bleh

Hey everyone!!

This is the car I want to get :D

Well, These are all pics of my computer setup!!

Specs:

LG 20" 16:10 3000:1 LCD

Saitek Eclipse II keyboard

Microsoft HABU mouse

Thermaltake Armor case

Mushkin 650w modular PSU

ASUS Striker Extreme motherboard

EVGA 8800 GTS

2G Patriot Extreme Performance ram

Zalman CNPS9700NT Copper CPU Heatsink 110MM Fan LGA775 AM2 S939 1250-2800RPM 19.5-35DBA Green LED

E4300 Core 2 Duo running at 2.5GHz (1.8 stock)

ASUS quiet track SATA DVD-RW

ASUS quiet Track DVD-ROM

And then I have a 120mm fan in the front as well as the rear

:)

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.