A Recipe

To prepare the perfect mix before your first night shift:

3 Friends re-runs

2 reality TV re-runs

1 2 a.m. workout

1 YouTube video

1 study session

3 cups Diet Coke

1 cup tea

Generous Facebook stalking and iTunes browsing

Mix well and enjoy.

Made with love,

Lauren

Life These Days

....is pretty darn good. I am blessed. :-)

My first shift at the hospital was wonderful!! I had a great trainer to show me around and a really encouraging and understanding doctor who didn't mind if we took an extra minute or two for me to figure something out. 11 hours went by incredibly fast. I am loving being back around medical stuff because it just helps confirm that I can't wait to be a doctor!!! I love not knowing what the next case will be, constantly meeting people and helping them through some scary or uncertain moments. Looking forward to going to work is a great feeling - I hope it sticks around for a few more years! :-)

Fellows-ing is going well too. Classes are in full swing, which means my reading is too [hello, grad school]. The good news is that I am interested in what we are learning and enjoying the discussions and professors. Really, I just like school. I'm a true nerd at heart!

I flew solo in Children's Church for the first time today! AND led Sunday School opening for the first time! Whew. It was a little crazy. But oh so much fun. I know kids aren't everybody's thing - but I sure do love the little ones!

I'm trying to get out and explore DC as much as possible. Yesterday Wendy and I made it to the Natural History Museum and the National Archives [which means that I saw the Hope Diamond, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and Magna Carta all in about 4 hours!]. And of course, after all that history... we got dinner at Chick-Fil-A. Can't beat a taste of home! :-)

So.... that is life these days. Until next time...

Much love from the District!

Lauren

First Shift

I may or may not be freaking out just a little bit.

My first shift at the hospital is tomorrow.

A big 11 hour trial by fire [complete with a quiz at the end of it!]

So think happy thoughts tomorrow. [pretty much all day]

Updates coming soon!

Study study,

Lauren

Busy, Busy

First of all, I am really and truly going to try to blog more. I have way too much to catch all you faithful readers up on to only blog once a week!

Second, it has been a pretty wonderful week. Let's have a recap, shall we?

Last Thursday night: met my mentor at the Fellow mentor dinner [we are all assigned mentors from the church community to be a little extra guidance over the Fellows year]. Basically, I think my mentor is the coolest thing since sliced bread. We have so many things in common it is a little scary, and she is just so down to earth and hilarious. We are going to have a great year together!

Friday: Job orientation with the company I am working for. Guys. My only real, paid job has been at summer camp - this world of non-compete contracts, tax forms and payroll offices is totally new to me. I feel like I am learning a ton about business in general through all of this. Which is exciting, no?

Friday night: I finally got to see Wendy-san! I am SO very glad she is up in DC for the year - it is such a blessing to have a familiar face in a new town. We had dinner and explored the Adams Morgan neighborhood in DC [younger, intern type crowd].

Saturday: Met up with our friend Emily who is also in DC for the year [the bulldogs are taking over up here!!] to cheer on the Dawgs against Arkansas. Sadly, we lost the game... but it was a close one and you can't deny that it was entertaining! I may or may not have been a little hoarse after the game.

Sunday: Church, Children's church, lunch with my mentor and her super cool family, helped with the youth group mall scavenger hunt and found a fun local pub for dinner. Whew.

Monday: First real live graduate class I got to attend - "Reading the Word and the World". We listened to Lady Gaga, guys. It'll be an interesting one for sure! Went to see "Going the Distance" with some of the girls Monday afternoon - much more funny than I thought it would be! Round table dinner, prayer and discussion Monday night.

Tuesday: All day job orientation at the hospital where I am working. Did I mention I'm learning a ton about the business world??

Tuesday night: GLEE!!! Some of the Fellows got together to watch the premiere and eat some delicious queso. Yum. Spent the night with Steph afterwards so that I could...

Wednesday: ...be a tourist! I rode the metro into the city with all the commuters and spent the day on the National Mall. Although my trip to the Capitol Building was thwarted by the President's motorcade strolling around the city (ya know, no big...) I did make it to the Library of Congress, American History museum and the National Gallery. Which means I saw: the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, Dorothy's red shoes and the only Da Vinci painting in the U.S. All in a day's work, my friends!

A few tourist-y shots:

Thursday: Errand running and homework day. Got my hospital badge, read a ton and made flashcards for work abbrevs. [SOB = shortness of breath, in case you were wondering].

Friday: Morning class, lunch out with a few Fellows, and a fun evening out in Arlington.

