Report from ER to our unit upon admit: "Patient is a bricklayer by day, Ultimate Fighter by night".
He zooms through the sky,
smarter than a speeding bullet,
furrier than a powerful locomotive,
able to leap tall sandwiches in a single bound!
Is it an eggplant? A meatball?
NO! It's SUPER-GROVER!
Evidently not a real vigilante fighter of crime, muppet, nor an evil villain. He doesn't have a crazy alias name (I made his nurse go ask)...at least no alias that he'll admit to... There was also no dramatic theme music, smoke, or lights when you walked into his room. No side-kick either. And no spandex, cape, or mask. He really is just an "Ultimate Fighter". Evidently it's not like WWE, but more like hard-core martial arts and REAL fighting (not staged). I don't know if it's like those cage fighters or something? He did have cauliflower ears, though. Very nice guy, although tough looking. The doctor said, "In his profession, he gets knocked and thrown around on those mats a lot and very hard. So, if he is complaining of being in pain, believe that he really, really must be in a lot of pain". They truly have this kind of stuff in Madison? Sheesh. I guess the next big event is at the Alliant Center on Jan. 13th. You know me, I'll be right there in the front row...
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Joe Biere de Garde
Come one, come all to JT Whitney's to try a *fantastic new beer on tap. Recipe written by and brewed by the best new brewer in the business: Mr. Joe Walts!
His new beer is a "Winter Biere de Garde"--a dark, strong beer made in the tradition of French farmhouse ales.
*Disclaimer: I'm sure it is wonderful, although I haven't actually had a chance to try it yet. Drinking on the job at the hospital or right before work is frowned upon. Unfortunately, it's only available if you visit the brewpub. However, if you've been a good little Michigander (or friend or family member of one), you just may get to try some over the holiday.
His new beer is a "Winter Biere de Garde"--a dark, strong beer made in the tradition of French farmhouse ales.
*Disclaimer: I'm sure it is wonderful, although I haven't actually had a chance to try it yet. Drinking on the job at the hospital or right before work is frowned upon. Unfortunately, it's only available if you visit the brewpub. However, if you've been a good little Michigander (or friend or family member of one), you just may get to try some over the holiday.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Kong
Joe and I saw Peter Jackson's King Kong last night. It was an absolutely amazing movie! I didn't go into seeing the movie thinking it would be that great. The story, characters and effects were all spectacular. I can't believe how perfectly they did the gorilla too. As a person with an anthropology-zoology background and a love for studying animal behavior, I was very impressed. Andy Serkis (aka Gollum) studied Gorilla behavior in Rwanda in order to perfect the actual movements, actions, and body language of Kong. The gorilla and his social interactions with everyone in the film seemed pretty darn real to me. Parts are definitely not for the weak stomached (quintessential Peter Jackson style...if you've seen his earlier horror films), but an amazing epic story (like that of his Lord of the Rings films). There was even references to the "Sumatran Rat Monkey" from his 1992 Braindead movie. The length of the movie is long (3 hours 10 minutes). However, you can't complain when you're kept entertained the whole time.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Bird Watching
Joe, Sara, and I took advantage of the snow and sunny weather and went cross-country skiing at Cherokee Marsh. To our delight, we saw and heard a Pileated Woodpecker! I always thought of them as this almost mythical bird that you only see once in a lifetime. I guess they are popping up a bit more near some city limits, but they are generally very shy, elusive birds. I always hoped to come across one when I was in Northern Wisconsin or Minnesota when I was growing up. Next to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which may no longer be extinct, it is the largest woodpecker in North America. It was really exciting to see one finally! And on the edge of Madison no less. Usually this is considered out of their range. I love coming across the unexpected when I'm on an outdoor excursion.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Work Highlights of the Week...
1. Black, gangrenous toe. Ahhhh, don't you just love the smell of rotting flesh in the wee hours of the morn. Kind of smelled like really, really bad onions.
2. Convinced the new grad that always avoids taking a new admission on nights to take an admit that I was going to originally take (and she had avoided). I did have a legitimate excuse to pass it off, of course. When the ER called up with report, I had just found that one of my patients had a funky irregular, irregular heart beat that wasn't there on admission and my spanish-speaking guy (with his newly amputated gangrenous toe (see above)) was having pain and nausea issues. (I'm usually the only one on nights who speaks more than a few words of Spanish. Instead of being pulled away from my work to help translate other nurses' patients, I just started assigning myself to those patients. This meant running the whole length of our large unit last night...good exercise)
3. History of panic attacks, anxiety, and depression all in one...mixed in with pain, pneumonia, and chronic respiratory problems. Ativan, supplemental oxygen, and respiratory therapists are my friends. In general, please don't smoke. But if on top of it, you have a history of all of those psychological issues...really, really, really don't smoke. The nicotine may seem to help calm you down in the short term (perhaps). However, once you develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and/or other respiratory issues, the anxiety and panic attacks will come back ten-fold when you can't BREATHE anymore--then making it even harder to breathe. Okay, I'm done with that rant. (*sound of Rachel stepping down from her soap box*)
3. The most friendly, passive paranoid schizophrenic ever who constantly prays to Jehovah and tells Jehohvah how kind and wonderful every person is that comes in to help him. Everytime someone walked out of the room after talking to him, I'd hear from the nurses' station a loud: "I love you!"
5. Vanilla Extract alchoholic
6. And since I always leave the hospital thinking "gee, I sure didn't get to see enough excrement today", I was of course thrilled to come home to the enchanting aroma of fresh dog droppings today. Thanks, Oscar.
2. Convinced the new grad that always avoids taking a new admission on nights to take an admit that I was going to originally take (and she had avoided). I did have a legitimate excuse to pass it off, of course. When the ER called up with report, I had just found that one of my patients had a funky irregular, irregular heart beat that wasn't there on admission and my spanish-speaking guy (with his newly amputated gangrenous toe (see above)) was having pain and nausea issues. (I'm usually the only one on nights who speaks more than a few words of Spanish. Instead of being pulled away from my work to help translate other nurses' patients, I just started assigning myself to those patients. This meant running the whole length of our large unit last night...good exercise)
3. History of panic attacks, anxiety, and depression all in one...mixed in with pain, pneumonia, and chronic respiratory problems. Ativan, supplemental oxygen, and respiratory therapists are my friends. In general, please don't smoke. But if on top of it, you have a history of all of those psychological issues...really, really, really don't smoke. The nicotine may seem to help calm you down in the short term (perhaps). However, once you develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and/or other respiratory issues, the anxiety and panic attacks will come back ten-fold when you can't BREATHE anymore--then making it even harder to breathe. Okay, I'm done with that rant. (*sound of Rachel stepping down from her soap box*)
3. The most friendly, passive paranoid schizophrenic ever who constantly prays to Jehovah and tells Jehohvah how kind and wonderful every person is that comes in to help him. Everytime someone walked out of the room after talking to him, I'd hear from the nurses' station a loud: "I love you!"
5. Vanilla Extract alchoholic
6. And since I always leave the hospital thinking "gee, I sure didn't get to see enough excrement today", I was of course thrilled to come home to the enchanting aroma of fresh dog droppings today. Thanks, Oscar.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Home Improvement Project #1
Our marriage has successfully survived our first home improvement project. We painted one whole room! One room may not seem like a big deal to some, but our task included painting over a very bright, bold purple. It's bothered me since day one, but I obviously didn't let it keep us from buying the place. Somewhere between Home Depot and home, we also worked up the motivation to strip the baseboards in the room too.
