Since newspapers, magazines, and umpteen shows are all making their end of the year lists, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on all the things that happened in this incredibly eventful year, a year in which Tia and I moved three times and called four different addresses our own.
The year began in Rochester, NY amid a background of cold and snow. I spent the first month plus wandering around the maternity ward of the hospital and saw my first birth, changed my first diaper (on a child anyway), and watched enough circumcisions to qualify myself as an expert. I followed that up with 5 weeks with children/adolescents which was both rewarding and somewhat sad. By April, clinical time was done and I was 90% to graduation. Of course, then I had to pass an exit exam, finish up group projects, and then begin to study for the most difficult test I have ever taken, the NCLEX.
May finally arrived and with that came our wedding and honeymoon, smack between the end of classes and 'official' graduation (which I did not attend). It was a whirlwind time and one that was both an amazing life change and a welcome respite from the rigors of the program. We returned to Rochester briefly, long enough to sell off the majority of our belongings, pack, and get a trailer hitch installed on Tia's car (along with selling my own). Tia's mom flew out to help us drive across the country yet again (I have had my fill of cross country moves now). Along the way, my body started to betray me.
With much studying to do, my health continued to deteriorate as did I. Within a month, I had lost 20lbs and was not improving. Turns out it was my gall bladder (Not Colonel Mustard in the study with a wrench). Thanks to Tia's persistence and Diane's aid, medication finally patched me up enough to function and I have stayed fairly solid since (my gall bladder still holds a tenuous lease with my body).
Despite the ailments, I did manage to locate my first job, pending my passing the national boards. I ended up accepting a job in Salem............and then one nearer in Oregon City. I decided against working in Salem (long commute and nagging suspicions related to some issues Tia had with them). Took the NCLEX (passed it miraculously) and began working in Oregon City. The job fit like a square peg in a round hole. Code Browns seemed to dominate most days and I often saw far too much resemblance betwixt this job and my brief but memorable time in long term care. I was miserable and felt wholly unprepared for the realities of the weeks and months that were to lie ahead. Less than 3 weeks (and two lost lunches) later, I found myself interviewing with Dr. Price and her team. A job offer accompanied the interview and, after a brief meeting with the head of the nursing team in Oregon City, I took another leap of faith.
Thankfully, the job has worked out about as well as I could have hoped. No, it isn't perfect (the benefits are porous and there remains too much time off sans pay for my liking), but I adore my co-workers and my boss and I genuinely like the job itself 98% of the time. Plus, as a fringe benefit, I will be able to hopefully conquer my own allergy demons along the way. On the whole, I feel very fortunate.
As for Tia, her job continues to treat her well. Like me, she has a good relationship with her boss and co-workers and, also like me, there are some things she would perhaps alter could she do so, but the sum is a positive one and that is a far greater thing than most jobs can profess to offer.
Now, as the year closes, we are finally free of Wilsonville and back within the confines of the Portland we had hoped to return to. I am sure the new year will offer many challenges (as they always do), but hopefully it will also come with many rewards as well. For now, I will be pleased to have some stability and possibly find myself in the same home and same employ at this point in the coming year.
PS: thank you to both sides of my family and my wife for the wonderful Christmas gifts and memories. Both are gratefully received.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Memories courtesy of Facebook
I admit, I was a reluctant adopter of the whole social networking phenomenon. I was tardy in my adoption of Myspace (though quick to abandon it once people began pimping their 'space' out and it starting loading like dial up) and behind the times with Facebook (and admittedly only then because of the now defunct Scrabulous application). But, what I have found it to be, more than anything, is a weird meeting place for the forgetten members of our individual pasts as much as it is a way to stay connected with people in the present.
Memories are an odd thing. There are things you can't forget, and things you can only remember when prodded by a certain scent or a song and otherwise never cross your mind. My old friend Michelle, who is the impetus of this post, is like a song that defined a particular place and time in my life. In this case, freshman year of college.
Michelle was an acquantance in high school and little more. One of those people you could pick out of a lineup, but remain otherwise indistinct in our lives. As is the case with most people who leave for college and are away from home for the first time, the graduates of our high school that attended UF (perhaps a baker's dozen) found one another and clung together until we felt secure enough to venture out on our own. It is in this way that Michelle and I became close friends, skipping classes together and hanging out in my dorm room for the usual weekend drinking binges that occurred on my lightly patrolled dorm floor. Nothing ever happened between us, she was like a sister, but I have so many memories of us shuffling through used CDs at one or another of the many music stores near campus, attending numerous free concerts put on by the school, and late night cram study sessions. She is an indelible, and until recently, forgotten part of my college experience. She stands out all the more because, after freshman year, we drifted apart rather quickly. I began a serious relationship and closed my social circle and she joined a sorority that I, at the time, thought was quite ridiculous. So, just like that, the door opened and then abruptly closed A friendship with a distinct beginning and ending is a rare thing and leaves an indelible print the way romantic relationships often do.
