Things to know when living in Grand Rapids, MI

Things are going well here. I have completed a week of orientation training including Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support so i now officially know how to save lives, lol. I can (supposedly) now place a central line in your major arteries, put a chest tube through your.. you guessed it, your chest, and stick a tube down your trachea to make you breath, among other amazing life saving feats. Very exciting, lets just hope i don't forget everything when/if the moment ever comes.

In the last few weeks i have learned several things about living in Grand Rapids, some good, some bad, but if you are going to move here or even just visit, these are things you should know....

1) People here are incredibly friendly. Not just kind or polite, overwhelmingly nice
2) at anytime day or night, you may hear fireworks (which sound like gun shots). this occurs on a daily basis
3) sometimes people forget to wear pants... true story. I and other residents have seen women who somehow forgot to put on pants or a skirt or something before leaving the house, just panties
4) there are no grocery stores here. there is walmart and meijer (which is exactly like walmart)
thank god for the Farmer's Market
5) there is no beer at the gas stations
6) it rains ALL THE TIME
7) the cuisine here is fantastic, so many options and they are all good
8) It stays light in the summer until 10pm, not dusky, seriously daytime light. i walk the dog at
9pm
9) There are squirrels everywhere, and they are bold and like to taunt the dog
10) it really is a great place to live

All settled...almost

I can't believe that we have been in Grand Rapids for two weeks already. It seems like so long ago that we sat in a little room and signed more papers at one time than i ever have, then slept on an air mattress in our newly bought but empty house.

Everything went very smoothly beginning with our three day drive, then the movers coming right on time, and finally our furniture shopping extravaganza. The blue wall has even grown on me. I started my orientation today (really just a bunch of CPR and shocking dummy hearts) and met all my fellow interns who seem very cool.

now that i have caught you up on the last two weeks (kinda, i am doing pictures when the furniture arrives), i will write about what is really bugging me.

The Elliott family (all of us) in an effort to become more healthy have created the Elliott Family Biggest Loser Challenge. It is very fun and i am excited for Chris and i to get back into shape. some of my new rules are no eating after 7pm, no seconds, and no sugar snacks (ice cream, red vines, brownies, just to name some favorites). Tonight we had a lovely dinner of steak, baked potato, and salad. Just one hour later i feel that i am starving. I am craving a big bowel of cereal. I want to know why??? is it just because i know i am not allowed to eat that i want to? am i really hungry or is my evil mind just trying to ruin me? How come at this very moment my stomach is eating itself even though i ate dinner? I would love someone to tell me why my own brain/body is trying to mess this up and risk the winning money that i would use to do something nice for it? The challenge ends in September. wish me well.