It had been a crazy week. Precepting at work. Studying. Cancelled discussion group. Lindy Groove. Hair cut. Had semi-plans to go out on Friday and Saturday which I cancelled because I was too overwhelmed. Anyway, I made up for my missed fun today, of all days.
Up very early. Over to the Stake Center for Stake Conference. Practiced our two songs, The Morning Breaks and The Lord's Prayer. Thank heavens that Aurora (who directs a lot of the Stake musical numbers) finally saw the light and gave us staffed copies of the music, with all the key changes, instead of the ridiculous copies she had us practicing on initially.
I really like atteding church services in the Stake Center. Unlike most of the newer buildings, the SC has lots of stained glass windows, interesting carved doors, and a genuine choir loft. It's almost like being in a modest cathedral.
Our numbers went okay. The first was full of power and cheerfulness, and the last thrummed with controlled energy ... eventhough we were a bit off-key towards the end. The accompanists on the piano and organ were wonderful. I sometimes wish I were as talented, and could play music on sight. But not enough to actually take time away from everything else in my life to devote to it.
New fact: from our stake, we only have one person actively serving in the military. Admit I felt sad and petty when I heard it. As it is, he was injured in Fallujah, and is recovering at the moment. Prayers for him.
The conference talks were pretty good. Slow start with long talks, but it got getter towards the end. One speaker from my ward gave a particularly good talk about community service, and getting involved on our own instead of waiting for a "service project."
After SC, I went over to The Brewery to see Lenny's show. Actually, it's a bi-annual event where many artists show their work. Lenny, who I know from swing dancing, works with live wire, a non-heated neon-looking wire. Some interesting stuff. But my wallet remained closed due to a new-found resolution to be more trhifty. My favorite exhibit was Your Psycho Girlfriend.
More finding-a-new-roommate drama. It's been a frustrating and laughable journey.
And, to cap off the night, went over to celebrate The Dot's birthday. Before we had been there 20 minutes, Wonder Woman loudly whispered to see if he wanted to play Catan. Of course he did. But, and this is one of the things that I love about The Dot and Ballerina's (who doesn't really like Catan) relationship, he conferred with his wife, and they came to a decision together. It was his birthday, she didn't have a large workload the next day, etc. And so we played. Improv-er creamed us the first game. Which was okay, as I dominated in the second ... from nine points, all the way to stealing a metropolis and winning the game in one turn. Victory is so sweet!
By the end of the evening, we had pretty much settled the roommate question. A few wrinkles to iron out, but the bare bones of the plan were in place, and all the major players were on board. Due to a slight tendency to superstition, I won't lay it all out, but I have high hopes for it working out well for everyone involved.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Work horse
What a week! I have been at work every single day this week, and I'm exhausted.
Monday I was put in charge because the core charge nurse called in sick. Craziness. We were well-staffed, but 2W was trying to steal one of our nurses so that they could take a post-op, and 4W was trying to sneak one of their patients in. Plus, we had a lot of preceptees. Insane. Luckily, I had Tso as my team leader, and she helped get people out on breaks and was able to coordinate patients travelling to procedures so that we didn't fall behind.
Tuesday I was scheduled to be in charge. Again with the craziness. No CNIII's ,since they were all at the meeting, so I had an interesting mix of new and moderate RN's. The 4W patient hadn't even been started on chemo, which was the reason she was sent to us. We had 6 patients travelling to MRI, CT, fluoro and dialysis. SaSo was the team leader, but she'd never even responded to a trauma page. I went with her the first time and showed her the ropes. I think we had a combined number of six trauma pages. Ridiculous. At least all of them looked good and didn't need to come to the PICU.
I forewent going to Paladino's on Tuesday night, eventhough I really wanted to see the old crowd.
Wednesday I went to CCRN review class for the cardic and respiratory content. Many good lectures. The cardiac defect and staged repair lecture was good ... the first one on this topic that I've really fully understood. It's just so far from my regular practice, since those patients all go to 2W. FK also gave a superb respiratory lecture. She wears so many hats ... respiratory therapist, RN, and recently passed the CCRN. A very good day.
