Holidays are exhausting.
Happy Day After Christmas!
It's been lovely spending time with my family. It's also wonderful seeing and catching up with old friends. In Girl Scouts, we used to sing a song that went, "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver, and the other gold." It's so true. I have many wonderful friends in Missoula (hi, guys!), but I feel fortunate to also be able to come back and spend time with old friends. I'm grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life.
Tomorrow I'm going to lunch and then shopping with Erica and Regina. Hooray for girly time with two of my favorite women in the whole world!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A: Topeka
Q: What Kansas town has a name derived from a Native American language, and translates as a "good place to dig potatoes?"
Tomorrow I return to Topeka - not to dig potatoes, although I am returning to my midwestern roots. (har har. Sorry, I couldn't resist that one. Forgive me?)
It will be great to see my family and old friends.
It will be a gauntlet for my liver to endure. I think I drink more alcohol in the brief period I'm back in Kansas than I do the entire rest of the year at home.
It will be warm enough to run outdoors!
I will finally meet several new additions to old friends' families - everyone is having babies lately!
I will snuggle with a giant black dog and a tiny fat chihuahua.
I will post photos and updates soon!
Tomorrow I return to Topeka - not to dig potatoes, although I am returning to my midwestern roots. (har har. Sorry, I couldn't resist that one. Forgive me?)
__________________________________________
It will be great to see my family and old friends.
It will be a gauntlet for my liver to endure. I think I drink more alcohol in the brief period I'm back in Kansas than I do the entire rest of the year at home.
It will be warm enough to run outdoors!
I will finally meet several new additions to old friends' families - everyone is having babies lately!
I will snuggle with a giant black dog and a tiny fat chihuahua.
I will post photos and updates soon!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Schmapp.
Schmapp is a neat little online travel guide. My photo of The Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall is a part of the Seattle Schmapp.
Fun!
Fun!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Finals.
This semester is officially in the books. I got an A in nursing research, an A- in obstetrics/women's health nursing, and a B+ in pediatric nursing. Not too bad...
I gotta say, I hate the plus/minus system. Mostly I don't like it because it shows me for the slacker I am. I've always worked just hard enough to stay above the 90% mark, but with this system 90-93% is an A-. (The B+ rankles a bit too - I had an 89% in that class - just one measly percent away from an A!)
This time next year I'll be graduating. I'm glad to finally see a light at the end of the school tunnel, but I will miss being a student. For all my griping about papers and tests, I really do love learning. I picked a good career, because with as fast as new techniques and technologies become available in healthcare, it is a commitment to lifelong learning.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Best news EVER!
So, my best friend's husband recently started working as a travel nurse. His first contract (which was in Minneapolis) is nearly over, so they started looking at other locations hiring through the agency he is contracted with. In the past Erica had mentioned that there were openings in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, both of which are within easy driving distance of Missoula. The thought of them being nearby was exciting, but I tried not to get my hopes up too much, in case they wound up taking a position elsewhere.
The other night on the phone, I asked if they had found a new placement yet. She said that they had, and that David had interviewed and been offered a position... in Missoula! Ohmigod, OHMIGOD - what are the chances? So exciting! He begins the first week in January, and they'll be here through the first week in April.
Two of my favorite people in the whole world, living in our little mountain town. YAY!
I'm also interested to hear David's perspective on our little hospital. His work experience is in much bigger facilities, so it'll be interesting to hear his thoughts about our more rural setting.
Yay!
The other night on the phone, I asked if they had found a new placement yet. She said that they had, and that David had interviewed and been offered a position... in Missoula! Ohmigod, OHMIGOD - what are the chances? So exciting! He begins the first week in January, and they'll be here through the first week in April.
Two of my favorite people in the whole world, living in our little mountain town. YAY!
I'm also interested to hear David's perspective on our little hospital. His work experience is in much bigger facilities, so it'll be interesting to hear his thoughts about our more rural setting.
Yay!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Bad grammar makes me crazy.
There's a line in the Fergie song "Big girls don't cry" that drives me nuts:
"And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket"
It lacks pronoun-antecedent agreement;
"a child" is singular, "their" is plural.
Either a child misses her (or his) blanket, or children miss their blankets.
Often people will go the route of singular noun and plural pronoun to avoid the gender issue, but it's still wrong. Traditionally, "he" or "him" have been inserted, because our language has no gender neutral singular third person pronoun. However, there is an argument that using "he" as the standard singular pronoun creates a sexist language. The use of "he" doesn't particularly bother me, but I usually use "she" instead, just for grins. Has a nice ring to it...
