Thursday, June 30, 2005

I'm done...

Yesterday at 2:12 pm I officially finished my Microbiology class. I don't know what my final grade will be although my lab/study partner, Emily, and I tried to calculate our scores. As far as I can tell I should get a high to middling B. Not the brilliant performance I would like but it's respectable.

I have always heard things like "Don't you feel better now that you've finished?" and some of the time the answer has been yes. Not this time. While driving the 40 minutes back from Augusta for the last time I tried to examine my reaction to having a class finished that I had been dreading for around two and a half years. I discovered that I don't feel any particular emotion about it's completion except for a vague worry that I completely bombed the final. If I did than I'm in Trouble as I can't start second year nursing if I don't have Micro completed. But I won't think about that.

By the end of the trip I was thinking much more about what I had to do now than what I had finished. For all I would love to believe that now the summer will all be days at the beach and books that is a daydream of the highest degree. I am planning to CLEP American History I before I get back to college and to do that I need to have studied American History I. I have one month to prepare for the test, counting the week vacation we have for the family reunion at Niagara Falls.

I also have to find something that will get me in a hospital using my skills from last semester. I had been hoping to have been working for the last 2 weeks. That hasn't happened. I don't know what is going on but every foray on my part to initiate contact has gone very wrong (I won't say disastrously because that is an exaggeration). The current plan is to see if I can volunteer or, at very least, job shadow the nurses.

I really can't see how this summer is going to turn out. It seems like everything I expected was turned upside-down onto its head. It makes me weary to think of all the scheduling and organizing and fitting that I'm going to have to do.

I sound so down, don't I? I'm not, really. I started exercising again. 2 miles brisk walk every morning with some jogging as tolerated. It wiped me out MUCH more that is should. I have gotten so, so out of shape. I have never had good stamina for exercise and I'm going to try to build it up. That is all well and good. I should be trying to stay fit as it is easier now that in will ever be. But, ohhhh, I'm so tired now!

Well, anyway you should see me more now, as I hope it won’t be quite so frenzied from her on out.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Campmeeting et al

I happen to agree with Beth. Campmeeting and I have never gotten along. I have very vivid memories of being forced to stay all day at campmeeting surrounded by black flies, hordes of people who are always talking, and heat. Always heat. There is no such thing as shade or breeze at campmeeting. Well, actually there is either heat of the kind that causes sunstroke in two minutes flat or torrential rain that you can't get away from because it seeps through every possible crack or crevice of the tents.

We always had our "campmeeting tree" that we parked under to try to catch its shade although that was scanty at best. When I was tired of being around people I would beg Mom or Dad to take me home (we only lived 15 minutes away) and I was always told to rest in the car. It was always shut up before I got there so it was always at least 125 degrees in there and the seatbelts always stuck into just the wrong places in my back.

All that isn't the point. That little bit of family history merely paints the background for the past week. The past week that was campmeeting.

I didn't go. Not even when I could have. The first weekend I went for church, the evening meeting and the Sunday meeting. At least I think I went to the Sunday meeting, I don't quite remember. Maybe I didn't. The next meeting I went to was on the next Sabbath for Sabbath school and church. I could have gone to the night meetings but it was hot. It was also the last meeting which means that everyone would be coerced into helping take down chairs.

In fact over this week I was incredible antisocial. (The next sentence is very sarcastic, so please infuse as much irony as you can into it.) Maybe that's because I was home schooled so I never learned to socialize. To make up for, not only not going to the other meetings this weekend, but for not going to the beach with a group of other youth like people even when I was invited by two people who were going in two separate groups I when shopping this morning.


Now if you know me you may know that shopping generally isn't on my list of top ten things to do. I mean, it is sometimes but that's true of almost anyone. Most of the time I stay away from Freeport like it's the plague. But I hadn't spent much time at all with friends so I was guilted into going. NOT by them, not at all! But by myself. Even when I'm on the final leg of my class--only two days left with quiz on one day and the cumulative final on the other day I decide to go shopping for the first time in about two or three months.

It was kind of legitimate. After two weeks (about) of cold weather it was HOT again and I really have no shorts that don't make me look ho-ish. I really hate how clothing designers assume that every female around that wears jean shorts must want to show all of her legs and some of her bottom to the whole world. Well, I DON'T! So make something I can wear without being embarrassed by being seen by someone from church already!

