Buying or not, that is the Question

And this is a question I really don't have an answer to.

Yes, the mortgage fiasco that has befallen the industry, does take a toll. I have just resigned myself to not really knowing if I will close and/or get funded until they tell me to show up and sign.
Heavy sigh....

I have stopped worrying about it, for there is nothing I can do. I have done all the things I can and covered all the questions. If I am supposed to go thru with this, it will happen. This is the only attitude I can take.

Who knows....
I certainly don't.

Missing the Sweat

Busy, busy!! I really am missing my workouts! Although I make up for them in other ways, I miss going to my martial arts class and sweating with my workout buddies. You just can't replace the group workout thing. If if you don't really socialize a lot with those you work out with, the shared energy of the workout is well worth it.

I missed all of it this week due to school or work. I am hoping to get a grip on things here shortly. Lots of class work!

A New Nursing Diagnosis

I have come up with a new nursing diagnosis :
PSP Syndrome
Piece of Shit Parent Syndrome

Several of the kids I have seen so far suffer horribly from this disorder. It is no wonder to me how beautiful, perfectly healthy babies can grow up to be such an integral part of our welfare, criminal legal system and impoverished sect of society.

Sometimes, this is all you know.

Until we make progress on either people being better parents or not having the kid in the first place, our nation is doomed.

It is Improving

Well, this week is better. My car is still parked, and will be till I close on the Condo. Yes, the deal is back on. "OH, we just forgot to send over the signed addendum, so sorry..." Once they knew we would cancel, things got done.
So I am still buying a condo. Yeah!

I get to pick up my bike tomorrow, thankfully! It will be so nice to ride again. Things are on the upswing.

Clinicals went well too. No one tried to stop breathing! I really like Children's and could see me working there. I really like the little patients, even the ones that look at you like you are the monster from under the bed. Those little ones usually have been through the wringer and you kinda are the monster under the bed.

So far, this is my favorite. Children's is a great environment too. We will see!

A Really Bad Week - Is it Over?

Let's recap last week:

• Wrecked car on Tuesday - car is now parked
• Inspection on condo found AC not working downstairs and dishwasher not working
• Bike STILL in the shop for airfilter that is MIA
• Pt tried to stop breathing on Wednesday
• Couldn't find boyfriend's car in parking garage Wednesday after work
• Took Pharmacology test Thursday AM: told test was open book and all my references are on my PDA. Get to test and find that "no electronic devices" as of that morning 8:30 am
• Passed test anyway, just barely
• Friday still no bike, signed addendum to have seller fix condo stuff
• Saturday: work at Baylor, 20 kids, damage control, could not possibly finish all Patients
• Sunday OK, till I got home and Realtor called and said we had to cancel the pending purchase of my condo b/c seller did not sign to fix AC and dishwasher

Is the week from hell over yet??!!??

The Brutatlity of 0430

Everyone who knows me, knows I am NOT a morning person. Unless, of course, you just are still up from the night before.

I have had two weeks now of 0430 to get ready for clinicals on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

It is brutal, utterly brutal. Once I finsih with working Wednesday afternoon, I am destroyed. I am usually in bed before the 9 leaves the clock. For me, that is unheard of.

Just thought I would give ya'll an update on how "before butt crack in the morning" was going.

It is brutal.

Maturity - ?

Throughout our young lives we constantly hear things like, "you will have to grow up" or "take care of your responsibilities."
Really, what exactly does this mean?

First of all, why grow up, totally, in all aspects of your psyche? I love being able to be a huge kid and go hell bent for leather into the unknown.
I also love being an adult and paying my bills, and having an adult life that offers so many choices. I guess I like balancing those two. Growing up does have its advantages but keeping my kid parts makes adulthood more fun.

As far as taking care of my responsibilities, I am doing that too. However, I think maturity is a lot about facing your day-to-day reality. You can't just ignore things and think, "I will deal with that later," or "if I wait long enough maybe it will go away."
It does not go away or get better, but instead, only worse.

