My kids were invited to a birthday party yesterday. It was for the son of one of my wife's friends from work, but my wife worked the night before and the night of, so the responsibility of taking the kids fell to me. It was at the zoo which is a great idea for a little boy's party, except...
You may have heard it's Halloween this weekend. Our local zoo is really awesome, it's one of the best in the country I think. Better even than the famed San Diego zoo. Every Halloween they put on a Boo at the Zoo event for the kids, and I would imagine that most zoos in the country do something similar. But given the popularity of this particular zoo, it's a major, major event. And that translates into a nightmare of traffic and parking. The zoo is set back from the main road about 2 miles, and all along the drive leading up to the main zoo parking lot are open grassy fields and park areas with playgrounds and whatnot, each with its own parking lot. To give you an idea of how much traffic there was, it took us 40 minutes to travel from the main road to the current active parking area. And on top of that, they were parking people on the grassy fields, because all of the lots were full already. This left us over a mile from the entrance of the zoo.
Walking in was ok, I stashed the youngest in his umbrella stroller and everyone was so excited it was an easy walk. Lucky for us we already had our tickets, because the line to buy tickets had to have been several hundred people deep--at each ticket booth. Once we got in, it was a nightmare tangle of people everywhere. Add to the mix the free candy the zoo was handing out for the event, and the kids were so hopped up on sugar that the entire event was destined to reach critical mass.
We arrived a little before the party started, and when all the kids from the party headed over to the candy scoring portion of the event, we chose to go see animals instead. We saw parrots, and lions, and tigers, and bears, and oh my...
After the party of course the return trip to car was a different story. Little kid feet were not happy and excited anymore, and over a mile is a long way for little legs. I ended up with my 4 year old on my shoulders. The walk in had been effortless for me thanks to my new found fitness, but the added weight of my daughter on my shoulders really kind of tired me out by the time we made it back to the Jeep. And then it hit me, at my new lowest weight of 245 lbs, I am 39 lbs down from my heaviest. My daughter weighs a few more pounds than that, but just. With her on my shoulders, I was very near the weight I used to be, and my knees were hurting me, and my hips were aching. I was winded, and sweaty.
It was a very literal demonstration of exactly how far I've come, even without realizing exactly all the benefits I've reaped to date. I have 33 lbs to go to hit my goal weight. I'm not sure if I'll make it that low or not because it seems my weight loss has started to slow a bit. We'll see.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Honor Roll
I received a notice in the mail a couple days ago that I'd been named to the honor roll for last semester. I'm appreciative of the honor, but I'm a little bewildered. I didn't do any better or worse last semester than previous semesters, but it's the first time I've been named to the honor roll.
*shrugs*
Who knows.
*shrugs*
Who knows.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Interviewed
I interviewed for the critical care residency at Level II hospital today. Let me tell you, this interview was no joke--they were not messing around. There were 5 of them, and if you're keeping score there's only 1 of me. The educator in charge of the residency conducted the interview, and the other 4 in attendance were managers from various ICUs.
Honestly though, I just took a deep breath and forced myself to relax. They were all very courteous and friendly, for which I was thankful. I at least felt like I was charming them a bit.
And then the questions started. First up were the expected questions, "Why our hospital?" And "Why critical care?" Then she cut to the situational questions. Fifteen of them. Fifteen! There was only one that I stumbled a bit on--I asked that we skip it and when we came back to it, I had a ready answer.
The program sounds pretty sweet--it's two years long. The first 3 weeks are hospital and nursing orientation. Then comes 4 weeks on each of the 5 ICUs. Then it's match day, and the home unit starts the full on orientation for at least 12 weeks. Then the remainder of the 2 years is spent working and still some class time. The residency closes out with a CCRN class and the CCRN exam. In return, the hospital wants a 3 year commitment starting with the residency.
I feel pretty good about the interview, but they are interviewing through the end of next week. So we'll see.
***********
I got to run with my wife today for the first time in several months. It was a good workout. 30 min at a 10 min pace, but on the hill climb function on the treadmill. I only had it set on level 1, but it was good for 674 calories. Weighed in after my workout at 245.0.
Honestly though, I just took a deep breath and forced myself to relax. They were all very courteous and friendly, for which I was thankful. I at least felt like I was charming them a bit.
And then the questions started. First up were the expected questions, "Why our hospital?" And "Why critical care?" Then she cut to the situational questions. Fifteen of them. Fifteen! There was only one that I stumbled a bit on--I asked that we skip it and when we came back to it, I had a ready answer.
The program sounds pretty sweet--it's two years long. The first 3 weeks are hospital and nursing orientation. Then comes 4 weeks on each of the 5 ICUs. Then it's match day, and the home unit starts the full on orientation for at least 12 weeks. Then the remainder of the 2 years is spent working and still some class time. The residency closes out with a CCRN class and the CCRN exam. In return, the hospital wants a 3 year commitment starting with the residency.
I feel pretty good about the interview, but they are interviewing through the end of next week. So we'll see.
***********
I got to run with my wife today for the first time in several months. It was a good workout. 30 min at a 10 min pace, but on the hill climb function on the treadmill. I only had it set on level 1, but it was good for 674 calories. Weighed in after my workout at 245.0.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Level II, Part Deaux
I have a panel interview with Level II hospital tomorrow morning at 11 am. This is for their critical care residency. It sounds like a good program. We'll rotate through the 5 different ICUs over 6 months, and then we'll have a match day to pick a home unit.
As usual I'm a bundle of nerves.
As usual I'm a bundle of nerves.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
On Hope
Thank you for all of the encouraging comments on my last post. They were much appreciated. Your comments got me thinking about quitting, failure, and other such things, and I asked myself a question.
What is the opposite of quitting?
The obvious answer is, well, not quitting. Finishing what's started. Perseverance.
If we say pressing on is the opposite of giving up, then the antidote to quitting and the fuel for perseverance is hope.
Hope is a beautiful thing. Hope doesn't require completion. It doesn't matter how long, or how hard we strive to attain a goal, as long as we have even the faintest glint of hope, we will never quit. We pause. We may rest, or re-group. But we rise again to reach for the goal.
People say it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. There is great wisdom in that short proverb, but I want to take it a step further. Without hope, we'd never step on the field to play the game in the first place.
And so I urge you, guard your hope closely. Clutch it tightly to your chest, shielding it from life's tempest like a candle in a storm. Feed the flame eagerly, nurture it into a raging inferno that consumes you from within. For from the ashes of our self-doubt and self-imposed limitations our dreams will rise, realized.
I hope for you. Whatever your dream, I hope for you.
What is the opposite of quitting?
The obvious answer is, well, not quitting. Finishing what's started. Perseverance.
