Notes from me to you

hi everyone!

well... work was another night of mass chaos.. several of us are trying to talk to our manager about making some improvements and getting the place a bit more organized... so that's hopeful.

i slept a few hours when i got home.. just enough to feel rested but not too much that i couldn't sleep tonight. then friend/co-travel-nurse jamie called.. and Our Adventures of Tuesday began! :)

They started with a trip to Wal Mart in nice city outside of LA.. Crenshaw or something that started with a b.... hmmm.. either. We parked in a ramp and entered the three story Wal Mart.. oh yes.. three stories! aren't you just dying to hear about it? ;) there was one gigantic elevator. of course we were the first in line waiting for it, with our cart, and 3 people, including an employee with a massive cart totally cut in front of us.. argh!

we got up to the 2nd floor and cruised the aisles of all the good stuff we needed for our new apartments! jamie and i have spent a lot of time on the beach so we knew we needed a few things such as beach chairs.. you can only lay flat in the sand for so long. so we tested out a bunch of little chairs, including one called a "myPod" some strange looking thing but quite comfortable.. so we got them. we had fun.. the best part about 3-storied wal mart, though, was the cart escalator. have you seen this before? so that one doesn't have to use the elevator, there were normal escalators for people and crazy little belts that carried the carts up to the next floor, going just a bit slower than the human escalator so as to allow you time to get to the top of the cart-belt before it finished its journey. great fun! our cashier.. not so fun.. or friendly, but that didn't burst our silliness bubble.. we had a blast!

Our original plan was to go on a bike ride after Wal Mart but we decided to try out a little restaurant in a nearby town. the place is called Casablanca. it looked cute on the outside so we ventured in... and it was even cuter on the inside!! themed after its namesake, the movie, there were pictures of Ricks Cafe Americain, Morocco, and much more. Picture of the actors all over.. there was even an older woman in Moroccan style clothing making fresh tortillas on a wood burning stove in the middle of the restaurant! the service was great and those tortillas were the best i have ever had! i mean, amazing!!! i can't wait to take my parents there! or anyone else who visits!

We filled our bellies and had a great time.. then headed back to our apartments for a bike ride. just when i thought the day couldn't get better... we ended up riding on the venice beach bike path while God painted an amazing sunset over the coastal mountains. incredible... in my minds' eye i took many pictures for you all to see.. the moon shining over huge palm trees, the sun setting, the empty beach, the breeze, the crowded little streets of venice.. :) sigh....

we came back and jamie suggested hanging out in our apartment's hot tub.. well, that was a little crowded so we took a dunk in the bath-water-warm pool.

so yes.. seriously... the job.. a bit of pain. a learning experience, of course, and i'm giving a TON chemo so becoming even more comfortable with that, but all the greatness that comes along with this travel nursing gig has been amazing!

OH! I met a new neighbor who was just moving in across the hall. she seems really nice, maybe a few years older than myself, but down-to-earth.. and... after i told her to let me know if she ever needed anything she said, "you, too! I'm a wine broker so..." =) sweet!!

anyway.. it was lovely day thanks to my new friend jamie and the beautiful southern california.

thanks for all of you praying that i'd meet good people and have good neighbors. :)

lots of love
laura

ps.. i also think i found a great little catholic church really close to my apartment.. its a small community of people with a lovely little priest! did i already mention this in a previous blog? either way, i'm so grateful!