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Jen's Blah blah blahing
Jun. 15th, 2009
10:42 pm - Short Stories
It was really hot in my room so I turned on the attic fan and opened my window. Now I'm waiting for it to cool off so I can go to bed. While I wait I'll share some short stories with ya'll!
Today I went to get my bridesmaid dress altered. I went to a friend of my mom's friend. She was about five feet tall and skinny as a twig. In my heels I towered over her like the jolly green giant. She reminded me of a small yappy dog. She seemed to be in fast forward. She quickly told me that she could not alter my dress because it had a ribbing that was too thick for any of her machines to go through. She was very helpful though and sent me to "Rainbow Alterations" where they specialize in leather and have heavier duty machines that could get the job done.
I made the drive over there and parked in the empty lot in front of the strip mall where the shop was located. I walked in and the owner, Tae, was standing at the counter. He was a shortish oriental looking man and seemed quite friendly. I told him my story and he pointed me to the "changing room" so I could put on the dress and he could pin it up. Now, I put quotation marks on changing room because I'm not sure that it could legally be called such a thing. There was a 2.5 by 4.5 foot platform in the front corner of the store, which means that one of the walls was actually a full length window. Of course, there were blinds but still, kind of awkward. The other three walls were a floral piece of fabric hung in shower curtain style. So I hopped in and clumsily changed into my dress in the mini-makeshift room. I'm sure it was obvious to Tae how uncoordinated I am because there was no music and my elbows banging into the walls wasn't exactly quiet. Anyway, I got it done and he pinned me up. He had a difficult to decipher accent but it was really cute. The way he said zipper made me smile. There also seemed to be no air conditioning and that, on top of the general awkwardness of the situation, caused quite a bit of perspiring! I think I'll get a fan to stick under there for the mid July wedding!
Finally, I changed back, more stealthily this time, and went back up to the counter. As he wrote up the receipt I studied his face. He kind of reminded me of Non's dad, the way he concentrated, and the feeling of respect that radiated from him without really saying a word. His nose partially collapsed on itself with pock marks on the left side. While it is probably more likely that he had a bout with rosacea or skin cancer, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he was Cambodian and had been in the slave camps there. I imagined him having to sleep on a dirty floor and his nose being nibbled at by mice or insects. Kind of morbid, I know, but that's how I think. Today was Non's birthday, so maybe I just had that kind of stuff on my mind. Anyhow, I left him my dress and his wife is going to alter it. I hope I get to meet her when I go to pick it up.
So I guess you only get one story because Kristin called me in the middle of this and it is now way later than I wanted to go to bed!
May. 18th, 2009
11:52 pm - This is the Story of my Life, but you can't see what these Shades of Grey keep Covered
I have had a ton of stuff on my mind lately so here is my feeble attempt to get some of it out.
I've finally started to accept, even embrace, my life here in Swanton. At first I made things hard on myself and constantly thought about what I might be doing if things hadn't gone the way they did and I were still up in GR. But I am here now and I don't know when I'll be gone so I suppose I should enjoy where I am. My parents go out for dinner on Saturday nights. Ever since my childhood we would go out to eat following the evening church service, but somewhere during my absence they seem to have become "holiday parishioners," therefore, dinner has taken over as the main event. Of course, they always invite me along when I'm home but I have sat it out a couple times and stayed home, feeling sorry for myself that I have no plans AGAIN on a Saturday night. I've accepted the invitation the past 3 Saturdays I've been home. All three times we've gone to Menards afterward and usually we stay there until they close at 9. You see, my parents are planning to build a patio, so we have to look at stones, a lot! Menards may not be my idea of a "happening" Saturday night but it is kind of fun in a way. It's fun to ask the sales people questions because they so often don't know the answer. One time I asked where something was and got a tour of most of the store while the guy tried to find it. We had some small talk along the way and eventually we zig-zagged our way to the right aisle where the item in question was hidden within rows and rows of home-improvement necessities. Despite their lack of knowledge the associates are always quite eager to offer their assistance, and I must applaud them on that. Usually after an exciting trip to Menards we head home and watch a movie. I am generally the movie supplier. I like to think that I'm broadening my parent's horizons with my movie selections. Haha, we have seen some odd ones and my dad notes this with emphasized groans during gay scenes and statements like "what a strange movie" throughout others. There have been some awkward moments but it's all in fun.
This past weekend was extremely low key. Friday night we watched a movie. Saturday was rainy and cool. It cleared up just long enough in the morning for me to get in my long run. By the time I got home it was afternoon so I had lunch and then we pretty much tried to plan out the patio til it was time to get ready to go out for dinner. During this Menards trip we actually bought all the patio supplies. Matt, the sales clerk, had beautiful eyelashes but not much experience with the Design Center Machine. He was a trooper though and did well putting up with my Dad's constant repeating of information and my mom's difficulty finishing a whole sentence and/or thought. The supplies will be delivered this Saturday. The patio should be really cool when all is said and done.
Sunday was something else. Typically we relax and read the paper til 10 then do some small tasks and have lunch around noon and then get to the bigger jobs. This particular Sunday, the bigger job was transplanting a 10 foot evergreen tree from the backyard to the side yard. When my brother was in boy scouts (and I think on Earth day at school as well), we were given little twigs of evergreens to plant. Fourteen years later we have a row of about 8, eight to twelve foot evergreens spaced about 3.5 feet apart With a couple very large Maple trees nearby. In an effort to obtain some more privacy from our white trash neighbors and their yappy dogs my mother decided it would be a good idea to move a tree over to that property line. Sounds easy enough. A shovel, axe, clippers, one saws-all, a chain saw, two John Deere tractor maneuvers, a snapped tow rope, several chains, and 7 hours later we accomplished our goal. It was crazy. My dad seriously shoveled and chopped away at the basket weave of maple and evergreen roots for a solid 5 hours. I think most would have given up. He only took one break for about ten minutes for some water and a frozen fruit bar. After we finally had the tree in I helped pick up all our tools and he said thanks and that we were done so I went inside and had dinner. He stayed out there for 2 more hours and cut down a dead tree in the backyard and did some other tasks. I don't know how he does it but I sure do admire his work ethic. Anyway, it felt good to do some yard work. I felt like I accomplished something. I did a lot of tree trimming and hauling...good for the soul.
I had more to say but my eyes are tired so perhaps another day.
Mar. 7th, 2009
03:12 pm - Losing and hour never felt so good
Happy daylight savings day! Don't forget to turn your clocks forward tonight!
Hawaii was so much fun! I wish we could have stayed a little longer. There was so much we wanted to do and just not enough time. I barely got any sleep but it was such a relaxing vacation. We did a lot of fun stuff but I think the best part of the whole vacation was falling asleep on the beach with the sun beating down. It seriously gave me a feeling of euphoria...definitely worth the sunburn that followed.
So we have been back for a week. The weather is getting nicer here which is great but my plight of unemployment still continues. I'm so bored here and feel like my life is just a mess. Something needs to happen soon before I go crazy or get majorly depressed.
This past week I hadn't seen Dave at the gym at all so I finally asked if he still worked there and the lady said "we just had to let him go," wouldn't tell me why. The last time I saw him was the day before I left for Hawaii. I was kind of sad because I liked joking around with him but I guess a little relieved too because he could be a little much. Hopefully he'll patent his workout thing and make millions. I would love to know what happened. I might try interrogating some of the guys who seemed to talk to him often. On the up side, in his place they hired Chris. If I could design a man, I would make him look exactly like Chris. He is beautiful. I've only seen him at the gym once but he seemed pretty nice. Too bad he's married. At least they hired some eye candy in Dave's place.
I've had a couple job interviews since I posted last. We'll see where they go. One for NC and on in Toledo.
That's about all the excitement in my life.
Dec. 1st, 2008
12:09 pm - I think I would miss the snow
What a landmark statement. I've often wondered if it weren't for having to walk to school in the cold and de-ice my car if I would like winter just a little bit more and the answer is yes. Since moving downtown a few years back I haven't had to walk in the cold quite as much but the de-icing was still irritating. Now I have a garage and automatic start so de-icing has been taken out of the picture as well and I'm feeling a lot less resentment to old man winter.
