Laura in Botswana

I’m in the Atlanta airport… and will be for the next 3 ½ hours. So to pass the time, I shall blog. However, this may be a quick session, because there are exactly 2 outlets in this gate area, and a big burly man with a yellow vest (I’m guessing he’s with the flight crew) is sitting next to one, and an old woman in a wheelchair is next to the other. I doubt either will be moving any time soon. So I guess I’ll blog til the battery runs out.

As is becoming typical, I’m shamelessly overdue on updates with this thing… It’s like I keep waiting for life to slow down a bit so I can sit down and catch up, but I think it’s become clear that there will be no slowing down any time soon. If we can just make it through the month of December, hopefully we can both take a couple of breaths in January.

Work has been crazy lately. We finally moved into our new unit on the 6th, and while it’s been really great to have a place to call our own, there have been more than a few adjustments. All of us were trained on separate units, so to all come together and work with multiple new people that we’re not used to has been one challenge… Also, setting up a new hospital unit completely from scratch can be tricky. There were several days in the beginning where we would have to hunt for EVERYTHING. Seriously, we spent at least 30 minutes one of those first days just hunting down bandaids. BANDAIDS. And learning the new phone numbers… and just learning where our patients’ rooms are! Most units in Parkland are a long line of rooms all off one hallway. Well, we’re special now, and shaped like a triangle! So it’s pretty darn easy to get lost. There were times during those first few days when I felt like standing in the middle and just screaming: “Mrs. Jones! If you can hear me- throw something into the hallway!” But we’re getting there…

And Leo celebrated his first American monthiversary! We didn’t really do anything special, but it was still kinda cool to realize he’s been here for over a month! He is bombarded with insane amounts of new info every single day, and takes it like a champ. In fact, just this weekend, we were in San Antonio to visit my Dad, and he got to learn all about the Riverwalk and the Alamo, and mariachis, and Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie, and all those other guys…

Ooo! Big fella is leaving! The outlet is mine! Now the blogging can continue indefinitely. You lucky ducks.

Anyway—we were so happy to see a few free days on the calendar where we could make it down to San Antonio! It was Leo’s first time to meet my Dad, and it really couldn’t have gone better. We hit all the tourist hot-spots in San Antonio (which I will never get sick of!)… got to drink a margarita at noon at Mi Tierra… attended the Spurs/76ers game on Saturday (thanks to Mr. Alderson!!!)… and Leo even got an impromptu football lesson from Dad on Sunday night before we headed home the next morning. And to be honest, even I learned a few things I’d never known! I know the basics about football: 4 downs, 10 yards, 6 points, then 1 extra, blah blah blah. But as for the little stuff like the coach waving a red flag to challenge a call? Or how you can’t push the guy trying to catch the ball out of the way? Or how during overtime, the first team to score wins?? Good to know.

So… traveling. I’m headed to Virginia for a couple of days to do a final dress fitting with Mama! We’d originally hoped that Leo could come with, but after looking at ticket prices and weighing all the other expenses on our plate lately, we decided he’d stay home and hang with Keebs.

My flight left DFW at 6:35 this morning, and while waking up at 4am was NOT FUN, getting outta there early was kinda nice. Leo made me a cup of coffee for the drive, and I found parking with absolutely no problem. My last adventure at DFW was anything but successful- when Leo flew into another airport!- but it turns out it’s not that big & scary after all.

However, my flight from Dallas to Atlanta was a little less than enjoyable. Apparently it was family flying day on AirTran, and I missed the memo. In front of me, I had a set of 7-year-old twins… Evan & Caroline. And you know how I know their names? Because I heard them approximately 80 TIMES during the hour and a half flight! Those two were terrors. At one point, I seriously considered enlisting a few other adults and cramming Evan into one of the overhead compartments. I doubt his parents would’ve minded. And then behind me, there was the always present screaming toddler. And when I say screaming, I mean SCREAMING. Now- I don’t blame the parents, or the child… it’s a sucky situation all around. His ears were clearing giving him massive amounts of pain with the pressure changes, and they were doing all in their power to help… but NOTHING fixed it. I called Leo shortly after landing, and let him know that when we someday have to travel with small children, I fully endorse drugging them with cough medicine of some sort. They sleep soundly, wake up fully rested, don’t have to deal with the pressure changes or scariness of take-off and landing, and the other airline passengers never even know they’re on board. Trust me- someone will write a book about this someday.

