9/1/06 at 2pm

Am I the only one who thinks there is something wrong with the following picture?

I got a call at 409am this morning. I knew who it was - so positive in fact that it crossed my mind to answer the phone, "Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." I didn't, just in case, but I was right. It was work, and they wanted me to come in early to help. Truthfully, I had been up since 3am tossing and turning, so really, it was ok.

I got there at 5am, clocked in and began working.

And there I stayed, working my ass off, without a break, until 730pm.

14.5 hours. WITHOUT A BREAK.

I did eat though. Around 1pm I had 5 bites of my fruit salad I brought for breakfast. And really, the only reason I got to do that was because I said to the charge nurse, "Either you watch my patient for 5 minutes or I pass out."

But during that 5 minutes I made a phone call. A phone call that is very important to my mental health. I scheduled my interview for tomorrow at 2pm. That 5 minutes right there was easily the best part of my day.

After yesterday and today at work, I NEED this job. I can't continue to do this - to be run into the ground each and every day. It's not right to dread going to work. It's not right that your job makes you cry. It's just not right...

And it's nobody's fault, really. There are just too many patients and not enough rooms to put them in or people to take care of them.

For example, the record number of deliveries for our unit was set last month at 292. Well, when I left tonight, we were at 311. Not only did we break the record, we blew the friggin' doors off it. 1 more baby and we'll have beat it by 20. 20 babies - can you even imagine?!

So please keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts at 2pm tomorrow. I need this, or I'll continue on the fast track to serious burn out.

Facing my fear....again

Last Saturday was somewhat monumental as I got to meet Lou Ferrigno. As you may have gathered, I was scared of the Incredible Hulk as a kid. Again, that was when I was a kid, but not for a long time. Now I get the opportunity to meet someone who still scares me today. This Sunday there is a comic convention here in town. They have this same convention every three months in the same place and as a kid, I used to go all the time. It has been probably 15 years since I have gone to one of these. Jessica is off Sunday so I figured, let's go. Then I saw the guest list. Who will be there?

None other than Tony Todd. The only guy who gives me chills just looking at him. Why? Well, Tony Todd in case you don't know is the lead character in the Candyman movies. Candyman, in case you don't know, is much like the Bloody Mary stories - say his name five times in the mirror and he will appear to kill you. It scared the crap out of me like no other movie ever did. Why? I don't know. I have always been scared of mirrors in one way or another so this was the ultimate scare ride. After this movie, I was afraid to look at a mirror because I might accidently THINK his name. That is how scared I was of him and STILL am today. He has a fairly big role in THE ROCK, one of my favorites, and he even scares me to look at him in that movie simply because of Candyman. In fact, I'm getting chills now. So, this Sunday, I can meet him and get his autograph. Will that make things worse or better? I don't know. Wish me luck....

UMMM....

Did the text on this page suddenly get way smaller for everyone else? I don't know what I did, but i know I might have hit something by accident while trying to capitalize something. Or am I the only one who thinks everything suddenly looks smaller?

The Empire invades Vegas

More photoshop experiments....

Good News!

I always call Manuel on my way to the car when I get off work. We talk about our days, sometimes all the way home. Today he gave me some VERY good news - and after the crazy busy day I had at work today, it was seriously welcome...

My dream job called and they want to schedule an interview!!

Like I said, after today, this news couldn't have come at a better time!

So tomorrow at work, assuming I get a lunch, unlike today, I'll call them back and hopefully schedule an interview for Friday (Is that tacky - calling for an interview for another job while at your current job? Ah, who cares...)

Rock Star Supernova

All Summer, Jessica and I have been watching Rock Star Supernova. In case you don't know what it is, it is like American Idol, but about 1000% better as they are singing rock songs instead of the usual crap they sing on Idol. The contestants are competing to be the lead singer of supergroup Supernova with Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted, and Gilby Clark. It has been a great show and it is now down to the final six with another elimination coming tonight. This is the order I HOPE that the final six get eliminated. I am not saying this is how it WILL happen, but what I want.

