... dead, that is. I kind of feel like I am, so maybe this is hell. I will be one happy little camper once July ends. Literally. Summer semester will be over, and I'm going camping with Mister. And his motorcycle. The very motorcycle that I fell off of a couple of weeks ago (fortunately, it wasn't really moving when that happened.)
Summer semester has not been fun. Nope. It's torture. So much to do crammed in a few weeks. Between now and July 31, I have one quiz, six exams, one more care plan, three journal entries, a paper, and six more clinicals to get through. sigh.
So, while the rest of the US was celebrating July 4th, I was working on a care plan. I did pause for a moment to go sit on a blanket in my back yard and watch the neighbors try to outdo one another in fireworks displays (the guy two houses down wins for loudest booms). Also, the town, once again, lit up the night with its county budget. This little community goes all out for fireworks. And the really cool thing is that all the proceeds from firework sales in the county go to benefit the local volunteer firefighters' association. I kid you not.
So I sat out on the blanket and waited to see how the pups would react to all the excitement. Baby Boy, the deaf one, tucked tail and ran for the house at the first big BOOM! Little Britches sat on the blanket with me and silently freaked out in her own special way with that wild-eyed crazy look she gets. And then there's Boo. He parked himself on the porch stoop and barked through the whole event.
Speaking of Boo ...
Everyone except him knows him as Milo, but he seems to only answer to Boo. He will lie still without budging while I'm yelling "Milo! Come on, Milo! Time to eat, Milo!" But the moment I say "C'mon, Boo!" he pops up and is on his way. It only took me 13 years to learn his name. Personally, I prefer to call him Bubba Magoo, but that only adds to the confusion.
Boo dog has added to a bit more confusion here at nursing school HQ - the other evening after Mister and I returned from dinner, Boo was there to greet us with his usual enthusiastic barking which led to the following:
Mister: Why does he bark like a hound dog?
Me: um... Because he is a hound dog.
Mister: No he's not.
Me: Yes. He is.
Mister: He is not a hound dog.
Me: Then why does he bark like one?
Mister: That's what I'm asking.
Me: It's because he IS a hound dog.
Mister: He IS NOT a hound dog.
Me: Right. He must have just picked up the accent somewhere.
If this is as bad as our disagreements ever get, then I can live with Mister thinking that Boo is some kind of 90-pound poodle with a hound dog accent.
Now, Mister does not have dogs, but he does have kids. I get to spend a lot of time with the two wee ones. And while I love every little candy-coated inch of them, I do want to take a moment to send a personal message to my dear, sweet mother: THANK YOU FOR NOT KILLING ME WHEN I WAS FIVE. I'm sure I deserved it, and I appreciate that you were able to hold back, especially since you had to spend every single day with me. Seriously, the kids are great loads of fun and I adore them, but they have given me a new appreciation for what my mother went through on a daily basis. They've also given me a new appreciation for valium.
Okay, time to get back at it. It's 1am and I'm still up doing school work. Why? Because it refuses to do itself.
>banging head against desk<
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
not dead yet
Well, hello, long-forgotten blog! Really, it's not that I forgot you at all, it's just that: 1) nursing school is a total time-sucker; and 2) because nursing school requires all of my time, I really haven't had anything interesting to say. So I apologize for not filling this space with lots of blah, blah, blah about how all I did today was study and write some care plans. But for some reason, today I decided I needed to jot down some stuff. Why? Because at this time last year, I was just embarking on this long, weird adventure. And now, here I am, still on the island and only 2 semesters to go. I might just make it out of here alive ... and about 15 pounds heavier.
I'm now in my first semester as a senior nursing student! And so far, the only invasive thing I've done to a real, living patient was a vitamin K shot to a shiny new baby boy. "Welcome to the world, little guy, and here's your first dose of reality. It's all down hill from here." Let me just say, it is counter-intuitive to stick a sharp, pointy object into a baby. I stood there holding the needle above his little leg so long that my instructor finally said, "Okay, do it. You both have to get this over with before either of you can leave the hospital" Like pushing a kid off the high dive, next thing I knew I was stabbing a baby.
