Go, Cardinal!

Merry Christmas Week everyone!

I have been in Mountain View for the past week (already?!), waiting to see where I needed to be and when.  I needed to stay just in case I started orientation last week or the beginning of this week.  I was offered another travel position at Stanford ( !!!! ) to work on their surgical ambulatory care unit and ambulatory transfusion and infusion center!  I'm very excited for several reasons:  1.  I love this area and still have so many things left to see/do.  2.  I love the girls I met my first week at Stanford in October and we are having so much fun getting to see and do things together.  3.  I love working at Stanford.  4.  I love the area (did I already mention that?)!  It worked out so well!  I was taking a gamble by not accepting a poorly paying job in LA (have absolutely no desire to go there) Wednesday night, said I would "think about it," while I waited to hear back on the Stanford job.  I got a call from Stanford Thursday, did a phone interview and was offered the job at the end of the interview.  I was later told by my recruiter that the LA job was already taken since I didn't take it the night before!  I was thrilled on so many levels!  All of us have been extended through the spring (except Minnesota, who is working at Yale).

That's the latest! I start the 11th of January, maybe sooner if they can work out the logistics before then so I can get hours.

The Texas Tech (men's) basketball team plays Stanford this year . . . In Lubbock. : (

I hope everybody has a fun Christmas and you're able to have some good times with friends and loved ones!

"So, where are you now?"

I've been getting questions about what's going on now and people send me questions wondering where I am, my address, etc.  Well, more waiting and I'm homeless!  I'm currently in Mountain View, California, staying with one of my friends that I met while working at Stanford, who is also a travel nurse.  I'm just hanging out here while I wait for word on the next job, just in case I need to be somewhere this week or next for orientation.  I will probably wait through Thursday and then make plans to get back home for Christmas if I don't hear anything.  I should probably be more stressed than I am, or, maybe not.  I am not worried as of yet and am enjoying the time off and the Lord has been very provident so far, so I don't feel the need to worry too much!  I do have brief moments of "okay . . . I kinda need a job . . . " but, for the most part, I'm just enjoying getting to hang out with these girls, be in the beautiful bay, and go do fun things (which are FREE!), like hiking, driving the coast to go Christmas shopping (not free, but if you don't find anything, like myself, then it's free!).  And, we're just catching up and laughing a lot.  I don't have time to stress about not having a job!   : )  

I hope to know within the next couple of days.  There are a few possibilities on the table, but, only word on one, and I will talk more with the liaison about that one tomorrow.  We will see!  I will be staying in California and have no plans to leave until the spring, maybe later.  I'm in no hurry to leave.

This is what has been going on in the meantime:

Old Town in Sacramento--they have preserved Old West

Sacramento. Very neat!

The iconic gold vertical lift bridge

over the Sacramento River.

The jelly belly factory is in Fairfield, Ca, which is about halfway

between Sacramento and San Francisco!

It takes 7 days to make a jelly bean (you've always wondered . . . )!

Our jelly belly hats we had to wear!

Bubba Gump's on the water at Monterey!

Our hike in the East Bay at Fremont.  We will be sore tomorrow!

We were even with the houses at the beginning of the hike!

I'll let you know when I get my assignment and where I'll be.  Love to all!

So long, Sac!

Wow . . . where does the time go?  As soon as I get used to a place and begin to enjoy it, it's time to move on and start over!  I was very reluctant to begin work in Sacramento because it wasn't "the Bay" and my friends were still in the Bay and I'm here.  As it turns out, we've been able to get together a few times and have had a wonderful time (because we all miss each other, so we really make the best of it) each time we get together.  So, getting together with them has made this assignment much better than I feared it might be.  The people I work with have all been so much fun and so helpful.

Sacramento has been very hard in a different way, though.  As you may have read in my previous posts, there is a very high population of homeless here and this hospital sees many.  It has been a very difficult reality check and has reminded me of how broken the world is.  I have wanted to scream because of the injustice (and not by the hospital, by any means, but, general, inherent injustices in the world).  And, I have also felt and seen how little, in the big scheme of things, my effort and good intentions and benevolence really make a difference.  I know what you may be thinking.  We are always called to good works and they are the fruit of a changed heart in Christ.  What I mean is we are absolutely hopeless for the world to really change, to really be made right, to really be healed forever and indefinitely, infinitely, and wholly without Christ.  We are powerless in our best human form.  I have had experiences where I have tried to comfort and console a confused or patient with psychological issues and my greatest of well-intentioned efforts failed.  It didn't matter how much I loved, or cared, or tried . . . I, in my best nature, could not console or even communicate with some of them.  The monsters in their heads kept them from receiving any kind of comfort, help, or consolation.  The same goes for treating cancer much of the time.  We use all of our human powers to make new medicines, develop new treatment regiments, to zap, cut, burn, oblate every cancer cell we can.  And would you know, our best-intended treatments may be the end of cancer-eaten patient.  We may pound on a chest, inject meds to jumpstart the heart, shock a person, and we are often powerless.

