A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Oh, NBC . . . sometimes it drives me nuts.  Snow dogs?  In Prime-Time?  Right now they are playing a special by Tom Brokaw on September 11th, and the relationship between Canada and the U.S. (to defray the enmity of hockey?).  This piece is very interesting; I never thought about all the people who were displaced by being diverted to Canada.  U.S. airspace was closed entirely, leaving thousands of people on planes with nowhere to go.  Even in just one small town in Newfoundland, good people came together to help complete strangers.  It's amazing what can happen when disaster strikes.  There is still good in the world.  It's sad that so often it takes evil to see the good.

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We are now watching the closing ceremonies.  These productions are insane!  I can't even fathom how much money and time and effort goes into these things.

These Olympics have been pretty good . . . there have been some good moments and some I'd rather forget.  I'm sure that most of these athletes have worked hard to be where they are, but is Ice Dancing really a sport?  The Double McTwist 1260 . . . the Night Train . . . Bode Miller's redemption . . . some of  it has been truly amazing.  Kim Yu-Na is one of the most beautiful skaters ever, and Joannie Rochette had such grace in the face of such tragedy.  The weather at Whistler was terrible, and I think Lindsey Vonn would have kicked serious butt if Mother Nature had cooperated.  I'm still annoyed at the disqualification of Apolo Ohno in the 500m.  I hope he competes in Sochi in 2014--he is one of my favorite Olympic athletes ever.

This picture is of the U.S. Men's Short-Track Speed Skating team who won the Bronze in the 5000 Meter Relay.  I love that smile.







In any case, at least we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming.  I have stayed up too late watching the Olympics . . . stupid tape delay!  And the little notices in the corner (e.g. "Lindsey Vonn in 22 minutes") and Bob Costas . . . more reasons why NBC drives me nuts!

As far as the work week goes, things got significantly better after the first day.  It's pretty amazing what a full night's sleep can do for you.  I feel pretty good with scrubbing . . . the procedures aren't too different  (yet . . . I haven't started neuro or CV yet), and the surgeons are pretty nice.  I just don't know what they will need for the cases, and I can't seem to get myself there early enough to go over the case carts.  I'll be working on that.  So things are good  for now.  Benji's schedule is being re-set (no more sleeping in for Mama!) and I am getting to be a lot earlier.  It's good for me, even though it's difficult to get my butt out the door at 6am.

What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Today was my first day back at PCMC, and I'm totally overwhelmed right now.  I knew my learning curve would be at a much steeper incline for a while, but I'm exhausted physically and mentally.  I don't know if I can do this . . . it would certainly be a lot easier to go back to IMC.  I have told myself that I need to give it at least six months.  We shall see.

P.S. I got an amazing ticket to see U2 in June.  WAHOO!!!

P.P.S.  Shockingly enough, my new badge photo isn't too bad--hat hair and all!

I'm So Excited

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!  I'm SO there!!!!
http://u2.com/news/title/final-u2-360-show-in-north-america

Sweet Child of Mine

Last weekend we had Benji's second birthday party. I can't believe he's two! We had a pretty good time with crafts and presents and taco soup for lunch. It was fun, but I'm glad it's over. He got some great toys and cute clothes, and he will have heart-themed birthday parties until he tells me he's too cool for it. :o) Here are some pictures.



Poor baby Sabrina was sick, and ended up in the hospital with RSV. She's such a trouper, though. Love this girl!  I'm glad she's feeling better!

I Want To Know What You're Thinking

It has been a little while since my last post.  I have been pretty busy with work and travel and such.  I had a very nice weekend visiting friends.  I got to see Jill, one of the coolest people ever.  As long as I have known her (since middle school . . . that was in the 90's.  Man--I'm getting old!!), she has been driven.  She knew all along that she wanted to be a veterinarian.  We graduated from High School in 1997, and she graduated from Utah State in 2000, I think (TOTAL smarty-pants!  I didn't officially graduate from the U until 2007!).  Then she went directly to Vet school in Washington state, graduated from there, and moved to Florida to begin her practice.  I wish I had that kind of gumption and/or direction.  I knew that I wanted to be in the medical field, but I was definitely not cut out for Medical School.  a) I'm not competitive enough (okay, okay, I tend to run away from competition!), b) my grades weren't that great, and c) I wanted to have a life.  As many of my doctor friends can tell you, Medical School and Internship and Residency and Fellowships ARE your life.  Many of them have families, but it's extremely difficult to do both--especially if you have kids.  Frankly, I'm too lazy to try to do it all.

So . . . somehow I ended up here--working with doctors and nurses and a lot of cool people.  I'm really going to miss this group; they are my second family.  Actually, I probably see them more than I do my immediate family, and I have been here for nearly four years.  I do love learning and speaking with the surgeons and asking them questions and assisting them with procedures.  I have to admit that it's pretty cool.

I am a little bit worried about this next chapter.  I had a dream that the entire hospital had been remodeled, and I totally got lost--I couldn't even find the time clock!  It will take me a while to get used to the way they do things up on the hill . . . especially counting instruments.  *gulp*  I guess that means I'll have to learn their names, eh?  My excuse will be that they use different instruments than I'm used to . . . right? :o)  The schedulers posted my shifts, so other staff can pick them up once I am gone.  It's really real, and it does make me sad.

But the schedule will be so much better!  It will be tough to get up so early, and I will HAVE to get to bed earlier, but I will love being home in the evenings.  I'll be able to go to ward and RS activities!  I'll be able to eat dinner with my family and give my baby a bath every night!  Yay!

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I started this post a couple of days ago, but I want to post it.  I have a couple of pictures for you.  Not great, but here's one.  I need to go to bed, and Picnik isn't saving my pictures, so it's definitely time to say good night.  Later.

Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change

I don't really like what I see when I look at myself, but I  have known that something has needed to change for a long time.  I was really excited for the job prospect in Logan.  It would have meant huge changes, including my being able to stay home with Benjamin.  Of course, it didn't happen.  I applied for a job at Primary Children's, and ~wonder of wonders~ they offered me the job.  And I accepted.  I have given my notice to IMC; my last day there will be February 18th (the end of the pay period), and I'll start at PCMC the following Monday, February 22nd.  I'll be working full-time on the day shift, four 10-hour shifts every week, so it will actually be working more hours.  I'm not really looking forward to that, but the schedule will be so much better.  It will be so much better for Benji--I'll be home every evening, so he'll have some kind of routine.  He will be going to a babysitter for about 5 hours on the days that I work (until Allen can pick him up), but I think it will be good for him too.  He needs some structure, and I hope he'll find it necessary to use more words.  It will mean getting up A LOT EARLIER for both of us, but that should be good, too (once we get used to it).  Right now, mornings are so unproductive for me; I'm such a night owl that it's really the only time I can get stuff done without Benji undoing everything I have done.  I'll still have to do most of the household stuff in the evenings, but Allen has said that he would be willing to cook (which doesn't bother me one little bit).  So I think I'm going to hand over the grocery shopping and most of the cooking to him.  If dinner is ready by the time I get home . . . that would be so nice, and such a load off my shoulders.  That's the goal, anyway.  I'm giving him the e-mealz menus and letting him go to town.  Wahoo!

I hung out with the girls on Saturday, and it was so nice.  I have some super-cute pics of baby Sabrina, but I haven't had time to Picnik them yet.  Stay tuned. 

:o)