Well, this week was, eh, interesting. I spent Monday and Tuesday at home waylaid by an honest to god migraine. Haven't had one like that before. Or at least not that I can recall. Ended up getting a shot of Toradol in the ass on Tuesday for the HA and the nausea finally subsided by Wednesday afternoon (I did make it to work that day at least). Then, Tuesday night Tia came home with a worsening pain in her upper back. It got so bad we ended up at the ER that evening for her. So, suffice to say, it hasn't been a banner week. On the upside, both of us are on the mend and, as a nice bonus, my job allows me to move around my hours so that I was able to 'save' 5hrs of my sick time by working different hours the remainder of the week. Pretty cool perk. Now if I could just get them to pay for our 'holidays' without using said time at all.
The learning curve continues to be a steep one at work. I am not functionally retarded (at least not all the time), so I can handle most issues that arise, but of course I lack the experience and exposure to a lot of things as yet so I see a lot of curveballs too. Thankfully it appears like it is part of the routine at work. Lots of newer MAs (med assistants) learning and even a new doc starting up that will be learning the ropes as well. Plus, even the experienced docs screw up now and then (sending TENCs the wrong way and such), so I plan to play the new card as long as I can. Just try not to make the same mistake twice is my motto.
The move continues. The more we pack, the more we uncover that we just don't have room for or don't want to take with us. Thats the good thing about having little of actual value. Besides our bed, the downstairs TV, and our laptops (which themselves are decidedly lower end), we don't really own anything worth more than a few hundred dollars tops. I sometimes think about getting 'real' furniture. The kind that doesn't have particle board as its primary material and that you don't have to put together with allen wrenches. But, then I think of this move and the many others I have made and I can't help but think how much easier it is to not have such belongings. Though I have more things than I ever dreamed I would, I still like the idea of not being owned by them.
Tia and I have both found it amusing how many people who are in our shoes (home owners in the suburbs doing the nasty commute daily) are expressing their own desires to do what we are doing or how much they would yet like to do so. It is interesting how much the American dream of home ownership has become more an onus than a blessing for many. How many people express their frustration with the time and effort spent on maintenance, cleaning, and general upkeep and the countless thousands it costs just to maintain things. In some cases and in many places, home ownership still makes a lot of sense (though actual ownership through 30 years of payments is still elusive), but for many others it simply does not. It is shocking how many others (most many years our senior) express the same desire of trading out of their open spaces for the freedom and convenience of living in the city. Two more weeks is the mantra of the day.
Back to packing.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
cramps
Ah, there is no better way than I know of to start a vacation than to be in the throws of gut wrenching cramps from a bad meal. Thankfully the 60s cafe we stopped at upon arrival to Lincoln City obliged. More thankfully, things improved markedly thereafter. Though had they gone downhill from there, I might not be around to write this.
I am never sure what to say about the coast of Oregon. It is strange and perplexing to me. There, rolling towards the shoreline, are the familiar waves of briny water and expanse of sandy shoreline.........and yet that is where the similarities to my experiences end. In mid-July (among the hottest of months by all accounts), we were shivering while appareled in jeans and sweatshirts whilst traipsing along the gusty shoreline. Instead of shells, there were rocks and the sand itself has more the consistency of a sidewalk than the beaches I grew up with. There is beauty there, but of an entirely different sort. Lots of starfish to gaze upon and large mussels entrenched in every crevice on every inch of every rock. But, you dare not stick even the most hearty and warm blooded of toes in the water. At least I dare not. Good lord is that cold! These, from what I am told, are the difference between a coast and a beach.
I can say that I leave Lincoln City mostly satisfied with what it was, but have no desire to go back. I feel like once is enough thank you very much. I have no desire to see the samey trinket shops with identical wares (and prices) and myriad 'antique' stores full of mostly garage sale worthy items. I have no desire to eat at restaurants that could be found elsewhere and for less money. I have no desire to sit and gaze at a beach that I cannot otherwise enjoy. Part of me (a lot of me really), wishes there was something unique about the town that I could have partaken in, some bit of localness, but honestly if it was there, I couldn't find it. The same stores and restaurants with the same food can be found up and down the coast. I don't honestly know if what I am looking for exists anymore. Maybe it just doesn't. But even the casino offered up some native American frybread, which was both delicious and at least someone connected to them as a people (unlike the rest of the buffet). But, all in all, it was a nice respite from our current confines, surrounded by boxes with the constant compunction to add to the pile.