If we say pressing on is the opposite of giving up, then the antidote to quitting and the fuel for perseverance is hope.
Hope is a beautiful thing. Hope doesn't require completion. It doesn't matter how long, or how hard we strive to attain a goal, as long as we have even the faintest glint of hope, we will never quit. We pause. We may rest, or re-group. But we rise again to reach for the goal.
People say it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. There is great wisdom in that short proverb, but I want to take it a step further. Without hope, we'd never step on the field to play the game in the first place.
And so I urge you, guard your hope closely. Clutch it tightly to your chest, shielding it from life's tempest like a candle in a storm. Feed the flame eagerly, nurture it into a raging inferno that consumes you from within. For from the ashes of our self-doubt and self-imposed limitations our dreams will rise, realized.
I hope for you. Whatever your dream, I hope for you.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
On Quitting
I quit.
No, really, I quit on a regular basis. It's not usually at anything earth-shattering, but it happens. I've noticed it most recently at the gym. The treadmill is a very objective way to measure performance, so when I set a benchmark it's all to easy to see my progress, or lack thereof.
I don't understand what the difference is from day to day. For example, I've run 30 minutes at a 10 minute pace numerous times. In fact I recently ran 40 minutes at that pace. Yet, some days I end up pulling up and walking less than 15 minutes in. I don't sense that I'm hurting any more than the days that I'm more successful--I just seem to have less tolerance. Sometimes something else going on in life is bothering me so badly that I simply can't cope with the discomfort of working out.
It's very frustrating to me. I'm aware that this reveals a great deal about my character, about my mental toughness. Or rather, my mental weakness.
This pattern of quitting carries over into all aspects of my life.
Did I quit too soon when life got uncomfortable after I graduated chiropractic school? Did I give up too easily? Did a little adversity cause me to fold and abandon the profession altogether?
Why was I so quick to post about being done with my marriage? Why did I want to quit after being with my wife since 1999? Is 11 years of commitment so easy to discard?
When one of my better friends from my small group at church tries to challenge me and my faith, why do I simply consider ending the friendship? Sure he isn't particularly good at being diplomatic, and has a certain talent for getting under my skin, but he, his wife, and kids are also among my wife's, my kid's, and my better friends. Why would I simply choose to remove them from our lives?
Because I quit.
It's an embarrassing habit to admit.
This weekend at work I helped take care of a gentleman that wasn't particularly old (middle 50s). He was a relatively newly diagnosed diabetic, and he was having a hard time complying with his regimen of care. He was on our unit for a round of DKA--he came in through the ER with a sugar in the 1200s. His wife was attentive and present. And she was trying her damnedest to get him to change his ways.
We got his sugar down, but he was terribly brittle. His hourly checks were jumping all over the place, sometimes 300-400 points in an hour despite being on an continuous insulin drip. But his level of consciousness was improving and his wife was able to talk with him. Even then she remarked at how depressed he was, and we reassured her that it was just the severe blood sugar extremes his body had been dealing with.
We began having a little trouble keeping his sats up. Every time he'd doze off, he'd start de-satting, and we kept having to rouse him, get him to deep breath and cough, and crank his O2 up to keep him above 95%. We paged the pulmonologist to come take a look at the patient, to possibly discuss a planned intubation, rather than having to emergently tube him in a crisis.
When the doc walked in to assess him, the monitor started alarming. Sats were fine, but his HR was dropping. As we watched he dropped from the 60s to the 50s to the 40s. I dashed across the hall to wheel in the crash cart, and by the time I got back he was dropping from the 30s into the 20s. And he just kept dropping. All the way to asystole. Code doses of epi and atropine didn't produce so much as a wiggle in his ECG. CPR perfused him a little, but as soon as we'd let up, he was still flat-lined. After 34 minutes of coding him, his wife asked us to stop. And the doc declared him.
We were all a little shocked, and completely at a loss to explain what had happened to him to his wife. But she knew.
"He just gave up," she said.
"He quit."
-----------
Saturday evening I went to the gym. There was only 1 other person upstairs in the cardio area when I got on the treadmill. I set a slightly slower pace than usual (5.5 mph instead of 6) just to ensure I'd make it to the end of my 30 minutes--something I'd failed to do in my previous 2 workouts. With Winston Churchill echoing in my ears I then proceeded to run for an hour, covering 5.7 miles and expending 1135 calories.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."
--Winston Churchill
No, really, I quit on a regular basis. It's not usually at anything earth-shattering, but it happens. I've noticed it most recently at the gym. The treadmill is a very objective way to measure performance, so when I set a benchmark it's all to easy to see my progress, or lack thereof.
I don't understand what the difference is from day to day. For example, I've run 30 minutes at a 10 minute pace numerous times. In fact I recently ran 40 minutes at that pace. Yet, some days I end up pulling up and walking less than 15 minutes in. I don't sense that I'm hurting any more than the days that I'm more successful--I just seem to have less tolerance. Sometimes something else going on in life is bothering me so badly that I simply can't cope with the discomfort of working out.
It's very frustrating to me. I'm aware that this reveals a great deal about my character, about my mental toughness. Or rather, my mental weakness.
This pattern of quitting carries over into all aspects of my life.
Did I quit too soon when life got uncomfortable after I graduated chiropractic school? Did I give up too easily? Did a little adversity cause me to fold and abandon the profession altogether?
Why was I so quick to post about being done with my marriage? Why did I want to quit after being with my wife since 1999? Is 11 years of commitment so easy to discard?
When one of my better friends from my small group at church tries to challenge me and my faith, why do I simply consider ending the friendship? Sure he isn't particularly good at being diplomatic, and has a certain talent for getting under my skin, but he, his wife, and kids are also among my wife's, my kid's, and my better friends. Why would I simply choose to remove them from our lives?
Because I quit.
It's an embarrassing habit to admit.
This weekend at work I helped take care of a gentleman that wasn't particularly old (middle 50s). He was a relatively newly diagnosed diabetic, and he was having a hard time complying with his regimen of care. He was on our unit for a round of DKA--he came in through the ER with a sugar in the 1200s. His wife was attentive and present. And she was trying her damnedest to get him to change his ways.
We got his sugar down, but he was terribly brittle. His hourly checks were jumping all over the place, sometimes 300-400 points in an hour despite being on an continuous insulin drip. But his level of consciousness was improving and his wife was able to talk with him. Even then she remarked at how depressed he was, and we reassured her that it was just the severe blood sugar extremes his body had been dealing with.
We began having a little trouble keeping his sats up. Every time he'd doze off, he'd start de-satting, and we kept having to rouse him, get him to deep breath and cough, and crank his O2 up to keep him above 95%. We paged the pulmonologist to come take a look at the patient, to possibly discuss a planned intubation, rather than having to emergently tube him in a crisis.
