Drivers Ed

Let's talk about the basic fundamentals of driving the roads of America. A simple Driving 101, if you will.  No, I'm not talking about driving on the right side of the road. Although some could learn from that lesson as well. You know who you are. I'm talking about "the rules of the road." Let's begin...
1. Blinkers. USE THEM!!! Not necessarily when turning at a red light or every time when merging or changing lanes. But when someone is waiting to turn out of a subdivision and you are turning on to that street or sooner, let 'em know! so they can get on out there. You'd want them to do the same for you. Also, if you need to get over in to another lane, don't stop in the middle of the lane you're in without your blinker on. Keep going. Put your blinker on. Someone will let you in. Which leads me to...
2. Be courteous every now and then and LET SOMEONE IN!!! Let us all remember the Golden Rule- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Whether its at a place where a stop sign is backed way up, let a car or two thru. Let that poor person over who needs to get in to the other lane who has stopped in the middle of the interstate and almost caused a 5-car pileup. Flash your lights and let someone out of a neighborhood in the morning. You know we are all running late and need to get to work. Which leads me to...
3. Get the HECK OUTTA THE WAY!!! Seriously people. Ok so I take Lakeland Drive to work in the morning. If you've ever driven on Lakeland, you understand what I'm talking about. The speed limit is 50-55mph the whole way to work. But hello?! Go with the flow of traffic or GET THE HECK OUTTA THE WAY!! And btw, the flow of traffic is at least 5-10mph over the speed limit. If you're slow, you know who you are people, use the slow lane. If you're turning, TURN ALREADY. Which leads me to...
4. Lane usage. Meaning the onramp/offramp of interstates, highways, and any other road that merges into another road with a "yield" sign. First and foremost, the sign says "yield" not "stop." So lets be smart about this people. Before you get to that sign, look back! That way, you won't have to STOP and look once you're there. See how that works? Also, let us talk about that merging lane. You know that one you have all to yourself once you're on the road that you just turned on to? Yes that one. That one you NEVER use. USE IT!! Don't stop (again, don't stop people!!) and look to see if you can merge into traffic, b/c its not necessary. Why? you ask. Because you have a little ol' lane all to yourself that you can just keep on going at that same speed you WERE at before you stopped. Just put your BLINKER on, letting those in the other lanes know you want to move over and do so. Voila!
5. Now to those crazy, mean, and just plain rude people... If someone doesn't let you in, don't almost cause a wreck by nudging yourself in. Don't ride on top of someone's bumper just b/c you think they are going too slow. It's dangerous. Maybe they are just as rude as you are. They might just slam on the brakes and guess what, its YOUR FAULT genius! And don't turn in front of people, causing them to slam on brakes. Just wait a minute longer. Again, its dangerous.
And now some funny tidbits...
*I once asked my mom (she's a crazy driver, always getting lost, I'm threatening to take her keys any day now) how she got to work every day... "I pray the whole way." lol apparently!!
*one of the doctors I work with once had a gun in her car, put in there by her husband, for safety. B/c of all the crazy drivers out there, on a particularly bad day, she took the gun out, gave it to her husband and told him she couldn't keep the gun in there anymore or somebody might get shot!!

Just another red letter day!

