a capital day

No hospital today. Instead my class had to journey down (and over) to Lansing, the state capital. The state assembly for surgical technologists was presenting a mock surgery for state reps and whoever else showed up. The purpose was to encourage the passing of a bill making it mandatory for all surg techs to be certified ~ right now it’s a voluntary thing.

The “surgery” was held in the rotunda of the capitol building. The presentation was a bit lame, but the capitol was really neat. (I’d like to go back some day when I have a little more time to explore it.) I guess I just don’t see what the big deal is about making certification mandatory. I mean I’d like to be certified, but I just don’t see why it’s so important to make it mandatory ~ it doesn’t mean more money. But our bat-shit crazy instructor is the president of the Michigan ST association and she’s really geeked about it, so we have to be geeked about it, too.

So the highlight of my day was eating breakfast at the Flap Jack House in Lansing and getting lost both going to Lansing and coming home. I sat in the backseat and was just happy not to be driving.

weather & test

We had kind of an odd weekend ~ at times it was really freaking hot, and then it would just pour. We had a hailstorm that lasted about 10 minutes, and hurricane-like winds. But mostly it was hot. Vic planted some hyacinths and weeded the garden while studied for my impending test. It was a pretty relaxing weekend ~ no drama or trauma, and a lot of sitting around planning the future of our landscape.

Then came today. I had the first of only two tests I have this semester. They are both supposed to be indicators of how well we’ll do on the certification exam in June. I need somewhere around 70% to pass the exam. I got 84% on today’s test. Yea! What an incredible relief. I know I still have a way to go, but at least this gives me a little relief until the big test.
I’m mentally exhausted. I think I’ll take a quick nap before the Tigers game starts.

today

Today is was 80 degrees outside. That's eight-oh degrees. In Michigan. In April. It'll probably snow next week. But no snow today, so I spent the late afternoon/early evening reclining outside with my study guide, This Old House magazine, a refreshing beverage, and Flea. I really missed Shannon today. I've missed her every day since her passing, but even more so today because she would've loved laying on the patio with me. She also would've loved running in our swamp of a backyard and getting muddy feetie prints all over everything!

She was my best outside buddy. In her younger years, she would play until I got worn out throwing it. In her later years, I'd throw the ball once and then she'd get it and hide it so we would be forced to just sit and relax and enjoy the day instead of running all over the yard. We'd sit for hours reading, listening to the Tigers, and watching squirrels. My heart aches for her.

raining & studying

Rain, rain, rain. It has poured all day ~ perfect weather for finishing my paper! Actually, it’s not just my paper. I belong to a group and we have to give a presentation and write a paper, so I guess I technically finished just my portion of the aforementioned paper. I have a feeling, though, that I’ll probably get stuck writing the whole thing. I hate working in groups. Inevitably someone ends up not pulling their weight and everyone else in the group has to do a little bit more than they should. I really can’t wait for school to be over.

This whole semester is devoted to preparing for the certification exam in June. We take practice exams and quiz each other every week. So far I’m less than thrilled with my progress. I consistently score in the low 70s on these tests ~ I need to be closer to 75 or 80 to pass. I’m going to be sooo disappointed if I don’t pass the certification exam. I study every single day, so I just don’t know what else to do. I know it’s a ways off, but I’m starting to get a little concerned. Maybe I need to light a candle or plant a tree or something for a little good mojo.

a nice, quiet weekend

Since I spend most of the workweek working and studying, I try to take at least one of the weekend days off to do nothing related to school stuff. That day was yesterday. The temp was somewhere in the 70s, so Vic and I did a little yard work interspersed with lots of sitting on the patio discussing our future planting plans. Of course today my old body is really feeling all the bending I did yesterday.

