The New Laboratory: A Slow Start

The kitchen is a whole new area of adventure for me. I'm not particularly gifted . I've never really done much experimenting with it. But I have spent a lot of time experimenting with things in science labs so I feel like as long as I got a good lab manual cook book (shout out to my big sis for providing just such a thing!) I would be fine.

It's been a slow start in this new adventure. I think the hardest part (more than the actual process of making the food) is the fact that I'm cooking and shopping for one person. It's hard to have the motivation to cook. Its also hard to have enough variety without things spoiling. And its hard to know how to shop and plan ahead.

Needless to say, it has been slow start. Lots of peanut butter sandwiches. I did have a few successes though: I made a lovely batch of chili. With the after math I learned a very important lesson of adulthood: I need to perfect the art of freezing left overs. Most sites I've read on cooking for one person agree that this is the way to go while cooking for one.

I had the erroneous thought that I would *totally* be able to eat all those left overs before they went bad.

This resulted in two things:
1. By the end of the week I got a little sick at the thought of eating another bowl of chili.
2. I may have actually gotten sick if I tried to eat the chili because it was a little past its prime

It was a good lesson to learn though. A very adult-ish lesson to learn if I don't say so myself. Mr. Freezer, get ready to meet my leftovers.

I also had my first opportunity to invite folks over to my house and exercise the old hospitality muscles. It was a beautiful time, and a sort of camp reunion for all of us Cherith folk who live in Rochester. Gotta love good food and good friends- especially when one brings a grill so you can eat grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.

I smiled inside and felt like a grown up every time I answered the doorbell and welcomed people inside.

Which gives me a little more food for thought: another solution to my cooking for one problem would be to invite more people over and plan more with my good old roomies... so much to ponder.

Notes on Nursing: HIPPA

Today was day two of orientation. It was a lot of time on HIPPA (healthcare privacy laws) and a lot about Strong's Mission Statement and Values. This might surprise you- but I loved today. I left feeling energized and part of a bigger picture. I'm a sucker for idealistic statements about what an organization exists for and how everyone works together to accomplish the goal. I know it doesn't always work out perfectly, but I love thinking about it and being a part of it and striving for it.

They also shared this video (not made by Strong) that really summed up why I am passionate about nursing. The video is a powerful reminder that every person has a story (get your tissue box ready).

Speaking of patient stories- you'll never read one on this blog. Here is why:

I love nursing. And I want to stay a nurse for a long time. The healthcare profession is serious about privacy, especially in the new area of social media. There are nursing blogs out there that are phenomenal reading. Some even have hilarious or inspiring patient anecdotes. During this new venture into adulthood I will no doubt write a lot about nursing, but I'm never gonna write about patient stories cause I don't ever want to even be in a gray area of privacy. You see- even if I take patient identifiers out (things like names) some people might try to guess the patient I am talking about from the unit I work on. Some bloggers get around this by saying things like "I once had a patient..." but that doesn't work for someone who has been a nurse for 2 days and counting. So you won't see anything even close to specific on this blog, but that doesn't mean I won't share thoughts, cause I'm sure I will. I will be putting these thoughts under the series of posts called "Notes on Nursing" (I stole the name from Florence Nightingale's Book in case anyone was thinking I coined the phrase)

Speaking of HIPPA, someone told me a great knock knock joke today:

Knock Knock
Who's There?
HIPPA
HIPPA who?
I Can't tell you

Phraseology: New Kids on the Block

As of today, I am proudly employed by Rochester's largest employer.

It was an interesting mixed bag of emotions. It started out with me feeling like Nemo on the first day of school. Then I arrived (half an hour early thanks to my Father's gift of a compulsive desire to be more than on time to everything).

That's when they handed out all this beautiful orientation material and we got our pictures taken for our new shiny ID badges. I then felt like the world was my oyster. A beautiful sense of possibility in the future and eagerness to get started.

And then came the presentations. Everything from diversity in the workplace to health insurance plans. Direct deposit to life insurance. Everything under the sun. And I lost focus a few times. And then I was a little bored. And then by the end of it I was exhausted even though all I had done all day was sit and listen.

