My Motivation

Today in one of my nursing classes we were talking about motivation. We were asked what makes us motivated. We were on the topic of leadership and how those people can make us motivated. Some how the conversation shifted to what motivates us in Nursing to keep on going. One person mentioned that it is when she receives a good grade. I can relate. I too work hard to get my good grades, but that is not my highest motivating factor. Another person mentioned that for her it was while doing practical hands on training in the hospital and her instructor or patients tells her that she is doing a good job, or that she will make a good nurse. I can relate to this also...I enjoy being told when I am doing well, especially by my instructors, but this is not my biggest motivating factor either. My biggest motivating factor is spending time with my nursing friends that uplift me and re-energize me. I strive to do well so that I can stay in the program and spend time with these wonderful people and learn with them and from them. I think that I would go clinically insane in this program if it were not for the comic relief of friends and the loyalty and love I feel for them and from them. I am truly blessed to have these people in my life.





Thanks guys! You make all this craziness, work, and stress worth it!

Summer Recap

The nursing ladies with Laura (L-R) Andrea, Tanja, Darla, Laura, Me, Pia
The happy couple Laura and Andrew

The master bedroom
Living room etc.
(L-R) Darla, Laura, Me

I was thinking back on what I had done this summer. The answer is not much!! I spent the entire summer working full time and taking a summer class. Although I did manage to have a bit of fun here and there. I spent 5 glorious days on the Oregon Coast with some friends. I did nothing more than sun tan on the beautiful beach next to the ocean, eat great food, shop, and sleep for the entire time. It was FANTASTIC! As well, my friend Karyn came to visit me and she stayed for a whole month. It was great getting to see her so often. Then at the same time that Karyn was here Carene and Dave arrived for a weekend visit and we all went to the IMAX showing of SuperMan...in 3D!! That was neat. I also got to go to a fellow nursing students wedding and had a bit of fun with my friend Darla decorating the bride and groom's new basement suite. So although my summer was full of work and school I did still manage to have some fun. But, alas, now it is time to get back into the full swing of nursing classes.

Dan and Brian making popcorn on beach in Oregon
Beautiful ocean view in Oregon
(L-R) Jalene, Me, Jenn, Heidi
Dan in wet suit getting ready to boogy board
(L-R) Dave, Carene, Me, Karyn at IMAX 3D

First Day Blues

So today was the first day of classes for me. I am entering my final semester of my 2nd year. I was really looking forward to seeing all my classmates again. It has been 4 months since I have seen some of them. As my car pool and I drove to school, there was an excited chatter in the car. We all had the feeling of excitement of starting nursing again and seeing all our friends. This feeling left us very quickly; we walked into our first class of the morning: Pathophysiology. For those of you that don't know what this is, it is the study of the human body and all the things that can go wrong with it. Sounds rather interesting doesn't it?! Well, it might in fact be if the instructor was not totally smelly and could probably make Disney Land or winning the lottery seem boring. She simply stands in the front of the class and reads off of the power point presentation that is on the screen. Every once in a while she will add some totally useless piece of information about some patient she had 10 years ago who had such and such disease, like this information is at all helpful to us....it's not! Anyways, after sitting through 3 hours of this class I am pretty much ready to die. I will now give you a small list of things I would rather be doing other than sitting in Patho, so you can really get the idea of how much fun it is for me:

1) Having my bikini line waxed
2) Piercing my own tongue
3) Jabbing a sharp object into my eye ball
4) Cleaning GM Place with a tooth brush
5) Having major surgery without anesthetic

So now you may have a clearer idea of how much I truly LOATHE Patho.

Other than that though, my first day of classes went well! Phew! Bring on the crazy nursing workload! I can take it.....maybe...I hope....ack! What was I thinking!?

Procrastination Master

If someone could win an award for being the best procrastinator in the world, I think I might just win 1st place. I have a real problem with doing things such as homework assignments, essays, or studying for a final exam until the very last moment. I always mean well. I will tell myself things like, "Ok, Stace, your exam is in 11 days, if you study 30 mins every day from now until the exam you are gonna ace it." Then about 5 days later after I haven't even cracked the text book once, I say to myself, "Ok Stace, now you have 6 days to study for this exam, if you study 1 hour every day for the next 6 days you can ace this thing." This type of talk continues until it is the night before the exam and I have yet to open my book or even look at my notes once. Then I decide that I really don't care anymore and I go out with friends until late and sleep in until 10 a.m. the morning of the exam. This situation is currently playing out right now! I have a final exam at 7 p.m. tonight and I have not yet studied at all! So now that I have procrastinated even further by blogging about this, I had better get my butt in gear and crack them text books and study them notes of mine considering the exam is in less than 6 hours! :) Ahhhhh.....*sigh* procrastination at its best.

Celebration of Light

I went to the Celebration of Light Finale (Fireworks for those that don't know) last night in Vancouver. The amount of people that were there was totally amazing! As we walked from where we parked, which was just over 3km from the fireworks site, to English Bay we were surrounded by hoards of people. The closer we got to the beach, the bigger the crowd got. We arrived at where we had planned to sit and spent about 15 minutes weaving our way through the people sitting on the beach to find an empty spot big enough for 4 bums. There was no such spot! Then we spotted an older man sitting by himself in the middle of this small clearing in the sand. We politely asked if he minded moving to one side so the 4 of us could sit down and he kindly obliged. We had a killer spot! Right smack dab in front of the Celebration of Light Barge where the fireworks are set off from. The show began at 10pm sharp. It was presented by Mexico and it was FABULOUS! It was 25 mins of beautifully crafted fireworks set to go off in perfect time to choreographed music. Absolutely gorgeous! Once Mexico was done, they were crowned champions of the competition and the finale ensued. Good also. Then the trek back to the car began. We waited on the beach for about 30 mins to let some of the people clear, all the while eating those really tasty sugary and warm little donuts from a vendors cart. We then proceeded to hike the little over 3km back to the car. I will now mention that I was not informed that we would be walking this much and therefore wore shoes that were sub par for this task. Needless to say I have HUGE blisters on the bottoms and backs of both my feet! Ouch! But it was worth the pain and suffering I endured to spend time with some friends and see a beautiful display of fireworks.

The Danger of IKEA

Some of you that know me well, know that IKEA is pretty much my favorite store in the WHOLE WORLD. I have spent so much money there I pay most of the employees wages I am sure. So yesterday when my friend Michelle suggested Karyn and I do a trip to IKEA I was totally game. Even though I knew that I needed nothing, especially since I have just recently moved back in with my mom, I still felt the need to go! I feel a certain "high" upon entering IKEA. The idea of being able to walk through the show rooms and see all the new stuff on display excites me! So during my trip to IKEA today, even though I needed absolutely nothing, I managed to spend $112! Amazing isn't it!?
Here is how the trip went: Hmm...look at all this cool stuff Stacey, says Michelle. Do you need these Stacey? Of course I need some more raspberry votive candles...I only have about 4 left at home. Hey Stace, says Karyn, what about these? Some more small wooden picture frames? Uh yeah! Pass me 2 packages! Another vase, some river rocks, and 3 stocks of bamboo? Definitely! I'll take it! Hang up storage bins for all my storage needs...with drawers!! Absolutely! That is just what I need. And I definitely think that my mom needs a blue dish scrubber brush, and a new fry pan..I think I will get her one. Wow! Cool striped boxes for under your bed storage! I can't live without those either! Grab me a package Karyn!
So as you can see, IKEA is a dangerous place for me. Thanks goodness it is about a 40 minute drive away from where I live or I would be broke from going there all the time!
But I REALLY did need all the stuff I bought! :)