status for the nurse-midwifery program. I wasn't honestly disappointed for a second that I didn't get in right away, as I am not quite ready to give up my free time, which allows for such adventures. Nor am I anxious to put myself into $75k worth of debt. The more I think about it, the less I want to ever put myself in a situation again that makes me feel the need to work in a hospital (or any other such institution that does not allign with my beliefs). No...I now aspire to simply buy a piece of land, build a home out of earth and recycled materials, farm and collect honey, and attend occasional births for family and the surrounding community. :)

Happy May Day! I hope you spent your day celebrating/promoting workers and immigrats rights! I brought my little sister (big brother big sister program) to an amazing parade with giant puppets of the Dalai Lama, Emma Goldman, Cesar Chavez, etc, which ended in a protest of Arizona's new racial profiling law, and a feast of free food at the farmers market.

xo RO

Family is a bag of boiled eggs...

No really, my mom left a pre-packaged bag of peeled hard boiled eggs in my fridge when she left. I can't put my finger on why it's so weird....but a zip-topped, vacuum sealed bag of prepared eggs is just not right.

Furthermore...what the hell is up with the sudden urge to have a baby in my belly and start making and eating cookies all the time that comes from hanging out with my family? OH God. Thankfully it was just 5 days---4 really--or else the subconscious, but incredibly penetrating brainwashing may have led me to do something really nutty....thankfully were no suitable men in my life during those crucial days and the following hangover period.....It reminds me of going to Catholic Youth Camp as a youngster and singing about Jesus and having so much fun in the name of the Lord, and then getting out and being like, WOAH, what the hell just happened? Phew, that was weird! aaaaaand I'm back! haha

But all in all, I would say it was a great trip! My parents and Costa Rican foreign exchange student brother, Beto, met me in Las Vegas (NM of course) on Monday to soak in the hot springs. Then we headed into Santa Fe to get my mother the only thing she had been thinking about during her 6hr drive: a frito pie. She was unhappy with the rendition she received, so we went to the Tesuque Village Market the following day to get her the frito pie of her dreams which she had eaten last fall.

On Tuesday we played around at Tent Rocks, an amazing and unique feast for the geology nerd, and I was very proud of my mom, who made it all the way to the top. We then devoured some pizza and listened to a bluegrass jam at the local pizza place. Weds the boys climbed Atalaya and I took my mom to do something that was a little more her style: shop. Thursday the big event seemed to be going to "The" Trader Joes, while I slept off my night shift. And on Friday morning I met them for breakfast at The Maven, where we feasted on huevos rancheros and migas and watched from our bakery window side table as they made the pastries for the day.

From their trip, I received the reminder of not being attached to any expectations or desires, of maintaining my own truth no matter how loudly another idea of truth is being expressed, and to just be with people and let the magic of the mingling of spirits unfold, instead of trying to control the situation by trying to make everyone happy. My family always likes to challenge me :)

At Backroad Pizza after an afternoon of hiking

In other news, I have learned that my car has a turbo engine, haha, and I only stall/peel out about once a day now :) I definitely have fahrvergnügen.

It may be the first day of spring, but we just got a couple more inches of snow...didn't I leave the midwest for such shenanigans?

Last shift, we had 2 babies basically at the same time, so thankfully 2 drs were in the house, because we only had 2 nurses (usually it's at least 2 nurses and a doc per delivery), and of course our other patients (2 postpartum moms and babes) had to (wo)man for themselves while we ran around like crazy until 8am. Always an interesting time in Española!

my super cute dad!

tent rocks

happy birthday to me!

me in a tree, ahhhhh

I'm not shy! I love birthdays, and today is mine!!! (and my friend Daniela's, and Meher Baba's: Indian Mystic who believed in the unifying power of love....)

Today was basically the best day ever. I woke up in a sun-filled room. Ate some rice (my favorite comfort food, and I have to admit, I've been battling a cold, so despite that, it was still the best day ever and it afforded me the excuse to eat rice for breakfast).

I went to my 4th day of my yoga workshop, another beautiful day of love and connection and beauty.

