X-mas day

I had a great X-mas!

A visit and a hike with Traci, Vassil, Jasmin and Indi on X-mas eve, some "Merry X-mas" phone conversations with friends and family in the morning and than a full day of volunteering at "the Mission" in Las Cruces. I helped set up the gift tables for the children's program, drove around and delivered meals over town, and than gave out gifts to mothers, fathers and grandparents of underprivileged children of all ages....

A laid-back get-together in El Paso to finish off the day....

It really was a good X-mas, focused on others, rather than the usual egocentricity of daily life where everything tends to orbit around ourselves; OUR jobs, OUR feelings, OUR interactions, OUR day events... a nice change! I hope to carry some of it into the new year!!!

A gardian angel...

Tuesday was quite an eventful day.... First thing in the morning, I found out mom had to be admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics for a recurrent inflamed colon! I'm keeping in regular contact with the overseas crowd about progress, plans and schedules.... and am glad to report as of today she is doing well, despite being NPO for X-mas!!!. A private room, a phone line, X-mas decorations and visits from the grandchildren can do wonders!!! We'll hopefully know more about the plan of care and action early next week. I'll keep you posted. Still, it doesn't give me a real nice warm cosy fuzzy X-mas feeling!!

After some telephone chatter, a very hardy -but not so healthy- breakfast, Andre, Jake, Mocha and I spent a few hours hiking in Dog Canyon. The winds picked up slowly but steadily and I'm counting myself lucky we didn't get blown off the mountain.... Still, a great hike...




We decided to go to "Applebees" for late lunch/early dinner, despite my general dislike of big corporate restaurants with mediocre food. It's right around the corner from my apartment and easy to get to with malfunctioning traffic lights all over town due to the wind storms. (I feel I have to explain why I would ever go to Applebees without somebody holding a gun to my head ;-) ).....

Well, I choked on my food, really choked, as in "Heimlich-maneuver-choked"...... A piece of chicken was totally stuck and uncooperative in moving up or down.... I got out of the booth, gave the universal "I'm choking sign" and after one unsuccessful -gentle, afraid to hurt me- attempt to dislodge it, this elder man appeared out of nowhere, stepped in gently and really thumped me HARD in and up my ribcage,.... the chicken came flying out.... and, although more than a little shaken, I'm here to tell the tale..... He wished us a Merry X-mas and disappeared as quietly and inconspicuously as he initially appeared.... my guardian angel I guess....

"You have a guardian angel,
Who watches over you,
Everywhere you go,
And everything you do.

This gentle silent helper,
Is there to be your guide,
To shelter and protect you,
And for you to walk beside.

Your angel will always help you,
Whenever things go wrong,
They'll be the wings beneath your feet,
As life's path you walk along.

Feel it's calming presence,
Be enfolded by it's love,
And let your life be guided,
By a power from above."

MERRY X-MAS!!!

From the rehab department at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center... We sent this out to all the other departments at the hospital; It was a big hit and we had lots of fun composing it!!

And for the the New Year that's approaching fast, here is some thoughts passed on to me by a nice old man, a neighbor here at my apartment complex:

"Take time to work, it is the price of success.
Take time to think, it is the source of power.
Take time to play, it is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom.
Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream, it is hitching your wagon to a star.
Take time to love and be loved, it is the privilege of the gods.
Take time to look around, it is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul."

X-MAS

I have a tree!!! Granted it's not real -borrowed- but it's big and has lights and decorations!!! I decided to use my X-mas cards as ornaments and it's looking good!!!

Snow-shoeing

There's a first time for everything, including snow shoeing...

Ski Apache, the Ruidoso ski area has been getting quite a bit of snow in the past week, so I borrowed a pair of snowshoes, took in a 30 second instruction on the do's and don't's, dusted off my outdoor winter gear and off I went....

I found a trail and set out.... unfortunately it wasn't marked that well (or the blowing snow had covered up the signs) so I snow-shoe'd for 1.5 hours only, I really would have loved to go on for much longer.... Still great exercise, I really did love it and can't wait to go back....

