• being on my feet
• not taking lunch until 2:30pm (breakfast at 5:15)
• cleaning up poop all day
• being criticized and degraded
• and holding my bladder until it’s about to burst

…I still fall into bed with a smile on my face because I have so much to be thankful for.  I am truly blessed.

Don’t forget to count your blessings.

-B

Dear Readers,

Isn’t it funny how life changes as the seasons change?  And life, always full of surprises, has begun to change: I’m finally starting to make a life for myself here.  It took 5 months, but it’s finally happening.  I found true friends of all ages who share interests and passions friends who understand this crazy year, and lastly, friends who will remain in my life after school ends.  I rediscovered my love for life .  I rediscovered my love for extroversion.  I discovered my love for Detroit.

I finally feel like me again.  I’m watching less television.  I’m eating better.   I have more energy.  I can tolerate school again.  (Thank the Lord! My attendance was starting to get a little shaky. Ooops!)

Here’s to you Autumn, and all the joys you brought with you!

Discover the joy in the simple things.  B

...being a nurse.  It’s not only become my dream job, but it’s also become who I am.  Isn’t it funny how in 10 weeks you can change your whole idenitity and self concept?!  If someone asked me to describe myself 10 weeks ago (in one word), I would have answered, “orange” or some other equally awesome adjective.  Now, the obvious response would be, “a nurse.”

Nursing is an art:  and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit?  It is one of the Fine Arts:  I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts.  ~Florence Nightingale

Nursing is not for everyone.  It takes a very strong, intelligent, and compassionate person to take on the ills of the world with passion and purpose and work to maintain the health and well-being of the planet.  No wonder we’re exhausted at the end of the day!  ~Donna Wilk Cardillo

During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz.  I breezed through the questions until I read the last one:  “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”  Surely this was a joke.  I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name?  I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.  Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade.  “Absolutely,” the professor said.  “In your careers, you will meet many people.  All are significant.  They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.”  I’ve never forgotten that lesson.  I also learned her name was Dorothy.  ~Joann C. Jones

Discover your joy, passion, and identity. Beth

Lately, I feel like I am resounding with force.  A force that is constantly alerting people on what’s right, practical, and sensible.  During the past couple of weeks, I’ve never been more confident about who I am in my whole entire life.  I’ve discovered myself and everything seems to have crystallized.  It’s kind of a weird feeling to have sudden clarity on who you are, who you want be, and what’s what in the world.  It’s made me more relaxed than I’ve ever been in my whole entire life.  It’s made me more communicative without worrying about the repercussions of my words.  I’m not worrying  about anything: what other people think about me, what other people are doing, or even about what I’m doing (which may be a bad thing when it comes to motivating myself to study).  I’m completely calm and at peace with myself.  These past six weeks have been crazy intense, who would have thought I would get my life together?  It always comes when you aren’t looking for it.

Discover your joy. Beth

Discover your joy in the simple things. Beth

Lately, I’ve been having the most bizarre/weird/borderline disturbing dreams. I think they have to do with school anxieties and watching too much Mad Men. Regardless, isn’t it funny how people you haven’t seen or thought about in ages suddenly pop up in dreams?

Some people think that dreams mean something and you can interpret them. Yes, sometimes that’s possible, like all of my dreams where I’m not prepared for class, or I missed an exam, or my brain just refuses to absorb the information. But what about those other people, ghosts of the past, who creep up in your mind? What is their significance?

I would appreciate it if you would stop haunting me in my dreams.

So, today, I frequented the bathroom in my apartment….much like I do everyday.  On this particular occasion, I flushed the toilet, and water began spilling out of the toilet onto the floor. Ummmmm, gross! At this point, I’m trying to turn the water off (apparently, you need Hulk strength to turn that knob!), with no luck while screaming, “BAD THINGS ARE HAPPENING! BAD THINGS ARE HAPPENING!”  My roommate, who is in med school, thought I was having a medical emergency.  Needless to say, we don’t have any dry towels right now, but we both haven’t stopped laughing since.

___________________________________________

Yesterday, my roommate and I were both brain dead from too much studying.  While eating dinner, we decided to try out our tv. Excited that we get 7 free channels, we found everyone’s favorite past time: Jeopardy.  The final jeopardy question was: What two continents have never had a musical set in them? Needless to say, she said Antarctica, I said Australia, and we rocked out final jeopardy. We were both more excited than the average person would be at getting this right.  It’s the simple things that get you through the day.

Discover the joy in the simple things. Beth

Dear Readers,

The last month has been absolutely bananas.  Accelerated nursing programs are no joke.  I’ve been living on coffee, prayers, and little sleep.  Some days are a struggle, others are awesome.  These past five weeks have flown buy in a whirlwind.  I can’t even remember the person I was five weeks ago, let along comprehend how much information has passed into my brain.  I’ve gone through an entire textbook.  Seriously.  It’s crazy to think that I’ve comprehended, digested, and was tested on an entire textbook.

