a promise kept

As I'm sitting here, attempting to put into words something to fulfill my promise to write more, I have no words. With all that has happened lately, I still can't find the words to put it all down.

I guess I'll start with what I've been doing in between shifts in the ICU. Mostly, I just sleep. It usually takes me a full day after 3-12s before I feel normal. The past two weekends, I have been busy, however.

The weekend of July 10, 11, and 12th, I was busy with all the festivities involved in Valarie's wedding. It was worth all the lack of sleep. That Friday, we got our nails done and had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The dinner was at Maggiano's in the Galleria area. It was SOOO delicious, but way too much food. I went to bed that night (crashing at Jasmin's, who graciously allowed me to spend the night there so I didn't have to travel back and forth so much) feeling very full. Saturday was the wedding. But first we needed to get our hair done. So all the bridesmaids, the mother of the bride and mother of the groom, and of course the bride, hung out all morning getting pretty. Unfortunately, the photographer was there. Whoops. Oh well, it was a lot of fun. The ceremony itself was beautiful. So sweet, and not overly long. Okay, really, it was just so beautiful that I didn't notice the time. It might have gone on for years for all I knew. The reception was a blast. The food (more italian) was so delicious. I had such a fun time dancing and partying with Valarie, and my other friends. Valarie made the most beautiful, stunning bride I've ever seen. And she and Brandon were so happy. It was wonderful.

This past weekend, I flew out with Rita to Florida, for Kenna's wedding. Kenna is a good friend from high school that moved to Florida after college to live with her Fiance, Adam. Adam has made Kenna so happy and I couldn't be more thrilled for her. The weekend turned into a bit of a friends reunion, with Kayliegh and Amber flying out from California. Rita and I got in just in time for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, which was low-key but fun. We all had a few drinks, and just relaxed. Back at the hotel, we sat around the pool for a while catching up. I've never had so much fun just hanging with my friends. The day of the wedding, we took out Kenna and her parents for breakfast before Kenna had to whisk off to her hair appointment. While she was doing that, the rest of us got ready and got out of the hotel. Then it was wedding time! And just in time for the rain to start! But we all made it, albeit with slightly frizzy hair. The wedding was short and sweet, but so perfect for the two of them! After a few pictures and mingling around the church, Rita and I took off with everyone's stuff for the hotel in Daytona Beach (where the reception was, about 40 minutes from the church). We got us checked in and ran a few errands while waiting for the wedding party. When everyone arrived it was cocktails then the reception. The dinner was good, the speeches short, and the dancing so much fun. Okay, so the "guys" (I'd call them more of little boys for the amount of maturity they showed) weren't that great of company, but I had a blast with Rita, Kenna, Amber, and Kayleigh. After the reception we all hit the beach for a while, then turned in (way way too late considering our morning flights home). We did sleep with the curtains open so we could watch the sunrise over the beach though.
Flying home sucked. It was bad enough leaving our friends, but our flight was terrible. I shouldn't complain too much though, as we were lucky to get on that flight. Rita and I were flying Stand-By, and by some luck we got the last 2 seats on the plane. Since I had to work the next day, it was too important to me to be picky about the seats or flight. It was turbulent though. Terrible. I'm surprised I didn't ralf.

Other than that, I've pretty much just slept or watched TV. I swear, soon I'll get used to my work schedule and will have a full life again.

Dear Blog

Dear blog,

I'm sorry for ignoring you lately. I promise to try to write more crap to fill up all this empty blog space. I promise to write more crap, more often.

Please forgive me.

Linnea

long overdue

I swear eventually, I shall put out a proper blog filling in the cyber world on my life as of late. [Of course the lack of emails begging for a new post would suggest that very few people, if any, really read this, and it has become just a creative outlet for me, and me alone] Nonetheless, I shall continue writing, for the time being at least.

This weekend was Valarie's wedding. She was quite possibly the most beautiful bride I have ever seen in my life. Seriously, she was beyond stunning.

The whole ceremony was beautiful. Tons of people cried, myself included (it was all Brandon's fault...he had to go tear up when he saw his bride-to-be walking down the aisle). I did feel a little lost in the ceremony, as I have never been to a catholic mass let alone a Catholic wedding. I survived it alright and the ceremony flew by. After many, many pictures, we finally made our way to the reception. The hall was gorgeous. Valarie did an amazing job planning it all.

I had so much fun dancing with everyone, drinking wine, scarfing down food, eating cake, making toasts, and hanging out. I don't think I've had that much fun in a LONG, LONG time.

I wish I could say that pictures are to come, but as I left my camera at home, you won't be getting any from me. But I'm sure soon pictures will be surfacing all over Valarie's Facebook page.

Aside from the wedding stuff, I've just been working and being busy.

I'm trying to find time to celebrate my birthday that's coming up, but so far it doesn't look like there'll be much of a celebration. It's getting to be impossible right now to meld my schedule with anyone else's so that I can just hang out with my friends, let alone have some sort of celebration. But right now, I think (and it'll probably change soon) I'm just going to have a small dinner sometime around my birthday that hopefully at least one friend can come to. I think maybe the 29 or 30 is what I'm aiming for. Or maybe the 31st since that's a Friday and seems more likely for people to come then. We'll see. I don't want a huge party like last year (okay maybe I kind of do cause that was fun, but that's not possible this year). I'd just like to celebrate with someone. No gifts are necessary, just finally getting to hang out with my friends after not seeing anyone for several weeks thanks to work.

working woman

Just thought I'd update y'all on the wide world of being gainfully employed.

Today I got my first real check. I was so excited! Too bad Uncle Sam had to take so much out of it.

My first week of working on the floor was interesting. My first few days had a little bit of everything: long hours, exposure to TB, post-mortem care, sedated patients, and births in the ICU!

For the record though, the "exposure" to TB turned out to not be one, but for about an hour there, my preceptor and I thought we were screwed. We had been caring for a patient for 2 whole days when we found out that he had an active TB infection, or so Life Gift told us. Turns out he has a history of TB infection, but not actively infected at this time. Phew!

So far I'm not sure how I feel about the ICU. I think it's just a lot of getting used to. In a few weeks when I feel more comfortable, I think I will absolutely love it.

orientation

So I started orientation yesterday.

I was so nervous and excited rolled into one. Mostly I was just ecstatic about finally earning some much needed money.

So far, orientation has been pretty boring. We've really only done the typical [and painfully boring] stuff like going over the employee handbook, going over some of the paperwork stuff, etc. We did, however, finally get into the skills lab today and got a chance to play around with the equipment some. I hope it'll help me not to look like a complete idiot next week when I'm on the floor for the first time.

They handed out skills checklist packets to everyone, and all 3 of us in the ICU's packets are HUMONGOUS compared to everyone else's. Oh well. It'll be a fun learning process. My fellow ICU interns are so much fun and my nurse manager is amazing.

Hell, all the interns are pretty great. I'm having a blast getting to know them (and making ridiculous side-comments about all the crap they are going over with us).

Next week I start on the unit. I'll be doing a mixture of working with my preceptor and spending some time in the classroom going over unit-specific stuff that I have to learn. I have a feeling though that orientation will go way too fast and before I feel fully ready it'll be time for me to fly solo. Oh that thought scares me.

Went to my unit this afternoon to pick up some paperwork. The nurses were looking at me and Christie like we were fresh meat and they hadn't eaten in days. OI.

what it was really like

This post is for all my non-nursey friends out there who are all going, so what's the big deal with this NCLEX thing?

