Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Always sunny in Colorado

Hey kids,
What's shakin'? Well, it's Tuesday...not that that means anything, it just means it's Tuesday. I don't have much planned this week other than getting that project done that I keep talking about. I have a chunk of it typed up now, and plan to finish up the rest, proofread and turn it in today. I have till tomorrow to get it turned in and it's due officially Saturday. (Since I work wed-fri and have a trip to Colorado Springs on Saturday, I just want it completed and out of my hair before Saturday). I can't believe my summer semester is nearing the close. I think I already blogged about my next class, but I'm looking forward to no nursing next semester. The class is an education class, about leadership and organization, I'm not sure if I'm going to like it but too late now! (c: Ha, I just need to get my financial aide sorted out, it says I have some money coming but then it hasn't released it yet...and the bill is due the first week of August. So, I need to call on that.
Not much else happening today, it's going to be in the 90s or so all week, so I'm just trying to stay chill and think I'll bop down to the pool today for a little dip and to lay out. I watched the Guardian last night (the us coast guard movie about the rescue swimmers, Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher) and it made me want to do some serious swimming, too bad the pool I have is not long enough to make it worth the lap, I'd get like 3 strokes in and have to turn...sounds annoying more than relaxing.
Well, I can't say I'll be posting too much this week, since all I'm doing is homework and working, if I think of something canny to write about then I'll jump online. Otherwise, look for a good post this Sunday after the Springs...planning on going to the Garden of the Gods...a name like that makes me have high expectations!
Have a good week!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Winter Park-Where's the snow?!






Well, I went straight from work to my friend Margaret's house on Saturday because we had planned a trip up to Winter Park. Now, Winter Park is a big skiing resort destination for Denver and I'm assuming for a lot of Coloradians. It's tucked up I-70 in the Rocky Mountains, about an hour and 30 minute drive from Denver. We saw some pretty amazing sights of the mountains on the ride and thanks to Margaret's great driving, we felt like we were living on the edge during some of the drive.
We were unsure of what we were going to do up there, we brought bathing suits, tennis shoes, a change of clothes and our cameras in hopes of many opportunities. I can say this, I wish I could see this place in the winter. Of course, you are surrounded by the mountains and there are Kodak moments every direction you face and the slopes, you can see where the runs are and there are a lot, many that can't be seen from "downtown". One of the pics shows a mountain from the "downtown" and you can see the runs (it's above this as I type, who knows where it will end when I publish the post). We tooled around the main strip and the Jazz festival was ongoing and we thought strongly about hitting that up, but at $35 a person and that just covered admission not drinks, food or anything else plus we had Joseph, who is 8 months old and not into loud events according to his parents. Although I have to wonder about that, but whatever. We decided to for-go the Jazz, not to mention Jonathan (Margaret's boy toy and her baby daddy) was chomping at the bit to get to the resort so he could do some serious mountain biking. Now when I say serious, I mean it, for those mountain bikers reading this, you can start to feel jealous at this moment. (I did not partake in too many adventures yesterday because I got no sleep from working my night shift and felt a bit sluggish and didn't want an injury, not to mention the lighting storm that was ongoing on the top of the mountain). So, the ski hills in the summer turn into a mountain bikers heaven, they ride up the chairlifts with the bikes (you can rent too) then ride down the mountain on the bikes...and it's not all downhill like I assumed. Jonathan was so pumped when he got down the hill the first time, he was huffing and puffing and flushed and had this shit-eating grin from ear to ear. He just kept pumping his arm in the air like he had won the gold metal in mountain biking. It was funny, needless to say, he went back for more. He said it was so fun, he got to ride all around the hills, took multiple trails that were at times a bit scary and he even got lost his last decent down the mountain. Pretty sweet sounding I suppose.
As for us girls, we had the baby but Margaret and her sister-in-law decided they wanted to par-take in the luge that was set up down one side of the mountain, again, I didn't want to injure myself and wasn't feeling too coordinated but I volunteered to wait with the baby, who turned out to be just as tired as me (he missed his nap) and we made a great pair! (c: They got to ride up the chairlift then ride a zig-zag shoot down the mountain on a scooter thingy. They had a good time and I enjoyed just chilling. We then, finally if you ask me, sat down for an adult beverage and enjoyed watching all the bikers and families walking around the resort. It took a while to find the guys (they did get lost, ended up in downtown Winter Park on their bikes) it's a long story but we all got out of there in one piece and headed back to Denver. I was so tired that I just came straight back to my apartment and when my head hit the pillow I didn't wake once until 10 am. It was one of the best sleeps I've ever had. Overall, a good day, and a nice town. Like I said, it would be pretty sweet to see that place in the winter with snow covered mountains, skiers zipping around, probably snow shoers trasping around and everything so chill. Nice.
(Pictures-Me and the moose in downtown Winter Park, ah! my kind of adventure! and then there's just one of the runs on the mountain....)

