On the Prius

After spending a week in a Prius, I can say that I do get their appeal. Though they are bland to look at, not terribly fun to drive, and looking out the rear window requires as much guesstimation as anything else with its small bisected rear glass, it does sip gas. On our 900 miles of driving over significant elevation changes, we averaged over 49mpg. Impressive even over flat earth. So, there is that. If you value that above all else, I don't think much compares. Still, it would take a lot to get me to ever consider buying one.

I am not in love with my current car, the Mazda 3. I like it fine, but it is a bit less engaging driving than I had hoped. After driving my Rabbit, which was small, fun, and very peppy, the Mazda seemed overlarge and somewhat sluggish considering its Zoom, Zoom moniker. However, after spending a week in a Prius, the Mazda feels like trying to tame a jet engine. I get it now. It is all in the comparison. I am of average height, but put me next to an NFL lineman and I will look incredibly wee. Put me in a room full of midgets and I will appear towering. The Mazda feels like a true, unadulterated sports car now that I have spent a week in a Prius. Of course, it does get about exactly half the gas mileage.

But, beyond the fuel conservation, there is little to like in the Prius. It isn't attractive and it isn't remotely 'fun' to drive. The braking is mushy and the acceleration is below average. What was, I think, most surprising, was the interior. I knew there would be tradeoffs for good gas mileage, but I didn't think those tradeoffs would be seats with no lumbar support and the lack of features like automatic headlights (they might not come on a Yaris, but even a base level Prius is going to cost you in the low/mid 20s). It has a fun electronic dash with different levels of display, but aside from that, meh. Give me a TDI any day.

On how I ended up listening to a sale's pitch for timeshares (and how the concept still mystifies me)

Vegas is its own animal. I know people say that NYC never sleeps, and maybe they are right, but I didn't find it nearly as pulsing with energy at any point as Vegas seems to be all the time. There is a certain manic energy there that runs through it like too much adrenaline. Everything is loud, ostentatious, flashing, and throbbing with syncopated beats. Its probably why I can only take so much of it. The only silence is sleep and that only comes with the fevered dreams of the chimes of slot machines awash in free watered down booze and the lingering ash tray stench of a thousand bathings in second hand smoke. Even the parking lots blare music and the elevators are constantly entreating you to spend more money in all manner of ways. It is not a place for introspection.

Vegas consistently impresses me in the manner in which they separate us from our money as well. Beyond the well calculated sounds of the slot machines and the psychology of gambling as a whole, they have found myriad ways to strip you of your spending money. Want to go to the pool? free. Would you like to sit in a chair while out there? That'll be $10. Want to lie down in the sun, you'll need the $20 chair. For a cabana, upwards of $100. All the while they come around selling drinks. Oh yeah, and you can gamble out there too. Now many of the resorts are charging a 'resort fee' of $20/day as well. Much like how in Orlando they charge you to park your car on their lot. Of course, as has always weirdly been the case, the more you pay, the less you get. The nicer the hotel, the less chance they will throw in internet, premium movie channels, or even a continental breakfast. Nope, instead internet will run you $15/day, a movie about the same, and breakfast will be provided at startling figures.

As for our actual experience, I would rate it as just okay. Highlights for me were the food at Hash House a Go Go (staggering huge, fun, and delicious food), finding my favorite fishing game slot machine and winning $80 on it, free donut day at Dunkin Donuts, the amazingly nice room at the Golden Nugget for under $70/night, and wandering around the Fremont Experience. Lowlights are the ever present cigarette stench, the people trying to hand you call girl cards all up and down the strip, and the belligerent 'old enough to drink but not old enough to have a lick of sense in their head' drunks at all hours of the day or night. Oh yeah, and the whole time share thing.

So, at our hotel there were a group of suit clad individuals offering up an array of rewards for your time from free shows (or reduced price if you wanted to see something pricey like Cirque) to vouchers for your hotel. Having had precious little luck gambling and deciding it was a good way to get $125 (per couple) to spend how we wished, we opted to give it a shot after being promised on numerous occasions that it would 'be 2-3 hours tops'. After agreeing to do this we gave them $40 (which was 'refunded' after the event) and boarded a bus to the time share. We were then greeted by our salesperson (guide?) who took us to a room with about 20 other couples and their salespeople watched a slick presentation that included donuts, Hershey kisses, and a weird 'Alcoholics Anonymous' piece that had us going around the room introducing ourselves and then clapping for everyone. After an hour of this, we thought we would see the actual units we would be ostensibly buying a portion of..........but not yet. First they bring us upstairs and feed us sandwiches and then go through the carefully orchestrated motions of trying to sell you on it without ever divulging prices. Then they took us on a tour that briefly included the actual place but mostly focused on the casino next door (which had the nearest restaurants and the like). Then, finally, we went back up to the large room (with what had to be about 80 or so couples/families each with their own salesperson around small 4 person tables) where the numbers started to come out.

You would think I would have a pretty thorough understanding of the whole time share thing after that, but I don't. As near as I can tell, you give them anywhere from $9990 to $41990 (financed without credit checks at an astronomical 17.9%) along with varying fees for maintenance and to belong to an international exchange of sorts and then you get 80,000 points which you can exchange for things like 2 weeks in Vegas or 8 weeks in Mongolia or 8 hours in Paris or something plus a fee for that as well and, of course, based on availability. But, for reasons unclear and I have to believe untrue, this place in Vegas was worth more points all year round than, say, Sydney Australia was at any point in time, or Madrid, or just about wherever. The whole thing also included vague discounts that applied to anyone in just about any industry and some weird promise that you get to pass this down to your kids. Only, they never were willing to let us see a contract.

At the end, we were shuffled down to a smaller room where we met with someone who asked us a few rather vague questions about our time there. Then off to another room where we met with a women who cheerlessly gave us our vouchers and were swiftly out the door to wait in a bus for 15 more minutes (if you purchased anything they sent you back in a private limo) until it filled with the other souls who resisted the endless sales pitch. We finally stumbled back into the hotel 5 hours from the time we departed. On the plus side, we turned the vouchers into a fancy dinner and made an additional $30 gambling.

My advice, just skip the whole thing and head to hash house a go go. Way better way to spend your time.

On how I found myself awakening at 3:30 in the AM

Tia brought up a good point about vacations, essentially that it is unfortunate when you get back from some of them and friends and co-workers ask how it was and you have little to say besides 'Well, it was better than being at work.' Our cruise to Mexico was like that. Better than work, but otherwise nondescript. Sedona was a different animal altogether.

Our vacation was broken into 2 parts, so the blog will follow suit. Sedona is/was beautiful. Every picture online of the scenic hikes and gorgeous desert landscape pale in comparison to seeing it in person. We stayed in an inexpensive hotel called the Views Inn which, like every place in Sedona, boasted incredible views. We were less than a mile from Bell Rock (see above) and could see it from the front window in our hotel. The weather could not have been more cooperative as well, staying in the lower end of the 80s (though dipping into the 40s at night). With the exception of a freak wind storm on Sunday (40mph gusts), it was perfect.

For as beautiful and scenic as the hikes were, downtown Sedona was a bit of a letdown. While not horrible, it certainly was chock full of touristy nonsense. Even that, however, doesn't fully explain it. While there were a lot of desert landscapes, dream catchers, and Kokopeli likenesses about, there were also incongruities. For one, they definitely boast an inordinate number of galleries with some pretty high cost items. Though incredibly intricate and fascinating to look at, even the wind catchers could cost upwards of $7K. Also, there were a few curiosity shops at the end of the strip of stores that boasted, and I am not making this up, an immense variety of animal pelts and tales, animal skulls of all kinds, animal toes of all kinds (most real, though some imitation..........which begs a lot of questions both about why anyone would need either, but also confuses me as to the need to have fakes. Is the demand THAT high for badger toes?), feathers and various glass encased insects and reptiles. In a word, effing creepy. Although, if you are ever looking for authentic porcupine quills, I can point you in the right direction.

We also took the opportunity to go hot air ballooning while in Sedona. I was shocked at how smooth the whole thing was and how fine a control the pilot had. We went up as high as 3000 feet and low enough to scrape the tops of the trees and see mule deer and jack rabbits scurry through the scrub brush. It was really amazing. The only downside was they picked us up at 4AM, meaning we were up at 3:30. We spent an hour in the hour and had a champagne breakfast to follow and were the last people dropped off and it was still just shy of 8:30 in the morning. Truly worth it, but there are precious few things I could say that about at that time in the AM.

