Denver: "You picked a good year to move here"

When people find out that I’m still relatively new to Denver, the typical response is, “Well, you picked a good year to move here!”

They’re referring, of course, to the ski conditions. And they’re not wrong.

Colorado has had a wonderful snow year, especially compared to the last couple of years.  I bought a ski pass at the beginning of the season (the Epic Pass, for those who care about the Epic/Icon rivalry) and was able to make really good use of it thanks to some ski-minded friends who were willing to drive me back and forth to the mountains in their 4WDs.

You probably know that I’m not the biggest fan of cold weather. Even with good gear, I’m still usually cold.  I LIKE skiing, but I’m really more of a hiker. When people hear this, they usually say something along the lines of, “You’re not safe from snow until Mother’s Day.”

True to form, a few days before Mother’s Day, a snow storm came through. It knocked blossoms off the trees and left frost-bitten tulips and wilted daffodils in its wake. Okay, fine. Moving on.

Except it snowed again this week.  Mother’s Day came and went and it’s officially the end of May. Local school kids will be out for the summer at the end of the week. What?!  We only got a couple of inches of snow here in Denver but the ski resorts got so much fresh powder that one of the resorts (which had already extended its season until Memorial Day) now says it will stay open into June. A resort in Aspen that already closed for the season is even RE-opening for the holiday weekend to take advantage of the excellent conditions.

Even if I wasn’t working every day this weekend, I just don’t think I could bring myself to don my ski boots again this season.

Turning down a power day, you say? That doesn’t sound very Colorado.

But keep in mind, this was my first full winter in 4 years.  While I’ve never been the biggest fan of the cold, California and Hawaii spoiled me, for sure. I’m ready to pack my winter wardrobe away, put on some shorts, and plan a picnic in the park with friends.

Here’s to warmer days on the way!

Denver: Homeowner!

While things have been very quiet on Blog front, life in the real world has been quite the opposite:
On January 11th, I bought my first house!

 It is a brand new townhouse- so new, in fact, that it wasn't technically finished until the 12th.
It has lots of stairs, so any spraining or breaking of knees, ankles or hips is strictly forbidden while I'm living here. It gets lots of lovely natural light and has an attached garage, a guest bedroom, and even a partial view of the mountains! My dad made sure to point out that I'll probably lose my partial mountain view by the time the development is fully finished, but I'm enjoying while I can.

My new place is also just a mile from my work! Once all this snow stops falling, I'll be able ride my bike... at least sometimes!

My across-the-street neighbors consist of a smoke shop and a handful of semi-scuzzy auto repair shops. Yes, the area is a little transitional still- but that's part of what made the price right. And there's some good upward potential: the whole block across from me has been purchased and is scheduled for demolition at some point in the future. The auto shops will one day be replaced by tasteful commercial development- hopefully while I'm still living here! The other good news is that my fellow townhouse neighbors seem really nice.  A couple of them even helped me haul in my new sofa last week.

My dad drove out from South Carolina with his big Suburban to help me move (who needs movers when you can just do a dozen runs in a Suburban?) and to bring over those of my possessions that I deemed non-necessary for  'life on the road' way back when I set off to be a travel occupational therapist. Now that I'm reacquainted with some of my pillows, artwork, linens, and lamps and I've purchased a guest room bed and the aforementioned new sofa- I think my days of moving sans moving professionals are probably over.  Hopefully that next move is still quite some distance in the future.

Once we got everything moved into the townhouse, my dad went to work doing a bunch of super helpful things like installing an electric garage door opener (did you know they don't come standard in new builds anymore?), putting up wooden blinds, hanging curtain rods, and installing a security system.  Thanks, Dad! More recently, my mom flew out to help me decorate and organize and generally make the place feel more 'homey.' Getting organized and staying organized is not my strong suit, so I was extremely appreciative of her help too.

In case you weren't sure, buying and furnishing a new place- even when you're being fairly frugal about it- is expensive. I've been putting in 6-day work weeks two times a month since I got to Denver to help shore up my finances in anticipation. There are fees associated with everything- from titles, to inspections, to insurance. And I really didn't realize how expensive appliances are until I started looking, but I can now say I've purchased my first fridge and washer and dryer, too.

It's all exciting and sometimes overwhelming and definitely very 'adult.'
I hope my guest room will be put to excellent use by all of you in the coming years so I can finally start returning some of the favors that so many of you have graciously bestowed upon me.

