I'm in

Well, yesterday went about as smoothly as it possibly could. I woke up early and went to get cash and Starbucks. At the ATM, I managed to lock myself out of my debit card. So, I had to call my bank at 0630 to get the problem resolved before the movers showed up and wanted money. Other than the truck getting stuck in a little bit of morning traffic and showing up just a little bit late, my movers were excellent. Even with them showing up late, they called me to let me know that they were going to be late. The two guys had me loaded and unloaded in 3 hours. I was so thankful that I decided to hire them. My next in town move, I'll use them again. Plus, I'll hire someone to clean the apartment I'm leaving.

I spent the majority of today cleaning. I've scrubbed and vacuumed more than I care to for awhile. I took so much junk to the dumpster and didn't realize how much I left at the apartment. I think I've unloaded all of it from the car.

I've unpacked a little bit, but mostly I'm relaxing this afternoon. I came home and showered and sat down. I don't really want to get up now. My sister and nephew are on their way down for the weekend, so hopefully we'll get a lot done. Though, I think we'll manage to get to a movie as well! :)

That's all I know for now. I hope to have enough done soon to post pics of the new place. It's coming along more than I think! Tuesday will be here before I know it and I really want to have most of this done. I don't like having boxes everywhere. I'll post more later, cjb

Let the moving begin

So I woke up this morning and took my time getting ready because the new apt office doesn't open until 0900, so there was no hurry in trying to get there first thing. I also still had to load the car and a few other things, so I just took my time. I think I left about 0930 and then got stuck in traffic because of a bad pile up accident on the highway. Got all the paperwork signed and then got the keys and found my apartment. I still have to find the mailboxes and the closest dumpster. It took me a little bit longer for the first load than I wanted it to, but I also got a couple boxes unloaded, so it's not so bad.

I'm back at the old apartment trying to figure out what to do next. I spent 30 minutes on hold with the electric company trying to disconnect my service. And another 10 with the cable company. I'll be cleaning the old apartment Friday and hopefully be able to drop off the cable equipment on Friday to get the service here cut off. Some things really just need to fall into place.

I plan to load up the car one more time with little odds and ends. I'll make one more trip to the new apartment and then come back here for the night. I need to wash a load or two of laundry. I think I'm going to rent a washer and dryer until I'm able to find ones I like.

That's all the news for now. I hope everyone else is just peachy. I'll keep you up-to-date on the move du jour! cjb

Hurray!

I DID get called off today! :) However, they waited until I was almost ready to get into the shower, I was about ready to call in and check to see if they needed me!

I got most of the kitchen packed yesterday. A lot of it is going to be given away. It's stuff I haven't used since I've been here. It'll stay in the cabinet until I come back to clean up and have more boxes. I just need to figure out how to rearrange the living room boxes so that the movers are able to move around more easily and to make sure that I have packed everything. I'm really glad I have an extra day. Now, hopefully, Wednesday won't be as crazy as it was going to be.

I need to get some breakfast and get started on my morning. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day! cjb

In a rut

So at work lately I just can't seem to get out of the bad day rut. I've worked the last three and two of the last three I've left close to or after 8. Yesterday was an exception because I discharged two of my three patients and got to go home early. Even going home early only shorted me two hours for the week! Yikes! In some ways I feel like I'm regressing as a nurse. I question everything I do and feel like I have to ask for help more and more. I don't know if it's because I'm learning more or experiencing more with my patients.

I still have some packing to do today. I plan to get the kitchen completed today. There is also a high chance that I'll get called off work tomorrow. When I left yesterday census was low and the nurse count for Monday was high. There are no scheduled procedures for Monday, so hopefully I'll have an extra day to prepare for the move.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. If you are traveling, travel safe! I'll post more later, cjb

I'm not tired . . .

yet. One, theoretically, should not be working so hard on one's days off that they go back to work exhausted! On the other hand, I have managed to get a heck of a lot of packing done. There's just a few odds and ends left in the bathroom, bedroom, and living room. I will get the kitchen packed up on Sunday. I have managed to get most of the shelves down with little or no incidence. I continue to throw out things like there's no tomorrow.

I have electric service and have scheduled my set-up for cable, internet and phone service. Now, I just need to set my disconnect dates here. I have also put in my change of address with USPS and my magazines. I'll change with the bank and credit cards after I move. That way I can keep a nice, tidy check list and make sure I don't miss anyone. I think that's all I have left to do. For those of you veteran movers out there (i.e. Mom and Dad), did I miss anything or do I need to do anything else?

