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!!