Free Speech Is My Anti-Drug

Update and Peace Out

2011-01-30T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hey anyone that stumbles across this blog!

Wow, of course a lot has happened since that last post in June.

Right before my PRN orientation/training period at Home Hospital ended, I landed a full-time job at Big City Hospital. The same hospital we did most of our clinicals in school and the same hospital I vowed I would NEVER work at because I hated it there.

It was just okay at first. I was working there with 2 of my best friends from school and some more of my classmates.

I ended up hating it. Loathing it. I quit.

I simply could not go out first rounds with 10-20 more treatments than I could possibly do. I could not go home one more day worrying about some of my patients. I could not worry so much about something that I had to call back up at work and see how the patient or situation was going. Working there made me start to HATE Respiratory Therapy.

The money was GOOD. But I am not that person. I'd rather be happy with my job than happy with the pay.

Just as I was preparing to leave BC Hospital, a job for a Hyperbaric Technician came up at Home Hospital. I had already given my RT boss there a heads up that I wanted to get back on PRN as much as possible. So I just went and talked to the Director of Wound Care to talk about the HBO position just out of curiosity.

She ended up really wanting an RT as the new HBO Tech. Being ACLS certified helped. And she really liked me.

She called to offer me the job a couple days later. A few days after that, she flew me and 2 of my future co-workers to San Antonio for the Hyperbaric Training Course.

I started, got trained by the existing Tech before he left, and have been loving it ever since.

Yeah, sometimes things get on my nerves, I get worked up about things sometimes, my boss irritates me sometimes and has the attention span of a bumble bee......

When I'm home, I don't think about work. I will never have more work than I can handle. And just when I think, "Golly, I sure do miss giving breathing treatments," I pick up a PRN shift in Respiratory and get that out of my system.

I think I stay so happy because it's NOT Big City Hospital. I think I have been at my personal low there (and at a couple other jobs in the past), and almost nothing can approach that low.

I love my job. Life is so great.

I've been catching up on things I dreamed about doing while I was in school. I've finished a book and reading a couple others. We're planning a garden.

I'm having weight loss surgery in 9 days.

So I'm officially ending this blog. It's a happy ending!

I will start a new blog probably. Still thinking of a name.

Good luck everyone and thanks for reading!! :)

Peace out.

RRT

2010-06-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

I am now an RRT!!!!

Wow, those tests were hard!

Now, I really and truly have my life back! There's so many possibilities for me to spend my free time. It's almost overwhelming all the things I wanted to do while I was in school and now I can FREELY DO THEM without guilt.

So far, I have a PRN position at the hospital I've been working at 4 years now doing various things. Now I'm just higher on the totem pole. I start orientation next week for a few weeks and then I'll be working whenever. In the mean time, I'm still searching for something full-time, but it's kinda slim at the moment.

So, should I end this blog? I've already started another RT related blog, but I'm not sure I want to keep up with just blogging about my career. There's so much more to my life than work and there's so much more to come! IDK, I'll think about it.

Good luck to those still in school! If you're out, take your tests as soon as you can. I got my CRT and RRT within a month of graduation. I think that was a marvelous idea.

Oh, BTW....

2010-05-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Graduation in 6 days. Officially done in 3.

So ready.

That is all....

Yikes..

2010-03-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

December 24th since my last post? What a shame.

Anyway, 30something days till graduation and I am so ready. The biggest shock lately? Half of the class isn't "walking the stage" at graduation by choice. One of those people is me.

When I made this announcement, one of my classmates was totally wound up over it, "You HAVE to go to graduation. You HAVE to walk. You need that CLOSURE."

Honey, graduation day I'll be chillin' by a pool somewhere or riding my bike free 'n easy on the Trinity Trail. I refuse to give school one more slice of my time.

I don't know about anyone else out there, but school has been a beating. This semester especially. We all want out. We all want our lives back. We all wanna be paid now that we've had 2 years of hard labor in hospitals we may or may not have liked. And, for crying out loud, WE'RE DONE WITH ALL THE 8,921 PFT ROTATIONS WE'VE HAD TO DRAG THORUGH. UUGGHH!!!!!!1

Heh.

Anyway, soon this series of As Respiratory School Turns will be over. I hope I look back and not be mad at how I spent 2 years of my life. Not continue to be so dang jaded. Then again, what would I have done the past 2 years if I wasn't doing this?

....?

Eh.... I would be like, a master seamstress by now. Maybe not.

I wouldn't have made great friends, I wouldn't have had some good times, I would have had that handful of bad times (no patients involved) that directly affected me - that I learned from.

I wouldn't have all this tremendously unique education. I wouldn't be ready to work and do what I've wanted to do in general with my life.

I'm thankful that everything has stayed intact the past 2 years. Where others have broken up, filed for divorce, and friendships have deteriorated, I have managed to stay an even course. I am SO THANKFUL and I owe it to God for many answered prayers. Also, of course, thankful for my stunning Spouse.

I appreciated the full experience. That's my clousure.

Besides, I've already walked a college stage once, I don't feel it really necessary to do it again.

I'm sure there's a possibility that I will have the opportunity to walk one again. I am, after all, a "Career Student."

Peace out.

Graduation Eve

2009-12-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

In 18 days, I will return to school for what is the last semester before I graduate - hopefully.

Last semester was horrible. I took on a bit too much with school and work. It's all good now. I'm still thanking God every day for such a "stunning" husband.

I know I haven't posted in a super long time. I should have, to get my thoughts out there. But there was a time where if I wasn't at school or studying, I'd just rather go to bed. And I did.... several times.

I'm not gonna sugar-coat this, but if you're thinking about RT school, know that it is very challenging. Mentally prepare yourself for the change in your lifestyle. This aspect may not effect everyone the same. But, for me, when your life consists of just working a cake job full-time and pretty much doing anything you want in your spare time, to working barely-part-time and not being able to plan a single thing in your life because of tests and school, it can be a slap in the face.

Oh, and when it's Summer semester and for the first time you walk up to a patient on a ventilator and your face must look screwed up like you're watching a ghost so your instructor says, "It's okay, you'll be fine, it's just 'a box that blows air,'" that's clever or whatever, but, no, there's just a smidge more to it than that. Know your vent stuff, those things can do amazing stuff.

On the eve of graduation, my advice is still: record your lectures. Also, avoid the drama as best you can, make time for yourself - find just an hour or so to do a hobby or activity you used to have so you don't feel like you've totally lost yourself in the chaos.

Breaking my sewing machine out of storage this winter break has brought me so much joy, even when the thing was acting crazy and making me frustrated. Reading fiction and non-school books has also been wonderful. It's nice to have these things back and I plan on setting aside just a bit of time next semester to continue to enjoy these things.

Another hobby I took up is going to church. It has helped so much. I should have gotten into it sooner. Sunday is a day I am always looking forward to.

I hope all my RT student fellow-bloggers and any readers out there who happen to stumble by have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

See you then :)

Wash Your Freakin' Hands

2009-10-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

....you're the reason people (read: children) are DYING of the SWINE FLU.

EVERY TIME I visit the ladies' room at school (which is often, I drink water like crazy), there is ALWAYS some nasty woman (or 2) who don't even pretend to wash their hands.

Tinkle, flush, peace out.

REALLY?

We're rotating through Big Children's Hospital right now, and my classmates have seen first-hand how bad H1N1 (and the flu in general) is affecting people. Conspiracy or not, people are dying of the flu. Healthly people, dying of the FLU. I simply cannot understand that.

So, y'all, PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS! You can run around with pee-pee hands in your own home, but don't subject us HYGENIC, smart people to your nasty germs!!

Disgusting.

P.S. School is getting old. 7 months left. *sigh*

It's That Time

2009-08-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

Behold: September:

And I don't even have Microbiology junk on there yet.

I don't like making plans....

....because then school starts and it gets cancelled. These things I'll be doing instead of going to the concert are fun and important. The fun thing is (if I choose to accept the mission) I might play a "Trauma Patient" for County Hospital. Interesting.

Oh, BTW

2009-08-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

I AM ON BREAK!!!!

We went to the beach and had a nice time. I got sunburned. I don't care, I was at the BEACH, on VACATION. Something that I was losing hope for around the middle of July when heavy despair was setting in.

So, I am officially a 2nd year student. What does that mean? Hell if I really know, but apparently it's awesome.

Actually, it means "the hardest part is over." Or, I no longer have an excuse to feel like I don't know what I'm doing. I can get a "student position" if anyone is hiring. It's all downhill from here.

Next semester, I'm taking Microbiology and Concepts of Physical Fitness to fulfill my degree requirements. The moral of the story: 16 hours that I'll be taking in the Fall.

HELLO AGAIN, STRESS. So good to have you again, NOT! At least there are only 2 days of Clinic instead of 3 this semester.

In other news, Spouse has done a good job and there's actually stuff growing in our vegetable garden! We're thinking about getting chickens and keeping bees since we're just gonna try to stay where we are now instead of putting the house on the market again. It's not so bad, it's the driving an hour to get anywhere that's the pain in the arse.

I've been working more hours since I've been on break. I should actually be starting on the filing that I have been behind on for about 4 months....

I hope everyone (both of you) are having a great summer!!

Summer School Is A Drag: Part II

2009-08-07T14:34:00.001-07:00

I think it's totally reasonable and expected that I am losing my sanity.

This has been t h e l o n g e s t s u m m e r s e m e s t e r E V A R ! ! ! ! And it shows in my mental status.

This semester has almost stripped me of my pleasantness. I feel like I'm in a bad mood most of the time. And, oh, the irritability!!

Two more days though, and I'm free for 12 days. Good, just long enough for a quick 12-step program of some sort.

But in these 2 days I have a Clinical final (Program comprehensive) and a little gem called a "Skills Final" where I must demonstrate I know how to do a random thing out of all the hands-on things we've ever learned to do. From the beginning of the program. Almost a year ago.

Everyone's all freaked out about it, and the instructors told us not to do that, we'll be fine. Doesn't count that much percentage in your overall grade, yada yada. We'll see how it goes.

I long to be on a beach so badly. I must get away from these people. I must get away from ANY hospital for a whole minute. And who lied and said it must be quiet in an ICU?!?!? That place is louder and more annoying than a Britney Spears concert.

There's a lot more I could vent about, but I won't. I'm tired. Oh, how TIRED I am. Three days of Clinical, the heat, and the driving are all piling up. My brain is SO exhausted.

So I'll rest it now.

Summer School Is A Drag

2009-06-18T14:02:00.001-07:00

The amazing amount of irritability everyone in my class has this semester is astonishing. We spend too much time together, so we're starting to get on each other's nerves.

The same people get on my nerves, but I deal with it.

Today, at lunch with a few of my classmates, there was a discussion about whether or not certain pharmaceuticals (of the anti-depressant/anti-phychotic type) would be of use while in this program.

I disagree.

Yes, this semester has been damn stressful, and at times, a little out of control and overwhelming.

But don't throw any pills at me.

I'm just gonna start going to church.

Seriously. Starting next Sunday.

FFYS: Fend For Yourself.. Extinct??

2009-05-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Summer is gonna be hard.

I know, to anyone else, the word "Summer" means beaches, relaxation, vacation, the lake/river, and all the other general stuff that one would do while not in school.

But, if you're in Respiratory school (yeah, rumor has it Nursing takes (at least part of) the summer off.. hookers) at Underdog Community College, you're in Clinic 3 days a week and in class the other 2 and study for the weekend. YAY!!!!!!

In the past, I LOVED to cook. I loved watching the Food Network, seeing something yummy they made, then promptly went to the kitchen and made it if I had all the ingredients or bought the stuff and made it ASAP.

Since school started, this has not been the case. Oh yeah, some certain RARE weekends where I didn't have to study for 3 tests coming up the following week, I would cook something. It felt nice. Like, reminded me of a past life or something. Don't laugh, it's true to an extent.

So, most nights during the week, Spouse has pretty much been neglected in the dinner department, since he eats breakfast and lunch at the hospital caf where we work. Most times, he comes home to a nice, hot, frozen salisbury steak dinner. The cheap one. Bleh.. And me, something frozen too.. hell I don't even remember what I had been eating for dinner. My memory is full of Anatomical Alterations and Clinical Manifestations of respiratory diseases.

ANYWAY, I want to abolish FFYS. And Spouse doesn't need to eat those sodium-filled (nasty) frozen dinners.

What a joy a crockpot is!! I make a kick-ass tortilla soup in the crock, why not make something quick and easy to just slightly prepare the night before and then throw into the pot before heading off to school in the morning?

So, I'm gonna give it a shot. This blog has some delicious-looking recipes and a lot of them appear to be very easy. Plus, the internet has an absolute load of crock pot recipes.

And, this weekend while the parental units are here (and my Mom and I are getting PEDICURES!! I'm excited..) I'll be cooking in the crockpot.

That's one of my cons of loving to cook, it made the house so hot. I had forgot about that.

I hope everyone has a nice summer. Don't talk to me about how much fun you're having. The Convention better be awesome and my team better kick ass (at least) at Sputum Bowl, that's all I gotta say about my upcoming "Summer Vacation."

Oh, and one final thing....

I READ A WHOLE BOOK.... FICTION!!!!

'Twas awesome.

Peace out.

I MADE IT!!

2009-05-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

It was getting a little scary there for a hot second, but I made it through another semester!! I'm very proud of my 3 B's and an A (in Pharmacology.. go figure).

Tuesday night, my study muscle totally gave out. I just couldn't do it anymore. And, I was studying for the Clinical final, so basically, if I didn't know it now, what the hell was I doing in the Program anyway?!

So even though I didn't study well for the Clinical final, I still made a B on the test. I guess I do know some stuff!

