On Winter, Oranges, and a Belated Birthday

I once wrote an essay about my sister and oranges and winter. In it, I recalled afternoons from the one year we overlapped in high school and how I was afraid that maybe we'd never again be able to share the same intertwining lives we did at that time. Fast forward almost 10 years (!!!), and here we are still. Now it's not just oranges that bond us together, but so, so much more. I am and will always be forever grateful.

Sorry this is so late, but happy birthday to my sister!

(photo via weheartit)

Happy 2013... belated

A long delay in posting for this new year... The end of 2012 was really good with my trip to Nicaragua. I have plenty to update on that, hopefully soon. At least I'll have a link to the school blog I was working on while I was down there. But when I got back home, I fell sick and remained so while in NYC between Christmas and New Years... and then stayed sick for about 2 weeks into 2013. I think that definitely was a factor in how difficult I found the Cardio unit - I was playing catch-up the whole time but I've just managed to scrape by.

Anyway, more to come soon! In the meantime, it's likely that you a saw this already. But it is just so cute, I can't help myself...

"We got work to do. We can cry about it or we can dance about it.... Everybody's good to give the world a reason to dance."

Almost there...

While I'm still toiling away for my Respiratory Pathophysiology exam tomorrow, the blog was introduced. Just some extra motivation to maintain the grind. Break and Nicaragua will be here soon enough.

Dénouement

It's been such a chaotic week with crazy highs and crazy lows - I'm sure you know what kind of week I'm talking about. Anyway, there have been some scary things going on with a good friend and I've been having a really hard time with some extra-curriculars at school that will be culminating in 2 big concerts within the next 4 days. And then exams in 3 days after that. And then my week-long medical trip to Nicaragua in 2 days after that (oh, I never told you guys about that? Oops.) It felt like I had to single-handedly shoulder a lot of the burdens. Especially earlier in the week, I was feeling quite lonely, overwhelmed, and helpless. Tonight when I left school at 10pm, I was still feeling weak and sorry for myself.

The thing is, life stops for no one. The light drizzle became heavy rain during my drive home. The holiday radio station that usually provides familiarity and comfort was overbearing in its cheer. Sometimes, people and things that you want to count on will disappoint you. And somehow, through all the confusion and hurt, there is a fittingly gentle yet undeniably clear sign that things have changed. For good. I have answers. No more wondering. No more feeling sorry. No more looking back with such longing. Life moves on and I need to too.

Anyway, I got home and was cleaning out some old emails, all mopey and sad (do any of you also feel the compulsive need to purge and expunge yourself of distracting clutter after a really terrible day? That feeling that you need to seriously clean up and re-examine your life?). But then I came across some old emails that I sent out and replies that I received while I was in Peru for a month in 2008. Emails to and from some of my closest friends. Reading them made me so delightfully happy! I've actually just agreed to blog for my school during my Nicaragua trip and so these emails were found in perfect timing too. There are so many happy, thoughtful, sentimental, and true moments in those emails. And some really special discoveries that really pulled me towards the road I now travel.

In dramatic art forms like drama and film, the good story lines will always follow what pedagogues call "the dramatic arc": exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution/dénouement. But real life doesn't always follow such a convenient pattern, does it? I guess that's the whole beauty of experience. It's just extra encouraging when life does that funny thing of giving you exactly what you need to help you to get by during those sad moments, you know? I hope you're coming across some of these similarly perfect findings amidst your own chaos (if you're having any) too.

(top photo of pensive me in Puno by the JJB, 2nd photo of a boat ride to the floating Uros islands, last photo of Cusco's central square)

Quotability

"Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit."

Bern Williams

 

 

(Photo of the Lake Michigan Sunset at J and P's wedding)

 

Glee's Give Your Heart a Break

I'm currently experiencing an unprecedented exam-free 2 weeks since I started my 2nd year. So naturally I caught up on some TV... I was unexpectedly moved by Glee's "The Break-Up" episode with the varied and unexpected songs selection (yeah, 90's No Doubt!). In true form, it was dramatic and over-the-top, but the catchy pop songs and that emotional break-up scene at the end were pleasant surprises. And sometimes, I think a girl just needs a nice cry. An emotional purge, if you will.

Anyway, here was my favorite song of the episode (only because no one will ever come close to the perfection that is the original Coldpay version of "The Scientist"). I've been listening to this more often then I'd like to admit...

Everyday Food

The old news is that life has been pretty busy lately (blah blah blah). Not much time for anything recreational, but in between classes, studying, and video-lecturing streaming, I reward myself with a foodie fix. I signed up for these Everyday Food cooking segments a while ago and almost every day, a new recipe is emailed to me. The host Sarah Carey is quirky (in a curly-haired woman kind of way) and happy. The videos are only 5 or so minutes, so definitely a break I can afford to take.

Here are 2 recipes I really want to try... when I have a little more time again.

Meatless Curry


Bacon French Onion Soup


Here is where you can sign up to get these emails too: http://www.marthastewart.com/edf