Unconscious Mutterings 12/29

1. Virus:: Ebola
   
2. Poop: Work
   
3. Smart:: Ass
   
4. Agent:: Secret Agent Man
   
5. Wrap:: Saran (and dimers - something that has to do with our Saran Wrap lab in microbiology)
   
6. Brass:: Monkey! That funky monkey!
   
7. Waste of time:: dating?
   
8. Suspicious:: Shady character
   
9. 360:: Skateboarding
   
10. Dummy:: Ventriloquist

word list provided by Unconscious Mutterings.

I got the pot!

I don't know why I'm so excited about this - seriously have no idea. But I am! Went today and my pot was still there... Came home beaming! Mr. Dad isn't feeling well, and as I was coming home, he asked me if he could use my thermometer. I told him I'd let him - in exchange for taking a picture of me with my new pot. (Seemed like a fair trade, eh?) So here it is! The pic above was taken by Mr. Dad (Thanks!) and the one below was by yours truly! :)

Here's a pic of the pot all by itself:

Heart Shaped Box

So what if I don't have an iPod? I still listen to Podcasts. I'm in love with Coverville.

Christmas was different this year. Not bad, just different. Was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve, but due to low census I was sent home and put on call. I ended up going to midnight mass... Haven't been to church in a LONG time, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. (And big hugs to Paulette, a non-Catholic, who was willing to go with me!!) Drove to Georgia after I was "off call" at 7am. Kace had it at her house, which was a first. I still think it's not Christmas without Debbie. I miss her dearly. Family dynamics have changed in so many ways in the past few years, and I'm still not sure what to make of it. I called Uncle Steve, Dev & Sara on Christmas Day. I think I shocked the hell out of Unc. Didn't mean to, but it just didn't feel right to spend another Christmas not talking to them! I can't believe it's been 2 years since I've last seen any of them!! (Dev & Sara's voices have changed a LOT!)

While I was Christmas shopping last week, I saw this beautiful porcelain/enamel covered RED heart-shaped stock pot at TJ Maxx. I knew better than to buy that for myself 2 days before Christmas, but told myself that if it was still there after the holidays I'd go back and buy it. (Kind of trying to avoid any impulse buying, if nothing else) Well let me tell you, I haven't stopped thinking about this pot. Started to worry that it might not be there when I got back, so I started looking for it online - and came up with nothing. I'm going to go tomorrow and check! Keep your fingers crossed for me that it's still there.

Saw Narnia at the theaters the other day with KC & WG. Not bad. I didn't really want to see that one, but I enjoyed it. (Would have rather seen The Family Stone instead.) I don't think I'd read the books as a kid, but I had seen the old PBS movie, though really don't remember it. I actually brought some yarn and a hook into the theater, and began crocheting a scarf during the movie. (I dropped my hook about 40 mins into the movie and it landed under the legs of the guy sitting next to me... No more crocheting in the theaters for me, I think!)

I'd made scarves for Keri, Mom & Brandy for Christmas. Didn't mention it here before, because I didn't want to give away any suprises! :) Anyway, so I've been making all these scarves for other people, and I still don't have one for myself ... so I made one for me. It's this wild shade of green "florida keys green"

Wanting an In-N-Out burger right now. (pout)

Merry Christmas

From your friend, Buddy Christ.

Tropicana

I've got like a dozen oranges on the countertop that are just begging to be used before they turn into some kinda homegrown penicillin... and yet I pour Tropicana into my Blue Moon. *shrug* I don't know, no comment on it... just another self-observation.

Emeralds

Not a diamond in the rough... more like an emerald.

Emeralds are far more valuable than diamonds, but their brilliance and rarity is a well-kept secret to those that venture away from the mainstream!

I got both my legs!

Geez, I guess I'm slacking on the blog! Guess this is what happens when I'm on break from school and don't have some kind of test or project to be procrastinating on!

On the 14th, I made a huge meal for M&D. It was a post-anniversary thing, I guess. ...meant to have it ON their anniversary, but kinda lied down for a nap, and didn't wake up until dad walked in the door. (big oops!) But I digress. I made Steak Saltimbocca, fresh steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, salad, and rolls. It was a kickass dinner!

So yeah, Lil miss "hattie homemaker" is still around, though PMSing in a bad way. (Just means I'm eating almost as many cookies as I'm baking!! )I've got a total of 7 different types of cookies to plop together and give away for the holidays. I handmade 75 christmas cards and sent them out... some will be late, because I've got some going to England & Australia. SFW, though.. better late than never... I think I only got like 10 cards, so those bastards can KMA. (That's the PMS talking there)

It just occured to me the other day that my SN is AKA Katydid... and I wonder if people online wonder if I am missing a leg or two. In the medical world AKA means Above Knee Amputation, but for everyone else, it means Also Known As. I assure you, I have ten fingers and ten toes. :)

Now it's time to haul my happy ass off to work... since school is out, as usual, I'm picking up a ton of extra shifts!

Hattie Homemaker

Been lil' miss homemaker lately. Spent Saturday baking Maple Oat scones. Sunday mostly I slept, but did spend some time working on one of these granny square afghans. Today after school I spent about 6 hours working on homemade Christmas cards... put myself on a card exchange list on a BB site I'm a member of. So far there's about 75 people on the list, though it remains open and the card count may continue to grow. I made about 35 cards today, and started signing them & stuffing them. What a project.

If you told me 5 years ago I'd spend my spare time doing things such as this, I'd laugh at you... I wonder if I'm getting old?

Unconscious Mutterings 12/1

1. Stuffed:: to the gills
2. Armstrong:: Lance, liveSTRONG
3. Bruise:: purple
4. Content:: Parental Advisory - explicit
5. Musical:: tastes
6. Assistance:: Help the lady get to the bathroom!
7. Scrambling:: on the floor
8. Battle:: ship (as in "you sunk my battleship")
9. Extended:: waistline?
10. Discount:: employee

word list provided by Unconscious Mutterings.

Pretty reassuring, eh?

Nothing like seeing flames come out of a car in a crowded parking deck to get your adrenaline going early in the morning!!

Walking back from my micro test to the parking deck with Coots... stood & chatted in the deck - and out of the corner of our eyes, we saw flames coming up from this dark Pontiac. WTF! ~ So we go to call for help - because if that sucker decided to blow, it would most certainly cause some collateral damage! Ok, so I tell Coots that I've got my cell & I can call 911. She said, no, we should use the emergency call boxes. Um, come to find out those don't work!! Yeah, that's a great thought - fire, or rapist hanging out in the 7-story parking deck, and you can't even call for help.

Lesson? Carry your dang cell phone everywhere. - Oh, and know the exact street names that you are on at ALL times. (eyeroll)

Another lesson? Watching the firemen take an axe to a car so they can pop a hood is acutally pretty exciting.

Money, Hats & Turtle Pies

Monday my fincanial services counselor called me and asked me if I was Christian... I was like WTF? She said she had some scholarship money to give away, and the scholarship stipulates that the money must go toward a Christian. I answered her question - then told her, if she's got money to give away, she could ask me anything! (I think what I actually said was, "hey if you're getting me some money, ask away! I don't care if you need to know the last time I pooped; it's fine with me!") I didn't know what was going on with it, and wasn't sure what else needed to be done. Sue said she'd send some stuff in the mail for me... (btw, how bad is it when you & your financial counselor are on a first name basis?)

Which brings me to today. Today I got a letter in the mail from Queens stating that there is a change to my loan award notice. ... Instead of the full tuition being on loan, there is a scholarship for $2875 received, and the remainder of it will be on loan. HOLY MAZOLA!! Now, I don't trust everything I see from Queens - received too many bills erroneously to take this one as for sure. Way too cautious these days... and no, it's not money in the hand ~ but nearly $3k less that I have to pay back on loans sounds damn good to me!! (Keeping my fingers crossed that this is for real!)

Bought a pretty cool hat today. Don't know why I'm writing about this, but I'm proud of my hat... I definitely need to take a pic of myself in it, because it's the coolest damn hat ever. I actually think this is the first hat I've ever bought myself - other than like a ball cap or visor.

Need to start my pie-making tonight... Going to have trouble getting into the kitchen tomorrow, as Thanksgiving always makes for chaos in the kitchen. And despite the fact it's going to just be the 3 of us, no doubt this year will be no exception. I work Thursday night, but I go in late so I'm planning on keeping up with everything here in the house. I can only hope I don't collapse from fatigue!

Mom ripped out an ad with a recipe for some kind of turtle pie that she wants me to make for her... I battled the hell that is Wal-Mart in the holiday season and bought all the ingredients. (Damn expensive pie, let me tell you - caramels, chocolate, pecans... geez!) Want to make an apple one, but might just do that later - I've got all the ingredients, but why bake so many pies? Dad went out and bought some frozen ones too - so i'm sure we're guaranteed at least one Mrs. Smiths! (ugh)

Sooo looking forward to Turkey Salad leftovers!! Mmmm ... in the voice of those old muffin commericals ... Makes my mouth water!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,
This year, I'd really like a little niece or nephew. I'd also really like a batter bowl.. but mostly I'd like a little niece or newphew.

The windows to the soul...

I have a quiz this morning for my nursing class on the eyes... so did a quick review of eye structures & meds. Remembered how when I was young, I thought that the pupil was a big hole open to the outside. I thought if you touched the front of your eye you could accidentally stick your finger all the way into your eyeball. ... guess that's why I was so grossed out at the thought of contact lenses when I was a kid.

Made some potato soup from scratch yesterday. Turned out pretty damn good if I say so myself.