We also wandered to the Grand Canyon and it was every bit as impressive as I could have imagined. It was so large that it was impossible to gauge it, but it looked as unreal and as perfect as a Hollywood backdrop. We hiked down one of the trails (1.5 miles with a 1000 foot elevation drop..........more impressive than you imagine until you are climbing back up it!) and took copious pictures. One day I will make it back there and hike to the bottom and back up............right after I get in much better shape that is.

Finally, on our way out of Arizona to Vegas, we drove along a piece of true Americana, Route 66. Unfortunately, aside from the Road Kill Cafe we dined in, there was not much to it. Whatever quirk there was had long since evaporated. The 75 miles or so we traveled along it, there were nothing but blink-and-you-miss-em towns and some humorous rhymes provided by Burma Shave. I was really hoping to see the world's largest ball of twine or something.

Next up a complete 180 from peace, tranquility, and natural wonders...........Vegas!

inspections and radon and stolen glasses oh my!

Some days are better than others..........some however are just generally crappy. This morning Tia came in shortly after leaving for work to tell me that someone broke into our car. It isn't clear if it was just unlocked, or if it was if that was a benefit since it meant no broken windows. Bizarrely, they managed to not see my Kindle under the car seat (which I accidentally left in the car), but did steal about $2 worth of change, the car manual (?), and my prescription sunglasses and glasses (??). My only guess is that there is a hefty retail market in second hand store brand glasses or tweakers are dumb.

Shifting topics, we had our house inspection last week. It went spectacularly well. All the work that was done in 2007 and since was evidently done very well. The only thing that came up was a broken light in the basement, the a/c and furnace need servicing, and the outlet on the back of the house doesn't work. However, Tia also insisted upon a Radon test (which is a good thing, but something that I just never really considers). The EPA states that, ideally, you would want your radon levels to be below 2 pCi/l. Most indoor spaces are about 1.3 pCi/l. The level that starts to be problematic is 4pCi/l where the EPA states you should 'fix it'. The results we got today were 4.1. So, we are asking for that and the other problems be fixed. The other fixes are likely less than $400. The Radon however, is closer to $1800. So the game of home buying continues, seeing how much we can get before we get push back from the seller and so we don't have any further outlay of cash. I guess we'll know by Friday. Hopefully before.

4 more days til vacation. I actually have a second person at work this week to boot. It almost like a vacation in itself! More to come as events warrant.

poor people love botulism

Tia and I volunteered at the food bank today sorting out cans of food for the less fortunate. Only, we actually worked helping to sort out pet food, baby food, and what they called pig food. Which, after minimal investigations turns out to be exactly what you think................food that is fed to actual pigs. Now, what may qualify something for pig food you might wonder. It was surprising, well some of it was anyway.

Some things became pig food because they were recently expired, which could be a possible oversight or a genuine (and generally correct) assumption that it is still okay to eat. However, a majority of it fell somewhere between a feeling that, no matter what it was, poor people would rather have it than nothing or a chance to expunge some things from the pantry that, for reasons unknown, they kept around for many years following their expiration, through significant dents and nicks, through water damage that caused rusting, and possibly bulging to twice its original size due to botulism. Amongst them were half eaten boxes of pasta, partially filled bags of flour, a half box of Splenda packets, and a jar of unopened mayonnaise that expired a FULL DECADE ago. Hope it doesn't kill any pigs.

Also, we decided to buy the house. We looked at a few more today and it solidified how nice the one we offered on. Now is when the plug gets pulled and all the money starts to run out. House inspections, earnest money, and all the associated fees that come with loans. But, hopefully it all ends well. More to come as always...........unless I eat some of the donated mayo.

Wishy Washy

What to do what to do? Hem and haw perhaps.

We got our counter offer yesterday. Took our offer and tacked on 5K and called it a good compromise. Only, sometime that same evening our feet started to chill. Then downright freeze they were so cold. What if its a bad deal? What if the price is too dear? Colder and colder our feet grew. By the time the sun peaked out over the horizon we had all but moved on.

But then, after we contacted our agent who played the telephone game by contacting their agent who contacted the seller and informed them of us moving on from the deal, they countered again. This time acquiescing to our initial offer entirely. hmmmm.

So now we feel a bit mixed up. On one hand, the house is 'complete' in ways no other we have seen is (at least in anywhere near what counts as our price range). On the other hand, the location is one thing you can never change. But the location isn't bad per se, just not exactly where we want to be. It is not a bullseye, but it is at least on the board. What thing trumps the other?

I think I need to see it again. And hem and haw in the meantime.

the science of buying things

Today at some point in the AM, offer #2 goes out. This place is further outside of our original 'boundary' of sorts. The dream was to (is to?) find something that allows us both to get to work without driving, or at least not HAVING to do so. The reality is that those houses fall into two distinct categories: too expensive or excessively shitty. The latter varies between slight disrepair and decrepit/abandoned with a lingering smell best described as 'did someone die in here?' The former are often in Irvington or Sabin and would limit us to a diet of ramen and cat food and burning our neighbors recycling for heat. So, we expanded our search.

As Portland is a land of neighborhoods, we are now looking in places like Piedmont. Saying you live in Portland without at least stating your quadrant or, more preferably your neighborhood, is such a vague generality it would be like saying 'meet me in Powell's by the books' without even hinting at genre. Regardless, I am still pretty shocked at the prices, but they are at least in the realm of possibility. It is interesting because even if those neighborhoods, you generally are looking at lackluster schools, the occasional derelict home (it is just a rarer phenomenon, not an absent one), and middling crime rates.

I can only compare this to Florida where the houses around an area pretty much dictate the quality of the school and neighborhood associations dictate that you will keep your house up. The 'neighborhoods' there are usually just tracks of homes with names that often call up memories of what was there before the homes went in like 'Cypress Manor' or 'River of Grass' or what have you. All homes are of a similar age, general size, and general price. It was not common to buy a million dollar home next to a $200K one. Here, it isn't common either, but it is a distinct possibility. Also, that million dollar home could be just a few blocks off a busy intersection or a downright dangerous neighborhood. Its just hard to assimilate here vs. there for me sometimes.

I would write more, but work beckons. Hopefully today I dont have to spend 5 minutes wiping blood off my shoe with clorhexadine like yesterday. Sometimes my job is just like that though (and all the stranger for it).

house no

A full 3 days after our offer (and 2 days after our request/demand of a response for said offer by the next evening around 8ish) we finally heard back from the sellers. Well, the potential sellers I guess would be more accurate, as they won't be selling anything to us. They essentially countered with 'did you see the price we listed it for, that's what we want and intend to get' and 'oh by the way, if you are good with that, we would also like to close early and rent the place back from you at our arbitrarily agreed upon daily rate until such time as we find something to buy ourselves.' To me, they are overplaying their hand. However, I understand that 'charm' has a certain price in this town and they are firmly of the belief that the price they have settled on is it. Not for us however. Will be interesting to see how they fare.

So, the search starts again. We looked at another home just this evening. The pictures were promising, but the reality of it didn't deliver. This was a newer very old house (1906 vs. 1889) that looked like they tried to keep some of the period pieces intact. But, the overall impression was of half done projects abandoned long before completion. I worry when things like a full complement of screws to hold in the front door handle are overlooked. It makes me wonder how much else, less visible, was as well.

We looked for about a year before our last purchase, though we hope it will be less than that this time. More and more crop up every week and we are bound to find one that we love along the way. More posts as events warrant.

house maybe

We have looked at a lot of houses over the past 3 weeks or so. A few really nice ones, but mostly a bunch of misses. Even the nice ones have Achilles Heels like higher than normal taxes or smaller than normal bedrooms. The only one we loved so far had the high taxes and multiple offers. Suffice to say, we moved on.

Today while out on a walk to look at a rather run down place nearby (our hope to find a diamond in the rough that is fixable) we ran into a couple looking at the same who happened to also be selling their home (see picture above). We arranged, thanks to our ever flexible agent Joleen, to see it that day. It misses some targets, no garage and only one bath, but hits most of them, most prominently low taxes, good interior space, the necessary updates (like electrical) and a manageable yard. So, we put in an offer.

The offering game is always an interesting one. Did they tag it with a higher price than they hoped to actually get? If so, how much higher? Are they in a hurry to sell, or will they wait it out a bit? If they counter, what number are we okay with? Much like a game of cards, you have to know when you are in too deep and fold. The biggest problem is the emotional one, and all the time and energy spent looking. Plus, even when you come to an agreement, you always have to wonder if you got a good deal or a bad one. Is there another house just about to come on the market that would be a better fit?

