Wingnut World

2006-01-29T17:28:00.000-05:00

You Are a Martini

There's no other way to say it: you're a total lush.
You hold your liquor well, and you hold a lot of it!

Woah moments

2005-08-18T16:21:00.000-04:00

Alright, first apologies for infrequent blogging. Like most projects in my life, I let something go for too long and the task of just starting it again becomes so overwhelming I avoid it. Need to work on that. Like the boxes I still haven't unpacked in my house or the filing that is piled on my desk. It's not nearly as bad a project as I think it is, but I haven't started because I think it is going to take more energy and time than I have at the moment.

I digress.

Woah moment last Saturday. I bought my wedding dress. Trying on wedding dresses suddenly brought the wedding concept into full force view. I'M GETTING MARRIED! For real...I felt so grown up and beautiful and sad and happy and nervous all at the same time (nervous probably because I was standing in my underwear in a room full of brides-to-be and their family and friends and salespersons). It was a super happy day, nine dresses and the last one was it. We even came in at budget, including the veils. WOOOHOOO! Amanda, Tara, and my aunt Nancy were there. They cried when I put the first one on. Leah the saleswoman kept calling Nancy "Mom." Just a reminder that for the rest of my life special days will always be a little bittersweet.

Since we found the dress in record time, then came the hunt for the bridesmaids dresses. Wow, there is a global conspiracy to make them look ugly! I think 95% of the dresses are tacky. So, I put it to you, the bloggers to help me make my decision.

Dress #1 in brick or sage (click on the color box to change the picture's color)
Dress #2 in brick or cornflower
Or mix and match separates. The only stipulation being they all have to come in the same color and fabric and and skirt must be full length.

I am at a loss. HELP ME MAKE A DECISION!

The Sweetest Thing

2005-07-13T08:52:00.000-04:00

So this morning Andy says, "I was going to surprise you, but..." To which I said, "You know how hard I am to surprise and you were well on your way to succeeding. Don't blow it now by telling me!" "...but you're trying to make plans for Thursday night. I made reservations for us to have dinner on our Negative One Year Anniversary."

Think hard.

We're getting married July 15th 2006. I'm working Friday July 15th so he wants to celebrate on Thursday night.

HOW SWEET IS MY FIANCE?!!?!?!?

Time flies...

2005-07-12T08:06:00.000-04:00

...when you're working 12 hour shifts! Since we last spoke I worked Wednesday night, Friday through Sunday day shift, and last night. I can't complain that I don't have time to spend all the money I'm making. Oh wait, somehow I still manage to do that pretty well.

My friend Heidi and I went shopping last week. My favorite four letter word was plastered all over the stores: SALE. Especially when that word is plastered across a poster of a supermodel in her underwear at Victoria's Secret. This Angel spent a pretty penny on underwear and lotion. And sandals. Summertime means we must buy a pair of sandals in every color and pattern. And these weren't dollar deals at Target.

I had a very interesting conversation with one of my patients at work about accents on Saturday. Just to give you an idea of what I go through each time I work, some patient makes small talk by asking me where I'm from. Of course, I reply that I'm from Tennessee. "But you don't have an accent." Always the same reply. Why is that the first thing that people should associate with someone from the South? I don't think "Yeah, you sound like you're from PA." Even though they do. I heard another Pennsylvanism-You'ns. Instead of the much more efficient y'all. And a perfect example of Pennsylvanese in action was my coworker's cell phone message "Hi, this is Tammy. Let a message and I'll get back to you." Let instead of leave. And I'm supposed to be the one who talks funny? I just heard Boot Scootin Boogie on the radio and it made me further long for a night out at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Broadway in Nashville with a longneck and a honkytonk band. Ahhh, but you can't go home...

Ya'll don't think I talk funny do ya?

Prayers

2005-07-08T05:42:00.000-04:00

For everyone in London. John, if you read this, I was thinking of you yesterday. Hope you and Marissa stay safe and sane. I can't imagine what it's like to feel so vulnerable and violated by terror.

Love and prayers today,
Jen

WOOHOO! A real holiday

2005-07-07T08:16:00.000-04:00

Everyone jump up and down! Jenni got a holiday off. A real live three day nationally recognized Holiday weekend OFF. I worked until Fri AM, then slept a bit, then Andy and I went to Baltimore for a fun 4th weekend to ourselves. What better way to celebrate the independence of America than in a cool Northeastern port city going to baseball games?

