You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2009.
1. When is your birthday? April
2. Where were you born? Maryland
3. Where do you live now? Texas
4. What is your heritage? Father – Colombian Mother – Caucasian mutt
5. Tell us about a weakness. Procrastination.
6. What’s a goal that you’d like to achieve? Write a book.
7. What is the most over-used internet phrase? For me, it’s a toss-up between OMG and LOL. I hate LOL. Oh, and Rpatz.
8. What was your first thought this morning? Ugh.
9. When do you usually go to bed? Anytime between 10:00 and 11:30pm.
10. Do you smoke? If not, did you ever? No and never. Gross.
11. Do you like your current relationship status? I do until I get the urge to cuddle.
12. Do you (or did you) get along with your parents? Now I do. There was a long bumpy road with my father.
13. How often do you drink alcohol? Maybe a few times a year.
14. Have you ever tried drugs (that weren’t prescribed)? No
15. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? Is yes, do tell. No.
16. If given the choice, how would you like to die? I want to die very happy, very old, very alert, and very able in my sleep having just spent a great time with all my family.
17. What did you want to be when you grew up? I always said I wanted to be a doctor until I was 14-years-old and realized that meant more school. I was ready to quit at that point.
18. Have you ever been dumped? Yes? The feeling was mutual, but he got to the point first during that conversation.
19. What’s on your pizza? Pepperoni and extra cheese or the meat lovers
20. Have you ever shoplifted? Yes. My mother wouldn’t buy me pretty panties so I improvised.
*From Sunday Stealing
I walked into the station this morning, and the night’s charge nurse asked, “You know you’re charging, right?” Ummm…no. I ran through the list of senior nurses who are always there. Not today.
The day was okay. Not too much went on as far as charging duties, but it was my first day to charge alone. The nurses working with me were all fairly new except for the ICU nurse who was pulled to our station, though she was unfamiliar with our routine and discharge procedures.
I had to get the right people to come down and fix our copier. It had an error message (F-77-o2 something or other) and a sad-faced man wearing a tie and carrying a suitcase. Seriously weird, never seen it before, and it took all day to get it fixed.
I took care of assignment changes at 3pm. I checked our crash cart. I helped my nurses with whatever they needed. My patients were great.
It really was a good day, and yet I left with a headache over the additional stress of responsibility. Nothing happened, but the idea that something could happen kept me on edge.
I leave for a family reunion today. My mom’s side. The crazy side. Some that I haven’t seen since I was 12. Only, thanks to the genius that is my grandmother, the craziest (and most annoying) are not going to be there. See, my grandmother planned the whole thing, and she decided we should reunite on a Monday through Wednesday. Not the weekend or over an actual holiday so that people would be freer to attend.
My awesome uncle was originally the planner. First he suggested a cruise. Grandma’s afraid of water. Next! His next idea was to rent out cabins at this great campground. Horseback riding. Tubing down a river. Plenty of activities to keep you busy when you’ve had enough of them for a while. The entire side of the family basically ignores the idea and his calls for head counts and small deposits so that he can book the location.
He gives up, and Grandma takes over. Her (and I’m guessing my aunts) first idea is to take the reunion outside the country. I have one aunt that lives in another country. My mom suggests that it may not be such a good idea as it makes the trip more expensive,and we want as many people as possible to attend. She suggests they choose a more central location for the entire family. The shunning ensues. Seriously. They got mad at my mother and took her statement as an attack on the aunt. They actually wrote hurtful things on the family blog. The idiots didn’t realize that Facebook is a public site, so they continued their conversations there as well.
The same idiots who threw such a fit are the ones not attending at all for financial reasons. Yeah, they can’t afford to go to this reunion that is thousands upon thousands of dollars cheaper ($55 a person, total – not counting travel expenses), but the trip out of the country? No problem. It’s better that way, though deep down I think I was looking forward to seeing if they were as stupid and small in person.
Grandma eventually decides to rent a small church campground. Old-school dorms. A place to eat. And nothing else. Nothing. This is her suggested reunion schedule:
Reunion Schedule
3:ooPM Arrival at camp
Unpack, move in, visit etc.