Backing up....the previous owners did a horrendous job at painting in at least three major rooms...and in very bold colors. Two out of three of the rooms, at least the color choice is fine. The painting job included streaks that still showed the color underneath, splatters onto baseboards, moldings, and ceiling, painted outlet covers and outlet receptacles (some had been removed and some had not...) and slightly painted vent covers. And then...they painted the baseboards white in the bedroom. However, like the rest of their painting jobs, they just kind of quickly slopped on the color, leaving it covering them completely in some parts, completely ignoring other parts, and streaking some white across the rest. Our only logical explanation is that they let their 9-year old son do the painting as part of a Boy Scout badge or something. It bothered (at least me) enough that we tried our hand at stripping the paint off the baseboards. We were successful...several coats of paint/stain stripper, a couple pieces of sand paper worked to shreds, and hours later...we were triumphant! And two coats of primer, one coat of top coat, some touch ups, an uptight wife, and a day and a half later...we have a newly painted bedroom. It's definitely a much more soothing color..."Silent Tide". Ahhhhhh.....
In conclusion...painting is a big pain in the patootie.
Backing up....the previous owners did a horrendous job at painting in at least three major rooms...and in very bold colors. Two out of three of the rooms, at least the color choice is fine. The painting job included streaks that still showed the color underneath, splatters onto baseboards, moldings, and ceiling, painted outlet covers and outlet receptacles (some had been removed and some had not...) and slightly painted vent covers. And then...they painted the baseboards white in the bedroom. However, like the rest of their painting jobs, they just kind of quickly slopped on the color, leaving it covering them completely in some parts, completely ignoring other parts, and streaking some white across the rest. Our only logical explanation is that they let their 9-year old son do the painting as part of a Boy Scout badge or something. It bothered (at least me) enough that we tried our hand at stripping the paint off the baseboards. We were successful...several coats of paint/stain stripper, a couple pieces of sand paper worked to shreds, and hours later...we were triumphant! And two coats of primer, one coat of top coat, some touch ups, an uptight wife, and a day and a half later...we have a newly painted bedroom. It's definitely a much more soothing color..."Silent Tide". Ahhhhhh.....
In conclusion...painting is a big pain in the patootie.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Back from Beer Camp
A very small part of my psyche is bummin' because I can't claim to be a self-taught brewer any more, but the rest of me is pretty stoked about beer school. Being a course geared towards professional brewers with sufficient practical experience but scattered theoretical knowledge, a fair amount of the material was review for me. The rest of it did a good job of filling my knowledge gaps concerning things that most homebrewers don't bother with, either because of scale (using pumps to move vast quantities of liquid) or money (no fancy lab equipment to analyze yeast health). Lectures on the brewing process were nicely punctuated with subjects like equipment design, quality assurance, packaging, draft systems and sensory analysis. Yeah, I know what you're thinking about "sensory analysis." I'll have you know that if my taste buds were more sophisticated (like Rachel's), I'd have had to sample some pretty nasty stuff in the name of science. Thankfully, my taste buds aren't very sophisticated and most of it tasted pretty much like beer to me :).
The Siebel Institute, where I took my class, also offers a twelve-week diploma course that includes practical brewery work and classes in Germany. The long session would certainly be more intensive (I did feel like my teachers were blowing by some interesting material due to time constraints), but the short course did a good job of laying out the groundwork for things that I can study independently. Planting the seed, if you will. Sara, I may need to steal my fancy brewing book back from you to check a few specifics - I have a newfound interest in yeast metabolism, among other things *pushes glasses up nose and makes a nasal sound*.
This is getting long, but I've gotta say that the other students in my course were really cool. They came from all over the country, plus Brazil, and most of them were usually inclined to go out after school and have a good time. Chicago has some great bars, especially if you're into Belgian beers. John and Dan, thanks for letting me crash in your living rooms! The $90/night that other students were paying to stay at a @$%# Days Inn seemed out of control to me. Of course, a lot of them were being reimbursed by their breweries. I didn't even ask, because I already knew the answer.
The greatest value that I'll get out of the class, by far, hasn't happened yet. If I decide to open my own brewery someday, the resources that the class provided will be indespensible in designing the place and knowing what to talk about when dealing with manufacturers and consultants. Yay for beer school!
The Siebel Institute, where I took my class, also offers a twelve-week diploma course that includes practical brewery work and classes in Germany. The long session would certainly be more intensive (I did feel like my teachers were blowing by some interesting material due to time constraints), but the short course did a good job of laying out the groundwork for things that I can study independently. Planting the seed, if you will. Sara, I may need to steal my fancy brewing book back from you to check a few specifics - I have a newfound interest in yeast metabolism, among other things *pushes glasses up nose and makes a nasal sound*.
This is getting long, but I've gotta say that the other students in my course were really cool. They came from all over the country, plus Brazil, and most of them were usually inclined to go out after school and have a good time. Chicago has some great bars, especially if you're into Belgian beers. John and Dan, thanks for letting me crash in your living rooms! The $90/night that other students were paying to stay at a @$%# Days Inn seemed out of control to me. Of course, a lot of them were being reimbursed by their breweries. I didn't even ask, because I already knew the answer.
The greatest value that I'll get out of the class, by far, hasn't happened yet. If I decide to open my own brewery someday, the resources that the class provided will be indespensible in designing the place and knowing what to talk about when dealing with manufacturers and consultants. Yay for beer school!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Windy
Raking dry leaves to the curb on a day when there are 40mph gusts of wind is just plain pointless and silly. However, that didn't stop me from trying.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Bier School
I sent Joe off to his first day of Beer School on Saturday--growler and keg tapper in hand. They grow up so fast, don't they?
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Somedays, my job is great...
"I read the State Journal, the NY Times, and the Cap Times everyday. I have to keep up on what that Bush has been up to, see what he's done now....I'm 92 years old and I've never seen as terrible of a president as that George W Bush." (Followed by a sigh, a generous shaking of the head, and laughter). "Well, at least we can laugh about it together...You have to laugh, it's the only thing that can keep you going sometimes".
--A morning rant from a 92 year-old female patient
Sometimes, my patients are fantastic.
--A morning rant from a 92 year-old female patient
Sometimes, my patients are fantastic.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Bad to the Bone
Oscar the ThugOscar has decided he doesn't want to have many dog friends in this town. In an attempt to socialize Coati (my parents' dog) and Oscar together, my dad, Joe, and I took the dogs out last Tuesday for a walk around the neighborhood and then back home to our backyard. They had a rocky past--getting in a gruesome fight one Thanksgiving a couple of years ago (Oscar won that fight). They were doing so well this time, until....Well, let's just say it ended very, very badly. The good news is that Coati is making a glorious recovery...stitches, drains, and all. I hear she looks stunning in an old t-shirt of mine and her lovely elizabethian collar. Yeah, wasn't a great day in the history of Oscar. He made out without a scratch on him. I ended up with a few doggy inflicted wounds too when I had to pry a set of jaws off of Coati. It was going SO well....Darn it all. Oscar will have to stick with staying on the leash around new dogs and only play off the leash with Luna and Honey (too bad Honey is only about 10 states away). And poor Coati. It's too bad, because Oscar is fantastic around kids and adults. I guess if we want to make a change with his doggy "anti-socialness", we'll have to go to the professionals.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Hockey, Finally!
Yesterday, I played in my first hockey game since moving to Madison. The games were started by a bunch of UW computer science people, but are open to the public provided that the limit of skaters hasn't been met. I found out about it from a non-CS guy in the homebrewers club. Basically, it's pickup-style hockey (the game is at a set time, and whoever shows up divides into two teams that play against each other) with a regular set of players.
Back in Michigan, I was playing in a similar league two mornings a week. The regular participants were a memorable bunch of characters whose skill levels ranged from "I'll catch the puck if it slowly hits where my stick is" to "I played college varsity, but still show up to these games for some reason." I was smack in the middle of the talent pool, probably classified as "it's not pretty to watch, but it sometimes gets the job done." After a couple of years, the overall pace of the game had gotten pretty quick and the diversity of skill, style and personality made the skates fun and interesting.
The group in Madison seems to be at about the same overall skill level, but the range of individual ability is much narrower. I'm still smack in the middle, judging by the first skate with whoever happened to show up yesterday. I scored my team's first goal and assisted on the next, but I ran out of gas five minutes later :). The last time I had a good anaerobic workout was three months ago, and it caught up to me too quickly for my liking. I managed to stay alive and not suck too much for the rest of the skate, but I definitely need to play a few more times before I can claim that I'm back in the swing of things.