Gerald Champion X-mas party

I never really liked company X-mas parties... but as everybody from the rehab department was going, I went too, at least for the dinner and "talent show" part.... We initially planned on taking part and doing a skit, but changed our mind at the last minute, much to my delight ;-)... Still, looking at the other entries, maybe we could have won a prize after all....

A few hundred people, the biggest variety of dress codes I've ever seen (including but not limited to cowboy hats and Levis' jeans and prom dresses), lots of alcoholic beverages including at our rehab table ;-) and a sound system that was in need of some updating....

As I was working bright and early Sunday, I left pretty early (Party-pooper?!?!) and was in bed be 10.30...

Our department did look good though....

White Sands full moon X-mas night...

It has been quite a few days since I've written anything, nothing wrong just TOO MUCH going on which is very much a good thing!!! I'll try my best to catch up on most of it tonight....

Friday 'White Sands' opened it's gates at night for a X-mas celebration.... It's the only winter full moon opening of the year and was definitely worth the visit. The visitor center was lit up with hundreds of luminarias, a life band was playing and snacks and hot drinks were provided. There were 2 informational lectures about the park and it's wildlife. Unfortunately they were given inside in the auditorium (no dogs allowed ;-( ) so we drove into the park, played frisbee and sledded down the sand dunes, watching the clouds come and go, hiding the full moon for most of the night.
It was great fun and not even that cold. I dressed with layers of thermals more prepared to climb a 20.000-er in the Himalaya's than for a few hours in the New Mexican desert!!! Still, I guess it's better to be warm than cold...

It attracted quite a few avid photographers..... I tried to take some pictures but without a tripod it didn't work quite that well....

Jake and Mocha excited to run the sand dunes...



Luminiarias -a photography attempt-....

The good and bad of today...

I'm proud to announce I can call myself a real new Mexican resident: I received my first speeding ticket!!! 53 mph in a 35 zone... Whoops...... The officer was nice enough to write it up as only 10 mph over the limit, reducing the fine by half... Merry X-mas I'd say!!!

On the positive flip side... When I got home today, I found a little box by my front door with the perfect Sinterklaas-gift: Kaldi's coffee, a perfect reminder of St. Louis and my very dear friends there...
December 6th, St. Nick's day or Sinterklaas, is a huge holiday for Belgian kids. As I still consider myself a child, I still like the holiday too!!

Ruidoso X-mas parade of Lights

I'm finding it difficult to realize we're ramping up to the X-mas holidays.... The absence of cold weather, ice and snow, the lack of huge malls with decadently decorated stores, the fact that I'm not surrounded by family and close friends here, make it so that I don't get the guttural body response of "oh, X-mas is here!".

Tonight was a great little exception. Ruidoso (a tourist town up in the mountains, about an hour from here) had their annual X-mas parade of lights, the largest holiday parade in the southwest! I drove up with Traci and met Jesse, his family and some of their friends up there. The freezing cold weather, the brightly lit floats with X-mas winter themes, the holiday cheers and carols around the bonfire gave me a little boost.

My favorite float was one of decorated teepee's surrounded by trees...
The pictures aren't great, I didn't read the taking-pictures-in-the-dark-chapter of my little point-and-shoot camera book, but you'll get the idea I think.

More x-mas winterfun....

After the parade, they held a huge bonfire, truly american super-sized.... ;-)




Warm-up at the fire...





X-mas carols by the fire...

It really looks like that here...

Two fabulous hiking days: one in the Franklin mountains in El Paso (yes, I did go to Texas, Bush country... voluntarily for anybody wondering ;-) ......) and one in Las Cruces; the A trail and Soledad canyon trail.

As I'm spending great times outside on the trails in 70 degrees sunny weather, I am silently grinning at the news reports of cloudy, rainy, stormy conditions with power outages in St. Louis....