That's all for now. Really want to take a quick nap before I rush off for school. So afraid I'll oversleep and not make it on time!

Cardinal Signs...

Found myself stifling a laugh during microbiology as the professor said "Redness is one of the cardinal signs of inflammation". Am sure that I'm the only one that saw the humor in this statement.

51-50

I really thought everyone knew what a 5150 was. As in she completely went 5150 and started throwing things all over the place, so now she's here in the hospital! I said something about someone going 5150 the other day at school, and they all gave me this blank look. I started to tell them, it's a legal code... they all thought I was just strange for citing penal code sections. 5150 is becomes not just a legal code, but an adjective... and is used in everyday language. It is widely recognized by most people I know (Except, as I've learned, by people here in the south!) ... its no different than hearing that there's been a 187 on Main Street. ...know what I mean?

So just what is a 5150? It's a CA penal code that allows officers to take someone in involuntarily - should the officer have "probable cause to believe that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled." It automatically calls for a 72 hour hold in an institution so that further assessments can be made. Learn about it here.

Thank a Veteran

Do something good. Thank a Veteran today, you selfish bastard. Spare them your feelings on politics and the price of oil. Just show some reverence, and thank them....

Enchanted Trees

My thought of the day: I used to have the softest hands ... now I work at a hospital.

Today, up at the Queens campus, I got to see a spectacular breathtaking view. Tried to park on Wellesley - not a single space to be found. Should have known not to bother - thought to myself I should have tried Radcliffe St first - but soo glad I didn't! Used to keep a camera in my car at all times, and today how I longed to have it on hand. The trees were all gold and appeared to glow. Felt like I was on an enchanted street! It's a part of town where the trees from either side of the street reach up to touch in the middle. There's few places where I see this, and I have always found it to be majestic. If there is a god or deity to be seen on this earth, it's in the trees that touch - with rays of light seeping through. ... Not a "tree hugger" but always a sucker for the beauty of trees.

Oh, and as for comments - you can see I haven't stopped to erase the spam lately. Decided rather than erasing them each time, I have added the little thingie where you have to type what the picture says - eliminates computer-generated crap. So if you decide to leave me a comment - it'll just take an extra step! It's not difficult, so long as you know your ABC's & 123's. ... and if you don't... well then I didn't want you commenting anyway! *giggle*

Unconscious mutterings 11/7

It's been a while since I've done one of these

1. Deeper and deeper:: You're getting sleepy, very sleepy
   
2. Can’t help .... :: Falling in love with you (UB40 version, of course!)
   
3. Devil’s advocate:: Debates
   
4. Superpower:: Psionic Fart!?
   
5. Threatening:: Cloudy skies
   
6. Played:: Huh? Cards, maybe?
   
7. War:: Games
   
8. Violate:: This dude that molested his niece (HIPAA, can't say more)
   
9. Invest:: Financial planning
   
10. Choke:: Those tags that say choking hazard - not for children.
    

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

I just like saying the word. It may be the biggest word I know - definitely the biggest I ever get to use! Besides, got to see 3 of them during clinicals today! :)

Don't you dare smile!

Ok, so one of the girls I go to school with was telling me that she went down to get her driver’s license renewed. Apparently at the Charlotte DMV, you can’t smile in your driver’s license photo anymore. (What the heck?) She said that right before they took her picture, she smiled, and they made her take it over again! When she asked about it, they told her that it is because if she ever got arrested, they want her license photo to look more like her mug shot (!?!)

I found this hard to believe. So I went to research it… could not find any written rules about DMV smiling regulations, but I did find this:

Last December, the New York Times reported that international passport guidelines advised people posing for passports that, "only closed-mouth, 'neutral' expressions will be allowed," so that they could be read by biometrics instruments. Throwing a bone to the irrepressibly cheerful, the guidelines state that a "smile with closed jaw is allowed, but is not preferred." So don't you dare smile with an open mouth unless you want the terrorists to win. You can read the article here.

I guess that the DMVs are following suit? Makes a little more sense than a mugshot reason. Still, I’m glad I was allowed to smile in my photo. License photos are usually bad enough as it is, and I consider myself lucky that mine isn’t too horrendous.

Dia De los Muertos

Just wanted to spend a moment of time thinking of those who have passed on this, the Day of the Dead. Not familiar with it? Go ahead, click. You may learn something new.

Dreamt the night before last that I had this super huge tattoo on my R lateral thigh with the names of everyone I've known/cared about** that had died. Every time someone I knew died, I added their name to my leg. In my dream, the tattoo just seemed to be getting bigger each time I looked at it. I distinctly remember it started out with just a little bit at the top, and then at one point I looked down and it was mid-calf. I remember thinking how I was running out of room. (Yeah, still not getting good sleep!) **Had to add the "cared about" because lately It seems that I know a LOT of people that die. Goes with the territory of hospital work, I guess. Kinda sad, but whenever I read the local newspaper, I always make a point to read the obits. You'd be suprised how many names I recognize.

Last night I let Adrienne talk me into going to Scarowinds with her. Was a lot more fun than I thought it'd be. I figured it would be some cheezy theme park with a haunted house somewhere on site. Nooo... soo not that. The whole dang park was transformed. Fog everywhere - so many zombies & other spooks coming after you, you'd think you were walking through a live version of Silent Hill! It was the Massacre Manor walk through the woods that got to me the most! (OMG, you just don't know!!)
Also, several of the roller coasters were open, and holy mazola - we rode this one Borg something ride that has you lie flat on your back. With each loop you end up belly-down feeling like you're going to just fall. Way cool in the middle of the night when it's really dark and foggy!! (increases the OH SHIT factor a notch or two!) I'm already thinking I might just go back again next year.

Got an exam in the morning for nursing - it's on psychiatric stuff. Don't know why, but I'm soo not sweating this one. Guess I feel ok with the material, because it's not "cut & dry" like the other stuff - there's not really anything much to memorize, except maybe meds, but those are straight forward. Everyone seems to be freaking out about this test, and they keep asking me if I've been studying. I almost feel guilty for not studying. I'm sure I'll pass, and I just keep saying "C means continue."
Apathy has stricken in the worst way. I've just passed the halfway point, and it shocked the heck out of me that I signed up for next semester's classes. .... Next semester I take 2 mini-mesters (or whatever) and then it's all about the preceptorship!! (wowzilla - I can't believe this!!) Keeping my fingers crossed that apathy doesn't creep up to kick me in the ass, but I'm still doing pretty well. (Crossing fingers & knocking on wood...)

Susan got me hooked on those Sudoku puzzles. She asked me if I do them, and I told her no, because numbers aren't usually my thing. I had assumed it was all math. I was mistaken. Not a lick of math involved, (100% logic), those suckers are tricky. Try one out... but be sure to have an eraser on hand! :)

Learned a new word tonight -grandiloquent. Someone who talks grandiloquently uses a whole lot of five-dollar words, if ya know what I mean. (Click on link to get to dictionary entry with pronunciation guide)

That's all for now - brain is flooded, but just not focusing on any one thought.

Hooky

Playing hooky from school today. Got up, showered, & dressed... it was 62 degrees upstairs. (42 outside!) So cold I just wanted to stay under the down comforter. Was burning candles like they were going out of style! Just felt like one of those days where you want to ease into it, & candles gave a nice soft glow - much preferrered over a ceiling fan full of 60-watts! Also, it smelled good! :)

Asked Mr. Dad, "Isn't Friday the anniversary of Grampa's passing?" - only to find out that today is. Further added to my somber mood today.

Monday night I went to bed with a headache so intense I was nauseous. Woke up in the middle of the night just soaked in sweat. (And it was cold upstairs, believe me!) Had nearly soaked completely through my thick fleece pants

Had more incredibly strange dreams last night (Tuesday) - strange figures in clothes moving around. Inanimate objects were alive & dressed, & everything looked like you were looking through a bubble lens. I distinctly remember seeing a hockey stick moving around at one point. Sounds funny now, but it creeped me out. Seems I can't get enough sleep lately because the quality of sleep just isn't there.

So anyway, today.. I stayed home... went back to sleep for about 3 hours. I'm still cold & tired - and still deprived of some quality peaceful sleep.

Grammar 101

If I'm talking to you, don't correct my grammar. It's rude. Pisses me off. Makes me no longer want to talk to you anymore.

At 3 AM in the morning

• Didn't know Mitch Hedberg had passed away. Phenomenal comedian. Had no idea! Wonder why that never made the headlines?
• Something I hate: The redundance of "AM" and "in the morning" ... as in "We got up at 6am in the morning."
• Got up early this morning, & watched about an hour of C-Span. Topic was Wednesday's senate hearings about drug use of athletes & the penalties. Can't believe that the senate has nothing better to do. (eyeroll)

Who’s your inner superhero?

Did you know that everyone has a superhero inside them?
It's true! In fact, most people have a different superhero inside them every day - and it's only by getting in touch with your inner superhero that you can attain your ultimate potential. Fortunately for you, we've spared no expense to create the ultimate polypsychotronic transdimensional superhero identity calculator, so that you no longer need to wonder who you really are today.