In related news, the NHL resumes regular-season play this Wednesday! I still have some pent-up beef with the league, but it's overshadowed by my excitement of having the game back (as long as the games get some TV airtime in Madison). Mmm... beef.
Back in Michigan, I was playing in a similar league two mornings a week. The regular participants were a memorable bunch of characters whose skill levels ranged from "I'll catch the puck if it slowly hits where my stick is" to "I played college varsity, but still show up to these games for some reason." I was smack in the middle of the talent pool, probably classified as "it's not pretty to watch, but it sometimes gets the job done." After a couple of years, the overall pace of the game had gotten pretty quick and the diversity of skill, style and personality made the skates fun and interesting.
The group in Madison seems to be at about the same overall skill level, but the range of individual ability is much narrower. I'm still smack in the middle, judging by the first skate with whoever happened to show up yesterday. I scored my team's first goal and assisted on the next, but I ran out of gas five minutes later :). The last time I had a good anaerobic workout was three months ago, and it caught up to me too quickly for my liking. I managed to stay alive and not suck too much for the rest of the skate, but I definitely need to play a few more times before I can claim that I'm back in the swing of things.
In related news, the NHL resumes regular-season play this Wednesday! I still have some pent-up beef with the league, but it's overshadowed by my excitement of having the game back (as long as the games get some TV airtime in Madison). Mmm... beef.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Ironcrazy
Sara, Joe, and I took a bike ride down to the Monona Terrace on Sunday, September 11th to see the Ironman racers come in from their 112 mile bike ride and start out on their full marathon. They started the morning off with a nice, easy 2.4 mile swim in Lake Monona in front of the Monona Terrace. Biking there made us feel semi-deserving or at least less guilty watching mega-athletes do this ultimate triathalon in the blazing sun. Joe and I had just finished off a fun weekend with Don and Anne in Madison. Next year, perhaps I'll get up to see the beginning of the swimming leg of the race--2000 people starting off a race at once in the water...it's supposed to be amazing to see. However, this year we spent the early morning eating bacon and cinnamon-apple kringle from Lane's Bakery before sending Don and Anne off on their drive back to Michigan. I think the winner of the men's race finished in around 9 hours? That's a full days work, unpaid lunch, plus overtime!
Unfortunately, there was not a cloud in the sky for the competitors. It was bad enough while on the city bike trails going to and from downtown, let alone being one of the athletes biking out into the country and then taking a couple of LONG laps around areas in Madison on hot asphalt. Absolutely amazing. Needless to say, many of the atheletes were unable to complete the race this year and some ended up in the hospital. It was also fun to see how well coordinated the volunteers were in getting the athletes through the staging areas and back out. Hundreds of volunteers were trained to help during the event. We took a walk down around the Capitol and to State St. to see some of the racers (plus Sara convinced us to stop in for some Babcock icecream).
The rest of the weekend was fun too. We spent my birthday on that Friday hanging out at our house with Joe's folks and then having a fantastic meal at Quivey's Grove (yummy Wisconsin fare...not beer & brats like some might think). The next day, we took Don and Anne down to State St and spent a couple of hours at the Farmers Market around the Capitol Square, got them some yummy hot & spicy cheese bread from Stella's, introduced them to cheese curds (squeaky, of course), tried some fantastic corn on the cob (raw), found some cranberry-flower honey, and also some anisette biscotti. Anne and I also learned about the difference between mums and asters from a very friendly flower vendor. I took them on a semi-grand tour of the Capitol building and then Monona Terrace (which was already over run with vendors and competitors for the following day's Ironman). We then traveled up State St, relaxed on the terrace for a bit, and were ready to head back when Don's motorized scooter began to lose its juice. Luckily, we were rescued by my parents Isuzu truck. The whole gang, including Sara & Luna met at our place for a nice, little barbecue. A birthday weekend well spent.
Unfortunately, there was not a cloud in the sky for the competitors. It was bad enough while on the city bike trails going to and from downtown, let alone being one of the athletes biking out into the country and then taking a couple of LONG laps around areas in Madison on hot asphalt. Absolutely amazing. Needless to say, many of the atheletes were unable to complete the race this year and some ended up in the hospital. It was also fun to see how well coordinated the volunteers were in getting the athletes through the staging areas and back out. Hundreds of volunteers were trained to help during the event. We took a walk down around the Capitol and to State St. to see some of the racers (plus Sara convinced us to stop in for some Babcock icecream).
The rest of the weekend was fun too. We spent my birthday on that Friday hanging out at our house with Joe's folks and then having a fantastic meal at Quivey's Grove (yummy Wisconsin fare...not beer & brats like some might think). The next day, we took Don and Anne down to State St and spent a couple of hours at the Farmers Market around the Capitol Square, got them some yummy hot & spicy cheese bread from Stella's, introduced them to cheese curds (squeaky, of course), tried some fantastic corn on the cob (raw), found some cranberry-flower honey, and also some anisette biscotti. Anne and I also learned about the difference between mums and asters from a very friendly flower vendor. I took them on a semi-grand tour of the Capitol building and then Monona Terrace (which was already over run with vendors and competitors for the following day's Ironman). We then traveled up State St, relaxed on the terrace for a bit, and were ready to head back when Don's motorized scooter began to lose its juice. Luckily, we were rescued by my parents Isuzu truck. The whole gang, including Sara & Luna met at our place for a nice, little barbecue. A birthday weekend well spent.
The Big Easy
The French Quarter
After almost TWO years, I finally (with inspiration) organized and uploaded our digital photos from our New Year's trip to New Orleans on our Flickr site. If in the slideshow format, you can click on the photo to see a title and description of the photo.
For those of you who don't know (or don't remember), Joe and I drove down to New Orleans after Christmas in December 2003. Aside from a day of rain, the city treated us extremely well. Joe proposed to me under a beautiful tree in Audubon Park on December 30th and we had a fantastic time everyday that we were there. It's extremely sad to see all of the destruction to such an amazing city. I'm not in a very good position to go down south to help with the recovery process at this point. However, I have had the honor of working with one of the Mississippi survivors of the hurricane while he's been a patient on my unit at the hospital. He was lucky enough to survive complete destruction of his neighborhood, home, and personal belongings and get flown to family in Madison--at least temporarily. He is very optimistic and hopes to re-build, move back to his hometown, and continue is retirement in the city where he grew up. Hopefully we're doing everything we can to help him get started on his wish.
If you haven't already, please donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, The Humane Society (who are leading in the relief effort to rescue pets that had to be left behind, as well as assist their owners), or some other disaster relief organization.
After almost TWO years, I finally (with inspiration) organized and uploaded our digital photos from our New Year's trip to New Orleans on our Flickr site. If in the slideshow format, you can click on the photo to see a title and description of the photo.
For those of you who don't know (or don't remember), Joe and I drove down to New Orleans after Christmas in December 2003. Aside from a day of rain, the city treated us extremely well. Joe proposed to me under a beautiful tree in Audubon Park on December 30th and we had a fantastic time everyday that we were there. It's extremely sad to see all of the destruction to such an amazing city. I'm not in a very good position to go down south to help with the recovery process at this point. However, I have had the honor of working with one of the Mississippi survivors of the hurricane while he's been a patient on my unit at the hospital. He was lucky enough to survive complete destruction of his neighborhood, home, and personal belongings and get flown to family in Madison--at least temporarily. He is very optimistic and hopes to re-build, move back to his hometown, and continue is retirement in the city where he grew up. Hopefully we're doing everything we can to help him get started on his wish.
If you haven't already, please donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, The Humane Society (who are leading in the relief effort to rescue pets that had to be left behind, as well as assist their owners), or some other disaster relief organization.
