Leaves, Leaves, and More Leaves!

We got behind in leaf removal in the last two weeks or so....and boy did that come back to bite us in the keister.

We decided yesterday would be the day, I told M it would only be an hour or so and we could carry on with our day. Well, it was nearly a full day job, which my dear husband completed mostly solo.

I participated for an hour or so and got overwhelmed when he said we were going to do the front AND the back. The front is one thing, but the back is littered with pine needles, pine cones and acorns. The other thing to note here is that M is a perfectionist. I was instructed that I needed to also do leaf removal from the shrubs and the flower bed areas. I tried to use the excuse that the rake would pull the mulch up and we had to be careful of our tiny rose bush! No go, he said it had to be done.

I stuck with it for a few minutes longer and then thoughts of lunch started clouding my brain. My legitimate excuse was finishing my presentation for class on Tuesday, which I thought that just needed a light buffing but I ended up working on it for the rest of the time that M was working on the yard.

We also met the neighbors across the street. They are probably in their 50's, they mentioned having kids in their 30's and they are grandparents now. They seemed very nice and told us that if we needed anything to let them know. Nice neighbors!

Another Nursing Slight

I was at a memorial service today for a former colleague. People were telling stories and making comments about the person and this was one of the comments...

I never thought of him as a nurse, I always thought of him as a colleague.


I hope it's evident to you why this is an absolutely dreadful thing to say.

Crazy Just Got Crazier

Crazy has just tipped the scales to outrageous people....the semester from hell has gone hellish to the 10 to the 6th power.

I wasn't totally loving my clinical rotation this time around but I was getting used to it. I was certainly learning things, just didn't care for the environment I guess. Well, I should have kept my mind thinking pleasant thoughts because karma has just bit me in the keister.

I went to clinical on Tuesday and was told by a slightly embarressed office manager that my preceptor is unexpectedly out for at least the next 30 days aka pretty much the rest of the semester aka I'm screwed.

Let's break it down:
Requirement: 225 clinical hours
Current total: 89
Allowance for working on project: 20
Allowance for conference: 8
Remaining hours needed:108
Weeks left to accomplish goal: 7

We are in crisis mode here...this could mean a total evaporation of my January break. I'm begging NP's that I work with to allow me to work with them so I don't fall totally behind schedule. I have something lined up for Monday afternoon and maybe, maybe all day Friday.

Could this suck anymore? I tried to do an exercise where I pretend that I'm somehow who sees the positive in things instead of being my realistic self. This exercise led me to thinking that the good thing about this is that we are in crunch type time frame right now with expectations of things that are due within the next week or so. With my not having clinical right now, I can totally focus on the class part of things and not be stressed about clinical. If I have to continue clinical into January, I can focus on that without having to worry about also attending class.

Then reality set back in....in the words of Wayne and Garth, this blows chunks.

And I'm not completely narcisstic, I did ask about my preceptor and was told that he was fine.

S's Seamless Hybrid Sweater

S's completed sweater, shipping to VT today...

Don't worry, I sewed up the pits before shipping :)

Fall Pics

Monputer

Monputer has died, bit it, will not live to see another day. The poor thing was on it's 4th life (hard drive) and it finally refused to boot and begged me to pull the plug on the life support.

The timing, as usual, was awful having just bought plane tickets home today for almost equal to the price of the new computer and dying on the eve of a mandatory online class.

Luckily, my professor for the class was supposed to teach this class to my section on Monday but she had difficulty loading the presentation and had to reschedule us for tonight so she was understanding when I told her my computer had gone towards the light. I have to listen to an archived section and send her a summary so she knows I listened to it but that's fine.

I was quite happy with the Compaq Presario, lasting from 2004-2009, may she rest in peace. I always have a sentimental attachment to things, I cried when my first car's engine died and was towed away. With the death of my computer, I feel the same tugging at the old heart strings. I bought it out of necessity at the end of a long relationship when I suddenly found myself computerless, furnitureless, bedless, and boyfriendless. She helped me navigate the online dating world and found me my sweet M...

So it is with a heavy heart that I bid you adieu Compaq Presario...so long to your overheating and intolerance of iTunes, to your wireless card since your birth preceded commonplace wirelessness...it's been a pleasure. With my right hand over my heart and my left on the left click button of your touchpad...fare thee well!

Knitting Idears

I like to look at things in the store and think, I could make that. I would love to be able to say 'I could make that and on the cheap' but with any kind of quality yarn this is not the case.

Anyway, here are some things I can and will make in the near future...