Guest Blogger: Bestie Melissa

You know that one person in your life you would trust with anything? Melissa is that girl to me. We've known each other since birth and have gone through just about everything together. I can't believe she's agreed to blog! Valedictorian of her high school class in 199* (hahaha), this girl has a knack for writing. We're all in for a real treat today. =) Meet my best friend...

WARNING.  This is going to be long.  I’ve been known to go into too much detail when telling stories, so please be patient and bear with me as you read this post, my first ever blogspot entry.  To be honest I didn’t even want to write a post because I feel pressure to uphold the insightful and engaging entries that j always authors. (blah)  That alone initiated my overthinking, and so a day went by with no post.  Sorry j.  But because she “promised” you prior to my arrival, here is a recap of the past couple of days and a peek inside my over-explanatory mind. 

A trip on a whim:

The last time I was up in San Jose was right before summer camp.  Aim and I came up a couple of days early to hang out with J and Josh.  I had not gotten to see the newlywed’s pad since their wedding in May and so it was a convenient time to come visit.  Since that time, J and Josh came back home relatively frequently to help with wedding stuff for Aim and Blane and then later Leah and Sherwin…so I didn’t really have to come up to visit.

But with all the wedding stuff said and done and after not getting to hang out much during my Christmas time off due to her back, I figured it was time I made a trip specifically to spend time with my bestie.  The weekends in January were quickly filling up with an uber fancy wedding to attend and various meetings, so the original plan was to go up sometime during February.   Unfortunately, available weekends next month are limited and none of them seemed to work out.  SO, after finding out that a meeting I thought I had to go to got scheduled for last weekend, I quickly asked J if they were free for this weekend and booked a flight up.   The time between the moment I realized this weekend was available and the time I booked my flight was probably about 2 hours…I’d say definitely a trip planned on a whim – at least a whim compared to my usually pre-scheduled fun time haha.  This trip also came at a perfect time because I wanted to visit Evan.  He’s been on my heart and mind since I heard about his accident and so found this a good opportunity to do so.  It seems like the Lord worked things out so I could have this time up here!

Anticipation for this trip has been escalating since the weekend, and contributing to it, were J’s daily texts marking the time til my arrival: “T-minus 4 days!” and counting.  Thanks for being so excited J! =) My plane touched down 15 minutes early so I got to enjoy the beauty and calm pace of the San Jose airport.  When I first stepped out into the terminal, I thought they had a serene nature soundtrack playing in the background, until I saw a live bird fly through the open space haha.  Gross.  Anyways, first stop after being picked up by my wonderful hosts was yummy frozen yogurt/custard from Willow Glenn Creamery.  The lady there, Heather, was so nice, letting us sample locally made ice cream and different flavors of yogurt, even throwing a couple jokes our way.  She was a great start to this weekend, so of course, we had to take a picture with her.   Back at the apartment, I got to reap the benefits of J’s time spent preparing her already spick and span place for me, with blankets set out and a trio set of towels hung neatly in the bathroom.  It was fun just hanging out chatting with J on the couch while Josh played Call of Duty, and then watching tv.  Thus marks the end of night one.

Day one began after a little sleeping in, quickly finishing a report for work, and then munching on some Special K and a banana.  The first and most important part of our agenda for the day was to go visit Evan at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.  Getting there was an adventure in itself, as J willingly trusted me to drive her manual car on busy streets and freeways to get there.  The extent of my stick shift driving has been around the block a few times, in areas free of hills and not so many cars.  Praise the Lord for the easy-going, more slow paced speed of drivers, protected left turns, for not having to start from a full stop on a hill, and for J’s calm confidence.  Phew! We made it safely.  After walking to one building and being redirected to another, and being escorted to the correct wing of the center, we walked into Ev’s room as he was getting ready to transfer from his bed to his wheelchair.  In OT school I learned about spinal cord injuries and practiced providing treatment in situations such as these.  Despite that and although having read all the email updates and seeing some pictures, I wasn’t quite prepared to see the reality of this changed life for a friend who, at times, has been like a little brother.  It was nice getting to spend some time hanging out and talking with Evan and his mom, seeing the facility that is aiding in his recovery process, meeting some of the nurses and therapists that are working with him, watching him work hard during exercise group, and discovering that though it all, Evan is the same Evan I’ve always known.   We’re going back on Sunday to throw down a little Spades tournament and I can’t wait to take him down…that is unless he’s my teammate.  Then we’ll win. =)  My prayer for him during this time is that he’d see the hand of the Lord in his situation and that in this, his life would be a witness of hope and faith to those around him.  

After visiting Evan, J and I moseyed on down to the nearby mall, in need of some sustenance since all we had eaten was some cereal that morning.   Stomachs full, we sought out caffeine.  Though originally looking for a Starbucks, we ended up finding coffee it in the most convenient of places, Williams-Sonoma!  You know how they always have samples of their goods?  Yesterday was a blueberries and cream cookie with whatever delicious coffee they had.  They were both the perfect amount to give us a little pick-me-up.  I love to cook, though I don’t do it very often, and walking around in that store is so much fun!  J had a return to make and then wanted to find a dutch oven.  Being of the Asian descent that I am, I’m always on the lookout for a good deal, and boy did we find it!  She hit paydirt with a perfectly sized, food browning, and self-basting  pot and I found the most amazing deal for 2 pans – pretty much getting both for the price of one.  Funny thing is that I ended up buying what J had returned! Haha.  We didn’t know it was on sale at the time of the return.

Traffic, thankfully, was not terrible as she navigated and I drove back to her apartment, once again praying that I would not have to stop on an incline.  Josh was already home when we returned but since we had eaten such a late lunch and he just had a snack, we sat down to recap our day and decided to cook dinner later.  J has become quite the housewife and makes lists and plans out her menu for the week.  She has bookmarked some yummy recipes and this one did not disappoint.  Goggles for onion cutting and water logged meat made dinner prep quite memorable and we ended up with picture perfect bbq sliders and chips as payoff.

I am so thankful to have this weekend to spend up here.  Thankful for my best friend, thankful for the husband that takes care of her, thankful for Evan’s life, and thankful to the Lord for giving me this time.  I am truly blessed!  If you made it to the end of this post, congratulations and thanks for sticking with it!    See you back in LA! ~ Melissa