Adventures

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 mo...

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...

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...

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!

Maxed out. Nothing like getting some exercise, in the cold, after 6 hours in the car with about 8 more to go! Really, it was amazing! See the rainbow in the canyon? You may or may not be able to see the the other end of the rainbow.   We drove a couple of extra hours so we could do this . . . Was it worth it, Mom? : ) 3 days (29 hours of drive time); Stanley Marsh's Cadillac Ranch; a saloon in Dad's hometown; a fighter jet practicing barrel rolls, loops, and turns; the Painted Desert; a visit with my aunt, uncle and cousins on the road; the Grand Canyon; a hard brake to avoid a pack of coyotes; "customs" (?) at the CA state line; the Mojave Desert; the glow of LA; the smell of wildfires; vineyards; olive groves; Napa Valley; the Golden Gate Bridge; San Francisco; and, finally, "home," which is my extended stay hotel efficiency unit. 1,694 miles.  : ) Our route

So, I'm officially no longer a Lubbockite and am currently a Sunrayan for 2 more days!  (I just realized, I'm thankful I have no stalkers, because they would know where to find me . . . ! )  Mom and I head out on Tuesday and will take three days to get out to Cali.  We'll stop on the way and see some family, see if we can make our voices echo in the Grand Canyon, maybe drive through Vegas, then up to Sacramento to complete some paperwork, then down through Oakland, San Fran, and to my temporary "home," near Stanford. Moving was as fun as you can expect it to be!  My dear, sweet mother helped me finish up the last of the packing and clean.   I rented a 10 x 15' storage unit and I'm pretty sure I will have to have whoever opens it sign a waiver stating I will not be held responsible if an avalanche of Sabra's furniture and stuff buries them.  I'm not exaggerating!  Mom and I had to make a trip back to the unit and we couldn't get the door to ...