A Lone Ranger in Cardinal Nation

Howdy!

It has been quite some time since I last caught you up on the goings-on in my life. I knew I wanted to update this tonight, but I figured I should probably do it BEFORE World Series Game 7, just in case things went downhill. As I have been telling all of my coworkers and patients, GO RANGERS!

Fall is in full swing here in "the Lou" (I am apparently now allowed to refer to my city as such since I have lived here almost 4 months). The trees are unbelievably gorgeous and it makes the view so much more enjoyable when I'm driving around for work. I didn't take these, but I pulled a few images from the web just to give you an idea.

Isn't it absolutely breathtaking? I typically drive a couple of hours a day (not all at once, 30 min here, 30 min there) and these trees are making me wish I could drive more!

Work is funny. There are moments when I LOVE my job. I get to the hospital and I start talking with patients or with the lab staff and I just enjoy doing what I do. Then, there are days where it takes every ounce of self-control that I can muster just to get out of bed. Since my last blog, I have become officially certified in "low voltage" devices (pacemakers). This means that I completed 5 pacer implants and 5 pacer patient checks, under the supervision of my mentor or Field Clinical Engineer.  The next step after that was to actually start doing things on my own. It's crazy how different things feel when you are working alongside someone vs working alone. Suddenly, your safety net of having an expert at your fingertips is gone. But, when I get in the room and I'm one on one with the patient, I thrive! We can chat as much as I want and I explain things the way that I think they should be explained. It sounds silly, but there's a freedom to it. 

I have two metaphors I use when I try to explain how work is going. The first one is driving a car. When you first learn how to drive, you can barely take your eyes off the road long enough to look at the speedometer, let alone take in all the other important pieces to driving a car (reading signs, watching other cars, changing lanes, etc). This job is like that. Once you get the basic concepts down, you have to start building on what you can do in one moment and keep an eye on everything going on (your tests, the rhythm, the patient, the monitor, etc). When I first got back from training, I felt like I had mastered turning on the car and driving straight. Now, I feel like I'm starting to add in all the little details that make me a good driver. 

My second metaphor is about high school. When you're a freshman, you're as scared as it gets. You don't know where the classrooms are, who to talk to, how to act, what to wear, etc. By sophomore year you've kinda figured things out enough to not look like a freshman. Junior year you're almost on top of your game, boasting about being an upper classman and enjoying being a real part of the school. Senior year, you dominate. You are comfortable in your own skin and confident about your position. You like to help teach the younger kids where to go, how to get to class, etc. Working in huge hospitals is kinda like that. When you first arrive, people know you're new. They can tell you don't know where you're going or how to act or what to say. As you begin to get to know them and build relationships, they start to trust you and help you out. When I go to a new clinic (or one I do not frequent often), I am back to freshman status. However, in most places I am starting to be in the sophomore-junior phase. I am starting to have a presence in these places and it feels great!

Just to show you how large my main hospital is, here's a picture:

Moving on. Last weekend I flew into Houston and got to spend a 3 day weekend with Darren and some friends. We went camping near Huntsville (and have ZERO pictures to show for it). I just love camping. I pretty much already go to sleep at dusk and wake up at dawn, so doing it in the fresh air with best friends during a relaxing weekend is the picture of perfection. I also worked on my not-so-awesome frisbee skills.

I got to visit the famous haunted Lemp Mansion (http://www.lempmansion.com/) for a product inservice about electrical hygiene last week. Apparently this place is a pretty big deal. One of our SJM guys leading the inservice is so involved in the mansion that he gives tours and has spent many days and nights (ah!) with supernatural hunters. I got one picture of myself standing in the middle of an unnecessarily fancy shower/bathtub in the ladies' room that the Lemp family had imported from France.  If you want a good spook, read that story and come visit and we will eat there!

This weekend I'll be attending a Halloween party hosted by my favorite interventional cardiologist. She is letting me borrow her extra dirndl (cute German girl costume) to match her and Craig (an SJM coworker) as German people. She is throwing the party as a Halloween/Craig's birthday combo and is raising money for a local food bank. 40+ people are coming, including lots of docs, lab staff, and SJM people. I am really looking forward to attending and I hope to have some fun pics to show you afterwards!

