2010 Réflexion

2010 Réflexion...

01. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef. Sandboarded. Put needles into real people. Did a flash mob. Jumped off a waterfall. Attended a fashion show. Kissed an Aussie.

02. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Hahaha nope. Dunno why I try.

03. Did someone close to you give birth?
Oh lordy, it was an explosion of babies...

04. Did anyone close to you die?
People close to people close to me died

05. What countries did you visit?
Australia, New Zealand

06. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Control... over any aspect of my life.

07. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day I started nursing school was a pretty big deal for me.

08. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
Making the spring nursing school dean's list, not failing any classes, crossing five things off the list of things to do before I die

09. What was your biggest failure(s)?
Not taking enough risks

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not seriously

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Ticket to Aus.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My parents put up with quite a lot of my nonsense. They're quite grand.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
None in particular, besides those in public office and a few fellow students

14. Where did most of your money go?
School and Australia

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Aus, bungy, snorkelling the GBR, spring, summer, fall, thanksgiving and christmas breaks, Dr. van Tilburg speaking at UP, suture class, sandboarding, the World Cup, SPAIN WINNING THE WORLD CUP! visit from my favorite Dutch person.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2008?
California Gurls - Katy Perry (west coast represent...how we identified ourselves geographically to the Aussies)
I Like It- Enrique Iglesias (last song I danced to in Aus)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? thinner
iii. richer or poorer? drastically poorer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Speaking up for myself, being kind

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Letting the crazy send my stress levels through the roof, ruminating on things past, complaining

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With my fantastic family, which now includes an awesome new sister :)

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Erm, well...

23. How many one-night stands?
Well, there was a guy on the flight home that said the mile-high club would be a "once in a lifetime opportunity..." I let him keep waiting.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
America's Next Top Model, Project Runway, Dexter, How I Met Your Mother

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Some people I continue to avoid

26. What was the best book you read?
We Band of Angels -Elizabeth Norman
Band of Brothers -Stephen Ambrose
War - Sebastian Junger

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Mumford & Sons

28. What did you want and get?
The trip to Aus

29. What did you want and not get?
A functional relationship

30. Favorite film of this year?
Secretariat. It was a good movie, but to be fair, I think I saw two movies this year and I can't remember what the other one was.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 25. Had the day off from school and celebrated by going to QLD two weeks later.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Missing the plane back. More of a summer.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Minimalist, Euro/classic/lazy. Sometimes I wear a skirt.

34. What kept you sane?
...am I still sane? Was unaware. Erm, vacation time, my family, trips home, the internet, red wine.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Yoann Gourcuff. French soccer star, current midfielder for Lyon and Les Bleus.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Can't think of any standouts, but probably anything regarding the war

37. Who do you miss?
My family, Rosey, Andy, Melanie, Aafke, Ray

38. Who was the best new person you met?
My nursing school buddies, esp Tina, Dan and Shane. They made life bearable.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
Change your attitude, change your world.
Be kind, as often as possible. It is always possible.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
'Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be' - Mumford & Sons, "The Cave"

eve of the championship

Pre-final article round-up time. Click the links. They are funny. And short.

Pulpo Paul was correct in predicting the Germans would beat Uruguay to take third place (3-2 final), but it was an entertaining match and the Uruguayans led for a fair portion. How Paul the Octopus ruined Germany's Cup dream.

In regard to the absurd number of handballs that have changed results this cup, what would happen if FIFA applied Sharia law. In my opinion, France would not have been in the Cup at all but for Henry's double handball to send them through over Ireland, but I don't think Suarez's handball against Ghana would be talked about still had Gyan put away his penalty instead of bouncing it off the bar. To be fair to Suarez, any other professional in his place would have done exactly as he did.

Rafael van der Vaart of the Netherlands reflects on his teammate Wesley Sneijder's success this Cup. "I suspect he (Sneijder) has a gold vuvuzela in his pants."

Finally, an article that pretty much describes why I'm supporting Spain over Holland for the final, even though I love them both. La Furia Roja, Pulpo Paul thinks you have what it takes and so do I.

the revels now are ending

Sunday is the World Cup Final. It is the day Spain and the Netherlands fight for the right to be crowned the newest world champions. In 18 cups, there have been only 7 winners (I'm lumping Germany and West Germany together), and while the Netherlands were runners-up in '74 and '78, they have never won. Spain has never advanced past the quarter-finals, so it's a big moment for both Clockwork Oranje and La Furia Roja.