Its a funny thing to end up being bored when you are taking part in something you have been looking forward to for months. I've been to job orientations before- so its not that I had unrealistic expectations for the flood of necessary information that was thrown at me. As far as orientations go- it was a solid foundation. Yet it is oh so easy to be disappointed when something is built up as a life landmark in your mind. It feels like some sort of false start when it doesn't quite live up. I feel like that's an important lesson. Sometimes you have to just let things be what they are... and fight against putting to many of your own expectations of what they should be.

Regardless, it's official. My first day of my first real job is over. And now I have many very adult(ish) things to think about and cross off my to-do list. Things like direct deposit, retirement plans, getting a new dentist, and mentally preparing for another full day of this stuff.

Adult(ish) Observations: On Shelves and Pillows

Here are my first set of Adult(ish) Observations. I envision these posts to be my thoughts on things that most adults around me are doing. It also will be my experiments in following these Adult-like behaviors and testing their relative merits. Without further adieu:

1) Pillows: It seems like a very adult-like thing to do to have lots of pillows on your bed that you dont actually use. I've noticed this for a while and have resisted conformity in this area. I can see that they serve a nice decorative purpose and when well chosen can bring a room together nicely. But then again- they are such a hassle cause you don't actually use that many pillows. I especially don't- sometimes I dont even use the two on my bed. I struggle already with the intentional habit of making my bed... and now it seems like I'm supposed to add another step to the process?
Verdict: No decision has been reached.

2) Following Directions: I'm sure everyone can remember a specific much anticipated toy that they received on Christmas day. The joy of opening it followed by the agony of waiting while your dad pieced through the directions trying to set it up. I've never been gifted with patience- so reading through directions to put things together is a struggle. Yesterday my friend Kari came over to Base Camp and we put together my new book shelf all by ourselves (three cheers for mastery of simple screw driver techniques). It seemed like every time we wanted to try to guess the next step without looking at the directions we guessed incorrectly (three cheers for humility and laughing at ourselves).
Verdict: Following Directions pays off, the book shelf is standing. Will require more practice though.

Oh the places you'll go: New Apartment

Welcome Home!

Yesterday I moved into my apartment... aka Base Camp for this first year of real adulthood. The day was largely uneventful thanks to the incredible help of my mom and Aunt (who owns a huge van and could transport big things like mattresses and desks and what not). They made the move super smooth (and despite my personal deficiencies in the area, organized). Both my roommates are already here and I have already had two lovely visits from Rochester friends- so I am not short of friendly faces to usher me into this new season.

Base Camp doesn't quite feel like home yet- it just feels like I am just visiting Christine and Amanda (and happened to bring a lot of stuff). I'm sure that will come with time. My mind is still in its usual nomadic mindset- so the idea of permanence... or even semi-permanence is new. I like it though. And I am feeling even more optimistic than normal.

Its also nice to have some forced quiet thinking time before I start work on monday. Generally speaking, I'm pretty bad at being still. So this week of calm is time well spent.

Baptism By Fire

I wanted to try something new for my feet. I was tired of hiking in boots just because everyone says I should. This may be a mistake- but if it is, it's one that I will be learning the hard way. After my last Adirondack hike I hated the way my feet were feeling so I decided it was time for a change. Instead of buying a new boot I decided to purchase these babies. Adidas AX1 Gore-Tex Hiking shoe, it is my pleasure to introduce you to my feet.

I recently heard the phrase Baptism by Fire and thought it was pretty applicable to my experience with these babies so far. The phrase has its origins in the bible- but is more commonly used to refer to a soldier's first experience in war or when someone tries something for the first time and it is a really difficult experience.

These shoes have experienced a baptism by fire in the past week and a half that I have owned them- and they have passed with flying colors so far. At camp we have a trail called Border Explorer and if you hike it you sign your name on a poster. If you are a staff person you end up hiking it so much that you put tally's next to your name for the number of times you have hiked it.

This past week I wanted to get ahead on the Border Explorer race. So I hiked it. A lot. So now my name has 20 tallies next to it and my shoes have been officially broken in. Baptism by Fire.

Of course, the fact that they were new did save them some of the more unpleasant experiences of the week at camp, namely walking into the bog and playing in the thick mud. That experience was reserved for my faithful (and abused) old sneakers.