The NCLEX is our licensing board exam. You pass it: you're a nurse. You fail it: you get to take it again, but will most likely lose your job (since no one wants to hire a nurse who fails her boards). So much of our entire future is wrapped up in this exam.

It's a CAT (computerized adaptive test), which means it makes it up as it goes along [not the questions, those come from a testing bank, but the number of questions and the level of knowledge the question requires]. For the RN exam, you can get anywhere from 75 to 265 questions. Basically, if you are doing okay, but not great, it'll keep giving you questions until the CAT decides you've either done well enough to pass or are screwing up so badly that you fail. And when it cuts off, you don't know which it is. Everyone thinks it's because they are screw ups...but that's just the nature of the test.

So Thursday night I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned all night, feeling woefully unprepared and wishing I could change my exam date but knew it was too late for that. Friday I barely forced down a bagel before leaving, knowing I had to have something in my stomach.

When I arrived, I saw Luis in the parking lot. Then Tracy pulled up, then Emily. The four of us walked in together. I felt infinitely better walking in to the testing center with them. I didn't feel so alone. Of course, we were also feeding off of each other's nerves.

We each took a number as we went in. I was number 3. When she called my number, I had to go up there with my ATT (authorization to test) and my driver's license. She had me give my finger print and I had to sign my name on this little electronic thing that you can't look at your signature while you do it. She made me sign my name 4 times. Apparently it had to match the signature on my DL. Then I took a picture where I'm sure I looked terrible in. I was so nervous and didn't bother making myself pretty that morning. I was going to take a freaking test, who needs make-up and a comb? I locked up all my belongings in a little locker (including my watch and hair clip since these were not allowed in the testing center). Then I headed back to the exam.

The lady at the door went over the rules. She explained that if I needed more pens or another dry-erase board, all I had to do was raise them up. Apparently every inch of the computer room was video and audio monitored. She then had me turn all my pockets inside out and checked me for any concealed items or any way of cheating. What's next, a strip search? Where am I? Prison?? After all of this, I had to show my ID again and use my finger print to get in the room.

Then I sat down and began the test. After going through an annoying tutorial on how to answer the questions (as if I had never taken a computer exam before), I got my first question. It was a medication calculation question. Oh shit. So this is how it's going to be today. For me to get a med calculation question felt like a cruel twist of irony [remember the D&S debacle?].

Each time I hit "submit" I was sure I was killing my score. I just knew that I must be getting most of these wrong. Every question I was torn. Is this right? Maybe it's that other one? Maybe they wanted me to be thinking about bleeding not ICP issues. Maybe I'm way off. What the hell? Why am I guessing on the NCLEX?!? I know nothing!

I kept looking at the time counting down and looking at the question number. When will I be done? I felt like I would never reach 75, and I was sure that it was not going to cut off at 75. I knew that when that happened, I would cry. I just wanted to be done. I wanted to quit at question 30, how was I supposed to survive past 75?

Finally, I was getting close to 75, and feeling worse and worse and worse. Then I got to question 75. I'm not even sure I really tired on that one. I just wanted to hit submit. And when I did, the computer stopped. Is it frozen?!? Am I done?? Then the it said, "you have finished the NCLEX".

As I walked out, I had to do the finger print thing again. My hand was shaking so much it took a little while to get a good reading. I felt like crying, or screaming. Tracy finished at the same time as me and we rode the elevator down together. I was shaking. I wanted to cry.

I got a phone call from Emily on the way home. She was crying. Positive she failed. I didn't know what to think. I felt like a miserable failure, but then again, it cut off at 75, that's a good sign right??

I went home and crashed. Slept all afternoon, not wanting to think about the exam at all.

This morning I was woken up at 8 am by a phone call from Emily. The results are up. She passed!! So I got up, logged in to Pearson Vue, paid my $7.95, and my heart stopped beating.

Then in tiny little letters it said: "grade: PASS".

HALLELUJAH! I did it! I passed!!! Holy crow! I'm a nurse now! I can keep my job!!!

Congrats to my nursey friends

This post is dedicated to my wonderful, talented, and now licensed friends!
These are two of the funniest people I know. And now they are officially nurses! (that's right these two crazies are now licensed, so everyone watch out and be VERY careful which hospitals you go to for medical treatment)
To that crazy, wonderful, amazing Deanne. You rock chica! Crazy fun and are going to make a kick-ass pedi nurse.

Valarie, I am so proud of you! I knew you could do it! You are going to be one hell of a nurse and the L&D world is so lucky to have you.
Jerusha, you did it!!!! You are such a wonderful, sweet, compassionate person. I'm so proud of you!

To everyone else, sorry I ran out of decent pictures to throw up here, but I am proud of all of you! Congrats Michael, Lisa, Elizabeth, Charlotte, and everyone else I can't think of right now. Congratulations to all of you!! Now go celebrate!

so glad it's over with

Took the NCLEX today.

It sucked.

Now I just have to sit around and wait, hoping that the BON will put up the results as soon as possible. I hate waiting.

The first question I got was a medication calculation question. I felt like, oh shit, this is a sign of what's to come.

But I survived.

I'm so glad it's over with.

NCLEX and stress

I feel like the day of reckoning is coming.

I take the NCLEX on Friday.

It's the test. My entire future [okay that is a tad dramatic, but my current job is definitely riding on it] is riding on this exam.

I spent today (and like the last week) doing hard-core studying and I was feeling pretty good.

But the anxiety is back.

I guess the anxiety is better than feeling down. I'm so sick of feeling down.

I'm sick of feeling stressed. I'm sick of being so up and down and all over the place. I'm ready to be normal, happy, stable again. I thought once school was over it would wash away and I'd be back more to me without all the nursing school BS and stress. Guess not. Living with my parents again, worrying about the NCLEX, not seeing my friends on a regular basis, not having any money to do anything fun at all, and wondering what this new career I am about to embark on has me feeling rather discombobulated and unstable.

I suppose it'll pass.

best and worst thing

Moving back home has been the best, and worst, thing that I've ever done for myself.

On the one hand, it's exactly what I needed as I have about $10 to my name. That last week before I moved home I went to the grocery store and could only afford to buy one thing. So I bought more cat food for my kitten Greta. I lived off of slightly moldy bread, tap water, and 100 calorie pack cookies for the last 2 days I was in my apartment.

I'm so broke right now, it's not even funny. Thanks to my [former] crap-hole apartment screwing me out of $184, I can't even go on my friend's bachelorette party trip to Padre. I can't buy gas for my car. I couldn't even buy aloe for my nasty sunburn last week. And thanks to our lovely economy, the only monetary assistance my parents can provide me is a roof over my head and some food (provided I don't eat too much and don't mind cheap food).

I say this is the worst thing I've done for myself because living with my family again is very hard. I'm not just talking about losing my independence and what not (because my parents are very flexible and I can go wherever, whenever-you know if I had money; they really don't care). Mostly I'm talking about adjusting to being around people again....(if you could see my editing of this blog, here's where you'd see a whole HUGE paragraph deleted. While it felt great to write that out, I'm just not ready to share that tidbit with anyone in the world who feels like reading my blog today).

Having no real study space has become a huge pain the last few days. My stuff and my parent's terrible-pack-rat-accumulated-crap is everywhere. They had been using my bedroom as a storage room, so now all that crap is all over the house, not to mention all the stuff from my apartment. I'm trying to find places for it, to put all my stuff (and theirs) away, but it's not going well. So I'm stuck sitting on my bed in my room for privacy. Attempting to study in the same room you've sat in for four days to get away from the crazy does not end well. Not only am I getting stir crazy, but my family won't leave me alone! I keep telling them I am studying, that I need peace and quiet and no distractions. Yet they keep coming to bother me. Tomorrow I am going to the library. I can't take it anymore.