I found a pair for the first time in two to three years. After consulting with the parental units they have agreed to bankroll a second trip out to Gap to get two more pairs of shorts, one a size larger in case I can't find any more for a few years.

I also got four honey sticks. I love honey sticks. There's strawberry and peach and regular and one other else that I forgot the flavor of. Honey sticks make me happy. I like being happy. I have new shorts, friends, and honey sticks so I am very happy. And music. I was given a lot of music that's very nice. I like music too.

Oh yeah, Dad worked his last time in the ED and is now officially done with working at night and we had a party to celebrate. But that's not about me so I won't mention it. Right?




Yeah right.


HORRAYYYYYYYY!!

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Hurray!

Micro Lab is done! This is cause for great rejoicing. At first I was looking forward to the lab because I was going to get to play with Bunsen burners and microscopes and junk like that. After the first class I was still excited about it because the teacher seemed to have the same teaching style as my anatomy and physiology teacher--that is to say that he didn't take the institution of microbiology too seriously but still knew his stuff.

Well, after the second class things didn't seem quite so nice. Instead of taking a more relaxed approach in his teaching style while still clearly conveying the information and in a way that made it easy to understand, he had a more fly by the seat of his pants style. This means that if you had a question it was generally ignored, disregarded, or obfuscated if it was answered at all.

Unless you were one of his favorites, in which case you got ten minutes of explanation while the rest of the class A) sat around bored and doing nothing because the question was asked during the lecture portion of the lab or B) sat around bored unable to finish what they were trying to work on because they had a question for him about what they were supposed to be doing and he would not stop talking to the people at the other table!

My lab partner and I were not one of his favored ones, in case you couldn't tell.

He also had really odd tests. One the final quiz we had yesterday he had questions like "Which of the following are not in Paris?” which, as you can see, has NOTHING to do with what we learned. Or he ask questions over material that was A) not in the lab book, B) not in the study worksheets that were paced out, C) not mentioned in the lecture, or D) if he mentioned it, it was in such a way as to say "don't worry about it, its not important".

I was so frustrated over the lab of this class. I retaliated by not studying for it more than a hour a week and still getting some of the best grades in the class (as far as I can tell).

The recap of all this is....I never have to take a class with him again. Not only that, but now I only have one week left of Micro lectures too! Oh, YAH!

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Told You So...


The deer is back
Originally uploaded by Larry13.
You may (or may not) remember my posting a few weeks back that all nice things seem to happen on the Sabbath. (See here if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) Well, my theory has been right once more. This afternoon after we got back from campmeeting we saw a deer in the decimated woods behind our house. It was a yearling that visited here last year with its mother when there wasn't construction.

It was extra-special for me to see it because I was away at college when the whole family came a-visiting last fall.

Dad said that he has seen a deer when he was walking through the construction site last week. He held still while it walked across the dirt road 2 yards in front of him. It didn't even seem to notice him.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

My life

I have no life. I study and study and study some more. Or I should and I don't and then I feel guilty that I don't. That is very boring, both for me to live through and you to read. So I haven't been bothering to write. But I am alive. Just so you know.

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Hot

It's hot. Very hot. I am more grateful than I can tell that Dad took the time to put in the air conditioners. Now then, most of the time I like hot especially when I don't have to DO anything. But I got very tired of sitting in church dripping wet and emanating a SMELL. The combination of a lack of any breeze and about 150 people in one (I grant, large) room rather put me off heat for the rest of the day.

I helped out in Primary today. There were more children there than I remember there being the last time I helped. I should explain that the primary class room has ALWAYS in my 18 or 19 years in the same church been the hottest. While that's nice in the winter, in summer? Not so much. So imagine a dozen or more 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade kids on the hottest day this year in the hottest room in the building with school having gotten out 3 days earlier.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we had to teach three lessons as camp meeting starts next Sabbath and goes through the following weekend. At least all tree stories were about Elijah so I could kind of tie them in together. Any way, I don't think I was very successful at holding the kids attention. Especially when at least two of them were doing their best to have themselves the center of attention instead of myself. That was interesting.

Now I am in an air conditioners house, eating macaroni salad (it's my favorite), with it Sabbath so I don't have to DO. It seems that this is the only time when I don't have to DO. Do my homework, do my study groups, do the laundry, do the cleaning, do whatever little task comes up to do. It's wonderful to have a day where I'm not allowed to do, so I can just BE. Don't you think?

