Now that I'm nearly completely settled into my new apartment, there isn't much left to do but study for boards. And wait for my little personal golden ticket (ie. Authorization To Test) to arrive. My ATT can't arrive until NDSU sends my transcripts to the State Board of Nursing. So, NDSU, any time you're ready, because I'm so tired of studying. I just need to see what happens next.
So, while playing the waiting game, I need to develop a new hobby. Because if I don't do anything other than study until June 20, I'm going to go a little crazy and be absolutely no fun to be around. So I've decided to try a couple things:
The Fargo Marathon just happened in Fargo. I think it's so inspiring that people train that hard to finish an insane amount of miles. However, I don't believe that the normal human body is made to run 26.2 miles. I think that's painful, and a little insane, so I have no desire to finish the marathon. However...the half is a little better. Maybe. I guess, all I really want, is to be able to say, "Yeah I ran an easy 5 miles..." So today, I started this new "running" thing. I set up an account on MapMyRun.com (when I do things, I do them big...I'm not gonna try and see if I like it first...I'd rather get cyber-harassed by a running company) and went for my first run. I made it 1.89 miles before deciding I didn't really want to do it anymore. Not bad. I can definitely make it 2 miles next time, and we'll just go from there after that. So stay tuned for that progress. Should be interesting for all involved.
I've also decided to volunteer as a pre-CNA mentor through the Skills and Technology Center. The people I'm going to be helping are new American citizens whose first language isn't English. Many of these people were nurses in their own countries, but because of the language barrier, are not able to pass NCLEX and are starting from the very bottom. How sad is that! I can't imagine deciding I had to move somewhere else where my education meant absolutely nothing. So if I can help them, cool.
These things are hopefully going to give me enough to do in the coming weeks while I await the ATT and then can schedule boards. And then, if all goes well, I'm going to be an RN,BSN by June 20. I can't wait. I got some really cool news...my favorite nursing instructor was recommending me to the ICU to start as one of the first new grads back in the ICU since they outlawed them a few years back to focus on implementing new studies and requiring experience. Unfortunately, I turned this down. I have a job on the surgical/trauma floor already, and while the ICU sounds really exciting, I think I need 6 months to a year to...grow, I guess. I want to be nothing less than awesome when I transfer to the ICU.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Joys and Pains of Moving
It is now that time, ladies and gentlemen. The end of the school year, bringing yet another move. I haven't lived in the same place for more than 10 months, since I left my parents' house. I love moving, so this has never been an issue. And since I'm currently terrified of my apartment...well, that helps too.
What I love about moving:
Treasure Hunts. I'm afraid I'm somewhat of a hoarder. I stash things away in any conceivable spot, just because you never know when you're going to need orange ribbon, medical tape, or all those crazy little pamphlets they give you at career fairs. I love finding these things and finally saying to myself, "You know what, I can live my life without velour pants." It's a liberating feeling. In fact, since I start cleaning packing two days ago, I've already accumulated 3 large garbage bags of things I no longer need in my life.
Packing. When moving, most people pack in large tubs. I find this tedious. You can only carry one tub at a time, and they're usually heavy. So I pack my entire room into old purses, suitcases, backpacks, totes...literally whatever bag I can get my hands on. In the beginning, there's an organization to it. I know that anything that was on my dresser before I started packing is currently in my old Coach bag. That's good enough, right?
Rearranging. When the time comes to move, I carry as many of said storage devices on me at one time, so I can make as few trips as possible. You'd actually be quite surprised how many of those suckers I can carry at one time (Picture the bag lady you were always a little scared of when you were 8). And then, I get to rearrange it. Even though I've seen everything I have numerous times, it all seems new when it's in a differnet room. I absolutely love being able to put things where I want (of course, quickly forgetting about things when I want) and make a bare four walls my own.
What I hate about moving:
Treasure HuntsIt's inevitable that I lose something of importance in the move. Take for instance, a card for Mother's Day and my sister's birthday. Gone. In my frenzy to find them, and save the last possibility to be remembered on my own birthday, I went through my closet. In most instances, it's a pretty safe bet if something's missing, it's under clothes on my floor, or shoved in my closet. I didn't find the cards, but I did discover two microscope slides. I'm not sure I even want to mention the fact that I have not been in a lab class for 3 years now.