I thought I was in Europe...

Just for an hour or so...

We finished work early yesterday (and today for that matter) so time to play!!! A short hike in Andreas Canyon -I think Jesse enjoyed the drive out there as much as the hike-, a great stew dinner at Jesse and Cathy's (and free entertainment provided by Bryce and Conrad ;-) ) and than up to Cloudcroft in the mountains. A huge bonfire in the town center, cold and crisp mountain air, hot coco and toasted march mellows, and the grand arrival of Santa and Mrs Claus on the fire truck -with cookies-!! You've gotto love it!!!
I felt like it could have been any small town in Europe, a little German x-mas market, a local Belgian school fair, a French town gathering... I much enjoyed the atmosphere and the familiarity of it all....
Unfortunately I did forget my camera!!

An ordinary New Mexican sunset

IF THERE IS SUCH A THING.....

As I had my camera with me on my run tonight, I took some pictures.....

My commute and the hospital

I went for a run after work today, on Scenic Drive, which is the road I take to get to work in the morning. As I realized I had written about it but not yet posted any pictures, here are some.....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Hope everybody celebrated the true spirit of Thanksgiving! Here's to all of you who have supported me through my adventure over the past few months (and the weeks, months and years before that and the weeks, months and years to come I hope ;-) )!!!


Thanksgiving Friends

Thanksgiving is a time
For reviewing what we treasure,
The people we hold dear,
Who give us so much pleasure.
Without you as my friend,
Life would be a bore;
Having you in my life
Is what I'm thankful for.

By Joanna Fuchs



I volunteered at "the Mission" in Las Cruces today. I was part of the "meals on wheels' crew and drove around the city with Turkey dinners in the trunk of my car, delivering them to people struck by extreme poverty, poor education and mental and physical health challenges, ...
It gave me a strong sense of the immense privilege I've lived with my whole life: a wonderful supportive, loving family with solid moral values, a good education and financial security, excellent physical and mental health, a strong support system.....
I do have so much to be thankful for.....

The next few months.....

I just found out today my 4 week extension has been approved so I'll be here until mid January. After that, I have a 13 week assignment in Albuquerque. Although I feel a little ambivalence about leaving my "newly-found-small-town-outdoor-treasure",I am looking forward to a more cosmopolitan environment, a better selection of restaurants, culture and spirituality-options.

What have I learned so far??? Lots of useful information for my future!

1- I could live in a smaller town... I enjoy the smaller community. As long as there is a bigger town with good restaurants, performing arts and 'worldly' things within an hour or so drive, I can really see myself scaling down and living in a place with 10.000 to 100.000 population or even less. A slower pace of life, less traffic and a more developed sense of community would be worth it.
2- I can work outside of pediatrics. I am enjoying adult care quite a bit and can see myself transitioning more permanently to an adult setting, not necessarily in acute care, but a definite possibility.
3- A beautiful environment (mountains, high desert,...) makes up for so incredibly much. Every hour hiking out there seems like a full day of relaxing in a mainstream environment. That's why I have so little stress... Say 10 hours of hiking a week makes it seem like 10 days off!!! So living in the mountains or the desert would be an amazing plus. A more relaxed lifestyle GUARANTEED!!!!
4- I feel like I have some kind of deep rooted connection with New Mexico. I was here for the first time about 15 years ago as an extension of a Grand Canyon visit and have been drawn back here ever since. I don't really understand why or how. Maybe I was a cowboy or a native american here in a previous life??!!??

Quality healthcare and "deja vu"

I had to get a Physical today, for my next assignment in Albuquerque, starting mid January. (I'll be blogging about all that soon!!). It appeared there was no place I could get that done here in Alamogordo, so I had to drive to Las Cruces. I LOVE THAT DRIVE!! I generally don't particularly like car rides, but this one is just so special... Endless views of gorgeous landscapes, over the Organ Mountains,..... I don't think I'll ever get enough of it. I realize that for the majority of people it is an ordinary drive... They're probably questioning my sanity and shaking their heads....

