How do you say "hippie" in Greek?

Smells of home-baked spanokopita wafting through the air along with the sounds of laiko tragoudi (Greek folk music), Greeks and non-Greeks and part-Greeks flocking to take part in a celebration of great culture. Or maybe just to play Break-a-Plate. Opa! Grateful to have the chance to once again partake in the Greek Festival, I donned my "Made in America with Greek Parts" shirt and headed out hoping to score some pastichio and dancing entertainment. Well, despite the claims of the combo plate having said deliciousness, no pastichio was to be found, although I got over it quickly when I had a bite of the gyro. Yum! Opa! So, after lunch, a second round of coins was obtained for beers and desserts. Guess which one I went for. So I'm over in line and barely get a "I'll have a cookie and..." out of my mouth when the lady behind the table freaks out at my shirt. I'm not kidding, this is how the conversation went (slightly abbreviated because blogger might have a word limit on posts...seriously):

Her: "I love your shirt. What are you half Greek?"
Me: (I wish) "No, not quite that." (rather large fib)
Her: "Where did you get it?"
Me: "My sister made it."
"She made it????? (extreme amazement) Does she have any more?"
"No, just for the four girls in my family."
"Can I buy it from you? Seriously."
"Haha (no, you can't buy my homemade shirt from me)."
"Here, show this to (other Greek lady behind the table). Hey, look at this girl's shirt. Isn't that great? Her sister made it."
Next lady behind the table: "How much do you think she'd sell them for?"
Me: "Oh, probably at cost (mostly joking of course)."
"She should sell them here next year. She could make a fortune. How'd she do it?"
"Just a bleach pen. (I explain the very easy process)"
"Yeah, but it looks so perfect. Here, go show Teresa. Her sister made this!"
Teresa: "Oh my gosh! I love that. That's one I actually like. Not like the one that says 'Desperate Greek Wife.'
First lady: "I know, like 'Got Ouzo?' No I don't got ouzo. Or 'Greek by Marriage.' My husband would never wear that."
Teresa: "How do you do it?"
Me: "Just a bleach pen. (I explain the process again.)"
Second lady: "Oh, but that takes a steady hand. We could stencil it."
Teresa: "Yeah, look at how well this year's stencils went (holds up a nice visor stenciled with the Greek flag...I liked it. Not the visor, the stencil). Okay, you have to go over to the calamari stand and ask for Sophie and tell her Teresa said she should see this."

And then I got to finish my order "...and one of the custard." But I obligingly went and showed Sophie the wonder shirt (and explained the bleach pen again). Who knew, Michelle? If you don't pass your boards (you will), you can sell Greek shirts to excitable women.

So then, leaving the Festival, I head over to the Bonfils bus to donate blood, cause I got a call last week that my 8 weeks was up and could I please donate again. An hour later (mostly wait time cause the bus was small...no, I got rid of that blood fast once they got me hooked up--8 minutes 32 seconds) I'm off to ride my bike back home with a red gauze bandage around my arm. After stopping off at my apartment to grab my reusable grocery bag, I once again headed off for the grocery store to get fresh fruit and whole wheat pasta. With my reusable bag. On my bike. After giving blood. In a homemade t-shirt and birkenstocks. I've never felt so much like I belonged in Colorado in my whole life.

A true friend loves at all times

I think that's in the Bible somewhere. If it's not, it should be. I've been struck a lot recently by my increased need for real friends, and thankfully, also by the presence of such friends at the right time.

So, good friends, I had hoped to finally be inspired to wow you with my wit and perspective, but I've gotten very little sleep this week, on top of being sick now for 5 days straight, and having seen very little of anybody besides my team at the hospital. And so hopefully you understand that I'm having a hard time staying upbeat right now. But I know I should try, me being the textbook melancholic choleric and all. So...good things are:

-Friends that are true friends. Enough said.
-I have the whole weekend off for the WNT game. It's like they knew.
-Food is finally starting to sound good again.
-I still have time to read for fun.
-Panera continues to bring good food and good memories.
-I am so looking forward to my new house and roommates, and have even had multiple people offer to help me move.
-Rachelle's coming to visit soon.
-I get to wear scrubs half the time I'm at work (which means tennis shoes. bonus!)
-Reba makes me laugh. Out loud. A lot.
-I maybe think I might know how to sorta read an EKG (that inspires confidence, doesn't it?).

Okay, given all that, like I said, I'm still tired and lonely, and I feel as if much of my life these past several weeks, and for the next several months, consists largely of going to the hospitals, being at the hospitals, and coming home from the hospitals. Not to mention that I doubt I'm done getting sick from those at the hospitals. So, the best thing you can you for me (I'm not trying to be selfish, but this is a little cry for help) is keep checking in on me, call me, email me, and let me know if I can call you up randomly to come hang out (and by "hang out", I probably mean sit on the couch and talk or watch a movie cause I won't feel up to much else). I'll need the social interaction, and I know I won't always think I feel up to it, even if it is what's best. And in return, I promise that this won't last forever, and someday I will go back to being a good friend. Promise.