5:45 -6:30 PM Supper in Dining Hall
6:30-7:00 PM Break
7:30-9:00 PM Campfire
Bring instruments and be prepared to sing
Grandpa will tell his infamous ghost story
9:00PM-? Table games (bring your favorite to share)
or just visit
10:30-12:00AM Bedtime, your choice
7:00 AM Rise and shine
Shower, Dress, and put the room in order
7:45 AM Devotions for those interested in sharing
Dining Hall
8:15-8:45 AM Breakfast in the Dining Hall
9:00 AM Family meeting in Dining Hall
10:00AM-Noon Group Games for all ages
12:15-1:00 PM Lunch in the Dining Hall
1:00-3:00 PM Free time
Rest, nap, visit or whatever
2:00-4:00 PM Store open
3:00-5:00 PM Outside Games
Volleyball, Baseball, Basketball, your choice
5:45-6:30 PM Supper in the Dining Hall
6:30-7:30 PM Break
7:30-8:30 PM Can you top this Joke time, bring your best!
9:oo PM-? Trivia Game( Open to suggestions for which game)
Family competition: enter your best trivia
player for the win!
10:30- 12:00 AM Bedtime
7:00 AM Rise and Shine
7:45 AM Devotions
8:15 – 8:45 AM Breakfast in the Dining Hall
9:00 AM Break
10:00 AM Clean up Camp
11:00 AM Closing Circle and Goodbyes
Yes, she and my grandfather used to run church camps.
This is what I’ll be doing for the next few days. It almost sounds cute. Grandpa telling a scary story. I asked my mom about it, and she said the only scary part was that he used to jump through the fire at the kids. Yeah, Grandpa’s not doing that with a missing hip and a walker. Outdoor sports? The majority of these people will not be participating. The trivia game has now turned into family trivia. We’ve got to come up with clues about ourselves on our drive to the camp.
I’m not looking forward to the trip, but I’m trying to shake it off and go with an attitude that will find enjoyment. At least in the few who I do admire and respect.
My God, I sound awful.
The other day one of the aides asked me if I ever watched One Tree Hill. She said I always reminded her of Kate Voegele.
Cool. Much better than the time someone told me I looked like a Hispanic Angelina Jolie since that dude was drunk, it was dark, and I was wearing a baseball cap.
I think its the eyes and lips that people are reading. I have some pretty strong features, and I think that’s often what people mean when they describe someone as striking. I don’t mean that in a “she’s so pretty” way so much as a “she doesn’t look like anyone I know” kind of way.
Those are the people that catch my eye, so it makes me feel good that I might do the same. Even if my nose is just a smidge too big.
Some of my favorite quotes from In Style‘s December interview with 17-year-old Taylor Lautner of Twilight fame:
What do you or don’t you like to see a girl wear?
I think a girl is most attractive when wearing sweats and just being herself. I don’t like when they try to get too dressed up. That’s why I’m not a big fan of high heels. I really like jeans with round-toe ballet flats. Also, ankle boots with a skirt or short dress.
Beyond food, what do you think makes a man?
You have to be able to be a sports guy and have friends to watch the Super Bowl with, but then also take your girl out for a walk and buy her clothes and jewelry.
So a guy should be tough and tender. Sounds like you’ve described Jacob’s rival, Edward Cullen.
Oh, but Edward can’t play football. Or transform into a wolf. Then again, I can’t sparkle in the sunlight.
Ha!
I took a work friend shopping yesterday. She had a 30% discount to Gap (and its affiliated stores) for the weekend and no car. I had a car and had been needing to get a warmer jacket.
Shrunken plaid peacoat originally priced at $118. On sale at $69.99. My total price – discount + tax came to $53.03.
That’s how I shop.
This Christmas will be the first in my new home, and I wanted to make it special. I’ve never had a real Christmas tree, so this is the perfect time to start a new tradition for myself.
I went to a local tree farm to pick out a pretty tree. Not too tall, not too skinny, not too fat, not too bare, not thick, plenty of room for presents, etc. I was surprised at how many people had already been by to tag their tree. You’ve got to come early to pick out the best.
I found my tree (7ft Virgina pine), did a happy dance, and filled out my tag. A sweet little old lady took my order. We chatted as she rang me up, and she gave me some tips for caring for my tree when I told her I was a newbie. As she handed me back my receipt, I asked her when would be the best time to come for the tree. I was thinking of its shelf life.
