11.16.2009

I think I might have found my new home!

God.

So good.

I went to a church yesterday and felt more at home than I have in 6 years of searching. YES!

Again, He is faithful. AGAIN! :)

Wow...

So Happy.

Korey

10.29.2009

I always put too much milk on my cereal!

I am eating cereal in my room right now. I filled up on the chex and now I can't finish my milk. I do this... EVERY. TIME. :)

So, life has been surprising lately. I believe the schedule guy at work must be some sort of sage, mind reader, future see-er. This is why. I worked this past weekend and when I look on the schedule I saw that I wasn't scheduled again until Friday! That meant I had four whole days off. WHAT?! So, I wasn't very happy about that. But, I tell ya what, these last four days have been the greatest blessing. I have been able to slow down and BREATH! j

In and out.

So nice.

I feel like I am alive again. It's like I've been sprinting for the last month and I am just now getting enough time to stop and catch my breath. I tend to feel guilty for taking breaks or taking time off. For some reason I feel the need to be doing and moving and working at all times. These last few days I have just calmed the heck down. I still accomplished a lot. But, it wasn't because I made a list and a time frame and made myself stick to every little detail. It's been amazing.

Now tomorrow I go back to work. Back to a job that is amazing and exciting, but also draining and heart-breaking at times. I am ready though. I am refreshed and ready to give 100%. No more just making it through the day, I am strong enough to give my all tomorrow. I just need to take these breaks more often.

The other thing that is amazing right now is the fact that God has been really faithful in giving me what I need... not so much what I want. I didn't want to be here in Essexville, MI for the next year and a half. But I have really just started to feel at home here. I won't give you all the details, but so many little things have started to fall into place. NOW, I just need to find a church.

Alright, that's some what of an update... somewhat of a mess. Sort through if you want! :)

Love,
Korey

10.21.2009

This is autumn...


And I love it. :)

I didn't take this photo. Unfortunately. I just am loving this weather! His faithful love.

Korey


10.08.2009

This is somewhat painful...

So... not going back to Spring Arbor. Interesting, hard, exciting, terrifying... it pretty much feels like a big jumbled ball of emotion that I'd rather toss out the window than unravel. I was pretty bummed for a bit there. Now that things have gotten more settled here in good ol' bay city I feel much better.

Secondly, I have finished my internship. I have NOT written my paper yet. That will probably be what I try to do today. SO thrilled that it is over. It was a great experience... but it kept me way too busy.

Thirdly :), work is still great. I have been on the adolecent side most of the time these days... and I tell ya what, it's heart wrenching. BUT, it is probably the most rewarding thing I've done, too. VERY bittersweet. OH, if you don't know what I'm talking about---> I work at a inpatient mental hospital. So, we get adults who are picked up on the street and are psychotic or adults that haven't been taking or have been abusing medications, or guys that are headed to jail and pretend to be crazy so they can postpone it. WELL, I've been working the adolescent side. A much smaller wing of the hospital where children come if they are have extreme behavioral issues, or if they have done something that suggests serious mental instability. Anyway, it's heavy... but really important work. I like it for the most part. BUT I am looking elsewhere. I don't know how long I can stay.

K, onto the best part... I went MOUNTAIN BIKING yesterday!!! It was AMAZING. Adam and I were just going to stick to the really easy trails because I had never been before. Welllll... we ended up on a harder one. I was doing really well and hitting every feature (even if that meant going back and hitting it twice)... so we started riding faster. It was a blast and I was feeling pretty confident. So we come around a corner and Adam goes down the hill and disappears. I follow after and notice that there's a LOT going on at the bottom. NO problem! I've got this... So I continue down the hill and there's some pretty rocky terrain and then a man made bridge just off the ground that curves to the left as SOON as you hit the bottom of the hill. If you don't make that left it's a straight shot into a tree. So, all this to say... I got over the rocks and I hit the bridge, but I DEFINITELY didn't turn in time. OH I turned... just in time to slam sideways into the tree!!! Needless to say I'm a little bruised. My face has a cherry read rash on my right chin that extends down my neck.

I am proud to say I was able to get back on the bike and ride the rest of the way out (Thanks to Adams incredible patience, kindness, and encouragement!). We found a side trail that was pretty flat after a while and took it. I plan to go again soon. This time, I'll avoid the trees! :)

So, even though I'm not at college anymore and everything feels like it's changing... I am finding new adventures and having a blast.

So much love,

Koreyanna

8.27.2009

This is Exhaustion

For the past week I have been going to my internship in the morning and then going to work in the afternoons. It has been crazy. I talked to a girl last night at work who worked a full time job, a part time job, went to nursing school, and had two kids. I asked her how she did it and she said, "Poor people just know how to work!"

In other news, I am joining a gym and starting spinning classes. That should be a hoot. I hear they are really difficult, but really fun. I think I am going to go to my first one today. Yikes! I hope I don't fall off the bike.