Rose: the casino was a lot of fun (despite its smokiness) and we had some very yummy hot caramel corn on our drive up the coastline on a beautiful day.
Thorn: The terrible service we got at a few restaurants, most notably the 60s cafe which also resulted in a short-lived, but very memorable, bout of gastrointestinal nastiness.
We are still selling our wares on CraigsList and, for all the good people who do come through, I am growing weary of the flakes. The people who contact you super interested and "are on their way" yet never arrive and never contact again. The people who try to negotiate online, find an agreeable price, and then try to renegotiate once they get through the door. The people who expect you to take your wares to them, even if they are free. To all of you, bite me! To the rest, thank you for just being normal and courteous.
Last but not least, I still keep tossing around the whole idea of the job. I try to let it seep out of my skull, but it hangs on mercilessly. The rational part of me knows that I must give it time and a real chance to find out if the fit is good or poor.............the irrational part says to beg for my old job back (or at least a job in my old department). Another week starts tomorrow.........hopefully the answer becomes more clear. I hope it does anyway.
I am never sure what to say about the coast of Oregon. It is strange and perplexing to me. There, rolling towards the shoreline, are the familiar waves of briny water and expanse of sandy shoreline.........and yet that is where the similarities to my experiences end. In mid-July (among the hottest of months by all accounts), we were shivering while appareled in jeans and sweatshirts whilst traipsing along the gusty shoreline. Instead of shells, there were rocks and the sand itself has more the consistency of a sidewalk than the beaches I grew up with. There is beauty there, but of an entirely different sort. Lots of starfish to gaze upon and large mussels entrenched in every crevice on every inch of every rock. But, you dare not stick even the most hearty and warm blooded of toes in the water. At least I dare not. Good lord is that cold! These, from what I am told, are the difference between a coast and a beach.
I can say that I leave Lincoln City mostly satisfied with what it was, but have no desire to go back. I feel like once is enough thank you very much. I have no desire to see the samey trinket shops with identical wares (and prices) and myriad 'antique' stores full of mostly garage sale worthy items. I have no desire to eat at restaurants that could be found elsewhere and for less money. I have no desire to sit and gaze at a beach that I cannot otherwise enjoy. Part of me (a lot of me really), wishes there was something unique about the town that I could have partaken in, some bit of localness, but honestly if it was there, I couldn't find it. The same stores and restaurants with the same food can be found up and down the coast. I don't honestly know if what I am looking for exists anymore. Maybe it just doesn't. But even the casino offered up some native American frybread, which was both delicious and at least someone connected to them as a people (unlike the rest of the buffet). But, all in all, it was a nice respite from our current confines, surrounded by boxes with the constant compunction to add to the pile.
Rose: the casino was a lot of fun (despite its smokiness) and we had some very yummy hot caramel corn on our drive up the coastline on a beautiful day.
Thorn: The terrible service we got at a few restaurants, most notably the 60s cafe which also resulted in a short-lived, but very memorable, bout of gastrointestinal nastiness.
We are still selling our wares on CraigsList and, for all the good people who do come through, I am growing weary of the flakes. The people who contact you super interested and "are on their way" yet never arrive and never contact again. The people who try to negotiate online, find an agreeable price, and then try to renegotiate once they get through the door. The people who expect you to take your wares to them, even if they are free. To all of you, bite me! To the rest, thank you for just being normal and courteous.
Last but not least, I still keep tossing around the whole idea of the job. I try to let it seep out of my skull, but it hangs on mercilessly. The rational part of me knows that I must give it time and a real chance to find out if the fit is good or poor.............the irrational part says to beg for my old job back (or at least a job in my old department). Another week starts tomorrow.........hopefully the answer becomes more clear. I hope it does anyway.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
C.R.A.F.T.
