day one

Yesterday was my first real day at work. It was long and it was busy, but I made it. For the most part, I followed the nurse who will be training me while she did all the work. It was a busy day so I ended up doing lots of little "menial" tasks. She was very apologetic about making me do so many little things, but I was just glad to feel useful!

I learned that I did learn something in school and I actually have opinions/ideas about the way things should be done! I had no idea! Mostly I suffered from massive information overload and by the end of the day I thought my head might explode (partially due to the extreme headache I had in the afternoon). Hopefully I absorbed something that she told me so when I go back tomorrow I can feel a little less lost.

a week of sitting

I started working on Monday, although I use the term working very loosely. I sat for almost 40 hours of orientation...yuck! It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't just finished school. Most of the information was not new (to me) or was something that was drilled into me over and over again in school (i.e. wash your hands, it prevents the spread of infection).

I start real work on Wednesday and I am very much looking forward to it!

oh what a tangled social web we weave

I don't know if this comes from living in Alaska or if it's because I've spent most of my life in one place or what. But I found out today that I (unknowingly) fraternized with the ex-girlfriend of a very close friend's (now) husband.

Now, we females have an unspoken code where we despise ex-girlfriends of boyfriends/fiances/husbands (past or present) of our friends. Same goes for the ex-boyfriends/fiances/husbands of friends...we hate them too. Which makes life more difficult when people start dating people they've already dated who we hate by default. It's a hard-won appeal to "the committee" to get those in good favor again.

Anyway...said friend tells me a story about husband's ex being at an event they attended over the weekend. Friend describes said ex to me...and a situation where friend's husband's sister was forced to work with said ex while ex was doing a rotation for med school through said husband's sister's unit. As friend is describes husband's ex...I say, "wait...I know her! I spent a whole evening with her!" Turns out an ex of mine was really good friends with her (friend's husband and my ex were roommates at one point...which is how friend's husband's ex knows my ex...which is a connection I knew about...thank goodness because at this point I doubt I could have handled it otherwise). Not to mention the fact that I saw friend's husband's ex on the same unit as friend's husband's sister works on while I was doing my rotation through there for nursing school. She (friend's husband's ex) did not recognize me and I chose not to bring our connection to light..thank goodness, that might have made things more complicated when I found out that I had to hate her by default.

Did you get all that? There will be a test later.

motivation comes in many forms

Today I saw something that I really wish I didn't see (it's my own fault...but that didn't make it any less awful).

How did I deal with it?

Well, I took my trusty iPod and went running. And ran...and ran...and ran...for an hour.

Do I feel better? Why yes I do! I suppose that it helps that I may have seen a certain East High Alum, we shall call him AH, playing soccer with no shirt on at APU. Very nice...

Here's the playlist that saved the day:

Sort Of - Silversun Pickups
Hearless (Kanye West Cover) - The Fray
Run - Gnarls Barkley
Touch the Sky - Kanye West
Want You Bad - The Offspring
Lights Out - Danity Kane
You Haven't Told Me Anything - Keane
Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
Tiffany Blews - Fall Out Boy
Shake Me Like a Monkey - Dave Matthews Band
Set Out Running - Neko Case

an early saturday morning rant

Although I haven't been following the story very closely, what I have read makes me angry. No, not angry, I think I might be flat out disgusted. How dare the President of the United States want to speak to children about staying in school. Blasphemy! I think the Anchorage Daily News said it best (which is actually quite surprising considering that they pretty much never say anything best...or anything at all for that matter), "fear of Obama's school speech testifies to the need to stay in school and learn critical thinking." YES! If you can't send your child to school with the confidence that they will practice a little bit of critical thinking...then perhaps you should do some critical thinking about your parenting. I know I'm not a parent and therefore I really have no idea how these things work, but based on my own experiences being parented along with those of my close friends...I don't feel like expecting your children to think about things before they incorporate them into their worldview is particularly far-fetched.

It makes me so angry that closed-minded parents are teaching their children to be close-minded. Please, send your child to school, let them hear what the President has to say (oh here's an idea...listen to his speech yourself so you know what they heard), and then when they come home talk to them about it. Use it as a learning experience, as an opportunity to find out how they use the morals and values you have filled them with to process information. If you don't like what they took away from it 1. deal with it, they are obviously smart enough to think for themselves 2. agree to disagree or 3. help them to understand why you don't like what was said.