This program keeps me so busy, it’s hard to keep track of this blog.  However, I will try my hardest. Right now, I’m totally procrastinating studying for two exams.  Oopsies!  I want to document and remember this year as much as possible, so I can look back and see how much I’ve grown.  In an attempt to do this, I’m going to write little blurbs as often as I remember.  Some may be stories,  music I’m currently listening to, quotes from people, quotes from textbooks, pictures, or videos.  So, here goes……………..

Celebrating surviving week 3

Walking to the Saint Joan Fair

One of my classmates is Russian.  He is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, is incredibly talented, and has a creative way of studying.  He writes songs to memorize our documentation exams. I have no words for how awesome this video is.

You cannot tell me you did not at least crack a smile while watching that.

Quotations: I percussed the liver at 7 sauntimeters at the right midclavicular line.  Apparently, some medical people can’t say centimeter. I spent the first week of nursing school trying to figure out what the hell a sauntimeter was.

Now I’m going to roll her over, and do her in the lateral position.

Music:  I’m looking through you- The Beatles

Discover your joy in the simple things. Beth

#1:  The Vampire Diaries

Alaric Saltzman: History Teacher, Chaperone, Van Helsing, Devilishly Handsome

This awesome bit of television is based upon a book series that arose in the 90′s.  Shockingly, the television version is 100% better than the books (yes, of course I’ve read them! I’m the young adult book fiend!).  This is rarely the case with movies or television, but I am happy to state that the television series keeps viewers on their toes week to week ; it has the perfect amount of drama, sci-fi, and action (while also simultaneously delivering handsome actors who like to take off their shirts).  Recap: it embodies the only GOOD part of Twilight.  What more can any woman ask for???  In addition, the tv version actually makes sense! The books contain a nonsensical plot line which ends with the main character dying.  But wait, there’s more!  The author decides to write ANOTHER book, from the perspective of the best friend, where the main character inexplicably comes back to life…for no reason.  I didn’t know that was thing.  (As you can see, I have a lot of anger issues having wasted hours of my life reading those books. But, I digress.)   To make the show even better, there is an older (and hotter) version of Boone from LOST (Ian Somerhalder) who plays the perfect smarmy, nonchalant, bad boy (who’s really a good guy deep down).  But, if you truly want to see some eye candy, you won’t have to look far because Alaric Saltzman (aka Matt Davis…or an older and hotter version of Warner from Legally Blonde) will always be there to save the day as the “Van Helsing” type character.  I know what you’re thinking…Beth, I don’t like bad boys who are actually good boys, or older handsome men! Why should I watch this show?!   Well ladies, there’s plenty more gorgeous men where they came from.  Like the geeky little brother, Jeremy Gilbert (Steven McQueen) or wild werewolf, Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino).  And, if guys aren’t your thing, well, there are plenty of gorgeous women to go around.  If eye candy isn’t enough to base your television experiences, you should watch for the ridiculous amount of intense eye contact available every episode.  Seriously, it’s intense.  Overall, Vampire Diaries has one of those plots that sucks it’s viewers in from the beginning.

See? They have intense eyes. Its like theyre making love to the camera.

#2 Mad Love

Mad Love is CBS’s newest sitcom to air this season, and it has already caught my attention.  Jason Biggs  (Ben) and Sarah Chalke (Kate) are two straight laced squares who have fallen in love.  Unfortunately, their  best friends, Connie and Larry, loathe each other.  Larry, a lazy and goofy lawyer, is always trying to make a fool of Kate’s roommate, Connie, a rude and sarcastic nanny.  The more time Connie and Larry are forced to spend together, the more they loathe each other.  Or do they??  You can cut the building sexual tension with a machete!  Using their schoolkid tactics of flirting via antagonizing, patronizing, and name calling, you know they are going to be the next Ross and Rachel.   Is it hate or love or a little bit of both???

Can you spot the lovers in this picture?

#3 Criminal Minds

This certain show has one of the most awesome premises ever: a group of behavioralist FBI agents track down serial killers by psychologically profiling them.  How cool is that?!  With a varied cast of characters from Garcia, the nerdy, eccentric tech girl, to the team’s boss, Hodge, who is so serious he never smiles, you’re bound to fall in love with all of them.  The only problem with this show is that if you happen to watch weekly Criminal Minds Marathons (like myself), you might believe that serial killers are EVERYWHERE.  Also, if you’re a woman from 18-40, you’ll most likely believe that serial killers are out there just to get you.  (That might be because all the victims on the show  are women 18-40 years old.)   Wait, that’s me!!!  Another great thing about this show is that I’m now super awesome at profiling serial killers!  What an awesome life skill!  I can already tell you that the next serial killer to be discovered in the United States will be a white male between 20-55.  AMAZING, RIGHT?!   It’s ALWAYS a white male 20-55.  Lesson.  Learned.  Don’t trust them.  With an awesome cast of characters and enthralling plot lines, it’s a wonder that people keep watching the 100th version of  Law and Order.  What’s next, Law and Order Topeka? 