6. Storm - She has a great voice. She's hot. I just think that tonight is the end of the road for her. I wish it was Dilana instead actually, but I'm okay with Storm finally going as she has gone about as far as she deserves to go.







5. Dilana - She has been getting on my nerves the last couple of weeks and I don't really think that her perfomances have gotten any better. They have been good, but the same thing every week. I am ready for her to go.








4. Lukas - This is where it gets hard. I think Lukas is awesome, but I don't really care for him outside of his awesome performances.










3. Toby - Pretty much just a sentimental vote as I really like this guy. His performances are fun, he seems like a genuinely good guy, and he works hard. His voice isn't the best out of everyone, but I am going to be sad to see him go when the time comes.






2. and 1. - I hope it comes down to Ryan and Magni as I think they both rock. They both have put on absolutely stunning, memorable performances. They are the only two who have given me chills with some of their songs. They are truly awesome and I really don't care which of the two win. I will only be disappointed for the one who doesn't.



Unfortunately, I somehow see Dilana making it into the final two - maybe even with Lukas. I hope not. I'd be pissed. The group will be coming to Arco and I won't go see them with Lukas or Dilana. Well, maybe Lukas if the album is really kick ass......

Nerd Alert Post

Back in December, I wrote an article because I was pissed off that the USPS was releasing stamps with images of those crappy characters from DC Comics. I wrote that Marvel characters would have been better choices and I gave my choices for 10 Marvel characters as opposed to 10 DC characters.

I suggested Wolverine, Spiderman, Hulk, Captain America, Punisher, Thing, Thor, Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider, and Gambit. Thankfully, USPS has officially announced that next year, they will release Marvel stamps! Well, I got 6 out of 10 right according to the official release. Let's review who they are releasing next year on stamps:

Let's start with the ones USPS and I agree on
Wolverine: OK, an obvious choice with how popular the X-Men movies have been. Good choice.









Spiderman: - Another obvious choice. Cool!









Incredible Hulk: - Still another obvious choice.










Captain America: - No good Captain America movie yet, but an icon. I'm happy with it.








The Thing: - Not an obvious choice, but the movie made decent money and that is enoug to warrant the stamp.








Silver Surfer: - Not an obvious choice, but seeing as how he will be in the next Fantastic Four movie next year, I'm not surprised.











That is the six we agree on. My other four were Punisher, Thor, Gambit, and Ghost Rider. Instead, Marvel and USPS have chosen:

Sub Mariner: He's been in comics since the 1940s, but has never really achieved BIG popularity. Not quite sure why they chose him, but ok.







Spider Woman: - Stupid character. Not popular. Stupid, stupid, stupid.










Elektra: Probably only here because of the crappy Elektra movie. Achieved cult status in comics way before the movie, but I don't think she warrants a stamp. Don't really get the appeal, but some will be happy. Not sure why there is three of her posted here.





Iron Man: Not sure why I didn't think of him the first time. Good character and I am ok with it. With an Iron Man movie coming out in 2008, this is not a surprise at all.






So, I like the 6 choices we agree on, and am ok with one, MAYBE two of the others. With a Ghost Rider movie coming out next year, I'm surprised he didn't get picked. Also suprised no Thor or Punisher. Well, maybe not Punisher as the USPS probably doesn't want a stamp of someone who goes around shooting people!!!

At a special request...

A certain blogger friend was/is having a tough time right now and told me that a picture like the one below would make her day. So, despite the comments that I could potentially get from this, here ya go friend. The things I do for people....

State Fair

Manuel and I went to the State Fair today. We did something that was TOTALLY cool (which tell you about later), but the rest of the fair was blah. After the cool thing, we got something to eat because we were hungry. We got pizza, which tasted like cardboard with a thin layer of cheese, and lemonade, which gave me a funny aftertaste in my mouth. Then we walked to the exhibit buildings, looked at all the things they were selling, but they were the same things they had last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, except for this one thing that Manuel really wants but it WAY too expensive (I'll let him tell you about that too.) Then we got something else to eat, which was just ok. After that, we were done.