In two weeks I'm heading back to Texas for high voltage training (defibrillators). I am, as always, counting down the days and look forward to getting some hugs!

GO RANGERS!!!!!!

Love & blessings,
Brooke

Pictures!

I owe you guys a happier post and a whole bunch of pictures!

GREAT news: I am officially taking a day off from work to visit Darren smack dab in the middle of what would have been 8 weeks apart. This negates almost all of my anxiety about being so far away for so long and gives me something to look forward to :)

Also, I finished my first certification case! It was pretty intimidating to know that I had to figure everything out on my own, but it was with a great doctor and lab staff and the case went very smoothly. I also got my brady bag in this week (for my product once I'm certified).

Tonight I was skyped into my old bible study with some of my favorite people in the entire world. It's funny, when I'm on skype it's like I forget I'm not actually physically there. Except for when Leonard knocks something over and I have to go chase him around the apartment.

Okay, enough talking. Time for some photos!

My new car! Please help me come up with a name.

Kacey came to visit

So did my mom!

Now some obligatory pictures of Leonard being adorable.

Some apartment improvements

New lamp!

Fall decor

Finished the wall art

Repainted the bookshelf for the guest bathroom... actual setup to come, this is temporary

And finally, a pic or two from my visit to Aggieland

That's all for now! Miss you guys.

Love & blessings,
Brooke

A Little Ring Made of Gold

It's funny how some days I feel like things haven't changed a bit. Like when I fly back to Texas and stand with 80,000 of my closest friends and yell for my favorite football team. Or when I hug the necks of 50 AFCers at ring dunks and celebrate their great accomplishments. Or when I hold Darren's hand during what is probably the thousandth church service we have attended together.

But then there are days like today; days when there are no Aggie yells, no AFC hugs, no hand squeezes from the man I love. Days when I look out the window and wonder how on earth I ended up what seems to be halfway across the world from every thing and every one I know.

I'm not sure if it's the daunting task of facing 6 weeks in a row without a visitor or a trip to Texas. It could be the fact that the weather is turning and I am literally afraid of the winter to come. Most likely it is because I am low on sleep and high on requirements. At least that's what my mother thinks.

I will tell you one thing, having Darren call me into AFC devo on Thursday nights was probably the best idea I've had since moving to St. Louis. As most of you know, I spent almost every Thursday night of my entire college career sitting under the stars on the steps of the Academic building praising God with around 100 other AFCers.  This was something that my mother treasured when she went to A&M and, in time, it became a source of encouragement that I, too, sought each week.

Do you ever think about the words you're singing while you're in church or at devo? I know for us Church of Christers there's a lot of focus on the four-part harmony and making sure everything sounds beautiful (remind you of a skit?), but when was the last time you took a song and pulled it apart, word by word? Tonight it was "Thank You, Lord". This song has never really been all that special to me and I'm not sure why. Sure, it's got a fun little tune and the rhythms are interesting, but I always thought it was kind of simple and didn't pay all that much attention to it. Well, tonight while I was singing along with my phone on speaker (my end on mute of course), I focused in on one phrase of that song:


All that You've done and all that You are is all that has carried me through, my Jesus I thank You.

Read that a few times. Maybe some of you have never really had anything in your life that has challenged you. No big changes, no tough situations, no losses or struggles. But, if I had to guess, a lot of you have. Some of you know the deeper things that I've got going on in my life right now, and some of you probably think this is just me whining about moving away (big deal, get over it, etc). Whether or not you know why this struck me doesn't really matter. I just wanted to share something that gave me a little bit more hope than I had yesterday so that maybe the next time you're facing something that you think is bigger than what you can handle, you will remember this part of one song that I happened to catch during a devo I luckily was able to listen in on during one random Thursday in September. I know that the next time I screw up on the job then come home to find that Leonard has once again knocked over the trash can and oh, by the way, there are 4 more bills that need to be paid and there are 50 more days until I get to hug somebody who loves me I will think about the sacrifice that Christ made and how He has this whole thing figured out and is standing right beside me when I need Him.

