Ahira's Hangar

Very sad situation in London. "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

Where in the hellfire is Earthy? ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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I still wonder where Earthy is, and wish he'd come back...

It's been an interesting weekend with vehicles. On Friday we got my son's little Chevy S10 back. It's the one he turned over on the side of the freeway because he was messing with his radio instead of paying attention to the road and hit a sign. I have to commend the Chevy dealer in Ann Arbor. You literally wouldn't know it had ever been in an accident!! The bill was nearly $7000. They pretty much had to completely replace/rebuild the left half of the truck. My son payed the insurance deductable with his part time earnings. So that went well and all was good.

On Friday night, on our way back from Toledo, we blew out a tire on the freeway in the middle of nowhere. It was after midnight, very dark, and drizzling rain. Calibaby wanted to change the tire, but there was no way I was letting anyone out with all of the traffic wizzing by at 80MPH. So we called AAA and it took over an hour for a truck to get out to us. It turned out that we couldn't have changed the tire ourselves anyway -- the Jeep has locking lugnuts, and there was no key. So the guy with the tow truck patched the tire and we limped the 30 miles home.

Fast forward to today (Sunday). Calibaby thought it should be OK for me to drive to work on surface roads, as the tire patch was holding fine. I got about five miles from home, and the Jeep started driving really oddly. I thought it was the tire again. I pulled into the parking lot of one of those huge hardware stores, and called home. Calibaby promised to come get me in the little Chevy. In the meantime, I called work to let them know I would be late, and called Fist for a chat. There was this weird light on my dashboard that had lit up when the Jeep started driving funny, and I thought it must have something to do with the tire. I looked it up in the owner's manual when I got done talking to Fist -- and it was an engine malfunction light!! And it was blinking frantically!

Long and short, the Jeep is at the dealer, and I am now driving my son's tiny truck. Since he is at wrestling camp down in Ohio for the next few days he will not need it himself to get to work. I am really glad that the dealer got done with it when they did!

We are now trying to figure out alternatives for our vacations if the Jeep is not useable for whatever reason (worse case scenario). We can use the huge Dodge Ram to pull the camper for our camping trip here in state. But the Ram has nearly 200,000 miles on it and we can't take that hoopty thing to New York. It would not survive the mountains in Pennsylvania. And the Chevy S10 only holds two adults, and there are four of us. So we might end up getting last minute train tickets or something, if we have to. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Car troubles suck. We recently had to replace what we thought was an indestrutible replaced radiator on my car. The previous radiator had been replaced on a trip to Orlando and the only part they had in stock was a much more expensive radiator. Guess we keep our cars too long.

I have been getting called in to work more than before, guess it's cause lots of nurses are on vacation, maybe also because lots of people are having babies lately. Last Wednesday night I was asked to be the nurse in charge, even though I have only been there a short time and don't know all the routines on the floor yet. The only other nurses working were two LPN's, one orientee, and an agency LPN, so I was the only choice. It didn't work out too bad, but we did have a patient with a persistant fever, and I had to ask one of the LPN's, who has been there longer than me, what the normal protocol on the floor would be for that patient's case.

The next night, I had nine patients (5 moms and 4 babies), one of whom was on double antibiotics and started running a fever in the middle of the night. Then I got an admission on antibiotics, and I had to run down to the Labor floor to get her next dose, as the pharmacy is closed at night and the doctor picked a non-stock med. It was a lot of running around, a lot of paperwork, and the nurse in charge gave me none of the help I have usually been getting from nurses in charge - she doesn't normally work nights, and I don't think she realizes just how little training they gave to per diem nurses. (They only give one day, cause they assume an experienced nurse, which I am, but that doesn't mean I know their routines and computer system!) It takes me way too long to put stuff in the computer right now - I am sure it will get faster later - and I spend a lot of time looking for stuff. So I got more and more behind, and very frustrated. I ended up staying an extra hour to finish my charting, and I was totally exhausted at the end of those two days. I feel like I still haven't recovered.

Today, I am planning on relaxing and reading Harry Potter. "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

Sounds like a very busy weekend at work! But I'm glad you're getting a lot of hours.

And I really enjoyed the latest Potter book -- I finished it this morning, and right now it's my favorite, even over my previous favorite, book three.