I'm glad it's done. I can confidently say that the place has likely not won any awards for efficiency lately and it would have been challenging for the girl at the front desk to have acted any more disinterested. Being in dyer need of a potty break (3 mugs of coffee and a bottle of water within about an hour will have that effect), the staff re-assured me that a physical does not include a drug test and I could use the bathroom. What a relief!!! As I am walking out of the bathroom, one of the nurses informed me kindly they would "just need a little urine" for glucose / protein tests. Not good. I barely stopped myself from lecturing her about the physiology of bladder control, instead I just started drinking cold water until I couldn't stand the brain freeze anymore, all this whilst fantasizing about overflowing foley catheter bags.
I think I saw the MD for about 5 minutes, 4 minutes and 30 seconds of those were used to tell me about the horrible air quality, nasty traffic jams and unfriendly people in Albuquerque. Considering I feel pretty ambivalent about leaving my small town southern New Mexican treasure here already, I didn't particularly enjoy that one-way-conversation either.

You'd be glad to read my day got better from there. I hiked in the Organ mountains again; Pine Tree trail, a 4.5 mile loop on the Alamogordo side, a little more East than the one I did last time. It was almost 70 degrees at the base and up towards the top I still saw some sheets of thin ice covering the little springs.



I had another encounter with a tarantula, this one was a little more agile than the last one and a little lighter in color. Just note I freaked out a little less and was able to take a picture from a little closer. (I'm so proud !!! ;-) Maybe next time you'd get a close-up of a hairy leg or so...

More views

Girls night of wine and cheese

To celebrate Tammy's successful organization of the 5K race, (and the "I'm-so glad-it-went-well-and-it's-over"!!!), we had an all-girls-get-together tonight; wine and cheese and anything else edible or drinkable...

From left to right: Letty (PT tech), Traci,(PT), Cathy (Jesse, PT's wife) and Tammy (OT)



I had to add a picture of Tammy on the day of the race...

5K Hospital race

A team at the hospital (lead by Tammy, our OT!!!!!) organized a 5K/3 mile run benefiting the hospital foundation and the "boys and girls club" of Alamogordo. I volunteered 2 hours late yesterday afternoon to man the desk at the hospital so participants could pick up their pre-race packets.

Quite an interesting experience... I was sitting at the main entrance as the only live body in the vicinity so my volunteer job quickly expanded beyond race registration; As a contract employee who has been there barely 2 months, I ended up directing people all over, from human resources for employment applications to the billing department, from bathroom directions to X-ray requests, from transportation for discharge enquiries to cafeteria menu options,..... I think I learned quite a bit about the hospital!!!

The run this morning was a great success, It was a beautiful crisp fall mountain morning. Although I had to work today, I ended up going in a little later and volunteering at the first mile marker giving out split times. It was a happy crowd: runners, walkers, volunteers and organizers! It made me go for a great run after work today!!!

Lucky me!!!

I feel like I've travelled quite a bit, lived in different places, met very different people along the way and somehow I have always been lucky meeting the kind of people that I have, wherever I happen to be; genuine, kind. generous, open,......
It really is amazing; in this messed-up world with trouble, violence, selfishness, egocentricity, excessive materialism, superficial life values and morality,.... I always end up being surrounded by good people.

It's no different here. Somehow the -although small- therapy department ended up being just the absolutely perfect fit of people. It just works (and it did, pretty much from day one..). It's also wonderful I have been able to spent time with them outside of work too!!

In Belgium we have an expression that does not translate well into English but I think you'll get the idea: "I ALWAYS END UP WITH MY ASS IN BUTTER!!!"

Petroglyphs

I stopped on the way home at the "Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site". I is one of the few locations in the Southwest set aside solely because of its rock art. There is a short walking trail with direct access to petroglyphs. The number and concentration of petroglyphs here make it one of the largest and most interesting petroglyph sites in the Desert Southwest.