Bucket List

Sorry I've totally been MIA. I havent really had much to write about the last few months. So I thought I'd jump back into it with my personal Bucket List. For some reason, lately I've been obsessed with creating one, so here is my list...

Already completed:

• sky dive
  
• snorkel
• snowboard
• see the Grand Canyon
• go to Alaska and see the glaciers
• rock climb
• ride in a helicopter
• go whale watching

Yet to be completed:

• "Do" Vegas (est. date of completion: Sept. 2012) :)
• learn to drive stick shift
• tour Europe
• ice skate at Rockefellar Center at xmas time
• swim with dolphins
• go on a medical mission
• run a half marathon
• kiss in a summer rainstorm
• learn to surf and/or water ski
• scuba dive (in the Barrier Reef)
• ride a motorcycle
• be a mom
• see the northern lights
• jump off a cliff into deep water

That's all I've got so far, but I'm sure the list will grow (and hopefully so will the completed list!)

Lolo

Nikki:

Many of you probably know our Lolo better than the two of us do and have more stories to share about him. I unfortunately have a hard time remembering the times Lolo and I shared over the years. Thankfully, last year when we came to the Philippines for vacation we were able to spend some more time together. When we weren't off sight-seeing, DJ and I visited him every day, sometimes twice a day. He was always so happy to see us, always seemed so appreciative. We did a lot and saw a lot during that vacation last year but one of my fondest memories was taking Lolo for his daily walk down the street. We did not have much to say to one another; we mostly just sat together, DJ and I desperately trying to think of something new to talk about, Lolo watching us, smiling. I realized there was no need for words, he was happy to just be there holding our hands.

DJ:

Thinking back, I can only picture 2 memories of Lolo in my head. One is: after we moved to our new house years ago, he visited and helped clean the fence in the back yard. I would watch from the deck as he gathered leaves and cut wires. Ate and I had forgotten about that until last year when we saw him, and Lolo was the one who remembered that and reminded me that it happened. Our time with Lolo last year is the other memory I have with him. Both of us would come by just to sit and talk with him, and he would say, "Thanks God" and he would tell us that he is happy with tears in his eyes. One morning, it was just me who went to his house. He was still sleeping, but he was woken up and we had breakfast together - ice cream and crackers, the same way dad does at home. When we were finished, we sat next to each other and he held my arm, the same way Tito Olet does. We just sat at the table, mostly in silence, which was fine. He wasn't looking at me, but I was looking at him and he didnt have to say it that time, but I knew he was happy. On the way back from his house, I decided to start a journal of our vacation. On my first page, I wrote about our breakfast and how I was glad it was just the two of us. I wrote, "I will never forget that morning."

Lolo, we love you; we want you to know, even though we didn't share many words, we were just as happy and thankful to be sharing those moments with you.

Rest in peace, Lolo. Miss you.

It's phonetic

Katie came to visit over Labor Day weekend and it was awesome! We didnt really do much touristy stuff, but we still had a great time. Friday we went out with Lisa and her bf to U street (ran into some doctors from G-town walking down the street), got hit on by 2 Russians "fresh off the boat," and K got hit on by a guy whose sexuality is still in question. Saturday I took K to Pentagon City Mall, then we met up with my friends to watch some college football, and then we went to Chinatown and hung out at the bars there. Sunday was the National's game with my friend Katie and her bf, followed by a bbq at Sarah's, then out to Kitchen (best bar ever, esp since S and now friends with the bartender). Monday we finally did a few touristy things: ate at busboys & poets (yum!) then went to the Newseum, then the National Archives. Good weekend!!

Here are the memorable quotes:

• That is an unfortunate waste of a man
• They only like the chubby ones!
• I'm Aleks. With a K-S. It's phonetic.
• Do you do tai chi?
• Katie, what would your at-bat song be? Drop it low.
• I would rather have the wide vagina
• I'm so drunk I'm deaf in one ear!
• I need a boy... Not a pretend boy.
• Yeah, we're like salmon
• I could fake it for a week in Tahiti.

holy earthquake!

I was work when the earthquake struck. Some of the reactions from people around the unit:

• "I'm standing right here!!" -- Patient B bracing the doorway
• "I thought my bed was malfunctioning..." --Patient D.
• "Give me my pain medicine and I'm getting outta here!" --Patient H
• "I refuse to die on 6 Bles!" --Nurse Practictioner K

The nursing staff was sitting in the conference room eating lunch when it happened. At first we all kinda looked around the table like this was our thought process: "what..." -- "do you feel that?" -- "what is that?" -- "what are they moving around upstairs?" --"are they doing construction?" -- "why are the window panes shaking?" -- "is this an..." -- "earthquake!!" After everything settled we were kinda sitting around, debriefing and we started talking about what would've happened. We are on the 6th floor. We have patients who are not ambulatory. The elevators werent functioning for about 30-60 minutes. How could we have dealt with that? Which then sparked the conversation of what would happen during any disaster (whether we had an evacuation plan or not) and our manager simply states, "Yeah, you know I've thought about that before - what would happen if some sort of disaster happened while I was at work... And then you just kind of come to the realization that if anything really did happen - a fire, earthquake, bomb, whatever - you're probably gonna die." ...Such a warm, cozy thought, right? But the more we thought about it, the more we realized its true. It'd be pretty tough to actually evacuate all of our patients (forget about it if you have a time crunch) and we cant leave them, so we're stuck. It still hasnt really hit me that we had that big of an earthquake, but I sure am glad there were no real damages and everyone is safe!

