Honest Ramblings

Awkward Runner

2012-01-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

I feel like one of those awkward runners. I have bee thinking a lot about running recently, and about running in a race. I want so badly to just put on my running shoes, turn on my iPOD and just go, just run. But my body disagrees with this. Since injuring my left knee this past summer and my chronic flare up of my bursitis in my left hip I feel like my body is against me. I am trying to find the balance between pushing my body when there is pain, and not hurting myself further, or permanently. How do you find balance? This is also causing me to feel unmotivated because I know it is going to hurt, and then I get frustrated and feel defeated.

This has got me to thinking about running in a different race as well. As Christians, we have a race to be run.

Hebrews 12:1

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

1 Corinthians 9:24

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Galatians 5:7

⁷ You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?

So am I running in a race with perseverance, and in such a way to get the prize? There are so many parallels for me with physically being able to go for a run, and being able to run the race set out before me in my Christian life. I feel awkward and frustrated by my earthly body not allowing me to run the race like I would like to, and I often get frustrated by myself and my mind for getting so easily "entangled in the sin that hinders".

I need to persevere and not allow myself to get frustrated. I am only human, and I am a sinner, but I need to just keep running the good race. As Christians we need to keep running the race, even when there is pain. We are told that the race will not be easy, and there will be trials and pain along the road, but the prize is worth every bit of pain, and Jesus runs along the whole way, right beside us, and may even carry us on his back at some points along the way when the pain from the race feels like too much for us to handle. Isn't that an amazing gift? The gift of Grace, that Jesus will carry us, undeserving, sinners like me when the race gets too tough. I need to remember this gift of Grace, and just persevere in my earthly racing goals, and in my heavenly ones as well.

New Year

2012-01-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

Well, it is a new year, and therefore time for new years resolutions. I am not big on making New Years resolutions, when they seem to be easily forgotten and abandoned once February hits. But I have been thinking recently about making some important changes in my life.

One of them is to blog more. I have not written a blog post in over a year. I hadn't realized it had been that long. But what I did realize was that blogging about my life etc was an important outlet for me to be able to process my thoughts, share my experiences and struggles in my daily life and also share snippets of my experiences from my job.

So because it is the new year, I am going to blog more and hopefully regain my outlet for "processing" and sharing about my life.

I have also been thinking a lot about contentment recently. I think it is one of the life lessons God is trying to teach me. Along with having patience, being content in my life has been a struggle for me. I am always looking to the next thing instead of enjoying what I have and living in the moment. So I hope to share about my journey as I continue to learn patience and contentment.

And finally, I want to reclaim my ability to run. My body has been fighting me on this during the past year and I am working to over come this. I have been experiencing hip pain and residual effects in my left knee after an injury in which I tore the lateral meniscus last summer. It healed well, so I thought, but it has been causing me some pain over the past few months. Both my hip and my knee have severely hindered my ability to run, and have made me feel discouraged. So I am resolving to push through and over come this. I long to be able to run another 10k race, and will be training once again to hopefully complete the Sun Run this May.

So there you have it folks, my "resolutions" as such for 2012. I think it is going to be a great year, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me this year!!

Goodbye Nana

2010-08-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

My Nana on her wedding day

Dancing with Papa at their wedding

On their honey moon

Papa, Nana, me (age 3), Kimberly

Nana with Kimberly and I

July 30th 2010 at 8:21pm is when the phone call came that rocked me to my core. "Stacey, are you sitting down? Nana has died". These words from my sobbing mother will never be forgotten. What do you mean Nana died!? My heart was breaking, the tears were flowing, and my mind just could not grasp this information.

My very much independent, active and vivacious 78 year old Nana tucked herself into bed and died peacefully in her sleep. This news was absolutely SHOCKING. There really are no words. Especially because my mom and I had plans to visit her in a mere 7 days from then. How can she be dead? The news wouldn't compute.

But Nana is dead. And even though we had her funeral this past Friday, I am still expecting to wake up and have this all be a bad dream. But it's not. My entire family wanders around with the same sentiment. "I just can't believe this has happened.....Is she really gone??.....I can't believe she's died".

This past week I have been in Trail with my entire family living on auto pilot. Going through the motions of planning her funeral and watching my mom and her sisters and brother deal with this terrible loss. It has been a time of many tears, and yet many laughs as well. So many good memories have surfaced.

My cousin and I were put in charge of making the memorial slide show for my Nana. That was a heart-wrenching task. Sorting through hundreds of pictures of our Nana and Papa and relieving memories from long ago. The slide show turned out beautiful and made me sob every time I watched it.

So now it is time to move on and grieve our loss of our beloved Nana, and Papa who left us a short 21 months ago. That is the only comfort in this time. That Nana is finally reunited in eternity with the love of her life and husband of 50+ years, my Papa.

You will always be missed Nana, your sudden death has left a huge void in all who have had the privilege of knowing and loving you.

Here is a poem that was written on the back of my Nana's memorial book. It is very appropriate for her.

If tears could build a stairway,

And memories were a lane,

I would walk right up to Heaven

To bring you home again.

No farewell's were spoken,

No time for goodbye,

You were gone before I knew it,

And only God knows why.

My heart still aches in sadness,

And secret tears will flow,

What is meant to me to lose you,

No one will ever know.

Author Unknown

Race Day

2010-04-27T16:27:00.001-07:00

The morning began, after a mostly sleepless night due to my nerves and excitement, as a rather dreary looking day. I went about getting ready for the run, eating some breakfast, doing my hair, stretching my legs, lacing up my running shoes.

I pinned my race bib, #631 to my t-shirt. Made sure my iPOD was fully charged. Drank some water. I taped up my foot so as to prevent any blisters from forming. I put on my running shoes and laced them up. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like I was ready to run a race! So weird.

After 13 weeks of hard training going from not being able to run at all to heading out the door to run my first 10k I have come a long way!

Once I got to the race start area, I signed in, picked up my running chip to time my run and began to feel REALLY nervous. I saw two of the girls who I knew would be running with me and walked over to them and we began to chat about the race and how excited/nervous we all were. We were a mere 15 minutes away from the race start time. Then the rainy looking sky parted way and the sun began to shine through. What a beautiful day for a run!

Then my darling dearest Darla, my cheer leader, my best friend, and running coercer arrived. Camera in hand, she was ready to cheer us all on and take many, many, many pictures of our achievement.

We were lead in a group stretching exercise, and then all gathered near the starting line to await the starting horn.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNKKKKK!

We were off, and I could feel the adrenalin coursing through my veins. I began to run, keeping at my pace and ignoring the people around me passing me like there was no tomorrow! :) I ran to my music, keeping my breathing in check. Then after only a few minutes of running, I hear my name being called, shrieked really, and I turn and look and it is Darla, driving in her car, hanging out the window shouting and waving at me, taking pictures. Yup, the paparazzi had arrived. She found me on a couple of occasions during the 10k route and took pictures. I will never forget however, when she found me at just past the 1/2 way mark after I had just run up a very loooooooong, granted gradual hill, and shouted at me from her car. She yelled, "Stacey!! I am so proud of you...so so proud!" That is when I realized that she was totally bawling! That's my girl. I continued to run, but found enough extra breath to tell her that I was dying. She smiled at me and encouraged me to keep running, that I was doing amazing! She is such an encouragement to me. So I did, I kept running.

Finally, as I had turned onto the last street and could see the finish line off in the distance, I saw Darla and another runner from the race, Laura jogging towards me. They met me when I was feeling like I wanted to die, I wanted to stop, I wanted to lay down in middle of the road and sleep. They ran beside me the last few meters, encouraging me the whole way. I also remember slowing my pace and wanting to walk for a few seconds and having Darla look at me and yell "KEEP RUNNING!! THERE IS NO WAY YOU ARE WALKING ACROSS THAT FINISH LINE!!" Lol, way to keep me running. And so I did. I kept running and ran across that finish line signaling the completion to my first 10k race. The finish line time read 1hr39mins34secs as I ran across.

After crossing the finish line Darla began bawling again and we stood there, in the finishing chute, crying, sobbing, and hugging. I was given my medal for finishing the race. What an accomplishment!! I, Stacey, just ran a 10k race. Wow! I felt great! Tired, exhausted, sore, but great!!

So there you have it folks! I have now run a 10k race. And I will be running more of them, so stay tuned!

Long Road

2010-04-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow is race day. Yup, that's right, 13 weeks in the making will culminate tomorrow as I run my first 10k ever! It has been a long road, but arrived faster than I thought!

When I look back to 13 weeks ago when the thought of running for even one minute seemed too daunting and nearly impossible, I realize just how far I have come. I have come from physically not being able to run for a mere minute without getting tired and winded, to now being able to run for an hour without needing to stop. From running a matter of meters before needing to stop, to running 7km without needing to stop. From hating every single second of every single run, to actually craving getting out for a run and enjoying my run while I am out there doing it.

How did this happen!? When did this change happen? I can't pinpoint a single moment but suddenly I am a runner. I am a hard core runner and have run during a hail storm, in the pouring rain and in the evening after a 12 hour shift. I am noticing how the running is helping me physically as well. I have muscles in my legs that I didn't know existed! I have lost pounds and inches and just feel generally healthier.

I have been asked by many people that if after my 10k run tomorrow I will stop running. NO! I am just beginning! When I accomplish running a 10k race, I will work towards running a 10k race faster! I will keep running because I like it, and because it is helping me get in better shape.

So I am forever thankful for my best friend Darla for "coercing" me into starting running. I still don't know how she managed to convince me, but I am so thankful she did. And tomorrow when I run across the finish line of my first 10k, I know she will be there waiting for me. Waiting to congratulate me, probably with tears in her eyes, because I know she is proud of me. And I am so proud of her! We have both accomplished something huge in training for this race.

So wish me luck tomorrow as I set off to complete my first 10k run ever!!

Off and Running

2010-02-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

No really, I am off and running. How did this happen you ask!? I am not sure either! When my darling best friend Darla approached me with the idea of us getting in shape and learning to run using a 13 week program with the overall goal of running a 10k at the end of April....I thought she was crazy!

Then I realized that I had absolutely no good excuse to not do this! Sure I haven't run a single day since oh....high school..but that doesn't mean that I am not physically capable of doing it! And yah, I HATE, no rather, LOATHE running, but why should that stop me right? So after carefully trying to think of many crafty excuses to kindly tell Darla that I think she was smoking crack and there is no way in HADES that I am capable of running a 10k, I decided that I had had enough of the lame excuses and decided to believe in my ability to complete the 13 week training program and run a 10k.

So I said yes, yup, ok, sure, will do, absolutely, can't wait! :) Maybe not the can't wait part, but I have decided to embark on this journey with my darling darla and get fit and svelte (as Darla would say) and set this ambitious goal for myself. 10k run in April. Wow!

So I am in week two of my training and I am still hating every minute of it. Yup, every minute. My legs burn and ache, my lungs feel as though they may ignite on fire and implode, I can barely speak while "running" and I "run" so slow that school children walk faster than me. But after my "runs" I feel great that I have completed another one. I have even gone so far as to purchase yoga pants for running in, a running jacket, VERY expensive running shoes, which have since given me a MASSIVE and painful blister, created a "running music" play list on my iPOD, and completed my training runs even in the rain!! That is how hard core I am.

So although I need to let my massive and painful blister heal for a few days, rest assured, I will put back on the torturous running shoes, break them in so blisters wont happen again, and keep on running!

Arizona Bound

2009-12-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

Well I finally got some traveling in this year! My dear friend Michelle, her daughter Kate, and I headed off to sunny Arizona so I could finally experience the Grand Canyon, and Michelle could get a visit in with her brother Michael. It began the morning that I came off night shift. By the time Michelle, Kate, and I arrived at the hotel Michael had booked for us I had been awake for 40+ hours, driven 2.5 hours, flown 3 hours, and then driven 2.5 hours. We had loaded and unloaded our suitcases and Kate's many things countless times, and even had a couple melt downs in the middle of the desert, where we also ran out of water!

But once we arrived in Flagstaff and got to our hotel things went well! I slept through all noises and felt like a new women in the morning. Which was a good thing, because the 4 of us were headed for the Grand Canyon Baby!!! Let me tell you, the scenery there is absolutely breathtaking and pictures don't even come close to doing it justice. But here are a couple anyways!

After spending a couple hours in awe at the Grand Canyon, we continued on our way. Our destination for the day was to end up in a small town named Page, at a hotel to break up the long drive to Michael's place in Chinle.

The scenery as we drove was amazing as well. Beautiful red rock and blue sky! I drove more than 1000+ miles in our rental car! We did arrive in Page that afternoon and proceeded to find some dinner and relax in our hotel room. But first, we made a quick visit to one of the biggest man made lakes, and a dam, in the middle of the desert in Page! This is Lake Powell. Beautiful no??

I also entertained myself in the hotel by putting sweet little miss Kate's hair into pigtails. They lasted a few hours until she figured out they were in there! :)

Also on our journey we had the privilege of visiting Monument Valley. There have been many old school western movies filmed here, as well as the 2nd or 3rd back to the future movie. It also had breathtaking views and enormous rock formations!

So after seeing the beautiful Monument Valley, we made our final leg in our journey and ended up in Chinle. Michelle's brother lives in Chinle and works as a pediatrician on the native reserve. We were fortunate to spend a wonderful week seeing amazing sights in Arizona, and spending some time at Michael's place in Chinle playing wii, relaxing, eating great food, and enjoying our time there. Then after our wonderful week, Michelle and I started our journey home. On our way to Phoenix airport, Michelle and I got some great views of so many cacti! Michelle took 50+ pictures, but I will just post one for you!

Once we arrived in Phoenix, Michelle and I decided that we had time to visit the outlet mall. :) It was great fun, and a beautiful sunshiny day!! We shopped for a while and then headed to the airport to catch our plane home :(

We made it home alive, Kate had a rough trip home, she was very tired, and very much out of her general routine so you can't blame the girl! But the trip was amazing and lots of fun! Can't wait to do another trip, hopefully sooner rather than later!

"THE" Flu

2009-10-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

It was bound to happen. Doesn't matter how good my immune system is. And, let me tell you, after working in ER, my immune system is advanced. You get a little sampling of every wonderful disease, virus, and bacteria out there. But in the ER that I work at we have had a HUGE surge of patients coming in with "flu like illness". With all the coughing and sneezing going on it was bound to happen. My last set at work I lost count of how many patients we had in the department with "flu like symptoms". So when my days off began, I was elated to be away from all the germs. But 3 days into my days off, WHAMMO! I got a little gift from one of my patients, or many of my patients....I got the swine flu, also known as H1N1. Yup, no joke.

I have now been quarantined in my own home for 5 days now. I officially have 2 more to go, but if symptoms don't disappear...sigh...could be more. The symptoms are slowly disappearing. It began with a high fever (39.5 at its highest), cough, body aches, sore throat, and chills. I am now fever free for 24 hours, and the aches are almost gone. The cough remains, and remains with a vengeance. The cough knocks the wind out of me. I have been taking Tamiflu since onset of the symptoms to help decrease the severity and duration of my flu symptoms, and it appears to be working. It does not however, do anything about my boredom.

Being forced to stay in your own house for 5+ days can become maddening. I have never spent quite so much time on facebook playing farmville, cafeworld, and bejewlled blitz in my life. I have watched more hours of TV in the last 5 days than I care to tally. I am a very social person, enjoy my job, and enjoy being out with friends. So 5 days without any of this, is enough to drive a girl mad! I spend my days on facebook and watching tv, reading, coughing, trying to nap but just really coughing, making tea, pouring glasses of water and juice, blowing my nose, taking my Tamiflu and vitamins, and repeating said cycle over and over and over. I am not even really talking on the phone, because, as you can imagine all this coughing has left my throat raw and sore, and has therefore left me with little voice. I wash my hands so often they are cracked and dry, and smell of my cucumber melon hand sanitizer as well. My poor mother has been cooking for me and doting on me as much as she can, but not wanting to make her sick, I try to avoid her.

Ok, I think I am done my whining post now. I will leave you with a picture of my daily needs. I am slowly getting better, hopefully sooner than later this will all be a distant memory. H1N1, I will beat you!

You might be an ER nurse if.....