I'm so upset/worked up/down/whatever about my current monetary and living situation that I'm back to not sleeping well again. Okay, to be fair, I never did sleep that great to begin with. Still, being wide awake at 3:30 am despite trying to sleep is quite annoying.

So if I jump in my car and show up at your doorstep randomly at an odd hour of the day, know it's my last-ditch effort to preserve what is left of my sanity by escaping.

sunburn from hell

warning: this blog contains some disgusting details of my sunburn and a PSA for sunscreen in it. Reader discretion advised.

Last Tuesday, I went to the Rec Center, to enjoy a little bit of sunshine and go swimming for a little while. I figured I'd sneak in a last trip or two to the rec center before our "membership" was completely abolished.

Instead, I ended up with the sunburn from hell.

It started off with horrible tan lines from my bathing suit and a bright red, lobster look to the entire front of my body. Using the Rule of Nines, I estimated my total BSA burned to be about 51%. It was miserable. And of course I was at my apartment with no after-sun lotion, no aloe, and so completely broke I couldn't even go buy some from the grocery store.

Wednesday morning I woke up so sore where the sunburn was. I was a maroonish-red (go look at the cover of our pedi books and that's what I looked like). I looked like an alien, or a tomato, or something.

Thursday the blisters appeared. That's right, my shoulders, chest, and upper arms were no covered with blisters. Disgusting, horrible, blisters. The weeping, easily ruptured, horrible little blisters. Not only was I now covered in blisters, had the disgusting tan lines, and was pink everywhere else, but now my shoulders were so raw that it hurt to move them. And of course I'm still trying to move, so I'm at my apartment packing, moving heavy furniture, and cleaning, all while in some pain.

Friday, the pain was much much worse. I couldn't even lift my left arm up because any movement that caused my skin to stretch caused extreme pain to me. Luckily, the dress I had picked out to wear to Derek's wedding covered the disgusting sunburn. Too bad something as simple as holding the steering wheel caused me so much pain.

Saturday, the blisters were starting to disappear and I was beginning to peel. Joyful....disgusting, peeling skin. The pain was still pretty awful; and I still had way too much stuff to do at my apartment.

Sunday, the blisters are finally gone, but the pain is still around. Stupid ass sunburn.

Now it's Tuesday, one week since the horrible sunburn appeared, and it's still awful. Everything but my shoulders and upper chest has healed. I'm peeling all disgustingly and look like a crusty old lady with terribly dry skin. I'll deal with the peeling and tan lines though, as long as the horrific pain is gone. It still stings a little, but it's nothing compared to the pain I was feeling this past weekend. Seriously it was bring-tears-to-my-eyes-begging-for-morphine-wanting-to-chop-off-my-arm-to-make-it-stop pain. The worst part was any little movement, and extra pressure from my t-shirt, and little thing would bring on the pain again.

Moral of the story: wear sunscreen!!!! Even if you think you won't be exposed to too much sun, or it's overcast, still put some on! Save yourself the pain and anguish of a sunburn and help reduce your risk of developing skin cancer by investing in some SPF 30. Sunscreen is especially important if you are going swimming! Invest in a good sport sunscreen or reapply frequently. Learn from my idiocy.

moving

I hate moving!

All that packing, unpacking, taking apart furniture crap SUCKS.

And as a result of my complete loathing for packing, my apartment is only half ready to move out, and people are coming in the next hour to help me move stuff.

Oh well. It'll get done eventually. I'm just being entirely too lazy (and loving it) to care much right now. Besides, if I wait until my family gets here to pack some of this stuff, then I'll get plenty of help with it!!

things I should be doing instead of this

10 things I should be doing instead of blogging:

1) unloading my car full of stuff (trip 1 out of many for the great move back to the rent's)
2) helping my mom move all of the boxes from the storage room (aka my old bedroom soon to be my bedroom again)
3) going to the bank to take care of some financial issues
4) studying for the NCLEX
5) packing my apartment up
6) making lunch....I'm starving
7) helping my brother give Mini a bath
8) driving back to my apartment so I can pack
9) doing laundry, laundry, and more laundry
10) cleaning my apartment after bug-bombing it yesterday

And yet, here I am, writing another pointless blog. Oh well, why fight tradition, right?

Graduation and festivities

Valarie and I in our lovely caps and gowns.

Valarie, Sam, Me, and Keren at Lucky's.

Alyse, Me, Katie, Deanne, Elizabeth at Lucky's.

My decorated cap :o).

Hopefully soon I'll be able to put up more photos or put them on Facebook. Unfortunately, for Graduation at least, I wasn't a camera fiend. And as my camera was in Melanie's truck, I didn't get any photos at Pinning. Hopefully my parents got some good ones. The whole week was so fun (okay the end of the week...finals sucked). The perfect way to end the craziness: more crazy partying. [at least that's how Lucky's was. Thanks again my angels for taking care of me]

And in the end

Well, graduation has come and gone.

We did it. We made it through that hell that is nursing school. We survived late nights of care planning, early mornings on the way to clinicals, final exams, long hours of lecture, no summer break, tough teachers, and stressed classmates.

Pinning was wonderful. The highlight of my day was seeing my favorite professor, Dr. D again and getting to hear one more poem from him! My aunt Sylvie (RN) pinned me. And seeing everyone dressed up was a nice change from the jeans and sweats.

Graduation was mercifully brief, and I got to spend it sitting next to one of the funniest persons I know.

Now it's all over. I'm a college graduate! I even get to start signing my name with all those little letters: Linnea Richardson, GN, BSN. [I can't wait to replace the GN with an RN]

And of course, the silly sentimental side of me is getting all teary-eyed as I type this. Great. I hate crying.

procrastination via rants

Instead of studying for the community HELLth final that's tomorrow, I thought I'd procrastinate some more. Of course I don't have much to say, so instead I'll rant about a few things that have bothering me.

• Today we were supposed to have graduation rehearsal at 3pm in the auditorium. The juniors were taking a psych final in there that was supposed to end at 3. At 3pm, there were still 6 people taking the exam, who proceeded to take another 30 minutes to finish. They had 2 hours to take it, they shouldn't have needed all that time! It's psych!!! Besides, never in nursing school have we had extra time for exams. If they say we get 2 hours, then when 2 hours are up, turn it in, no matter what. It was so annoying as we were all waiting outside for them to finish. The test proctor should've said, "time's up". That annoyed me so much. (or maybe i'm just cranky today)
• Don't trust people, because we're all bastards. It's so annoying to go on defending someone because they looked in your eyes and swore that they didn't do it, and got on your soap box for that person because of it, only to find out you've been making an ass out of yourself because they lied to you all along instead of just trusting you with that one tiny thing. It's not like I would've spread it around, or judged you or anything. If you don't want to tell me or talk about it, that's one thing, but to look me in the eye and lie to me about it, then don't bat an eye when I defend you on that lie....
  
• The people at the financial aid office are idiots. Every time you call them with a question, they tell you something completely opposite what they told you last time. No wonder all of us are broke right now; none of us got proper financial assistance for the last 2 years.
• I hope the office at my apartment complex burns down. For that matter, once I move out, I hope the whole complex burns to the ground.
  

insomnia

I can't sleep. Again.

After studying all day, being exhausted, I still can't freaking sleep!!!

I hate this!!!!!

I'm so exhausted! Last weekend when I was home I couldn't sleep at my parents house since I had to sleep on an air mattress. Then I came home, and can't freaking sleep thanks to my insomnia!