Harder still is trying to find a point of comparison in this area. In King City, there were a lot of similarly aged homes of close enough dimensions to gauge what seemed like a fair number. Here, it is seemingly impossible. First off, because EVERYONE lists basements as square footage, finished or not. Secondly, because block by block you have huge variances in the quality of the neighborhood. Thirdly, because the houses are such disparate ages. How does one compare a house built in 1889 with one built in 1979 or in 2010? Are granite counters and SS appliances and large abundant rooms a good trade off for a neighborhood that is still in the infancy of getting better? And what of the neighbor's house with the derelict car parts strewn about the yard and house paint flaking like so much dandruff? There are no apples to apples here.

Ultimately, we will find out tomorrow late whether they counter, accept, or outright reject our offer. My gut says they don't accept it, but probably don't reject it outright either. We shall see and, of course, I shall post as events warrant. For now, I am tired of signing my name to documents and tired in general as well.

to buy or not to buy, that is the question

And the answer...........well, that varies by the day.

Recently we have dipped our toes back in the roiling waters of real estate, and are even taking the serious and necessary step of getting pre-qualified. The big question isn't what we can afford, which I know regardless of what we qualify for, but rather what we want and what we are willing to settle for at said affordable price.

What we know for certain is that the market is still not very settled. Depending on the relative optimism or pessimism of the person you ask, we are either at the bottom and starting to slowly rebound or still careening towards the abyss. What is a fact is that prices are less than they were 2 years ago, sometimes significantly so. This opens up areas we were not able to consider previously.........though we are still severely limited in our purchasing power in said areas. We have to decide things like: Is it better to be on busy street in a desirable area, or better to be in a less desirable area instead? Is it better to be close in, or have a nicer home? Is 1 bathroom okay?

Even once you decide on the where and the how, then you have to figure out the what. Such as, what does the house NEED to have and what would you LIKE the house to have and what could you care less about? Garage? Finished basement? Square footage? The list goes on.

Then, you have to decide not what you can afford, but what number you are comfortable with. Plus, here in Portland, houses next to one another frequently have incredibly disparate taxes (ranges from $900 to $5000/yr for similar priced homes). So matching priced homes can end up costing hundreds of dollars more a month.

All that remains certain at the moment is that we have a lot of time to decide and, based on what we have seen via open houses, that is a good thing since our price range seems to only include locations we aren't considering and, within the locations we are, a bunch of complete crap.

Still, its fun to look, though somewhat frightening as well. More to come as always.

dumb

Do you ever just find yourself doing something completely absentmindedly dumb? I am sure we all do, just as I am sure we all fervently hope that the act itself proves harmless.

It is no surprise if you read this blog that my work has not been favorable of late. In fact, when I really think about it, it has been a bungled mess from the jump. I spent the first two weeks in the clinic trying to learn how it works: how to get meds, order supplies, chart, file, along with relearning a lot of skills that had moldered at my last job. Then I spent the next month + doing that while worrying about losing my job over paperwork. Finally, March hit and it seemed like finally, I had things largely under control (or what I could control anyway, we are and have been throughout, chronically understaffed with frequent defections), but then EPIC hit and it feels kind of like I am back to day 1 all over again. Only, now I have to figure out a whole new slew of things that I have neither the time nor inclination to even figure out who to contact to start the process.

For instance, we got a new label printer here in the clinic. Easy enough right? Wrong! We had technicians here almost daily, each with a very specific piece of the puzzle and none with seemingly any knowledge of the next link in the chain. First guy drops off the device. another one comes to look at where and how it might get plugged in. Yet another installs a cable. Someone else changes said cable due to some proprietary cable issue. Finally it is hooked up and working..............er, not quite. another gentleman comes in because now there is an error in how things are routed to said printer. This then involves a higher up from information services who ultimately deals with this for another 3 days before, viola, working printer...........er, kind of. It prints some of what we need now, but other alterations involving god knows how many other people are coming down the line. This would be fine if it weren't for seemingly everything happening in a similar manner. I get calls from pharmacy because we are both entering the same exact data and we still can't figure out who should be (which is rising up the chain there). My hand held medication scanners don't work and I have no idea who to call about them (so I enter things manually). We were given a desktop scanner and separate training for scanning orders, and then I get an email as to why we are scanning orders in the first place (from the person who is in charge of such things in the first place......which leads me to believe she should not be charged with such responsibility). I had a delivery of a giant blanket warmer and a number of who to call to deal with it, but then no one returns my calls so it sits exactly where it was dropped off last weekend. Somewhere in the midst of this, I am supposed to see patients, schedule patients, deal with MD offices, and learn our new charting system.

So, it comes as no surprise that I walked home on Tuesday night, started doing some dishes (we were going to a Blazer game so I wanted to have them done then instead of when I got home) and then realized that I had DRIVEN to work that morning because I thought I might need to go to Vancouver for training. Suffice to say I briskly walked all the way back to get the car (the advantage/disadvantage of living less than a mile away). Dumb dumb dumb. Of course, my brain is so thoroughly addled it is dumb but not entirely unsurprising. Now if I can just manage to not screw up something actually important along the way!

wash, rinse, repeat

I have been meaning to blog for some time, but it has been kind of a cycle of relative sameness (though not relative sanity.......which would actually be different I suppose), and I feel I am starting to repeat myself. But, the same themes continue to dominate.

The running theme of work being crazy remains. In fact, I just found out another of my co-workers is leaving who does primarily pediatrics which will not be easy to replace. I did not know her terribly well, but I understand she was quite excellent at her job and a very hard worker. She evidently was recruited elsewhere in the hospital because of this. What it means to me is that there are even less people to come and help.

So, what to do about it? Well, I contacted my manager and she agrees that something needs to be done to get me help. Of course, that can't/won't happen until they are staffed on the floor and that is obviously not getting any closer to fruition. So, I continue to turn down patients and potentially alienate referring providers. On one hand, I don't so much care because it isn't my business. On another, I do because it could mean my position fades into the ether. There is only so much I can do without help though.

The new computer system began last Monday and, of course, continues to have problems. I have no idea if I am doing things correctly or not either. I am trying of course, but I am primarily on my own to figure it out. I have to admit I am jealous and my clinic mates, the wound care nurses, have their charge nurse and a nurse from the northern hospital location who are well versed with EPIC sitting with them 1 on 1 all week long helping them figure out charting, ordering and the like. Meanwhile I get a few hours (over the week) of help from the EPIC tutors. I fully suspect I am doing some things wrong and others incompletely......but much like scheduling concerns, what the hell else can I do but the best with what I am given?

In other news, we have another litter of foster kittens. They are probably the least friendly bunch we have had, but are starting to come around. It is an interesting challenge in so small a space, but it feels good to be doing something nice.

We are also starting to play, in the most peripheral sense, at housing again. I really go back and forth. I think, if you can find a place in a good location with a potential upside, it can still be a good investment. However, it is a VERY particular type of property that fits that and I dont know if I am savvy enough to determine that. I do know that location seems to matter exponentially more here than it does in other places..........or at least that location is harder to pinpoint. In Florida, it is near/on the waterfront. Here, it seems to be more neighborhood specific and there are so very many neighborhoods. Trying to figure out what is 'up and coming' is the key. Plus, for us, it has to be walkable/bikable to work. Thankfully we are in an up and coming neighborhood already.

Also tried a few new places around here to eat. In simple synopsis:

Mothers bistro - Above average appetizers with some bordering on excellent (crab cakes) and exceptional bread/corn bread rolls. The main courses were good as well, but not excellent. Drinks were mediocre. Desserts were quite good. For the price (about $80 for 2 people), not worth it IMHO. Were it about 1/2 that, I would give two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Equinox - Granted we ate here for dinner and not breakfast which they are best known for, but I have to give them a half-hearted 'meh.' The burger was underwhelming, with the biggest disappointment being the bun itself. The salad was good, if small. There was just not much memorable about it and I see no reason to go back.

Montage/La Merde - I hadn't been in some time, so we went to the adjacent bar side for HH. Excellent deals on food (the spold mac was just as good as I remembered and the crawfish fritters were flavorful and perfectly crispy. Great drink prices and fun games as well. Well worth the trip out.

I really ought to get to doing something more productive. As always, more to come.

sad

Per KGW Portland:

PORTLAND -- Local weather records have fallen like the rain this spring.

