Imagine me kicking my feet, sticking out my lip, and twisting my jammies. My hair is a mess. My books are splayed open like paper-back carcasses. My dishes are dirty and my sheets are laying BESIDE the bed.
Now, listen and you can hear me. "I don't WAAAAAANNNA study. I don't Wannnna clean house. I just. Just. I just wanna sleep."
Damn PMS. Gets me every time.
I misplaced my glasses at some point last night. I looked high and low at my apartment and the neighbors' apartment and couldn't find them. I knew they would show up somewhere so I wasn't too worried about it.
This morning I found them. In the dishwasher. Hey, at least the are clean now, right? Hee hee.
Paul Salopek
Before I decided to become a nurse, I wanted to be a reporter. More specifically, I wanted to be a war correspondant or a journalist for the National Geographic. Well, this guy did it. He was reporting on the war in Sudan for the National Geographic when Sudanese officials arrested him for carrying a map of the country and two American passports.
A journalist knows the risk he takes when going into a place like Sudan or Iraq. This man took a measured risk and, for the moment, lost the gamble. But people like him are the ones that make our world smaller and our minds broader. If it wasn't for journalist willing to risk everything, we would know so little about life outside our world of American suburbia.
Now, I'm not saying every reporter deserves our praise, or that even being a hostage makes you a hero. That only makes one a survivor. But when corrupt governments afraid to let the world see what is really going on in their lands hold innocent people captive, THAT is injustice.
Please pray for this man and his family.
I survived my first week of nursing school.
I spent 33 hours studying and 18 hours in the classroom. My binder is organized, my note cards are full and my books are scattered across my kitchen table. I love it so far. Every nursing student faces burnout at some point, and I know I will; but right now I am excited and motivated. I also have two study buddies, Noel (she pronounces it Know-El) and Brian, who are going to help keep me on track when my momentum slows down. We are going to make a great team.
One of the best things that has happened was realizing that I remembered much more material from past classes than I thought I did. I've been able to pull from terminology I learned many semesters ago and that was a huge confidence booster.
Chloe is not as excited about nursing school as I am. She has been swinging between attention seeking meows and trampling me under foot to sulking in the corner or screaming to be let outside. I am tempted to get her a playmate so she won't be so lonely, but I'm not sure yet.
After a lovely weekend full of beautiful scenery and a romantic date Saturday night, I made my trek back into hot, sweaty, flat, dull Mississippi. The drive was easy, but leaving Asheville was difficult.
Once I got home last night I went into overdrive. My house stunk and felt dirty and my sheets were full of cat fur. I cleaned the litter box, vacuumed the floors, ran the air filter, and washed my sheets and all of my clothes from the trip. I even hung the clothes up after I got them out of the dryer. It felt good to know I was going to start the week with a relatively clean home.
I accidentally went to the Convocation at William Carey today. I got on campus around 9:30 to take care of some business, only to see EVERYONE on campus drifting into the auditorium. All of the offices and the library shut down. I couldn't do any of my errands, so I went inside. It took an hour and a half to commemorate the change from William Carey College (which sounds better) to William Carey University. Blah Dee Blah.
But then! My first day of class as a nursing student. I had Fundamentals of Nursing from 1 to 5. In five hours we covered about thirty minutes on the text we were assigned to read last week. It was nice, in a way, to ease into it all; but I'm ready to get down to business.
The rest of the time was spent on introducing ourselves, house keeping business, hearing the professor's life story, devotional and prayer. I was really hoping that the Nursing School part of Carey would be just a wee bit more secular. Alas. It wasn't so bad, despite being very different from my religious views about how much of a role God plays in daily life but one thing she said during the prayer bothered me.
'Father God, I pray for these students...that they have a relationship with You and put You first in their lives... That if they don't have a relationship with You that You will convict them... Because I know you can Lord. I know that You can make that impression on their lives.'
The Baptists have already 'saved' me three times. I think that the only people who need convicting are criminals. My prayer, while she was saying this, was 'Lord, please let my faith in You survive these 18 months intact.'
It's late and even though I criss-crossed all over downtown today, I can't sleep. I've been having not-so-fun dreams the past couple of nights and I guess it has me a little apprehensive.
So in leiu of a trip to Nod I am writing this and uploading pictures on to my new website, www.littlemisseryn.org/gallery . Thanks to my very thoughtful boyfriend, I have entered the world of ubergeekdom. If anything can cure insomnia, web design can; I assure you.
Let me back up and tell my adventures, starting with the dinner party last night.
Wesley and I cooked for ourselves, two other couples, and Jason. It was my first time meeting three of the seven people there and the two couples did not know each other either. It all went very well; food was good, fellowship was great. Then came time to do the dishes.
Crunch. We all heard it when Wesley ran the disposal. It was considered unnatural, but before anyone gave it any real thought the conversation resumed. After a while I got up to clean the mashed potato pot. I looked down into the disposal and saw a red light.
I thought "How cool. Their disposal has a light in it so you can see if you dropped anything into it." I looked a little closer and announced to everyone the astute observation that "There is something inorganic in here." Everyone immediately rushes over to see what is going on. Just at that time I pull out the mangled front cover of my phone. It was so pitiful looking that I had to laugh. Next I pulled out the body of the phone. The red light was still on and the think was vibrating. It was like a dying animal having seizures. Just pitiful.
So after the hooplah dies down, I order a new phone and the rest of the night goes smoothly. Hooray for morbid experiences with technology. Heh.
