Updates updates updates

Ahhh, such a wonderful way to start a morning...watching a fairytale come true. Yep, that's right...I've been up since 5:30 am watching the Royal Wedding. Nooooo, I didn't set my alarm. I just happened to wake up & figured I'd turn it on. I'm glad I did. It was beautiful. The groom looked handsome, the bride looked stunning & there's no doubt they love one another. Ahhh, William & Kate. Of course now I feel old because I can still remember watching Charles & Diana get married & seeing them introduce William as a newborn. Enough of that!!!

Updates!

*There are still some GRUMPY older people that will never be pleased. Luckily, I haven't had to deal with any of them lately. I worked 3 in a row last weekend & I had the same patients all 3 nights. This rarely ever happens. And they were great patients for the most part. One didn't want anything from me ever. The second one ate nearly everything we had to eat on the nightshift...all three nights. And the third one...couldn't eat anything. Poor thing was only like 60 lbs and even unable to absorb the tube feeding we were trying to give her. I really think social services should be called to investigate. It is not normal to be that weight & the family denies any problems. You could see every bone in her body. It was not pretty. I felt like she could break a bone with any movement. She didn't even have the strength to lift her head. It was like taking care of a baby. :(

*The HCAPHS (govt) surveys are still a pain in the butt & probably always will be. Grrrr!

*My eval rocked! And we get a 2% raise. It's not much, but it's something. Of course my eval only lasted maybe 10 min, the other 50 min was a discussion about HCAPHS surveys. Ugh!

*I no longer love my 2 day work weekends, so I switched to part-time status with the requirement only being 2 days a week, but I can pick up additional shifts. My reasoning being...I need a break & I'm not going to get that with full-time status right now. I think at the beginning of next year, I will switch back to full-time (I'll reevaluate that later in the year), but summer is nearly here & I want to be able to take some vacation time without anyone being able to say no. Weekend status wouldn't allow me that freedom & sometimes I want weekends off....so that's the reason I got rid of that status. What I don't want is to become burnt out on bedside nursing & that is easy to do if you feel like you don't have enough time off. I don't want to be one of those nurses that hates my job, but can't do anything else because the pay is decent in nursing. So although I'll be making less $$$, mentally I'll be better off.....for now. :)

*I'm still waiting on the doctors to put in their own orders. June is when they say it will start happening. I can't wait to see it!!!

*The jury is still out on how I feel about my new manager. Talking to her during the eval was helpful & I see her approach, but at the same time...it's still odd that she won't come out of her office to talk to us. I would never want her job in a million years & in my 7 years of nursing, I have yet to see a manager last more than 2 years in that position. It's not easy. So I'll try not to judge & hope that she has our best interest at heart.

*We just had a nursing survey & I'm sure the hospital won't be happy with our results. Maybe it will wake administration up. Still looking forward to the employee satisfaction survey in August.

*I still have my niece & nephew. Supposedly the boyfriend will be moving out this weekend & the kids can go home on Monday. I'm not holding my breath nor getting my hopes up. I do want my freedom & privacy back...but still in doubt this will actually happen. The kids don't even want to go back. Soon it will be summer & I'm sure they'll be over here again. One day I will get my place back to myself. (fingers crossed)

*The Lady Gaga concert......amazingggggggg....yet weirdddddddd. It will be shown on HBO in May from Madison Square Garden...so if you have HBO, check it out. You'll see what I mean. I used to think she just did this bizarre stuff to get attention.....but now I think she truly is bizarre & this is totally normal stuff for her. I'm not sure what her message was during the concert. There was some type of message, because she talked A LOT, but I have no idea what her point was. It was a great performance though...over 2 hours of HER. That being said, I don't think I'll ever go to another concert of hers again. Once was enough.

Ok, those were my updates from the last post. Now on to current stuff...

*Prayers for all of those affected by the tornadoes these last few days. So heartbreaking.

*I'm feeling sad that today will be the final space shuttle launch. I grew up in Florida & launches are a normal way of life. The thought of never watching another one or never hearing any more sonic booms...makes me sad. I can only hope the next President brings it back. Way too much is invested to just slash space shuttles from existence.