I'm really impressed that I've managed to get all this done by myself. In the past, I've always had at least one or two friends around helping me sort and pack and such. It seems that all my friends and family have scattered, so I'm left to do this alone. I guess in some ways it's good. I have been able to get rid of a lot of things. I'm learning to lighten my load. I really want to learn to live without being a packrat. I still have some things to go through and will manage to get through them after I move. I have the boxes marked clearly and want to get my files started/updated. I have lots of ambitions, but I know I can do this. Plus, I have a lot of time off after I move and I think my sister may be coming down to help me the weekend I move.

I've rambled enough. I need to try to get to bed at a decent time because I do have to work tomorrow. I have to let the towels finish drying and then the sheets go into the dryer. Then all the laundry is caught up.

I'm pretty impressed, three posts in three days! ;-) I hope you all have a great rest of your week. I'm off to work the next three days. More about my moving adventures later! cjb

Will someone please . . .

finish packing for me? I'm so tired of putting things in boxes and throwing things away, etc. I've found more things that I haven't used in two + years that it's insane. I had to go get more boxes today just in case. I got them at U-Haul because they'll buy back what I don't use. The living room is almost complete. I haven't touched the kitchen yet, but think that can be done in a fairly short amount of time tomorrow. I also still have to finish the bedroom. Mostly just loose clothing and a few odds and ends. Then I have to take down the shelves. It was interesting trying to get some of them down in the "office". Several of the screws were stripped, so I had to use pliers to twist them out. Hopefully the rest of them will come down easily. I'd take pictures, but it's so chaotic here that it's unreal.

Everything else is fine. Just trying to get as much done as I can. So, if you have some spare time, come on over to help out! :) cjb

Stressful days at work

So the last few days at work have been really trying on my nerves and my skills as a nurse. When I got to work on Friday they had assigned me four patients and after I got report, I realized there was a possibility of all four of them being discharged. I was right. I ended up discharging all four patients and received two transfers in. My nerves were wrecked by the end of the shift because everything seemed to happen in twos. For example, I'd have two patients go home, then get my two transfers, then my last two patients went home. I ended up missing a few things on my transfers in, but it wasn't anything major.

I was scheduled to work Saturday and I had the same two patients I ended with on Friday, plus two new ones. One was set to discharge. I ran from the time I took report until the time I gave report and then some. Then I didn't clock out until after 8 pm. I can't say exactly what happened, but I just know I was busy and by the time I got home, I was so tired, I couldn't even think straight.

I ended up working overtime yesterday and it was much better. I had the same three patients back and we had our groove down. I was able to leave by 7:15 last night and felt like I provided the kind of care I want to provide everyday!

Today is going to spent packing and getting ready for my move in 10 days. I have today, tomorrow and Wednesday to get the majority of my apartment packed up. That's all that I'm up to right now. I'll ost later in the week! cjb

Moving and me

I'm really starting to think that moving and me don't get along. No, really. This whole moving thing is really for the birds. You have to pack everything up in boxes after sorting through massive amounts of stuff that you have accumulated over the time you have been in said apartment and hope that you don't get rid of anything you really needed, though, if it was in a box for 2+ years, you probably don't NEED it. Then you have to hope that everything works out the way you plan it! That's where my problem lays. You see, yesterday I got a phone call from my new apartment office asking me if I wanted to move in on the 19th and get the rest of May free. I don't have movers scheduled until the 29th, and I don't plan to reschedule them because I have my old apartment until the 31st. I thought about it for a little bit and called them back and told them my plan and that I would go ahead and pick up the keys on the 19th. After all, I could set up the kitchen, and then the bathroom, and slowly go forth. Then on the 29th, the movers could get the rest of the stuff, right? Well, that WAS the plan. They called me back this morning and told me that they had made a mistake. They couldn't give me the rest of May free and the $300 off June's rent too. So what did I want to do? I told them it would be more prudent for me to move in on the scheduled date.

That's when the next issue hit. I tried to call the electric company to reschedule my cut-on date and they said that there wasn't enough time. I think I talked to three or four people. I know I made at least four phone calls regarding the electricity this morning. So, finally my apartment office decided that since it was their fault, that we would leave the electricity in my name from the 19th and they would give me a concession when my first bill comes in. It works for me, but I don't understand why so many companies have gotten so hard to deal with.

