rotation 1: complete.

so today was my last day in my current rotation. my job may sound a bit confusing... this rotating stuff. so let me explain... and if i have before... sorry...
im in a 8 week program for new nurses.
2 weeks i spend in training in a classroom. (those are done)
2 weeks i spend on a oncology/general medicine floor. (also complete)
2 weeks on a different general med floor.
2 weeks on a pre/post surgery floor.
after all that... i pick my fav of the 3 and then ::hopefully:: get a job there.

today was my last day in my first rotation- but i think it will be my favorite. just have a feeling. ms robin knows how those work. anyway... i just LOVE the other nurses there. they make me feel welcome, they let me be myself, they are SO helpful and encouraging, they are extrememly welcoming, and they are funny. a necessity in my co-workers.
i also like the floor population- random mix. the nurses like to call this floor the "trash can" of the hospital. they get all the patients who need a room and there isnt one available. for instance we have some cancer patients, some hospice type patients, surgery patients, psych patients, 20year olds who are sick... and EVERYTHING in between. i like it though. lots of diversity and lots of experience available. i mean you can't beat having a 4 foot 10 inch 60something year old lady walking around ::with a nurse:: asking for a rooster. but then she got mad because the rooster "messed" her up. to be much much nicer. i wont begin the profanities she used. ... i believe the reason she is in the hospital is for drug/alcohol overdose. sad that a lady would be in that situation, but really- sometimes the best thing to do is laugh. and seeing this tiny little lady in bright yellow crocs wander around looking for a "dang" rooster *and asking highly established doctors if they had seen the rooster* highly entertaining.

ok anyway. if you didnt think it was funny. sorry. guess you had to be there.

anyway- i dunno about you- but im OBSSESSED with the weather channel right now. really. weather fascinates me. and this hurricane. yikes.... and well hanna... she is coming more my way so now i really am paying attention.

oh and lastly. im pretty darn pumped. ryan and colin (rys bro) are having a labor day coookout. they invited the entire divinity school. yeah 100's. they are crazy. but its tom night and i can actually go! im so excited to meet people close to my age!!! just maybe ill make some friends tomororw night! cross your fingers!!

until next time- im off to fall asleep to the soothing voices on the weather channel. weird? oh well.

much love from an exhausted nurse... ::its 12.30am and ive been up since 5.45am!!::

payday

today was my first payday.
it was glorious.
i got a real, grown up paycheck.
to say i am excited would be an understatement.
granted... i have a lot of bills to pay and groceries to get in the coming days and gas to buy.
still. i will actually have money leftover from that... it feels like a miracle.
and to think- in two weeks i will get another paycheck.
right now that is just unfathomable.
i am so used to working so much in a hospital without getting paid a penny.
::thanks to nursing school, where i worked full time in a hospital without the pay::
but now. i am doing the same thing... and getting paid.
such a beautiful thing.
haha.

anyway. my work day today turned into a 13 hour, 45minute day. extremely long, but very eventful and full of learning. i love the floor i am on- and the nurses i am with. all very good, very funny, very kind, and very helpful. such a great group. i am really liking it... which is good. and sense i only work 3days a week ::yes thats full time as a nurse though- 12hr shifts remember:: i actually dont mind going to work at all! its nice... bc its something to do! i have found my 4 days off i get QUITE bored!! i will say having so many days off will be awesome to travel and such- but when im just hanging around durham- its quite boring and lonely.
im looking into some options of things to do.
such as.
1. take some or one random class at a school around here ::there are only 3 MAJOR universities not to mention the other state universities, community colleges, and tech colleges ALL within 30mins of me.
2. take piano lessons ::except i dont have a piano here, but there is a questionable keyboard in my basement?!?::
3. babysit (except no kids will ever beat my sizemore girls and the lingenfelter kids (truly the most amazing children ive ever met))
4. studying for the GRE ::which will prob happen anyway::
5. find a part time job ::yeah not so much::
6. volunteer somewhere :sounds promising::
7. get involved with a church ::also promising, but must find a church::
8. ...ehhh... dont really have an 8. so yeah. im pondering the previous options of things to do on my days off. we shall see if i follow up with any of them. ill keep you posted. dont you worry.

