Happy Turkey Day!

Guess what y'all!  The holidays are here!  I figured this would be a good time for an update since the Christmas season will be so busy!  Eric and I are doing fine.  We had Thanksgiving dinner last night... it was pretty good.  We burned a couple of dishes, but practice makes perfect, right?  Last week we went to the Living Desert, which is a wild animal park, and botanical (desert) gardens.  I never knew there were so many different plants in the desert!  We saw some animals too, like a camel and a mountain lion.  He had been someone's pet, so he just sat right next to the glass and stared at you.  It was very interesting.  The male leopard did the same thing, but he was a little more threatening b/c his mate is pregnant.  We saw a desert cat that looked just like a domestic cat but bigger.  It was weird seeing what could be someone's pet in the zoo.

We got to use our fireplace that night.  It was cool last week at night, in the low 40s.  Of course the pyromaniacs that we are, we burned all our newspaper and magazines too and made a big mess.  It was fun though!  I went to see the Grinch today with Tom and Naomi.  It was good!  It is so weird that Christmas is coming.  It is 80 degrees today and sunny.  This is quite surreal!

In other news.... Eric and I are thinking about buying a house.  The property values here are skyrocketing.  Tom and Naomi's place is worth $15,000 more now than when they bought it, and they bought it six months ago!  So we'll build up some equity and then move wherever!  I am also considering going back to school for my Masters in Nursing.  I feel like I need more education or more money, or both!  So we will keep you posted!

Before I forget... I went out with some girls from work the other night to a bar.  I thought, no big deal, right?  We'll just go out for some drinks after work.  It should have clued me in when one of them wanted to turn off the football game on the TV as soon as we got there.  It turns out that out of the six people I was the only straight person there!  And we went to a sports bar!   At least the two guys I work with are straight.  But they are leaving in December.  One of the girls asked me to go hiking with her.  I don't have a problem with that since she is already involved, but it makes me feel weird!  I didn't know there were so many gay people here until I went to Palm Springs.  There are quite a few!  I thought I was much more tolerant than I am.  I guess it's just strange to feel outnumbered.

Anyway, Naomi and I went out Saturday night and found out where all the straight people hang out in Palm Springs.  What a relief!  The band there was from Houston and they played "When the Saints go Marching In" as their final number.  The lead singer was trying to get people to second-line but they were clueless!  It was funny.  I asked him about it afterward and he said he tried, but they don't quite get it here.  Well, I will go now, but I will keep you posted on any new developments!  Take care!

P.S.  I'm listening to "They All Axed For You".  :)

Hello to All!

I thought it was time for another email!  I am finished with my orientation at work and today and tomorrow are the classroom part.  I am happy to say that everyone I've met at Desert is good to work with, has a positive attitude, and is my age (mostly anyway!).  The doctors there are just as nice as they were at JFK.  All the rooms are private so there's less room for error (in other words, don't stay in a semi-private room if you can help it).  They even have faux hard wood floors!  The hospital is about 300 beds, which is small compared to EJGH, but they are more high-tech than other facilities in the valley.  I can actually use a computer to do my job, which makes things easier in many ways.  Y'all that worked at EJ with me know this, but my supervisor there was basically pushed out of her position.  What a relief to know that administration finally saw how terrible she was.  I can't believe I put up with her as long as I did.  I just knew that I was moving and that helped (apparently!).