It doesn't matter that I will not interact with a single human being this weekend except for when I go to church on Sunday. It doesn't matter that I have to cook for one and eat three meals a day by myself. It doesn't matter that I will go 7 months before I get see my home sweet home in Sachse, Texas. What matters is the sacrifice that Christ made on that cross. He had a plan for me then and has a plan for me now. Heavens knows I have no idea what that plan is because you better bet your life I would NOT have planned this little excursion to the Midwest. But the plan is in motion and I have to stop fighting against it so I can start fulfilling whatever it is He has called me to do.

I don't know if a single person will get anything good out of all that gibberish I just typed out, but it makes me feel better writing about it.

Onto an actual update.

Since the last time I wrote, my mother and Kacey came to visit me. We had a whirlwind weekend of car and wedding dress shopping, both of which were purchased within about a 5 hour time span on Saturday. Let's just say I had a little trouble falling asleep on Saturday night after knowing how much money I had spent/committed to spending. But, I LOVE my car and am very excited about altering my dress to perfection.

A week later I left for my Low Voltage Phase II (Bradycardia) training in Austin. I spent the weekend in College Station (toured the new Biomed building, saw Contagion, ate at Blue Baker) and then joined my intern class for a fun-filled week (ha) of timing cycles and algorithms. After passing the final and wasting 3 hours learning about my "personality" from a test, I was picked up and sped to College Station by a friend so that I could go with Darren to get his Aggie Ring!!! His little ring made of gold is about three times the size of mine and the whole experience was very exciting. There really is nothing quite like Aggieland and our traditions. I went to some ring dunks and saw some of my very best friends (all of whom I miss dearly), then got to go to Yell Practice! Even though I decided midnight yell should be nine-o-clock yell because I was falling asleep on the drive there, I absolutely loved being back in Kyle Field and kissing the only date I've ever had to Yell when the lights went down. Saturday Darren and I enjoyed lunch with the Days before heading to the game. Then we BTHO Idaho (not without some coaching input from me of course).  Sunday brought church in the morning and then the dreaded afternoon of goodbyes followed by a series of flights.

Now that I'm back in St. Louis, I have to complete 5 implants and 5 patient checks on brady devices to become certified. I also have to do all of the modules for the next phase of training (tachycardia). Then I'll head to Texas on November 12 for another exciting round of CS visits and Austin training. Oh, and a little game between the Fightin' Texas Aggies and some orange school who thinks they deserve their own network. Psh.

Pictures to come!!! I just haven't uploaded them yet.

Love and blessings,
Brooke

Confession: I like talk radio

Somehow I always manage to forget to update this until multiple things have happened that are worth writing about. I guess I'll backtrack a few weeks and start from there.

So, Darren came to visit me in St. Louis! We were so busy that I forgot to take any pictures to prove that he was here. That's a bit disappointing. You'll  just have to take my word for it that I did, indeed, have a visitor! He flew in Wednesday, August 17th and you better believe I was waiting as close to the gate as I was allowed. To him I'm sure I looked like a blur of teal scrubs (I came straight from work) as I attacked him for a hug. I pretty much never let go of him until I had to drive us home from the airport.

While on the road home, I gave him a mini tour of all the places that I have come to know since moving here. It's funny that the side of St. Louis that Darren and I saw while apartment hunting is a completely different version from the one I know now. A lot of that has to do with the fact that our hotel back then is pretty far from my apartment now. It also helps that I have been working around the greater St. Louis area at all of the hospitals and have really gotten to know the layout of the city. My favorite restaurants, places to shop, and ways to get around town are completely different (and better in my opinion). It also helps that I have finally found a church where I feel comfortable, accepted, and can really start to make a difference at. More on that topic later.

So, even though I had a handsome visitor in town, I still had to go to work the next day (Thursday). Fortunately, I was able to finish up at a reasonable time and rush home to see my future-hubby! I was completely surprised to find that he had cleaned my apartment, done my laundry, finished the dishes, and knocked a few other things off my ever-growing to-do list! What an amazing surprise! (It goes without saying that my love language is "Acts of Service/Kindness"). The next day had similar events, and then that evening we joined a group from work for dinner so Darren could meet some of my coworkers.