2009-09-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal seems perfectly normal to you..
You believe a good tape job will fix anything...
You have the bladder capacity of five people...
Your idea of a good time is a full arrest at shift change...
You find humor in other people's stupidity...
You believe in aerial spraying of Prozac...
You disbelieve 90% of what you are told and 75% of what you see...
You automatically assume the patient is a drug seeker when presented with the complaint of migraine, lower back pain, chronic myalgia (choose one of the above), a list of numerous allergies to meds (except Demerol), and the statement that the family doctor is from out of town...
You encourage an obnoxious patient to sign out AMA so you don't have to deal with them any longer...
You believe that "shallow gene pool" should be a recognized diagnosis...
You have discovered a new condition that you call "loser-itis"...
You believe that the government should require a permit to reproduce...
You debate which is worse, spaghetti and meatballs or pizza and beer, while performing gastric lavage...
You plan your dinner break while lavaging an overdose patient...
You believe that "ask-a-nurse" is an evil plot thought up by Satan...
You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if the phrase "wow, it's really quiet" is uttered...
You believe chocolate is a food group...
You take it as a compliment when someone calls you a dirty name...
You say to yourself "great veins" when looking at complete strangers ...
You have ever referred to someone's death as a transfer to the eternal care unit...
You believe that "too stupid to live" should be a diagnosis...
You have ever had to leave a patient's room before you begin to laugh uncontrollably...
You have ever wanted to reply "yes" when someone calls and asks "Is my (husband, wife, mother, brother, friend, etc.) there?"...
You have ever referred to the E.R. Doc or triage nurse as a "shit magnet"...
You think that caffeine should be available in I.V. form...
Your most common assessment question is "what changed, --- tonight ,to make it an emergency after 6 (hours, days, weeks, months, years)?"...
You have witnessed the charge nurse muttering down the hallway "who's in charge of this mess anyway?"...
You refer to vegetables and are not talking about a food group...
You believe the waiting room should be equipped with a valium fountain...
You play poker by betting ectopics on EKG strips...
You have been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider radiation a form of birth control...
You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say "I have no idea how that got stuck in there !"...
You believe that waiting room time should be proportional to length of time from symptom onset ("you've had the pain for three weeks...well have a seat in the waiting room and we'll get to you in three days")...
You know the phone number to the local Detox Center by heart...
You have ever had a patient say, ". . .----But, I'm not pregnant; I can't be pregnant; how can I be having a baby?"...
You have ever had a patient control his seizures when offered some food...
Your idea of gambling is an ETOH level pool instead of a football pool...
Your bladder expands to the same size as a Winnebago's water tank...
Your immune system is so well developed that it has been known to attack
squirrels in the backyard...
You have a special shrine in your home to the inventor of Haldol...
You have every referred to subcutaneous air as "Rice Krispies"...
You have thought OD instead of BBQ when asked to get the Charcoal...
You have had to contend with someone who thinks constipation for 4 hours is a medical emergency...
You've ever entered a patient's chief complaint as "I'm drunk"...
You refer to motorcyclists as "organ donors"...
You've ever had a patient with a nose-ring, lip ring, and multiple tattoos tell you "I'm afraid of shots"...
You stare at someone in utter disbelief when he or she actually covers his or her mouth when coughing...
You think that the announcement of an impending arrival in 5 minutes of two adults in a serious MVA on backboards with sirens on and anxiety a level 10 would be a great opportunity to eat lunch....
You automatically multiply by 3 the number of drinks a patient claims to have daily...
You feel that you can diagnose passersby at the mall based on physical presentation...
You don't have to ask "frequent flyers" any medical history questions because you can fill it out from memory...
You can keep a straight face as the patient responds "Just two beers"...

I found most of these quite true, and rather humorous! Hope you enjoyed a few of them.

Summer...so far

2009-08-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well, once again I am behind in blogging. This time however, it is not because of school, it is because I am busy working and then playing on my days off! I was able to get away a couple times so far this summer and do some camping and other fun day trips etc.

I went camping with my beloved Peters family near Vernon for 5 days and enjoyed my time relaxing, reading, swimming, and boating. The weather was hot and the lake inviting! :) It's great to be able to take off for 5 days and relax, and come home work a few shifts, and then have another 5 days off! Man I love my job!

My next get-a-way was with the fun From family. They let me tag along on their family vacation on Vancouver Island at a beautiful campsite on the beach, where you could hear the ocean waves crashing to the shore at night! I spent my time playing some serious games of settlers (even won once), boggle (which I am not so good at), and apples to apples, and playing on the beach, wading in the ocean, walking/hiking through some trails near by, and exploring beautiful oceanside and surfing towns! I got a chance to watch many beautiful sunsets, an AMAZING lightening storm, and experience some star gazing through a cool telescope! It was a very fun week!

Next, I got to do a day trip in Vancouver and go whale watching! It was a lot of fun, even if the whale sightings were a little disappointing.

This life of working and playing on my days off really suits me! I am loving it. The rest of my summer includes spending as much time with my darling Darla once she delivers her 2nd baby, which will be any day now! It has been a fun filled summer, and I look forward to the rest of it being just as much fun! I will leave you with a couple shots that Michael From took during our camping trip and whale watching tour....I didn't bring a camera on any of my vacations...sigh...silly me!!

A beautiful Sunset, the same night we had lightening!

The northern lights we saw the night we were star gazing

The amazing lightening

An orca

All these pictures can be seen at www.mikefrom.com. Michael took them all! Nice eh!? So he gets all the credit, I just "borrowed" them from him to enhance my boring post! :)

The end is near..errr...here!!

2009-06-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right folks the end is HERE! As of 2:28pm this afternoon, I have officially finished and submitted my final paper. And let me tell you....IT FEELS GREAT!! The last 6 months have been tortuous, but filled with major learning. Doing a two year program in 6 months is a little ridiculous. I don't recommend it, to anyone. But it is done, all assignments have been completed and clinical time finished. I now get 10 glorious days off to spend time with friends and go camping and relax. I am very much looking forward to my time off, and also my return to work at my home hospital site to use all my new knowledge.

Summer fun and doing whatever I want on my days off here I come!!

So let me introduce myself to you once again. Hi, my name is Stacey, critical care emergency nurse!

Another end is near

2009-06-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well, soon you wont have to listen to me complain about how much I hate my life, or lack there of, because I will be done my emergency critical care specialty education program in under 3 weeks! PRAISE THE LORD! I will have to find something else to complain about! :)

So the last 6 months have been, *ahem*, hell. I am mentally and physically exhausted and my bran is so full of new knowledge that I think it may burst! However, I cannot even explain how excited I am to have free time, days off, and time for friends and fun activities. I wont have to feel guilty about spending time doing anything but school work.

Also, finally, another end is near. This Friday I officially convocate (graduate), only 6 months after I actually graduated. But Friday is my official day to wear the cap and gown and walk across the stage and "receive" my Bachelors of Science in Registered Nursing Degree. How hard did I work for that one eh? Most of you know it was YEARS in the making.

So as a couple things really come to an end, I am ecstatic to have my life return to "normal", a normal that I have not known for the last 6 and 1/2 years that I have been in school.

So folks, clear your social calendars because I am going to be ready to PARTAAAAY in a few weeks!

Newest Purchase

2009-05-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know it has been a while again since I have blogged. Geez people, I am busy! :) Also, my lack of blogging has had a lot to do with my crappy lap top that was so painfully slow I couldn't get much of anything done. Well I am happy to announce that I have joined the ranks of happy Macbook owners. Here is a quick pic of my new beauty! :)

I have had my new macbook for a few weeks now and will never ever buy a PC again. I am so happy with my purchase. I have spent the last few weeks figuring out all the intricacies that are a mac. It makes me giddy every time I open my computer and it loads immediately and when I click on something it opens immediately. Sigh...it's the little things in life. So with my new fancy purchase, I hope to be able to blog more, and especially once my Emerg course is done....7 weeks and counting! So please be patient with me people and I hope to be able to share more interesting and stimulating stories from my work as an ER nurse with you all very soon.

Putting the Pieces Together

2009-03-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Well, because I was reminded by a nagging friend,(ahem...Darla) that I hadn't updated my blog in a while, I decided it was time to update you all on the goings on in my life over the past two months. As blase as they are.

As of yesterday I completed the 1st half of my critical care course by writing my final exam. I am glad that stress is over with. Working full time and submitting assignments twice a week, a long with many pages of reading, school has been tedious. I am amazed however at the amount, well more the depth, that I have learned thus far. I am beginning to pick up on more and more small details in my patients and that shows me this course has been beneficial.

I now have two night shifts left of my ER mentorship and will begin the final phase of my accreditation as a critical care nurse by completing two 6 week practicums at nearby hospital emergency rooms specializing in trauma etc. I am both excited and nervous about this part of my course. It is going to be a challenge, especially as a new grad.

So school has been busy and work has been the same. I feel like more part of the ER team now, and have made some good relationships with my co-workers. I have been able to maintain a small semblance of a social life, although not nearly as much social time as I would like. The next three months will see much of that social life gone again, but I look forward to some holiday time this summer to camp with friends and "mend" neglected relationships with my very patient friends.

So that is my life in the last two months, school and work...sound familiar? But the pieces are coming together and I can see an end once again. I look forward to closing the "student" chapter in my life in the next few months and focus on new and exciting things that I am sure God has in store for me...hopefully a house of my own...and some new relationships?? We will see what God's amazing plan brings! I am sure I will have a lot more "pieces" to put together!

The journey continues

2009-01-31T17:23:00.000-08:00

Well, life as an ER nurse after nursing school. Not much different! Ha ha ha. That might be because I slipped back into the "student role" seamlessly. I have completed nearly 1 month of my critical care for emergency nurses course and have already questioned my sanity for starting it so soon.

I have also been studying for my RN national licensing exam which will take place this Wednesday. So needless to say this past month has been intense keeping up with my studies and full time work. But I am daily reminded of how much work I put into getting to this place in my life and how much I love being a nurse. Even in the hustle and bustle of the ER and the often long night shifts I love what I do. I have had so many diverse patients and been able to be involved in some exciting traumas. Getting to be a part of the fine tuned orchestration of dealing with a traumatic injury is amazing. Everyone has a part to play and they play it well. It gives me hope that one day I too will be that good of a nurse!

I have, however, caught myself a couple times though thinking to myself that I should go ask "the nurse" remembering that I am the nurse! But I am privileged to be working in a very supportive environment with other nurses who are so knowledgeable and so willing to share their amazing knowledge with me. But I wont lie to you...working in the ER is a little scary as a new grad. There is so much to know and so much unknown about each patient that comes through the doors. But that is what I love about this job. I get to learn so many new things each day. I think I have a healthy fear of working in the ER but also the confidence in the knowledge I do have to work there. So, life goes on. I am working hard and finally getting paid to do so. Life is good!

Finality

2008-12-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

I gathered my belongings and took everything out of my locker, walked slowly down the hall with a tired back, feet, and eyes after my night shift. I looked back briefly and a smile came across my lips. I was walking off the floor as a student nurse for the last time ever, and would enter the hospital the next time as a Registered Nurse.

Four long years of nursing school have come to a close this past week as I completed the last of my clinical hours “working” on a surgical floor. The past four years have been some of the best and worst times of my life. The nursing program has been intense and challenging. But I was working hard toward my goal of becoming and RN. There were certainly days that I questioned my sanity for ever entering the nursing program, and times I seriously thought about giving up because the expectations were so intense and the reality that I could potentially harm someone was consuming.

It has barely sunk in for me that I am truly done my nursing degree and I am no longer a student nurse. My mom and some friends have told me that they can’t believe I am done and that it feels like just yesterday that I told them I had been accepted into the nursing program. I assure you I have not felt that this program has flown by. Each and every test, paper, group work, and clinical assignment has been pain staking and often extremely tedious. I only made it through the past four years of “hell” because of my wonderful family and friends. I could not have made it through the stressful times without loving people near me cheering me on every step of the way.

It is truly exciting, frightening, and nerve wracking all at the same time. I can no longer say to a patient, “hold on a minute, and let me get your nurse”….I AM THE NURSE!! I am excited to be closing the student nurse chapter of my life but I am also afraid. I am afraid of making mistakes. Afraid of not knowing the answers. Afraid of not being good enough. But I am also so excited to prove my knowledge, skills, and show my genuine love of my chosen profession to each and every patient I deal with.

There were many official events for me the past couple of days. I officially became an RN, officially became an emerg nurse, and officially started my critical care emergency course. Phew! What a week already!

So I will now introduce the new Stacey to you.

Stacey, the REGISTERED EMERGENCY NURSE!!!!!!

The "C" word

2008-10-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

Cancer. Just saying the word makes me shudder. It is an awful disease. It kills far too many people each year. I am sure that everyone reading this directly knows someone with cancer.

As a nursing student I deal with people with cancer on a daily basis. I am often asked how I deal with such sadness all the time. I am not sure how...but somehow nurses have the ability to not let it get to them. Only some people really get to us, they are the few that are allowed in as if to teach us a lesson. If we let every patient with a sad story get to us we would never be able to go to work because it is just too sad.

Cancer affects people differently. Some are able to fight it off and beat cancer, some fight for a while but are no match for its terrible grip on their lives. And some still may not even have the chance to fight it off because it comes much to ferociously.

I spent my last set of days off in the Kootenays visiting my Papa who is quickly losing his many year battle with colon cancer. His body is now riddled with cancer and the chemo treatments have caused what is called chemo-induced-Alzheimer's. He has moments of extreme confusion mixed with moments of being lucid. He still remembers all his close family members thank God, but is quickly forgetting most everything else.

My Papa has always been the family provider, Mr. Fix-it-all, tender of the garden, garbage taker-outer, wood stove lighter, vehicle up-keep man and the list goes on and on. So imagine my Nana's life at age 78 when she now needs to learn how to do all these things herself.

My Papa also lived a very active life before the cancer. He retired after 42 years of service as a plant manager at Cominco, a large smelter in Trail where he grew up. He played hockey in the 1952 Olympics in Oslo and won a gold medal! He married my Nana in 1955 and they had 4 children, my mother being the oldest. They built a cabin on christina lake that all us grandchildren got to enjoy for many years. He lived a full life.

But that is no excuse for cancer to take his life. My trip to Trail to see him last weekend was heart wrenching. A shell of a man sat in my Papa's favorite rocking chair. He was skin and bones. He was more confused and eating almost nothing, he needed help walking from chair to bed, bed to chair. But when I walked in that room there was a twinkle in his eye and he greeted me warmly. He still knew my name. What a relief. During the 4 day visit he cracked a couple jokes but for the most part was either sleeping in his chair or in bed. Home support workers were in daily to help him wash and dress. I was on the brink of tears the entire weekend. Look at what cancer has done to him. It was horrifying.

The day I left last week, my Nana finally made the decision to put him into a palliative care facility that could take better care of him.

Tonight my mother received a call from my Nana stating that the nurses and doctors have told her that my Papa likely only has days to live now. He is failing fast. As I write this, I can no longer hold back the tears, it is too much. Cancer is about to take another beautiful life. Yes, he is nearly 82 years old and has lived a good life, but that doesn't matter. It angers me that his life has to end this way. In a hospital bed, in pain, confused, and yet also acutely aware of his fading life.

My aunt told my mother today, that as she left the hospital today to head back to her home in Penticton, she leaned down to my sleeping Papa, kissed his cheek and told him I love you and will miss you. My papa opened his eyes, looked at her and his tears began falling. He knows. He knows he likely wont be alive to see her again. It breaks my heart. We have to stop this horrible disease.

Now every time the phone rings I find myself wondering if this will be the call. The call that my mom is dreading with her whole heart, that I too am dreading.

Please pray for my family. For my Papa. For peace, understanding, comfort, and a pain free death. He deserves all that and more.

I love you Papa. I will miss you terribly. See you in heaven.

The year he was chosen to be part of the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team Age:25

Taken this August at my aunt and uncles farm. A mere 2 months ago.

**UPDATE** My Papa passed away last night (October 27th) in the presence of loved ones. He is no longer fighting or suffering in pain. He is at peace. Thank you for all your kind words and prayers. They are appreciated.

COOL

2008-09-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

Cool, as defined by dictionary.com is as follows: Slang for great, fine, excellent, characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever, socially adept.

The usage of cool as a general positive epithet or interjection has been part and parcel of English slang since World War II, and has even been borrowed into other languages, such as French and German. Originally this sense is a development from a Black English usage meaning "excellent, superlative," first recorded in written English in the early 1930s.