When the doc walked in to assess him, the monitor started alarming. Sats were fine, but his HR was dropping. As we watched he dropped from the 60s to the 50s to the 40s. I dashed across the hall to wheel in the crash cart, and by the time I got back he was dropping from the 30s into the 20s. And he just kept dropping. All the way to asystole. Code doses of epi and atropine didn't produce so much as a wiggle in his ECG. CPR perfused him a little, but as soon as we'd let up, he was still flat-lined. After 34 minutes of coding him, his wife asked us to stop. And the doc declared him.
We were all a little shocked, and completely at a loss to explain what had happened to him to his wife. But she knew.
"He just gave up," she said.
"He quit."
-----------
Saturday evening I went to the gym. There was only 1 other person upstairs in the cardio area when I got on the treadmill. I set a slightly slower pace than usual (5.5 mph instead of 6) just to ensure I'd make it to the end of my 30 minutes--something I'd failed to do in my previous 2 workouts. With Winston Churchill echoing in my ears I then proceeded to run for an hour, covering 5.7 miles and expending 1135 calories.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense."
--Winston Churchill
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
And Rancorous the HESI Lurks
Posts have been a little anemic lately, but for good reason. Tomorrow I take the dreaded HESI. HESI is basically a comprehensive exam over the whole of nursing school. We've been taking sections of the HESI at the end of each course, and I've typically scored in the 1400-1500 range, so I'm relatively confident. However, the comprehensive nature of this final exam (and the length, 160 questions) has me a little nervous. Which is a good thing I think--i've been buried in my HESI review book and doing online practice tests all week. My school is nicer than some as I only have to make an 850 to pass, and I get 3 chances, but I'd really like to just check this box off and move on.
In other news I have my internship interview on my home unit today. I'm sure I will be given a hard deadline for my decision. This leaves me in a tough spot as I don't have a formal offer from anyone else yet. Today is the 2 week mark of when I was supposed to have heard from individual units at Gargantuan Hospital. Also Level II hospital sent out an email stating interviews for the critical care residency will begin next week. And I have heard absolutely nothing from Awesome Children's Hospital at all, after having applied more than 2 weeks ago. They are appearing less and less awesome as time rolls on.
I bought my gown, cap, and honors cord today.
Anyway, that's a little update.
In other news I have my internship interview on my home unit today. I'm sure I will be given a hard deadline for my decision. This leaves me in a tough spot as I don't have a formal offer from anyone else yet. Today is the 2 week mark of when I was supposed to have heard from individual units at Gargantuan Hospital. Also Level II hospital sent out an email stating interviews for the critical care residency will begin next week. And I have heard absolutely nothing from Awesome Children's Hospital at all, after having applied more than 2 weeks ago. They are appearing less and less awesome as time rolls on.
I bought my gown, cap, and honors cord today.
Anyway, that's a little update.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Taco "I'm In" Hell
On Sundays after church I often take the kids through the drivethru at Taco Bell. My two youngest love the bean burritos (my younger daughter is a vegetarian, yes, by choice, and yes, from birth and 4 years later still going strong, and yes, we attempt to introduce meat to her every so often, and no, she won't have anything to do with it, and yes she gets plenty of protein, and yes, she's in the 99th percentile for height and taller than her friends and cousins that are 6 months to a year older than her and boys but I digress), and who can argue with the "run for the border" price?
Also relatively new to Taco Bell's menu is the addition of the Fresco style option. Essentially choosing this option 86's the cheese and sour cream, and replaces it with spicy pico de gallo and lettuce. It doesn't super dramatically reduce calories, but it cuts 40-80 calories off any given item. And when you're watching calories like my wife and I are, every 40-80 calories makes a difference.
So this Sunday, we roll through the drivethru. Normally I love our Taco Bell. It's right around the corner from our house, it's brand new, and the staff is very, very fast. They also skip the "Would you like to try our" greeting. I hate that--we're already dumbing down our food to something that can be prepared in 15 seconds flat, do we really need them to think for us in the drivethru lane also!? Anyway, I love that they skip that part and instead say, "Hi, how are you today?"
And I reply, "I am well, how are you today.
Then they reply, "I am good, thank you for asking."
It's such a pleasant interchange. It takes all of 10 seconds, and it just brightens everybody's day. I also make it a habit to consciously be extra polite to people that work food service, retail jobs, or other service oriented jobs. They are people too, although they aren't often treated well. Not to mention I often receive exceptional service as a result. And if I don't, I probably was going to get crappy service anyway, so what's been lost?
Enter today.
Today I tried to order my food Fresco style, and the girl just couldn't get it right. She put in the wrong items to start with. Then when I tried to correct her, she just added what I did want to the list without taking the unwanted items off. And then rather than Fresco style, she just started taking things off my items one by one. Salsa? Gone. Cheese? Out of here. Sour cream? Hasta la vista baby! Onions? Hit the road Jack. It was so infuriating. I've actually had less frustrating conversations with brick walls!
Finally the manager got on the intercom and got everything straightened out.
But the shenanigans continued when I got to the window.
The girl took my credit card, and I was asked if I wanted "Hot, Fire, or Mild sauce."
I said "No."
She asked if I wanted "Hot, Fire, or Mild sauce."
I said, "No thank you."
Then she asked me if I wanted "Hot, Fire, or Mild sauce."
And I didn't bother answering while I helplessly watched her stuff a handful of each into our bag.
Next, the girl told me the total, and held out her hand expectantly waiting to be paid. I told her that I had given her my card already. She couldn't find it, and so a great search ensued. When I finally got my card back several minutes later it was covered in Taco Bell floor snot--which she made no attempt to clean off.
Then the silly girl was just smart enough to hand me a survey invitation...
And when I got home, got the kids settled, and bit into my freshly prepared Taco Bell items, do you think they were prepared Fresco style?
I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.
Also relatively new to Taco Bell's menu is the addition of the Fresco style option. Essentially choosing this option 86's the cheese and sour cream, and replaces it with spicy pico de gallo and lettuce. It doesn't super dramatically reduce calories, but it cuts 40-80 calories off any given item. And when you're watching calories like my wife and I are, every 40-80 calories makes a difference.
So this Sunday, we roll through the drivethru. Normally I love our Taco Bell. It's right around the corner from our house, it's brand new, and the staff is very, very fast. They also skip the "Would you like to try our
And I reply, "I am well, how are you today.
Then they reply, "I am good, thank you for asking."
It's such a pleasant interchange. It takes all of 10 seconds, and it just brightens everybody's day. I also make it a habit to consciously be extra polite to people that work food service, retail jobs, or other service oriented jobs. They are people too, although they aren't often treated well. Not to mention I often receive exceptional service as a result. And if I don't, I probably was going to get crappy service anyway, so what's been lost?