anyway- im pooped after an exhausting day. luckily no work tomorrow- but i get to take my paycheck to the banK! :) yipee!

so much peace and love from north carolina-
:)

the elopement of my best friend

To elope, most literally, merely means to run away with intention of getting married. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence.

thats according to wikipedia. which we all know is an accurate, reliable source of knowledge.

this is what eloping means to me:

8.22.08
a simple, but beautiful dress.

wearing whatever shoes you want... and looking awesome!

...being so happy and excited

becoming united together...

having an adorable asian baby is a MUST!

having close friends...

and family standing by yourside...

having an amazingly awesome preacher
:)

...and being so happy when its over...

::quick note:: this was right after dad pronounced them married. chad turned and waved. paula laughed. it was beautiful. so sweet. so funny. and so chad and paula.

...walking away into happiness...
or the lake.

... eloping. its all about the bride and the groom making it their day. the way they want it. nice, quick, peaceful. just a handful of people. in a park by the lake. it was an absolutely beautiful service. lots of happy tears. lots of laughing. it was the most happy wedding i have ever been to. and did i mention the bride was gorgeous...

im so BLESSED to have been there.
much love to
~chad and paula irwin~

back to nc...

so after a few long and amazing days i am back to nc.... its been an AMAZING week. one of the best i have had in a long long time. i spent everyday all day with paula and chad... we had a blast. really. i laughed so hard. worked so hard on their new place. ate so much! slept so little. truly just enjoyed my time with those two. we did lots and lots and got their townhouse ::or at least parts of it:: looking much younger and not so much like grandma land. (they are SO blessed /lucky... they are moving into chad's grandmothers 4bedroom townhouse! its decorated quite grandmotherly, but they get one room for their stuff and their decorations. oh and let me add grandmother doesn't live there... so a 4bedroom 3 1/2 bath for THEMSELVES!) yeahhh it was fun hanging out there and laughing and giggling and being silly girls...

anyway my parents also came up (we were in chattanooga, tn) so i was able to spend a bit of time with them which is also quite nice!! an amazing part though was when my parents were taking me back to the airport... they surprised me with SARA!! she was waiting for me there. i was so shocked... i just started crying. i didn't want to leave!! i just wanted to stay and talk and do nothing with her!!! but really. best surprise ive had in so so long!

anyway i flew home... and came home to 24 hours of work in a 48hour time span... loads of fun let me tell you. actually both days of work were really good- just long and so tiring! especially since i didn't exactly catch up on loads of sleep last week! anyway- i have lots of laundry to do, a room to clean and some groceries to get...

but its looking like i will be heading home to GA for HOMECOMING. :) good old lagrange. really i miss it so much! life was amazing. easy. my friends were a walk away. best 4 years of my life... anyway im pumped. so october it is!! see you all then... :)

oh and one more exciting thing... i cut my hair while in tn. funny funny FUNNY story. ive been wanting a hair cut- so one night paula and i went up to a walk-in 11$ haircut place. we met TAMMY FAYE. yeah. she lived up on a mountain... but has been cutting hair for 22years. (thats how old i am) anyway. i was like whatever. i showed her some pics of what i wanted... and well other than being like 2inches shorter than i wanted... its perfect. and actually i love it this length. best part of the whole thing was when she was like... and hunny if you want to add some volume you can just TEEZE it. yes. she told me i could teeze my hair... then proceeded to teeze it. i guess thats what 11bucks will get you... BUT it does look great and i LOVE it!! :) sooooo much lighter and more fun... and more mature! (thank goodness. i was looking like i was 15!) anyway... here is the haircut!! :)

much love to you all and see you soon! :)

job. day one.