So for now, I shall return to airport people-watching. Definitely the best part of a lay-over. Just moments ago, I had a group walk by that had both a man in a tuxedo and a woman dressed as a character from Little House on the Prairie. You can’t make this stuff up.

As a lot of you have been following on facebook-- Big changes are coming! The wedding is set for December 12th, and Leo and I have definitely had our hands full getting ready. All those couples out there who have the giant, 200-guest weddings, and they spend a year or two planning and getting everything ready… I honestly don’t know how they do it. We’ve done our absolute best to keep ours as intimate and simple as possible, but it still seems to be out of our control at times. Luckily, we’ve made some fantastic Dallas friends who have been so, so supportive and helpful on all things wedding. And that’s been PRICELESS, because frankly, I’m wedding-challenged. On most of this stuff, I haven’t got a clue. But we’re getting there. And even if everything little detail goes horribly awry on the 12th, the end result will still be Leo & I being married. So really- we can’t lose.

Because we don’t have an official “wedding website” or anything, I thought I’d go ahead and use this forum to announce that we have also finished our registry! Several people have asked so far, so I wanted to go ahead and put it out into cyberspace: we are registered at both REI & Target. Both have physical stores and online shopping, and the registries can be accessed from either. (www.rei.com & www.target.com) For those of you unfamiliar with it, REI is one of our favorite gear shops for all things outdoors... We love it mucho. And I hope it goes without saying that wedding gifts are not necessary, but we love, love, love all of your support coming in from all over the world! It means more than you'll ever know.

I’ve also been working on a new blog… Still finalizing designs and domain names and all that technical hoopla, but it’s coming eventually! This whole “Laura in Botswana” thing is not cutting it anymore. It’ll have to do for a few more weeks, but hopefully soon and very soon, I will be moving.

And other than that- life is still going great! I’ve been subjecting Leo to random pictures as we navigate through some of the technical stuff (applying for social security #) and the fun stuff (eating a big mac). And I promise to get those pictures up very, very soon… But we also caught an episode of “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” the other day, and I was completely blown away by how many he got correct! Of course, we both sucked when it came to American History, but whatever. I’ve got medical covered, he’s got sports and languages… we can’t know it all!

Alright people… I’m headed to bed. We had (essentially) an 8-hour staff meeting today for the opening of our new unit at the hospital. And I planned to tell you all about it. But that shall wait til next time.

I know my blogging lately (what little of it there has been) has revolved around domestic bliss and Leo & I being sickeningly happy… but I’ve decided to branch out this evening and give you a little info about my super awesome job and how amazing that is, too. (Yes, I know. You all want to be me.)

I seriously lucked out. When I took my job at Parkland, I was pretty much excited about one thing: the paycheck. After a month and a half of applying to EVERY job posting in Dallas, I was just ecstatic that someone actually hired me! But I honestly could not be happier with how things have turned out. The people I work with are fantastic, I’m working the day shift (which is basically unheard of for a nurse with my level of experience), and the patient population we work with is so, so great. We’re one of the largest county hospitals in the United States, and as of 2014 when our brand new building is finished, we will be the largest at over 2 million square feet. And we see it ALL. I work on a general medical/surgical floor, and on any given day, I can take care of amputees, diabetics, trauma patients, homeless patients, psychiatric patients, etc etc etc. There is never a dull moment, and more often than not, I tend to look up at 2pm and think “Oh crap- I should really eat something!” But I love it.

This Saturday was especially exciting due to some very crazy weather. We do have pretty nice-sized windows on our floor, but I rarely get to look out of them… so on Saturday, I knew there were thunderstorms predicted, but hadn’t heard anything else all day. And as I was in one of the patient’s rooms, I suddenly heard “Code Black” announced overheard- which means extreme weather and very, very bad things all around. So I looked out the window, and suddenly had flashbacks to my years in Arkansas- as there was a giant wall cloud out there that was headed our direction. Come to find out, the entire city of Dallas was under either a tornado warning or tornado watch- depending on the area. And so we switched into disaster mode and had to run around closing blinds and moving everyone as far away from the windows as possible. It went on for several hours, but eventually cleared up and the sun even came out. And we all lived to save lives another day. Just another shift at Parkland.