Today is the day I set aside to work on my abdominal aortic aneurysm paper. And I did. For a bit. But now the Tigers are on TV, so I’m taking a break to watch the game with my kitty, Caleb. That aortic aneurysm will still be there tomorrow.

my tuesday

Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Tuesdays are usually Ortho Day at the hospital. What that meant for me was two knee surgeries and one surgery where we rammed a really freaking long rod down a guy’s femur (thigh bone). It’s not that I mind these surgeries, it’s just that I have to wear what looks a lot like a space helmet, there are heaps and heaps of instruments I have to know, and there is almost always a lot of blood spurting all over the floor and all over anyone standing nearby (that’s the reason for the space helmet). I’m sure that once I get more familiar with the instrumentation and the order of “what comes next,” I’ll feel more confident about my ortho abilities and not feel so much like a blood-splattered moron.

Today is also the day that I get to put the trashcans out and hope that the garbage Nazis don’t catch me doing it before the appointed hour. I think they can’t be put out until after 5:00 ~ I usually have them out by 4:00.

And, last but not least, tonight is the night of Office reruns. It makes no difference that I've seen every episode about a dozen times, I still laugh out loud at this show. The only bummer is that I usually fall asleep before they come on at 10:00, so I record them and actually watch them on Wednesdays. But every Tuesday, I still try to stay up for them!

What an exciting life I lead.

easter at my house

Earl Bunny
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Happy Easter! The bunny to the right looks amazingly enough just like my cat Earl. They have the same eyes and nose! Today’s holy day will be celebrated by studying, doing some laundry, watching the Tigers, and perhaps finishing painting the window trim in the craft room (I haven’t decided for sure on that one yet.) It’s finally starting to warm up, and our dafodills are just now sprouting, but it’s still a bit too cold to do outside yard work yet, so I think I’ll be staying indoors for the remainder of this weekend.

Vic started a cricket ranch in one of our unoccupied fish aquariums. She filled it with all the amenities a cricket would love to have and then dropped in about 50 crickets to test it out. And we’ll be providing free transportation (via plastic bag) over to the gecko aquarium for weekly lunch dates. If it all works out well, we’ll keep a steady supply of them in their house, saving us numerous trips to the pet store. It’s the sounds of camping out in our house!

great expectations

I think everyone, including myself, expects more out of me knowledge-wise now that my final 10 weeks of school have begun. I look at Bobby who has been here 40 years (40 years!) and I wish I could be where she’s at ~ confident in her abilities, respected by the surgeons, and possessing just a wealth of knowledge. I tell myself that some day I’ll be there too (not the 40 years part because that would make me an 83 year old scrub, and at 83 I’d like to think I’ll be enjoying retirement!), and that it just takes time. And work. A lot of work.

My first week back, after our two-week break, went pretty smooth. I remembered quite a bit, and was able to adapt quickly to the new stuff thrown at me. Now I just have to concentrate on passing all my tests and remembering all the surgeries, and not worry so much.

I’m really enjoying my newfound profession. At first, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about all the blood and guts and yuck, but it’s actually pretty cool. I could do without some of the oderific body smells, but no job is perfect, right? And with all the handwashing I’m doing, I haven’t even been close to getting a cold all season. Bonus!

school & Tigers & Sparty...oh my!

Sparty
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Today was a day of firsts...

First day back to school, first game of the season for the Tigers, and the first time in 30 years that the Michigan State Spartans have made it to the NCAA basketball championship! I can honestly say that I wasn't too thrilled about the school thing, but I'm very very excited about the Tigers and Spartans things!

I've been looking forward to this baseball season since about this time last year when the Tigers were sucking so bad. Since there is no way possible they could have a worse season than they did last year, this is going to be a spectacular baseball season.

And the NCAA basketball championship is being held in Detroit this year, so this gives MSU a sort of home court advantage. Nobody picked the Spartans to go all the way this year, so this is a pretty big deal!

Needless to say, tonight I'll be parked in front of the TV switching back and forth between the Tigers and the Spartans. And trying not to be nervous about my first day back at the hospital tomorrow morning. I've just got to psych myself up and keep telling myselft that I can do it!