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Hump Day

Well, it is for me...the middle of my work "week" but can I really call it that? I mean, I work three nights a week...so really. Sounds easy I know, but I work semi-hard for the money they pay me. What can I say, my patients like to sleep through the night, so I let them. I'm a nice nurse.
I'm just chillin, listening to "Mama Mia" soundtrack, what a great, fun and enjoyable movie. I wish I could see it on the stage, the movie was so flamboyant in a Broadway sort of way. And who knew Meryl Strep could sing? I of course, ran out and bought the soundtrack and it's such a diverse and exciting CD. I'm dancing around my apartment singing half the time, it's great. On a side note, the play is coming the GR in the next couple weeks for those of you who are into musicals on stage, I'd say go then see the movie.
Well, not much to say today, I haven't been overly exciting lately, it's the end of the semester so everything I coming due and I should be working on that dog-gone project that I keep writing about. At least I started jotting down notes last night at work, I'll take some time to type it up. It's worth 30 points, so not huge but it is the "scholarly paper" that is the final grade for the class, so I'd better not slack I guess. (c:
I hope everyone is well, thanks for keeping up with the comments and reading my rambling thoughts. I'm never sure if people want me to post less or more...I guess if you get sick of my babbling you can stop reading, ey? But don't, I like to know you care. (c;
Ok, well, I'm gonna finish getting ready for work, I also have to finish my Healthstream learning modules for work, they were supposed to be done one month post-hire, which has come and gone already!!! Love those learnign modules! (Can I get a hell yeah! (hell yeah!) Thanks)
Peace out

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

To the Capital!




Well, Maggie and I ventured downtown yesterday, Tuesday, we really wanted to do a free tour of the US Mint but upon arrival, we found out it's hard to get tickets into the place. We were told to arrive at 645 am to get in line to possibly receive tickets..um, no! Jeez, you'd think we were trying to get in and take money or something! Oh well, maybe some morning I'll be awake or want to go downtown and stand in line, I really can't see myself doing that though...oh well.
We decided to go to the capital for a free tour and to take my picture on the "one mile above sea level" step. It was hotter than the dickens and we were sweating by the time we walked up with Joseph in his walker. The tour lasted about 45 minutes, give or take, we got to see where the Supreme Court used to meet, where the Senate and House meets and we peered into the Governor's office (I thought maybe he'd be sitting there working at his desk, but no, just a secretary). Apparently, there are only 3 capitals built in the same fashion, San Antonio, TX, Denver, CO and Lansing, MI! That was a cool tid-bit, I thought. It was a nice tour, and I'm glad I got to go inside.
I work the next three nights, finished my assignment for homework this week...but still have my project to do. I'm a bit sluggish today (I'll blame the heat) I think I'll go to the pool today to lay out and relax today. No big plans, sorry.
Talk later!

Monday, July 21, 2008

The smell of grass in the morning

Hola, Happy Monday everyone!
I'm on my blog again, procrastinating my homework...just eating my english muffin and drinking a bit of water so I'm hydrated for my workout. It's 11 o'clock here, I woke up at 830, made coffee, felt exhausted and crawled back into bed for another hour of sleep! Working nights just makes me tired all the time! I don't know how people do it constantly and with kids, etc...Kudos to you (as my favorite fictional character Juno would say).
I'm off until Wednesday night, so that means I'll be blogging in my free/procrastination time. (c: Lucky you! Shouldn't be as hot today, in the high 80s so I might spend some time by the pool to work on my tan. The sun is hot here so I usually only stay out for an hour or two, I have trouble napping in the sun I just get so hot.
My big plans are to take my bike, ride to City Park (where the zoo is) and scope out the park..it's supposed to be big and beautiful. I might even head into the Museum and check that out, but that'll depend on the time, my feelings at the time, what I think of the park and again, what I feel like doing. (c: I'm gonna hit up the library on my way home, check out a couple hundred items (not really) and then spend some serious time on my homework for the week and my project. I'm actually interested in my topic this week, it's about health care in community and I am assigned to look up the current presidential candidates stance on health care. I don't have the big players, I'm assigned the other parties (think Libertarian, etc) so I'm intrigued of what I might find out. It'll help me make an informed decision in November.
Anyway, enough about me, let's talk about you! Ha, I'm in a goofy mood today!
Church went okay yesterday, it was a big, open circle set-up, it was also the teen mass so there was a teen choir, and drums and guitar. A little echoey for my liking and I had trouble understanding the priest, he had a lisp. Se la vi, what can you do? He seemed very nice and Margaret insisted on having Joseph (her child) blessed for teething on the way out. She's a bit crazy if you don't know her, but endearing, that's what I'll call it (c: I got a few things out of the homily so that's all I can ask for right? We'll see how I feel about going next week....
Ok for now, I'm gonna get started with my day.
Peace out homies!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Here' to Eddie Vedder