Why do I choose such a topic to blog about. Well my friends, I have been harassed recently to update my blog and because nothing interesting has been happening in my stress filled, lives-under-a-rock nursing student life my friend Darla jokingly told me that I should blog about how cool she was. To which I replied I don't possibly have the time to explain the coolness that is Darla, but alas I will try.

I find that words are not enough to explain the awesome coolness that is Darla so I will use some visual aids to help me.

Here we see Darla at a nursing party wearing a garbage bag and lamp shade. Need I say more.

This is her coolness jumping on a VERY expensive arm chair

I am not sure what to even tell you about this other than Darla is so cool that she stuffed a squishy green chunk of plastic in her bra and paraded around the house. That screams cool!

Also at a nursing party, she brings out the always cool Walrus with licorice look!

In this visual aid, we see Darla practicing her pole dancing skills in Whistler. Can we say cool?

Here is another classic cool Darla moment shoving something down the front of her top. Oh yah! Coolness!!

Doesn't she just depict cool with her face mask and attempt at eating chocolate fondue.

And here folks, we see how cool she is by rocking the turquoise and pink mumu in Whistler at a fancy Greek restaurant.

So there you have it! The coolness herself, Darla. What else can be said that has not been said in picture form. She has been my rock throughout the last 4 years of nursing school. And it is because of her that I truly know the definition of the word cool!

Betcha didn't think I would actually post something like this did yah Darla! ;) Love you girl!

The Benginning of the End

2008-09-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

I had my first shift of my Preceptorship today. That is fancy nursing school lingo for paying an extortion amount of money to work full time on a nursing unit paired with an RN for free! Sounds great eh? Yah...no! Never-the-less I made it through my first shift today. Not only was it my first shift on a surgical floor in nearly a year, but it was in a BRAND SPANKING NEW HOSPITAL!

I spent much of the morning running around with my Preceptor trying to find random things about the ward that we needed in one of the 3 totally different stock rooms. It was a steep learning curve for the both of us today learning where everything is, how things run, and how to work all the new state of the art equipment. The patients are patient with us for the most part.

So, as the title states, this is the beginning of the end for me as this is my final practicum and culmination of my nursing school life!! It is 15 weeks long and I will gradually be taking over the RN's entire patient load and she will become more of an advisor for me rather than a supervisor and helper etc. So this is it folks. T-minus 97 days and counting until I am officially an RN and my dream job in emerg can begin.

P.S. Sorry the comics are soo small, but they were cute and I couldn't resist. Just click on them and you can read them larger.

I'm from the Country...

2008-08-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, not technically, but my whole family is, so I spent the last week in the country visiting all of them. The "country" was in the West Kootenay's in a small community called Trail. Many of my family members live there and in the close surrounding areas.

Much time was spent visiting with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, cousins, cousins kids, cousins grandparents etc!

Family visiting in the back-yard

My Papa

I greatly enjoyed my time running around in the grass at my aunt and uncles house chasing my cousins twin girls around the farm! We looked at the Moo Moo's and cockle doodle doo's. We drank Huckleberry beer and ate corn on the cob.

My uncle and his "moo moo's"

Katelyn

Sarah

Huckleberry Beer

Darren enjoying his corn

My cousin Michael and his Grandpa

Dirt roads still exist in the country. Many people don't have paved drive ways. My aunt and uncle live in a part of Rossland named Happy Valley....doesn't that sound like a relaxing place??

Life is much simpler in the country I have discovered. Their "mall" has about 12 stores. They have one automatic car wash at a gas station and we took my grandparents van through it for the first time, much to my nana's amazement at the "moving machine". You can rent a movie at your local gas station/coffee shop/ice cream parlor/movie store extraordinaire. Traffic in Trail is when there are more than 20 cars on the same road at the same time, or you meet another car head on at the only flashing stop light in town in Rossland.

My cousin Ashley and her kids

Katelyn the diva

My cousin Michael and his nephew Darren

My cousin's wife Stephanie and her nephew Brady

All in all, my week in the country was relaxing and very enjoyable, filled with much family time, good food, good weather, and great fun. It is really too bad that my visits to the country are so short and only happen a couple times a year.

Fulfillment

2008-07-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

WE WANT YOU!

Those are words that most people can't wait to hear. Especially from a potential employer. Something I too have longed to hear.

From as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a nurse. This has come to fruition as I have endured nearly 4 years of nursing school which will come to an end in December, finally! (Not soon enough!!) Following completion of school one then must go on the path to finding a job in one's chosen career. I definitely have an advantage due to my career choice of nursing and the major shortage.

With that said, you still have to put yourself out there and look for a job. Most nurses can easily get a job in an entry level nursing position such as on a general medical or surgical ward to gain experience. It is quite another thing to get a job in a specialty area with no training.

I had a meeting with my emergency manager this past week with my best friend working with me in the ER, Darla. We had a great conversation about our options in the ER. The meeting ended with my manager saying to Darla and I that we can consider ourselves HIRED! Yup, that's right, hired as an emerg nurse! And it gets even better! In order to become a critical care ER nurse you must take specialty training, for 6 months post graduation, which is rather pricey. However, I will not be paying for the schooling because the health authority will because they need nurses so bad!! I will also get paid full time wages while I am going to school. And I get to do all this with my favorite nursing gal by my side!! Pretty much the sweetest deal I can think of!

So to me, this situation is true fulfillment as I have wanted to be an emerg nurse for almost as long as I have wanted to be a nurse. God is good and I can't wait to start the next chapter in my life!!

On the topic of Forgiveness

2008-06-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

Luke 17:4

Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”

I wrote about forgiveness almost exactly one year ago. Look at my June 2007 archives to read the post if you missed it. I can honestly say that this past year I have made huge leaps on my path to being able to forgive my father for something he put into action over 2 years ago. I have come to a place of understanding in my life that I cannot change some things. I DON'T have control over everything and everyone. Shocking I know. I have also been doing a lot of reading on the subject as of late and have pulled together a few key themes from my readings:

Forgiveness is a direct call from our Lord!

It is something extremely special which we are given, and something precious we are to replicate to others.

It is not easy.

It requires the practice of maturity, the patience to allow the process to unfold, and the tact to endure it.

Forgiveness is also a mandate from our Lord.

We can take great comfort in knowing that He is working while we are waiting, and even suffering.

When we put forgiveness into practice, we will be free from the bondage of bitterness and pain that imprisons us, disconnecting us from life and its wonders, which God has provided for us.

After listening closely to what God has been telling me lately I feel that I am ready to let go of the hurt and anger and give it all to Jesus. My dad is not going to all of a sudden decide he is no longer gay. It's not going to happen. I have accepted that.

What I need to do now is forgive him for hurting me terribly and stop holding that over him. I understand a bit better now that my dad was also hurt during the last 2 years. I also know now that by giving my dad forgiveness I am in no way saying that the hurt he caused was ok or that it didn't happen. I also have come to realize that my mother is still hurting and isn't ready to forgive and it is not wrong that I am in a place where I feel ready.

I love my father very much despite all the hurt he has caused me and I am working towards being able to verbally tell my father that I forgive him and just accept him for the way he is, no matter whether I agree with it or not. I am not in a position to be judging ANYONE. I must accept him the way he is knowing full well that I do not control his actions and cannot change what has gone on.

I will end this post with an excerpt from the most recent book I have been reading.

"Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge.

"We acknowledge that it hurt, that it mattered, and we choose to extend forgiveness to our fathers, our mothers, those who hurt us. This is not saying, it didn't really mater, it is not saying I probably deserved part of it anyway. Forgiveness says, it was wrong, very wrong. It mattered, hurt me deeply. And I release you. I give you to God.
It might help to remember that those who hurt you were also deeply wounded themselves. They were broken hearts, broken when they were young, and they fell captive to the Enemy (the Devil). They were pawns in his hands. This doesn't absolve them of the choices they made, the things they did. It justs helps us to let them go-to realize that they were shattered souls themselves, used by our true Enemy in his war."

Girls Weekend Get-A-Way

2008-05-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend was the 2nd annual girls weekend Whistler get-a-way for my bday, and what a weekend it was. If possible, this year was even more fun than the last. The weekend was spent eating, drinking, sleeping, shopping, eating, drinking, hot-tubbing, drinking, and relaxing...oh and drinking. I went with 4 wonderful girlfriend who made the weekend most memorable and amazing. We rented a 2 bedroom suite at the beautiful Pan-Pacific Mountainside nestled in the mountains and right in Whistler Village.

Our room was luxurious and comfy! We spent time relaxing and drinking the weekend away in it! We did venture out into the village of course but we felt so comfy in our room hanging out together.

The martinis were being shaken within minutes of entering our room and I am not sure that the shaking ever really stopped. Everything is in walking distance in Whistler which was a VERY good thing because no one was driving anywhere!

My lovely ladies treated me to a fantastic steak dinner at the Keg on Friday night and we had great food, wine, and lots of laughs!

My darling Darla ensured that there were plenty of photos taken during the weekend, especially when we were all dressed up and looking fine!

There were also moments of utter ridiculousness! We really let loose and had a ton of laughs. I couldn't have gone with a better group of girls. They made my birthday weekend so memorable!

There was also much time spent relaxing and drinking martinis from coffee mugs in the hot tub that over looks part of the village and the gondolas...so beautiful!

And just because she is fabulous, Darla wore a moomoo around the village and out to dinner on Saturday night. She amazes me. She wore that moomoo like it was a haute couture gown! Boy did she get some looks!

So all in all the weekend was a HUGE success and so much fun. It was really hard to leave knowing that it will be another year until we get to do this again. Thanks ladies for making my birthday wonderful and for making me feel so loved and blessed. Thanks for all the laughs and memories!

Tim Hawkins - Cletus Take the Reel

2008-04-27T19:19:00.001-07:00

I had to share this one too! You will never be able to listen to the real version without laughing now! I freaking love this!

Tim Hawkins - Corporate Worship Songs

2008-04-27T18:42:00.001-07:00

This guy is hilarious. He is a Christian comedian so all his stuff is clean. I thought I would share some of his comedy with you all since it was time that I posted something on my blog. Enjoy!

Running towards the light at the end of the tunnel:

2008-04-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am currently supposed to be studying for my last final exam ever! But alas I am procrastinating and blogging about it. Anyways, yes folks, the exam that I write on Tuesday is that last exam that I write of my nursing school life! I am only left to write the RN exam, that all nurses must write next February.

So after a terrible semester where I questioned my sanity and career choice on more than several occasions the end is in sight, I am running towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Phew!

I am so ready for the invigorating freedom of summer and the idea of getting a steady pay check again for a few months before I head into my last semester of nursing school in which I pay an extortion amount of money to work full time on a nursing unit in the hospital for FREE! Yippee! But once those 16 weeks are over I am done, D-O-N-E...done! I will be a full fledged nurse and can write the RN exam to get my license and be done with this nursing school junk once and for all!

Please pray that my sanity will remain and that I can get through this exam and start my new job 2 days later and not be a complete nervous wreck being the "newbie" in Emerg.

My New Job...well for the summer at least!

2008-03-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well it is official folks. I have given my letter of resignation to the pharmacy that I work at. I have been working there for almost 8 years. That is a long time! I knew I couldn't quite the pharmacy until I was nearing the end of my nursing program because I would need the income from the job, however menial it was, to help pay for all my bills and crazy extortion tuition rates!

But the day has finally come. I am very excited to be leaving the pharmacy. I have put in my time there and leaving means that I am that much closer to being done my nursing program.

Another new development on the job front is that I will be working as an undergraduate nurse again this summer. But not on the surgical floor like last year. This year I am going to be wreaking havoc in the emergency ward!

Anyone who knows me well, would know that I have always wanted to work in Emerge. This summer job in Emerge is like a dream come true and I am totally excited to get a chance to work in this unit before I graduate nursing school and go back to school to obtain my critical care certificate to work in emerge as an RN.

As if getting a job in Emerge wasn't exciting enough my darling dearest nursing friend Darla will be joining me in this adventure. That's right y'all. Emerge hired us both...but shhhhhhh...don't tell them. Emerge is never gonna know what hit em after we get through with them!

Why Prescriptions Take So Long To Fill...

2008-03-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

I stole this from my friend Jenna, whom I work with at the pharmacy and she found this on some random blog. This just gives you a little insight into the life in a pharmacy and what we deal with on a day to day basis...

You come to the counter. I am on the phone with a drunk dude who wants the phone number to the grocery store next door. After I instruct him on the virtues of 411, you tell me your doctor was to phone in your prescription to me. Your doctor hasn't, and you're unwilling to wait until he does. Being in a generous mood, I call your doctors office and am put on hold for 5 minutes, then informed that your prescription was phoned in to my competitor on the other side of town. Phoning the competitor, I am immediately put on hold for 5 minutes before speaking to a clerk, who puts me back on hold to wait for the pharmacist. Your prescription is then transferred to me, and now I have to get the 2 phone calls that have been put on hold while this was being done. Now I return to the counter to ask if we've ever filled prescriptions for you before. For some reason, you think that "for you" means "for your cousin" and you answer my question with a "yes", whereupon I go the computer and see you are not on file.

The phone rings.

You have left to do something very important, such as browse through the monster truck magazines, and do not hear the three PA announcements requesting that you return to the pharmacy. You return eventually, expecting to pick up the finished prescription.....

The phone rings.

......only to find out that I need to ask your address, phone number, date of birth, if you have any allergies and insurance coverage. You tell me you're allergic to codeine. Since the prescription is for Tylenol#3 I ask you what exactly codeine did to you when you took it. You say it made your stomach hurt and I roll my eyes and write down "no known allergies" You tell me......

The phone rings.

.....you have insurance and spend the next 5 minutes looking for your card. You give up and expect me to be able to file your claim anyway. I call my competitor and am immediately put on hold. Upon reaching a human, I ask them what insurance they have on file for you. I get the information and file your claim, which is rejected because you changed jobs 6 months ago. An older customer barges his way to the counter to ask where the bread is.

The phone rings.

I inform you that the insurance the other pharmacy has on file for you isn't working. You produce a card in under 10 seconds that you seemed to be unable to find before. What you were really doing was hoping your old insurance would still work because it had a lower copay. Your new card prominently displays the logo of Great West Life, and although Great West Life does in fact handle millions of prescription claims every day, for the group you belong to, the claim should go to a company called Express Scripts, whose logo is nowhere on the card.

The phone rings.

A lady comes to the counter wanting to know why the cherry flavored antacid works better than the lemon cream flavored antacid. What probably happened is that she had a milder case of heartburn when she took the cherry flavored brand, as they both use the exact same ingredient in the same strength. She will not be satisfied though until I confirm her belief that the cherry flavored brand is the superior product. I file your claim with Express Scripts , who rejects it because you had a 30 day supply of Tylenol#3 filled 15 days ago at another pharmacy. You swear to me on your mother's'....

The phone rings.

.......life that you did not have a Tylenol#3 prescription filled recently. I call Express Scripts and am immediately placed on hold. The most beautiful woman on the planet walks buy and notices not a thing. She has never talked to a pharmacist and never will. Upon reaching a human at Express Scipts, I am informed that the Tylenol#3 prescription was indeed filled at another of my competitors. When I tell you this, you say you got Lenoltec#3 (generic to T#3) there, not Tylenol#3. Another little part of me dies.

The phone rings.

It turns out that a few days after your doctor wrote your last prescription, he told you to take it more frequently, meaning that what Express Scripts thought was a 30-day supply is indeed a 15 day supply with the new instructions. I call your doctor's office to confirm this and am immediately placed on hold. I call Express Scripts to get an override and am immediately placed on hold. My laser printer has a paper jam. It's time for my tech to go to lunch. Express Scripts issues the override and your claim goes though. Your insurance saves you 85 cents off the regular price of the prescription.

The phone rings.

At the cash register you sign....

The phone rings.

......the acknowledgment that you received a copy of my HIPAA policy and that I offered the required counseling for new prescriptions. You remark that you're glad that your last pharmacist told you you shouldn't take over the counter Tylenol along with the Lenoltec#3, and that the acetaminophen you're taking instead seems to be working pretty well. I break the news to you that Tylenol is simply a brand name for acetaminophen and you don't believe me. You fumble around for 2 minutes looking for your checkbook and spend another 2 minutes making out a check for four dollars and sixty seven cents. You ask why the tablets look different than those you got at the other pharmacy. I explain that they are from a different manufacturer. Tomorrow you'll be back to tell me they don't work as well.