Friday night we ate at a restaurant called City Lights in the Inner Harbor and stuffed ourselves silly on crabcakes. I love crabcakes. I could eat them every night. And on the trip I swore I would.

Saturday we went to the Orioles vs Indians game at Camden yards. Andy swears he had the best tuna melt of his life at the sandwich shop near the stadium. I gave my Miguel Tejada bobblehead to a woman from Virginia whose birthday it was, and she in turn bought me a beer. Andy taught me how to score the game. We ate peanuts, got sunburn, and the home team won. Then that night we went to Fell's Point via water taxi and ate Bertha's Mussels. Remember when I said I'd eat nothing but crabcakes? I lied, the mussels were way fun and Andy's scallops were divine. Then we had several microbrews at another bar and enjoyed live entertainment (which for Brentwoodians, consisted of a very Leonard twins-like pair of twentysomethings playing Matchbox 20 and Journey covers). Taxi ride back to the swanky downtown hotel at 2am and ate the free gourmet chocolates. Watched the end of A Few Good Men, again, very Americana.

Sunday morning was hazy, not as hot. We decided to take in the National Aquarium down at the Inner Harbor. Andy and I blended right in with all the rugrats pressing noses up against the glass ("look, Nemo!" "where's the electric eel again?" "how many poison dart frogs do you see?") My favorite was the JAWS moment in the shark room. When I walked up to look in the tank, a sand tiger shark with a mouth full of snaggly sharp teeth bared swam right up face first to the glass at eye level. It was really creepy. Andy liked the turtles. And we both wish that sting rays could make good pets. We're such nerds.

Sunday the Indians won big, we ate dollar dogs, saw some homers, and drove back to State College listening to Live 8 on the XM radio in the truck. The London line up included Sting, the Who, Paul McCartney, and the first and only Pink Floyd reunion performance in decades. IT WAS AWESOME. I may get ill with Andy's time warp of classic rock every now and again, but I must admit that Pink Floyd and the Who ROCKED. Paul McCartney is always good as well.

Monday night we barbecued in State College and watched the fireworks from the roof of Deike Building on PSU's campus. AHHHH. Jenni got to drink some beers and chill with friends on a HOLIDAY. Good Amerian summer fun all around.

Now I'm back in the grind. Working and rotating this week, yuck. Time to go to sleep for a few hours. How was your holiday weekend?

Bad Blogger

2005-06-29T12:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, it's been way too long since I last blogged, but summer hit and there's just not much sitting in front of the computer happening anymore. JR and I have bonded and love riding on the pretty days. Andy and I have started wedding plans, making several trips to Columbus to get things rolling. My dad got married Memorial Day weekend in West Va. Andy and I went to Georgia for his family reunion, stopped in at Lone Mountain and the family cemetary to visit Mom on the way back. I've come to the conclusion that I could live in Virginia and be happy. It's beautiful down there!

Andy is crazy about his fantasy baseball team, working hard in the lab during the days, and looking forward to OSU football this fall. We were able to buy a pair of season tickets thanks to Nana and her booster application so anyone in Columbus for the games, give us a call :-) At least Andy will be there, I will come when I'm not working.

I went to Target today, GASP! I made it out without purchasing anything. I am looking for a very specific storage unit to double as a pantry for our kitchen. They didn't have anything like what I wanted so I just walked out. It was hard, especially since the bargain shelves had some cute flip flops. I wasn't so controlled at Walmart though, I bought a shelf for the bathroom and a storage container for the living room. Now I've imprisoned myself in the apartment until I get things cleaned up a bit.

This weekend we're going to Baltimore for two baseball games at Camden Yards vs the Indians. I'm totally psyched since I've never been to Baltimore and this is only my second MLB experience of memory. I went to a Tigers game as a kid but I don't remember it. Hot dogs, beer, baseball caps, scorecards, soft pretzels, home runs. I can't wait. And it's 4th of July weekend, how much more American can you get?

I'll try to blog more often, maybe instead of watching tv when I come home to veg after work. Here's some funny happenings of recent:

Andy and I had a heated discussion the other night which movie to watch: Elf or Harry Potter. 24 years old and we sounded like we were in grade school. Harry Potter won, now he's rereading book 4 while I reread book 3 in preparation for the new book to arrive. He preordered it from Amazon.com. We're just a couple of big kids.