Did you see the movie Into the Wild? Well, I loved it and the soundtrack is all Eddie d and I'm listening to one of his songs now, it's very political/opinionated. He's basically mocking many of the people who are in government. It's a good song when you stop and listen to the lyrics. It's called "here's to the state" and if you support George W. (Sorry julie!) you may not find it as amusing as me but if not, take a second to find it on Itunes and take a listen.
It's a HOT weekend here in Denver, according to my phone (which has weather on it) it's about 99 degrees out. Needless to say, I've been inside most of today, finished another book (hee hee), went for a nice run (well, I shouldn't say nice since I was on the treadmill but I got a 5K in so that's good for a treadmill run), and now I'm working on homework. Is everyone sitting down? You should be, because the next thing I'm going to write will make you want to sit.... I'm going to church at 5 tonight! I've always considered myself a spiritual person, I have strayed far from the Catholic Church, I struggle with the beliefs and requirements that seem to exist. Joc and I talk frequently about faith and going to Mass in Grand Rapids but we just never make it. I guess you could say that I lost my trust in the faith in many ways. I never lost God, this I know for certain but the organization of mass and the monotony are hard for me now. At Aquinas, I found a lot of comfort from attending church at the chapel on campus, something about the intimate setting and the non-judgmental atmosphere were so familiar and comfortable. I struggle to understand the interpretations of the Bible and the ways people are condemned so easily for "sins" that other humans get to deem sins. So, tonight I will go to mass, and I'll see what God has in store for me. I'm not one to write or talk too explicetly about my faith, this might be the only time you'll see it written out or spoken about directly, but I'm looking forward to this opportunity. I feel as though I'm growing and learning about myself just a bit more. I feel confident in my decision to come out west but am getting to the point where I know that this dream that I held so long ago of traveling the country and being "free" are fulfilled and a new phase of life is about to start. Don't get me wrong, I still have dreams and I still want more from life, but I'm more and more certain that home might just be Grand Rapids, MI and I just might be content in living there with Joc and being the best versions of ourselves while we are together. (Sorry my Saints friends who never realized or figured out that I am gay, it's a long story about why I don't just come out and say it but I guess here I am, saying it). And I'm more and more certain that Saint Mary's ICU with its 14 beds, sometimes slow and sometimes crazy times, is my second home.
So, anyway, those are some deep thoughts for a hot Sunday, but that's what you get today. Hope that's alright.

Well, I better get just a bit more homework done while I'm still semi-focused and hopefully I can get downtown as I want to tomorrow to see a few things so I can get some pictures posted.
Oh, my haircut went really well, I like it. I added a few shots i took on my computer. I've sort of decided to grow it a bit, for my little sister's wedding in September. So, I found a really great place that gave me what I consider to be a hip, fun cut. It's not spikey, the back is short enough (I'm keeping it shorter until the rest grows in a bit) but I've been enjoying it so much that I'm considering making it my new do....we'll see where life leads me. I'm in it for the adventure, right? Don't stop now! (c:

Be well!

Friday, July 18, 2008

My take on the travel thing

Ok, I know you are all dying to know what I really think about travel nursing. It definitely has pros and cons, so think about these things before you head off to a total adventure....
Pros-
1. money- of course, everyone knows there's loads of money to be had out there, in overtime (if you want to work it), in housing stipens, in night shift differentials, in travel expenses, this is a well known fact of travel nursing
2. new places for short time- you get to see a city for a short stint and if you like it you can hope they renew your contract, if you don't like it, you can move on to a new sight
3. new experiences- you get to see other hospitals, policies and procedures, you get to see how other places do it (see con list here as well), I love being able to go places, see things that even the locals haven't really been to, the sightseeing is fun but can get pricey
4. free housing- getting set-up in an apartment (generally with pool and work out room) without having to sign a contract (for a lease that is) and worry about breaking it if you want to change assignments
5. new people- this sort of goes with the people and experience pros but you do get to meet other people in the world, outside of where you are from
Ok, that's all I can come up with so far, I'll probably end up adding to the lists as I think of things...now for the cons
Cons-
1. new hospital experiences- it's hard to go to a new place and watch how they do things, if it's better than what you came from, then sweet, if not, it's a little annoying to think to yourself every time you chart of do something, "why do they do it this way?" I'm not sure if it's becasue it's my first assignment and I'm still so fresh from St.s but there are things about the hospital that drive me nuts...a lot of paper charting and double charting (and I HATE double charting!!)
2. Being away from friends and family- this can be a pro for some I suppose, and you get used to it, and it's not like you can't ever go home (although with airfare these days, that might be true!) If you a very friend and family oriented person, you might think of finding a job closer to home first to get your feet wet, or take someone with you.
3. getting licensed in another state- MI is not a compact state, meaning you don't get an easy license from another state, an FYI, you need to give yourself about one month for MI to verify your license to another state and you have to write MI state a letter asking them to send verification to your new state...it's annoying and seems arcacic in this day and age....
4. You won't get the sickest patients anymore...remember, in ICU nursing, you have to take classes at the hospital for CVVH, balloon pumps, etc so your assignments will typically be the easier ones, I'm coming to realize that now...and for 13 weeks, it's not really worth it to take the class, if they offer one...
Well, I have to cut this short, I have a hair appointment at 2:15 today, so I have to go. I'll think about this list some more and continue it if necessary.
Key points to remember, traveling is a fun, awesome and challenging experience, but it has it's cons too. I know many of the kids at St's are itching to try it, and I say do it, try it! Just remember it's not always fun and easy.
Ok, Gotta go, talk soon!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