Do I want to be a med/surg nurse forever? Absolutely not. But for right now, it’s the perfect spot for me. I learn something new literally every single day. And with the patient population I work with and co-workers I have, I consider myself very lucky.

AND- As of today, I am officially off orientation and on my own as a real, live registered nurse. It’s very exciting, yet a little terrifying at the same time. I know there will never be a point where I’m hung out to dry, but just knowing that the giant safety net is gone makes me re-think all actions about 3 times. I guess there are worse things.

Have I mentioned I love my job??

After a highly productive day of sleeping in, lunching at subway, shopping for groceries and then going to a movie, Leo & I are now at home. We just finished some delicious stir fry, and Leo has found the Dallas/LA Soccer game on TV… so he’s basically entranced by the television and answers any questions with grunts or one-word answers. Which means it’s definitely time for some blogging.

I haven’t updated this thing in 11 DAYS. Which is just crazy… We’ve been so busy, though. That’s my pathetic excuse.

It seems like ever since he landed, we have been going going going. And while I know there will be plenty of time to show him/feed him everything, I can’t help but try to cram it all in at once. And we’ve done A LOT so far… IHOP, IKEA, Wal*Mart, Target, Freebirds, AT&T, the Farmers Market, the Texas State Fair, World Market, Subway, Panera, Sushi, Mexican food, etc etc etc. He’s doing really great so far, and is very impressed with 1) the size of American cars and 2) the amount of bridges that we stack on top of each other here. And of course ESPN. We got a new TV last week, and got cable installed this week, and although we requested only 15 channels, they went ahead and hooked us up with the full package. (Shhh- don’t tell anyone.) And frankly, Leo will never be the same. I came home on Friday to find him watching the Mavericks/Rockets basketball game. And that was fine- but once he announced “We won!” at the end of it, I had to sit him down and have a little chat. WE are Spurs fans! WE don’t cheer for the Mavericks! I think he’s learned his lesson…

Another thing I’ve learned in the past week is: we must invest in hair clippers asap and use them on Leo’s head forevermore. He went to get his haircut on Wednesday… and I was more than a little uncomfortable the whole time we were there. I took him to a barber college here in Dallas, and just to give you an idea of what kind of establishment this was- there was a sign on the door that said: “Rehab is for quitters.” Leo is bald, but it’s by choice, so weekly shaving is involved. And I was under the impression that a razor was involved, but now that I know it’s all electric clippers, I have no doubt I can master the technique. If it means never going back to that barber school- I’m in.

Leo’s at the gym, getting in a workout before we head off to the TEXAS STATE FAIR! …so I thought I’d take this opportunity to update everyone on the events of the past few days.

Monday night was ridiculous. That’s the only word for it. All-in-all, he arrived safely and completely on time… just at the WRONG AIRPORT. Apparently in Houston, United decided to switch things up on us and merge some very random flights together. Instead of sharing the flight with their sister company, Continental, like any normal airline might do, they chose to shuttle him over to the Delta counter, and fly him to Dallas Love Field instead of DFW International. So I, obviously not receiving the memo, spent 2 HOURS at DFW being very confused, staring a door, and then the arrivals screen, and then back at the door… and thoroughly annoying the United employees for every second of it. Finally, around 10:20pm, I got a phone call from a random Dallas number (at which point I hung up on the expedia woman), and heard Leo’s voice on the other end. He had been at Dallas Love for over an hour waiting on me… which is literally ½ a mile from our apartment!! And after a 30 minute drive all the way back across Dallas, I finally found him!

From start to finish, the journey had been right at 48 hours for him. (bus to Johannesburg, flight to Dubai, flight to Houston, flight to Dallas… and all the waiting in between) But luckily (except for that madness that happened in the homestretch), it really couldn’t have gone any better. Everything was on time, he never had any problems finding gates or planes or anything, he did get taken off to the “secret back room” of immigration in Houston… but I’m guessing they do that with all the new arrivals. And as I told him later, he really shouldn’t take it personally because immigration officials are typically cranky in general- even to US citizens. But in true Leo fashion, he breezed right on through, made some new friends along the way (including the woman whose phone he used in Dallas), and finally made it!

