The Standardized Patient

Yesterday I started training to become a Standardized Patient for Josh’s school.  The school hires spouses to train and become a pretend patient for their clinical training course.  Basically we are given an identity complete with symptoms and personality that we are to act out while the students are graded on their interviewing and patient care skills.  We give feedback about what it was like to be their patient…”When I said ‘anal sex’ you smiled and it made me feel uncomfortable”…that sort of thing.

It’s pretty cool, I’m in a class with a handful of other spouses that I know from the Spouses Organization.  For our first class our instructor had us act out some doctor-patient scenes to gauge our acting range.  We got pick whatever symptoms we wanted.  I pretended to be a patient with an itchy rash first.  Then I tried a patient with post-partum depression.  It was fun.  It’s kind of ironic that I lived in LA for 7 years and then moved to St. Maarten to start my acting career J

Bored.

Ok I’m definitely going a little crazy now, we’ve been here almost two months and I’m BORED.  The last two days I basically sat around my hot apartment all day twiddling my thumbs.  I count down the hours until it’s time to make dinner.  I do the dishes like 3 times a day.  I do laundry every other day.  I check my email a 100 times daily but there just not enough emails coming through. I go to the gym which gives me a little sense of purpose to my morning, but even then I’m done by 9am. I have a bunch of girlfriends through the Spouses Organization but even they cannot entertain me 24-7.  I veg out on Sex and the City DVDs.  I feel bad that I’m wasting my time.  I could be building my website, or writing a book, or looking into getting licensed in NYC, or volunteering or something constructive, but I’m not.  I’m in a slump.  I need a routine.  I need a real J-O-B.  I want to feel like I’m making real money and contributing to our little family, I miss that.

            I was telling Josh the other day that I’m bored, have nothing to do and he was like “wow, that sounds nice”.  He is so busy he looks at me and thinks it would be nice to sit around all day with nothing to do.   I look at him and think it would be nice to work so hard, to have that sense of purpose and accomplishment.  I guess the grass is always greener.

The good news is I’m pretty sure this will be short term, I’ve applied for a teaching position and I have some prospects in the works so I’m hoping something will work out to fill my time during the day.  Until then, I’m going to complain to you folks J I’m 100% percent sure that once I have a job again I’ll be wishing I were back sitting at home with no responsibilities.

Here’s the thing… I think you have to be busy to fully appreciate having nothing to do.  I think you have to be poor to fully appreciate having money.  I think you have to date bad guys to fully appreciate a good one.  I think you have to experience the bad days to fully appreciate the good days.  That’s just life. In my opinion.

Tofu and Eggplant Curry

I love to cook.  Don't confuse that as meaning I'm a GOOD cook. I consider a good cook as someone who looks in the fridge, pulls out random things, throws it together, a little taste here, a little more of this there, and wala you end up with something amazing that you didn't even know you had the ingredients for.  That's how my husband is.  I'm more of a follow-the-directions-in-a-recipe kinda girl. And it comes out tasty, but I definately prefer Josh's dinners over mine. Anyhow, it's time I post some of my favorite recipes on here. 
I wanted something healthy and yummy to feed my man so that his mind could be healthy and sharp for his studies (the two are related in my opinion).  I cooked up this curry with tofu and eggplant.  It is yummy and keeps very well for leftovers.  Serve it on top of some brown rice.

Eggplant and Tofu Curry

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 7 cloves garlic (I love garlic!)
• 1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled
• 1 jalapeno pepper (remove seeds for less heat)
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (I prefer Hunt's)
• 1 Medium eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon curry powder (or more to taste)
• 1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 12 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and patted dry
• 3 cups spinach
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, puree the garlic, ginger, jalapeno and 1 to 2 tablespoons water in a mini food processor until a paste forms. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the eggplant to the pot; cook 2 minutes. Add the garlic-ginger paste and cook, stirring, 2 more minutes (if you can't do paste, just mince the ingredients). Add the curry powder and tomatoes (but not the juice) and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the tomato juice and 1 cup water and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk and tofu; simmer until the eggplant is very tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Taste, add more salt/pepper/curry as needed. Serve with brown rice.