The lesson re-learned, reiterated here in Sacramento for me has been that the world is not what it should be and what we all know it should be.  And I saw that my best of intentions and best of works and best of efforts, although necessary now and still beneficial, they are not the ultimate answer "saving the world."  I would say that I have known this intellectually for years, but actually realizing it and seeing it, knowing I tried as hard as I could, did everything I could, and still fell short of comforting, consoling, helping, was a good lesson.  It is a hard but essential lesson.  I will say, here, I have never been more ready to see Jesus come back, reconcile the world and right all the wrong.

Sorry, folks!  This is not where I intended this blog entry to go!  It just happened as I reflected over Sacramento and my time here.  I'm not sure where I will be going next.  I have a few possibilities and will hopefully know within this week.  I would love to go to the bay again and I would really love a 3 month assignment instead of a 1.5 month one!!! Saying goodbye is killing me!

If you have any suggestions or questions for blog entries, let me know.  I'm afraid this is "all about me" . . . I want it to be a way to keep in touch, not my address to my captive audience!  So, tell me if you have suggestions! : )

A couple of my friends and I went to San Fran for a cheesy Christmas Day in the City and did cheesy Christmas things.  It was a ton of fun and here are some pics!

Union Square

So, I'm a sucker for the over-commercialism.

The ice-skating rink!  We even had cold weather

to make it feel authentically wintry!  (and nobody

fell! Big deal!)

Last, but not least, a lovely dinner atop Macy's

at the Cheesecake Factory!  Great end

to a great day!

Peace on Earth!

The glorious life of a "traveler" . . .

My friend, Angela, asked me to post pictures of where I live a while ago.  These are my extravagant accommodations!  They are "free" to me and I don't spend much time here.  I am only here for another 2 weeks or so and I have done much better about keeping this place tidier!

I brought the quilt coverlet for when I have to provide

my bedding. Decided to use it in the hotel too!

: )  I do miss having a house to make more of a "home" and having a place to have people over.  But, for the time being, this keeps me warm and dry.  I look forward to a 3-month assignment so I can have a one bedroom apartment (some day)!

Thankful

The reality of the world seems to hit more at times than others.  There are times it seems we see things a little more clearly and we aren't as oblivious to the state of the world or situations others are in.

Working in bigger cities has opened my eyes as you would expect.  I have been very overwhelmed by the number of homeless here in the 2 cities I've worked in so far.  In Sacramento, I work in a hospital close to downtown, so it's expected that we see more of the homeless population.  The complications of H1N1 and colder weather seem to be driving more into the hospitals.  Not to mention, the struggling economy causing facilities to be closed and funding to be cut for programs. Which programs are cut?  Those that care for the mentally ill and keep them off the streets.  Further aggravating the problem of funding is of course these people are unable to pay and have no insurance, meaning the hospital "eats" the costs (which I have no personal issues with, since we are here to care for those who need care, however, many hospitals are in the red and having to make cut backs, which causes snowballing issues for everybody. I'm interested to see how reform will affect our current struggles).

I have cared for many homeless people here.  Many of whom have psychological illnesses and some who have just had "bad luck."  I have discharged several to "home," which happens to be the streets.  It is so conflicting to discharge them to nowhere, with no next meal guaranteed.  I discharged one before dinner and, after the fact, realized I should have waited an hour so he could eat one more full meal.  I then went back to my hotel (which I often complain about) and slept in a warm, dry bed, while he slept on the cold, wet streets.  One young woman who had been through enough to cripple anyone started crying when we were unable to find her backpack that contained everything she had in the world in the rush of trying to get her moved so we could admit someone new as our ER was being overran.  Another man told me, "I'll be alright. I've got my pack there and my sleeping bag . . . "

So, I am humbled in the presence of these people.  Why them and not myself?  I am no more worthy of a home, a warm bed, a healthy mind, or the warm meals I never fail to have.  I was just the one that wasn't born into their particular situation at that particular time.  I am so frivolous so often with what I am given.  May I never forget it is by no merit or worth of my own. And may I remain humble and always thankful.

God have mercy on the homeless.

Exploring Sac Town

This is the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in downtown

Same cathedral . . . different angle. Sorry for the repetition! : )

I haven't see the Governator anywhere . . . I think he and his wife

have been too busy parking in red-zones.

