Adventures: Back to work!

I hope this finds everyone doing well! These past two weeks have been me getting used to the new units and being oriented to them. I know I may have said it a few times, but, I am working the Ambulatory (which basically means "outpatient") Treatment Infusion Center and it's sister unit, the 23 hour observation surgical floor at Stanford. The pace is very different from an inpatient oncology floor and presents unique challenges. Each hospital, each unit, each specialty is challenging in different ways. It can be refreshing but can also make you feel incompetent until you learn the system and flow of care. I have enjoyed my coworkers very much so far! They are very positive, encouraging and helpful. I think I will enjoy the units and the patients, although I am missing oncology. It feels great to be back to work and I was reminded this week of how much I really love nursing. It can be a really fun and neat job!

We have had an interesting week, weather-wise! It's been raining for a week, combined with snow on the mountain tops, and even a few tornado warnings and funnels! The cliffs at Pacifica (about 25 miles NW of here) are falling into the sea from the rain and surf pounding on them, threatening some cliff-top apartments. No flooding in the towns here, that I've heard, but many rainy commutes! The rain is nice, but, I have discovered about 3 days is my limit! We are on day 8. The sun has been playing peak-a-boo some. I almost drove under a full rainbow today, framing the Diablo Mountains, topped with snow, covered in lush, green grass and trees. Although we are all a little bummed and blue from the rain (all my inn-mates and I are laughing about how pouty the rain makes us), the hills are so beautiful! I've never seen such a rich green! My drive home from work is on the foothills of the coastal range (Santa Cruz mtns) and the views definitely make up for a long day at work!

There is no other news this week, so I'll leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the drive home from LA when I went to visit Derrick (my brother) for an evening! The drive back (with stops) took about 11 hours but it was worth every second! I highly recommend making the drive within your lifetime at some point! If you need a good reason, come visit me and we can do it! : )

Enjoy and God bless!