The Houseguest

My friends will tell you that vacationing with me can be exhausting. Sometimes I try to cram so many activities into such a short time period that you may just need a vacation from your vacation.

My friend, J, was on her Spring Break and flew in for a few days. Here's a brief summary:

Day 1:
- Pick up J at airport--they've actually lost her luggage!
- Give 5 minute tour of my house.
- Off to dinner!
- The Other Boleyn Girl - Confusing pentagon-shaped headgear.
- Ice cream sundae break!
- Watched "The Lake House" while waiting on J's luggage.
- Awakened at 1:30 am by airport van carrying lonely suitcase.

Day 2:

- Irish pub for breakfast (skipped the green beer since driving)

- Nearly got kicked by an Irish dancer.

- Oh Canada!

- Sampled some Canadian wine.

- Hit major city at rush hour, dined in the sky.

- Turned around and drove back.

Day 3:

- Unrelenting rain.

- J sleeps in and rests while I go to ACLS class .

- Show off my city.

- Drive up for dinner with Army Guy.

Today:

- Deposit J back at the airport .

J and I were college roommates, and although our lives have split in different directions from our pre-med days, it was good to catch up with her minus the kids an husband for a few days of just being old friends. For 72 hours, I was 20 again.

Unexpected Simile

"Come look at this, it's so pretty!" she exclaimed from the kitchen.

I left my dark office to go have a look. Ru was slowly stirring a concoction of sugar and eggs on the stovetop. It had this opulent, creamy sheen to it.

"Hmph."

"Isn't it pretty?" she asked.

"Well, it kind of has that shine-- like pus draining from a shooter's abscess that I've cut into." With that remark, I went back to my study, after receiving a cutting glare.

Downsizing

Yesterday, I cleaned out my closets. Literal closets-- don't get all excited. Things I hadn't worn in the past year or two were thrown out. Things that were of questionable fit were thrown out. Gone were any shirts picked out by old boyfriends. Pants I could slide off over my hips without unbuttoning or unzipping were thrown out (When I started medical school, I weighed 125% of what I do now.). Oddly, things that had been tight that I would have thought would look good after losing another 10 lbs were still ill-fitting. And, things that were flattering when I was heavier, still hung on me with good shape. I guess there is some truth to clothes just being well made or not. By the time that I was done, I had SIX filled garbage bags of clothes to haul off to the Salvation Army. I think I got rid of about half my clothes (not counting workout and housework stuff).

Part of the motivator is that next weekend I am getting a roommate. My dear friend Ru will be here for an extended stay. She has whittled her material possessions down to what will fit into her compact car and has been heading my way over miles and miles of asphalt trails. She is braver than I am. Rather than moving out of employment obligations, she is just picking up and relocating for a while. It will be fun to have a friend in-house. I'm hoping we'll do some local trips and have many misadventures while she's here.

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This morning I ran a 5K with one of my friends. We banged it out pretty well, but our time was actually almost a minute slower than the last one we did in May! There's another 10K coming up in a few weeks' time, so I had better up my running schedule again.

The weather has been beautiful lately. A few days of rain have been followed by perfect skies. This afternoon I finally finished the second coat of paint on the deck, so gone are the ugly boards of pinkish-tinged primer that had been exposed for the past year. Unfortunately, the whole thing now needs a third coat to hide all of the brush strokes, but just being all one color now already makes it look much better! Suddenly, there is an almost air-conditioned cold to the breeze through the leaves. It's a warning of cold days ahead. There are so many projects I had put off last year until "the weather is nicer" and I am suddenly realizing the weather's now about to worsen. Argh.