Here’s what I came up with:
Name: Light Woman
Secret Identity: katydid
Special Power: Psionic Fart
Transportation: Magnetic Scooter
Weapon: Meson Blunderbuss
Costume: Silk Pajamas
Sidekick: the Professor
Nemesis: Melvin the Clever
Tragic Flaw: Clumsiness
Favorite Food: Olives

Ok, hold up. Olives are ok, but who would choose that as a favorite food?!
If I made my own it would look something like this:

Name: Super-Strugglin' Student
Secret Identity: Katydid
Special Power: Snorts when she laughs - which will render all enemies powerless because they laugh too
Weapon: The mighty #2 pencil
Costume: Galaxy Blue Scrubs by day/ Ceil Blue scrubs by night!
Sidekick: Trichosiderin, the redheaded Super-Straight-A Student
Nemesis: Flava-Flav & the Evil Alarm Clock
Tragic Flaw: (i'll keep clumsiness here) & add scatterbrainedness (is that a word?)
Favorite Food: Starbucks White Mochas! (hey in my world that's a food!)

Just for fun... what would you be??
http://www.humorscope.com/hero.html

Midget tossing!

Ok, last week in clinical... well I've got a lot to say, but don't have the time or the drive to type it all out. There's one part though, that I just can't omit: The midget copping a squat. (yeah midget!!) I don't give a F*CK what you say or how PC you want to be - It's ALWAYS funnier when there's a midget involved.

Christin had a midget assigned to her. (CLASSIC!) He was very old, very disoriented, & very incontinent! She asked me to help her change the bed. His wife stepped out of the room to give us some space to work. We were halfway through the process, when he looked at her & said he had to pee. I almost died of laughter when she tried to get him to the bathroom! Turns out he needed a lot more assistance than she thought. He was too weak to stand up by himself, so there she was trying to hold him up - while he stood in the middle of his floor and peed everywhere! Then he crouched down & squatted like he was going to do a #2. Meanwhile, she was still trying to hold him so he didn't fall over. You should have seen the expression on Christin's face as she kept leaning to look and see what was going to come out. (thank freakin' gawd nothing did!!)

As he was squatting and "ugh-ing" (like he was trying to push something, lol!) he was losing balance. We lowered him to the floor so he wouldn't fall. We were trying desperately to clean this guy up & change his linens quickly - all in hopes that his wife didn't come back to the room to find him sitting on the floor soaked in urine. It was enough to drive us into hysterics!

Dietary knocked on the door to deliver the breakfast tray. I leapt to the door to take the tray before I had to explain anything. I told them, "Here, I'll take it. This room is a mess right now, you don't want to come in!" I didn't lie; it was a mess. It was quite a sight to behold, though: Midget down! He didn't even know what was going on... he just sat there on the floor, soaking wet, tapping his feet - just as non-chalant as could be.

... I'm not even going to tell you how we got him back in bed.

Apostrophes where they don't belong?

Took a test in micro today. Thought I was doing pretty well, up until about question 38 ~ then I just hit a wall. Should have READ chapter 8. There was a lot of questions about plasmids and stuff... oh I was so lost. Didn't know just how lost I was until I was talking to Coots after the test. There were all these questions about F+ and F- & F' .... I was calling the last one "F apostrophe" ... Apparently it's "F prime". Yeah, that's how lost I was. Whoops.

Math for 3rd Shifters

Crazy weekend. New math equation. More important than E=Mc2:
Full moon + Friday night = CHAOS
Going to mark every full moon on my calendar from now on.

That's all for now. Going to bed.

Post-Scantron Amnesia?

Once again, I've managed to go almost ages since I've written.

Was tickled by the fact I read about an ERCP on Wed in class, and actually had a patient at work on Saturday that was going in for an ERCP. (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography - read about it here). You can teach me all you want about lab values and chemical reactions... it goes in one ear and out the other. Sometimes it stays long enough to make it onto the Scantron form for the next test, but the knowledge dissipates quickly. Now, give me something where I can apply it, and we're talking! (I should be knowing those lab values by heart, too. I'm just kinda spoiled by the fact that every printout I've ever seen has H or L next to the abnormals!!) <~~ I need to paste flashcards around the house or something -because I can guarantee those values won't be bolded on the NCLEX!

Had a meeting down at the Red Cross last week... meant to write about this last time! They're seeking volunteers to commit to 3 weeks deployment for disaster services. Felt awful, but had to tell them no. There's no way I'd be able to make up 3 weeks of class. I guess the Red Cross is pretty desperate... new volunteers don't need anything special; all they require is a 2 hour seminar on "disaster services". I think the "seminar" only entails watching a video. They aren't even requiring special skills or proof of immunizations... nothing! (Trust me, we asked!) Everyone who is qualified in our chapter is already gone to Texas & Alabama, etc. We're on standby in our area for a local MASH shelter to be put in place, as the existing shelters are getting close to full. I let the volunteer coordinator know that I'd be glad to volunteer at the local shelter anytime. ..btw, i don't know why they call it a MASH shelter. Doesn't that stand for Mobile something Surgical Hospital? *shrug*

Oooh!!! I almost forgot about this one... Last week I did my clinicals at a local clubhouse for mentally ill adults. About 90% of their patients are schizophrenics. I had a ball... it was SO not like when I got sent to the psych ward at the hospital. These people were not in crisis, but rather in a state of maintenance. Totally a different story from what I saw before... and yay, none of them looked like Frankenstein! (thank GOD). So one of the activities during the day was a poetry therapy group. Fascinating! There's this guy who is prior client - a paranoid schizophrenic, I think. He is interested in poetry, and comes in once a week to lead a poetry-writing & exploring workshop with current clients. So he shared Dickinson's "I'm Nobody" and asked us to write a poem starting off with "I'm Somebody" instead... Great idea - esp for a therapy session! Ok, so I participated, of course! (You can't just sit and watch them... it really would be rude). The guy asked me to read my poem, and (HA!) criticized it. Said it was "Too Prosey". I didn't think it was a critiquing session, but rather a poetry therapy group.
I just thought that was too funny... No, my feelings weren't hurt. I was a bit shocked at how bitterly he disliked it, but really just wanted to laugh. I took a poetry writing course in college about 8 or 9 years ago. I know that there are things some people are going to like, and some people are going to scrunch their nose at. The best part was watching all the clients react to his words... they looked like they were so defensive for me!
By the way, I had a blast listening to what others' wrote. It's kinda funny how you can see elements of the issues they're battling in their writings. It was like opening a little window into them. If you ever get the opportunity - drop on in to a poetry therapy group! I'm sure it won't disappoint!

That's it for now. I've got a test on NG tubes & GI disorders in the morning, so it's off to study-land!

All the waters in India

Tomorrow I go to a halfway house for "mentally ill" adults for my clinical. From what I understand, the majority of the pts are schizophrenic. I'm actually pretty excited about this. The people I've talked to that took this last semester had nothing but good things to say about the experience. I have no desire to get into psychiatric care, but there's a lot to be learned by exposing yourself to the experiences. God knows the nursing office has no problem floating me down there, so I'll take the learnin' while the learnin' is good!
Oooh ... plus I get to go with Coots - this'll make even a sucky day pretty good... just love that gal! Somehow she & I have managed to have clinicals together for the last 3 sessions. (Not this time, though) She & I work well together. ~ I'll be glad to be with someone that's nonjudgemental at this place. *eyeroll* you can only imagine what comes out of some of the student nurses' mouths when they talk about mental illnesses.
Oh, and we can make beds like it ain't nobody's business! ... if all else fails in life, we can get a job cleaning hotel rooms?

Last week in Micro we cultured stuff off our bodies & the environment. 3 off the body & 3 off the environment. Today we got to look at what grew. I chose for my body: my nares, behind my earrings, & under my breast *(It was really hot, & I'd been sitting out in the truck studying, so I had a bit of sweaty action there! ... i know, i know, TMI. Well if ya don't like it ~ as i've always said, see that little X in the upper right-hand corner? Click it!) Anyway~ for the environment, I swabbed the eyepiece of my microscope, the sole of my shoe, and the sponge we were using to "disinfect" our desks with. (I put disinfect into quotes, because if you saw what all grew on the sponge culture, you would wonder what the hell the disinfectant was made of, too!) I wish I knew enough about this stuff to identify what we actually grew. It was hideous. 7 days in an incubator really brings a LOT out. And the samples had a certain je ne sais FUNK to 'em. Ick. I felt so dirty...

Unconscious Mutterings 9/1

1. Girlfriends:: greeting cards
   
2. Here to stay:: you're stuck with me to phhht!
   
3. Call me:: "I don't have time for this now, I'll deal with it when it's more convenient"
   
4. Frustrated:: Me - now - nursing school!
   
5. Public school:: Education
   
6. Glitch:: Y2K?
   
7. Cheese:: Mmmm quesadilla
   
8. Director:: Chair
   
9. Pivotal:: You're important
   
10. Exclusive:: We'd like to think we're the only ones.
    

word list provided by Unconscious Mutterings.

Creepy

Eew... it just gives me the goosebumps thinking of it. I just found a silverfish/firebrat on my desk. It went running away so fast when I turned on the light, I couldn't catch it to kill it. So now, of course, I keep thinking it's going to crawl up on me. This wasn't a baby one, either. Sucker could probably eat my entire med-surg book! (and that's a big-ass book, by the way!!) I've got a million books and papers on my desk, so I'm sure he's been in hog heaven. Nasty creature. It's been hot here today, (digital thermometer in the corner of the porch registered 114!) and I'd like to think that he was only here because of the heat, and that there's no more of these guys around. ...i'd much rather see spiders than those creepy crawlers. Spiders at least eat other bugs; these nasty things eat wallpaper and books.

When Did I Eat Corn??

Yeah, I really did just say that. I don't know why I'm sharing it, either. Probably only because I cracked myself up. As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I actually thought, wow I can't believe I just said that... then I just laughed and laughed.

... Oh, the shit that I talk about on my blog... ha!