I did some yoga in a tree. Ah! Combining 2 things I LOVE (being in trees, and playing with forms).

I got the birthday blessing of 37 yogis with a thai massage from all of them at once.... Oh my, it was amazing! They all placed their hands on me and inhaled when I inhaled and pressed on me as I exhaled, all at once.

Then I went out to dinner with my ol' friend from Iowa City, Genie. She treated me to a feast of wine, macadamia nut cheese stuffed dates, beautiful salads, stuffed mushrooms, and vegan chocolate cake.

Then home to my brother Ted's house to watch some Olympics and drink tea, before heading to bed with the excitement of my last day of acro-yoga workshop and my friend Amy visiting me from Reno tomorrow dancing in my head.

Ahhh, what a beautiful quarter of a century, down the hatch! I look forward to at least 3 joy-filled more!!

Love! Rachel

Genie and me at Encuentro

PS other amazing days have included Sat with Ted: my first time ever sailing, which involved his two sailing buddies ditching out on a rainy day, which meant him, a new sailor, and me a semi-open-water-phobe and completely worthless 1st mate, nearly tipping over (aka capsizing) a couple times and basically going around in circles for an hour and a half before heading back.
And Sunday which involved a day of deliciousness: Dim sum in San Francisco with Ted and Jane, then storming the puddle-filled streets of SF with my friend Alexis, and topping the day off with vegan Mexican food in the Mission.
*Note, I am not vegan, but definitely appreciate it, and most certainly appreciate the boldness of anyone who does Mexican vegan, which is basically unheard of

Ted and Jane, bro and sis-in-law

Golden February

It's the month of my golden birthday, and I am living it up!

25 on the 25th.
I just returned from the 9^th annual International Salsa Congress in Chicago (amazing). And I’m leaving Friday—using up all my PTO—and going to Oakland for a yoga workshop, to visit my brother and some good friends, and to dance one night at the salsa-rueda congress which is coincidentally happening the weekend I arrive and will be attended by many friends from Santa Fe.

I woke up this past Sunday morning after dancing until 3am and being up till 5, and suspected I was paralyzed. My body was so heavy and tired from 2 days of workshops and 3 nights of dancing, and I simply lacked the ganas to move. I got up however, and went into Chicago to see the Chinese New Year parade and hang out with my dear college friends. Without the latter two or maybe latter one, I would have had literally no reason to even leave the hotel, which had all I needed—chocolate, trail mix, and most importantly: live salsa workshops, music, performances, and dancing 24/7 from Thursday to Monday, and let’s face it, it’s February in Chicago…there’s no need to be out there.

I was inspired and renewed by the bedazzled weekend, and was happy to jump back into work—for one week—before heading off again…

In other exciting news, I wrecked my car on icy I25 a couple weeks ago, and have since bought a 2001 Jetta, which my friend Carlos had to teach me to drive, as it is a stick and I never learned to drive one. I have only stalled at about 342 stop lights/hills and gotten 1 ticket because he left reverse out of his teaching plan (which did involve dancing bachata while driving and singing “baby you can drive my car”). I did not realize this oversight in the lesson until the time came to parallel park and I had to opt to park about 4 feet away from the curb. I will be leaving my car at the dealership when I go to Oakland this weekend, because as it turns out, I don’t have a key for the trunk and cannot get into it, so they will have to somehow make me one. When I dropped by today to tell them this, they looked in the trunk via the back seat (a feature I had not yet discovered…I know, who was with me when I bought this thing? The answer: myself), I was half expecting to see a kilo of cocaine or a dead body. Alas, it was disappointingly empty.

I know I’m overloading you with excitement here, but let me just slide in one more fun fact: the air mattress I have been calling my bed for the last few months has been slowly loosing air, leaving me to awaken on the wood floor at 4 am or 1pm depending on the current sleep schedule, with the task of blowing it back up (praise theelectric thingie). So needless to say, I am in the market for a real bed, but in the meantime am sleeping on a twin that I pulled from storage in the house. I’m not sure whether it’s an upgrade or not.

Lots of love and hugs to all, Rachel

Dancing at the Chicago Salsa Congress