Now imagine this wasn't you at all, but the person who dropped off their prescription three people ahead of you, and you'll start to have an idea why.....your prescription takes so long to fill.

So there you have it folks. That's my job. But only for another 4 weeks!!! Weeeeee!

Procrastination Master....Not This Time!!

2008-02-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

I am a self professed procrastinator. I will admit it, happily! And this procrastination thing has been working out pretty well for me thus far. However, during this semester of nursing procrastination has not been working out so well due to the very hectic scheduling and plethora of assignments. So my good friend Darla and I decided to work our hiney's off every day during our reading break to get some stuff done and out of the way.

Now before you get all excited and think that we slaved away for like a week strait, I should clarify that the reading break at my university is a whopping 2 days! :) But none-the-less I have been more productive during those 2 days off than I have been this whole year!

I spent two fun-filled days at Darla's house. Me in front of my computer, Darla in front of hers and we tackled 90% of our assignments for the remainder of this semester! Yah, that's right, 90%. Good bye procrastination master, hello get-ahead-of-things-girl!

We created teaching plans, outlines, overheads and everything needed to teach lessons in classrooms for school aged children. Then we tackled teaching topics for the seniors community group we have to attend weekly, all the while still managing to entertain her very lively 4 year old son, whom I love, but he is SOOOO active and goes just a little mental when I come over. I think the little guy is going through Stacey withdrawals because he demanded to talk to me on the phone last night so that he could invite me over to his house.

Anyways, I cannot tell you how unbelievably good it feels to be ahead of the game. It has spurred me to get ahead on even more things and so tonight I finished a paper that isn't even due for like a week and a half! That is SO not like me! I totally could have wasted the two days off and slept in and really just generally blown off the time! But I didn't! It actually feels really good to know that I finally have things under control and I have reduced my stress significantly.

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Police Department

2008-02-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

I thought I would just share about something funny that happened to me the other day at my local police department.

I went into my local police station the other day to inquire about getting some information about Ecstasy as I am doing a group project with 2 girls from my nursing class where we are presenting about this topic in my local mall during a "health fair".

As I walked in, I was the only one there so I preceded to walk up to the counter where a young looking pretty blond girl was standing there loudly chewing her gum. (Sorry about the stereo type, but it's true!!) I stepped up to the window and asked her this question:

"I was wondering if there would be someone available to talk to about drugs, specifically Ecstasy to get some information from?"

Her response:

"Ummmmm, we don't sell that here."

Yup, that's what she said. No word of a lie! Did y'all know that the police department doesn't sell Ecstasy!? Who knew!!

I was thrown for a minute. I stood there, my mouth gaping open, staring at her like an alien was popping out of her head. I then gathered my thoughts and without laughing in her face I said:

"Uh...I think you misunderstood me, I am wanting to talk to someone about getting information about Ecstasy to use in my nursing health fair at the end of the month...you know...like pamphlets or something..."

Her response:

"Ummm yah, I don't think there is anyone here right now that can help you with that, sorry."

I thanked her and walked out of the police station completely dumbfounded. I am not sure how she got that job...maybe it was bring your ditsy teenage daughter to work day, or maybe that was her punishment for a crime, serve community service at the police department answering questions...but whatever it was she was not the brightest person I have ever dealt with.

I will return to the police station tomorrow maybe and hope that there is someone slightly smarter there to speak with.

At least I know now that you can't buy drugs from the police station and I can look elsewhere if I choose to take up a drug addiction.

Home from Winterpeg

2008-01-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

Well after 5 fun-filled and sleepless nights and days in Winterpeg I have returned home. What an adventure. I am truly glad that I went and experienced the conference and met so many fantastic people.

Our table at the banquet

My last night in Winterpeg was great. It started off with an awards banquet and dinner. The food was very good and was served to us.

After the awards and food the dance began. Unfortunately the DJ they hired was terrible and most people left early. Well my room mate Laura and I hooked up with some of the great people from Ontario and we all went to a night club called Silverado's and danced the night away. We returned to our hotel room at about 2-230 ish and I went to sleep after packing at around 3-330 am only to have to get up at 6am to catch my flight home! I was uber tired on the plane ride home!

Lindsey (from Ontario), Laura (my room mate), and me!

Lindsey and Ryan from Ontario and moi at Silverado's!

After returning to BC, where the average temperature is not -30 I got off the plane only to find out that it was snowing!! I apologize to everyone, but I think I brought the snowy Winterpeg weather with me!! Ooops!!

Well, I have been home for 3 days now and have not had to go to school even once! Praise the Lord for SNOW DAYS!! I have been able to catch up on the school work I missed and finish my paper that is due on friday!

I am so happy to have been chosen to go to Winterpeg and to the CNSA National Conference even though I didn't know that I would enjoy it! But I am even more happy to be back in BC where my eye brows and nostrils wont freeze and I will never have to experience -45 temperatures!

I will finish this post off with a video clip of my lovely room mate Laura's hidden talent:

Winterpeg: Day 3/4

2008-01-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

Well folks, sorry that I didn't get an update posted as promised yesterday. The 80's night last night went very late! We didn't get back to our hotel until 2am and we had to be up for conference speaker sessions at 630 (430 am BC time). WAY TOO EARLY! :) Anyways, I will start at the beginning.

Day 3 began with key note and session speakers on a variety of topics, most of them quite interesting. I really enjoyed listening to them and I even learned a little bit about holistic and "spirited nursing" and how important it is to ensure I am taking care of my whole self to enable me to in turn take care and give to others.

In the afternoon I attended a 2 hour work shop on how to write the CRNE exam. It came with lots of hints and tips and a complete breakdown of what to expect. It was fabulous and really informative. I can't wait to share all the info with all who are interested.

The evening was spent eating dinner at this quaint little Italian bistro with some fellow BC conference attendees and we had great pasta and fantastic wine!

Then my room mate and I, and the token guy Aaron, from BC hit the hot tub/pool. The hot tub was the HOTTEST thing I have ever been in! My legs turned instantly red and I never actually fully got into the water. We ended up opting for a dip in the pool and then it was off to prepare for 80's night.

My room mate Laura did an amazing job making my hair the biggest I have ever seen it and topped it off with this huge ass silver sparkley head band and I did some great 80's make up! She rocked the side pony and wave bangs. Pictures will be posted on my facebook account for you all to laugh at! :)

As I said before we returned to our hotel at 2am and were able to get to bed around 230.

We then peeled ourselves out of bed this morning, after sleeping through the first hour of speakers and headed down to the conferences and sat in on more topic sessions. Today's speakers were not as interesting and they seemed to be running behind all day so our breaks became shorter and shorter until we literally had minutes to scramble out and pee or grab a drink and race back so as to not interrupt the speaker once they had started.

The conference wrap up today was very good though. Susan Aglukark, the Inuit singer/song writer was there and told us her story and spoke about the issues facing aboriginal people today and then sang several of her songs and she was truly inspirational and a lot of fun to listen too. I got an autographed cd people! :) I will post some videos on facebook of her songs later.

And finally, as I write this I am supposed to be getting ready to attend a "Traditional Manitoba Social". What that is, Laura and I have no idea!!! But it starts at 930 and I had better get my butt in gear and get ready so that I can experience this Manitoba social in all it's glory and splendor. I will report in the morning on what exactly is included and done at such an event!

Good night all!! Oh, and current temp in Winterpeg is a balmy -14!! It's getting warmer people!

Winterpeg: Day 3

2008-01-24T14:55:00.001-08:00

Quick note:

For some stupid reason I am still unable to upload my photos to blogger!! Grrr!! So I have posted them on my facebook account under photo albums. Enjoy.

More about my day to follow later tonight.

Bye for now! Oh, and current temp: -20!! :) Weee its warm!

Winterpeg: Day 2

2008-01-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

View from our hotel room

Average temperature for today: -42 people! Yah! That's freakin cold! Here is a lovely picture taken by my roomie to prove the chilliness of the weather here:

All bundled up. It was -42!!!

Yes, that is ice!!

But, back to the beginning of the day. Laura and I went to have breakfast at the Velvet Glove Restaurant in the Fairmont Hotel. Here is what a $42 breakfast looks like:

Banana bread french toast

Eggs Benedict with odd little juice shot thingy

Yikes eh!? It was good but nothing fantastic. Needless to say we wont be going back to the place! :) Haha blew our BCNU budget.

The day went on and Laura and I had nothing to attend until 7pm today so we went into town and to the Forks Market and shopped till we dropped and spent some time outside walking on their rivers which they skate on in the winter. We had a productive afternoon and both made our own scented body butter at this cute little independent bath products store. So much fun.

Then we arrived back at our hotel at just after 5pm and had a msg on our phone from the BCNU rep requesting that we meet her for dinner at 530!! ACK! So we hurried and changed and raced to the restaurant to meet her. We had a nice dinner on her and then proceeded to the entertainment for the evening. It was an action and introduction of the guests etc. The auction was supposed to last 20 mins, it took almost 2 hours!!! SOOOO LONG!! Then we had the band Hawk and Eagle, a native band play. Laura and I only stayed for a few mins of that as we were tired. We went back to our room instead with Aaron, the other guy who got sponsored to come here. He is very nice. (No, Anica, he is not single, he is married and I didn't go to his single room!!)

Anyways, that was pretty much the day for today. There are some VERY keen people here and it's funny to watch them get psyched about stuff. I am so glad that my roomie, and Aaron even are not keen conference people.

I am off to bed. It is almost midnight here and we have to be up at like 630 am to get ready to get to the meetings and speakers and such on time.

Goodnight from frigid Winterpeg!

P.S. Ok so the stupid pictures wont upload right now so I will add them to their appropriate places tomorrow when I have a minute because they are AWESOME!! So check back for pictures.

Winterpeg: Day 1

2008-01-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Well here is the first installment of the chronicling of my whirl wind Winterpeg adventure. It started off with a short flight to Calgary. The flight went well and I arrived in Calgary with 25 mins to get to the other end of the terminal and board my flight to Winnipeg. I made it. No worries. I even had 3 mins to spair!!

When I arrived in Winterpeg it was a balmy -22 degrees outside (even colder with wind chill). Let me explain to you as graphically as I can what that kind of cold feels like to someone who is not used to it.

I took one breath and my stuffy nose froze shut!! (I woke up with a bit of a head cold this am...nice! I thought my ears were gonna explode on the plane) I am not joking people. Instant freezage. I then wrapped my scarf around my face and attempted not to panic that I now couldn't breath out of my nose at all because of the icicles forming on the inside!

As the air then reached my lungs I felt as though someone has punched me in the chest with a sledge hammer. Yup, that bad. I am a wimp when it comes to cold so this was not the province for me.

Once I had figured out how to take small shallow breaths through my scarf I did manage to breath without further damaging my alveoli! :)

Then I arrived at the Fairmont and checked into my room. Pretty nice...pictures to come later. I spent the next few hours registering and wandering around the hotel and then I went and had some dinner at the lounge in the lobby.

8pm, my room mate Laura arrived. I think we are gonna get along just fine! We have a lot in common and have spent the evening chatting and giggling and telling both our strange stories of how we ended up here at this random conference in Winterpeg. The first question she asked me upon entering the room was: Are you a morning person?? To which I answered, "heck no!!!" And she laughed and exclaimed "Oh thank goodness!!" So yah I think we are well matched.

Anyways, so far day one has been good. REALLY COLD, but good. Laura and I have NO CLUE what the heck we are supposed to be doing here and what we have to attend but we have planned out some shopping spots we wanna hit and such. So I am going to try and make the best of this strange situation and have as much fun as possible!

Until tomorrow, goodnight from Winterpeg, as it is 11pm here!

Current temp is: -28 degrees...brrrrr!! Forecast: -34 degrees over night. Weee!

Congratulations! You have been selected!

2008-01-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

Selected for what you might ask. And you have every right to ask that, I did too. Let me explain.

I was asked to meet with one of my new 4th year instructors today after writing my final exam for my health law class. I walked over to the nursing building nervously to inquire as to why I had been singled out as needing to talk to this instructor.

When the instructor came out of her office, she handed me an email wishing me congratulations and telling me the good news that I had been selected to fill one of the 3 all expense paid spots for nursing students in British Columbia to attend the Canadian Nursing Student Association National conference in Winnipeg.....IN 6DAYS!

Some thoughts ran through my head such as: Wow! What an honor! What a great opportunity! Then this thought entered my mind:

How on EARTH did this happen?? I never applied to go to this conference!!

Well apparently when the possibility of this conference was mentioned to my nursing class my good friend Darla expressed an interest in attending and maybe because I was sitting next to her, and because we tend to do everything together, it was assumed that I must want to attend as well! So my name also got put forward without my knowledge.

So, of all the people in B.C. that could have been chosen as delegates to attend this conference the only person who didn't actually want to go, or even knew their name had been put forward to be involved, gets chosen.

Yes people, that is my luck. Darla got a really good laugh on my behalf as I explained to her this uncanny situation.

So yes, I will now be leaving for Winnipeg in 6 days to attend a conference with 400+ other nursing students from all over Canada, none of which I will know, and sharing a room at the Fairmont Hotel with another nursing student, that I also do not know. Wow.

How does this happen to me!?

The beginning of the end

2008-01-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

No, not the end of the world. Like I know when that is going to happen people, geez! I am talking about the beginning of the end of my nursing school life. I am 3 days into my 4th year of nursing and in less than a week I will have written a final exam. Sigh...welcome to nursing school folks.

It is a little eerie to call myself a 4th year nursing student and I am not quite sure if it has sunk in yet. Maybe once I begin to do my public health rotation and really get into the meat of the semester I will no longer be in denial that this is really and truly my final semester of school before my final 16 week practicum. Unbelievable.

So I must only persevere for one more year and then I will no longer have to deal with the stress and sleep deprivation that seems to be synonymous with nursing school. I will no longer have to deal with papers, exams, and assignments. That is such a blissful thought that I can hardly contain myself.

So I will keep on truckin through the stress and sleep deprivation and the paper, exam and assignment writing and come through this semester on the other side, knowing that I am that much closer to completion and that much closer to being done this "game" of nursing school.

Bring on 4th year!!

Two things that have gotten me through 3 years of nursing:
Cosmo's and Darla!

Christmas Vacation

2007-12-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

View outside my nana and papa's front window

I spent this year's Christmas in good 'ol Trail. No, I don't expect many of you to actually know where Trail is, but that is where my mother's entire family lives and we attempt to alternate where we spend Christmas each year.

Trail is a small, well tiny actually, community nestled in the mountains of the Kootenay's. There was much snow and the drive to and from was rather unnerving due to the snowy weather and slippery roads through high and windy mountain passes.

This is the view from the front seat of our car....eeek!

Another road view

Side of the road...pretty snowy trees

Despite the town being painfully small it is the family that I go to see! I got to spend time with my nana and papa, aunts and uncles and my cousins and their kids. It was so much fun running around after my cousins kids, especially when I only get to see them maybe once a year.

Papa holding my cousin Ashley's newest baby, Darren

Nana!!

Christmas morning was spent with family at my nana and papa's house with many gifts to be opened. My cousin Ashley and her husband and both her son's were there to join in the festivities along with my aunt and great aunt!

Tree and some presents! This picture doesn't show the true ugliness of my nana and papa's tree, it has fiber optic strands and it flashes different colors, it could induce seizures! But they love it!

My cousin Ashley in her P.J.'s

My cousin Ashley's 2 year old, Brady, what a cutie!

Yikes! Me opening my iPod radio charger thingy

My mommy holding new baby Darren, and my mom's sister Janice sitting next to her

My sister Kimberly holding the adorable Darren

After a wonderful Christmas day and tasty dinner it was time for some more family fun on boxing day. My nana's side of the family (about 40 people) always gets together on boxing day at a hall and we eat left overs and do a gift exchange and Santa even makes an appearance for the kidlets. I just enjoyed the extra cuddle time I got with my cousin Michael and his wife Stephanie's twin girls! They are sooo cute!

This is twin #1 Kaitlyn looking lovingly at her cousin Darren

My uncle Wes holding his granddaughter Kaitlyn

Stephanie holding twin #2 Sarah

And one final cute picture of Brady!!

So once again Christmas in Trail was snowy and great! We broke the trip up on the way home and spent one night at my aunt and uncles house in Penticton and we were able to visit with them and three of my other cousins before returning home to rain, rain, rain! I hope everyone's Christmas' was as fantastic as mine! Happy New Year all!!