Now, I have 12 days off. What to do?! I want to read some fiction books, at least 2. Most of all, I want to go to the beach really bad. I don't know if I'll end up going though. Oh well, maybe next break when we get a week off in the summer, I can plan a trip better.

Right now, I want to just relax and not do anything.

Peace out.

Wouldn't You Like To Know

2009-05-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

This is the 8th post of the Spring Semester. I apologize for being so scarce, you see, it's been a LONG, STRESSFUL semester.

The grades have been moderate, with a suprising good job done in RCP Procedures II, as that was my struggling class last semester.

I'm shaky and spastic about Diseases though. I don't think I'll flunk out, I could just do better.

I LOVE County Hospital. It's so damn interesting and people are cool, the nurses and other RTs. Not too sure about the Residents though, one of them ran over me with a chair (I am NOT hard to miss!!) and another one repeatedly jumped in front of me during Physician rounds when I'm trying to learn. Hmph. Oh well, they're cool as hell, so I'll give 'em that....

"Why are you up so late?" you ask, "Don't you have Clinic tomorrow?" Yes, but I'm not going. I'll be studying. I saved up my 2 absences and cashing in Monday and Wednesday.

I actually liked this semester better than last. Maybe because the last one was the first, and I'm sure it's always the worst.

So I was just bored, waiting for Spouse to be ready to turn in for the night, did some studying for Diseases and accomplished my goal for the evening, so thought I would make a quick post. Sorry if this post is a bit weird.

During my ONE week off between Spring and Summer, I might come back and make some symbolic post to commemorate the turning of a page in the book of my life. But hopefully, I'll be off reading some fiction somewhere.

Peace out.

What Birthday?

2009-04-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

We've started learning about ventilators.

This is, I guess, the first "really hard part."

Oh yeah, it's hard. The class average was 77% on the first ventilator test. I made an 85%. I was like, "Woah." I felt pretty good about myself.

So, yeah, with all that going on, plus more quizzes, tests, clinic, etc.. I haven't had much time to think about my Birthday.

I think this is the first time in my life where I haven't had time to think about what I want to do, where I want to go.. what I even want.. for my birthday. My birthday is one of my favorite holidays.

And anywhere we go, we have to drive, and I'm so over driving. I'm getting tired of all the driving. They need to come out with that teleportation technology soon.

I'll keep thinking about my birthday and hopefully have a good one. After that, I can commence the nervous excitement of starting my next clinical rotation at County Hospital.

Yessssssss!!

Now You See How RT School Really Is..

2009-03-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

It has been almost 1 month since my last post. That's understandable.

For the last month, I have been studying non-stop, buried underneath Power Points, Workbooks, recorded lectures, and the stresses of Clinicals. I use the word "consumed" to describe my lifestyle the past couple months. I'm "consumed" with studying and focusing on school. I don't get much time with my husband, maybe just about an hour a night, but it's not a big deal. I don't know how the students with children handle it.

Anyway, I studied for 6 days straight for Pharmacology and RC Procedures. My grades: 88 and 95. I was thrilled. I took a test yesterday but I don't know how I did. I don't know if I wanna know because....

SPRING BREAK IS NEXT WEEK!!

I am soooooooooooo excited and HAPPY. I like school, it's actually been kinda fun despite all the stressful stuff. But I am so ready for a break. I have been looking forward to this for months. I will try to post pics from my trip on my photo blog.

....and knowing I did badly on a test might rain on my snow-covered parade.

To end on a positive note, me and a couple girls from class will be keeping On The Border in business again tonight as we often do on Friday nights. Last week drove me to drink. And if you knew me well, you would have to say that it MUST have been a pretty stressful week. It was. But it ended spectacularly.

I hope this week will end the same :)

Happy Spring Break to any of y'all who are also spring breakin'!

Peace!!

I Will Not Like New Pop Music.. I Will Not Like New Pop Music.. I Will Not Like New Pop Music..

2009-02-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

But, "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga (who I hadn't even heard of until like, 2 weeks ago).... I love it.

I shouldn't have started listening to KISS FM when there wasn't ANYTHING ELSE on ANY other of the 11 stations set in my car. I like to rock! I stopped listening to new pop YEARS ago.

But, it's an upbeat song..

....makes me wanna study.

Success Tips

2009-02-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

In observation of other students, I have assumed the following traits I must have to be successful on tests:

1. Be unemployed.
2. Sit in front of the class.
3. NEVAR study.
4. Have a photographic memory.
5. Constantly drone on about how "bad" I do on tests.

I like my job and I don't even work that much, I'm not giving up my block of ice by the window, I have to study A LOT, my brain doesn't take pics, and I rarely discuss my test grades.

Anyway, I'm doing okay with what I got going now. And I'll keep trying harder as I go because it doesn't get easier. Clinicals are nerve-wracking right now because we're new to this, but every day I'm more motivated to spend every minute (not sleeping or eating) studying MORE.

Toot Toot

2009-01-30T06:29:00.001-08:00

There's a girl in my class who loves to toot that horn of hers.

I'm sure she's smart and all, but the way she talks doesn't match her possible IQ. Sure, I bet she's got all the time in the world to study and sits at the front of the class so she can soak information in - but, I think she's a little on the "immature" side. Whatever.

Our first day back at Clinicals, we all went to Post-Conference, where we sit and talk about our day and then review stuff from last semester, present our articles, etc.

Our instructors always ask, "Did anyone see anything cool today?"

This day, the answers were:

"We got to see a Dr. drill a hole in someone's head."

"I saw someone's intestines."

"We had a code."

And then Horn-Tooter toots, "I did an ABG today!!"

We just learned about ABGs. We have until graduation to do 3 of them. Yes, if perhaps I had the opportunity to do one on a comatose patient that day, I might have done it. However, I wouldn't have tooted my horn about it. Nobody likes a horn-tooter.

Like I said, I'm sure she's smart, but her actions make her seem really not smart. But her being in the class is that element of entertainment we need amongst all the seriousness.

Now for the OTHER annoyance of mine. The old poor-study-habits reveal - or - part of the "It's Not Fair" chorus.

We had a class day and a Clinic day cancelled because of the icy weather. So we missed a lecture/review day for the tests we had coming up. Two of the tests were pushed back one day and the other test was kept on schedule.

An hour or so before the test, our instructor revealed that some of the test had short answer/fill-in-the-blank questions.

There was almost a small riot.

Okay, so you have to actually say something instead of coloring in A B or C. BFD!!!! If you had known there would be short-answer questions, how would this have affected your studying? Would you have studied harder? Shouldn't you have been studying hard in the first place?

I think some people in my class over-react. I'm just a silent observer.

Oh well, despite all this stuff I get all opinionated about, I still love school. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and stressed, but I make it through.

To Do: Repair Leak In Brain

2009-01-26T19:11:00.001-08:00

Today, our first day back at Clinic, my group discovered we REALLY need to review our stuff.

It's amazing how much of a formula you remember, but somehow the middle -important part- of it just kinda fell out, like when we started talking about the Oxygen Dissociation Curve or something.

Tomorrow, I have a quiz. I was studying, but I took a break to write this. My "Fun" meter was low.. in the red (you know what I mean if you play The Sims).

Now, I'm thinking about going to bed. So.. tired..

Overall, Clinic was good. One of the "interesting" people in class is in my group. And she just happened to feel hot and sick when our instructor let us help with trach care.

I mean, to this day, people are still getting grossed out at JUST THE MENTION of something grose.

Another instructor told us the tale of how the inner trach tube (less-technical term) was corroded with a black substance when a student removed it at a Clinical site. I think I was the only one who thought that was awesome, but sad :(, and didn't grimmace and gag.

But, that's just how I roll.

Peace.

School's Back In.. Stress Is On..

2009-01-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

Well, words can't paint a picture, so I will use pictures..
This here is a picture of my schedule for March. 8 Weeks 'till Spring Break!! February looks about the same, but I used March for the optimism of the orange week there in the middle. All those little entries are Quizzes, Tests, and Check-Offs. I'm sure there will be more entries as the semester goes on.

Here, you see that, only next Thursday, we have a test in all 3 classes on one day. Simply magic!! Quizzes and tests in different classes fall on the same days quite frequently.

Not only all this, but we begin Clinicals again on Monday. We will actually start giving treatments, WITH medication (highly supervised, of course). We do an ER and ICU rotation. We have to get professional credits. We have to try to keep stuff from last semester from leaking out of our brain because we'll have a Clinical final covering that and what we learned this semester. All this, AND.... AND..!!.. I lost my friggin' mind about 4 months ago and signed up for the Sputum Bowl this Summer and I'll need to study for that TOO!!

*sigh* Like Spouse says, "..but this is what you wanted!" It's true, it is. I want this. I'll work for it, I'm not whining, this is just newsworthy.

I'm anxious, scared, nervous, and crazy excited all at the same time.

On a side note: If you are considering RT School, I have 2 pieces of advice for you (while I'm thinking about it):

1. Get a recorder, if they're allowed, and record lectures. It worked for me, like, a lot.
2. Get a planner like the one above. If you can write things down on a $1.00 piece of plastic and paper to save room in your over-crowded brain, please take advantage of that.

P.S. Photo Blog has a new post! Check it out :)

My New Best Friends

2009-01-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Aren't they pretty? This one, however, looks like he's gonna be a bully.... YIKES! Wish me luck..

I Miss School :(

2009-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I said it.

I got some books in the mail for next semester and had a look at them. It's gonna be interesting! I'm ready to go back.. and get it all over with so I can start my career.

But I must be patient. That is, after all, one of my greatest virtues.

Meanwhile, I saw that only 20 people have registered for class so far. That leaves 5 or 6 people that haven't registered yet. Hmmmm. Maybe they're procrastinators.

On a side note, if you weren't covered in a blanket of ice yesterday, check out my other blog for some nice documentation of the amazing fluctuating Texas weather. Enjoy!

I Want My Stress Back

2008-12-31T16:50:00.000-08:00

What A Non-Existent Stress-Level Will Do For You:

Ask me how my Christmas Break is going....

It's been great.. for the most part.

Christmas was nice and we went to 6 Flags the day after and it was ridiculously fun. I've been getting some reading done; almost done with Watchmen.

I worked out one day last week. Started playing The Sims again.

Letting Spouse do all the driving so I can enjoy not having to drive 90 miles a day.

Oh! And here's what else has happened in the first 2 weeks of Christmas Break, in chronological order:

1. Small abcess on leg which pretty much appeared overnight requiring a little drainage and packing. Required 2 trips to the Fast Track ("urgent care") of the hospital ER. This happened just a few days before Christmas and I was actually having packing changed on Christmas Eve.

2. Severe back pain. Stupid back pain. It was so bad for a couple of days, I couldn't walk very well. Advil can't touch it, Aleve helps me walk better, but it's still there. I've had this happen ONCE before, but only for a day.. not 3 days.

3. Now I'm having an onset of some sort of sneezy sickness. I don't know if it's allergies or if I'm getting some sort of sinus thing. The last 2 days it hurt to sneeze.

WTF is WRONG WITH ME?!?!

I do not understand where all this came from. I speculate (and my Dr boss agrees), that my stress level has gone down so much that it's causing some type of chemical thing in my body to go haywire. She said something about Cortisol levels and stuff.. so that has to be it.

This back pain isn't going away and I don't want to go to the Doctor because I don't want pain meds thrown at me. Plus, I can handle this. If I can limp around and just tolerate the sudden bursts of sharp pain for 2 days straight, I can tough it out for a while.

Maybe I can tolerate it long enough till school starts, and my stress level is up again, and then I will feel like a million (tired) bucks!!

*sneeze*

Have You Seen This?

2008-12-18T19:36:00.001-08:00

I had the HARDEST time finding this video and I'm the Internet Search and Google QUEEN.

I saw this ad again tonight before The Dark Knight. I think it's a great PSA against smoking.

Here is another Watchmen trailer. I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT!! I think I might be able to convince Spouse to go see this movie the night it comes out (midnight, of course) at the Dallas IMAX.

......of course, if I don't have to STUDY!!!!

Time Is Slipping Away....

2008-12-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

I've burned 4.5 days in my 40-day break. I feel like my free time is getting away from me!!

Could it be because I haven't really DONE anything? Maybe I'm just enjoying not doing anything. It's quite shocking and surreal to come home and not have anything to do and not feel anxious if I don't feel like doing it (which, in the past, was studying).

Follows is a list of things I need to do, whether it's for your entertainment, or just to remind me:

1. Make the collage notebook and magnetic poetry thingy for my niece-in-law. I have 7 days to do these things.

2. Read. And when I'm done, read some more. Fiction. Awesome.

3. After Christmas, when I get the new Sims 2 expansion.. play more Sims!

4. Spend more time with Saffie.

5. Start learning to play guitar (what I was supposed to do that week I had off - called "Summer break").

6. Anything else that comes along.

I need to fill each day with as much activities as possible so I won't feel like my break was a waste of much needed mental health days.

It's this pesky work that takes up all my time! Now that I can work 8 hours a day, I have been. Not only because I have a lot of catch-up filing to do, I need those "extra" hours.

I'm still taking 1 day off each week :-p

What shall I do tonight? After some delicious tortilla-less tortilla soup (mmmm..), I need to work on a project, play the Sims, or read the Watchmen. Choices!

Oh, and maybe some Yoga tonight. I'm anxious to try it out. That would be nice.

long, dramatic, relieved sigh

2008-12-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

I MADE IT!!

The first semester is over. Wow, that was a ride. It got off to sort of a rocky start, but everything ended spectacularly.

I made 3 A's and a B. Not too bad!

