Day Trip

This last Thursday I spent an enjoyable day in Monterey and Carmel with my two buddies, Beth and Jenna! We walked around Cannery Row where we bought fudge, candy, caramel apples and enjoyed free samples of clam chowder and Ghirardelli chocolate. Afterwards we made our way down to Carmel where we played on beautiful Carmel beach, witnessed a massacre of crabs, stocked an Irish Wolfhound (I want one, you see), and grabbed some soup and sand which before heading to the Forrest Theatre to enjoy a production of Lerner and Lowe’s Camelot. The Irish Wolfhound is the big, shaggy, grey dog
Massacre of litte crabs. . .so sad
"Beach Surfing"
Camelot proved to be a delightful little play and I was thoroughly glad that we made the trip down for it! The story began with Arthur meeting Guinevere and proceeded to the creation of the “round table.” The French knight, Lancelot Duloc, arrived on scene to promise his services to King Arthur and this new “round table.” In the process. . . Lancelot and Guinevere seem to have fallen in love, although I can’t really say that I blame Guinevere in this case. . . Lancelot was extremely good looking!!! (but it was very wrong. . very wrong indeed!!) hehe. Lancelot and Guinevere are found out and Lancelot must flee or be captured. The decision on how to punish Guinevere then falls to Arthur. In all justice he should burn Guinevere at the stake, but he loves her too much. In his indecision, Lancelot arrives and rescues the beautiful Guinevere . . . only to meet Arthur on the battlefield (a full out war had erupted as a result) in an attempt to right the wrong done. Arthur states that nothing can be done and Lancelot returns to his armies while Guinevere receives forgiveness from Arthur and lives the rest of her days as a nun. A young boy is told to remember the glory of Camelot before Arthur marches once again into battle . . . and so ends our story.

happy birthday biffers

Yesterday was my buddy Elizabeth’s birthday. . . . HAPPY BIRTHDAY Biff!!! (Liza, Beth, Eliza, Liz-Bifh, so on and so forth) I am glad to have spent most of your birthday with you . . . . Monterey, Carmel and your ooky-spooky birthday party. You are such a great friend and blessing to me. Thank you for putting up with me . . . as most people cannot and it is truly a feat to accomplish! :-)



I was just thinking. . . you know a person is a great a close friend when you can whisper their name and they immediately know that you think there is a cute guy nearby and you want them to give you a second opinion on the matter! HA! That is precisely what happened in Monterey on Thursday. . . “How did you know?” I asked. . . . “Because I know you all to well” was the response!



I think we make a great pair. . you and I.

NCLEX

Well guys. . . . I did it! I registered and scheduled an appointment to take my NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) to be licensed as a Registered Nurse. This is the big one! The test of all tests! The mother lode!!!!! Without passing this test . . . I simply have a BSN but am not an RN. I am scared, excited, scared, nervous, etc. etc. I get one whole month of studying as my test is scheduled for July 11th at 2:00 pm. I plan on studying at least 2-3 hours a day. . . . I cannot afford to fail (literally . . . the test is really expensive!) Ha! If anyone has taken this before, feel free to leave suggestions and comments. I would GREATLY appreciate it! :-)

Graduation!

On Saturday, May 24th, 2008 I graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Magna Cum Laude. I was also a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and was listed on both the Dean’s and Chancellor’s lists. This was the end of a seven year education and is marking the beginning of my “grown-up/adult” life. While I am excited to see where my life will now take me and the many new experiences that await me, I am also a little nervous and perhaps scared. It is a time of transition for me. . . I have never really been out of school before. I plan to go back to college in 3 or 4 years to obtain my masters, but in the mean time. . . . LIFE will occur! Ha! Scary thing, life is. . .

The ceremony was everything I thought it would be. My parents, grandparents, brother and Beth and Range came out to Arco Arena to show their love and support! Thank you all!! When I walked out to “Pomp and Circumstance” there were no tears in my eyes, just pleasure of the moment. I was amazed at how packed the arena was and how much love and support was in the building. Most of the ceremony I couldn’t really understand, as the speakers and sound system was set to address the audience and not the floor of the arena where we graduates sat . . . but the feeling of excitement was still there. As they were announcing the graduates, moments of “the wave” shot through the remaining graduates that were still seated. A beach ball was momentarily air bound, before security quickly confiscated it, which resulted in tremendous “Boo’s” from the graduates and crowd. We could not keep quite and moments of noise and yells of joy were dispersed throughout the ceremony. It was finally over. . . . everything we have worked for. . . . every test we have struggled to pass. . . . every tear of frustration we have shed. . . . every stressful semester we have prayed to endure . . . it was over. The relief, I believe, was felt by all!


After the graduation, we headed off to Café Bernardo to enjoy some “brunch” before setting up for my grad party. It was wonderful.

My party happened to be at my house and we grilled some sort of teriyaki/sesame ginger chicken with rice, a mandarin salad, chocolate covered strawberries, and pineapple upside down cake. Many of my closest friends and family came out to show their support . . . which I was so thankful for. We played badminton, boggle, chatted and enjoyed each other’s company around the bonfire that night. It was a special, relaxing time in which I soaked up the reality that my education (for now) was finally over!

Thank you to all of my friends who have put up with the excuses of studying for the last 7 years. . . I know it was frustrating at times (believe me. . . it was frustrating for me that I was not able to have fun and hang out on those many C and C events, etc) but it was worth it. LET’S PARTY!! Hehe

Our game of badminton. . . . . I lost :-(

Cheerleaders!

Our intense Boggle game. . . I lost :-(

Aydin presented me with my favorite colored . . . . . foliage??? LOL

Thank you also to all of my family (friend’s are included in that word) who have put up with my fears, complaints, frustrations throughout my education and who have offered support, encouragement and a listening ear when I needed it. You all ROCK . . . and I couldn’t have done it without you!