la jolla.

l.y.t.a.b.

My best friend Megalina was here for an entire week and these select snapshots don't even begin to explain the week we had! From the moment she got off the plane we didn't stop moving... From biking down the Strand in Hermosa, to having drinks with Lauren in San Diego, to going to the SD Zoo, to sea kayaking thru caves in La Jolla, to eating seafood in Malibu, to going to Opening Night! at Improv Olympic, to shopping in Santa Monica, to hiking through hills, to seeing Octomom the Musical, to watching Austin Hartley-Leonard at Hotel cafe, to touring my NICCU, to seeing the Beatles! Cirque de Soleil in Vegas, to watching sunset at the Griffith Observatory ... it was a whirlwind week! =) Amidst the crazy agenda planned to the minute so she could get a feel for my (sur)real life in LA and the endless conversations about our pasts, presents, and futures over sushi, bottles of vodka, thai food, jugs of water, Indian food and on our daily road trips... Megalina taught me a few things about my life I've meaning to figure out... She helped me realize why statues of Greek Gods at the Getty Villa make me blush. She pointed out that the anxiety I associate with LA may just be in my head as she never quite reached the level of angst I constantly felt/feel. She graciously suggested that going off the beaten path isn't always rewarding when the same steep path is the only way back down and highly recommended me staying on the trail when hiking alone. She reminded me that just because I'll be in LA by myself starting next month doesn't mean that I'll be alone. She agreed that despite the glam you generally associate with Hollywood, it's really an overrated sea of fake people where the cost of living is too high and the traffic is not worth the drive...anywhere. She just smiled and sang along when I insisted on playing the same three songs the entire time she was here. She enabled me to compartmentalize my options for where to go from here. She assured me that the movie in my head will one day be a reality. She talked me through the post-childhood fear I developed at the top of the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. She showed me that no matter how much distance is between us, we will never grow apart.

l.y.t.a.b.

desert destination.

For two fabulous days between working five shifts one week and four shifts the following week before flying to Canada for two wonderful weeks, Carly, Lindsay and I roadtripped through the desert for a relaxing getaway at the most incredible resort in Scottsdale. We had the best time sipping pina coladas and relaxing by the pool during the day (soaking up the scorching hot 105 degrees sun), drinking sangria and listening to the live Spanish music in the evening, shopping at all the cute (closed) boutiques and dancing the night away at one of my favorite bars at night! It was so wonderful getting to spend quality time with Megan and David who work for the Hyatt and got us VIP service complete with champagne in our room; thanks for letting us crash ya'll's holiday! I had almost forgotten to post about the trip because I was so busy before I left (and have worked everyday since I've been back in LA) but I had a reminder of the trip waiting for me in the mail when I got home - a $181 speeding ticket - so thank you, Arizona Department of Public Safety, for reminding me to post some pictures from our fantastic desert destination! 

Megan and David

Sangria and Flamenco

Enjoying our complimentary champagne on our balcony

poolside.

cooling off in the grottos.

time flies...

...when you have no idea where your life is headed and it is all you can think about but... are having fun, of course! It breaks my heart a little to know July is more than halfway over and I haven't posted a single thing. It's not that I haven't been doing anything worth photographing (I've actually filled up an entire memory disc with all the photog opps I've encountered in the past month) and it's not like I haven't been ruminating about life's trials and tribulations (For the first time I am lost feeling like I live a life that holds no real meaning and I've spent countless hours researching where to go from here that would hold any meaning to me .... I mean saving lives!... working six of the seven nights since I returned from Canada on Monday!) and life certainly hasn't been anti-climatic  (there has been several miracles and mishaps that would have made quality entries including but not limited to communal lap pools, receiving speeding tickets in the mail, using all my tiles in Scrabble and running into a great friend from high school in the minneapolis airport!!) While a part of me wishes time (and those two weeks with dial-up at the lake) was to blame for the lack of blogging, I have spent every waking moment (and there are a lot of them when you literally never sleep!) penciling in deadlines and filling out forms and writing cheques for application fees, I'm starting to feel as though I'm two CDs and a mortgage away from actually being an adult and I'm beginning to think it's more that the real world is finally catching up to me, more so crashing down on me ... and all it's responsibilities and importance leave no time to procrastinate... which, let's be honest, was how I started blogging in the first place three summers ago when writing about my life seemed like a much better way to pass the time than study for nursing school.