Enter today.
Today I tried to order my food Fresco style, and the girl just couldn't get it right. She put in the wrong items to start with. Then when I tried to correct her, she just added what I did want to the list without taking the unwanted items off. And then rather than Fresco style, she just started taking things off my items one by one. Salsa? Gone. Cheese? Out of here. Sour cream? Hasta la vista baby! Onions? Hit the road Jack. It was so infuriating. I've actually had less frustrating conversations with brick walls!
Finally the manager got on the intercom and got everything straightened out.
But the shenanigans continued when I got to the window.
The girl took my credit card, and I was asked if I wanted "Hot, Fire, or Mild sauce."
I said "No."
She asked if I wanted "Hot, Fire, or Mild sauce."
I said, "No thank you."
Then she asked me if I wanted "Hot, Fire, or Mild sauce."
And I didn't bother answering while I helplessly watched her stuff a handful of each into our bag.
Next, the girl told me the total, and held out her hand expectantly waiting to be paid. I told her that I had given her my card already. She couldn't find it, and so a great search ensued. When I finally got my card back several minutes later it was covered in Taco Bell floor snot--which she made no attempt to clean off.
Then the silly girl was just smart enough to hand me a survey invitation...
And when I got home, got the kids settled, and bit into my freshly prepared Taco Bell items, do you think they were prepared Fresco style?
I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Four and a Quarter
On Wednesday I had an all around bad day. It should have been a good day. I finished up my management clinical, and then my clinical instructor invited a special guest to post conference. The special guest turned out to be the manager of my first choice unit at Gargantuan Hospital! So while I got to schmooze the manager some more, overall my day was still bad.
It all started with this box of donuts...
I have to leave my house very early to get to Gargantuan hospital at the beginning of day shift, so I typically don't take the time to eat breakfast before I go. When I got to clinical, HR was on the floor to do an inservice on upcoming benefits changes. Naturally, I attended as a part of my clinical experience. Well, she brought donuts. She explicitly offered me some, and not wanting to appear rude (and because I hadn't eaten), I accepted.
And it all went downhill from there.
Before it was all said and done, I had eaten 4 of those puppies. Which surprisingly isn't just a huge amount of calories. However, 4 donuts just isn't very much food, not to mention straight carbs gets emptied from the stomach immediately. So even as the sugar rush washed sickeningly over me, I was still hungry. And then the pounding sugar headache settled in.
After clinical I headed to the gym like I usually do and got on the treadmill. I felt awful. I got 2 minutes into my my first 3 minute interval and had to walk. I then slowed my speed and tried running for time and distance, and didn't make it but 6 minutes more before needing to walk again. I had to do that several times. I ended my workout having only burned 400 calories and running 2.27 miles.
Yesterday was a full day of school work with a major paper to be completed. As the day wore on, I became more and more antsy. I finally succumbed to the call of the gym, and had a fantastic workout. 4.25 mi at a 10 minute pace, 840 calories. Farther and faster than ever before.
It all started with this box of donuts...
I have to leave my house very early to get to Gargantuan hospital at the beginning of day shift, so I typically don't take the time to eat breakfast before I go. When I got to clinical, HR was on the floor to do an inservice on upcoming benefits changes. Naturally, I attended as a part of my clinical experience. Well, she brought donuts. She explicitly offered me some, and not wanting to appear rude (and because I hadn't eaten), I accepted.
And it all went downhill from there.
Before it was all said and done, I had eaten 4 of those puppies. Which surprisingly isn't just a huge amount of calories. However, 4 donuts just isn't very much food, not to mention straight carbs gets emptied from the stomach immediately. So even as the sugar rush washed sickeningly over me, I was still hungry. And then the pounding sugar headache settled in.
After clinical I headed to the gym like I usually do and got on the treadmill. I felt awful. I got 2 minutes into my my first 3 minute interval and had to walk. I then slowed my speed and tried running for time and distance, and didn't make it but 6 minutes more before needing to walk again. I had to do that several times. I ended my workout having only burned 400 calories and running 2.27 miles.
Yesterday was a full day of school work with a major paper to be completed. As the day wore on, I became more and more antsy. I finally succumbed to the call of the gym, and had a fantastic workout. 4.25 mi at a 10 minute pace, 840 calories. Farther and faster than ever before.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Little Bear
One of the great things about being a parent is the tv you get to watch.
Oh sure, point and laugh if you want, but don't knock it until you've seen a few episodes. Shows like Little Bill, Max & Ruby, and Curious George tend to be extremely well written, and a real pleasure to watch with my kids.
However, my very favorite show to watch with my little ones is Little Bear, based on the children's books.
I love the animation. I love the scenery. I love the classical soundtrack that plays in the background. I love the wholesome themes, and the promotion of strong family values.
But most of all I love the sentimentality and the melancholy just at the edge of each storyline. You can feel it in the the tightness in your throat as the storyline whisks you away to the sweet goodness of all that was right with childhood.
Even if you don't have young children brightening your home, take a moment and watch an episode of Little Bear.
Your heart will be better for it.
Oh sure, point and laugh if you want, but don't knock it until you've seen a few episodes. Shows like Little Bill, Max & Ruby, and Curious George tend to be extremely well written, and a real pleasure to watch with my kids.
However, my very favorite show to watch with my little ones is Little Bear, based on the children's books.
I love the animation. I love the scenery. I love the classical soundtrack that plays in the background. I love the wholesome themes, and the promotion of strong family values.
But most of all I love the sentimentality and the melancholy just at the edge of each storyline. You can feel it in the the tightness in your throat as the storyline whisks you away to the sweet goodness of all that was right with childhood.
Even if you don't have young children brightening your home, take a moment and watch an episode of Little Bear.
Your heart will be better for it.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Honors and the Stink
I opened my school inbox last night to discover an email from Sigma Theta Tau with an invitation to join. It was an unexpected honor, and it lifted my spirits a bit after the Level II debacle. The induction ceremony is on December 15th, the day before graduation and pinning. At the very least, it's something to put in my resume and CRNA school application. It also may mean I'll be exempt from taking the GRE for CRNA school as well.
The dues are steeeep, and then I have to pay $12 for my purple honors cord for graduation. And another pin for $45. How is it that doing well in school is costing me more money? Doesn't seem right.
In fact, it just plain stinks.
But not as bad as my nursing school shoes.
Part of our strictly enforced dress code (the faculty will actually write us "tickets" that result in being put on contract if we break the code,) calls for 100% white shoes.
I hate white shoes.
But I have faithfully worn my solid white New Balance 622s for the last 2 years, and now they stink.
Nay, they REEK.
