L.A. Zoo Day

Now that I'm an Arizona natural, pretty much any summer weather feels amazing. Like when your mom informs you that it will be 86 degrees, you debate whether a light jacket will be necessary. And you are easily convinced it's a great day for the zoo! 

Zoos are popular activities for children, babies, moms, and elementary school children on field trips. Which probably explains why I haven't been to the zoo in like 15 years. 

The great thing though, is that who doesn't love watching poor lil overheated animal friends? 

This elephant knew what was up and sucked up water in his trunk to spray all over himself.

I learned a little more about exotics animals like tapirs and axolotls. 

 

I was a little surprised to find myself loving a couple new friends in The Lair. 

Poison dart frogs- hard to see in the picture, but there's about 10! 

And this... Forest Bearded Dragon? There's two in that one. 

I also learned about this cute little guy, a Pudu. Cute, but also just fun to say. 

And of course there were old favorites like otters and meerkats and lions and these fighting giraffes.  

It was just fun to be together! 

I could tell we were all having fun because before we knew it, it was 4pm! 

It was a full day and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

D is for Diamonbacks

Ross has been busy with orientation for his residency program, but the clouds parted and the program director offered two tickets to a local Major League Baseball  game! We thought it might be a fun thing to do, and when I heard they were playing the Dodgers... well how could I say no?

To be honest, I could say no... to this summer heat. BUT as luck would have it, Chase Field where the Diamondbacks play is totally enclosed and air conditioned! It felt a little strange at first, but it is pretty awesome and definitely makes summer sports more enjoyable.

We payed $12 for downtown parking and could therefore not justify buying any ballpark snacks, but I didn't see any Dodger Dogs around so that's okay.

The Diamondbacks, or "D-backs" if you're a local, have a very confusing color scheme. I guess it was originally purprle, copper, teal, and black. Now it is "Sedona Red" and "Sonoran Sand" ... and white or something? What I'm saying is, you have lots of options. Ross and I just opted for a bleh red to show that we support our local team, but in all honestly I'm an LA girl and and total truth, I just don't like sports that much.

Still, it was fun to get out of the house and act like the Phoenicians we now are! Baseball seems to be a pretty big deal down here, maybe it's because of Spring Training ... or just true blood Americans!

Aunt Carrie Visit

Well, I may have just gotten back from my Phoenix trip last night, but that doesn't mean I'm not up for more adventure today! I like to jam pack my free time. That, and I am definitely starting to feel a crunch before I am once again moving.

Today I had the privilege of visiting with my Aunt Carrie and my cousin's son, Henry! It was so fun to show them around Redlands a little bit.

Prospect Park is always a fun choice for pretty much anyone. It was a beautiful day and we just took it easy and strolled around. I got a little sad though, realizing that with so much going on, it might be my last time at my favorite place in Redlands. Views like this make it hard to beat.

Palms and orange groves = Redlands.

 

Palm trees = Redlands. 

Henry and I hung out in the middle of this bamboo forest, but he wasn't too sure about Carrie's attempts to scare him through the shoots.

Carrie, being the awesome aunt she is, treated me to lunch at Five Guys where I learned that Henry loves ketchup and smashing peanuts (eating them- not so much). Still, he made less of a mess with the peanuts than most customers there.

The day was packed with parks and playing playing playing. I forgot how much energy a three year old has, and I'm not sure who was more worn out at the end of the day.

 





 
We went to a park by the University of Redlands and played there too! I learned that Henry loves the show "Paw Patrol."



He does this thing from the show where he (literally) sniffs out "tracks" and follows them to solve the mystery. I could not stop cracking as he hunched over shuffling and sniffing for tracks. He is so great!

We also took some time to cool off inside and read some books.



Henry loved racing me around the play ground and asking for my help climbing the small rock wall at my apartment complex. He is a super brave kid with a big personality. Somehow I still managed to visit with Carrie too. She is such an incredible person and I look up to her so much. I am so lucky that she had the time to come visit.

Ross came home early and outdoing herself yet again, Carrie treated us to dinner at Panera. Before long she had to head home with sleepy Henry in tow. I am so glad she made the trip out to see me in my natural habit, it was a special day and made me think a little too much about how much I am going to miss all this when I leave.

Hooked on Phoenix

Let me just start by saying that I just recently became confident in my spelling of the word, "Phoenix". Luckily once I set my mind to it, success came swiftly and I am now sure I can spell it right, even when high on too much caffeine or low on sleep.

