Slacking, I know

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. But my weekend exploits have consisted mostly of shopping and other mundane tasks. Nothing blog-worthy. I plan to redeem myself this weekend with a possible trip to Portland and some hiking.

Today was a filled with random encounters, which I thought I would share. First, I was standing in line at the post office, mailing a package to my parents and brother back in Clintonville (the home of the mysterious "booming" recently. If you don't know about it, click here). The post man asked me, after looking at the address, "Wait, is that the place?" I assumed he had seen the reports on the news about the earthquake, and jokingly responded that it was and I hoped it would still be standing when the package arrived! He said it was kind of a weird place for an earthquake, and I commented that earthquakes are one of the few natural phenomenon we don't get in Wisconsin. The lady behind me in line piped in, asking me where I was from. As it turned out, she grew up near Milwaukee. Small world, I know.

The nurse I work with was recently given a scholarship for her bachelor's degree. The hospital newsletter showed a picture of her, the other scholarship recipients, and nursing administration. I recognized a familiar face in the group. Her name is Fran and we take the same water aerobics class. At class tonight, I asked her if that was indeed her in the photo. It was and as it turns out, she is the executive of nursing at the hospital. She is also a traveler. She acts mainly as a consultant, going from hospital to hospital evaluating the nursing structure of the institution. We chatted for a bit tonight and she offered to have lunch one day so I could pick her brain. With 30 years of being a nursing administrator under her belt, I figured she has a wealth of knowledge I could learn from.

On a separate, but somewhat related note, I met another amazing lady at my aqua aerobics class. She is originally from England but lives in the U.S. with her husband. They are both school teachers. From what I gathered, she has lived a very interesting life. Amazingly, she was more taken with my current lifestyle. Her sister is a nurse in England and considering coming to the U.S. to travel nurse. In this instance, she was more interested in picking my brain!

This was one of the things that excited me about traveling: meeting new and interesting people. Mission accomplished.