Yesterday I set up my Christmas tree and as soon as I had it all assembled and decorated and sat down on my couch to admire it began to snow outside. It looked like a snow globe it was coming down so hard. It was kind of a magical moment and I thought about a winter without snow...hmmm.
The end of November has been a wonderful time. I went home for Thanksgiving. If it had been up to me I probably wouldn't have but I know my family really wanted me there, even if it was only for 24 hours. It was rushed and tiring but a good time. I worked Thanksgiving night 7pm to 7am and it went well. Ginger brought in some movies and we had time to watch two of them "The Happening" and "Fools Gold." Knowing that I was getting paid double for that made me smile! After I got off work I slept 18 of the next 24 hours. I basically lost a whole day but I was sooo well rested on Saturday haha.
Saturday night Keith and I went to Mega 80's at the Intersection with 4 of the male PAs from work plus a few others. I was so glad Keith decided to go and we had a blast. It's always fun for me to hang out with people outside of a structured setting for the first time because people normally have a certain image of me and expectations that I will be quiet and boring and not drink and then I totally surprise them. I could see it on their faces Saturday night...it'll be interesting to see what kind of conversations occur this week. The band was great and I'm sure I'll be going to see them again. I wore a jean mini skirt (they were popular in the 80's right?). I gotta say I looked pretty good :)
Today is the first of December and I think December will be a magical month! This weekend is my work Christmas party (little nervous about that). Weekend after that is a possible Chicago trip. After that a reunion of the GVSU 4some in Ann Arbor. Then Christmas is right around the corner!
Oh and for those who were wondering, I did get the new Storm. I thought about taking it back, still thinking. I'll probably keep it. My mom says she can't hear me well on it sometimes and that is very annoying. No one else seems to have a problem. I can't hold it between my head and shoulder very well so having two free hands and talking on the phone is a no go. Thinking about a bluetooth. Sometimes the speeddial calls Kristin instead of Keith. Go figure. And it isn 't very easy to edit text. ALso, the screen rotates improperly sometimes. But I love the ability to check e-mail, IM, facebook anywhere I go. I love that I can have my music in it. The camera is nice. I can type pretty efficiently on the touchscreen. The VZ navigator is fun but I'm not going to pay the ten dollars a month for that. The internet connection is fairly quick and easy to use. So yeah.
OK, time to call my good friend Kristin!
Nov. 20th, 2008
10:09 pm - Bobbily
Time for a little ten minute journal before work! No one else is posting so I have to resort to posting myself.
I don't have much time but here are some fun highlights...
1. I've developed a habit of yelling "shut up" before I turn off the t.v. Whoever is talking always obeys. I think it gives me some sort of power trip. Quite enjoyable.
2. I've been working nights for the past 3 days. My feeding schedule is quite off and sleep just isn't happening for very long periods of time. I like nights though, the guys I've been working with are pretty entertaining.
3. Today I made some Calzones that I saw Martha Stewart make. They were mediocre but quite filling. I think it was mostly my fault because the filling I made was sub-par.
4. Tomorrow I'm getting a Blackberry Storm. I'm very excited and I hope that they still have some around when I go to my appointment at 830AM. I decided I'd rather get one then sleep before I go back to work at 3. Get ready for Zombie Jen!
5. I had dinner at Kobe the other day. Japanese steakhouses are always a good time. The time was made even better because I had only eaten some oatmeal that morning and then I went there and had one and a half big glasses of wine. My inhibitions had not completely returned by the time I arrived at work. Pretty sure I was talking way more loudly than usual for a little while. But don't worry, by the time I did any work I was straight as an arrow.
6. I've hit a road block in Wii tennis and am having trouble increasing my skill level :(
7. And now I'm heading off to the big disease ridden prison that is work!
PS: I have no plans this weekend...hang out with me!
Nov. 6th, 2008
01:23 pm - Almost Official
Well, it's almost official...tomorrow I will call NWOCC and turn down the job that I have been courting for almost a year now. Haha, what a waste of time, energy, and everything else for both parties. Oh well, if I hadn't checked it out I would always wonder "what if." In the end I'm 98% sure that I'm making the right decision to stay in GR.
Now it's time to start looking for a new apartment! I'm actually thinking about staying here for the winter...I don't know. I'll still keep my eyes open and if the perfect apartment pops up I'll grab it but I'm not really in a huge hurry. I do want to move downtown to be closer to work/friends/areas to walk but I have my gym membership til April and it would be a waste of that if I moved plus I have a nice garage here to keep my car all cozy.
Life in GR has been pretty swell recently. My Halloween party was a ton of fun and I was so happy so have some out of towners show up. Last weekend Keith and I went to a Halloween party and saw Tony who I haven't seen in way too long. That was an awesome party...lots of great decorations, costumes, and some potent potables haha. Luckily I didn't overdo the potables because I had to rise early and head to Frankenmuth Sunday morning. We had a good time stuffing our faces and looking at trinkets and ridiculously ugly sweaters.
This week I've been working second shift. Yesterday Keith and I headed out to Holland, had a tasty buffet lunch (with salmon cakes!) and then went out a walking trail and finally to the beach where we befriended a windsurfer. I REALLY want to learn to do that...it's an expensive hobby however...300 for two days of lessons 12oo for the kite, then you need a board/wet suit/etc. Perhaps in a few years.
So that's the main excitement...I'm staying in GR!! yay
Oct. 19th, 2008
01:59 pm - A lovely week
This has been a crazy and wonderful week!
Tuesday I went to a benefit for the Meijer Heart Center. It was a tad awkward since I was the youngest person there by a lot and the only PA. It was a bunch of doctors in suits trying to impress everyone. Almost no one at their desserts so I didn't either. I hope I'm not the type of person that would face backward in an elevator just because everyone else did but I just didn't want to look like a little piggy :) Overall it was entertaining and the food was delicious.
Wednesday I headed home, went to the dentist (no cavities!), then met up with Jayme and Kim for some yummy Lebanese food. I had never been to the place before, it was pretty good. It was nice to catch up with Kim and Jayme, haven't seen them for awhile. It's rare that we are all in town at the same time. Then I went home and got ready for my interview. It was pretty fun. After explaining in as much detail as I could how WMH operates both the cardiologists and MLPs asked me if they were hiring. Haha, doesn't instill much faith in NWOCC. I think it went pretty well. I'll find out tomorrow, when I talk to the HR guy. I would be surprised if I took that job but who knows...
Thursday I spent shopping with my mom and grandma. It was strange because usually when I'm with my mom she buys me everything. This time I paid for everyone's lunch (we had sushi!! mmm), I bought my own groceries and stuff for the Halloween party (my mom was encouraging me to buy all sorts of stuff) and I bought my grandma a belated birthday present. I also bought a new pair of tennis shoes. Geesh! We had a good time but got back later than I had planned and I still needed to find all my winter stuff and pack up my car. My grandma gave me a souvenir from Charleston which I just love. It's a picture frame with 3 4x6s, one of a fountain in a park downtown, one of rainbow row, and a sunset picture. She bought them the street market. They just bring back so many great memories. It was such a good gift. I didn't get out of the house till about 530 but that was fine. I got home and unpacked, watched The Office, wrote Thank You notes, and went to bed at a decent hour so I could endure my 15 hour day on Friday.
Friday at work was stressful but tolerable since I knew I had a great weekend coming up.
This weekend has been spectacular! I haven't been able to sleep in since I've been getting up so early all week so despite going to bed at one AM I'm still waking up at 7/730. Yesterday I got to the gym, just relaxed, then headed to the library and to meet up with Keith. We went on a little color tour walk on the white pine trail. We had quite the adventure. We discovered some toothbrush plants, milk weed, lots of grasshoppers and caterpillars, a praying mantis too. I tried to climb a tree and fell and Keith captured the moment in a series of photos. After that we headed to Robinette's for cider/donuts/caramel corn. We were going to get pumpkins there but they had a poor selection so we decided to go to Meijer for those. The orchard was a very nice fall experience. It was packed with people. It smelled soooo good!