I think we spent 4 hours at the fair, and to me, it was 3 hours too many. It's just the same things over and over. Nothing new from last year. And usually I go just to eat, but none of the food I got was spectacular - even the soda was just ok. Maybe I wasn't in the fair mood, but I doubt it. I think I'm burned out. But how can I be burned out on something that comes once a year? I don't know, but that's how I feel. I think I'm going to try the State Fair every other year, unless they have something cool next year like they did this year, then I'll go, but maybe only for that.

The only cool thing was getting to meet Mr. Lou Ferrigno. As family knows, this is a big thing considering how scared Manuel used to be of the Incredible Hulk. It was fun getting to meet him, get an autograph, and take pictures. Here is the photo evidence of Manuel facing his fear:

Dilemma

I have a dilemma... I last spoke to someone about my dream job a week ago. She said she would forward my reume to the hiring manager, and indeed she did, as I can check the status of my application online. My dilemma? It's been a week and I've heard nothing. Do I call to see what's happening? I don't want to seem like a bother. Man thinks I should wait until Monday. That's probably good advice, but it kills me. What if they give it to someone by then? What should I do?

Jury Duty

So yesterday, I went to jury duty. The first half of the day was quite dull as I never got called to go into a court room. So, I just read a while and then walked down to Hard Rock for my 2 hour lunch. However, right when lunch ended, my name was called to go to a court room. I got to hear about the case, see the defendant, and hear endless questions about whether or not we could be impartial, blah, blah, blah. Then they started picking/eliminating potentail jurors. They called 50 of us initially into the room, and by the time they were done with eliminations and people excused, there were only 6 people left in the seats, minus the picked jurors. Unfortunately, I wa sone of the six that never got to be questioned or even considered for a juror. So basically, I just got to listen to a bunch of questions for a few hours, but I actually had a good time. It was fun to see how a trial starts off. I didn't get to be a juror like I wanted, but at least I got to see some things. Maybe next time....

Last Photoshop for today...

4 Amigos

Randy is SCREWED!

The REAL reason Forrest was running...

I'd run from a zombie too!!!

Who do you save????

I stole this off La Chou's website and thought it was pretty fun. In a creative writing class and in a group, she had to pretend she was a rescuer sent to a flooding cave. These seven people are trapped. What order do you save them in with the thought that the last person on your list probably won't make it. I'll post what I thought and what she put in the comments so as not to sway your decisions. If you want to play along, write down your answers first so there are no influences. Interested to see what people say...

Seven people are trapped in a cave. Water is slowly rising and will eventually fill the cave. Quite possibly only six people will be rescued and one will have to die. Rank the people in the order you think they should be brought out of the cave.

Helen-White, American, female, age 34. She is married with four very young children. She left college to be married, and is suspected of having a sexual affair with Owen.

Tozo-Japanese, female, age 19. She is very attractive, and has grown up in a wealthy family. She was recently in a feature film about Japan.

John-Black, American, male, age 37. He is married with five children. He is a full time social worker who enjoys camping with his family.

Owen-White, American, male, age 47. Unmarried P.E. teacher. Former Army Officer. Has a leg injury that is not serious. Also has a bit of a drinking problem.

Paul-White, English, male, age 47. Divorced with no children. He's a medical research student at University Hospital. Is an expert in treating rabies. Twice convicted of indecent exposure.

Edward-White, American, male, age 59. Married with two grown children and seven grandchildren. City coucil member. He enjoys caving and plans to write a book on that subject when he retires.

Jean-Black, Jamaican, female, age 72. Unmarried with no relatives. She has a Ph.D in biological sciences and is working with a government grant to explore biological organisms that grow in caves. She is working on a possible AIDS vaccine. She also studies the behavior of people in confined spaces.

Snakes in a Theater

It is funny for a quick second, and then you think about just how tragic this could have been:

From the National Ledger:

"Two live rattlesnakes were released in an Arizona theater during a showing of the new film, 'Snakes on a Plane.' The snakes were released after the film began rolling in the dark theater at the AMC Desert Ridge multi-plex at Tatum and the 101 in north Phoenix.
The two baby diamondbacks were actually slithering around the theater while the snakes on a plane were slithering around on screen with Samuel L. Jackson.
A bit of a panic ensued, according to a broadcast report from KSAZ Fox 10 in Phoenix, and the theater was emptied and the Arizona Herpetological Association was called in to remove the snakes.

