happy thoughts

My sister will be here Wednesday, weather permitting...There has been storms after storms, blizzard after blizzard these passed few weeks and it has become quite annoying, and as much as I like snow, I am sick of it.

I am also excited about my move to Nome in May. I am making my preparations for my move, and figuring out the best routes and directions to take. I am still on the fence about selling my car. My mother says it would be best if I kept it just in case I need to move back home before I expect to, but I don't want to think that way, since I am signing a 2 year contract to stay here. I could sell it and use the money to pay her back what I owe her, and still have plenty left over to buy a 'new' car when I get back up to Nome.

Option 2: I could pack up my car, drive to Seattle, have my car shipped up here with all my things at a flat rate and have my car. That would be great, but really to live up here you need to have a vehicle that has 4 wheel drive, and my Honda sedan isn't that. Not to mention, I really would not be interested in driving across the country. That would shave off 4-5 days from my vacation and move-prep time.

There is so much to do! My head is swimming! BUT- I am so happy! I will have a job with good benefits, get my student loans paid off, go to school for my RN online, experience more of Alaska that I haven't had a chance to do yet, get awesome training FOR FREE that I wouldn't get in the Lower 48, build up my resume, and become a member of the community. Not to mention spend time with my friends and 'family' here in Nome and my awesome boyfriend Brian I wish you could all meet.

If you are feeling blue that I am leaving the Lower 48 for AK, DON'T! I will still be able to make trips home to see everyone, and at least this time, I will be getting paid vacation to do so.

More ponderings soon.... Gotta get back to work :)

peace of mind

Ever since I had my emotional epiphany yesterday, I have felt alot better about the next 3 weeks to come.

My dad has already purchased plane tickets to coma out here and drive back to St. Louis. I project I would be back there by 4th of July and spending it in STL where we know how to celebrate our great nation's birthday.
I am already planning a fun-filled day downtown at the Arch for Fair St. Louis. Anyone want to join?

Anyhow, I am ready to start getting my belongings together so I can pack up my car and head east, going home. I am going to try to get a job waiting tables so I don't have to stress to much about nursing. I have been needing a break and I think it's due time for one, and well deserved.

What sucks is I only have one day off this week, and I have to get my car to the shop because it's been acting up over the last few weeks and my AC is all jacked. If I am going to drive to the Grand Canyon and through the southwestern desert, I'll be damned if I don't have an AC that works.

SO, in other words, I am hella tired, and I have little to no time to get things taken care of without exhausting myself. Oh well. I will be on vacation soooooooon!

I am pretty peeved lately since I spent $750 at the dentist for a filling and a crown. Now, a week later, the crowned tooth is sensitive, and almost popped off this morning while I was flossing. Yay, just what I really wanted, another flipping trip to the dentist!

Anyhow, this is going to be even more long winded if I keep going at this rate, so I will save you all some agony and stop typing now.

Cheers.

It's that time again.

I get to start looking for a new assignment to travel to. So far, Tacoma, WA has a spot available at their VA. maybe I can slide right up there since I am already in the federal system.



I have been packing unnecessary clothing and such, doing laundry, cleaning a bit. Oh the joys. I have realized that since I have been here from October I have collected quite a few more items to my arsenal of belongings. More clothes, knick-knacks, keepsakes, photos, blah blah blah...



I am calmly overwhelmed right now, knowing I have 4 weeks to pull it all together. If I don't get a new assignment before I work my last shift here, I have 2 options: pack up and drive home to Memphis, or stay here in Palo Alto until I get a new assignment. I am still undecided since I have quite a bit of that taste of disdain for this area, even though staying can help me save more money for wherever I plan to go next. I just don;t feel like getting an assignment the day after I get back from CA to TN, and then have to drive another hideously long distance to the next job.



I shouldn't whine, I have it pretty good. I don't pay rent or utilities, which helps me out a huge deal since I have lots of debts to pay off; ie: Mom and student loans, blech. The few things that really suck about travel nursing are these:

1)You never really know for sure what you're getting in to. You don't know if the floor you got hired to work on will be a complete mess, or the nurses will be mean, etc. If it sucks, you're stuck there for at least 13 weeks. So far I have been lucky with awesome nurse managers and really friendly coworkers. Of course, there are the occasional bad apples, but that's anywhere at any job.

2)Getting to have to make a fresh start. Social life is all up to you. If you want to make friends, you literally have to go out and get them. And as I have become more seasoned at this line of work, I have realized that the first 3 people you meet that you would normally make the initiative to exchange phone numbers and hang out with usually turn out to be the people you really don't want to hang out with. I was lucky when I came here that I had my friend Corissa that I worked with in Nome here. She was a great help to have around, and it was nice to know I already had a friend.

3)Having to learn how to navigate in a totally alien area to you. Yeah, sucks. I was lucky in Nome since the town was so small and I didn''t have a car that I walked everywhere, and that everything was pretty much within a 5-10 minute walk from everything. Here in CA, it's so damn big, it had been a real effort to learn where things were. The first places to look for for me are the Safeway, Long's and Target. Sad I know, but when you need the basics, it's good to know where they are. Next town I go to I am going to have all the necessary locales mapped out before I get there. hooray fro Google Maps.

4)Looking for a new assignment when there is a time crunch is a pain in the ass. As much as I love my recruiter, it's really hard to get a hold of here when I need her the most, so frequent freak-outs are normal. I have 4 more weeks here, and I want to get out at that time if I can.

5)The packing up the car and moving thing is a large pain in the ass and I am so not looking forward to squeezing all I have here in my car and then cleaning up the apartment before my next embarkation. Knowing how much I have accumulated since I have been here is frustrating, since I now have a beaming feeling that I will have to get a roof rack for my car for the added crap to my crap arsenal. This in turn will slow down my trip and no doubt eat up gas mileage. yay.

6)Dating? What's that? I had my try at it since I have been here and the trials of it were quite disappointing. This has definitely not been the place for me to make a love connection. No big deal really, next town please....



It's not that bad, I swear. Maybe next after I get to my new destination I can post an entry about all the rad stuff that happens with my job.



Cross your fingers for me kids. Momma wants a cool new job :)