Today: Beautiful Saturday. More school work and work prepping. My first shift is on Tuesday! Celebrating two Fellows' birthdays tonight and watching the Georgia game with Wendy.

Whew. That is all.

Love from the big city,

Lauren

P.S. I got a third interview - this one at U. Pitt! Cross your fingers! :-)

Three Things

1. I got another interview!!!! This one is at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. I think I am going to take the train up there! And that, my friends, is terribly exciting. [both the interview and the train!]

2. I am obsessed - no really, obsessed - with Nova (don't I sound all local!) weather right now. It is gorgeous. For my Georgia friends - it is like those beautiful, perfect two weeks of fall weather we get between the really hot and really cold. I went exploring in the Great Falls National Park yesterday and today, and I was just blown away by how nice the weather and scenery were.

3. I am pumped to start classes. I know that is dorky and I will probably be eating my words in a month or two, but right now I am so very excited. Check out my stack of new books!!

Oh yes. 12 brand new books. I'm so ready!!

Love from Nova!!

Lauren

First Interview!!

I have my first med school interview invitation!! hooray!!

I had hoped I would get interview invitations, and planned on going to a few, but somehow actually seeing the words in an email is just waaaay too exciting!

So. Sometime in October I will be traveling back to good old Georgia to interview at MCG!

Wahoo!

Hope you all have the same excitement this lovely Monday.

:-)

Lauren

Apologies

Okay. I know I owe all your faithful readers (do I really have those?) an update. Actually, I owe you many, many updates. Updates like woah. Here goes.

The last few days before I moved were, in fact, completely crazy.

[Mostly because I procrastinated on packing until the last minute. And I do, in fact, mean THE last possible minute.]

Saturday I went to the Georgia season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette. It was SO much fun to be back between the hedges cheering on my bulldogs!! Plus, I got to go with Hilary and we had tons of fun hanging out before I had to move. Besides some serious sunburns and an extremely anxious wait for tickets at a Fed Ex store, it was an entirely successful and enjoyable day.

Sunday, mom, Hilary and I went shopping and I started the looong process of transforming my wardrobe from college to professional. I took some baby steps, I suppose. Progress is good, yes? Yes.

Then, I started packing. Oh yes. STARTED. To leave the next day. SO ridiculous. SO overwhelming. SO. Much. Stuff.

Monday, it was time to pack the car.

Guys.

I had SO much stuff.

I have never seen my car so packed.

Hats off to dad for a stellar car packing job.

[This is just the back and the passenger seat. The trunk was also utterly ridiculous. HOW do I have this much stuff?!?]

Got a call as soon as the car was loaded that I HAD A HOST FAMILY!!! Yay!! Talked with them and started my drive with a real, live destination.

Monday: 6+ hours to Durham.

Tuesday: 4+ hours to Great Falls (my new hoooome!)

Unloaded my stuff at my new house and went to lunch with my host parents.

Headed to the church where I got to finally meet the other Fellows on the receiving end of all those emails we had been getting since May!

We headed out on our kickoff retreat for the week - no cell phones, laptops or ipods allowed. There are 11 of us, so the first van ride was full of the standard hometown/major/college/internship/host family type questions. Of course, without electronics and lots of free time each day, we got down to much more serious discussions soon enough. And played card games. Lots and lots of card games. It was cold. I wore many, many layers. And used blankets. We laughed a lot. Had a bonfire. Went on the zipline. Slept in the cabins. Went on walks. Cooked together. Prayed together.

Basically, it was a pretty stinkin awesome week.

We came back today and went to a picnic where we all met our host families. Fortunately, I was a little ahead of the game, so my host parents and I just enjoyed lunch and headed home. I spent the afternoon unpacking, ate dinner with them and chatted for awhile.

Tomorrow is our first Sunday at McLean Pres! We are being introduced at church, meeting the kids in our ministry areas [children's! yay! :-) ], meeting the parents of the kids in our ministry areas, and attending the young adult service. Whew. Monday we start our usual class/round table schedule. Things are really starting to get going!

I'm really, really happy and excited to be in Capital Fellows this year. [see my post here for what this program is and how you can get excited too!] The summer was the longest summer, literally, I have ever had. It was crazy busy at times and really calm at others, but by the end of it I was so very ready to move up here and start the next chapter. The church, the Fellows directors, our host families, our mentors, and the Fellows themselves are just wonderful people to be around to learn and grow with and from for this year. I. Can't. Wait.

More soon from a happy Fellow! :-)

Lauren