I had no idea that Airborne tablets could self-dispense. I woke up this afternoon to find this half-bubbled pile of goo on my kitchen counter, only to discover that the humidity in the apartment had been such that the Airborne tablets I had left on the counter had partially disintegrated.

Weeeeeird...

Current Mood: amused

(Shoot it deep)

...My apartment is a great place to... Sleep? Otherwise, I haven't been home a lot during the summer. I'm either at work, or hanging out somewhere reasonably cool when the temperature rises. Mostly it's work, raking in the feast in the event that famine may come. Am I starving? definitely not. Though when it comes to actual food, I don't even really cook at my place all that much. I just catch a lot of meals at work, I guess.

At least I have better lighting in the bedroom. There is no overhead light source in there, or even in the living room to speak of. My yearly bonus afforded me a few lamps and couple of other sundries. Now I just have to get a couch. Yes, it sounds retarded, but I have been here for almost two months, and I still have yet to secure a couch. I've been told that now would be a good time to barter with a bit of cash. Supposedly, furniture places don't turn down the mighty hard dollar when presented to them in the right quantities; otherwise, everyone else is buying on credit. And then there are the drapes, or the lack thereof. If I could just get over to Jo-Ann fabrics one of these days...

*sigh* I should be wiped and out cold at the moment, but the 'net was calling me. Now that I know it works, I think it's time for some Ibuprofen and a long sleep.

Current Location: my apartment
Current Mood: numb
Current Music: In Dark Faith Eternal Radio

(1 dose administered | Shoot it deep)

Yes... The long-awaited severance has been signed in blood for an entire 13-month lease. Come the 5th of July, I will be moving to a single-room apartment 13 miles from work, 18 miles from the beau, and two miles from the only place I have really truly known as home for most of my life (save for about two and a half years in Eugene, when I was getting my bachelor's, but that's about it). I get tense about the "what if" stuff some of the time... What if the Xterra breaks down? What if I make a major boo-boo on the job and lose my nursing license? What if my company downsizes? What if I don't wind up getting the overall kind of nursing experience I need to make myself versatile and, therefore, profitable and able to sustain myself in the long run? What if the beau keeps struggling with money? I am scared half to death, but I just have to stop and think that everything will be quite all right if I don't live outside of my means. It's a big change, but I've needed to disconnect from my folks' drama for quite some time. I have generally been talked out of it in the past. The guilt would set in, and I would always rescind my final decision. There were times when Mom compared any attempt to move out as the equivalent of putting a gun to her head and abandoning ship when things started to get chaotic. As much as I have appreciated the opportunity to be at home during most of my nursing studies, I have honestly reached a point where I'm financially ready to venture out on my own and deal with all of the same stuff that every other normal, functioning adult deals with from day to day. This time around, I prepared them with my intentions well in advance, thus giving THEM time to prepare for arrangements of their own... Now all I have to do is find some way to get my frickin' full-size bed over to my new place without dishing out gobs of money. In the meantime, I have to finish packing...

Current Location: computer
Current Mood: anxious
Current Music: Gary Numan -- "Little In Vitro"

(1 dose administered | Shoot it deep)

Guys are screaming, the phone's ringing
staff staring at the mailman bringing
a box of pills - they're overdue!
Good morning, boss, how are you?
Half an hour, the screams get louder,
Take a sip of coffee but they've made it real sour.
Look for something just to make the guys laugh;
the Xanax always keep them coming back.
Here comes room 4 -- he's hardly clean.
He's fartin' in the med room,
Waiting for the big boom,
claiming he's hearing things.

Somedays it's all stress, and no wealth...
Just another day in mental health,
tryin' to crack their underground economy.
They say it's 'bout hopes,
[unrealistic] dreams,
but the work seems to pay for everything I need.
Somedays may be loud, or they may be stealth...
All the same, it's just another day in mental health.

Friday morning, five minutes past eight,
roon 5's cussing 'cause he couldn't make his date
with his girl who lives at OSH,
we try to improvise but it's way too late.
8:30 -- another staff calls in,
tired of workin' and shit-faced on gin.
Appointments getting canceled left and right,
while I'm signing off on pills and praying for twilight.
Room 7 screamed when he went pee,
caught another bug from a girl outside that
he swore he wouldn't see.

Somedays it's all stress, and no wealth...
Just another day in mental health.
Still, I'd better stay in put
In this economy.
They say it's 'bout hopes,
[unrealistic] dreams,
but I always seem to pay for everything I need.
Somedays may be loud, or they may be stealth...
All the same, it's just another day in mental health.

Current Mood: dorky

(Shoot it deep)

Gosh, it's been, like, forever since I've done a meme. This was more like an experiment. Basically, I took the sentences of a journal entry, highlighted certain chunks of them in specific colors, and rearranged the sentences by the colors of the rainbow. The colors are not visible in this entry, but they don't have to be. It simply gives a testament to the versatility of the English language. Basically, you could totally fuck up the flow of something, without completely destroying its meaning. Voila!!!...