4th Year Here I Come!!

2007-12-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

As I walked out of my Lab final today with a huge grin on my face I became a bit giddy. I was done my 3rd year of nursing!! The thought was finally allowed to enter my mind. Although the lab exam was rather difficult and I have a bit of rage about the questions asked on it, it is done and over with and there is nothing I can do about it. I have spent this past week drowning in my notes, text books, and cue cards. I have ignored my family and friends and been hauled up in my room getting a kink in my neck from studying. If I never see another study cue card in my life it will be too soon!

Three finals down and third year becoming just another fuzzy memory to pack into my already full brain! I know I don't have the final marks officially but I have a wonderful sense of completion of yet another year of nursing done. Phew! Only one more year to go. The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to shine brighter and let me tell you I am sprinting for it, and pushing people out of my way to get there! :) Kidding!! Well maybe Darla, but no one else.

So now I embark on a much needed glorious 3 and a 1/2 week break from school that I will jam pack with work! (stupid tuition payments) Weeeee!!!

Some of my study cards...yah I had to know all that junk!

Oh, and this is a queen sized bed! My head hurts....

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

2007-12-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, as long as I don't have to drive in it that is.

Don't get me wrong. I am all for the beautiful look of snow capped trees and glistening snow flakes falling softly to the earth, but seriously people, driving in this stuff sucks!

As soon as the white stuff falls, it seems that people forget how to drive and become homicidal maniacs in their cars. I pride myself in being a decent in-the-snow-driver. I have had some experience from visiting family members each Christmas in Hicksville where there is always many feet of snow to deal with. I am not proclaiming to be an expect snow driver, but pretty decent!

I certainly don't think that I can drive the same speed as when the roads are clear and stop on a dime without sliding into the intersection and causing a huge accident. I avoid driving in the snow whenever possible so that I don't have to deal with the other idiot drivers. Especially those in SUV's that believe there vehicle is super human and will not possibly slide in such weather. They are the ones that you see wrapped around a telephone pole farther up the road or found to be the cause of the 10 car pile up because of their arrogance.

Alright, enough of my rant. I love snow, it's beautiful and seems so Christmasy! I will simply stay off the roads whenever possible while the white stuff is falling.

Here are some pics from my house this morning:

My Car...some of it!

Outside my front door

Another from my front door

Cute snow topped garden light

View from the back yard

Tattoo Fever

2007-11-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

Alright, enough with the blog updating harassment! I am now finished my paper and wont feel guilty updating my blog with my uninteresting life! :)

Now, back to the topic at hand. TATTOOS!

I have wanted to get a tattoo for a long time. Yes, mom, I realize they are permanent. Thanks for the info.

Recently in my infinite spare time I have been looking for images online for tattoo ideas. I know I want a cross of some description, and I am pretty sure I want it to be black and white or black and grey with shading. I also like the idea of incorporating the Jesus fish into the tattoo somehow as well. I am pretty sure as well that I want this on the outside of my right ankle.

I have chosen these symbols because I know my faith will always be a part of my life and I want a constant reminder on my body, and possibly a conversation starter that may lead to me being able to share my faith with someone else.

So I thought I would post some tattoo ideas I have found. I like components of all of them. Any feedback from y'all would be great. I am hoping to get my tattoo in the near future.

I like the shape of the cross, not the vines though

I also like the shape of this cross and the shading

This incorporates both the cross and fish...kinda neat

Incorporates both, don't like colors...like the cross shape and the shading on the fish

Don't like the clover leaf...but fish/cross is also a neat idea

This is my favorite so far I think...except for the lines in the background...I like the cross and the fish and the shading....just wondering if the cross is too plain?

Alright folks...so tell me what you think. I want all your opinions, good or bad!

Midterm Blues

2007-10-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is the official medical term for what I have. Symptoms include, but are not limited to the following: nausea, vomiting, night sweats, headaches, dizziness, general feeling of malaise, depression, lethargy...and the list goes on and on.
It is indead the midterm and midterm exams and papers are in full swing. The assignments are starting to pour in and my ambission is fading quickly.

I have begun to pull out all my best procrastination tactics such as this: blogging.

It seems that I get this way each semester right around this time so these feelings come as no big surpirse, but somehow this time around I have been in this rut for a lot longer than usual. I think it may be due to the fact that I am getting tired of playing the "nursing school game" as my friend Darla so wonderfully put it. I am getting so close to being done. Done this semester, done my 3rd year and done this whole program that I am getting ansy and the Midterm Blues have begun once again and are dragging me down!
I will make it out of this rut, there is no question. But hopefully it happens sooner rather than later as I have a tad bit of work that is gonna keep piling up unless something changes soon!

Welcome To Sacred Heart

2007-10-09T15:54:00.001-07:00

I was threatened during class today that I needed to update my blog because a certain someone hated clicking on my site and seeing the pic of the "atheist" goat. Yeesh, some people are so demanding!
Sigh...I guess it was time for a new scrubs post anyways. Threat or no threat! :) If only all hospitals welcomed patients this way!

This one's for you D.

What on Earth!?

2007-09-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Matt came across a strange website the other day and posted this on his blog and I was totally speechless. What kind of website would produce such garbage.

http://objectiveministries.org/kidz/

So I decided to visit the website and see what else was on there. Here is something else I found.

Culture of Life

Show your proud membership in the Culture of Life.

Sex should only be used for the procreation of life inside of marriage. Condoms and other forms of so-called "birth control" serve no other purpose than to encourage promiscuity and promote the Culture of Death. Every sperm has the potential to become a Christian and so each should be considered sacred. Remember: A condom stops an undulating flagellum.

You can go to the website and purchase t-shirts, coffee mugs, boxer shorts etc with this slogan and picture on it!

Huh?? "Sex should only be used for the procreation of life inside of marriage. Condoms and other forms of so-called "birth control" serve no other purpose than to encourage promiscuity and promote the Culture of Death."

What?? I don't even know where these people get this stuff?? Yes God created sex, and yes he wants it to be saved for marriage, but where is the idea that sex is reserved solely for the purpose of procreation!!? It scares me that this kind of information is out there on a Christian website geared for children. What kind of diluted ideas are they giving these kids. No wonder Christians get such a bad reputation. This embarrasses me!

I also found this little tidbit in the online store:

Baby Jesus Anti-Fornication Thong

The words under the picture of a creepy looking "baby Jesus" are:

"Why haste thou forsaken me?"
How would you answer the Baby Jesus?

I don't even know what to say to such garbage!! A baby Jesus Anti-fornication thong? What on earth is this world coming to? Christian propaganda has gone way too far!

Just a reminder: A condom stops an undulating flagellum!

My New Do!

2007-09-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

I have put off getting my hair done for many months now. Mainly because of laziness and lack of cash! Yesterday on a whim, and because my mangy hair was really starting to get to me, I just booked an appointment.

I arrived at the hair dresser, one I had never been to, but she had been recommended by a good friend. I told her I wanted a major change and to please do something, ANYTHING, to make my hair look better.

She foiled me with two different colors, a highlight, and a low light, and then she cut it! CUT IT GOOD! I gave her free reign and I absolutely love it! What do you all think??

BEFORE:

AFTER: this is the flat ironed straitened look

scrubs dance montage

2007-08-30T19:59:00.001-07:00

Another favorite procrastination tool when I am supposed to be studying ...watching scrubs clips. Thought I would share one. It's been a while since I have posted one...it's about time!

HSC 312 The Canadian Health Care System: My Nemesis Class

2007-08-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

What could be more fun than learning all the ins and outs of our past and present Canadian Health Care System during the summer month of August?

ANYTHING!!!!

I have been back to class since the 22nd of August, just one of the many cruel and unusual punishments thought up by the nursing program. Even more evil than making us go back to school during the summer is making us then sit through a torturous 6 day course on the Canadian Health Care System.

I am not sure that I can even explain to you in words how dry and boring this material is. The instructor is fully aware of this fact and can do little about it. He is the only saving grace, trying to boost interest in this dull course by cracking jokes.

Those who know me well know that I am a fairly patient person who does not lose my cool easily. It is actually quite hard to get me really angry. This class has succeeded in doing just that.

As I sat there in my terribly uncomfortable seat staring out the window at the beautiful sunshine beckoning to me I became agitated. Usually this happens in stages for me. Darla, my good friend, tells me that I usually get a bit fidgety and then I start making snappy comments and then I completely lose all interest in whatever is being said.

Yesterday I skipped all these steps and went strait from agitation to seething anger. We had already written a 60 mark midterm exam that morning and now we were a mere 15 mins away from lunch break and the lecture showed no signs of stopping. The lecture on economics and funding in the health care system was so beyond boring that I had tuned out. I don't like economics one bit, or anything to do with math or numbers really. Then the clock hit 12 noon (lunch time) and he kept talking and flipping through power point slides of pie charts and bar graphs.

I COULD NOT HANDLE THIS! I was literally making angry comments under my breath each and every time he switched another slide. I also sat there shooting the teacher daggers from my eyes willing him to STOP! I thought Darla was gonna lose it. She was laughing at me and my angry state.

When he finally stopped showing us pie charts at about 12:15 he asked, "anyone ready for a break now?" I literally shouted..."UH YES!" before he could finish his sentence and packed up my stuff and marched out of the room. It took me a full 15-20 mins to calm myself down during our lunch break.

I have never felt that type of anger towards a class before. But, I don't appreciate my precious time being wasted on classes that are not going to do anything to further my career in nursing and get me any closer to completing my degree with my sanity intact.

I only have to make it through tomorrow's class and then I am home free except for the final exam on Friday. The end to this useless course cannot come soon enough! Oh Lord, grant me patience!!

Summer Vacation Part II

2007-08-14T13:54:00.001-07:00

Here is the second installment of my summer vacation adventures.

This summer I also volunteered my time to Girl Guides once again. I spent 12 days helping at a large international Guide camp in Parksville B.C. This camp, called SOAR (Spirit Of Adventure Rendezvous), happens every three years somewhere in B.C. My good friend Heather and I have attended every single SOAR together since it's beginning in 1995. We attended a couple years as girl campers, and the last few as leaders and core staff. There were about 2,500 girl guide members in attendance at this camp from all over the world! We had girls from Honduras, Mexico, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the US, the Dominica, Japan, Thailand, and of course Canada.

I spent my 12 days living in a tent and sleeping on a luxurious queen air bed with my good friend Heather.

My main reason to be there was to help as part of the hospital team. We were there to provide first aid and nursing care to any injured.

Here is where I spent most of my time. In this large tent. AKA "The Hospital"
They even let me drive the golf carts!! Weeee! :)

Here I am hard at work at "the hospital" with some fellow co-workers.
Nice hats eh??

I didn't have to work the entire time I was there. And despite the many days of torrential rain, I was able to spend some time with some old and new friends doing fun activities. I laughed a lot. The girls are able to chose different activities to do daily on and off site. There were so many options from science, arts and crafts, service projects, drama, mountain biking, kayaking, caving, bus trips, hikes, learning to shoot rifles, and much much more.

I spent a lot of time the first few days wearing this lovely little number.
Good 'ol blue poncho!

My new friend Aline, who was at camp to take pictures for us all. Here she is attempting to keep her camera dry during a particularly rainy event.

During the first few days of camp, I spent time with Heather helping her prepare for her part of camp. She was working as part of the science section and was building giant catapults. We had to build a proto type. Too much fun!

Here is our giant tri-pod catapult!

Heather and I also were able to help out during an activity day at camp. The activity we helped with was with fire fighters! :) No complaints there! They had an activity like a relay race using their fire hoses and cones etc. They even let Heather try on their gear.

Here are Heather, Aline, and Rachel, who is from england. I met Aline and Rachel at camp. They were tons of fun to hang out with!

Aline and Heather having fun with glow sticks at the closing ceremonies.

The 4 of us that spent the entire camp together. So many fun memories made!!

That concludes my account of my summer vacations. Despite my crazy work schedule, I am glad that I could make the time to get away and have a great time. Even at guide camp!

Summer Vacations Part I

2007-08-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

Well it is about time that I update this thing! I finally got a hold of the pictures from my road trip vacation with my best friend Heidi so here we go with an update!

Heidi and I spent a glorious two weeks driving around California and the Oregon coast. It was whirl-wind but so much fun.

We started our trip by spending two nights at Shasta Lake in California camping out, sleeping, swimming and basically just relaxing and having a good time.

We ate in the tent one night because the bees were so bad

Next we spent a couple nights at Heidi's great aunt and uncles house in Fresno and spent time swimming and relaxing. We also ventured out to a movie and watched Ratatouille which was very good. We then moved on to DISNEY LAND!!!!

Heidi and I spent 3 fun filled days at Disney Land and California Adventure Park. We rode pretty much every single ride and stayed at the parks from open until close.

Heidi and I on the raft ride
The 'Screamer' rollercoaster

At the Rain Forest Cafe for dinner

After absorbing all we could from Disney Land and the new California Adventure Park we moved on to visit Heidi's friend Beth in Monterey for the day.

We ate lunch at this fantastic little Indian restaurant

Later that night we continued our journey and arrived at our quaint little hotel in San Francisco, The Hotel Britton.

The room has the coolest decor, wooden shutters and funky floral print wall paper.

We only had limited time in San Francisco so we made the most of it and explored the town on foot and then hopped in the old cable car system.

Heidi and I on the cable car. It was a bit windy.

After exploring the city during the day we took the cable car down to Pier 39 and wandered around the little shops. That evening Heidi and I had booked a tour of Alcatraz. We boarded a ferry and took off on our sunset cruise to Alcatraz island.

I had such a good time exploring the island. What a cool tour. I highly recommend it! Most of the tour was an audio tour and we followed directions to tour the entire jail house and cell block. Then we were able to explore on our own. Heidi and I ventured upstairs in the jail and looked at the hospital and operating room, pretty cool.

After finishing the tour and returning to the mainland we went to Bubba Gumps for dinner and had an amazing meal.

Me in a jail cell on Alcatraz island

Yummy Mango drink from Bubba Gumps

Heidi showing off the license plates that adorn the table and can be flipped to let the waiter know when we needed service.

On our way out of San Francisco the next morning we drove over the famous Golden Gate Bridge...it was freakin foggy!!!

After driving over the bridge in major fog we were on our way to the Oregon Coast. Heidi and I spent the last two days of our vacation relaxing on the Oregon coast at our campsite.

View from the beach at our camp site

Our camp site.

Me blow drying my hair at the camper plug in because I didn't want to go to bed with wet hair

Heidi was a bit cold, she wore this coat a lot on the coast.

So after two weeks of non-stop-fun Heidi and I finally arrived back home and back to the normal hustle bustle of life.

Stay tuned for Part II of my summer vacation: Girl Guide Camp. I will post about it as soon as I get the pictures from friends.

Vacation Time

2007-06-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning bright and early my best friend Heidi and I leave for our Californian adventure for 12 glorious days!

Hello palm trees, sandy beaches, clear blue water, and RELAXATION and FUN!

Oh, and Disneyland! Yes, that's right folks, Disneyland!! We are spending 3 fun filled days at Disneyland and California Adventure Park before moving on to San Francisco to do an Alcatraz tour and ride the cable cars and see the Golden Gate Bridge! Weee! I am so excited! There will be some camping nights and some stops to visit family and friends on our 12 day trip. It's gonna be great.

The only issue is...I have a terrible cold and have lost my voice! Yup, that's my luck! As soon as my stress level goes down...WHAMMO! I get sick. I had two patients the other day that had terrible colds and several co-workers who were also at work when they were sick so I am sure I caught it from one of them. Yucky! Anyways, hopefully I wont need to do too much talking in the next few days while my voice recovers!

Despite my lack of voice, CALIFORNIA HERE I COME!!

Forgiveness

2007-06-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

For if you forgive men when they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive the men their sins,
your Father will not forgive your sins.
(Matthew 6:14-15)

I have been thinking a lot about the subject of forgiveness lately. It has been something that I have been praying about constantly. A topic that seems to always be on my mind. The above verse has been "haunting" me daily.

This past year has been a tough one for me and my family due to the unexpected separation and subsequent divorce of my parents after 26 years of marriage due to "irreconcilable differences" between them. Namely my father's decision to come out with his sexual orientation.