What's today? Friday?

Hey ya, been offline a few days, working. One more night and I'm off for another stretch, this I could get used to. Day shift I wasn't crazy about working 3 in a row all the time, because let's all agree that the degree of energy and happenings on the day shift is definitely higher than nights so you can get so tired after a 12 hour shift. Nights is a different tired. But, working three nights in a row is good because then you get in the mode of staying up at night and sleeping during the day.
Anyway, blah blah. I woke up about an hour ago, just waking up and now I'm going to go do a quick workout then get ready for another night. Work has been ok, I'm definitely not feeling 100% challenged, which is something I need at work. There have been days, but not a lot. Last night I had a lady (sorry to all my non-medical friends, I'm gonna go off here for a minute) who had two clots in her SVC and one in her R IJ so she went to IR, had two venous sheaths in her bilateral brachial veins with TPA running all night. She also had heparin infusing in an IV, I told her when she wanted to get up to go to the bathroom, I was like, "no, if you fall or bump yourself...I don't want that pressure on me!" She was the nicest lady, and hopefully the tPA broke up her clots and she won't be in the ICU again tonight. It was interesting, I've never had a patient like that before, and I got to access an implanted port, which I've only done like once. That's been my excitement, they have a pt going up on CVVH but I haven't done their class (so I can't take the patient) bummer.
Life has been good here, hot the last couple days so I've been sleeping with the AC on. I think it was 97 on Wednesday! Ey! I went for a pedicure with Maggie (my friend) on Tuesday, it was ok, not the best pedi I've ever had. Quick, but I did get a new color on my toes, it's a purpley/marroony/creamy color. I like it. At least my feet got scrubbed up nice and clean (c:
I'm getting my haircut and eyebrows waxed tomorrow (I'm in desperate need of the brows, it's a jungle up there! and my hair is a bit shaggy for me) I'm debating what I'm going to do with my hair, I'm thinking I might grow it a little. Juli's wedding is Sept 6 so that gives me a couple months to let it fill out...and if it doesn't fly, then I can always chop it again, right? Right.
Ok, I'm gonna drink a little more water, then go sweat it up. Hope everyone is having a good day, working hard but not too hard! Are Melissa and Kari back yet from maternity leave?
Hi to everyone reading this, sending my hugs and kisses via the internet! Thanks for keeping up with the blog.
Adios!

Monday, July 14, 2008

And so it goes...

