Horseneck Beach

Yesterday I went with a friend of mine to Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA with my friend Laura Daman. It worked out because this week again is slow for me and next week won’t be, so I decided to hit the beach. Laura is a teacher and is spending her summer volunteering and tutoring but Wednesday is her ‘play day’. It was a perfect beach day (hard to come by in New England): 85°F with a water temp of ~70°F. I had to go into work in the morning for a bit, but I made it to Laura’s by about 1:30 and we were at the beach by 3pm. By then, many people were leaving, but as far as we were concerned we only missed bigger crowds and the really intense sun. Both of us are super fair skinned so we were glad to miss the latter. We swam, we read, I walked around and took some pictures. Have I mentioned that I LOVE the New England coast?!? It is soo different than what I am used to in CA and each beach is a little bit different, yet the same. We left the beach around 6:30 and then found a place that the locals like to go to for fish and chips and ice cream. It was a really great day.

Here's some interesting side notes about New England Beaches:
1. they decorate sand castles with rocks instead of shells
2. Laura said "wow- this beach has really great waves" (anyone in CA may have thought we were at the bay)
3. The lifeguards are mostly all high-schoolers working a summer job because there is no need for year-round guards
4. lots of rocks
5. grainy (not soft) sand... although, the further south you go- like Rhode Island and about where we were, the softer the sand gets
6. bath houses and concessions
7. nearby clam shacks
8. lighthouses
9. sand dunes
10. you have to pay for parking

Make new Friends but keep the old; one is Silver and the other Gold

Ammendum:I have altered this post (I may have been a bit emotional when I was writing that... I know- hard to believe huh?). I still feel the same way, but in the last couple of days I honestly feel like God has been showing me that friendships don't always look the same. Granted- I do desire to have deep relationships with people, but for now, while I'm so busy at work, what I have is exactly what I need. I never meant to imply that I don't have friends... that's quite the opposite. I have many friends... just none as deep or strong as the ones I left behind in CA. But, I do have people that I can hang out with and just let my hair down with and that is a blessing no matter how you look at it.

Original (but altered) Post:Sometimes I wonder… mostly because I don’t really understand human interactions… Recently, a person who I thought was a good friend just suddenly changed on me. Before I had gone to San Diego for my brother Craig’s wedding, we had been very close. I was so excited to have a friend that I felt like I connected with and enjoyed just hanging out with. When I came back 10 days later I knew her schedule was busy. But, something had changed. I was being shoved out. I don’t know why. Because I live an hour away? Because I’m not perfect? She recently told me that summer just isn’t what she expected it to be this summer (I think she’s a lot busier than she anticipated with work) but she also said that she was evaluating what her friendships should look like. And despite the fact that she still wants to be friends, I find myself incredibly hurt.

The truth is we were all created with a God-sized hole in our hearts. We were designed to be deeply connected with our God. Our hearts yearn for this connection. AND- get this- we were also designed to be in community with each other. But, this desire to be deeply connected with someone… with something- is supposed to be filled first with God. I’ll be the first to admit that my relationship with God is far from perfect. I sometimes struggle with spending time daily with him because occasionally I question whether He will actually fill this hole in my heart. God is supposed to be enough, but then why does my heart still yearn for deep relationships with others? Hmm. I will say this, something in me keeps getting back up for more.

Build Up

It amazes me how just a few words can either make or break a day. Recently, I’ve had several people say encouraging things to me and it really lifts the spirits. Just last week, my dad sent me an e-mail telling me how proud he is of me and that he loves me. On Tuesday I got a note card in the mail from a friend from church/work that was just really encouraging. Wednesday I got a short note from a friend that was also very positive. Today I got an e-mail from my mom that was just very happy with lots of good news and fun stories that made me smile.

All of this just spurred me on to write a few notes of encouragement to other people in my life who I love. It’s nice to spread joy and encourage people who are down. Who can you encourage?