Being a Christian, the idea that my father was gay rocked me to my core. Not only did this break up our family and devastate us all, especially my mother, it threw me into a spiral of not knowing how to now "interact" with my father. The past 18 months since first being told this news by my father has been tough. I have gone through all the emotions: shock and disbelief, anger (for a long time), sadness, uncertainty, despair, and more anger and sadness.

I know that God wants me to give these issues over to him and forgive my father. He doesn't want me to have to carry this heavy burden on my shoulders weighing me down with every step. I think what is holding me back is that I feel that by forgiving my dad I am somehow condoning what he has done, like saying it's ok what he did to the family, and it's not ok. Also, every time I see my mother go through another battery of emotions trying to deal with all the legalities involved in getting divorced and dividing up belongings and dealing with lawyers it hurts me a little more.

Because forgiveness has been on my mind and I have been praying about it, lately I seem to be bombarded with situations discussing forgiveness.

My nightly devotions have been on the topic of forgiveness and giving over burdens to God. Ironic, I know.

Also, I recently watched an episode of Oprah where she was focusing on the need for forgiveness. She had guests on that had forgiven people for shooting them or killing a family member. It was amazing how some of the guests were able to forgive others for some pretty horrific acts. Also, there was a doctor on the show that said not forgiving someone is like daily drinking a poison hoping that it will harm the other person.

I agree with that point. Sometimes I feel like I am not forgiving my father so that I can hold onto the anger and keep control of the situation, but that I am daily ingesting a bitter and awful poison hoping it will somehow hurt him the way he has hurt me.

Also, I recently had a lengthy conversation with a friend who was so honest with me about giving and receiving forgiveness in his life. This conversation was a surprise as I haven't know him very long and the talk started off very light and then amazingly progressed into this wonderful conversation on forgiveness and why it is so vital. Something he said to me stuck with me. He told me that it is SO hard to forgive, but so necessary and that God isn't "mad" at me until I am able to forgive but that God will slowly chip away at the hurt and anger and through Jesus' love, and only his love and my awareness of that love will I be able to forgive.

And finally, the other evening my aunt was over visiting with my mother, and I overheard their conversation: my mothers need to work towards forgiving my father. She had a lot of the same feelings as me that if she forgives she is condoning the behavior. I can only imagine how hard this will be for her if I am having such a hard time and she is dealing with a totally different and more piercing type of pain.

So my process towards forgiveness for my father has been a long and bumpy road and continues to be one. But I know that God is taking me by the hand and leading me down the right path to one day be able to forgive him for the hurt and pain and move on with my life and to stop drinking the poison of un-forgiveness daily.

If God is able to daily forgive me for my constant short comings then I need to work towards forgiving my father as my Heavenly Father has forgiven me. I will keep praying and listening to God, I KNOW he is speaking to me.

Birthday Weekend in Whistler

2007-05-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I celebrated my 25th birthday with 4 beautiful and fantastic friends in magnificent Whistler. We rented a hotel for the weekend and just ate, drank, partied, shopped, and slept. It was glorious! I had an amazing time and laughed sooo much.

Some of the most bizzaire things happened during the weekend!

1) Darla and I pretended to make out in the club to show up all the other people making out. She slammed me against the DJ booth and proceeded to molest me! Everyone was laughing at us.

2) I ran into my pastor at a club in Whistler while I was dancing like a geek...what are the freakin odds!? It was soo funny! He gave me money and told me happy birthday and to buy a drink on him! Lol!!

3) Darla and I were coming back from getting some ice, wearing pj's and hotel robes when we were pursued by some rather large and drunk guys down our hallway to our hotel room and one of the guys said to me "I'm gonna bite your bum, I'm not kidding hun, I'm comin and I am gonna bite it!" I fully believed him and this is when Darla and I went into panic mode and ran to our room.

All in all it was a great time. We went out for dinners, shopped all around the village, and did girly things.

Friday was our party night. The girls took me out for dinner at the Keg and then Darla and Kerris and I went to a club and showed Whistler some new dance moves! The cheese grater, martini shaker, etc!

Saturday we spent shopping and eating and drinking. In the evening we went hot-tubbing , then spent the night in our room wearing robes, doing face masks, eating chocolate fondue and watching a chick flick. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend.

Darla and I walking around at 2 am
Darla and I being "fierce" at a Mcdonald's in Squamish
Ahhh...love is in the air
Chillin in the village, we were pooped from shopping!!
Driving!! Safely of course!
Clubbing
Dinner at the Keg, Heidi and I
Face masks and robes!

My Leave of Absence

2007-05-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of celebration for me. It was my last shift for three months working at the pharmacy! I have been working at Wal*Mart Pharmacy either part time or full time for 7 years! That is a freakin long time! I am so excited to have some time off from there to pursue my undergrad nursing job this summer.

Today was very hard for me to remain pleasant to rude customers knowing that I wouldn't be back for three whole months!!! But I managed to keep my cool with all the customers. However, I was asked 4 times during my shift while I was helping to stock the shelves if I worked there, (let me say also that I was wearing my Wal*Mart scrub shirt and name tag) and I turned and smiled politely each time and replied..."NOPE!" :) It was awesome!

My boss has been wonderful to me in letting me pick and choose my hours and shifts and work around my, dare I say, hectic nursing school schedule.

So farewell to my pill counting, bottle labeling, cream making, slave to the pharmacists' every whim days! Well for 3 months at least.

Human Pin Cushion

2007-04-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

As part of my new job at the hospital I had to go and get some vaccine boosters and some routine tests and lab work done. I patiently waited my turn to go in and visit with the occupational health nurse. My turn came and I met with the nurse. She looked over my paper work and decided I would need a tetanus booster and a TB test. So away she went and gave me the TB test and tetanus booster. No problem, hardly felt them.

Needle Tally: 2

She then wrote up the form for me to bring to the hospital lab to get my other vaccine levels checked to make sure I am immune still. Again I patiently waited my turn at the lab to get my blood drawn.

I was approached by a nervous looking guy who called my name and asked me to follow him. When I got into the chair to have my blood drawn he stated that he was a BCIT lab tech student and asked if it would be ok if he did my blood tests. Being a student myself I felt for the guy and told him sure he could take my blood! :) No worries right!?!

He started by palpating my arm to find a good vein. He appeared to have found one and proceeded to put the elastic tourniquet EXTREMELY tightly around my arm and began to get his supplies in order. Then there was more palpation and some nervous laughter from him and then he says "I think I found your vein but if I miss it's gonna hurt." Oh....ummmm yah...what am I supposed to say to that!?! I told him well then be sure you have a vein before you start, in the sweetest voice I could muster. I don't mind needles really but I am not keen on being poked a million times and have him not hit a vein.

By now, my hand is totally white and tingly and cold because I still have the tourniquet on my arm and he is STILL palpating. It has been a few minutes and his supervisor lab tech came over to see how things were going. She reassured him that he was doing fine and palpated my vein as well and said he should go ahead. So he did...."small poke here Stacey....uhhhh...hmmm let me just move the needle a bit.....ok no blood." Now the poor guy is sweating and his hand is shaking. Yes the needle is still in my arm...kinda hurts. So he digs a bit and then gets frustrated and pulls the needle out.

Needle Tally: 3

He looks at me sheepishly and asks if he can try it again. For some crazy reason I agree. So repeat all of the above palpating etc and in he goes again. This poke hurt a bit more but whatever...he looked confident...Hmmmm...I still don't see any blood entering the specimen tubes. Crap! Ok lab guy looks even more nervous and he jiggles the needle around in my arm hoping to find the vein again. STILL NO BLOOD!! He removes the needle.

Needle Tally: 4

Ok, "Can I maybe try the other arm, I am sure that will be better." Again, stupid me says sure...I am a student and I feel for the guy especially with his supervisor standing over him. The guy is now really sweating and his hand is shaking as he preps my left arm and applies the crazy tight tourniquet and palpates yet again. "I can totally feel a big juicy vein on this side!" says lab guy. Ummm great I say, then away we go. Poke......nothing....nothing...no blood.....nothing....yup, he is still digging...ok crap he still can't get any blood. He pulls out the needle AGAIN!!

Needle Tally: 5

I look at him with understanding in my eyes, and maybe a tear because now both arms are killing me and rather bruised and I say..."Maybe she should do this next one" pointing to his supervisor. He agrees and away we go again with the supervisor palpating. She pokes me with confidence and PRAISE THE LORD THERE WAS BLOOD!!! She filled up her two vials and band-aided both my arms up and apologized for the amount of pokes. No worries I told her....I hardly felt them....*cough* *cough* (I lied). Then I turned to the lab tech student guy and told him not to get too down, that I hardly felt his pokes (another lie) and he just needs more practice!

Needle Tally: 6

Yup, I am sooo done with getting needles for this week!! Keep them needles away from me!

Studying

2007-04-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

So because I am a champion procrastinator and my lovely friend Darla is one as well, she has been emailing me photo's of herself studying today and I have been reciprocating. I mean what else are we gonna do when we are supposedly studying for our last final exam tomorrow!! :) So Darla thought I should share my pics with everyone and put them on my blog, I agreed but told her she was going down with me. Here we are in all our studying splendor, looking oh so beautiful!!

Ok, no more procrastinating, I must study!!

No, really I am going to study hard now...well.... at least try to study hard

....hmmm I am kinda thirsty, and maybe I should throw in a load of laundry while I am at it! :)

Yikes! I need an intervention!

Feeling Giddy

2007-04-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

Gonna have to put me in one of these to get me back into the psych ward!!

They day has arrived. 6 weeks I have been praying for this day to come. The final day of my psych rotation. Sigh...this is the day.

Even though I had to get up at the crack of dawn to get to the ward on time I had a little spring in my step knowing that this was the last time I would ever have to get up this early to go to psychiatry!!! The day was rather boring and I was sure my instructor would keep us until the bitter end of 3:30...yet at 1:20 something amazing happened.....

He let us leave!! Yes, thats right, 2 whole glorious hours early!

As I walked back to my car with my good friend Kim, I felt like skipping and shouting aloud in praise that I had made it through 6 weeks of psych, hating every moment.

But folks, it is over. I made it through the worst rotation of my nursing school career, and I am only slightly crazy myself and have a few minor dents. :)

You will not see me back on that ward unless I am wearing that strait jacket and being drugged and thrown into seclusion kicking and screaming, otherwise, audios psychiatry!!!

Scrubs: My Musical

2007-04-08T15:40:00.001-07:00

I have nothing interesting to say right now but feel the need to post....once again another Scrubs clip. I like the drug references in this one. They hit home for me! :)
To all my friends...we are best friends like amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.

Enjoy!

Scrubs - How Interns Get-By

2007-04-03T19:37:00.001-07:00

It was time for another Scrubs clip. I hope you all enjoy.

This could also be called how nursing students get buy. Although I have never stolen anything from the hospital, I do have some antibacterial hand gel from my home care rotation that I "forgot" to give back...ooops!

New Things

2007-04-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since my last post. Life has been busy as per usual. But things are beginning to slow down a bit as the semester winds down. Phew...I can almost breath. Anyways, I have two days off this week, today and tomorrow and I plan to use them well. I spent time today sleeping and reading and just relaxing. Then this afternoon I met up with my lovely girl Darla and we went to the mall to do some shopping. I recently received a nice tax return and my yearly Wal-Mart bonus check so I had some money that I could spend. Because I am a student, I seldom have any money to spend, even if I wanted to so this was a change for me.

People who know me know that I am very frugal with my money and this became painfully obvious when I entered the mall and realized that I had not been there since December, when I was Christmas shopping. There were so many new stores that I had never heard of. Amazing. Whole new world. So I told Darla that my mission was to get a new purse as the one that I am currently using is falling to bits, literally. I am not sure why the strap has not broken all the way off yet. I have a hard time spending money on myself. As well I really wanted to get a pair of practical yet cute black shoes with a tiny, and I repeat tiny heel, as I am a horrible high heel shoe walker. I tend to fall, or walk like I am inebriated. So that was the mission.

Boy oh boy did I do well!! :) I had to splurge a bit on the shoes but they are awesome and I love them to bits and they are good quality. But I got my purse for less than $15! It's very cute as well. For once in my life I feel like I am trendy...sort of! :) This is a first for me. I have never really been fashion forward, I just wear whatever I want if it's comfy. Well the shoes are comfy but oh so cute and the purse if practical and cute and was such a good price.

We ended our evening attending a very lively and spirited church service and it was awesome! Totally refreshing and renewing to spend time praising God with fantastic praise music in a lively and spiritual environment. The perfect end to a perfect day. Ahhhh....I feel refreshed!

The new purse. There isn't a picture of the old one because Darla made me throw it away at the mall!!
New Shoes!!!!
Note the cute gather thing
And a tiny heel. I can walk in them and I don't look drunk!!

Crunch Time

2007-03-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, t-minus 4 weeks and counting until the end of this semester! Wow! This semester has really flown by and hasn't been too unbearable. However, the next few weeks are jam-packed filled with assignments and papers and exams etc. I just handed in my big paper for this semester today, but I still have a 6 page psych paper left to do as well as 1 major psych assignment and 1 minor psych assignment to complete. As well, I have a group debate to complete for my ethics course, written final evals for my clinical rotations, and studying for finals etc...etc...etc. So as you can see, the next few weeks for me will be really, really busy so I felt the need to write a small blog to all my faithful readers to let them know that it may be AT LEAST a week or so before I am able to blog again so I don't want any nasty emails or messages from people as to why I haven't written anything, alright Darla!! :) Send me your positive vibes as I endure another 4 weeks of psych rotation of which I absolutely loathe with every fiber of my being. You may think that I am exaggerating and overreacting, but until you have spent a 12 hour shift working on the psych ward you have NO idea! Pure torture! But I am trying to stay positive and look ahead to the end of the semester, the start of summer, my new job, and most importantly...the return of my best friend Heidi from Guatemala so we can go road tripping together!!

Here are some pics from my summer adventures last summer and the summer before with Heidi! Can't wait to add another summer trip to the repertoire.

Beach at camp site in Oregon
Camp-fire on the beach in Oregon. (Jalene, me, Jenn, Heidi)
Heidi driving on the I5 in her bathing suite because she was hot
Heidi being Heidi at the Caeser's hotel and casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Call me Surgical Nurse Extraordinaire

2007-03-15T22:13:00.002-07:00

I have spent the last couple of weeks stressing about an interview that took place today. I attended a large hiring fair for student nurses to gain employment in their chosen hospital as whats called an Undergraduate Nurse. Yes, I am still a student nurse, but I have the majority of the knowledge and skills to work as an Undergrad on a hospital ward.

I spent yesterday in the psych ward, as part of my clinical rotation not as a patient :), for a VERY long 12 hour shift. As I was there I had more than enough time to dwell on the fact that my summer job and future of my nursing experience hinged on my doing well in my interview. I was rather panicked. I managed to get myself pretty worked up and rather stressed out. After my 12 hour shift I came home and was so physically exhausted I could hardly keep my eyes open and it was only 8 p.m. Yeesh! Yet, somehow as I went about my lazing around in front on the T.V. for an hour to get my mind off the impending stress of the next day I became WIDE AWAKE!

I spent the first few hours after I went to bed lying on my back and staring at the ceiling wondering what it would be like to be the only one who didn't get hired at the hiring fair. Eeek! Ok, so that is the worst case scenario but I still went there.

When I woke up this morning though I had a strange sense of calm. Praise the LORD! But as I drove to the hiring fair with two other classmates my nerves began to act up again and I could feel my heart beating faster. My anxiety was anything but subdued when I arrived at the hiring fair and ended up having to wait almost 4 hours to get my interiew!

When my name was finally called my heart tried to jump out of my chest! As I was escorted to the interviewing table, the lading escorting me asked me a strange question: "You wouldn't happen to be Marina's daughter would you?" "Ummm, yes" I answered, "I am actually." This lady turned out to be my mothers old boss from when she worked on the surgical floor. Then as we arrived at my interview table she introduced me to my interviewer and then proceeded to say:

"I was totally right! This is Marina's daughter!!"

The women who was doing my interview was my mothers current boss in emergency! What a small world! So right then and there all my anxiety disappeared and I was able to sit calmly and answer all her 4, yes 4 pages of questions. The interview lasted just over 30 mins but to me the time flew by! At the end of the interview the women stood up and shook my hand and said that she thought I would make a wonderful addition to the surgical ward.

I WAS HIRED!!!

What a relief! It is a wonderful feeling knowing that I am finally going to get paid to do what I love and get so much great experience while I am doing it! I cannot wait to start.

