Chicago

So I went to Chicago last weekend with my girl Sarah and her sister Naomi. 

Ask me if it was awesome. 

Yes it was. Thank you for asking. 

Here, free of charge, are some photos.

 Elevator in the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower.

 The essential foot shot. It's fine, I'm wearing Chacos. Please don't judge. Sometimes I do that, but only when I travel (or bike long distances in street clothes). 

And cell phones. 

 The bean.

 I seriously underestimated how awesome this thing was.

 What's not to love about taking 450 pictures of yourself in a gigantic mirrored surface called Cloud Gate?

 I can't think of one thing.

 Watched the Cubs come back during a bottom of the ninth two outs game that ended in a walk off single in the bottom of the eleventh. 

 Also, I was cheering for the Cards that day. So that's awesomekward. 

But my boy Matt got a great hit. And also Chris Carpenter pitched, so that's fun. 

Wore my mustard yellow flats into the ground.  

(Boot free since September 15th).

 Surprisingly similar to the top of the Salt Lake LDS Temple, eh?

Also of note, it turns out that Loyola and Loyola Marymount are not the same school. 

Babel

Dear Mumford and Sons,
Thanks for releasing your album on a day when I have to do a lot of commuting. It's gonna be love.
Liz

My Love Affair with Chicago

The trip can basically be summarized as: 

1) I finally succeeded at traveling light.

(you can see my previous thoughts on traveling light here and here) 

That's right. Backpack and purse. The end.  

 2) I love the bean

More to come. 

Songs that Make Me Cry

Wow.Wow.Wow.
I had so many things I wanted to write about today:
guilt, judgement, mortality, voice, reading in the airport and Chicago,
but then this video came along and I can't seem to write about anything else.
This is a really (insert an adjective for something that is so sad you can't even stand it, but somehow turns itself into something mildly hopeful) story.
I've had the song on repeat in the background all day.
Makes me cry in the most horrible, heartbreaking way.
Buy it here on iTunes. And really, well done Taylor.

You Know You're a Nurse When (Part 9)

You try to type "carpool" and your phone corrects it to "carpal," as in carpal tunnel syndrome.

I listened to an hour of live Ben Harper music on YouTube, and then I wrote this post.

I'm not as scared of dying as I am of growing old.

-Ben Harper

The other day I was thinking about growing old. And how it is just plain old scary. (pun). In my line of work, I talk to a lot of people who are 80 and older. I can't tell you how many times a patient has looked me straight in the face and said in utter seriousness, "Don't get old." My response lately has been, "Well, you know the only alternative to getting old is dying young." 

And they almost always say something to the effect of 

"it's worth living to grow old." 

I've always said that I wouldn't want to live to be in my 90s, but I've learned something from my patients: age isn't what matters. How you feel matters. The other day a 90 some-odd year old told me I had to get him better because "I have to live to be 100." If I have to get old, I want to feel as good as he does. 

Is there an App for that?

Apparently I spent all day on Wednesday wearing these earrings.

Yep. They don't match. I realized it at 10 pm. Whoops.



A Man After My Own Heart

I called the manager at my hair salon today. (Long story...). He told me his name.

Me: You're the tall one, right?
Him:  Um, the tall, good-looking one.

Sound familiar? If anyone forgets to label me as good-looking, I say exactly the same thing. :)

Why My Life is Awesome

I'm sitting in my office eating York peppermint patties, listening to Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift (on repeat, of course) wearing a floor length black maxi skirt that I sewed with my own two hands (well, and a machine). What's not to love about any of that?

Guilty Pleasure Music

Please don't hate me because I absolutely love this song.

Dummy glasses + red lipstick? Yes please.