Wow...It has been a while since my last post!! All together, my blog will have 51 posts for 2006, so that's almost 1 a week! Not bad, but it's been a long while since I updated it...



Then after that, I head home on the 2nd to Langley where I have a day off, then work 3 days for 11 hours each, and then I'll be starting my 6th semester of Nursing. SIXTH SEMESTER!!!! Wooohoo! I feel close to being done because it is soooo close. I'm really looking forward to grading and then just WORKING. It will be nice to have a bank account that is in the black for a change... I still have to figure out what area I want to go into, and there are a lot to choose from. I don't think it really matters that much

Well, I just couldn't muster the strength to get this finished before having to shut my eyes for the night...So I'm finishing it now!!

I have gotten most of my stuff packed and good to go at my parents house here in Kelowna. There is a lot of stuff coming with me because I made a drawer unit that will serve either as my night stand, or a storage thingy for under my desk. I haven't decided yet where it will fit best. I will post a pic when I'm back home in Langley because I've already packed my camera and don't feel like going all the way downstairs to get it...And I'm also taking home an old coffee table that my parents don't have any use for. I'm going to put it infront of Matt's futon because he doesn't really have a table or anything the way I rearranged the living room. It should work out quite nicely! I will also take a pic of the room after I've finished cleaning and putting things where they belong. I think the new way will be nice for watching TV and also gives Matt a bit more space for doing homwork or whatever on the futon.

So long for now!! Look for another post within a few days :)

~Chris

Hi

well, this week has not been great...

But I did get to my "custom" paint job on my car! I bought the caliper paint a while ago and finally did it yesterday evening. I kinda picked a bad time to start because by the time I was done, I was using my little LED flashlight to make sure I got all the touchups and things needed. But, upon inspection this morning, everything looks good! I posted a few pictures I took. I was just going to do the front ones, but a Ferrari inspired me to do all 4 (the Ferrari I saw the other day had all 4 calipers painted red too). I think it looks pretty good! It's too bad I can't afford to do anything mechanical. I think even with maybe $1000 I could do some nice things to enhance the sexyness and performance of the car. I looked at the exhaust while I had the car jacked up and there are 3 mufflers on this thing!! and they are huge! No wonder I can hardly hear the thing when I'm driving. I am pretty sure I won't get to anything like a new exhaust or any other mechanical things for a few years. Right now I have other priorities :) But I do plan on doing a few other $10 modifications such as a cool paint job with special stuff for a scuff gaurd on the bottom of the door sill. I plan to do a black strip with "RABBIT 2.5" written on it in either yellow or red. I'm pretty sure that these "mods" will not viod my warranty...hehe.

Anyways, I have some interesting news that I just got yesterday regarding my job. I am basically being paid for a month's worth of work that I'm missing due to this whole sinanigan at LMH, AND I will still have the hours which means that I will be able to work the whole school period part time and still have some hours to spare. I have only been working part time as a care aide because I only get called on weekends. I didn't work this weekend though because I thought I would be working this week. I had orientation at Surrey Memorial yesterday which was boring, but was the best orientation I've been to as far as topics covered and stuff. I was scheduled for another orientation session for today but it was geared more toward RN's - UGN's usually get their own "special" orientation to deal specifically with our scope of practice. So my manager dude said I don't need to come today but I will still get paid! woohoo! I will have my own special orientation next week on the unit which is nice. I'm looking forward to starting there.

This weekend I'm going to Kelowna for a friend's wedding. I got her this rad frame and then I got a picture (a stupidly-hilarious picture I might add) blown up to put into the frame. It's of 2 Lady bugs...that are making sweet love on a leaf! You would have to see it...She is quirky and I thought she would find it pretty funny...and there's the whole getting married thing...anways, won't go there. I actually have to run to Ikea when i finish this because I bought a frame that is too big. After that, I will do some quick cleaning and stuff and then I might go to Kelowna tonight as well. Depends how I feel. My cousin will be moving down to my place after the wedding so then I can take some crap for him if need be in my car.

Well, off to IKEA for me.

Hope you have a good week and I will post some pictures of the wedding when I come back!

<3

Hi :]

I have had a fairly boring week so far. Nothing new to report, but I wanted to blog anyways!

I haven’t worked yet this week, so it has been a nice to just sleep in most mornings, and do a whole lot of nothing. I have been cleaning and organizing my place, and I picked up some caliper paint the other day to paint my calipers on the new Rabbit a hot red. It should look nice once completed and I will update with pictures! It is a very cheap way to add a little pizzaz to a car.

I’m trying to think of other things I can write about, but I really can’t think of much…stuff that would be interesting anyways. I did build a giant box tonight for pop cans and bottles…*goes to take picture* (see picture below). I made it nice and BIG so it will store a few garbage bags full of cans. It is fashioned from cardboard that I got with my new TV stand I got at IKEA (A nice score in the "as is" section I might add). The only thing that might be a bit of a problem is the fact that it is almost 4’ from the top of the boxes so if a glass bottle happens to land on another glass bottle followed by a *kkksshh*. At least it will be in a closed space :]

There is also a pic of what I had there which inspired me to build such a box. I just got tired of it over-flowing.

I guess I will go to sleep now.

Cars, Jobs and Miracles

Well, I’m always apologizing for not writing in so long, but I’m not going to this time!! I don’t feel that bad because it’s not like all my friends blog that often anyways. I think I was doing pretty good there. Quite often before I go to bed I tell myself, self, I think you should blog tonight because there might be a few people that actually read what you write and want to know what’s happened in your life the last few days… But then I respond to myself saying, well, I would love to, but I’m just so tired and should really sleep because I’m not that much of a writer when I’m this tired. So, then it is a unanimous decision that myself is indeed right and I should really go to bed because I’m really not that funny when I’m that sleepy.

That being said, I do have a lot to say, so I hope you have a few minutes to read through everything. There might be something really good that you miss if you only read some and not all of this blog.