UGH. Maybe I should try studying some more, maybe that'll put me to sleep.

Knowing my luck, hell no. UGH. I freaking hate this!!!!

finals

Are finals really that important anyway?!?

I'm attempting to study for finals (hopefully the last finals I'll EVER take), and I can't seem to concentrate for more than 5 minutes.

I don't give a rat's ass about community health nursing, so flipping through those powerpoints is worthless.

UGH. Can I just skip finals??

I've created a monster.

I'm home visiting the family this weekend (okay, let's face it, I'm here to do laundry and mooch food) and was doing some "maintanence" on my blog as my mom walked by.

After showing her my blog, she has decided she wants to start one.

HEAVEN HELP US ALL! MY MOTHER WANTS TO START A BLOG!!!

crap.

I shouldn't have shown her this. I should never show her anything.

oh, and she wants to Twitter too.

Kill me now.

random pics

Just some random photos from Hermann Park. Enjoy!

done with community FOREVER

it's official: I am done with community health nursing clinicals!

Okay, as I type this, I am technically still at community clinicals, but in a few short hours it will be done. FOREVER.

just thought I'd share my joy over this.


QOD: "Don't be all [shakes fists in air], cause you know you are type-A too"-LaRhea to Derek
BAM: sweet ass yummy healthy food for dinner
Cool points: no one gets any because of the many allotted points yesterday.

dedicated to the queen of sarcasm and wit, or maybe just queen of blogging

Happy birthday Jennifer!

I just wanted to take a minute to say happy birthday to you! Okay, so I'm slightly copying Paige on the blog dedicated to the amazing Jennifer thing, but hey when you see a good idea, you roll with it.

Happy birthday to a very witty, fantastically awesome, crazy fun mother of Hobo baby, blogging machine!

Seriously Jenn, your blogs keep me going some days. You rock.

That's all I've got to say. And if I feel like it tomorrow, I may even sing to you. [make that a really big if]


QOD: "Sterile is all relative" -surgeon at MH
BAM: participating in a surgery AT THE BEDSIDE
cool points: +10000000000000000000000 for Jennifer Welch on her birthday, -10 points to the crappy night nurse who left us screwed for the day

random thoughts

• I wish people were like bears so I could hibernate for the winter.
  
• I'm pretty sure I'm crazy. Most days I flit back and forth from depressed to manic to semi-normal back to depressed. I should be in a psych study I'm so labile.
  
• I'm considering closing this blog, since I don't think anyone really reads it regularly. I think Rachel, Valarie, and Jerusha read it from time to time, but not many people beyond that.
  
• I'm considering saying F* it about the blog and just keep writing to myself; it's pretty cathartic.
• After spending most of yesterday and today editing group papers and thinking back on my weekend of clinicals (for my journal), I'm pretty sure most people are idiots.
• I really want to do dishes, take a shower, do some laundry, and deep clean my apartment, but there is no running water at the moment.
  
• I wonder what it would be like if I started typing all the time in my own version of internet lingo, text message slang, and made up abbreviations. Would anyone be able to read it? Would anyone try??
• Right now I'm pondering why fruit punch flavored drinks and candy are usually colored that fuchsia pink color.
• And for that matter, what color exactly is chartreuse? Is it red? Blue? Purple? Orange? I have no freaking idea.
  
• I have my patio door open and this bug is now flying around my apartment and it's really annoying me.
  
• I think I'd like to become a shut-in some days, ordering groceries to be delivered, shopping online, working from home, and "interacting" with others via the internet....that way I'd never have to shower or shave my legs again (unless I really felt like it).
• I think I should change the name of my blog as it is such an inside joke that only a few people really understand it. But then I like the randomness of it...so maybe not.
• Maybe I should get back to some school work.
  

Want to go see Disney on Ice?

Want to see Disney on Ice?!?

Enter for a chance to win here! (click "here") You could win a Family 4 pack for Disney on Ice on April 15 at 7:30pm!!

*****

QOD: "If I get really burned I want you all to let me die. I'm serious"-Matt's status during the burn lecture
BAM: Alyse and I snaking supplies in the lab to take her temperature.
Cool Points: +5 to Jennifer Welch for the Disney giveaway.

Regifting, quote of the day, badass moments, and more

With my complete lack of anything original to blog about right now, I've decided to "re-gift" some blog ideas from back in the day. Now they are my original ideas, they're just not original right now.

With that said, I'd like to re-institute the amazing Quote of the Day Yay!>! I'm also bringing back the other two wickedly awesome categories: Bad Ass Moment of the Day and Cool points.

So here is how it all works: Quote of the Day (QOD) is a very special award given out to the sayings that crack me up, bring a little joy to my life, stick with me, or are just so totally random that they scream "recognize me!". The Bad Ass Moment of the Day (BAM) is an award that goes out to someone who pulls off the most bad ass moment. It can be something wicked awesome, or if it is one of those days, a really sarcastic commentary on the stupidity of society. Cool Points are given for those that do sweet, awesome stuff, or can be taken away from those that are just complete idiots. If you collect enough Cool Points, you win a prize!

QOD: "Damn, that's a shitty way to go. At least he had a hot-ass doctor though!"-Gaith
BAM: T-Mobile taking 2 hours to send a text message 5 feet.
Cool Points: +3 to my mom for buying gas for my car; -2 for the gay people at Wally World for raising their prices 10 cents in less than 24 hours.

Why I left home...

In case any body was wondering why I would leave a place with no rent, free food, a washer and dryer, a chef (aka my mother or sister), and a chauffeur, this blog is dedicated to clearing all that up.

Wednesday evening
Me (on the phone): Hey Mom, just calling to let you know I'm coming home this weekend.
Mom: Why?
Me: Why? 'Cause of Kenna's bridal shower, I need to do laundry, and this will be the last time I come home before I move.
Mom: That's fine, but why are you calling to tell me all this?
Me: Cause I thought I'd warn you I was coming. I want a place to sleep that isn't the floor while I'm home. Plus I need the washer, so you better get your laundry done tomorrow cause I'm taking it over.
Thursday night I sleep on the couch in the living room because my bedroom is floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall boxes, mostly Christmas decorations. Thanks Mom.

11:30 am Saturday morning
Gaith (my brother): You missed donuts Linnea.
Me: Huh?
Gaith: Rachel bought us donuts, but I don't think there are anymore. I ate a bunch.
Me: You didn't leave me any?!?
Gaith: Maybe. Not sure. I kind of forgot about you.

randomly one day during a phone conversation
Gaith: Linnea, you're like our Meg [from Family Guy].

Mom: When are you going home Linnea?
Me: Sunday afternoon sometime.
Mom: Are you sure you don't want to go tonight? Maybe go out with your friends??
Me: Uh. Y?
Mom: I want my washer back.

The end is near

Today I took [and passed] the HESI exit exam. I am now one step closer to graduation.

The closer May 8th comes, the more my excitement over being done is melting away into that bitter sweet nostalgia. I begin to think about all the wonderful people I've met that I won't get to see every week.

Since I am staying here in Houston for work, I will get to spend time with those who are also staying. That is if we can all find time every once and a while to have lunch or something together.

So this post is dedicated to all the wonderful people I have the honor of getting to know over the past two years. Over the last two years I have met people who can always make me laugh or brighten my day; people who are great sounding boards full of wonderful advice; people who accept me for all my silly eccentricities; and people who genuinely care for the world. I have been lucky enough to make some of the best friends in the world, without whom I would be lost.

These past few years have been far from easy for me, and thanks to a few of you, I'm still here today, enjoying the sweet sensation of near victory.

Jobless no more!