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

Scrapbooking

Last night was a good night. I was able to leave work at a decent hour yesterday because I had accidently killed all of my cells over the weekend. Oops! I had forgotten to add an important growth factor that my cells need… but I digress. So, I went over to my friend Erica’s house and we scrapbooked. It was so nice to have someone to do that with because since I moved away from my friend Laura, I’ve had nobody to scrapbook with. She has some fun toys like oval cutters and a corner rounder and stuff. It was also nice being able to share paper and stickers. But don’t get me wrong, scrapbooking is work… and once you get all the stuff out, you go as long as you can before you throw in the towel. I got to her house at 7:30 and we were going till 11:45. By the end, we were feeling a little goofy and were cracking up hysterically when her husband Al and his friend Carlos were keeping us company with some fun stories. Overall, it was fun to chat and get to know her better and get some pictures in my book. I’m a year behind in pictures so hopefully I’ll get to do more of this. But I’m really looking forward to getting to know her better and hanging out more! Yay for girl time!

Narragansett Beach

Yesterday was fabulous. I went to Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island for the day with people from my department at work. It started at work. We all left work together at around 11:30 am and I was packed in the back of a Prius with Ray and Khamna (from India), Florentina (from Romania) and Denise (from Turkey). They are really fun and interesting people… I liked listening to their stories for the hour and a half each way that we were driving.

When we finally got there, the place was packed… and I mean packed. I am pretty sure this beats La Jolla Shores on the 4th of July. There was a playground for kids, a huge bath house and a food stand. The water was almost too warm at about 70-72°F. But there were some waves and lots of fun people. It was cool because when one person went into the water, EVERYONE (about 25 of us) went into the water… I had brought a couple of tennis balls to throw around in the water and it was such a hit! I couldn’t believe that two old crummy tennis balls would be so much fun. We bobbed around and tried intercepting it from people… what a time! My bathing suit never dried… I’m pretty sure I spent 2.5 hours in the water total out of the 4 hours we were there.

I had also brought a volleyball and smashball to play with. That was pretty fun. We had about 4 of us hitting the volleyball around in a very open space that we found. I think we had been playing for about an hour when the ranger came up to us and told us that there was no playing ball of any sort on the beach. Can you believe that!?!?! No volleyball?????? What’s the point of a beach if you can’t play volleyball. Apparantly, the ball could hit someone. I just wanted to say, “ya, there’s that possibility… then should I not swim? Because really, I could step on a rock and cut my foot!” (insert sarcasm). I’ll never go back to that particular beach. It was nice and the water was warm, but no ball.  At least we had gotten a good hour of play in before we were told to stop. At that point, it was time for another swim anyways. 

All-in-all, it really was the best time I’ve had in grad school. The people were fabulous and we really just had a good time.

Rolled Tacos

So, yesterday Whitney and I went to the outlet mall looking for some specific things that we feel isn’t worth paying full price for. The outlet mall is hit or miss, but we found workout shirts for $4.95 and a couple other things we were looking for that were also on sale. Overall, the trip was a success. Afterwards, we decided that we needed Mexican food. There is a place in Framingham called Acapulco’s that is fabulous. I like it because the wait staff barely speaks English and it is just good food and a great atmosphere. It’s also in my price range which is a bonus.

So we got there and I was really feelin’ rolled taco’s. Of course, that’s not on the menu. They make flauta’s and “taquito bites” (whatever that means), but no rolled tacos. But a lot of times, especially at specialty restaurants, you can ask for something that maybe the chef makes that maybe isn’t on the menu. I thought I’d give it a shot… after all, rolled tacos are my favorite food especially after shopping or surfing. Growing up, I told mom and dad that I could eat them every night and never get tired of them. Looking back, I was probably wrong about that, but I see that as a testament to how good these things are. (Here’s a picture of what the real McCoy looks like):

I was lucky. Our cute waiter was very friendly and eager to please. So I threw it out there… “ya know, I’m from San Diego and my favorite thing in the whole world are rolled tacos… do you think I could have some of those?” At first, he looked a little confused about what I was talking about. He said “we don’t have big corn tortillas” so I described them to him. I said you just take a normal size corn tortilla… you put some beef in there and you roll it up. Then you fry it. When they’re done, you top with guacamole and cheese and they’re fabulous! He said “really?”… yup. Then he said he’ll talk to the chef.