I will start with my work situation. It has not been the greatest thing for me the last few weeks. There was some poor communication between me, my coworkers and my manager. I also had made a few mistakes which was bad. This lead to a clinical nurse educator following me around for 10 shifts and making notes on everything that I was doing, and I mean everything. It was a little unnerving and rather awkward and she wasn’t allowed to tell me much as she was just a shadow. So I had to pretend she wasn’t there, which, was not easy. After the 10 days was all said and done, we had a meeting with a bunch of people and this lead to me changing job sites. So I will be starting at Surrey Memorial Hospital soon and am quite looking forward to it. A gentleman that oversees UGN things was very helpful and supportive to me and I wish I had contacted him a lot sooner because things might not have been so awkward. I am now working along side him for a while to develop a learning plan which will help me in many ways. I think everyone in my position would benefit from an experience like this. It has sucked, but I have learned a great deal about how nursing politics work and also have honed my skills in many areas. I’m looking forward to starting at a new hospital and a new environment. It is supposed to be a great floor to work on. I believe it is an orthopedic ward so there will be a lot of old grannies that slipped and broke their hip and MVA’s…I’m sure there will be a lot of different people there but the grannies are my favourite ( They always like me! And it’s not because I’m such an amazing nurse (hah) but that I just spend a few extra moments talking to them about their grandchildren or what they used to be before they retired and things like that. Just taking some extra minutes with a patient will improve their quality of their hospital stay and also improves their spirits so they are willing to do the rehabilitation and get out of the hospital faster than someone that is neglected and lonely.

Just a second, I have to go pee. Coffee does this to me.
Ok, I can think more clearly now. I also got sidetracked and did a load of laundry and also got another cup of coffee.

So moving along….

I have been reflecting upon my whole car situation for the last few months now. I have not had the greatest luck as out of the last 3 cars I’ve owned, 2 of them have been write-offs. It doesn’t exactly reflect my driving skills because it’s more of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The last car I owned was a 1988 prelude that has been “pimp-i-fied”. It was a nice car – but needed more than I thought it would need. I spent just over 2K extra on it with things such as catalytic converter, tire issues, belts, alternator, and new brakes all around and also new calipers (ca-ching) in the rear. Now it runs like a top, so I figured it would be the perfect time to sell it and move on. Then I can also pay off the remainder of the money I owe my uncle on it. It was great to get the car and did me a big favour in doing so but the issues were not foreseen. SOO…I decided to (after a great deal of thought and figuring out finances) to buy a brand new 2007 car. IT IS SO FREAKING NICE. I bought a 2007 VW Rabbit (see pictures below) and I added a few features such as the alloy rims, sunroof, and an upgraded stereo. The Rabbit comes quite loaded right from base so it wasn’t much extra for these things which will not only make it a lot nicer, but increase the resale value for when I want to sell it. The car is amazing. I could talk for a very long time about how nice it is, so I will just leave it at saying I am very happy with my purchase and it has greatly lowered my stress in the fact that I do not have to worry about random things dying and other surprises. I have gotten some criticism from some people about it being so expensive but I know what I have to spend on the car and I know how much I have to work in order to make the payments for the car and insurance, rent, food, gas, school fee’s, and everything else a student needs to spend money on to survive. With working part time at my UGN job, I will still be making money every month and will have enough time to balance my homework and the time I spend with my lovely Danielle. If any of this would suffer from this purchase, I would not have done it.

I’m also very certain that it is one of the safest cars on the road. My cousin had a 1999 GTI which is very similar to my Rabbit. He was involved in an awful accident yesterday and it is a miracle that he was able to walk away from it. Just look at the pic that I posted and I’m sure you would be a little impressed. His car ended up careening off the road, down a 15 foot embankment into a big ditch where it then did at least 3 or 4 ass-over-tea-kettle flips and then stopped dead after hitting an abnormally large wooden fence post. The nose of his car hit this post and he was still flipping through the air fast enough to take an arm size chunk off of the very top of this post. Both air-bags deployed and his only injury is due to the airbags (a burn on the side of his noggin). He was sent via ambulance to the lovely Merrit Hospital where I picked him up. He was on his way to my place to pick me up to look at this car he was buying (kinda ironic). After he didn’t show up when he was supposed to I called his dad and that’s when I heard the news. So I drove about 2 hours to get him (which wasn’t that big of a deal because I like driving the new car on the highway). We stopped at the site of the accident and it was crazy. After flying off the highway at a speed somewhere around 115kmph and hitting dirt almost 20 feet from said highway in the ditch, a lot of bad things can happen. There was broken glass and car parts scattered for about 100m from the first impact to where the car was stopped by the fence post. I found a nice memento in the ditch for him to remember how lucky he was – it was the VW emblem from the front of his once beautiful and well respected little GTI. We also then stopped in Hope where his car was toed to. It looked like a piece of cardboard that someone had bunched into a giant ball. The only things that were intact were the driver’s door (open and closed like new) and the gas cap. Everything else was beat to a pulp. We then had to stop in Chilliwack to get his bags and stuff because the cop on scene was from there. The RCMP detachment there is not the easiest thing to find because the signs that have a POLICE thing lead you to an old building with no cops in it. Then a comissionaire that we flagged down on the street sent us to another “RCMP” place that also had no cops in it. But a lady there was able to finally contact the officer that had Matt’s stuff. Amazingly his laptop has only minor war wounds and still boots up fine. His bags also survived with no major injuries but his pillow did not fair so well. It got dirt on it which is just not good.

Well, I thought I had more to write but I can’t think of much more. Maybe another coffee would help…and I also have to pee again.

So, I will say so long for now and I will do my best to post again much quicker than I have been.

:)
Chris

Rabbit Bumb 

How YOU doooing?? 

Rabbit Side Shot 

Rabbit Top 

Rabbit on the Highway 

New Rabbit Pix 

Those special feelings

Where to start…It has been so long! I am sorry to keep you in suspense as to what’s been going on in my life the last few weeks. Nothing ground shattering has really happened. I have worked a lot, and haven’t really done much else other than hanging out with Danielle, some friends and getting a new roommate.