It's always a red letter day with me. My mother (I call her Posie =) wonders how in the world so many things can go so crazy for one person. Never a dull moment! I say.
So this morning as I was riding the bus from the parking lot to work, Bobby Brown (bus driver) and I were discussing why I don't sleep as well as why I don't watch horror movies. I have an overactive imagination. A way overactive imagination. That has nothing to do with why I don't sleep, unless of course I'm forced to watch  a scary/horror movie. He's appalled by this fact. Who doesn't watch scary movies?? I say goodbye to Bobby Brown and head into the little glass enclosure that is the bottom level of our building. I press the up elevator button and step on to the first one that comes, the left one, the SLOW one. I press 4. I need to put my lunch in the fridge before I get to work. I'm texting my husband, waiting patiently for the doors to open when I realize that I'd been standing in that elevator for a while. I look up to see what floor I'm on and see that the numbers are not there. The numbers that are supposed to light up indicating what floor you're on weren't there anymore. OMG. I. FREAKED. OUT.
I immediately text Bret and tell him I think I'm stuck in the elevator. Then I start pushing buttons. Every button. Open Doors. 1. 2. 3. 4. 4. 4. I wanted to go to the 4th floor!!! I even hit Close Doors. Why? Idk. But I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hit the RED button or not. You know what button I'm talking about. I didn't know if it was gonna call out to the fire department and 9-1-1 or just to the security people. So I'm staring at the closed doors in a panic, asking myself, what the crap do I do now?! So I called our pre-op desk and gave one of our nurses Keicia the biggest laugh of her day, maybe even her week. She said they were gonna figure out how to get me out. I had to sit down. I was freaking out. I didn't know if I was suspended btwn two floors or what. Yes we've all seen those movies. Remember what me and Bobby Brown were talking about? Hello overactive imagination. Thankfully I had my voice of reason, my GI Joe man, (albeit all the way in a classroom in VA) texting me, trying to keep me calm. He really hates when I freak out. He also had his priorities straight when he asked me if I had already clocked in before I got in the elevator. Sadly no, but my boss is going to give me the "back pay," yay =)  Then I hear a man knocking, outside the elevator door. Hello?? Baptist Security!!! Hello!!!!!!! Are you in there?? Uh-huh!!! Do you know what floor you're on?  No!!!!! It just stopped!! Ok I called and they're bringing the keys. What's your name? Leslie Harper Hansen!!! Are you ok??? Uuuhhhhh, I'm sitting down!!!! Ummmm ok!
More texting. More deep breathing. More Coke. Have I mentioned that I didn't sleep at all last night and was going to have to mainline caffeine all day today just to stay awake.
Finally, 20minutes later, I hear keys jingling. HELLO!!!!???? Hello???  AND THEN THE DOORS OPEN!!!!! Three security guys have come to rescue me. And my boss. YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
That stupid elevator hadn't budged. Not. one. bit. I was still on the first floor. But you know what? Thats better, like a million times better, than having to climb out from btwn two floors. I'm pretty sure they would have had to drag me out b/c I don't think I would have done that on my own free will. And I definitely would have turned around, walked back out that door and called Bobby Brown to come pick me up in that bus.
So that was my morning... Just another red letter day... but not the red button. I was nervous to hit the red button.

SKYPEday Sunday

For the last several Sundays, my GI Joe man and I have met on Skype for some face-2-face time via the internet. Yes we do get to talk every day on the phone. (Nothing at all like last summer when he was at OCS and we had to write LETTERS. Talk about making me crazy!) But being apart for 4months, well, I might forget what the boy looks like!! haha HARDLY!! So we Skype =) Until....

25 more days until I'm back in Virginia with that boy

growing up

Within the last few weeks I've been orienting to "the back" at work. What's the back? you ask. The back is our procedure area. Where all the good stuff goes down. I've been looking forward to this since I first started this job. One year ago. Which means this week was my one year anniversary. Yay! Had my annual eval and it actually turned out pretty well. (even though my boss thinks I have no sense and I'm at the level of an 8yr old. so nice) But I did get a raise. Which will help me and my GI Joe man pay off our furniture this month. (side bar- our bedroom furniture gets paid off this month. woooohoooo!!!! next up- my car. WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!)
Yesterday I got to push drugs.  Again, you're asking, pushing drugs?? I sedated patients!!! It was so much fun. I wasn't just labeling biopsies and hooking the patients up. I even rolled a patient out to recovery. But I didn't give report. That was a little too much for me. It was my first day of being with the sedating nurse and all. Didn't wanna bite off too much too fast. =)
So I'm growing up. Nurse-wise at least. I still hate paying bills and doing laundry ;)

Oh and I'm gonna be an AUNT!!!!! my brother and sister-in-law are preggers!!! Suzy was 10weeks on Tuesday so we'll be having a Christmas baby Harper. Sooooo exciting!!!! 