I made a 100% on my last Cardiopulmonary A&P exam over the Renal system. That's BANANAS!! I don't know how I did it.. really. If I didn't have to study again for another final that night, we would have went to the Casino. For realz..

So, my mind is racing with all the things I can get done. All the tasks I can can accomplish. Among them are: finishing my Watchmen book, starting Twilight (see what that's all about), doing a few crafty things, and the possibility of getting my nails done since.. I CAN.

40 DAYS of no school. No studying. Little stress. Lots of fun.

YAY!

PEACE!

My First Code

2008-12-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

It was the last day of Clinical. I was glad. I went, I saw, I learned it. I'm done with that, for now, right? Yes. Awesome. Filed in brain for future use, done.

Lots of people flaked out on the last day since they had gotten all their stuff done and hadn't missed any clinic. There were only 4 people in my group.

Our instructor planned on taking us around to watch IPPB and SVN treatments, plus whatever cool thing came up.

This day was still gonna be a drag though.

Until....

"Code Blue, One of the many towers, Jillionth Floor, Room at the end of the hall...."

Let's go!

I knew this would happen! Crap! How many compressions to breaths is it now?! Are there any breaths anymore?

"Just keep going till they tell you to stop."

Doable.

We get there, it's slight chaos, but no TV drama. Overall, very laid back.

We all get gloves on. I'm shaky and have a racing heart. All these people will watch me. What if.... we can't save the patient? Are these people cool with students doing this?

The first person in my group, a rather stout guy, starts compressions. I watch him, getting a refresher course. I'm the 3rd person to go. Let's rock..

"Press deeper." "Lock your arms." "Flatten both hands." "A little faster." "You're generating a pulse, that's good." "Is your skin usually that red? Or are you nervous?"

"It's hot," I say. That's no lie.

My instructor tells me to watch the waveform to see the compressions creating a heart beat, so my 3rd time stepping up for compressions, I watch it.. it's cool.

Meanwhile, Private Christian Party School students are standing in the hallway, watching and loitering, as they usually do. All made-up and no where to go.

My instructor asks them if they want to go in. "You know CPR, right?" This isn't the 1st time those PCPS students have just watched as Lowly Community College saves the day again. (Next time, if they're around, maybe I'll offer them a chance to go in again. After all, what's Daddy's money paying for? ;)

One of them looks eager to go, the other not so much, but by the time they get gloves on, we had brought the patient back.

AWESOME!!

I took off my gloves and you'd think my hands doubled as a faucet. Sweat was THAT bad. Grose, but interesting.

That was a great experience.

All the staff there were so nice. The "Code nurse" (who I thought was a Doctor) was very helpful, and I'm so glad that nurse was there beside me to make sure I was doing good while also being very patient. Another nurse who was there came by and thanked us when we were in the caf for breakfast.

Not only am I glad for the experience, I'm glad it happened. I feel so much better now. I'm sure I'll sweat and have heart racing every time, but this was amazing. The rest of the day is really a blur.

We can't wait to tell the Over-Eager Smart Girl who wasn't with us at that hospital today that we went to a code.... Heehee.

Finals next week. Party on! :-/

HECK YES!

2008-11-25T13:14:00.001-08:00

It's Thanksgiving Break, B!tches!!

I am soooooooo glad.

There will be NO STUDYING, I repeat.... NO STUDYING for 4 DAYS!!

During this break, my goals are:

1. Cook.
-I'm preparing the Bird for Thanksgiving and a couple desserts. Yum. I hardly ever cook anymore. Last time I actually spent a lot of time in the kitchen, I made Spouse Chicken Fettucine Alfredo for his Birthday, when I should have been studying. In the end, everything tasted great and I did well on my checkoffs the next day. Shibby!

2. Eat like a crazy person on Thursday (..and Friday, etc).
-Even though my A&P test grade wasn't too bad, I am celebrating my "B" by eating too many sweets. Before we got our grades, I told my friend, "This grade determines whether I eat a lot, or too much." Still making an "A" in A&P overall! Sweeeeeet!

3. Finish the "Watchmen" book.
-I haven't read any more of this since the summer. Spouse will have to catch me up on it so I can begin again.

*SIGH*

It feels so good to not think about school right now. Finals are coming up and studying for them is gonna be stressful.. but I don't wanna think about it right now!

And I don't have to!!

I wish all my blogland classmates (and everyone) a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your much-needed break!

You Can't BLOG POST BREAK-UP!!

2008-11-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

102.1 The EDGE.... I'm breaking up with you!!

Actually, it's already happened.

You know, you used to ROCK for like a week. Then I started noticing how you play Nirvana like, every hour. Then, Nirvana is usually followed by the Foo Fighters (I'll pretend I don't see a connection). And then, you like to play Coldplay. They don't rock.

I don't wanna listen to WHINING.. I WANNA ROCK!

Your morning show SUCKS. All you do is talk about s*x stuff, and it's not even interesting or funny AT ALL. Dude, SERIOUSLY!! And then, you have people call in and talk about what whores they are, and the callers range in age from 15-17 and that's GROSE. The whole morning show lacks any kind of appeal from anyone with 25% of a brain. Oh, and what about the perfect caller you have right before a break or a song? Sounds like an "Inside Call" to me.. a la Kidd Kraddick. IT SUCKS!!

I went venturing on the radio dial last week and found that....

The CHRISTIAN ROCK STATION ROCKS HARDER THAN YOU, the EDGE!!!!

How crazy is that!?!?

And the Christian rock station doesn't play Nirvana, followed by Foo Fighters, followed by Coldplay. Which is a HUGE bonus in my book.

Plus, they RAWK!

Oh, and hey, I know it's cool to include Nirvana 'cuz they're like, pioneers in rock music. But Kurt is dead and there's NO NEW material coming out. If you would have balanced it out with Sublime and Drowning Pool, for example (who's lead singers are dead), I might not have so much of a problem with the excessive Nirvana-playing.

....okay, probably not because I dislike Nirvana, tremendously.

So, good-bye Edge. It's over. You're out of my ears.

..actually it was over weeks ago.

It's you - not me!!

PEACE OUT!!

The Economy

2008-11-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, apparently, the economy really sucks, right?

This is all really ominous for me. I've been through this sort of thing before, and I don't want to go through it again.

When I graduated high school in 2000, I went to TSTC in Waco and majored in Telecommunications. There were 4 girls in my class (ended up with just me and another at graduation). I was totally sold on doing Telecom when the (female) program director told me that chicks in the Telecom field were in high demand.

And you made GOOD money.

I was in my Digital circuit class on September 11th, 2001.

I graduated after "double-majoring" in August of 2002. I was one of the few people in my graduating class to find a job, and I didn't like it and me and my boss decided it really wasn't for me and it wasn't really what I wanted to do. It involved wires, yeah, but not the kind I learned to work on.

We went from people getting jobs before they graduated to a FEW finding some type of new employment (@ graduation, not later on). Everyone else went back to doing that they had left behind to go to school; truck driving or installing satellites, etc. We had big hopes, we were gonna be professionals. We had fun.

That's the way it's going now. We're struggling, but we're making it. We know we won't have trouble finding jobs. The healthcare field is booming, and it always will be.

Right?

It would be just my luck to get smack-dab in the middle of this only to find out at the half-way point that maybe things aren't going as good as they were before.

I hope, this time, I've found something that can't be cut back on. Maybe healthcare will prevail over the economy. All healthcare fields, not just nursing, will still be desperately needed, no matter what.

......Right?

Fell Off Of.. And Ran Over By.. The Wagon

2008-11-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

I know this is supposed to be an RT student blog, but you gotta know, we also have lives outside of going to class, studying, dreaming about studying, and the like. Here is another installment of "Real Life."

Once upon a time ago, I lost 25 pounds by working out and eating good. Yes, I "cheated" here and there. But my metabolism was so stupendous, it got to where I could pretty much eat anything and not gain weight. It felt GREAT. I looked and felt so much better. I was proud of me and so was Spouse.

I started taking classes in the summer and started to not go to the gym.

Then RT school started and I quit exercising all together.

Then RT school got stressful and I eat crap every day.

The weight is creeping back on (only 3 pounds) and I'm starting to feel really lousy. This may sound crazy, but watching what I ate was so easy. Exercise was fun. I miss it.

I thought about getting up super early every day to work out before school. That hasn't happened yet. I can't find the motivation to get up and start the day on such a positive note. WHY????

I have some motivation now. I'm gaining weight back. That's something I didn't want to happen. Lots of things just don't end up like you planned.

I've got some workout DVDs. I need to become BFF with them. I'd love to see the weight just fall off of me again.

I have to think of that when I should be getting up at 0400-0430 to work out.

*sigh*

School is going pretty good. Hard to believe there's only a couple weeks left in the semester. We're all hoping we make it. We've all had lots of wakeup calls and lowered our own standards just to mentally cope with the stress of school.

But we're fighters and we support and help each other out. It's a nice thing.

Peace.

Yay Environment!

2008-11-11T13:06:00.003-08:00

I took a little study break to take on a little project.

I made my own laundry detergent! It's very easy, takes only half an hour, and it's COOL!

Plus, we're saving A LOT of money by doing this.

Check it out if you want..
http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/04/04/make-your-own-natural-petroleum-free-laundry-detergent/

I'm off to find other ways of keeping my mind off how stressful RT school is right now!!

Peace!

If You Can Dream It.. You Can Do It

2008-11-04T15:24:00.001-08:00

Today is a very proud day for me.

1. I voted for the first time in my life. I've been voting age for a while.

2. I was almost brought to complete tears today. Let me explain.

In my Respiratory Procedures class, I haven't been the best student. I failed the first test, with a 74. I made an 87 on the 2nd test - after a 9 point curve. The third test, I ended up making an 80 - after a little curve. As you can see, I was barely getting by, but I had an 81 average.

Anyway..

With my mediocre test track record, I have reason to be extremely proud of the 98% I made today.

A 98!!!!

What was even more humbling was how my instructor told me she was proud of me. That really made my day, too.

This test was a real bitch. I don't know how I did so well. One of the smart guys who knows the answer to everything made a 78. Wow. A lot of other people didn't do so well either.

I think I owe my good job to recording the lectures. I just started recording, and after this, I won't stop.

I remember wishing to myself, "I hope I make an 'A' on this test. That would be SO awesome."

And I did.

I am proud of myself :)

The Hospital Is The New Catwalk

2008-11-01T15:53:00.001-07:00

Our Clinical Instructor graduated at the top of her class.

She has an iPhone, wears nice clothes, work for an Agency (woo woo), etc.

But, most of us don't like her much. Yeah, she was top of the class. So what's wrong with her now? She asks us for clarification on stuff we're trying to learn. She says things like "Oh, it's been so long since I've done this" when we're practicing all the millions of math equations we're learning. She says, "Oh, I don't know, I'll have to look that up" about things that should be always floating on top of her memory since she is, you know, a practicing RRT.

She pisses off the Uber Smart Girl in our class. Every clinic, her feathers get ruffled for various reasons.. including..

toothpastefordinner.com

She wears HEELS to Clinic. That's right, 4 inch heels to walk the halls and stand up all day. If you're into self-torture, by all means, don't let us stop you.

Just know that we don't think your leggings and tunic dress and HEELS aren't cute. Sure, you've got the important lab coat with your name and "Clinical Instructor" monogrammed on it and that is SO awesome. But PLEASE, for the love of Gucci, please cancel the heels!!

Argh.

F-U Respiratory Program 10!!

2008-11-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

One day, one of our instructors said that most students in the program gain at least 10 pounds while in the program.

Excuse me? I don't think so.

But I can see how it would happen. I've been so BAD for MONTHS and luckily, I have only gained 1-2 fluctuating pounds since summer. After losing 25 pounds, I don't want 10 more back.. I don't want any back. I look so much better, just after 25 pounds.

Soooo.... When evaluating my schedule, the only time I have to work out is probably before I go to school. I already get up around 5am every morning. To work out, I'd just need an hour, so I would need to get up around 4am. What's one more hour, right?

Don't look at me crazy like that! I already get up at 4am on Fridays for Clinicals. I'm about to get up at 4am three days a week so what's the holdup? I might as well start now. Plus, to get the best sleep, you're allegedly supposed to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

I've figured that I could lose about 30 pounds by Spring Break when I hope to go to Colorado (fingers crossed! fingers crossed! fingers crossed!). I'd love to look better in a snow suit next year.

In other news, I've signed up for participation in the Sputum Bowl. I was all, "Yeah, I'll be an alternate. It's cool." Now I've discovered there are too many Alternates in the kitchen so I may end up being one of the "star players."

Still just taking this thing one day at a time. One test at a time. One check-off at a time. Mentally preparing myself for one Clinical at a time. I've been having a good time and learning lots, just want to learn and see more.

Still a nerd after all these years.

Anywho, I'll update on how the 4am Workouts go. Peace out!

Too Busy To Blog

2008-10-26T10:14:00.001-07:00

I'm about to go into my Study Lair (pictured here) to get some stuff done, but I thought I would stop by and make a quick post.

Okay, before I had said that I had an absolute week of hell a couple weeks ago. This last week topped that one. It ended well on Friday in Clinic since I got to see a bit of yonker suctioning and hear a patient with a REALLY bad cough. But the week started out terrible and didn't blow over till about the middle of the week. It's better now. I won't make dumb mistakes anymore like that, I hope.

I'm starting to like more people in my class. I'm finding I have a lot in common with some of them. I find myself wanting to give fashion advice to the most annoying person in our class. Not fashion advice as in, "You shouldn't wear that" (even though it may be warranted), but advice as in where she could find cute stuff for cheap because I overheard her talking about not having many clothes and needed more but couldn't spend much. Yeah, I could hook her up with ideas on that. It's called Sears.