First of all with work…I worked 12 days in a row for a total of 80 hours. It was kind of nice to be working that much because it has been so long since I’ve been that busy with work. With my UGN position I work a 12 hour day which actually goes by incredibly fast because most often I am kept very busy. With my other position as a care aide I sometimes wish I had a handgun to end my misery prematurely as I sit on my arse for a mere 8 hours…well, most of the time I am sitting with a “high risk” patient whether the risk is for falls or suicidal tendencies, however this week it was not so bad. I was with a guy whom had a stroke and was a little nuts. He was only 64 but he was now significantly blind having horrible peripheral vision and basically can only make sense of things that are directly in front of his nose and also had other degenerative mental issues related to the stoke. Anyways, he was a nice guy and I managed to keep him busy and happy while I was on shift. He had a roommate that was in the same room (obviously) and she really liked me, and not because of my dashing good looks (ok, so I’m not really sure if anyone has ever liked me for my dashing looks, but it makes for a more interesting story). She thought I was a great person because I was the only person that he never got agitated with or upset. It was actually quite hilarious in the end because on my very last shift with this guy, she was just being transferred to the other hospital I work at. The next day I worked at LMH (afore mentioned “other” hospital) and happened to bump into an LPN that worked on that floor where she was transferred and she was still talking about me! It kind of made my week because she was telling the other nurses that they should be more like me…lol. Apparently I really touched this person because of the way I worked with that stroke guy and herself (I helped her too when she needed things done). I also visited her on one of my breaks and the LPN had to tag along to see her face when I went into her room. She was a sweet old gal and if she is still there this week I’m going to go see her again.

I also got a new roommate this week which is mostly a good thing. Mainly because it saves me a few bucks off the rent, and it’s nice having a person to hangout with when there’s nothing else going on. He’s from Korea, but he’s a white boy (29 yrs old). He is there as an English teacher and has come back for a bit to finish his masters at TWU or something like that. So it is nice to have some company around again, but I had to madly move all my crap out of the other room and also rearrange a lot of my kitchen things because I really spread out after my last roommie moved out. It was very last minute so I kind of just tossed everything from that room into my bedroom and it was kind of messy for a few days.. . well actually it was like there was 1 spot to step from the door to my bed and other than that there was computer parts, cords, books, uuh…random papers, and just a whole lot of crap all over the floor. It is now somewhat organized in a Chris kind of way so I don’t have to play hopscotch every night getting into bed.

I must go to sleep. It is 2:30am almost and I’m beat. I will post again before the end of the week! I promise!

Well, sorry for such a long wait...I'm sure all 3 of you that read this were checking 10 times a day to see if I updated this...*sarcasm*


Anyways, I've had a very busy week with work. It has really taken a lot out of me the last 4 days. I worked 2 days, and then 2 nights...and switching the whole sleep pattern really sucks. I tried different techniques with staying up really late, sleeping in til 1pm, and then having a 4 hour nap again before the shift starts at 1930. Kind of makes for a lousy day sleeping the whole time, and then the next night was kind of the same. sleep all morning, and then another long nap in the afternoon. Then the following 2-3 days I spend trying to get back into a normal patter of sleep...right before I have another 2 days and 2 nights on. Thank goodness for gravol ;)


I have been learning a lot on this job and I am putting to practice my nursing knowledge. What do you guys want to know about my new job? I'm not really sure what to say...

Not too much has happened other than work lately. These next few days I'm just going to enjoy being off unless I get called in for a care aide shift. I have had a bad cold for 2 weeks and really want to kick it. I have been loading up on the echinacea tea, sleep, and VitC so I hope I get better by my next rotation.

I had better go - I'm going to go cook dinner at Danielle's house and I have to have it done before she gets home from work (its a suprise!!). I'm going to cook some nice big chicken breasts with potatoes and carrots and cheese bread :) yummy....

Ok, so I had my first day as a UGN today and it was fantastic :) I'm really lookinf forward to this position as it will be completely different to care aiding and actually right along the lines to what it will be like when i graduate. I will have a few restrictions...some of which are lame. They have to take the school that is the lame-est and then build their standards around what the lame school can't do. For instance, NG feeding tubes. I have personally inserted one into a very, very sick patient that couldn't even swallow. The only trick that I learnt was that if the patient puts their chin to their chest it is much easier to slip the tube around that nasopharynx corner, and also dipping the tube in some water to give it some lube is a big help. And even if by some miracle, a person inserts the feeding tube into the larynx, the pt gets an x-ray anyways to see if the tube is indeed in the stomach and not in the lungs. Anyways, I don't think I'll be doing a whole lot of NG tubes anywyas... Other than some kinda silly restrictions like that one, I think it will be a very positive experience. I will have a workload, and I will be responsible for patients -> I won't have an instructor looking over my shoulder to check everything which will make me feel a little more confident and independant. The surgical floor looks quite nice too. Today was the first time that I've checked it out and it is a lot nicer than the medical floors I've seen at this hospital. If I can, I will take a picture sometime soon!


I think next summer I will definately persure becoming an LPN for the summer. As an LPN, I won't be able to do quite as much as an RN, but I won't be limited in the hours I can work as I am in the UGN position...Overtime = big bucks. I should have enough clinical hours by next summer to write my LPN exam and then finding a job should not be that difficult given that I know the managers at LMH and RCH. If I do become an LPN next summer, I will be a full scope LPN so I can give medications and have a wider scope than a 'regular' LPN. I think most LPN's are now becoming full scope LPN's because at Langley, every LPN is full scope.


well, I should hit the sack. I have my first shift this thursday night I think...There have been some scheduling issues, but if not this thursdaym then I will be working on the 31st for sure (2days, 2 nights, and then 5 days off). I will follow that scedule for most of the summer. Dosen't seem like much, but that's full time for a RN! I hope to pick up doubles as a care aide on the weekends I don't work as a UGN. working a double as a care aide equlas 500 bux, so it is quite profitable to be at work for 16 hours and I really need the cash. Like, really bad. So, hopefully I can get good shifts as a care aide, and hopefully I get more hours as a UGN because with the funding right now, it's only good for 2 months worth of work...I am sure they will get more funding, I'm just not sure when.

Ok. This time I really have to go. I will post again soon!!!
Chris


*grunt*

Mornings can be rough...Just woke up

Showers are a real pick-me-up in the morning!

Can't get enough of the sugar crisp...It actually doesn't have all that much more sugar than a "healthy" cereal...I look at the labels when I shop! I should have taken a pic of my cuboard because I have a lot of good cereal...I <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/977/1358/1600/17-05-06_1052.jpg">So, in the mornings, I usually enjoy my big bowl of cereal while watching some kind of HGTV or TLC tv show. I just have to be careful I don't get sucked in because one day I spent 8 hours watching decorating shows...One good show was on after the other...

