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Jun 5, 2009

Haiku Friday: DONE!

By ·
A great day has come
My final exam is done, now
I can graduate

This journey started
here three years ago and now
you’ll see it end, too.

I should be telling you that next week I’ll be walking across the stage in an elaborate graduation ceremony, but the truth is, I’m counting today as my graduation. I did the graduation walk when I received my BA in History, so I really don’t feel the need to sit through another one of those again. There is a pinning ceremony next week that I will attend, and I’ll try to have someone remember a camera.

It was here on this little blog that I decided to switch careers and try nursing, back in 2006. Cordy was 15 months old, Mira wasn’t even a thought yet. I wasn’t sure at the time if I would actually follow-thru with my bright new idea – after all, I’ve got credits for two Master’s degrees sitting around that I only half finished.

There were several days I considered quitting. The work was overwhelming at times. After pre-requisites, I started my actual nursing classes with a three month old baby at home. More than once I had to remind myself that not only was this an interest of mine, but that I was doing this for my family, too. I had to finish this because they needed me to finish.

I really disliked several of my clinical locations, and realized quickly that I was never going to be a happy nurse in med-surg. My two favorite clinicals were our mother/infant clinical and the rotation through pediatrics at Children’s Hospital.

But with the support of my family (especially Aaron, who had to deal with me stressed out every single day sometimes) and friends who provided both online and in-person cheering sections, I made it. The last exam was completed at 2:10pm today. I have my grade for the class. I will be graduating with honors (Cum Laude). And after I take our state license exam at the end of the month, I’ll officially be a Registered Nurse.

(WOO-HOO!)

What will I do with all my free time now? (Message from my practical side: look for a job!)

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will delete any links without haiku!

Filed Under: me me me, school ·


May 22, 2009

Haiku Friday: First Harvest

By ·
In just one short month
my garden experiment
has produced results

This brown thumb has now
somehow coaxed from the earth a
bunch of broccoli:


And those are just the
first of the season – more will
be coming later

My first garden is already a smashing success as far as I’m concerned. I love broccoli, and these were transplanted in mid-April to the fledgling garden. I didn’t expect to see results so quickly, but we had to take the heads off of each plant today to make room for the new stalks of broccoli growing underneath.

We also planted carrot, cucumber, and sunflower seeds today. I already planted sweet peppers, lettuce, and some herbs a few weeks ago, and I still need to plant zucchini and green beans. I don’t know if they’ll all be as successful as the broccoli that even I can’t kill, but I hope we’ll have plenty of our own veggies this summer.

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will delete any links without haiku!

Filed Under: daily life, domestic zero, Haiku Fridays, me me me ·


May 20, 2009

Collecting Good Thoughts Here

By ·

The end of nursing school is now just weeks away, and the focus has shifted from exams and clinicals to job hunting. Unlike many parts of the country, there is no nursing shortage in Columbus. Plenty of nurses, fewer jobs as hospitals cut back, and a slew of new nurses coming out of the 8+ nursing schools around the city.

I went into nursing for a single reason: to work with new moms and babies. I’ve happily (and not-so-happily at times) endured my turn through all other areas of nursing, understanding that we need to have a basic knowledge of how different hospital areas function and getting a wide variety of clinical experiences.

But my mind has been set on working with moms and babies from the beginning. It’s why I started on this journey. It’s my calling, I guess you could say. Sure, some of my class aren’t picky about where they’ll work, but I’m nearly 33 – I know where I want to work, and I don’t want to waste time getting there.

I’ve applied for probably 10 jobs so far, all in labor & delivery units or NICUs. The biggest challenge is that I’m up against so many other applicants, several with experience. No one seems to want a nurse fresh out of school.

However, last Friday I had to complete the last of my clinical hours, choosing to shadow at a birth center in my hometown. My mother has worked at that hospital for over 30 years, and I thought it would be nice to see how a smaller hospital works. I had also noticed that they had job openings in the birth center, and I applied for a job as well.

It was a wonderful experience, and I really enjoyed how nice everyone was and how well the team worked together. The nurse manager answered all of my questions, and at the end of the day, she interviewed me for the open job. I think the interview went really well, even though it’s been four years since my last interview and I’m a little rusty.