The rest of his visit is a blur. We saw a couple of movies ("30 Minutes or Less" and "Conan the Barbarian"), neither of which I would recommend, we went shopping at the mall, we cooked meals and snuggled up on our new couch to watch our favorite tv shows.

Then on Sunday I took Darren to the church I've been visiting, Ellisville Church of Christ. It's pretty small like his old church back in Garland, so I figured he would like that. We were invited to eat lunch at one family's house with 5 or 6 other families. That turned out to be a wonderful experience! It may have had a little to do with the fact that we got to eat homemade taco salad (complete with the taco bowls!). The families in attendance were so curious to hear our story and asked about our future plans. Everyone was so kind and warm and friendly; we even got a few hugs out of the deal! That afternoon was just perfect in every way and it really made this city start to feel like home.

Monday morning came and it was time for us to say goodbye (and me to bawl my eyes out on the drive to and from the airport). I've realized that the faster I say goodbye, the less it hurts (insert bandaid comment here), so I didn't even park to take Darren into the airport. Every time I drive or walk away from that boy my heart rips in half.

This comes to one of the main points I wanted to make in this post: I wish I had known that growing up would require an unbelievable amount of painful goodbyes. I knew death was one of them. I knew driving away from my grandparents' farm was one of them. I knew that saying "bye" to Mom when she went on a business trip was one of them. But I was absolutely clueless as to how many times couples, friends, and family are separated from one another. And I had no idea how bad it would hurt.

Darren and I have the misfortune of an age gap that separates us for a year at a time. First, when I moved away to college. Now, when I've moved away for work. Darn 1989.

I think a lot of that emotion stems from the fact that I am a woman and I wear my heart on my sleeve. That aside, everybody goes through those painful moments of looking in the rear view mirror and wondering "when will I see this/him/her again?"  I  just wish I had known so I could have steeled myself for the process. Fortunately, most of our "goodbye"s turn out to actually be "see you later"s and that is the case for mine.

Enough emotion for now.

Work is going unbelievably well. This past week I saw 8 implants, did 13 checks, and watched the beginning of an ablation (it got cancelled due to esophageal bleeding). I am starting to feel like I'm part of this team and they are starting to gain confidence in my learning. It seems a lot of them look on me as their younger sister, which is a completely new experience for me. I'm the oldest of three siblings at home and I've also kept company with people a year or two younger than me. Being the youngest (and by 6 or more years) is a new and exciting experience... one that will take some time to get used to (it doesn't help that I was carded to prove I was old enough--17--to see Conan the Barbarian with Darren).

My work is exceedingly more difficult and interesting every day. Before returning to Austin for training in 2 weeks I am required to complete a workbook, "80" hours of online modules, and take an exam. As of today, I have finished the workbook, done two-thirds of the modules, and am preparing to take the exam this week. Every case I observe, I learn something new. Every check I conduct, I am allowed more responsibility for the programming. I even put a patient's heart in ventricular fibrillation and then let the device shock him out of it (a required component of the ICD implantation). Man, it is unbelievable what the human body is capable of...our amazing Creator designed with intent.

So now I'm just counting down the days until next weekend when my mom and Kacey are in town for WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING! Then, I'll count down the days until I fly to Texas and see all of my favorite people in College Station and my friends in my intern class.

It's so strange to think that I'm not prepping for school to start tomorrow. For the past 17 years of my life, I have had a first day of school. Now, when that alarm goes off at 5:30 tomorrow morning, I'll roll out of bed and head to work, just like every other day. No "syllabus day", no grading schemes, no silly icebreakers. Just a bi-ventricular implant at 8am.

Who am I kidding? Just an implant?! Haha I am so done with school and I am SO happy about it! I always wondered what adults looked forward to since they don't have school calendars with exciting events. Now I know! I find joy in things I used to find super lame like talk radio and the weather. I enjoy getting home at the end of a long day at work and knowing I did something productive. As strange as it sounds, I like the feeling of writing a check to pay a bill with the money I earned on my own. I like the independence that a career brings. I like looking around the apartment and seeing the fruits of my own labor.