Over the weekend, Portland broke the record for latest date to reach 60 degrees. Before this year, March 27 was the latest into the year before reaching the 60-degree point. That record fell Sunday and KGW Meteorologist Nick Allard said Portland wasn't likely to finally break 60 degrees until Wednesday.

With Tuesday morning's rain, Portland has now also had 28 days of measurable rain during March, breaking the old record for 27 days of rain in March.

By late Tuesday, March 2011 had also earned the distinction of being the fifth-rainiest on record, with 6.23 inches recorded at PDX Airport and more on the way.

KGW Chief Meteorologist Matt Zaffino said Portland had a good shot to finish fourth-wettest in history. In 1989, 6.73 inches of rain fell in the city. Portland's wettest March had 7.52 inches of rainfall back in 1957.

I know I rail against the weather here. I am also sure that I would, and did, complain that our summers in Florida were a miserable mixture of high humidity and high heat, but even Portland weather apologists have to be getting sick of this month.

To the Creek tomorrow to see how EPIC works. Just in the nick of time too. More to come as always. Stay dry if you can.

Snowboarding is difficult

I am in complete and total denial that yet another weekend has almost come to a close. It was at least a full one.

Spent Friday night at the Blazer game and I can honestly say that I have never seen such an exciting ending, certainly not live. A turnover by San Antonio and a game winning basket by the Blazers in the last 0.9 seconds. I have tremendous doubts that the team will survive past the opening round of the playoffs yet again, but at least they are fun to watch. The ride home on the max with the drunken revelers was less fun, though also entertaining in its own way. Note to self and others: do not pick a fight on packed Max car with someone who will literally be standing within 6" of your personal space for the next 10-15 minutes at least. I was glad I was not on that max car.

Saturday was work. Epic. I am very rapidly losing interest in the entire process, though I know that it will ultimately make me more marketable as more and more systems switch to it for electronic charting. That said, I have spent no less than 12 hours in classes at Conway, another few in classes at our campus, a handful of hours in meetings related to its impact in the clinic, and I have 6-8 more this week. On the good side, I finished up early and was home napping by 1. Any Saturday (or any day really) with a nap in it is a good day! Followed that up with a birthday gathering for Joe.

Sunday was tumbling down the side of a snow covered mountain at high speeds with a polished piece of wood strapped to both feet............or, snowboarding. I have to say, I am more and more coming to realize that perhaps snow and I only agreeably mix on flat or relatively flat surfaces. If an incline of any sort need be introduced into the relationship, I need to ensure I am on something large, inflatable, and almost impossible to fall out of. I can't say I hated snowboarding, but I can say I will remember it with every ache over the next week. I think, much like skiing, there is an exhilarating freedom once you get moving forward at speed, but that is strongly undercut by the terrifying realization that, somehow, you have to stop and that, due to a rather novice understanding of how to do so combined with a staggering lack of grace and coordination, the only way to accomplish that is by using less aerodynamic portions of your body to loosely 'anchor' yourself to the surface of the mountain. For a split second you think this might prove effective and, if not graceful, at least effective and injury free. But then, shockingly, you remember that you have tethered yourself to the aforementioned snowboard and grace will be the last word used to describe the arms akimbo ragdoll you fully resemble. Suffice to say I did this a lot.

I hope everyone else survived their respective weekend adventures. As for me, it is time for a beer to salve the pain, which is a cure as good as any I know.

Happy anniversary?

So, I logged into the time call system at work the other day (the 23rd to be exact) and the automated voice on the other side reminded me it was my two year anniversary at the hospital. Has it really been that long? I mean, honestly, it hardly seems possible. Of course, bets are being taken now to see whether I make it through to year 3.

I have been wanting to blog more frequently, but of late there has been a confluence of events including a protracted though not necessarily severe cold, an absolute assault on my allergies, too many long after work meetings with our financial adviser and trying desperately to get started on some sort of exercise regimen in spite of the aforementioned ailments. This along with my job's seeming inability to get and maintain adequate staffing levels. I worked last Sunday, and am off today (Friday) because I work tomorrow. Of course, they called to see if I could work today too (which, including tomorrow would have been 7 consecutive days of work), but I just don't have it in me. I like what I do, but I think I will burn out quickly if things don't change. There is so much pressure to never miss an hour or a day or, god forbid, need assistance with anything. I have to balance between having too few patients (which makes me the go-to backup for the in hospital chaos) or too many (which means I might need a second person......and there is no second person to be had). I am trying not to get frustrated, but of course I do. All I know is that it never does seem to stabilize in health care. That is the one constant.

So, sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice to go back to school and pursue nursing. Financially, absolutely (well, after another year anyway, and then I will be on the positive side of that ledger). Emotionally/mentally.........hard to say. Mostly yes though. Its just that the tough days are so much tougher when they come because the stakes are a lot higher.

There is so much more I want to write about, but I feel utterly scattered. Our adviser meetings have been so odd. The summation is this: the more you make, the less you take home now. Everything is put into different pots per our adviser, but I think of them more as time capsules. You stick your money in now, bury it, and dig it back up when you are 50 or 60 or 70. Only the system itself is predicated on continued earnings and no life-changing events such as having children, buying another home, or losing said jobs and finding lesser paying ones. Of course, the thought then is you re-evaluate from there. In the meantime, do we stash what we can or do we kind of enjoy the moment in time when we can (or theoretically should be able to) enjoy ourselves a bit?

Well, speaking of living in the moment, I really ought to catch up on all the household things that have fallen by the wayside while I have a few hours. More to come as always.

home sick

Today the fortuitous and calamitous intersected and I stayed home. I ended up not having any clinic patients scheduled and felt absolutely drug out by a cold, though I would have found a way to go in if I had a patient scheduled, largely because there is no one to run the clinic if I am gone. I don't mean that no one can (though largely that is true), but rather that they just don't have the warm bodies at the moment. One RN put in her notice, another took a personal leave. The on call staff is largely already portioned out to outlying hospitals due to other regular staff moving on or moving out. So, whereas there are supposed to be at least 4 RNs plus a charge on (and generally 5), it is not uncommon to have just 2 total lately. I help when I can, but only if I don't have patients of my own.

For me, it is frustrating because, if I need assistance of any kind, it ain't coming. Also, I turn quite a few patients away since I can only handle so much on my own, and within the bounds of my licensure. Still, given the choice, I would rather that then the chaos that must be routine now on the floor. Ah well.

Met with our financial adviser the other evening. It was interesting to be sure. Not really so much about investments and the like and more about rather abstract questions such as: What would you do if you knew you were going to die in five years? What would you do if you didn't need money? Not surprisingly, quitting working was top of the list :) A little more surprising was the lack of anything tangible from Tia or I. No homes or nicer cars or the like. Mostly just being able to be master of our own clocks and be able to live somewhere warm in the winter. That pretty much covers the biggest pieces (other than increased volunteering). Hopefully our adviser will be able to tell us how to get there.

More to come as events warrant. My head is too full of cold meds to formulate much more at the moment.

Mexico!

I have been wanting to write about Mexico since I got back. But,
what I am increasingly learning, you really need a day to recuperate
after your vacation. I think that that is predominantly due to
travel. We spent the entirety of our last day getting up far earlier
than we had the entire week (and staying up just as late as one does
on vacation) and then waiting in lines to get off the boat, lines to
get our luggage, lines at customs, lines at the airport and then a few
hours waiting at the airport and a few more on the plane. By the time
we stepped foot across our threshold, we had been up and in the
process of 'travelling home' for 10 hours, only about a quarter of
which was spent on a plane. Suffice to say, it isnt like we did a
whole lot of unpacking when we got home. Even our feeble attempt to
get milk ran into delays as our car battery died after sitting idle
for better than a week requiring a call and wait for someone to come
and jump start it (hard to do yourself without a second car).

So, on to the actual cruise. As with anything, it had its roses and
its thorns. I think we have kind of hit a wall with the large ship
cruises, reminiscent of the wall we hit in Bend. As much as we liked
the B&B there and the town itself, there comes a point when you feel
like you have 'been there, done that' and the shine kind of comes off
it. We had a good time, but the shine is definitely gone (though
sometimes it just means a break is in order).

Food
Rose:
- As usual, the food. People review cruise food rather harshly for
what it is........which is better than pretty much anything you make
at home or, by and large, what you might find dining out in moderately
priced establishments. I never fail to be impressed by the array of
choices, the speed of service, and the efficiency of the entire
operation. It is impressive to say the least and the food on the
Carnival ship was as good as any.
Thorn:
- Cannot explain why they had so many interesting choices on the Lido
for lunch, and then shut 75% of it down for dinner. Even the grill,
which was promised to be open, never was at dinner. So, for lunch you
could do sit down dining, or choose from 4 different buffet lines, a
buffet dessert line, or a grill plus ice cream and pizza. For dinner,
one buffet and one sit down option. Odd.