Scrubs - The More You Know

2007-03-12T20:12:00.001-07:00

Yes, thats right, it's time for another Scrubs video clip. Yup, I love the show and this clip is a short one but it's still quite funny. Enjoy!

Confessions of a road-rage-a-holic

2007-03-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Stacey, and I am a road-rage-a-holic:

I think this may be something that not a lot of people know about me. I try to hide my road rage when I am driving with other people in my car. Let me just say that I have never been violent towards another driver because of my road rage, it hasn't come to that, yet! :) I car pool to school with 3 other girls, and I know they think I am an aggressive driver, and I guess I am. Don't get me wrong, I'm also, I think, a very safe driver. But I am also sometimes an impatient driver and tend to get enraged while driving very easily. I think this road rage got worse instead of better when I got my new car because now I could actually drive over the speed limit and weave in and out of traffic without fear of something falling off my car.

While was I driving home today I was talking on my cell phone with my friend Darla, and forgetting that I was talking to her I yelled at the women "driving" in front of me to...eh hem..."freaking hurry up and drive for goodness sake!!!!!!!" The women was driving merrily along a busy road at 30km where the speed limit is 50km! I don't do 30! I rarely can keep myself at 50! Well Darla started to laugh at me, and that's when I realized that my secret was out. She was like, "did you just yell at the car in front of you?" "Ummm, yes maybe I did" :)

There have been several occasions where I know people may have suspected that I had road rage, or at least strange driving tendencies. I have driven around with some of my youth group kids in the car and they have laughed at me when I put my hand out making a stop signal and verbally told a car sitting on a side street to "stay where you are, don't you dare pull out in front of me!!" I constantly talk to myself and other drivers while I am driving, as if they can actually hear me. I will say things like "hurry up!!! get out of my way!! don't you dare cut me off!! idiot driver!! "etc...etc...etc. I seem to always be in a hurry when driving, even when I am not in a hurry to get anywhere!

I will also say that I have never been in an accident that was my fault so it is not that I am a bad driver, just a very animated one. And yes, I am sure my car pool girls are secretly making fun of me while I am driving, it's ok, I love them anyways! :) I used to have an air freshener in my old car that said, "smile, God loves you" and my car pool girls joked with me that I should simply recite this and my road rage would go away. If I can find one, I should try and buy another one of those air fresheners and put it in my new car as a subtle reminder.

[Scrubs] My Musical - Guy Love

2007-03-05T18:59:00.001-08:00

Another odd but oh so funny scrubs musical clip! Yes, I am addicted to this show. Also, I had nothing interesting to say so I thought I would post this. This one's for you Darla! (if we were guys) :)

An eye opening experience

2007-02-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

Today I had one of the most influential days of classes I have ever had. I was rocked to my core. My stereo types and stigmas and preconceived notions were smashed to pieces. My day started off with a 3 hour class about homelessness and poverty. The theory and stats we went through were fascinating. I learned once again how much I take for granted in my life and how fortunate I really am. I learned to have more compassion for the homeless and the impoverished and all street people and people dealing with different levels of substance abuse. Then this afternoon was when things really hit me. We had a guest speaker come into our class named Derek. He is a Street Nurse from down town Vancouver. He works every day with drug addicts, prostitutes, and the homeless. He showed us a movie that a coworker of his had just made that is not yet released, and it was absolutely amazing the work being done. But not in the conventional way people might think.

If you are anything like me when you hear the term "safe injection sites" you become enraged. Safe injection sites?!? Why on earth are we giving drug addicts needles and a place to shoot up their drugs. I have always had the mentality of cure, cure, cure, save, save, save! We need to be going to all these drugs addicts and telling them they need to get their lives in order, go to rehab wake up and realize the crap you are doing!! But today I was given a new realization that will forever change the way I think about such things.

You can tell someone who is drug addicted that they need to get help. Duh!? 99.9% of those people know that and think about it on a DAILY basis. They don't need nurses telling them. What they do need is nurses out on the street meeting them at their levels and helping them stay safe. These street nurses that work on the down town east side spend their days walking the street talking to addicts and teaching them ways to shoot up safely and decrease their risk of infection or overdose. They provide them with clean needles and condoms and even "mouth pieces" used to smoke crack with. Some people may say that this is simply enabling them to do drugs. Well you know what!? They are going to be doing those drugs no matter if they have a clean needle and use "clean" technique or not. They are going to prostitute themselves for money to support their habit whether they have condoms or not! So why not try to keep them as safe as possible and keep the spread of disease down. These nurses also give vaccines to addicts and street people, they go and do blood tests for HIV and other STD's right out there on the street because these people wont go to clinics to get tested. They provide antibiotics to infected people. They find these at risk people shelters and safe places to sleep. They take them to clinics or hospitals to make sure they get the care they need.

It was just absolutely eye opening and amazing what these nurses do and how little reward they get from it but they go out day after day just trying to make a small difference in these otherwise despised peoples lives. I am FOREVER changed buy what I learned today and I have been inspired to get involved. Make a difference. Treat these people with respect and make sure that if I encounter them in the hospital that I am treating them well and not ignoring and marginalizing them further.

My fellow nursing friends Darla and Kim and I discussed today with our instructor about trying to make Street Nursing a clinical experience in our nursing program or at least an option for student nurses to get involved in during their summer breaks. What an amazing life changing experience that would be for people. Truly, truly eye opening.

If you want to see a small excerpt from the movie we were shown today they have a short clip on a website. I encourage everyone to watch this movie if you get the chance. It may only be shown to nursing students, but if you hear about it, watch it! It's called Bevel Up. Here is the website link to the short clip.

www.bevelup.com

I know this was a long post but I just felt that I needed to get this out. It had been weighing heavily on my heart today ever since I got home. What an enriching day. And I didn't even want to go! I am so glad I did!!

[Scrubs] My Musical - Everything Comes Down To Poo

2007-02-23T17:02:00.001-08:00

Home Care...how I love thee!

2007-02-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well school is back in full swing now and I am done with my few extra days off each week. They were nice but I was so unproductive during them unfortunately so I am glad they are over. I have just finished my 2nd of 3 weeks in my Home Care rotation. I LOVE IT! Talk about stress free. It is such an independent rotation. I get to the Home Care office at around 8:15 am, I gather charts, call patients, and then visit them by myself in their homes and clean and redress their wounds and chat with them, then I get back to the office around 12-12:30 and do some charting and I am usually home by 1pm! It is wonderful. My instructor comes with me on the odd visit but other than that I am on my own making my own decisions. It is wonderful! The clients are so friendly and love having a nurse come into their home to change their dressings and talk to them. I can totally see myself doing home care at some point in my nursing career, when I get tired of the stress and hassle of working in the hospital. Unfortunately I only have one more week in Home Care and then I have to move onto 6 weeks of Psych, my least favorite type of nursing. I am trying not to have a bad attitude about Psych but it is really hard when I know I wont like it and I have heard bad things about it from the group that is currently doing psych right now. Yick...must stay positive!

Signs of Progress

2007-01-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well we have been living in our new townhouse for about 6 weeks now. There are very few boxes left to unpack, most things have been put away in their places. Most of my bruises and cuts from running into things have healed and the memory of the pain is fading. Because of my extra few days off from school lately I have been able to get myself more organized too! My room is mostly put together and I was available to help my mom get some of her things organized. I can no longer call the T.V. room/office the death trap as it is actually a relatively functioning T.V. room /office. Things are really starting to come together. The new laminate flooring is in and beautiful, the new leather furniture and coffee tables are also in place and look wonderful! It is nice to finally have a place that feels like home and have most of the "organizing" stuff done. Here are some pictures as proof of our progress!

Previously known as "death trap" now the office
T.V. room!
T.V. room, note the lack of boxes piled to the ceiling
My Room
My room, with shelves I stained with 3 coats!!
The kitchen/ dining room
Hallway down stairs to show new floor compared to old yucky carpet still on stairs!!
The bizarre orange and brown flower tiles in my bathroom against limish green walls
Living room with new leather furniture and coffee table
Another view of living room with new furniture and art work and tables etc

A Few Days Off...

2007-01-18T15:51:00.000-08:00

I get a few days off this week due to very cool scheduling of my home care rotation for school. So from Wednesday thru Friday for the next three weeks I have days off. Three whole days each week for 3 weeks to do whatever I want!! I was gonna take some extra shifts at work, finish getting organized in my bed room, and getting some much needed laundry done. So I was planning on taking full advantage of having these days off but when I got home from school on Tuesday with some strange stomach cramps and a major head ache I knew this plan was about to come to a screeching halt. I then spent Wednesday in bed, and today as well. I have not been able to keep solid food down today at all and had to call in sick for my extra shift a work! Why does this always happen to me!? As soon as I get some time off from work or school I manage to get sick! It's getting ridiculous! Well I have tomorrow off as well and I am hoping that I will be feeling well enough to get out of bed and do something before I have to work on Saturday. And then I fully intend to make full use of the next two weeks of freebie days off without getting sick!! Maybe I will even try to get ahead in my school work...hhhmmm...we'll see! :)

Back at Class

2007-01-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

The infamous third year. It has begun. Weird...I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I am half way done my nursing program. Bizarre! After only 3 weeks off for Christmas vacation I was not feeling terribly rested because of the amount of working and moving I did during the break, but it felt right just to be back in classes again. We just picked up where we left off and are back into the swing of things. It's so good to see all my friends again that I wasn't able to spend a lot of time with over the break because of all of our crazy schedules. It was also a great feeling today as my friend Darla and I walked through the campus bookstore in an attempt to gather supplies that were not there, and saw some brand new second years holding the Pathophysiology text book and Darla exclaimed..."Whoohooo...no more freakin patho! Hah, don't miss that text book!" What a fantastic feeling knowing that awful, awful, awful class is over for good and I NEVER EVER have to do it again! Yippee! Another benefit to this semester is that there is only one text book to buy! That is amazing! That will make my MasterCard very happy too, well as soon as my tuition is paid off! I love third year!!!

Joys of living in a new house

2006-12-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

Part of our Kitchen looking in from living room
Living room
T.V. room/mountain of boxes/death trap
Another view of the death trap
Final view of the death trap

Well it has been about a week since we moved into our new home. Until last night there were still boxes covering every surface of the house. I have tripped over and bumped into more boxes this last week than I care to remember. Every morning I wake up and discover a new set of scratches and bruises on my body that were not there the day before.

I have gone on special ops missions to find certain articles of clothing or a pair of shoes I know I packed in the room which has become a mountain of at least 180 boxes, it will one day be known as the T.V. room/office when it become less of a mountain. It is quite the process to squeeze ones self in between the tiny crevices between boxes in an attempt to reach the back wall of this room to find the certain box containing your most prized possession, only to have your only exit become blocked by an avalanche of other boxes, a large table, a shelving unit and a huge hunk of carpet. Oh the fun I am having.

My aunt came over last night and her and my mom went crazy unloading boxes and attempting to put things in their places. It was mostly a success. There is now walking room between most rooms in our house, and we have a living room floor! I some how got roped into helping rearrange and remove furniture from the living room at midnight so that the new furniture my mom ordered could fit in. This involved me and my aunt carrying a very large and might I mention crazy heavy old antique couch and 2 HUGE antique chairs down a steep embankment beside our house and into our carport. I am a little sore! So as you can tell, things are slowly coming together at the new place and it will hopefully look more orderly in the next couple of weeks. By then, maybe my bruises will be gone and my scratches will have healed.

New Home

2006-12-22T18:42:00.000-08:00

Well my mom, sister, and I have officially moved into our new townhouse. Yes, there are boxes EVERYWHERE and nothing seems to have a place to call its own yet, but we are getting there. Between packing up our old family home in less than 10 days and then jamming all our stuff into 5 large storage crates to be stored for 2 weeks and living with my aunt and uncle for the in-between time, then unpacking those 5 large storage crates into our much smaller new house, it has been about a month in the making. But it feels really good to be in our new home, actually having my own space again and being able to sleep in my own bed is so nice. The first day we got into our new house we ripped up the old carpet in the living room and hallway and put down very nice laminate flooring and my mom and I did some tile work around our gas fire place. It was a lot of work, but it was nice to see the drastic change when we were done! Our house doesn't feel very Christmasy yet because it is covered in boxes, but we did manage to buy a tree which we will be decorating very soon so I think that will make a difference. Thanks to everyone who came to help us pack, move, unpack etc. etc. It was greatly appreciated! I will post some pictures of our new home as soon as I can find my camera! :)

DONE!!

2006-12-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I just had to post when I got home from the hospital today! I am done! I have completed year 2 and have just returned home after my last "shift" at the hospital! It was such a nice shift too! I spent it in the O.R. I think I have created a record for most surgeries watched by a student while wearing lead! 4!! I have been in 4 surgeries this last rotation and all 4 of them I had to stinking wear lead! Yeesh! None as long as the 3 hour escapade during the first one! Good work out though! But anyways, today all I had to do was simply observe a surgery and then I had my final evaluation with my instructor which went fantastically, and then I got to come home! Beautiful! And I will add that before the surgery started this morning the anesthetist actually let me intubate the patient once she was under anesthetic!! It was sooo cool! **Don't tell my instructor!**;) (intubating is inserting a tube into a patients airway to help them to breath when they are under general anesthetic) So the gist of this post is to say GOOD RIDDANCE to year two...HELLO year 3!! Whooohooo!

Year 2 comes to a close...yippeee!!!

2006-12-10T11:57:00.002-08:00

It's true! The year that I have sometimes referred to as the year of hell will be coming to a close on Tuesday! I have two more 12 hours shifts at the hospital, Monday and Tuesday and then my 2nd year of nursing is officially OVER!! Wow! Half way done! It seems surreal to me still. When I started year two, we were warned by previous students of the level of difficulty and the amount of hatred one would feel during the next two semesters during 2nd year. I thought to myself, "self, they are just telling you lies! You can make it through no problem!" Hah! It was a hard up hill struggle. I actually questioned my sanity for going into nursing during this last year (Darla and Kim have had to endure my ranting phone calls...thanks girls!). But thanks to friends like Darla and Kim and Tanja and Erin and Laura and all my nursing gals I managed to stay sane and am 2 days away from completing what is deemed as the hardest year of your nursing school life! I am ecstatic! I can now tell people that I am a 3rd year student nurse! The worst of it is behind me and I am excited to move forward. Bring it on!

Moving Day...sort of

2006-12-04T22:35:00.000-08:00

So I have spent the last few days packing and packing and packing and getting ready to move from my childhood home into a town house with my mom, with a 12 day interim stint living at my aunt and uncles until the town houses' current occupants vacate the premises. It's weird to pack all of your stuff away and then not actually move to the new place with your stuff! But we will get there soon enough. Anyways, the amount of junk that one can accumulate in 18 years in a house is absolutely nuts! We are down-sizing to half the size we currently have and my mother seems to think that we can still bring everything with us! We have currently filled 4...yes 4... 8x8x7 storage containers with all our worldly belongings and now a fifth container has been ordered! ACK! So needless to say my mother will have to part with some of her things when we get to the new place, and I think my sister and I will have to put our extra stuff into storage for the time being. So we spent the day yesterday with family and friends filling the containers to their brims, and then some! I am so physically exhausted from all of this as well. I have been working almost full time hours at the pharmacy and attending hospital rotation weekly and moving. I know I am crazy and I need to take it easy, and It has taken a toll on my body. But I will take it easy during Christmas break when I can leisurely unpack stuff without the rush! But the hard part is over for 12 days while we live at my relatives house until we can begin to unload the 5 storage containers on the 17th into our new place. Yippee! I can hardly wait! At least I have a stress free clinical instructor for my hospital rotation and she makes me laugh, so going to rotation is the least stressful part of my life right now which is good!

