There was a time when I thought I would never be able to go back to school. I had my opportunity right out of H.S. My parents were paying my tuition, but I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I wanted to be and I was wasting my time and their money. Many, many years later, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
After leaving college I worked for a long time. When you start to work and you have your own money, you tend to start life and forget about the long term and that is exactly what I did.
Over time, my parents moved out of state and I moved into my own place. I had bills and responsibilities, nothing that would allow me to go back to school. I worked in Manhattan 9-5, without the time that wouldn't really allow me to get to an evening class on time. I was stuck in a dead end job. Life wasn't the best, but I thought I was happy. Funny, how you don't know how miserable you are, until you find happiness. But that's for another blog.
Finally, I took the step and moved to Florida to be closer to my parents. I was going to be living at home and the main reason was so I could go back to school. Finally, and after 5 years, I graduated with an ASN (Associate of Science, Nursing). I passed my NCLEX, the longest, hardest test, I have ever taken (5+ hours and 265 questions later) I was a licensed RN.
When I first decided to go to nursing school, my goal was to become a Midwife, well after my OB rotation, that was all out the window. Then I figured, I would graduate, get a job on a unit and that would be it. Well, a year + after graduating, and working as an RN in a pediatric unit, I have applied to Edison State College to complete my studies and my BSN.
I think, I would ultimately like to teach. With my BSN, I will be able to be a clinical instructor. I will be able to take nursing student's into the field and teach them. When I was working days these past few months, we would have students come to the unit to do their clinical work. I really enjoyed teaching them and explaining why we did things the way we did and why it was different from the rest of the nursing world, which is adult oriented.
Of course sometimes doing this was to my own detriment. I was one nurse with 2 sometimes 3 students and 4-5 patients, depending on the day. It is very challenging to teach a student and still care for all your patients. It was stressful but I did it to myself. That is when I realized, that I would really enjoy being a clinical instructor. This way, I would be able to focus my attention on the student and their patient. Teach them the right way and not the lazy way.
This past Spring, Edison College announced that they would be launching their BSN program in the Fall of 09. This is the perfect opportunity for me to complete my BSN. From the way it sounds, the program will be bridged. Meaning that there will be classroom and online courses. The classes should meet about once every 5 weeks or so.
So today, I went to Edison, and re-applied. I will start taking courses in the Spring to finish up my pre-reqs for my BSN. I will be taking statistics and chemistry. 2 subjects I am not excited about at all. But, I will do my best.
WATCH OUT FUTURE NURSES OF AMERICA, HERE COMES PROFESSOR BELLET!!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sick
I'm sick and I don't feel well. I have a cold, which I probably caught from one of the sick kids I take care of. I have a particular thought on which one got me sick, but I will keep that to myself, since that could be a HIPAA violation.
I have a cold, I was hoping it was just allergies, but I was wrong. My nose is stuffed up, I have a headache, and my body aches. I really just want to go to sleep and not get out of bed for 2 days, but I have to work and I can't rationalize not working because I am not exactly on my death bed. Plus, it took me so long to build up my PTO again from the Summer of Econ, that I don't want to waste it. I am off tomorrow and that is a plus, so hopefully, I will survive the night.
I am living off of Dayquil and 4 Way nasal spray. If I can keep the headache away and I am able to breath, I think I will survive.
Here's wishing me good luck for the night.
I have a cold, I was hoping it was just allergies, but I was wrong. My nose is stuffed up, I have a headache, and my body aches. I really just want to go to sleep and not get out of bed for 2 days, but I have to work and I can't rationalize not working because I am not exactly on my death bed. Plus, it took me so long to build up my PTO again from the Summer of Econ, that I don't want to waste it. I am off tomorrow and that is a plus, so hopefully, I will survive the night.
I am living off of Dayquil and 4 Way nasal spray. If I can keep the headache away and I am able to breath, I think I will survive.
Here's wishing me good luck for the night.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Life is Always Changing
I hate having to readjust. I know that life is always changing, and you have to roll with the punches. But, I don't like it.
Since TP left Fort Myers, I have had Juan all to myself. I would go to work and he was here, I would come home and he was here. I liked having him home with me and we were able to spend time together.
Then in May I started helping out the day shift and I was there for 4 months. That was an adjustment, and I found that I liked it better for my lifestyle when I was not working. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to stay on days. There is a huge difference in the hourly from nights to days and it comes out to be able $1000 after taxes a month. That's a whole lot of money. I don't mind working nights, I love the people I work with, they are a great group. I just would rather be at home. But since I like to live in my house and eat and drive my car, I will go to work so I can pay "The Man".