He came back soon after with our food. They had made the rolled tacos!!! They were flat. The cheese was melted on top with the guacamole spread over it… but they were wonderful! Probably better than CA rolled tacos because they used carne asada instead of shredded beef. I was very impressed. The waiter said, “we make these for you any time!”. Awesome. I took a picture with my phone (I’m not super impressed with the quality, but it’s the best I can do).

Swimming

So now I begin something new. Since my foot makes it unwise for me to continue commuting by bike (until I get it all straightened out) I have started swimming in the mornings. I joined the Worcester Greendale YMCA and the cost is $39/month for students. The facility is very nice. This Y was just rennovated. There are 2 pools, new gym equipment, 8 indoor clay tennis courts and plenty of classes. Monday morning the pool was very crowded. Today it was much better. I skipped Tuesday because I needed to be in the lab early. I suppose that will happen occasionally. As for the pools, there is one for old people and children (higher temp) and another pool that they keep cooler for those truly exerting themselves. Both are lap pools but I prefer swimming in the main (cooler) pool.

For those who know me, you are aware that I am half fish and love to swim, so this is not a totally bad change for me. The bad news is that now I need to pay for a gym membership in the summer which I generally try to avoid becuase I prefer being outdoors. I'm moving slowly in the pool right now... it's been a few months since I've swam, but I am hopeful that I will be get quicker soon. My upper body (which is usually my strong point) is weaker than usual- probably because I haven't been lifting due to lack of a gym membership. So I think I'll also start lifting weights again too in order to improve my strength in the pool. I don't like feeling slow. I like doing the same sets and times that I did in high school... which I was doing all last year... but then I took a break. I have high hopes though.

4th of July

Ok, so I realize I’m a little late with this one, but this weekend was so busy! The 4th of July here in New England is always a little difficult. We get lots of thunderstorms in the summer which makes it very difficult to plan for anything out of doors… many things have what’s called a “rain date” which is the alternate day of an event in case of rain. Well, the 4th of July doesn’t get a rain date because there’s only one of those per year. It was very rainy the morning of the 4th and the whole week had been rainy too, so people weren’t really making plans until last minute. I ended up going with some friends down to Boston to watch the most amazing fireworks show ever from the bank of the Charles River. There are TONS of people who flock to see these… and frankly- they are worth it. To get a good spot to watch, you’ve got to get their early… like 10am-12 noon early. To pass the time while you wait, you read, play cards and walk around. It is fun… but after a while you start thinking “these fireworks better be good” because it’s a long wait. I got there at about 3:30 because I needed to go into the lab to work for a while, but my friends Nate and Caroline got there around noon to stake out our spot. The fireworks are at 10:30.







The Boston Symphony POPS concert that starts around 8pm. The concert was great… it always is. They also had Rascal Flatts as the special appearance and they sang ~ 5 songs. If you sit in the hatch shell, you get to watch the concert live. The problem with that is that the view of the fireworks is less than optimal if you sit there. So, for everyone else, they have speakers lined up along the river projecting the live performance from only a few meters away. Towards the end of the concert, there is a patriotic sing along. It's awesome... everyone sings and it really is fun. Then more concert and the finale is a 24 minute fireworks show that is incredible. It's synchronized to music (amazingly synchronized) and they go off in patterns... wow! All in all, it was a good day and the fireworks were totally worth it! They always are!

The DARCO Shoe

So, ever since last week, I have found it painful to walk. Towards the end of last week, I had to stop twice because the pain in my foot was so excruciating that I couldn’t continue walking. I had previously been told that I have plantar fasciitis and I assumed that the condition was worsening despite the fact that I was avoiding running like the doctor told me to. So I went in to see him again, because foot pain like this is just not normal. I told him where the pain was and he said that that wasn’t plantar fasciitis and that we needed to take an X-ray ASAP. We did this and it was kinda cool because I could see the X-rays as soon as he took them because the images went straight to the computer. I had what looked like the beginning of some stress fractures, but more worrisome was that my 1st metatarsal on my right foot is severely inflamed. Yikes! So I have to wear the cute little shoe pictured above for a while (until the inflammation goes down) and I have an MRI on Saturday to make sure that there is no soft tissue damage or anything else going on. I’m going a little stir crazy here, so I can only hope that this inflammation goes away quickly.