Although I will take care of my mom for however long and to whatever end, I have days where I want to be 4 again and say, "you can't make me!!" and run screaming from the DFW metroplex. In looking back, if I had not turned around and faced that whole situation, it would have been so much worse.

Thus, is "growing up" or "being mature" about acting a different way or loosing your kiddo sense of fun? I don't think so. Actually, my child's sense of adventure is what keeps me sane especially dealing with my mom. (How else do you laugh at Baking Shoes??) The maturity and the brutal honesty with myself is what allows me to remain "one" with the kid parts.

Yes, brutal honesty. It is hardest to be honest with one's self. I think this is the greatest challenge in maturity. For if you are not honest with yourself, you will never be honest with anyone else. Even if you think you are or you think you want to be.

Opinion Poll

For those of you who read who are also associated with the martial arts I have a question:

As a fund raiser, what about a calendar of "Women and Weapons 2008" ?
We could have photos done with women and their favorite weapon (tasteful photos!) either in kata or kumite and make a calendar to sell instead of T-shirts.

I thought I would get an opinion poll before actually presenting the idea further.

Or maybe a slightly scandalous calendar would be more fun??

What do ya'll think?

Mean People Suck!

In light of the nicer weather, I took the opportunity to ride my motorcycle to work instead of taking the train. I had to go take a test as well, and the time on the train just wouldn't do.

So I parked my bike, on campus at UTSW in the visitor lot.

When I cam out to leave, I hopped on and took off. Setting at the red light, I looked down and, holy crap, my frame sliders were no longer where they belonged!! One was gone and the other was barely on and the rod attaching them was almost dislodged out from the right side of my bike!

Who is so determined to steal frame sliders off my bike??!!

Who ever it was really had to work at it as they are not installed lightly, they are screwed on tight.
I limped home, and later called the European Cycle Sport to bring it in. There was much profanity directed at the thief!

Anyway, I am safe and the guys at the shop are, as usual, taking excellent care of my bike. Such great service!!

I must say I was surprised at this attempted theft. Ok half completed theft.
I can't wait to have my Moose back!

Baking Shoes

I just thought I would pass along info to everyone out there: Baking shoes does not seem to increase their wear-ability.

I got a call from my mom today:

"Lisa, is this Lisa?"
I thought who else would answer my phone....?
"Hey Mom, how ya doin'?"
"Were are you? Are you at work today?"
"Yes, mom, I'm at work, it's Wednesday afternoon."

"Oh, OK, well, I'm fine, I need new shoes! I know I have been talking about new shoes, but I need some now. You know how you can't tell if the grass has water or not? Well it had lots of water and I stepped off into it and my shoes got real wet. So I tried to dry them. I put them in the thing...you know that thing to get hot and dry."
"So you put them in the clothes dryer?" I offered.
"No, well, I shoulda I guess, but no, that thing that's in the kitchen."
(Oh shit...)
"Mom, do you mean the oven? You cook food in the oven."
"Yes, that's it. I put them in the oven. Well, they didn't do so good in there."
( No kidding...)
"They hurt now when I try to wear them, so I need new ones."
"OK, mom, that was not the best thing to do. Shoes don't go in the oven."
"(Laughing) Well, I knew that, I don't know what I was thinking..."
"OK, well, it will have to wait till this weekend, because I work all week and Saturday."
"You work the rest of the week? I didn't know that."

Word to the wise, shoes and oven don't mix. It seems to lower the functionality of the shoes.
All I can do is laugh, because the crying would be too exhausting...

Housing Update

I currently have a signed contract on a condo. I am hopefully that all will go well. I already had the loan pre-approved, so maybe I have a chance at all going well.
It would be nice to have my stuff out of storage and be able to cook lots again!

The prospective closing date is Oct 1st. This is after my first big test of the semester and hopefully will be a little calmer.

Wish me luck! It is in a development I have always liked and that has remained very constant in condition. I would have some things to update, but I can do most of it over time. The downstairs carpet, though, has to go if it becomes mine.