My computer is acting all crazy, giving me weird websites and such. I was just about to sign off when it worked. So, here's hoping.
The weekend is over, sort of seems like it just started. My upstairs neighbor is outside on his or her (I dont' know which one) balcony smoking and since I have my fan in the window sucking cool air in, I'm getting a room full of cigarette smell. Love it!
I'm tired tonight, I managed to hike it to the local library (because I finally broke down and knew I should take out a few book instead of buying a ton...thanks mom!) on Saturday, it's about 1.5-2 miles from my apartment, although it took me about 40 minutes to walk there, so I could be wrong. Saturday morning I thought it was super hot out, so I went to my clubhouse to do a bit of working out, and in walking outside, realized that the sun was definitely out and hot but the air was nice and the breeze was perfect. So, that's when I decided I would walk to the library. Well, it got hot when I started to put some extra energy into it! But, nonetheless, it was a nice walk and I got 3 books. I also found out that I can take out up to 300 items!! I thought the lady was joking with me...but no, apparently they have DVDs, books on tape, CDs etc to rent and that high limit allows you a lot of items. I stuck with my books. So then, I got home and was a good student, I studied for my quiz, took my quiz and then settled in to start one of the books.
I'm not sure how many of you are Nicholas Sparks fans, I fell in love with his stories back when Message in a Bottle and the Notebook were out. Really good reads, easy to get into, hard to put down just to find out what happened in the end. They are chick reads though, usually involving a lady and a guy who eventually fall in love and suffer a few trials and tribulations before ending up, happily ever after! Which is why when his last book came out I was sort of over it, feeling as though he used the same subject matter and changed a few characteristics around. Well, I picked up his book, The Choice, and read it cover to cover Saturday. He does not disappoint, yes, the story was similar but I found myself unable to put it down because I had to know the end! Jeez, craziness. It was a good read, as a nurse, I felt a little disappointed in the ending (from a medical perspective, not from a good read perspective), in all other ways the ending was good. If you are a Nicholas Sparks fan, liked his other books, felt involved with them, then dive into this one but make sure you have the time to read it in one sitting, it's a tough one to put down.
What else, Mom did her second triathalon today (sunday). Good job, Ma! I didn't get a chance to call you because I was at a picnic lunch with a couple friends and hanging out, before I knew it, it was 930 here adn 1130 in Cadillac. So, I'll call Monday to get the low down on how it all went. I looked up the results, you all did really well. Good swim time too, 18 minutes, that's great! I'm proud of you!
So I had plans to go to Pikes Peak tomorrow, but that I'm going to hold off on for another week or two I think, see I have my final paper/project due for class in two weeks, I need to focus my attention there. And, I need to reserve tickets for the cog (train) up to the summit, and it says to make reservations online a week in advance. I'm driving about an hour to get there, so I don't want to risk getting there and it being sold out. So, I'm going to plan ahead and get tickets for another week. So, tomorrow I think I will head downtown and do the Cherry Creek bike trail that runs about 20-30 miles from downtown out to a "lake" that is a hot spot I guess. I won't be riding that far, no way am I conditioned for that long of a ride, but I think a good time will be had. And, they have a large REI store that I'll check out and make sure I have good shoes for doing some hiking up in the Rockies in the next month or so. I have lots of possible trails to hit up...just need to get myself out there.
Ok, well, I'm gonna turn in for the night, it's been a hot day and my body is tired. Hope everyone's weekend went swimmingly and if you worked, well, I suppose your weekend might start tomorrow. I'm assuming the unit got busy finally, since Julie is pulling extra shifts again, that's a relief! Hope you are all doing well back home, anyone other than Dave leaving to travel yet? Making plans? Keep me posted!
Take care, talk soon, love to all!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!


A whole new name for a horse's ass! Of course the damn elephant turned just as I was setting up for my kodak moment...the nerve! So, I ended up with his butt....jeez.

It was a hot, lazy kind of day but I headed to the City Park, which is about 3 miles from my apartment, to the Denver Zoo (it's in the park...so is the Museum of History and a golf course, this park is pretty big). I believe it was about 100 degrees, give or take a degree, but I was inside most of the morning/early afternoon with homework and working out. By the time I hit the outdoors for the serious animal searching, I can't say it was much cooler..but it wasn't so bad. There are a lot of animals at the Denver Zoo, namely lions, tigers, bears (oh my!), zebra, giraffes, birds of all sorts, monkey, gorilla, camel, polar bears, seal, a couple species of cat, cheetah, hippo, rhinos...man, there are more but I can't remember them all! It was really cool. I'll upload a few pictures for you all. I spent a couple good hours there, wandering around and looking at the many animals the zoo is host of. It was hot but gosh, the zoo was never so interesting and relaxing. There's something about those animals that makes you sort of intrigued. I'm sad for them to be trapped as they are in a sense, but maybe that's all they know, there were quite a few babies. Then you have the endangered species like the rhino, that have been killed for their horns. It's kind of sad all around. And the danger some of the animals emit without trying, you can sense. Heck, outside the bear area the sign said not to climb on the railing because the animals are very dangerous. Who needs a sign like that?! Hello! That's a "here's your sign" moment if I've ever seen one!
I also went to an Improv club tonight with my friend Maggie and her boyfriend. Oh man, I laughed so hard my cheeks are still soar! The headliner was hilarious McMillan is his name. He does unique comedy with a powerpoint because he's an engineer and in his words, "likes to chart shit". We were rolling, and the guy just before him, he was funny too. It was a relaxing and fun time.
The weekend is here again, amazing. Hope everyone has a fun time, stay cool.Monkey business, when I walked up he was reaching outside the fencing to grap some leaves, then jump up to his perch. My phone rang as I was taking a picture and he gave me the look you get when your phone rings in a quiet setting. It was funny.
This guys isn't dead, just looks like it, his neck is all bent funny, all the animals were moulting in the heat, it was sort of gross...
In relation to the building, this guy is tall! He was pacing back and forth too, it was kind of funny. Wonder what he was thinking about! It must have been stressful. (c:








It was hot, the hippos stayed underwater, they keep their nostrils just above the surface for breathing...one of them even made a funny snorting noise, sounded like a pig!