He definitely crashed pretty hard that first night, but woke up at 7:30 sharp on Tuesday, ready to see Texas! I had purposely not gone grocery shopping lately because I wanted him to come with me and experience Wal*Mart and Whole Foods… so basically, we had microwave popcorn, an apple and some crystal light at the apartment. First stop, IHOP. And after getting sustenance, we headed off to the Galleria. For those of you not from Dallas, the Galleria is a huge mall here. It’s probably not as exciting as I think, but it’s still pretty neat because there’s an ice-skating rink right in the middle of it. And the few times we came through Dallas when I was younger, it was always a HUGE highlight on the itinerary to stop and window shop while watching the ice skaters down below. Plus, I knew it would definitely have an Old Navy and Gap and Macy’s and all the other places I wanted to hit while in search of jeans for Leonidas. We finally did find him some at the Gap, but only after I got a hard dose of reality that was: I know nothing about men’s clothing! Leo knew his size and everything, but holy crap there’s a lot of choices out there! Relaxed, classic, easy, loose, boot cut, skinny (For men?? Really??)… Luckily, a very nice lady at the Gap spotted us and took over with the bringing back of new styles and cuts and all that jazz, and we were all set.

Then we headed to Best Buy & Wal*Mart to check out TV’s and then hit the grocery aisles. It was an incredibly productive day, but I was exhausted by 2pm! I have no idea how Leo was even standing…

And for today? The State Fair! We only had a small breakfast (to warm-up our stomachs), but there will be no more eating before we get there. The Texas State Fair is known for its ridiculous selection of fried foods. (fried snickers, fried twinkies, fried cheesecake, fried BEER, fried BUTTER...) And while neither of us are particularly into all that grease, it’s just part of living here. Wish us luck!

It has been such a fantastically awesome week around here… The last time I blogged, Leo had told me that the interview went great. Well, about 24 hrs after that news came through, it got even more exciting! He called at exactly 7:06am on Tuesday morning and told me he had good news and bad news. I opted for the bad news first. So he told me that, sadly, his students would need to find a new teacher and his fiancée (that’s me!) would surely break his neck by attacking him at the airport because (here comes the good news!)—HE GOT THE VISA AND IS COMING TO THE STATES!!  I’m sure this was just one more nail in the coffin of my neighbors thinking I’m completely insane… there was some excessive “woo’ing” at 7:06 that morning. But I give no apologies. I also assured Leo that I would do all in my power to not break his neck at the airport, but even I can’t avoid the scene that will surely be made.

This has been literally 6 ½ months in the making… We filed our initial visa paperwork back in March! It was more than a little stressful at times… and after the wedding, there will be even more paperwork for years to come. But at least we’ll be together. The rest is all just fluff.

We haven’t actually gotten his plane ticket yet, but very, very soon. He’s got a few loose ends to tie up over yonder… But just the fact that he has the visa in his possession, and he can fly over any time we want, and he will be here SOON makes me think I’ll never stop smiling.

It’s 8am on my day off, and I should be sleeping soundly for another couple of hours (yes, that’s right)- but instead, I am wide awake, after only about 3 good hours of sleep. Leo’s interview at the Johannesburg Consulate was today- 2 hours ago to be exact. And I’ve been up half the night, and asleep having nightmares for the other half. One particularly bad one involved Leo never telling me he had a daughter. And because he had lied to the US government, the visa was denied. Thank GOD this was not the case- I asked him point blank on the phone just now to make sure and he took a minute or two to stop laughing. But basically, the interview went GREAT.

I spoke to him yesterday and we had a mock interview on the phone (my idea), which obviously helped a great deal. I played the role of “Mr. Consulate Man” and Leo played himself. And I asked every question I could think of. One that they most definitely always ask is “How did you meet?” And Leo had quite the explanation for that. He claims that on our first date, he came over to my house and we cooked dinner together. And I was so impressed with his cooking ability that I decided to give him a chance. While I was happy that he was willing to deal with the skin and blood and bones of the chicken (I’m more of a boneless skinless kinda girl), I remember that night a little differently. But whatever.