Doofus, RN
I've been trying to get used to this night shift still, now that I have finished my "official" nursing orientation and I am now technically all on my lonesome as a nurse. Eek! On the job, I'm feeling more and more confident as the days progress--and the night nursing staff is fantastic in asking me if I need an extra hand and answering all of my silly questions.
Unfortunately in the process of becoming a night nurse, I've also become a complete dimwit when it comes to normal day to day things. Yesterday, I demonstrated this by coming home from a shift, leaving a light on inside my car and completely draining my car battery. After finally having a decent nights sleep, going out for a nice meal with Joe (driving in his car), watching Rock Star INXS (Sara's fault that I got suckered in to the show), and then letting Joe get to bed early (since he had to be up at 5:30am for an early day at work), I walked out to my car at 10:30pm to see the light still on inside my car. Damn! I dropped my bag and sprinted to the car, like I could make it in time to still have any sort of battery left to start an engine. I had to wake up poor Joe to drive me to work...and luckily my Dad was still awake so I could ask for the ride home in the morning. This is just one demonstration of the silly little things that I feel like I've been doing that I wouldn't have done before. Oh well. I got a lesson in how to recharge a battery from my Dad, so at least I learned something in the process.
In August, Joe and I traveled up north to the UP for a relaxing weekend in the Sylvania Wilderness. It's a fantastic place to get away. Most campsites you have to paddle into and some you have to portage one or two times to reach. We borrowed my parents' canoe for the trip. Joe convinced me to visit a lake I'd never been to before, which meant a longer paddle into a campsite. The extra haul in and out was definitely worth it. And despite a bit of rain, which we get whenever we camp together, it was fairly pleasant weather. I actually caught fish--two Northern Pikes! I haven't caught a fish bigger than my lure since I was about three. One of the Northerns was possibly 2 feet long. The other was about half that size. I highly recommend the employees at the Sylvania Outfitters--they gave us the big tip on the lure that caught those fish. You can check out photos of the big fish and our other Sylvania photos.
Calm after the Storm at Sylvania
Also in August, our region had a tremendous storm that brought more tornadoes to the area than in the last 20 years. Fortunately, Madison was spared this year. However, a tornado did hit a couple blocks from my parents' house a little over a year ago. An F3 tornado hit Stoughton, which is just south of Madison, and wiped out a neighborhood north of Main St. The clouds from the storm were amazing--nothing I've ever seen before. Sara, Joe, and I couldn't resist going out after the storm had passed our area to take a look. I took some storm cloud photos. The clouds you see in the photos are south of Madison and over Stoughton. We started at Lake Monona and then ended up over at the terrace on Lake Mendota, where we sat on a picnic table, ate popcorn, drank a beer, and watched nightfall over the lake.
Storm Clouds Beyond Downtown Madison, WI
Unfortunately in the process of becoming a night nurse, I've also become a complete dimwit when it comes to normal day to day things. Yesterday, I demonstrated this by coming home from a shift, leaving a light on inside my car and completely draining my car battery. After finally having a decent nights sleep, going out for a nice meal with Joe (driving in his car), watching Rock Star INXS (Sara's fault that I got suckered in to the show), and then letting Joe get to bed early (since he had to be up at 5:30am for an early day at work), I walked out to my car at 10:30pm to see the light still on inside my car. Damn! I dropped my bag and sprinted to the car, like I could make it in time to still have any sort of battery left to start an engine. I had to wake up poor Joe to drive me to work...and luckily my Dad was still awake so I could ask for the ride home in the morning. This is just one demonstration of the silly little things that I feel like I've been doing that I wouldn't have done before. Oh well. I got a lesson in how to recharge a battery from my Dad, so at least I learned something in the process.
In August, Joe and I traveled up north to the UP for a relaxing weekend in the Sylvania Wilderness. It's a fantastic place to get away. Most campsites you have to paddle into and some you have to portage one or two times to reach. We borrowed my parents' canoe for the trip. Joe convinced me to visit a lake I'd never been to before, which meant a longer paddle into a campsite. The extra haul in and out was definitely worth it. And despite a bit of rain, which we get whenever we camp together, it was fairly pleasant weather. I actually caught fish--two Northern Pikes! I haven't caught a fish bigger than my lure since I was about three. One of the Northerns was possibly 2 feet long. The other was about half that size. I highly recommend the employees at the Sylvania Outfitters--they gave us the big tip on the lure that caught those fish. You can check out photos of the big fish and our other Sylvania photos.
Calm after the Storm at SylvaniaAlso in August, our region had a tremendous storm that brought more tornadoes to the area than in the last 20 years. Fortunately, Madison was spared this year. However, a tornado did hit a couple blocks from my parents' house a little over a year ago. An F3 tornado hit Stoughton, which is just south of Madison, and wiped out a neighborhood north of Main St. The clouds from the storm were amazing--nothing I've ever seen before. Sara, Joe, and I couldn't resist going out after the storm had passed our area to take a look. I took some storm cloud photos. The clouds you see in the photos are south of Madison and over Stoughton. We started at Lake Monona and then ended up over at the terrace on Lake Mendota, where we sat on a picnic table, ate popcorn, drank a beer, and watched nightfall over the lake.
Storm Clouds Beyond Downtown Madison, WI
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Platypi? or Platypuses?
One of my patients hallucinated Platypus(es) yesterday. How many people have actually seen a platypus and would realize that's what they were hallucinating? I was an anthro-zoo major and Joe and I love the discovery/animal planet shows. Therefore, it's something I could feasibly hallucinate...I suppose. My dad said I should start keeping a journal...and then write a book like James Herriott, "All Creatures Great and Small". I shall name it: "Queen of the Platypus" or perhaps just "Pleasantly Confused".
Monday, August 22, 2005
I'm a Post-Unemploymentist
In the course of about six hours today, I went from making my first contact with the brewer at J.T. Whitney's to being offered a job as their assistant brewer! I took the job, of course :). I start working next Tuesday morning. Expecting that any assistant brewer job I found would primarily involve scrubbing shit, with occasional breaks to carry shit, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I'll actually be responsible for brewing a portion of the pub's beer. Once I've learned the ropes to the point that I can brew independently, I'll be able to make my own schedule (provided my share of the beer gets brewed). I'll even be able to brew my own recipes on occasion! Furthermore, if the head brewer goes on vacation, I'm the head brewer! Uh oh, this is starting to sound like a power trip. I think a 'mwahaha' is in order. MWAHAHA!!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Oscar and Friends
Oscar is now a very worldly dog. Not only is he friends with a French dog, but also a Canadian and German.
Oscar and Honey's portrait
Look at Luna's shining, sparkling smile. She just had her teeth cleaned a few weeks ago.
Luna the always smiling dog
This Great Dane is one of three dogs that lives next door. There are two little yappy dogs too (not yet photographed). When one of the little dogs bark, the Great Dane "puppy" runs around and bites it in the butt. Oscar has only started to become friendly with the dogs and not attack the fence every single time they come out. Sometimes he actually seems excited to see the Great Dane and wags his tail wildly. He just can't make up his mind.
Oscar's new next door neighbor
Here is also a picture of Oscar's trip out to the middle of lake Mendota, as he chased a duck.
Oscar swimming out to sea
Oscar and Honey's portrait
Look at Luna's shining, sparkling smile. She just had her teeth cleaned a few weeks ago.
Luna the always smiling dogThis Great Dane is one of three dogs that lives next door. There are two little yappy dogs too (not yet photographed). When one of the little dogs bark, the Great Dane "puppy" runs around and bites it in the butt. Oscar has only started to become friendly with the dogs and not attack the fence every single time they come out. Sometimes he actually seems excited to see the Great Dane and wags his tail wildly. He just can't make up his mind.
Oscar's new next door neighbor Here is also a picture of Oscar's trip out to the middle of lake Mendota, as he chased a duck.