( Read more... )

Current Mood: creative

(Shoot it deep)

Wednesday's interview with Miramont Pointe went really, really well. I am expected back for a second interview with their RN manager. She is on vacation, otherwise they probably would have had me speak with her right away. The administrator and an LPN/Healthcare Coordinator talked to me during the first go-round, and look forward to my meeting with the nurse on vacation. It's nice to have a really good feeling about this, considering that the rest of the week has been one shitstorm after another. But that's another tale for another time...

Current Location: computer
Current Mood: busy

(Shoot it deep)

Though my final place of location will still depend on where I land a full-time nursing gig, I am still trying to work on getting some stuff packed in boxes ahead of time. I went to Freddy's late in the evening to get some packing boxes (which happened to be on sale). They were quite cumbersome in their unfolded form, and couldn't be placed in the shopping cart vertically. So I laid them horizontally across the top of the cart. One of them got caught by a big gust of wind and reamed me straight on the forehead. Another gust of wind did the same thing, finally giving the box enough momentum to propel itself over my head and off into the great black yonder. Three more boxes made suit behind its fearless leader, all of which were stopped by one of the brick pillars at the entrance of the store. A good samaritan took pity on me and vacated his vehicle to help collect the wayward boxes. I stuffed them into the car before the wind could try and make off with them again.

And to think I have yet to get off my ass and do a damn thing with them...

(Shoot it deep)

Damn, my room is a mess. There's an awful lot of shit I have to get packed up.

One of the facilities I have applied to called me back yesterday shortly after I had fallen asleep. I intend to call them back this morning. It's an assisted living/memory care affair, which means I may not be using QUITE as much of my medical-surgical skill. But it sounds like it might be a great way to go while I'm doing the my RN coursework online; something not too hectic, something with a population of stable patients to help ease me into the role of a full-blown charge nurse. Time can only tell...

I have been looking online for apartment complexes close to some of the work places I have applied to. Units with A/C tend to be a bit more expensive, but what the hell... I would rather not be roasting to death when the warmer months come back into play.

And then there is the pet decision. I am extremely allergic to cats, and therefore cannot have one. I wanted to get a small dog of some sort, but I fear that it might bark all day while I was at work. My heart was especially set on a dachsund. Alas, several people have told me that it wouldn't be a good choice for a working woman with no roommates, unless I could shell out the money for doggie day care. Something tells me that between bills, loans, rent, and paying for my RN program, I wouldn't likely have the money for a dogsitter. Thus, I am thinking more along the line of a small, enclosed mammal that won't tear everything up while I'm away. This, in turn, would also depend on what kind of "enclosed mammals" might be accepted by apartment complexes in the area.

*sigh* It's windy again outside. I just hope the power doesn't go out like it did Friday night...

Current Mood: awake

(Shoot it deep)

Oi, I never expected to get a testing date so quickly! I got the authorization to schedule just this evening. Low and behold, they have a testing appointment in Salem at 10:45 tomorrow. I just couldn't pass it up!

*heaves a nervous sigh* Watch out, world...

Current Mood: nervous

(3 doses administered | Shoot it deep)

Finals are done... And so am I! After 17 months traversing Purgatory and the three circles of Hades, 33 of us have made it out of Apollo College Nursing very much alive!!! The entire day was a sporatic pattern of hysterics and waterworks as we danced in the light of normal life for the first time in nearly a year and a half. Some of it has not truly hit home yet... I still keep thinking I'm going to wake up the next morning and find that it was all a dream. Fuck! It's still so hard to believe that I'm done!

And now I'm going to pour some sugar into a bit of Absinthe and konk out for a good, long while...

Current Mood: ecstatic
Current Music: The Last Dance -- "Once Beautiful"
Tags: nursing school -- done!

(3 doses administered | Shoot it deep)

Current Mood: crazy

(Shoot it deep)

Yep... It's getting down to the wire. School will be finishing up the 24th of October. Admittedly I'm pretty fucking exhausted. Everything is in pure survival mode. Sometimes the mere act of dragging myself out of bed seems like a daunting process all in itself. I can't even remember the last time I actually wore makeup to clinical, or slept a single night without something to knock me clean out at the end of the day. Hell, I can't remember when I actually LIVED. Thankfully, the sacrifice will all be worth it soon, and the light to the end of tunnel will come upon us faster than we ever imagined. In the meantime, I am sorry to those who I haven't really connected with much. All I need is a little more time...

Current Location: computer
Current Mood: blah
Current Music: Qntal -- "The Silver Swan"

(Shoot it deep)

...And I even aced Obstetrics, the very class I swore was going to kill me in the end. With an A in Mental Health, an A in community health, and an A in pediatrics, I am emerging from stage three of Mt. Apollorama bruised and weary, but otherwise triumphant. There's always the fourth and final semester to conquer, but that can wait a couple of weeks. Right now, all I want to do is decompress for a while and enjoy my break in Florence with the beau...

