Same Stuff, Different Day

I don't know why it took me so long to realize (or perhaps just remember) that the ingredients for exciting opportunity are the same as the ingredients for overwhelming insanity. Solomon was right, there is nothing new under the sun! All of life problems boil down to the same few themes and no matter were you go here on earth, you'll be met with the same kinds of challenges. Yep, it really is same stuff, different day!
A friend of mine told me she hated it when I would say that, apparently it sounded depressing? I for one, am happy that if there's nothing new, at least it's a different day. I am happy that each day is a NEW day and new opportunity to put my trust in my Maker that He will bake those ingredients into the most grand and exciting adventure of them all!

Still Here With 10 Months to ABD!

No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. I've been adjusting to my new job at Evergreen and working on my PhD stuff. The job is a little crazy right now as we are preparing for a JCAHO visit and we have a year's worth of competencies to catch up on.
School is as busy as ever, I'm just doing my best to keep up. I'm counting down the ten months (if all goes well) until I'll officially be ABD (all but dissertation). So until then, I'll just keep plugging away.

New Adventures

This week marks the start of my new job as clinical nurse educator at Evergreen. So far it's been full days of sitting through orientation. Yesterday I finally got my email sign on, when I checked my email, I had 3 weeks worth of messages in there. Apparently there has been scrambling to get my office ready? I was cc'ed on a bunch of emails regarding it's condition and dump like qualities since it has been vacant for so long. So, thank you to the environmental services person who spent hours making it sparkle. If only I could take you home with me!
For everyone who's been asking about how I like my new job or what I'm doing, I don't really know yet as I've only been sitting in orientation. Next week I'll be working with some of the people in education department, so I should have more of an idea of what's going on then.

Que Hubole?

Starting at Cruz Roja

After a nice relaxing weekend,we will begin our time working at Cruz Roja today. The group will be split between two clinics, I'll be at Zona Norte which is in a poorer neighborhood. The plan is to rotate the students between the two sites so they can see a little of everything. The students are excited, we'll see how they feel tonight. So far so good.
We're having some great times of fellowship with our host families. It looks like our social calander is booked up for the weekend with dinners in people's houses and parties with pinatas. Good times, God times...

In Mexico City

Hello to anybody who still reads this blog. I'm currently in Mexico City with 8 nursing students. We have been out in the mountains in Oaxaca for the last few days doing free medical clinics. We've finally made it back into Mexico City tonight and are hoping to get some sleep before we hit the ground running tomorrow.
I'm hoping to be able to post some pictures soon and to share more specifics about the trip but I have very limited internet at the moment. More to come...

Lorazepam

During the first few nights in Rwanda I was suffering from jet lag and was unable to sleep. Lisa so kindly offered me her ipad so I could listen to her "sleepy time" play list to see if some soothing music might help. As I scrolled through the playlists on her ipad I cam across one title "Lorazepam." For all you non medical folks, lorazepam is a sedative and is also used to treat anxiety. Of course I found the very idea of a lorazepam playlist quite amusing so I took a listen. It didn't take long before I was hooked, it really worked! The power of music is pretty amazing. When I got home I made my own "alprazolam" playlist.
I love this idea and I think I might suggest it for some of the new grad nurses I'm mentoring when they work their first year in practice. Here is one of my songs from Lisa's lorazepam list: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXywFuTf65I&feature=related