Why I Love My Life in SC

My last apartment before I moved here was in the ghetto. I mean it: no heat, no AC. Mold growing inside the walls. Couldn’t run a microwave and an iron at the same time because it would throw the circuits. There were about 21 apartments all facing a center pool/courtyard. They all had stories.

#1 was a 1br/1ba inhabited by about a dozen (maybe more) migrant workers. They picked apples and grapes. No women and children. The men crowded into that tiny place, and often took turns sleeping in shifts. When it got to be prime picking season, it seemed the population grew – and you’d often find people sleeping in cars in the parking lot. I’m sure they sent their extra money back to their families in Mexico. The extra money after they paid rent and partied, that is. On Friday nights you’d find them carrying cases of Corona back to their apartment, pissing everywhere, laughing, singing, and catcalling to young females like me. It can be quite intimidating when you come home from work to find there are 4 of them standing in your assigned parking space.

#7 was a meth lab. You could smell the distinct stench of burning bread on most days. I think even they didn’t like the smell. They almost never closed their door. Instead, they pinned up one of those woven Mexican blankets over the doorway. Their location was perfect, because right next door was the laundry room, which was a known drug dealing location. …and yes, everyone knew about it. Eventually the laundry room was closed & locked nightly at sundown ~ at request of the local police.

Upstairs lived Nim, a bartender about 4 feet tall. She could kick your ass, and will if you give her half a reason to. My roommate didn’t like her too much, but I always got along with her well enough. ... maybe that's because I never gave her any reasons. (I'll keep stories of my roommate out of this entry, but will say she was not great. She'll probably stay in the ghetto until she dies - if she's not dead already.)

Next door lived a woman with 2 of her children. Barely making it by. The apartments were so bad, and living conditions so awful that HUD wouldn’t grant section 8 assistance for our complex anymore. But she didn’t want to move. She worked hard, but was a shitty mother. She lost custody of one of her children, and was in a battle to keep the other two. There were rumors that her boyfriend may have molested her children. Quite possible, but it was only speculation based on claims from the grandmother, who wanted custody of all of the siblings. Her kids left a space heater on and burned their apartment down the week before I moved out.

The fire next door was the final straw. It was only icing on the cake that my truck was broken into the day before I moved. Kinda funny how the cops know exactly where you are. And the cop who came by to take the report was nice enough. He knew I wasn’t part of the ghetto trash I was surrounded by. And he said to me, “Well, aren’t you glad you’re on your way out of here? I’m sure you’re going to a much better place than this.” (or something to that effect). Yeah, he’s right. Sometimes I miss things from back home, but I don’t miss my old life.

I could go on telling stories about the shitty tenement I lived in, but why bother? You get the gist of it. The point is, I’ve been there – and guess what: I’m not anymore. Sometimes I take things for granted. And then I see people who have lived a truly sheltered life. There are tons of them here. They truly don’t know how good their lives are. Sometimes I share stories from back home with them – letting them know that they should be glad for what they have. And I’m grateful that my stories are only memories. I’m so lucky to have stayed long enough to gain insight – but not so long that I’d go down their paths. There are some neighborhoods I just don’t want to return to.

Karmic Brownie Points

There's something of a mysterious innocence with people who are slowly dying. Never ceases to amaze me. I revere them, and don't quite understand why. Cancer? End stage AIDS? Whatever you want... carte blanche in my book.

Found that I don't have much patience with people with dementia, though. Spit & swear words flying. I was the recipient of that, along with stray urine & some backhands – most of which I was able to catch midair. Don’t know how many people with Alzheimer’s get like this. I’m sure the numbers aren’t low, though. My experience left a sour taste in my mouth.. but I’m proud of myself for keeping composure all night. Yes, for a full 12-hour shift. Hopefully I earned a couple karmic brownie points.

School starts back up Wednesday. I’ve been working my tail off last couple weeks. (Gotta pay those bills somehow!) Been reading a bunch lately, too. Patti lent me some med math & pharm books. I’ve been trying to gear myself up. Also read a handful of paperbacks. It felt downright decadent to read without serving a purpose!

Started feeling crafty & been working on about a zillion granny squares. Never made anything with granny squares before, but I like that the pieces are smaller & not so thick and heavy as one-piece afghans. I love working on the big ones when the weather is cold, though. Got into that back when I lived in the old ghetto apt that didn’t have heat. Anyway, this granny square project may take forever, & may ultimately look like crap, but it’s something new for me and I’m having fun with it.

Baby got ... backpacks?

Written a helluva lot last couple weeks, but really haven’t blogged much. Could name a dozen excuses why it hasn’t been published, but not a single good reason, so I’m not gonna try.

Listening to ((xm)) watercolors … just a great way to “relax, relate, release.”

How/why the hell did I wind up with an A in psych? Because the prof is on crack, that’s why. I’m done talking about that class now. It’s over, & I’m sure I’ll have new things to bitch about when the fall semester starts next week.

Forgot to comment on that Target commercial – oh yeah, that’s cuz my jaw was still on the ground. You know which one – the play on Sir Mix a Lot’s “Baby Got Back”. Wow, it takes a lot to shock me speechless. Did they yank that off the air or something? I only saw it once or twice. Was actually thinking I might hear “LA face with an Oakland booty” mixed in … if I did, I’m sure it’d be way past September before I’d be able to recuperate enough to comment!

Let me get political (or something) for a minute. Cindy Sheehan. The story raised my eyebrows because she’s from my hometown. (No, I don’t know her or her family; the town is not that small!) See here’s the thing: back in ’04, she had nothing but supportive, patriotic things to say. Now what? Is she trying to get something out of her story?!
Here’s my take: for just one second, set aside your feelings about the war. Now, let’s focus on joining the military. Let me remind you, our country is NOT drafting soldiers. The military is comprised of patriots who have dedicated themselves wholly to the service of our country. They know damn well that they are putting themselves on the line upon enlistment. They are able to sign and vouch for themselves & make the decision whether or not to join. I understand the sorrows of mothers whose children were drafted. I understand them being compelled to protest out on the streets & on TV. But Cindy, hon, your son enlisted himself. You come from a military town… you should know better. Please don’t tell the world that the president murdered your son. It’s an un-American, unpatriotic, & downright ugly thing to say.

A call for coping skills

This is a call out for some coping strategies. There's gotta be someone out there that reads this blog that can give a word or two of advice. How the hell do you deal with the ugly, down-low depressing dirty shit every day? Yes, there are some great days, where you know you've done wonderful things.. it's exhilirating. But it's the bad ones that linger. Leave you with the ominous unsettled feeling.

Spent the other night on the psych ward. (Gotta love the nursing office for floating me there... but that's another story!) They had me running "precautions" on about a dozen patients. By precautions, it means following the patients around to document their location & demeanor q15min. Had one patient wasn't but a kid (well, legal adult, but such a baby!) slit their own throat from ear to chin. Also sliced arms up and down. (Yeah up & down, not side-to-side.) Knew what they were doing.
Looked like Frankenstein with stitches all over. Don't know how the poor thing survived. But that one sunk in... kept seeing images of the kid every time I closed my eyes.

I talked with one nurse a few months back, and she talked about how she leaves her work at work. Said "you can't take it home with you... you just can't". I understand that. But what I don't understand is how you prevent yourself from seeing things that were really not meant to be seen. Some things really unnerve me. And while I get the chills from things like gaping wounds, that's just a fleeting feeling.. some things tear into your core, and you just aren't prepared with where to set them.

I sat and talked with one of the nurses at work, one who I hold in high regard about it. She's competent, caring, and she's got her shit together like nobody's business. I asked her, getting alligatory-eyed, how you do it and if you just get used to it. She said, "I'm not gonna lie to you. You don't ever get used to it. And sometimes, I stop for a beer on the way home."

I know I'm seeing the tip of the iceberg compared to what people in other departments see. I think I understand now why they say so many nurses, doctors, & cops have high drug addiction and alcoholism rates... I don't know how you guys do it, but if you have some secrets, I'd love for you to share them with me.

8/1 ~ updates & junk

Aced Psych test. Prof still crazy - he's dropping final exam, pushing next unit test off to final date in lieu of comprehensive final. Turned in 2 papers: reviews from AJP journals: "Racial & ethnic differences in utilization of mental health services among high-risk youths" & "Quality-of-life impairement in depressive & anxiety disorders" Yee haw... (*eyeroll*) I think I got the APA formats correct, but I'm not 100% sure. Hopefully I won't have to wait forever to find out how I did.

It's KC's birthday. Called & left another off the wall cracked-out song on her voicemail to brighten her day. I'm sure her husband worries about me... he should know by now it runs in the family. None of the Andersens are quite right. ....and I'm beginnning to think the Speeds didn't fare much better off. (... maybe a little, but not much!)

Off to get ready for work. I've signed up for a half-dozen extra shifts since most of my summer classes are over. Got to pay for fall tuition somehow. (Another eyeroll) I'm determined not to sign myself up for indentured servitude. The hospital I work at doesn't offer these programs, but the ones in Charlotte do. For every semester they pay for, I owe them 2 years of my life. (Trying to avoid that at all costs!!)

Good Fort Building Material!

News flash: It's official:
There is such thing as too many pillows.

I don't take up much space in bed, so I have plenty of room for stuff like pillows. So when I couldn't even fit on the bed to sleep without kicking some of them off, you know there's a LOT. I had pulled all the pillows off my big chair and couch while I was cleaning. Piled 'em up on the bed. There's a virtual poly-fill mountain here! I don't know how many there are in total... I'm afraid to find out! My guess is probably around 14.