I tried to feed JR strawberries the other day and he just flopped his lips and let the fall on the ground. I guess after feeding him gumdrops and jelly beans while he rehabbed his cut leg last month I'm stuck giving him processed sugar treats.

I noticed something today: I might be the only girl I know with acrylic nails that shops at Lowes. I also might be the only girl I know that goes to Starbucks in cowboy boots. I clean house while watching baseball and watch soap operas while paying bills. I blast Justin Timberlake in my truck with the windows down. I thought I wouldn't care about the color of the drapes at my reception site, but I do, and yet I am still contemplating wearing sandals under my dress if I can get away with it. I am stuck in this funny development of identity somewhere between happy-go-lucky teenage girl, fierce tomboy, and mature woman. I guess that's where 24 is.

The REAL Evil Empire

2005-04-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

So, back before there was a Super Walmart on every corner, especially one within reasonable driving distance of Brentwood TN, there was the store all high school girls frequented for their discount shopping needs: Target. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Target, what's so special about Target?" Where else can you buy cd's, flip flops, candy necklaces, tank tops, candles, earrings, and spaghettio's? Okay, Walmart. But there was no Walmart in Brentwood. So we frequently spent Friday nights wandering about Target finding ways to spend our Daddy's money on these 17 year old essentials. As I grew and went to college, conveniently there was a Target right next to OSU's campus. No Walmart for miles. Just Target. Again, much of my hard earned minimum wage was spent in trips for simple things like hangers. No, a girl needs much more than hangers. She needs tee shirts, matching watermelon cups and bowls, bean bags, dry erase boards, chips and salsa, greeting cards, and flip flops. It's impossible to walk out of the place for less than $50! No matter what you're going for!

So yesterday Andy says, "Hey, while you're out doing errands, can you get me some jockey shorts?" After clarifying that he meant boxer briefs for sports purposes, I swung on over to Target here in State College. It's right down the road from Walmart, but that's neither here nor there. I don't like Walmart. I get lost. And I miss the pretty red decor. But I digress.

So I went in with the specific purpose to get the boxer briefs, and while I was at it a much needed tablecloth for my dining room table. Mistake #1: I slowed down at the entrance when I saw the dollar deal shelves. NEVER STOP AT THE DOLLAR DEAL SHELVES. Four bamboo placemats with matching coasters, one pair of green flip flops, three painted pail planters, and a packet of cat grass seed later I had finally walked more than ten feet from the door. And that was with extreme will power against buying the brightly colored chips and salsa bowls.

Then, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and walked directly past the women's clothing and lingerie section all the way to the back of the store. As I was turning the corner I saw the men's. Hoorah! Temptation averted. Found Andy's underwear, and went to make my way out of the store. That is when all hope was lost. I was immediately greeted by the shoes. Then the kitchen and bathroom decor, then cleaning supplies, then garden, then electronics, then pharmacy. AHHHHHH! Potting soil, two cd's, comet, clorox disinfecting wipes, chapstick, table cloth. Your total comes to $84.22.

Damn you evil Target! So what if I now have a stylish Asian inspired dining room and quaint little herbs growing in my window!? I still have not defeated the heroin that is Target!

So tonight Andy says, "These briefs don't fit, I need a different size." I made a list this time. We stuck to the list with the exception of matching napkins for my tablecloth, four more bamboo mats with coasters, and gum. Your total comes to $61.89. HOW DO THEY DO IT?!

I'm on a self-imposed Target ban for the next month. Please, if you suspect that I may have been to Target or am close to going, STOP ME!

Tech support this!

2005-04-11T20:38:00.000-04:00

So, after three hours of installation wizards, restarts, a trip to Best Buy, and 1-800-canyouhold? I FINALLY have internet at the apartment! Yippee! So, my inaugural post from home is being carefully supervised by the cat, who was unaware that the big hunk of plastic on her desk was anything more than something to rub her nose on. She's currently on top of the monitor staring down at the screen and chasing the cursor as I type. Such amusement!

Andy and I were in Columbus last weekend, catching up with friends and my family. Coincidentally OSET hosted their regionals show yesterday, so I got to go out and see the girls ride, help hold horses, and change tack. It was just like the good old days and inspired me to really get to work on my own horse and riding. I just need to find the right barn. I miss Columbus so much, I really had a good set up there for work, riding, etc. Oh well, we'll just have to get hubbie-to-be to take a job there when he graduates :-)

Hehe, I have a hubbie-to-be...