Skip Jack's

Last night we were craving seafood so we went to Skip Jack's for dinner in Simpson Bay.  Josh found them online and they supposedly have the "best seafood" on the island.  I hadn't heard any recommendations for this place so far, so my expectations weren't very high going in.  It's a cute little place right next to Lee's and Harbor Queen.  First thing, fresh live lobsters right when you walk in.  They looked amazing.  You get to go choose your lobster right out of the tank and they cook it fresh.  The ambiance was nice, it was open air...no walls just floor and ceiling.  Right on the water, with beautiful views as the sun sets.  Their menu was awesome, tons of seafood dishes and steaks.  We were tempted to order the Caribbean Lobster ($20/lb on special, and the lobsters in the tank were each 2lbs+) and tempted to get the huge ribeye on the menu (market price, I think around $35 our friend said).  Instead we decided we didn't want to spend $200 on dinner so we went with more budget-friendly options.  I got the Blackened Grouper ($23) and Josh went with the Seafood Platter ($25).  My fish was delicious!  Very fresh tasting, the blackening seasoning was prefect.  They serve it with a chimichurri sauce on the side which was amazing.  They served it with a garden salad and choice of potato.  The garden salad was super fresh tasting, I don't know where they get their vegetables (not at the Grand Marche obviously).  I got the only Cab they had by the glass ($6.50), from California so of course it was excellent!  Josh's seafood platter was also very delicious, it came with grilled mahi mahi, beer-battered shrimp and scallops, and some sort of crab bake thing with cheese on top.  I'm not the biggest mahi mahi fan but this was excellent, no bells and whistles just nicely grilled with excellent taste. I'm also not quite a fried seafood eater but the batter was amazing and the seafood was all fresh.  The crab bake thing was good but nothing to write home about. The service was excellent, even though they automatically add gratuity we left our waiter extra because he was very friendly and attentive (which are two qualities that are somewhat lacking from customer service oriented employees on this island).  We ran in to 4 of our friends from school and ended up joining them for a bit after our meal.  They seems to really like their food too.  They got the Blackened Grouper, Ribs, the big ribeye, and the surf and turf (top sirloin and shrimp).  I tried a bite of my friend's top sirloin and it was surprisingly very good, nicely seasoned and flavorful for such a mediocre cut (in my opinion, I'm a ribeye girl).  In all we really enjoyed the quality of the food at Skip Jack's, as well as the ambiance and the service.  We decided we definately will return to try some Caribbean Lobster and ribeyes in the near futureJ

Eye-roll

I haven’t written a post in a about a week, mostly because I was having a bit of an emotional struggle last week (largely due to PMS).  PMS mood swings are weird, it’s like taking a little something you’re bothered by and then adding crack to it.  Luckily it only lasts a couple days.  I’ve just been having a bit of a rough time adjusting these past couple weeks.  When I first got here it felt like I had a lot of things to do, I had work from home, coffee cart a few days a week, lots of Spouse’s Org events, new friends to meet, things to learn about the island.  Then June came and it’s like someone hit the brakes. I turned in my assignment from home and haven’t gotten anything else from them to work on…hopefully not because they realized I have horrible writing skills J  Coffee cart shifts slowed to once a week.  It feels like my life only consists of sitting around our quiet apartment all day, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, cleaning, going to the gym, maybe hanging out for a bit with a friend.  I’m literally a housewife.  And I feel like if I can complain people are like “(eye roll) Whatever, you are hanging out on a beautiful island with your husband, you don’t have to work, I want your life”.  I feel guilty because that’s what I would have said.  I imagine myself sometimes in LA, sitting at my desk, looking at some pain in the ass friend of mine on facebook complaining about her boring little tropical life wishing I could trade with her and she could come work 8 hours a day at the VA.  Thinking that if I were her I’d be reading tons of books, maybe writing a book, maybe trying some internet therapy, maybe working at a school…oh the possibilities seem endless.  But in reality I feel like I’m stuck in a bit of a rut.  I would like to be doing those things but I can’t seem to find the motivation. 

This week, life doesn’t seem so bleak.  I’m determined to find something meaningful to do with my time on this island. I’ve applied for a teaching position at a local private school and I’m hopeful I’ll get it.  That would keep me busy and give me something new to complain about J  In 10 years I see myself working in a small private practice part-time doing psychotherapy, as well as teaching a couple community college classes to mix things up a bit.  If I could get a job teaching at a school it would be great because it could get some experience and see if it’s something I would like.  Plus it’s kinda nice that it’s only for a year so if I hate it, I don’t have to go back.

29, one of the best years of my life!