And car problems do suck. My last car was a Dodge Intrepid that I kept for ten years until it had about 160,000 miles on it, and in all of those years we only had to have it in for a couple of times that was for nonroutine maintainance. That car has spoiled me! The Jeep is only a year old and has 20,000 miles on it, and my son's tiny truck is three years old and has about the same. Well, the little truck can't help being the garage for over a month for the accident, but the Jeep shouldn't be having any problems, considering its youth and the fact that I've been religiously keeping up with its scheduled maintainance. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Well, my Jeep should be ready tomorrow. They had to replace something called a crankshaft...and it turns out that they were the ones who lost the lugnut key when they rotated the tires last time I took it in for its oil change...

Eight work shifts left until I GET MY VACATION. woo hoo!!!!!!

I am reading my New York City guide again today. It even has a list of which bakeries make the best cupcakes.

Tomorrow is Damelon's birthday. Happy Birthday, Big Cat!!! ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
<i>Edited by: Duchess of Malfi at: 7/19/05 10:27 am
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I can't seem to bounce back from those two tiring shifts last week, for some reason. They called and asked me to come in again on Sunday and Monday nights, but I told them I wasn't available. Last night I had a La Leche League meeting (breastfeeding teaching and support) to lead. I am praying they won't call me to come in today, cause I woke up with a bad headache, even though I got plenty of sleep last night - didn't set my alarm, just decided I would wake up whenever I woke naturally.

My husband has been suggesting I go back to school for an MSN (MS in Nursing) so I will have other options in terms of jobs. I am planning to make some calls about that, but sometimes I start to feel I am too old for that kind of thing. Why spend all that money for school? It's not like I'm some young thing who has decades of work years ahead of me.

I am debating what to do, guess I will call a couple schools for info about the MSN, at least... "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

It's definately worth checking into. Also some employers around here will pay for your school if its in a nursing program... ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Ms Mary hope to be not poking my nose in your business. But since your experience seems to lean heavily on patient out-reach type activities. Maybe a MPH (Master's of Public Health) might be just as appropriate. My short experience at San Diego State's Graduate SPH indicate most of my fellow students were working professionals, some already in the fields covered. But you're the expert, compared to me, on Nursing schools, so I would not presume.
y taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Plan C - http://planc.bravepages.com/main.html<i></i>

Actually, that's not a bad idea at all. My doctor actually has an MPH in addition to his MD. I think a lot of doctors and nurses go back for that degree (at least at the program at UM.)

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Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Yeah, an MPH is not a bad idea, but I think an MSN might fit my career goals better. I am trying to make an appointment with a grad school rep at a local university to discuss possibilities and career options.

Unfortunately, I have a slightly insane work schedule the next 2 weeks, which might it difficult to find a good time to schedule an appointment. Working Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights (12-hour shifts) the next two weeks. Weekends off is good, but the split days makes it hard to find time to sleep and also to get things done during the week.

Also, we are considering the possibility of joining my sister, nephew and mom for a weekend in Key West next weekend. That means I would have to come home from work Friday morning, take a quick nap, and then get on the road to Key West (about 4 hours drive from here). I haven't been there since I was a senior in high school, when I went to attend a football game of my school against Key West High. "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

I have only been down to Key West once, but it seemed to be both a charming and very fun place to spend a few days.

I'm trying to get laundry done before our vacation starts on Friday. My dryer was down for a couple of weeks, so I feel llike I am in a frantic race against time, and matched against a mountain of putrid workout clothes. Luckily, for the camping part of my vacation we will mostly need beach clothes, so I can focus mosly on socks and underwear, and can worry about nicer clothes on the couple of days we will be home between camping and going to New York.

Four more shifts, and I will be on vacation.

I really need one. I just hope I can get my asthma can get a bit more under control, so I can fully enjoy it. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Greetings fellow pilots!!

I am sorry I have not been around much - RL is simply burying me alive.

I'm glad everything seems to be back in order here...too bad about the lost posts

Cripple but free; I was blind all the time I was learning to see<i></i>

Goos to see you back, Earthy!!! ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Hiya, Earthy! Nice to see you drop in.

I have been offline for two days - worked 12 hour shifts Monday and Tuesday nights, and yesterday, I was too tired to do anything but sleep when I got home (and do a couple small chores). I came home this morning and crashed (after getting my uniforms in the washing machine). I just woke up about half an hour ago, and got a message that they want me to come in again tonight, but I ain't going - not when I am scheduled to work again Thursday night.

I have no interest in working 4 nights in a row, especially for 12 hour shifts. My family wants to see me occasionally.

Looks like the plans to go to Key West for the weekend are on. Should be a relaxing get-away.

How's everyone else doing? "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>