With so much going on of late, I feel I have the craft of late and this blog definitely suffers for it (Can't Remember A Fricken Thing). Trying to remedy it.
After thwarted efforts from both sides, the move date remains 3 weeks out. Tried to push it up a bit, but the paper pushers wouldn't allow. Ah well, 3 more weeks of commuting it is. And it is pretty awful. Took an hour to get home today. Feels like such a magnificent waste of time. Tried the side roads and discovered other people thought of that already. Yuck!
Week 2 at the new job in the books. Still trying to adjust to the weekday grind. Haven't worked as many as 4 days in a row very frequently in nursing, let alone 5. A bigger adjustment than I had initially thought. Will be tons better once we move closer and the 9 hour day isn't really the 10.5 hour day. As for the job itself............well, I am still kind of on the fence. Wish I liked it more I really do. The people are all nice and the clinic itself seems stable, but I have a hard time with so much butt-in-chair duty. Working on it and trying to think bigger picture. Hard not to look at (or debate) going back to IV at the downtown hospital though. So tempting!
Living in box city at the moment. If we aren't putting things in boxes, we are going through other boxes. if not that, then we are posting just about everything on CL. There is a certain sense of relief that comes with purging things that you didn't really need in the first place, but getting to that endpoint is stressful. But, if it doesnt fit, it doesn't go. Makes sense to me.
Not much time or energy to post more at the moment. Time to pack for a much needed mini-vaca.
After thwarted efforts from both sides, the move date remains 3 weeks out. Tried to push it up a bit, but the paper pushers wouldn't allow. Ah well, 3 more weeks of commuting it is. And it is pretty awful. Took an hour to get home today. Feels like such a magnificent waste of time. Tried the side roads and discovered other people thought of that already. Yuck!
Week 2 at the new job in the books. Still trying to adjust to the weekday grind. Haven't worked as many as 4 days in a row very frequently in nursing, let alone 5. A bigger adjustment than I had initially thought. Will be tons better once we move closer and the 9 hour day isn't really the 10.5 hour day. As for the job itself............well, I am still kind of on the fence. Wish I liked it more I really do. The people are all nice and the clinic itself seems stable, but I have a hard time with so much butt-in-chair duty. Working on it and trying to think bigger picture. Hard not to look at (or debate) going back to IV at the downtown hospital though. So tempting!
Living in box city at the moment. If we aren't putting things in boxes, we are going through other boxes. if not that, then we are posting just about everything on CL. There is a certain sense of relief that comes with purging things that you didn't really need in the first place, but getting to that endpoint is stressful. But, if it doesnt fit, it doesn't go. Makes sense to me.
Not much time or energy to post more at the moment. Time to pack for a much needed mini-vaca.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
July updates
Its been a busy time with little extra to sit down and post. So, a quick and dirty update (plus my right thumb is bandaged because of my stupidity, so the typing is a bit slower and less accurate than I prefer).
+ House updates - Inspection is done. Nothing they are asking to fix. We didn't expect there to be, but you never know. Now we just need nothing to go awry in the coming month. Appraisal was just completed as well. Looking good to appraise out for the value of the offer. Feeling really hopeful at this point. It is such a hard thing because it was a long drawn out process to even come to the decision to buy, but at the same time, we can't help but look around and think that it is the right move at this time. I think the price was a fair one and that the new owners should be able to get it back. But, looking around at others trying to sell (for $50K more than we listed at and for less house and older to boot), you have to feel sorry for them. You certainly don't expect that your house will be your retirement fund (or at least you shouldn't), but you also don't buy expecting it to be the rock you break yourself upon. Sad.