"People are carrying them in - we believe - in backpacks - and releasing them form a container," Tom Whiting of the Arizona Herpetological Association said.

Baby rattlesnakes are even more dangerous than adult diamondbacks. A report online from James Q. Jacobs notes that baby rattlesnakes are very venomous.

"They're very deadly, very, very dangerous right from the start. Babies actually will eject all of their venom, as opposed to the adults that will eject some of their venom some of the time."

Baby rattlesnakes also can't warn their victims as they do not have rattles; rattles develop after several skin 'sheddings.'

No one was bitten by either of the snakes and the baby rattlers were captured and released into the surrounding desert.

The western diamondback is one of six rattlesnake species found in the surrounding deserts of Phoenix and one of the most common snakes in Arizona.

Snake experts in the valley are suggesting that theater owners check any backpacks that are carried into the theater for containers that may carry the snakes in case any copycats try the very dangerous stunt."

My only hope, and I don't think that I am wrong in wishing this, is that whoever did this has karma come their way and they end up getting bit by a snake somewhere down the road. Preferably miles from civilization with no transportation with no anti-venom in sight. I mean, these snakes could have bitten kids. Jackass!


In jury duty news, I called the court today and explained my situation. They said, "You want to come tomorrow?" I looked at my rather empty schedule and told them yes. So tomorrow at 8am, I report for jury duty. Wish me luck that I get on a case like I want. Nothing too long. 1 or 2 weeks, nothing more. I'll keep you updated if I get picked.

Nurse Jessica Has Left The Hospital

Disclaimer: I have NO CLUE why this text is underlined, nor do I know how to undo it, so deal with it...

WTF?!?! Why isn't this underlined?!

And a big thank you to Manuel the Photoshop King for this fun fun fun picture.

Now, as for the title of this post, it's not definite yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I applied for a job as a nurse in a OB/GYN clinic downtown. It would be my job to take the histories of the patients who come in newly pregnant. I would tell them what to expect with the pregnancy, tell them which labs and ultrasounds to get and when, and follow-up to make sure they did them. (Basically a lot of patient education, which is one of my favorite things about what I do now.) Then I would make sure the hospital gets the patient information. I would also do tests called NSTs in the office, where I hook the baby up to a monitor and make sure it's happy. I would start IVs when necessary for IV hydration. I would field incoming calls from patients who think they're in labor.

The clinic is still part of the company I currently work for, so I wouldn't lose my seniority, my PTO, things like that. I would get my own office. I would work Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm (or 730am to 430pm), weekends and holidays off.

Why am I doing this, you may ask? My schedule now is very flexible - 3 days a week and I pretty much pick them. Manuel's schedule as a Realtor was flexible too - he didn't have to go into the office every day, so if I had a Tuesday off, he could take the day off too and we'd hang out together. The jobs he's looking for now are Monday through Friday jobs, and I have a really hard time imagining going to work during the weekend while he's off, or being off during the week while he's at work. I want to be on the same schedule as him. It's not like I aim to spend every waking moment with him, but even now it sucks to go to work while he's at home, and when I'm at home while he's at work, I'm bored. I just really think it'll be easier on us (me mostly) if we keep the same schedule.

Plus, and I'll freely admit this, I am inherently lazy. I'd rather have the controlled pace of a clinic, where I know what the day has in store, where I know I can sit down, where I know I'll have a lunch, where I know I'll have time to pee, rather than the unknown, uncontrolled pace of the labor and delivery unit, where the above luxuries are never guaranteed.

The pay is less, about $3.50 an hour, but I'll be working 4 more hours each week, so it makes up for it. The commute is longer - about 10 miles - and traffic will be worse. I'll have to pay for my benefits, whereas the hospital covers them now, but it's not a ridiculous sum of money - about $45 each paycheck for Man and I both. I doubt I'll be under a union contract, like at the hospital, so I won't have dues taken out of each paycheck, which will mostly cover the benefits.

