Pinedale

Pinedale, AZ is about 150 miles from Mesa, north east of Payson, AZ (had to clarify, as there is a Payson, UT where I went to high school).  A friend of mine invited me up there with some friends of hers.  I went and had a blast.

Interesting things on the way: highway 87 is divided and at a certain point, the "oncoming" traffic is on the right hand side.  Slightly weird, especially, since I didn't see where it happened; all of a sudden, there's cars driving southbound on the right side of me.

There is a ginormous sign pointing the way towards Phoenix.  Why?  Probably for airplanes, but really, if you're that close and can't tell where downtown is or the airport, you've got a lot bigger problems.

In the little town on Star Valley, there was a sign for "Adult Cabaret."  Of course I try to avoid such places,  but I was so tempted to stop here because of their sign.  So, the sign itself was pretty bland, but on top of the sign was a large, almost life-size plastic Hereford bull, not unlike this one:

What kind of message are they trying to send?

While at the cabin, which was more like a small hotel, we drove ATVs and shot paint ball guns.  As I have been slowly exposed to the world of artificial guns, like paint ball and laser tag, I realize that those guns are not very accurate at all, and I wonder how anyone manages to win at such games.  Real guns have better aim, which is a good thing.  Thanks to Sharon and Julie-Ann, for sharing their shooting experiences with me!

This week...

This week has been really great for me...I've been sick since Monday night.  I haven't been able to walk to the mail box without getting a fever and really winded.  Sad!  That, and I haven't been able to keep down more than about 1/4 of the food that I usually get.  I keep hoping it will go away soon...so most of my news this week is from my family. 

Found out this week that my sister Heather got accepted to New York school of Design!  It's apparently internationally ranked, and she's way excited.  She's still waiting to hear from Finland though. 

Matt did not get accepted to the University of Utah's medical school.  So, he and Caroline will be moving to St. Louis, Missouri, or Bethesda, Maryland this summer. 

I went to the Phoenix Science Museum on Monday morning with Annette and her kids while they are on spring break.  It was cool to see all sorts of things.  Annette and I put a headband on to try to see who's brain waves would move a ball to the other side of the table.  She won--apparently you have to be calm to win the game.  I was too busy trying to figure out how it worked. 

Up and Downs

Today's medical terminology: cachectic (pronounced kakektik): meaning suffering from cachexia, which means a general weight loss or wasting because of a chronic disease.  Basically people who are skin and bones.

The last few days have been kind of surreal.  Here are the things I've learned (or at least had reconfirmed):

1. Driving to work at sunset is kind of pretty, but also difficult because I drive straight west.  I can't wait for the next few months when the sun will be directly in the path of the freeway.  Driving home in the morning is worse right now, but I don't think for long.

2. Old people can be both cute and hilarious at the same time.  For example, I took care of a gentleman that has been ballroom dancing with his wife for years.  He told me that, "Most people can't tell the difference between us and professionals.  Those people on Dancing with the Stars are just learning routines, that's not really dancing."

3. My brother-in-law's grandma died this week.  He told me it's weird for him because it's his first grandparent to pass away.  He knows that life will be different.  I was thinking about it, and it was weird for me because all of my grandparents have died, and then I realized how weird my situation is.  Most people still have at least one grandparent into their twenties, whereas my immediate family only has 2 generations right now.   

4. Although I love old people sometimes, there are times when I definitely don't want to be one.  An 88-year-old woman needed help with her dinner.  She was blind, and I helped her eat.  I told here what food there was, including some pears.  She said that she would like to try some of those.  When she was ready for the next bite, she said, "Can I have more peaches now?"

5. Sometime in the shift, something will not go the way you want it to: a patient will spike a fever, you'll catch a mistake made by someone else and have to call the doctor and you get yelled at, or a non-verbal patient's family will leave and you can't get any information from him.

6.  Some men flirt with every female nurse that walks into the room.  I have once again learned that there is a line about when the nurses think it's cute and funny, and when it's absolutely creepy.  Here's the difference: age.  A 37-year-old flirting with the nurses and asking all about you is totally creepy!  An 85-year-old who says, "You have beautiful Irish eyes!" is absolutely cute and quite endearing!  (I have no idea where the Irish eyes came from...I'm not Irish as far as I know).

7. Sometimes all we can do isn't enough.  The body can only take so much, and it's weird taking care of someone that will most likely not ever leave the hospital again.

8. Old people often want to introduce you to their grandson (or other visitor) who,  "Is so nice and you two would get along great."  Rarely, you actually meet this person, and find out that he's actually very good looking, so you find excuses to go into that room so you can have another look.

9. I was told that I have a Utah accent by someone who used to live in Utah.  So weird!

With all the good and bad, I'm pretty sure I'm enjoying work right now.  I remember to laugh at myself and find humor in all sorts of situations.