"The City of Trees" means lots of leaves!

This is the Great American River (I think) and is the river

my bike trail follows! Very nice.

Another view from the trail.

Part of the trail.

I saw 10 of these little guys!  Very nice.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Sacramento's on Fire!

So, I'm in Sacramento and have been working on the floor for a week.  I still haven't figured out how to juggle a life with 8 hour work days . . . I know, everybody else in the world does it, but, I have never had to work 8 hour days.  I have worked 12 hour shifts for either 2 or 3 days in a row, would have a couple or three off in a row, and then do it again.  I wouldn't have much of a life at all while I worked the twelves, but then would have a nice chunk of time to relax, take trips, or socialize.  I'm still trying to learn how to balance all that throughout the week.  I will say, I don't think it's as tiring to spread the work hours out a bit and working more of a day schedule is probably helping that as well.  If any of you have any insight as to how to manage a well-balanced life working 8 hour days, feel free to email me!  : )

I haven't figured it out yet. . . But Sacramento always smells like Sunray did during the fall when they were burning corn stubble in the fields and sometimes the sky is just as brown! I haven't heard anything on the news about wildfires anywhere, but there must be some somewhere.  Very strange.  And the sun never really seems to fully shine here.  I don't think we're that much further north than the panhandle of Texas, either.  The latitude of Sacramento is 38.70 N and the latitude of Lubbock (not really the panhandle) is 33.58 N.  So 5.12 degrees further North and for some reason, the sunlight always seems like it's either early morning or late evening, even when the sun is as high as it gets!  Is it smog?  I know it's fall now, but really, should it make that much of a difference?  I'm really baffled. I miss the sun!

Another baffling thing about California:  many nurses wear fanny packs . . . yep.  I have never needed a fanny pack full of 3 different pairs of scissors, 2 sets of hemostats (surgical clamps we use as pliers or grippers), 2 rolls of tape, and 8 pens.  Call me crazy.  If my already stuffed pockets don't have what I usually need, I walk out of the room and go get it.  I'm a little behind the times!

Okay, so back to Sacramento:  I haven't really figured out much about the city other than it smells like fire. I have found the rough part of town (I think I'm living in it, judging by the smell of maybe something like "wacky tebacky" around 2 am every night--I've put in a request to move and should be this week)!  I have driven through Old Town, which looks like it might be a neat place to visit at least a couple of times.  I work down the street from the capitol, which is nice.  Sac has many trees (it is known as "the city of trees.") which are turning, so that is a nice sight.  The weather is very pleasant and we usually have a high of 60-65 degrees.

The hospital is nice and reminds me very much of where I did my schooling at the big Covenant.  The layout of the floor is  very similar, so it feels somewhat like home in that way.  Everybody I've worked with is very nice and welcoming.

So, on the to do list is to find interesting things to do, maybe somewhere to do some volunteer work, and make some local friends!

 Sorry no pictures. I'll take some good ones this week and post them!  Hope you are all doing well and feeling especially blessed!

Bye, Bye Bay! Hello Sac!

On the way to Sacramento, I decided to spend the afternoon in San Fran, being a typical tourist, again. : )  One of my friends from home bought me a City Pass, which has tickets to various touristy type things to do.  The other day, a friend of mine and I went to the De Young Museum of Art.  Today, I decided to do the boat bay tour, the aquarium, and ride the "famous" Hyde St and Powell cable car uptown.  It has been a fun day with beautiful weather, so it's been a good way to exit the Bay area!

(you can click on these pics for better resolution and a larger view. I recommend it!)

The view from the top of the De Young Tower.

Down by the pier

I know . . . I've posted tons of Golden Gate Bridge pictures.

But, not one from this angle!

You can't really tell, but it's slowly moving down the glass . . . yeah, I know . . . I can hear my friends making fun of me now . . . : )

I start orientation on my floor in Sacramento tomorrow morning.  I am looking forward to a day schedule.  I'm looking forward to a little less humidity (for vanity's sake for my hair . . . I know . . . ).  I'm looking forward to more free time on my work days.  I'm looking forward to maybe a little less bird poo on my car  (not sure that will happen since Sacramento's the "city of trees" . . . ).  There are many things I will miss about this area, though.  I won't list them so I don't dwell. : )  I would love to come back to the Bay Area.

Ok, time to head to Sac and to make sure my car wasn't towed nor my bike stolen! Hope all is well where you are!

Sacramento!