Then we headed to Meijer but they only had like three crappy pumpkins. We called Cascade Meijer to see if they had any but the guy didn't know what a pumpkin was and when he finally figured it out he didn't want to check if they had any left so he hung up on me! Apparently I wasn't nice on the phone but I think they just misunderstood me. Anyhow, Jenny didn't think they would have any but Keith and I were determined to find some pumpkins so we made the trek over there and sure enough they had gobs of pumpkins. We had fun picking them out and ended up filling our cart with 7 good sized ones. Both Keith and I bought two. Back at my house we carved them, lit them, and toasted and ate their guts! The seeds were quite tasty. I have plenty more for the party too. Chris had brought his projector and hooked it up to the wii. It looked really good and was tons of fun. We played tennis until everyone's arms were tired then some bowling, then some rummy cube and called it a night.
Today I woke up early again and cleaned the house a little. I put out my decorations and decided I didn't have enough so I'm going to get some more on my next shopping trip. I also pumped up my bike tires in preparation for a ride possibly today. Now I think I'm going to work on my costume a little...probably going to watch The Bucket List tonight. I don't have to work until 3 tomorrow!! It's been a good day and its only 230!
Sep. 14th, 2008
10:59 pm - Lets Mambo, mambo gelato
For your listening pleasure...
What a lazy weekend I've had! All it did was rain so almost all I did was watch tv, play video games and sleep :) ahhh!
That's a lie really, Saturday I did a little shopping and didn't buy anything til after going bridesmaid dress shopping with Jenny and Jessie. I tried on four dresses and ended up liking a sexy little number..
After that I headed over to Jenny and Chris' place to prepare for "Italian Night" Jenny whipped up some yummy Italian themed treats and Keith and I ran out to get some gelato and wine. We went up to Keith's apt to eat and drink then took a trip down to the second floor to set up Keith's giant tent to see just how many people it could actually hold and do a dry run on how to set it up (we are going on a camping trip next month). That was quite the adventure, especially with a little wine on board! Justin and Jessie found us when we were almost done and we ended up ordering some pizza and then settled down (sort of) to watch La Dolce Vita. This is the most random, pointless movie I've ever seen. No one could really say what the plot was. Characters just kind of came and then were gone, never to be seen again. It was also a really long movie. We had fun making jokes about it for awhile but in the end we finally fast forwarded through a lot of it. Oh well, at least we tried. We then played a little game of pictionary (which actually got quite competitive). My team lost but we sure did put up a good fight and it was neck in neck at the end. After that it was time to call it a night.
I've been talking to the cardiology group in Toledo again about a job there. Two weeks ago they told me they decided they wouldn't have enough patience to have a new grad then last week they said they changed their minds and would I like a second interview? So I'll probably do it just to see what they have to offer but I don't know how I feel about it now, not sure I'd want it if they offered...guess I don't have to worry about it right now though, the interview won't be til next month.
I've been doing a little thinking recently about my lack of effort to attract the opposite sex. A comment was made to me this weekend that I am bad at boys and I took it harder than expected. I brushed it off and said "well, it's true" but really I don't think it is true. How can you be bad at something if you don't really try? Haha. I've never been one of those girls who tried to be "good at boys" because I have never really cared if I had one or not. Sometimes I look at people's relationships and think about how terrible it must be to have to try so hard to get someone to want to stay with you. I know a lot of people who just date and have relationships because they can't stand being alone. I'm not saying that's all bad. Having a relationship of any kind can be fun and exciting but it can also be draining in more ways than one and I'd rather not. I figure if the right guy comes along I'll know it and with him I won't have to try all that hard. Not to say that any relationship is ever easy. So it's not really that I don't want a relationship and it's not that I really want one either. I made the mistake of wanting one last year around this time and ended up regretting it a little. Haha, that only lasted like a week before I bluntly said as we were cuddling one night "I don't think this is working" oh my, he was surprised! Good times. I really don't want to have to kiss a million frogs before finding my prince but on the other hand I suppose if you don't kiss a few toads you won't know which one is the prince... It could all be a defense mechanism to avoid rejection too...I know there is a little of that mixed in too.
To totally go against my last paragraph, Keith and I have been planning a boy hunt weekend next weekend. We both have the weekend off so we are planning to hit up a few bars. I'm sure we'll find some toads there!
Oh, and I think I'm having the Halloween party this year. I'm really excited because I haven't had a party since Jan or Feb when I threw myself a going away party. I already know what my costume is going to be and I've bought the main accessories on EBay (gotta love ebay, you can find ANYTHING!!). Of course it's a secret this year too! I don't think it will be as cool as last year but it will be funny. The only thing is it's kind of a frumpy outfit...maybe I'll do two outfits this year? Who wants to look frumpy at their own party? We'll see. It should be a good time. Halloween is on a Friday this year so I'll probably have it on the following Saturday but maybe I'll have it on the Saturday before so it doesn't interfere with so many other parties...hmmm, I do want a good turn out...what do you people think?
Oh, and just to document...I had an awesome Labor day weekend!! Went to the Michigan season opener at the Big House with Kristin, Mike and Tom. We tailgated with Kristin's brother. Then we did midnight swimming and met Johnny Five (homeless drunk guy who apparently has traveled all over the world haha!). The next morning I hung out for a little while then went home to chill with the rents and take my grandma out for ice cream. Headed back to AA on Monday morning to meet up with the usual suspects and then we went to Detroit to watch the Tigers play. It was my first time seeing them play too. Unfortunately both teams lost but it was fun anyhow. Later Tom made us some homemade ice cream. What a great weekend! Oh and we played some mario kart and Johnny Five was in one of the races (you can play people from around the world, it randomly selects other people who are playing at the same time) that was crazy. I got addicted to wii at Tom's so last week I went out and bought one. They are so much fun. Great for a crowd.
Aug. 18th, 2008
10:33 pm - Update time
What’s been happening in the past month? LOTS! I guess I’ll start at the beginning. I’m not going into much detail (I usually don’t anyhow).
1. Sue and I quasi-made up. We wrote back and forth and decided that we didn’t hate each other. Apparently she was mad because I didn’t try hard enough to get to know her, which I didn’t, but I don’t understand why she had to suddenly quit being civil. It’s over now and we are both going our separate ways. Good luck to her.
2. I moved into Kristin’s condo which was sitting empty since she moved to Troy. I was extremely sad that I didn’t get to move into the Globe but I just couldn’t sign a 12 mo lease The condo is nice, big, has A/C (which I never use), a W/D, and best part is that I have it all to myself! I’m loving it. Also, I love that when Kristin comes to GR we get to have sleepovers!
3. I did the Master Cleanse aka Lemonade Diet (basically all that you eat is a lemon juice/ maple syrup mixture and nothing else in order to cleanse your GI tract of built up toxins/ icky stuff). It cured the GI upset that I had been having that that’s about it. People have claimed that it has improved just about everything. I was hoping it would cure my sugar cravings and bad complexion but no such luck. I quit it after 7 and a half days when I was supposed to go for ten days but I started focusing on the weight I was losing and not the cleansing aspect so I decided I better quit. I lost 17 lbs and then gained it all back, which I totally expected to do but losing that weight made me feel so good about my body and now I have a reason to get back there the healthy way…we’ll see how that goes. All in all I’m glad I did it. I love trying new things. It was actually empowering to me and although I probably won’t do it again I must say it was well worth it.
4. I had my last day of work at the manor which was wonderful.
5. Before I started at WMH I decided to go on a little road trip. Thursday I went to East Lansing to see Tony and we met up with Travis and his new wife at PF Changs (not worth the price but good none the less). Then we went to see Pineapple Express which was hilarious. Then Tony and I went back to his place and watched Frequency. It was super fun to see that boy. I hadn’t seen him for a whole year! Man, I wish he were in the GR area for rotations.