A surgical experience

2006-11-26T15:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, here is the first update on my 4 week final rotation. I am currently working on a very busy surgical ward. Yesterday I had the opportunity to do what is called a patient follow thru. My patient was admitted to the floor on friday afternoon after falling 15 feet off the roof of his barn and breaking his femur (huge bone from your thigh to your knee) in three different places! That takes talent people! Your femur is the strongest bone in your body and to break it in 3 different places is phenomenal! And painful! So when I came on for my 12 hour shift on Saturday morning I was given this man as one of my patients. I was to help prep him for surgery by administering all his pre op meds etc. Then I got to accompany him to the O.R. and watch his surgery. This was one of the neatest surgeries I have ever seen! But it had its draw backs. The surgery involved drilling a hole into the femur from hip joint to knee and inserting a metal rod that would then be screwed into place. All of this was done through a teeny tiny incision at the hip and the surgeon was guided by a machine called a fluoroscope which takes xrays and real time pictures of the leg while the surgeon is operating. This was great except for one thing! Because of this constant taking of xrays everyone in the O.R. had to wear 20lbs lead vests and collars to protect themselves from the xrays. This would have been fine for oh say 30 mins but the surgery took almost 3 hours!! I was so stinking hot and my feet killed after wearing almost 25lbs of lead strapped to my body from head to toe for 3 hours. Nonetheless the surgery was very interesting and then I was able to stay with my patient in the recovery room while he recovered from his anesthesia. Then to finish it all off I had him as one of my patients again today and will have him again tomorrow, so the continuity of care is really good.

So thus far my rotation has been very fun and my instructor is great! She assigned me to 3 patients today and I was sooo stinking busy running around like crazy trying to time all my patients pain meds and IV solutions correctly, and do dressing changes and help people walk to the bathroom and deal with vomit, but it was a very rewarding day. Especially when you leave and your instructor tells you that you have done a good job and she is impressed!

A day that shall go down in history!

2006-11-20T17:21:00.000-08:00

That's right folks, it was a truly memorable day today. This day, November 20th 2006 at 11:30 a.m. marked the completion of my last patho class EVER!!! Yes, you heard me, last EVER! I am done with that horrifically boring and confusing class that I loathed, yes loathed going to every Monday for the last year!!!! Granted, the material in that class is very much applicable and pertinent to my nursing career but I might as well have taught the class myself because all my instructor did was read off of the power point notes that we all had in front of us! Some of you may have read my blog entry about my first day blues and my extreme loathing for this course and know exactly why this is a day to go down in history! But that is not the only reason why this day shall go down in history, the other reason is....drum roll please....I am in a clinical rotation group with Kim and Darla, my two best buds in the nursing program! This is history in the making people!! Ever since day one the instructors realized what good friends we were and what trouble we could cause together, and we have always been separated from each other. We have never EVER had a clinical rotation all together! Well someone must have screwed up because for the next 4 weeks Darla, Kim and myself will be ruling the floor!! I am so excited to get to work with these two fine women and nurses! I think this will be my most memorable rotation yet!! Stay tuned for updates during the next 4 weeks of fun!

They will know we are Christians by our love...

2006-11-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

I have been struggling with this statement for some time now. How do people know that I am a Christian? Do people even know that I am a Christian? Because I am, and I want people to be able to tell. Do people only know because I have told them, or they have over heard me talking about being a youth leader or attending church? These are some of the things that I have been talking to God about recently and I have been listening for him to give me some answers. Well in the last 4 hours I have had a couple answers. Ok God! I get it! I hear yah! :) Here is what he told me: This morning in church the pastor was talking about being a living example for Christ. I can be a walking, talking, living, and breathing advertisement for the wonderful and powerful work of Christ. Then I received a phone call from my good friend Darla and we got to talking about this very topic (she brought it up out of the blue! not me!) and how we struggle daily to live Godly lives. It is such a hard thing to do when we are sinful by nature. We began to talk about a conflict within our class and how we have acted and essentially driven this conflict forward. I was startled to realise how un-Godly I had been acting without even thinking about it! I am so glad for Darla and her ability to keep me accountable to God and keep me accountable to live a Christ centered life. There are only a handful of Christians in my nursing class and I want people to know that I am one of them! I want people to know that I am a Christian by my words, deeds, actions, and especially by my love!

A Lost Bet

2006-10-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

My boss likes to make bets. So far I have been smart enough to either decline to take part in his bets, or only accept if I know I cannot lose. Also, my boss likes to cheat, he will deny this, but he does! So yesterday at work my boss was asking me about a dance I was supposed to attend for a friends birthday but was unable to. The theme of the dance was Super Heroes. I was saying how my friends and I were finding it hard to think of super heroes to dress up as. My boss then told me he could think of tons! He said to me "I bet you that I can name at least 50 super heroes off the top of my head by the end of today!" He said if he the lost the bet, he would wear a Santa costume to work the day that he worked closest to Christmas, and I would have to do the same if I lost the bet. Well I was totally in, I mean seriously who knows 50 super heroes off the top of their head, and the idea of seeing my boss in a Santa suite was just way too good to pass up! So the bet began. He was able to think of 20 right away...I was starting to get nervous! Within 30 minutes he had listed 62 freakin super heroes!! I had no idea my boss was a comic book geek! So I had lost the bet. I was now to wear a Santa suite to work! Not going to happen! So I did the only thing I thought I could to lessen my sentence...I offered to work New Year's Eve (the busiest freaking day of the year in the pharmacy) in exchange for only having to wear a Santa hat to work. My boss obliged. Crap! Now I have to work New Years Eve!

My Life

2006-10-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was starting to get hate mail from people who read my blog because it has been a few weeks since I last updated! Yeesh! Sorry I really don't have anything interesting to say but here goes. The last few weeks have been filled with the usual stress. School being at the top of the list. I had a rather silly paper due yesterday and that consumed my time because it was very difficult for me to write. I had to identify something on a medical ward of a hospital that I had just been working on and say why I thought it needed to be changed. Then I had to apply a crazy "Theoretical Model Of Change" to the item and work it through. I know, retarded, don't have to tell me that they are wasting our time! :) I have been finding myself so consumed with school lately that I have been very irritable and negative! I know people have noticed! Don't lie! So I am trying to stay positive and to have more of a social life. Last week I went over to my friend Darla's house, ON A SCHOOL NIGHT, and hung out with her and another friend Kim. All we did was watch some T.V., drink some Cosmopolitan's, and go over ideas for our papers, but it was great! It was a total stress release to go and do something other than school work for a change. The three of us have decided that for our own sanity, we must attempt to do this on a regular basis or we are going to go insane. So I am going to try and bring more balance to my life in the coming months to better handle the stressful life of a nursing student.
I was also struck this past week during a sermon at my church. The pastor was talking about how if we perceived things in our lives as "chance" or "Divine intervention". He mentioned things like the people we work with or go to school with, and do we think those people were put with us by chance, or by Divine intervention. That really got me thinking about things, and I am certain that God put people like Darla, Kim, Tanja, Erin, etc in my nursing class with me for a reason. He even put people in there that I don't particularly like for a reason too and I need to pay more attention to God's nudges in my life and his voice. I have been convicted about a lot of these things lately. Especially I think because of my lack of Church attendance due to my heavy work load at school. I have a lot of work to do still, but I think being aware of it is a good thing. I am glad that I was made aware of the fact that I need a social life and that I am not leading a very balanced life and could go nuts if things don't change!
Ok, so there yah go! A very long winded, but honest look at what is going on with me right now!

Through to the other side...for now

2006-10-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a couple of weeks from H-E-double hockey sticks :) I have been living a solitary life of studying for exams, writing papers, and prepping for patient care! But I am happy to say, that even though I never thought it would happen, I have made it through to the other side in one piece, minus a few cracks and chips, and I think I am still mostly sane. Although I am sure some would debate it. But I feel completely exhausted and I still have two days of clinical left tomorrow and Friday for this rotation. Then I fully intend to not even so much as LOOK at a nursing text book, binder, or study card for the ENTIRE Thanksgiving weekend. Take that nursing program! But I have my good reasons other than pure exhaustion. My best friend Heidi is coming home from Winnipeg on Friday, I am picking her up at the airport at 3pm! I can hardly contain my excitement. She has been gone for almost 2 months! Its been sucky! As well, my very good friend Karyn and her lovely husband Duane are coming down from Calgary for the festivities and I can't wait to spend time with them too! So looking ahead to this weekend is the only think keeping me from going completely nuts right now, because I see a light at the end of the tunnel of this very long week and I am RUNNING at it!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This is my best friend Heidi in her finest hour, wearing a towel on her head in the middle of Caeser's Casino in Lake Tahoe, on a trip that we took together last summer. Aint she purdy!?

Sense of "Impending DOOM"!

2006-09-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

In my pathophysiology class yesterday we were covering defects of the heart. When we began to talk about the topic of heart attacks, my teacher mentioned that most people who are at the early stage of a heart attack will experience a crushing feeling in their chest, and a sense of "impending doom". This is strange to me because I am sure I was not having a heart attack on Monday after my patho class, but as soon as my teacher began to hand back our exams from last week, that I wrote about most likely failing, I began to get a crushing feeling in my chest, and a feeling of "impending doom", it's amazing how a simple thing like getting back an exam can cause one to feel symptoms of a heart attack. Well anyways, I am happy to report that I did not in fact fail my first exam ever, I passed, I didn't ace it by any means but I passed, and I passed with a nice little cushion of a grade so in case I don't do so hot on the next exam, I have some leeway with my grade. Phew.....*sigh*...crushing chest pain subsiding....feeling of "impending doom" fading, until the next exam that is!

Questioning my sanity

2006-09-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

It is times like these that I begin to question my sanity. Times like what you ask?
Like these:
1)I had an exam yesterday, I am sure I bombed it, and if you know me, you know I don't bomb exams.
2) I have an exam tomorrow, completely short answers...soooo many theories. Bring on the cramming!!
3) A paper due on Monday that I have yet to start...hmm maybe I should have done that sooner!
4) I get two new patient assignments tomorrow that I have to research and know top to bottom by Thursday for my 2 days of weekly hospital rotation, which by the way starts at the crack of dawn!!
5) I work this weekend, as always, and will get very little done.

I am feeling a little stressed right now...can you tell??

So it is times like these that I begin to question my sanity and ask myself why on earth do I want to be a nurse? What in the world was I thinking!

But then the hectic week will pass, and they will give us a week's grace where we will remember why we love nursing so much and then they will slam us with 3 exams in 3 days and the vicious cycle continues! This is a hard concept to explain to people who are not in nursing. But I tried to give you a glimpse. So please excuse my crazy rantings.

Ok, enough ranting and procrastinating, back to studying!

Drum Roll Please..........

2006-09-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some random pics of my beautiful new car! I absolutely love it! I can't wait to get into my new car in the mornings and drive! What a pleasure it is to have power windows, A/C, proper power steering so that I don't pull a muscle trying to turn a corner, and it has all 4 hub caps!!! Crazy, I know! It is amazing! I have a new zeal for driving! So have a look at my new baby!

My trunk will stay open without being propped up!
Oooooo...isn't she shiney!
Yes those are leather seats!!!!!
Look at that beautiful dash!!! Notice the "H" on the steering wheel!

Ahhhh....she's so pretty!!

I BOUGHT A NEW CAR!!!

2006-09-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

So here she is!! In all her glory! This is my new car! Well, new to me. She is a 2002 Honda Civic LX. Black, as you can see ,with a grey LEATHER interior! It's fully loaded, automatic, power EVERYTHING, and it has AC!!!! Yippeee! Some of you that know me well know that I have wanted a Honda Civic for pretty much as long as I have been alive! Well, at least since I started having an interest in cars! I am a simple girl, with simple dreams. So my dream was finally fulfilled yesterday. I am now penniless and in full time school! Excellent! But I have my dream car and I can't wait to drive her around! I get to pick her up from the dealership tomorrow evening and I can hardly contain myself. Thanks to my good friend James who helped talk the sales guy down $2100!! It was amazing! Anyways, I will post better pictures later on when I have some good snap shots of me with my new car!

P.S. Karyn, the Sundance is all yours baby!!

This is just a picture from the dealership website

My Motivation

2006-08-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

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! :)

The history of my car

2006-07-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a co-worker today who was complaining that had been hit in the Wal-Mart parking lot and he had a small ding in his car. He was frustrated with the dealings he was having with ICBC. He then asked me if I had ever had to deal with ICBC....Yes! So many freakin times. So I told him the history of my car.

I bought my car in June of 2001 from my grandma...yes everyone can laugh, and if you know me and my car, you will laugh. It is an old Plymouth sundance...very much a family car. Anyways when I bought the car there had never been a single accident or anything done to it. So here goes the story of how much I have had to deal with ICBC with my car:

1) November 2001: My car was stolen from a movie theatre parking lot while I was watching Monsters Inc. with some friends. Horrible feeling to come out of a movie and your car is gone! They recovered my car 2 days later and preceded to fix it. It had over $3000 in damages. I got brand new upholstery and paint and windshield etc. Why did they even fix it? I don't know? Call #1 to ICBC.

2) November 2002: My car was stolen, yes again, from the side road near my parents house while I was in bed sleeping off a horrible flu. It was recovered before I even knew it was missing, the policed called to tell me they had found my car. I said, "oh, thank you, was it missing?" apparently it was! There was $2000 in damages this time...and yes, they fixed it, and I got new upholstery and new paint job again! Call #2 to ICBC.

3) March 2003: license plates were stolen off my car and my car had been keyed. Brand new paint job approx $1000. They did it! Call #3 to ICBC.

4) June 2004: Car was hit in the Wal-Mart parking lot while I was at work by a VERY elderly lady who thought she was driving forward... at a good click...but was in reverse and backed across the lot and into my car pushing it out of the parking space and into another parking space currently occupied by my bosses BMW. My car missed hitting the BMW by millimeters! There was $1300 damages...and they fixed it! This was my 4th, and so far final call to ICBC.

So yes, I have had many dealings with ICBC in the past 5 years. So far, knock on wood, I have been ICBC free for 2 years! I am over due!

Moving Day

2006-07-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday was officially moving day. I gathered 4 of my coolest friends and they all helped me move in the 30 degree heat! As one of them stated: "You truly know who your real friends are when they help you move in 30 degree weather." I must agree! Much thanks to Darla, Karyn, Michelle, and Andrew for helping me move my insane amount of stuff to my new place. Darla was baffled that I owned a BBQ and an Air Conditioner. Is that weird?? I didn't think so! Anyways, the day started off on a rather funny and awkward note. I went to my aunt and uncle's house to borrow their truck to aid me in my move. Their truck is standard. I don't drive standard, well at least not on a regular basis. So as I attempted to back it out of their very forwardly sloped driveway, I almost drove it forward through their garage door because of the incline. Ooops. So once my uncle backed it part way up the driveway for me I was off, sort of. I was kinda jerky and as I chugged out of the driveway my uncle yelled back at me"return it in one piece stacey, in one piece!!" Hehehe. I continued to drive through town in busy Sunday afternoon traffic, all the while talking to myself outloud on how to drive this standard beast. "Ok, Stacey, now clutch in, signal, turn corner, shift to 2nd, clutch out and gas...phew...ok made that one. Now clutch in shift down to 2nd for light, now into 1st, ok light is green, ummm let clutch out a bit, push gas...oh crap too much gas....engine revving...ok ummm less gas, less clutch...sputter...sputter...die! Ack! Middle of intersection....car stalled must get through intersection. Ok calm down! Don't panic! Just put the clutch in and start the truck again...ok it started...now a little gas, release clutch and.....yes! Jerk through intersection!" That is basically how every trip I made in the truck went. Although I only stalled it again once and I did return it in once piece but I make no guarantees about the quality of the clutch or transmission now. So after the truck escapade, the rest of the day went smoothly, I was all moved in and we had eaten some pizza in under 3 hours! Then we capped the evening off by raiding my aunt and uncle's back yard and swimming in their pool to cool off! It was a very productive day and I couldn't have done it without my wonderful friends!

Heat Wave

2006-07-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

We have been experiencing hotter than normal temperatures where I live recently. Like the high end of 30 degrees Celsius. For some reason this causes people to act even stranger than normal. Tempers are shorter, and of course lines are longer at the Walmart where I work, even in the pharmacy, because everyone is trying to escape the heat by hitting an air conditioned building. So now the place is filled with hot, short tempered people who don't want to wait in lines 20 people deep! And believe you me...I get to hear ALL about how long they have now waited for their %*$&^(#**#$ (expletives) prescription. Also, people seem to become horrible driver's in the heat as well. I think everyone is in a rush to get home and out of the heat so they drive like morons. On my way home from work this evening I was almost rear-ended twice, and some lady cut me off and then proceeded to finger me! Yippee! I love heat waves!

New Blog

2006-07-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well, Darla has converted me to this blog site. I think that it will be easier to use and it looks a bit nicer than my MSN Messenger blog space that I was using. I hope you will all find this site easier to read, and easier to comment on. Enjoy my "honest ramblings".