Then I looked at blogs and chatted on MSN for almost an hour...Not many people are online :(

Then a buddy came over for a while...this is where I forgot to take a few pictures. We watched a TV show, chatted, and then went to this Portugese restaurant for some lunch.

After we had finished hanging out, I did a few things to clean up my place, and then I went out with Danielle for some shopping fun. We went to the mall, and then to a few of her stores across the street (Smart Set and Jacob)

Then, we went out for some yummy food at Montana's!

I was hungry :)

Danielle did this shot too...She had a Jr. ribs combo and I had the meat loaf...I don't know why I had the meatloaf...It was OK, but I'm definately sticking to rib tips!

This is just a random driving shot. Yay.

Then the time finally came to brush my teeth and to hit the sack. Ew, I was drooling...

And that's it!!!
I didn't take as many as I had hoped cause I kept forgetting...I will have to showcase a day when I go to work. Then I won't seem like such a bumb :)

Blessings!
Chris

PS - all pics were taken with my RAZR phone :) Lighting has to be right to get a decent pic so sorry about the grainy ones.

This is how exciting work is. I took this miserable picture with my phone as I sat on my arse for 7.5 hours. This was just a regular shift so I made decent money but I am very sick of working at RCH. It is a long miserable commute in stop and go traffic and then most of my shifts are 1:1's which means I watch a person that needs close monitoring because of confusion, agression, suicidal tendencies...I think you're getting the picture. I start my UGN job in exactly a week and am very much looking forward to it. No more 1:1's!! I will hopefully get my care aide job straitened out with LMH so I can work there inbetween my UGN shifts. I'll be working 4 days on, and then 4 days off (for 12 hours) as a UGN so I will still have time to work as a care aide. It's just too bad that I won't be able to get as much overtime working the 2 different positions. If I got overtime as a UGN, I could be making over 800 bux in a single shift...which would be nice! But unfortunately for funding reasons Fraser Health does not pay OT to undergrad nurses. I could as a care aide, and make very good cash working OT, but I think the value of the UGN experience out weights that. I think next summer I will get my LPN thingy and do that. I will get good experience, make around 25 an hour and have lots of oppertunity for OT.

Anyways, sorry for rambling. I'm very tired as it is 2:26am right this second. In other news, I got a new phone the other day. I ended up going with a motorola RAZR which is a very cool phone. Nice size, cool functions, and I also have a nice hospital employee plan which gives me a ton of features such as internet and crazy stuff like that. That shift when I took that picture, I spent most of it painfully typing friends messages on my cell using MSN, and also browsing the latest CBC news headlines. I also got a super-duper high score playing bejeweled. It would take someone over 4 hours to beat it because that's how long I was playing that silly game while I sat.

In the next few days I want to do a blog entry that has only pictures explaining my day. I think that would be cool. Not sure why, but maybe someone else will find it entertaining too :)

I'm off to bed!
Cannot keep my eyes open!!... 

This is a pic that I tried posting in the last post. I thought I had some better shots from California and at Gallaghers but then I realized that was on my 35mm camera! doh! So maybe later I will hook up the scanner and scan a few pretty ones....but this is me at a course in Kelowna. I think it was 2 years ago... 

Well, the last few days I haven't been working much so I've been doing my best to stay busy. Suprisingly, it hasn't been all that hard! A few days ago, I started with the vacuum cleaner. EVERY square inch of my place is now dust free! When I clean, I tend not to do a halfassed job (thanks to my mom) and I vacuumed everything fromg the cupboards to the wainscotting, the shelves, the mouldings, the entertainment unit, window sils, and of course, the floor. Then I hauled out the bucket and sponge to wipe down my kitchen and bathroom floors as well as the cupboards. Once my camera finishes charging I'm going to snap a photo of the living room which is spotless for you all to see!

I've also washed my 2 cars, as well as Danielle's car too. She had a white car but it was masquerading as a brownish-grey car. heh, needless to say, it needed a wash because she just hasn't had much time to do it (school seems to suck the time for things like washing cars...). Yesterday I also replaced my alternator in the prelude. After the alternator, I've racked up about 900 dollars in parts and crap for that car. That's half of what it would have cost to fix my other car... Anyways, everything is working fine now and it better stay that way while I have it.

Today I went through my closet and packed up some old clothes that I don't wear anymore. There wasn't as much as I thought...I kept a few ratty clothes incase I need some grubs to paint or work outside or something. After watching hours of HGTV and TLC, I thought I would have been better at "purging" my closet! Oh well, it's not like it's overflowing...but I do have 3 closets for all my crap, so I think I have more than I think! Only 1 is really for clothes though, because one is just for stuff like golf clubs, ski's and snowboards, and lugage. The other for linens and sweaters, extra shoes, and lots of other random crap like tools and car parts...

This is kind of a random sidetrack, but I really miss golfing. I had a chance to finally go when I was in Kelowna for a few days. My cousin was here from California and we hit the links for a fun aftenoon. I used to have a membership to a course in Kelowna - Gallgher's Canyon - which is rated as one of the top30 courses in Canada last time I checked! Absolutely stunning course with beautiful scenery and amazing holes. I was a little spoiled to be able to golf at such an awesome course for my Jr. years. I'm surrounded by nice courses here in Langley and have never had the chance to check them out and I plan to this summer (if prices are reasonable of course).

I had planned to put my computer desk and filing stuff in my roomies old room but I just haven't yet. It will be weird to have an "office"! I just have to buy a long cat5 cable so I can run my internet over there. I also have an add up on the TWU site for a roomie, but I'm a little doubtful if anyone will respond because it's only for the summer months before I move in September.

No School = Cool

Hello!

Wow, sorry for taking so long to post again…I’m sure there are a ton of people just dying to hear what has happened to me in these last 18 days! *sarcasm*

Heh, so anyways, a lot has actually happened. I’ll start with school, since it is now OVER and I will NOT be blogging about school until September. Finals went fairly well from what I see my marks are. I did well in Maternity which was my main class of the semester as it was 6 credit hours whereas my other classes were only a measly 3 credit hours. With 2 very crappy midterms I still managed to get 84%. I know it ain’t all that exciting, but for the amount of work which was required for this course as well as my other courses I’m happy with that grade. I managed to do very well on my religious studies class (New Testament) and also did Ok in my psychology course as well. I didn’t do as well as I had hoped, but I definitely managed to meet the nursing requirements and am still trucking on in the program! Next semester I will be doing psyc nursing and I’m hoping I find it a little more interesting than maternity. I don’t feel a strong pull from God towards the maternity field, but I did learn a lot from the whole experience and did learn some new things about myself.