Thursday I precepted EC again ... our last day for a couple months. We didn't get a pair, but were able to focus on a mildly critical patient, and she did fairly well. EC will be on nights for a couple months before she returns for her last stretch. I like her, and like precepting her, but it is tiring.
Thursday evening I went to Lindy Groove. Maybe I shouldn't have. But sometimes a little dance therapy is needed. Plus, I'd already skipped out on Tuesday.
Friday I again woke up early and went in for the CCRN practice test. Two years ago, when I took the full review course, I freaked out because I felt so unprepared. This time, eventhough I'd missed half of the review session, I passed with a few questions to spare. What a relief. I'm going to continue studying hard, but it's a huge relief to know that I'm on solid ground. Also, since this is a scored test, I'm shooting for top 10th percentile. We'll see.
There was a Do Something Blue event tonight, but I was so worn out that I skipped that too. Really, I hope to never have another week like this past one.
Monday I was put in charge because the core charge nurse called in sick. Craziness. We were well-staffed, but 2W was trying to steal one of our nurses so that they could take a post-op, and 4W was trying to sneak one of their patients in. Plus, we had a lot of preceptees. Insane. Luckily, I had Tso as my team leader, and she helped get people out on breaks and was able to coordinate patients travelling to procedures so that we didn't fall behind.
Tuesday I was scheduled to be in charge. Again with the craziness. No CNIII's ,since they were all at the meeting, so I had an interesting mix of new and moderate RN's. The 4W patient hadn't even been started on chemo, which was the reason she was sent to us. We had 6 patients travelling to MRI, CT, fluoro and dialysis. SaSo was the team leader, but she'd never even responded to a trauma page. I went with her the first time and showed her the ropes. I think we had a combined number of six trauma pages. Ridiculous. At least all of them looked good and didn't need to come to the PICU.
I forewent going to Paladino's on Tuesday night, eventhough I really wanted to see the old crowd.
Wednesday I went to CCRN review class for the cardic and respiratory content. Many good lectures. The cardiac defect and staged repair lecture was good ... the first one on this topic that I've really fully understood. It's just so far from my regular practice, since those patients all go to 2W. FK also gave a superb respiratory lecture. She wears so many hats ... respiratory therapist, RN, and recently passed the CCRN. A very good day.
Thursday I precepted EC again ... our last day for a couple months. We didn't get a pair, but were able to focus on a mildly critical patient, and she did fairly well. EC will be on nights for a couple months before she returns for her last stretch. I like her, and like precepting her, but it is tiring.
Thursday evening I went to Lindy Groove. Maybe I shouldn't have. But sometimes a little dance therapy is needed. Plus, I'd already skipped out on Tuesday.
Friday I again woke up early and went in for the CCRN practice test. Two years ago, when I took the full review course, I freaked out because I felt so unprepared. This time, eventhough I'd missed half of the review session, I passed with a few questions to spare. What a relief. I'm going to continue studying hard, but it's a huge relief to know that I'm on solid ground. Also, since this is a scored test, I'm shooting for top 10th percentile. We'll see.
There was a Do Something Blue event tonight, but I was so worn out that I skipped that too. Really, I hope to never have another week like this past one.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Just for the record ...
It's been almost three weeks since my last post. And the situation doesn't look to be getting better anytime soon. Working on a project for work that should be sucking up a lot of my internet time.
Anyway, just for the record, I'll mention some things that I want documented.
Spent the week after the SLC trip sick. By the end of two weeks of not working, I was really glad to get back. Working a little helps me stay productive on my off days.
Curry and Catan on 3/18. Three tables' worth and lots of curry. Taught two new people the basics, and got some others grounded on C&K with the special rules. Is it selfish to want a large pool to play from?
3/21 went to Chapman University to hear Pagels speak on the Judas texts.
3/25 made dinner up at the homestead to celebrate Dad's birthday. Made curry because I was still craving it. However, I used the "good" roux that Mom got from Japan. Unfortunately, it was the hot stuff ... and if I'd studied Japanese more, I might have been able to read the box. Oops. Spork was supposed to bring the cake, but he forgot. Oops again.
