I wonder how cold it has to get before PIttsburgers consider it cold?
I'm at the diner now and chose to drive instead of walk this morning, considering it's well below freezing outside. Cold enough for me! I trudged the few blocks to the parking lot where my car is located, walked right by it and into the lot, racking my brain to remember where I parked it last. (I drive so rarely now, it takes a minute to recall.) No wonder I walked right by and missed it. It looked like every other car--buried in 5 inches in snow! I finally found mine and unburied it for the short drive to the diner. I figured it was a good idea to get the snow off today, since it's supposed to snow even more tonight and I actually have to drive to the hospital tomorrow, may as well get some of it dealt with today.
In any case, I passed the corner park thinking it would surely be deserted this morning, but of course it wasn't. The hail and hearty deck-hockey guys were out there playing in the frigid cold. It made me smile. How cold before they cancel the game?
I had a severe case of cabin fever this Sunday morning, after having been in the near-empty dorms all weekend and missed my usual friday night out when plans fell through. I consoled myself with Rom-Coms on the telly, catching up on my notes and cross-stitch. Luckily I did make it out Thursday night, unexpectedly. I was invited to karaoke night with a friend and a group of her friends from the hospital in which she works. Got to visit a cute new neighborhood and discover a nice old tavern--The Apple. Her friends were clearly all about karaoke--and I swear they were good enough singers to go professional. I love watching karaoke and singing along! Too bad I can't sing! :)
There are clear downsides to living in this old building...the fire drills being the most annoying right now. Last year they had something like 36 false alarms, but it still means we all need to leave the building and wait in the park across the street for the 3 fire trucks to come and give us the all clear. The only up-side to this exercise is gawking at the gang of cute firefighters that swarm the building! Nonetheless, I have tallied it up so far, and of the 6 or so drills we've had, I have been pretty much naked when the alarm went off for most of them; just getting out of the shower or already in bed. (I have started getting a little skittish when in the buff, thinking that I will surely hear that blasted bell at any moment.) I'm beginning to take it personally, as if it just waits for the worst moment (for me) to go off. What the alarm doesn't seem to do is go off during the daylight hours, or when I'm fully clothed, or when I'm not even home. Why?
Last night was the worst yet. I had just showered and crawled into bed at midnight when the alarm went off. I glanced at the temperature and, seeing that it was 16 degrees out and snowing, I got myself fully dressed in tall boots and warm coat among much cursing and gnashing of teeth. Other girls chose to dash right out in what they were wearing, choosing the expedient (and undoubtably safer) option, especially had it been a real fire. They later regretted it as they fought hypothermia in the park in shorts and a tee-shirt.
I'm blogging from my counter seat at the diner now that my friends (the old duffers) have finally gone. I love to discuss old cars, the golden age of big band music, the work-ethic of today's young people and various other topics with them. But when they finally go, I get to put on my head phones, dial up some Perry Como (in homage to my vintage diner and vintage friends) and get my work done. Headphones are necessary to drown out the buzz; clanging dishes, shouts of "order up!" from the kitchen, and the gabbing of the waitresses. Headphones also discourage friendly conversation from my neighbors...so I can actually get my work accomplished. Of course, the diner doesn't have WiFi, as I discovered this morning, but I guess I really didn't think it would. It's okay, I brought plenty to do.
This week we went into the Sim Lab and learned all about IV therapy. How to hook them up, the ways to hang medications, give bolus doses through the ports, how to change the tubing. How to draw blood. I was so excited about all this until my clinical instructor told me that students are restricted from putting in IV's at my particular clinical site to which I've been assigned this term! Boo! How am I supposed to practice? By the time I'm actually faced with a real patient it will have been weeks/months since I was trained! I pity my poor first patient for this reason. Because of this, I'm determined to actually take advantage of the open lab sessions they have after class every Friday, so I can at least go practice sticking rubber people...until a real human subject is made available to me. Grrr....
I'll head to Whole Foods later and plan the meal I'll make for friends tonight. Something comfort food, since it's cold outside. I'm thinking a cheesy garlic scalloped potato dish with ham. And maybe pie. Something to stick to the ribs, fill our bellies and fortify us for the coming week. Calories be damned. I really miss cooking and entertaining friends over a meal. Glad to have a friend with a kitchen so I can do so once in a while!
Like a prisoner in a cell...I like to mark off the time remaining in the term on my white board, counting down the weeks until the end, and break. Happy that one week is already behind me, and girding my loins for the remaining nine. Oh well..."It Had to be You" is playing on Pandora, and I have notes to type.
...Until We Meet Again!