Go Tigers!
Go Spartans!
Go Me!

hiding out

Pasties
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Today will be a day of laying low. Vic’s mom and a friend of ours are both coming over this afternoon to make pasties (short “a”) with Vic. Right now there are mixers, choppers, and bags of flour, potatoes, meat, and starch strewn all over our kitchen. It’s important to realize that I’m not a cooker-baker person. To me, the kitchen is a room in the house to store my cookies and Diet Pepsi. So this gaggle of women-folk chopping, dicing, and rolling food bits on my kitchen table kinda freaks me out a tooch. I will probably spend most of the day in another room of the house, studying or poking toothpicks in my eyes or doing something altogether different than they will be doing and praying to God that they won’t ask my opinion on whose pastry shell has the prettier fork pokey things on the edges.

bibbidi bobbidi new

Would you believe that I painted today?! And yesterday?! Well believe it! I drug out all that painting crap last week so that Vic & I could finally paint the bedroom. Well after 10 days of watching it just sit there, I finally decided I was going to paint something. Instead of tackling our very big bedroom all by myself, I instead took on the craft room. It's been an icky shade of "really dirty white" for at least a little over 3 years, and I finally just got fed up with it. It's not very inspiring to look at while treading or scrapbooking. Bibbidi Bobbidi Blue, on the other hand, is very inspiring. (It's also what was left over from painting the kitchen last year.)

I finished the walls yesterday and the trim (white) today. All that's left is the ceiling and then it'll be ready for me to hang a few pictures and shelves full of knick-knacky tidbits. And just in time for school ~ it starts next week. I'm going to spend the rest of my vacation finishing my book and studying for the gaggle of tests I'll have this upcoming semester. Fun.

marching out

March is just about over, so it’s time again to reflect on what this month hath brungest unto me.

* I finished The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. A mostly biographical account of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII. This was kind of a roller coaster sort of book ~ parts of it were really interesting, and then it would nosedive into an unbelievable yawn-fest. But I was determined to finish it and am glad that I did.

* After The Constant Princess, I segued right into The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. I’m about ¾ of the way thru it (Jane Seymour just died) and I’m hoping to finish it by the time school starts back up on Monday.

* I caulked bathtub. (It’s actually this adhesive molding type stuff.)

* Vic & I visited the holocaust museum, something we’ve wanted to do since we moved here almost 4 years ago.

* We purchased a new swing for the patio. I’m still on the lookout for a reclining type of patio chair, too. I found a great set at Kmart, but I really don’t want to pay $300+ for it. I’m sure once I stop looking, I’ll find the perfect chair.

* Vic weeded the small garden that runs along our driveway. Little signs of Spring are already springing forth! When we first moved in, we planted literally 100s of tulip bulbs ~ the squirrels must’ve been watching, because exactly 3 blossomed. We’ve since planted daffodils and some other stuff and are looking forward to a colorful April. (We made sure the squirrels were out of town when we planted this time!)

* This month brought the sad passing of Nate, our eldest kitty. We think the loss of both Shannon and Nate has taken a small toll on some of the remaining kids. Caleb, for one, has been overly clingy for the last month or so. Any time I sit down, he dives into my lap and makes a little cubbyhole for himself between my legs. It’s actually kind of cute, but it makes us wonder what he’s been up to. He's really a great boy, but he has a tendency to get himself into trouble quite a bit.

* I started exercising again on the treadmill. Nothing too strenuous, but something is better than nothing. I’m hoping I can keep up with it once school/hospital rounds start back up next week.

I’m already looking forward to April ~ warm days, flowers budding, baseball season, and one month closer to graduating!

on my mind

Thought #1
Our computer was running a little sluggish, so I took her in for a checkup last Wednesday. I just got her back today!! Talk about separation anxiety! Vic & I were really lost without our lifeline to the internet. I attempted (at least twice!) to post something to my blog and found myself sneaking longing looks at my naked-ish desk. Needless to say, the bluebirds are again twittering happy tunes around my head and all is right in Caseyland.

Thought #2
I have two new obsessions. Not the “camp out in your bushes stalker” type of obsessions; mine are more the “I think this is really cool and I can’t get enough of it” obsessions. They are my recent book, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and Rachel Maddow.