3/28 had a meeting with a lawyer representing a hospital I used to work for. A patient's parents are suing the hospital. Lawyer wanted to go over my testimony before a possible deposition. It's rather a waste of time, because this was over sixx years ago, and I don't remember the patient at all. The most I can do is read what I charted. I just have to remember to only answer the questions asked. As a test, lawyer asked me if I knew what time it was. I looked at my watch and said it was 1345. Oops. I should have just looked at my watch and said yes. Or not looked at any watch and said no.
3/30-31 Do Something Blue dances and workshop. Met some great dancers from San Diego, and some interesting ones from Seattle. Apparently SD is full of neo-swingers ... those who like to dress up and drink martinis, but can't actually dance much more than an east coast basic. Sad. Then again, they'd probably look me over and sneer at my modern, low-maintenance attire. The dancing was hot. Teachers all did a great job. I especially liked Cy's fill in the sculpture exercise.
Have been precepting E at work. She is another member of the half-Japanese club. The other half is Taiwanese. She's a little reticent, but doing pretty well so far. We'll start taking pairs and more unstable 1:1's this coming week. We had a really unfair assignment on Thursday. I made it work, and she got some interesting experiences, but next time I'm going to be more forceful with SS about future assignments.
Somewhere in here, I went to visit Pilgrimgirl to talk over the X2 drama. Besides hearing her side of the story and coming up with options, it was just good to see her.
The house for the Arrowhead weekend is filling up. I'm really looking forward to it this year. Lots of returning friends. Some friend who missed last year. A couple of old friends who are coming for the first time. Some new faces that are coming for the first time. I'm looking forward to some really good times.
4/5 went to Lindy Groove. This is not unusual. I just mention it because I had a fantastic time. NW asked to me dance (first time ever in a social setting), and StretchJ asked me twice. I've talked before about charity dances. Well, these two competitive dancers make me want to accept all the charity dances I'm offered, in the hopes that they (NW and Stretch J) will continue to be charitable to me.
4/6 Whiteboy, Improv-er, The Dot and FGITW came over for some afternoon Catanning. I came close, but didn't with any. Wonder Woman made it back to catch the lasst game. Then I went over for the Easter program choir rehearsal. Choir is such a mixed bag for me. I think Doc Martin (who I believe also qualifies for the half Japanese club) does an incredible job with the singers and resources available to her. She chooses music the choir can sing (which sometimes I can't singe well, because the women sing unison), and does her best to buffer the weak singers with the not-so-weak singers. Confess that I am rather a not-so-weak singer, instead of one of the few solid singers.
4/6 Easter. We sang, "God So Loved the World," one of Doc Martin's original pieces. It is lovely. "Do Not Fear For You Are Mine," an amazingly beautiful and comforting piece. And "Make a Joyful Noise," a pretty piece that dances along like a sonatina by Beethoven. Had a teary moment during "DNF," and had to just mouth the words and hope my eyeliner didn't slosh down my face. Couldn't get enough of the Easter singing, so I went back for the singles' ward sacrament meeting. Satine did a lovely duet of "O Divine Redeemer," which I love for the dakr and melancholy parts. And Mr. Baritone and Satine did a lovely duet, the name of which I can't seem to remember. ANyway, I still hadn't gotten enough of singing, so I went for the Stake Choir practice in preparation for Stake Conference in two weeks. Aurora is conducting. And I enjoyed it. However, I would enjoy it much more if she would get us the actual music, instead of copies o the hymns with notes. If we were singing straight from the hymnal, it wouldn't matter as much, but there are lots of key changes and additional accompaniment that really messed me up. She just needs to take the plunge, kill some trees, and xerox the music. Aaaaahhhhh...
Anyway, just for the record, I'll mention some things that I want documented.
Spent the week after the SLC trip sick. By the end of two weeks of not working, I was really glad to get back. Working a little helps me stay productive on my off days.
Curry and Catan on 3/18. Three tables' worth and lots of curry. Taught two new people the basics, and got some others grounded on C&K with the special rules. Is it selfish to want a large pool to play from?