(I made an effort to correctly name the parts of speech I was referring to, but I may have some of the terminology wrong. I can usually pick out grammatical or syntactical errors, but I don't usually know the proper name for them. Learning more about the English language is on my to-do list - I find it fascinating.
"And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket"
It lacks pronoun-antecedent agreement;
"a child" is singular, "their" is plural.
Either a child misses her (or his) blanket, or children miss their blankets.
Often people will go the route of singular noun and plural pronoun to avoid the gender issue, but it's still wrong. Traditionally, "he" or "him" have been inserted, because our language has no gender neutral singular third person pronoun. However, there is an argument that using "he" as the standard singular pronoun creates a sexist language. The use of "he" doesn't particularly bother me, but I usually use "she" instead, just for grins. Has a nice ring to it...
_______________________________
(I made an effort to correctly name the parts of speech I was referring to, but I may have some of the terminology wrong. I can usually pick out grammatical or syntactical errors, but I don't usually know the proper name for them. Learning more about the English language is on my to-do list - I find it fascinating.
Monday, December 03, 2007
(Un)health update.
I'm on day seven of the cold that just won't quit. Each day is worse than the one before. Every morning I wake up with a new symptom - it's like Christmas morning, except no fun at all, and instead of presents I've gotten earaches and a fever, and a loud hacking cough.
Ick.
I went to the eyedoctor today. He told me that my myopia (nearsightedness) has gotten worse, as has my astigmatism. He said that my nearsightedness is a fairly normal level, but that my astigmatism is about three times worse than what he usually sees. Great. I also asked him to look at this little bump on my inner eyelid that has been there for a couple of years. He called it a conjunctival concretion, which is a deposit of calcium on the inner part of the eyelid. Apparently I have six or seven little ones, and the one I noticed has actually become a cyst. In my eye. He recommended I make another appointment with him, at which he would numb my eye and then STICK A NEEDLE IN AND REMOVE THEM. Um, no. No needles near eyes. NO. I can't even let him touch that little clear thing on my eye to test for glaucoma without blinking him away repeatedly - although I still prefer that to the "puff of air" - I really can't handle that. What can I say? I don't like things touching my eyes (hence the glasses for the past twenty years, instead of contacts).
Am I falling apart at the seams? Hope not.
On the bright side, I don't have class tomorrow morning, so I can finally sleep in. I'm hoping that this will help me gain some footing against this beast of a cold. I'm tired of taking cold medicines - I miss my brain.
Here's to a healthier tomorrow! Cheers!
______________________________________
Vocabulary lesson: Here are the other common vision problems, along with their "proper" medical term.
myopia (my-oh-pee-uh) - nearsighted. Can see objects close up clearly, but far away objects are blurred.
hyperopia (hyper-oh-pee-uh) - farsighted. Can see far away objects clearly, but close objects are blurred.
presbyopia (press-bee-oh-pee-uh) - farsighted, due to the normal process of aging. The lens of the eye becomes less elastic with age, and it is more difficult to focus the light properly for viewing objects close up.
Ick.
I went to the eyedoctor today. He told me that my myopia (nearsightedness) has gotten worse, as has my astigmatism. He said that my nearsightedness is a fairly normal level, but that my astigmatism is about three times worse than what he usually sees. Great. I also asked him to look at this little bump on my inner eyelid that has been there for a couple of years. He called it a conjunctival concretion, which is a deposit of calcium on the inner part of the eyelid. Apparently I have six or seven little ones, and the one I noticed has actually become a cyst. In my eye. He recommended I make another appointment with him, at which he would numb my eye and then STICK A NEEDLE IN AND REMOVE THEM. Um, no. No needles near eyes. NO. I can't even let him touch that little clear thing on my eye to test for glaucoma without blinking him away repeatedly - although I still prefer that to the "puff of air" - I really can't handle that. What can I say? I don't like things touching my eyes (hence the glasses for the past twenty years, instead of contacts).
Am I falling apart at the seams? Hope not.
On the bright side, I don't have class tomorrow morning, so I can finally sleep in. I'm hoping that this will help me gain some footing against this beast of a cold. I'm tired of taking cold medicines - I miss my brain.
Here's to a healthier tomorrow! Cheers!
______________________________________
Vocabulary lesson: Here are the other common vision problems, along with their "proper" medical term.
myopia (my-oh-pee-uh) - nearsighted. Can see objects close up clearly, but far away objects are blurred.
hyperopia (hyper-oh-pee-uh) - farsighted. Can see far away objects clearly, but close objects are blurred.
presbyopia (press-bee-oh-pee-uh) - farsighted, due to the normal process of aging. The lens of the eye becomes less elastic with age, and it is more difficult to focus the light properly for viewing objects close up.
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