She told me that she hopes to make a decision on the job by the end of this week. You can imagine that I’m crossing fingers, toes and eyes hoping to get this job. I liked the other nurses, I liked the nurse manager, and I think I’d love working there.

I believe in the power of positive thinking (OK, maybe not as far as The Secret believes it can go), and I need help here. If all of you can spare a few good thoughts, some positive energy, prayers, or whatever it is you do for me this week, I’d appreciate the help. I’m so anxious this week – I want that job. I think I’d be an asset for them.

It’s also time to see an end to the bad streak of luck we’ve had. Aaron’s one last freelance writing job – a job he hoped to see go full-time – ended abruptly last week in a rather unprofessional way (unprofessional on their end, not his), and I’m a little tired of being thrown under the Karma bus. I want some good news for once. And you’d probably rather read some good news, right?

Let’s hope I impressed them enough that I get to be the next new OB nurse at that hospital.

Filed Under: daily life, me me me, school, the J-O-B ·


May 19, 2009

Reply Hazy, Shuffle Again

By ·

Am I the only person who uses her iPod as a Magic 8 Ball far too often?

Think about it: thousands of songs with meaningful titles loaded onto that little device. And a great shuffle feature.

How often have you pressed shuffle and had a song come on that you really, really needed to hear? Or one that so perfectly fit your mood, it’s like it was hand selected for you? Same principle, just applied a little more directly.

More than once I’ve had it with me while on my way to some important function, or been driving while anxious about some topic or another. Think about a question, hit the Shuffle button, and all is revealed:

Will Aaron get over this fight?

Shuffle – Won’t Go Home Without You (Maroon 5)

Whew.
—

Will these kids stop fighting with each other today, or should I abandon them in a cornfield? (Hush, you know I’d never do something like that!)

Shuffle – Keep Holding On (Avril Lavigne)

They should be happy it didn’t play Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (Fall Out Boy).
—

How should I spend the evening?

Shuffle – Drink the Night Away (Gaelic Storm)

I knew I loved you, iPod!
—

Will I get this job?

Shuffle – Pray (Once On This Island, musical)

Hmmm…is that good or bad?
—

Please, please, please let me pass this exam!

Shuffle – Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)

Oh shit.
—

It doesn’t always work out so smoothly. Today I asked if the car would keep running, and it replied with Legal Assassin from the movie Repo! The Genetic Opera. Um…is someone going to assassinate my car? WTF does that mean?

These are the times when interpretation must come into play. No simple “Reply hazy, try again” answers here. That means I often skip to the next song until I get something that matches up with the question at hand a little better. In the question of my car, I got to Daughtry’s Breakdown, then decided that I probably shouldn’t have asked to begin with.

OK, maybe I am a little crazy to look to my iPod for advice. Like a Magic 8 Ball, it’s all random chance, even if my old Magic 8 Ball did have a scary-high percentage of accuracy.
—
iPod, will my readers flee after reading this?

Shuffle – The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room – WHA? Hmmm, try again?

Shuffle again – Sympathy-Tenderness (Jekyll & Hyde the musical)

Oh, I hope you’re right…

Filed Under: clearly insane, me me me, pop culture, random ·


May 15, 2009

Haiku Friday: Nearly Done

By ·
An accomplishment:
one hundred twenty eight long
hours are complete.

My clinical time
for my final quarter is
done – well, almost so.

Sixteen hours are
left to shadow in other
areas we like

Today, I will spend
eight hours in a place I
love: a birth center

For my final eight,
I’m hoping to observe on
a NICU unit

Graduation is less than a month away, and I’m finished with the bulk of my clinical hours, or at least all the hours that require me to jump in and do something. I’m a little bummed that I have to be completely hands-off for my shadowing experiences, but I understand why.

Today I’ll be at a small hospital observing their labor, delivery and postpartum unit. It’s actually the hospital in my hometown, a hospital my mom worked and still works at, and a place I spent a lot of time at as a child. I’m excited to not only be visiting an area I’d like to work in, but also my hometown hospital.

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will delete any links without haiku!

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Filed Under: Haiku Fridays, me me me, school ·