Current Location: computer
Current Mood: content
Current Music: Invader Zim theme (remix)
Tags: success

(3 doses administered | Shoot it deep)

Some people are just fucked in the head!

I got a call at clinical the other day from a schizophrenic who swore up and down that the FBI stole her PAP results. I know the FBI are a kind of a whacked bunch of people, but I don't think they're looking to put anyone's uterus on lockdown any time soon.

Later on, I had to make an outbound follow-up call to a woman who was freaked out about her kid's head lice. She had been doing an OTC treatment every day(!), which led me to wonder why the kid wasn't either dead or dying at that point. She kept on bragging about how the clinic was fucked up, how a receptionist had told her not to bring the kid in because, low and behold, she might contaminate the staff. I could understand why she would be frustrated on that end, because the receptionist who told her that didn't know what she was talking about. If a kid needs lice treatment, the doctor has to see them to assess the infestation. This stuff is not candy, nor should it be used as such. This gal just wanted me to call a prescription in to a pharmacy and be done with it. My defense? "Well, I understand you are frustrated, but I have received orders from a PA to have the child seen by a provider, and we have an appointment open today if you would like to take advantage of that." And like a broken record, I repeated it until she finally made an appointment. But when she checked the kid in at the clinic, she left before an MA even had the chance to call her into an exam room. *sigh* Actually, that was probably for the best. Patients like that just need to move on and make someone else's life a living hell for a change.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Battery Cage -- "Anti-Angel"

(Shoot it deep)

...Fuck, I'm in clinical!!!

IUDs are the medical field's way of torturing women more than they already do.

A good IUD placement should produce little injury... A so-so placement leaves them wounded and wincing. A completely FUCKED UP IUD leaves them with pierced insides! It's no wonder they were banned for many years...

Current Mood: uncomfortable

(Shoot it deep)

My preceptor at clinical today asked me if I had any children.

"Why, no, I don't."
"Oh, when are you going to start having them?"
"I don't intend to."
"Why not?"
"Because some women weren't meant to give birth, and I am one of them."
"What are you talking about? All women were put on earth to have children."

*sigh* Whatever...

Current Mood: silly

(2 doses administered | Shoot it deep)

Thankfully, she hasn't killed me... yet.

Had our first OB test today. We did it in partners. Misa and I snagged a 22/25. A point of extra credit will bring it up to a 92%. Rock on!

While a fascinating field of study, I would never go into OB nursing as a profession. The structural and mental nuances of pregnant women are complicated -- and sometimes downright freaky! It only confirms my long-standing desire never to bare any children. I don't know why anyone would want to, really... It's painful, the tests are awkward, you feel pukey all the time, and you can't take jack shit if you get sick! While my guys @ Telecare can certainly present their own challenges to the staff, they're really quite easy compared to, say, making a full-term mother crouch on her hands and knees for an emergency catheter placement. *sigh* It's just not my cup of tea at all...

Current Mood: contemplative

(1 dose administered | Shoot it deep)

I am soooo scared that I am going to flunk clinical. I just hate the idea of putting my preceptors behind on their duties as I work to master the routine of doctor's office nursing. First I botched a B12 dose, had to discard the needle, and draw it up again. Then when I gave another B12, some of the medicine came straight out of the patient's arm as I shot it in. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! I feel really, really stupid right now. I know my teachers tell me not to be so hard on myself, but I can't help it. I want to be more than just a dumb student; I want to be of use, and I just don't feel very useful at the moment. Maybe tomorrow will be better...

Current Mood: distressed

(Shoot it deep)

This is sheeeer maaaaaaadness!! They said this would be the worst leg of the journey, and they weren't kidding. Some are already to jump ship. Some from cohort #3 are repeating obstetrics, and joining us for another go-round in the second ring of nursing school hell. I think we have, like, four papers due every week, tests every two weeks, quizzes every Wednesday... And we still have to squeeze clinical in on Mondays & Tuesdays. I still find myself attempting to organize all of this shit. And OB lab? Ha! It sucks fucking balls! OB itself is fascinating, but when you're grouped with a bunch of juveniles who subliminally catfight with one another the whole damn time, it makes the process more frustrating than it actually has to be. Me thinks I need to get batteries for my MP3 player and start wearing it when I'm not in class so that I don't have to listen to all of the stupid, acidic things they like to say...

Current Mood: aggravated

(Shoot it deep)

The semester is done... Woo hoo! I made it through the first circle of nursing hades with only a few knicks and bruises. Hard to tell if I will be so lucky for the 200 level, but my instructors don't think it should be a problem for me. In the meantime, I'm glad to be finished with this leg of the journey. The break will be especially nice...

Current Mood: relieved

(1 dose administered | Shoot it deep)