But it seems like a zillion. And somewhere at the base of said Poly-Fill Mountain is a big fat down comforter contributing to the bulk. Oh to be seven again! This is some good fort-building material here!!

Thurday

Thursday -
Middle of July

Billie sings and swings
with her smoky voice.

The cicadas are off-key
Heat & humidity rising
Swimming pool beckons,
smells of magnolias
and chlorine tantalize.

But I stay on the porch
craving an icy beer,
drinking iced tea instead, and
attempting
to maintain
focus on my homework.

Stream 7/26

** I got Thursday clinical! Yay! This semester they changed Adult Nsg from having 2 clinical days to one really long one. I think the hospital gets overwhelmed with students all being there at the same time. Over the summer, 50+ students all on the maternity floor got to be crazy. (That's not counting the senior students with maternity preceptors!)

Thursday clinical means I can still keep my weekend work schedule while going to school! I'm excited about this, but still a bit worried about a 10-hour clinical. Hey, I work 12 hour shifts no problem, but clinicals drain me. At the end of the day my brain is completely fried, and I often forget the basic things. Ask Sharon... one day, I got to the elevators at the parking garage, and pulled out the remote to my car keys. I swear, I pushed the unlock button on my car keys, somehow thinking that would make the elevator doors open!! (shaking head, yeah, it gets ugly sometimes!)

** Since I took psych this summer, my fall schedule is looking better than I expected. I'm only taking 13 units. (whew!) This psych class is crazy! The professor knows his stuff, but he is completely scatterbrained. Sometimes I wonder about him. Sometimes he forgets basic functions. I can't tell you how long he spends setting up his projector or the VCR each class session. (usually a good 20 minutes is devoted to electronic issues each class!!) I understand after talking about my incident at the elevator it's like "hey pot, this is kettle:" .. but trust me - I pale in comparison!!

He called me Kenya on Friday. As in the country. He's gotten my name right plenty of other times before, so I'm not sure where Kenya stems from. It would normally just slip right by me (hey I'm used to people messing up my name!) but since nobody ever shows up to our class, it's downright intimate. Seriously, we average about 15 people or so that actually show up each week. And of those, there's probably only 8 of us that show up consistently. As Ron White says, "We've met".

I think people are generally protective of their name. They should be - it's their identity. It's the first thing you offer when you meet someone new. (Ah, a rose by any other name.. BS! Just ask anyone with a messed up name!) Most people feel slighted when called by a different name, and I completely understand.

Ok, and while I'm talking about Psych (oh the tangents!) I'm pretty sure I'm going to pass this class. Please tell me what the point is of even studying for exams when the professor keeps throwing his own questions out? On the last test he wrote many questions ambiguously. There were 40 questions, and he threw out 17 of them. (SEVENTEEN!!) He threw out any question that over 25% of the class got wrong. He said that either he worded them poorly (on some he did) or they were just plain "too hard" if that many people got them wrong. (!?!?) He gave points if you still got them right. So I ended up with 120%. Yeah, you read that right. Ok so Friday's test: 50 questions, but it was only out of 40. He said he will "take it out of your 40 best". So you can miss 10 questions and still get 100%. Not that I'm complaining but, WHAT the HELL?!? I just don't understand sometimes.

** Pulled out the Clairol on Thursday morning. Red again. In the past few months I've gone au naturelle and I've forgotten how much more comfortable I feel with red hair. Heck I've got the green eyes, pale skin & the Irish heritage, why not!?

** Got my physiology final tonight. Was looking through old material from the beginning of the semester, and half of it I don't even recognize. I wonder who the heck it was taking those notes in class, because I don't even remember writing half of those words. Been reviewing most of the day yesterday and in the wee hours this morning.

I decided around 7am to bake a cake. ... It just seemed like a good distraction! And then I made frosting. And then with the leftover frosting, I made a bit of colored icing, and put that on the cake too. (shaking head) The whole thing took about an hour. I really should have taken my time and let the cake cool. My icing melted, and is dripping down the cake like wax as I type this. (maybe I'll post a picture). Ah, but it smells good, and I'm sure it'll taste good. And it served its purpose as a distraction - it was much more enjoyable than trying to remember all the functions of Ribosomes, Lysosomes, & the Golgi Apparatus!!!!

** Ok writing all this was distraction #2 for the morning, and it is time to get back to the Golgi, and all the other little cellular lovelies!!

Unconscious Mutterings 7/25

1. Believing:: aliens?
2. Invasion::of the bodysnatchers
3. Boys:: that song Girls & Boys (for those that don't know it, it goes kinda like this: "Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls, who do boys like they're girls, who do girls like they're boys...")
4. Island:: Palm Trees
5. Repeatedly:: Strike
6. Normal:: Vision
7. Hex:: binary code
8. Tuxedo:: Black Tie
9. Virgin:: Records, megastore
10. Cereal:: Breakfast (and lunch and dinner!) of champions

word list provided by Unconscious Mutterings.

And Elderlies are like Children...

Something to be said about the elderly. I really do love old people! I've had plenty of people express fear of the elderly to me. Personally, I can't relate. I think they're my favorite kind of people!

"Children are innocent, yeah
teenagers fucked up in the head.
Adults are even more fucked up
and elderlies are like children"

There's something pure in spirit with an old person. They've lived, they've esperienced, and often have fascinating insights we young people don't stop to learn. We often, as a culture, dismiss the elderly - assume senility. And while this, to an extent, is common, we dismiss even their most lucid observations and commentaries.

I had the most pleasant experience of being sitter for 8 hours with a woman in her late 80's. Now sitting is usually a painfully dull task. The concensus with the techs throughout the hospital is that time would be much better spent doing something more productive than sitting in one room all night playing babysitter. I've had more than my share of sitting, and while its usually a challenge to fight boredom & stay awake all night, it doesn't really bother me. (Maybe I'm just lucky... I've still yet to be kicked, bitten, or spit at!)

So back to m'lady. I'm not going to delve into her personal story, but I will say she really didn't need a sitter. Since the doctor ordered one, though, we were under obligation. Sh wasn't happy about this; it truly saddened her that shw was not trusted to be in her room alone. We still can't see why the doctor ordered it, but foul play involving a family member speaking on her behalf may be involved. (Again, people dismiss so much of what the elderly say!)

So, I let m'lady know that we didn't think she was "nuts". (her word, not mine!) Poor thing - she thought her sitters were here 24/7 to observe her every action to see if she was mentally unstable!!

She spent almost an hour talking to mbe about herself & her sticky situation. (I may not come off as such, but yes, I can be quite the bleeding heart!) So anyway, at one point she stopped and looked at me right into my eyes and asked me if I loved my grandmother. That's when I lost it. "Niagra Falls"... I had to get up and grab tissues! What got into me? I'll tell you. It wasn't the question; it was the honesty, the sincerely wanting to know... it was the way her eyes held onto mine waiting for an answer. It was her patience, when my eyes filled up with tears, not saying anything. She knew once I swallowed the lump in my throat that something meaningful was going to come out.

Yeah, I love old people! I wish our culture wasn't so quick to devalue the aged. We can learn a lot from them. Oh, and how the hell she came up with that question out of the blue was beyond me. I'd been thinking about my grandparents a LOT in the last week, andm issing the hell out of them. I guess the innocent pure spirits can sense these things!

... i'll come back and edit spelling and grammar, if need be, later. It's after 10am, and way past my bedtime... after all, I've still got to work tonight!

Oh Shit!

Internet-Free and Bursting with Flavor!

It happens every once in a while: sometimes the cable goes out…and leaves you stuck without an internet connection.

Today is one of those days. So – since people forget that there are other uses for a computer, here’s a list of things ways to waste your time on the computer sans internet.

1. Forget streaming music. Make your own playlist with all the crap you download!
   
2. Remember when computers were thought of as an expensive deck of cards? Solitaire is passé, and there’s no challenge. Check out Spider or Freecell!
   
3. Pull out your photo editor and stretch faces and draw mustaches on faces of photos. Save the files for later.. you might need them.
   
4. Watch all those .mpg & .avi files you’ve hoarded. Lord knows it’s been a while since you’ve seen the big fat lady beat her husband up with the kids laughing… You know the one, where the cop drives by and they stop for a second and the kids laugh, then the beatings return!
   
5. Open two music players, and play two kinds of music at the same time. Try something like Siouxie & the Banshees Cities in Dust mixed with John Lennon’s Imagine. Make a theme! Mix Patsy Cline’s Crazy with Tool’s Sober!
   
6. Read the notepad .nfo files that came with the illicit stuff you download.
   
7. Go into any Microsoft application and hit F1. Right click and choose Animate! Look at all the cool things your icon can do!
   
8. Selectively delete the cookies you don’t approve of. Leave the ones for sites you go back to.
   
9. Test/preview your screen savers… all of them. (Now that CRT’s are becoming a thing of the past, does anyone actually use these anymore?)
   
10. Write an entry for your blog, and save it to your hard drive for upload later.
    

And if all else fails, read your endocrinology that you’ve been procrastinating about!

Sigh, I really did just make this list up. It’s not from some email I’ve received. And yeah, I’ve done all of these things on this list at some point or another! Oh boy, when I read this over, I think to myself what a dull life I often lead!

Evolution in Action

Fascinating... Survival of the fittest!
Tuskless Elephants Evloving in China
Somewhere out there Darwin is rolling his eyes and saying duh!

I just love elephants, too. They're beautiful creatures. Rode one once when I was younger - a big hairly smelly thing named Tika. If you ever get the opportunity to ride an elephant, GO for it!