One person in my class who I hadn't really ever talked to I actually carpooled with to clinicals on Friday. It was very interesting. She asked if I wanted to carpool all the time now, and I said I didn't know. I like going to school by myself. Having about an hour in the car (one-way) all to myself is nice. I like to be able to sleep a little longer if I want. I don't want someone to have to depend on me or wait on me or whatever.

But I told her that this driving would get really old very soon, so I might change my mind and let her know if I decide to carpool.

I apologize for the lack of posts. Some nights, I don't even turn on the computer. I feel like I should be studying at every chance I get. I actually want to study. Some things I once enjoyed I now pass up to study. Sounds sad, but that is so what I should be doing.

Okay, I'll need to eat. Let me check my schedule and see where I can fit that in!!

Spouse and I did go Thrift Store shopping yesterday on a whim. I got some neat things (one of them is a little malfunctioned though). I got a nice jacket at Goodwill for like.. 5 bucks! After that, we ate at Rosa's. Mmm mmm mmm..

When I get a chance again, I will fix up my blog back to the way it was and put in all my links to my "Classmates'" and RT Mentors' blogs. I haven't had a chance to visit them in a while. I probably should. I'd like to know if anyone else has it kinda rough like me.

Lambie makes sure I don't get off task!!

But now, I'm off to the Study Lair. I hope you're having a great weekend!

Public Service Announcement AGAIN

2008-10-07T18:38:00.001-07:00

Dearest Fellow Drivers,

Please, for the love of God, turn off your fog lights. There is no fog. And the day there was fog, it didn't help, it only made it worse than driving into the sun as it usually seems when your fog lights are on when there isn't fog.

In summary, don't use your fog lights. Especially when there isn't fog. They don't even really help with the fog, I've found, so leave them off. Basically, just turn off the damn fog lights. There's gotta be a switch or something, just look for it.

You think it's "cool" and whatnot, but it's ANNOYING and DANGEROUS because oncoming traffic (and MOST LIKELY those in front of you) CANNOT SEE A DAMN THING.

If you see me tomorrow morning with my sunglasses on and the sun hasn't even THOUGHT of coming up yet, you know what it is..

Thanks.

Kisses!!

First Day Of Clinicals

2008-10-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

It wasn't TOO bad.

I was nervous as hell the night before. I couldn't fall asleep anywhere near my 8pm bedtime (I get up at 4am) because I was so anxious about it. Yeah, I've been to a hospital before. I work in one now. Yeah, I've done some patient care before, but not in a while. Still, this is Clinicals, man! This is a grade, this is experience, this is potentially the rest of your life....

Or, I could be over dramatizing it.

Anyway, my clinicals were at the county hospital. Despite all the bad press and some bad reputation, the hospital is quite nice. The new part is exceptionally fabulous.

We almost witnessed an intubation, but they were taking too long and we had to leave.

I saw someone on a real-live ventillator with some other cool new technology for blood clots. I listened to breath sounds on someone who was unconscious. I missed the cleaning of a trach and I'm quite disappointed in that, but alas, I'm sure I will see many in the coming future.

You'll learn quickly that I LOVE LOVE LOVE grose things. The greener the better. Poop, not so much. Bones piercing through skin, not so much. Mucous and pus.... I'm all up in that.

Anyway..

Had a Cardiopulmonary A&P test today. I think I sucked. Last time I thought I sucked, I made a 94% so who the hell knows. I'll either be in for a surprise, or won't be surprised at all.

Back at the county hospital this Friday. This time, I wanna see something grose. Oodles of inmates don't count.

Horn Tooting

2008-09-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

As I may have mentioned before, there are a lot of annoying people in my class.

Before you get all crazy on me about that statement, let me explain.

There are 29 people in my class. (Yes, someone has already dropped out.)

There are a few who are pretty quiet. They don't ask many questions (because they might actually think before they speak). They don't talk to many other people in the class at this point. They especially don't talk while the instructor is talking. One of those people is me.

Then you have the people who have already cliqued themselves out. They already run with a pack. A lot of them are smokers, they automatically seem to flock together.

There's a few people who don't fit in either of these groups, but maybe do a little of both.

But there are about 3 or 4 students who LOVE to toot their own horn. This is so damn annoying.

When we're talking about breath sounds, it makes no difference to our learning experience if YOU heard something at the nursing home you work at. At this point, we've been in RT school only a month, so it doesn't help us at all to know about the medicine you give to kids at the hospital where you're a Pharmacy Tech. You're wife's a nurse, you were once a CNA. That's FANTASIC!! Tell us when it matters. Right now, nobody is fascinated by your story that really doesn't have anything to do with what we're trying to learn right now AT ALL.

When our CP A&P instructor put up a picture of a pneomothorax and asked everyone which side it was on, everyone said "the right," and I kept shaking my head. [Internal Dialogue] No! The left! Air is clear (black) on an X-Ray! I've seen pneumos on babies at the hospital!!

But did I whip out my horn and toot it? No.

A few more weeks have passed and I've noticed the tooting die down a little.

Now if we could just do something about the stupid questions. And educate people on what they should have known about becoming an RT - stuff they should have known before they signed up for this.... Class would be even more envigorating.

Good News!

2008-09-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

I am no longer circling the drain!!

I made an 87 on the 2nd test. YAY!!

Dude, seriously.. Last week was HELL. It went by so fast and so slow at the same time. We had 2 tests, a quiz, and a checkoff with theory questions, which equals 4 tests and a checkoff. Ugh!

I'm glad it's over. I know there will probably be lots more hell weeks, but this was one for the history books for me. It was so bad, I started breaking out and started getting sick with a cold or something. And after being around patients for years and working in a hospital, my immune system is made of steel.

If I get sick from that week, it must have been bad.

Anyway, this weekend, I'm doing a lot of nothing. I do plan on doing a little reviewing of notes for next week and doing some cleaning.

Until then, it's vegg-out time!

Answer Me This.... and other stuff.

2008-09-24T18:44:00.001-07:00

2 kids. One dressed as a banana and the other dressed as a gorilla. Banana chases Gorilla on field during football game. That's some funny stuff! It's all fun and games until you get to spend 16 hours in jail for a HARMLESS prank.

But, a bunch of meathead football players who sodomize teammates with a broomstick barely get an expulsion and some suspension.

WTF!!

That's all I had time to blog tonight. Now I know why RT students never blogged very much. It's 'cuz they're BUSY.

This week SUCKS! SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS!! It's not done sucking until Friday.. at least I hope that's when the suck will be over.

Ask me if RT school is hard. Oh, yeah.. well, you know..
HELL YEAH!! It's crazy hard.

And we haven't even gotten started yet.

Today, spouse asked me, "So, have any of the grades been curved?" Hell, no. This is HARDCORE.

But in no way was I expecting this to be easy. I hate it when one of the annoying people in my class will say, "Well, it would be easier if...." NO!! "Easy" is not a vocabulary word right now.

I am working really hard, trying my best. As little slacking as possible.

Meanwhile, I'm getting calluses on my hands from the steering wheel....

Gradus Alterans

2008-09-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

And now, the "Dark Side" of RT school.

As my fellow classmates may know, there is no such thing as a "D." So anything below 75% is a "failing" grade; an "F."

Due to some misunderstanding, I didn't study every bit of material for my first Respiratory Care Procedures I test. Probably the easiest test we will take. Nevertheless, I made *gasp* a 74%. S#!t.

So, what happens is: I have to be counseled by my instructor. I sign a statement saying I have been offered tutoring once per week until my average reaches 80%. I have to make an 86% on my next test.

Now it's scary. How the hell.... I kinda feel like a flunkee. But I'm keeping my head up. I'm studying as we go.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I had a Cardiopulmonary A&P test that same day - made a 94%! WTF.

As for RCPI, there were 4 of us who made a low grade and had "SEE ME TODAY" written by our instructor on our scantrons.

One of the 4, who sits next to me, didn't come to class today.

I feel kinda sad, I hope she didn't give up after ONE bad grade on a test.

Anyway, wish me luck. I'm convinced I'm in for the challenge of my life.

I Should Be Studying Now..

2008-09-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

....but I'm researching.

I may have mentioned before that I had been working out and eating well this past year. Next month will mark my 1 year anniversary of beginning a "Lifestyle Change." I've lost about 25 pounds. It's a start. I notice I look better and feel a little better about myself. There are some outfits I look kinda hot in ;)

But since school has started and I have to devote the rest of the time to working (me going part-time is gonna SUCK for Spouse and I) and studying.. therefore, I haven't found the motivation to go to the gym.

I don't know how I stumbled across it, but I started looking at exercise videos. Through this study (that I did at work today, Labor Day) I found Turbo Jam and have been considering doing something like this; along with maybe "Slim In 6" and Billy Blank's Tae Bo stuff.

I think it would be a lot more fun. After a year at the gym, it's started to get kinda mundane. I've got the eating thing down pretty well (I watch what I eat most of the time, sometimes I am "bad") so I need to step up my game on the workouts. I think my body was getting used to going on the elliptical and doing weights all the time.

Plus, working out at home ROCKS because I don't have to DRIVE any more than I already do to go to the gym!

If I start this and really start to see results with these "home-workout" methods, I'll have to start another blog. By this time next year, I want to have taken off some SERIOUS weight.. a little more than just 25 pounds in 11 months.

We'll see!

And now.. time to study!

My First Days

2008-08-26T18:58:00.001-07:00

YAY!! I’ve started RT school!

I observed that this will be very challenging. I want to stay on top of things. I hope I study well!

The 2nd year students came in to answer our questions. When asked if they were afraid they wouldn’t find jobs, they ALL said getting a job was definitely not an issue.

I learned from them and my instructors effective ways to study.

I found that I’m one of a few who are interested in NICU.

The people in my class seem okay. There’s a couple girls who always find the most inappropriate times to carry on whole conversations and that’s tremendously annoying. Then there’s other people who seem kinda stuck up or something, but I know we’ll get used to each other in time. We’re all gonna be together for 2 whole years.

A lot of people in class totally freak out when “math” is mentioned. Or when they see something crazy in the notebooks. They get all hot and bothered over the littlest things.

Am I just really laid back or am I missing something?

Oh, and even though we don’t have to show up at an actual hospital for actual clinicals for 6 weeks, we still have to be at school (or some other non-clinical related place) at 0630. Blah!

I’m thankful that, at this moment in time, my biggest challenge in school is being able to decide on what to wear each day. Because I know that soon, I’ll have much bigger fish to fry....

Texas Tax Free Weekend - AHH!!

2008-08-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, about 8 years ago, Texas put into action the "Tax Free Holiday." Those first couple years, shopping during that one fateful weekend in August was madness.

I recall one occurance in which I bought my first (and last) pair of Dr. Martens tax free. Woo..

I'm not a fan of large crowds and cramped spaces with other people who don't know what "personal space" is (hence my "nickname" on this blog). And the way people drive like baboons on crack makes me even less likely to go somewhere (hence the "nickname" again). So Tax Free Weekend, you could find me at the house, and only at the house. It was great.

Anyway, the question I raised as Tax Free Holiday approached is, "Can you shop tax free online?"

After some experimenting, yes, Virginia, there is a way to shop tax free online.

I bought 2 pairs of pants and a cute shirt for less than $100 (before shipping) and my tax was just a little pocket change. I assume tax for shipping or something.

OMG!! A Borderline Agoraphobic's DREAM!!

In other news, Spouse asked me if I was excited about going back to school next week because that's all I would ever talk about in the months leading to this point. I said "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

I told him because it's gonna be hard (challenging) and we're gonna be spending a lot of money on school things and for gas, and I won't be working as many hours, etc. That's kinda frightening.

But, deep down, I am pretty excited. I mean, I'm ready to do this. I can't wait to get into a hospital besides the one I work at and see how it's done. I want to learn more stuff. I want to be a "healthcare professional." I want to work in the NICU.

So, yeah, I'm excited.

Excited and scared all at the same time.

7 Days to go!!

I DID IT!!

2008-08-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

It is (basically) OFFICIAL!

I made an "A" in A&P II.. I know, holy crap....

SO....

In 10 days..

I will be an OFFICIAL RT STUDENT!!

AKA, The Possibility Of Not Having Much Of A Life.

I wonder, is RT school really that draining?

We will see.

Yay!

Read The Book Before The Film

2008-08-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, today I ordered my "Watchmen" book to read before the movie comes out. I got it from Amazon with Super (slow) Saver Shipping, so I should receive it just before the movie comes out March 6th, 2009....

Anyway, I saw the trailer for the Watchmen movie before The Dark Knight (which was FABULOUS). Also, I totally fell in love with the song in the trailer, which is "The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning" by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Just hope I have time to read my book since school starts real soon. Maybe the first semester will be lighter....

We'll see. I'm excited!

sigh Walmart

2008-08-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I go to Wally World on Friday (aka "Freaky Friday" at our WalPlace) to get a few things.

You know, on the credit card scanner, sometimes there's a pop quiz question like, "Was your store clean today?" (To which sometimes I want to say "Yes, but my fellow shoppers were not.")

Most of the time the question is, "Did you cashier greet you today?"

At this particular visit, No, my cashier didn't even speak to me....

....but she did examine my Knifty Knitter with complete awe.

Sheesh.

Too bad we can't write in answers instead of just choosing "Yes" or "No."

Someday, I want to move somewhere that I don't have to give Walmart my money and actually shop at a grocery store I can afford.

Let's Get This Straight - A New Beginning

2008-08-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, this blog was to allow me to vent out frustrations I have with society. If you've read some of my past posts, you see I kinda do that well.

But I do it on my blog and my blog only. The only person I talk about society issues with is really my Spouse.