Tomorrow I start night shift. 11pm to 7am I will be at work. I'll do that tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday nights. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully I will just take some energy drinks and read a book. I hear that things are either really crazy or really quiet on night shift.

I haven't written anything about my job yet! Well, I am a Mental Health Worker. I work at an inpatient facility where patients are either petitioned to come, picked up by the police, sent from jail, or admit themselves voluntarily, because they are a threat to themselves or others. The thing that amazes me is that these patients are often times really kind, interesting, and funny people. Anyway, I take vitals, do one to one interviews about their precautions (such as suicidal precautions, assultive precautions, ect.) run groups, and make sure they have everything they need. I also chart on the patients so that the therapists and doctors know about how they have been behaving throughout the day and if they are a risk.

It's a really fun job. Always something new and always exciting. I have been training on second shift this last week and I love it. I wish I could post stories from work, but I think it would be a HIPPA violation if someone recognized something about a patient and could tell who it was.

Generally, the patients are soooo interesting. I will tell you that one patient peed in the sink in our day room yesterday. He just walked right up to it and peed. One of the workers, obviously, confronted him, but what in the world are you supposed to do? He finished and walked out and it got taken care of. Another patient told me that he was outside talking to his cousin today and after he noticed everyone looking at him funny he realized that his cousin wasn't really there at all. He said, "I was talking to the wall! Man, I really thought he was there."

I don't think anyone can identify the patients from those stories. But, anyway, it's a really really interesting job and I love this field of work.

I have been able to spend a lot more time in the Word lately. It's funny to me that when life gets more hectic I can suddenly find time for that. I know it's because it is one of the main outlets for me and one of the huge encouragers. It also energizes me and gives me strength.

Lastly, Elyse and Mary have both decided to be dumb and go far far away. I miss them both terribly and am pretty sure I will never forgive them. Okay, that's not true at all, but I do miss them. I am very proud of them both and am, of course, very happy for their exciting new adventures. There will be lots of traveling this year. I can already see that :)

Welp. I think that's about all I have in the noggin that I want to share with the world.

Good things. Tired as all get out... but good things.

Hugs all around,

Korey

PS. I applied for first shift and it was granted. After I finish out this schedule I will be working 7am-3pm instead of 11pm-7am. This makes me happy...

8.11.2009

This is the Real World (Bay City)

Waaaaaaaaaaaapalapa (I have been being professional all day. It's not my style...)


Change is hard... but good? I say this because it is true and I fully expect it to come full circle for me soon.

So. I started my job. For serious this time... I was on time every day and made sure to read everything they gave me. I was on the unit today a bit and met Ryan Seacrest's fiance. It was amazing. She also sang me a Bon Jovi song. "It's my life and it's now or never!!!"

In all seriousness, I am really excited about this job. Things are really weird for me these days and it's gonna be cool to have something new to keep my mind occupied.

Here's how I feel about not going back to school--> A large part of me wants to be content. But another large part of me wants to go back to what I am used to. Back to the amazing support system, relentless love, and ridiculous memories that were at Spring Arbor.

This milestone of graduating and getting a job and an apartment just makes it so obvious how fast time flies.

I will be working night shift and I'm pretty nervous about it. 11 pm to 7 am. Yeesh.

I'm going to a youth group tonight here in Bay City. I really feel the need to sing with purpose today. I think something inside of me is really really hungry for music and Jesus.

Alrighty-o. Well, need to stay positive!

Loves and Smooches,

KoreyAnna

7.29.2009

This is what I know



We All Need Saving Sometimes
Jon McLaughlin


.Say what you will.
.but the time that we fill.

.While we're on the earth.
.Should not be alone.
.We were meant to be known.

I have lovely friends. Thank the Lord for the blessing that they are to me. We were not meant to be alone... we were meant to be known.
.
I am at my internship right now. On lunch break.

Another thing I know. - You eat 30-40% less if you eat alone rather than eating with others -
.
I really like lunch time here because I can just come into my office and be alone for a bit to think and process and breath. Oh, and eat. We had Olive Garden today! WOO HOO! They have lunch here almost every day. People just bring it. It's like magic. Free magic. :)
.
I need to start adding pictures to my blogs. Yes, yes I do.
.
That is all I know today.
.
OH! That's a lie. I also know that Pandora is awesome. If you want to go old school with it it's "The Bomb" and if I were to go a little further I'd say it was the "Bomb diggity."
K, That's it.

7.28.2009

This is melting.