I just got the phone call from HR, and they are offering me a job!!!

Starting June 15, I will be working as a RN intern in the ICU at St. Joseph Medical Center!!!

I am so excited!!!

Alyse and I have been talking today, and we've decided that every once and a while (like once a month or so), we're going to try to get every classmate of ours that does night shifts to come out for "breakfast" in the morning! We could be our own version of the breakfast club or something!

Now that I have a job, I best be getting motivated to finish this semester. I have so much left to do. HESI, finish clinicals, finish projects, study for finals, study for NCLEX.....oi!

nervous wreck

Tomorrow I have my first "real" job interview!

I'm torn between being excited and nervous.

So everyone that prays, please say a little prayer for me tomorrow morning that I might wow them in my interview.

comedic genious or just a dumbass?

I'm on my way out to celebrate St. Patty's day with some friends. We had just left the SIC party at the SON since they ran out of beer, and I was heading over to pick Matt up (I was going to be DD for the night). I pull into the Valero to get some gas, not wanting to hit that dreadful E in the middle of the night.

I manually unlock my door by pushing up the lock button, grab my credit card, and get out. I get the gas pumping and turn back to my door to grab my cell phone. The damned door is locked!

That's right-L-O-C-K-E-D. With my cell phone and car keys sitting inside the cup holder. damn

So I'm sitting there at the gas station, looking around, thinking to myself how stupid can one girl get?

My spare keys to my car are in my apartment, and the only person with a spare key to my apartment is Matt. So I run up to the pay phone, trying desperately to remember someone's phone number who can get in touch with him for me.

I make a collect call to my parent's house phone. No one answers [I found out today that my mom decided not to answer since she did not recognize the number]. Okay, now what? I can't remember ANYONE's number.

I start to cry. I finally realize that I *think* I know Deanne's cell number since I had just given it to Tara. But you can't make collect calls to cell phones (or that's my impression anyways). So now I've got to start begging for quarters to make a phone call.

I go into the Valero and try to use the ATM, thinking I'll get cash and then get some change from cash register by buying something. The ATM is "out of order".

SHIT

Now I'm starting to cry. I walk up to the only person in the place, aside from the workers, and ask for some spare change. The kindly police officer gave me a dollar and wished me luck. I got change from the cash register and go to make my phone call.

I get a call in to Deanne and told her where I was, what was going on, and asked her to tell Matt so he could bring me my spare keys.

About 30 minutes later, Matt came rolling in on his white steed (aka his truck) and gracefully handed me my spare keys to my car. He was even kind enough to not make fun of me.

Spring break is a myth.

I am convinced that Spring Break is a myth, created by some over-worked nursing student years ago, to give themselves something to look forward to each spring.

I've been more busy this week than I have all semester.

Over the weekend I was sick and spent a lot of my time resting, and when I wasn't resting I was running around doing errands, trying to get info on Vannary and the baby, and get ready for the upcoming week. Tuesday through Friday I was at the Hurst Review.

Grant it, the review has [so far] seemed to be very useful and a good use of my time, but it did take up my entire break. Of course, listening to Aunt Marlene crack jokes about Depressed and Manic over there was worth it. Not to mention, [now slap on your most thick southern drawl with this one] "look at my patient, laying here all dead, but he ain't go no infection!" I really did learn a lot about how to think NCLEX-y and got a great review of the core content. I'm glad I dragged my exhausted butt out of bed every day for it.

Today I spent the whole day chasing after little kids at the Children's Museum. I was working in the PowerPlay area, in the Power Science Lab. We had a bunch of stuff on the heart; some games to give the kids an idea of how hard your heart works. I really had a ton of fun. I also climbed the Power Tower with my sister, that while adults can go in, it is definitely best suited for people under 5 feet. For a while there I was convinced they were going to have to cut me out of that thing! [think the climbing tubes at Chuck E. Cheese's, it was very similar] After this, Alyse, Rachel, and I got roped into leading the kids for the dance party. I think I sweated off a full dress size.

Now all I want to do is sleep for the next 10 years.

Too bad I have school work to do. Stupid spring break.

an irish jig

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Welcome to the world!

Welcome to the world Damien Achilles Castro!

Born 3/08/09 (not sure the exact time, somewhere around 7pm) in Houston, Texas.

The little guy was only a 29-weeker so all of you guys that pray, please pray for lots of healthy growing for him. He was 3lb 1oz at birth.

Vannary ruptured Sunday morning (around 6am). They tried to slow the progression as best they could while they gave her antibiotics and steroids. Around 6pm she was fully dilated, and when the nurse went to check her, she saw a foot coming! So they whisked Van off to the OR and little Damien was born via c-section.

Mom is sore but doing good. Joking around like her usual self.

Baby is doing alright considering how little he is.

the SON flu

Ladies and gentleman, I'd like to take a moment to inform all of you that I have caught the dreaded SON flu!

That's right, that bloody plague has finally reached my doorstep.

I'm currently taking bets on who will come down with it next. My guess: someone in my community clinical group (so all of you start chugging your vitamin C!).

I highly recommend bringing your own N95 respirator with you to the Hurst review Tuesday, if you haven't gotten sick yet.

Goodnight, and good luck.

banished to customer service hell

I feel as if I've been banished to hell. And not just any hell, but the 7th circle: telephone customer service!

It started last weekend when I attempted to get a new power cord for my computer. After a month and half of use, my power cord decided to break. I have to hold it just right for it to work, and it stopped charging the battery. I tried returning it to Circuit City, but since they are going out of business they wouldn't help me.

So last Friday I called HP. My power cord is still under warranty, so I'm not about to spend another $100 replacing it, AGAIN. After getting transferred 4 times, I was finally put on with Rajit. After explaining my problem, Rajit told me that I had to take it back to where I purchased it. I told him Circuit City wouldn't let me return it since they are closing, so what can HP do to help me? I proceeded to repeat my schpeal about it still being under warranty. Rajit proceeds to tell me that I need to return it to Circuit City. We go in circles for 20 minutes. Finally, so angry and frustrated that I'm starting to cry, I hang up on Rajit.

I gave up on that project, passing it off to my father, and we're still trying to find someone at HP willing to help us. Stupid HP.

Today, my internet wouldn't work, so I set out on the long ardous task of calling AT&T. Of course, I've already tried the "unplug it, replug it" tricks, nothing. "Steve" [whose real name I'm sure is so far from Steve] told me to unplug the router. After 30 minutes of him telling me various "tricks" and me telling him it isn't working, I finally [and angerily I might add] blurted out "I've had this problem before. I've done everything on my end. It's something with the line. I can't fix it from here. You need to do something to fix it, or connect me with someone else."

I was put on hold for 5 minutes.

Finally, I was put on with another guy. I couldn't understand his name. After listening to my problem, in full details (plus what I told Rajit about unplugging it not helping), he told me to move my router to the phone line in the kitchen. If this didn't fix it, he was going to send out a technician. What do you know, but it worked! Turns out the line in my bedroom is bad. After nearly a year of service with them, calling them over a dozen times with problems, someone finally tells me to move my router and it fixes the bloody problem!

Oh, and fyi, I broke down and bought ANOTHER power cord from MicroCenter today for my computer. FUCK HP.

I have been poisoned!!! (maybe)

*Some names have been changed to protect the identities of those involved

I [may] have been poisoned!

