Oooooooof.

Went to the gym last night for a 6pm workout. Walked past a fitness class that was just starting in the main gym and decided last minute to join. So great... but so tiring. It was a circuits class with trips out to the parking lot for sprints and lunges. Lots of males and females my age, which kept me [the ever competitor. ha] going. I was spent by the end; my body was done.

I've been pushing myself these past two weeks, and today I am feeling it. Oof. Went kickboxing this morning and did some free weights, but was not able to muster my usual "gusto." Rolling out of bed today, my glutes were screaming at me! I'm forcing myself to take a day off tomorrow. My body is tired. I felt like a slug today. Which was ok... spent the day with my nose in my Kaplan study book both inside and outside in the sun, painted my toenails in the sun, and watched Felix pitch a gem of a game against the Yanks. A perfect day for me, the slug.

Musings.

At work the other evening, I was summoned from my watchful post in the ICU to help out on the extremely short-staffed med/surg/oncology floor. I was immediately given a shift report [half way through the shift, mind you] on 8 patients. Before leaving, the charge nurse asked me to check in on a patient who she thought might be turning septic. [Deep breath] I plunged forward. In reality, the patient was overloaded with fluid, making him feel extremely uncomfortable and just "not right" [a cue for patients who might be septic]. A dose of lasix and shedding of 1400 ml of fluid was blessed relief for the poor man.

It was hard to watch this patient; in mid-life, struggling with some diagnoses that are, in general, pretty fatal. Another patient of mine for those few short hours was a teenaged boy with an acute GI bout. He reminded me so much of what my sister Laura is going through. She has never had to been hospitalized though, thank the Lord. Finally, another patient of mine turned out to be taking an unfortunate turn toward unwellness. Going in to take her normal Q4hr vitals, I noticed her BP was extremely high [200+ SP] and that she was febrile. These two changes in vital signs are significant, especially in geriatric patients. Tylenol and some BP meds gave her some immediate relief, but her current state of health was not looking hopeful that evening.

I am very ready for my transition from Nurse Tech to Registered Nurse. In a little over a month, I'll be exchanging my 1 CORA/COSI patients or 10 med/surg patients for 2 critical neonates. For the life of me, I cannot tell you what I expect. Most recently, I have asking for special guidance from the Lord; asking Him to prepare me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as I prepare for these precious patients.

bum-life

While I am working a bit in this interim period of life, I can't help but love being a bum. I'll work a day or evening shift every few days or so, and then the sweet bliss of taking naps, reading my stack of summer reading books, making soup, eating fro yo, vino in the backyard. walking around lakes. sitting in the sun. reading NCLEX study books [not as blissful as other noted activities]. walking to places instead of driving. kickboxing. long runs. reading blogs. catching happy hour with friends. eating nectarines. making joy journals. The list could be endless.

A side note; I ran down to UrbanXChange yesterday with three bagfuls of unwanted clothing. I sold almost all of it. It has been a good three years since I have actually spent money at that store. As soon as my credit slip dips below $10, it always somehow get's a helpful boost. Yes, I've recycled unwanted clothing that I've purchased, and have even returned pieces from Urban that I no longer want, but still don't feel as if I'm actually ever spending money at Urban. It is a beautiful and vicious cycle. I don't tend to find extraordinarily remarkable items at Urban, but do find some interesting things for myself or as gifts for others. Wading through the unique [but unneeded] jewelry and shoes that don't fit, I generally find dresses or scarves to purchase. Yesterday though, I found a plaid romper! I like rompers, and I generally like plaid things, but not together [aka both plaid and being a romper]. But, I brought it home and transformed it. It is now a type of shift dress and PERFECT.

Bedtime, bedtime, bedtime. Went up to Safeco for the M's/Cubbies game [an unfortunate 14 inning loss] and got too much sun; which makes for a sleepy Erin.

Sitting in church today, my bare legs peeking out of my pencil skirt almost froze off. And my poor feet, shoved into some flats, were still damp from running into a puddle in the parking lot. Oh well for June.

Otherwise, my day consisted of a good morning pot of french press, eggplant from Vien Dong [a Father's Day lunch], playing with my dad's smudge sticks [a Father's Day gift], a delicious 2 hr nap, church again in the evening [Pastor Rayburn' sermon on King Solomon's wealth and the visit of Queen Sheba was quite enlightening.], and then a few hours of rummaging through old papers, notes, drawings, and pictures. I smile when I look back on things I've written; notes friends have written to me in the past. While I feel like my childhood years were not too far into the past, when I look at these old "pieces of my history" it feels ages and ages ago. When in reality, it went by in a blink of an eye.

I smile when I think about tomorrow. My day is planned. Another good morning pot of french press [thank the lord for Kathryn and her weekly mark outs given to me as generous gifts], gym, Seattle friends for the afternoon with a much-needed happy hour stop.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll be ready to start work again on Tuesday. We'll see...

post-grad

Post-graduation... my life as of late:

Summer reading has commenced. Before mentioning the titles I'm currently sinking my teeth into, I must not forget the overriding literary work of the many nurses and physicians that have written [can you sense the sarcasm?] the 2010-2011 edition of the NCLEX-RN strategy book. This work of art will be a part of my daily life; now until mid July. ---- In between times, however, I've got "My Life in France," [by none other than Julia Child], "The Ragamuffin Gospel," [a must] "Into Thin Air," [highly recommended by my dear friend, Sara] "Three Cups of Tea," [because I've heard so many good things] "The Red Tent," [another must read, this one recommended by my OB professor], "Living Stones of the Himalayas," [because I can never have enough global health], and "Fast Food Nation," [for fun... and to get me fired up]. 4 of these were picked up from the cute little book man at the Fremont Sunday Market for an insanely cheap price.