Week 3 ends and week 4 begins here at Stanford!  My other travel nurse friends and I were talking earlier tonight about how quickly this month has flown by and how sad we are it's almost over! It means Minnesota moves to Connecticut to work at YALE ( ! ) and I move to Sacramento for my next assignment.  We are so sad to see Minnesota leave, but we are also so happy she gets to go work at Yale.  What a story--from one coast to the other! We're sad to split up, but we already have plans for visits.

So, I finish my job here at Stanford the night of the 6th.  I will begin work at Sutter General in Sacramento on Thursday the 5th for the hospital-wide orientation day.  It's a 6 week assignment with a "probable extension" from what the lady at the hospital told me.  I will be working on the oncology unit there and working 5 x 8 hours a week, the evening shift, 3p to 11p.  I've never worked 8 hour shifts and think it will be bittersweet.  I will have more of a life the days I'm working instead of eat, sleep, eat, work, shower, eat, sleep, eat, work, shower, etc.  I will be able to squeeze in a workout on workdays and who knows what else!  But, I won't have as many days off or as many opportunities to take trips either back here or home. It's only a 6 week assignment and if I don't like it, 6 weeks will go pretty quickly.

Sacramento is about 2 hours NE of Mountain View (the city I'm in now) and about an hour NE of San Fran.  It won't be a big deal to head back to SF to hang out with the girls here, so that's nice.  I'm very excited to have a job so quickly, to not have a lull in paycheck, and to still be in the area!  It's great!  I'm not sure what I think of going to Sacramento, though. : ) I'm sure it will have a very different atmosphere than the young, vibrant personality here. It'll be nice to explore the area up there and probably check out Napa Valley.  I have  6 weeks to write about Sacramento, so that'll do for now!

Hope all is well where you are and you're not freezing there in LBK!  Oh, and those of you going to the Chili Cookoff . . . please eat some for me, ok? Ok!

One Breezy Bay . . .

A Bostonian and Texan took to the streets of San Francisco, driving past the Victorian homes, apartments and businesses perched atop many a steep hill to conquer:  1. Lombard street; 2.  Cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge; 3.  The Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory!

1.  Lombard Street


I apologize, but my camera died before we got to a shop so I could buy some more $1.50/ea AA batteries, so I have no pictures of the 1000 block of Lombard Street!  Click here for the Wiki article about the street and some good pictures.  I have to say, driving the STEEP ( ! ) hills of San Fran is really a thrill the first time!  The grades are crazy steep.  Lombard St has a grade of 27% straight shot down.  The 8 switchbacks now give it a 17% grade which still feels extremely steep as you look down over the city and bay as you drive it!  This street is known as the "crookedest street in the world."  The streets of SF offer incredible views of the city and it's really breathtaking to see the beautiful city from atop the hills and then gaze over the beautiful blue waters of the bay surrounding the city.

2.  The Golden Gate Bridge

We packed our bikes up in/on my car, made the hour-long drive into the city, found FREE parking, as close as you can get to the bridge, and then did our best to climb the hills from the bay up to the Golden Gate Bridge (we were at 0 feet and the Golden Gate Bridge stands 220 ft above the sea . . . how a 220 ft climb can feel like 1,000, I'm not sure, but we definitely felt a good burn!).  We couldn't have asked for better weather to do the GGB and were fortunate enough to have a fog-free experience and got some amazing views of the Bay.  GGB facts:  construction started in 1933 and was completed in 1937; project cost was $35 million and provided thousands of jobs; 11 people died in accidents while working on construction; more than 1,000 people have committed suicide by jumping off (there are signs on the bridge with numbers to suicide hotlines).

The art deco towers stand 746 feet tall,

which is 191 feet taller than the Washington Monument.

Kelly and I, looking super-cool and super-hot 

in our cycling gear!

The view toward Angel Island.

The large cables suspending the bridge house

27,572 wires and are 3 feet in diameter.

These pictures do not do the Bridge and Bay justice!

It's breathtaking!

3.  The Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory

My Bawstonian friend and I decided we would reward all of our hard work and cycling about 3 miles at a very strenuous pace of 6.4 mph with $8 sundaes at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory soda shop! : )  Good end to a day in the city!

This picture is not from today, but, if you look carefully, you can see the Ghirardelli sign, which is the factory. : )

I haven't forgotten I have a job here as well, even if it is very easy to forget!  I have had 2 shifts on the floor and have 2 more this weekend.  Everybody is very friendly, but being new to a floor, new to the systems/protocols/policies, is an adjustment.  I'm thankful they are very stringent on their nurse-to-patient ratios! Everybody has been very friendly so far.  I haven't decided how I like the e-charting software.  Ask me in 2 weeks, when I leave! :)  Hope you are all doing well!!!