Sent home

Got sent home from work at 11pm last night. (No I didn't do anything wrong!) Census dropped low throughout the hospital, so they had nowhere to send me but home. So technically I'm "on call" until 7am, but I'm about as sure as Ivory is pure that I'm not getting called in. (Ha I cracked myself up! That Rhymed!)

"No more rhymes now, I mean it!" "Anybody want a peanut?"

We only had 9 patients on the floor, so I totally understand them sending me home, but my frustration just grows with the staffing. Not going there right now, though...

There's a patient that's got like everything. (MRSA, VO8**, E-Coli in urine, Hep B&C) She drives me crazy. Hits the call light asking me to "remove the dinner tray" from her room. Walks up and down the halls, goes out to smoke, gets into the patient kitchen area, and opens all the lunches just to eat the grapes. Hits the call light about every hour asking me to take her temperature because she thinks she's got a fever.. *Eyeroll* I could go on, but I'm better now.
**(means HIV+)

Venting = good release.

Unconscious Mutterings 7/14

1. Do-it-yourself:: Kit - ugh pressboard!
   
2. Pickpocket:: Mugging
   
3. Ballet:: Tchaikovsky
   
4. Resumé:: Dressing up
   
5. Phenom:: "do doo do doo" ... that Muppets song!
   
6. Love/Hate:: Relationships, war, mutual respect..
   
7. Unusual:: Cyndi Lauper
   
8. Intense:: primal
   
9. Interruption:: Cell phones
   
10. Not enough:: insatiable
    

Wow... where did these come from?! *scratching head* well, the rules are to write the first thing that comes to mind. Hope I spelled Tchaikovsky right, because I'm not about to change my answers. Something to be said for the immediacy of the responses.

I was looking over some of my old posts, and was taken aback by my last unconscious mutterings. The word was TYPE, and I put "A positive". WOW. Just think it funny that I've never known my own blood type until 2 days ago, and yet when it said TYPE, I chose that. (that's what motivated me to post another one) ... Then again, maybe it'll be akin to Professor Trelawney's tea leaves? (Harry Potter reference, for those of you lost on Trelawney... shaking head, I'm such a dork!)

word list provided by Unconscious Mutterings.

raindrops keep fallin'

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head - the instrumental piano is running on a continual loop in my brain! Not sure why, either. Must have heard it in the background on some Muzak-type thing. Who knows!

The more I'm studying abnormal psych, the more i'm beginning to think there's a category somewhere in the DSM for about everyone I know. We're all scorable!

Read in a blog that Harry Potter comes out this weekend. (Yay!) I reserved my copy weeks ago, and didn't even realize that it comes out so soon! Been looking forward to it ever since the last one, and never thought the release would finally come! Told Mr Dad he's going to have to read it first, since it might be a bit before I pick it up. (blast those textbooks!)

Actually started getting into and enjoying phys the last couple weeks. As the semester is drawing to a close, I guess I looked back and thought about all the hows and whys about so many things - and realized we really didn't learn much. No, I mean it. I could do the "Phospholipid Bilayer dance", but I'm still not sure the purpose Ca++ serves in the body! And all of a sudden it occurred to me: any other time, I'd be fascinated with this stuff. So I took it upon myself to be reading the hell out of my text. I mean, really, I'm probably going to need to know this stuff anyway! Well, I'm sure I could get away with NOT knowing it (a lot of nurses really don't know much about the ins & outs of what they're doing) but that's just not my style. Besides, science has always fascinated me. It answers the whys of the world.. (Never cared about the hows as much as I have the whys!)

My grades are not great. It's a total lack of application, undoubtedly. When I finish, I'll be able to get my BSN no prob, but I might preclude myself from further grad studies because of it. Not that I have grad school plans in sight.... I just hate to see those walls set up.

Still want to go to OU. Looked at their RN-BSN program, and think I could probably do it. I'll need a chem & I think a math class *groan*, but it wouldn't be beyond me. I'd love to be a Sooner!

One step at a time though, I know. ... this is all assuming I pass Micro this fall! (I have my fears!) I remember in animal biology like a hundred years ago, we spent like forever in front of the scopes (or behind them?) It was wicked, but I loved learning about it. Worked my ass off in that class for my C-. It was the lowest grade on any completed course I've ever taken. I'm still a bit upset that I didn't get a higher score, but it was one of my favorite classes!

Just more random mutterings, that's all.

Stratum Lucidum - I got thick skin.
... say what you will; I'd love to hear your comments!

Thought i'd post a recent picture, since the one on my profile is aging. This one is from just the other day:

Yes, that's me, with psych notes in hand. (Proof positive that it's possible to be both a beauty and a geek! j/k) No really though, thanks to Heather, I've fallen for that show. Thanks to the magic of DVR, I've caught all the episodes. Sad, though, because I think the editors had great footage to work with, and certain elements were really um... accentuated. Editing can change anything. I'll spare you from all the commentary (there's probably a million blogs about it out there!) but I'll tell you, as I watch it, I'm more and more impressed with Chuck! I think mamacita's got it right: he's not a geek, he's just very cerebral! (and cute too, but I digress)

Watched the finale/reunion show today, so it's on the brain. The editing was awful... but then again they edit based on what sells. Lord help me if I ever were to be on a reality show. I always did want to be on Jeopardy, but that's about it. (Ken Jennings would kick my ass, but I'd be honored to have shared the stage!)

I've yet to share music here on my blog ~ mostly on my website, or in my MP3 mailings. But I found this song - and I'm so dang proud of myself for being able to uncover it. (This took more than some Googling!) It's called Jet Jackie & JC. It's by a band called LGS (Little Guilt Shrine) from Sacramento. I thought to look for it because I've got quite a little Jackie Chan DVD collection going. Was thinking about it as I was staring at my DVDs yesterday...

I used to listen to the local music on the radio all the time - kinda miss the "Sounds of Sacramento" and the old Shawn & Jeff days... takes me right back! Don't hear much local stuff - or much from DJs for that matter! [No, I haven't fallen out of love with my ((XM))! Probably never will!] By the way, if anyone knows where I can buy LGS albums, email me! I can't seem to get my hands on a copy! (Long gone are the old local independently-produced albums of mine!)

Ok, random muttering has turned into another book... Last quick sputterings and then I'm gone:

• Go Lance! (Seven!!)
• Found this I had written in an old notebook, and decided to share... "The ceiling just above the tablesaw still bears my mark - I fell through last Thanksgiving while walking in the attic. I came out fine, but the ceiling didn't! Dad tried to piece the ceiling back, but the hole was just too big" .... that's all I wrote. Sometimes I really crack myself up. There's a lot of random things I just opened to an empty page and spewed about. I'll post them here and there.

though i should be studying

... i have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to subjects i'm not crazy about...

So, anyway, I read this poem by Billy Collins - called "Shoveling Snow With Buddha" and it kinda set me in a stupor. Sat and read a handful of his other works, and was moved by them.

Did you hear the one about the donkey?

Made tortilla chips from fresh tortillas after class. ("now baked, not fried!") Sat down with my cinnamony chips & a nice steaming cup of chai ... satiated.

Little headache growing. Wanted to see if it would go away on its own, but obviously it won't.

Parked myself in front of the DVD shelf and stared at them... about a million to choose from, and couldn't decide what to watch. Narrowed it down to 2: The Princess Bride or Donnie Darko. Staring at the movies (for god knows how long) unable to decide reminded me of the old Spanish story of the burro who couldn't decide whether he was hungry or thirsty. (shaking head, yeah, that's really the shit that goes on in my little cabeza) I'll have to find it and post it.

It isn't until I distracted myself to this soapbox that I decided: Donnie Darko. (That headache of mine must be my subconscious giant rabbit). Ibuprofen & DVD here we go...

A+ = Me!

No, that's not a grade... (sheesh, I wish!) That's A-pos, as in my blood type. We did blood typing in lab today. It seemed so 10th grade. Ha! Talk about role reversal... In 10th grade, we played with micropipettes & used gel-boxes to play with DNA. Now here I am in college, and we check blood types? It was fascinating, nevertheless.. got to see agglutination firsthand.

Promised myself if I was O-neg, I'd donate blood at every possible opportunity. I guess I get to be chicken a little bit longer. Funny, I don't think I'm chicken anymore though - maybe just not motivated enough to change... sad, too, because I wholeheartedly believe in organ & tissue donation.** Got no fear of needles anymore, really. They took so many dang samples & shots before I started the NSG program, but a 16-gauge to the AC may have me singing another tune!!!

**Yes, I am a donor. You can harvest whatever you want off me when I am gone. Turn me into a virtual pick 'n' pull! If someone can benefit from something I'm not going to need anymore, by all means, get that scalpel out! When I was a teenanger, I wanted to be a cadaver for med schools - a great way to give back to this world, I always thought. I heard they don't use them anymore. Well, whatever - but before you throw me in a box or burn me into bits, you'd best ensure you've done what you can with what I've got.

... you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but you might be able to get a mitral valve outta 'em!

There Goes the Neighborhood!

By the way, never did go into work last night. Talked to Kim, and she said "noooo, you have school in the morning!" (Gotta love Kim... toldja she was awesome!)

Anyway, woke up to go to school, and here's the view from the driveway... making way to clear the lots (Yes PLURAL) across the street. They're going to be building 3 houses across the street from us.. *sigh* Like I said, "there goes the neighborhood!"

SNAFU!

