Settling Back Into Life

We've been home for over a week...and things are nicely settled. We still haven't heard a thing from back in California which is a bit disappointing...I guess they are not much for communication. This week was back to work. Even though it's nice to get back into a routine, it felt a bit wrong to be going back so soon. And then to explain the whole story again and again can get me (Vivian) a bit worked up again. But for me I'm on a countdown till I'm not working (at the hospital) for at least a year...so that's good for me...only 5 months to go! At least going to work now is a bit more pleasant than when I left in Aug. I don't feel like I'm going to chuck every moment of every day...for this I am very grateful. So, that's life. It's rather relaxing compared to before we left...ever since February we were doing something relating to California...so now we get to just enjoy life. A blessing out of all this mess.

Home Sweet Home

We've been home now since Wednesday...well it was really still Tues. for us as we drove all of Tuesday into the night and got home at 3:30am. We were so ready to be home! The first few days have been a bit of an adjustment accepting the fact that we are back...and now what? But as the days have gone on we've realized the blessings of being back. It's been nice to just relax and enjoy being back. Word back from California is still pending but we have calmed a bit and are not so worried as we feel we have nothing to worry about. It has been a very trying experience but also a time of growth for us, so for that we are grateful.

Discouragement and Disappointment

As I write this, it is about 8am...which is not a normal time for me to be awake, but these last days I have been mostly because I wake up and as soon as my mind turns on it starts trying to put reason into things. As I write this I am also no longer in California, but back on "home" soil in Canada...Abbotsford. And after what we've gone through this past week I was more than grateful to be back in Canada! I love this place! I won't go into all the details of what has happened because it is a long and stupid story. The jist of it is that we were very disappointed that we were lied to regarding our schedules being the same...this promise that our travel company gave us (which was supposed to have come from the unit we were working on) was the only reason that Brad took jobs on the same unit. So when we arrived and found ourselves working almost entirely opposite shifts we were a little mad! So...to get why we are where we are today...an e-mail was sent from us to our manager at the hospital (who is not our employer) where we stated that we were very disappointed in the schedule and that if things couldn't be worked out we would think about leaving. She took this as a resignation...and we found out from our employer that she thought this. Which is not at all what we intended by the e-mail...and even with an apology of the misunderstanding she would not budge on her decision that we had resigned. So there we sat with no jobs and in the middle of the USA with no health coverage. After 3 days of attempting to work on the misunderstanding with the manager there was no hope...and since we don't have time for another contract...our travel company told us just to go home. We have not been in very good spirits and are afraid of what our employer is going to pull out of their hats in terms of us having to pay back the contract. So here is where we sit...caught in the system. We are thankful that we have a faithful God, Brad and I have each other, we have wonderful family and friends who are supporting us through this, and we have a home and jobs back in Saskatoon to go to. So for that we are very grateful.

We did have a very enjoyable two evenings with friends from work back home, Lisa and Jason. It was great for us to have familiar faces and people to bounce the situation off of. We took a trip to San Fransisco and spent some time at the Wharf at the aquarium and watching the sea lions...and then walked across the very long and cold Golden Gate Bridge. It was a nice break from "thinking" all the time.

Sea lions and disillusionment

Well, it's been a fun day. we are settling in nicely to our new home, our apartment isn't as pristine as we expected it to be, but it's certianly comfortable, and furnished, which is nice. We have two days of orientation behind us, we are pleased with that, and just a few more to go. Still pending. Lots still pending. Things are not falling out like we expected, we have a few issues to resolve with the Unit we are supposed to be working on and with american mobile healthcare in general. We are, at present, frustrated, and disillusioned. Why this trip has had to be as hectic and dissapointing as it has been up untill now, I do not know, but this is how it is. For the time being Vivian and I are leaving things in God's hands, and enjoying our time together while here in beautiful california....a positive note; we had supper at pier thirty-nine, we couldn't have had a better table at Neptune's palace seafood restaurant, we enjoyed our view of alcatraz (very enchanting), and the golden gate bridge, and watched sea lions and seals play in the surf. The food was good too, I had sword fish, Viv had salmon. Fantastic. So folks, say a prayer for smooth sailing from here, and we think of and miss home often, especially in the past fifteen hours or so.