...I'm on your team and we just scored

Postcard from Edinburgh, Scotland today from my current favorite world traveler, who might be usurped by Mary if she brings me Fatima souvenirs.

In my dream last night, I was awesome at Guitar Hero. Obviously a dream.

Cried laughing quoting Ellen last night. I love it when people think I'm funny.

5 more whole days of having a life. I'm trying to see the bright side.

I scored 9 points in our football game (a girl extra point from 10 yards is worth 3) and mercy-ruled the first team in the playoffs. Championship here we come.

Good things

I spent yesterday in Evergreen, the way a weekend should be spent. Even driving up I-70, I was in such a good mood--evergreens, blue skies, good music, no agenda. The afternoon was filled with Saturday perfection: paddleboats and picnic on the lake, horse-drawn trolley rides, live music x2, monster burgers and greasy fries, and the ever-present Colorado sun.

Funniest thing I've ever done (in recent memory): we were in the Evergreen Lake welcome/wilderness center and across the lake at the rec center, there was a wedding going on, right on the water. The guy in the shop said we could use the bird-watching binoculars to get a closer look. So the three of us stood there watching a hot-pink-clad maid of honor precede the bride and her dad down the aisle, her parents giving her away, etc. We actually probably got a better view than most of the guests. The shop guy said sometimes the groom and best man come in from the lake in a canoe instead of the bride coming down the aisle. Awesome.

I've settled on a house for next year, with two awesome roommates, which is a huge blessing and relief. Indeed, God does provide. If I can only survive the process of moving, since somehow I have once again accumulated more stuff. Once I decide on a moving day, I promise all helpers free lunch.

Football playoffs today...it's raining...oh well.

Brains and Bobas

"From Arapahoe High School, a Creighton University graduate, yes, she is a Bluejay...Ladies and gentleman..." My attending is so weird. That's how he introduced me to present our case at case conference today. He likes to guess the mascots of our patients' schools, but he doesn't phrase it like a question. It goes something like this: "East High School, home of the...Eagles." And then they'll make a face and say, "Noooo." It's hysterical. He took me and the residents out to lunch today, to some local Thai place, where I had the opportunity to try bobas for the first time. Little tapioca balls in the bottom of your drink, made in any variety of flavors (the drink, not the bobas). Basically...disgusting!!! But, I'm glad I tried it. Add it to the list.

One week into neuro, way too much to learn, a few really sick kiddos. But I like it, not as much as I instantly liked psych, but it's growing on me. Check back in three weeks.

From the diary of a health professional

The House was reunited last weekend. Almost. Sr. Susan Francis was there in spirit (and in photo). Thanks to Michelle (and April and Therese) for giving us a very good reason to come back together and celebrate. I would say it's been a long time since I've laughed that hard, but we must not forget Retarded Vegetables at our last sleepover or Mike's antics during Beyond Balderdash. What I can say is it's been a long time since I've been in such an environment that allows me to be completely who I am and just have fun. The 16 hours of car time and complete lack of sleep was totally worth seeing Bre's "Time of the Month Bunny" and retrying the cup trick and comparing freak triangle muscles. And seeing my very own DNA awarded a doctorate, "with Honors." And taking credit for teaching her about antimicrobial-induced hemolytic anemia in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient patients.

In other news, I had my last day of Psychiatry rounds on the Turquoise Team today. Many pastries, desserts, and other goodies were passed around in celebration (any excuse for chocolate cake). I got to share my best and worst moments, which, thankfully were hard to pick due to the paucity of worst and the abundance of best. Sorry, four weeks in psych has me using words like "paucity." I was thinking last night that it can be a very depressing field, if you focus on how messed up some of the kids are, and how you can't fix them completely. On the other hand, we laugh a LOT; you almost have to, but seriously, these kids do some pretty funny things. One schizophrenic boy just started a new med trial, and we're pretty sure he got the med and not the placebo, because he was walking around the unit smiling and saying "I can't stop being happy. It's so WEIRD." We're like, yeah, welcome to normal life. He's the same kid who was watching a movie and all of a sudden told his mom, "I feel like I just ate potato salad." Hmm...gustatory hallucinations. And there are the two day-treatment patients who have crushes on each other and have caused so much drama that the whole milieu is on "Slow Down" for like the 5th time in 7 years. . Every time it comes up, one of the therapists makes an "L" on her forehead because she thinks our patient can do much better than a kid who drinks Benadryl daily to get high. We spend our rounds reviewing things like, "Well, is he at least cute?" Oh, I'm going to miss this kind of entertainment.

P.S. I LOVE The Office, and Bones, and the US WNT and their videos. Yay.

Here's a tip for you...

When you're giving a presentation, try not to kick the outlet and unplug the computer in the middle of it. It tends to disrupt the flow.