She responded, “Before the 25th.”
Smart ass.
I woke up crying the morning after I started reading this book. The dream was forgotten, but the searing loneliness remained.
An unnamed catastrophe has left the world a different place. Humanity has lost out to savagery. A father and son are on a difficult journey in the hope of finding something better in the ash and smoke.
It is a silent book. A quiet evisceration. Horrific scenes play out without melodrama. They are just two souls struggling to survive in the midst of stark brutality. Struggling to survive the cold that can crack rocks. Struggling to find food in a gray world. Struggling to elude the animals that man has become.
We’re going to be okay, arent we Papa?
Yes. We are.
And nothing bad is going to happen to us.
That’s right.
Because we’re carrying the fire.
Yes. Because we’re carrying the fire.
Their story is not about destruction and death. It is about a father’s love for his son. It is about a dying father with the impossible task of teaching his son how to survive this lifeless world alone while not killing the boy’s humanity.
Is it real? The fire?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I dont know where it is.
Yes you do. It’s inside you. It was always there. I can see it.
It is about a man keeping alive the hope of the world.
I had a patient tell me that the reason his blood pressure went up the night before was that he was watching UFC.
My God, today sucked.
Our hospital is currently doing a number on our hours. Overtime is no longer able to be scheduled. This means that we’ll be having a lot more people working 8 and 4 hour shifts rather than just the usual 12. This means our assigned groups change more often as we take on the patients of those leaving.
On top of this change, the lovely people above us decided to “tweak” the matrix as well. Our unit and the neighboring one are now considered one single unit to staffing. This means there are technically two nurses charging now. Though they each tend to their own unit as before, they have to do a lot more together to figure out assignments. While we occasionally would cover a few of their patients (and vice versa) when they were short, it is now a regular occurrence. It sucks for us, because we are literally having to work in two different stations. Our assigned group of patients are split onto two different sides of a floor. It’s a long walk. Charts are kept in different locations. You miss your doctor rounding because you’re at the other station. The other station can’t find you quickly. Our poor aides have to deal, too. Due to the “single unit” change, we now will have a total of 3 aides instead of the usual 4 when staffed as separate units.
In order to cut back on hours even more (temporarily they say), the two units are having to share one ward clerk. It makes for a massive jam on busy mornings. I try to put in at least my own orders, but I can’t keep up and get my regular work done, too.
New busy work: a sheet of paper is now put up in each patient’s room that is supposed to be initialed and checked ever hour. Even hours by nurses, odd hours by aides. I suppose to prove to someone (patients? families? administration?) that the patient has been seen every hour. (After 10p or so it drops to every 2 hours.) A useless paper that proves nothing because anybody could fill in however many time slots at any given time. It doesn’t go into the patient’s chart. (I don’t really know where it goes. To the manager?) And I know I didn’t get to it all tonight. It’s a new change, and by the end of the shift I have everything but that stupid little paper on my mind. I thought about it just before I clocked out, and I swiped my card anyway. What the hell. I was seeing some patients a lot more than once an hour.
Another new change thanks to a recent Walmart lawsuit: clocking out for lunches. Before we simply had 30 minutes automatically docked for lunch each shift. Apparently if it isn’t done just right, we’ll get put on some list that gets sent to administration. Cue the scary music. Ooooohhh
All of this was enough, but today Maria (New Nurse) worked with me since her precepter was out sick. My orientee Cindy was on her 2nd day officially on her own, and she had an overwhelming shift dealing with many, many new (to her) issues. So, I was basically precepting two nurses and covering two groups. My charge nurse was busy dealing with the clusterfuck of staffing issues all day long, rounding with all the docs, putting in orders, taking care of her patients,and at times covering for the other unit’s charge nurse.
And I was handed some packet (that I should have gotten months ago) to fill out and turn in at the end of the day. A packet that had to detail the time Cindy spent with me, the patient diagnoses we covered, her progress and goals week-by-week, and a whole lot of other bullshit. To be done and left in education’s box before I left. So that Cindy could work her next shift.
Today sucked hairy monkey ass.
*That didn’t occur as a direct result of patients and/or family