It will serve its purpose just perfectly!!
I will keep you posted!

First Kiddo Procedure

Today was my first day handling kiddos. I really, really liked it so far. The very first thing I got to do was remove an IV from an adorable 10 month old boy. It is so great he was feeling better and more active! But, wow, getting the 10 month old to sit still long enough for me to undo the tape, peel off the tegaderm, and then occlude the vein after removing the IV...whew!

He was a great little patient playing games with me and examining my stethoscope and name badges. So cute!

On a less fun note, I had to help restrain a child for upper respiratory suctioning today. He did not like us!! I don't blame him one bit. Also, 10 months old, he was very vocal about his dissatisfaction with our procedure! Afterward, though, Mommy and Daddy were able to make it all better. And he could breath....
Breathing is important!!

I am interested to see how the semester plays out. Peds is still on the list.

Managing the New Schedule

Today we discussed our clinical assignments and all the expectations that went along with these. the cluster that is our new schedule was also discussed.
So the new schedule is thus:
Monday, class 8:30 to 14:30, thereafter study like crazy and go to Children's at 15:30 and get patient data. Stay up till all hours getting that ready.

Tuesday: Catch the rail at 0515, arrive at Children's at 06:15, update data, get report and start the day. Leave at 13:30.
Go home do more paperwork and hopefully get in bed by midnight. Hopefully...

Wednesday: Same as Tuesday only we have to have all the paperwork done and turned in my noon. Yeah...

Wednesday afternoon: work at UTSW. The good news is I just walk across the road and I am at work. I guess that is good news.

Thursday and Friday work at UTSW.

I am still PRN weekends at Baylor too.
I am feeling a little too busy....

I may or may not bag the Baylor thing. We will have to see how I fair.
maybe I can loose some weight....
That would be a good note since my mom informed me I had gotten "big"!
Don't you just love moms....?

The REALLY good news is I only have eight more months....
Yippee!!

Two to Go!!

I am back in school on semester three! One more after this!!

This semester is OB/GYN and Pediatrics. I am looking forward to Peds, but not so much to the OB/GYN part.

It isn’t that I don’t like babies; I really love babies, especially when I can give them back to their parents!
I just have no experience with pregnancy or labor or having a baby, nor will I. I know I do not want to take care of pregnant or laboring moms, so I am not looking forward to this part of the semester. I have already discovered the fact of new moms think there is something wrong with you if you do not want to have children.

I have already gotten, “Do you have any children?” When I respond “no,” they ask when I will have them. When I respond that I don’t want kids they look at me as if I have grown a third eyeball or suddenly grown fangs.

I understand these moms are all excited to be in this amazing experience of childbirth so they most likely are so excited to having this baby and could not understand why anyone would not want to go thru this same event.

In short, I feel like I cannot identify. Nor do I want to.

However, I am really looking forward to Peds. Peds is still on the list for things I may do after I graduate. I know the parents are the worst problem in the equation, so I will have to see how I deal with that.

Obviously, what I do upon graduation is still completely up in the air!!

Post 36 day

The birthday went well. The people who really wanted to be there were able to be there, yeah! It was nice, simple and fun.

Everyone, I really appreciate you being there!

Another Year Gone!

My birthday will be Wednesday.

I have found I do not have any of the trepidation that others seem to have about growing a year older. I have one friend that had a very difficult time with turning 30. I'll be 36 and am loving it!

People seem to take you more seriously (as a woman, this took time) now that I am a bit older. Yes, it could be my demeanor but, I think simple chronological age has some to do with it.

I like getting a little older. I am sure there will come a day when I want to press the STOP button, but that time is not yet here.
I really, really like my life.

Number Three Soon to Start!

Semester three of four is about to start! I am actually really anxious to get back to it. I want it to be over with so I can figure out what the heck I want to do with my RN.