I noticed the stench got much worse after Hermine (that b*+ch,) soaked me from brow to toe. And it's quite embarrassing really, but I'll be danged if I'm going to buy another pair of $75 shoes for the next 2 months never to be worn again.
Maybe I'll try soaking them in bleach water. Or maybe that biological odor spray we save for the c-diff patients.
Anyway, that's the Honors and the Stink.
The dues are steeeep, and then I have to pay $12 for my purple honors cord for graduation. And another pin for $45. How is it that doing well in school is costing me more money? Doesn't seem right.
In fact, it just plain stinks.
But not as bad as my nursing school shoes.
Part of our strictly enforced dress code (the faculty will actually write us "tickets" that result in being put on contract if we break the code,) calls for 100% white shoes.
I hate white shoes.
But I have faithfully worn my solid white New Balance 622s for the last 2 years, and now they stink.
Nay, they REEK.
I noticed the stench got much worse after Hermine (that b*+ch,) soaked me from brow to toe. And it's quite embarrassing really, but I'll be danged if I'm going to buy another pair of $75 shoes for the next 2 months never to be worn again.
Maybe I'll try soaking them in bleach water. Or maybe that biological odor spray we save for the c-diff patients.
Anyway, that's the Honors and the Stink.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Level II Back to Square I
Well I submitted my previous post too quickly.
I got another call from the CVICU this afternoon. They canceled my interview.
They are apparently converting their internship program to a critical care residency. Residents rotate through the 5 ICUs over 6 months. At the end of the residency the residents rank the units, and the units rank the residents. Then they have a big match day.
It's a pretty cool idea. However...
I'm bummed for a couple reasons.
A.) All applicants for the ICU internships will now be considered for the residency. Including the ones I've already beaten out just to get a CVICU interview. Everyone is back in the game. *Sigh*
B.) Interviews will now be conducted by nursing admin and the nurse education dept. This means I'm losing the advantage I've created for myself in wooing the unit managers. A bunch of hard work down the drain. It may pay off in unit match day, but only if I manage to land the residency in the first place. *Sigh*
The other super annoying thing is they've told us they have no idea when they'll start interviewing.
Back to waiting.
I got another call from the CVICU this afternoon. They canceled my interview.
They are apparently converting their internship program to a critical care residency. Residents rotate through the 5 ICUs over 6 months. At the end of the residency the residents rank the units, and the units rank the residents. Then they have a big match day.
It's a pretty cool idea. However...
I'm bummed for a couple reasons.
A.) All applicants for the ICU internships will now be considered for the residency. Including the ones I've already beaten out just to get a CVICU interview. Everyone is back in the game. *Sigh*
B.) Interviews will now be conducted by nursing admin and the nurse education dept. This means I'm losing the advantage I've created for myself in wooing the unit managers. A bunch of hard work down the drain. It may pay off in unit match day, but only if I manage to land the residency in the first place. *Sigh*
The other super annoying thing is they've told us they have no idea when they'll start interviewing.
Back to waiting.
Level II Interview
I got a call today to schedule a peer interview with the CVICU at the Level II trauma center across the street from my wife's hospital. I had heard the rumor that they weren't going to be interviewing until November some time, so I was delighted to hear from them. I go in at 1330 on Thursday to meet with a panel of staff nurses, and then they will make recommendation to the managers and charge nurses. Then the managers and charge nurses conduct a second round of interviews to decide on who gets the offer. Kind of stressful really, so I think I'll just concentrate on one step at a time.
Good things about this hospital include the fact that it is across the street from where my wife works. This means we could carpool, and even eat meals together. It is also a unit with a reputation for turning out CRNA school candidates. And better yet, many of the staff from the schools work at the local CRNA programs--including on the admissions committees--work at this hospital also. It is also a much shorter drive than driving to Gargantuan hospital where I've also interviewed. Like half the time and distance.
On the downside, the parent organization for this hospital has a reputation for being super cost conscious. I did my critical care rotation on this unit, so I have a pretty good picture of day to day life there. There are often several triples at the beginning of the shift. They usually get them shipped out pretty quickly, but the workload is definitely legit.
If I get an offer from both the Level II hospital and the Gargantuan hospital it will be very, very tough to decide.
As always, I'll covet your good vibes and prayers on Thursday. I've heard these peer interviews can be tough.
Good things about this hospital include the fact that it is across the street from where my wife works. This means we could carpool, and even eat meals together. It is also a unit with a reputation for turning out CRNA school candidates. And better yet, many of the staff from the schools work at the local CRNA programs--including on the admissions committees--work at this hospital also. It is also a much shorter drive than driving to Gargantuan hospital where I've also interviewed. Like half the time and distance.
On the downside, the parent organization for this hospital has a reputation for being super cost conscious. I did my critical care rotation on this unit, so I have a pretty good picture of day to day life there. There are often several triples at the beginning of the shift. They usually get them shipped out pretty quickly, but the workload is definitely legit.
If I get an offer from both the Level II hospital and the Gargantuan hospital it will be very, very tough to decide.
As always, I'll covet your good vibes and prayers on Thursday. I've heard these peer interviews can be tough.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Oh Say Can You See...
...by the flickering lantern light.
So my female counterparts on the pinning committee have apparently been lamenting the lack of tradition in our pinning ceremony. Never mind the fact that we're having it on the same day as graduation (per tradition), buying class pins (per tradition), having them pinned individually by the important person of our choice(per tradition), all the while pictures and voiceovers play on the large video screen behind us (per tradition). But that not-withstanding, the ladies of the committee decided we need more tradition.
Their first suggestion was traditional nurse caps, and to have a traditional capping ceremony. Uh... Well, let's put this simply. I am NOT wearing a cap. And I also don't particularly feel it's right that my female classmates get to participate in something while us guys stand around awkwardly trying to find a place to shove our hands in embarrassment. Lucky for me there was enough female opposition to caps that it didn't come down to a "Remember the Alamo!" moment for us carriers of the Y chromosome.
Next on the list of ever so bright ideas was the suggestion that we carry in lanterns, a la good 'ole Flo Nightingale. Except it was pretty apparent that a bunch of giddy nursing students (over a hundred of us actually) playing with fire probably wasn't a terribly bright idea. Especially since most everyone in my class is going to have highly flammable breath due to some in-effective coping as evidenced by heavy EtOH intake. So someone suggested an even brighter idea. You see, "they" make those neat little battery powered candle shaped lights. Apparently they flicker and everything.
Oh Em Gee!! Tacky fo shizzle! Or whatever these young kids say these days.
I am hoping and praying that this proposal dies a quiet and unnoticed death on the committee floor. This is one time my class's astounding lack of motivation and participation could really pay off for me.