Finally, the time came when it was time for Juan's mini vacation to end and time to go back to work. So, now he is working, I am working and on top of that he is going to school. I come home in the morning, he is sleeping, I give him a kiss and crawl into bed. He leaves for work a couple of hours later and kisses me goodbye. Now, I won't see him again, until I come home in the morning.
Of course I only work 3 days a week, but it is hard when I don't get to spend time with him. I am really trying not to work on Wed. or Thurs. these are his days off and he only has school, so I get to spend some time with him. When I was working days, I would come home, he would come home and we spent a couple of hours together before going to sleep together.
Since I am coming back to nights during this schedule, I am trying to not live my life the way I did last time I was on nights. Last time, I would stay on a night schedule whether I was working or not. Which means that if I was off, I would still sleep all day, maybe get up around 2 or 3, then I was up until 4 or 5 in the morning. In fact I often had to take Benadryl to help me go to sleep.
This time, I am trying to actually sleep at night and be awake during the day when it is my day off. It can be challenging especially when you don't have a long stretch of days off together. Like right now. I worked Friday night, I was off Saturday and I work on Sunday. I only slept about 4 hours on Saturday and then woke up. Went out to Gulf Coast with Juan and some work friends and came home and went to sleep at 2am. I forced myself to sleep late because I have to work tonight. So I got up at 2pm.
It is hard to keep flip flopping back and forth and I wonder the toll it is really taking on my body. I know it will be okay, I just have to readjust and get used to the change. It just seemed easier when we were leading a "normal" life.
If there is any such thing.
Since TP left Fort Myers, I have had Juan all to myself. I would go to work and he was here, I would come home and he was here. I liked having him home with me and we were able to spend time together.
Then in May I started helping out the day shift and I was there for 4 months. That was an adjustment, and I found that I liked it better for my lifestyle when I was not working. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to stay on days. There is a huge difference in the hourly from nights to days and it comes out to be able $1000 after taxes a month. That's a whole lot of money. I don't mind working nights, I love the people I work with, they are a great group. I just would rather be at home. But since I like to live in my house and eat and drive my car, I will go to work so I can pay "The Man".
Finally, the time came when it was time for Juan's mini vacation to end and time to go back to work. So, now he is working, I am working and on top of that he is going to school. I come home in the morning, he is sleeping, I give him a kiss and crawl into bed. He leaves for work a couple of hours later and kisses me goodbye. Now, I won't see him again, until I come home in the morning.
Of course I only work 3 days a week, but it is hard when I don't get to spend time with him. I am really trying not to work on Wed. or Thurs. these are his days off and he only has school, so I get to spend some time with him. When I was working days, I would come home, he would come home and we spent a couple of hours together before going to sleep together.
Since I am coming back to nights during this schedule, I am trying to not live my life the way I did last time I was on nights. Last time, I would stay on a night schedule whether I was working or not. Which means that if I was off, I would still sleep all day, maybe get up around 2 or 3, then I was up until 4 or 5 in the morning. In fact I often had to take Benadryl to help me go to sleep.
This time, I am trying to actually sleep at night and be awake during the day when it is my day off. It can be challenging especially when you don't have a long stretch of days off together. Like right now. I worked Friday night, I was off Saturday and I work on Sunday. I only slept about 4 hours on Saturday and then woke up. Went out to Gulf Coast with Juan and some work friends and came home and went to sleep at 2am. I forced myself to sleep late because I have to work tonight. So I got up at 2pm.
It is hard to keep flip flopping back and forth and I wonder the toll it is really taking on my body. I know it will be okay, I just have to readjust and get used to the change. It just seemed easier when we were leading a "normal" life.
If there is any such thing.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
I'm getting married
So, as most people know, Juan and I are getting married. He proposed back in April and it was really a shock because we had been having a very serious discussion at the time.
Apparently, we are in no rush to get to the alter and are planning on next October or November (2009). At least that will give us time to save and we won't have to charge the entire thing. I don't want to start out further in debt then I all ready am (isn't that the "American way"?)
We had been talking about what kind of wedding we both wanted and have gone back and forth between having it here in Florida, or doing a destination. We even went so far as to contact a company that specializes in destination weddings and got all the numbers and locations that were appealing to us. But in the end, we decided to do it here because we wanted everyone to be able to celebrate with us. I also felt kind of weird asking people to drop a grand to go to my wedding, even though they were getting a vacation out of it too.
Because this is my second marriage, I don't want to repeat what I did before and I don't want anything too BIG. Juan would prefer low key anyway. We haven't gone to many places maybe 5 in total. But we have decided what we are doing.
I am really excited now. My friend Michelle is asking as our wedding planner. She has been interning with a high end planner in town for about a year now and with my budget and her knowledge, it was the perfect match.
