Thursday, January 17, 2008
P.S.
After reading a delightful post by ImpactED Nurse at http://impactEDnurse.com , I've decided that I never want to be catheterized. So, if any of you fellow nurses are ever standing over me with a garden hose size catheter tube, prepare for a struggle. Just warning you in advance.
Kickboxing, Aerobics and Carrots - Oh My!!
I'm officially on Day 4 of diet and excercise. Shamefully enough, I have to admit that I feel on top of the world. After fighting with everyone over the benefits of eating carrots and running on treadmills, I admit, I was wrong.
I hadn't been doing too bad since January 1 but couldn't seem to fully commit to getting "healthier". All of that changed when I got my schedule for school and found out that one of my three courses for this semester is delightfully entitled "Personal Health and Wellness". After scrolling through the syllabus, it is literally a full course designed on the discussion of all areas of our own personal lifestyle health choices. Shit.
I'm deathly afraid that I will be the only chubby in the class, let alone the only male (i've heard the ratio of male to female is even lower in the LPN programs then the RN programs). I have this re-occuring nightmare where my classmates use my life as a basis for all of their research papers. I suppose I can thank these horrific dreams for being a good jump start for my motivation. The course also discusses relationships and sex and SPECIFICALLY has a section on the "gay" perspective. I can't wait (add sarcasm here). I didn't realize I had a different perspective then everyone else.
I'm still waiting on my status update from my application to the RN degree program for Fall 2008. I was REALLY hoping to qualify for early acceptance so that I would be able to drop out of the LPN program and get a refund of my tuition before the program started. Looks like that will not happen. I just went online (after checking at least 3 times a day) and received a message that says "application processed - missing documentation". My head is about to snap off as I sent all my transcripts back in mid-December. Now I have to wait for the letter that tells me what is missing so that I can re-submit. And so the adventure begins......
I hadn't been doing too bad since January 1 but couldn't seem to fully commit to getting "healthier". All of that changed when I got my schedule for school and found out that one of my three courses for this semester is delightfully entitled "Personal Health and Wellness". After scrolling through the syllabus, it is literally a full course designed on the discussion of all areas of our own personal lifestyle health choices. Shit.
I'm deathly afraid that I will be the only chubby in the class, let alone the only male (i've heard the ratio of male to female is even lower in the LPN programs then the RN programs). I have this re-occuring nightmare where my classmates use my life as a basis for all of their research papers. I suppose I can thank these horrific dreams for being a good jump start for my motivation. The course also discusses relationships and sex and SPECIFICALLY has a section on the "gay" perspective. I can't wait (add sarcasm here). I didn't realize I had a different perspective then everyone else.
I'm still waiting on my status update from my application to the RN degree program for Fall 2008. I was REALLY hoping to qualify for early acceptance so that I would be able to drop out of the LPN program and get a refund of my tuition before the program started. Looks like that will not happen. I just went online (after checking at least 3 times a day) and received a message that says "application processed - missing documentation". My head is about to snap off as I sent all my transcripts back in mid-December. Now I have to wait for the letter that tells me what is missing so that I can re-submit. And so the adventure begins......
Monday, January 07, 2008
Tell me why I don't like Mondays.
I'm finally starting to win the war with the influenza fairy. After almost overdosing on Neo Citran and multi-vitamins I am beginning to feel human once again. It comes with good timing as well because I am going to start to get crazy busy as everyone from work is returning from their Christmas and New Years vacations. Anyone with the word "Assistant" in their job title knows that means that I return to being everyone's "bitch".
It appears that now that I finally have my mind fully dedicated to school, a thousand opportunities have now knocked on my door. An old boss of mine is furiously trying to get me to go work for her (for another property management firm) and I recently turned down two other offers for senior positions. Of course these types of offers didn't happen when I was on the verge of walking off my job 6 months ago.
On a side note... I hate the news. I usually avoid reading the newspaper at work because it makes me either sad, angry, or disappointed when I am otherwise in a perfectly happy mood. I can generally tolerate reading about world events, etc. but I always manage to catch the article about animal cruelty and get into a raging ball of fury and anger. For some background, I am a self proclaimed animal lover. I have two kitties who are like my children and would have to say I have a kinship to animals of all types. When I read any article about cruelty to my "best friends" I get so worked up about it that it literally takes me a whole day to get over it. Case and point: I'm standing by the lineup to get water from the water cooler and right beside me the paper is opened up to a headline titled "Cat Cruelty". At this point, I can no longer close the newspaper and can feel the pit of my stomach start to sink. As the paper relays to me, three young teens decided to stick a cat inside a microwave and turn it on. The cat died from severe burns and basically being cooked alive. It was all I could do from trying to restrain myself from driving up to this town and beating these kids with the nearest 2x4 I could find. I can't even fathom this type of animal cruelty. The sad part is that the punishment for animal cruelty is not severe enough in Alberta and as young offenders with no prior records, they will probably only get a slap on the wrist.