I think I mentioned something about my car story in my last blog… Not much has changed since then except me spending 700 dollars (probably more…) on the prelude that I have now. That has been a little frustrating because I haven’t even been able to make a payment on it due to these expenses and then rent has also gone up because my room mate left and I also had to give him back a damage deposit. Anyways, the car runs great when its running properly and hopefully after I put in the new alternator tomorrow it will run like a top once again. I’m kind of anal about cars and when something goes wrong it is a huge source of stress for me. I’m kind of thinking I will sell both my cars (the busted-up-which-is-soon-to-be-fixed 240 and the prelude) and get something newer and more reliable and also CHEAPER to fill up at the gas station. Both the 240 and the prelude are rather thirsty cars so something that is a little more fuel-friendly will be a good choice and something with 4 doors so the wonderful insurance corporation of BC can take a few fingers out of my pocket. I’m not sure there is any point in having insurance because it sure hasn’t done much for me in the 2 accidents I’ve been in. One with a person pulling out on me on a highway, and the other being side swiped by some bone-head doing probably double the speed limit…both instances apparently I was 100% at fault. I’m so glad I pay two thousand hard earned dollars to a multi-hundred-million dollar company and then have my fate be decided by a guy that sits on an office that reads 2 incidence reports. Obviously I’m at fault if there is any question, because I am the younger, less experience driver that also owns a sports car. THANKS.

And howabout these gas prices! I should get a license plate that reads: BEN_DOVER because that’s what I do when I pull into a gas station. I bet there are one or two people that are getting filthy rich from this retarded mark up, along with a few huge corporations. Or maybe it is the government because afterall, over 65% of the money you pay for gas is used for a tax, which is then taxed over and over again to pay for something like making half-assed repairs on already very crappy roads and building bridges that are too small for the flow of the city in the present and future, and I’m sure there are even more stupid things that our money is wasted on. I’m thinking about investing in 2 giant jerry-cans so I can go across the boarder and save myself almost 15 bux on a fill up. American’s are griping when their gas prices shoot up over 3 bux a gallon, but our Canadian prices are well above 4! After you factor in the exchange rate and the gallon to liter difference, it is actually $4.10US/gallon!! Crickey, that is a load more and then going the opposite way, I am filling up in the states at their current “high price” for $0.87CAN/L. So, in a ~48L fill up, that is a total savings of $15.84 per tank!! Pretty close to my estimate of 15 bux. Over a year, that is a load of money and well worth a 30 minute drive round-trip to get the gas across the 49th.

Sorry to bore you with these dumb things…actually, I’m not really sorry, because you could have just skimmed it over if you got bored :P

Now onto jobs…
The whole UGN thing is thus far a bit of a disappointment. I can’t wait to start my position, but I have to wait until the 23rd!!! Orientation is very late at my hospital and I was a little miffed because I really looked forward to a schedule instead of my casual on-call crap. I will also be dealing with less crap in general because I will be a nurse, and not a care-aide. Sometimes the care-aide shifts can be ruthless in the fact that they are extremely boring, or extremely busy. There aren’t many shifts that have been in-between that. So, I really look forward to be doing more of a nursing role with more responsibility and all that jazz. In the mean time, I will be trying to take as many ruthless care-aide shifts as I can handle and pray that these next 2 weeks go by very fast. This is another crappy thing about not having a car that works this weekend because my altenator died in the prelude and I haven’t been able to fix it so I miss 2 solid days or work with possible overtime and that means almost 800 dollars in lost wages (had I worked a bit of OT). Bleh, oh well, it was a good excuse to not have to drive all the way to new west to do a job that I don’t really like doing. Next summer I should have enough practical experience with my clinical that I can get my LPN thingy and do that. Then I will have no hour restrictions (like UGN’s have) and will be able to work more regularly (unlike care-aiding). Sounds good in theory, so we’ll see how that pans out.

Wow, it’s almost 2am so I should really start to wind down and get ready for bed. I had a great day today spending most of it with Danielle. We also finally got to go to church together and really enjoyed the service. This pastor is a very good speaker and the worship music is also mostly familiar to us so I think it is a good fit for us. The only kinda bad thing about it is the fact that it is in Coquitlam which makes for a bit of a commute. However, I know a few people that go there from TWU and we really enjoy the services so I think we will continue to go there. We (Danielle and I) also will try to get plugged into a young adults care group. I kind of miss being a part of a care group and look forward to it.

Good night!


PS….COMMENT :) and that pic with the dirt bike was of last weekend when I was in Kelowna. Borrowed a buddies bike and went out with Matt for a fun weekend of dirtbiking. FUN!

OK…so I apologize about misleading you with my last post there. I have been thinking I should blog very soon because I haven’t in so long! I was worried it would get deleted or something, but then I was like, “psh, yeah right. Like anyone would want to delete this!”

So anyways, moving along…

So much has happened in the last while that I could be sitting here for a very long time typing my stories out…but since I only have a few minutes (this is a procrastination session in between studying!) I will be brief…

Well, lets start with my car story. My sad, sad car story. I was smushed by another car about 3 weeks ago and have been very upset about that. This guy was obviously speeding like a bat out of heck, and there was no way I could see him because I was merging onto a street and there is a crest from a hill about 100 feet up the road. So it was clear, I merged and WHAM!! WTF!!! So I make a claim and being the wonderful corporation that ICBC is, they decide it’s my fault simply because I was the one merging. I have hard physical evidence that he hit me at an extreme speed because it ain’t no “minor ding” it’s a full blown smash. Anyways, that really cooked my cod. Now I have a new car that I purchased off of a family member. I am making payments on it so I can afford to fix my other car and hopefully sell it for some money. I also didn’t realize that I might as well change my name to Ben Dover because it cost me 2K to insure this car that is worth 3K. How sweet is that? REAL SWEET! I hope to buy a bicycle this summer and ride to work…