Boat:
Rose:
- The balcony room, although not as well used as it might have been
had we encountered warmer temps, was really well appointed and the
amount of natural light and sea sounds were really nice. We even got
to see a whale breach less than 200 feet from our balcony. The ship
itself looked in excellent condition and relatively new considering it
is an 'older' ship.
Thorn:
- It had the weakest library I have ever seen. One shelf of books
total. Mostly it was for internet usage (which at $0.75/minute is
quite dear). Also, no real quiet spots to read outside of your room.
It was definitely not geared for any kind of peaceful relaxation. It
was definitely a drinking boat. Also, the lido area was not arranged
well for traffic and created a lot bottlenecks around each buffet line
and could have used more seating as well.

Ports:
Roses:
- La Paz, despite its distance from where the boat actually docked,
was a gem. It was clearly not ready to be a port city, which was
quite pleasant. No one hounding you at endless stalls and lots of
quiet beachfront. Was more or less what I hoped to find in Mexico,
though did not find all that much.
- The food in Cabo. We purposely avoided the tourist spots with
their high process and buckets of beer and instead found 2 different
local taco stands that both had incredible food. We were able to stuff
ourselves and have beverages and still pay less than $10 total.
Smoked swordfish tacos in Cabo were the highlight for me. Fresh
caught and smoked that morning. The best thing I ate all week.

Miscellaneous:
Roses:
- The staff. From our steward who called us by name from day 1 to an
entertaining and pleasant wait staff, I had no complaints with parting
with gratuities.
- The comedians were, although uneven, altogether above average.
Plus, they rotated them so you had the opportunity to see 4 total with
varied shows.
- The atrium. Gaudy yes, but eye catching to be sure.

Thorns:
- The waiting........the constant waiting at every port. We tendered
into Cabo (which meant lines of nearly 45 minutes to get off the boat
and better than that to get back on it), parked on the outskirts of La
Paz (25 minutes to town by bus and nothing in between) which meant
waits of more than an hour to get back and just as long to leave the
ship, and even in Puerta Vallarta, the port was in the middle of a
compound with no clear way out to the city proper other than by taking
a $10 taxi ride. Plus a wait of 2 hours to get on the boat itself due
to some difficulties r/t a Coast Guard inspection.
- The activities on the boat were sorely lacking. Endless trivia
seemed to be about all they could come up with.
- The Oscars. They were shown on the boat with live voting, but for
reasons that escape me, they felt they needed to telecast them at
maximum ear splitting volume. Left before a the red-carpet was rolled
up and the bloated self-congratulatory speeches began.
- On board movies. Generally cruise ships have a nice array of films
either just out on DVD or second run. This ship has a mishmash of
older films (5-10 years old, not classics) and recent box office
bombs......and only a small number to boot. Plus no onboard theater
which was a bummer.
- Gym. Generally a high point on most boats. Not this one. Very
little equipment and not very updated at that. Plus, always at least
1 or 2 of their limited cardio machines out of order (which wouldnt be
a big deal, but the jogging track, such as it was, was blocked off by
ping pong tables and sunbathers). Bad bad bad.

Overall, I would not do a Carnival boat again. I think it just misses
on too many counts and it isn't that much less expensive for the
trade-offs. Still a vacation beats the heck out of work, even if it
is slightly less than you had hoped.

snowmageddon! (randomness)

- No matter where you live people seem to be overly enamored with weather hyperbole. Every far flung forecast is prognosticated with the highest of high tech gadgetry and yet has the same accuracy as divination by throwing chicken bones or having your palm read. I am already getting emails at work warning of the upcoming snowpocalypse with somewhere between 3-5" possible (though not probable) coming our way this Thursday/Friday.......or perhaps 3-5 feet..............or likely nothing at all. Anyway, please freak out accordingly!

- Spent the entirety of the weekend without allergy medication because I was seeing the allergist on Monday for some possible testing. Only to find out today that we weren't going to be doing any such testing. Both because I didn't react all that well to it and because we would wait until late summer to start that sort of thing anyway. While I appreciated his candor and it was a valid discussion (allergy shots evidently only work about 3/4 of the time anyway.....a nugget I never heard in all my time working with an allergist), it would have been a valid discussion to have before the appointment too. I am now 100% certain that i am not taking antihistamines just because I think it makes me look cool. Evidently they do something. Now excuse me while I scratch my eyes out.

- Speaking of eye gouging, we have free HBO for 3 months for signing up with Comcast anew. Every once in awhile I consider paying for a cable channel. They have some pretty amazing shows (well, they win awards and all) and it would be a good way to catch up on movies. Then, we stay at a hotel with (insert premium channel here) and I think 'why would I pay good money to watch new releases 6 months after they come out and then be forced to re-watch them ad-nauseum because they rotate them less frequently than car tires. We are currently in a loop of Couples Retreat (which is actually as bad as the previews would have you believe) amongst other dreck. Boo!

- As a side bar: Vince Vaughn has to be on the Mt. Rushmore of actors who repeatedly play themselves and manage to get paid handsomely for it. He is exactly the same guy no matter what movie he is in. Others on the mountain would have to be Matthew Mcconaughey and Adam Sandler and possibly Jennifer Aniston. Kudos! I am sure they are crying over their artistic integrity all the way to the bank.

- Alright, I take back the last Boo! a little bit. I did just watch 500 days of Summer which was well cast, likable, quirky and peppered with interesting little diversions. Had it ended about 5 minutes before the ending which looked like it was tacked on to appease focus groups, I might have even recommended it. But, unfortunately, they used the previous 80+ minutes of good will as little more than kindling before setting the whole thing ablaze. Boo! again.

I was up before the sun today for my non-allergy testing. Sleep time starts now.

Wax on. Wax off. Ouch!

As one of the 'joys' of getting older, I have hair growing in places I don't want it to be, namely my back. Not 'is he wearing a sweater vest' amounts of hair, but enough that I don't like it. So, Tia thought it would be nice, before vacation, to have it forcibly ripped from my body by a sadist.......or, euphemistically, a waxing.

I don't consider myself tough. I do not get into fights. I am not outdoorsy. I don't like guns or other 'tough guy' symbols. I don't, however, consider myself meek either. Just somewhere between the two polarities. That said, I just about started weeping during the defoliation. Many hours later, my back still feels similar to the day after a sunburn. And to think that the waxing place offers a male 'Brazilian'. To imagine the back waxing in an exponentially more sensitive area gives me full body wracking chills. On the plus side, I suppose I am now far less hirsute. On the other hand, I think many many drinks would be required before doing that again. Now I know why they had a bottle of whiskey out in the lobby while you wait. I should have indulged!

More pleasantly, we had massages on Friday night after work. It is Tia's favorite place, Dragontree. I like it too, but I have to say the massages themselves were kind of disappointing this time. Every therapist has his/her own distinct style and it has to jibe with your own to be truly good. I like when it is almost painfully deep tissue. When you feel relaxed and loose after the massage more so than during. I have no preference on man or woman, straight gay or other doing the massage, it is all about the massage itself. That said, typically men will do more deep tissue. This time not so much. It was relaxing, but more about levels of pressure and not so much working out trouble spots. Kind of a bummer, but I don't know what you say in that situation. If they ask about pressure, you can tell them more or less, but this was clearly about style and, well, eh. I like the place enough to go back, but I will ask for someone else. Ah well, far worse ways to spend your Friday night though.

4 more days of work. So close to tropical drinks, oceans you can swim in and no actual schedules to follow!

Once more with dates

As of yesterday, they have finally corrected my payroll information. I know have the correct hours per day, pay rate, and supervisor listed. I also spoke with my supervisor and she is going to work with me on Monday to get reimbursed for the hours of pay I had incorrectly deducted. Additionally, my 'employee advocate' in HR is looking into my situation and, well, I won't hold my breath. But, at least if I fail there, it isn't because I did nothing at all. So, to surmise:

July 3rd, 2010 - Left IV dept and started in traige. Prior to this date, had conversation with former/current supervisor, JT, and agreed to stay on call.

December 15, 2010 - Find out about clinic job, speak with JT and decide to apply.

December 16, 2010 - Interview for job. Offered position that same evening.