I have done invasive procedures on my fellow nursing students. We are all in a panic at this point in our education because most of us haven't had the opportunity to practice any of our fabulous new skills on real people. So.... (whisper voice) we "borrowed" some tools of the trade and have been practicing starting IVs on each other .... shhhh. Apparently, it's a Very Bad Thing to practice procedures on fellow students at our fine CON, so we are all sneaking around, trying to find private places where we can clandestinely stick needles up each other's arms. And because we are all new at this business, we have bruised needle tracks all up and down our arms. I told Mister about this illicit activity and he just rolled his eyes and wondered aloud when he would have to bail me out of jail. Blog, you may or may not remember the last time I was here I had started seeing a law enforcement officer. Well, he's still in the picture. Fortunately, he doesn't have jurisdiction where I live.
Last semester, I had clinical rotations in Psych, Pediatrics, and Labor & Delivery. Psych was incredibly boring. Mostly we just sat around and put together jig-saw puzzles. Peds was fun. I seriously enjoyed that rotation, so much so that I requested the pediatric emergency department for my senior practicum. Labor & Delivery was awesome - it is an incredible thing to see a child come into this world. I loved working in the nursery. OH, and one more thing in case you're wondering: NO. I STILL DO NOT WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN. If anything, that conviction was validated. But, my utmost respect goes out to all those women who go through this process WITHOUT DRUGS.
This semester, I get to spend time with the oldsters and the general med-surg folks. We are just getting started so I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, yet. Generally speaking, I like the elder folk, so I'm optimistic that summer semester will go by quickly and relatively pain-free.
I'm now in my first semester as a senior nursing student! And so far, the only invasive thing I've done to a real, living patient was a vitamin K shot to a shiny new baby boy. "Welcome to the world, little guy, and here's your first dose of reality. It's all down hill from here." Let me just say, it is counter-intuitive to stick a sharp, pointy object into a baby. I stood there holding the needle above his little leg so long that my instructor finally said, "Okay, do it. You both have to get this over with before either of you can leave the hospital" Like pushing a kid off the high dive, next thing I knew I was stabbing a baby.
I have done invasive procedures on my fellow nursing students. We are all in a panic at this point in our education because most of us haven't had the opportunity to practice any of our fabulous new skills on real people. So.... (whisper voice) we "borrowed" some tools of the trade and have been practicing starting IVs on each other .... shhhh. Apparently, it's a Very Bad Thing to practice procedures on fellow students at our fine CON, so we are all sneaking around, trying to find private places where we can clandestinely stick needles up each other's arms. And because we are all new at this business, we have bruised needle tracks all up and down our arms. I told Mister about this illicit activity and he just rolled his eyes and wondered aloud when he would have to bail me out of jail. Blog, you may or may not remember the last time I was here I had started seeing a law enforcement officer. Well, he's still in the picture. Fortunately, he doesn't have jurisdiction where I live.
Last semester, I had clinical rotations in Psych, Pediatrics, and Labor & Delivery. Psych was incredibly boring. Mostly we just sat around and put together jig-saw puzzles. Peds was fun. I seriously enjoyed that rotation, so much so that I requested the pediatric emergency department for my senior practicum. Labor & Delivery was awesome - it is an incredible thing to see a child come into this world. I loved working in the nursery. OH, and one more thing in case you're wondering: NO. I STILL DO NOT WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN. If anything, that conviction was validated. But, my utmost respect goes out to all those women who go through this process WITHOUT DRUGS.
This semester, I get to spend time with the oldsters and the general med-surg folks. We are just getting started so I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, yet. Generally speaking, I like the elder folk, so I'm optimistic that summer semester will go by quickly and relatively pain-free.
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