I will not waltz into any place and bring my soap box with me to vent to just anyone anywhere. I won't go off on a tangent on some rude person in a store. I'll just let it simmer until I can go blog about it.

On my sidebar, you'll notice that it states, "I don't like people but I have a desire to help them." And I think that's okay. I don't like the ACTIONS of some people. But that isn't going to stop me from trying to help you. Drop your purse and all your junk falls out, you're rude, but I'll help you. I hold the door open for you and you don't say thank you, I won't trip you. Smoke yourself to the brink of death and don't care, I'll still help you.

Whatever it is.. that desire to help depsite whatever is going on.. whatever it's called. I have that. Humanitarian? I don't know what that adjective would be.

I know I'll be in contact with rude, ungrateful people in my upcoming career as an RT. I'm preparing myself for that and I have 2 years to perfect it. You're rude, you cuss, you don't want this, but I'm still going to help you. So suck it up. Oh, and you can refuse treatment..

Again, I don't like the ACTIONS of SOME people. So, please, don't think I'm this angry person walking around all the time who now wants to be this unpleasant health professional who will make people's lives living hell when they shouldn't be.

If you met me, you'd find I'm actually quite fun, always smiling and laughing, making jokes, being comical, things of that nature.

I'm a silent witness to society.

And if society here continues to be quesitonable, hopefully I'll have my Bachelor's in RT and run away to Japan!!

Anyway.. Welcome to Free Speech Is My Anti-Drug.. The RT Student Blog.

More positivity to come..

Losing Faith In Humanity

2008-07-27T09:30:00.001-07:00

....I think I already have.

I think my wanting to be an RT is really a deep-down desire to help people where most of them will actually appreciate it.

But I'm losing faith in humanity because people are so rude and disrespectful. People treat each other like trash. If people interact with another person in "customer service" and don't have their ass kissed, people lose their freakin' minds! Is everyone THAT crazy? Is everyone THAT unhappy? Is everyone THAT ignorant?

Do people think of their actions? Do they find any way to justify their behavior?

Rudeness breeds rudeness. You're rude to a cashier, cashier becomes unhappy just like you. You tailgate someone or drive like an ass, everyone else trying to mind their own business becomes unhappy just like you. You're rude and disrespectful and your children see this, they will become just like you. Do these things make you happy?

I've been reading the Postsecret Community message boards all the horrible stories people have told about rude customers.

Honestly, a lot of it made me want to cry.

And I know, it will only get worse.

Why are people like this? Will it ever lessen?

Remember, right after 9-11, when everyone was nice to each other and we appreciated each other as AMERICANS, and we had this new sense of brotherhood?

Where did that go?

One Month From Today

2008-07-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

In 1 month, I will officially be a Respiratory Therapy Student.

SCARY!!!!

I've been looking forward to this for 5 months. That doesn't seem like long, but when you're WAITING and WAITING for something, it's eternity.

I'm trying REALLY hard in A&P II now. My goal this weekend is to completely read all 3 chapters that will be on our next test. One of those chapters is the Respiratory System.

....'guess I best pay attention!!

The end of this summer semester is August 14th. So, from the 14th to the 25th, I'm going to try and learn to play guitar!! I ordered an instructional DVD from Amazon today. Can't wait!

No, I don't expect to be Stevie Ray Vaughan in a month, but I want to be able to at least play something intelligible by then. One of my lifetime goals is to learn to play "Life By The Drop" by SRV.

Now I'm thinking it might be friggin' awesome to learn to play "Disenchanted" by My Chemical Romance and rock it acoustic.

I've had that guitar for a LONG time. My parents bought it for me when I was in high school. I took lessons for a little while. Forgot everything. Only remember it made my fingers hurt. I have girl fingers.

I'm more determined this time.

So I got big dreams:
1. Be an RRT, possibly with Neonatal specialty (might change my mind, never know).
2. Learn to play guitar.
3. Learn to play piano.
4. Learn Japanese.
5. Possibly move to Japan.
6. Be happy doing whatever I do!!

I'm so optomistic.. heh..

That's all for now. I should be studying at this very moment, but it's so nice to unwind. It doesn't even feel like I've been home all week. So just chillin' here is nice....

School

2008-07-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I know there might be one person who reads this thing, so, to you, I apologize.

School and all that goes with it take up my time. I've written blogs and e-mailed them to myself from work, but haven't gotten around to posting them yet.

I have loan counseling on Thursday where they'll probably tell me something I already know as I already have 2 school loans right now.

What I need to know is when I'll get the money. I've got classes to register for and a fortune to spend on books and things.

A&P II sucks ass. Had a test today. I'd like to know where the questions were that I actually knew the answers to!!!!?!

Anyway, peace out.

Open Letter To 102.1 The EDGE

2008-07-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Program Director (or whatever),

I love your station. Since I've lived permanently in the DFW area, I listen to your station the most. Frankly, I'd say I listen to your station 90% of the time when I'm in contact with the radio.
Sadly though, recently, listening to the EDGE has become a nuissance.

First of all, can you cut back on the frequency of playing Nirvana songs from once per hour to maybe.... once per day?

I listen to 102.1 on the radio..
In the kitchen to make dinner.. Nirvana
Sewing.. Nirvana
Studying.. Nirvana
Driving to work.. Nirvana
Driving to school.. Nirvana
Going to the Post Office.. Nirvana
Going to lunch.. Nirvana
Driving home.. Nirvana
When I'm within 10 feet of an audio tranmitting device.. Nirvana

Kurt is dead. Courtney keeps getting richer. Nirvana isn't coming back. Please get over it. When Nirvana comes on, The Eagle or *gasp* The Wolf gets my business. Less Nirvana please!!

Secondly, I've heard that if I want my music a little more hardcore, I should try 97.1 The Eagle. So I have (see above), and they have a coveted spot on my car's preset line-up. And it's true. The Eagle never plays slow, depressing Evanessence songs that are 5 years old. They don't play slow Coldplay songs. They don't play Nirvana like they're still releasing albums. They play Metallica. YEAH! Remember them? Moral of the story, the EDGE's edge has gone a bit dull.

EDGEfest friggin' rocked, though. You had a great line-up (well, maybe except for Filter, they kinda sucked) and I got to see My Chemical Romance for the first time ever and it was so bloody awesome it's something I'll never forget.... That was cool. Nirvana wasn't there, that was even better.

I want so much to be totally in love with you, but the Nirvana is really wearing on me!! Your station plays A LOT of awesome songs, that's what keeps me tuned in.

But when you go soft, or play Nirvana, I tune out.

Please, EDGE, be awesome again!!

Thanks.

Alternate Universe

2008-07-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

Sh!t.

I'm an alternate.

ALTERNATE!!

God, did the lady who asked if there were any RT jobs that were NINE TO FIVE get in?!?!?

I don't understand how people can sign up for something they know so little about. Okay, yeah, sure, somewhere out there is a nice, lovely 9-5 RT job out there for a new grad. Sure! All I'm screamin' is.... do your research. I bet I was one of the most informed RT applicants in there.

ANYWAY....

I don't think I'm gonna wait. I really liked School2, and I still do. They seem a little more down to earth. School1 seemed kinda full of themselves. I dunno, a school is a school. Not many employers cared where you went to school as long as you passed the tests that got you those letters behind your name, right?

I hope so.

I like School2, I do. The program director was great for letting me apply while I took my pre-reqs in the summer and working with me to help get me into the program. That was awesome.

School1 didn't give a crap.

So there.

School2 RT orientation is on Monday.

I can't wait. I'm ready to do this!!

I made a B in class 2 of 3 in the group of "Must Make A "B" Classes." Success! Just hope I can do an encore performace of that for A&P II.

Hurry Up And Wait

2008-07-05T10:01:00.001-07:00

Soo.. On the Respiratory School soap opera I'm in, I'm still WAITING.

Grades so far in the "Must Make a B Classes" looks promising. I made an A in one of them, so that's a bonus.

I was all content with going to School2, because I just knew that I wouldn't even be a top applicant at School1.

Then I got the letter from School1, "Good news! You're a top applicant.." Well, CRAP! This wasn't supposed to happen.

Now, I really want to go to School1. I went to the informational meeting and I was even more sold on the idea. I still don't know if I'm accepted, or if I'm an alternate. If I'm an alternate, I think my head will explode. I don't need any more rifts in this equation. I'm a cut and dry, yes or no person. Am I in or not? I'm an alternate? Well, when can you tell me if I'm IN OR NOT?!?!

It hasn't come to that, but I'm prepared if it does. If I'm an alternate at School1 and it will take weeks to know if I'm finally in or not, I will go through the motions with School2, even though I'd hate to do that. I don't like leading them on. And I don't want to tell them what's going on either. This is stressful. I'll stop the rambling now because it's starting to not make sense. No one reads this anyway.... soo..

I should get my next letter from School1 by the 16th.

Just gotta keep waiting.

Difficult Algebra Problem

2008-07-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

"Bad" Economy

+ High Gas Prices

- Staying home for the 4th of July Holiday

= Hundreds of dollars spent on fireworks

(the stuff you set fire to and it blows up)

Hmm.. I dunno.. that's a toughie..

I Take That Back..

2008-06-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

This one blog entry was going to be about a sickening crime against a small child in California. And how the media tells us too much and gives us too many details. And how we have too much intreated mental illness going on. (QUICK!! Somebody make it cool to seek counseling!!)

But I decided not to put it up here. I don't want to perpetuate that story any more than it already has been.

May the little boy rest in peace....

Niiiiiice..

2008-06-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

This advertisement was captured from MySpace. So please don't sue me or whatever. The address of the website of this advertisement is listed in the picture, if you're interested....

Lady, you don't need that patch!!

You need to have a pork chop.

If this chick loses 15 pounds.... she'll just be an even smaller BAG OF BONES than she is now!!

This advertisement makes me laugh.

No Longer Oppressed.. Or Was I?

2008-06-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

You see them on TV. People whining and bitching about gas prices, standing in front of their SUVs at the gas station as someone interviews them AGAIN about what they think of rising fuel costs. Yeah, news stations do this every week.

I realized today, driving my brand new little Kia that I wasn't like that, even though I used to drive a Ford F150.

I do not recall complaining how high gas was getting. I only speculated how much people must be spending. I watched as people continued to refuse to cut down on driving. Me, most of my weekends were spent at home. I don't need to go anywhere that bad. But I'm not staying home because gas is too high.

No, I never complained about how gas is so freakin' high and it's taking all my paycheck, then turn around and go to Austin or God knows where for a vacation.

I do not recall thinking, "Gosh, gas is killing us. This truck eats money like crazy." I just recall putting gas in it a lot.

I bought my truck when gas was getting up to $3.00 a gallon. That's still a lot. That's right, I bought it anyway. Call me crazy, but I didn't buy it, then turn around and cry about how high gas was.

I'm going to school, a truck would cost a lot of money in gas, on top of all the other expenses of college. I don't need a truck, it's impractical. We traded it in for the Kia. I love my little car.

I gave a little "Woo" when we filled it's little tank today for a mere $43. The truck would cost over $60 to fill.

And that little "Woo" is the only emotion I've truly felt with rising gas prices.

I know gas is high, it is pretty ridiculous. But so is the way people act about it. So hypocritical. There are those of us who do something about it if we can though. Those of us who got little cars with gas mileage over 30/mpg on the highway. Or those of us who simply made some cuts on gas use.

Then there are those who go out and buy brand new trucks and SUVs.... next thing you know they're on the 6 o'clock news whining about how much they have to spend on gas.

Well.. DUH!!!!

Who'da Thunk It....

2008-06-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

You know it's bad when it's THIS bad....

ETA: This link doesn't work anymore. Basically, the story was about how Mexican immigrants are starting to go BACK TO Mexico because gas prices are too high.

The Wait Is Over

2008-06-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I got my acceptance letter from school choice #2. Yay!

I'm not excited or disappointed. I'm still neutral. I'm still worried. I have to make a B in the classes I'm taking this summer or I may lose my place..

So the pressure is still on, if not more so.

It's been a lucky day. An hour after I opened my letter, Spouse located the illusive leak in the pool.

Good day.

Feeling Blah

2008-05-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

I feel really blah.

I don't want to do anything. I don't really want to eat. I don't want to go work out.

I need to do stuff, need to eat good stuff, and need to work out. How do I get back into the swing of things? The way it used to be when I was doing so well with the weight loss and working out so much I thought I should cut back a day or 2.

The working out decrease is probably due to the slacking I've done the past 2-3 weeks. I need to focus on that again.

We need to go to the store. I need to buy good stuff to eat again.

I'm just really disappointed in myself for the plateau I'm in. 20 pounds lost, no more. That's great, but I've got a lot to go. I guess I'll have to kick it up a notch and work out longer. Spin and weights on Mondays and Fridays. 40 minutes of cardio all the other days.

I hope I can keep up with this stuff when school is back in full swing this summer. If I get accepted for the Fall, I don't know what I'll do.

I need to find some type of workout I can do at home. We've inherited a bike, I could use that. Weights? I guess I'll search online.

The eating thing, I think will be "easy." I can't eat as much as I used to. I've found things that are good to eat that I like. I need to go back to the ONE, SINGLE cheat day that I used to get. I can't count the cheats I've had in the past couple weeks, with the whole vacation thing.

It feels good to write stuff out. I need to think out this stuff instead of just coming up with ideas and hopefully remember them later. Yeah, that doesn't work.

June 2, the beginning of a new month, is when I should re-new me.

Lake Of Death

2008-05-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

....and the winner of this year's local Memorial Day Lake of Death Award is..

Joe Pool Lake!!

Keep it up, and we'll forget about old Lewisville Lake with it's reputation!