If you're ever in a spelling bee it should go like this:

"Feenicks, P-H-O-E-N-I-X, Feenicks"

But for the time being I'll pronounce it like "phonics" or "pho-en-ix." Because I'm all about clearing up confusion.

And in case you are confused as to why I'm devoting so much time to the central Arizona city in the Valley of the Sun- well- that's the next destination! Ross and I will move in June. :D For a post much more GIF-filled, check out this one here.

Still traumatized from the nightmare of apartment hunting in California, we decided to up our game and get the ball rolling early with a trip to Phoenix. We headed on on a shockingly short road trip Sunday.

Gotta get those Snapchat geo filters.



 In case you were interested in wander around in the middle of the Sonoaran Desert be warned:




Anyways, I'm still not sure how we pulled it off with two crazy schedules, but it happened! But not before I went full-blown Sherlock Holmes on any and every apartment complex under $1000/month (and some above) within a 20-minute radius of Ross's new hospital. I feel like I grew up in Phoenix with how familiar I am with all the street names, freeway off/on ramps, and shopping plazas.

But it paid off because whether the ease of the Phoenix housing apartment market, or my preparations beforehand (or a combo of both?) apartment hunting took significantly less time, and was much less stressful than last time.

In just two days we:
1. Viewed dozens of apartments
2. Narrowed down, revisited, aaand
3. Started the application process for an apartment!!

Yep.

It feels incredible. It didn't come without exhaustion and grief and pulling teeth, but dare I say... I'm kinda getting good at this process. I can't wait to do it all over again in 3 years!

I feel pretty confident about our new place and it seems like a decent neighborhood. I am so excited to move and start this next chapter.

I must say, apartment hunting in this neck of the woods is absolutely .... what's the word... stunning? We got optimistic and toured a couple complexes in Scottsdale, Fancy-dale, Snobsdale, whatever you want to call it. Ross and I were literally choking back chuckles.

 

Oh what? Concierge service? Professional chef lessons? Swimming pools with fountains? Poker table? Theater room? Game room with Xbox and Wii and Netflix and Hulu? Chandeliers in my kitchen? Bronze lions in the lobby?  Keep in mind, these were the ones at the top of our price range. Like- we would consider them if needed. I can't imagine the ammenities at the ones I immediately axed. Heaven help me while I crawl back over to the Phoenix city limits.

Along with intense apartment hunting I figured it was requisite to find some fun things to do in the area to break up the monotony. Thanks to my mom I have a great affinity for Food Network's Guy Fieri and his "Triple D" list. Phoenix is brimming with Triple D restaurants and I managed to eat at 3 of them in just three days.

Here is my quick breakdown of visited eateries: 

Chino Bandido 
Was incredibly close to the motel we were staying at, and therefore and obvious first choice. The place is small and offers Mexican-Asian fusion food! If that scares you, you can definitely choose just Mexican or just Asian. I went "safe" this time and got the Jen Red Pork bowl. It is deep fried pork with this red sauce that is kind of like sweet and sour, but 100x better. It was very tasty and different from your run of the mill Panda Express.



You also get a fresh baked snickerdoodle cookie for desert! Plus, their logo includes a Fu Manchu meets Pancho Villa panda. Does it get cuter than that?!

Monday was apartment hunting crazy day but I had a eatery in Scottsdale picked out for lunch:

Tom's Thumb "Not Your Average Gas Station"
Is very close to Ross's future hospital, so also a great choice! Completely different from Chino Bandido but kind of unconventional.

 

As you might have noticed from their tag line... this restaurant is in a gas station. But indeed, not your average gas station. In fact, the fanciest gas station I have ever been in (which, in fairness might not mean much). This gas station has over-stuffed crushed velvet chairs, and Papyrus brand greeting cards.





The food is classic American BBQ, and also amazing. I've had good BBQ, and mediocre BBQ... this is the good stuff. But how can you go wrong with jalapeno and bacon topped smoked and fried pork on a bed of creamy grits?! They have their own BBQ sauces put out in sets on the tables.


 
Of course I tried all of them, and it was really hard to choose a favorite. Even the spicy mustard BBQ was amazing, and I don't even like spicy mustard. The Coke Freestyle machine was a definite bonus.

Tuesday we had finished up with our second visit to our new apartment complex, and celebrated with a visit to:

DeFalco's Italian Eatery
Was yet another score. It is a deli, store, and restaurant located farther south in Scottsdale than Ross's future stomping grounds.