December 17, 2010 - Accept position and turn in my 2 week notice.

December 31, 2010 - Employee change request submitted to HR, last day triage.

January 3, 2011 - First day IV clinic.

January 14, 2011 - Find out job not technically mine. Will have to be open to anyone in the department who wants it. If so, I am told I have no recourse.

January 21, 2011 - No one applies. Informed job is mine.........um, after it goes up internally.

January 27, 2011 - Job goes up internally............er, make that supposed to go up. HR neglects to do so.

February 4, 2011 - Job goes up internally. I apply for position as required.

February 11, 2011 - Check my application status. Coded as 'ineligible to transfer'. Contact JT who contacts HR and, lo and behold, call from HR. Position finally mine, well as of.......

February 13, 2011 - Now its official. After 6 weeks of actually working there.

You know the rest if you have been following: no pay increase, no retroactive pay, etc.

Vacation in 1 week. Need it badly. Hello Mexico!

Survey says

If you follow this blog, you are pretty well up to date on the work saga, but as with any good plot, there is a twist at the end. Of course they re-posted the job internally even though they had no intention of filling it with anyone but me (or so I am told anyway.....hard to know what to believe anymore). So, yesterday I was checking my app status and it, shockingly (surprisingly I am still able to be shocked by the level of ineptitude there. I am sure that I will eventually become numb to it) it informed me that I was 'ineligible for transfer'. Of course I flipped out and contacted J who, in turn, contacted HR. Someone there bumped me out because I had only been doing triage for 6 months and you need a year to transfer and, long story short, they finally, as of yesterday afternoon, officially offered me the job. Yeah!

However, just as I thought, I am getting screwed over regarding the past 6 weeks where I have been working but not 'officially' employed. They have been deducting 60mins daily for lunch because I used to get an hour long lunch doing triage, although I am only getting 30mins now (if that). I was out 2 days for the move...............so technically I am due 14 hours that I worked but am not getting paid for. Those will supposedly be fixed (fingers crossed) per J. I am hopeful that she will get that fixed, though certainly not confident. It would mean about $450.

Additionally, I was supposed to get a pay bump of $2.84/hr by going back to inpatient. Multiply that by 240 total hours worked in the 6 weeks, and you have a pretty substantial $680. That evidently will not be paid to me because I wont 'officially' be hired until Sunday and they cannot back pay that (this is per HR, not J). So, I will be back to my inpatient pay rate on Monday, but I can't recoup the money I would have had even though I was doing the job already.

Further, I was supposed to get my annual review next month and whatever increase comes with that. However, again per HR, now that wont be until February of next year because they are saying that I accepted a 'promotion' by going back to inpatient and resuming my former pay rate. I knew I took a pay cut going to do triage, but I never considered it a demotion. It isn't like you have to have any less education or experience to do either job or that they would have hired me with an LPN or something. So, I am also losing out on an entire year's worth of whatever my raise would have been (I am sure not terribly much, but still). So, some major good news mixed with some total BS.

Suffice to say, I will be trying to further contact HR and see if I can get anywhere with my grievance, but I also don't hold much hope that it will be fixed since it will cost the hospital money and that isn't something they are keen on. Frustrating, but finally resolved. The good news is that I had just 1 patient on Friday and I sat and read the paper instead of leaving to get at least some money back :)

Ultimately, there aren't a lot of options out there and I am happy to have a job, but I still have a hard time understanding why some piece of paperwork that didn't get submitted somewhere along the line could cause so much havoc, despite the intentions of my supervisor being very clear. No one, of course, wants to take any responsibility (blame) for it.

Vacation in 2 weeks. Need it ASAP.

Still not hired

Well, I am not officially at least an applicant for my own job, which is a step up (I guess). In theory, tomorrow ought to be the last day it is posted (or possibly Friday) and then I am assuming I might get hired. What a boon it will be! Finally hired to do the job I have been doing and erroneously thought was mine to begin with. Of course until it is official, I won't count on it.

In other news, I haven't moved to a new place since the last post! To some this might be a fairly trite to some, but staying in one place for better than 10 days is cause for celebration, albeit minor. We are fully unpacked and starting to learn the roses and thorns of the place.

Roses:
- Bedroom on a different level than the living room/kitchen. It just feels more spacious.
- The kitchen really is a nice size and it is good having a table again.
- I like not having to wait for the elevator to go up one story.
- No more (at least obvious) mold.

Thorns:
- The wall separating the units is not sound proof enough. Everything seems to filter through.
- Same neighbors big loud barking dog (thankfully not at weird hours or in prolonged bursts)
- We mis-guessed the size of our king bed and the size of the bedroom. A lot of shimmying/crab-walking to get out of the bed

Other than that, it is just like most other places I have lived...........just okay. Will probably be re-evaluating it once the lease nears expiration (god help me).

Speaking of living places, I found out an odd fact about this place...........it was sold in separate units, and for a lot more than I thought. Each unit, per Zillow, is roughly equivalent in size at about 1000 sq feet. Each unit also sold for better than $200K. All together, it is about a $700K property. I am honestly incredulous. If this was the Price is Right, I would have seriously underbid and lost the showcase showdown. I will NEVER understand property values here. If pressed I would have guessed maybe $450K for the whole thing. Exactly why it is incredibly unlikely I would ever buy anything here (again).

Clinic is getting more rote, but continues to mystify in some ways. I still have to turn away patients because I am unable to get the appropriate staffing and, concurrently, I wonder if I should be concerned about it or just accept it and move on. I know I cannot accommodate everyone, for instance I lost one patient because the GS clinic opens at 8 and she needed earlier (we open at 9), but it seems weird that I have to say no to patients because I can't get a second nurse for an hour (you need to have 2 nurses for infusions and the wound nurses I work with leave at 4:30).

It is more or less about clarification of parameters. If I know that they are unlikely to get me help ever and that I just need to use my judgment to determine it, than I will. But I hate playing 'let me call such and so and see if there is any way that I might get help and then call you back' only to have to call back and ostensibly say no or put such weird parameters on my request that I am all but saying no. It is especially frustrating because I know that the clinic is a direct conduit to money for our department. IV starts are not (the money goes to the floor and is part of what you pay for in a lump sum under your hospital stay). So, logically, you would think you would divert help to where the revenue is. Again, for my part, I just want to know that it is okay to tell people to go elsewhere and not think/believe that this is going to bite me in the ass down the road.

Back to dreaming about vacation. Just about 2 weeks to go.

on the move

I have been trying to find the time and the energy to post about the move, but have been either too occupied or too exhausted to manage it. As I type this, it is debatable how far I will get before giving up and picking it up another day.

Well, the move was like many (or any) other moves we have made. On the plus side, the movers were as good as advertised (Willamette Valley Moving). They were quick, professional, and efficient. They had us out of the apartment and into the, er, townhome, in under 5 hours. Not too shabby considering the incredible about of narrow stairs. The clean up process on the other side also went very well and we will be getting our full deposit back (which is good because there was a LOT of mold under the couch and in the windowsills.........we probably should have had them pay to move us). Plus, Tia's mom Diane was there to help unpack, etc which was a huge help on an already stressful day.

The minus side...........well, lets just say the previous residents did not do us any favors. I spent all of Tuesday cleaning (mostly just the kitchen) which involved removing a thick layer of filth from inside and on top of the stove and sticky grease just about everywhere else. It rather disgusts me that they opted to live like that in the first place. The previous owners were supposed to be out on Sunday night and the place was supposed to be empty by Sunday afternoon.............but that did not really happen. Ended up bumping the cleaners to Monday morning and our movers were there by Monday at noon. Hence, not a lot of cleaning was done.

Also, we failed in our attempt to get away from cable and into satellite TV. Direct TV showed up to install and then, once they determined we were renting wanted to get signed permission from our property owner (something that they should have asked for when we signed up if that was necessary) and would not accept a verbal. This despite there already being a dish up for a neighbor. Anyway, the tech evidently called in to his supervisor and then they called me to find out if they 'wanted us to reschedule' at which point I said 'you can effing pack up and go. we will be taking our business elsewhere' and hung up. So, back to cable and certainly cross Direct TV off my list of options in the future.

Other than that, we are inching closer to what we want the place to be. Of course it is a little smaller than we thought initially and things are a little tighter, but it will eventually be organized and more livable than at present.