This one, I know it's a little blurry, but he was running around his "home" just before this, then came up to the glass, planted it and looked at all of us. Probably wondering what the hell we were all looking at! (c: The kids in the place loved it, they were getting all excited he was sitting there. It was a cool little experience, I felt like Jane Goodall...right.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Lazy days of summer in the Rockies

Spent some time by the pool today after waking up, just dozing and listening to my music. I've really been able to re-connect with my love for music while I've been here. I don't have a TV, so I have more free time and I've been able to read many books (I wish I would have brought more with me because I have many at home that I've wanted to read for a long time now) and it's been nice. Music never gets old to me, somehow I'm discovering new lyrics in a song I've listened to repeatedly, and that I love.
Well, just a short post today, I am going to finish my homework now and study for a quiz that I have to finish by Saturday. Tomorrow, I will probably go to the zoo and History Museum so I should have some exciting things for ya'll soon.
My plan is to lay low for the hot weekend, then, Monday, I'm headed south to the Royal Gorge and Pike's Peak! This I'm very excited about! You can google those two places and check them out, they both look pretty sweet!
Talk soon!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Halleluhia for vents!!!

Well, hello! Long time, ok, maybe not that long but still.
I finally, finally, finally, took care of a ventilated patient last night! I can't tell you what that was like, it was fabulous. For all my non-medical friends, don't think I'm cold to want someone on life support, but it really is a relief to have my hands busy on that level of patient. Granted, it was a stable vent but I still had my old habits kick in and turn, water, feed was an exciting task.
There's really nothing exciting for me to write about, I am in the middle of my three night stretch, so literally my days are sleeping and my nights are working. Tonight is the last night, then I'm not exactly sure what I will do with myself Friday, I'm strongly considering the zoo or History museum that is about a mile or so down the road from my house. It's supposed to be a HOT weekend here, like in the high 90s (I only hear about this from co-workers because I don't have a TV so I haven't watched a weather forecast since June and I guess I could get online and look but it really doesn't matter that much to me).
So, that's it for now.
Keep it real! Talk soon and be well!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Finally, a cloudy day!


I had the best run I've had in weeks, thanks to a cloudy, drizzly and cool day. I awoke to this beautifully dreary day and was excited to throw on my running clothes and hit the pavement. I felt exhilarated and full of energy, it was great! Considering Denver gets an average of 300 days of sunshine a year (Maggie says it's even sunny when the snow is falling!) I am lucky to have one of the other 65 days today. It sounds odd maybe that I'm so excited about this, but coming from the Midwest and Michigan, for that matter, where we tend to be the cloudiest city in the state, I miss a dreary, rainy, thunderstormy day once in a while.
I uploaded a few pictures I took yesterday downtown of the Capital building. Probably nothing too "special" per se about it, but a couple pretty shots, it's got that gold dome thing. It's supposedly real gold too, amazing that the homeless don't try to crawl up and take a chunk, ya know? (c: Ha!
I went to the infamous "16th street pedestrian mall" with my friend Maggie and her boy toy and their son. We had a nice dinner at a chophouse and walked around a bit. Then they took me on a quick driving tour (the baby was needing to get home to bed) and I snapped a few pictures of the gold topped building. I'll head back down sometime later to maybe do the tour or at least walk up the steps to where it says that it's one mile about sea level. That's in my future plans. For now, I'll settle on what I've got. Denver's downtown is oddly laid out, see it's at an angle compared to the rest of the city. Almost like when they formed downtown they realized it was laid out poorly, so the rest of the city it planned out better and in a grid-like layout. If you have a map or atlas you might be able to tell what I mean. But, the downtown isn't really huge, compared to say, Chicago or New York, and much easier to manuveur compared to say, Boston. There's Cherry Creek or Clear Creek that runs through downtown (I can't remember the name at the moment) and a few parks too. I need to do some more investigating, that's for sure. I have a few months to do this, don't worry.
Back to homework for me, I was lucky enough to get a "free week" as my prof called it last week with nothing due, but this week I have a quiz and a posting to get finished. So, I'll be bringing that to work with me (since I'm getting paid to sit around most of the time!). I love to learn!!
Well, hope you all had a stupendous weekend, back to the grindstone!
BTW-(by the way) my friend Rachael, made it to New York City on her sailboat and I believe today is her first day of work in the Bronx, shout out to you Rachael, good luck with the new assignment!
Does anyone have any new gossip from Saint's they want to share? Major happenings or people coming and going? Miss you all and miss those day shifts! Nothing beats living a "normal" schedule. (c:
Adios!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The beauty of a good book

