Easter Sunday, Manic Monday, Nightshift Tuesday, Zombie Wednesday

  After Saturday night shift, I took a brief nap then woke up to enjoy my Sunday off.

We had two of our fellow travelers, Aaron and Leah, join us for dinner.  We feasted and talked the whole evening. Unfortunately the only picture I have is of Bagheera, in an Easter coma.

Monday I was off, so Leah, another traveler named Brittany, and I ventured out for a day of activities.

We went hiking at Hood Mountain in Sonoma county. It was a beautiful day.

After enjoying fresh air and exercise, we googled the nearest winery, hoping to get a taste of what Sonoma is known for.

Although only 2.8 mi away as the crow flies, the closest winery was Pride winery, and nearly at 30 min drive through winding roads. The drive wasn't bad though, as we had great views and conversation for the ride.

It was beautiful and so grand. The man who took us on a tour was informative and funny.

There's so much to know about wine making! It's a science. 

I have previously verbalized dislike toward the taste of red wine, but I can't say that now. When it's good, it's smooth and the taste is multi-dimensional. At least, that's what I experienced when with every sip the tour guide shouted things like, "do you taste the grape, blackberry, oak, tang, sweetness?!?"

I DO!    ..and it's delightful.

After the winery and receiving a great list of suggestion for things to do from some of the locals, we had a chilly patio dinner at a place in downtown Santa Rosa.  Following that, we nurses parted ways only briefly, for Monday, was a night for jazz.

Oakland is a quick drive from my apartment, under 30 minutes. Perhaps that's because it was 9pm on a Monday night, but it was quick nonetheless. 

We had tickets to see famed trombonist, Wayne Wallace, at Yoshi's in Oakland.

Leah had a friend who gave her a gift card for our meal, so I acted like a poor girl in a bar and said to the bartender, "top shelf vodka martini"..  She just looked at me puzzled and annoyed and said, "which vodka to you want?" After showing that I clearly don't know which is the tippiest of the top shelf I looked to Leah for advice.

It was strong and I couldn't finish the whole thing, but I sure felt fancy sippin' on that 'tini while tapping my foot to some great music.

The band was so good. We had a great time. I would love to go again.

Tuesday night I worked. Night shift is stealing something from my heart and soul that I hate seeing leave me.  The transformation to vampire is difficult and painful.

My complaints could fill an entire life's work of blog posts, but for fear of displaying how petty and discontent I can be, I'll refrain from writing it down.  Despite being in a sleepy fog most of the time, I'm trying to use my days off as best as I can, but it's difficult.

 Blah blah blah, wah, wah....

Tomorrow morning my friend Laura Haile arrives for a weekend of fun! This is so exciting.  

Tonight's shift ain't goin' break me dahn. 

black cats and other things

So much has happened in the past few days. I'll do my best to give you the condensed versions.

But first things first. I got a cat!!!

He was taken to the Humane Society about a week and a half ago.  He was only up for adoption for three days when I found him.  

I named him Bagheera, after the panther in the Jungle Book. At first he hid under my bed, only coming out at night for sleeping. But now he runs all around the loft. 

He did not like his bath.  

Enough about him.. although you should get used to seeing pics and vids of him. He's pretty much the most adorable travel cat ever. He is a travel cat, because he will go with me from one assignment to the next :)

It's beautiful here. Especially when it's not raining.

We met another traveler named Leah and went to some restaurants in Santa Rosa. 

trying to learn about wine..

So work. It's had it's ups and downs.

We decided to get memberships at a 24hr fitness, and leave for work early to go to the gym. It's working out well and is helping us stay healthy while we avoid unhealthy traffic.

Also, an hour long break during a 12 hour shift is pretty sweet. They encourage napping. No joke.

Here's what's not been fun - some rude people.  I've been insulted, judged, complained about, and been made to feel like an annoyance.  Usually things like that I can roll off of my back, but all in about 2 shifts and in the very beginning is a little disheartening.  

That being said, this is a sunset I saw from work yesterday.  A reminder that things that weigh us down and are burdensome (and this assignment) are temporary. There is a lot of beauty and things to be enjoyed outside of the workplace and other obligations.  While work is what brought me to this area, it is not the main consumer of my time.  There is so much to see and do, and I look forward to it.

For example, we had such a fun day exploring San Francisco Friday. Starting with the Golden Gate Bridge.

It's so much bigger up close, much more than I imagined it to be when I saw it on TV.  

And by TV, I mean Full House. 

There are remnants from an old military base, Battery Spencer, at the Northern point of the bridge. 

We drove through the city, gawking at the iconic houses and trolleys, and ended at Fisherman's Wharf. 

Although it's pretty touristy, Fisherman's Wharf is a lot of fun to walk around. There are tons of little chincy shops and restaurants.

You can see Alcatraz from the Pier. 

After we had corn dogs, coffee, found magnets, and watched a really awful stand up comedian on the pier, we headed across the city to the coast.

 The blue sky was hidden behind dreary clouds.  Even the sand here feels different.  It's loose and almost velvety.

The wind blew us off of the beach and into an area of the city called Sunset.  There we stumbled upon a bar with a name that instantly warmed our hearts. 

The owner was a middle aged man from Latrobe, PA. He moved out to the area about 13 years ago to live with an old army friend. He started the bar 5 years ago. 

It was kind of a dump, but full of characters and Pittsburgh paraphernalia.  The owner graciously called out to the bartender, "Hey Debbie, get the girls from Western, PA a drink!"

A traveler that we met working the strike in Sunset is working an assignment at UCSF, so we met up with him for pizza and drinks at a local tavern. 

And now on to another week.  Let's see what this one holds..