We're Back :-D

It has been an extremely long time since our last post. Almost a year actually, wow. So there is way too much to catch up on the whole year, but we can start off where we are now!

So what have we been up to this summer? LOTS of traveling, out to Ohio and Michigan to see both of our families (so much fun). Camping with my parents and church friends, a few weddings, random trips out of the city. We are getting much better at finding alternate means of

transportation to the car. Although i still really miss having a car! Jimmy and I are both really happy to have our schedules settling down again though.

I'm still working steady as ever in the Emergency Department. I'm happy to say God has given me a sense of calm lately which has been a wonderful change to my worrying. I'm defiantly a worrier and even though i have one of those nice jobs where "you leave work at work", I always bring it home with me, going over every patient and what I might have missed. Jimmy is working on getting me out of this! But!! they have started placing me in triage! What is triage you ask?

Well it's actually usually the first person you meet when you walk into the ER. I evaluate the patients (or triage you) and decide how severe the situation is and where you should be placed. This can actually be quite stressful. I'm enjoying it though, it's giving me a new perspective and stretching my skill level. AND making a lot of people

angry at me very quickly! lol It's hard not being able to bring everyone back as quickly as I'd like, as I'm defiantly a people pleaser. It's weird to think that my evaluation has such a large importance. I'm learning though! And ending up with some interesting stories.

So what has Jimmy been up to? Well he finally got another date for his ACE exam, October 14th, please start the praying!!! It will be much appreciated! He's back in his lab working on stuff, most of the things that are way above my head.

We are both excited that The Office and Community are back on schedule, same night as our Fellowship group actually. We have been super blessed with a great group of friends. We met pretty regularly over the summer and really just love being able to hang out with such a great group, I feel like we all really get along so well and I'm so happy we have found a family here in the city.

So that's all for now, we will try to update more! OH! and I finally have something on Jimmy!!

Funny story, Jimmy thought it would be a great idea to hang a towel rack over the space above our stove, direct quote "AND our towels will get dry when we use the burners!" Here is the result of this great idea......

Oh how i love it, and my husband. He walked past our kitchen to a nice little fire, while i was at work, but during our Small group. priceless :-D

P.S. We also moved into a new apartment a few months ago, we'll post another apartment tour, now in one bedroom with a door! I know, super exciting for us!

Going non-stop

Hey guys, this is Jaime this time. I figured I should post a little something this time, although i will apologize in advance, i can guarantee that my blog will not be near as entertaining as Jimmy's. :-)

These past few months have been crazy, we spent two weekends at weddings, one at my parents and this last one in Washington DC for our first vacation being married!! Jimmy tells me this constant business is a typical Hayes' summer and I have to admit I'm looking forward to having some down time where we aren't traveling anywhere (Jimmy has a blog planned about our transportation craziness coming up). In between these fun events visiting with everyone, I've been working full time and Jimmy has been going at his work in lab.

I'm finally getting to the end of my orientation time at work. This week will be my last week and I'll get to rotate through each section again. These past 2 weeks I've gotten the chance to be in the Pediatric section of the ER. I have actually enjoyed it more than I expected. In between the screaming babies and having to handle the parents on top of the children, I really enjoy the staff and the resources they have for the kids. They do a lot of teaching to the kids and we have more toys than we could fit into our apartment!! I also have found that starting IVs in day old babies isn't as hard as I had expected, I got a few of them after the residents couldn't, which boosted my confidence :-). My managers are talking about keeping me in the pediatric wing full time. It's something I'm praying about as I'm not sure I want to forgo my adult rotation....so we'll see!

We also started leading a beta group for our church. This past week was the first week and we had 8 people show up! It was really exciting and we really enjoyed the people that were there! Jimmy and I both realized how our excitement can get a little overpowering and we found ourselves to be talking a lot, something we are both working on! I haven't been involved in a real commitment like this since college and it's so nice to be a part of it again. My church in PA was so big our small groups were 20+ people(not great for making good relationships). So keep us in your prayers! Hopefully we didn't scare anyone away and that we can both learn to be okay with silence! :-)

Onto this weekend in DC....so much fun. My parents met us down there for a few days, my mom has never been and has been talking about going since I've been young. It was nice having them there to hang out with. We defiantly didn't tone down our schedule and they kept up the whole time!! We got to see some amazing things, the Hope Diamond, Arlington and changing of the guards, most of the museums, it was a great vacation and the weather was beautiful. I don't know how you guys had it up here but we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather!!