But, I miss my friends, I miss my school, and I miss AFC. If you are still at A&M surrounded by the people you love, enjoy every moment of it for me. Don't take the people you sit with at lunch on Sunday afternoon for granted. Make the most of studying with a group at the library and those late night coffee runs. Don your favorite Aggie shirt, stand up, and bleed maroon for me during our game against SMU this weekend. Appreciate the fact that you are surrounded by people just like you and draw energy from it. Pretty soon, you'll be out in the world, soaring in your own environment with the entire Aggie network standing behind you. That's what I think about when I look at my ring with the "11" facing what still seems to be the wrong direction.  Geez I sound like an A&M Foundation commercial. You get the point.

Have a great first week back at school!

Love and blessings,
Brooke

PS. Here's a few pictures I thought I'd share

Leonard was concerned for the East coast

I finally bought throw pillows!

A&M made the news here!

Proof I cleaned the guest room and dining table

Hearts, Rhythms, & Modules. Oh my!

I have been meaning to update this for quite some time. So much has happened regarding my job. I spent two glorious weeks in Texas with some of the best people in the world.  I flew in on Saturday, July 23rd and met Darren at the Austin airport. We then went directly to College Station for a nice relaxing weekend with our friends (got to see Captain America!). Then he brought me back to Austin for my intern class welcome dinner at the Hyatt on Sunday evening.

I'm not sure if I've explained exactly how this whole thing works. You see, St Jude Medical hires a class of interns each year to start training in two areas: cardiac rhythm management and electrophsysiology. We start with rhythm devices (pacemakers, etc) and get certified for those in the first year. Then, we focus on ablation surgeries and get certified in that area. Once we have finished both (it takes about two years), we drop the title of "intern" and start working our way up in the company. 100% of my time on the job is interacting with patients, doctors, or other people in the field. I don't have an office and I practically live out of my car. But I love it.

Our intern class:

Anyway, I was pretty nervous going to the dinner since I would be meeting the other 18 people that SJM had chosen for this job. I knew they would all be highly intelligent and have great personalities, but I wasn't sure exactly how I would fit into the group. Fortunately, the entire group was awesome and we all formed a pretty close bond immediately. On the last night before the final there were 7 people crammed into my hotel room, studying as a group. I made some awesome memories and now have lifelong friends who I can turn to for help (which is essential with a unique job like ours).

The 3 Bs at dinner in ATX:

In the middle of my first week of training, Darren and a few of our friends drove all the way out to Austin so we could celebrate his birthday!!! It was so great to see them and spend the evening talking about random things and playing our favorite nerdy game. I am truly blessed by those people.

During the weekend in between the two weeks of training, I returned to College Station to witness the union of two of my dearest friends, Aly and Ryan. Friday night Darren sped me all the way down the Presidential Corridor to get to the rehearsal dinner as quickly as possible. Then we helped set up for the wedding & later I enjoyed a wonderful sleepover with Aly and the other bridesmaids. Saturday itself was a complete blur but I distinctly remember watching my two friends join together in the covenant of marriage! I also got to see my family since they were in town for the wedding. I spent Saturday night at the hotel with my sisters and then we all went to church together on Sunday morning (I think the last time our entire family was together for church was Christmas).

After all of that excitement, it was back to Austin to cram more knowledge into my brain. The second week flew by quicker than the first and before I knew it, I had finished the final and was sitting next to Darren on the way back to College Station for a last visit.

Of course, every event has to come to an end, so after a lazy weekend watching Survivor on Darren's couch it was time to head back to St. Louis. I absolutely hate saying goodbye, so that wasn't fun... but when I got back to my apartment here in Missouri I tried to focus on being excited to see my cat and to get started at work the next day.