6. The next morning I headed home for my interview at NWOCC. It went well but I didn’t really find out anything new. I won’t know for another week if I get a second interview. I hate waiting!
7. I spent the next couple days at home chillin with the family. My mom, grandma and I went to The Festival of India in Toledo. It was super cool, we had some good food and saw some dancing, crafts, and singing, and got a tour of the temple. They took me out to Red Lobster one night and we watched No Reservations together. Good bonding times.
8. Finally I headed to Ann Arbor on Monday. On my way up I got another speeding ticket. I swear I barely every speed now but that damn cop caught me. Once in AA I met up with Mike and Kristin at Mike’s new apt. It was good to see him, had been at least 2 months. We walked around downtown then made some dinner. His roomies Tom and Adam were there too. I played Wii for the first time and love it. Now it is at the top of my “to buy” list. Haha, I’ll probably never get one. Then I headed back to GR. I spent most of Tuesday freaking out about starting at WMH on Wednesday. I went out to lunch at On The Border with people from my old work. That was very nice…I’ll miss them. Wes came over to see the new place on Tuesday too. That’s another one I haven’t seen in months.
9. So far work has been fine but I’ve only been in the office watching stress tests which is a little boring. I have to watch fifty before I can supervise them in the hospital. I finally finished them today. It only took me till 11 am to finish today so I had the rest of the day off.
10. With that day off Keith, Jessie, and I went blueberry picking and to the beach. That was exactly that I needed before my first day at the hospital tomorrow! I’m pretty nervous but I’m sure it will go okay. Oh and Keith gave me the most thoughtful congrats card today…it’s hard to describe but it was homemade and just screamed “Keith” haha.
So that’s not everything, I’m sure. There have been cookouts with frog ponds and kabobs to celebrate the birth of Keith. There was a beautiful day at the beach with my lovely friend Tod whom I see so rarely these days. Carrie had a bacholorette party which I skipped half of because I’m afraid of playing paintball. We did go to San Chez though and it was scrumptious! There has been lots of Olympics watching (love gymnastics!). Those are the highlights.
Take care till next time!
Jul. 18th, 2008
12:55 pm - The Maze
I’ve always been very lucky in my life. If I wanted something I usually got it. High school was easy, getting into colleges was easy, getting into grad school was no problem, I felt so secure that I didn’t even have a back-up plan. For the most part I got the rotations I wanted…then came the past 4 months. I wanted a job in Charleston but that didn’t work out. Then I wanted a job in Toledo but that didn’t work out. Finally I accepted a job with West Michigan Heart. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted but it would do for a few years. Now I’m moving to my own apartment, I finally have a start date set for my new job. All I’ve been thinking about lately is how I will decorate, how fun it will be to live next door to Keith, Jenny, and Chris, and what I’m going to do for my housewarming party. My life is coming together, settling a little bit. Last night I was telling the girl I was working with how everything lately has been so last minute and as soon as I think something is settled it becomes unsettled. I’m just not used to this type of fly by the seat of your pants lifestyle. It makes me feel insecure and common. Like I don’t have control over my life.
So I came home from my 16 hour shift (with my moving boxes) and what do I find in my e-mail? A letter from Mike from NWOCC in Toledo saying that they are going to be hiring PAs. YEAH. That’s what I was trying my darndest for just a few short months ago. So now what do I do? After much thought I decided that I have to check it out. I sent my resume and asked for an interview this morning. The thought of leaving GR makes me a little sick but I at least have to inquire.
My plan today was to pack up a little bit. As I started on the first box it occurred to me that I didn’t even know where I was packing for. The Globe? Toledo? Haha, where will I be in 2 weeks? Most likely the Globe but really, if NWOCC is a good offer I’m not sure I can turn it down (if they offer). So I packed my box and then realized that I have nothing in my apartment and I really didn’t have anything else to pack so I decided to write this entry! At least I know that I won’t be living in College Hill anymore. That is one definite. Sue is moving a bunch of her stuff now…perhaps she’ll move out this weekend!
Jun. 12th, 2008
10:27 pm - Living in the Past
The past few days have been a vacation of sorts and I need to reminisce right now before the torture of today takes a hold of my affect anymore.
I had been planning on going home on Saturday but then Jessie offered her Rampage tickets for Saturday night and I had wanted to make and appearance at the Festival of the Arts so I decided to stay until Sunday. So Saturday I headed over to Jessie’s to get the tickets and while I was there I took a dip in her pool which was soo refreshing! Then I headed home and eventually made my way down to the Festival which was super fun. I watched a bunch of dancers and musicians. There was some very entertaining people watching to do as well. I ran into an old classmate who was doing the EMS for the event and gave him a hard time about missing our graduation.
Then I met up with Keith to go to the Rampage game. I was a little unhappy when he got there 15 minutes late for no good reason and I told him I was unhappy. His response was not very nice and it kind of put a damper on the rest of the night. I tried really hard to restore the normal dynamics but it was useless. Overall it was a wonderful day with a drab ending. The game was pretty neat. I’ve never been to an arena football game before and the Rampage won so YAY!
Sunday I headed home. As soon as I got there it was decided that we were all going to go up to Mary’s dad’s lake house. “We” includes my mom and dad, brother, and grandma! My grandma never does things like that (neither do my parents really) so I was really excited to spend the day with them. Steve and Mary had brought their dog Henry with them from Charleston. Then Mary’s dad, step-mom, step-sister, two cousins plus a 2.5 year old, and step-brother’s ex girlfriend and their 6mo old baby were also there.
We went out for a boat ride, played with the puppies, did some tubing, Steve and Grandma took the paddle boat out. While we were tubing the sky got super dark and right as we got in the winds kicked up. It down poured for about 10 minutes. The wind was crazy. We took that as a cue to eat and had a lovely meal. It was super relaxing and really nice to hang out with the fam and meet some more of Mary’s family. On the drive back my dad got pulled over for drunk driving! Haha, no, he hadn’t had a drop! I was driving behind him and this crazy cop passes me on a 2 lane country road to get behind my dad then slams on the breaks to make a left hand turn and finally turned on the lights and pulled him over. My grandma and I were perplexed and why the heck he would be pulling him over. We defiantly weren’t speeding. Turns out the cop said my dad went left of center so he made him do the “follow the light test.” He just got a warning but I really didn’t even see him go left of center. It was odd. To top it off we were only a ¼ mile from our house! Haha poor daddy.
Monday was Cedar Point day. After being stood up by my only friend who had said he was going to go I didn’t really want to go at all but I felt bad hoeing out my brother and Mary so I put on a happy face and went. My brother’s friend Dave, who is staring his residency in Chicago soon, and Mary’s step-sister, Allissa, also went so we had 5. It turned out to be really fun and I was glad I went. We all got along pretty well. The park wasn’t that busy and the white-trash count was very low. I think it is a product of the poor economy but it was also threatening to rain and a little early in the season I suppose. We got on a lot of rides including the water rides which I haven’t ridden in several years. We had just got secured into the Raptor when they unfastened the harnesses and told us to exit left. They shut down the ride due to incoming weather We were so close! At that point it looked like a storm was brewing so we headed for cover at the Snoopy restaurant. As soon as we ordered from out nicotine deprived waitress the skies cleared and when we were done it was pouring again. By that time it was about 8 and we decided to head home. The only rides we didn’t go on that I would have liked were Raptor, Top Thrill, and Mantis. Oh well. It was nice to get home at a decent time I suppose.
Tuesday Steve, mom, grandma and I went out for lunch at China City. Yeah, it’s a generic name but the food was really good. It’s the only buffet that I’ve been to with sushi that I would deem “good.” I impressed everyone with my chop-stick ability as well! After that we went shopping a little. I was so tired that I kept falling asleep on the drive home. Luckily no one noticed, they would have freaked out. I’m so used to afternoon naps now. It’s not good!
That night we had a little birthday party for Mary. I gave her a stepping stone kit for pets. You’re supposed to make an imprint of their paw. She is so obsessed with Henry it’s funny. I think she really liked the gift. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Poor little Henry started having seizures about a week ago. Lots of them over a few days so they had to start him on phenobarb. As far as I know he hasn’t had another one since. I hope it works for him, he is such a sweet dog and they love him so much.