Since it has so much going on, there is little room for sitting but lots of food on your plate.

I got a calzone which I am pretty sure is actually just a medium sized pizza folded in half. I ate and ate and ate and still couldn't fit the leftovers in the to-go box.


Ross got a bruschetta sandwich, very fresh and delicious. The homemade cannoli and canned Dr. Brown's beverages just sealed the deal.

Are you done listening to me ramble about food? Just one more (but not a Triple D), and I'll change gears to dessert!

That's Amore Gelato 
If you're a hipster in the 21st century you're probably hoping on Yelp, Trip Advisor, or Google for your reviews of eateries before you go. Well, if you just so happen to stumble upon an establishment that has about 480 combined reviews with an average of 5 stars, well, you better stumble upon that place "IRL" (in real life). Besides the annoyingly wealthy wealthy people, this place is an absolute gem. They have 40 flavors of homemade gelato! I feel "amazing" doesn't do it justice, but until you come visit me, it will have to suffice. All words fail here.

 It's been an absolute pleasure to be here in Phoenix. I have a few more experiences from our trip that I will be blogging about soon. But for now I'll leave you with the story of

FANCY CAR ENCOUNTER #1:



Ross and I are sitting at a light in Scottsdale (duh!) and we see this fancy thing. Now Ross is a car dude, in that he can appreciate a beautiful car and if he plays his cards right he (believes he) will own a Corvette Stingray. So I ask him what the heck kind of car that is and he is stumped for a minute before he delicately declares that it is indeed a McLaren, a British car that is worth  some exorbitant amount that I immediately forgot because there's still children starving on planet Earth ya know? Ross sneaks a peak when the guy in the car next to us strikes up a conversation with Ross. From this conversation we gleaned that Mr. McLaren lives up the street from our new friend and this dude has not the one, but TWO FREAKING MCLARENS. What did I say about crawling back to the city limits of Phoenix?

Lost

I think, there are times in life when we all feel lost. Not geographically. But you know the kind. I have this favorite quote, classically Pinterest-cliche, 
"Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien. But there are times in life when you wonder how long you can wander before you really are just... lost. 

My sister recently became the proud owner of a pair of birds.  Apparently birds can be tricky pets because they have an adjustment period and they can get sick and things can, "go wrong." If you know what I mean. My family was on pins and needles for my sister, hoping the birds would be okay in their new home. And after time, they appeared to be adjusting just fine. They are happy and healthy and the female even laid three cute little eggs. We were all so excited. 

But then the nervousness returned. Would the eggs be okay? Would the parental birds take good care of them? Is the environment conducive to hatching?! Well, one egg hatched!

And produced the most frightening and maybe cute looking thing. A baby bird.

I am happy to say that the bird continues to grow and grow! 

As I thought of this new little bird, I was reminded of this poem: 

Coming Out 

"Some hatchings hurt: ...

The cracking 

of a hardened

fallacy.

The shatter-crumble 

of a bias

bind.

And the new learning 

softness

is so very tender. 

It's frightening to be

nothing more 

than the palest puff

that peeps.

And so remember

and remember

clarion call

to shelter:

"I will gather ...

as a hen

gathereth

her chickens

under her wings..."

A place to grow 

in strength." 

[Source]:Dianne Dibb Forbis, New Era, Dec. 1977, p. 7

When you're naive you think you're one big healthy bird cracking out of a one small shell. But in reality, life is one hatching after the next. And there are so many times in life when we feel like that brand new little bird.

Graduating from college-
Getting married-
Moving to a remote island in the Caribbean-
Moving back to America-
Moving to California-
Finding a job-
Moving to somewhere else (again)-

You feel exposed, vulnerable, and new. We have to find our own way. We may feel insufficient, especially without knowledge to fly, or wings to carry us. 

But it's okay. 

We will grow our wings. We will find our strength, and we will fly. 

Sometimes things just take time.

THE MATCH

They say that time flies when you're having fun. And I suppose it does. But time has a way of flying nevertheless. It's the theme of this blog and the main objective. Documentation purposes. No matter how good or how bad things are, they move. It's the way of the universe and sometimes the only thing you can depend on in this crazy path of life.

[To classic to not post]

Lately time has been hustlin'. Except for this past week when I could almost swear to you that each day actually had about 48 hours each. That's because this last week was Match Week. It is pretty famous in it's own world of medical school. It's the end all be all. It's the only (and worst) reoccurring nightmare I've ever had in the past 4 or 5 years of my life.

