Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day in the US today and everyone is happy. There has been two days that were relatively rain-free which means that all the tourist's that mightn't have traveled up to Maine for a rain-filled holiday decided that a 50% chance of rain is acceptable. This makes everyone happy.

The vacationers, because they get away from the city.
The stores, because they get money.
The natives, because they aren't trapped in their houses and don't care how many other people there are underfoot.

It seems to me like people haven't talked about the weather so much since '98 when there was the humongous ice storm. That's probably not true (Maina's love talking about the weather), but it seems like it.

On a slightly different track, though related, Sabbath afternoon I went outside. The sun was shining in front of the clouds and there was the most beautiful rainbow. I called Mom out to see it, as everyone else was asleep and, as is her want, she immediately started snapping pictures. Now, I would LOVE to show you the best but, unfortunately, it appears I need to beg my father to allow me to use his flickr account to do that. So that will have to wait.
It really is a lovely picture.

Happy Sabbath Everyone!

The kitty woke me up at 6:30 wanting to be feed, at least I think it was her that woke me up. She may have had the sun's help. Yes, the SUN! The light may be a little diluted and there may be more clouds than sky showing but we have sunlight.

When I actually (finally) got out of bed at 7:30 and looked out of my back window I saw a goldfinch fluttering around the apple tree. The blossoms on the tree are white with a very subtle pink hue. There are only a few leaves on the tree also and, looking down on it, it looked like a Japanese engraving. The bright yellow of the finch in the early light fit perfectly between the deep brown of the branches and the pale flowers.

It isn't often that I have that kind of beautiful picture when I wake up with the sun, perhaps because I so rarely do (wake up early, that is) but almost all of them have happened on Sabbath morning.

Maybe I is and maybe I ain't

I'm bipolar. I must be. After yelling at everyone about nothing and then curling up into a little ball and refusing to move and then posting that my life is awful, I'm fine now. I conversed quite cheerfully with those people that I would have cheerfully (well, not cheerfully but have been morbidly satisfied in the action of) castrating if it had be anatomically possible.

I helped chop vegetables for burritos. I even started writing out the flash cards for Micro that I have been talking about starting for a week and a half. Nothing in my environment changed and no of my responsibilities changed. It wasn't until after my mood changed that I found out The News.

The News is that Mrs. Diller, who is in charge of the second year nursing program, called to ask if I would like to be a tutor next year. What that means is that I will be paid about $7 to sit in the nursing A/V (audio/visual) lab and study for 7-10 hours a week. I might be interrupted once in a while by someone who needs help with schoolwork (either first year or pre-nursing) but that might not happen too much.

This is actually quite an honor. There are 30 students in my class and only 4 tutors. Oh, by the way it is always the second year students that are tutors as first year students are clueless for much of the time. (And I speak only from experience, not out of judgment.) While the B.S.N students are generally to busy and the number of B.S students fluctuates wildly from year to year (so I am lead to understand).

At the end of the year it had occurred to me that there would be new tutors next year from my own class, and I did wonder in passing who it would be. I never thought that it would be me. I'm not smart enough. (It does make sense that you would have the people doing the best in the classes teaching other people, you know. Maybe that policy changed.)

Blech

It has been raining almost constantly ever since I got home 2 weeks ago. There might have been four sunny days, but I doubt it. This past Monday was my first Micro lecture quiz and yesterday was the first quiz for lab. Next class (which is on Wednesday because of Memorial day) there is another quiz for lecture and on Friday we have the first Exam. I haven't studied at all today so far because Ally and I helped Mrs. Dalgleish with vision and hearing testing on Mt. Ararat middle schoolers. That got me 4-5 hours of the 40 hours of community service I have to have done before I graduate in a year. The school won't give you the diploma until you've logged the hours. But I still have to rewrite my lecture notes, read 2-3 chapters, and memorize six pages of organisms. And I should help cook as I said that I would.

I really hate rain right now.

Prayer conference

I just got back from the Northern New England Conference's spring prayer retreat. It was at Camp Lawroweld and lasted from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. It was truly wonderful. I haven't had the opportunity to go to one for a year and a half and I have really missed it. Beth went with me although she would say I went with her as she registered first and she was the one driving. Minor details.

The focus was on the last few days of Jesus' life, and I either had the blessing or the, well, not curse but more like Duty That Must Not Be Shirked to give the final address to the group. The topic I was given was the great commission, based on the chapter in The Great Controversy called... called... I can't remember.

I think it went well. I can never tell when I do any public speaking. It would be really very nice to have someone listening to me who wouldn't be shy about saying things like "Part of that was really awful such as ... But I really liked...." That would require someone who had an excellent memory and a strong grasp on understanding public speaking.

Of course the whole point is moot, as it so, SO isn't about me. That thought was the only one that kept me from shivering into a damp patch of nervousness on the floor. It's a wee bit hyporcritical of me to not take responcablity for it when I am clueless to how it went, but after people say nice things--even if only for politeness sake--I change my mind.

I really did have a good time. I got to meet up with some friends that I haven't seen in over a year and I fasted for the first time. The fast went a lot better then I thought it would. All in all, I was really blessed and it would take to long to write everything that happened so I won't try. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Home

I'm home. I have, in fact, been home for a week and a day. I left AUC right after my last final, well, a couple hours after my last final, at 6:00, and pulled into my driveway at 10:30. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive.

Yeah.

I was in stop and go traffic for upwards of 2 hours, but praise God I wasn't hurt! If I had left 10 minutes sooner I might have be *seriously* hurt. A truck cab was in an accident with a car and ended up hanging over the bridge railing over a river.

But that's kinda old news. New news is that I am 1/7 done with microbiology. Granted there hasn't been any tests or anything like that yet *But I'm One Seventh DOne, I TELL You!* Time wise that is. I'm in a study group with 2 other ladies, and I spent 3 hours in the Bath library studying with one of them. There's the first quiz on Monday. The class lasts through the last week of June.

I'm applying for work at Parkview as a CNA once my application for a license comes through. I have an application all filled out (for Parkview, not for the license as THAT is already turned in) and ready to deliver to HR once the license comes. I sent it out a week ago today, so it should come early next week. This is the hospital that I grew up in as a kid, running around the halls and poking my nose where it had absolutely NO business being. This is the hospital that I volunteered at in junior high. These is the hospital that I always imagined myself working in, side by side with my dad in the emergency room or maybe on unit 100 where half the other nurses are ladies with whom I go to church.

Now don't assume that this is "a dream come true" or any such sentimental nonsense. My TRUE dream was working in a library. That went bust, as did being a ballerina. But if I *have* to work in a hospital at lest I'll be at home.

'Kay, I'M bored with that topic, even if you arenýt. Soooo, YEA!!! CONTACTS!!!!!!!! . . . .

YAH!!

For those who actually spoke 3 sentence with me in the past 2 1/2 weeks, yeah I got them. On Tuesday. It rained today. And I didn't need to walk like the Hunchback of Notre dome. I bought sunglasses. I've never gotten to by sunglasses. Yeah, contacts. It's a good thing.

Ok, bored now. BYE EVERYONE! *giggle*

Pardon the long gap in entrys, but...

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

FINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may now return to your regulerly scheduled programing.