We have the best job in the world, but we all have issues because of it.

Discover your joy. Beth

Dear Readers,

So, my “attempt” at chronicling my year at the restaurant didn’t work out.  However, there are some important points and stories that I wish to convey about my experience on a waitstaff.

#1 One day, a group of people came into the bar and spent all day drinking and talking.  So, needless to say, they were a little pink faced by the time I got there for the night shift.  Well, I continued to serve them drinks and all was going well for awhile.  They started to get loud, and since there wasn’t anyone else in the restaurant, I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.  Things became heated very fast.  I heard a guy tell a girl that she didn’t have any friends, was mean, and needed to turn her life around.  She got very upset, walked out the door and started screaming.  Eventually, the rest of the group followed, and I didn’t really think anything about it.  I mean, after all, they had been drinking all day, and college experience has taught me how emotional drunks can be.  In the end, a scuffle ended up breaking out in the parking lot, etc. etc. and only two of the group returned.  Upon entering from the parking lot skirmish, they asked me, “Did you call the police?”  I told them I hadn’t.  They apologized, finished their beers, and left.  After recounting what happened to the bartender, she told me the guy who was saying those harsh words to the woman was named Kenny.  Kenny was dying of cancer and that was his sister, father, brother, and brother-in-law drinking with him all day.  It suddenly made sense why that woman was so upset.  Her dying brother told her she was a horrible person.  While all of this family drama was unfolding, I was totally judging these people.  I didn’t know they were a family, and I definitely didn’t know one of them was dying of cancer.  I kind of felt weird afterward, like I had somehow eavesdropped into their family tragedy.  (Not that I could help it with all the yelling)  That night, while driving home, I started thinking.  Would I be harshly honest to the people I loved if I was dying?  Or would I say nice things? You never know when someone will make you start thinking about your relationships with the people you love.

#2 I like working with women.  Yes, women can be dramatic and catty, but I’m pretty much used to it at this point in my life. (For this reason, I’m even more excited to be entering a female dominated career.) I’m definitely going to miss my coworkers when I leave.  We are like a giant dysfunctional family.  Sometimes we don’t get along, sometimes we drive each other bananas, but at the end of the day, we have each others backs.  We have stood up for one another to our bosses, customers, and most importantly, the cooks (that’s a whole other saga in itself).  The women I’ve worked with over the past year are strong. They know who they are, aren’t afraid to say what’s on their mind, and are willing to do whatever it takes to get by.  They stand by their convictions and are confident in themselves.  I never thought I would find strong women role models waitressing, but it happened.  The best part of it is, they rubbed off on me.  I am no longer afraid to say what’s on my mind.  In fact, I speak freely and frankly about 98% of the time today.  My parents have definitely noticed this change in me.  I’m still debating whether this is going to get me in trouble later (there is such a thing as being too brutally honest), but overall, I’m happy with my frankness.  No more holding back; watch out world!

#3 Don’t piss off the cooks.  Believe it or not, having a good relationship with the cooks can make your days as a waitress easier.  If the cooks don’t like you, you don’t get special orders for your customers, they don’t feel the need to rush your food, and your tip can suffer because of it.  I mean, they don’t care…they aren’t relying on tips like you.  Sometimes, to get ahead in life, you have to use a little sugar.  I’ve seen the cooks make waitresses cry (on super busy nights where everyone wants to pull their hair out. It’s like Hell’s Kitchen in there!).  People get stressed, tensions get high.  A little sugar goes a long way.

#4 Santa Claus lives in Northern Michigan…and he’s racist.  He goes by the name Ken and loves to call the beautiful 1/2 Mexican 1/2 Native American bartender “Sqaw.”  He also likes to sit around and tell me the origins of every bad word he can think of.  Bad Santa, bad!

In conclusion, I think the name of this blog post is fitting because 1) it concludes my restaurant chronicles (although not as in depth as I would have liked), and 2) I’m concluding a chapter of my life.  In less than a month, I will be moving into my new apartment in GP, with a new roommate, and making new friends.  Surprisingly, I feel ready because of my past year’s experience as a waitress.  It’s taught me how to be a good nurse.  Who would have thought?  I have thicker skin, can multitask like a fiend, have superb customer interaction skillz (that’s right, skillz with a z!), and am a more confident woman.  I feel like I’m becoming this whole new person with tons of personality changes.  Yes, I’ve definitely become more of a country mouse, but I’ve also learned to embrace that side of me.  I like the country part of me, even if others don’t.  I’m definitely more blunt than I’ve ever been in my whole life.  I used to be this way as a child, but it got me in tons of trouble, so I learned to curb it.  Hopefully, this resurfacing of blunt behavior won’t get me into too much trouble…

Discover your joy. Beth