After spending 5 hours in a small car, making the long drive back from Fort Worth (and having to battle an old lady for the bathroom-seriously, it was like gladiators and the prize was getting to use the toilet before I peed myself), I was asked to do a good friend a favor. [let's call this friend Bob] Bob's truck is dead, for the umpteenth time. So Bob is in desperate need of a battery jump. Being the kind person that I am, or perhaps just delaying the oppressive love of my little kitten (did I say oppressive? I meant wonderful, beautiful, caring, adorable, unconditional love), I drove over to Bob's apartment.

I arrived just in time for dinner. Normally I love when Bob cooks, as I rarely cook myself and living off of potato chips and frozen TV dinners all the time is hardly healthy, but tonight I wanted none of it. In Fort Worth, I was trapped in the Land of Too Much Food (seriously, Katie's family kept feeding me). By now, all I really wanted was a shower and bed, not dinner.

I patiently waited for Bob to finish his dinner (don't ask me what it was, cause I have no idea), and then sat through Bob checking his email, Facebook, and Myspace. Finally, after all of this, I thought we were going to brave the frozen tundra outside and go fix his battery. But of course Bob has to [offer] me some cheesecake-and by offer I mean he said something along the lines of "I'm sick of this last piece being in the fridge, you and I are going to finish it off tonight before you leave". Loving cheesecake as I do, and being fearful of bodily harm if I should refuse, I accepted the cheesecake.

The first bite tasted a little funny to me.

Me: Uh, yeah that tasted a little funny. Are you sure this cheesecake hasn't gone bad?
Bob: (smelling the cake) No, it smells fine; looks fine. And my piece tastes just fine. Must be you. Try another.
Me: (after staring at my piece weighing the odds of how likely I am to get food poisoning verses my desire to eat cheesecake for a few moments) Okay.
*I try another piece*
Me: Mmm. Good. Okay, guess it was just me.
*We proceed to eat almost all of our pieces*
Bob: Uh, yeah that piece right there didn't taste so good. I see what you mean about it tasting funny.
Me: Yuck, yeah mine isn't tasting so good either. And the top looks a little funny.
Bob: Let me try one...yeah no, not good either.
Me: ....not sure I want to finish this.
Bob: me either.
Me: okay, let's throw it away.
Bob: yeah, chuck it all.

Now I'm just waiting to see if I come down with food poisoning or not.

How long until I'm in the clear? Surely a few hours of feeling alright should be enough?? Sadly, it's barely been one hour. Damn.

Of course, I still stand by the theory that Bob did it on purpose. I realized after I ate most of my piece that this is the same cheesecake that Bob made like 3 weeks ago, and it's just been sitting in the fridge ever since. That's probably WAY too long for cheesecake, isn't it?!? Not to mention the fact that a mutual friend of ours [let's call her Jill] reminded me how Bob has been eyeing my Boeing 757 for some time now.

And who wouldn't want my car?? Not only is it awesome, it only has 70,000 miles (did I mention it's a 1991), it doubles as a private jet, it has kick-ass California plates, and it has sweet cowboy hats sitting in the back window. Hello, can you say most awesome car ever??


**edit** starting to feel a little queasy. Could be purely psychological, could be the ten thousand pounds of food I've eaten in the last 72 hours, could be the cheesecake.

the aging mind

A conversation between my mother and her aging mother (aka MorMor-that's Swedish for mother's mother):

Mom: Hi Mom, how are you?
Mormor: Oh. I'm alright. Did Gaith get his card yet? [My brother Gaith's birthday was last Thursday]
Mom: No, not yet.
Mormor: oh no! I hope it isn't lost in the mail, I sent it yesterday.
Mom: Well, you know it takes more than 2 days for it to get here.
Mormor: Oh alright. Now when Gaith gets it, tell him to open it carefully. There is a check in there and I don't want him to rip it.
Mom: I'll tell him.
MorMor: I'm about to send a birthday card to one of your daughters.
Mom: Well Mom, both of their birthdays are in the summer.
MorMor: No. One is coming up.
Mom: No Mom, Linnea was born in July and Rachel in August.
MorMor: No. It's in my birthday book that one is coming up. Hold on.
*goes to get birthday book*
MorMor: See, "Kristin Richardson, born March, 9, 1951"
Mom: *trying to hold in laughter, or tears* Mom, that's me.
MorMor: ...are you sure?
Mom: yes, that's me.
MorMor: Oh you're right. I didn't think you had a daughter that old.

long clinical woes

these 12 hour shifts are killing me! I'm sure eventually I'll get used to it, but just as I think I can handle it, I get a crappy shift.

Yesterday, my preceptor is assigned two patients: a very critical guy with all sorts of ICP issues and six million drugs and lines, and one guy who had no business being on the unit (he was in no way critical, just a big pain in the ass).

Instead of dealing with our sick patient, we spent most of the day babysitting the other guy, trying to keep him from pulling out his lines and stuff while we wait for him to be transferred. Meanwhile, our sick guy (let's call him Guy B)'s ICP keeps going up, his BP keeps going up, and he is generally just getting worse.

So we're rushing around trying to get him a STAT CT and get everything else under control, while we're babysitting this other "crazy" guy (Guy A).

After lunch, we finally get rid of Guy A (after calling to give report to the floor nurse 5 times!) and Guy B is stabilizing. So our busy pain in the ass day turned into a boring day. Nothing to do for a while.

So I start helping the other nurses out with things. Bed baths, turning, restocking supplies, etc. I even did a straight cath. Too bad it was a very heavy woman (I'd say probably near 300 lbs), and the two nurses in there helping hold back her legs and what not kept trying to coach me through it and messing me up. If they had just left me alone, I would have been fine. SHEESH! And to top it off, the lady started to pee right as I got the catheter up there ready to stick it in, peeing all over my hand! Thank God for gloves!

I also got my first IV! Got it on the first stick!!

I came home exhausted, and am still exhausted today. I'll be back on the floor tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be a great day and I'll learn a lot.

Actually, what I am really hoping is that the 400 lb pt that replaced Guy A right at shift change is gone before Wednesday morning. (So not looking forward to turning that).

Happy Birthday Gaith!

I'm home for the weekend, celebrating my older brother's birthday with the family.

(okay, to be completely honest, the major reason I came home was to do some laundry without having to waste a bunch of quarters or haul my crap up 3 flights of stairs)

Reflecting on the conversation I had with my brother when I told him I was coming home, I realize how much of a dork I am and how crazy my family is:

G: Yo
L: Yo. Happy birthday bro! *singing in a low monotone* happy birthday, happy birthday, people dying everywhere, all the world is in despair, happy birthday, happy birthday
G: thanks nea. So what'd you get me?
L: my presence.
G: what?
L: I'm coming home this weekend.
G: Seriously? No real gift?
L: ....uhh....no? Am I not good enough?
G: no, you're alright, but seriously not even a crummy gift card to Wally World??
L: nope sorry. Oh, but Greta did get you something?
G: Really?!?
L: Yeah. But I wouldn't get to excited.
G: Y not?
L: well, she is a cat.
G: true
L: plus, she is totally schizo so I wouldn't hold high hopes.
G: haha. Yeah. She is about the strangest cat in the world.
L: Hey! don't make fun of my cat.
G: I'm not being mean, she's just weird. So you coming home tonight?
L: probably. Y?
G: Oh, cause we are going to the practice space and going to have cake, a bonfire, and beer.
L: sounds like a stellar combo.
G: you should come.
L: ....do u really want me to come or are you hoping I'll drive your drunk ass home later?
G:....um. the first one (in a strained voice)
L: you just me to come play DD.
G; okay, true.
L: but if I have to sit around with all of your friends all night, I'm going to need to drink.


Seriously, that was our whole conversation. Nice to know I'm wanted; even if it is only as DD.

reading is fun

These past couple of days I have rekindled my love for reading.