Tuesday night I drove back and now it’s back to real life…ugh! At least I have a TV now! Not that I watch it that much but sometimes you just need some tv time.
Oh, and for those who didn't know, I accepted a job at west michigan heart. I'll be in Grand Rapids for a little while longer!
May. 6th, 2008
01:25 am - All Nighter
Ever have those nights where you just can't sleep? The more you try the less tired you feel until you realize that it's just not worth it anymore. This is one of those nights for me. My alarm is set for 4.5 hours from now and sleep is not anywhere in sight. I haven't updated for awhile so here I am...
Life has been...crazy, I guess I'll describe it that way.
I'm finally finished with research!! It feels so good! I have 110 page bound copy if you're interested in some light reading. I graduated last Friday. The ceremony was actually better than I expected. It was strange to say goodbyes. I just spent 3 years with these people and I'll probably never see many of them again. I got to talk to John which was really nice. I look pretty hott in my long white coat! My parents and grandma came up and I made them dinner since we didn't have time to go out. It was a pretty big hit and very nice to have them all here supporting me. That night there was supposed to be a big party in Kzoo at Dan's house so Mike and I headed that way. It really was a huge party. We pretty much had our own private party on the third floor and roof with Dan, me, Mike, and some other cool people. For some reason I decided to drink a lot though and my night ended early. I can no longer say I've never gotten sick from drinking :( That morning Mike and I headed home for GR around 8 am but before we even got on 131 I got hit by a semi-truck. We spent most of the next 4 hours in the back of the police car, at McDonalds, or at Menards. It really sucked. That incident basically ruined my life for the next week. I'm finally getting over it though. Hopefully I will have my car back soon. Many a tears have been shed over it but as everyone says "we should be thankful everyone was ok and it wasn't any worse."
Since then I've basically been studying for the boards which are a week from today! It's a six hour test and I can't wait until it's over. This week will hopefully consist of 5-7 hours of studying each day as long as I don't have to make any more inconvenient trips home.
Still no job. I've had a couple interviews at West Michigan Heart. My summer is basically open, I can't practice until August so I'll be working as much as possible at the manor but otherwise just working on my tan and possibly studying some cardio and of course enjoying my GR friends.
Those are the major headings of my life recently. Lots more has happened but, eh.
Tonight Keith and I went to Grayson's Landing (I have no idea if that's actually the right name) and I had a German beer with a wheat base (it was called In Heat Wheat) that had flavors of banana and cloves in it. Yeah, it sounds really strange but it was the special so I got it and it was actually really good. Yes, I could taste the banana! Haha. If you live in GR and like beer you might want to check this place out. I really don't know anything about beer (I actually asked the waiter what %abv meant!) but their drink menu is literally about 8 pages long. There must be some good stuff in there. Note: the food was not impressive!
ok, i think I'm gonna go watch some tv...hope everyone had a great Cinco de mayo and has a wonderful seises de mayo as well!
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awakeApr. 11th, 2008
10:57 pm - I smell a rat
Hello!! I don't remember when I last updated so there may be some repeat here...whats new?
Well I'm back in Michigan. No job opportunities showed up in Charleston and that was very disappointing for me. I had such a good time there and I'm missing it sooo bad. I think about it everyday. I check the weather forecast everyday. It's pathetic. I complain to my friends how I wish I were there instead. How rude! But I can't help it. When I write Dr. O'Steen to tell him thanks and where I'm working I'm going to seriously tell him to keep me in mind two years from now when he needs a PA. If he asked me to come down there I can't imagine saying "no". I really need to try to put that all out of my mind right now though. It's not going to happen right now and that's that.
As much as I miss Charleston, I have also missed Grand Rapids. Seeing all my friends again is very lovely. I've missed them all so much and they have all made me feel so loved since I've been back. I was so happy to go out to dinner with Tod, Emily, Keith, Jenny, Chris, Jessie, Keith, and Liz the other day. How lucky that they were all assembled right when I returned! Mike has been extra lovey since I've been back too. I think he is dreading the eventual end of PA school and thus end of being close to everyone. I had so much fun with him and Keith the other night. We watched Sweeny Todd. Odd movie, but worth the rental. Then last night was the celebration of my taking the PACKRAT (practice test for the certifying exam) and Summitive (model patient exam) I passed the first one and haven't heard back about the summitive yet. I almost didn't make it to my own party. That stupid summitive stressed me out so much. I was supposed to go at 230 and didn't end up going til 4 and then I was all rushed...I really hope I passed! I had the mean guy who failed everyone for an evaluator so I'm not too confident. I diagnosed my patient with diabetes. It was fun. Anyway, my brain must have been working overtime because I got a migraine. I took some medicine as soon as I got home and laid down but it was already peaking to the point where I was praying to throw up. Usually if I can do that I feel instantly better. So finally I got it all out. Poor Sue thought I was coughing and came in to see if I needed anything. I had folded up all my sheets and propped my air mattress against the wall because someone came to look at the apt that day and she made my bed up for me so I could lay down. What a good roommate! But after the cookies flew I felt 90% better and got ready to go out to the bar. We had such a good time! I had my first Oberon for the season, we played ping-pong, pool, and darts and I got to catch up with Mike, Bethany, and Carrie, met a few new people...wonderful
I've also been catching up with and old intermittent friend recently. Oddly, Wes and I have been talking more than normal. For some reason he has been trying to be a good friend for the past couple weeks. I'm not sure what to think about it. Of course I'm not complaining. He came over Monday night and watched the basketball finals with me. He was insistent that we need to hang out more outside of my apartment. We decided that we need to hang out in public so we can't make out. I don't know what it is about that boy but we are just like magnets :) I invited him to come out on Thursday night and he said he would but then didn't show. I wasn't surprised. I was surprised, however, when he called me today to apologize and say how much he wished he could have been there and that if we do anything again I should invite him. This sudden new investment in our friendship is quite interesting to me. I'm trying to decide if I should just ask him directly why he's changed his ways or if I should just go with the flow. I'll probably ask him. I think I have a right to know. He'll probably lie though or make a joke out of it. He is in sales. I don't trust sales people.
Finally, news on the job front...Dr Upamaka (from NWOCC in Toledo) called me Wednesday night to say he went above the guy who told me "we aren't hiring" and now I have an interview. At first I doubted that Dr. U could pull enough strings to get me hired when they aren't hiring but perhaps I was wrong...he sounded pretty confident that I would be making NWOCC my new home. I hope he's right, that would be a beautiful thing. This job is exactly what I'm looking for (only downfall is that it's not in Charleston).
I can't tell you how many people have told me "it'll all work out" I hope they are right because I'm starting to believe them.
Oh, and I stopped by work today. Saw some of the old co-workers and residents. Saw the cook I don't get along with. When I left today she said "have a good life" in a way that screamed "I'm glad I don't work with you anymore and I'm jealous that you are moving on and I'm old and stuck in this crappy job". Yeah, still Ms. Sunshine! But it was nice to see some people again and catch up. Seems like it's been longer than 2 months!
Ok, that'll do for now.
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fatApr. 2nd, 2008
10:26 pm - What the UCK??
I really can't believe that this just happened. Just a couple minutes ago someone who I really don't even like but hang out with anyway told me that they couldn't be my friend anymore because they might be getting together with an ex-girlfriend. Most of you can probably guess who this person is. I really didn't want to be friends with him anyway so I should be happy (and I partially am) but there is a bigger part that is quit not happy about it.
I really can't imagine telling one of my friends that I wasn't going to be friends with them anymore because of someone I"m dating. "I really don't want it to be this way but if she knew we had dated in the past it would tear her up" I don't think I would ever be very serious with someone who was that insecure/possessive/ who I couldn't trust.