A Quick Recap of Recent Adventures

The weeks leading up to this holiday season were so busy for me that I was getting flashbacks to the way I used to feel at Bryn Mawr around this time of year.  We always had to finish up all of the end-of-semester papers and make it through Exam Week before we could leave campus for the holidays.  The To-Do list and the ensuing anxiety seemed insurmountable  at the time and yet, somehow, it always got done. Amazing how that happened.

Enjoying a quiet weekend in the calm after Christmas and before New Year's, it has been nice to pause, reflect back on my time in Denver, and remember that I HAVE managed to squeeze in some fun adventures here and there.

At the end of June, to celebrate my one-month-a-versary living in Denver, I did a solo summit of Mt. Bierdstat which is one of the closest (and easiest) 14ers.

 In August, one of my Craig co-workers invited me to round out his co-ed team for a Ragnar running event.  I don’t consider myself a serious runner so I was nervous going into it, but ultimately had a really fun weekend. Ragnar is essentially un ultra-marathon done relay-style. Our team consisted of 6 guys and 6 girls, each of whom ran three legs of varying distances. The race started at Copper Mountain Ski resort and, 32 hours and 200-ish miles later, we crossed the finish line together at the Aspen Snowmass Ski resort. 

In September, I volunteered a buddy rider during a 30K bike ride as part of Craig Hospital’s ‘Pedal for Possible’ fundraiser and I also hiked up Pike’s Peak (another 14er) as part of Team Craig to raise money for the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado.

My good friend Lisa Wehofer, a fellow WashU alum and former Raleigh-ite, is currently working as a travel OT and we met up between her assignments for a quick multi-day kayak trip around the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. I was really hoping to see some of the Orca that frequent those waters, but no such luck this time!

My good friend Anna VanVoorhis, another fellow WashU alum, got married in October and I happily travelled back to Saint Louis to celebrate her special day.

One of my new Denver friends, Jen, is on a quest to climb all of the Colorado 14ers and she invited me to join her in climbing an alternate route to the summit of Mt. Evans.  This was in early November, however, and there was already a whole lot of snow on the ground. We had a great adventure but will have to go back in the summer to make it all the way to the top.

I ended the year with a couple of day trips to go skiing at Arapahoe Basin on the weekends when I wasn’t working. 

No official adventures planned for 2019 yet (except for maybe re-attempting Mt Evans once the snow melts!)  but I’m looking forward to checking out some of the other nearly ski resorts in the coming months.  And maybe hosting some visitors? (hint, hint).

Denver: Transitioning out of Travel Therapy

Life is looking very different these days than it was 6 months ago- to the point that I need to change the tagline for this blog! I am no longer working as a travel OT!

After almost 3 years to the day, I threw in the towel on my travel OT lifestyle and started putting down roots. It was time.

In truth, I never expected to travel for so long. It started as a great way to try out a variety of employment settings while getting a jump start on paying off my student loans- and getting to explore new parts of the country was just an extremely nice perk. And then I made my final student loan payment- hooray! But I was still having fun traveling and I was still gaining valuable new work experience…and I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to settle when I stopped travelling. Frankly, it was easier to keep taking new travel assignments than it was to contemplate a permanent position. So I kicked that can down the road a couple of times, until I couldn’t justify doing it anymore.

Fast-forward through a few months of big decisions, hard work, and steep transitions, and here I am, living in Denver, Colorado, enjoying the first snow fall of the season.

I’m renting my own little apartment in Englewood, a suburb a few miles south of Denver.  Having been on the road for the last three years, I didn’t actually have any furniture, so that had to be remedied pretty quickly. My dad drove out with his big Suburban and we spent one hectic weekend picking up all the Craigslist and consignment shop items I’d placed on hold and making a couple of trips to Ikea and Home Depot, as well. My mom flew out the following week to help me with the organizational and decorative side of things and my apartment came together really nicely. Thanks, Mom and Dad!!

As you may know, Denver is experiencing a huge influx of young people- primarily Midwesterners of the outdoorsy persuasion seeking big city opportunities, but also large numbers of people disillusioned by the high cost of living along California coast.

Denver has a number of well-reputed hospitals, which was one of my criteria when picking a city in which to ‘go perm,’ as temp staffers like to say. Unfortunately, Denver is SO popular with young professionals that there is no need for hospitals to hire people directly into full-time positions with benefits. Instead, they offer ‘per diem’ positions.  People always ask me what ‘per diem’ means, so here it is, straight from Merriam-Webster:

per diem

adjective

1: based on use or service by the day : daily

2: paid by the day

As a healthcare professional, this means that you are on-staff, but that you have no guaranteed hours (or benefits). You get called in as needed. You may get called in to cover a full maternity leave, or you may get called in just for the day because someone is out with the flu.