Jason Morant - Delight lyrics
Artist: Jason Morant
Album: Abandon
Year: 2004
Title: Delight

Surrounded by Your shadow every need I have is met

When I'm waiting in Your presence every fear
Is put to rest

You belong to me and I belong to You

Nothing will ever come my way
That You won't see me through

I delight in the beauty of Your holiness
Because I won't find a love like Yours
In all the earth

In the quiet of Your chambers the love
I feel is made complete

In the mercy You have granted
I will rest for all eternity

You belong to me and I belong to You

Nothing will ever come my way
That You won't see me through

I delight in the beauty of Your holiness

Because I won't find a love like Yours
In all the earth

(Because I won't find a face like Yours
In all the earth)


I started my internship! It is amazing. More on that later.

This weekend was really nice. I went to a wedding in Wisconsin with Adam (my wonderful boyfriend) and then had lunch in Chicago on the way home. It was a really nice wedding and I really enjoyed spending time with Adams parents. PLUS I got to wear my new dress and shoes. :)

I am overwhelmed lately with changes. Getting older and getting a job. Thinking about my future and all of the adventures that I wish to have and remembering all of the sweet things I have done. Making new friends and missing old friends... and remembering friends that are no longer with me. Life is such a beautiful mess of experiences and moments. How I have chosen to act in those moments and how I have chosen to react to those experiences has shaped my character and hardened and melted my heart time and time again.

Right now I am pretty melty. :)

God is good. ALL THE TIME. ALL the time. all the time.

Wishing you many melting moments,
Korey


7.10.2009

Casual Fridays

Here is a story for you...

So. I graduated. I secured a job. And this is what happened.

Two weeks ago I lost all of my paperwork for the job that I was starting in a week. I looked everywhere for it and did not find any trace of it.

Orientation Week...
Day One: I could not sleep. Thought process went something like this... I'm going to be late. They aren't going to give me new paperwork. I probably won't even make it there... I'm terrible with directions. I'll probably end up on the other side of the state and my car will break down or run out of gas and I'll never amount to anything and end up on the streets scraping gum off of park benches for the rest of my life smelling like BO and muttering on and on under my breath about that one fateful day when I missed the first day of orientation...

It got progressively worse and more and more ridiculous as the night went on. I drifted in and out of sleep/nightmares of naked orientations...

Needless to say I was up about 2 hours before I needed to be. I used the excess time to attempt cover up the three lovely red bumps that had formed on my chin over night. The makeup just made it look worse. Thrilling start to the day.

I left the apartment and made my way easily to work listening to Jason and trying to convince myself that everything was going to be just fine.

When I arrived I went straight to the front desk and asked what time orientation began. "Oh, an hour from now? Okay, I'll just go wait in my car." So, I did.

I made my way back into the building and was directed to HR where I filled out tons of paperwork, neglected to ask for a new orientation schedule, and had a pretty shiny forehead ID picture taken. Twice.

The rest of the day was spent sitting in a chair listening to different lectures. Basically, don't be late, don't let anyone die, and realize that if you are part time you have no benefits. They people were really nice though and things began to look up.

Day Two: New room. Learned about bed sores. Sick. Spilled plate all over the place at lunch and gave my cell phone and wallet a lasagna/cottage cheese bath. Mmmm...

Day Three:

9:00 Meeting with the Women's Shelter I hope to volunteer at. So cool.

3:40 Finger printing appointment. Got lost on the way. Cried. Showed up late. Fingerprinted. Lost Cell phone.

Day Four: Slept in. Boyfriend returns cell. 7 new messages. "Why weren't you at orientation yesterday... and today?" Crap Crap CRAP CRAP! This is the moment I realized that I was supposed to attend the Wednesday and Thursday orientations even though I wasn't a nurse. WHY DIDN'T I ASK FOR A NEW SCHEDULE!!!!!!!!!

STUPID STUPID STUPID!

Day Five: Pretty excited that it's casual Friday because I got to wear jeans to work and I worked at a place that had casual Fridays. I felt like an adult. CPR Training. Entered the room and answered co-workers concerned questions about my absence. Signed in and had a TB test. "Oops... you'll probably have a bruise", said the nice nurse. "That's okay."

CPR Training begins. I feel someone walk up behind me... "Are you Korey?"

"Yes"

"HR needs to speak with you"

"Okay" Crap Crap Crap Crap

So I took the walk of doom in my casual Friday jeans.

Fired.

I cried like a baby in front of the HR rep and she said she would see what she could do. Turns out I'll just re-do orientation in a month.

I suck at being an adult... but, ya know, as my mother, my boyfriend, any my best friend Elyse said, "These things happen."

I will do better next time. It was a learning experience and now I have a month to memorize the companies policies and orientation booklet.

I am gonna be so orientated next month that they won't even know what to do with me.

Goodness Gracious.

Korey Anna

4.01.2009

Future

I am terrified.
There is so much to be done... more than I can handle right now it seems.

Things I need to do:
Find my bag with my bible and purse in it (missing that terribly)
Do my laundry
Clean my room
Do homework (not going to list it all... too much)
Stop over- booking all of my days
Figure out my internship
Get a job
Save money

AHHHHHHHHHH