The book is great great great! I give it 5 thumbs up! This is such an interesting and engrossing book that I find it really difficult to put down. (This is my excuse for not painting yet.)

And Rachel Maddow is just cool. She’s got a mostly political show on MSNBC that I accidentally stumbled upon a couple of weeks ago that I just can’t put down. She delivers political stories in a smart, funny way that makes them easier for me to understand. And she’s got a great smile. She’s definitely not the snappiest dresser, but her smile and the weird way she contorts her face when making fun of Bush or Cheney more than makes up for her wardrobe deformities. I find myself gravitating toward her every night at 9:00 pm to find out just how little I know about our government. I call her Rache. I have no idea what she calls me.

how a plan comes together...at my house

So it’s been almost 4 years since we’ve moved into this house and we’ve painted every room but 3: the laundry room which is really dinky and shouldn’t count, the craft room which nobody but me ever goes in, and our bedroom. The bedroom takes up the whole upstairs and is paneled half way up. What this means is that we will have to apply liberal amounts of Kilz before we can even start painting the walls. But this really needs to be done, so we got semi-serious about it this week.

Friday~Vic & I decide that this week would be the perfect time to paint the bedroom because I’ll be off for the next 2 weeks. That’s it ~ nothing else is discussed about the project from hell.

Saturday~We finally decide on a color for the room. Makes no difference that we’ve had swatches of colors taped to the bedroom walls for about the last 6 months. So we set off to Home Depot to buy us some Sugared Peach. Of course we get sidetracked along the way and end up purchasing a new swing for the patio and do a little grocery shopping on the way to Vic’s mom’s house for dinner and a rousing game of dominoes.

Sunday~We totally ignore the bedroom, the swatches, and the rollers, and are both very careful not to utter anything that may even sound like the word “paint” for the entire day. Instead of going to Home Depot, we take a trip to the holocaust museum and to Applebee’s.

Monday~Okay, enough is enough! We take inventory of items we have/need and get serious (sort of). We go to The Depot and buy Kilz and a few rollers, and then I haul everything up to the bedroom, fully intending on at least taping a drop cloth down or something. Instead, I clean out my dresser junk drawer. (Doesn’t everyone have a dresser junk drawer?)

Today~I’m starting to think that paneling and putrid white isn’t such a bad color combination after all.

the weekend

This past weekend, Vic & I finally made it out to America's first free standing holocaust museum, located just 20 minutes from our house. We've been wanting to stop by to spend an afternoon there since we moved here almost 4 years ago, but this was the first time we actually made it out there. As you can imagine, it was very sobering, and educational.

We also bought a new patio swing for our old patio. It was on sale and very comfy, so we couldn't resist. Only thing is, it needs to be assembled. So I'll pick a nice sunny afternoon when Vic is in a direction-taking mood and we'll put it together then. For right now it's safe in its box in our garage.

Other than visiting with Vic's mom for most of Saturday afternoon, our weekend was spent mostly catching up on stuff we DVR'd over the past week. It was nice sleeping in this morning and knowing I don't have to be anywhere for the next two weeks. I do have a few projects planned for around the house, though, to keep me busy. And some homework I have to have completed before our first day back in class ~ it just never ends!

boinging & squishing

Spring 09
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Happy Spring! Our daffodils are starting to “boing” out of the chilly ground ‘neath our Flower Gnome’s feet! We’ve had some wonderful weather this week (although today is a bit chilly). People at work insist that we’ve got at least one more snow left in us, though. I refuse to believe it! Speaking of work, I scrubbed in on a laparoscopic cholecystectomy today. (Fancy medical name for gallbladder removal.) Lap choles are fairly common, but for some reason I spent my first 9 weeks at the hospital having done exactly none of them. And then this week I had two! I know, it’s not very exciting for you, but I was mildly geeked about it. The gallbladder is actually very squishy. I try to touch as many organs as I can so I can get a better idea of what they’re actually like. I also touched a labia today ~ not really a big deal though; I’ve touched those before.