Alright, i've vented and feel a little bit better. I'd feel a LOT better though if I knew that more people out there were looking out for our little four legged friends. I'm already an advocate of the local SPCA but sometimes feel like even that is not enough. Perhaps I will add on to my list of New Years resolutions and try to become a "better animal activist".
It appears that now that I finally have my mind fully dedicated to school, a thousand opportunities have now knocked on my door. An old boss of mine is furiously trying to get me to go work for her (for another property management firm) and I recently turned down two other offers for senior positions. Of course these types of offers didn't happen when I was on the verge of walking off my job 6 months ago.
On a side note... I hate the news. I usually avoid reading the newspaper at work because it makes me either sad, angry, or disappointed when I am otherwise in a perfectly happy mood. I can generally tolerate reading about world events, etc. but I always manage to catch the article about animal cruelty and get into a raging ball of fury and anger. For some background, I am a self proclaimed animal lover. I have two kitties who are like my children and would have to say I have a kinship to animals of all types. When I read any article about cruelty to my "best friends" I get so worked up about it that it literally takes me a whole day to get over it. Case and point: I'm standing by the lineup to get water from the water cooler and right beside me the paper is opened up to a headline titled "Cat Cruelty". At this point, I can no longer close the newspaper and can feel the pit of my stomach start to sink. As the paper relays to me, three young teens decided to stick a cat inside a microwave and turn it on. The cat died from severe burns and basically being cooked alive. It was all I could do from trying to restrain myself from driving up to this town and beating these kids with the nearest 2x4 I could find. I can't even fathom this type of animal cruelty. The sad part is that the punishment for animal cruelty is not severe enough in Alberta and as young offenders with no prior records, they will probably only get a slap on the wrist.
Alright, i've vented and feel a little bit better. I'd feel a LOT better though if I knew that more people out there were looking out for our little four legged friends. I'm already an advocate of the local SPCA but sometimes feel like even that is not enough. Perhaps I will add on to my list of New Years resolutions and try to become a "better animal activist".
Thursday, January 03, 2008
"There's Only So Much You Can Learn In One Place..."
"..... the more that I wait, the more time that I waste".
Okay, I already know how gay it is to quote a Madonna song but I am addicted to music and figured that with all of my plans and life changing decisions for 2008 that this quote and song (Jump) was perfect to describe this year.
I know i'm late in posting any of my adventures in Cuba however Christmas nearly knocked me flat on my ass and didn't leave a lot of time for posting. I also managed to catch a vicious flu bug so figured as I am couch bound covered in Vicks Vapour Rub that it was a perfect time to blog. Here goes:
Cuba is an amazing country that is full of history, scenery, and some of the most friendliest people I have ever met. I'm a trip advisor junkie so I pretty much had every detail of the resort and a big list of "things to see" about a month before I even departed. We spent the 7 days in an all inclusive resort in the city of Holguin which is in the south eastern part of Cuba. Unfortunately we were no where close to Havanna so I will have to schedule a trip back so that I can visit the city that EVERYONE talks about. The best way to describe Cuba would be like going back in time about 50 years. Almost every car that roams the streets are over 50 years old. The modern conveniences that exist in our world simply aren't available to Cubans. The poverty is intense yet no one goes hungry or homeless as the government provides everyone with food rations and free medical care. If you ever get the chance to go make sure you leave the resort and find out what Cuban life is really like. Resorts can be re-created anywhere and don't give you any idea of what the country you are visiting is really like. I could go on and on about the social situation in Cuba but honestly have no desire to. I will save those discussions perhaps for another blog.
End result: I came back sunburned (I'm now a few shades less white), relaxed, and ready to start 2008. I also made some amazing friends at the resort who I now have to make vacation plans to go and visit overseas. Thanks to the Brits, I spent three nights going to bed with a bucket beside my bed. Damn can they drink. I'm also not any thinner.