Oscar swimming out to sea
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Sleep Walking
To follow Joe's example, I'll do a little update of my own. Like Joe said, the move went amazingly well. Although, we have seemed to have left Lizz and Scott with a little bit more of the clean-up than I had hoped. Sorry again, guys. Perhaps a bit o' compensation cheese can help make up for it? Mmmmmm...colby. Mmmmmm...aged cheddar. :) Too easy, right? We wish them good luck as they get everything straightened out and perhaps get moved soon to NYC? You can keep informed of the going ons of Lizz and Scott at their blogs.
The weekend that we moved, we also went to Andrew and Erica Douglas' wedding. Lot of fun, great band ;). Our wedding last September ended up being the Mark Phillips Band's successful audition for their wedding. It was great spending time with everyone.
We're now settled enough in the house that we can invite people over and have a place for them to sit (and sleep). Although, it is still among a lot of boxes and piles of clothes. Unpacking will come slowly, as will re-touching and re-painting some of these rooms. Amazingly, Joe is indifferent about the purple bedroom and I can't stand it. Go figure. Oscar seems to have settled in well...aside from occasionally trying to attack the dogs next door through the fence. His new buddy, Luna, comes over once in awhile to enjoy the air conditioning and chase tennis balls in the backyard.
My night work schedule has been a tough adjustment. Only this week have I started to get a decent amount of sleep during the day and not feel completely goofy at work. When I have a day or two off and then go back to work, I really have a hard time adjusting back. Since I sleep during the day (I'm not awake during business hours), poor Joe has to deal with making all of the phone calls to the bank, insurance, etc.
I've worked my way up from feeling apprehensive about being responsible for just one patient at a time and I am now starting to feel confident about having five patients at night...tonight I'll have five patients to care for and one new admission. I've had to deal with some pretty unusual occurences that most orientees, much less some of the more experienced nurses, usually don't get experience in for quite some time. So, it's good that I have these things happen while in orientation and not once I'm on my own. Although, at least at nights the nurses are extremely supportive of each other. Unless they have something unusual happening themselves, they are always willing to drop what they are doing to help work on the issue. When something goofy does happen, the other nurses (without a second thought) will make sure that your other four or five patients are being cared for still too. My preceptor (a nurse that's training me) says that I must have some special "Alert and Oriented" dust too. I've had several patients where the nurses' report from previous shifts have stated that the patient is demented, forgetful or "pleasantly confused". For some reason, when I work with them, they're 100% lucid, coherent, with short term and long term memory intact. I'm the cure for dementia! Or perhaps it means that I'm just that demented myself and just think that I'm communicating with them at a normal level. Who knows! At least I feel like I'm having a normal, lucid conversation with them. My preceptor has witnessed it too, though. So I'm not completely nuts.
Nevertheless, it's going fairly well at Meriter. There are days that I feel like a complete idiot and I've forgotten to do little things that have been easily resolved. So, time management and paperwork are two of the big barriers. Five and six patients is a lot to coordinate the care of (nights have the most, days the least number of patients)...and the patients don't all just sleep at night. Therefore, my paperwork gets put on the back burner sometimes when a patient is suddenly alone with their thoughts at night and needs some extra TLC. This is a part of my job that I love, and it includes making sure that I then coordinate their needs (consults, communicating with the MD either verbally or by notes and with other nurses, etc.). However, there's always paperwork (and more paperwork) and I feel like I'm always rushing at the end of my shift to get it all done. I think I'll pick up my own routine soon and be able to deal with distraction better, while still providing the best care for the patients. It's an awful feeling driving home and thinking that you forgot to do something.
I'm off to vegetate a bit before heading off to work again. Joe and I have found some time to do things together. Yesterday evening we rode our bikes five minutes to Olbrich Park on Lake Monona where we had a view of swimmers playing, sailboats, and speedboats in the lake, the Capitol and downtown skyline across the lake, and ultimate frisbee games in the park. We read Harry Potter books for a couple of hours until the sun set. Not a bad life, can't complain too much.
The weekend that we moved, we also went to Andrew and Erica Douglas' wedding. Lot of fun, great band ;). Our wedding last September ended up being the Mark Phillips Band's successful audition for their wedding. It was great spending time with everyone.
We're now settled enough in the house that we can invite people over and have a place for them to sit (and sleep). Although, it is still among a lot of boxes and piles of clothes. Unpacking will come slowly, as will re-touching and re-painting some of these rooms. Amazingly, Joe is indifferent about the purple bedroom and I can't stand it. Go figure. Oscar seems to have settled in well...aside from occasionally trying to attack the dogs next door through the fence. His new buddy, Luna, comes over once in awhile to enjoy the air conditioning and chase tennis balls in the backyard.
My night work schedule has been a tough adjustment. Only this week have I started to get a decent amount of sleep during the day and not feel completely goofy at work. When I have a day or two off and then go back to work, I really have a hard time adjusting back. Since I sleep during the day (I'm not awake during business hours), poor Joe has to deal with making all of the phone calls to the bank, insurance, etc.
I've worked my way up from feeling apprehensive about being responsible for just one patient at a time and I am now starting to feel confident about having five patients at night...tonight I'll have five patients to care for and one new admission. I've had to deal with some pretty unusual occurences that most orientees, much less some of the more experienced nurses, usually don't get experience in for quite some time. So, it's good that I have these things happen while in orientation and not once I'm on my own. Although, at least at nights the nurses are extremely supportive of each other. Unless they have something unusual happening themselves, they are always willing to drop what they are doing to help work on the issue. When something goofy does happen, the other nurses (without a second thought) will make sure that your other four or five patients are being cared for still too. My preceptor (a nurse that's training me) says that I must have some special "Alert and Oriented" dust too. I've had several patients where the nurses' report from previous shifts have stated that the patient is demented, forgetful or "pleasantly confused". For some reason, when I work with them, they're 100% lucid, coherent, with short term and long term memory intact. I'm the cure for dementia! Or perhaps it means that I'm just that demented myself and just think that I'm communicating with them at a normal level. Who knows! At least I feel like I'm having a normal, lucid conversation with them. My preceptor has witnessed it too, though. So I'm not completely nuts.
Nevertheless, it's going fairly well at Meriter. There are days that I feel like a complete idiot and I've forgotten to do little things that have been easily resolved. So, time management and paperwork are two of the big barriers. Five and six patients is a lot to coordinate the care of (nights have the most, days the least number of patients)...and the patients don't all just sleep at night. Therefore, my paperwork gets put on the back burner sometimes when a patient is suddenly alone with their thoughts at night and needs some extra TLC. This is a part of my job that I love, and it includes making sure that I then coordinate their needs (consults, communicating with the MD either verbally or by notes and with other nurses, etc.). However, there's always paperwork (and more paperwork) and I feel like I'm always rushing at the end of my shift to get it all done. I think I'll pick up my own routine soon and be able to deal with distraction better, while still providing the best care for the patients. It's an awful feeling driving home and thinking that you forgot to do something.
I'm off to vegetate a bit before heading off to work again. Joe and I have found some time to do things together. Yesterday evening we rode our bikes five minutes to Olbrich Park on Lake Monona where we had a view of swimmers playing, sailboats, and speedboats in the lake, the Capitol and downtown skyline across the lake, and ultimate frisbee games in the park. We read Harry Potter books for a couple of hours until the sun set. Not a bad life, can't complain too much.
Moved
It's been a while since anyone posted to this heap, so here goes. The move itself was painless. I'd like to give a shout out to Penske for being way less shitty than U-Haul was two years ago. We're still unpacking, but the essentials (computer, surround sound entertainment center, telemarketing calls) are up and running. Rachel and I have been Michigan-free for ten days now!
For those of you who I haven't told yet, I was awarded a partial scholarship to attend a two-week course in brewing technology at the Siebel Institute in Chicago. It doesn't sound like much, but short courses are about the extent of formal education that most professional brewers complete. I don't think I had much of a shot at the full scholarship because it exists mainly to promote the continued education of established commercial brewers, but the extra money is really nice nonetheless. The class starts on Halloween.
