Remiss in Updates

....and I'd promised myself when I set out on this endeavor that I would post something every day. I guess I really need to get out the camera and get some new photo posts going.

Really, it's too hot for much of anything. Between work and class, I get home and I'm just exhausted. I barely feel like getting on Facebook.

Finally finished Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted two days ago, and the opening story, "Guts", is still kind of sitting with me. The novel is a frame story, like The Canterbury Tales, with several characters locked in an old movie theatre on a sort of writer's retreat, and the stories they tell each other to purge themselves of inner demons. It's the same premise that Mary Shelley claimed was the basis for her writing Frankenstein (a group of poets and writers rained in at an English estate all made a deal to write a horror story that beat anything they'd ever heard before...several of our culture's greatest themes in horror came from those rainy nights...vampires, the exploitation of advances in medicine, and God complexes). "Guts" is the opening story in Haunted, detailing three separate incidents that occur for three different guys when they're in a... private moment... these are very descriptive passages of the accidents that occur at the worst possible time. Very gross. The narrator opens the story asking you to "Hold your breath..." By the end of the story, you realize that you've been doing just that for several pages.

I've decided that the next big summer read will be Mark Z. Danielweski's House of Leaves. I've heard a lot of good things about it, and it proves to be every bit the odd, experimental novel with every turn of the page. What would you do if you moved into a house and discovered that there's one door that should lead outside, but when you open it, there's a hallway? That's the general premise. That and a documentary of the family who moved into the house. Kind of creepy, but I'm less than fifty pages into it.

I only wish I had a bit more leisure time, but I'm working to create some for myself between Chemistry, First Aid/CPR, work, and NA Area stuff.

Saturday in the Park, I Think It Was the 20th of June

Now that I'm awake, alert and oriented, I can get some transgressive thoughts out in the world of the web... well, maybe not so transgressive. I actually feel like I'm in a good spot today. My bathroom is freshly cleaned... the toilet always being an excellent indicator of my general state of mind. It's sparkling at the moment, cleaned from top to tile. I won't say that it's clean enough to eat off it, but I wouldn't feel disgraced to have company over to use it today.

I'm about to jump in the shower and get cleaned up so I can head out and get my hair cut and my car detailed. That's an automatic forty bucks that I'd rather slip into my savings account, but you have to spend money to make money. Part of being successful is projecting an air of success... or something like that.

I'm finishing up some Chemistry this and that today, and planning to work on paperwork, reports, and plans for the NLANA Activities subcommittee to review and discuss next Sunday. This way, I'll be done and won't feel any pressure to get some stuff completed and printed out at the last minute. It always feels good to have pressing engagements finished in advance so that any potential changes can be easily implemented.

Plans tonite. More to be revealed.

Week 2 of 6 Week Summer Session Starts Today

Monday dawned and the heat in the Shreveport-Bossier metroplex is what can really only be described as "oppressive". Everyone around here seems to prefer the hot weather to the cold weather, but this is ridiculous. I much prefer the cool, crisp onset of autumn and the cold of January and February to this any day of the week. Ideally, I would be living in some coastal area a little farther to the north with four very distinct seasons and "heatwaves" that top the charts in the upper eighties or very low nineties. Does a place like that exist? One of the Carolina's? Farther north? Or maybe on the west coast... Oregon or Washington state.

I've spent the weekend relaxing and trying to give the back injection a chance to tame the wild beast that is this sickening pain in my lower lumbar and left leg. I was hoping that things were working, but this afternoon seems to be an indication that I am again being let down by modern medicine. I just don't want to be one of those people that has to take stuff on a regular basis to deal with the pain. I already have the stuff that I take to wipe out my tremors and the medication I take for the stuff with my IBS. I hate the idea of adding another pill to my daily regimen permanently. I was looking at my grandmother this weekend and the basket full of routine meds that she takes for the variety of problems that ail her in her eighties. I don't want to be at that point. I just want to finish nursing school, work for twenty or twenty-five years, then retire with very little that has to be done every day to maintain a tranquil existence.

I'm about to call the referring MDs and see what they say. Of course, they will probably tell me to wait and see. I'm tired of waiting to see. I want what I want and I want it yesterday.

Chemistry beckons along with the magical world of conversion factors and Scientific Notation and Density and formulas and all the other stuff that goes along with this necessary evil. Are there really people in the world that love this stuff? That think this is cool? More power to them. They are definitely the chosen ones in some respect. I am not a member of their club, nor am I a fan of their work.

Spinal Recovery Part 2

I'm just over a day post-op from the second round of spinal injection. Recovering well, I think. I'm not going to get my hopes up this time, nor am I going to suggest that I'm cured by any means. I haven't really been active enough to know for sure how I'm even doing with the numbing medication wearing off.