Anyway, on the news yesterday at 4pm, a local news station reporting from Lewisville Lake had a reporter who BOASTED that only 2.. ONLY TWO.. arrests had been made for operating a watercraft while intoxicated. Like that was such an amazing thing.

But, see, that's two damn too many.

Uh-huh..

2008-05-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

See, I told you so.
ETA: This link doesn't work anymore. This article was about how high gas prices aren't really keeping anyone at home for Memorial Day.

Maybe gas prices really aren't bad at all. People just like to bitch about it, along with everything else they cry about.

Hmm.. Think about that one.

Trusting In The Dreadful "User Review"

2008-05-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

It's official.

People are NEVER satisfied.

While Spouse and I were in Port A, I looked online at restaurants that we were thinking of eating at. I looked each one up and read the reviews people had written.

One place (we didn't go to) that was reviewed, the person reported maggots in her broccoli and no explanation from the manager.
1. Are you sure those maggot friends weren't parmesan cheese? Idiot.
2. WHAT KIND OF F!@KING EXPLANATION ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?!?!? MAGGOTS? MAGGOTS! SERIOUSLY, WHAT WAS THE MANAGER SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT WOULD MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER? OR DID YOU JUST WANT LIPS ON YOUR ASS? Sorry, had to let that out. Maggots in food is pretty unacceptable and it's a careless mistake the manager can apologize profusely for. Wanting an explanation sounds ludicrous. And what's the point?

Some people were quite pleased with everything. But most people had some bitch about it. Before your bitchfest, try to avoid the situation altogether by observing some common sense rules.

1. The waiter/waitress isn't perfect, and neither are you.

2. Don't go to a restaurant right when they open or within an hour of closing. Just don't. Especially with a big party near closing time. That's just being a complete rat bastard. If you MUST go at closing time, tip GENEROUSLY and be nice and gracious to your waitperson.

3. If you want your food within 5 minutes, don't go to a restaurant. Go to the drive through. The last place we ate on vacation, a group of college-aged kids kept commenting about the pseudo incompetence of the waiter and how long the food took to come out. THERE'S THE F!@KING DOOR AND THE WHATABURGER IS DOWN THE STREET!!!! K, thanks.
3a. If there's a sign out in front of the establishment that says "Now Hiring," let that be your warning.

4. No one wants to kiss your ass. Everyone thinks you're an ass. There are special places for rude people in hell. There is no justification for being discourteous to someone who serves you.

But I still believe this world would be a more happier, relaxed, less-mental place if we had some respect for each other. I think I always will think that.

WTF

2008-05-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Newsflash:

A Hummer is not a good prize to win.

How is that exciting? Sure, you're all warm and fuzzy because you WON something, but when you have to BUY GAS for that thing the first time, something tells me the 10 bucks you used to spot for your previous hooptie won't cut it for Hungry Hungry Hummer.

I want some caption stickers made up that say, "FEED ME!" to put next to the gas entry point on the newer SUVs. Not the old Boat On Wheels suburbans that were bought back when gas was $1.14 a gallon. The new Expeditions and stuff that really irritate. I know, that's mean. You know I wouldn't do it. But it's a funny idea.

On a side note, news says people are opting not to travel this Memorial Holiday weekend. YEAH RIGHT. They interviewed a lady at a gas station who said she might go to Austin this weekend. So you have that bit of money to buy gas, what about the money to actually do something besides sit around and watch TV once you get there?!

Newsflash:

People are not going to let their wonderful lives be oppressed by gas prices.

Let it go to $4 a gallon. I can guarantee people with bitch and moan, but they will still continue to refuse to make cuts.

I'm Back

2008-05-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

YAY! This is post #90!

Anyway, I have returned from my vacay in Port A. Despite a couple different genres of skin inflammation ranging from burn to a weird rash, it was quite relaxing. I enjoyed just sitting on a lounge chair on the beach under an umbrella listening to my mp3 player, reading, and just taking in the sights I don't see but once a year. Nice.

Now, school starts in less than a week. This is the calm before the unpredictable and let-just-fact-it unknown storm. If I can make Bs in my summer classes I have a good chance, and that's all I know. *sigh*

Good or Bad news, depending on how I look at it that day, my notification from school choice #2 will come in 2 weeks. Yikes.

I've thought about some other things to blog about. Enjoy!

Ahh..

2008-05-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

5 more days 'till I'm on the beach.

I want to just lay back and listen to the waves.

I want to read a dirty book.

I want to actually try to get IN the water this time despite being afraid of getting bitten by a sea critter.

I want to wear my SWIMSUIT and enjoy the feeling of NOT being practically FULLY DRESSED for beach activities.

I want to take the laptop and write a story about something I haven't really thought out yet.

I want to relax, even though I'll be worried about Saffie..

I want to enjoy this fully. Because when I get back, life will be: Work, school, exercise, work, school again. That's it.

If I get accepted into the RT program, I may not get a vacation like this for 2 years.

I can't wait.

Mmm!

2008-05-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

Today, I present the prediction of the extinction of the phrase "Tastes just like MOM used to MAKE IT."

I think this generation won't ever use this phrase. Maybe "Mmm, tastes just like Mom used to add in frozen mixed vegetables into the Tuna Helper," or, "Mmm, reminds me of when Mom used to order pizza."

There has been the creation of those businesses where you pick up all the fresh ingredients and go home and cook dinner yourself. I think that phase might have passed.

I really hope that phrase doesn't go away and become as taboo as the Pledge of Alligance. I hope the Food Network can keep our cooking dreams alive.

Otherwise, we'll be singing the praises of Joe at Taco Hell.

Dr Bubbles

2008-05-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

There is a doctor in this hospital whose only role is to tend to patients admitted to the hospital. She has TONS of patients.

Most times, when you think of Doctors, you think of professionally dressed, presentable characters in white coats with a clipboard and a pen.

But this Doctor, who we’ll call “Dr. Bubbles,” is so unlike a doctor it’s frightening.

Whenever I see her out and about in the hospital, she immediately reminds me of a 20something (and she has made herself look like it) college girl, and I always remind myself, “Oh wait, that’s Dr Bubbles.” Her hair is done in a way where it looks like she has this little wild ponytail on top of her head. She wears distracting tops and designer jeans. I’ve heard her breasts are fake. The only thing she’s missing is a nose piercing and a giant margarita.

I hope she wears her white coat to see patients. A majority of these patients are elderly. They want the facts. They don’t want some young, inexperienced Doctor. This is what she looks like. I wonder if all her patients take her seriously.

I’m sure she’s pretty cool. She’s seen around with and conversing with the “lowly” employees; the techs, clerks, etc.

There’s a picture of her from the past where she looks a little fluffy. She might have been pregnant, who knows. Anyway, I think she might have had a dramatic body change, reconstructed breasts, and got a new lease on living.

But when I see her, it just annoys me a little.

Then again, maybe we need more “down to earth” doctors like that around. I’m sure there will be many after the old, ho-hum doctors retire.

Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Street Renamings.. It's The Cool Thing To Do

2008-05-06T16:47:00.001-07:00

"Industrial Boulevard" is such a gloomy, un-hip name.

So Dallas has to rename it. Because pretty soon, all the culture and history of this area will all be forgotten when this "Trinity Corridor" project sweeps everything away to make nice places for the rich folk.

But on the news tonight, I saw someone at a meeting about the renaming speak about endorsing Stevie Ray Vaughan Boulevard.

"HELL YES!!" I shouted with a mouth full of taco.

A lot of people think of Austin when they hear an SRV reference because SRV was popular on the show/performance of Austin City Limits. But what a lot of people don't know is that SRV grew up in Dallas, Oak Cliff to be exact. Industrial Blvd is relatively close to the Oak Cliff area.

That would be SO COOL, right?!?!

Yes, in the years from now when "Riverfront Blvd" (LAME!) is the new "Uptown" the rich folk won't have that much of a clue who SRV is/was.

Needless to say SRV Blvd didn't make it into the top list of considerations.

Boo.

The Ultimate Price

2008-05-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

Talk about paybacks.

Even though Husband didn't know his wife was actually cheating on him, Wife got her punishment when she was sentenced to prison time for ultimately getting her Boyfriend killed by even more lying.

When I first saw this story on the news tonight I thought, "Why isn't this guy (Husband) in jail? He's the one who pulled the trigger."

But now that I understand it better, I see the punishment fits the crime. If I cheat on my husband and then get in the car with my boyfriend, say, "Oh, yeah, he was trying to rape me" and my husband shoots my boyfriend "in defense" of me and it turns out to all be one big rubberband ball of lies, I deserve to do time for causing my boyfriend's death.

We all make mistakes. Ladies, let this be a lesson to you.

I wonder, if Wife hadn't cried rape and just let Husband know right then that Boyfriend was a boyfriend and not a rapist, would Wife have got a bullet too?

Hmm..

I Dislike Celebrity BS

2008-05-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

In a time where I'd rather see more important things, Miley Cyrus is stealing the Spotlight of Importance.

This whole Vanity Fair thing (which I can't seem to find much legitimate info on, surprisingly) is just stupid. She seemed upset because of the pictures that showed up in the magazine. UMM.. OKAY. You were THERE, right? It's not like you got in a box, there was a flash of light and **BOOM** there were 100 pictures taken of you. You were there. You did what the photographer told you to do. Whether your parents were there or not you COULD HAVE SAID "NO, THANKS!"

The pictures; not that scandalous, true. But the fact that you couldn't stand up for yourself and say "No" to something that would end up being questionable, THAT is unfortunate for the little girls who call you a role model. Try not to do it again. Oh, and try not to take questionable photos of YOURSELF too.

There are STILL no Role Models for our kids. None. And just when you think they might be somewhat okay, they tarnish their squeaky clean images with dirty pictures or get pregnant at 16.

I think, what this boils down to; we have too many kid stars doing what kids do - BE KIDS! Getting pregnant at a young age; not so much a great, fun childhood. But taking stupid pictures with your besties a la MySpace is just something 15 year olds do. It may not be the most perfect thing, but I think Miley at least has that one shred of desire to just be a kid.

But I think she's gonna miss the fact she never really got a childhood. Like most kid stars, childhood finally comes once the novelty wears off and no one cares anymore. You turn 18, become legal, men will celebrate it with you because they don't feel so guilty crushing on you, and it's over as quick as it started.

Kids: Get away from the TV and go run around the yard and play with sand and Barbies. You can't do that shit when you're 19 and miss having the days when you could truly be "carefree" and "invincible." Or else, you'll be one of those people who parties too much because childhood and adolesence was never fun. It was filled with softball, soccer, football, cheerleading and dead-end relationships on top of everything else in high school that eventually doesn't matter at all in the end.

Think about it..

sigh

2008-04-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Dactor assistant (shouth plano)

Reply to: or_not @ seriously?_would_you?. com
Date: 2008-04-30, 12:57PM CDT

weekend screen event person. out going, nice smile and care personality .

SERIOUSLY?!? I can't believe this person even tried. I sense a language barrier, or trying to eat a greasy burger, and talk on the phone, all whilst typing with one hand.

Either these things, or we really are becoming a society of complete idiots.

But anyway, I really wonder if anyone will reply to this, whether they can decipher the info to begin with.

What do we all say, folks?

That's right: "After all, it is Craigslist!"

I flagged this post for "Best of Craigslist." Heh

Edgefest 17

2008-04-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the news article from The Dallas Morning News about Edgefest, the intriguing and exciting (at one point) concert I went to Sunday, April 27th.

Let me start by saying I spent $103:

3 T-shirts
A personal cheese pizza and a “small” soda.
It would have been $50 more, but my friend said to just consider the ticket she got for me a birthday present. Sweet!

I did not buy any other consumable. I think beer was $8 per cup (granted it was a large cup that fit a bottle of beer).

Okay, they say lead with the positives, so….

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE F!@KING (Edgefest’s word of the day) RAWWKED!! We got to the all-day concert event about 11:30am. MCR went on at 8:25pm. I basically toughed it out all day just for that time. I liked a lot of other bands out there that day, but MCR I have loved the longest.

The weather was pretty good. Cold at times, but not stifling hot or raining, so that was a definite plus. Sun came out for a bit but managed only a half-tolerable sunburn under 30SPF sunscreen.

Got some wicked cool t-shirts.

Watching people was quite fun. It probably never got up over 65 degrees, but the wind was blowing, so for most of the day (hence the cameo appearance of the sun) it was quite chilly. Edgefest $50 hoodie/jackets sold like crazy. Going outside and getting in the car wasn’t long enough for a lot of GIRLS to discover the tube top and booty-shorts may not be appropriate for the weather. Watching them flounce (or bounce) by with cold blotched, wind-burned skin was funny, in a mean way. Most of them became drunk later anyway so it doesn’t matter I guess.

Which brings me to another point, related or not. Tickets to this event were about $50 each. I know, but it’s just my opinion, if I spend $50 and God knows how much on gas and the inevitable on food, I’m damn sure going to try and NOT get drunk so I can get my $50+ worth and try to enjoy this. You can go to Applebee’s and get throwed AND eat for less than that!

And now for a few “negatives.”

First of all, I don’t know about the guy who wrote this article, but he must have showed up when the gates opened and left a couple hours later. “Beer and other libations sold slowly” is bullsh!t. You should have seen that place about 2pm. Drunk idiots EVERYWHERE. Almost everyone (whether they looked 30 or 12) had a beer in hand. You’d think it was free. At one point, I thought they just must be carrying a beer around to look cool. It was ridiculous. You know what else is crazy? The amount of money made off beer sales alone. I can only imagine....