The worst part is that they told me this online and I know that they thought "oh she is going to be so upset that I'm choosing my ex over her." I can't stand being thought of as dependent on other people, like my happiness is effected by his friendship. My happiness is dependent on lots of people's friendships but not his. As I was sitting there thinking about what I knew he was thinking I felt I had to restrain myself from saying some very blunt things. No matter how hard I would have tried to explain to him why I really don't care if he does it to me but strongly disapprove of it in general I know the end message he would have taken away would be "gee, she was so defensive, she must really be hurt." How LAME...I actually told him that I thought that it was lame and very briefly explained why I would never do that or date someone who made me do that. The I wished him luck (because he will surely need it) and said goodbye.
I think this relationship has a very high pre-test probability of failure but hey, they just might be good for each other.
In other news I had a crazy dream last night. It is actually the second dream I've had where I have been involved in a "College shooting spree" I guess all the news stories have really gotten to me. Anyways I was on some kind of road trip with a bunch of people (can't remember who though). We were driving past a college and outside there were a bunch of really tall slides (the totally enclosed twisted tube kind like you see at water parks)that were covered in snow and the slides were all icy. There were really long lines to go down and a bunch of us got out to get in line but while we were there some guy started trying to push a cube of ice about the size of a pillow up the ladder of our slide. He was pushing everyone out of the way to do it. So Carrie (from PA school) started telling the guy that he couldn't do that and that he was being really rude and he suddenly pulls out a gun and points it at her. Then the shooting starts and I just hit the ground and cover my face thinking "not again" (remembering my last dream where this happened) after a few terrifying seconds the shooting stops and I look up and two of the people I came with were looking around too. Not knowing if the shooter is still around we dash to the car, which is only a few yards away. I'm in the driver's seat and I guess I was so nervous I couldn't get the car started. Then somehow I'm in my driveway (in Toledo) but still trying to escape because we are afraid the killer is going to start shooting any second but I still can't get my car started. I remember worrying about weather I would use the turn around in the driveway to back up and turn around or if I should just floor it in reverse to the road and then put it in drive. I also remember the three of us thinking about where we were going to get some food. Somewhere between dream and awakedness I thought I must be pretty messed up if I'm going to flee a murder scene to go to Taco Bell instead of calling 911 and going to the police or at least my family.
I hope I have more pleasant dreams tonight
Tomorrow is my last day to interact with patients as a student!!! Very exciting, very scary, pretty unbelievable.
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satisfiedMar. 31st, 2008
12:24 am - Chilly Willy
I was just reading over my entries and realized that the last two had a lot of repetition in them! Haha my memory is going out the window. It's sad. Shall I describe it all a third time? I also just read the comments from two posts ago! I thought those things got e-mailed to me but apparently I missed them somehow. Sorry for not responding to anyone but thanks for all the well wishes and I will be back in a week!!
Nothing new has really been going except I've been super stressed for the past four days and it sucks. I'm not used to feeling this stressed and I'm not handling it very well. Finding a dream job down here has proved to be harder than I anticipated. Toledo is looking like a surer and surer thing but I'm not giving up on Charleston yet. I know that if I found a job here I would stay in a heartbeat but SC is not a very PA friendly place and looks like no cardiologist are hiring right now.
So what have I been up to the past week? Pretty sure I didn't do anything fun all week until Thursday I had a half day so I laid outside for a little bit, took Henry to the dog park. Friday was another half day and I headed to the beach for the first time. I was surprised at how packed it was being that it was only about 74 and quite windy but I guess it is Spring break week. I didn't stay too long because it was so windy that my ear was filling up with sand and I was chilly but at least I can say that I made it out there. Then I came home and laid out in the peacefulness of the backyard. That night Steve, Mary, and I went out to Basil, a Thai restaurant downtown. We ate outside even though it was a little chilly. It was either be seated immediately and eat outside or wait 45 minutes to eat inside. THe food was very good, not too spicy but it had a good kick to it. We came home and Mary backed some triangle cakes for someone's birthday and I fell asleep to Madagascar. Saturday I slept in, did a bunch or raking (figured I better do some manual labor since I"m not paying rent). We were going to go see a movie. I wanted to see Horten Hears a Who but Mary wanted to see Twenty One so I said I didn't really want to go and then no one went. We went to bed at ten thirty...dorks! Then today we went to Isle of Palms to take Henry to the dog park there because it doesn't have a muddy drainage lake like the one here. However, Henry still managed to jump into the water bucket so he still got all wet and dirty. We had a blast though, there were some fun dogs there to play with. After that we got a pizza from the creepiest Papa John's I've ever seen. Then on the way home Henry threw up in the car. Later he jumped the baby fence and got into his big bag of dog food. No one knows how much he ate but he was VERY thirsty the rest of the day. Then I made my famous Tomato Bisque en Crute for Steve and Mary. One of them came out perfectly, the best I've ever done but the others came out flat. I think they really liked it. Steve even had to take a couple pictures of it. Makes me feel good that they enjoyed it.
I guess thats really all I did. The rest of my time was spent doing stuff for school or working on finding a job (which was not fruitful). I only have a few days left...I'm totally stressing out. I totally don't have enough time. Research is going poorly. I still have a million and a half things to do...I need to go to bed!
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stressedMar. 23rd, 2008
04:31 pm - Non-traditionalist
First off, Happy Easter everyone! My Easter has been going well. It's been a little different from most years. We started off by going on an early morning kayak trip at a swamp about an hour north of Charleston. It was supposed to be a two hour guided excursion with the possibility of seeing lots of wildlife including birds, turtles, lizards, mammals, and alligators. It ended up being a three hour trip but all we saw were some wood ducks, hawks, and a log that kind of looked like an alligator. Haha, the greenery was neat too though, our guide was telling us all about the different types of trees and whatnot. I love kayaking, what a perfect start to the day! Afterwards we were going to have lunch at Jack's Cosmic Dogs (sounded kind of like a Yesterdog for the GR peeps out there) but they were closed so we went to Sonic instead. I wanted to go to Sonic just because there are always all those commercials on tv and no Sonic around. So now I can say I've been there AND, of course, I got at slushy! It was pretty tasty.
All we've done so far that resembled easter was I hid some chocolate eggs around the house for Steve and Mary to find. I think Mary is making lamb for dinner as well.
So that was today, what else have I been up to? This past weekend was kind of boring. Mary went to Chigaco so Steve and I just kind of hung out. I went shopping and to Magnolia Plantation. I don't remember if I talked about the plantation yet or not. It was pretty neat. I'm not a huge history buff but just being in a place with that much history is really awesome. They had a bamboo forest there that was really fun. There were over 900 species of Camillia plants, there was a petting zoo, wildlife lookout, all kinds of fun stuff. Monday I worked, Tuesday we had a half day. We were done by one so I went for a little trip downtown. I walked around for 4 hours and still didn't see everything. I stopped at a little cafe for lunch, walked down to the riverfront area, by all the old expensive houses, down King street with all the shopping, through the college campus, a couple parks, and a ton of other streets with fun houses on them. I even found "Stoll's Ally". At the end of the day I went to a Pharmecutical dinner at Magnolia's a much talked about restaurant downtown. I met a fun group of people there and had a nice meal. Shellfish over grits with crabmeat, shrimp, and scallops. It was my first time having grits and everyone laughed at me for never having them before and at the end of the meal I had a plateful of grits left still but really, if you were approaching extremely full and had to choose between eating shrimp/crab/scallops or grits, and had to throw the rest away what would you choose? I probably looked like a stuck up Northerner but oh well.
Wednesday I worked. Thursday I got done at one again so I came home and did some studying then went out to B Dubs with Steve and some of his friends. Friday was Good Friday and both Steve and I had the day off so we lazed around the house then went shopping and I made turkey meatballs and gnocchi for dinner. Then we all took Henry for a walk, came home and Mary made some hot fudge dessert and we watched a Nightline special about Prostitution. It was quite educational. Saturday morning Mary and I took Henry to the dog park which was really fun. This town loves dogs. I don't think there are any dog parks in GR or Toledo. There should be though, it's so fun and Henry definatly loved it. After that I went for a run then studied a little and then got ready to go out. We met up with a couple of Steve and Mary's friends at Trusted Palate, a wine bar downtown. It was really cute, nice selection of wines, cheese and meat trays, hummus was delish, they also had paninis and salads on the menu. There were comfy sofas/chairs and tons of artwork. Mary and one of the girls we met there know the chef so we talked to him for a little while and he told us about all the goings on. Turns out they were the hosts of the after party of the fashion show that night (it's fashion week in Chuck town...I really shouldn't be here during that week!) so around 10 a bunch of very strangely dressed people started coming in. There were girls covered in sequins and face paint, guys with whacked out hair wearing sunglasses in the dark...we ended up leaving because it got so packed and the crowd was so strange.