Some people absolutely love the flexibility this arrangement offers. As a single person moving to a new city, however, it all sounded a little precarious to me. I wanted assurance that I would have reasonably steady work- and therefore a reasonably steady income!

So, I ended up taking 2 per diem positions, one at Craig Hospital, and one at Swedish Medical Center. Conveniently, these two hospitals are literally right next to each other.

Swedish is a 400-bed acute care hospital while Craig is a rehab hospital that specializes in brain injury and spinal cord injury. Craig Hospital has been on my radar for a number of years now because it is considered one of the best rehab hospitals in the country so I’m pretty excited to be working there, even if it is just per diem.

And, contrary to my fears, there has been no shortage of work so far!  Both hospitals have been offering me full-time hours, so I actually have to turn down requests to work on a regular basis. Between the 2 facilities, I’m working 6 days per week at least two weeks per month and the learning curve at Craig is quite steep, so life has been busy!

I’ve still managed a few adventures since I arrived in Denver (In case you were worried!!) and am hoping to touch on them in my next post.

Colorado: The Pros and Cons of Pueblo

When last you heard from me, I posted that my next contract was taking me to Pueblo, Colorado.

I need to addend that statement to say ‘Colorado Springs.’ Poor Pueblo didn’t stand much of a chance. I’m still working there but, after being counseled by travel therapist friends who’ve worked in Pueblo previously and, after driving around Pueblo and taking stock of it myself, I decided that living in Colorado Springs and commuting  was the better option.

Poor Pueblo had the cards stacked against it from the start. It was gusty ‘two-hands-on-the-wheel’ driving weather as I crested my final mountain pass. Descending onto the Colorado plains, the winds began to blow more and more frenetically, kicking up dust and sending dozens of tumbleweeds careening across my path.  I actually had to switch on my headlights and slow down substantially because the visibility was so poor. Good thing most tumbleweeds are super light! Upon colliding with the car, generally exploded into straw-like confetti- still disconcerting, though, when you see them coming at you! First dust storm, in the books.

It also doesn’t help that I’ve essentially been living in California for the last 2 years- LA barely has seasons and most things (minus the grass) are green year-round.  So arriving somewhere where everything- and I mean everything- is either straw-colored or brown and looks almost entirely dead- is not super welcoming.

Pueblo does have some beautiful government buildings, a few blocks of Victorian houses, a newly re-done Riverwalk area, and a number of run-down brick warehouses with enough architectural merit to be made into industrial lofts one day. Otherwise, aside from the motels and chain restaurants lining the freeway through town, it doesn’t look like there has been any new construction in the last 50 years.

One travel friend tactfully described Pueblo as ‘gritty’ and ‘a little dirty.’ Call it what you want, Pueblo is not an affluent town. In fact, it might just be one of the most entirely blue-collar places I’ve been. I’m spoiled, I admit, and I just couldn’t get excited about it. (I’ve since learned that crime and drug usage rates here are higher than average so yes, its gritty.)

Instead, I’ll be living 40 miles north in Colorado Springs- it is a straight shot along I-25 and the speed limit, conveniently, is 75 mph. I apologize regularly to my little car for having to rack up so many miles each week, but she just got a new set of tires, so I think she’s feeling alright. With that being said, feel free to send podcast recommendations my way!

PS: Truth be told, I was never aiming for Pueblo.  I was aiming to get myself a contract as close to the greater Denver area as possible. This is surprisingly hard to do as a traveler, especially when trying to steer clear of nursing homes. Too many people are vying for jobs there for travelers to be needed. So, on the bright side, living in Colorado Springs puts me 40 miles closer to Denver!

PPS: I don’t have any pretty Pueblo photos to post- as I mentioned above, this is a landscape of brown and beige- not especially photo-worthy.  Spring is on the way, however, so hopefully I’ll have more photos ready next time!

The Scene that is Los Angeles

I think I forgot to mention that my latest contract had me living and working Los Angeles. That dream of moving to LA and “making it big” was never something I seriously entertained and living here has made utterly grateful for that. Kudos to those who pursue their passion, but LA is definitely a city that chews up and spits out the less tenacious dreamers and is fickle with her affection toward even the most successful of starlets. Like many, I leave work at the end of the day feeling pretty worn out and then I tend to rally a bit once I get home. Here however, the LA traffic- combined with generalized overstimulation from car horns and billboards and flashing lights- generally zapped whatever energy I had left.  And it is just such a scene. All the time. I defy to find me another city in which people so carefully curate their  coffee run outfits and meticulously match their workout wear accessories.