So, now you can bet there will be more frequent postings on the blog with a variety of topics for commenting. After tax refund day I hope to also have a digital camera for pictures as well. Tonight, Andy got home late from working on campus and I am going to enjoy some PSU Creamery dessert with him before bed. Night all!

I must say, the weather's divine!

2005-04-04T09:15:00.000-04:00

Wow! I thought the weather in PA last Wednesday was nice...I'm home in Nashvegas for the weekend and it's been sunny and 65-70. Spring has sprung and things are blooming. I can't wait for weather like this in PA. Andy tells me that over the weekend there it rained, snowed, and flooded. Wow. I can't wait to get back.

Amanda sang beautifully in Pirates of Penzance, the silly Gilbert and Sullivan classic. I just have to remind her next time before she runs onstage: No cheesy poofs!

I think I have a basketball curse. MSU lost in the men's tournament (whom I was rooting for even though I have North Carolina winning it all in my bracket) and then the TN women lost to MSU even though I was back home rooting for Pat Summit and the Lady Vols. Phooey, after tomorrow all the basketball will be over and then I can burn my bracket on the grill for baseball hotdogs.

Alrighty, time for some coffee and packing up to fly back to cold cloudy PA. I promise, pictures of the ring to come (it's getting back from the jeweler tomorrow or Wednesday...that's another story...)

love to all

thank goodness for spring!

2005-03-30T16:55:00.000-05:00

What a gorgeous day! it's sunny and 65 here in Central Pa, so Heidi and I had a nice lunch downtown and then painted pottery while watching passers-by on the busy college avenues. I opened up all the windows in the apartment, and besides the increasing sniffles of allergy season, I can feel the fresh air is doing good things for my constitution. I got a sexy new haircut, I'm on my way to get sexy painted nails, and JR might even get a visit and playtime outside. Today is Andy's birthday so I'm taking him out tonight. Things are just great when the weather is nice. I'm going to have to live somewhere less cloudy and cold from now on, my mood is just better on days like this. I'm also far more productive. Yippeee for spring! Of course, the forecast for snow and rain with temps in the mid thirties this weekend portends a dip in my mood, but I'll be on a plane to Nashville for the weekend. The point is, spring has called, he's on his way over, and we better get ready.

Another one bites the dust...

2005-03-18T09:06:00.000-05:00

We had to know this day would come....

Andy and I are engaged :-) !!!

Longer more detailed story to come, and pictures of the rock.

FYI- Nashvillians, I am making an appearance April 2nd-4th in town to see Amanda in Pirates of Penzance and to catch up with my Dad and sis. Give me a call on my cell or leave a comment, I'd love to 'hug your neck' as my Aunt Alberta would say.

love to all, save next July on your calendars.

Jen

It's March!

2005-03-14T09:16:00.000-05:00

The greatest month of the year! Time to celebrate many important birthdays, i.e., Tara's, Mine, and Andy's. Also St. Patrick's Day, the only day acceptable to put food coloring in your beer. SPRING BREAK! Wait, I'm a grown-up now, I don't have spring break...oh well. And, oh yeah, MARCH MADNESS!

I took on the task of heading up the Bracket Manager for our unit at work. Mount Nittany Madness will commence this week, and I'm pulling for UNC to win it all in mine. (i'm feeling the wrath of amanda from a thousand miles away) Share your bracket stories! Make your ultimate pick. I will send a secret surprise to the person who picks correctly :-)

Andy's taking me out for my birthday tonight. We're going to try a historical hotel turned restaurant called the Eutaw (say utah) House that's rumored to have been a favorite of Edgar Allen Poe's. Some locals say he was inspired to write The Raven while staying there. Now they have fine dining. Hey, maybe I found some serious culture here in Central PA.

If you got my email and you're reading this-leave a comment! I don't blog often, but it's a great way to correspond with me, since I don't keep normal hours. I've bid on a job at work to work primarily nights (but I get to work 12 hour shifts, which is better than 5 eight hour days a week) so it looks like I'll be staying on this vampire rotation for a while. The pay is good. I am losing weight. I like it for now.

Love to all, gotta run!