Farmer's Market

So, today, on the way home from work, I decided to visit the farmer's market that is on the other side of the fence from my apartment.  I've heard good things about it, and fresh produce is always really nice.  So, as I walk in, I see a bunch of people who brought their own bags (which is something I'm trying to do, because I hate plastic bags).  I have probably purposefully stayed away from stores like Sprout's because I am kind of anti-organic foods.  I am pro pesticides.  Anyway, I was kind of nervous, but I decided to give it a try anyway.  Inside, there's this magical smell of fresh fruit and veggies.  It was great, and the prices were fabulous!  For less than $9, I got the following: celery stalks, a green bell pepper, a bag of grapes, 2 very large onions, peaches, and 10 pounds of potatoes!  I'm so excited to eat it and see if it tastes as good as it looks.  I also saved a whole 10 cents for bringing my own bags. 

It's been raining this weekend, and people in Arizona don't know how to take it.  I've seen more umbrellas in the last 3 days that I have in a whole year in Utah.  People hang out in eaves of store entrances so they don't have to get wet.  They drive a lot slower, which is probably good, because there is not drainage systems, just the bowl-like areas that are usually parks that catch the water.  It's been kind of funny to see so many different reactions to the rain.  Some people like it a lot, and others start grumbling if there's a gray cloud in the sky.  I just remind them that it snowed the whole weekend where I'm from, and they usually get really grateful really quickly. 

I have not posted a medical word recently, so the word of the day is: sphygmomanometer (sfig-mo-ma-nom-e-ter).  An instrument to measure arterial blood pressure consisting of an inflatable cuff, inflating bulb, and a gauge showing the blood pressure.  It's really a fancy name for a blood pressure cuff, and again, it's fun to say.  Have a great day!

Family

Now, all of you from Arizona, it's time you met my family.  I am the oldest child of 10 children.  My parents drive a ginormous van to fit us all in it (which is great when you're moving by the way.)  Here is a picture them:

This was a while ago, I think probably over a year ago now, but it's what I have.  I think this was taken in December of 2008.  Since then, one of my sisters got married, and her husband is not pictured here.  But, here's a lovely picture from that day: 

I think we had plans to take a family photo, but then I moved 600 miles away, and Melinda went to Manilla, Phillipines for 4 months.  We'll get one some day...  Okay, so Matt and Caroline are married.  The rest of us are as follows:

From left to right: Elmina, Cordell, Andrew, Henry, Me, Melinda, Edith, Caroline, Heather, and Herschel.  Somebody thought it would be fun to line up according to height.  Sadly, I have now moved down the list again.  Only the 3 youngest are shorter than me.  The age range between Elmina and me is 21 years exactly.  She's so funny about us sharing a birthday.  She called me the other day and told me that it was almost our birthday, and that we didn't have to sing cause it was our birthday. 

That's a little about the fam.  More to come I'm sure.  

New things...

So, this week, I worked on the unit itself and tried to learn the charting system, which is a little tricksy, but I'm getting used to it I suppose.  I also went to the simulation center.  We each had to be the "primary nurse" on one of four scenarios, and help out with the others.  Of course, my scenario was the code.  I couldn't get the MI(heart attack), or the cardioversion, or the 3rd degree heart block.  No, about 2 minutes into things, it was V-tach and no pulse.  CPR for about 10 minutes (at least it felt that long).  But, the patient survived, and so did I.

So, as I was driving around the other day, I came to a hill, and I was so baffled because Mesa doesn't have any hills in it at all.  It's weird that such a normal thing in Utah seemed to entirely weird down here.  

Now I know I'm going to show you all how truly naive I am, but I saw a real live nun this week at the hospital!  That's so lame, but we don't have a lot of nuns in Utah.  Also, this week happened to be Ash Wednesday.  I had no idea what this was, until I got to the simulation center and there was a black mark on an instructor's forehead.  Through the day, I saw several people who had them, so I will explain what I have learned.  Ash Wednesday falls 46 days before Easter (40 days, not counting Sundays.)  It is a time for people to repent and think about transgression, give up luxuries, and fast.  I'm sure this a very crude assessment of the purpose of this, but at least you understand a little.

Last Saturday, I bought a couch and a chair, and I now proudly show it to you.  It is the most comfortable of any of the 400 couches I sat on:

 It's not what I was expecting to buy at all, but it's so comfy!  It makes my living room feel a lot smaller, and I'm glad that I did not get anything bigger.  It's fabulous to have something to sit on!

Deja Vu

So, we all know that feeling of "I've been here before, but I don't know when," right?  Well, as weird as that feeling is, it is even more weird to have deja vu about having deja vu!  I was sitting in orientation at work today, and I felt like I had done this before, but not only that, I felt like I had had deja vu about that situation before, so I was having double deja vu?  So bizarre.  I kind of felt like I must have time traveled somewhere.  How else does that happen?  Don't tell me that it doesn't happen because it has happened to me twice before today.  Man, life's weird! 

Anyway, work is going well.  Lots of borientation and computer stuff, but hopefully I'll be done with it soon.  I feel very lost when I am inside the hospital itself.  It makes Utah Valley Regional's mess look like a cake walk.  I've had laryngitis this week, and so asking or answering questions is kind of awkward.  I feel like I'm yelling while whispering.  Not easy my friends.  Have a great day!