Now we just have to wait another day and let the embassy staff go over all of his medical paperwork. The doctor said everything looks just fine, but it takes them a little time to go through it all. So, I’m trying to wait on the celebration. Once he actually has the visa IN HIS HAND, then it’s time for margaritas. But things are looking good.

While it was neither easy nor especially fun, Keebler and I made our way back to Dallas today. I packed up the car this morning around 9:30, and didn’t realize it as I was hauling things out, but Keebler was most definitely watching my every move. Because as about 10:15 approached, he was nowhere to be found. He had stowed himself under Becky’s bed, and wanted no part of this road trip that was about to be forced upon him. I tried poking around under the bed, barricading him with pillows on one side, shifting boxes so as to block his escape, even crawling under the bed myself- but he had the ultimate cat fort under there that was impenetrable by a mere human such as myself. So I did the next best thing- I went upstairs to call Leo and act like Keebler was the furthest thing from my mind. And it worked! After a few minutes on the phone, Keebs came sauntering up the stairs, and made the costly mistake of going into one of the guest bathrooms. All Leo heard on the other end was the door slamming (as I trapped him inside) and me: “Gotta go- I’ve cornered the beast!”

We finally got on the road around 10:50 (after 35 minutes of cat chasing!), and began to head south. And from the second the tires started rolling, Keebler was very sure to voice his disapproval. He meowed as we pulled out of Becky’s subdivision, he meowed as we made our way to the interstate, he meowed as we sped up… and then, right as we were about 30 miles into our journey, the unspeakable happened. Keebler decided to use my lap as a litter box. Yes, that’s right- he POOED ON ME. I could hardly believe what was happening at first, and then was in such shock that I couldn’t think of what to do! I immediately flipped on my hazards, pulled over to the side, and threw him in the back seat (as opposed to out the window- which was my first thought!). Luckily, it was formed enough that I was able to clean it up with a napkin… But why he chose to use ME instead of the litter box that was literally 2 feet away, I have no idea. His point had been made.

So we continued on down the highway, him meowing for another good hour or so… but each time he meowed, I just cranked the glee soundtrack up a little louder and mouthed to him through the lyrics: “I can’t hear you!” As far as I was concerned, all of his road trip privileges had been lost the second he used me as a toilet.

He also made a valiant effort to leap from the car when I made a pit stop somewhere around McAlester, OK (and the couple in the car next to us found it hysterical). But after giving him a pep talk that included: "Getting youself slammed in the car door will only be hurting yourself. And where exactly are you fleeing to?? We're in OKLAHOMA." he did quietly sit in the backseat and let me go in and grab a diet coke.

But he did settle down eventually, and we made it back to the apartment. I got my wireless set up (FINALLY), and we had some dinner, and are now sitting around in pj’s. I haven’t quite forgiven him yet- but I’m sure tomorrow, it’ll feel good to have him home again.

Moving day was in no way smooth. Many things went amuck, the movers were 4 hours late, but overall, it was absolutely successful and I am now living in the new APARTMENT!! And it is beautiful. Seriously beautiful. I started Saturday by taking many, many pictures. I wanted to document the whole process for Leo (and for you!), but as 1pm came and went (the time the movers were supposed to show up), and then we crept past 3pm and then 4pm, my picture-taking enthusiasm dwindled and eventually left all together. But I do have a few and I promise to get up here at some point. And all that free time allowed for Dad & I to hang out in the parking lot with Chip and let everyone wonder what the heck was wrong with their new neighbor. Being normal is boring.

But yes- the new place is gorgeous and I love it. There are black granite countertops in the kitchen, and a huge garden tub in the bathroom, and a fireplace, and a very nice-sized balcony, etc. etc. Of course, the only piece of furniture I have so far is the bed. But it could be worse. It’s brand new, and it’s one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever slept on! And as a bonus-- it was delivered on Saturday by the friendliest set of delivery people I’ve ever met. (I called their company on Monday and told the manager that the crew all needed raises!) But like I said, the bed is it at this point. No couch. No table. The only chair I have in the whole place is the infamous fazoli’s chair… which is adorable, but not exactly useful when there are no tables to sit at. That first night- Saturday- I sat on the floor and ate my dinner on an over-turned plastic tub. And afterward, sat in the fazoli’s chair with my feet propped up on a set of luggage, watching “Modern Family” on my laptop which was perched on yet another overturned plastic tub. Yeah- I need a couch.

