Vancouver 2010

One thing on my Bucket List can be crossed out – go to the Olympics!

Jimmy, Rachel, Micaela, Adam, and I in front of the torch.
Wayne Gretzky wasn’t in sight.

Us with… Olympic Sasquatch?

Canadian pride x infinity.
The amount of people on the streets was nuts...
I felt like I was in Hong Kong again!

These fake trees were adorned with drawings by kids.
I got a very warm, world-y feel.

  
As Adam put it, the atmosphere of the Olympics felt like the Folklife of sports. There were so many people! Canadians especially, but people from other nations sprinkled into the mix. Hello, world.

We unfortunately didn’t run into any athletes as I had hoped for… We did watch the USA vs. Canada hockey game at a bar on the UBC campus which was AWESOME! Adam’s friend Sean was nice enough to let us tag along. USA beat Canada in “their game” but apparently we can play hockey too! It was weird rooting for a different team other than the majority. Part of me felt bad that they lost but… USA! USA! USA! It was a great day trip.

This weekend was also Dance Marathon. It was a fun (and EXHAUSTING) way to raise money for Children’s. In our 16 hour dance party we made over $20,000 :) I now know the true meaning of sore feet… they are still not back to 100%. Hopefully that resolves by clinical tomorrow!

Next adventure: I got an email from Southwest and in the subject line: “Your Upcoming New York Itinerary”… AHH! Already?

But first, gotta finish this quarter… losing steam. I’m so excited to graduate but the thought of it also majorly depresses me… more about that later.

I've got the fever

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Kung hei fat choy! (Happy Chinese New Year - ano del tigre - year of the TIGER)

There are many reasons to celebrate this day, but I don't think anything calls for more celebration than:

THE VANCOUVER 2010 WINTER OLYMPICS HAVE BEGUN!

If you know me, you know that my life shuts down during the Olympics. Quiz: Last night I came home to Federal Way to A) Be home with mama for some Valentine's Day fun, B) Be home to watch our huge HD TV for the Olympics, C) Cuddle with my dog (who is currently trying to coax me to play with him), D) All of the above.

If you answered D, you should be a nursing student. You rock at multiple choice questions.

It's been fun to be home for mama, Beau, and of course the TV since we are all such huge Olympic freaks. Beau too. When my mom and I yell at the TV he barks at it and tries to figure out what is going on!

Last night was the men's 1500 m short track speed skating medal event where our 2 boys, Apolo Ohno and JR Celski, took home the silver and bronze! Sure, they got lucky when all the Koreans got greedy and took each other out in their pursuit of gold, but that is short track for you! You gotta be smart! What do I know? I don't... but I've watched enough over the years to know that.

(This pic isn't of the event last night, but I love it.)

I've been one of Apolo's biggest fans since the 2002 Olympics. He's cute, he's funny, he's amazing at what he does. I think my mom thinks he's hotter than I do somehow. Everytime they show him on tv she says "HE IS SO CUTE! HE'S SO GOOD LOOKING! HE HAS IT ALL!"

Then there is JR Celski. I worked with his uncle Jerry for 2 summers and he told me to watch out for him in 2010. His story is inspirational. He is also so cute... and 19. Apparently we went to the same school at one point...
WOO REPRESENT FEDERAL WAY!

Women's moguls were awesome to watch as well. Ski jumping is pretty awesome, too. Luge is fun for the first few runs then it kind of gets repetitive. So sad about the Georgian luger...

Snowboarding hasn't even started yet. I can't wait to watch half pipe. Of course Shaun White! Then Hannah Teter and all of the kickass American girls.

What can I say? Two weeks of bliss! If only we had cable... It looks like I'll be going to Micaela or Adam's apartment every night for prime time TV since they also share a passion for Olympics AND have cable!

Done gushing for now. Love.

Hallelujah

Blah I'm so tired... It's probably a bad idea to go bowling tonight but I've been excited about it so who cares!?

Resting up at home and letting my mama take care of me has left me feeling exponentially better. If I had to rate my health I'd probably give myself a 78% (C+) to an 82% (B-) which is way better than what I was feeling on Monday when I went home. She gave me Valentine's Day gifts -- heart-shaped brownies and manju. So cute! I feel awful because I forget that Valentine's Day can go beyond boyfriend/girlfriend etc. relationships. I want this Valentine's Day to be meaningful in some way whether it is spent with friends or if I go home and spend it with my mom. If not, love stinks and it's just a Hallmark holiday anyway!

Random thought: I really like that a lot of good friends call me Nat now. In high school my nicknames came from my last name, but now it's from my first. It's cute :D

One thing to celebrate: My friend Phil's cancer is localized! I never thought I could be so happy to hear about a stage 3 diagnosis, but I just know he will be okay. It will be a long 6 weeks of chemo, radiation, and surgery, but without the daunting label of a metastasized stage 4 diagnosis, all of the treatments will be worth it when Phil is cancer free and able to start his life with a brand new perspective.

This is my new favorite song! Watch watch! It's not a new song, but Justin Timberlake's cover (feat. Matt Morris) of Hallelujah takes me to a new place. If you're interested in buying the whole album, 100% of the $7.99 goes to Haiti relief and it has AWESOME songs/covers. I really encourage it.

hey 2010

I have been inspired to return to this blog since 2 of my best friends (Laura and Elise!) have joined in on the fun.

Well, wow, first post of 2010! Of the decade!

So far so good, I guess? This quarter is high pressure because of clinical but I know it will be okay... midterms are over and we all passed so all is good. I have a break from clinical and so NO write ups this week so I feel like Spring Break has come early! I definitely won't waste the time off. Plans so far: SLEEP, eat right, go to Mass, bowling, snowboarding, home to be with mama and Beau.

The Brickhouse has been dandy. I love living here and love my roommates! We may not get out as much as the average college student, but we definitely have our own fun here. I hope we can make up for lost time sooooon. Wtf we are half way through our last year of college. How did it go so fast? So much happens in one year, and wow I can't even describe the change that happens in four years...

I've been playing a lot of flag football and love my team F BRIAN. We are such a fun group. It's been a great way to spend time with my cousin and the F*** Brian community has been a great way to be removed from school. With that said, I'm also thankful for this community because we have needed to come together for our friend and teammate, Phil, who was just diagnosed with (at least) stage 3 colorectal cancer. We're having a Superbowl party tomorrow and he will be there so it will be great to finally see him in person since we've only talked over the phone, text, or facebook chat. See his story and progress here: http://helpphilfight.com/ Phil is such an amazing friend; he has kind of reminded me of an older brother. Now we are Team Phil and wear his #7 on our jerseys.

Phil and Sheri (his fiance)

Another hard thing: my friend Molly Hightower from high school passed away in the Haitian earthquake. She was volunteering there doing amazing things with children. I don't even know how to go into how that news was...

Sigh...

I hope there isn't anymore bad news to come. It's only the beginning of February. Strength, hope, trust.