Our DC love story :)

I realized today that I didn't really say much about Jordan's visit, except to name the two surprises. SO! Of course, I can't help it, I just have to tell the story.

I arrived home late from the MCAT...about an hour after I expected. My housemate Jodi was in the kitchen making pasta. We went directly upstairs to Courtney's room to eat it together out of the pot. I, being the simple-minded college grad that I am, did not think anything of this. Why wouldn't we just eat in our room together out of the same container? Turns out it was a ploy to make sure that I wasn't downstairs when Jordan arrived! So we are just hanging out and then I decided to go to my room to Skype with Jordan. We start talking and his video wasn't working for some reason. Then I hear his voice start to echo. I thought someone else was logged in on my skype or something. He's saying something to me about "wouldn't it be awesome if I could just get on a plane early in the morning and then travel all day and then arrive at your house at seven to celebrate?"...I wasn't processing any of this because I was distracted by the echoing. And he wasn't processing anything I was saying because he was trying to walk upstairs.  Then all of a sudden my door opens. And Jordan walks in. And I just do NOT know what to do. I put my computer down and started saying "Oh my word", which was pretty much my mantra for the next 2 hours straight. Then I started crying and he gave me this giant bear hug. So awesome. I was just completely and utterly shocked. I don't know that I've ever been so surprised in my life.

Then I was able to take some time off of work on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so we were able to have some nice hang out time. Monday after work we went to the Lincoln Memorial and Tuesday we hit up the frozen yogurt place down the street. Then on Wednesday we got engaged and my house hosted a potluck for the MVS support committee. Thursday we found this cute little bookstore/cafe type place to hang out for a couple of hours. Originally we were planning on going to the zoo, but between wanting a lazy afternoon and the rain, we never got around to it.  As far as the actual engagement goes--we were just hanging out in the backyard, talking and laughing. I said something to him about how perfect the week was. I was actually almost crying just thinking about it (Not sure what that's about, ha). So then he said something along the lines of "well not everything has been perfect, but there's one thing that could make it even better. Would you marry me?" There were some other nice things in there too. So CUTE, right?!  So I say, "OF COURSE I will Jordan!" And then we hugged, we kissed, and we high fived!  It was just awesome. I also threw in a couple more "Oh my word"s for good measure. Just lovely.

 I'll put up some pictures from the week/special day if Jordan ever emails them to me. Now that I've found my camera charger, I'll also try to snap some shots of the house so that you can see what the place is like!

The lengthy post...

You've been warned. I'm about to give you the update that I've been promising for quite some time now.  :)

First, thanks so much for the emails and notes. I think I'm not cut out for this whole "planning a wedding" thing but I am really enjoying the affirmation and having a fiance.  It's fun to brainstorm ideas for the wedding/reception and then be able to say, "whelp, that's not happening for a long time, so let's not worrying about it."

Second, thanks so much for the MCAT encouragement. As I wrote briefly before, I feel like it went well. At least, I feel better than I did last time. Part of that is because I've come to the realization that this score is not going to make or break my career plans. Part of THAT is because I am still not 100 percent sure that medical school is what I want to do. I definitely feel excited about school and I'm going to finish the application process.  But, if med school doesn't pan out this year, I still feel like I have a lot of options for the future. I can always apply again (if I realize my heart is truly set on it) or I can branch out and do something completely different.  I'm trying to embrace the fact that I'm young, flexible and don't need to have my life completely planned out.

Third, work (part a). I am loving my work at Bread. Sometimes it is really overwhelming and I can barely think. I tend to have massive "brain farts" while sitting at the front desk because there is just so much to do, I don't know where to start. It's also been kind of hard for me to not take the patients' complaints too personally. When they are frustrated with the system, it tends to be MY FAULT, even though it is the system that is to blame. I have to remind myself that the majority of these people don't receive much respect from the healthcare system.... So as much I want to just give those people---those ADULTS--- a talking to, I just keep my mouth shut. I think it's really important that they receive the same respect that I would want to receive, which means that sometimes they're just going to let me have it, and that's fine. I mean, obviously verbally abusing anyone isn't fine. But, most of the patients don't feel like they are being heard. I'm finding that paraphrasing is crucial skill here, and it really helps to minimize the yelling and makes people feel listened to. (But boy is it tiring!)

Fourth, work (part b). I really enjoy the people that I work with. The other clinic coordinators, the social workers downstairs, the lab techs, the doctors, the people in billing, the lawyers--the whole gang!  Everyone helps me when I have questions or sometimes they even catch my mistakes before I finish them! They're fun, pretty normal, not stuck up (that I can tell) and seem like people who are dedicated to doing good work for people. I'm super appreciative that my first glimpse into the working world is turning out to be a positive one.  It seems like most of my housemates are having similar experiences, which I think says a lot about the kind of connections MVS is making in the DC community. Awesome.