Which brings me to my next bit of news J I had an interview yesterday for an undergraduate nursing position. I totally nailed the interview (kind of) and got the job on the spot! So I won’t have to wipe as much butt this summer and that is a real plus (duh). I will be working in a surgical unit at the local hospital here in Langley. I really don’t know what I’ll be doning…probably a lot of assessment stuff and medications. I have never been on a surgical floor so I don’t really know what to expect. I’m on the same floor as the OR so I think I’ll be prepping people for surgeries too and all that fun stuff. I’m just glad that I’m able to work in the field and gain some experience. I will also still be working as a care aide because I only get 40 some hours with the UGN program and I want to work a bit more than that. I’m sure that I can get lots of overtime as a care aide so that’s where I’ll really make some good cash. I’ve already worked 1 OT shift last week and I was VERY surprised (in all the right ways) at how fast it adds up once you make time and a half. I might try and get a position for care aiding that’s a bit closer to home because new west is a little far…well its only 30 KM but with the stupid bridge traffic it takes an hour. Danielle has a “connection” so I hope he can hook both of us up with good care aide positions.

Anways, sorry for the brief post, but I must get back to work. I have one final tomorrow (Thursday) and then one more next Monday. THEN I’M DONE (for now).

Muwah!

Coming soon to a blog near you...

Hello anyone who actually reads this still…sorry I have been so SO long in updating. The last month of classes are always the frantic last minute assignments and stuff…

This is a note to tell ya’ll that I will be updating this tonight or tomorrow!!!!

So stay tuned!

Orientations suck

Hello!!

This last week and a half here has been crazy. I have been excited/nervous for starting my new jobs, I have had quite a lot of home work, and it is Danielle’s birthday tomorrow! (Well, it was on Tuesday, but that’s a long story)…

Orientations are the most boring things ever invented. They reiterate things I already have heard a billion times, and I get so antsy just sitting and waiting for the pain to stop. Also, people are very impersonal because I tried to get talking to a few of the people at my table, but they were very boring individuals. Soon as it was over, everyone just walked out and didn’t even say “good bye, it was nice to meet you” kind of thing. They were just socially inept I suppose and unable to display any kind of emotion.

I am really looking forward to working at RCH. I had an orientation there on Tuesday (also extremely boring) but it seems like a great hospital to get some real solid experience. There main focus is acute care, so it is fast paced, and changes every shift unlike extended care that is basically the same thing every shift. I find it very anti stimulating, but I do like taking an extra few minutes to chat with the patients. Most of the time, just an extra 5 minutes with someone will make them feel special. One elderly gal asked me to tell her a story so she could fall asleep, so I did! It was about me so it could put almost anyone to sleep. There was another guy that I talked to and he had been there for almost 1 year, and I was the first person to chat with him for more than a few minutes. Even though I’m bored there sometimes, it can be quite rewarding.

I put in my 2 weeks notice to Staples. I was a little sad, because now they have to hire someone new and train them all over, but the pay sucks and then I didn’t feel that bad. Maybe if I had more responsibility and was paid more, I would have felt bad, but that would take about 5 years.

Well, I better hit the sack because I’m so very tired, and must write an essay tomorrow. NOT looking forward to that.

Love you all

Sorry I haven't posted in so long!


I had a pretty busy week. 2 midterms, 1 essay, and 1 presentation project. And now...it is all done. I think my midterms went quite well and I haven't finished the essay (extensions are great things) and I also think my presentation went smoothly. Therefore I have good marks this semester.


I should post more often because I always forget cool things that happened to me. So I'll try to remember as much as possible...


This week I was voted in as Vice President of the Student Nursing Association. I was running against another girl in my class so I will see if she wants to share the position because it's really not that big of a deal. We just plan a few events and advocate healthy living and all that kind of nursey stuff. Also this last week, I sat in on a meeting with the faculty of the nursing department and we discussed the good and the bad's about the program and our experiences thus far. Me and another guy were representing our class and it was interesting to hear some of the feedback from the staff on out comments. I think one of the bigger issues was the fact that out GPA is higher, so that effects what letter grade we recieve, and therefore makes it harder for us to get financial awards because our scale is much higher. I hope they can do something about that because I think it would make a couple thousand dollar differences for myself and many other B.Sc.N students. And other things were risen like the schedule of our clinicals and boring things like that. But hopefully some of the main issues can be addressed and some day changed.

I also got my first shifts at LMH! I'll be working a full week next week so that is awesome! I wasn't sure what I was going to do on my spring break, so now I'm making moolah! Lots of it! I'm really looking forward to getting over 20 bux an hour. Finally this education is starting to pay off...I think I mentioned that in a previous post, but I'll reiterate :) So I can actually make money and go to school at the same time! I want to start saving for a better vehicle now and a few other things...*you know what I'm talking about sweetie* ;) But my car is going to need some $2000 in repairs in the not so distant future (timing belt = $1000; struts & suspension issues = 600; and an EGR valve = 200). It also is a pig on gas. I think buying something like an echo would pay for itself over a few years. BUT, echo's suck so it has to be fun to drive, and be good on gas...Maybe another carolla or something like that...

Oh, another thing that happened is my printer finally ran out of toner! I've had this laser printer for over 4 years and it's finally dry. I've used it a ton so I'm suprised it's lasted this long. I went to go get another toner cartridge, but then I saw a waaaay nicer printer for clearence at $139. I was almost willing to spend the extra 50 bux (as toner for my printer is 90) so I opened the box to be sure it was all there (it was an open box item). And to my dissapointment there was no toner in the box!! Someone returned it and the cashier didn't notice that there was NO toner in the box! AND it was the last one! That was the kicker. However, that worked into my advantage: I phoned HP to see if they could send me another toner because there wasn't one in the box, and sure enough, after 30 minutes on the phone they were going to mail me one. Since there was no toner, I also got 40% off the printer which brought it to the exact price of toner for my old one. SCHWING! So now I have a printer that prints much much faster, which is cool. I would have got a cheaper inkjet, but I use my printer way too much - the inkjet would cost me a lot more in a year than a laser would. So now I'm just waiting for the toner to come in the mail and then I'll try to sell my old brother laser on ebay and make a few bux off it! hehe...you've gotta do everything you can when you're a poor starving student!