We arrived back to the snowy cold of Canadian winter late on December 23rd. I was pretty wiped out and i'm sure my liver was fighting to detox so I pretty much was comatose in bed on the 24th. My Christmas was pretty bleh as my sister had decided to spend it with her boyfriends family and my mom had gone out of town to spend Christmas with my family. I lost an uncle to cancer on the 26th. It wasn't a very "merry" holiday.
For New Years Eve some friends had convinced us to go to this "Moulin Rouge" night at a downtown upscale French Restaurant. It was pricey and quite mediocre. I hadn't been out for New Years in about six years so I guess I was expecting something spectacular. Instead, it was all of the wait staff dressed up like the girls from the lady marmelade video. There was a mistake with the countdown and New Years had actually passed by the time anyone figured out that we were supposed to be counting down. There was a mad rush to get to the dance floor and all of us got seperated. We all ended up spending New Years by ourselves. It was quite depressing and I really hope that it isn't tradgic foreshadowing. I went home at 12:20am.
So, here officially in writing are my resolutions for 2008:
1) Be nicer to myself.
2) Be healthier and learn to love vegetables.
3) Spend more time with my family (this could be hard with school but I will try)
4) Work hard in school and believe in myself that I can do it
Ok, it's in writing so all of you can bitchslap me when I screw up. I look forward to bitchslapping all of you when you screw up as well. :-)
Happy 2008 Everyone!! Let's make it a good one!!
Okay, I already know how gay it is to quote a Madonna song but I am addicted to music and figured that with all of my plans and life changing decisions for 2008 that this quote and song (Jump) was perfect to describe this year.
I know i'm late in posting any of my adventures in Cuba however Christmas nearly knocked me flat on my ass and didn't leave a lot of time for posting. I also managed to catch a vicious flu bug so figured as I am couch bound covered in Vicks Vapour Rub that it was a perfect time to blog. Here goes:
Cuba is an amazing country that is full of history, scenery, and some of the most friendliest people I have ever met. I'm a trip advisor junkie so I pretty much had every detail of the resort and a big list of "things to see" about a month before I even departed. We spent the 7 days in an all inclusive resort in the city of Holguin which is in the south eastern part of Cuba. Unfortunately we were no where close to Havanna so I will have to schedule a trip back so that I can visit the city that EVERYONE talks about. The best way to describe Cuba would be like going back in time about 50 years. Almost every car that roams the streets are over 50 years old. The modern conveniences that exist in our world simply aren't available to Cubans. The poverty is intense yet no one goes hungry or homeless as the government provides everyone with food rations and free medical care. If you ever get the chance to go make sure you leave the resort and find out what Cuban life is really like. Resorts can be re-created anywhere and don't give you any idea of what the country you are visiting is really like. I could go on and on about the social situation in Cuba but honestly have no desire to. I will save those discussions perhaps for another blog.
End result: I came back sunburned (I'm now a few shades less white), relaxed, and ready to start 2008. I also made some amazing friends at the resort who I now have to make vacation plans to go and visit overseas. Thanks to the Brits, I spent three nights going to bed with a bucket beside my bed. Damn can they drink. I'm also not any thinner.
We arrived back to the snowy cold of Canadian winter late on December 23rd. I was pretty wiped out and i'm sure my liver was fighting to detox so I pretty much was comatose in bed on the 24th. My Christmas was pretty bleh as my sister had decided to spend it with her boyfriends family and my mom had gone out of town to spend Christmas with my family. I lost an uncle to cancer on the 26th. It wasn't a very "merry" holiday.
For New Years Eve some friends had convinced us to go to this "Moulin Rouge" night at a downtown upscale French Restaurant. It was pricey and quite mediocre. I hadn't been out for New Years in about six years so I guess I was expecting something spectacular. Instead, it was all of the wait staff dressed up like the girls from the lady marmelade video. There was a mistake with the countdown and New Years had actually passed by the time anyone figured out that we were supposed to be counting down. There was a mad rush to get to the dance floor and all of us got seperated. We all ended up spending New Years by ourselves. It was quite depressing and I really hope that it isn't tradgic foreshadowing. I went home at 12:20am.
So, here officially in writing are my resolutions for 2008:
1) Be nicer to myself.
2) Be healthier and learn to love vegetables.
3) Spend more time with my family (this could be hard with school but I will try)
4) Work hard in school and believe in myself that I can do it
Ok, it's in writing so all of you can bitchslap me when I screw up. I look forward to bitchslapping all of you when you screw up as well. :-)
Happy 2008 Everyone!! Let's make it a good one!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