I have already decided that if this comes to fruition, I am painting my lantern in orange and black sharpie to look like a jack 'o lantern...
So my female counterparts on the pinning committee have apparently been lamenting the lack of tradition in our pinning ceremony. Never mind the fact that we're having it on the same day as graduation (per tradition), buying class pins (per tradition), having them pinned individually by the important person of our choice(per tradition), all the while pictures and voiceovers play on the large video screen behind us (per tradition). But that not-withstanding, the ladies of the committee decided we need more tradition.
Their first suggestion was traditional nurse caps, and to have a traditional capping ceremony. Uh... Well, let's put this simply. I am NOT wearing a cap. And I also don't particularly feel it's right that my female classmates get to participate in something while us guys stand around awkwardly trying to find a place to shove our hands in embarrassment. Lucky for me there was enough female opposition to caps that it didn't come down to a "Remember the Alamo!" moment for us carriers of the Y chromosome.
Next on the list of ever so bright ideas was the suggestion that we carry in lanterns, a la good 'ole Flo Nightingale. Except it was pretty apparent that a bunch of giddy nursing students (over a hundred of us actually) playing with fire probably wasn't a terribly bright idea. Especially since most everyone in my class is going to have highly flammable breath due to some in-effective coping as evidenced by heavy EtOH intake. So someone suggested an even brighter idea. You see, "they" make those neat little battery powered candle shaped lights. Apparently they flicker and everything.
Oh Em Gee!! Tacky fo shizzle! Or whatever these young kids say these days.
I am hoping and praying that this proposal dies a quiet and unnoticed death on the committee floor. This is one time my class's astounding lack of motivation and participation could really pay off for me.
I have already decided that if this comes to fruition, I am painting my lantern in orange and black sharpie to look like a jack 'o lantern...
Sunday, October 10, 2010
A Quiet Shift
I worked yesterday for what felt like the first time in a long time, although in reality it had only been a week. It was however, the first time I'd worked with my regular crew in quite some time, so there was a bit of catching up to do.
Lucky for me, there was only one patient on the unit, leaving lots of time for chit chat.
The patient we did have was a mess though. She was originally brought in for shortness of breath which was a bit of an understatement. She was traveling to our area to visit her family, and in the middle of the night her portable oxygen ran out. She was discovered unresponsive the next morning when she failed to show up for breakfast. When EMS arrived on scene she was satting at 60%, and had been for who knows how long. She was surprisingly alert and oriented when she arrived in our ED, and begged not to be intubated. The physicians reluctantly agreed, even though her gas looked like crap. She then bottomed her pressures, and ended up on a couple pressors.
She has a pretty impressive history. Two valve replacements, and both were leaking so badly that her ejection fraction couldn't be determined by echo. She'd had an abdominal aortic aneurysm repaired, currently had a carotid aneurysm, and the our radiologist diagnosed a thoracic aortic aneurysm from the CT we took. Her chest X-ray was impressive too, what with the sternotomy wires, mechanical valves, and the massive infiltrates around her massively enlarged heart.
And best of all was the fact that she was as sweet as could be. She was a real pleasure to be around. I got to put in another IV and draw lots of labs since she was on serial heart enzymes as well as everything else.
About halfway through the shift, we got a second patient--a 17 year old girl who attempted suicide by downing about a months worth of her psych meds--clonidine and citalopram. We didn't get her until about 15 hours after the fact and she was so stable it was a joke. When questioned as to why she was being admitted to the ICU, we were told that the ED doc was concerned about her pressure after taking the clonidine. She was 80s over 60s, which might have been concerning if she'd been a 57 year old male with a beer gut. But a 17 year old girl?
Her mom showed up at the ED for about 10 minutes, and then left for the airport to go on the family vacation they had planned, leaving the stepdad behind to deal with her daughter--both of who were supposed to be going on the trip as well. Her concern for her daughter was overwhelming. Not hard to see why the poor girl felt she needed to pull stupid stunts like taking a bunch of pills to get attention.
I took blood cultures, labs, and started an 18 gauge in her hand since her ED-special AC stick was super positional.
It was a good day. Lots of chit-chat and I went 4/4 on sticks/IV starts.
Lucky for me, there was only one patient on the unit, leaving lots of time for chit chat.
The patient we did have was a mess though. She was originally brought in for shortness of breath which was a bit of an understatement. She was traveling to our area to visit her family, and in the middle of the night her portable oxygen ran out. She was discovered unresponsive the next morning when she failed to show up for breakfast. When EMS arrived on scene she was satting at 60%, and had been for who knows how long. She was surprisingly alert and oriented when she arrived in our ED, and begged not to be intubated. The physicians reluctantly agreed, even though her gas looked like crap. She then bottomed her pressures, and ended up on a couple pressors.
She has a pretty impressive history. Two valve replacements, and both were leaking so badly that her ejection fraction couldn't be determined by echo. She'd had an abdominal aortic aneurysm repaired, currently had a carotid aneurysm, and the our radiologist diagnosed a thoracic aortic aneurysm from the CT we took. Her chest X-ray was impressive too, what with the sternotomy wires, mechanical valves, and the massive infiltrates around her massively enlarged heart.
And best of all was the fact that she was as sweet as could be. She was a real pleasure to be around. I got to put in another IV and draw lots of labs since she was on serial heart enzymes as well as everything else.
About halfway through the shift, we got a second patient--a 17 year old girl who attempted suicide by downing about a months worth of her psych meds--clonidine and citalopram. We didn't get her until about 15 hours after the fact and she was so stable it was a joke. When questioned as to why she was being admitted to the ICU, we were told that the ED doc was concerned about her pressure after taking the clonidine. She was 80s over 60s, which might have been concerning if she'd been a 57 year old male with a beer gut. But a 17 year old girl?
Her mom showed up at the ED for about 10 minutes, and then left for the airport to go on the family vacation they had planned, leaving the stepdad behind to deal with her daughter--both of who were supposed to be going on the trip as well. Her concern for her daughter was overwhelming. Not hard to see why the poor girl felt she needed to pull stupid stunts like taking a bunch of pills to get attention.
I took blood cultures, labs, and started an 18 gauge in her hand since her ED-special AC stick was super positional.
It was a good day. Lots of chit-chat and I went 4/4 on sticks/IV starts.
Friday, October 8, 2010
30@6
I finally pushed through and ran 30 minutes at a 10 minute pace/6 mph. 2 minute warm-up, 5 minute cool-down, 3.4 miles, 676 "calories" burned.
Oh, and 252.0 lbs.
Oh, and 252.0 lbs.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A Well Hit Ball...
...but we'll have to wait a couple weeks to see if it clears the fence or not.