On an utter and complete sidebar, thinking of her, I can't help but recall how insanely self-righteous I was at that time and place in my life.......and utterly hypocritical. I was militantly anti-smoking, but had a far more liberal policy about underage drinking (no stance whatsoever really). I thought religion was just a crutch for the weak minded and was willing to argue the point ad naseum (I still don't find any personal value in it, but understand that some people find it imensely important and I decline to concern myself with it as long as it does not infringe on my rights). I had never met an open homosexual and had a poor understanding that they were not some strange societal niche group, but rather part of every niche group and none at all. In other words, exactly like everyone in the greater majority save sexual preference. In short, I never was more certain (and likely egregiously wrongheaded) about the black and white nature of all things than I was in my late teens. I can't help but want to look back and laugh, though I know that much like the awkward physical growth spurts that define the earlier teen years, mental and emotional growth spurts are just part of life (only far more awkward in retrospect).
So, I am grateful to Facebook for this surprise trip down memory lane. I wonder who else will find me in the future and spark a similar journey. All i know is that I will look forward to it when it happens.
Happy Holidays to everyone.......remembered and (temporarily) forgotten.
Memories are an odd thing. There are things you can't forget, and things you can only remember when prodded by a certain scent or a song and otherwise never cross your mind. My old friend Michelle, who is the impetus of this post, is like a song that defined a particular place and time in my life. In this case, freshman year of college.
Michelle was an acquantance in high school and little more. One of those people you could pick out of a lineup, but remain otherwise indistinct in our lives. As is the case with most people who leave for college and are away from home for the first time, the graduates of our high school that attended UF (perhaps a baker's dozen) found one another and clung together until we felt secure enough to venture out on our own. It is in this way that Michelle and I became close friends, skipping classes together and hanging out in my dorm room for the usual weekend drinking binges that occurred on my lightly patrolled dorm floor. Nothing ever happened between us, she was like a sister, but I have so many memories of us shuffling through used CDs at one or another of the many music stores near campus, attending numerous free concerts put on by the school, and late night cram study sessions. She is an indelible, and until recently, forgotten part of my college experience. She stands out all the more because, after freshman year, we drifted apart rather quickly. I began a serious relationship and closed my social circle and she joined a sorority that I, at the time, thought was quite ridiculous. So, just like that, the door opened and then abruptly closed A friendship with a distinct beginning and ending is a rare thing and leaves an indelible print the way romantic relationships often do.
On an utter and complete sidebar, thinking of her, I can't help but recall how insanely self-righteous I was at that time and place in my life.......and utterly hypocritical. I was militantly anti-smoking, but had a far more liberal policy about underage drinking (no stance whatsoever really). I thought religion was just a crutch for the weak minded and was willing to argue the point ad naseum (I still don't find any personal value in it, but understand that some people find it imensely important and I decline to concern myself with it as long as it does not infringe on my rights). I had never met an open homosexual and had a poor understanding that they were not some strange societal niche group, but rather part of every niche group and none at all. In other words, exactly like everyone in the greater majority save sexual preference. In short, I never was more certain (and likely egregiously wrongheaded) about the black and white nature of all things than I was in my late teens. I can't help but want to look back and laugh, though I know that much like the awkward physical growth spurts that define the earlier teen years, mental and emotional growth spurts are just part of life (only far more awkward in retrospect).
So, I am grateful to Facebook for this surprise trip down memory lane. I wonder who else will find me in the future and spark a similar journey. All i know is that I will look forward to it when it happens.
Happy Holidays to everyone.......remembered and (temporarily) forgotten.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Let it snow, let it snow, let it...............ok stop already!
It is kind of hard to blog when the sum our your experiences are encompassed within the walls of a 900 square foot condo over the past few days. Forays the week prior were dominated exclusively by trips to and from work (gripping the wheel with white-knuckled ferocity). Mostly I have spent countless hours perusing websites far and wide, reading novels until my eyes blur, and watching television indiscriminately (with the only qualifying factor being that they are not The View and don't revolve around couples with an inordinate amount of children........I'm looking at you Jon and Kate and your like-minded television brethren). Ah, snow in Portland. Pretty on day 1, but by day #5, you are beginning to view cabin fever as a physical malady.
Here is hoping that everyone out there is keeping themselves sane cloistered as we all must be in our respective homes. Happy Holidays!
Here is hoping that everyone out there is keeping themselves sane cloistered as we all must be in our respective homes. Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Dexter
Well, we finally did it. We moved into our new place and what a clusterf*#k it has been! First, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly (and privately) denounce BB Management as possibly the worst property management company to ever operate such a business. If not the worst, certainly the worst I have had the displeasure of dealing with. We are learning how to be the squeakiest wheel possible thanks to them.