Hope everyone had a Happy 4th and a good weekend (I'm sure most of you, if not all, will read this on Monday or sometime next week). Today is the 5th, I worked last night and am proud to say, slept most of today away!! It felt so nice to wake at 5pm and be excited about it, it was the first time since I started working nights that I've slept that long, yippee! (Ok, maybe I'm not that excited but come on, give me a smile at least!) Now, the bad news is that I don't work tomorrow or tonight for that matter and will probably stay up late instead of flipping back to a more normal routine. This night thing really screws you up.
Anyway! There's not much going on here, well, I'm sure there's plenty going on in Denver but I don't have anything planned for tonight.
I did finish another book yesterday, but the thing was that as I was nearing my shift I was close to finishing and so I was speed reading to get finished but incidentally ended up skimming over a lot. I got the jist of what happened but I think as soon as I finish this entry I'll re-read the ending of the book. It was a good book, a newer one by Ann Brashares called "The Last Summer (of You and Me)". A good summer read and one of those books that you finish with excitement to see what happens but sadness to know it's all of their world that you get. I enjoyed the read and miss getting into books that much, since school has kept me busy and homelife I've stopped reading as much. But now, with school so light and me having a good amount of freetime, I've rediscovered my love for it. Unfortunately I only have two other books that I brought, so Borders here I come! (it's closer than Barnes & Nobel) Oh, I hear my mom telling me to go to the library (c:
Alright, I'll end my entry I didn't have much to tell you anyway. Hope you are all well!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Sittin', watchin' the world go by...


Happy July 3rd everyone! Summer is definitely in full swing here in Colorado, the sun is ridiculously hot, I sweat just walking to my car, thank goodness for AC! Another day off found me picking up my first paycheck, which I was pleasantly surprised to get my first housing stipend that I didn't think I'd get until the end of July (I was pleased when the woman said, "two checks?", like I'm gonna say, "no, that can't be right!!"). I had lunch at my favorite sandwich shop in the entire world, Jimmie Johns!!! I couldn't believe it when I saw that there was one right in the hospital!!! Happy day! (Lucky for me and my checkbook, it's only open for lunch so no Jimmies for me when I'm working) Joc made a funny comment today, they should re-name it Jimmie Jenn's...I thought that was clever and can't believe I didn't think of that, usually I say the funny stuff and she repeats it and gets the biggest laugh. (c: I also took some time to find a post office and mail a few things, then decided to go to one of the 200 parks in Denver and read my book.
I'm working on my tan, even though it will be a farmer's tan until my damn pool is finished, so I sat at a picnic table. I'm not sure why Denverites like to make things dark that sit in the blazin' heat! You can see the end of the table in the picture, it's forest green and when I sat down it took it about 30 seconds to seep through my shorts and cause me to jump up and holler out. I had this happen another time too when I sat outside at a table to have lunch (during orientation) and the chairs were black metal, hello??? My fellow orientees and I had to get a stack of paper under our bums to absorb the heat. So, the picnic table took me a bit of sitting, standing, sitting, standing to get my skin used to it but I managed. Once I could feel the sweat trickling down my back and chubbies I decided to call it a day and head home, just too hot. I realized when I got to my car and my butt regained feeling, that apparently my butt had also been hot and decided to sweat, it must have looked like I peed my pants, ha ha! As I walked the hallways in my apartment to get my mail, I rarely see anyone in the hallways, but today, with my sweaty a** I saw 4 people! And they were walking behind me, I had to chuckle and wonder if they noticed my large, wet butt...ha ha. There's no covering up a wet butt in Khaki, Oh well!
I've read two books so far, on my third and hoping to get a few more completed after that. I find it relaxing and at times I think I should get out more and do more, then I stop and think, at home I would do homework and read too. Why do I have to force myself to go out, I have gone to the parks many times and will many more times but sitting on my balcony reading has been ok by me. Gas is too expensive to take multiple trips a week, so I've decided to try to do one a week. I feel like I'm settling in well here, I actually miss Michigan some days but know I'm here for something, you know I'll let you know what that is when I figure it out. Somehow God always shows me in His way, not mine.
Like I said before, I know now why I never lived alone, I find myself talking to myself (not like conversations) but I'll just talk through something and not realize I'm saying it out loud until I'm done. I know most of you don't know this, but I'm quite the talker! It's always been nice to have one other person in my presence to share things with.
My phone has become a permanent part of my face I think, ha, but that's ok, I don't mind. If you want my address, shoot me an email and I'll send it out, I don't want to put that on the web for all to see freely ya know?
Blah blah, here I go again. I'll stop now, wish you all a Happy 4th of July, I have to work (it's ok since it'll mean holiday pay!) but have the weekend off. Wish my pool was done but always have my friend Maggie's to go chill by. Eat a hotdog for me and drink a beer (I'll probably have a beer here, but you can still use the excuse to drink an extra one for me!)
Be well.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

A good day



So, I took a train ride today in the Rockies, this is a shot from high above the rapids and the road.