This past week at work has been wonderful and crazy all at the same time. The good news is I love my job. The bad news is that adjusting to an adult lifestyle of waking up early and going 110% all day every day is difficult. The people on my team are amazing. They are unbelievably intelligent, wonderful with each person they interact with, and superb teachers. I am inspired by each one of them and how fabulous they are. Even though waking up at 6am (and, in the case of Friday morning, 5am) is tough, and even though I don't make it home until late (in the case of Wednesday night, after midnight), it's totally worth it.

Cool things about my job:
-I have badges that give me access into places
-I get to wear scrubs to work
-I am surrounded by people who care about people
-I get to interact with patients and their families and help make their lives better
-I will get to work at Children's hospital!
-I get to socialize
-I am using my engineering background to program devices
-At the end of the day, I feel like I made a difference
-A good portion of my time is spent on the road in between hospitals so I get to listen to music and jam out in my car
-I get to work in TWO states (most days I go to both)

So, during the week I pretty much focused on work. If I got done a little early at the hospitals I would head home and work on modules online or study what I did that day. But on Friday afternoon I knew I was facing my first weekend alone in St. Louis.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely do not want to come across as some sad little girl sitting all alone in her apartment blogging about how difficult being away from home is. The truth is, I am in a transition and it's just hard. Today I finished a little over half of my workbook (the thing is like 1.5 inches thick) and 2 modules (each one over an hour long). I also watched a ton of Survivor. Almost all of the people I talk to on a regular basis were either super busy or literally had no cell phone service today. I haven't gotten mail in days. It's fine. I'm fine. It's just tough. I put together a quilt stand, did a ton of housework, and had some pretty intense conversations with Leonard. It's reminiscent of my freshman year of college and those weekends when I vacuumed my dorm room 3 times. Haha.

I am looking forward to tomorrow and going to church #3 for the second time to see some familiar faces. I am looking forward to more experiences at work that will expand my understanding of the devices I will program. I am looking forward to Wednesday night when Darren arrives in St. Louis for a little visit. Trust me, I'm fine. But, if you're bored, please know that I would love to hear from you.

Love & blessings,
Brooke

Home Sweet Missouri

Almost two weeks later, I'm pretty settled into this place I will someday call "home".  I've learned my two favorite movie theaters (thanks, Kacey), which mall has an Anthropologie, where I like to grocery shop, and, most importantly, when to NOT walk around at night.

Some of the projects I've finished this week:

My sister and I enjoyed a little time together after Mom flew back to Dallas during the first week. We busied ourselves with painting projects and Dr. Quinn marathons. Since moving to college, Morgan and I have had very little opportunities to spend one-on-one time together and I treasured those lazy days with her. Plus, who wouldn't want an artist hanging around asking "what would you like for me to paint today"?

After Morgan left, I had about 28 hours to myself before Kacey visited. Fortunately, I have some amazing friends and family who kept me busy and distracted from realizing that I was alone by texting and calling and chatting (thanks guys).

Then, my darling best friend showed up for a fabulous weekend! First and foremost, we went to a cute local theater to see Harry Potter 7.2 and really enjoyed it! After hanging out for a while, we decided that viewing Horrible Bosses at another movie theater was a great idea, so we did that as well.

We lucked into getting to see GAVIN DEGRAW downtown for FREE only a mere 10 minute walk away. The good news is, we had a great time at the concert and getting dressed up. The bad news is, more than one gentlemen in the area made a point to let us know how good we apparently looked. We learned our lesson and I do not plan to walk alone outside at night. At all.

On Sunday, I tried church #3. Kacey's roommate from college is from St. Louis and her family attends this little Church of Christ (when I say little, I mean under 150 people). I was introduced to her mom who then proceeded to introduce me to a few other young professionals around my age. Through Kacey's roommate I met some lovely girls and we all went out to lunch (you never realize how much having someone to go out to lunch with on Sunday means to you until you don't have it). It was fun to be in a group again, even just for an afternoon.

This week I have been focusing on preparing for my upcoming trip to Texas. I'll be training in Austin July 25-August 5. However, since it costs the same for airfare if I fly in early and leave late, I'll be in Texas July 23-August 7. I plan to spend all 3 weekends in College Station, and am excited to be a part of my dear friends' wedding! (Yay Aly & Ryan!)  Needless to say, packing for so many events in such a little suitcase has been a bit of a challenge.