Fifth, my housemates are terrific. We just spent the weekend at Rolling Ridge, in West Virginia. While the weekend itself was maybe not the best use of time (in my opinion), we had a good conversation and lots of bonding. Landon and I taught the rest of the girls how to play Tichu, which is turning out to be a fun house game. We also played some Dutch Blitz for who excel at speed games (not me). It occurred to me tonight that our house has a lot of laughter. For instance, Sara and I were cracking up in the kitchen over the facial expression that accompanied her exclamation "I just want bread!!" All of us are meshing really well in the humor department, which is definitely a relief. We're also the type of people who like to explore, so I feel like I'm going to be getting my fill of the city. On Sunday after the retreat we went to the American Art museum and saw the special Norman Rockwell exhibit, which was awesome. It was incredible how lifelike his work was. But, it was also interesting to think about how white his work was. It is so representative of such a small portion of what was happening in America at the time. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful exhibit.  Tomorrow we're heading to a nearby neighborhood which is playing a free documentary on the history of HIV/AIDS in DC. Should be interesting.

Sixth, that's all! Now I'm going to bed!

The week with the most surprises EVER!!

Okay, this post will not do justice to anything I'm about to say. But, bear with me, and once I have a free moment (which, I promise I will have at some point next week), I will write more.

Surprise #1 - Jordan came to visit me in DC after I finished the MCAT on Saturday. He'll be here for the entire week.  My supervisor let me take some time off of work, so we've had lots of afternoons to hang out and explore the city.

Surprise #2 - On Wednesday afternoon, Jordan proposed. And now, we are happily engaged!  Calling lots of our family and friends has been really fun and exciting. Choosing a date/year for a wedding is turning out to be more challenging than expected. But, we're trusting the pieces to fall into place, so no worries. YEAH! AWESOME!

MCAT

Since you all were just dying of curiosity: I feel good about how the MCAT went today. Granted, that won't mean anything until a month from now when I receive my scores (and hopefully confirmation of this good feeling), but for now, I'm free! Not only did I survive, but I feel good about life.

Thanks so much for all the encouragement and the phone calls, emails, and texts wishing me luck. My friends and family are the greatest.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to seeing my aunt Anne, a commissioning service at Hyattsville (one of our supporting churches) followed by a potluck, and then a festival in Adams Morgan (a nearby neighborhood).  I can already tell that it's fun not to have to study!

I'm super bummed that I won't be able to see my GC girls kick some soccer butt in PA.... :(  But I know they'll do AWESOME.... GoshenYAH SoccerWOO!

Bread for the City

This next year I'll be working at Bread for the City as a Clinic Coordinator. I'll be one of three people with that position title, so it should clue you in as to the amount of work we have to do. This past week I learned how to:

1. Answer phones, transfer calls, take messages, schedule appts, and send people to different clinics
2. Work the front desk: verifying address, phone number and insurance, sending people to Public Benefits (the insurance side of things), signing them in on a clipboard and then calling them up to actually sign them in (weird, but its because there's SO many people), figuring out walk-ins and how to use the computer software.
3. Make referrals: calling different hospitals, getting put on hold, scheduling an appointment, calling the patient only to find out that time doesn't work, rescheduling the appointment, not getting through to hospitals because they don't answer their phones and how to add procedural codes.
4. Sort the fax inbox: we have most faxes sent electronically, but then I get to go through the inbox and assign the faxes to people's files. 
5. Scan faxes: for the old fax number, which people still use, we have to scan in all the items that are faxed. Then the same deal, I have to figure out where to save it so that people can find it later on.
6. ISCOPES: I just learned about this on Friday. I'm basically going to be the connection between Bread and a group of MD, NP, PA, etc students from George Washington University. The students are going to be working with Bread for the next year on some kind of project for our new health resource room and I'm the Bread rep; I think Dr. Randi, my supervisor, will also be involved. It sounds like last year, without her help, there were some frustrations with communication because, like me, the clinic coordinator was new to the area and didn't have many answers to their questions. YIKES! Fingers crossed, my group and I will get along.
7. I'm sure there's something else, but I can't think of it now. So, number seven is for all the miscellaneous stuff I'll end up doing this year.

And, next week we'll see if I actually remember it since I'll be on my own: sink or swim, right?!

Today is Labor Day, so I'll have another short week. I think it's a pretty nice way to break myself in to the working world. My parents visited this weekend, which was brief, but very fun. I showed them where I worked and we drove to the testing center I'll be at on Saturday. And on Sunday we walked the Mall and saw lots of memorials and such. We also checked out the Old Post Office building, which is kind of a hidden gem, I guess. I mean, it's free and has a great view of the whole city, but its not overrun by tourists like most places. Since my folks came, it finally feels like I can settle into my room since they brought all my stuff :) THANKS Mom and Dad!!!

What else might you wonder about? Oh yes, my housemates. Everyone has arrived. We are three girls and one guy. We have our first house meeting tonight to pound out some details about living arrangements and budgets. Thus far we get along really well and I have high hopes for this year. We joke about how people aren't showing their true colors yet, but the vibe is that we'll be good friends.

Okay, enjoy Labor-FREE day, folks! Have a good one.