off to europa!!!

so im not sure if anyone ever reads this anymore since i never write on it anymore!!! but, i leave for france tomorrow and i think my brain needs to ramble a bit before i go! erin and i will be playing 7 shows all over france and one in switzerland over the next 3 weeks. we are SO excited to travel together and spread some of her lovely music in another land for a while. you can check out our full schedule on www.myspace.com/theerinsband or www.myspace.com/erincolebaker. also her new cd is about to be released in bend december 12th- downtown next door to footzone at the liberty theatre! should be a fun night with casey parnell opening things up and a full band backing erin cb!!!

as for me, i am nearly halfway done with my 3rd year of medical school. i started clinical rotations this year with internal medicine, hematology/oncology, pediatrics, and endocrinology. i am skipping ob/gyn right now in order to go play music in france, but plan on making it up during a year of orthopaedic research ill probably be doing next year.

trying to branch out

so, this morning i decided i'd like to try out a new coffee place. i usually go to murky coffee, or tryst. both offer a fun little bike ride to get there, fantastic coffee (and food at tryst), awesome music, and plenty of other people hanging out, reading, studying, chatting- so i don't feel so isolated. today i thought i'd try out a place i'd seen around dupont- the soho tea and coffee shop.

Lesson #1- when tea precedes coffee in the title, there might be a valid reason- like the coffee SUCKS.

So i pulled, parked my bike, glanced at an article posted on the door about the women who own the joint- apparently they just got married up north- and i entered the new realm. A pleasant enough atmosphere at first glance- tons of large bright fun pieces of art adorning the walls, a variety of choices for seating- tables and chairs, benches, sofas and armchairs.

The menu looked nice- lots of options for breakfast and lunch and even a wine mango smoothie that sounded nice. but, since i had already had my signature banana pancakes for breakfast, i decided on the usual- a small skim latte.

first of all it came in a tall glass- kind of weird, but a tall glass with a handle- so doable. no latte art, not surprising, barely any frothy goodness to speak of anyway, and HORRIBLE tasting. tasted like old burnt watered down coffee with some milk. YUCK. unfortunately i was in no mood to deal, so i just proceeded to choke down about half of it and get to studying.

next problem- the music- it was quiet, and it was techno. pretty much can't get any worse than that. so i plugged in the old ipod and did my own deal.

interesting morning at soho. turns out it is kind of a gay hang out, so i was one of the only women in there the whole time. a few people started to come in and either read the article on the door and turned around, or stepped in for a moment and then went right back out. weird.

anyhow, i got through a lecture and then decided to find some lunch. i proceeded to Java Green, my new FAVOrite lunch spot just a few blocks away. i had heard of it before and always wanted to check it out. it's one of the only organic and eco-friendly places around. what a treat! i got some crazy spicy dish with rice, cabbage, kale, carrot and mushrooms- i think it was called ba bim bop, or something like that! and to make it even more fun, i ran into will- this guy that i sort of know from murky coffee. turns out he grew up in portland, i always thought he reminded me of home. anyways, running into people i know in the city is always a joy, a fairly rare occurrence.

so, not a bad day- thumbs down on soho, and two enthusiastic thumbs up for java green.

until next time,
e.

The New

a lovely music video by Erin Cole-Baker featuring beautiful Bend, Oregon in the fall, Joe Kimmel as her brother, Chrissi Wright as her sister, and my parents as her parents! Such a beautiful song and a great 1st video!!! enjoy!


Erin Cole-Baker "THE NEW" Music Video from FARfromEARTH Films on Vimeo.

home SWEET SWEET home

so- i'm home. and so far, this place continually exceeds my expectations.

i flew in friday evening (with jesse jackson on my first leg to chicago and doug booster on my last leg to bend!) i made it just in time for the real beginning of winter in bend! what a treat- fresh snow, that has stopped intermittently to give some glimpses of blue skies and sunshine before enveloping us again in this snowglobe fairytale experience. I have only been at home twice- to sleep. i wake early and head to my favorite coffee shop- and see where the day will take me, who will enter in and out, and what i will see, learn, realize, awaken in this brain/heart that has been in such a foreign place these last few months(physically and mentally).