End rant.

the great scrub debacle

Whew! Who knew that buying scrubs would be so hard. There's only one store in town that sells scrubs, and they have a pretty limited selection, which left me ordering them online. The problem...I don't know what I want/need! The possibilities are pretty much endless. Solids, prints, brands, number and layout of pockets. I don't put that much thought into my every day attire (is it comfy? and is it not ugly?) so why should I have to put so much effort into my work attire...they're just scrubs...which resemble pajamas...which are supposed to be comfy and not require such extensive decision making skills (which if you know me at all...you know that is NOT something I'm good at)!!

After two hours and $50 I managed to order one set. Then after a walk and some sustenance (and $50 more), I managed to order another set. The second set proved more difficult than the first. I ordered them from a different website and they wanted to charge me SIXTY DOLLARS for USPS Priority shipping. I think not! Then I had to find another website that had what I wanted and that wasn't going to charge me more for shipping than product. I mean, I guess living in Alaska I can understand that if I was spending $5-$10 on something, the shipping might work out to be more than whatever I purchased. But when spending $50 on scrubs (which are not heavy or bulky), I expect the shipping to be significantly less, especially when you tell me it's USPS Priority shipping. Do you know how many books I could ship for $50? A medium flat rate box is only $14.95 (how do I know this you ask...because I've been making a living selling textbooks online the cheaper the shipping the more $$ go into my bank account) and a pair of scrubs would definitely fit into one of those with room to spare!

Anyway, I found a place with much more reasonable shipping rates (thank god for the internet!) and in 7-10 days I will be the proud owner of two shiny new pairs of scrubs :o)

the wall

I have officially hit "the wall." It's time for me to go to work. The only problem with that is I have to wait two more weeks. Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed my summer. I've been fishing and berry picking and reading and cooking and relaxing...all things I haven't done (or enjoyed doing) for awhile. I still have going to the fair and going out to the Copper Princess Lodge to look forward to. And yes, when I start working I'll probably wish for my unemployed life back (minus the part about not having any money)...but for the time being I wish to be a valued and contributing member of society. I want to pay back the people to whom I owe money. Let the countdown begin...two weeks...

unfruitful berry picking

Another attempt at berry picking...apparently we were in the wrong place because we found no berries. At least it was a beautiful day!

shopping...but not spending

I have no money...soon I will. I've started a list (really more like a compilation) of things that I want when I can finally afford to spend money on non-essentials again!

This is at the top of my list, but with the $600 price tag, it might be awhile...

Rancilio Silvia Espresso machine

Anything from lululemon, but especially the Beat the Heat Dress and the gym bag.

And these sheets from Crate and Barrel

And these cups to make lattes in:

And this to keep me warm. I have one of these shirts and I LOVE it (Christmas present from John...he does a good job).A girl can never have too much wool, especially when she lives in Alaska!I'm sure I'll be adding to this list...but that's all for now :o)

fish and bears...mostly bears

John and I took one last trip down to the Russian River to see if we could top off the fish stash in our freezer. Sadly most of the fish were pretty much done for.

Really red fish in the river

John fishing

We also saw three bears...I don't like bears...

The two guys in this picture decided to throw rocks at the bear...

Fishing, but not catching...at least we weren't the only ones!


Yup, another bear...

But at least it was a beautiful couple of days (minus the torrential downpour that occurred on Tuesday afternoon)

berry picking

Last week Brittany and I went and picked blueberries at Arctic Valley

letters

Dear People Who Smoke In Their Cars -

I respect your right to do whatever the hell you want. BUT if you don't want smoke in your car...chances are that I probably don't either. Hanging your cigarette out your window at the red light causes MY car to fill with the smoke you do not want in yours.

Thank you for your time (even though I know you do not care),
Martha

-----------------------------

Dear Man on "Millionare Matchmaker" Who's 48 and Refuses to Date Anyone Over 28,

GROSS! You keep saying you want to settle down and have kids. But you're 48, you have to find a girl who is pretty much ready to get married and have kids...yesterday. Any girl who lives in LA between the ages of 26 and 28 who has those aspirations...probably already married, and probably already has kids. Maybe you should have thought about that 20 years ago instead of being so wrapped up in making millions. Also, stop being so picky and sabotaging all your dates.

That is all,
A grossed out 20-something

-----------------------------

Dear Leg Muscles,

Why do you continue to be so weak? I lung and squat and run and you hurt every time I do it! What the heck?

Ouch,
Me
----------------------------

Dear Daytime Television,

Stop sucking.

- An Unemployed Couch Potato

----------------------------

Dear Facebook,

Please stop giving me an excuse to sit on the couch and watch TV. Do I really need to be that connected.

Seriously....

----------------------------

Dear Job,

Please start sooner than Sept. 14. I need you.

-A girl who is tired of owing people money

-----------------------------

Dear Dinner,

Please cook yourself tonight.