This semester is Pediatrics and Obstetrics/Gynocology. Basically kids and new moms and babies. After having worked now testing newborn hearing for Baylor downtown, I found that I did not have as much issue with this as I thought. It really isn't that bad. Almost everyone is happy, for they have just had a new baby. Additionally, most everyone is healthy and going home in a couple days. It could be much worse.

Although I do not want kids, the babies are so cute! They are easy to take care of and don't fuss too much. You do have to be on your toes though. Babies can go south very, very fast.

I am excited to see what the semester brings!

Motorcycle Fever is Catching!

I helped John pick up his new bike today! I think he got tired of everyone we ran into telling him something along the lines of, "Oh, your girl rides but you don't? Dude, you gotta get a bike!"

Actually, I'm pretty sure he just wants one himself! He used to ride some in college, and thus, bought the same bike for his first bike, a wise decision--buy something you know and are comfortable on!

His new toy is a '96 Yamaha Virago. He is very pleased with it and pretty much tickled pink. He is signing up for the motorcycle class so he can be all official. It will be nice to have someone to ride with! And yes, he is an "all gear" person like I am!! Safety first!

Motorcycles Everywhere!!

While we were in CA there was a motorcycle race, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Sec. Consequently, there were motorcycles EVERYWHERE. All kinds! It was so much fun! We talked to lots of motorcyclists and I was insanely jealous that Moose was back in Dallas! Beautiful! The roads beg for a bike as well as a Porsche. Great riding!

California 2007

The vacation this year had to be financially minimal considering the student status.

One thing I have wanted to do for a long time is drive Highway 1 north, up the coast of California. John and I decided it sounded like a great idea. I made the plane reservations and the first night’s camping reservation (yes, camping!) and away we went.

Our first night in Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park was lovely. We ate dinner with deer just across the stream and had a lovely view all around the park. This park overlooks the Napa valley. Beautiful!

The next day was a drive north on the coast. One could stop every 15 minutes with the jaw-dropping vistas that you could see. The camera shutter was seldom still. With absolutely no plan, we continued on wherever our fancy drove us. We had decided there were a few things we had to see:

1. The Redwood Forests
2. Old Growth Sequias
3. Highway 1
4. Undecided

Hwy 1 was the first order of business. Our next stop was one element of the coast I was adamant about, Point Reyes Seashore State Park. We arrived at one of the Ranger stations and inquired about camping availability. There were a few campsites left. The closest one was a 5.5 mile hike in. We were up for it! WooHoo!

Thus came the first quotable quote for our trip:

Lisa to Park Ranger: “How’s the hike in? Is it straight up or is it fairly OK?”

Park Ranger: “Oh, (after surveying John and I) it’s fairly flat. You both should be just fine. Do you have gear?”

John: “Yes, we brought gear, we should be all good to go.”

“Relatively Flat” must have been with respect to the Sierra Mountains….

Although not a horrible hike, there were several moments we had to stop to catch our breath after lots of straight up and laugh uncontrollably at the quote, “Relatively Flat my a**!”

Such great fun!

The other quotable quote from this park Ranger was thus:

Lisa and John: “Is there water at the camp or do we need to pack it in?”

Ranger: “Yes there is water. It is usually drinkable.”

Both of us: “Wait, usually? What does that mean and is it drinkable now? Water is kinda a big deal.”

Ranger: Well it has been OK for a while now, but they have been know to test and close the water to drinking as is without boiling.”

Lisa: “But it’s drinkable now?”

Ranger: “Yes, it has been good for a while now. You should be just fine.”

Fortunately, “Usually Drinkable” turned out to be just fine.

Thus, the first thing added to the list of “Never travel again without” was a water purifier.

Second thing to add to the list, backpack with a hip strap. John had my large pack and I had a day pack, but it had no hip strap. Never again.

The 5.5miles took right at 2.5hrs and we arrived just before sundown with time to set up camp. Hiking with 6’6” as a hiking partner means hoofing it for my short little legs! But I think I kept up fine. Once settled we had time to meet those we were sharing the campsite with. Great, fun people! We had great conversation and lots of laughs. Everyone is sweaty and disheveled, but all of us enjoyed the company. We all hiked out together the next morning and had a lovely hike back. With no pressure of darkness, we were leisurely, and, it was more down than up.