In other news, Leonard has really grown into this apartment. He figured out how to climb on top of the partial walls on night #3 and likes to take daily runs up and down the hallway. He has a favorite chair that I've draped a soft white blanket on which he takes daily naps while I study in the living room. When I come in from my workout I go to "his" room (the guest room/study) to do abs and he likes to sit on my hands while I do planks. It's quite adorable. Having him here has really helped my transition from living with friends and being surrounded by people to living alone and slowly making friends. He makes it more like home. :)

Speaking of living alone, I have learned quite a bit about myself in this process. I've learned:
-I love staying up late with Leno and Jimmy on as loud as I want
-Turning my iHome up and singing and dancing around my apartment during random times of day is super fun
-I can keep my laundry baskets in the wash room and just wear whatever I want around the house
-I keep a very clean, organized kitchen with dishes that stay in the sink less than half a day
-I like to paint, eat, study, read, and skype from my couch
-NOT having a tv in my bedroom helps me sleep at night
-Being the only recipient in the mailbox makes getting mail even more fun

I can't wait to update you on my training in Austin.

Love & blessings,
Brooke

12 hours later...

My mom, sister, and I made the "11" hour drive from Dallas to St. Louis on Tuesday. Please keep in mind that I had already driven 3.5 hours from College Station to Dallas before embarking on this little journey. Let's just say I'm not too anxious to get into a car for an extended period of time.

The drive itself was rather entertaining. Oklahoma was pretty boring, but once we hit Missouri (and the portion of our trip that was along old Route 66) things got a little more interesting.

Just after crossing the border, we decided that a detour through Joplin, MO was necessary in order to observe the horrible damage done by the tornado in May. It was sobering to see entire neighborhoods stripped of everything and trees that only had their strongest branches. Worst of all was seeing the occasional partial home where you could see inside. We saw one that still had three shirts hanging in the closet...so that brings up the question: why hasn't that person come back to reclaim his/her possessions? Because they aren't allowed to? Because they can't emotionally handle it? Or perhaps because they are no longer with us. My heart and prayers go out to all who were affected by this tragedy.

On a lighter note, we saw one home that had painting "Missing Cat" on the front presumably right after the tornado. Fortunately, right above it was written "Found Cat" dated only a few days later. :)

Joplin was about 5 hours away from our endpoint in St. Louis, so the rest of the trip was spent listening to podcasts and going on random hunts for Sonic for diet cherry limeade. We arrived safely at our hotel a mere 12 hours after we left Dallas.

First thing in the morning, I signed the rest of my paperwork and paid the rest of my bills and got the keys to my apartment! I am only the second person to rent/live in this particular unit, so it's basically brand new. You know how when you visit something and you try to remember what it's like, but when you come back it's always a little bit different from how you have been imagining in your head? Well, my apartment was bigger, nicer, and prettier than I remembered! I'm so excited for the potential that it has.

Since the movers will come on Friday, we decided to paint the loft now before all of my belongings arrive. The hard part about painting, though, is that most of the ceilings are way too high for a standard ladder (and I do not own a ladder). So, we decided to paint accent walls in order to liven it up a little.  For the hallway, I had originally planned to find a maroon (I'll give you two guesses why), but with the colors of the rest of the loft I felt a blue would fit better. The guest room is yellow and my room is green.

Since it only took us a few hours to paint these walls, we are considering painting both bathrooms as well.

It amazes me how many things a person needs in order to live alone in an apartment. I felt like I was back in College Station, picking out items for my dorm when we went to Walmart on our first of many trips. Trash can, trash bags, cooking items, step stool, hooks, water bottles, ziplocs, dishwasher soap....... and on and on and on. I do already own a lot of things that are on their way to Missouri, but I have always shared kitchen and living room items and therefore need to fill in quite a few gaps. Good thing I've got help here this week.

In other news, I got my first piece of mail! Thanks, Darren :)

More updates to come!

Love and blessings,
Brooke