Friday, June 10, 2005

I am going crazy.

I am not exaggerating. I am slowly being driven out of my mind. For the past half hour, or longer, the smoke detector in the upstairs hall has been going off. There's no fire. No one even burnt toast. There is no reason for it to be alarming. But it is.

I took the battery out of it, but that was five minutes into its' reign of terror and it's showing no signs of stopping. When I first heard it I assumed that it was the smoke detector in the kitchen hall that always is going off. It wasn't. Isn't, I mean. Then I thought that it was the basement fire alarm. That had me worried because there are flamible liquids down there and it might be a fire. It wasn't. That left the upstairs hall smoke detector.

I then ran up stairs and, after futilely jumping at it a few times, pulled over the computer chair that Mom has for her sewing room risking life and limb (if I fell it would have be straight down the stairs) to unplug the battery. It did nothing. Well, the ALARM did something, it was just the same thing that it had been doing for the past five minutes.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! Ad naseum.

I then did what any sensible person would do. I called my mommy. The call went something like these...

*ring*
Mom: "Hel.."
me: "HELP! What do I do?"
M: "Wait, what happened?"
m: "The fire alarm is going off and I can't get it to stop and I already pulled out the battery and it's really loud and there isn't a fire and I didn't burn toast and I don't know how to make it STOP!"
M: "The smoke alarm?"
m: "yeah, the one upstairs."
M: "It might be the humidity, Hang up..."
m: "HANG UP? I DON'T WANT TO HANG UP, I WANT TO KNOW HOW TO I STOP IT!"
M: "Get the phone book and look up the fire department. I don't know how to stop it."
m: "Can you?"
M: "DEBBIE! It would be easier for you to call."
m: "Are you sure?"
*silence*
m: "OK"
M: "WAIT! Don't call 911!"
m: "Umm, who do I call?"
M: "B______, town of, Fire department."
m: "Okthanksbye."
*Click*

I'm quite sure that I wasn't terribly coherent when I called the fire department but the upshot was that I wasn't the first person to call about something like that happening in the area today. Once the man who was checking on the first call about this was done he would come over.

I tried studying but was remarkable unsuccessful.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

I tried going outside away from it, but the windows were open and there was no improvement whatsoever.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

I decide that the only thing I can do is write for a while and try to pretend that I’ve never heard any thing.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

One hour of this goes by and as I am here, with you, typing out my frustrations, the doorbell rings. So does the phone but it's just mom so I hang up on her.

In walks the fire man. I show him upstairs explaining in a half shout what happened as we went. He looks up at the smoke detector and then around the hall. To my deep and utter chagrin he reached up and took down, not the antique smoke detector that I had taken the battery out of, but the other smoke detecter on the wall that I had forgotten existed.

Open it up, pop the battery out and....

Blessed silence!

It's interrupted only by my clamorous thoughts that I either AM insane or merely the biggest ditz ever!

Thus ends the tale. While in the beginning there is drama and suspense it ends with one girl who just isn't so smart. And is also extremely unobservant. Oh well. The first time I was told I should have been a blonde was when I was eleven, I'm use to it by now.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Funny or Just Really, Really Annoying?

As some of you might know I got home a month ago today. The day after I got home I did a Very Important Thing. The Very Important Thing was filling and sending out my application for a CNA license. This was impressed firmly upon the fertile minds of all the first year nursing students over the last few weeks of school.

"We will know who among you worked over the summer when you come back for second
year. We will be able to tell exactly who has been using their skills and
who has been letting them decay. Work this summer or we will know!"


This is a very intimidating thing, especially as it was the teachers for second year that said it. All year long we have been hearing horror stories of how hard the second year teachers are and how next to impossible it is for students to get good grades in their classes. So I dutifully sent out my CNA application the day after I got home.

One week goes by and I hear nothing. Two weeks, nothing happens. I'm not really worried as it does take a while to process. I turn in an application at Parkview to work on the Med/Surg wing. Three weeks and still nothing happens. Well, they do have to do a background check. Four weeks (that's this week) and not only does nothing happen with the CNA license but Parkview never got back to me either. What is going ON?

Yesterday, after the small group Mom and I go to, we went to Parkview as Mom had to get a Rx filled and I had to talk to Human Resources. At least that's was I was told by my very persistent mother. It turns out that the Med/Surg director never got the copy of my application that was sent inter-office mail.