Meeting these people clenched our decision of our final destination after the Redwoods: Yosemite.

The drive north was nothing short of exhilarating. The rocky shore, with waves crashing and the fresh scent of ocean wipes away anything that may be bothering you and frees the spirit. I have always loved the ocean, mostly from being submerged in it making bubbles, but to watch its raw power and to see how it has carved the shore’s edge is remarkable.

The driving was just as fantastic. The road begs for a great sports car! John and I managed to not fight over who got to drive as we shared the driving. We both love to drive, so it was great fun. There were curves and switchbacks enough for both of us. Sad we did not have a proper car, e.g., something out of the Porsche line, but the Volvo was nimble, manual/automatic transmission and plenty comfortable. It was all good. At one point, I noticed John braced against the console, the door and the roof of the car. I asked if I should slow down. He simply said, “You’re having fun, go for it!” He got his turn too, have no doubt!

Arriving in the Redwood forests is like traveling back in time. There is a sense of awe and wonder that words cannot do justice by. These trees are some of the oldest living things known on earth. As linear, short-lived humans, wrapping your mind around 1500 to 2000 years of life is very hard to do. As you stare up at their 300ft+ height, you can’t help but wish these trees could talk. I would love to sit and talk to them about what they have seen, what they have survived, and what it is like to stand for 1500 years, just existing. There is majesty that is unparalleled by anything humans have ever tried to accomplish. Of course, I had to know more about the trees, so when we got home, we looked up lots of things. Another post, I promise. Rest assured, the experience of standing with these giants is beyond description. One of the highlights was the Avenue of Giants. This 32-mile stretch of old Hwy 101 curves thru virgin, old growth forests of Redwoods. I wish I could adequately describe the immensity of driving through the forests and the calm that seemed to pervade the air that breezed through the trees and the forest undergrowth. For me, this was a spiritual cathedral like no other.

32 miles took 5 hours. It was that good.

Once we had our fill of Redwoods, OK when we just decided to leave, we went south on HWY 5 and over to Yosemite National Park. This place is huge! I had not really planned for this part of the trip as we had not really thought we would get that far east. But here we were, entering the park. We got there a bit late, but ended up with a great campsite in White Wolf on the northern part of Yosemite. This park is home to Mountain Lion, Brown Bear, Wolves, Coyotes and everything else in between. 90% of Yosemite is wild and undeveloped. It is gorgeous! Gathering firewood is allowed so once shelter was erected; we went off to gather firewood. I must admit, my senses were on high alert. It was utterly silent and with each drop of firewood, it was as if you fired a rifle. I kept thinking we looked like prime mountain lion food. I was sorta happy to have gathered firewood and be back in the car. Puts things in perspective, I would say. Once back at camp, John, a.k.a., Pyro-man, got a roaring fire started and I got dinner cooking. Simple fair, but yummy. Of course, we burned anything we could find as we had the whole trip. Pyro is in both of our names!

We slept really well as the temperature at 8000 feet got pretty chilly. Top quality gear is a must and our sleeping bags and the sleeping mats were great! Breakfast was cooked the next morning and the day of hiking began. We went to the base of Yosemite Falls. The falls were not so much falls as there is a drought in CA. Dallas seems to be getting all of CA’s rain. So the falls were a trickle. Our next adventure was Vernal Falls via Mist Trail. This hike is 3 miles round trip and labeled as “moderate.” So it took about 2 hours to go up, and I mean up every step of the way, and about 40 minutes to go down. It was straight up! The falls were spectacular and the water very cold! We played in the water and drenched our shirts so as not to over heat. Once at the top of the falls, we stayed and watched people play in Emerald Lake, a beautiful, emerald green pool that is just ahead of the falls. There is enough room to stay clear of the rushing falls and everyone seemed to be having lots of fun.