Today was my phone interview with Gargantuan Hospital. I was at my community health clinical site so about 5 minutes before time I secured a quiet room, plugged in my phone charger, and sat down and waited. I was scheduled for 1530. And 1530 came and went. 1545, then 1600. Given the hiring freeze information from yesterday, I really began to sweat, and at 1610, mercifully my phone lit up and vibrated like mad. I answered breathlessly and was treated to an earful of sincere apologies for the interviewer's tardiness.
Once we got the preliminaries out of the way, she complimented my GPA and work experience and we started the interview in earnest. I got the usual interview questions: What are your 3 year goals, what are your 5 year goals, "Tell me about a time that you had to advocate for a patient," "Tell me about a time you had to deal with an angry patient," etc, etc. I was relaxed and had a ready answer for each question, and I really felt good about the rapport I had with the interviewer.
She then told me she had gotten 380 applications for the critical care internship in just 6 days. So I asked her about the hiring freeze. She laughed and said, "No, absolutely not true." Apparently they were doing an HR audit, where they froze all operations for 3 days so they could take inventory of what positions were still open, what had been filled, what they could fill with internal candidates. This particular hospital system employs over 20,000 people just in our metro area, so they need to take stock of themselves every now and then. In fact she has 930 open positions to fill!!
After the final questions regarding whether I could pass a background check and drug screen, she concluded by telling me that she was going to highly recommend me and send my file to 5 separate ICU units for peer interviews. She told me that I was exactly the kind candidate they were looking for. She also told me that getting through the interview with her would be the most difficult part of the process, and that I came through with flying colors.
The only down sides are the pay (starting at $22.75/hr,) and having to wait 1-2 weeks for the unit peer interviews.
Frankly, I can deal with both if it lands me an ICU job at Gargantuan Hospital.
Thank you for your good thoughts and prayers, it really went well.
Today was my phone interview with Gargantuan Hospital. I was at my community health clinical site so about 5 minutes before time I secured a quiet room, plugged in my phone charger, and sat down and waited. I was scheduled for 1530. And 1530 came and went. 1545, then 1600. Given the hiring freeze information from yesterday, I really began to sweat, and at 1610, mercifully my phone lit up and vibrated like mad. I answered breathlessly and was treated to an earful of sincere apologies for the interviewer's tardiness.
Once we got the preliminaries out of the way, she complimented my GPA and work experience and we started the interview in earnest. I got the usual interview questions: What are your 3 year goals, what are your 5 year goals, "Tell me about a time that you had to advocate for a patient," "Tell me about a time you had to deal with an angry patient," etc, etc. I was relaxed and had a ready answer for each question, and I really felt good about the rapport I had with the interviewer.
She then told me she had gotten 380 applications for the critical care internship in just 6 days. So I asked her about the hiring freeze. She laughed and said, "No, absolutely not true." Apparently they were doing an HR audit, where they froze all operations for 3 days so they could take inventory of what positions were still open, what had been filled, what they could fill with internal candidates. This particular hospital system employs over 20,000 people just in our metro area, so they need to take stock of themselves every now and then. In fact she has 930 open positions to fill!!
After the final questions regarding whether I could pass a background check and drug screen, she concluded by telling me that she was going to highly recommend me and send my file to 5 separate ICU units for peer interviews. She told me that I was exactly the kind candidate they were looking for. She also told me that getting through the interview with her would be the most difficult part of the process, and that I came through with flying colors.
The only down sides are the pay (starting at $22.75/hr,) and having to wait 1-2 weeks for the unit peer interviews.
Frankly, I can deal with both if it lands me an ICU job at Gargantuan Hospital.
Thank you for your good thoughts and prayers, it really went well.
More Thoughts From the Treadmill
It occurred to me if my sweat drenched t-shirt continues to rub the skin off my nipples every time I run, I may soon develop nipple calluses.
As sexy as that sounds, one has to wonder if nipple calluses aren't a risk factor for some super rare transformational nipple tumor...
As sexy as that sounds, one has to wonder if nipple calluses aren't a risk factor for some super rare transformational nipple tumor...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Frozen
While I was at management clinical at the gargantuan hospital today, they announced a hiring freeze.
I do however, still have an interview tomorrow.
I do however, still have an interview tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Round Three
Today I attended a NurseWeek career fair. The majority of the larger hospitals in the area were in attendance including the three hospitals I either have applied to, or intend to.
After sitting through a truly awful 1.5 hour CE lecture on patient safety, they finally opened the exhibit hall where the employers were set up. I was surprised at the audacity of people. People were there in blue jeans--expecting to get a job. People elbowed past me several times in an effort to grab up the free goodies off the tables, not even stopping to speak with the recruiters. I saw people going from table to table grabbing stuff and stowing it in their tote bags, like some sort of adult trick-or-treating.
I started off at the table of the gargantuan hospital where I have my management clinical. I applied for their critical care internship on Friday, the same day they posted. The recruiter was super nice, super professional, and lo and behold, she actually read my resume. She gave me the email of the recruiter directly in charge of the critical care internship, and instructed me on what to tell her. I emailed her when I got home, and got a response within minutes. She told me I was already on her list of people to contact, and set me up with a telephone interview on Thursday. So far, that hospital has been the most professional by far, which is a big plus.
Next I moved to the table of the Amazing Children's Hospital. The rep there wasn't even an actual recruiter, but he was able to tell me they are posting the internships tomorrow. Only a month after they said they would. After hearing from several people that candidates from pediatric facilities are at a disadvantage for CRNA school admissions, my wife and I are rethinking my plan to work there. Couple that with the way they've treated me, and I think they're going to have to knock my socks off with their offer. I'm not going to hold my breath.
My third table was the large hospital where I've applied to the TICU and the CVICU. This recruiter painted a dismal picture for new grads. She was shocked to hear I'd only applied to two units, telling me I needed to have applied to at least 5. Then she said, "What we're telling new grads is, 'Do you want a job, or do you want to be unemployed?'" I had felt that this hospital was my best option, but after talking with her, I'm not so sure. She made me so nervous I went and visited the two county hospitals as well, and I came home and applied at one of them.
Nothing like a little reality check.
After sitting through a truly awful 1.5 hour CE lecture on patient safety, they finally opened the exhibit hall where the employers were set up. I was surprised at the audacity of people. People were there in blue jeans--expecting to get a job. People elbowed past me several times in an effort to grab up the free goodies off the tables, not even stopping to speak with the recruiters. I saw people going from table to table grabbing stuff and stowing it in their tote bags, like some sort of adult trick-or-treating.