*I'm heading out to my parents house in a little while. They are right on the east coast & I've never been there to watch a shuttle launch. It's also a nice little get away for me.

*Tim McGraw concert is on Sunday....and it's his birthday! Can't wait!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Bullets!

Nooooo...not the bang bang kind. This kind:

*There really are some grumpy older people & NOTHING you do will make things better.

*Co-workers rock! The govt is getting ridiculous with their demands for "customer satisfaction" & in turn...that makes hospital administration get ridiculous with the way we now interact with patients. Sometimes I feel like an actress with all the lines I'm supposed to recite.

*Evals are this month. Will there be raises or won't there???

*I had a patient last night that I thought I was going to have to use the Heimlich maneuver. However, he was choking on water...so that wouldn't help me. Actually he was aspirating the liquid into his lungs. As soon as I figured that out....after yelling at him to cough....I told him no more drinks for him. He wasn't happy...but helloooo, you're choking on it.

*I love my 2 day work weekends. It goes by so quickly. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to 3 days a week.

*Soon the doctors will be putting in their own orders instead of writing them. I cannot wait to see how this goes, although I'll miss the guessing what this scribble mark means type games I play with my co-workers.

*Our new manager....she's been there since the beginning of January....has yet to come out of her office & speak to us. If we want to talk to her, we have to go into her office or email her. I thought maybe she was shy at first, but now I see this is just the way she operates. It's the most bizarre thing I've seen when it comes to someone in a management position. I think I've said "hi" to her twice since she started. I guarantee you, she doesn't know my name. I don't know what she's afraid of, but the more she stays hidden away, the more the staff resents her.

*And lately nearly everyone is getting written up for anything. So far I've managed to avoid that, but hearing my co-workers "infractions" irritates me. Especially when it's the newer nurses. Instead of condemning them, use it as a way to teach them. Now they are afraid to mention anything they think might be wrong because they are in fear of getting punished. Such an unhealthy work environment.

*I cannot wait for the employee satisfaction surveys in August. It's still far away, but from what I'm hearing...people are going to be giving zeros. It's sad really....because last year we were the most satisfied working staff in all of the hospitals "chain"...which is at least 35 (or more) hospitals. It makes me wonder if administration is even aware of how unhappy the staff is. If not, there will be a wake up call in August...that's for sure.

*Ok, enough whining about work. Let's now whine about my home life. My ex-sis-in-law has been involved with a loser for the last 9 years or so. Loser clashes with my niece...because she has never been afraid to verbalize her hatred for him. As time went on, his behavior got worse....erratic, frustrated, bossy, etc. I hated that my niece had to live with such a monster. Fast forward to 6 weeks ago....loser tells everyone he's going on a trip to China...just to get away. Uh huh, yeah right. Turns out he was hooking up with some chick in China. Everyone here found out about it because he blabbed to his friends before he left. So my ex-sis-in-law declares she is dumping him & kicking him out of their house. Sounds like a dream come true...especially for my niece. Well, not only is he a loser, he wrote in an email he wishes my niece would die. Nice, right? When I saw that email...I refused to let her go back to her home while he is still living there. Because if he was an a-hole when he lived there, he's going to be ten times worse as he's getting kicked out.

*I have had her & my nephew at my house since March 7. Loser is still living with the ex-sis-in-law. She keeps saying he's moving out...but he's still there. Who knows if or when he'll ever leave. I find it truly disgusting that she is choosing this freak of nature over her own children. And you know how many times she's seen them since they've been at my house....ONCE. What kind of mother is that? She lives like 5 miles away & has seen them ONCE.

*It's been a sacrifice for me giving up my life as I know it....privacy, freedom, etc. But for those kids I'd do anything. I'm adjusting to having "kids." Some days are great, other days I just want calgon to take me away. :)

*Ok, now really...enough whining. I get to see Lady Gaga in concert in 12 days...woo hoooooooo.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!!!!!!