Quick blurb

2005-03-05T16:58:00.000-05:00

So, Andy rented the classic Mr. Roberts for us to watch last night. Andy has this thing for old movies, every now and then he makes me watch one that I haven't seen and it turns out to be a fun night. Anyway, Mr. Roberts starred Jack Lemmon, Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and others on a cargo ship in WWII. It's funny, with a sad ending, and a great message. Jack Lemmon was so cute and funny back in the day! And Henry Fonda had some killer eyes.

I also made him take me to the Olive Garden for seafood pasta on this Lenten Friday night. I'm pretty proud of my fasting this year, I gave up fast food and I'm hanging in pretty well. Thursday night things at work were crazy so we ordered hot wings, but other than that I haven't touched any take out or fast food since Ash Wednesday.

I worked out this morning, and thus, weighed myself (I only use the scale in the gym at work for consistency's sake). This night shift thing is great! I have lost 8 lbs since the first of the year. I'm waiting for it all to catch up with me.

Other interesting tidbits....Co-workers are having a big party the day after my birthday to celebrate several occassions, so I plan on partaking in festivities. It'll be a good time outside the hospital to talk with these people I've come to know so well. At least I won't be Andy's girlfriend for once.

Alrighty, not much else to say, later peeps!

Winter Sucks!

2005-02-28T10:27:00.000-05:00

I've decided that I have seasonal affect disorder: I get depressed in the winter. For the first time all winter (and make a grossed out face if necessary when you hear this) I cleaned the apartment. I mean, really cleaned, like vaccumed, dusted, mopped floors clean. So far this winter I have had a hard time finding motivation to get things like this done. When I'm at work all night, sleeping during daylight hours, then waking at sunset and having dinner, I hardly see the sun! I even have to use a lighter shade of make up than normal b/c I'm so pale!

funny aside: Andy just asked me how to spell 'met.' This is why I proofread his papers even though I can't understand half of the scientific words.

So winter stinks. My truck wipers are gimpy and I hate scraping off ice and snow. They also call emergency snow conditions at the hospital where no one is allowed to leave b/c of the weather until all of the next shift arrives. This happened on Thursday last week, I was the oncoming shift though. Tonight I am supposed to leave at 11pm but if not everyone comes in for nights then I'll have to stay. It's supposed to snow a bunch too. Yuck.

Don't get me wrong, the snow is beautiful, from inside with a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket. Just don't make me go out in it.

That's how I spent last night, watching the Oscars. Did anyone else watch? How weird was that? They handed out awards to people sitting in their seats, they lined up nominees on the stage like Miss America contestants, Beyonce sang three times, and a lot of the presenters were nominees for other awards so we saw those people twice. Overall, a strange production. Most of the people looked good though, I didn't see many dresses I didn't like. Cate Blanchett''s could have done without the brown belt looking thing. Laura Linney's looked like a torn dirty dishrag. Selma Hayek and Penelope Cruz looked amazing. Johnny Depp looked like a lounge singer. Chris Rock was funny but it would have been funnier if he slipped and said a swear word once.

Okay, I've run out of things to say now. Leave comments, it lets me know you're actually reading this thing!

peace

Catching up

2005-02-18T09:20:00.000-05:00

My hopes were finally dashed permanently yesterday: No hockey this season. It's official. As a result, I watched NBA basketball on tv last night for lack of better programming. Ugh. It was the Cavs, so I made the excuse that I like LeBron James and therefore I could stand it, but really, there was just nothing else on. Until CSI. But then I had to go to work.

Speaking of work, it is going well. I'm really starting to get the hang of things around the unit and I don't feel so distressed all the time. Mostly it's because I work a lot of nights and the pace is slower, but really, I'm feeling a lot better there. We have had a lot of deaths recently though, which is always distressing. I had my first code (that's where someone's heart stops and they stop breathing so you end up doing CPR and shocking them and pushing lots of EPI) earlier this week. Think "ER" toned down a bit. Okay, toned down a LOT. I must admit, I was frozen in place for the first thirty seconds. But everyone around me sprung into action in a very organized, focused manner, so it was easy to calm down and start helping. I just hope the next time it happens I have the same kind of organization.

I can't believe I do this for a living.

Also went to church last weekend. 8am service after a 12 hour night shift wasn't exactly exhilirating, but it felt refreshing to sit in a pew and absorb some God for an hour.