Thank you.

motivational black hole

I'm not having any trouble filling up all this free time I have. I am having a hard time filling it up with "productive" things. I use the term productive loosely because that's not really what I mean. I haven't exercised in almost two weeks. What?! I like exercise and I feel better (and sleep better) when I do it. But for some reason I can't make myself go do it...apparently I'd rather spend hours on my computer discovering new and useless things on the internet.

real customer testimonial

I'll never eat another grocery store bought vegetable as long as I live. Ok, let's be honest, I probably will, but it will only be because I am desperate for said vegetable that can only be purchased from the grocery store (or "the grocery" as John's roommate calls it...she's from Georgia...what can I say). I've been going to the Farmer's Market on Wednesdays and buying vegetables. They're amazing. I bought a head of red leaf lettuce three weeks ago, not only was it the biggest, most delicious head of lettuce I've ever eaten, but there is still part of it in my fridge...three weeks later and it hasn't gone bad yet. Ha! No pesticides + no genetic manipulation = no rotten food.

This week I bought carrots. Sure they cost more than the ginormous bag of carrots from Costco, but they are the best carrots I've ever eaten...EVER. Ok, maybe it's just been a while since I ate "real" carrots, but that does not undermine their amazingness. Can't get your kids to eat their veggies? Give them some homegrown carrots and they will think they're eating candy!

favorite things

I've had a lot of time on my hands lately...which means I've had a lot of time to think. Today I thought about my favorite things.

adventures in food

I'm not gonna lie, I like food. I have recently come to terms with the fact that I probably enjoy cooking as well and I cook like my mom (which is a good thing). My mom can make something out of nothing. It's amazing. My favorite was always Cleaning the Refrigerator Soup...the recipe is quite simple, take the almost spoiled contents of the fridge, and put them in the soup pot. Ok, there's a little more to it than that, but not much.

Recently I adapted this recipe to Soup Made With Whatever I Could Find Plus An Onion From My Dad's House (he and Paula happened to be out of town and I liberated half an onion from their fridge when I went to check the mail). Chicken, black beans, onion, a can of diced tomatoes, carrots, some spices, and orzo. I put the ingredients into the crock pot and ignored, ignored it for many hours, and viola! Soup!

Then there was the pizza, I made my own whole wheat crust and put pesto, mozzarella, caramelized onions, sausage, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, roasted yellow squash, and feta cheese on top. Amazing!

Last, but certainly not least is the peanut butter/chocolate popcorn I made the other night. Pop one bag of light butter microwave popcorn and spread on a cookie sheet. Melt 1/2 cup of PB chips with one tablespoon of butter, pour over popcorn. Do the same with 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Let cool. EAT! It was so good...I had to try extremely hard not to eat the whole batch...John would have been sad if I didn't save him a taste.

So you think you know your food...

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (the fourth book I've read in just under two weeks). It might change the way I eat. The first thing that struck me was the amount of fuel I'm responsible for using up just by going grocery shopping. I never considered the amount of energy it takes to harvest, store, and transport food to my local Fred Meyer. The farther away it comes from, the more energy it took. We're not talking one tank of gas here, and one there, we're talking 400 gallons of oil per year per person. Here are some other interesting tidbits I learned from this book:

• Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles
• If every U.S. citizen ate just ONE...that's ONE...meal (any meal - breakfast, lunch, OR dinenr) per week (not day, but week) made up of locally and organically raised items, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels per week.
  
• Most of the vegetables in the produce section are genetically altered to look better and stay looking fresh after being transported long distances. Although you might thing you are eating a nutritious tomato, you are really eating a vitamin lacking red sphere that vaugely tastes of tomato.
• U.S. farmers produce 3,900 calories per U.S. citizen per day (twice what the average person needs). What happens to those extra calories? Well...the food industry has figured out how to get them into our bodies, the bodies of people who don't want to or need to eat 2,000 extra calories per day. Most enter our bodies in the form of high-fructose corn syrup.
  

There's more, but that's the most important. I am going to do what I can to eat locally...all year long. Yes, that's right, even in the winter time, in Alaska, where nothing really grows. Tomatoes can be purchased from a farmer's market (or grown at home, gasp) during the summer, and canned, dried, or turned into sauce and frozen for winter months. Other vegetables can be preserved in the same manner.

Meat poses a bigger problem. I feel comfortable eating pasture-raised or free-range meat. Especially after driving past a place dubbed "Cowschwitz" off I-5 in California. Cows raised in appaling conditions, force-fed a diet that is unnatural to them, and never seeing sunlight. Nope. These conditions support disease (mad cow included). There has never been a documented case of mad cow in pasture-raised cows.