So that's it for now. I've been reading everyone elses blogs and emails from missions abroad and it's so exciting to hear about everything that has been going on! Thanks for reading ours!

~Jaime 'n Jim

Ode to Elisha Otis

Hello again, dear reader.

I'd like to invite you to sit back, toss another log on the fireplace, re-adjust your reading glasses, and get ready for a little history lesson. Don't worry. There won't be a quiz. This is strictly for learning the joys of the days gone by.

Elisha Graves Otis was born on August 3, 1811 (at least according to Wikipedia) in Halifax, Vermont. Now if you are a perceptive person, you may have recognized the last name from elsewhere. You've probably seen it most every time you've stepped into an elevator. Yes, Elisha Otis was the first person to install a safety elevator (one that wouldn't crash down if the cable broke (yes, also info from Wikipedia (but again, i digress))). The elevator was installed on March 23rd, 1857 at 488 Broadway in New York City.

Fast forward a few years and go a few more blocks uptown and you'll find our humble apartment. We live on the 10th floor and thus, must use one of his machines to get to and leave from our apartment. Typical elevator operating instructions for leaving our apartment are as follows:

1. Push the "Down" button to signal that we want to descend.
2. Wait patiently for vertical carriage to arrive. *NOTE: If other patron approaches elevator, make brief eye-contact, nod, and immediately return to looking forward. You may look at your watch or cell phone to pass the time.*
3. Enter the elevator car when the doors open.
4. Push the button labeled "L" for lobby.
5. Doors will then close and the Otis Lift will descend. *NOTE: If you are impatient, you may push the "Close Door" button as signified by two arrows pointing towards the center.
   
6. Upon arriving in the lobby, the doors will open. Exit and continue on your merry way.

I'm sorry if I've bored you with all this introduction, but there is a point. Refer to the NOTE on point 5. It just so happens that Jaime has an issue with that part. There is also another button in the elevator that is labeled with a picture of a bell that you would push to call in case you need to call for help. And yes, as i'm sure you've deduced by now, Jaime has mixed up the "Bell" button with the "Close Door" button.

It first happened when we were leaving our apartment. She pushed it and was absolutely mortified. The phone started to ring and we both just watched the numbers count down to L. Thankfully the person working the desk was preoccupied and never answered. We ran out as fast as we could.

And then it happened again. 61st and 1st. Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Again, we escaped. (Yes, i use the pronoun we, but i tell you the truth when I say she was the one working the buttons.)

Yup. 3rd time. She was by herself in the elevator. This time they answered. She apologized, but still, it was quite humbling.

So far, that's it. 3 times (did i mention that this all happened within the course of 3 weeks). Don't worry, i'll keep you updated on the emergency-bell-count.

Thanks for bearing through this one. Hope you enjoyed it. Until next time...

~Jim

A Weekend of Firsts

Hello again.

I know that this is not the norm (i.e. updating the blog within a week of the last one as opposed to the norm of taking a 3 month hiatus between posts) but i felt it was a worthy update.

The first first of this post is that this was the first time since i

was 14 that I was not able to go down to CSSM, aka the Beach Mission. It was kinda strange to not roam the beach dressed up in an old bathrobe from the 70s, matted wig, and Ross Perot ears, while engaging in quite an enjoyable amount of tomfoolery. Alas, all good things must come to an end... sigh... However, we were able to get down for the weekend to visit the team(s) and get the rundown on the first week (and attempt to rid my body of the lab-induced, sun-deprived pasty whiteness that has overtaken my body). Getting down there is not too easy anymore. When we moved to NYC, we relinquished our comfort of our own, personal transportation. Jaime and I are now at the mercy of the public transit timetable (which in all honesty, isn't too bad). We took the train down to Bay Head from the city and then got picked up by my dad to make the rest of the trip. Good ol' New Jersey Transit...

The next "first" for Jaime and I was that we got to attend a wedding as "Mr. + Mrs. James Hayes." Yup, that's right. It was my name on the place setting card. Boo-ya. One of Jaime's best friends from college got married; it was fun to see some school friends again, especially in a happy occasion. And, I had a big slab of steak. Solid day.

Sadly, we had to head home on Sunday evening. We didn't get to stay for the program, but at least we got a little time on the beach. Again, like before, my mom drove Jaime and I up to Bay Head where we patiently awaited our valiant steel-'n-diesel steed to whisk us back to our home. As we were waiting on the platform and the train was pulling up, I saw the conductor lean out of the window and start to wave his hand at me. At first I thought that I may have overstepped the yellow-line and the conductor was trying to heroically save my life. Actually, it was on of our friends from college, At the next stop he came back and quickly ushered us up to the front of the train. Believe me when I say we got some pretty interesting looks from the other passengers when we ran out the front door of the train to the engine, luggage in hand. He let Jaime and I ride up front with him and his supervisor. It was so cool! That was definitely an awesome first.