Since Wednesday, I've read 5 books cover-to-cover. It was marvelous to just sit down with a book and not stop until I was done.

With the craziness of school, I haven't done a lot of pleasure reading in the last year. So to spend 5 days doing nothing but reading for fun has been a bit odd, but also so wonderful.

I found this website where people have uploaded texts of thousands of books, available for download or to read online. No need to drive out to the library now.

Okay not true; I love the smell of books. I love the library. And sitting at my computer screen all day isn't fun. So don't worry books, I have not abandoned you!

As I've been reading these past few days, I started to try to figure out what my favorite book is. I can't decide; there are too many that I love. Instead, I've just narrowed them down to my top 10 (in no particular order):

- Persuasion by Jane Austen
-The Guardian by Dee Henderson
-The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
-The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
-Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
-Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
-Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich
-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
-Blink by Ted Dekker
-Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

I chose these books as my "top 10" not only because I enjoyed them, but because I couldn't put them down. Because I've read them more than once. Because no matter how many times I read them, I can never seem to get enough.

random chatter

Oddly enough, chatter-box Linnea has nothing to say.

Probably because actually saying something hurts too much. Stupid wisdom teethe. And apparently finding a dentist near me that is "in network" for my dental insurance is harder than finding the Holy Grail.

In other news, I'm having fun getting into cooking again. For those who don't know, I don't particularly like to cook. I love to bake, but cooking is another story. However, since I got this fancy-schmancy mini food processor, I've been having fun in the kitchen again. Mostly, I've been making salsa and pesto sauce, but I do plan to expand my culinary horizons at some point.

I doubt it will last, however.

Answer to riddle #2

Okay Valarie (since I think you are about the only who cares at this point :oP), here is the answer to riddle #2:

Riddle #2
My first wears my second,
My third would be, what my first would acquire if he went to sea.
Put together my one, two, and three, and the Belle of New York is the girl for me.

the answer: Manhattan

A man wears a hat, and if he goes to sea, he'll get a tan.

Answer to the first riddle

A group of 3 friends goes into a hotel and asks for one room for the night. The clerk tells them it is $30, so each friend chips in $10 to pay for the room. They go upstairs and get settled in. A little while later the manager is looking over the hotel records and realizes that the clerk overcharged them, as the room was on special right now for $25 a night. He handed the bell-hop 5 ones and sent him upstairs to give them their money and apologize for the mishap. On the way upstairs, the bell-hop thinks to himself, there are 3 friends, and they are going to have to split this amongst themselves. $5 doesn't split evenly. I'll just pocket $2, and give them $3 back. So the bell-hop returns the $3 and and apologizes for the mistake.

Now I'm sure you are going WHERE IN HELL DID THAT OTHER DOLLAR GO?!?!?!

The answer: no where, it never was missing.

Think back to 5th grade math, and recall that little thing called order of operations that says you have to multiply/divide BEFORE you add/subtract.

I know. STUPID joke. But it did get you thinking, and that is the entire point of riddles.

The other answer is soon to follow. So think on it a little more. (hint: why did the riddle say Belle of New York? What is so special about New York? Why New York?)

Tagged to be truthful

I bet someone out there is dying to know the answers to my riddles. Or at least I'm hoping at least one person in this world reads my blog and is semi-interested in the answers to my riddle. But you'll just have to wait a little while longer. Don't worry, the answers are coming.

Since Valarie tagged me to be truthful, I'm going to post 10 things about myself. I'm not going to tag 7 blogs I read, since I'll just be tagging half the blogs Valarie tagged, and I think that never ending circle would get a bit ridiculous.

1. Even though I'm constantly being told how "in demand" nurses are, I'm scared I won't find a job. Well, I'm scared I won't find that job I love. I'm sure if I was desperate enough I could get a cruddy med-surg job in some rinky-dink town.

2. I used to hate my name as a kid, because no one could pronounce it properly. Now I love how unique it is (at least here in the States) and wouldn't change it for anything.

3. I hate driving. After all the years of driving so much on the ambulance, and learning how to drive immediately after being in a car accident, I'd kind of rather not drive. Unfortunately, I live in Houston, where you kind of have to drive everywhere.

4. My new favorite snack is a salad drenched in Wishbone's Romano Basil Vinegarette salad dressing.

5. One day I'd like to spend a few years working for Mercy Ships.

6. My favorite play/show/production that I've seen so far is Spamalot.

7. My sister and I have tons of "code words" that I use almost daily.

8. I'm in love with my kitten. Unless she scratches me, then I don't love her so much...okay yeah I do love her regardless.

9. I really want to work in the ED at Ben Taub.

10. When I was a little kid, I lived [nearly 24/7] in my Wonder Woman jim-jams.

Riddles

Tonight at dinner with Matt, Katie, and Rachel, we sat around telling jokes and riddles. Okay, to be fair, most of them were my stupid (and some are really awful) jokes and riddles.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.

A group of 3 friends goes into a hotel and asks for one room for the night. The clerk tells them it is $30, so each friend chips in $10 to pay for the room. They go upstairs and get settled in. A little while later the manager is looking over the hotel records and realizes that the clerk overcharged them, as the room was on special right now for $25 a night. He handed the bell-hop 5 ones and sent him upstairs to give them their money and apologize for the mishap. On the way upstairs, the bell-hop thinks to himself, there are 3 friends, and they are going to have to split this amongst themselves. $5 doesn't split evenly. I'll just pocket $2, and give them $3 back. So the bell-hop returns the $3 and and apologizes for the mistake.

Okay, so each friend paid $10, but got $1 back, so they paid $9. 9 times 3 is 27. Plus the $2 the bell-hop pocketed, you get $29. So where did the other dollar go? (remember, they paid $30 originally)

Riddle #2
My first wears my second,
My third would be, what my first would acquire if he went to sea.
Put together my one, two, and three, and the Belle of New York is the girl for me.
(hint: the "first", "second", etc. are syllables of one word, that when said alone are also a word.)
(second hint: the answer is one word)
(third hint: pay attention to all the words in the riddle. they were all chosen very carefully)

Okay, now no cheating! Take some time to think them through, for more than a few minutes, before googling the answers. I'll post the answers soon. So don't ruin it for yourself, or others, and think about it for a bit.

Many mishaps...

Instead of studying for the dreaded community exam, I have decided to procrastinate some more by sharing the harrowing tales of my many mishaps today.

My day started off by me sleeping in late, cause I refused to get up and indulge my self-centered kitty cat. I slept in late partially because I stayed up so late last night. And I stayed up so late because I took a 5 hour nap Sunday afternoon!

After getting up, I wanted to take a shower, then head over to the SON to help get ready for Job Fair '09. Went to turn on the water and NO WATER PRESSURE. And getting in touch with someone from the office of my apartment complex was almost as hard as pushing a 2-ton stone uphill. I finally gave up and decided to go take a shower over at Matt's, since he graciously offered me the use of his shower.

But I locked both sets of my keys inside my car!! So Matt came over and the two of us attempted to break in my car. We finally did it, by slowly peeling down the window and putting the antenna from his truck through it to pull up the lock switch. It took about an hour and a half, and us trying several different ways before we finally got it.

At this point it is like 4:45 in the afternoon. I'm starving, gross and in desperate need of a shower, and exhausted. On the bright side my water pressure has finally returned and I got to take my shower! After that Matt and I went to Papa John's for a pizza (YUM and only $5.99 on Mondays for take-out!).

Oh, and my preceptor for High Acuity is impossible to get in touch with. I tried calling her several times today. I left my name and number and information for her with another nurse on the unit, and she still hasn't called me back.