Check one off the bucket list. Yesterday afternoon, I walked down to the Korean supermarket a few blocks away and purchased some boba. Carefully preparing it according to the exceptional English directions on the back, I also made a blueberry/banana smoothie [with coconut milk]. Complete with boba straws and all, it wasn't as great as I suspected. I don't know what goes into making boba sweet... because mine was not. However, I made boba! We'll see if I stick to WOW and yunnie [I will!].

KICKBOXING & WEIGHT ROOM. Enough said. I'm back into the routine I love. Day 3 of the "let's get Erin's back ripped" routine has commenced. And perhaps, just perhapss, my poor knee that has been inured since March will decide to heal up on it's own accord [now that I'm not continually pounding it on the pavement.]

Despite the gloominess of this WA June, I've welcomed summer in. How? I ate the most perfect apricot known to mankind last night. It's now officially summer [aka: stone fruit season].Studying is not over, but I'm in the dreamlike state of spending my days listening to Bon Iver, working out when and where I want to, drinking french press all day, cooking my own food out of the wondrous vegan-inspired Arkin fridge. Today after coming home from the gym, I made a quinoa, green pepper, and asparagus salad. DIVINE.

[oh, and I'm on call at TG until July 13th... when my Nurse Tech license expires. But, I prefer to think of only lounging around; because on August 3rd.........

I'll be Erin, Residency RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit beginning a 12 week residency. I received a job offer for a .8 night position one week after my interview! Coming right out of college, I am not surprised by working nights [I've been preparing myself for this all year, unfortunately]. However, having an offer to go straight into a specialty that provides critical care experience in addition to OR experience is one that is entirely a privilege and honor. In talking with the clinical nurse specialist, I was also told that I may have the chance at working variable shifts [non-night!]. We'll see... I will take what I can get. I am so, so blessed and blown away by this offer. Praise God!

All for now. Nap time for me.

4 years ago...

This girl packed up all her stuff and moved 40 minutes away to beautiful Queen Anne. 4 years at Seattle Pacific University have produced 2 roommates, 4 different residence hall floors, 1 appearance at the Women's NCAA Rowing Championships [5th place!], 3 1/2 marathons, dozens of beautiful friends, approximately 2500 gwinn meals, thousand of class hours, 2 years of being a Peer Advisor, 2 wonderful PA staffs [I love you, Ashton and Emerson], hundreds of 1.1's, 1 degree [BSN!], hundreds of clinical hours, many instances of crying over chemistry, many instances of joyously celebrating over triumphs, and the growth of one little girl into what can now be called... a nurse? A university graduate? It's in there somewhere.

4 Years later, my car is packed. I'm sitting on my stripped bed, in an empty room, on an empty floor. Not quite ready to leave Seattle. I've decided to fill my last hour in Seattle with a run... bridge to bridge [my usual jaunt I've completed at least a hundred times]. Very fitting. And then one more stop at Macrina. And then home for now. I hate goodbyes, so this run will suffice.

Hello to a transition. I'll try to figure you out.

intermittent sunshine.

Today is a sunshiney Seattle day. A week of rain, a sunshine day, and then forecast for more rain. The sunshine makes my last Saturday of studying for finals bearable. I keep telling myself I'm almost done; a half-truth really. Once graduation festivities are complete, studying for the NCLEX begins. I'm telling myself to take just one step at a time though; finals first, then NCLEX.

Met up with MM at her boat for a run this morning. We planned on a Lake Union loop, but decided to run to the Space Needle instead. MM just bought some vibram's and is still getting used to running in them, so we took it easy on the mileage. And instead ran a fast pace... ouch. Between stopping at crosswalks and running around pedestrians, I remembered why I generally run on the Burke: NO TRAFFIC. The change of scenery was nice though.

After our run, we went and sat out on the bow of her boat and soaked up some vitamin D. I never get enough....
Errands, lunch, and now I should probably shower. And studying. [breathe] Here we go.

running highs.

I am a sucker for running highs. I'm selfish. I never want them to end. I usually tend to love them so much that I over work myself, inevitably running me into a running low.

Regardless, on the treadmill yesterday, I knew that my body was breaking into a running high. It's been a rainy, pouring mess outside lately, so that [and the fact that most of my runs end up being at 9pm at night] has me running on the treadmill. I generally enjoy running on a treadmill; I'm not necessarily a concrete purist. While I do tend to get bored, I keep pace much better. Last week was bad as far as running goes. I barely had the time to run, and when I did, I felt like I was running underwater. Yesterday, before dinner, I ran a hard 5 miles and it felt good! Future running plans include a bridges run (Ballard Bridge/Fremont Bridge loop) tonight and a Lake Union loop this weekend.

So here's to running highs. A perfect way to get through my last week of finals. Ever. [at least undergraduate finals].