But sadly, all good things must come to an end (yes, i'm talking about our weekend, as well as this skillfully crafted, artfully worded blog entry). Thanks again for reading.

Until next time.

Jim 'n Jaime

Summer so far...

Most people see summer as a time to relax. However, that's not how the Hayes family likes to run things. Let's have a whirlwind of a recap.

First, school ends. This mostly affects me, Jim, since I don't have to go into class anymore. Come to think of it, this probably affected Jaime too because I had more time to make a mess at home... and believe me (you've seen the apartment tour (and if not, get to it!)) with a home of our size, it does not take too long to trash our whole thing... Actually, in all honesty, since class is done I'm now going to lab every day, pretty much like a job. The good thing is that now I don't have to come home and study. Finally... :)

Speaking of jobs... Jaime has started hers, though for now (and the next 10 weeks) she'll be going through orientation. This consists of some class work and some days in the ER. Regardless of what's going on, her alarm (and thus mine) is going off much earlier than it should for a grad student, somewhere in the area of 6-6:30 AM.

Now that we've both started our "real lives," we get to share stories over the dinner table. She's got stories (with no names or identifying details, of course) of crazy things in the ER. Then she asks me, "What'd you do today?" I give the same answer... "I read..." Hopefully soon I'll actually begin doing experiments.

But i forgot about camp! Thankfully we had a chance to head up for a week after class ended and before Jaime started work. It was only a week, but at least we got to go up for one. We were able to make it back up for the video. If you're interested, you can find them at www.youtube.com/dvmyers6. Check out the Laverine and Shirley remake "Dreams Can Come True at PBBC."

Speaking of videos, here's one of when Jaime and I went to the Highline Park last saturday. The Highline was an old elevated rail line on the west side that they've converted into a park. Enjoy!

~Jim 'n Jaime

Mishaps of Modern Living...

We've come to a simple, yet poingant realization...

Mothers are amazing. We don't know how they can do it all. 2 examples:

1. Brownies

I don't mean to brag, but Mrs Hayes (that's Judy, not Jaime) is known throughout the community

for her brownie making ability. Naturally we just both assumed that this magic skill was either transferred genetically via birth or it was a divine gift bestowed upon taking the name of Mrs. Hayes. Alas, neither such case seems to be true. Point and case...

The other night, we were heading out to a barbecue and, being excited newly-weds with a kitchen, we thought we'd make brownies. Well, after setting them to bake,

we both failed to check the time at when they

should come out and Jaime happened to get engrossed in a phone call. Nevertheless, we were reminded of the brownies when we smelled the distinct odor of burning food wafting out of the kitchen. Believe me when I say they could not be

salvaged... It was a valiant effort.

2. Getting stains out of white shorts...

So Jim left a pen in his pocket with the point out, when started to leak blue ink everywhere. No problem. Get to scrubbing. After literally scrubbing a blister in his finger, he made another insightful discovery - fabric softener makes for terrible detergent. It's obvious to say that the stain did not come out. After trying with real detergent, Jaime was able to get a decent amout of ink out and hung them to dry over the shower curtain bar.

...which is where they picked up a vicious rust stain. So, Jaime decided to just throw them in the wash and trust the power of the Maytag Machine. She also decided to wash a new bright red

skirt at the same time. Yes, the skirt bled. Yes, the white shorts became pink. ::sigh::

Progression of shorts: White + ink stain + a little blood from Jim's blister + rust from shower curtain rod + pink coloring from Jaime's skirt --> Conclusion: the shorts were not meant to be worn again.

Trust me... the pink is worse in real life than the picture can portray.

Until next time...

~Jim 'n Jaime

I can see the light at the end of the train tunnel...

Hey guys,

So a fun update, I got a job offer from New York Presbyterian Hospital today for a RN postion in the ER. yay! God is really providing which we are so thankful for. I'm also really excited that my every-other-week train ride will be coming to an end soon! I don't start until July 20th so I have a few more months. At least I get to go to camp! :-) Jimmy is excited he will have me full time now lol. He's been doing a great job of trying to have the apartment clean when I get home though, so cute :-).

Talk to you guys later!

~Jaime