The rate I'm going, it'll be March before I do a clinical.

These Times They Are A-Changin

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

We, as a nation, are sitting on the edge of a precipice, where our country can either blossom into something wonderful, or come crashing down around us. Now is when our direction and future will be decided. Watching history unfold and finding out where we are headed has been rather fascinating lately.

On a more personal note, I feel as if I'm on the edge of my own precipice. My whole future lies ahead of me, wide open to a million different possibilities. For the girl who always had a plan, this uncertainty is a bit daunting. While some may look at it as a great opportunity filled with possibilities, I find myself struggling not to be crushed under the weight of doubt.

Figuring out what comes next is an interesting ride; one that I hope to look back on with fondness. Rarely in life do you get these opportunities of complete and utter prospect and promise. Instead of fearing the unknown, I should be embracing this change. I can literally go anywhere, do anything, and set my life how I want it. Soon I will no longer be tied down by circumstances, but open to any avenue I wish to pursue (see there are benefits to being young and single).

what else is there?

For the past year and a half, my life has been consumed with nursing school.

My friends are from school, all but a tiny few that I rarely hang out with. All my money goes to school. The majority of my blog posts relate to school. I spend most of my spare time thinking and/or talking about school.

QED, my life is nursing school.

With the end of the race finally in sight, I begin to wonder what else is there?

Aside from finishing school, finding a job, and passing the NCLEX, I've decided a major goal in my life for the next few months should be finding some balance. I need to date more (since I've put a lot of that off with school). I need to reconnect with my non-school friends. I need to build more of a relationship outside of school with my school friends.

However, the top of my "find more balance" list is to start a hobby that has NOTHING to do with nursing, health care, or medicine. I've been thinking a lot lately about how I miss singing in the choir. Maybe I'll join a church choir. Of course, usually you have to wait until the fall to do this. But that is always an option. Maybe I'll start volunteering somewhere. Maybe I'll join a book club. I don't know. I just know I need to find something outside of school to throw some of my focus into.

If I don't find some balance soon, when school ends, my life as I know it will end. [okay that is being a bit dramatic; it will only change, but it will be a big change if nursing school is all I have]

So time to find some balance. I'm open for suggestions if anyone has any.

get in gear

It's time to get my ass into gear.

But I have a ridiculous case of senioritis!!!

Everyone (aka over-achieving Super Paigey) applying for jobs and figuring things out has me feeling behind. I haven't even really thought about where I want to apply, let alone worked on my resume or contacted anyone.

With job fair next week, I should get my butt in gear and get some stuff done.

Graduation is coming up all too fast (or maybe not fast enough, I can't decide).

money bites

Stress, stress, and more stress.

There is so much to do this semester for school! I had no idea how busy this semester was going to be. I thought, last semester of nursing school, we would coasting through life. Stressing out about applying for jobs and passing the NCLEX, excited about finishing school. But not about to pull our hair out from it all. I thought pedi/OB was supposed to be the big stress semester, not this.

I suppose in most aspects this semester is easier. The course load is lighter, the end is in sight. There is just so much to accomplish.

On top of it all, I am beyond broke. I have NO MONEY.

The school's financial aid office has been less than helpful. I kept getting the run around from them. Hopefully, things are turning up for me now that I've harassed them a bit.

But I think there is a huge possibility that I will be beyond broke again after finals, while I'm waiting to start a new job. I hate living like this.

So if anyone knows someone who is willing to hire a full time college student who will be quitting her job in June, and can only work part-time, let me know. At this point I'm willing to go work at Wal Mart. Of course given the state of our economy, even a job at McDonald's is hard to find.

check all that apply, part 2

With the dawn of another semester of nursing school (for some us our last semester!), I think it's time to test our knowledge and see just how much [or little] we retained over the break.

As an experienced RN with a new student assigned to you, which task is most appropriate to delegate to the nursing student??
a) inserting a new chest tube for your patient in room 245
b) mopping the floors on all 5 floors of the hospital
c) answering the phones and taking verbal orders from the doctors
d) none of the above. No nursing student should do ANY task as they are inexperienced idiots who will most likely kill all your patients before the end of the day.

When giving a SubQ injection, the needle breaks off in your patient's skin. What should you do first? (check all that apply)
a) swear loudly about the "piece of shit equipment they give me"
b) panic, as they never covered this in orientation
c) don't say anything and leave it in there. After all, he wasn't watching you stick him, so hey may never notice!
d) cry

You are caring for a 6 year old who has just expressed her concerns about being in the hospital over Christmas, worried that Santa won't be able to find her. How do you best respond to this? (check all that apply)
a) "Oh sweetie, you don't need to worry about that. Santa isn't real!"
b) "I wouldn't worry too much. You are very sick, so the chances of you making to Christmas are pretty slim."
c) "Well, I'd love to answer your question, sweetie, but this politically-correct, offend-no one world we live in dictates that I can't address any issue of religion without being fired."
d) "Who's Santa?"

You are working triage in the local ER. A man comes in holding a bloody cloth to his hand, saying he sliced it while carving a pumpkin. What should you do? (check all that apply)
a) tell him to "slap a bandage on that bitch and go home! stop wasting my time!"
b) refuse to help him as he was supporting that paganistic holiday Halloween; after all you are a devout christian and those heathens must not be tolerated!
c) hand him a paper towel and let him know the wait will be about 12 hours (that way it won't be on your shift, so you don't have to mess with the blood).
d) wish you had called in sick today, grab a suture kit, fix the man's hand, and send him packing

poetry and lyrics

I'm in one of those moods that if were any kind of poet, I would write. Unfortunately, I am a far worse poet than any Vogon [The Hitchhiker's Guide describes Vogon poetry as the third worst in the universe]. Instead, I thought I'd share a part of song that has stuck with me the past few days.

The song is "Impossible Dream" from Broadway's Man of La Mancha. The song itself is a pretty impressive feat, however there are a few lines in particular that have stuck with me:

This is my Quest to follow that star,
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far,
To fight for the right
Without question or pause,
To be willing to march into hell
For a heavenly cause!

I found these words to be inspiring. Can you imagine that? Someone who is willing to march into hell, fire and brimstone worse than you can possibly imagine hell, for a worthy cause?! What a powerful thing!

Reality is setting in

I feel as if reality is setting back in today.

The list of things I need to get done to be ready for school next week keeps growing.

I know I've been rather bored these past few days, and looking forward to seeing my friends again, but I'm not ready to get back to the stress of nursing school. Last semester almost killed me and I'm not ready to get back to the grind yet. Thankfully, I've been told that this semester is much easier than the pedi/ob semester. Of course you can't trust the grapevine, so we shall see.

Another year

Another year has come and gone. 2008 was a pretty good year in my book. Most of the year was consumed with school, but since I love most of my classmates and really do want to be a nurse, it wasn't a bad year.

Well I was going to add what happened outside of school this year, but it really wasn't much. I did spend a lot of time with my friends, moved out on my own, and survived a hurricane. So I guess that is something. But school kind of takes of over everything. (wow that is a sad thought)

For 2009, I hope this year will be just as wonderful, or maybe even better. I'm not a big fan of making resolutions, as I never keep them for more than a few weeks. But there are several things I hope to accomplish this year:
-finish school and graduate in May
-pass the NCLEX and become a nurse
-find a great job
-find more balance in my life and friendships
-exercise more, be generally more healthy
-decorate my apartment
and there are a few more, but not sure I feel like sharing it with the entire world :oP

Happy new year to everyone! I truly wish peace and happiness for us all!!