I’m one of those people (I know there’s more like me, I hope) that thinks smoking pot (or any drug, basically) is a complete waste of time, money, and brain cells – whether it’s 3 or 30,000,000. Pot-smoking was popular too, but not over-bearing. Plenty of “Event Staff,” only saw 1 cop all night. HMMMMMM.. No wonder people felt so free to do “bad” things!

There were about 3 trash cans in the place. Literally, I looked for one, covering a large area of square footage and could not locate one. By the end of the day, we were just wading in trash. That was rather unfortunate. Whoever had to clean that up might be there for days. It was BAD.

Yes, this concert might be considered a little docile compared to past Edgefests, but I don't know because I never went to any others. But this one was pretty rambunctious too. Granted, Filter REALLY slowed things down and Blue October didn't rock as much as who came on before and after them. But Blue October is a Texas band so they get automatic respect.

Most of the drunk people from above are probably gonna try to drive home. We avoided a lot of that by leaving before 3 Doors Down played. Sweet!

Anyway, I had a super good time, especially at MCR. I’m so glad I got to see them :)

Peace!

More Tales of Lost Time

2008-04-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

One thing on Craigslist pet classifieds is the "just don't have time to care for him/her" excuse. With a dog, I can slightly understand, since dogs may want to play or sit with you or whatever. But still, not "having time" for a pet still seems like a lame, half-assed, lazy excuse.

When people say they "don't have time to care for" their cat and want to give/sell it, that just pisses me off. How long does it take to care for a cat?

You don't have time to give food and water? Maybe let the cat out/in, dangle a feather in his/her face, pet kitty a bit, and scoop out the litter box every once in a while, all of which may take 20 minutes if you did it all at once.... No time for that is simply tragic.

If you can take 20 minutes to do these things, how the hell do you have time to brush your teeth? Cook a meal? Watch the boob tube? Talk incessantly on your cell phone? Go out and party? Have friends over? Spend time with a loved one? Use the toilet?

A permissable argument for "no time" may be if you travel a lot and aren't home much for some logical reason (which partying is not a good reason). However, if you've had kitty for YEARS and now you've moved up the career ladder and are out of town every week, that may be excusable, but still sad.

Don't you have any FRIENDS who might be able to take Ol' Furry in for you? Of course not, it would be cooler to make a few quick bucks off something that took too much of your time.

Ugh.

We have cats, and they require very little maintenance besides cleaning the litter box. Feeding takes no time and they're not big fans of "play" and "pet," but when they do feel like getting a little attention, it doesn't take long.

Again, if you don't have time for a pet (especially a cat), how the hell do you have time for anything at all?

Brian Alvarez: No Fat Friends

2008-04-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Apparently, this guy is a internet celebrity - make that a glutton for internet flame punishment. Just Google the famous line below or the name "Brian Alvarez" and see what you come up with. People are nasty right back at him.

You've probably seen him on that Bowflex commercial that comes on a thousand times a day. He's the one that says:

"I gave all my FAT clothes to my FAT friends."

Yeah, thanks Brian. You've just showed the world that not only are you this fortunate guy who made his body better, you're also about to be inducted into the ASSHOLE HALL OF FAME.

And I bet you don't have many friends, especially not fat ones - at least anymore. But who needs you?

Here's the thing though, if you go to YouTube and watch the whole "commercial," you get a bit more info (some not included on the TV commercial):

1. Mr. Alvarez was in a head-on collision and got all messed up, which all got better with help from his new friend, Bowflex.

2. He says he was a size 38. Okay, 38 is not THAT fat. What size were his non-fat-friends? To me, 42+ is pushing the blatant "fat" thing.

3. Bowflex should have taken out that little "fat-friends" comment for this commercial, especially for TV. It was probably for shock-tactics, to get us talking. Yeah, we're talking about it, but we're not going to buy your piece of crap. We're too busy laughing at the blatant arrogance of your "Spokesman-ass." Did Bowflex feed him this line? Hmm....

God bless you, Mr. Alvarez, for overcoming a traumatic time and now enjoying your life with your family.

But turn down the crass.

I'm curious how things go when he's out in public?

POS GPA

2008-04-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

Last year at School1, the lowest GPA accepted for the Respiratory Program was 4.11.

HA!! Looks like my chances have gotten even slimmer. But, I'm still a bit hopeful, even if it's stupid to be.

4.11? How is that even possible?

I shadowed an RT today and she was totally nice and talking to the RTs was quite educational. A couple of them favored School1 over School2, especially since that's where they went.

It's like, I know School1 is probably the "better" school, but I still am fond of School2. I'm a sucker for niceness. Plus, it seemed so laid-back and friendly.

But I think to myself, when I think about choosing schools (if I got accepted to both); the director at School2 wouldn't have suggested that I look into the competing school's program. If my school wasn't so great, I wouldn't mention that or stress it's importance. That says something: confidence.

I don't know. We'll see! It's gonna be a long, hot, impatient summer.

HA!!

2008-04-24T09:02:00.001-07:00

Well, this has to be one hell of an invention. I'm amazed and amused at the same time.

Fat Girl On A Little Bike

2008-04-23T13:53:00.001-07:00

I like Spin Class. It's one hell of a workout. Drop one pound in a day? Sign me up for the long term!!

I know I'm getting a good workout when I turn red as a tomato and the top of my arms sweat. I know something happened because I'm sore as hell and I stretched afterwards A LOT.

But, the seats on the Spin bike are TINY. The class instructor offered a gel seat, but I didn't speak up because I thought I could just sit on the seat in shifts, one cheek at a time. It was okay. But the next day my rear hurt SO BAD, like it was bruised. I pushed my hard office chair aside and pulled up the fancy, cushy, decorative chair the next day. Ahh.. Nice.

The soreness is almost gone. That was 2 days ago. In 2 more days, I'll be back in to Spin.

This time, I'm all over the gel seat.

More Ugh..

2008-04-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

What the hell is this?!

I saw a bit of this on TV last night and I'm totally convinced that ANYONE will SELL OUT to ANYTHING. Can we be the least bit serious about anything? ESPECIALLY about who will be "running" our country?

The last place I want to see the potential next President of the United States is on Wrestling!!!!

Dumb down much?

I guess this is a ploy for all those people who are persuaded by things that are "cool." That's not always who you want casting a vote.

I know more about outside individuals related to people in politics; like Bill and Chelsea Clinton, Obama's pastor, and Jenna "Here's A Toast To 9/11 Victims Chug-Chug" Bush.

Why don't we have more coverage of these candidates' views in the mainstream? Why must I have cable to get to know the candidates? The local news only tells me where stuff happened, if something embarassing happened, how some event is very important to the campaign, what questions were asked of the candidate's family member and how interesting it was, and how many votes each person got where. Okay, WHY?

I guess I should watch wrestling to find out. That's sad.

But Wait....

2008-04-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

In the argument for/against immigration, specifically those from Mexico, there have been many points. One of them is, "It's not like they're taking the jobs anyone else wants to do," like roofing, landscaping, construction, basically manual labor. No, I'm not saying that what all immigrants do for work, but it is a point that is made.

Doing the "manual" jobs we'd never want to do is pretty admirable, and what would we do without those employees? No, I'm not exactly supporting illegal immigration, I'm just making a point. We automatically think of those types of jobs being taken away, and that's "okay."

But when you're a skilled worker (Dental/Medical Assistant, Health Care Provider, Lawyer, even fast-food workers) and you think you've got it made because you're working. Then, say you want to change jobs, or do something better, and you read job ads that say:

"MUST speak Spanish!"

THAT is the problem. I don't know if that's what we think about when we think about immigrants "taking" jobs. But that's what I think about now when I hear that argument.

And, as a side note, isn't "MUST SPEAK SPANISH" kind of discrimination in a way? Just a thought.

Now, to me, I'm not going to go learn Spanish so I can "conform" to anything. But if I get into the healthcare field and see that I might need to know some, I will. I'll learn enough to get the job done. I may not be totally conversational with it, I don't think I should have to go that far.

But there's tons of people out there who REFUSE to learn any Spanish because that would be totally against their beliefs on illegal immigration. There's people who hang up the phone when the automated voice says, "Press 2 for Spanish." They're that extreme.

Back to my point: yes, immigrant workers are often seen doing manual-type labor. But when they're done working, the go the Doctor, they go eat, they shop, the have lives, without English. They may not be taking "our jobs," but "our jobs" are definitely going to get harder.

And quite possibly harder to come by.

You Are The Problem

2008-04-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

I found a great, thought provoking story today. Then I read the message board where people vent about things related to the story. There were a few posts there that I truly agreed with; like when someone said that rude customers make customer service quality decline. Anyway, basically, the story is about how stores/companies are getting into a lot of self-service things lately. You know, like self-checkouts and things like that.

Mostly, what I've found is that people are such cry-babies!! Everywhere we go, we MUST HAVE OUR ASS KISSED BY SOMEONE WHO WORKS WHERE WE DO BUSINESS. Hello!!!! Who made you the Supremest Person In The World?!?!? Tell me how many starving children you've fed, and oh, maybe mention that cure for AIDS you discovered. Ass-kissing, then, might be in order.

Anyway, on the topic of self checkouts: People want to pay less for stuff when you have to check it out yourself. Wake up! Are we forgetting that when you buy a can of beans, you’re ALSO paying the guys who picked the beans, put them in the cans, and drove them there.. not JUST the person who DIDN’T check you out! Did you forget about that?

With all the money your tight-ass wants to save, hire someone to DO IT FOR YOU if it bothers you THAT much. Otherwise, SHUT UP or go stand in line to be checked out by a human and avoid going to the store when you KNOW only self-checkouts will be open. DUH!! Otherwise, you're right, take your business somewhere else where you will be happy. Good thinkin'!!

When did our standards get so high? When did people begin to think it's okay to be rude and be shitty to the first customer service employee they happen upon? I think there's WAY TOO MANY people out there that think something is "owed" to them.

I have never, never, ever been rude to a customer-service employee. Not as a teen, not as an adult. I don't know if I was just raised that way, or I've just always been happy and patient. Going to Walmart is never a happy time for me really, but I know that when I get there. I don't expect ANYTHING. I may not be able to find something, but I won't go looking for an employee to help me find it. I may not be greeted by anyone else but the old man at the door. I know I'll wait in a long line. I KNOW ALL THAT.

I don't expect anyone to be nice to me. My cashier may never speak to me, but I make damn sure I smile and thank her when she hands me my receipt because she is probably not that friendly because no one ever does what I just did.

I guess it's just my generation that don't remember full-service gas stations and not getting a computer to talk to when I call someplace. When I encounter a friendly person at a store or on the phone, it makes me SO happy that there's some hope out there.

I believe that if we continue to be a rude bunch of bitches and heathens, you can absolutely kiss "good customer service" good-bye.

Haven't We Learned Anything?

2008-04-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Seriously, is this still happening?

This kind of stuff is happening too often, whether the plans get carried out or not. Maybe we need a solution to prevent this stuff from happening. Perhaps we should start at the source.

Children need to learn to not be so cruel to each other. They need to learn respect. Not only for adults, but respect for their peers too. Maybe a bit of information on the importance of self-expression, no matter how “weird” and “uncool” it may be. Kids need to know THEY define who they are, not TV, not movies, not Paris Hilton. Self-expression and self-defining come from within that person.

Continue to disrespect and bully your peers, and you just may not live to be the asshole you’ve already become. It will be a sad day and we'll all say "how horrible," but when you think about it.... You kinda knew it was probably gonna happen.

Oh, I Get It Now!

2008-04-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

Last night, I watched a bit of Dateline NBC where the story was about Global Warming and how this mountain/glacier had been constantly melting and therefore reducing the water supply for people who live around it.

This is something that's been going on for many years. One of the scientists told the reporter that the glacier had decreased 30 feet in size since 1980.

Okay, I get it now. We should be "Green" so we can slow down something that's inevitable? At least, that's how I understood it. So, being green won't stop global warming, right? Things are gonna melt and go downhill whether we try to use less plastic bags or not?

I really think that "being green" started out as a pretty legit thing until somebody made it "cool." Now it's not taken as seriously as it probably should be now that it's "hip."

I don't know. I try not to use a lot of water, I don't chunk trash out my window, and I don't drive my vehicle on the weekends. That's some of my effort.

Oh, I almost forgot. I wasn't paying the best attention, but a president from one of the countries affected by melting glaciers wants to sue/charge/fine the US for contributing to the problem. I don't know if they said "the US and other countries" because, if they didn't, that's ridiculous! Yeah, we are part of the problem, but not the ONLY part of it. Like we're the only country who drives cars.... Duh! Maybe it's just a scare tactic....

I'm not making any sense, I just had to blog about this and vent.

Concerning..

2008-04-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've searched the Internet for people who are respiratory therapy/care students at School1 or School2. That didn't help me much.

I went to MySpace and Facebook to look for RT students, and few did turn up.

I notice, that in 90% of the profiles I see (that aren't private), there's pictures of people drinking. I'm not talking about everyone just holding a glass of wine. No, it's the hard stuff, sometimes the whole bottle of it.

Looks like, if I ever get to RT school, I probably won't fit in.

Oh, well....

....Ugh.

2008-04-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just watched a video of an autopsy. I can't believe I watched the whole thing. I guess I have nerves/nausea control of steel.

I know there's things you can sign if you don't want to be resuscitated if you're dying..

..Is there anything I can sign that says, no matter what, I REALLY DON'T want to have an autopsy. Seriously, it's unsettling. I know, it's after death, but it's brutal.

Just As I Suspected....

2008-04-17T19:48:00.001-07:00

I knew this was coming.

Thinking about UTA?

2008-04-17T08:48:00.001-07:00

If you're thinking about going to the University of Texas at Arlington, PLEASE do your research.

I went there for one year and it was a great school. I met some cool people. I don't remember too much violence.