At any rate, I'm coming along at a good clip today. I have almost my entire bedroom closet packed and sorted. This is a big deal, mind you. If you remember back to December when I was preparing for guests for pinning, I threw everything into my bedroom closet (because it was the biggest storage area in my apartment). I have thrown out A LOT!! At least three boxes of junk. And I still have another big box to go through. I have a feeling that most of it will be trash, too. My goal is to get the closet pretty much finished tonight, then when I'm off next week, we'll move on. I'll keep you updated to my progress.

I hope your week is progressing nicely! I'm off to pack some more and watch Grey's tonight! :)
cjb

Never a dull moment

Lately I've felt like my time isn't my own.

I was off last Thursday and knew I wouldn't go in if I was called in because it was pinning for the class behind me. Before I went to pinning, I managed to make it to the hospital for the nurses week celebration lunch. It was a good day for another class of nursing students!

I worked Friday and part of Saturday. The only reason I didn't work all day Saturday was because they needed help on Sunday, so I left on Saturday to come back all day Sunday. Then I was supposed to be off yesterday. I had my normal wake up time for when I'm off, but around 1030, I got a call saying that someone needed to go home for sick kids and could I please come in? I ended up going to work at 1145 and working the rest of the shift. So, I have been at work the last four days. I'm tired today and I really need to work on packing and all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV. Nothing drastic happened at work. I helped some people get better. I love helping people get better and when they are grateful for their care. If I have to work four days, I'd want it to be with patients like I had this last rotation through!

I go back tomorrow then I'm off again Thursday. I'm scheduled to work Friday and Saturday and then I'm sure they'll ask me to work on Sunday. I haven't decided if I'll work Sunday or not. It depends on how much I get done today and Thursday. I need to work a lot this week because I'll be limited the couple of weeks before and after I move.

So I need to eat breakfast and get started on packing. I hope you are all having a great week. I'll try to post again soon. Sorry to be so lax in posting, but when you work so much . . . just please forgive me! cjb

One of those days

Have you ever had one of those days where you seriously want to go home and start over? When I received report this morning on one of my patients, I knew it was going to be one of those days. Even though I had the last two days off, I feel like I worked a whole week worth today. I had to start off by getting consents signed quickly for a patient to go to cath lab and he really didn't want to sign or go to cath lab. Before I knew it they were there to pick him up and he was still dressed. He wouldn't take his pants off while he was in the bathroom, he made us all leave the room so he could get undressed. And it just kept going and it wasn't even 0730 yet! I was able to catch up with my other patients and catch my breath, but I knew trouble was coming back to me. I can't really go into details, but lets suffice it to say that empty urinals were thrown at me, I was yelled at and overall made to feel like I was the bad guy today. Several IV's were pulled out and then all of a sudden, I had a new patient. No, not really a new patient, but it sure seemed that way. I was finally able to go in and get vitals without being told I was doing my job incorrectly. It was insane and stayed that way for the rest of the shift. I'm sure there was some dementia going on, but that doesn't make it any easier. I didn't realize how hard it hit me until I got in my car and started making phone calls and no one answered. When I finally got an answer, I could hardly talk because the tears were already welling up. The tension is so tight in my shoulders I can hardly stand it. I know that I did the best job I could do today, but it's hard to be constantly told that you are doing your job wrong or whatever. Thankfully my other patients were very low-key and relatively low-maintenance. I'm off to take a hot shower and crawl into bed. I'm glad I don't work tomorrow! :) Good night, cjb

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I just needed to take time out today to wish a very Happy Birthday to the woman who is so special to me. She's done more than I can even think about mentioning here. Mom, I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I wish I was there to give you a big hug!



Not much else is going on. I worked overtime yesterday, so that took away from some of the time I expected to get housework taken care of this weekend. I do have today and tomorrow off, so hopefully I can get caught up! ;) At any rate, I need to get started. I hope everyone has a great week! cjb

So much for posting more . . .

I know I said last time I posted I was going to try to post more, but somehow this week managed to get away from me again. My first day off was Friday and I was supposed to be off through Wednesday, however, they called me today to see if I would work tomorrow. Right now I can use all the money I can get, so I agreed to go in even though I got nothing done in the apartment.

The clinic I volunteer at moved locations this week and I needed to help get it ready for business on Tuesday. I worked about 4 hours yesterday and then 8 hours today. Yesterday afternoon was spent running around town and yesterday evening I went with Jen and saw Made of Honor. We had a great afternoon and the movie was wonderful. I was just planning on getting more done here. I will still be off on Monday and Tuesday so I plan to mostly stay home and get things done around here. The end of the month will be here before I know it.

I'm finishing up some laundry and then it's off to bed for the night. Maybe my next post will be sooner and more insightful. Until then, cjb