I’m now officially on Spring break from school and this means no more work for two glorious weeks. Yea!! I actually have a short list of things I want to get done on my time off, but I’m not going to share them just yet ~ don’t want to jinx myself, ya know. I’ll let you know how it all turns out. Wish me luck!

"that's nice"

I work with a really nice girl (let’s call her Renae) at the hospital. Today Renae came into work all giddy with the news that her boyfriend of 7 months proposed to her last night. Now, Renae isn’t normally a giddy person (even at age 23), so I was very happy for her when I saw her this morning ~ not because she’s getting married, but because she was happy. If she had come in all giddy about a new pair of socks she bought, I would have been just as happy for her.

I just can’t seem to share in the happiness of someone’s wedding plans knowing that I am denied that same right under the antiquated laws of our government. This is the United States of America in the year 2009 for god’s sake! We’re not in the jungles of Iraq back in the 1700s! I just can’t believe that I am still being discriminated against because I made the unfortunate mistake to “choose” to fall in love with someone of the same sex.

Really, what is the moral majority afraid of? That I (age 43) and my partner (age 47) are going to start procreating willy-nilly and have, oh let’s say 14 kids, that we’ll force welfare to pay for? Or perhaps that we’ll have homosexual relations with other people’s kids when we all go on overnight boy scout camping trips or when we’re alone in the altar boy room at church? Or perhaps it’s just the fact that Vickie and I have been in a committed, monogamous relationship for the past 11 years that scares them.

This is just insane!

So when it seemed like the conversation in every room I entered today was about Renae’s wedding, the ring, the honeymoon, how happy her mom is, blah blah blah ~ I just smiled, said “that’s nice,” and then left the room to go watch body parts being removed thru someone’s belly button instead.

sunshine & tears

Nate
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265

Today was a bright and sunshiney day ~ something of an anomaly for SE Michigan at this time of year. Trees are budding and birds are twittering more and more each day. The one cloud hanging over our sunny winter day is the sad passing of Vickie’s beloved Nate. Nate was 23years old. Today he was welcomed into his new home by Shannon, Sashi, Tori, and Katy ~ all who have been waiting patiently for his arrival. We knew the time to say "good bye" was near, but it's still hard. Nate was a good boy, and at 23, he could sometimes be an ornery old man! He’ll be missed by his moms, brothers, and sisters.

a day of winkies

Usually my day is filled with a variety of surgeries from all across the surgical spectrum. Not so today. Today I had 3 cystoscopies. For those of you unfamiliar with what a cysto is, it amounts to shoving a camera up your hoo-ha or winkie (depending on if you are a girl or a boy) and either looking at "stuff" or removing stones or implanting something to cure incontinence or some other thing. It also involves shooting x-rays or fluoroscopies or laser, which means I have to wear a lead vest and thyroid shield and possibly laser-protective eyewear. And at the end, I get to dump out copious amounts of pee-pee. I've seen more shriveldy naked penises in the last 8 weeks than any self-respecting lesbian should ever see in her lifetime. At least now when I see one in the movies I'll have something to compare it to.

two more weeks

For some reason, this past week really seemed to drag at work. I thought Friday would literally never get here ~ we'd just skip right to Monday again! And now it's Sunday morning already! Geez. The entire weekend is going to be rainy and dreary, and spent studying for a test tomorrow and maybe catching up on some DVR stuff we taped. I really can't wait for Summer weather to get here.

Two more weeks and the semester will be over ~ for two weeks. Looking back on the first few weeks, I know I know more than I did back then, but sometimes I feel like I may never get it all by the time graduation rolls around in June. I want to be a great scrub, not a mediocre one. I try to absorb as much as I can, try to retain as much as I can, and just try as hard as I can. I think it'll all be okay, but right now it's very frustrating not knowing it all.

The plan for my two-week vacation is to paint the bedroom and/or the craft room. I hate painting and absolutely suck at it, but it needs to be done. We've lived here almost four years and those are the only two rooms we haven't painted yet, so I think it's about time. Also, my friend from Pensacola is not going to be able to visit, so I'll have the extra time to do the painting thing slowly and maybe even start studying for my June certification exam.