Another scheduling error at the nursing office! This is becoming too common of an event!! I've been told to go home before because they didn't have me scheduled to come in until later. (WTF? ... hell no!) I told them this whole building is understaffed - FIND somewhere for me to work! (*giggle, yeah I really did!) You know, it would be one thing if my schedule is a strange one that changes a lot, but it's steady: Fri & Sat from 7pm to 7am. Don't know why that's so confusing.

This week, for some reason the nursing office has me scheduled to work today from 11p-7a, and to work tomorrow (who knows if its 7-7 or 11-7!). They don't have me even on the books for Saturday. I've been tempted to pick up E-shifts to get some extra $, and I'm glad I haven't yet... God only knows what they'd have done to my schedule then!!!

I'm not even usually home on Thursdays... Tonight I had a phys class I didn't get to. The rain was so bad!! And when Erin called and said that the freeway was closed on my stretch up toward Charlotte, I just said forget it! So on any other Thursday, I wouldn't have even been home to get the call.

I feel bad, though, because I know it's not everyone's fault that it's all screwed up. (Don't know whose fault it is, to be honest). Ultimately it's the patients that suffer... so I told Kim (Charge nurse tonight - Kim's awesome!) that if she needs help I would come in. ((what the heck am I thinking?! The nursing office calls me and tells me I'm not at work when I'm "supposed to be" and then I reward them with coming in anyway!!)) But like I said, it's about the patients.

I pulled out the exercise ball and weights again last week, and let me tell you - it is the best. I started making a point to stretch out and clear my mind - if just for a couple moments - each day, and I feel so much better. Maybe it's all those positive endorphins that have got me rearing to go to work? ...well I gotta go now... I need to make sure my scrubs are clean.

*shaking head* what was i thinking? ...they better be nice to me when I get there!

Happy Birthday, America!

Well, it's Independence Day again. (I guess officially, it's over, but since i haven't slept yet, it doesn't count as the next day for me!) It seemed to be the day for barbeques and fireworks... but somehow I think people forget here what else it is... it's time to be thankful for how lucky we are to live in a democracy... how lucky I am, for example, to have this blog and say whatever the hell I want to on it. How lucky I am to be able to educate myself, and have a job and earn money that I can spend in a fashion that I desire... How lucky I am to have shoes on my feet, clothes on my back, and a pillow under my head.

I believe that too many people take freedom for granted. We are very lucky to be able to have a democratic government... and the power to choose our leaders. I'm sure I'll hit this one again in November, but I believe that all is lost if you don't follow your politics and vote responsibly! People that say their vote doesn't count truly don't understand the workings of our country - time to go back to government class.

I grew up in a town right outside Travis AFB, and am a daughter of two Air Force veterans. (Actually tried to join myself, but the military has a thing about enlisting people with asthma!) I take enormous pride in my country, and in those that protect my rights. I will not take either for granted. So this, being Independence Day, is a time to appreciate what it means to have your independence... thank a veteran; thank a soldier; thank god... BE THANKFUL.

Yes, have your barbeques and your fireworks. Please celebrate - yet understand what you are celebrating. We are in a war right now. There are many people out there who don't seem to realize, or seem to care just what we are battling for... we are battling to help allow others to have what so many of us take for granted every day. Do not take this great country for granted!

Don't wanna get used to it...

From the files... said I would post it. This actually happened on my June 4/ June 5 shift.

I just had the unfortunate experience of having my first and second death in one shift this past weekend. (one at the beginning and one at the end of the shift) I can completely relate to the "dealing with it" stage. Thoughts of it just sort of linger, and I'm still not sure what to make of it.

The first patient I had not met before. She had an intracranial bleed, and came up several hours earlier for comfort measures only. Her entire family was in the room, spending the last moments with her. Everything seemed peaceful, and her family seemed quite relieved when all was said and done and they left the room. I had just begun my shift and was lucky enough that one of the techs (a fellow nursing student) with some experience in deaths stayed to help me.

Because I hadn't seen the patient until she had passed, there was an eerie detatchment with the whole thing... full of concern, but yet no personal experience with the patient to really put me in grief. (Hard to explain - I hope that didn't come out wrong) This woman seemed to have a wonderful family, and was very lucky to pass in such a peaceful manner. The tech that stayed to help me is considering going into hospice, and I couldn't have had a better person show me what to do. Every aspect of the patient's passing was full of dignity and respect.

About 10 or 11 hours later, towards the close of my shift, I started to pick up vital signs to help out the day crew coming in. (We always try to help the next shift when we can!) I heard one of my patients coughing like she was choking up something. (She had been alternating between delerious & comatose - I've never seen her A&O) Well she was fairly comatose... but breathing ok. She had stuff coming out of her mouth that looked white & chunky. I stuck a gloved finger in there, and pulled out a bunch of stuff. I went to get some Toothettes, and stopped at the nurses' station to let the nurse know I grabbed a whole bag for her room, and that we need to probably be giving better oral care on her. When I got back into her room, I moistened a Toothette, and stuck it in her mouth to clean it.

.... that's when I noticed her tongue didn't react ... and saw that she wasn't breathing. She was a DNR, so I ran back to the nurse's station and told her nurse that she wasn't breathing. Two of the nurses came running back to check. One came with the "crash cart" and after listening with the stethoscope, they connected the leads to confirm. It was absolutely awful.

The patient's 60-something daughter was asleep in the room with her. We woke her to tell her, and she freaked out. She left from the room (on the 3rd floor) and went outside to go smoke.... then came back upstairs and told us we had to recussitate her mom... saying "They told me we could change our mind on the DNR... you need to recussitate her!!!" by then it had been to late for us to do anything - even if we could.

The second patient's passing probably would have been ok with me had it not been for her daughter - who did not stop her tirade for almost 2 hours. It was really sad, because we all knew that in her condition, death was inevitable... her mom looked very peaceful, and had not been in any pain for some time.

Again, the whole thing lingered. It wasn't until I got in the car on the way home that I started to get teary eyed. I talked to my dad.. told him I needed a hug... and told him why. He gave me a half-hearted arm around the shoulder, and told me "You're going to have to get used to this in your profession. These things happen" ... that hurt. I took a long hot shower, and cried. I don't ever want to "get used" to people dying on me.

The second patient died on her birthday... and for some reason all I could think about later that day was Mark Twain, who was born during Haley's Comet, and died on his birthday... during Haley's Comet. I don't know why that came to mind - but it did.

6/21 Stuff on my mind...

Officially finished maternity today! (YAY!) Took the final exam - I know I passed, but I don't know what my final score was. I think I'm in the mid-80's, but I don't know exactly where. The grading scale for it is so fouled up, that I could fall anywhere on the scale. Check this one out...

A 95-100
A- 93-94
B+ 90-92
B 88-89
B- 86-87
C+ 84-52
C 82-83
C- 80-81
[Below C is not considered passing]

Point is, I passed, so I guess I shouldn't care. Right now I'm "celebrating" by relaxing and cherishing the fact that for once I don't have to be in Charlotte at 0645 on Wed AM. (and I'm relaxing with a big fat glass of V. Sattui wine!! Mmmm...)
Yeah, I'd love to go back there right about now and have a picnic on their grounds. Hey, Kace? How 'bout lets set a date?? I know we're both overdue for some more yummmy wines. And hey, remember that little old guy, the owner's uncle that was feeding us "The Babymaker?!?" Wasn't he a cutie pie?? *sigh* well, ok it's not practical for us to be going out there if there's no deaths or weddings. K, let's order another big shipment, and have a picnic in the woods at your new backyard!! :) (psst... if anyone we know is dying or getting married, call me though!)

God I'm awful!! I have a feeling I'm going to look at this post and regret it in the morning!!

I had a patient ask me last weekend if I was in school. I grinned, and said yes. (yeah, believe it or not, patients ask this a lot. I guess they start to notice a pattern in the fact that all the techs are nurse wannabe's!) Anyway, this one shocked me... she then asked me what grade I was in! I was like, "Um, I'm 27 ma'am". She just laughed and said, "oh, so you aren't in a grade anymore! You're in College!!". I'm thinking I'll take that as a compliment! Hey, at least I'm not an old hag! :)

Ok, something I'm falling in love with all over again: The Sklar Brothers. It started with dear ol' Kace... she caught a special like a hundred years ago* on Comedy Central and told me I just HAD to watch it. Holy crap, we laughed till we cried, and damn near pissed our pants! Ok... so that was like a hundred years ago*. (*kendra-speak for a long damn time ago) Then, while I was living in Sebastopol, I caught this new show, Cheap Seats. (hey, at the time Sebastopol only had like 20 channels... I never would have tuned to it if I knew it was ESPN!) I fell in love with it immediately! Laughed so hard I hurt my sides. It was the episode with these triatheletes competing with dogs (and not even THEIR dogs) that sold me! I watched it faithfully, until shortly after I moved, when my schedule started getting too crazy to keep up with tv.
Well this weekend, I had to play "sitter" at work. Being a sitter, is pretty much just what it sounds like... ya got to sit in the patient' room to make sure they behave. (in this case, we had a patient going thru DT's.) Anyay, she slept a lot, and I was able to catch like four hours of Cheap Seats! Gawd, I love that show... and as I told Keri on the phone earlier - I decided Jason Sklar is HOT. Mmmm. Hot, buttery Sklars! *grin*

Before I go, one somber thing I just want to get off my chest: we've got this lady... sweet as can be. She's got full blown AIDS, and is Hep C+. She's been in and out since before I started working there. It's getting worse, and I don't know how much longer she has with us on this earth. I think about this each week before I come back to my shift. I know she's in pain, and she's fighting an amazing fight. We know she will not get better. I root for her, and each week I creep in slowly and ask if she is still around - not sure whether to root for her to stay, or for her to pass and free herself. She's committed herself to fighting every step of the way, and I applaud her for the courage and strength that she's shown.
She's got the most amazing son.. he stays with her and takes care of her almost all the dang time. Whenever he's not at work, he's pretty much at the hospital with his mother. He's a living angel... Truly. Beautiful both inside and out. I know she knows how special he is. I don't know how he does it, and I hold him in the highest regard.
I wish I could say more.. but honestly, I'm not sure where to draw the line, so I'd best not say anything. More than anything, this family wants their privacy, and I will give them that. I hold this family in the highest regard... and there's really not a lot of point to this story other than putting it out there... I think about these people a lot. Her passing is inevitable - it's just a matter of when, and I know that I will feel a deep sorrow when she goes. Fuck anyone that says not to get too attached... when you take care of someone for this long, you get to know them and their family. They are amazing kind-hearted souls that show the greatest devotion and respect for each other... I wish more people were like that.
*whew* Damn near started crying here... Time to end this thing... written a whole book practically! Going to hafta make a point to come back online in the AM to see if I need to do some major editing here. (my guess is probably so!)