Here, we encountered possibly the fattest squirrels I have ever seen. They were grossly obese! Obviously people fed them even though you are educated not to. And so very bold! We have pics of one of the larger, most fat squirrels on my pack, pulling and biting at the mesh to get to the trash! I was sitting right there next to him! He just looked at me with a “you don’t mind do you?” look on his little face and went after it! Really funny fat squirrels!!

We hiked down after a bite, some water and some much needed relaxation. By the end of the trek down, my legs were shaking but I was happy to have seen something so beautiful.

The last day, we agreed that we should make it a full tour of “B.A.T.” (Big Ass Trees) and go see one of the three stands of giant Sequoias. There are three groves of them in Yosemite and we chose to go to Mariposa Grove, on the southern side of Yosemite. This was also home to the largest of the giant Sequoias in Yosemite, the Grizzly tree. Sequoias and Redwoods are of the same family. They differ in some very unique ways that I’ll post about later. However the Sequoias’ majesty is just as impressive if not more so than the Redwoods. Although not as tall as the Redwoods, they have larger trunks and denser wood. Again, spectacular! And so endangered. It seems they could endure the last 2000 to 3000 years but humans seem to be exceptionally destructive to them. Amazing how we seem to have that affect on things. We spent a couple hours touring the Sequoias and were still sad to part from their company.

Our drive out of Yosemite proved to be another adventure in and of itself! John had packed the GPS, which proved to be invaluable, the whole trip. Don’t get me wrong, I had maps and I know how to use them, but this little jewel is just great! We were on the south side of Yosemite and requested the shortest route to San Jose. We proceeded on and the GPS began telling me (I was driving at the time) of an up-coming left turn. John and GPS in unison began saying “turn left! Here!” I missed the turn and looked back once I had pulled into a parking lot. Turn where? “On that road back there,” replied John. “What road? That’s not a road!”

Oh, but it was.

It was a mountain road, with a warning sign reading, “Not recommended for two-wheel drive vehicles.”

What the hell?

Off we went.

Thus, quote number three: “That’s not a road!!”

This was a sand and dirt road with trees on once side and mountain drop off on the other in the middle of nowhere. At one point the GPS totally lost signal at which point John said WTF, just drive on! Adventure is so good! It was a great deal of fun!

The best part?

We realized we were traversing the Sierra Mountains after we saw a couple of Sierra park signs. At one point we topped a turn and the trees opened up and the most jaw-dropping spectacular vista ever was open to view. Layers of purple, blue, red, pink and gold dressed the valley as far as the eye could see. The mountain sides and trees could all be seen drenched in color from the ever-lowering sun. Picture after picture we took and then just stood there in awe. It was incredible. I couldn’t speak from trying to take in the beauty of it all. We did finally decide to push on as we still had no clue as to where we really were and it was getting late. We figured the worst that could happen was we would have to camp again. We had all the gear, no big deal! As we started to get back into the car, John asks, “Do you mind if I drive?”

Well, of course not. But I had to quip, “Is my driving making you nervous?” “Yes, a little,” came his answer. I just laughed and threw the keys over. To his defense, I had run over a couple things because I was looking at scenery. It was just so beautiful!

We did finally get back to civilization and realized we found a free, unmonitored way in and out of Yosemite. Who knew?

The rest of the drive was pretty plain Jane except I became totally fascinated by the wind farms along the side of I-140. Wind Farms…farming wind. That is just funny! I took pics of these and again, had to look up how they work when we got back.

Maybe I am easily amused….

Always ask the question, I suppose.

I will try to get pics posted later, as we have over 1000 to go thru. Yes, I really mean over 1000 photos.

The beauty of digital!!

In summary:

Things to not go again without:

Water purifier

More socks

Pack with hip strap & chest strap

Camel back!

We both agreed that when/if we get back again to Yosemite, backpacking is the way to go. We want to hike the half dome in the event we return. It is a strenuous 17 mile round trip hike that is very straight up.

I feel the same way about Yellowstone. When I return I will backpack. I think it would be the best way to see the park, on its terms.