After Mom left this morning to go help Mimi (my grandmother has been sick and in the hospital this week due to massive dehydration and a decreased Potassium level brought on by a wave or nausea and vomiting), I got some things together for Trish and Johnny to come pick up and take down to Alexandria. All my feelings of guilt over not being able to go hear Victor tell his story down there were alleviated when I talked to Mariann (who I'm also sorry to hear is battling some strange illness in Vegas) and she told me I'd made a very smart move.

Along with finishing my weekly correspondence with all the people I've got scattered across the globe, I wrote an extended email to Ross in Malawi. He's busy with a series of economic endeavors (mostly oblivious to Madonna out there adopting Malawi babies) and functioning his home to prepare for the upcoming hot season during which temperatures indoors rise to degrees in excess of 130... hot enough to melt the candles inside. It's always great to open my inbox and retrieve messages from the "warm heart of Africa". My PCV. Miss the time at the Robinson and our walks in the unseasonably warm nights of last December.

While I unloaded the dishwasher (stupid) and worked on a fruit salad and a greens salad to snack on over the next few days, I talked to Laura. She's excited that Evan got down on a knee at the riverfront last night and asked her to marry him. I knew it was only a matter of time before they decided to do the deed. She's looking at Brown Chapel for the ceremony and planning for sometime next April. It would be great if the PCV were done and back in the States in time to attend.

Well, I have a to-do list of other things I need to accomplish. The list includes transplanting some flowers and watering my plants while they roast in the first big heat of a Shreveport sumer. There's also a load of conversion problems, Chemistry notes, a couple chapters in the text, and step work that's all begging for my attention. All this and a TiVo filled with Trauma: Life in the ER, Code Blue, and a date with my guys in Harper's Island during prime time tonight.

Conversion Therapy, MSWord, Excel, and Very Little Sleep

One thing is certain, school is definitely back in session.

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off at seven. Of course, sleep was very fitful throughout the night. Between text messages from fellow vampires who haven't caught on that I'm making a transition to werewolf, calls from work asking me where I keep log sheets, and messages from others who just figured I'd be awake (and I rarely answer my phone at work anyway), I really only got a solid five hours. Not that I need much more, I suppose.

I spent the morning cleaning up and getting ready to go in for my first day of training on office skills. Personally, I think that Excel is a great creation. If you have a head for computer software and need multiple formulas decided for you for your work, then perfect. However, the good things that I have to say about the latest Word software are few and far between. Why isn't anything where it's supposed to be? And they say it's more user-friendly? I suppose that one can get used to anything, though.

Work was uneventful. The stuff I'm doing isn't real brainiac kinda stuff. It's mostly recreating forms and keeping up with an ever-evolving who's who. Nothing I can't handle, and something I've watched my current boss do every night for the past three years.

I came home and managed to sleep for about an hour. Feel a little better now, but I need to figure out what I'll be wearing for the shift and whether or not I'll have time to swing by the bookstore and pick up the ninety dollar Chemistry text before tomorrow night's class. I have a few conversion problems that I also need to master sometime in the next twenty hours, too.

I have tonight's shift, class tomorrow (complete with a quiz on key terms), then my last shift of the week tomorrow night. Just as the Thursday 11-7 hours are finishing, I'll be coming home to jump back in the car and head back to the Spinal Institute for another shot at eliminating my back issues permanently. I've been able to keep pain at a manageable level, but the pain is far from gone. It started bothering me while I was training today, but my cure for sitting for too long is to get up and move around....and if I've been moving around too much, I just lay on the floor until it stops. Hospital floors are not the most germ-free, though. I should probably bear that in mind.

Week One of Six

Out of bed at two this afternoon to hit the button on a pot of coffee so that I could slug some down and wake up and check email and regular mail and take a look at my planner to be sure that everything is running according to my schedule. Smoked about five cigarettes and read my meditation so that I could be fully alert and oriented and ready to tackle my day. In my planner, I keep a list of names of those I need to call and check on if I haven't talked to them in a day or two. That much is done.

I'm about to jump in the shower, if only I can find some nice jams to turn the volume up on while I get ready for the Chemistry class that starts in a little more than an hour. This is the first of twelve classes, week one of six that will only be interrupted by the onset of an online session of First Aid/CPR (if I'm talking to Krissy, that would be First R and CPAid). I realize that this will probably be a little difficult for a little more than the next month, but I have to keep in mind that the benefits of small sacrifices of things like sleep are just that... small. In the long run, the pay-off will be well worth the push.

At least, that's how I feel right now.

Summer Session

Well, I opened my NSU Blackboard this evening and read my syllabus for Chemistry this summer. It looks like things are going to be pretty difficult. Because this is such a short session, it's imperative that I be in class (on time) absolutely every time we meet. So far, I've never missed a class anyway, so I'm hoping that will continue to be the case. However, there is such a load of information that is being squeezed into the short term that I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up with everything.