so today i worked my first day... on the floor... as a real nurse.
i was at the hospital for 13hours and 30 minutes. talk about a long long day.
it was exhausting.
so i am going to bed without writing much at all.

but i will say it was awesome. i really liked it a lot. i liked the nurse i was with and our patients kept us busy all day- which is good for me. ill write much more about it and my "new grad" program later.

for now im going to bed...

but exciting news... im flying to ga tomorrow!
paula is picking me up and off to chatanooga we go for some exciting, sneaky, fun!! :) hehe...
i am so excited!!

so much love and peace from your favorite RN!! :)
::hahaha:: :) really though. BIG HUGS FOR ALL!!!! especially my favorite lingenfelter family!

rhino reunion.

so it has been a few days since i have posted... sorry mom. haha... and for all others who enjoy reading this. although i doubt "enjoy" is the proper term. anyway. for my loyal fans out there. im back in action. let me fill you in.

jack johnson concert: amazing. he is a very very talented guy who has a lot of talented musicians.

wed: chelsea's sister and friend were in town... so i gave them a tour de durham. i took them to all the places i knew that were cool around town. it worked out quite nicely ::since just a few days before good old julia mercer (now norman) from lagrange (who goes to duke) had given me a tour!!) anyway. we spent the day wandering around town having lots of fun.

thurs and friday were back to work... but it was computer training at the hospital. meaning i spent 12 combined days learning how to do things such as send an email. granted some things i def needed to learn- BUT 12 hours was def not necessary.

one very importnant thing did occur thursday night. my beloved rhino came to town. talk about excited... i was like a kid on christmas morning! getting the biggest present ever! i was so excited and giddy- just ask! ::but i know he was excited too! that made it even better:: anyway after what took him NINE hours... he finally got here to durham. yes. you are correct it should not take nine hours to get from savannah to durham. its like 5hours. the poor guy got a flat tire- then the donut was not good- so had to get a new tire at a sketchy place in the ghetto- then his bike rack on his car would not stay on! he persevered through and got here at about 9:30 thursdsay night. of course i was here to greet him and we unloaded and unpacked.

sadly ryan's adversity did not end there. he woke up friday morning to no power. the bill had not been confused between the people moving in and moving out of the house. 24 hours later ::after some sweat and frustration:: we got the power back on! i will say- hunting for a fuse box at 11:30 at night- in the pitch black... not a fun or easy thing to do. luckily it was in the SIXTIES last night... so we opened his bedroom windows and he was fine. the house was actually coool. yeah. nc weather is AMAZING.

today ry and i spent the day setting up house. well his room. and his house with his brother and his bro's girlfriend. it was a lot of fun and now his room is all set up and organized. yes it only took him a day... and it took me 2 weeks! haha...

ok well thats my week in a flash. hope you enjoy reading this!

oh mom. funny story for you. so you remmeber back at christmas when you bought me that little battery operated fan? well you did. and i was like what the heck. this is so random. i will add that it came in SUPER handy whne the power was off. it worked like a champ!! so thanks... i finally used it after 8months!!

haha... ok much love and peace from an excited gal in north carolina- :)

craigs list success

today i had my first successful craig's list purchase. if you dont know what craigs list is... you should check it out... craigslist.com ...basically its a place to buy and sell or give away stuff by meeting up with people or doing something like that. different than ebay. but basically the same... you can buy houses, washing machines, or even tickets! and its broken up by areas in the country... so i search durham-raleigh nc ... but you pick wherever you live... sadly lagrange was not nearly as convienent as it is here in a bigger city.

anyway. there is a concert tonight... jack johnson. chelsea and a friend of hers is going... and chelsea's sister is in town and going... so chels had this idea i should look at craigs list for a ticket. so i began my hunt last night... and today at 11:00 i had success for the concert TONIGHT! so crazy. so fun. and the best thing is my ticket was WAY cheaper than anyone else's! so yeah. off to see jack johnson tonight. if you dont know who he is listen here... jackjohnsonmusic.com

so ... wahoo craigslist... jack johnson here i come! :)