This train ride dropped me off at a silver mine, that were very prosperous in the late 1890s and early 1900s until silver lost it's value and the mines were abandoned. I had to wear a hard hat and it was about 41 degrees in the mine, so it felt refreshing compared to the 90 degrees outside.


This is a shot of an old train car, it's got the name of the railroad and with the mountains behind it, a kodak moment was made! (c: This railroad is just a part of the system that went through the Rockies, and it's been a little changed for the route. The route travels in a loop between Georgetown and another city I can't remember right now (c: Driving distance would be 1 mile, but the train is about 3 miles round trip and winds through the mountainside and crosses over Clear Creek 4 times.



This shot is of Clear Creek (hardly a creek!), they said it was running at about a level 5 rapid today (I think that means hard and you could tell the current was really wiping). You can see a brdige in the background, the train crosses there.




A look down the mine, we went pretty deep inside with a guide and saw a few of the "veins" where the miners worked hard to extract the silver. There's still a ton of silver in the Rockies but it's not worth enough to mine it, at least that's what the guide said. Like I said, it was about 40 degrees instantly when you walked into it, damp and cramped. I had to walk hunched over for the most part.




Well, you sort of know what I did today but let me give you some background. At work Monday night, I got online to find out about some day trips from Denver and my preceptor Barb told me a lot of good places too. Georgetown was high on her list, and so I investigated it today. It was about an hour drive west of Denver, I got to experience driving up and through the Rockies and I can tell you this, it was quite a trip! Up and down and ears popping and trucks going slow with their flashers on, and me glad I didn't have my Jeep anymore cuz I probably would have been behind the trucks rocking my self to propel myself forward! The way back down was sweet too, if you get a chance to drive through there I recommend it.
Georgetown used to be a huge mining town, with a population in the 10,000 but now is only about 1,000. (remember silver lost it's value and people left the city) It had a main street with lots of antique shops (mom, eat your heart out!) and some mom and pop stores. I browsed briefly then headed for the train, just outside the main street. It's a 1hr 30 min loop through the Rockies and a stop off at the mine. I was about 9,000 feet above sea level today!
I was a nice time, I got some great pictures (I can't post them all but if you want some just let me know and I'll email you some). I'm glad I trekked up there.
Minimal plans for tomorrow, I need to lay a bit low since I'm short a pay check and my checking account isn't totally pleased right now (c: I get paid tomorrow but for just a week...so the next one will be better. I have many plans for day trips in the next couple months so look forward to those.
I'm tired from my adventures, gonna relax and read tonight, hope this finds you all well!
Talk soon.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Finally, it's over!

I never thought tonight would end, you know those nights where it's so slow and boring (because your patients want to sleep and aren't my typical ICU sedated/intubated)? Well, I had one of those nights, two patients, both just wanted their bedtime meds and to be left alone...I was like, "what am I supposed to do?" Then, to top off my tiredness, my preceptor anal Barb, crazy Barb, decides to go through my checklist of competencies (what I should know, how well I know it and what I need assistance with) and review EACH ONE! Let me tell you, I was beyond irritated and exhausted at this point (3am) and she went over every single bullet point, there must have been 30-40 per page and 8-10 pages! I lost count, I took a nap, I perused the internet, I read a magazine, I told her I wasn't a new nurse, I know how to assess a patient and how to titrate gtts (my medical friends will know what I'm talking about). She even stopped in the middle and said, "I'm probably telling you things you already know! ha ha ha" I looked at her, no laughter on my face adn said, "yeah, I do know most of it and if I didn't I would ask someone when it comes up. I'm not gonna remember a damn thing you are telling me right now!" She just laughed, I wasn't being funny! I never recovered from that, I was dead tired the rest of the night.
I did find time to check into the Denver and Colorado websites and have multiple trails and hikes to check out as well as day trips over the Rockies into mining towns where I can chill in the hot springs or drive the highest peak in N. America (with a paved road).
I have three days off, work the 4th and then have the weekend off. I guess one bonus I get is that I rarely have to work a weekend, they are staffed well so, like I said before, if you need to get away, come to Denver! My door is always open, figuratively speaking. (c:
OK, I feel like I'm drunk and typing and my eyeballs tell me I need to go to bed.
Night!