Now what?

So, I finally did it. I graduated from Nursing School. I will have my license soon. I will be an R.N. Who knew that in the 2 years it took, it would go from "have your job waiting for you as soon as you throw your graduation cap" to "new grad? sorry. we don't do that here anymore." Ugh. How anti-climactic. To top it off, I've been told I can't work nights or rotating shifts. That eliminates, oh, about 95% of the jobs I could apply for.

So, the question I face now is, now what? Do I give in and go work for a nursing home? Pshaw. Do I move? Not really an option now. ... So I keep searching and pray for the right one to pop up at the right time. In the meantime I am seriously considering going back to what I was doing before, starting up my legal nurse consultant firm, or some other rather appealing options. We shall see. I just ask that you pray for me, for guidance, and for the right position.

Please watch!

Just when we thought we were doing the right thing...

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n&tag=related;photovideo

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n&tag=related;photovideo

*Apparently, the link doesn't work if you just click on it. But if you copy and paste into a browser it should work....

Pass this along!

little rock

i am in little rock this week with my whole family for my brother's wedding. yea!
i grew up here and every time i come to visit, i get a wash of nostalgia ~ i love to go see my old house, my old school, i try to see old friends, etc... today on the plane, i was remembering all the nice things i remembered about this town ~ there are some ;). i told my mom something like, "maybe someday i will come here, buy a house, work at childrens hospital here, blah blah blah." we got to the hotel, went to lunch and on the walk back to the hotel passed a shoe shine station on the street. for the first time ever, i consciously observed this very obvious portrait of race/class relations in this city. the shoe shiner was a black man who looked very much like i remember most older black men looking in downtown little rock ~ kinda disheveled, older clothes, etc. the man getting his shoes shined was an upper class white man sitting there in his work clothes. i couldnt help but notice his burberry plaid socks. something about this visual made me pay attention to what was going on ... the shoe shiner was sitting on his little stool shining the other man's shoes, talking to him (not sure about what). and the man who was having his shoes shined sat upon his throne, holding his newspaper up, as if hiding behind it meant that he didnt have to acknowledge the other man sitting in front of him, and completely ignored anything the other man was saying. i was floored. this is probably the kind of scene i "saw" countless times when i lived here and never noticed. time and being in denver and education, i think, have made me more aware. as we walked away, my mom said (as i was thinking similarly), "your job is to shine my shoes, boy." WOW. it is so interesting to me that this town was the center of a huge race issue ~ a POSITIVE one, not so long ago (Central High integration, the Central 9, etc etc etc) and yet a white man cant bring himself to acknowledge the other human being that he might be giving a few bucks to shine his shoes. how sad! i won't be moving here anytime soon...

(i plan on doing some photography while i am here, if i can find some time. i hope to capture the dichotomous nature of this place, among other things. if i get some good shots, i plan on posting them here.)

The Amazing Disappearing Cat

... AKA the Prodigal cat.

People who know me well know that I LOVE animals ... especially mine!
One of my cats, Sami, disappeared just after Ian was born - over 3 months ago. Yesterday I came home from class and my mom said, "Guess who's back!" At that moment I noticed the carrier in her hand. Sami had spent the last 3 months in a neighborhood near ours. A lady had been watching her, observing her catching mice, etc. Something told her to get Sami and take her to the neighborhood vet's office. They scanned for her microchip and called. I am totally floored!!!
The weirder thing is my mom was thinking last week, "Wouldn't that be strange if Sami just showed up again!"

Woohoo! Welcome home Sami!!!

couldnt resist

You Belong in 1986

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Peoples' stories

I have just re-realized something that I had forgotten, and that I think I need to keep in mind much more than I do.

We all have our stories, we all have our struggles, we all have our baggage. I often forget, when I am meeting new people, that they, just like me, have struggled in their lives. I am not the only one with "problems". I am not the only one with scars.

No matter how much another person seems to have it all together, they dont. No one does. That would make that person perfect, right? And since none of us can be, it cant be true. We all have so much more in common than I remember until I meet someone new who shows me those scars and reminds me... I need to remember this when I see someone who I envy for one reason or another, or someone who is so angry at the world that they seem unapproachable or rough or whatever...

I just wanted to write it down, as a reminder to myself and anyone else who might need to be reminded of it too.

Update to food allergy post

Good news! My acupuncturist CAN desensitize people to gluten if they do not actually have Celiac disease!!!!

I am free to eat real bread again! YEA!!!!

(H, you have to go see her!)