UTA is probably a wonderful institution of higher learning.

But lately, Arlington is, for the most part, horrible.

There's some type of crime reported there almost every day. There has been a few incidents on campus. Arlington is like, an aspiring Oak Cliff.

So, research the news in Arlington and see if you want to live in a "dangerous" town. If you still aren't convinced, I'd suggest staying of the streets at night, keeping your doors and windows locked well, don't open the door for strangers, and/or getting a security system.... or a gun.

Ugh.

2008-04-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

Check this out.

1. You have a child now. Time to grow up. Time to wean yourself off the pot.

2. If I (drug-free, bad-stuff free) were the mother of that baby, and, you being the father, I would kick your pothead ass all over the neighborhood. (But the story says nothing about the condition, or if there even is, the mother.)

This is what I'm talking about when I say I don't want to have children because I don't want my child growing up with or being around kids who are raised (or not raised) by parents like this idiot.

Realization - And Constant Rambling of Boredom

2008-04-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have come to the realization that I might be slightly upset if I don't get accepted into the Respiratory Care program at School1. I might cry. But it's okay, I do that easily sometimes.

Anyway, I've thought about also applying for the program at School2. I haven't heard anything bad about School2, and I really haven't heard anything at all. I haven't heard anything bad about School1, only good stuff, and they are my first choice.

I keep thinking I have a good chance at getting accepted into School1s program, and at the same time, I remind myself I'll be in for a nasty surprise when I don't get accepted if I start getting confident. By no means am I going to bet on being in school full-time in the Fall. I've learned in my 26 years not to get my hopes up, because once I do, that's when they all come crashing down. So, I'm taking a mellow and laid-back approach to my future. Kind of like what I say when they start freaking out at severe weather on TV: "I'll believe it when I see it."

I do know that if I start school in the Fall, life will be less cushy. Spouse and I eat out 2-3 times a week sometimes, especially when groceries are running low. He said, after I start school, we'll be lucky to go out just once. Which is kinda good because I need to stop eating that stuff, even if I splurge just once a week (which I have been doing A LOT more than once lately). I'll probably not buy any clothes or nice cleansers and things after I start school, too. I guess I won't really need new clothes anyway since I'll most likely be wearing scrubs ALL THE TIME. I hope, for at least a couple of my classes, I'll be able to wear my cute/cool stuff so I can EXPRESS myself; which is hard to do when you wear something that looks like pajamas every day.

Which makes me thing of something:

WHO THOUGHT "LOW RISE" SCRUBS WAS A GOOD IDEA? SERIOUSLY?!

I love the "flared-leg" most "low rise" scrubs have. But I'm assuming the "low rise" scrubs are meant for healthcare workers who don't do much physical activity. It may be because I'm "plus size" (if they make it, I'll wear it, so it's their fault), that "low rise" scrubs tend to ride south after a lot of walking/bending/running around like crazy. Blah.

That's all for now. Next time, I'll blog something "serious."

Rock Goes Soft

2008-04-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

“Hard” and “edgy” bands once regarded as such are now getting a bit soft.

Has anyone else noticed this?

For example, I became a fan of My Chemical Romance (MCR, MyChem, etc) upon the release of their second album, “Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge” and the song “Helena.” LOVED it, still do. I also came into possession of their first cd, “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.” Upon listening to selections from that cd, it was then that I realized MCR was going soft into their 2nd release and DEFINITELY a bit more soft for their 3rd release, “The Black Parade.”

I’M NOT COMPLAINING. I think I like “TBP” more than the others.

What’s causing this? It’s like, weird.

Other bands who I’ve noticed get a little soft are:
Papa Roach (What? He can sing?)
Seether (When deciding whether to purchase their latest album, I noticed their older stuff was a bit harder than the new.)
Buckcherry (Go from “Crazy Bitch” to “Sorry” about it.)
….and there’s probably more.

Another band that I’ve heard from other people that they used to be a little more “Scremo” before and are not screaming as much anymore is Avenged Sevenfold. I’m not too familiar with them, it’s just a rumor I heard that relates to this post.

So there you have it. What’s the conspiracy here? Give me a day to think about it and I might have an answer.

It’s Friday!! I hope I can keep everything square and not create any worries to worry about over the weekend!!

Peace.

Craigslist Drama - I Love It

2008-04-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

I still browse Craigslist every day because it’s interesting.

I like reading the Employment ads. Some of them seem kinda interesting. There’s the ones that sound too good to be true. All the ones where fax numbers aren’t given to send resumes (and man, do people get hot about that!) because the common, currently unemployed person at home doesn’t also happen to have a fax machine. But my favorite ones are the ads written by people who can’t spell, don’t know correct grammar and punctuation, and obviously feel no need to proofread anything. Why would I want to work for someone/company who can’t even represent themselves professionally? Oh well, I guess that’s what you get, it’s on Craigslist anyway.

I have applied to a few jobs, none amounted to interviews whether I was asked to do one or offered to contact them about more information.

Then there’s the pet ads. That place is SO dramatic! Not only are people putting themselves on display as selfish and sometimes stupid, they stir up all kinds of mess with ads they post about “getting rid of” their pets.

I’ve blogged on this issue before, but there’s a new epidemic on the Pets classifieds; the “Let’s Be Obvious” pet “sellers,” which is banned on CL.

There was this there today:

We adopted a little Pomeranian last week, but our other dog has been starting fights with him dog so unfortunately we need to rehome him. He is really sweet and playful. We is about 7 lbs and up to date on shots. He does well in a crate and is mostly housebroken. We will give you leftover food, a bag, and his collar and leash. We want to make sure he goes to a good home so please reply with information about yourself, your family, and your current situation. Rehoming fee applies.

EXCUSE ME?! You adopted this pet ONE WEEK ago and it didn’t work out. So after a WEEK, you want to charge someone to give this dog a better home (maybe). That’s ridiculous, ignorant, and lots of the CL stalkers are going to say you are a SELLER who might have even stolen this dog to turn around and sell it (and that is a big issue lately).

Idiot!

See, instead of clogging up the Pet Classifieds and venting out all my frustration (which people do on CL ALL DAY long), I’ll just blog about it.

I Heart My Blog!

My Anti-Drug

2008-04-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

Out of curiosity, I went to the site that helped birth the idea for my blog.

I think the site is obviously geared toward teens, and that's great.

But on the front page of the website, the #1 voted antidrug is "guys!!!!"

WTF?

Do you mean hanging out with "guys!!!!!"? Or saying no to drugs then "yes" in the back seat or stairwell at school, whatever.

Elsewhere on the site, they explain the connection between drugs and teen sex. I hope all the people who said "guys!!!!" read that little piece of information....

Anyway, it's quite a little helpful site. I'd recommend it to teens.

"Free Speech" is not listed as an anti-drug. I'm too old for drugs, but if I was young and faced with a challenge, writing or talking out issues makes me feel tons better and always has.

Death and Money

2008-04-08T17:07:00.001-07:00

Well, this is quite a tragic story. I’m using my blog to vent about several points and just express my OPINION. I repeat: OPINION. God bless America and free speech, right?

Thanks for being patient; if you’re actually reading this, again I have no visitors. Don’t let the double-digits on that counter to the left fool you, that’s all me, looking at my counter….

Anyway:

1. They say there’s a nursing shortage. I think it could be true for a lot of places. Nurses really get a crash-course in Nursing. Two short years and you’re expected to know a ton of things. Hospitals become desperate for nurses (because there’s a shortage) and hire new grads who haven’t been on the Floor that long. Four-year nurses (BSNs) usually go straight from clinicals to the desk, doing less patient care than the 2-year RNs. What I’m trying to say is, yes there may be a shortage. But did anyone think that some nurses just aren’t prepared enough for what they end up doing?

1a. This goes back to my thoughts on how rude and disrespectful we are to each other. This “I’ll be rude to get my way, that always works” attitude carries over into situations where we’re sick and need help and someone is there for us who puts in 12 hours a day to take care of us, no matter how much we refuse to appreciate it. I bet a lot of nurses get tired and jaded of this mistreatment and continuity of not feeling appreciated. We’re human, we need to be reassured. I bet there’s nurses who say, “I’ve had it. Why do I even bother? I’m going to do something else.. Maybe where I don't have to deal with people at all..” etc. and leave patient care or nursing altogether.

1b. The hospital I work at is crawling with nursing students all the time. There are 2 schools that use us for clinicals. These girls are SO young. It makes you wonder if they really want to do this, or heard they could make $30-$40 an hour and quickly hopped on board the Nursing Wagon. I wonder if a lot of these shiny young girls get to be RNs somewhere, really get that real-world experience VERY quickly, and promptly leave that field? I know, 21 or 35, they have to start somewhere, but I digress.

2. And now, my biggest, and first point after reading this story. I know situations like this happen all the time; where families are paid big money by hospitals and special funds set up as some sort of settlement. WTF is that? Isn’t going to the media and letting everyone know what happened to you enough damage? Isn’t blowing the whistle and scaring everyone enough?

If something happened to my family member where the hospital made a mistake and my family member lived through it but has emotional and/or physical distress, yes, money might help. Maybe said family member can’t work or their quality of life is compromised or something by the memories and scars they might carry. Money would help keep up with the cost of living, but it won’t make things perfect again and it won’t keep that hospital or any hospital from having that situation happen again. But money may give that person a somewhat "normal" life after a hospital/healthcare accident/negligence.

If something happened to my family member and the family member died, then I don’t think a million-dollar settlement is ideal at all. In fact, it seems incredibly selfish on the part of the family who was wronged, especially if the incident has been publicly reported.

Money will not bring the lost family member back. It won’t keep their memory alive (unless the money is donated or scholarship created in victim's name). I can see possibly the hospital paying for autopsies, burials/funeral costs, etc. Possibly money to be set aside for the victim's children. But not millions of dollars. That’s just absurd.

Even broadcasting the tragedy can be viewed as frivolous. It’s not like some Doctor is going to be reading the story someday and say, “Golly, maybe I should be more careful when I do my open heart surgeries.” Not gonna happen. The stories are shoved in our faces so we can be scared, to discredit hospitals (a lot of them actually very good), and cause negative opinions to form of people/healthcare providers who have nothing to do with the situation.

But we’ll continue to hear and read these stories. We’ll continue to let hospitals pay millions of dollars for something that doesn't really prove anything, making a hospital stay seem like a lottery. Meanwhile, the healthcare system continues to have money issues, nursing shortages get shorter, and people stop trusting the one place they should trust with their lives.

Comments

2008-04-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail that I had gotten a new comment (3 times by one person). I was like, YAY!

It was Spam. What a drag.

NASCAR Fans.. The Best Fans

2008-04-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I'm missing a point somewhere. But I just can't understand this conversation, and it's kinda sickening at the same time....

NASCAR Fan A: Did you see the race today?

NASCAR Fan B: Yeah, it was boring [hardly any or no wrecks].

So, with this type of logic, I bet the day Dale Earnhart died was REALLY exciting?

I can kinda see where they're coming from. What else would be the least bit appealing in an event where cars go around and around in a circle hundreds of times?

But, being the sometimes mean person that I am, I still wouldn't hope for hurt and possible death to another human being.

....okay, now I'll lighten up.

I went on the little train that goes around part of the Trinity Trail. It was great! Really relaxing. I'd like to do it again....

Peace.

No Worries

2008-04-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

I read a lot of blogs every day. Since the filter has been down at work, I've got TONS of favorite, frequently-read blogs.

And all of them are what is sometimes referred to as "Medblogs." I read blogs of RTs, as I've mentioned before. But there are lots of GREAT blogs by nurses and some by Doctors that really intrigue me.

I notice a similarity in these blogs. A lot of the bloggers are pretty much fed-up with people and other things. They're not afraid to vent their frustrations about the healthcare system, job politics, and the sheer insanity and disrespect (among other adjectives) of patients who come into the hospital.

To anyone who just may happen upon one of these said blogs, they might think this person has been nursing/doctoring too long and needs to get out and do something less burdening. Too much exposure to the messes of patients and the oppression given by over-paid people in suits has really got this person down.

As an aspiring RT, I can safely say:
I'm Already There!

I'm already cynical and skeptical. I'm already tired of people being so stupid and people who can't think with their own brains if they have one. I've witnessed (and surely been exposed to but can't remember) injustices of "office" politics and administrations. I'm ready.

I know on the other side it could be worse, but I'm prepared! If it's the same or not as bad, great.

Despite all of my dislikes and pet-peeves, know that I still have a desire to help people. Whether they may deserve it or not. I guess I kinda still live in that fairy-tale world where someone comes out of an ordeal with a new outlook on life and take it as a sign of possible change.

Call me crazy.

2 Days 'Till My Birthday!.....

....BFD! Right?

Peace.

You Deserve It

2008-04-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's just me, I know.

But the guy who got his face messed up by the guy in this story deserved it.

This should be a lesson to people (even those who are oblivious to their own actions) who think driving too closely to the vehicle in front of them is acceptable/fun/annoying and gives desirable results so you can continue to drive your vehicle like you're the only person allowed to be on the road.

Boring Birthday

2008-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

When you turn 26, the ideas for what you might want start to be a complete mystery.

I wish I could just ask for a Barbie.

I wish I could just ask for a bike. Oh, wait I did. Then I changed my mind....

I don't really know where I want to go eat for my Birthday. I don't know what I want for a gift. I've been thinking about getting a haircut and going to a movie with Spouse, who knows, by Friday I may have changed my mind on that too.

I'm getting older, which means birthdays (and sometimes holidays) just don't have that spark they used to anymore. I'll probably start wanting to give my time to someone else for Birthdays and holidays.

That sounds like a good idea.