I started off at the table of the gargantuan hospital where I have my management clinical. I applied for their critical care internship on Friday, the same day they posted. The recruiter was super nice, super professional, and lo and behold, she actually read my resume. She gave me the email of the recruiter directly in charge of the critical care internship, and instructed me on what to tell her. I emailed her when I got home, and got a response within minutes. She told me I was already on her list of people to contact, and set me up with a telephone interview on Thursday. So far, that hospital has been the most professional by far, which is a big plus.
Next I moved to the table of the Amazing Children's Hospital. The rep there wasn't even an actual recruiter, but he was able to tell me they are posting the internships tomorrow. Only a month after they said they would. After hearing from several people that candidates from pediatric facilities are at a disadvantage for CRNA school admissions, my wife and I are rethinking my plan to work there. Couple that with the way they've treated me, and I think they're going to have to knock my socks off with their offer. I'm not going to hold my breath.
My third table was the large hospital where I've applied to the TICU and the CVICU. This recruiter painted a dismal picture for new grads. She was shocked to hear I'd only applied to two units, telling me I needed to have applied to at least 5. Then she said, "What we're telling new grads is, 'Do you want a job, or do you want to be unemployed?'" I had felt that this hospital was my best option, but after talking with her, I'm not so sure. She made me so nervous I went and visited the two county hospitals as well, and I came home and applied at one of them.
Nothing like a little reality check.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Blew Up Like a Balloon
In weekly weight loss news, my new weight is 256.2. It's only 1 pound of weight loss for the week, but I had slipped back up to 261, so all in all, I'm happy.
My guess is that my Date Night meal did not live up to the advertised caloric content. It seemed like an awful lot of food, and there seemed to be an awful lot of butter for the amount of calories they were claiming. Add to that eating out at Red Lobster on the following Sunday night with family, and my guess is the lies were doubled. I'm guessing that's how I ballooned up 4 pounds from last week's weigh in.
But hard work prevails, and I'm down another pound, net. So really do I count that as 5 pounds in a week?
And I'm never eating out again. Stinkin' liars. Don't they know I'm trying to lose weight here!?
In other news, my new goal calorie expenditures for my workouts is over 600. Previously it had been 400. The treadmills we use calculate calories expended based on weight and the speed of workout. Who knows if it's even close to accurate, but all I know is I'm whipped after spending 600 "calories", so it seems appropriate.
This week I missed a workout on Wednesday because of the recruiting dinner, so I worked out Thursday instead. Then Friday was my regular day, and I was supposed to work out tonight, but I'll put that off until tomorrow. Then I start my new week on Monday. It's surprising how much missing just one workout makes things wonky. Makes me have to work out consecutive days--I keep running out of days.
My classmates keep asking how I possibly have time to be hitting the gym 4 times a week. I tell them that I've just made it a priority. Makes me laugh some of these young kids I go to school with. They don't work, they live at home with their parents, no kids, no marriage, all they have to do is go to school and study. Yet they're the ones that seem to be running behind and constantly complaining how busy they are. I don't get it.
Oh to be saddled with so little responsibility...
My guess is that my Date Night meal did not live up to the advertised caloric content. It seemed like an awful lot of food, and there seemed to be an awful lot of butter for the amount of calories they were claiming. Add to that eating out at Red Lobster on the following Sunday night with family, and my guess is the lies were doubled. I'm guessing that's how I ballooned up 4 pounds from last week's weigh in.
But hard work prevails, and I'm down another pound, net. So really do I count that as 5 pounds in a week?
And I'm never eating out again. Stinkin' liars. Don't they know I'm trying to lose weight here!?
In other news, my new goal calorie expenditures for my workouts is over 600. Previously it had been 400. The treadmills we use calculate calories expended based on weight and the speed of workout. Who knows if it's even close to accurate, but all I know is I'm whipped after spending 600 "calories", so it seems appropriate.
This week I missed a workout on Wednesday because of the recruiting dinner, so I worked out Thursday instead. Then Friday was my regular day, and I was supposed to work out tonight, but I'll put that off until tomorrow. Then I start my new week on Monday. It's surprising how much missing just one workout makes things wonky. Makes me have to work out consecutive days--I keep running out of days.
My classmates keep asking how I possibly have time to be hitting the gym 4 times a week. I tell them that I've just made it a priority. Makes me laugh some of these young kids I go to school with. They don't work, they live at home with their parents, no kids, no marriage, all they have to do is go to school and study. Yet they're the ones that seem to be running behind and constantly complaining how busy they are. I don't get it.
Oh to be saddled with so little responsibility...
Friday, October 1, 2010
Second Round Away
Two hospitals I'm interested in were supposed to post positions today. One actually did, which is pretty good considering the job postings are under the direct control of the Dark Side HR department.
So I spent a few minutes filling out the online application, uploaded my super-duper resume, and clicked submit.
Now I've submitted to two of the three hospitals I'm interested in outside of the hospital where I currently work. Of course the one I lack is the Amazing Children's Hospital where I want to work the most of all.
Work still hasn't posted their internship I hope because my manager has taken pity on me, but I still feel that dark cloud of anxiety hanging over me. I've applied elsewhere--which is progress--but I hold no illusions over how quickly, or rather how slowly, HR departments move.
On a brighter note, today I picked up a rather flattering letter of recommendation from a clinical instructor I wasn't altogether sure liked me at all. She was my critical care clinical instructor, so that's a big bonus for my apps.
Kind of a heavy duty week around here. I had a test today, 2 to come on Monday, and a chaser on Thursday. Several projects are looming as well. I work tomorrow also, so that's going to cut in on the study time. And I'm watching the kids--last night, tonight, tomorrow night, and all day on Sunday while NurseXX works or sleeps. But that's par for the course, I'll squeeze in some study on Sunday evening and let 'er rip on Monday like always.
Whee!
So I spent a few minutes filling out the online application, uploaded my super-duper resume, and clicked submit.
Now I've submitted to two of the three hospitals I'm interested in outside of the hospital where I currently work. Of course the one I lack is the Amazing Children's Hospital where I want to work the most of all.
Work still hasn't posted their internship I hope because my manager has taken pity on me, but I still feel that dark cloud of anxiety hanging over me. I've applied elsewhere--which is progress--but I hold no illusions over how quickly, or rather how slowly, HR departments move.
On a brighter note, today I picked up a rather flattering letter of recommendation from a clinical instructor I wasn't altogether sure liked me at all. She was my critical care clinical instructor, so that's a big bonus for my apps.
Kind of a heavy duty week around here. I had a test today, 2 to come on Monday, and a chaser on Thursday. Several projects are looming as well. I work tomorrow also, so that's going to cut in on the study time. And I'm watching the kids--last night, tonight, tomorrow night, and all day on Sunday while NurseXX works or sleeps. But that's par for the course, I'll squeeze in some study on Sunday evening and let 'er rip on Monday like always.
Whee!
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