For those of you who I haven't told yet, I was awarded a partial scholarship to attend a two-week course in brewing technology at the Siebel Institute in Chicago. It doesn't sound like much, but short courses are about the extent of formal education that most professional brewers complete. I don't think I had much of a shot at the full scholarship because it exists mainly to promote the continued education of established commercial brewers, but the extra money is really nice nonetheless. The class starts on Halloween.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Home Sweet Home
Joe and I closed on OUR house on Friday! Hurrah! We moved boxes from my parents' basement, as well as a dining room table and dresser over this weekend, unpacked a bit, and cleaned. Of course we had help from all of the recruits. My dad even generously helped power clean the carpets. The two dogs were brought over to enjoy our big fenced in backyard. They seemed to enjoy romping around the yard, even after Sara lost their tennis ball up in the gutters. A week from today, we'll be moving in the rest of our stuff from Ann Arbor. Joe will finally be here permanently and maybe we can work in a whole weekend together in our house at some point. Perhaps sometime next year.... Anywho, we're very excited, we know we have a lot to be grateful for and a lot of time to celebrate (sometime) in the future. We had a mini celebration last night by biking to downtown Madison from my sister's house and having a romantic evening at...what else...a local brewpub (Angelic Brewery).
I finished my first week of nights. It went better than I expected...despite one or two moments that I thought I couldn't keep my eyes open a minute longer. Unfortunately, none of the nurses have the same advice on how to maintain a semi-"normal" schedule and when to sleep. Oh well...I guess I'll just have to figure it out for myself. The highlight of my week, aside from buying a house and having Joe in town, was starting six IVs! Each successful on just one attempt! Let me tell you, the ER nurses and phlebotomists are fantastic teachers. You'd hope they'd be good, right? Yeah, kind of a strange, sick highlight...but if you're one of the lucky people who know some of the things I've come home excited about from when I was in nursing school (Sara's received some lovely voicemail messages), you'll be glad that I picked this highlight to describe to you.
I finished my first week of nights. It went better than I expected...despite one or two moments that I thought I couldn't keep my eyes open a minute longer. Unfortunately, none of the nurses have the same advice on how to maintain a semi-"normal" schedule and when to sleep. Oh well...I guess I'll just have to figure it out for myself. The highlight of my week, aside from buying a house and having Joe in town, was starting six IVs! Each successful on just one attempt! Let me tell you, the ER nurses and phlebotomists are fantastic teachers. You'd hope they'd be good, right? Yeah, kind of a strange, sick highlight...but if you're one of the lucky people who know some of the things I've come home excited about from when I was in nursing school (Sara's received some lovely voicemail messages), you'll be glad that I picked this highlight to describe to you.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Duck!
We now know that Oscar is an excellent swimmer. Although, it wasn't the way I expected to find out.
Sara and I took the dogs to Governor's Island--which is on the grounds of the Mendota Mental Health Institute. We walked the trails and let the dogs run around in the water of Lake Mendota. At one point, a duck swam out onto the water. Oscar got very excited and started swimming after it. I thought, no harm and it was kind of funny to watch...and I knew he would never catch up to it and it would eventually just fly off....right? However, the duck didn't just fly off...it flew up a little, landed quickly again, and kept swimming. Oscar kept swimming after it too. And now there wasn't just one duck, but it was momma duck and her three babies swimming ahead of her. Momma duck would fly up a little, land again, and keep swimming with her babies just ahead of her. And Oscar kept swimming after them too... At this point, I still thought it was kind of funny watching Oscar paddling along and chasing them. However, now the ducks were swimming away from shore and out toward the middle of the lake...and Lake Mendota isn't a teeny lake. Now I tried calling Oscar back to shore, but he was intent on not following directions. Needless to say, Oscar kept swimming after the ducks. If the momma duck had just taken off and not landed again, he probably would have lost interest. But, she stayed with her ducklings and kept swimming farther and farther away. I spent at least the next 10 minutes yelling for Oscar to come back. He and the ducks eventually became little dots in the distance...three small specks, followed by one larger speck, followed by a larger black speck. I was just hoping that Oscar wouldn't get too tired and I'd then have to figure out some way to rescue him before he drowned. Jumping in the lake to swim after him, running around to find someone with a boat, having to explain to the authorities and the 5 '0clock news how my stupid dog wouldn't give up on chasing ducks to the point of exhaustion...all of these thoughts went through my mind. Luckily, at some point he got bored and decided to listen to my insane screaming, turned around, and slowly paddled back to shore. Evidently, he has more stamina than I thought. He also wasn't exhausted afterward, because he still had plenty of energy the rest of the day. I guess he's more of a labrador retriever than I thought...or perhaps he's just been trained well by a certain Brittany Spaniel....
Sara and I took the dogs to Governor's Island--which is on the grounds of the Mendota Mental Health Institute. We walked the trails and let the dogs run around in the water of Lake Mendota. At one point, a duck swam out onto the water. Oscar got very excited and started swimming after it. I thought, no harm and it was kind of funny to watch...and I knew he would never catch up to it and it would eventually just fly off....right? However, the duck didn't just fly off...it flew up a little, landed quickly again, and kept swimming. Oscar kept swimming after it too. And now there wasn't just one duck, but it was momma duck and her three babies swimming ahead of her. Momma duck would fly up a little, land again, and keep swimming with her babies just ahead of her. And Oscar kept swimming after them too... At this point, I still thought it was kind of funny watching Oscar paddling along and chasing them. However, now the ducks were swimming away from shore and out toward the middle of the lake...and Lake Mendota isn't a teeny lake. Now I tried calling Oscar back to shore, but he was intent on not following directions. Needless to say, Oscar kept swimming after the ducks. If the momma duck had just taken off and not landed again, he probably would have lost interest. But, she stayed with her ducklings and kept swimming farther and farther away. I spent at least the next 10 minutes yelling for Oscar to come back. He and the ducks eventually became little dots in the distance...three small specks, followed by one larger speck, followed by a larger black speck. I was just hoping that Oscar wouldn't get too tired and I'd then have to figure out some way to rescue him before he drowned. Jumping in the lake to swim after him, running around to find someone with a boat, having to explain to the authorities and the 5 '0clock news how my stupid dog wouldn't give up on chasing ducks to the point of exhaustion...all of these thoughts went through my mind. Luckily, at some point he got bored and decided to listen to my insane screaming, turned around, and slowly paddled back to shore. Evidently, he has more stamina than I thought. He also wasn't exhausted afterward, because he still had plenty of energy the rest of the day. I guess he's more of a labrador retriever than I thought...or perhaps he's just been trained well by a certain Brittany Spaniel....
Monday, June 27, 2005
Whirlwind
*Gasp* I'm coming up for a breath of fresh air...at least hot, humid air! I came home today, looked at my calendar and realized that I've been in Madison for two weeks. Somewhere along the way, I evidently started a new job and bought a house. Ahhh!
Here's my synopsis of the last couple weeks...at least what I remember: Oscar and Luna had a rocky start, primarily because of Oscar being a bully. They have both warmed up to each other since (only took about five days) and are making out on a regular basis. Sorry, Honey...Oscar has a new girlfriend. On the 13th, I visited the house that Joe and I are buying (closing is July 15th). By the 14th, Joe and I made an offer and had the offer accepted. The 14th, I had my pre-employement health screening and finished some of my Meriter paperwork. I spent the rest of the first week running around in disbelief that Joe and I just commited to making the biggest investment so far in our lives and fumbled around trying to figure out what the heck we had to do next. Sara has never received so many phone calls to and from her house....
By that Saturday, we had our inspection--nothing too major came up...at least nothing that will keep us from moving in. Sunday, Josh and our grandparents were in town for Father's Day at my parents' house. Phew! Quite a first week. Although, Sara and I did get to relax a bit by picking strawberries at Carandale's during the week, taking the dogs on a daily walk (including one trip to Warner dog park), and watching "Dancing with the Stars" and "Lost" on Wednesdays on TV.