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The Match is a process where you interview and rank and get ranked to "match" with a program to get a residency. Residency is the next step of medical school. The step where you are a graduate and a doctor but can't do crap unless you get a residency. It's 3 more years of training and specializing in a specific area of medicine so you can practice as a physician afterwards. They pay you just a tiny bit of money and work you about 80 hours a week and you get to pay back student loans. Yeah. It's loads of fun.

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You spend months interviewing and stressing before you turn in your "list." You rank all the programs you applied to/ interviewed at and a computer algorithm compares it to how each program ranked applicants and you get matched up. It's of course more convoluted and involved but that's all you really need to know.

Monday you get an e-mail notifying you if you matched. It was scheduled to come at 8:00 AM local time. And came even maybe a minute early. Well, HE DID! He matched.

[Source]

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I said, "HE MATCHED"

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Have you captured the feeling that I am incredibly relieved and excited?!

It was strange. Even with all the things that went wrong with the application process and how stressful it was, and how the odds weren't really in his favor (IMG over here)- I had this calm feeling that he was going to match and that everything was totally okay. Easy for me to say. It was so cool to be there when he opened the e-mail and see relief just wash over his body entirely. I could tell it was kind of taking all day to truly set in.

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The week lumbered on while speculation and anxiety increased- for me at least. By the time Friday morning rolled around I couldn't sit still. I was more anxious than Monday morning by far. It was the mix of excitement and the fact that I had been waiting for this day for 4 years. THIS will be the place we will live for the next 3 years which is still longer than any other place we have been on this med school path. The minutes slogged by and I worked my hardest to stay focused at work.

[Source]

I asked Ross if he had any regrets about his rank order list. He said he had a feeling we would end up in Vegas. I had this feeling about Phoenix, but at Ross's mention of Vegas I started thinking of my next three years in any of the places on his list. Tulsa maybe? I still had this feeling that he would match at his #1 spot. So when the text FINALLY came, I wanted to scream for joy (and relief).

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SCOTTSDALE, AZ! Texted with plenty of cacti emojis.

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There you have it folks! Come June the Petersens shall move again.

From Somewhere Beyond to the Sea, to Somewhere in the Golden State, to Somewhere Among the Cacti! Time to change the blog name cos there's nothing these two crazy kids can't do.

I Had A Dream (Music Monday #19)

Saturday morning I woke up wondering if it was all a dream.

I sat in bed just kinda blinking, wondering if a pinch would bring me back to reality. I looked down at my shirt.

"Brian Fallon brand Painkillers"

It was tangible evidence that it wasn't a dream. I've done almost the same ritual every morning since, Because Friday night I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

I'll back up to the beginning where I banished my introvert-self and bought a ticket to head out to the middle of the desert (afterwards my mom asks, "Did you go to a rave?!"). Busy Friday evening traffic gave way to the lonely highway 62, which gave way to Pioneertown Road and rolling desert hills. I was expecting at least a little more fanfare for such an important event. Maybe a gas station or liquor store, but there was none. Blink and you'll miss the marquee-style sign, squint and you'll make out the words "Pappy and Harriet's -Pioneertown-," and a single neon "Budweiser" sign in the window.

Unlike a large LA venue, you're not getting there at least 30 minutes early to find & pay $15 for a random public parking lot. I just rolled into a dirt lot and parked, figuring this "parking space" was as good as any. I've never been so eager to turn off Brian Fallon's music- but just so I could get to hear him sing it in person.

I strolled up to the door, got my will-call ticket wristband and headed through the bar and restaurant to the tiny dance floor in front of a small stage. With some time to kill, I bought a shirt (what I would later cling to as proof!) and patiently waited for Johnny Two Bags, the opening act. I moved my way to the front and found myself pleasantly situated in the front center, about a foot from the stage and just behind a single layer of people.

Johnny Two Bags is Johnny Wickersham, front man and lead guitarist for the famous Social Distortion.



Since said introvert-banishing and ticket purchasing happened so last minute, I didn't have much time to check out his music beforehand. And that is a shame because it is incredible. Very catchy and easy to sing to. My favorite is "One Foot in the Gutter"

"It's been such a long, long time. And the devils and angels hanging around my bed,they don't seem to mind. They gonna drag me into the abyss or into a state of eternal bliss. I got one foot in the gutter,and one foot kicking in the door to heaven."

Johnny put on a great show. It was just him and his guitar. I always feel that solo acts take so much more talent and charisma. Amazing.

