Chi-town, Second City, Chocolate, Sushi

Good times in the Windy City! This picture was taken a year ago at Britt's 21st birthday, and this past weekend she turned 22! Happy Birthday Britt! I flew to Chi-town to celebrate, and ended up with these two beautiful ladies again! Julie was my victory lap roomie; I would stay at Mizzou an extra semester all over again just to have that experience! She is working all over the country for AB and a production agency marketing and coordinating and pretty much running huge events. It is so great meeting up with friends a year later and finding them just as genuine and amazing as they always were! Cheers to you Jules! Britt and I also had an incredible time as always. Friday night we left the airport and stopped for coffee and dessert.. and then met up with our old friend Colby and had appetizers and drinks. A backwards night! Saturday we conquered the city. Thanks to Rachael Ray, we stopped at this place called Hot Chocolate. The whole interior was brown decor (super suave), and they specialized in Hot Chocolate (imagine that). I had the 'tan and black'. The bottom 1/3 of my cup was all hot fudge topped with hot milk chocolate. Britt drank a cup of melted dark chocolate. We giggled the whole time we drank it. Britt is working this summer at The Second City comedy club. She got us free tix and the best seats in the house! She also got a 'puke bonus' for cleaning up puke (she's working as a hostess but really is a nurse, so puke is nothin').. that ended up in $20 for her and free drinks for Julie and me! Today we finished off the weekend with Sushi (yum...well, except for the squid, wouldn't recommend it) and shopping on Michigan Ave. The best part is Britt is coming to Bean Town next weekend! I am the luckiest girl ever.

Nashvegas

Today marks my one-month anniversary of moving out of Nashville, so I thought it only appropriate to pay tribute to the wonderful women there, especially since this began post-Nashville. Let me just go ahead and say, though, that Nashville, TN is one amazing place, and I am SO glad that I spent every ounce of time there that I did. I am also indebted to Vanderbilt Hospital for providing a wonderful nursing and career base along with plenty of challenges to get me accustomed to thinking on my feet! 3 Cheers for the good ol' south! Julie, Naomi, Me.. my last day of work at Vandy
Guitars and Colts Bolts!
Donna, Naomi, Julie, and me at the Pancake Pantry. And yes, it's as good as it sounds!
Julie, Naomi, Laura, Kels, and Jenn; a wonderfully wholesome combo of beautiful women.
This pic is a special shout out to Julie who drove all of the way out to Boston with me. She was there for the minor accident, the new subway system, the 'security-only' entry to my new apartment, the great foods, and the purchasing of post cards. This is a picture of our first day in Boston on the Duck Tour. The driver even dropped us off in the north end afterwards! We can charm!

Solid as a Rock

"The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had it's foundation on a rock." Matthew 7:25 I feel like this verse was the common theme of my weekend. It may be a stretch, but bear with me. Yesterday I took my little Saturn out of the garage underneath my apartment building for the first big drive in Boston since she delivered me here 3 weeks ago. So we took a little trip down to Plymouth, Mass to see where the Pilgrims first landed. (Plymouth Rock- are you following my pun here?). So the Pilgrims/Puritans came for 'religious freedom' right? Granted, they were not messing around and were crazy serious and judgemental and came not for everyone's religious freedom, rather to run things the way they wanted...right (Salem witch trials ring a bell? That's another one day road trip). But they came and established our country, solid on a rock. Imagine the will they must have had. (by the way, the rock now is only 1/3 the size it originally was)

Secondly, the church I attended this morning is 'The Old West Church'/ West End UMC. It was founded in 1737 as a wood frame building. It was burned in down by British troops during the Revolution and the current buliding was rebuilt in 1806. The first Sunday school in America was initiated there in 1812. It still stands today, and it is gorgeous. Solid as a rock. The service was ok, but I was completely blown away by thoughts of how many lives have been dynamically changed there. God picked that spot 280 years ago and has been working in that community ever since! The rain has come and the winds have blown, but this cornerstone still stands.

I promise that not ever blog entry will be a history lesson, but I am still just fascinated by it all!

The Coop

The Harvard Bookstore is called the Coop. (Short for 'the co-op' of course which students 1882 created to service the community). But it is pronounced the Coop- just like me! How did they know way back then that I would be making my way up to Boston in the year 2006? I have gone by the Coop a few times thinking I will pick something up as a souvenir, but I am super intimidated even by the hooded sweatshirts! How crazy is that? I mean, I am working at a Harvard hospital.. perhaps one day soon I will get over it. I've also included a pic of Harvard Med which I walk by everyday from the T station to work. It's right on Longwood Ave, and it is BEAUtiful.. it's as regal as you would want Harvard med to be. The last picture is of Julie and I hanging out with John Harvard. Apparently if you rub his foot, you are offered good luck. I would dare to say that he is no match for David R. Francis (for all of those Tigers out there), but we tried it anyway. So far so good! The other Harvard tie of the day: I re-picked up the book Mountains Beyond Mountains to finish it off, and I realized that the physician in the book was the ID attending at 'The Brigham', another Harvard partner hospital where we at DFCI (Dana Farber Cancer Institute) send our patients to be admitted. Life comes full circle in the strangest ways. Well... back to 30 minute meals. Have I mentioned that I am loving having cable??

The Freedom Trail

First of all, let me say that today is the first time I 'rocked' my i-pod around town.. I officially felt like a real city girl- like I really live here! What a grand time. This afternoon I hopped down the the Boston common (est 1634) to start at the beginning of the Freedom Trail. This is the 'backbone' of the American Revoluntionary Story. It's a 2.5 mile walk all over the city featuring 16 sites and a rather good work-out. The Freedom Trail The Massachusettes State House

(cornerstone laid by Sam Adams and Paul Revere July 4, 1795. Bunker Hill Monument
Paul Revere's House
Paul Revere!
This is the Old North Church; the famous location of 'One if by Land, Two if by Sea'

Bean Town or Bust

So here I am in Boston; cool and rainy Boston.
This is the view from the Charles River which is just southeast of my 'studio' apartment. This city is incredible! I brought my recently acquired southern drawl up to the northeast where I stick out a bit! I can add another nickname to my list as I seem to have lost the -er on the end of my first name. I am 'Heathah', and I am close to 'Hahvahd'. I carry 'cah keys' in my purse. Are you picking up up what I am throwing down here? It is too much. Truly! Dana Farber Cancer Institute is my new career home, and it is a sight to be held. It is amazing the resources made available to patients at a hospital with money. So that is just the down and dirty of the beginning of my travel nursing adventures. Stay tuned as I have been taking pics like crazy and have tons to share. Thanks for visiting a day in the life of...