I am emotionally attached to both teams, especially since spending time in both countries, but I tip my heart to Spain. In all honesty, though, this is a dream final for me. I can't be unhappy. Pulpo Paul is predicting a win for Spain, but his rival, a "psychic parakeet" in Singapore, says it will be Holland. Does the wrong one get eaten? Stay tuned...

It has been a month full of early mornings and lots of beer. I found a soccer pub to haunt in Corvallis, at least two in Portland, and if I couldn't make it to either, I streamed the games in class. Don't judge me... some things are more important than (the mechanisms of) breathing.

I totally want a vuvuzela for my birthday.

Sunday is also the six-month marker of my adventures in nursing school. 13 months to go.

Med/surg clinicals ended (boo) but I'm happy to note that my med/surg 2 rotation in the fall will be on the same unit. I'm in the middle of pysch clinicals and hate them. I have evening shift clinicals and it is terribly boring and crazy people scare me anyway.

memorial day

At my house, we don't wait for Memorial Day to come around to remember our freedom. My grandfathers and brother are are all veterans, and my brother writes Acute Politics. The subject is never far from our minds.

During my semester break (1 week) at the beginning of May, my dad and I watched four WWII movies.

They Were Expendable - 1945, Philippines
The Longest Day - 1962, D-Day
Patton - 1970, 3rd Army from North Africa to Germany
Das Boot - 1981, Atlantic, uncut director's version

And then I read Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose, the book that follows E Company, 501st Regiment, 101st Airborne Division from airborne school to the beaches of Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest.

While I recommend all of the above, should you have the time to commit, the book Band of Brothers is a fairly quick read, highly informative, and extremely poignant.

They Were Expendable is a John Ford-directed movie starring John Wayne, filmed during the war and highlighting the torpedo PT boats used in the Philippines during the Pacific campaign. There is an extensive review (7 parts) of the movie over at Big Hollywood that I highly recommend. The war in the Pacific is interesting, although largely forgotten. I'm about to read We Band of Angels about the nurses on Bataan during the campaign in the movie (in all my spare time). It satisfies both the nursing side of my soul and the history buff part of me. This from a girl whose passion was ignited standing above the USS Arizona on New Year's Eve and listening to people speaking in Japanese.

The flag flies over the grave of USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Das Boot is a submarine story from the German perspective and definitely worth watching.

If there is anything else I could say about Memorial Day, it is only that I have been to France twice and Belgium once and have yet to see the beaches of Normandy or Flanders Field, where my freedom was bought long before I lived. Liberté liberté chérie...

L'Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France


The Grave of the Unknown Soldier, Paris, France

Nothing moves me as much as the monuments to those who paid the ultimate price. Thank you to out veterans as well as to those who gave their all. You will never be forgotten.

how to survive nursing school.

Ahhh... Easter break. Five-day weekend, just long enough to start catching up on sleep before plunging back into the mad carousel ride that is finals. One more soccer game and then that's over... must coerce classmates to stop being pansies and play some pick-up footy with me. Or I'll go join a rugby club and learn to be hardcore.

Suffice it to say, soccer and indie rock & roll keep my sanity from deserting me entirely. This is my playlist for the week.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

it's the most wonderful time of the year

Nothing brings the world together like the World Cup. The UN has got nothing on the beautiful game.

OMG so shiny!

The World Cup draw was held today in Capetown, South Africa. Results:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Group E: Holland, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

I'm so excited. We're not in the Group of Death (G)! Four years ago our group was certainly death to us, despite drawing when we played the eventual champions. Italy has an annoying habit of starting slowly in competitions and gathering speed until they're pretty much invincible by the last stages. Dirty, sexy bastards.

I think Group A will be the most interesting to watch. While South Africa (who qualified by hosting) is possibly the weakest team in the tournament, historically the host team has never failed to advance to the second round. France is very controversial now, partly due to Henry's qualifying handball, and partly to their abysmal performance this past year. If they want it enough, they could easily go through. Mexico... I just hope they don't advance. The archnemesis of American soccer. Slovenia I don't know much about. In summary: never underestimate the host team, no matter how much you write them off outside of the Cup. Mexico, France and Slovenia depend on who wants it the most and who can use handballs and dirty hack behavior (*cough*Thierry Henry*cough*Rafa Marquez*cough*)to advance.

I just want to see the US pull a 1950 World Cup manuever on England. :) Love the English people, not so much a fan of the English national team. I prefer the sport as played in warm countries, like Brasil and Spain.

ETA: Soccernet's draw analysis.

re: mls cup 2009

:)

MLS, Garber and Anschutz, all your monies cannot buy you a trophy. Woohoo Real Salt Lake!