The rotation is still going well. Dr O'Steen and I have lots of fun. He still grills me some days and I end up looking like a dummy but for the most part it's ok. I tried to be mad at him one day because he called me out on missing a murmur right in front of a patient but I couldn't stay mad, he's quite funny. It's nice to be working with someone newer. He definitely doesn't have everything figured out and set yet and that's nice to know so when I start I don't feel so bad for not being up to Singh or Upamaka status. He is trying to buy a house currently, Wednesday on our way between hospitals we took a detour and stopped by the house that he really likes and checked it out. It was pretty nice but needs some work, lots of potential though. He lives downtown right now. He offered to let me park at his house so I could go running downtown and not have to park on the street (he even offered to run with me). I would love to see the downtown residence. I guess he lives in an apartment style known as a "Charleston Single." They are two story buildings that have been split into an upper and lower apartment. Basically, each apartment is one big room with two windows on each side (not sure if there are windows on 3 or 4 of the walls)and a good sized balcony/porch. When these houses were built they were built that way so when the weather gets really hot you can open all the windows and the breeze will just go right through and then people would put mattresses on the balcony sleep out there on really hot nights. Here's a pretty classic example... http://images.google.com/imgres?img
So there you are! Have a good day all!
Mar. 18th, 2008
10:50 pm - On Becoming Southern
Today was an all over day. Started out bad, then was okay, and ended well.
I had to be at a meeting at 7 am this morning, which was interesting. Then Dr O'Steen and I drove to the other hospital, about 20 minutes away and had a nice conversation in the car about the pros/cons of Charleston and medicine in general. Once there though I was being stupid, missed a murmmur and then got mad at myself for being so dumb. I can't stay mad at Dr. O for long though so it wasn't soo bad but I just wish I could be more impressive :( The rest of the day was ok, we had some procedures, one went poorly and the other was kind of exciting. It was a half day today so we were done at one. As we were leaving Dr. O'Steen offered to let me park at his house if I wanted to go running and a area with lots of cool old houses, he lives downtown so that would be very nice to be able to park off the street for free. He even offered to go jogging with me.
From one to five I tooled around downtown, walked to the docks, around King Street which has all the stores along it, and down lots of random streets with fun houses. I even found an ally called Stoll's ally! I didn't make it to the market area which is a fun section to visit.
To top off the evening I went to a pharmaceutical dinner at Magnolia's. I went by myself and ended up meeting some really nice people. They were all full of questions for me about why I was in Charleston and if I wanted to stay etc. The talk was good, short and sweet, about Micardis. The food was pretty good too. I had grits for the first time, can't say that I love them or anything, reminds me of rice which I'm not a huge fan of either. What I actually had was shellfish over grits with shrimp, scallops, and crab meat. I also had some white wine which was excellent. I wish I could remember what it was called. One of the doctors who attended imports it from Spain and he said it was the only import to the US of that type of wine. From the time I got to Magnolia's I was feeling pretty flush. At first I chalked it up to being stressed due to the awkward social situation (not knowing anyone, being the only PA there, etc), then I thought maybe it was the wine getting to me a little quicker than expected. Finally when I got home I realized that I had a significant sunburn on my chest in the scoop shape of my top! The sun wasn't out all day and I was in the shade a considerable amount of the time but somehow I still burnt. At least my face was saved via the 15 SPF moisturizer I use. The first burn of the year is always a little exciting though so I can't say I'm too upset about it.
That's my abbreviated story! Goodnight (or day sir!)
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disappointedMar. 12th, 2008
09:12 pm - Greetings from Charleston
Hello All!! Time for another quick recap on the life of Jen!
I finished my rotation in Toledo. It was wonderful and I miss Dr. Upamaka and AJ the PA a ton. They were so good to me. If I want a job there it sounds like I'm a shoe in. Both AJ and Upamaka want me to work there and said they would make a case to the others as to why I should be hired. The thing is that I just can't imagine living in Toledo but this job is exactly what I would want. Hospital most of the time and office one day a week. Pay is good, benefits are nice.
Last friday my mom and I headed down to Charleston. We decided to take it in two days. The weather was pretty crazy the whole way. We went through snow, sleet, rain, fog, and wind. The snow was pretty bad but the sleet was worse. At one point we saw 6 wrecked cars in a quarter mile streach and I'm not exaggerating. One of them we actually saw happen. The guy just spun out, did a 180 and smacked into the guard rail in the median. There were two more accidents, one the people were just getting out of the cars and the other the police were there. Then there was another car out in the median crunched up. All these cars were really smashed bad. Outside of the quarter mile there were lots more cars off and even on the other side in the traffic going the other way there were wrecks. Needless to day I slowed wayyyy down after that. The temp was 32 and it was rain/sleeting...not good. But we did make it in one piece in pretty good time with no major arguments on the way.
We got here on Saturday at 104. It was a little chilly and I was worried because I really didn't bring many warm clothes. Luckily the weather has improved every day since our arrival. Today it was 72 and sunny. I love love love it. Driving with my sunroof open, windows down, tunes cranked. Feels soo good! Bye bye SAD! I finally got to see Mary's house and Steve and Mary's new dog, Henry. They have a cute place here, nice neighborhood, perfect to take the dog for runs. Henry is fun, playful, but not cuddly. He is a pretty good running partner and Mary loves that I take him out every day so she doesn't have to. I'm glad to be of some use here. On Saturday we pretty much just chilled, I unpacked. Sunday we drove around, found where I was going to be working, made extra keys for the house, went shopping at an outlet mall, and went out to eat at California Dreaming, a nice restaurant that overlooks the bay/river. We had a delicious meal and saw some dolphins jumping around. Last night we went to Yokaso, one of those Japanese steakhouses where they cook the food in front of you. It was pretty good but I've been to a better one. Still, very fun and tasty. It was kind of a goodbye dinner for my mom, she left early this morning.
Work has been going surprisingly well. At first I thought it might be a disaster. I really knew nothing about this practice or the Dr. I'd be working for. So Monday I go in to the office and the Dr wasn't there yet so the girls kind of showed me around. They were super nice. I met one of the other docs who was also nice. Then Dr. Matthew O'Steen strolls in. First impression: kind of looks like a stoner...tall, thin, shaggy hairstyle, wearing scrubs and a pull over jacket. The first thing he said was how he was worried about me because he didn't know if I knew where to go. He really is pretty nice and he does worry about me and think a lot about what I, as a student, might need. It took a little getting used to working with a young white guy instead of an older Indian guy. I found out that he is 33 and has only been working as a real cardiologist for 6 months. At first he seemed like he was going to be a hard ass, asking lots of questions, checking everything I did with a fine tooth comb but now I think maybe that was just him trying to figure out if he should trust me, what I was comfortable with, what I needed help with. I've worked with him 3 days now and I already love him. It reminds me of working with John. Just really easy to joke around with, laid back, still remembers what it was like to be a student so they don't work the crap out of you and give you a hard time about everything. I think it will be a good rotation. Right now I think he thinks I'm an idiot. Sometimes I am but seriously, I haven't been too steller the past few days. I really gotta get it together. Should probably study instead of updating.
