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!

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!

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.

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.

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!