So Mr. Coin came down to pick up the application and, it turned out, me. I had my first ever interview yesterday. Don't ask how it went as I have no idea. Now the only thing that my hiring (or not, as the case might be) was waiting on is actually having a license to practice.

We got home. Once again the reason I'm so brilliant is made apparent. With two smart parents I have to be a genius, don't you know! Mom called the CNA registry. She asked what the status of my license was and learned that, in fact, I have had a license for about two weeks and they just never told me.

Now, what is the likelihood that my application for work AND the notification of my license both went astray? I don't know why it happened but there *must* be a reason! Either that or Someone has a warped sense of humor. Well, I suppose I would have to live with that without too much indignation because this whole thing sounds too much like something I would pull if I could, and find the whole thing hilarious.

Monday, June 06, 2005

Consequences

Everything has consequences. This weekend I got to spend time with a group of kids that I get to talk with about once a year, and it was *good*. I have so much fun. I even got to "play" with horses. So, all in all, I enjoyed myself this weekend.

However....

It's not the weekend anymore. The sun is no longer shining and my friends have left for home. Now the repercussions of having fun come tumbling inwards at me. I studied for less then two hours over the whole weekend.

This is when I'm taking a class at double speed that has always been a hard course. Already I barely seem to be keeping my head above water, which has NEVER happened to me since third grade math. I should have been studying all weekend, not just for the lab quiz that's today but for the whole class, because if I don't start doing better, well, I'll pass but barely.

I don't regret spending time with friends. Please don't miss understand me, the time I spent with them rejuvenated me and helped me get my priorities straight, like it always does. It's just that I now need to deal with the unintended side effects of either not getting good grades or giving up any social life for the last 4 weeks of the class. I'll do what I have to, but it will be hard.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Friends

I am currently in between friends. No, that does NOT mean that I've ditched the old one's and are looking for new one! Shame on you for thinking that. No, I just got to see Alyssa and in a few hours I'll get to see Jeremy. Who, you may ask, are they? Well!

I have known Alyssa for about six or seven years, all the way back to when we only fought; although very, very politely. It's not *my* fault that she'd so opinionated, and sticks with her ideas for so long! She's a few years younger then me and was also home schooled. "Was" because she just graduated from high school this spring and will be going to Southern next year. She moved to California about 3 years ago, so I only get to see her about once a year.

Jeremy I haven't known as long, only three years. We meet at the very first Extreme Teen's weekend as we were both part of the very first Extreme Teen's group, acually so was Alyssa. And for those of you who might not know what that is, too bad. I don't feel like explaining it. Google it. Hmmm, that actually doesn't seem to work so well. Never mind the google comment. Here's a link if anyone really wants to know...
www.youthprayerministries.com/index2.html

What was I saying? OH, Jeremy. Well, even though we live in the same state I'm really bad with communicating and we generally talk only a few times a year at most. So when I went to the prayer conference in May he was there too and we got talking again. When he mentioned later on that he was coming down for graduation, I volunteered my parents' house if he needed a place to stay. They took the new surprisingly well.

The reason every one is coming down here is because it's Pine Tree's graduation this weekend. And in Alyssa's case it was also Memorial Day earlier and I *think* that her family went up to Bar Harbor as their tradition was while they lived in Maine.

In sum, (I love saying that-it sounds so professional) I spent this morning with Alyssa at Pine Tree's church service and catching up, and now I have a 3 hour break until I get to see another friend that I rarely get to see.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Here it is at last!


Rainbow at last!
Originally uploaded by Larry13.
I *finally* remember, when Dad and I were both available, to ask him to set his flickr account so I can use it. It is done, but don't expect many photos as I don't have a camera with me at college.

Anyway... here at last is the picture of the beautiful rainbow that I mentioned on Memorial Day. Hope you enjoy!

Yah me!

I have been trying to figure out how to change the sidebar on this site for a separate blog links since I got this blog. Just today I finally thought of what I was doing wrong. Allie called (thank you Alllie!) for help setting up her blog and how to set up the links. I had previously decided just to put them all under the LINKS title with the swap and TWoP but hadn't gotten around to it. While I was trying (unsuccessfully) to help Allie I FINALLY saw what I needed to do to make separate headings. And it worked! Yah me!

Ok, I REALLY need to go now. Tomorrow I have my first exam in micro and I'm studying like mad today. I just stopped for lunch and got VERY distracted!