Allergies: not just an urban legend

I don't know why people refuse to believe other people have allergies.
I have allergies. I can't tell you how angry it makes me when people trivialize them, or tell me that I'm making it up, that it's all in my head. *eyeroll*

I'm allergic to cats. Bad. Send me to a house with a housecat, and we're in for trouble. My eyes water, and itch and get all swollen and puffy... my asthma kicks in, and I begin to have trouble breathing. If I don't get out of the situation quickly, a full-blown asthma attack is sure to ensue. My grandma, rest her soul, never seemed to believe the seriousness of my allergies. Guess nobody ever understood why I always had to leave halfway through Christmas dinner to go grab my inhaler... or why I was otherwise lethargic, drugged to the max on Benadryl!

I'm also allergic to dog spit. It's taken forever, but I've ruled it down... used to think it was dogs, but it's just their slobber. I do well with non-spitty dogs, like poodles and labs. Play fetch with a spitty dog, and my hands get red and itchy and break out in hives. Get a dog to "kiss" me, and it's all over. A lick to the face makes me look like I've been in the room with a cat.

A guy told me once that it wasn't POSSIBLE for me to be allergic to dog spit because a dog's mouth has less germs than a human's... and therefore any allergies I have are all in my head. Some people are retarded. Thank GOD my allergies are not so life threatening. I wonder how many people have died of anaphylactic shock because someone didn't believe their allergies were real..

Unconscious Mutterings 6/15

Saw this and just HAD to add it to my blog. Just randomness

1. Wally:: Lamb, author
   
2. Phantom:: Costume
   
3. Slippery:: When wet
   
4. Fungus:: Those dang toe commercials -eew
   
5. Slot:: Coin
   
6. Type:: A positive
   
7. Discharge:: Lochia - Rubra Serosa & Alba
   
8. "We need to talk”:: Fight a brewin
   
9. On the spot:: Pressured
   
10. Liquid:: Metal
    

From Unconsious Mutterings

The Facts of Life

My phone just rang, singing out the theme song to "The Facts of Life". Yeah, it's cheezy, but it's 80's retro-cool to me, and I've had it programmed there for a few months now. But today it just seems kinda fitting..

It's been a while since i've posted anything new. Mostly I've just been preoccupied - school is taking up a great deal of time. But there are other things too... I think last time I posted I was getting ready to spend my clinical rotation in L&D (Labor & Delivery). I spent two days there, and in those two days, I watched two births: a vaginal delivery, and a cesarean section. (is that how you spell it??) Anyway, it was pretty amazing. During the vaginal, i was completely amazed. Wanted to cry for about a half a second, but knew better. (have to keep your composure in front of the patient & family!!) The C-section was amazing as well, but an altogether different experience. .... I found myself more watching the doctor perform the surgery, and how the mother was tended to & sewn up than watching how the baby was cared for. *guess that's the med-surg gal in me!*

I'm not even going to talk about high risk... it kept me busy, and there was a lot to do. But I wouldn't be able to start to talk about much because the #1 patient I had was a story in itself. HIPAA, ya know. *shaking head* But I will say, when you hear "there really are people like that out there"... that's one of THOSE that I had! (*ha!)

Last weekend at work, I got to see the other side of life... DEATH. We had two patients die on my floor during my shift Sat/Sunday. It was both my first, and my second postmortem. The first one happened just as I was walking onto my shift. I had never met this patient before. The second occurred at the very end of my shift... I knew this patient a little bit because I had been helping take care of her the last 2 weekends. I walked in the room to perform oral care on her when I realized she had gone. (I'll have to post the whole story in another post ... started to type about it the other day on my home computer, but never posted it).

So yeah... that brings me to today - I just spent the last 2 days in the newborn nursery with brand new perfect babies, after cleaning up and toe-tagging two others over the weekend. "The facts of life"

for those not retro-cool enough to remember it:
The Facts of Life
You take the good,
You take the bad,
You take them both
and there you have the facts of life.
The facts of life.

There's a time you gotta go and show
You're growin' now,
You know about the facts of life.
The facts of life.

When the world never seems,
To be living up to your dreams.
And suddenly you're finding out,
The facts of life are all about you.
All about you.
You, All about you.

It takes a lot to get em right,
But you're learnin the facts of life.
Learnin the facts of life.
Learnin the facts of life.
Learnin the facts of life.

Stream...

Stream of consciousness... Just some random thoughts on junk going through my mind. No rhyme or reason or order or anything. If ya don't like it click that little X in the top right hand corner!

• Had lunch with Brandy yesterday... it was so good to see her again! I sure miss our regular lunch hours!
• I got 100% on my first Physiology quiz today, and that made me smile. Made me smile even bigger knowing that not very many people did get 100%.
• Got my "critical thinking" CAP test results back today ... It's a test of your logic that we had to take at the end of last semester. I don't understand the scores, but I know I "passed" all sections (it's not worth anything, so that's why I put passed in quotes)... and I'm above the national average in all sections too. (Even though it's not worth anything, it's nice to know I can still do ok. Go me!)
• C=RN ... A & B is just gravy. ...hopefully i'll get a good bit of gravy this summer though!
• Been listening to the all DMB station on AOL radio for the last couple days... a LOT.
• Made kickass fajitas with portabella mushrooms, sauteed onions, jack cheese & avocado for dinner tonight. Even packed a leftover one for lunchbreak during clinical tomorrow.
• I'm actually going to watch a baby being born tomorrow... at least I think so. I still don't know anything about Pitocin or Toridol or any of the other drugs yet, though.
• (guess you can say I'm procrastinating again?) ~~ Pretty much any time you see a post you can bet I'm putting off something else I'd rather not do!
• All in all, it's been a pretty good week - and I'm not even sure what's made it different from the last couple weeks.
• Read a spanglish blog on Monday and understood it. Spanglish is always easier than full Spanish, but still .. baby steps though, grasshopper.
• There's always a couple things that I want to write, but don't because I know people that read this.

Old?

I found not one, but TWO gray eyebrow hairs last week.
A gray eyebrow hair is far worse than a gray hair on the head.
I think that officially starts me on the road to being old?

Dogma

Just thinking about popping this in while I'm ironing my scrubs...
and thought I'd give a shout out to one of my favorite movies.
It may be old now, but it's still great!

.. and Kevin Smith gets extra points for
mentioning John Hughes! *grin*

(fck maternity!)

It's 4am, and I've got clinical at 6:45am. (Well, she said we can get there at 7am, but geez, at that hour what's 15 minutes!? Please tell me!?) Didn't sleep a wink... Instead, I spent the night reading MATERNITY. Seriously.. this is getting kinda old. I spent allllll day Monday reading Maternity and taking notes. Now, I know I am a good student, and a pretty smart cookie if I don't say so myself.. and I really did apply myself and still spent over EIGHT HOURS going through one of the chapters. All about the changes that occur during pregnancy. There is really just a lot of information. And yet I bombed the quiz. I got all confused with presumptive, probable & positive signs of pregnancy. (eyeroll) Ask me about Chadwick's sign or changes with hypotension, fine... but presumptive/probable/positive signs? I'm lost. And I still don't quite understand it. I think it was really in the wording of the quiz. And a bunch of people got confused by the funky wording! (Somehow it makes me feel good I'm not the only one, at least!) ... it's worth 2% of my grade. Whatever... (Rubbing Earlobes: Woooo-Sahhhh!!!)

So, I've got some new words I learned today:

*Diaphoresis: Sweating
*Puerperium: (aka 4th trimester of pregnancy) It is the 6wk period between birth & return of reproductive organs to normal nonpregnant state
*Afebrile: Having no fever
*Ascites: Fluid that has accumulated within the peritoneal cavity

And I encountered one of my favorite words just the other day on an online module for work: Nosocomial Infections... (long story) All I can say is Hepatitis!!! (you had to be there!)

Talked to Brandy today for a really long time. Gawd I miss that girl! ((*hugs to you*)) I know, I totally suck for turning off the phone and slipping into my own world, but dang it felt good for a while! Anyway I thought to add her here because she learned a new word today too! :) (hehe) She learned "BLOG" .. when I told her that I got a blog, she told me she thought it was some kind of big flat slimy frog. Haa!!! Ok, I just laughed a little too hard at her expense! But ya know, the more I think of it, it does sound kinda Boggy Froggy! My last pet frog was named "Totem". If I ever get another one, I think maybe I'll name him BLOG! :)