We've now been in Maryland for 10 weeks and I felt that it's time for an update on our daily lives. I write a lot about our adventures, but haven't mentioned work or down time lately.
Mikey and I both had a steep learning curve at our new jobs, which we expected and were mostly ready for. It took us both about 3 weeks to start feeling comfortable, but we still occasionally have questions about where things are located, policies and procedures. We try to align our schedules as much as possible so we can have days off together, but it doesn't always work out. We both enjoy the people we work with and were offered to stay longer and extend our contracts. We declined because our goal is to travel around, see new places and experience new adventures. Mikey has 3 weeks left and I have 4. Nine shifts and twelve shifts. It will zoom by.
Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to live in Seattle for some reason. I love the rain in SLC (yes, I know it's very different from Seattle rain) and everything I've heard about the culture, diversity and geography of Seattle has intrigued me. Friends who live in the area have told us the best time to be there is the summer months so we are hoping to spend our next 3 month summer assignment somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. The more research I've done, the more I really like the idea of Portland too. We have a handful of family and friends there, which would be great and I think we'd have more friends from SLC visit us there than we did here in Maryland.
We've started looking at the travel nurse openings in Washington and Oregon, but it is still a little early to apply. Usually the hospital will post their needs for "ASAP start" or up to about 4 weeks out. Hopefully we'll be able to start applying in about 2-3 weeks. I enjoy researching and planning and have already starting bookmarking housing options in Portland. I think having a comfortable, convenient place to live will be vital to our happiness (especially mine) while travel nursing so I want to make sure we find something great like we did in MD.
Some things I've noticed, highlights and low-lights:
1.) I like composting and miss doing it. I feel guilty throwing away all our egg shells, banana peels, coffee grinds and food scraps.
2.) We recycle a lot and don't make much garbage. Our small recycling bin fills up about every two weeks and we only have about 1 garbage bag every 2 weeks, about half of which I could've composted. I wish we didn't even go through that much recyclable stuff and maybe someday we'll work on cutting down on that too.
3.) We are resilient and adaptable. Our lives have changed quite a bit over the past few months and we are still happy, healthy, thriving and connected.
4.) On the flip side, life is very much the same as back home: we work, grocery shop, cook, play outdoors, go to yoga, bike, drink coffee and watch movies and shows (we're currently watching the Game of Thrones series on the computer since we don't have a TV).
5.) There are Mountain People and there are Water People. Coming from the Rocky Mountains, rivers and reservoirs of Utah, we are a good mix of each and have decided we need both where we end up living permanently.
6.) I am very happy that in L&D I get a fair amount of down time. The first few weeks were absolutely crazy busy, but it's mellowed out a lot lately and I am actually typing this while at work... Mikey's floor on the other hand is run-your-ass-off-constantly busy. I feel guilty about that, but grateful.
7.) Facetime, Skype, phone calls, texting, and Facebook are good for keeping us connected to family and friends when we're far away, but they just aren't adequate substitutes for the real thing. I'm really looking forward to being home for a few weeks, seeing and playing with my nieces and nephews, hugging my family and hanging out with friends.
8.) Being a temporary worker is nice because you don't have to get involved in drama or politics. I do enjoy the entertainment of it some days and others I just try to steer clear of drama.
9.) I miss my garden, raising my seedlings, playing in the dirt, watching my garden grow and harvesting our own food. I do have 2 basil plants and a mint plant that I bought at Lowe's and potted up. That helps a little.
10.) When I only have one person to live with and do everything with, it actually makes it much easier to be nice and considerate and get along. Mikey and I are doing really well. I love that boy.
11.) Humidity. It just started kicking in a few days ago and we are trying to figure it out. It makes the hot hotter and the warm colder somehow. We had to kick on the heater when it was 72 degrees inside because the 72% humidity made it feel really chilly!
Ten weeks down and four to go and we are doing great!
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