+ Job update - Week 1 is in the books. It is a bit hard to rate it really since I am obviously doing mostly observation, but I can say it is a HUGE adjustment. My last job had me running around like a chicken with my head cut off most of the days (with the exception being the weekends) and this job has a very specific cadence to it. There is plenty to do, but time to go to the bathroom and have lunch at a normal hour. It is very, well, regular. Plus, it is a LOT of sitting and staring at an LCD. Not sure if I will love the job, but there is plenty to like about hour long lunches, knowing you are done at a specific time, not flexing, and being able to drink a cup of coffee like a normal human being. Looking so forward to not commuting anymore either.
+ Apt update - moving to the Pearl. Going from way suburban to very Portland urban (not at all like NYC or anything, but more urban than I have ever lived). Will be about 9 blocks from work. Directly across the street from the new apt is a brewery/pub, a coffee shop and we will be a block off from the nearest grocery. It will be weird not to load up the car to do everything. Very excited about that! - The downside is that we will be chopping away about 50% (actually slightly more than) our living space. The selling of our worldly possessions has already begun. Every cabinet yields more stuff we didn't realize we had.
Went to Maryhill Winery for a concert last night. Absolutely beautiful location. Ridiculously windy though. concert was alright (very short set by the headliner) but the place appears to have no organization whatsoever and the process of ingress and egress was awful. It took better than an hour to get from the amphitheater to the parking lot two miles away because they had FAR too few buses for transport and there was nowhere you could walk. So, instead they corralled us all in the midst of a dust storm in a gravel parking lot (because you could NOT stay in the amphitheater under any circumstances evidently) which led to a crazy array of confrontations between the overwhelmed and understaffed parking crew and drunken patrons. Truly awful.
Off to relax. Packing just sucks it right out of you.
+ House updates - Inspection is done. Nothing they are asking to fix. We didn't expect there to be, but you never know. Now we just need nothing to go awry in the coming month. Appraisal was just completed as well. Looking good to appraise out for the value of the offer. Feeling really hopeful at this point. It is such a hard thing because it was a long drawn out process to even come to the decision to buy, but at the same time, we can't help but look around and think that it is the right move at this time. I think the price was a fair one and that the new owners should be able to get it back. But, looking around at others trying to sell (for $50K more than we listed at and for less house and older to boot), you have to feel sorry for them. You certainly don't expect that your house will be your retirement fund (or at least you shouldn't), but you also don't buy expecting it to be the rock you break yourself upon. Sad.
+ Job update - Week 1 is in the books. It is a bit hard to rate it really since I am obviously doing mostly observation, but I can say it is a HUGE adjustment. My last job had me running around like a chicken with my head cut off most of the days (with the exception being the weekends) and this job has a very specific cadence to it. There is plenty to do, but time to go to the bathroom and have lunch at a normal hour. It is very, well, regular. Plus, it is a LOT of sitting and staring at an LCD. Not sure if I will love the job, but there is plenty to like about hour long lunches, knowing you are done at a specific time, not flexing, and being able to drink a cup of coffee like a normal human being. Looking so forward to not commuting anymore either.
+ Apt update - moving to the Pearl. Going from way suburban to very Portland urban (not at all like NYC or anything, but more urban than I have ever lived). Will be about 9 blocks from work. Directly across the street from the new apt is a brewery/pub, a coffee shop and we will be a block off from the nearest grocery. It will be weird not to load up the car to do everything. Very excited about that! - The downside is that we will be chopping away about 50% (actually slightly more than) our living space. The selling of our worldly possessions has already begun. Every cabinet yields more stuff we didn't realize we had.
Went to Maryhill Winery for a concert last night. Absolutely beautiful location. Ridiculously windy though. concert was alright (very short set by the headliner) but the place appears to have no organization whatsoever and the process of ingress and egress was awful. It took better than an hour to get from the amphitheater to the parking lot two miles away because they had FAR too few buses for transport and there was nowhere you could walk. So, instead they corralled us all in the midst of a dust storm in a gravel parking lot (because you could NOT stay in the amphitheater under any circumstances evidently) which led to a crazy array of confrontations between the overwhelmed and understaffed parking crew and drunken patrons. Truly awful.
Off to relax. Packing just sucks it right out of you.
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