New Places, Small Spaces, and New Faces

So, week 1 in Cali has come to a close and what an amazing week it has been!  I have only been in "orientation," which means we've been listening to people talk about policy, procedure, the computer programs we'll be using, we've been oriented to their pumps and IV start kits, etc . . . My first shift on the floor is tomorrow evening.  I am nervous about the e-charting and I am nervous about how relationships will go with those I will be working on the floor with (agency nurses, like myself, are the bottom of the totem pole, and can be "dumped" on . . . so, we'll see! Everybody's been very hospitable and welcoming so far, though.).

Stanford:  It's a beautiful and large campus!  8,180 acres v. Texas Tech's 1,839 acres.  Stanford is the second-largest contiguous university campus in the world; Texas Tech is the second-largest contiguous university campus in the US.  I haven't yet explored the campus itself very much, but, from what I've seen so far, it's very nice. The GPS and MRI were invented at Stanford.  The technique of creating recombinant DNA was discovered at Stanford.  And, my Grandma is probably proud to know that Tiger Woods went to Stanford.

Palm Drive

People relaxing on a Sunday afternoon at Stanford 

(frisbee, football, sitting, reading, walking)

The hospital itself is very large as well and is a "Magnet"  hospital (click "Magnet" for more info).  I will be working on the Oncology unit.  I've always wondered about the differences/similarities between institutions, so for my nursing friends, I'll list some.  Some of the differences between my old hospital and the new one include ELECTRONIC charting ( ! ) in the new v. hand-charting in the old, COWs ("computer on wheels") in the new, med scanning (new), insulin pens (new) instead of drawing each injection up, and, using the same IV pumps as the PCA pumps at my old hospital, just with added "channels" on them.  Some similarities:  our old angiocaths--needles for IV starting-- (I'm very excited about this!  I liked the old ones better and they don't bleed as bad, so good news for my patients!); the PCA pumps; hourly rounding and AIDET (but nowhere to chart the hourly rounds!).

I have been so fortunate to meet other young women in very similar situations as I, in the same stage of life, and who have made the cross-country trip to Cali to work here.  They are so much fun, so friendly and such blessings!  It has been a relief to have somebody to laugh with about the crazy and unique experiences we have had driving across the country, shelling out tons of cash to get started, the "misinformation" incidences, learning Cali together, etc.  We have laughed a ton and I think we were all "friend hungry," so we really hit it off.  There are two from Boston, who both drove the entire way, one drove down the long way through New Orleans, Austin, etc.  We have another from Illinois and another from Minnesota.  We have enjoyed checking out the sights together such as downtown of our hometown, we drove to the coast for a nice dinner by the water and dipped our toes in the ice-cold Pacific (a couple of us for the first time), and hiked the Redwood forest together . . . They're great women!  Three of them will stay for full 3-month assignments, while "Minnesota" and I will move on in a few weeks. : (  Good times!

California:  The first things I thought were "Wow . . . it's so dry!" and, "Does that brown cloud EVER go away?"  (The answer is no, btw.)  I have made many wrong turns, hit the curb probably a hundred times (not used to small parking spaces), need to work on my parallel parking (not as good as I used to think I was!), feel like I am doing well to make myself go broke (EVERYTHING is so much more expensive out here), hope I don't have lots of red light tickets coming in the mail (LBK has not been good for me in that respect), and, am not used to all the pedestrians who don't mind just stepping out in front of you at any moment.  The area is absolutely beautiful (what gets better than an awesome city, mountains, the coast, the golden gate, the bay, forests, the valley, and vineyards?).  I have been shown around the city by a native and was able to meet an old TTU buddy and his friends in the city for the game yesterday, which helped make the week awesome!

All in all, it's been an amazing experience so far.  I'm looking forward to actually nursing and being a contributing member of society again. : )

Hope you are all doing well and are blessed!  Enjoy the cooler fall weather!

(More pics of the trip to the Redwoods here)

Redwoods, Highway 1, and Santa Cruz

You guys told me to post lots of pictures. So, here are some from my first Sunday afternoon here.  It was a good way to spend a day until I have friends!  (I can't keep doing things like this alone, or I'll never make friends, but, in the mean-time, it was a good pastime. : )

There were dozens of people cycling up this mountain range!

Highway 1. Tons of brave souls cycling this road as well.

Stop number 1:  Pigeon Point Lighthouse

She's out of commission because she's about to fall down.

But good news:

They tell you what to do if a tsunami's after you!

I read in the "fog house" that California has one of the foggiest

coasts in the world.  Hmm.

The shore at Santa Cruz.

What an amazing day!  I wish you were here to enjoy it with me!

Happy fall, everybody!