The situation in this book is extreme, a family of four subsisted in rural Virginia on food they grew themselves. The food that they couldn't grow themselves, they purchased from friends or neighboring farmers who did grow it. It does not suggest that living that lifestyle is for everyone (or even them after their one year). It does suggest that we should think twice before we reach for tomatoes in the produce section in December. How far did those have to travel?

After reading this book, I will be more conscious of what I'm eating. I don't like the idea of having high fructose corn syrup put into places I never imagined, causing me to eat less but consume more calories than I need because I'm still hungry! I also don't like the idea of being robbed every time I go to the grocery store. Robbed of nutrients. If I pay $2.99 for a red pepper, I want $2.99 worth of nutrients in said pepper!

Nutritious veggies...I'll see you at the Saturday Market next weekend...

Playing catch up...again

Things that have happened since my last post:
1. Went fishing on the Russian again, John caught two fish, I caught nothing...again
2. Interviewed at Providence Hospital for a Maternity Intern* nursing position
3. Went to the Copper Princess Lodge for some relaxation - in the process of said relaxation, I read a book (a whole one), got a (better) tan, and GOT A JOB! They said it would be a whole week before they made a decision, but they called me after TWO DAYS!! I'm really excited. I start on September 14.
4. Read three more books (that four in two weeks in case you were keeping track).

And now I spend my days reading and going to the gym, enjoying my life of leisure before I go back to being a contributing member of society.

*As an intern I will spend one year learning the three units (post-partum for two months, ante-partum for four months, and labor and delivery for six months). Then, they will place me on one of those three units (which ever has the greatest need for someone and/or whichever was the best fit during training), with the flexiblity to move within the three.

Fishing Adventure: Part 1

Last week (Tuesday and Wednesday, John's "weekend") we went fishing on the Russian River. John had to spend Monday in Whittier for work, so I drove down Monday night to meet him. Since he was already halfway to where we were going, it seemed silly for him to drive home and then head out in the same direction the next morning. So we stayed in the luxurious accomodations provided by Princess (if you've ever been to Whittier you know that I'm being sarcastic). If you've never been to Whittier, let me tell you a little bit about it. First you have to drive an hour out of town to get there, then you have to pay $12 to drive through a really really really long tunnel (through a mountain) that is just wide enough for a train to fit through (you drive on the train tracks). There is only one building where people live there. The inside reminds me of bad college dorms. The condo we stayed in was ok...straight out of the 70s, but it was free for us. Princess has two condos in the building for employees that have to stay overnight (they turn their ships out of the port there), apparently we stayed in the nice one.

We got up early Tuesday morning, battled road construction, lack of coffee, and motor homes on our drive to Cooper Landing. We parked at the Russian River Campground ($11 for 12 hours), which turned out to be extremely convenient. There is a bank preservation project in place, so there is a boardwalk running most of the length of the river. The trail was just down the hill from the parking lot, and we found a spot to fish less than a 10 minute walk from where we parked.

Now, I haven't been fishing since I was maybe 10. And even that was probably with a stick and some fishing line in the creek at Chickaloon. This fishing was very different. Not to discount John's outdoorsman knowledge, but he went fishing a few times last year and caught nothing. Needless to say, we were quite the pair. Everyone around us was catching fish left and right, we caught nothing. The fish were swiming up the river in front of us by the hundreds, and we still caught nothing.

We thought maybe we should try a new spot, so we walked toward the confluence of the Kenai River and the Russian, this is what we found there...
Needless to say, we went back to our quieter spot.

After a few more degrading hours we decided to call it quits for the day. The most exciting thing that happened was we saw a bear, a black bear thank goodness. At first look, this bear does not appear to be terribly ferocious, but it was. It made a little kid cry by doing nothing other than walking up and down the opposite bank. It apparently didn't think the fishing was very good either because it disappeared without so much as a nibble.


The good news is that our accomodations we much more luxurious on Tuesday night. John got us a room at the Kenai Princess Lodge in Cooper Landing. Day two was much better. After a little coaching from some very nice men who were catching fish left and right, John started catching fish...FINALLY. I caught nothing...and then my pole broke (I'm pretty sure it was close to the same age as me, I was borrowing it from my dad).

First there was one fish...

Then there were three...

Hooray, five fish!!!
And for your viewing pleasure...a video of John killing the first fish...



We got rained on and hailed on and after five fish we were done. At first we were disappointed that there were only five fish, but after we had to carry them back to the car and then gut, fillet, and vacuum pack them, we were glad there were only five. This week, we're going back for more...

It's official!

I received this in the mail today...