I called the HR department of the clinic this morning and the position is still open. The HR lady asked me some questions, including why I want to change jobs, what skills I have, things like that. It seemed like she liked me. She said she'd forward my application to the hiring manager, who would call me, so we'll see.

So, what do you think? I've given the pros and cons, and unless my vision is clouded, I think the pros outweigh the cons. I'd appreciate any insight...

Job searching sucks....

Well, actually, job searching isn't too bad. I just wish I could find something I like. On Thursday, I posted my resume on places like monster.com and careerbuilder. I have actually got around 10 offers for interviews in that time, but nothing I want. Mostly just jobs in the same kind of work I was already doing - real estate, insurance, financial planner. Nothing that I really see as a future career. I did apply for a cool job at Kaiser, and applied for another job at VSP. I don't even remember what the job at VSP was that applied for as it was entry level, but that is all I would need there - something where I coud learn and work my way up. It's such a good company that I am sure things would work out there. Haven't heard from them yet though. We'll see. I also have some state jobs in mind that I need to now look in to.

I just got jury duty summons which I am ok with as I have always wanted to be on a jury. The bad thing is that it is not until the end of September. I might have a job by then. Not sure what to do. Can I write to them and request sooner? I don't know. If they asked me to be there tomorrow, I would. But not when I am starting a new job.

The floor contractor starts putting in new floors in our house next Monday. Can't wait! Yeah, it is a lot of money, especially now, but the carpet needs to go, we have been wanting do it, etc. etc. I'll be posting pictures...

Bad Citizen

On occasion, when Manuel and I go to the movies, we'll movie hop. Ok, who am I kidding? We try to movie hop every time we go to the movies. We're not always successful, but we'll plan the movie we pay for based on what time another movie we want to see starts, just in case. I know, I know - that's not legal, it's stealing, it's cheating... Whatever. That's not the point of this post (although I do feel like a weight has been lifted after my confession.)

So we went to the movies yesterday. And we were successful, so I have 2 movies to talk about.

Snakes on a Plane - This one we paid for. When Manuel told me about it when it first started filming, I thought (and still do) the premise was ridiculous. Snakes on a plane? Come on!

On a side note, could Samuel L. Jackson be any cooler? He always looks good, talks smooth, saves the day. I SOOO want to be him when I grow up.

Back to the movie... As much as I hate to admit it (and later Manuel and I had the following conversation: M: I'll accept your apology now. J: For what? M: Because you know you liked it!) it was EXTREMELY entertaining. There were parts what were pretty darn unrealistic, but really, sometimes you just have to suspend reality and sit back and be entertained. There were some really funny parts. Some of the death scenes were enjoyably gruesome. It's fun when the asshole finally gets what's coming to him, especially when it's a really good death. Yeah, if you just want to sit back and be entertained for an hour and 45 minutes, go see this movie.

The Descent - This one we did not pay for. And, just so I feel better, a few weeks ago we had tickets to go to a free screening, but ended up not going because Manuel had to go sell a house or something. :-) So the fact that we didn't pay today is ok because we were going to see it without paying anyway.

Anyway, this movie is, without a doubt, one of the scariest movies I've seen in a long time. It was dark, suspenseful, gory, bloody, everything a scary movie should be. There was this one part where you knew something was going to happen when they turned the corner, only they took forever to do it, so we were on the edge of our seats the whole time. I just wanted to scream, "JUST DO IT! GET IT OVER WITH!" It was great! I often found myself giggling because the tension was too much to handle. Cassie, you are brilliant - your ear-plugging technique saved me from some scares a few times - I could see Manuel jumping out of the corner of my eye! If you enjoy a good scary movie, see this one.

Snakes on a Plane Auditions

The day of Snakes on a Plane has finally arrived. Some will love it, some will hate it, but I know i'm going to see it today and hope that it is good in a Tremors type fashion. Here is a HILARIOUS clip of a comedian doing impersonations of Christopher Walken, Joe Pesci, Jack Nicholson, and Robert DeNiro trying out for the movie. It made me laugh. Lots of swearing so don't watch it loud it you are worried about people hearing...