One more thing I'll blog...

I have decided where I'm going to apply for my undergraduate position. My first choice is going to be intensive care at peace arch. The experience would be good, and there are no night shifts on that rotation! yay. My second and third choices are going to be ER at peace arch (whiterock) and then med/surg here at Langley.

Hello!!


This week has gone by FAST...

I had a midterm and that is really it for school stuff. Nothing too exciting happening...


I did however finally meet up with my pregnant mother today. What a fiasco! I had quite the time trying to get to her place. I had to stop by the school to drop something off, and I was just in there for a few seconds, so I left my car running....but when I got back out to my car, I realised I had locked the door!! after I muttered a few four letter words under my breath (crap, fart, geez ect...) I then realized I had a spare set of keys somewhere....So I called Danielle and she was just driving up to TWU, so I stole her car and went to my house to look for my keys (as I'm illegally parked and the car is still running). Turns out, they aren't anywhere at home. So that was a wasted trip.


So, I called BCAA using Danielle's card (thx sweetie) and one hour later I got into my car. Ugh, that sucked. So I was about 1 hour and 20 minutes late to meet my pregnant mother. Luckily I kept her into on the seat of my car so I could see her number and call her to let her know that I'm an idiot and locked my keys in the car WHILE it was running. She was very nice though - gave me juice and muffins! Banana and chocolate chip to boot (my favs).


Anywhoo, Danielle and I went out and had a good time tonight. I treated her to the Keg. I hadn't been there for about 4 years and really wanted a good steak. And I must say, it was delicious. We also exchanged gifts and she had this photographer from work take these amazing pictures of her. She is SOOO gorgeous! She gave me 4 photo's in this one frame and then another frame which I still have to choose a photo for. I'll post one pic just to show ya'll how exquisit she looks. I also gave her a picture things, except mine were of flowers. I got a 12x16 of this really neat abstract shot of a Iris pedal which is blue with a spec o yellow at the top right side of the pic. I also framed a few other shots of pretty flower shots.








Well, I had better go. I have to read some stuff, and watch some TV, and then hit the sack so I can wake up sometime before lunch... :D (Love sleeping in...)

<3>

Well....

It is official!!!


I am now an official employee of Fraser Health! The largest, and fastest growing health authority in British Columbia! Today the gal from RCH called and congradulated me on the job and that orientation started on the 6th! yay!


I always knew I would be hired on at LMH, but I just never knew when it was going to start because they took a long time to do the paper work. I think they were going to do a big hire for March, so she did me first because I had some "connections" (thanks sweetie!). But I think I've already mentioned this in my previous bloggage...

Anyways, I had a real problem with getting my references to the gal at RCH because I had such little time to let me profs know...and they aren't on campus all that much. BUT, it wouldn't have mattered in the end anyways, because orientation was full for yesterday so I wouldn't have started anyways. I have 2 days of orientation for Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) and I still need to find out more about LMH.

So that is my exciting news for the week. Both position pay the same...and it is exactly 2.6 times that of which I earn at staples per hour...so it's a significant jump. Finally this schooling is starting to pay off...hehe.

Ooo, I almost forgot to mention about the meeting I went to in regards to the Undergrad Nursing program. I talked with the head cheese and it sounds very promising for the summer. I basically pick where I want to work, how much I want to work, and it also pays better than the RCA (care aid) positions that I just got. I'm still thinking of places I can go...I think working in an ER would be cool...maybe a cancer centre...maybe intensive care...who knows!

Any suggestions??

Well, sadly no new pictures this week.


... However as I typed that I did think of something that is photo-worthy:



Tah-daah! If you click the photo the object of which is significant is sort of in the centre, but up and to the left a little bit. It is an airial photo of New Westminister. The largeish white and grey thing is Royal Columbian Hospital.

I had a weird call the other day from a nie lady that works for Fraser Health. At first I thought she was calling about orientation to LMH (where I've previously had an interview and was hired...just not officially because HR hadn't processed my paperwork yet), but I then realized she was calling for a posting that I had applied for quite a while ago. It was very confusing, but I then found out it was for a casual position for an acute care aid at RCH! I did my best to raise an eyebrow in an inquisitive fashion (although I cannot, lets just say I can for the sake of the story), and then realized RCH is a much bigger hospital than LMH, and also it is in acute care, which is faster, more patients, and everything changes all the time...So it has a lot going for it. The only thing that sucks is that it is across the river, and that means crappy commute.

Although, apparently it can be done in 45 minutes from the Langley area. That isn't as bad as a 4pm rush hour going across the port man...eeks, that's a good hour 'n a half at least. Hopefully I will be hired. It sounded promising and the interviewer just has to check my references and hopfully they check out. I am going to call her tomorrow to give her a new reference because one of mine are away and won't be back until the day I'm hopefully hired and going to orientation. She told me all about orientation and when it is, what will be going on, my possible boss's name that she's doing the hiring for, how I would be called, the sort of shifts I could get ect. I will post quick tomorrow after I talk to this gal and she tells me if I have a good chance or not. I have 4 days of availability which apparently is a lot for some of the people she has interviewed, so that means that if I work a lot in the first bit and get a head of the people being hired now in the # of hours I work, that means I will get called more regularly as I gain more hours.

I can blab on for a very long time about how much I want this job and how great it would be...but I don't want to set my hopes too high. It's not official....yet.

I found a better picture inbetween mental breaks:


I think there is a lot more to the hospital that what this photo leads on to. I will let you know when I am hired and have my first shift there!
:)

This week has gone by way too fast. I have been sleeping in most days, and still actually getting most of my readings done!


Holy crap...I'm tired. I was going to post something but I can't even think of what I've done this week! I haven't heard from the hospital yet, but they have now called my references. Hopefully I'll know more next week.


To be continued...

This is my yay face!

Today I had a successful interview with a manager at Langley Memorial Hospital and was hired! It was great! She told me she wanted to hire me even before she started the interview, so it was awesome. I should be starting sometime in the next 2 weeks. I'll be working just as casual so I will get called when a shift comes up, but this is a great oppertunity because I'll be working in extended care, acute care, and a few things inbetween the two. I might get 0-2 shifts a week until easter, and then it will definately be regular part time. I'm hoping for 1 shift a week until then because that is what I would be making from staples in an average week of 3-4 shifts. Which reminds me I have to call and tell my manager there that I got another job and she will be called for a reference...heh. That would be awkward if she was called and I haven't told her yet...