It all began on the first when we attempted to move some of our belongings in. Tia and Diane packed up their respective cars and we headed over only to find that, despite the condo being 'ours' as of that morning, there was much left to be desired. The switch plate covers were half missing, the linen closet had no shelves in it (later to be deemed cosmetic.........as in, an 'us' problem, not a 'them' problem and we have thus had to procure our own shelves), the A/C unit was missing (which resulted in a vented hole in the wall going to the outside), and the place clearly had not been cleaned. Additionally, the backsplashes in the kitchen were (and remain) just leaning up against the wall, the sink in the kitchen had, at best, the kind of weak stream that would require medication in people, and the drains throughout were sluggish. And, our key did not work and the mailbox key was MIA as was the garage door opener. After much back and forth, a threats of litigiousness, most of our problems were resolved, though it was made painfully evident that they were doing it 'out of the goodness in their hearts' not out of necessity on their part (which is horseshit of the highest order). They have been prompt thus far in repairing most of our other claims, though I have a feeling we will never have properly secured backsplashes or a vent cover in our bathroom. And to think, you could purchase this place for your own for the princely sum of $185K (or about 30-50% above its actual value in my estimation). Start saving your pennies for when our lease expires! :)
In other rather rotten news, my work benefits are being cropped back in the new year.......a real shame since I just got them a week ago. Evidently due to budgetary constraints, the basic package will no longer be gratis. Additionally, not only will we be paying some out of pocket for it, but the benefits will be degraded, with higher deductables and a lower percentage of services covered. All in all, not good. Plus, dental coverages will now have an out of pocket expense as well. Oh yeah, as the final kick to the nether regions, they are also dropping long-term disability and death and dismemberment. Go USA and our altogether ridiuculous health care system! Pleae help us Obama!
Like the local news, I try to end 30 minutes of bleakness with some whimsical positivity that makes the preceding stories of murder, drugs, and other crime a little more digestable. Unlike the local news, I do not have access to a video of a squirrel waterskiing (okay I do....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXcaFC1vF0Q). Anyway, the positive news is that we finally have a pet to call our own. An all white (read: no more black clothing and lots of money invested into lint rollers) adult from the CAT shelter named Dexter (the titular character in our current favorite show). Unlike his namesake, Dexter the cat is neither sociopath nor particularly motivated in any way. He is the lazy lapcat I always wanted (though he drools enough that you would think him canine or at least be concerned about dehydration).
A last bit of interesting news, I made an appointment for a dentist today, which wouldnt be noteworthy except that said dentist is evidently part of some new, and hopefully enjoyable, business venture. It is part dentist, part spa. With each cleaning, you get a foot or hand massage and they have a full service spa as well. Makes going to the dentist something to savor instead of dread. A review to follow after my service on the 17th ( http://www.dentspa.net/). Interesting to say the least.
It all began on the first when we attempted to move some of our belongings in. Tia and Diane packed up their respective cars and we headed over only to find that, despite the condo being 'ours' as of that morning, there was much left to be desired. The switch plate covers were half missing, the linen closet had no shelves in it (later to be deemed cosmetic.........as in, an 'us' problem, not a 'them' problem and we have thus had to procure our own shelves), the A/C unit was missing (which resulted in a vented hole in the wall going to the outside), and the place clearly had not been cleaned. Additionally, the backsplashes in the kitchen were (and remain) just leaning up against the wall, the sink in the kitchen had, at best, the kind of weak stream that would require medication in people, and the drains throughout were sluggish. And, our key did not work and the mailbox key was MIA as was the garage door opener. After much back and forth, a threats of litigiousness, most of our problems were resolved, though it was made painfully evident that they were doing it 'out of the goodness in their hearts' not out of necessity on their part (which is horseshit of the highest order). They have been prompt thus far in repairing most of our other claims, though I have a feeling we will never have properly secured backsplashes or a vent cover in our bathroom. And to think, you could purchase this place for your own for the princely sum of $185K (or about 30-50% above its actual value in my estimation). Start saving your pennies for when our lease expires! :)
In other rather rotten news, my work benefits are being cropped back in the new year.......a real shame since I just got them a week ago. Evidently due to budgetary constraints, the basic package will no longer be gratis. Additionally, not only will we be paying some out of pocket for it, but the benefits will be degraded, with higher deductables and a lower percentage of services covered. All in all, not good. Plus, dental coverages will now have an out of pocket expense as well. Oh yeah, as the final kick to the nether regions, they are also dropping long-term disability and death and dismemberment. Go USA and our altogether ridiuculous health care system! Pleae help us Obama!
Like the local news, I try to end 30 minutes of bleakness with some whimsical positivity that makes the preceding stories of murder, drugs, and other crime a little more digestable. Unlike the local news, I do not have access to a video of a squirrel waterskiing (okay I do....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXcaFC1vF0Q). Anyway, the positive news is that we finally have a pet to call our own. An all white (read: no more black clothing and lots of money invested into lint rollers) adult from the CAT shelter named Dexter (the titular character in our current favorite show). Unlike his namesake, Dexter the cat is neither sociopath nor particularly motivated in any way. He is the lazy lapcat I always wanted (though he drools enough that you would think him canine or at least be concerned about dehydration).
A last bit of interesting news, I made an appointment for a dentist today, which wouldnt be noteworthy except that said dentist is evidently part of some new, and hopefully enjoyable, business venture. It is part dentist, part spa. With each cleaning, you get a foot or hand massage and they have a full service spa as well. Makes going to the dentist something to savor instead of dread. A review to follow after my service on the 17th ( http://www.dentspa.net/). Interesting to say the least.
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