And last week was my first week at Meriter. So far so good. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. Today we practiced inserting IVs. We started with fake arms...my fake arm person gushed blood all over the table. Luckily my fake arm person didn't have a blood pressure, otherwise it would have been all over me. At some point next week, we will be sent on to units to "practice" on poor, unsuspecting patients. I am so very, very sorry to you, my future first IV victim...ummm...I mean, patient. Since I will be working nights, starting in a couple weeks, I get to park in the parking structure (parking is very limited in that area). For anyone going basketball games or other events near the Kohl Center, I would tell you to suck up to me to use my pass for free parking. Unfortunately, employees aren't even guaranteed spots on game days. Oh well. You can still suck up to me, if you'd like....chocolate, dinner, money...
It's been kind of a crazy, tiring couple of weeks. I apologize to everyone that I've not kept in touch with or failed to contact in the last couple of weeks...especially Robyn. How's your 2nd-4th of July schedule looking?? Send me your phone number again too, please. :)
Did I mention that it's extremely hot and humid here?! Sheesh. At least I have the hospital and my parents' house to run to if I get over-heated at Sara's house. Yeah, I know people usually don't run to go to a hospital on a voluntary basis....
Here's my synopsis of the last couple weeks...at least what I remember: Oscar and Luna had a rocky start, primarily because of Oscar being a bully. They have both warmed up to each other since (only took about five days) and are making out on a regular basis. Sorry, Honey...Oscar has a new girlfriend. On the 13th, I visited the house that Joe and I are buying (closing is July 15th). By the 14th, Joe and I made an offer and had the offer accepted. The 14th, I had my pre-employement health screening and finished some of my Meriter paperwork. I spent the rest of the first week running around in disbelief that Joe and I just commited to making the biggest investment so far in our lives and fumbled around trying to figure out what the heck we had to do next. Sara has never received so many phone calls to and from her house....
By that Saturday, we had our inspection--nothing too major came up...at least nothing that will keep us from moving in. Sunday, Josh and our grandparents were in town for Father's Day at my parents' house. Phew! Quite a first week. Although, Sara and I did get to relax a bit by picking strawberries at Carandale's during the week, taking the dogs on a daily walk (including one trip to Warner dog park), and watching "Dancing with the Stars" and "Lost" on Wednesdays on TV.
And last week was my first week at Meriter. So far so good. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. Today we practiced inserting IVs. We started with fake arms...my fake arm person gushed blood all over the table. Luckily my fake arm person didn't have a blood pressure, otherwise it would have been all over me. At some point next week, we will be sent on to units to "practice" on poor, unsuspecting patients. I am so very, very sorry to you, my future first IV victim...ummm...I mean, patient. Since I will be working nights, starting in a couple weeks, I get to park in the parking structure (parking is very limited in that area). For anyone going basketball games or other events near the Kohl Center, I would tell you to suck up to me to use my pass for free parking. Unfortunately, employees aren't even guaranteed spots on game days. Oh well. You can still suck up to me, if you'd like....chocolate, dinner, money...
It's been kind of a crazy, tiring couple of weeks. I apologize to everyone that I've not kept in touch with or failed to contact in the last couple of weeks...especially Robyn. How's your 2nd-4th of July schedule looking?? Send me your phone number again too, please. :)
Did I mention that it's extremely hot and humid here?! Sheesh. At least I have the hospital and my parents' house to run to if I get over-heated at Sara's house. Yeah, I know people usually don't run to go to a hospital on a voluntary basis....
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Strawberry Shortcake
Sara and I took a little trip out to Carandale Farms today to pick strawberries. What a beautiful day to be out on a farm too! Not a cloud in the sky, nice breeze, and not too hot or humid. Perfect! Unfortunately, our task isn't done yet because we have to cut them up and freeze a lot of them. Sara likes storing them and using them to make fruit smoothies. Yum! We picked close to 8 lbs of strawberries. However, that's nothing compared to what some of the individuals and families were picking out there.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
New House
Rachel and I are going to be homeowners! The current owners of this house have accepted our offer and we're set to close on July 15th (which was supposed to be my last day at my job... I guess I'll have to quit sooner :). Here's how we plan on remodeling the house:
Front Door -> Brewery -> Hospital -> Beer Garten
Needless to say, I'm stoked.
Front Door -> Brewery -> Hospital -> Beer Garten
Needless to say, I'm stoked.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Mad City Bound
I'm off to Madison on Sunday morning. For those of you who might not know already, I will be starting my first RN position at Meriter Hospital in Madison, WI starting on June 20th. Until Joe and I find a house of our own, Oscar and I will be staying with my sister, Sara, and her "ferocious" dog, Luna. If we don't find anything by the time he moves out here in late July, Joe will stay there too and rescue Oscar from living alone with a house full of women.
Joe's started his pursuit to get his start in the brewing profession by contacting some Madison area breweries. It's very early in the game, so no great leads yet. If all else fails, he'll start banging on some doors when he comes into town. However, he deserves a SMALL vacation from work....right? He'll need the free time to hang out with our neglected dog and find a new 5am hockey league.
Joe's started his pursuit to get his start in the brewing profession by contacting some Madison area breweries. It's very early in the game, so no great leads yet. If all else fails, he'll start banging on some doors when he comes into town. However, he deserves a SMALL vacation from work....right? He'll need the free time to hang out with our neglected dog and find a new 5am hockey league.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Whole Arts
Please come to Lizz Pratt's "Whole Art Show" at Natural Canvas Gallery on 613 N. Main St (Ann Arbor, MI). This is an art exhibition that she organized, which features Whole Foods Market employees' art work. The opening night gala is Saturday, June 11th @ 8pm with food, drinks and local musicians and poets. The show will run from June 11th-July 9th.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Officially RN
Evidently I was officially an RN before I knew it unofficially. The Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing already had me listed as having an active license as of June 2. In fact, anybody can look me up on their website...evidently that's public domain. I suppose it's so people know that I'm legitimate or something.
Baby Boy Bireta!
Congratulations to Megan, Jason, and their new addition to the family: Jacob Lawrence Bireta. The lil' guy was born Friday, June 3rd at 2:50pm (please correct me if I'm wrong), 9lbs 9oz and 22 inches in length! Hurrah! Joe and I are very happy for you both. Hopefully there will be pictures to follow. I hear from Don and Anne that Mom, Dad, and baby are doing very well.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Rachel, RN!
On June 1st (Wednesday), I took my boards (NCLEX) for licensing as a registered nurse. After two agonizing days of thinking the worst, I found out today that I passed! Unofficially, of course. It won't be "official" until the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing sends me my official notice and license.
Thanks to everyone who sent me their good thoughts, gave me support, and had confidence in me. It helped balance out my own self-deprecating nature. Especially thanks to Joe who dealt with me studying every day over the last month or so (actually, more like 20 + months) and whining about how I don't know ANYTHING about nursing. He definitely got me through the past couple days when I was so upset and SURE that I had failed. Thank goodness that's over and I can focus on moving and starting my new job!
Thanks to everyone who sent me their good thoughts, gave me support, and had confidence in me. It helped balance out my own self-deprecating nature. Especially thanks to Joe who dealt with me studying every day over the last month or so (actually, more like 20 + months) and whining about how I don't know ANYTHING about nursing. He definitely got me through the past couple days when I was so upset and SURE that I had failed. Thank goodness that's over and I can focus on moving and starting my new job!
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
National Homebrew Competition 1st Round Results
Joe has another winning beer! His altbier ranked third in its category for the Great Lakes region of the American Homebrewer Association's: National Homebrew Competition. That's good enough to enter him into the finals for the National Homebrew Competition again this June in Baltimore. Click here to see the results for the first round. His result is under the Great Lakes, Category 7 (Amber hybrid beer). Oh yeah...my name is listed there too.
Unfortunately, his other two beers did not rank--Chocolate Stout & Irish Red Ale. Oh well. However, Joe is extremely happy with the results of the competition and was looking forward to getting the judges' feedback on his beers more than anything else.