big trees and hot weather

So we've arrived...finally it seems. our butts, backs and necks are pretty sore from driving...but well worth the drive! We spent the last 2 days driving through the Redwood forest after finishing off the Oregon Coast. We stopped a few places along the way including one of the largest sea caves in the world that sometimes is home to up to 700 sea lions. We took a rickety elevator down 300 feet into the ground to sea level into a huge cave. You couldn't actually go into the sea cave since it is filled with rushing water and usually sea lions...but we saw some sea lions on the rocks outside the cave. It was kind of cool (sorry Analyn we actually found a cave!). The picture below was one view from the cave. The drive through the Redwoods was spectacular!! It's quite an amazing site. We spent two nights tenting next to huge massive trees much larger than our car...but the campsites were great, the weather not too cool, and the view very amazing! Yesterday we had time to go on a hike through a section of the Redwoods, passing by a tree that had fallen in 1991 that was the largest and oldest at the time. It was around 352 feet long and 52 feet around and possibly up to 1000 years old. It was kind of eerie walking through them...as I feel kind of dwarfish already! Today was our final day of driving...heading down the coast into more dry and arid country...wine country again. Driving through San Fransisco gave me a few frights as traffic was at quite a pace and congested...but Brad pulled us through with flying colors:) Now we are here in Palo Alto...home for the next 3 months. We can move into our place tomorrow...so it'll be nice to unpack the car, and be able to look out the windows again! And it is HOT! Which I am very thankful for, Brad a little reluctant to be as thankful.

Post border glee and hughes flying boat

we made it through the border in pretty good spirits. probably a rarity for most travellers, i have been blessed with a rather organized wife, so when the authorities asked, I just smiled, nodded and said "yes" and "oh yeah" to most questions and requests (respectively), and came away looking pretty much on the ball.... viv was worried about the crossing, thinking we wouldn't be prepared. Fact is, Mr. bordergaurd was pretty impressed, and kept repeating that we were great, and very organized. i appreciated the plural, though I knew it wasn't so. viv is very organized, i am apathetic...not a good quality at border crossings.

Oregon; it's a wine and fruit country state, and it's beautiful. orchards amidst what looks like very arid country, life amidst the dead. the columbia river borders washington and oregon, very wide, best wind surfing in north america, or so the friendly RV park lady told us. finding that rv park was a trial, viv had found "wishbone campgrounds" in the tomtom, it was quite the place. no campfires (anywhere in that county...should have guessed given the summer california had), no people, just a white marker board saying pick a spot. a really ratty looking wooden shack that apparanlty had showers, at the top of the very steep gorge. we moved on, it wasn't very pretty.

we found the rv park and the rv park lady and set up the tent, roasted some polish sausage that wasn't half bad and booked down the street to an outdoor restaurant...something or other solstice was the name. it was kinda cool, live music, we had a flourless desert al a mode and I sipped some local wine. pleasant. well, lots of trains, that litterally passed by our campground within thirty feet of our tent....lots of trains. with loud whistles...every time i heard one coming i plugged my ears. but for all that, we had a relatively good sleep.

today we made the coast, lincoln city, in lincoln county, not the same county that billy the kid killed people in...just so we don't confuse anybody. anyway, it's gorgeous, the ocean is how i remember it, wide and rough. the air is cool. in a lot of ways it reminded me of newfoundland, only very developed, rich and touristy.

earlier in the day we saw an aviation museum...i suggested we stop, viv said sure, so that was good. we walked in and saw the biggest plane in the world sitting in the hanger, amidst other planes of course, but it catches your attention. howard hughes spruce goose, the original hercules. very impressive, i'll post a pic. we went to the space museum next, then the imax space station in 3d. tom cruise narrated, that guy could make anything sound exciting. vivian tolerated my interests today, i was very appreciative, she's awesome.

we got a small cabin in a koa just out of lincoln city, it's small and comfortable. and cheap, which is nice. no tent tonight. probably tent again tommorow.

sorry for the long blog.

Pre-border Jitters...and stupid Weather

We started out from home on Saturday morning...and it was pretty uneventful...its the prairies. By the time we hit our destination...Lethbridge...we were tired and just wanting to set up our tent and relax for the evening. But Lethbridge doesn't believe in firebuilding it seems...and what fun is tenting without a fire! So we didn't tent...but it turned out to our advantage since it started pouring rain during the night and we would have been drenched! Today we have advanced to Cranbrook...with a short stop in Pincher Creek to visit with an Aunt and Uncle and cousins I hadn't seen in years. A nice home-cooked meal and good company is always a welcome stop! And the rain has followed us...it is very overcast, rainy and cold. Hopefully the tenting weather comes in the US. We head over the border tomorrow so I'm hoping that my fears of them refusing me is not true!

A Life Revealed

today we went for an ultrasound of vivian's belly. it was very real. suddenly we went from a chemistry test pregnancy to a very visual little life (5.18 centimeters crown to rump) that was surprisingly active given its size. i mean, the kid's a peanut. fortunately, the only peanut in there. anyway, so this is a real life, with little limbs and fingers, and a little pulsating heart that looks like a small swish of fluid in his (so I've dubbed IT) little chest. we're excited. and happy. God is good.