One interesting work aside: Lisa came to help me in the clinic today (We used to work together at the Park and she is now working on call only. She is an outstanding clinician though, knows the minutia of the minutia. I am eminently more qualified to work the clinic than a lot of my peers, but among the few in my department who have done so longer and would do so better would assuredly include Lisa. Honestly, if she had applied for my position, I think she would have gotten it hands down but, thankfully, she has no interest in doing so). Anyway, it is amazing how much more productive 2 nurses can be. I can still hope that might end up being the case eventually, though I won't hold my breath (which incidentally I often have to do working in a small office with wound care..........it honestly smells like burning tires and excrement when they work with some of their patients). Lisa was telling me that KB (a former supervisor who is probably the most knowledgeable about the clinic of anyone in our department) told her yesterday that she 'didn't feel comfortable' working in the clinic by herself. What the eff?!?! How in the world should anyone else 'feel comfortable' doing so if not her? I am so much happier than I was doing triage, but it is becoming more and more evident that it isn't exactly a coveted spot.

Ah well. Time for bed.

The Situation (no relation to Jersey Shore)

We have finally arrived at moving weekend. Well, yet another moving weekend. After weeks of living amongst half stuffed boxes and miscellaneous debris, we are finally to a point where EVERYTHING needs to be packed. Though daunting, sometimes it is easier than the stage we have been at, namely trying to pick and choose what is essential and what is not. It is frustrating and unfortunate that we aren't able to move in today or tomorrow and have time on the back side of the weekend to unpack everything on the other side, but such is life. Again, all I hope is that we won't be doing this again in 6 months (though that is often subject to change). Cross em with me that these movers are better than the last. Truly it would be hard to be much worse.

My work situation remains maddeningly unresolved. I spoke with JT again on Friday lamenting that my time sheet is still incorrect. Per my time card, I still work as a triage RN, am still getting paid outpatient pay, and am still having an extra 30 minutes deducted every day for lunch. So, at the end of a full month, the tally continues to rise. I try not to fixate on it, because I am told it will be rectified........but then that is by the same person who has been telling me a great many other things, such as the following.

I was told yesterday that nothing has been formalized as yet. The job did pass its time through the department with no one biting, but now it has to be posted internally for anyone in the system to apply to. It was supposed to have been done this week, but someone somewhere neglected to do so (fingers again pointing to HR, but it is hard to know who is at fault), so now it has to wait until next week on Thursday to post (evidently the only day they post new jobs). At that point, I will have to re-apply, which I am being told is a formality. The job will have to stay open the requisite 5 business days. Then, and only then, will the paperwork be put through. So, it will likely be mid to late February before the corrections are made. The upshot is, by that point, I will be owed between $1100-$1500. The downside of course is that I somehow have to trust that that will in fact be fixed correctly............of which I am not holding my breath. To be continued.

On the very good news front: we don't owe anything in taxes this year! We are not getting back very much, but after paying better than $2K last year, it is a huge relief.

Back to packing. Less than 2 days to go.

Big good, little bad

The news is officially good regarding work.......no one applied! Now they have to post it internally, but that is a formality (or at least I am told, we all know that isn't exactly iron clad) and then they will retroactively fix my pay, etc. So, big time good news on the job front! Got the call on my way to HH with some good friends, which made it a wonderful night to celebrate as well.

On the other side of the coin, Tia is sick and I am teetering on the brink of the same. At least that is temporary, whereas the job situation would have been a mess. It is unfortunate because it was actually sunny today. Hopefully better spirits and similar weather tomorrow.

irrelephant

Yep, the title of the post was just so I could put that image up.

Mini-misadventure of the day:

As part of my new (possibly temporary) role, I am supposed to be managing all the supplies in the clinic, from IV start kits to patient foodstuffs. Today we ran out of cups. The adventure is trying to figure out where one would order them. Looked at the food services order sheet, which listed bowls, flatware, napkins, plates, and assorted food and beverage items, though mysteriously no cups. So, I tried to order cups, thinking it an oversight. Alas, those are evidently under the purview of materials services, which supplies us with things like saline bags, needles, and IV tubing. I cannot figure the system out. It is akin to shopping for motor oil in the bread aisle. Whatever.

No news on the job front. Spent a good hour on the phone calling payroll because my paycheck is a mess (they shorted me about $375 between the hours I was not getting paid for and the difference in pay rates that have not been corrected). They referred me to the payroll guru, who of course was not there. She called me back about an hour later and suggested I call HR or contact my manager. I contacted my manager stating that the paperwork did not make it down and asked her to resend it. She did not get back to me, so I called HR to try to get some answers about, well, everything. After some running around there, they told me that another form needed to be filled out, but they could not tell me anything about my job. They suggested I contact my manager. I tried again, no answer. So, in essence, I have a lot of fingers pointing to my manager and my manager pointing fingers back at other people. It is frustrating to say the least and, of course, I am no closer to an answer about anything.

One more day and then..............well, who the hell knows. I just want to kick something!

Terrible Tuesday

Well, terrible is probably skewing a bit on the side of hyperbolic, but I have been under a lot of 'will I have a job or won't I' stress for the past 5 days so any event takes on a certain downbeat cast. So, today just seemed kind of long and dragged out...........so did yesterday really. Lots of patients, little help, and a general feeling of mental fatigue as, being new with little in the way of orientation, everything is more arduous than it should be. Just figuring out how to order file folders entailed 4 separate conversations. And most everything is like that..........me running around trying to find answers to seemingly simple questions and really not having anyone readily available to answer them. Only, I lack the time now to look very hard because I am busy with patients.

Today I encountered a prime example of the double edged sword of autonomy (not to be confused with the sword of Damocles hanging over my head at the moment). I had an elderly patient who could not have weighed more than 80 pounds soaking wet, who was so cold she was wearing 3 lays of clothes under a parka with skiing gloves on (it was 45 today which is cold, but not THAT cold). Suffice to say, she had nary a vein that I could find to draw a lab on. I tried once, called and left a message for assistance and waited. After stalling for 10-15 minutes doing things with some other patients in the clinic, I tried again. 0 for 2. I called again. Another message. I finally decided to just get the blood via a finger stick (which also yielded so little blood I had to milk her finger to get enough to fill the cuvette..........approximately one good drop) and run the test that way, despite the order. I then gave her the medication (which was predicated on the finger stick/lab draw and I heard back from the charge 15 minutes AFTER she left the clinic.........or about 45 minutes from my first call). I was frustrated needless to say (although Tia astutely pointed out that at least I had enough experience and the wherewithal to just make a determination to go another way and get the same result, rather than just sitting on my hands for an hour while the patient waited for something to happen), but that is part of the job. I don't really need a second person all the time, though that would be great, but I do need a second person available most of the time, just in case. Mostly it has worked out well, today it just did not.

Still, way better than doing triage. 2 more days to go until the 5 days my job is posted runs out. So far, no bites (or none that I have heard of). I really need a drink!

Thunderstruck

To borrow a quote from Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation "If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now."

Things seemed to be going pretty well. We found a new place that is nice and cheaper than the place we live in now. We were released, without penalty, from our current lease. We have jobs we like concurrently (a novelty) that come with the added bonus of good incomes. We are, in short, moving in a rather positive direction. Or were anyway.

Yesterday afternoon my supervisor, JT, came to speak to me. She was quite somber and the news was not good. I ran quickly through the preceding 2 weeks in my mind and could not alight upon any indiscretion that would warrant anything disciplinary, unless it was something I had simply neglected to do because of lack of training. Evidently, the news had nothing and everything to do with me, though none of it was within my control.

When I left the IV department, JT and I came to an agreement that I would be an on-call employee and stay active in the department. I was limited to 4 hours a week however, as anything additional would mean OT. So, I only managed to pick up a total of 4 hours on one occasion, though was offered other opportunities that did not work for one reason or another. We stayed in contact and, when the opportunity arose, I applied and was hired back full time just a month ago. It was fairly seamless and, in the interim, I had realized how little I enjoyed doing triage work.

The new job, while sometimes frustrating because of a lack of formalized training and my own desire to have a comprehensive understanding of my responsibilities, has been largely excellent. I really like doing clinic work. I like having autonomy. I like being able to get help when I need it and work alone if I don't. I like the hours and I like the patients. It is exactly the kind of job I imagined when I went through nursing school in the first place. And, it could theoretically evaporate now because of something ridiculously mundane.........paperwork.