But I have to admit, that I was a little bummed out because it seemed like some of the people around me couldn't hang. There is a certain unspoken and basic etiquette (I thought) at shows. Like for one, don't be rude if you're in the front row, three feet from an artist. Like maybe hold off on checking your Instagram feed for 40 minutes. Like maybe don't drunkenly yell about your freaking cat to the people around you. 

Still, it was incredible. Saturday morning I promptly ordered his album and listened to it all day long. 

Monday I returned from work to find that it had arrived (seemed like it took a small eternity!) and it was fun to complement the live experience with a vinyl experience. The album is very different because it has a full band playing along with Johnny, so the sound is a little different but still great.

In between sets you could tell everyone was anxiously awaiting Brian Fallon and the Crowes and literally getting pushy. The drunk girl decided to attempt an altercation with me as she slurred out how she knows Brian Fallon and I can even ask him myself. Trust me lady, if I'm talking to Brian Fallon, it isn't going to be about you. Just be cool.

Soon enough Brian Fallon and the Crowes filled the stage. Even remembering this part makes me grin like a goon. It was the craziest feeling to see a musician who you've followed for 8 years just walk right in front of you. They started out with the Horrible Crowes song "Last Rites," it's only about a minute and a half but I think it is the perfect song to open with. It is also the first track on the Horrible Crowes album. My favorite part about it, and my favorite part throughout the set, is the look of pure joy on Brian Fallon's face as he plays. I hate to sound so corny, but you can see the music fill up his soul and as the harmonies all come together he gets this smile like "nailed it!"

One of the biggest reasons I go to concerts is for the chatter between songs. If I'm a fan I've bought the music and I listen to it routinely. But the funny stories and banter with the crowd is truly what I live for. Fallon did not disappoint. Ross had the opportunity to see him when he toured with The Gaslight Anthem about 5 years ago. And that was his favorite part too. When he came back from the concert (it was at a 21+ venue so I just stayed home and cried my eyes out) he said how fun it was to listen to his stories.

I didn't have much space on my phone for photos and videos (despite hours of desperate attempts to clear stuff off-ugh.). But nothing would have been able to capture what an incredible experience it was. Most of the music was from his work the The Horrible Crowes, mixed with new songs from his solo album. It was a mix of old of favorites, new favorites, and soon-to-be new favorites that I had only listened to bootleg versions of on YouTube.

The venue is definitely unique. It's small and wonderful. Similar in many ways to the small-medium venues I went to when I was in Utah. But you don't have that "neutral zone." You know that 4 foot buffer-zone where security stands to catch the crowd surfers? Nope. So you are right there, I spent the night about 6 feet from my favorite musician. The stage itself is probably only raised about a foot. Being so short would've been a challenge had I not been up so close. Brian (we are on a first name basis now) even joked how close everyone was, "If you guys had mono I would probably catch it!" 

During the show I just kept thinking how unreal it was. It felt like I had won some sort of contest, scored a VIP pass or something. I was grinning from ear to ear and singing my heart out even if I was so star-struck that I couldn't remember all the words. I know this sounds awfully fangirl of me, but he definitely noticed me and smiled. I know it sounds insane. Because I am and it was.

Some other highlights: 

• cover of Atlantic City by Bruce Springsteen.
• talking about how if he had a ton of money he'd want to throw pizza of the White House.
• final song of the evening, "Behold the Hurricane" which has quickly become a new favorite off the album, "Elsie."

Even though it was only released a week ago, "Smoke" is my favorite off of (soon-to-be-released) Painkillers. Okay, maybe "A Wonderful Life" is too. His performances are just so passionate and genuine. Check out "Smoke" here. 

"And you never ended up coming home, you just Became something like some smoke that I tried too hard to hold. And when I awoke, everything had changed you see, I Left my home, returned something different, I was Beaten to death, bleeding to death with regret."

I know he commonly meets with fans, so I was bummed when they didn't come back for an encore song even after all our my cheering. But I know they play a show tomorrow night up north so I just told myself they were in a hurry. I was still reeling from the experience. 

As I headed back out to the car I had this Lifetime movie-esque moment where I looked up at the thousands of desert-sky stars and just laughed about what a crazy experience it was. It felt so strange to hear him on the stereo in my car. Not the same. 

Later that evening I posted a picture on my Instagram. My sister asked, "Sooo, that's like a stock photo right? Like one the press took?" 

Nope! That picture was taken on my phone just below my face! I continue to be totally weird about the experience. I will have to post some video soon.