"I play 2nd."

You may know that I can be just a *tad* competitive at pretty much all things in life :) softball included. Now I will be the first to admit that I am by no means an all-star softball player, (I actually tend to pull myself off the mound if I'm not satisfied with my pitching) but I'd like to think I can hold my own in a softball game. But, there is a girl on my new softball team and I'm sorry, but she needs off the team. Like, 2 games ago. And dont get me wrong, I am all for letting everyone play, having fun, enjoying the game, etc and I'm not saying we have to win every game. In fact our spring league team only won one game but we worked as a team and had a great time playing, and it was awesome. This new team is a disaster. First of all, we have a TON of people, which is nice, but that just means we need to sub people in and out almost every inning and therefore can never figure out a good fielding setup. And it doesnt help that our "coach" doesnt bother to plan ahead and try to come up with positions/sub-rotations prior to the game. Second, it takes us forever to get through our batting line-up and I want to bat!!

But back to this girl... She shows up in jean shorts and a cute shirt not looking like she's ready to play softball. Then she matter-of-factly states "I play 2nd." (I'm so glad I was standing behind her when she said this b/c without realizing it I apparently looked her up and down with a look of disgust on my face. haha oops. :)) So she starts off the game playing 2nd base. The chick doesnt even know where to stand when playing 2nd!! Here's a little hint, missy: You dont actually play your position on the bag the entire time. And even if you wanted to play your position from there, at least step off the bag for a hot second to field a grounder that's hit 2 feet to your left! UGH. Needless to say we all vetoed her going back onto the field for the rest of the game. AND she hits the ball and DOESNT run to first! They tagged her out b/c she just stood there. Are you F-ing kidding me?! Off the team.

Things to look forward to:

• Seeing the little cousins this weekend
• pool time
• new cute intern ;)
• 4th of July weekend off (granted, I have to work on the 4th, but at least I have the weekend off)
• Only 8 more shifts till vacation
• Officially on vacation and off for 15 days starting July 11
• Summer softball league

Our awesome Spring league softball team after our first (and only) victory! Love these kids! CANT.WAIT. for summer league!!

Is it July yet?

Reasons why I need a vacation:

• New Grads.
• Unappreciative, rude patients
• Unassertive managers
• Charge nurses who are worthless
• Techs who argue with you when you ask for their help
• Doctors who talk to you like you're stupid
• Secretaries who spend their entire day making personal calls instead of doing their job.
• Housekeeping staff who think its more important to make the hallway look shiny than to allow the nurses into the medication room to get meds for their patients.
• Arrogant doctors.
• Non-compliant patients. Really? WHY are you even in the hospital if you wont let us treat you?? (this is a real hot-topic issue in my book)
• People (e.g. pharmacists, lab techs, transporters, respiratory therapists, housekeepers, etc) who don't do their job
• Doctors who yell at you b/c you havent had time to send down a urine sample because you were too busy keeping your patient's BP above 75/42, and HR below 145. (sorry I had to keep my patient conscious, doc.)
• Doing 1:1 care for 7 hours of my shift, when I'm not an ICU nurse and actually have 3-4 other patients to take care of.
• We are transferring patients off our unit to the ICU at a rate of 3+ per week. Inappropriate.
• We transplant anyone regardless of whether or not they are appropriate candidates. Dont worry, it's not like we're giving these patients something important to take care of, its just an ORGAN.
• I have reached the point where I have been so overwhelmed/frustrated/angry at work that it forces me to tears
• I need some Ocho in my life.

Ugh, I'm getting so burned out.... While I desperately need a break from work if I want to actually remain a nurse, I dont want to close out this post on such a negative/bitter note... SO! I'm actually coming up on my 2 year mark, which is super exciting and I cant believe I've already been a nurse here for 2 years! It has flown by and I feel like I've learned a ton, and I'm still learning new things! A lot has happened this past year: I checked off trach care from my list of "things to do" as far as nursing care goes. Now, I think the only thing left is to handle a patient who is seizing. (Still terrified of that happening, by the way.) I've precepted new nurses; I'm Charge Nurse on a somewhat regular basis and feel comfortable with that role. And this year I was one of the nominees for Nurse of the Year. So, it's been a good year. ...Now if we could just get control of our floor so our patients arent so unstable/time-consuming/needy, I'd be a happy camper! :-P

10 Years

Again, a little late on the posting... but last Saturday the family went downtown for the annual Race for the Cure. We run this race every year, but this year was extra special because it was the 10-year anniversary of Mom's survival. :)

On the Metro heading down to The Mall

yayyyy... on the metro at 6:15am...

We all look so happy and awake :-P

Survivors on the Mall before the start

Feeling good at the Finish!

My cousin and Katia ran too!

Celebrating Mom