3/21 went to Chapman University to hear Pagels speak on the Judas texts.
3/25 made dinner up at the homestead to celebrate Dad's birthday. Made curry because I was still craving it. However, I used the "good" roux that Mom got from Japan. Unfortunately, it was the hot stuff ... and if I'd studied Japanese more, I might have been able to read the box. Oops. Spork was supposed to bring the cake, but he forgot. Oops again.
3/28 had a meeting with a lawyer representing a hospital I used to work for. A patient's parents are suing the hospital. Lawyer wanted to go over my testimony before a possible deposition. It's rather a waste of time, because this was over sixx years ago, and I don't remember the patient at all. The most I can do is read what I charted. I just have to remember to only answer the questions asked. As a test, lawyer asked me if I knew what time it was. I looked at my watch and said it was 1345. Oops. I should have just looked at my watch and said yes. Or not looked at any watch and said no.
3/30-31 Do Something Blue dances and workshop. Met some great dancers from San Diego, and some interesting ones from Seattle. Apparently SD is full of neo-swingers ... those who like to dress up and drink martinis, but can't actually dance much more than an east coast basic. Sad. Then again, they'd probably look me over and sneer at my modern, low-maintenance attire. The dancing was hot. Teachers all did a great job. I especially liked Cy's fill in the sculpture exercise.
Have been precepting E at work. She is another member of the half-Japanese club. The other half is Taiwanese. She's a little reticent, but doing pretty well so far. We'll start taking pairs and more unstable 1:1's this coming week. We had a really unfair assignment on Thursday. I made it work, and she got some interesting experiences, but next time I'm going to be more forceful with SS about future assignments.
Somewhere in here, I went to visit Pilgrimgirl to talk over the X2 drama. Besides hearing her side of the story and coming up with options, it was just good to see her.
The house for the Arrowhead weekend is filling up. I'm really looking forward to it this year. Lots of returning friends. Some friend who missed last year. A couple of old friends who are coming for the first time. Some new faces that are coming for the first time. I'm looking forward to some really good times.
4/5 went to Lindy Groove. This is not unusual. I just mention it because I had a fantastic time. NW asked to me dance (first time ever in a social setting), and StretchJ asked me twice. I've talked before about charity dances. Well, these two competitive dancers make me want to accept all the charity dances I'm offered, in the hopes that they (NW and Stretch J) will continue to be charitable to me.
4/6 Whiteboy, Improv-er, The Dot and FGITW came over for some afternoon Catanning. I came close, but didn't with any. Wonder Woman made it back to catch the lasst game. Then I went over for the Easter program choir rehearsal. Choir is such a mixed bag for me. I think Doc Martin (who I believe also qualifies for the half Japanese club) does an incredible job with the singers and resources available to her. She chooses music the choir can sing (which sometimes I can't singe well, because the women sing unison), and does her best to buffer the weak singers with the not-so-weak singers. Confess that I am rather a not-so-weak singer, instead of one of the few solid singers.
4/6 Easter. We sang, "God So Loved the World," one of Doc Martin's original pieces. It is lovely. "Do Not Fear For You Are Mine," an amazingly beautiful and comforting piece. And "Make a Joyful Noise," a pretty piece that dances along like a sonatina by Beethoven. Had a teary moment during "DNF," and had to just mouth the words and hope my eyeliner didn't slosh down my face. Couldn't get enough of the Easter singing, so I went back for the singles' ward sacrament meeting. Satine did a lovely duet of "O Divine Redeemer," which I love for the dakr and melancholy parts. And Mr. Baritone and Satine did a lovely duet, the name of which I can't seem to remember. ANyway, I still hadn't gotten enough of singing, so I went for the Stake Choir practice in preparation for Stake Conference in two weeks. Aurora is conducting. And I enjoyed it. However, I would enjoy it much more if she would get us the actual music, instead of copies o the hymns with notes. If we were singing straight from the hymnal, it wouldn't matter as much, but there are lots of key changes and additional accompaniment that really messed me up. She just needs to take the plunge, kill some trees, and xerox the music. Aaaaahhhhh...
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