I lived in West Hollywood, renting a room from an awesome girl named Amy. My work commute was only 3.5 miles but, on my worst day, it took almost 45 minutes to get home. Literally, I can run faster. And the self-entitled Maserati-drivers who feel like traffic rules don’t apply to them just infuriate me. My commute took me through Beverly Hills along Santa Monica Boulevard and the amount of wealth in this part of the world is mind-boggling. When I first arrived, I thought it so foolish that people drive such luxury cars when LA drivers are, to generalize, kind of reckless, and LA parking spaces are, to generalize, kind of miniscule. “Those cars will for sure get dinged, even if the owners valet the sh*$ out of them,” I thought.  But I soon realized that ‘Angelinos’ spend inordinate amounts of time in their cars- they might as well utilize and enjoy bells and whistles and comfy car seats, otherwise those cars might just feel like prisons.

So, I confirmed what I already knew: LA is not the place for me. But I came for the facility- The California Rehabilitation Institute- despite it being in LA. CRI is a joint venture between UCLA and Cedars Sinai- both big names in healthcare. The hospital opened in 2016, so it is still ramping up, but it is already the largest rehab hospital on the West Coast.

                              Apparently this is what I look like with brown eyes and blonde hair

Cedars-Sinai is a fantastic medical facility with loads of specialists at the top of their fields, so people fly in from all over for cutting-edge procedures and rare-disease treatments. If those people need rehab afterward, they come to us.  I had patients from probably a dozen different states, which keeps things fun. We are also the rehab hospital of choice for LA-based celebrities. I had a few VIP patients- one Oscar-winner and a few people with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, people who are clearly well-known in their respective entertainment sectors, but not quite household names. I hadn’t heard of them before, so they don’t count as true celebrities in my book. If you play that ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ game, however, they do put me within about 2 degrees of separation from everyone in Hollywood! 

I should also say that, with celebrity status and wealth come some very interesting personalities. Most memorable of all were not the VIP patients, but their high-strung bulldog spouses. I’ve said it before but my psychology pre-reqs have proven to be some of the most useful classes of my entire OT degree!

So, CRI was a great place to work but I’m ready for less traffic, fewer fashionistas, more bang for my buck, and a celebration of seasons!

Next stop: Colorado!

                                                            This is winter in LA.

Farewelling 2017 With a Grateful Heart

I actually started this blog entry whilst sitting in the Charlotte airport on Near Year’s Eve- but then I boarded the plane to LA and got swept up into regular life. I originally wrote about how very grateful I was to have time off this year to celebrate Christmas at home with my family on Seabrook. Reading this stirred up the bittersweet feelings that I now associate with holidays. Some part of me still clings to a child-like belief that I deserve those days off- that everyone deserves to spend the holidays at home with family. But my adult self knows better. Holidays aren’t a given for everyone.

Just like the Charlotte airport, hospitals don’t close for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Viruses don’t stop spreading and emergent surgeries can’t be placed on hold. And what about the patients already in the hospital- the ones with whom I work? They still have ongoing needs regardless of the date or the time. I always tell people that my job is Monday-Friday, year-round.

Of course, it isn’t just hospital workers. Police and first responders, pilots and public transit workers, concession stand workers and gas station attendants, and many more, I’m sure, are subjected to the unfairness of this adult reality as well.

A holly, jolly Christmas with family isn’t always par for the course. The truth is that holidays are difficult time for many. That swirl of holiday emotions is often magnified in a hospital setting- one patient may feel exponentially more lonely because she is being cared for by strangers instead of loved ones while her neighbor is just feeling grateful to be alive after a head-on collision. One gentleman is coming to grips with a terminal diagnosis and knows that this Christmas will be his last while the woman across the hall is feeling jubilant and hopeful after a successful transplant surgery. Yet another is engulfed in a bout of hospital-acquired delirium and misses Christmas all together. It can be difficult for me to share in my patients’ emotional journeys- on Christmas and every day- but it certainly helps to put life into perspective and to keep me feeling grateful for all that I have.

Wherever this holiday season found you and whatever emotions it brought to light, I hope you were able to bid adieu to 2017 with a spirit of gratitude. May we all find joy amidst the chaos in 2018!