She suggested that we personalize it. So we were thinking about what we like to do, what could make it personal. Then we decided to have a Caribbean theme. Since we wanted to have a beach wedding and we enjoy going on cruises, this seemed perfect.
My thought was to have a ceremony on the beach and then the reception in a restaurant. That should keep costs down since it isn't specifically a wedding venue. We visited a couple of places on Fort Myers Beach that could host a ceremony and reception but the prices were crazy or the room was run down. I also looked into the Cape Yacht Club and Cape Harbour. I also looked at a country club. But because I did the whole country club thing, I really don't want to do it, but the prices were very appealing. We also looked at Rumrunners. This is a restaurant at Cape Harbour that is right on the water. They have a room that is part of the restaurant but it has doors and can be closed off from the main dining area.
Well, we went and had dinner there last night. WOW, it was so good. Plus the decor and menu are Caribbean themed. Can you get any better? So that is were we will host our reception.
We are planning on getting married on Fort Myers Beach and I went today to look at a location. Because it is a public beach, we can have the ceremony there at no charge, we just have to leave the beach the way we found it. Hopefully without a lot of birds. I also looked at the Cape Coral Beach, they are pretty much the same. The only thing that worries me is if it rains. Being in Florida, the rainy season should be over by then, but it can still rain. If we do it on the beach we have to figure out a back up plan.
We can have the ceremony at Rumrunners too, but we really wanted to do a beach wedding. So we will have to talk about it.
I guess most importantly, we have to set a date. Before we do anything else.
Well, more informtion to follow.
Apparently, we are in no rush to get to the alter and are planning on next October or November (2009). At least that will give us time to save and we won't have to charge the entire thing. I don't want to start out further in debt then I all ready am (isn't that the "American way"?)
We had been talking about what kind of wedding we both wanted and have gone back and forth between having it here in Florida, or doing a destination. We even went so far as to contact a company that specializes in destination weddings and got all the numbers and locations that were appealing to us. But in the end, we decided to do it here because we wanted everyone to be able to celebrate with us. I also felt kind of weird asking people to drop a grand to go to my wedding, even though they were getting a vacation out of it too.
Because this is my second marriage, I don't want to repeat what I did before and I don't want anything too BIG. Juan would prefer low key anyway. We haven't gone to many places maybe 5 in total. But we have decided what we are doing.
I am really excited now. My friend Michelle is asking as our wedding planner. She has been interning with a high end planner in town for about a year now and with my budget and her knowledge, it was the perfect match.
She suggested that we personalize it. So we were thinking about what we like to do, what could make it personal. Then we decided to have a Caribbean theme. Since we wanted to have a beach wedding and we enjoy going on cruises, this seemed perfect.
My thought was to have a ceremony on the beach and then the reception in a restaurant. That should keep costs down since it isn't specifically a wedding venue. We visited a couple of places on Fort Myers Beach that could host a ceremony and reception but the prices were crazy or the room was run down. I also looked into the Cape Yacht Club and Cape Harbour. I also looked at a country club. But because I did the whole country club thing, I really don't want to do it, but the prices were very appealing. We also looked at Rumrunners. This is a restaurant at Cape Harbour that is right on the water. They have a room that is part of the restaurant but it has doors and can be closed off from the main dining area.
Well, we went and had dinner there last night. WOW, it was so good. Plus the decor and menu are Caribbean themed. Can you get any better? So that is were we will host our reception.
We are planning on getting married on Fort Myers Beach and I went today to look at a location. Because it is a public beach, we can have the ceremony there at no charge, we just have to leave the beach the way we found it. Hopefully without a lot of birds. I also looked at the Cape Coral Beach, they are pretty much the same. The only thing that worries me is if it rains. Being in Florida, the rainy season should be over by then, but it can still rain. If we do it on the beach we have to figure out a back up plan.
We can have the ceremony at Rumrunners too, but we really wanted to do a beach wedding. So we will have to talk about it.
I guess most importantly, we have to set a date. Before we do anything else.
Well, more informtion to follow.
Monday, September 8, 2008
I'm Blogging
I have never really blogged before, maybe a bulletin here or there, but I am going to try to be a little more committed to this process. The only thing is, I start and then slowly I drop off and this can be roaming around in cyberland for all eternity.
When you think about it, I guess a blog is like a virtual diary. A place to write your thoughts and feelings, at least that is what it seems like everyone is doing.
Well, I guess that is enough for my first blog, short and sweet, right?
When you think about it, I guess a blog is like a virtual diary. A place to write your thoughts and feelings, at least that is what it seems like everyone is doing.
Well, I guess that is enough for my first blog, short and sweet, right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
