Happy Anniversary, Tom!

Fourteen years ago...



OK, this pic is older than that, but I don't have any wedding pics scanned in. And no, we don't still look like that! I would lie and say that I do, but y'all can page down and see a lovely pic of my fat self sleeping. That's a current picture!

It doesn't seem like 14 years since I got married! I was looking forward to this being a great anniversary - not that 14 years is some milestone for me, but Tom saw it as such. Apparantly his dad got divorced at 13 years. Twice. So I'm wondering what that means for us (Nervous grin)? Actually we had some great plans. OK, we had a babysitter. But it's better than nothing, right?

The days leading up to the magical date were fraught with tension. Why? Because Tom was being a butt. And this is actually different from his personality, thank goodness. Of course, it's been a while, so I wasn't seeing the reason that he was being such a butt. Until I called up the morning of our anniversary (I worked the night before) to tell him happy anniversary. And he sounded miserable. Of course! He was sick! That turns ALL men into butts!!! And Chloe was sick, too. So there went our date :( Which was fine, because the house was a wreck and he wouldn't be much company. So we've postponed the date of wonderment indefinitely.

I wound up staying on night schedule yesterday (meaning I slept all day) so I stayed up last night cleaning and watching TV. Finally saw Wedding Crashers, which was a little ironic I guess, and it was pretty good. Tom's uberconservative Grandmother had actually gone to see this and walked out of the theater. Yep, I know exactly when she did, too. Why would a 70-80 something uberconservative woman decide to watch THIS movie in particular? Did she not see the ads? How could you NOT know that this would be so offensive? Oh well. It was good for a laugh :)

Job hunt updates

Well it's official. I'm soon to be an Adult ICU RN. This is a place that I never saw myself working, but I have a serious need for adventure, and something tells me that I'm in for it LOL. Particularly everyone who's ever worked adult ICU ;) Lots of people are giving me looks like I'm totally nuts and telling me: you do realize this is different, right? Um, yeah? I think so? That's why I'm changing ;) OTOH, I do know that there's a lot to this job that I really can't anticipate right now. As my friend Mary reminded me, there's entire classifications of drugs that I haven't encountered since nursing school, which for me was 1995.

So I'm up for the adventure, but I have a healthy dose of fear and anticipation. I've heard that this unit in particular has a good reputation for teamwork and that's a huge plus.

I also get to keep my current clinical ladder level and pay. When I went from NICU to PICU years ago I had to drop ladder level and pay, but I was also changing jobs and going through an entire internship, so I was OK with that. It wasn't a huge drop, but I wasn't prepared to lose anything this time around since I am the sole financial support for a family of 5. Yes, I am Tom's sugar mama during law school ;)

Things I need to do before starting my new job:
1. Get new scrubs. Something tells me the overdoses won't care for my Hello Kitty scrub tops.
2. Get new shoes. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a LOT more running.
3. Get a stethoscope. Yep, I've been an RN for almost 11 years and I've never owned a nice one. That's a great part of being in NICU/PICU - they are always provided. I have an email in to my new manager to see if I need one and what I'll need, but something tells me that they won't be provided.
4. Find some sort of a drug reference book. I'll be giving a lot of meds that I haven't seen in 11 years, and a lot that I've never seen. Could get interesting!
5. Update the PDA. I haven't used it since I moved. That's sad, because I had some really cool pics on it that I lost when the battery totally died.

Job offers

I just got off the phone with HR. I didn't get the second round of interviews for the educator position. I'm not terribly surprised, because I really didn't feel that I did well with the interview. I do have a job offer with an adult ICU, and I'm awaiting a call back for the $$. i won't switch if it's a decrease in pay. If it's the same or more money, then I'll seriously consider it.
I'm to the point in my career where I need some new opportunities. I absolutely love what I do right now, but I don't feel stimulated in my work environment (gee, that sounds kind of creepy doesn't it?) I love working with infants and their families, and I really enjoy being secure in my knowledge. A part of me is scared to move on, to work in an area where I have very little knowledge and no comfort base. Besides, how can I say no to this face?



OTOH, I remember moving to Pediatric ICU, and it was a fairly smooth transition. I wound up moving at the same time as a new graduate internship, so I got a lot of classwork out of that. Plus, I feel reassured by this move because they actually have a unit educator and supposedly I would have one preceptor to work with on each shift. That's one of the complaints I have about my current job - that the internship is so scattered for the new people and that there are few standards as to the appropriate practices.
I am concerned that I won't fit in or won't like the new position. OTOH, I think that if I stay where I am that I won't ever have career growth. And that's my new focus. If I don't want to grow, then why not stay in a unit where I already know the people and the schedule? I have a lot of friends on this shift, but I can still go back and visit I'm sure ;) Especially when they're busy.

So it looks like I'll be doing a lot of thinking and talking tonight. I'll try to make a decision before tomorrow. It's funny, I've thought and hoped for so long that I could move, and now that I have the opportunity, it's a little scary ;)

My Texas happy place :)

Balmorhea, Texas

Wow - it's been a while since I've posted!!!

It's amazing how quickly time can pass, isn't it? Gee that's just SUCH a cliche. Lovely.

Well, since March or so I've made some big decisions. I was taking some music classes, working somewhat towards a teaching degree, and looking to leave nursing for good. Then something happened. I realized that, in a crazy way, I really do enjoy what I do. I enjoy being able to make a difference in someone's life. Plus, I was really happy with my career before moving to Missouri. Hmm... what's a girl to do?

So this summer I've undertaken some serious soul-searching. Sat on a beach, went to my Texas happy place (no kidding- there is such a place, but it's 8 hours from Dallas), and thought and thought, and thought. For I am a bear of very little brain ;)


(sleeping on my decisions)


Overall I've decided that the music option had a few problems with it. Even though I LOVED my classes and had SO much fun, was it truly a profession that I saw myself in? I had started this path thinking that the reasons behind my leaving music had to do with money, lack of a good instrument (more money), and a particularly horrible year in which I had bronchitis AND mono. Lovely. But lo and behold, I found myself in 2006 with some of the same doubts and concerns. I had a great instrument (thanks to a steady job), no shortage of tuition money (thanks to tuition discounts from work), and I was overall fairly well. So with a clearer mind, I was still seeing some drawbacks. Namely the relatively small number of jobs and some fun times with the school of education advising people.

In the meantime, I also started to see what drew me to nursing in the first place. I make a difference in peoples' lives. Sometimes it's not always apparent to them or to me, but it is gratifying nonetheless. And there is a huge component of continuing education, research, and advocacy that is inherent in my current job, and not so prominent in my hoped-for career. So as it stands, I am sticking with nursing.

I am still in the middle of a job search relating to nursing, which I'll post about soon. I've gotten one offer and am awaiting to hear of another offer. I won't be taking any classes this semester, which is good, because it means that I can devote all my resources to figuring out the next paths. But one next move is re-applying for the PhD (yes, I AM crazy!).