Talked to the girl who will be training me at work this week, and I have to say that I'm glad I called because she's wanting me to come in on Wednesday, not Thursday like I'd originally thought. I'm excited, though.

The remainder of this week and all of next week will be clues as to how the rest of the summer will go. The only great thing is that Chemistry will be ending at the same time that I'll be finding out who the killer is on Harper's Island.

Pix From Winning Employee of the Year

That's me, Employee of the Year, an award that I won from all the co-workers who put my name in the ballot box. The dude in yellow is the big boss, our DON.

Angie is the hot blonde on the left. The other blonde wearing specs is Ms. Ellie. I'm very excited to have the opportunity (after three years) to begin working a little more closely with them both than I have in the past. Who's that hot dude between them? Oh, that's me.

Lazy Sunday

Still kind of processing last night's episode of Harper's Island. I made a few posts about my thoughts on where I think things are going on the show, and facebooked with Linds, Christie, and Danielle over how we all think it will probably turn out. I believe there are only five more episodes left before the whole series is over.

Other than that, I'm also still reeling from having the graphic imagery of a thick white substance being squeezed from a dead aortic valve in a commercial that aired to promote tobacco-free living. Yet another scare tactic... I have to admit it worked. Of course, it didn't hinder me from smoking today, but I am keeping myself congruent with the idea that I will have to quit smoking sometime between now and the beginning of my clinical rotation. The professional atmosphere is one that frowns upon use of tobacco products. I have to say that it's not a bad idea. Really, how can I explain to a cardiac patient or someone suffering from COPD all the benefits of ceasing their tobacco use if I haven't done so myself. After nearly four years in recovery, my story is always something I can fall back on if the situation is appropriate with someone who is thinking of getting clean. However, if I'm gonna quit smoking, then I'm also going to have to go full-fledged health conscious behavior and be a prime example to anyone who is watching.

The weekend is drawing to a close, and I'm thinking about crawling back in bed to read some more of Haunted. As if the gross things I've seen on tv lately aren't enough, the work is filled with some very... unsettling descriptions of behavior and instances that literally have me holding my breath until it's complete. Highly recommended to any nihilistic fans of Bret Easton Ellis or Irvine Welsh.

Saturday Morning

I realized that I haven't made a new post in a couple days, so I figured I ought to get something wrapped up here before I finish waking up and preparing for my home group this morning. I went to a new meeting last night, and I have to say that it was definitely the best I've been to in quite some time. After going over my step with Mariann on Sunday night and preparing for the final days leading up to the summer session, it was nice doing something just a little different from the norm.

I have a few pictures that I received from my co-workers that I'm planning to scan and post on my page later this morning when I get in from Kingston Road Baptist Church. Additionally, I've got a significant number of programs that have built up on Tivo that I'm looking forward to getting on the couch and watching a little later today. Until then, this post will have to suffice.

Stormy Weather

Listening to the rain fall and the thunder roll past the house every thirty seconds or so. Mary Louise hates weather like this, so she's running around and jumping on top of me with every other strike of thunder. I'm wondering if I need to run move my car out of the street. Summer storms haven't really done me and my cars well in the past. Maybe I'll just wait until I leave here to run to the store.

I'm thinking about resuming the low-carb thing again today. It's been a while, and it seemed like things worked really well when I was on it a few months ago.

Received information from Northwestern's Office of Financial Aid. I'm happy to see that I'll be covered for all classes this fall, next spring, and hopefully well into the summer. Combine that with the message to begin my office training beginning a week from tomorrow at 10 AM... things are coming together. I'll have one day of training before having the second round injection that will hopefully bring everything with my back to a close.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

The title of the post speaks volumes. Way too many crazy females in my life these days. I suppose this too shall pass.

Doesn't the expression go something along the lines that when one door closes, another one will open. Can't we just shut multiple doors at once and not worry about what's behind the others?

Having a bacon biscuit from Krissy's store. Ready to knock out some of my daily to-do's then get in bed and try to finish this book I'm reading.

First of the Month

Summer is definitely here. Yesterday was the first really hot day that I remember. Is it just me or did it take a little longer to get hot this year than normal?

The end of the month has come and gone, and the successes from the month of May are wild. My cup runneth over. From being awarded Employee of the Year by my fellow staff members to the 100% on an Algebra final to a late-May letter from the President of Northwestern sending me a card congratulating me on making the list of honored students who achieved a 4.0 GPA for the year... things are exactly where they are supposed to be. However, after completing a step and going over the work with my sponsor on a long distance call to Vegas last night, I commit to remaining vigilent. I intend to cease in my constant quest for perfection. Instead, I will merely strive for excellence in everything I do, as a list of new and exciting endeavors begin alongside the heat of summer.

Life is a wild ride, and although I'm normally not a fan of roller coasters, right now things are good.