I think that some guys entered about 20 different beers in the regional competition because they placed so many times...sometimes more than once in the same category. Sheesh...get a life. Joe said that he never would have been able to brew as much as these guys. And if you've ever been around Joe when he's brewing, you know that it's an all day event...cleaning, boiling water, mashing, boiling the wort, adding hops and boiling some more, sanitizing the fermenting equipment, cooling the wort, putting it in the fermenter, aerating the fermenter, adding the starter batch of yeast (which would have been another couple hours one or two nights prior), and then cleaning up all the equipment again. Perhaps some of these guys have those $5000+ brewing structures and they magically clean and sanitize themselves.
Unfortunately, his other two beers did not rank--Chocolate Stout & Irish Red Ale. Oh well. However, Joe is extremely happy with the results of the competition and was looking forward to getting the judges' feedback on his beers more than anything else.
I think that some guys entered about 20 different beers in the regional competition because they placed so many times...sometimes more than once in the same category. Sheesh...get a life. Joe said that he never would have been able to brew as much as these guys. And if you've ever been around Joe when he's brewing, you know that it's an all day event...cleaning, boiling water, mashing, boiling the wort, adding hops and boiling some more, sanitizing the fermenting equipment, cooling the wort, putting it in the fermenter, aerating the fermenter, adding the starter batch of yeast (which would have been another couple hours one or two nights prior), and then cleaning up all the equipment again. Perhaps some of these guys have those $5000+ brewing structures and they magically clean and sanitize themselves.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Rachel: aka Vicar
Anybody else scared about the amount of "godly" power I will have?
This is an NCLEX (nursing board exam) review question I answered today:
A minister is scheduled to visit a patient who has requested Baptism because the patient is dying. At 10:00 am, the nurse, who is not Catholic, assesses that death is imminent for this client and the minister is not available at this time. The appropriate action for the nurse to take is to:
1. No action is necessary since the client's desire for Baptism is sufficient.
2. Perform the Baptism.
3. Obtain water so that the client may perform the Baptism.
4. Call for a Catholic nurse to baptize the client.
Any guesses to the answer??!
To my surprise, the answer was: #2-Perform the Baptism.
Here's the rationale given:
"The culturally sensitive nurse is familiar with the rite of Emergency Baptism". Oh well. I guess I'm not very culturally sensitive.
"If a client is in danger of death, any person, including the non-Catholic nurse, can perform an emergency Baptism". Really??!
"Emergency Baptism is performed by pouring a small amount of water on the client's head and reciting simultaneously, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.". ANY water? I always thought it had to be special water. Of course I'm Jewish, so what do I know...
"When done with the proper intent, the Catholic Church recognizes Baptism, by even an atheist or non-believer, as valid as Baptism given by a priest". Sweet.
They really don't teach you everything in nursing school. Although, if you heard anything about the "cultural diversity and competence" lecture I had this last semester in my Community Health Nursing course, you would understand completely.
This is an NCLEX (nursing board exam) review question I answered today:
A minister is scheduled to visit a patient who has requested Baptism because the patient is dying. At 10:00 am, the nurse, who is not Catholic, assesses that death is imminent for this client and the minister is not available at this time. The appropriate action for the nurse to take is to:
1. No action is necessary since the client's desire for Baptism is sufficient.
2. Perform the Baptism.
3. Obtain water so that the client may perform the Baptism.
4. Call for a Catholic nurse to baptize the client.
Any guesses to the answer??!
To my surprise, the answer was: #2-Perform the Baptism.
Here's the rationale given:
"The culturally sensitive nurse is familiar with the rite of Emergency Baptism". Oh well. I guess I'm not very culturally sensitive.
"If a client is in danger of death, any person, including the non-Catholic nurse, can perform an emergency Baptism". Really??!
"Emergency Baptism is performed by pouring a small amount of water on the client's head and reciting simultaneously, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.". ANY water? I always thought it had to be special water. Of course I'm Jewish, so what do I know...
"When done with the proper intent, the Catholic Church recognizes Baptism, by even an atheist or non-believer, as valid as Baptism given by a priest". Sweet.
They really don't teach you everything in nursing school. Although, if you heard anything about the "cultural diversity and competence" lecture I had this last semester in my Community Health Nursing course, you would understand completely.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
So long and thanks for the fish.
I wish that song would get out of my head. If you've seen the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie, you know what I'm talking about. Joe and I saw the movie yesterday. Not excellent, but still entertaining. It's been too long since I've read the book to remember how accurate it was or what was left out. Although, Joe did remind me of parts that were in the book (and the computer game...the OLD floppy disk game). For example, the part where Arthur has to confront some stupid monster and he can get past it by placing the towel over his head.
Our wonderful, adventurous Linda came and spent the night at our house last night. She's taking off for the Smokey Mountains next week to do algae research for her masters program. Since some of her research includes hauling some pretty heavy duty experiment equipment down a river and up a trail, her advisor suggested she try to rent a llama. I guess there are a lot of available llamas in the area. Just the idea of loading a llama on to a boat and trucking it down the river is fantastic and hilarious. Of course she's promised to send photos if and when this occurs.
Our wonderful, adventurous Linda came and spent the night at our house last night. She's taking off for the Smokey Mountains next week to do algae research for her masters program. Since some of her research includes hauling some pretty heavy duty experiment equipment down a river and up a trail, her advisor suggested she try to rent a llama. I guess there are a lot of available llamas in the area. Just the idea of loading a llama on to a boat and trucking it down the river is fantastic and hilarious. Of course she's promised to send photos if and when this occurs.
Graduation Day!
No, this isn't from my graduation. (Although I did officially graduate yesterday...I celebrated by going to a baby shower instead) But, Chris (Joe's lil' bro) graduated on April 23rd from Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI) with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and English. Congrats to Chris! He's soon off to Europe on a month long expedition.
Chris, Anne & Don
Celebratin at the Food Dance Cafe in Kalamazoo. This is a restaurant that emphasizes the use of locally grown food. Highly recommended.
Chris, Joe, & Don
Chris, Anne & Don
Celebratin at the Food Dance Cafe in Kalamazoo. This is a restaurant that emphasizes the use of locally grown food. Highly recommended.
Chris, Joe, & Don
Megan & Jason's Baby Shower
Grandma Betsy and Elizabeth
Originally uploaded by RachelSuzieRN.
Here are some photos from the April 30th baby shower for Megan & Jason at Red Run Country Club. Click on the photo to go to the website and see all of the photos from the day. You can view the whole set as a slide show too. This is a really cute photo of Grandma Betsy (Anne's mom) and Elizabeth (Adam & Suzie's middle child). Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the photo. Anne and her friend Elizabeth helped take the photos with my camera while I wrote down the presents during the gift opening.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Colorado Trip
Here are some photos from our February "spring break" trip to Colorado. Joe, Chris, and I spent a good part of a week on or near the slopes in Steamboat Springs, CO. We also ran into some furry friends on our way home.
Joe in his element
Chris: King of the Mountain
Rachel out of her element and about to fly to her doom
The Walts brothers on cross-country skis
Rachel and Joe on cross-country skis
Now this is MY kind of skiing
William the Buffalo...he gets very upset when you call him Bill
Chris trying to figure out the easiest way to get in and give the buffalo a big ol' hug
Posing with the buffalo at a safe distance
Thirsty Buffalo
Joe in his element
Chris: King of the Mountain
Rachel out of her element and about to fly to her doom
The Walts brothers on cross-country skis
Rachel and Joe on cross-country skis
Now this is MY kind of skiing
William the Buffalo...he gets very upset when you call him Bill
Chris trying to figure out the easiest way to get in and give the buffalo a big ol' hug
Posing with the buffalo at a safe distance
Thirsty Buffalo
Friday, April 29, 2005
Starting Anew
Welcome to my new blog. If I was as talented and motivated as Megan, perhaps I'd set up and design my own website. But since I am none of those things, I'm going to try out blogger. I'll be able to keep those interested parties updated on the ongoings of our life, with the addition of photos and other random comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