Packing. I have a particularly difficult time deciding what clothes to pack away and what to leave in my closet for the next couple weeks. I think there's still 5-6 dresses in there. Because, you know, I'm gonna wear a dress fror one of the next two weeks. Completely uncalled for. But I still just can't make myself pack these up until I actually move. And, I'm just going across town. It's not like I can't get to the clothes if I do decide I need them.
Rearranging. One of my biggest downfalls is my ability to picture something that I haven't seen before and isn't directly in front of me. Imagine my joy when I get to arrange my furniture. You would think something my roommates have done with our apartments would have rubbed off on me, or hours spent on HGTV would somehow improve this vision. But it doesn't. This creates more work, as I have to physically drag things around to see how they look. After a solid four different arrangements, I also usually decide the first one looked the best.
I do really enjoy moving, but it's usually bittersweet. While I love living somewhere new, it's change, which I'm never really wonderful at. Christa's moving back home to work on a morning show at a local radio station, so I'm moving in with Lindsay. Linds started as my preceptor for my internship last summer at Sanford's Surgical/Trauma unit (ie. the nurse in charge of babysitting me and making sure I didn't kill anyone), and has now become one of my closest friends. I'm very lucky with this, and am excited to start the next chapter of my life, post-graduation.
What I love about moving:
Treasure Hunts. I'm afraid I'm somewhat of a hoarder. I stash things away in any conceivable spot, just because you never know when you're going to need orange ribbon, medical tape, or all those crazy little pamphlets they give you at career fairs. I love finding these things and finally saying to myself, "You know what, I can live my life without velour pants." It's a liberating feeling. In fact, since I start cleaning packing two days ago, I've already accumulated 3 large garbage bags of things I no longer need in my life.
Packing. When moving, most people pack in large tubs. I find this tedious. You can only carry one tub at a time, and they're usually heavy. So I pack my entire room into old purses, suitcases, backpacks, totes...literally whatever bag I can get my hands on. In the beginning, there's an organization to it. I know that anything that was on my dresser before I started packing is currently in my old Coach bag. That's good enough, right?
Rearranging. When the time comes to move, I carry as many of said storage devices on me at one time, so I can make as few trips as possible. You'd actually be quite surprised how many of those suckers I can carry at one time (Picture the bag lady you were always a little scared of when you were 8). And then, I get to rearrange it. Even though I've seen everything I have numerous times, it all seems new when it's in a differnet room. I absolutely love being able to put things where I want (of course, quickly forgetting about things when I want) and make a bare four walls my own.
What I hate about moving:
Treasure HuntsIt's inevitable that I lose something of importance in the move. Take for instance, a card for Mother's Day and my sister's birthday. Gone. In my frenzy to find them, and save the last possibility to be remembered on my own birthday, I went through my closet. In most instances, it's a pretty safe bet if something's missing, it's under clothes on my floor, or shoved in my closet. I didn't find the cards, but I did discover two microscope slides. I'm not sure I even want to mention the fact that I have not been in a lab class for 3 years now.
Packing. I have a particularly difficult time deciding what clothes to pack away and what to leave in my closet for the next couple weeks. I think there's still 5-6 dresses in there. Because, you know, I'm gonna wear a dress fror one of the next two weeks. Completely uncalled for. But I still just can't make myself pack these up until I actually move. And, I'm just going across town. It's not like I can't get to the clothes if I do decide I need them.
Rearranging. One of my biggest downfalls is my ability to picture something that I haven't seen before and isn't directly in front of me. Imagine my joy when I get to arrange my furniture. You would think something my roommates have done with our apartments would have rubbed off on me, or hours spent on HGTV would somehow improve this vision. But it doesn't. This creates more work, as I have to physically drag things around to see how they look. After a solid four different arrangements, I also usually decide the first one looked the best.
I do really enjoy moving, but it's usually bittersweet. While I love living somewhere new, it's change, which I'm never really wonderful at. Christa's moving back home to work on a morning show at a local radio station, so I'm moving in with Lindsay. Linds started as my preceptor for my internship last summer at Sanford's Surgical/Trauma unit (ie. the nurse in charge of babysitting me and making sure I didn't kill anyone), and has now become one of my closest friends. I'm very lucky with this, and am excited to start the next chapter of my life, post-graduation.
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