Anyways, this week is retarded in the fact that I have so much reading to do (5-7 articles) from my course pack, and the bookstore ran out!!! WTF!? They were like 10 short for a class of 36 or so that all need the damn thing. So, I'm just doing the reading from my text and will *maybe* catch up on the CP reading on the weekend. But I think this will be a good semester! - besides all the reading of course.

Hopefully all my friends that I know and possibly read this are looking at this new spring semester with a positive outlook. If not, then do lots of praying, and do your best!

More to come soon....
Chris

Just so everyone knows, you can use the anon. or guest feature to leave a comment. You don't have to be a registered user...

NEW JOB!?...

Woohooo! I just had to post quickly to tell all my wonderful readers that I have an interview at Langley Memorial Hospital on January the 11th for a casual position! This would be an AWESOME job because for one, it’s just so close to my house (2 minute drive), and two, it pays almost 3 times more than my current job! Don’t worry, I’m not going to gripe more on how much I dislike working at Staples, but please pray that my interview goes well!

The interview is an hour long which is a little long considering my last interview was 5 minutes. I’m a little nervous because they might ask me specific questions so I hope I can remember everything that is required. If I got this job, I could afford to run my car, rent, groceries, and I would even be able to save a few bux every month – if I work 2 shifts a week minimum. I could work 1 shift a week and still be making more than my current job with 4 shifts which are usually 4-5 hours so I would still be happy with that.

Also, I had some interesting news from Danielle. She had dinner at her neighbours house and they got talking about this one couple that has a “beautiful” suite just a few doors down. The only reason they don’t rent it is because they don’t want someone noisy. They also don’t need the income from the suite so they might also be willing to rent it for a bargain price for a “poor starving student”. It has 2 rooms so this would work well for my next semester plans with a good friend of mine. We were roomies for a month last year as we did a summer course together and have planned to room together again next school year. This would work out so well!! Cheap rent, awesome location (5 minute walk to work at the hospital, and 10 minutes to school), and great house (5 years old in a very nice neighbourhood), and the best part - it's a 30 second walk to Danielle's!! This suite I’m renting is quite nice, but has a very small second room. The kitchen is also a little on the small side, and it would be nice to have more space. I’m sure this suite would also be much larger than the one I’m in now because the house is double the size.

We shall see…I’ll have more info on these new happenings sometime next week.

Also, just a fun fact but the hospital that I might potentially work at is also the same hospital that is shown in all of the hospital scenes on one of my favourite TV shows – Smallville.

:]

Christmas and New Years and Jobs...

Ok, wow, it’s been a while since I updated my blog! Sorry…
One of my new year’s resolutions will now be to update this thing weekly. Well, I just made that up, but I’ll call it a new year’s resolution. I didn’t have many at all this year. I haven’t really given the new years much thought. I have set a few goals which I would like to achieve, but that’s it. They more have to do with finances and jobs more than anything…

This Christmas went fairly well for me. I was in Kelowna for 2 weeks and had a good time with family and a few friends. I wish I could have seen my sweetie-pie more, but due to her wacky family dynamics (mostly her father not seeing me as family, therefore I should take no part in their Christmas…), but maybe next year. I did have 1 good evening with some of her family however. Her mom, sister, auntie Laurie were at her grandparents on her dad’s side. We had a good time and they even gave me a few gifts! They were small practical gifts, but I appreciate them very much. Her Grandma also spoiled me with cookies. Between her grandma and my grandma Engel, I have enough cookies to last me quite a looooong time. I don’t eat that many cookies, but how can I say no?

Anyways, those 2 weeks went by fast and I didn’t get to spend as much time with friends and family as I would have liked. Mostly due to the fact that I worked night shifts all those 2 weeks. 7 hours from 3:45-11:15. All my evening were shot so it was hard to see people because most people work during the day. Meh, what can you do. I will probably be back in K-town in February next but only for a few days. Hopefully I’ll be working at the hospital by then and will be able to get some decent coin on my break. Just as a care aid I would receive around 22 dollars per hour – Cha-ching! Once I know I can get regular shifts every week (at least 1 shift would be more than I make now at Staples in 4 days), I would quit Staples because it pays very poorly. I have nothing against Staples, but they do not pay me well at all for the amount of experience I have with retail, and the pay also does not reflect at all the amount of revenue I bring in for the store. As an effective sales dude, I can make easily five thousand dollars worth of sales and on a good weekend I have sold over $15,000 worth of computers, printers, and cameras. Like, HELLO! But the biggest thing that pisses me off is managers bugging me about extended warranties. Like, bite me – I make your store a **** load of cash in 1 single shift, you pay me dickall and you expect to push extended warranties on all the sales I make? OK, for some things they are a good idea and are affordable such as for a printer or a camera, but some people just don’t want to buy them, and I’m not going to tell them otherwise unless I think they can benefit from it, and not the store. Also, I was told Staples can be quite flexible with the schedule, but that has not been true thus far at all. My manager has given me more shifts than I can handle for several weeks and when I ask about the shifts, she doesn’t offer to rectify it, but rather gives me phone numbers so I can try to get rid of a shift. This was especially bad at finals week because I was booked a full week, and I have 4 effin exams! I’m not a freaking magician.

Anyways, with the hospital work I can decline shifts at anytime I please because I’m a casual employee. The only thing that matters is seniority because the higher you’re up on the list, the more you get called. This summer I’m hoping to work a poo load overtime as a care aid, as well as work 500 hours or whatever it is as a UGN (undergrad nurse). Both these jobs are good on the resume and pay very well. My goal is to walk away with 20K all together in those 4.5 months. Then I will be able to pay for school, rent, groceries, and car and also tuck some away for my future wedding!

I have also posted some pics of Christmas happenings as well as a new years photo of Danielle, Mike and myself. This new years was nice and relaxed. Mike joined Danielle and I for a movie, BS’n and some bubbly.

Hope everyone is having a great week, and I will update this thing next week around the same time!

Me and Mike

Then Engel cousins

Family shot

Crazy cousins...

New years crew