Today I went downtown and took pictures. I met very friendly people and got some pictures I like, many that I don't. This is partly because I forgot to take water and half way through the afternoon my hands started shaking and I was too distracted to really focus on what I was doing. Not that I was going for super-mega artsy photos anyways, but I wish I had spent a little more time on some of the shots. You can see them at www.littlemisseryn.org/gallery
It's late. I hope this post makes sense.
| You Are Marge Simpson |
 You're a devoted family member who loves unconditionally. Sometimes, though, you dream about living a wild secret life! You will be remembered for: your good cooking and evading the police Your life philosophy: "You should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head." |
I had nursing school orientation, where the professors each took turns scaring the ever-living daylights out of the fresh meat. I got homework assignments, rules, regs, and an opportunity to 'back out now before you spend any more money and waste your time and mine.' Yikes. It's only eighteen months, right? Oy.
Soon after that I was on the road to
I was apprehensive about seeing Wesley. This is our first visit as a long distance couple. So many things could have gone wrong. I could have been too uptight (the most likely), Wesley could have been too busy (also likely), or we could have just been irritable with each other. But I wasn't, he wasn't, and we weren't. So far, I have had the most peaceful, loving visit. I feel at home, welcomed, and like I am supposed to be here. I guess my main worry was that I would be intruding; but I haven't felt like that at all. So, thank you dear.
We have had a lot of fun already. We went to a swanky little neighborhood bar with wood floors and a jovial bartender on Friday night. We met several characters there, my favorite being Colonel and his mighty watch. The watch, as he showed me, is also a compass, barometer, altimeter, and thermometer. His drinks went from beer to tequila that you sip like a cognac. I hope to run into him again. I bet he has a story or two to tell.
Saturday we went to
Sunday was a very full day. We went to church and sat through a power-pack sermon (three for the price of one type thing). There was lots of music and a young priest who grinned like a cat the whole service. It was quite an experience.
After that we had lunch at a Cajun restaurant downtown, beignets and all. We went to the Mast General Store where we got camping fever, a place with over-priced fancy furniture for people who will never have kids, and a toy store where we had more fun.
We then made our way out of downtown and to a camping supply store where Wesley got a very sturdy tent and great backpack. We both got sleeping bags that will keep us alive and well in weather down to 20 degrees. You know, for all of those times we will go hiking in Juno in January. They are very comfy bags though. We are going camping Friday and then Saturday we will go up to the highest peak east of the
I am so ready to make this my home. Until then, I am having a wonderful time visiting.
Yesterday was a big, huge, busy day. It started when I *gasp* woke up early. I had orientation for nursing school. Was it exciting? Yes. Was I so nervous my hands shook while driving to the school? Oh yeah you betcha. Did I get a little queazy before it was all over? Check. Am I still looking forward to the next 18 months? Yes, but with a much more realistic view of the hell I am about to put myself through. Off to the races!!
After orientation I decided to head up to Asheville early. I threw my things in a suitcase, loaded down my ipod with goodies, kissed Chloe goodbye and got on the road. I got here last night at around 11:00 Eastern time. It was a quick drive, actually; partly do to the Harry Potter books-on-tape.
I Aced my final! Yeah!! For the first time, I feel a true sense of accomplishment for completing a semester. It was only one summer class, but it was different. It was the final step to take me to the next level. It produced visible forward movement and I am proud to say that I did it with a bang. :)
So in celebration, I want to share my favorite laugh-inducing nonsense ever. Aaaaaah... the simple (idiotic) pleasures in life.
This is noisy, by the way
I'm at the local (truly local, not Hellbucks) coffee shop cramming for my pharmacology final tonight. I have found out all sorts of cool stuff about antipsychotic, anti-Parkinson drugs and other nifty things. For instance, Benadryl is an antihistamine that also has anticholinergic effects which was once used as an anti-Parkinson drug? Fascinating, isn't it? Hee hee.
I have seen two very interesting people since I have been here. One was an old man, who ironically, I believe has Parkinson’s and is deaf. He handed me a small piece of paper with the sign for 'love' on one side and a plea for money 'to support his family' on the other. I gave him all of the change I had in my purse. Not the most generous thing I could have done but I really don't like being panhandled. Maybe I should start handing out pieces of paper with "Nursing Student, I will save your life one day' on one side and a plea for a few bucks for text books on the other. It could be quite a racket. I know. I'm callous and contradictory, but hey, who isn't?
The other was a young man that could not have been more than 19. He was dressed in his desert BDU's with that floppy sun hat they all wear. I imagine he hasn't gotten used to the haircut yet. He had such a baby face. He was so full of joy and innocence. I wish I had a camera so I could take his picture.
If he's here that means he will be shipped to God-knows-where before the mercury drops below seventy. I wonder what will happen to him when he kills his first person and all innocence is lost. How much faith in God and humanity will he lose when he watches a child die in the cross fire? How much respect for religion will he lose when he sees the burned chars of temples, mosques and churches? Or will he keep his optimism, faith in God and country and know in his heart that HIS actions are for the best, that he did all he could for men and their gods.
I know that no one's innocence lasts forever. We all lose it one way or another. This boy's is just so radiant and clashes so badly with the drab sandy color of his BDU's that I can't help but be sad that it's loss is so imminent.
I don't know much about the politics and specifics of all of the wars being fought around the world right now. That is not important to me. What gets to me is the effect these violent chess games played by men in air conditioned offices and linen suits have on the individuals that play the part of pawn or rook. To think about it makes me feel so helpless, so unhelpful; and so spoiled.