NOLA Bachelorette

One of my best friends since the 4th grade is getting married in September. We had a HUGE bridal shower for her this Saturday and then took her to NOLA for her bachelorette party. When we started planning her party, she mentioned that she wanted to be covered in... well you'll see... here are a few pics from the shower and then the partying in New Orleans. We had a BLAST!

Corinne, Misty, Tarah, me

the "clean" picture

then the "goodies" came out

penis shakers =)

bachelorette crown

**wild and sexy**

and then the penis crown!!

there are no words

meeting a "bar challenge"

such an amazing time!!

Google

I love Google. I Google everything. One of my hubby's best friends once told him, "The dumbest thing a smart person can say is, I know everything." And he's in Special Forces, so he must know what he's talking about. The friend. Not my hubby. Although I think he's pretty special ;) So I Google everything, b/c I'm not too proud to say, I don't know everything. I do however know a little about a lot, b/c why??? GOOGLE!! haha for example... at work... In preop we get all sorts of patients remember? Well, that means all sorts of problems and medications for those problems (and lots of medications of the herbal sort). When I/we come across a problem, medication, anything at all that we don't know about I Google it! Green Tea? Cinnamon? Ron's Rum? These are a few of the most recent medicines I've Googled that I've either not known about or just wanted to know why the heck people take them. One afternoon we actually Googled p&n!$ pumps. Why? you ask. Because one of our patients coming in the next day had one. And we were curious. Yesterday I spent 30min on Google searching for information pertaining to a disease called Kennedy's Disease. We had a pt today with it and we needed any special anesthesia precautions.

I started this particular note to say... I was watching Law & Order: SVU this evening and one of the main characters on the 6pm show was a blonde lady with a voice I recognized and a smile that was almost familiar. So I thought.... and I GOOGLED!!!! First Footloose. The Movie. Everybody Footloose!! Love me some Footloose. Lori Singer. Then I Googled USA. USANetwork.com. That got me the list of shows for SVU. Bang. Then I Googled Lori Singer. CHACHING!!!!! Lori Singer played Dede Aston in the Bang episode of Law & Order: SVU. Awesome. I love Google.

2-for-1 special on the crazies

Most of this blog will be my rantings on my everyday life. I will not share where I work on this site, to protect the innocent haha, but mostly to protect my job.  Me staying at my job that is ;) however yes I am a nurse, at a "procedure center", where we see all sorts of people. And oooooooooh those people! 

Here lately we've had a couple of days I like to call "2-for-1 special on the crazies." Because that's what it has seemed like. One crazy person gets off the elevator and walks up to our front desk, and one more follows suit. 2-for-1 special. I asked this morning if it was a full moon. One special lady today had on a surgical mask b/c she is "deathly allergic" to all types of perfumes and wouldn't use one of our bathrooms b/c it had air freshener in it. She also refused her temperature being taken b/c she was afraid her preop nurse used too strong body soap. Oh my. And because of her extreme hacking cough we were actually afraid she had TB. So, um, that surgical mask wasn't doing anything for anybody. Special. 

At my job I also work with kids. I love working with my kiddos. Today I got to preop a young guy and he noticed my paracord 550 bracelet. He asked if I know anyone in the army or military. I said yes, my husband. "Oh really?" He perked up at this. He asked if my husband was in the Guard or what branch. I said Army Guard. Turns out my little pt is too. So we started talking all about him being in the Army National Guard, how he got in it (dad was in it, also went to YCP at Camp Shelby) and of course, all about my very own GI Joe man, Bret. He was such a sweet kid. Good potential. When I got done preop-ing him I tried not to sound too condescending but I said "from a 28yr-old old lady, I'm proud of you, and so glad you're doing that." He replied with a "yes ma'am" and a "thank you so much"

This blog will also be used to talk about that GI Joe man I mentioned earlier. He's gone right now. To Virginia for officer training (BOLC for you military peeps). Until the end of July. Been gone since the end of March. I just got back from visiting him last weekend. So if you want to be the other part of my 2-for-1 crazy special, I'll let ya know when you're needed (or heck you may very well know before I know ;)) b/c yes I miss my husband like CRAZY.