So that’s my mission for today! Couch. I thought I could just hold out til Leo got over here and we could go get one together. But I texted him this morning and told him that just wasn’t going to work. And he agreed.

I’ve also been exploring the new neighborhood (with the help of tomtom)… and so far, I’m impressed! The only flaw is there’s no Wal*Mart Supercenter right next door, but it’s only about 20 minutes away. And Dallas has these handy little places called Wal*Mart Neighborhood Market- and they are GREAT. It’s basically only the food section, and I was afraid they would up the prices because it was a specialty store, but I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely priced everything was. The one closest to me didn’t have frozen edamame (soy beans) when I was there, and that may be a serious deal breaker… but I’ll try back. Maybe they were just having an off day.

I’m at Panera at the moment… enjoying a turkey sandwich, partaking in the free internet, and generally being a creepy people-watcher. Within hours of moving in on Saturday, I did see if any of my new neighbors had unsecured wifi, but unfortunately, they’re all too smart for the petty hacker. Looks like we’ll have to pay for our own connection, which will hopefully be installed on Friday and then I can update a little more regularly. And hopefully get some pictures up here!

I have started writing this blog approximately 43 times in the past 3 months. And each and every time I get about 2 1/2 paragraphs, then let it sit for a few days, then it's all out of date and I have to start again... At first, I didn't write because things were CRAZY. And then, nothing seemed relevant. I had no job, no one wanted to hire me, I was sitting around San Antonio eating too much, drinking too much, and spending too much money...  And now that I actually DO have stuff happening, I still seem to be holding out for the next BIG thing to write about.  But enough of that. It's been FAR too long. And so here I am, 11pm on a Tuesday night, watching Will & Grace and being thankful I don't have to work in the morning. Let's do this.

I've been back in the United States for 76 days now, and it's still taking some getting used to. I've now worked my way back up to driving a full 70mph on the interstate (that took WEEKS), I still go a little nuts in the store when I see 4,000 different types of laundry detergent to choose from, and Freebirds burritos send me to the brink of hyperventilation, but it's all about baby steps... I doubt any of it will ever feel completely "normal" to me again, but for now, I'm just trying to enjoy it.

Certain themes keep popping up as I'm trying to get re-established over here. And one of them: technological advances. One of the very first things I noticed upon landing in NYC on June 22nd: everyone has an iPhone! Seriously- everyone. It's completely out of control. And when I went in the very next day to set up my new contract, I had to keep emphasizing to the sales guy that I wanted the cheapest phone, with the fewest minutes, with no media or internet or any of that jazz. He thought I was crazy, but I eventually got what I wanted. And same now with cable & internet. Seriously, the only reason we'll need cable is for me to watch Discovery Health and Leo to watch the occasional soccer game. We don't need any bells or whistles or 700-channel packages or DVR or Tivo or whatever the heck it's called now. We'd like a nice sized TV to watch movies... but cable? Not exactly a necessity.  Internet is another story, but luckily, you've only got so many choices in that arena.

As for the job, I lucked out and got a wonderful one that I really do like! And even better: they PAY ME! Yep- I could hardly believe it myself. And come Saturday, I'll finally get to move into the new apartment! It's literally 3 miles from the hospital and I'm really excited to finally "land' somewhere. To actually unpack my bags and get at least a little settled... it brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.  Unfortunately, it is just me at this point. Leo's still in Botswana at the moment. Immigration isn't an overly complicated process, just a lengthy one. So we're trying to stay patient. And in the meantime, the international phone cards have worked great.  We've been apart for over 3 months now, and while it's not ideal, we've managed to make it work really, really well. Just gotta take it one day at a time. As I told him on June 2nd (the night before I flew to Egypt): "One day we'll tell our kids about this and laugh. It seemed like the end of the world at the time, but in reality, it wasn't that big of a deal."  But still... it's going to be nice to actually have him over here! Life is just better when we're on the same continent. 

It seems a little odd to be posting to a blog called "Laura in Botswana" (another reason for the hiatus) seeing as I am no longer IN Botswana... Maybe once Leo arrives, we can come up with some disgustingly adorable mix-up of our names or some catchy new title, but for now, let's stick with what we've got.

See you soon.