the best part has been quality time spent with joe kimmel- an artist in the truest sense, and thus, an intriguing character with thoughts a million miles from these train tracks. i think intense scientific study leaves me LONGING for anything different, something subjective, something less logical and a little more emotional, something beautiful and creative and unknown. Listening to his ideas, walking through his paintings, watching his latest ideas unfold- has been real medicine to my soul. do i still love science and med school and the fairly concrete nature of what i am doing? heck YES! but i need both! we all do.

a glimpse at day one:

started my day at the Backporch with a DELICIOUS latte and a bagel from sparrow. YUM. chatted with the friends behind the counter- always a joy. even got to cup the kenyan coffee i brought from Murky Coffee next to their freshly roasted kenyan- what a treat.

Met up with Beth- my old office manager/awesome friend and her new baby warren. i couldn't get enough of the little guy- so smiley and warm and cuddly. he smelled so good- made me want to buy baby shampoo for myself! ran into a girl from high school and her husband and CUTE kids- fun to chat with them too.

Then, off to toomies for lunch with another old friend. fun to see the crew there and eat some much longed for paht thai- pa style!

next i headed to footzone to see the awesome people there- always puts a huge smile in my heart to see them. may have walked out of there with some new socks, among other things...

now back to backporch to see the cole-bakers and meet back up with joe to head to the indie craft fair at gossamer- which was AMAZING. live music, tons of creative vendors, and overall good vibes.

then off to see some of joe's recent work hanging in blue and treefort downtown. it is such a treat just to see the pieces, but to hear the backstory and the thought process involved- this is priceless.

we had a great visit with my friend irene at her little apartment on the river. as usual i found her in her recliner ready for newport market dinner and a beer. she pretty much rules. she's roughly 80 something... i can't remember exactly, but she is a gem and always has a new vocab word for me to consider- smart cookie.

hunger called us to kebaba for flat bread and hummous followed by delicious tuna kebabs. waiting for the appropriate time to return to backporch yet again for some after hours music a la casey parnell... joe and i decided turkish coffee was the best and tastiest way to kill time. loved it- fun little pots of cardomom flavored coffee to enjoy.

music at backporch was awesome- packed room and great music made for a perfect ending to my first day back.

i LOVE home.

somewhere to vent- please...

life here is so weird sometimes. people are so foreign. their minds are thinking in such a different universe than mine. don't get me wrong- that's part of the joy of being here. but also a large part of the difficulty. at least at home i know my friends know and understand my mind, and for the most part come from a similar understanding and ideology. here i feel like a complete alien. i feel like i'm back in junior high where i first realized girls were crazy and boys were more fun and easier to have real friendships with. i feel like everyone wants a little, or a LOT, of drama in their lives. instead of just living and enjoying, they are creating these mini dramas that they can star in. i don't even want to be an extra in any of these dramas. i want back my good life. my good friends. my friends that wrestle with the real dramas going on in the world. that wrestle with how to step into the drama of life and make a positive impact. people that are passionate about things bigger than themselves. people concerned with more than their teeny tiny little existence. people that are comfortable in their own skin, and vocal and honest about their discomforts so that others can be thoughtful in their interactions. people that seek truth, and speak truth, and put more weight on truth than feelings. i miss you guys. i miss you a lot. please come and visit. and remind me that i am not alone in the world.

must break to blog

I'm bored. I'm sitting in murky coffee, a wonderful little gem in Northern Virginia where I often enjoy a cappucino or an iced tea whilst endlessly studying on a comfy couch. Today I've only made it through one pathology lecture so far... cancer lecture- ugh. I don't like cancer. Who does though?? No one. It SUCKS. Bad. Anyways, here's some fun pictures.

There are a few more photos from the wonderful Sisters Folk Festival to post:

Also, the other Erin came out here to DC to visit for a week. Here are some photos and videos from our house partay and our out and about exploits...

some pictures to share

from both homes...

here's a few from the
Sisters Folk Festival 2008
(more to come)

Roommates in DC- yesterday was steph's birthday

















fun family style dinner at bucca di beppo, and cupcakes and wine at home!