I feel like I've made some kind of crazy transformation in the past three months. One thing that I always remember, and think about when people mention that I'm shy is when I went for my interview for the STAGE program (I have no idea what STAGE stands for, everyone always called it "gifted") I was going into the 5th grade and my mom, dad, and I had a meeting with the lady whose stupid name I can't remember right now and she said something about how she used to be shy and that I just needed "to come out of your shell" and that kind of pissed me off. It made me feel like the way I was wasn't good enough and everyone probably wished I were different. She thought the program would help me to do that but it didn't. I never forgot that and it still bothers me today. I never liked being quite anyways because I always thought people would think I was weird. One time my mom told me that people might think I was stuck up because I didn't talk to them. That didn't help things either. Anyway, the reason I bring up my traumatic past is because in the past few months I have totally "come out of my shell" in my rotations. I attribute it mostly to Kristin and Saurhub and the two weeks I spent with them for my IM rotation. Kristin has this crazy personality that is so wonderful, everyone gets along with her, she's so happy all the time, when I was around her at work I couldn't help being happy and silly too which lead to me and Saurhub getting along really well and when Kristin left we continued to have fun and I carried that right on to my last two rotations. Of course it makes it easier that I love what I'm doing now. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I'm a little more talkative now but I think that shy people need to come to it in their own time and telling someone that they need to change is not the answer, most likely they already want to.
Recently I think I may have taken a little too much liberty with my remarks. Sometimes I say things that even surprise me. As soon as I say them I think "hmm, maybe that was inappropriate" and search for a response. Examples include asking Matt how old he was within the first 2 hours that I met him, commenting that he must go through nurses fast since he is so mean to them, telling him I was bored, when he asked me if he could complain about something I said that he had already been complaining about it all day so he might as well continue. After most of these comments I got a look that appeared to be surprise. Saurhub told me one time that most students are too timid and not very fun because they don't want to say/do something wrong. Then he commented on how I wasn't shy and that was a good thing. I used to be one of those super timid students, basically never say anything that might upset the preceptor, suck up...but that's not what most preceptors want. They want someone fun to hang out with who is also smart and can get work done when needed. Who wants to hang around with someone who is serious all the time anyway? I like my new daring attitude, it makes for more laughs. Pushing the limits is always more fun anyway. Think of the best conversations you've ever had, I'm sure they all included statements or comments that went beyond the casual comfort level.
Anyway, I need to study some anatomy quick and go to bed! Goodnight!
happyMar. 4th, 2008
12:02 am - Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego?
I received a message today asking how the weather was in Charleston and it made me realize just how disconnected I am from most of my friends right now. So I thought I better update and a least let people know I’m alive. I’ve just been so busy with work, family, and other random things that I haven’t kept up with people. This is going to be a quick update since it’s already 1130 and I still have some reading to do tonight!
First of all, I don’t leave for Charleston til this Friday. My mom and I are driving down and will get there sometime Saturday afternoon. Oh, and we’ll be driving down in my new car that I bought the day before my birthday. It’s a 2008 G6, quite a nice little car for the price…big step up from the Grand Am. I would put a picture up but my connection is so slow it would never happen. It’s “blue-gold metallic.” Of course I chose the most complicated color available, but it looks pretty snazzy. I would say it looks like a very light metallic blue. I’m not sure where the gold went. I got the “sun and sound” package so it has some little extras that make it fun
So that was my b-day present to me (yay debt!). My golden birthday wasn’t anything too special. It was actually a little sad because for the past four years I’ve had awesome birthdays with all my friends to hang out with. I greatly appreciated all the calls and messages I received. That was the best part and thanks to everyone who thought of me that day! But otherwise that day I think I gave the dog a bath, we had my grandma and uncle down for pizza, cake, and ice cream. Yeah, that’s about it.
My rotation here in Toledo has been going very well. They still seem interested in having me work there and their PA told me he wants me to take the place of one of their current nurse practitioners. I talked a little bit with him about the numbers/details but I really need to talk to Upamaka about those things. Unfortunately he has been sick, actually called off today, and I have Friday off so I hope we find some time to talk seriously before I leave. Right now Toledo has pulled ahead of Grand Rapids in the race to be called my home. It really makes me sad to say that. I miss soo many people from GR right now but NWOCC is starting to grow on me. I love Dr. Upamaka (although he can get quite fussy), I love AJ their PA, I get along with Margo one of their NPs, I do ok with Sheila another NP, and I’ve met several of the 20 other docs and enjoy most of them. Right now there is only one that rubs me the wrong way. The thing is I just don’t know about moving back to Toledo. Will I regret staying in the one place I’ve been for most of my life? Of course the new life I start here and the old one will be completely different. All I can do is wait and see how Charleston goes.
I’m really excited for Charleston. I think it will be a fun adventure. Just a few more days!!!
So that’s life in a nutshell I’ll be back in GR on April 6 or something like that. I graduate on the 25 (if anyone for some crazy reason has a desire to see myself and any other PA friends you may know graduate let me know, I’m not expecting tons of family so I’ll likely have extra tickets). There will be some type of graduation celebration and everyone is invited, details to come when I know them.
Take care everyone and happy almost Spring!! (it was 60 in Toledo today!)
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distressedFeb. 17th, 2008
08:26 pm - Holy Toledo
I’ve been back in Swanton for a whole week now. It defiantly doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. I’ve been super busy. I’ve been working out in Bowling Green which is about a 45 minute trip from my house, longer in the crazy weather we’ve been having. Wood County Hospital has made me miss Spectrum like whoa! Everything seems so behind the times there. The doctors wear jeans to see patients, the computer system stinks, everything is old. Even the Bowling Green patients are way different. Everyone is over-weight and doesn’t understand why. Most of the men are truckers or farmers. No one knows that mashed potatoes and whole milk won’t help you lose weight. It’s nuts! But most of the patients are very nice and a couple have made my day. The Doctor and I had a fun conversation with one man about green beans and his girlfriend. Oh, and everyone in BG has a girlfriend/boyfriend too, even the 87 year olds!
We saw a lady who was visiting Alabama from Jamaica and her family who lives in Toledo brought her all the way to BG from Alabama. She was one of the coolest 87 year olds ever. Last year she was climbing a tree picking fruit when she fell onto a rock. How many 86 year olds climb trees? This is the only one I know of. She isn’t on any meds and her mind seemed pretty darn sharp. She also gave us hugs when she left. SO CUTE!
Working with Dr. Upamaka has been super fun. He is so friendly. He’s a talker too, never a dull moment. Unfortunately he is in Florida this week for a “boy’s golfing trip” and wouldn’t take me along so I’m kind of stuck doing a hodge-podge of stuff this week. Hopefully I find some interesting things to do. We’ve had several discussions about me working for his practice but nothing too serious yet. I thought I better keep it superficial for the first week but I’ll defiantly be pressing for more details later.
Besides the new rotation not much has been going on. My dad and I headed up to GR yesterday to pack up all my junk. He got a big truck from work so we got everything in one load. Sue was there and it sounded like she’s not really trying very hard to find a roommate. There is one option and it’s not looking very promising.
Today my dad, mom, and I unloaded the truck into the garage and then I single-handedly moved everything from the garage to the basement. Tiring work but at least it’s done. I’ll get to do it all again in a couple months! Yay!
Oh, and I don’t think I wrote about my super fab Goodbye party yet! I had such a good time and I was very pleased with the crowd that showed up. A few important people were missing but considering the terrible weather I wasn’t too upset. Jenny’s cake was the bomb. Jessie’s gift was so thoughtful. And everyone’s well wishes and company were greatly appreciated. I still can’t believe that Miranda let me drunk text my previous preceptor. He said he was going to come to the party but never did so I texted him asking where he was and saying we wanted to play guitar hero. I guess he e-mailed Kristin saying his wife had something else she wanted to do that night and he lost my number so we wasn’t able to call me and let me know. Haha. Then breakfast the next morning was a nice touch before I headed home. I already miss everyone! I’m already planning a Graduation party for April or May
I’m watching American Gladiators right now. It’s the finale. For some reason I like watching it but I’m not really sure why. Some of the male gladiators are crazy huge. How do people get to be that big? It’s kind of scary.
This has been a really random post and I haven’t been paying much attention to it due to the gladiators. I hope it’s a least a little coherent!
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