Well today is my last day in my twenties.  I think absolutely 29 was the very best year of my life, now I know why my grandmother chooses to turn 29 every year J  I spent many wonder days of this past year hanging out with friends, having dinner parties, BBQing, and drinking margaritas on the deck of our little apartment in Santa Monica.  We watched 3 of our good friends get married.  We vacationed in Kauai.  I got engaged and married to THE MOST WONDERFUL MAN IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I gained a new mom, dad, step-parents and brother…all wonderful in-laws, I feel so lucky. I ran a marathon, which is one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever experienced!  We sold all of our belongings.  I drove across the country for the first time. And I moved to the beautiful island of St Maarten in the Caribbean.  And I became an aunt.

What an adventure, I don’t know if I can top that.

Tomorrow I begin my new adventures as a thirty-something year old woman!  A lot of women get very nervous about turning 30.  I think it’s going to be a wonderful decade…we will be settling into our careers, we’re married, we will start a family, will live in different cities, travel, and hopefully buy a house (if we’re lucky and can afford to with all the crazy student loan payments we’re going to have to pay every month J).  Thirty here I come!

(We took this picture minutes after Josh proposed, one of my happiest moments J)

Kaydence…my new niece.

Yesterday morning I got a call early from my mother, I knew something was up because it’s even earlier on the west coast…  “I have some news,….(extra-long pause, during which my mind races with all the juicy possibilities)… your brother has a 5 month old daughter”.  “Um, excuse me?!  Which brother? How?”.  Turns out my oldest brother Jovani found out the night before, through a paternity test, that he was in fact the biological father of a 5 month old little girl named Kaydence.  Absolutely, no warning just bam we have a baby in our family now.  The first grandchild. I’m an aunt. Here’s where I’ll admit I’m a little jealous, that I’ve got 6 years on my oldest brother and I didn’t get to supply the first grandchild.  I kinda knew that was going to happen because Josh and I won’t start trying until I’m 34 and that’s a little late but never-the-less it stings just a little bit.  I know, I’m a total brat J

The good news is now my mother is a grandmother just like she’s been wanting, so the pressure is off me J 

It’s weird to suddenly be an aunt though with no 9 months to get used to the idea.  It’s kind of a shock.  I really want to meet her but I just left California and we won’t be back for a visit until Christmas.  By then she’ll be almost a year old.  Everyone will get to know her and we’ll be auntie Lyssa and uncle Josh off in the Caribbean.  I’m realizing that being away from family will be hard, especially when we all start having kids. 

Here are a few pictures of my beautiful new niece, Kaydence Grace…

Moving is not fun.

       Yesterday we moved into a different apartment, a studio with a loft.  Part of the reason we took the old studio is we really wanted to live at Tradewinds which has a good reputation of being a safe and nice building, and not screwing you out of your deposit at the end of you stay.  Also we knew our landlords had a bigger studio with a loft becoming available after the first semester that we would have first dibs on.  When it became available after only a month I was excited, our old apartment wasn’t bad but the bed took up a large part of our living space and the furniture was kind of stiff. We didn’t have a full-sized fridge, no oven and no ventilation in our kitchen (and for someone who likes to cook this is a problem).  Now we have much more space, enough space now for an air mattress in our living room for those of you who want to visit.  Our new place is on the top floor, which is a lot more private.  I just hate living on the bottom floor where people walk by and look into your windows.  We have windows on both sides of our apartment now so the tradewinds can breeze through and cool down the place, and from the right side of the breakfast bar you can see the ocean J 

            Two wonderfully nice and generous friends of mine, Allie and Jackie, offered to help me move.  I said no thank you, we came with only 2 bags a piece I think I can handle it on my own.  So I sent Josh off to study and began my little task for the day.  Boy oh boy did I underestimate what a pain in the butt moving would be!  I do this every single time I move.  Lesson never learned.  We didn’t really have boxes so I made a hundred little trips up and down 3 flights of stairs in hot and humid weather (actual trips, probably closer to say 10 but 100 adequately captures my level of exhaustion).  Josh came home and was like, “Did you move anything?” and I was like “Um, I’m going to have to kill you if you make comments like that”.  So he helped with the really big stuff, which did not put him in the happiest of moods.  Needless to say it was a very trying evening and we’re still not finished.  Josh is not at all happy right now that we decided to move L

Here are pictures of our  new place…