Evidently JT communicated with HR when I left that I was to be on call. When I applied back for the position, it was only to be opened to people already within the department, which by virtue of being on-call I was. However, either JT didn't fill out some necessary piece of paperwork of HR did not file something correctly, because as of yesterday they determined that I was not 'within the department' and therefore ineligible for the job. What this means is now the job is to be re-opened in the department and offered back out. I would have no way to apply. If, after the requisite 5 days of posting, no one wants it, then it would open up to anyone, and I could then re-apply and would be given the job (per JT anyway).

However, if someone else wants the job, then I would have 3 options:
1. Go back to triage. They would be obligated to take me back because of the snafu. I could resume my full time gig. I would consider doing a day or 2 a week.........but will not go back full time. I hated how it made me feel at the end of every day and every week. Not worth it.
2. Work on-call in the IV dept. JT promised me pretty much full time hours. I would not have an benefits however and I would also not be working in the clinic much if at all. I would be back to pushing a cart around the hospital. I am not enamored of this idea either, but it is better than option 1.
3. Unemployment/potential litigation. Need to gather more info at this point, but these may be in play. Time will tell.

So, best case scenario right now is that no one, even people with no job currently, want the clinic position. Somehow I am not optimistic. Will be pursuing a meeting with HR next week for further explanation. As always, more to come.

week one and done........er, is done

The week that was, well, was eventful to say the least. At least in my own myopic opinion.

The new job is kind of like a new car........but one they haven't worked all the production kinks out of just yet. It rattles some and the turn signals don't work and every time you turn on the wiper blades the horn blares, but otherwise it drives perfectly fine. Ideally, I would have learned from the woman who left the position, but she already started her new job. In her stead I was supposed to receive tutelage from another tenured employee, but that person's personal life kind of went off the rails, so I was left with a rather hodgepodge and altogether patchy training. Oftentimes I was left with no one at all. Thankfully, by and large, the job is one I had done before. Of course, it has been some time since that was the case. Suffice to say, there were very likely errors with paperwork and a lot of holes that need plugging.

I am hopeful it will be more clear next week and that I will have some training then. If not, I will be much more forceful with ensuring that that in fact happens. I really just want to do an effective job and 'own' the position and it is hard to do that when you don't know where to even start looking for answers. Still, it beats the heck out of wearing a headset and listening to patients talk about their bowel dysfunction and head colds all day. It almost feels like I am stealing money when I have actual honest to god down time during the day.

In more assuredly good news, the housing situation is now largely resolved. We picked the first place and we are good to go for the end of the month. The location is 'up and coming' meaning we get to be actively engaged in gentrification (maybe we will get the above doormat to celebrate). It is ironic that, when we looked up crime statistics on Portland Maps, we found out that where we live now is no better or worse. In all honesty, it is a really nice area with a lot of new restaurants, a Whole Foods just around the bend, and an easy ride pretty much anywhere else we want to be. Plus, the rent will be slightly less than half what we pay here so I can finally buy the two ply toilet paper I have had my eye on. Most amusing to me is that we will be moving from a building erected less than a year ago to one more than a century old and will likely have LESS issues with moisture and mold. Way to go new construction!

Speaking of the above, we did in fact get out of paying a penalty for leaving early, which would have been north of $3K, because of the moisture issues. So, despite our troubles, we actually didn't pay that much for the 6 months we will have resided here. Because of the sign on bonuses and what have you, we only will have paid for 3 of the 6 months (although a pretty penny for the 3 we paid for). I have to say that I could not in good conscience recommend moving to this apartment building, but the management and staff have been nothing less than superb. It is a shame that the product they represent isn't a better one.

Now on to the grim task of packing, ridding, and packing some more. It is a seemingly endless task and I am constantly mystified at how we are able to continue to rid out of boxes we had previously assured ourselves were down to their most vital components the last time we moved. Of course, not having needed to get into them over the last half year is clue enough that they are not all that vital.

Wish us luck. Hopefully we will be done moving for a bit.............but I wouldn't count on it.

Which one?

Tia and I watch a lot of house hunter type shows (they are fairly ubiquitous and, honestly, not a lot of other compelling options present themselves). Anyway, though the locations and budgets vary widely, the end of every episode is exactly the same: 3 options, one of which they have to decide on. The hook is trying to guess which one. In that vein we have chosen three possible rentals, each with pros and cons. Which will we select?

1. A large historic house (built in 1908) that has been divided into 3 properties. 2 townhouse style places and a 'condo' on the lower level. Is only a 1 bedroom vs. 2 at the other locations (although it had 1.5 bathrooms). It 'quirky' but in a usable way with a capacious kitchen and the sole bedroom is an 'L' shape allowing for a sitting area. Also has a huge private deck and a shared backyard (that is cared for by a landscaper) Cons: the place is updated, but definitely not new like the other places, smallest of the 3 @ 950 sq feet, a bit 'quirky' in less usable ways too like the odd angles in the bathroom, no garage. It is the cheapest at $1150/mo and includes internet and w/s/g.

2. A new build townhouse close to my job. All brand spanking new with no prior tenants. The largest of the 3 places at 1300 sq feet with 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Has a garage to boot. Great storage everywhere. No yard to care for. Good location close to work. Cons: run by a management company which isn't ideal, is nondescript looking, nothing whatsoever to see from the windows except a parking lot. Cost is $1450/month.


3. A 2 bedroom/1 bath bungalow in the Hollywood district. It is about 1200 sq feet with a spacious unfinished basement. All new appliances and it has been completely redone inside. Still being worked on actually. And, it is a stand alone house (no shared walls). Owner is the landlord, which seems preferable to a management company in our experience. Cons: further away from our workplaces (and we only have one car), yard work will be our responsibility, and the price, while cheaper than where we live presently, is the highest @ $1600/mo.

Which should we go for? Which will we go for?

New Year (happiness pending)

We all know that the new year means very little in actuality other than a month of writing the wrong year on pretty much everything and that taxes need to be done. It is only a theoretical demarcation, but notable nonetheless as we celebrate it as it were some turning of the page. Whatever bad juju hounded us the year prior can be cast aside. In some ways, this year will be just that. Or like the rest of the world, I can at least hope that anyway.

I am officially no longer a triage nurse. I can put the experience distinctly in the rear view mirror. It was an odd day to say goodbye to be sure, or perhaps more or less what I considered normal for my time there. Just two nurses on triage as it has so often been, then a mad dash to the finish line over the last 90 minutes or so when everyone collectively realized 'hey, I bet they aren't open on Friday' and proceeded to bombard us with requests. It reminded me of what I liked and did not like about the job in one short burst. However, there is a distinctly different flavor to the experience, any experience, when you know you won't be repeating it. A certain Teflon like feeling that allows even the most irritating of situations glide up and over you. The way I wish I could have felt all the time. Of course, that is hard to do when you know that Monday brings much the same as Friday and on and on. So, it was a fitting finale. Unfortunately, there is no real intermission before the next act.

Speaking of the next act, there is still much uncertainty there. The situation is clear enough, but what remains murky is who is training me and for how long (and, the question I have been endeavoring to avoid thinking of, IF someone has been assigned those tasks whatsoever since I have not heard back regarding my inquiries on the matter). Not much to do but wait and see. Fretting about it will change nothing.

Of course fretting does have its place. I am just saving it for moving (again) by the end of January. We put in our notice and are waiting to hear a response from management, but have already opted to take a hard stance about paying a penalty. We now have verified pictures of mold growth and, as anyone who has dealt with mold knows, what you see is merely a fraction of what exists. Unfortunately when we turned our notice in (going down in unison to discuss the matter), no one was there. So we slip the note under the door along with our rent check and now we wait. I am both anxious to hear and fretting a bit. I will post when I hear.

Which leads us directly into the other half of the moving process, finding the destination. We have thus far had rather poor fortunes, though it has not been a sufficient period of time to call it a streak. We have seen three places in person and written inquiries about 2-3x that many more, until to dismiss them for not meshing with our wants. Some are startlingly small, though they don't note that in there ad (a new one bedroom home with no prior occupants that was built to less than 500 sq ft). Others are poorly maintained, though in the nicest of areas (a place we saw in Ladds Addition that was sadly beaten down). And yet others are confusingly laid out like the place we saw by PSU that had no closets whatsoever and was set up like a reverse loft. Or they are just plain confusing like the place we saw in the Overlook neighborhood which had more doors and rooms than a house 3 times its modest 900 size (meaning each room was also much less capacious than one might hope). The one place we did really like ended up going to people who could move in a bit earlier and did not have pets. The most alarming thing is more that each of these places are swarmed upon. So, we not only have to find a place we like, but find it before anyone else. More to come as the search continues.

Happy New Year!