Andy and I had a laid back Valentines, we went out to eat at a brewpub here in town. The microbrews were good but the food was so-so. I think there will be many Otto's growlers filling out fridge in the future. I can go for some Apricot wheat right now...it's 9am, is that strange? I got another orchid from him this year, my goal is to not kill it this time. I also bought some parsley and oregano plants. Bam likes to tickle her nose in them. I just hope she doesn't develop a taste for fresh herbs. Anyone know if herbs are toxic to cats?

Next week begins my winter obsession: American Idol. It's been on for weeks, but next week the live voting begins. Not that I can ever get through to vote, I just like watching the really good people perform from this point on. I'm pulling for Constantine, the rock/metal band lead singer with long hair and the bitching voice. He sounds like the only one who could sing Motown and rock out Stairway in the same night.

Alrighty, back to the apt to sleep for the day, going to a movie tonight with Andy. See y'all on the flip side.

Superbowl!

2005-02-07T17:06:00.000-05:00

I am a bad blogger, I know. I have neglected the site for way too long. I swear, when I get internet at the apartment, I will blog all the time!

So, I root for the Steelers, and they lose. Then I decide to root for the Eagles, then they lose. Maybe I oughta just root for the team I want to lose. At least I won $10 off my boss b/c the Eagles covered the 6 point spread he gave me :-)

Andy and I went skiing in Ellicotville New York this weekend. I now have calves of FIRE but it was worth it b/c I had fun. I don't think Andy thought I would be very good, but I was doing alright by the end of the day. Just really tired. It renewed my motivation to get active again, which I would be doing this afternoon if I hadn't had such a stressful day at work. I got myself a decaf latte and I am blogging, tomorrow I will workout :-)

Andy won a pair of bindings in a drawing at the ski race award banquet on Saturday. For those of you who don't know skiing, the binding is the part of the ski that holds the boot on. I guess the ones he got are worth $200, and like a fool I said I'd buy him some skis to go with them. That was before he won them. He says, "Honey, if I win a pair of bindings will you buy me skis?" To which I believe I said "Mmm-hmm" or "okay" or "whatever," I don't really recall b/c I was hardly paying attention. Which teaches us all a very important lesson. Don't open your mouth until you listen first!

Found something funny to leave you with today, thanks to Winn!

Your Porn Star Name is: Nurse Naughty

Get your own Porn Star Name

Oh bother....

2005-01-21T17:53:00.000-05:00

So, to take Amanda's blog savvy advice, I typed this entry in Word first because the last entry I tried to post didn't work, and that was two days ago. All my brilliant bloggings from Wednesday were lost in internet space. Oh well.

So, I'm patiently awaiting the arrival of Shawn, Andy's grad buddy, to come back into town from Hawaii at the end of the month so that he can set up our internet at the apartment. Then there will be much more blogging. I promise! The IS Nazis at work prevent me from venturing outside the hospital's highly guarded network. So on even the slowest of night shifts, I can't so much as check my email. If Ohio State's network had been half as secure, I never would have reformatted my HP twelve times.

It's officially winter in Central PA now. I have begun to show my true southern colors because the high hasn't been above freezing in at least a week. We've also received several inches of the white stuff. I hate losing ten minutes of my day to the weather. It's ridiculous! You have to bundle up appropriately (my fashionable coats are no longer warm enough, the parka is now the only option), sweep snow off your car (scrape residual ice from the melting and refreezing process), warm the engine (while you sit shivering in your vehicle), drive 4 miles to work (the car is just reaching a comfortable temperature by then), get out and walk in to the hospital (don't forget your gloves like I did or you'll get frostbite), take off your wet and salty shoes (designate one pair for the whole winter to walking outdoors, change into better shoes inside), then finally thaw out and get warm indoors just in time to go back outside. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Forecast for the weekend: 6 to 18 inches of snow. When I will emerge from hibernation: March.

Jenni the big brown bear, signing off from the sleepin hole.

creature of the night

2005-01-14T09:15:00.000-05:00

I am now part of those strange nightshift workers around the world who sleep during the day and work at night. We have no tan, we are often a little quirky, and we have no sense of Circadian rhythm. I just worked my fourth night shift in a row. I will work four more starting Saturday, and then I only have a day to rotate to evenings. I see 730am on my ride home, and watch the Today show as I'm falling asleep. I wake up when the sun goes down (picture Kenny Chesney) and eat dinner with Andy. It's a strange existence.

Other than feeling out of touch with the rest of the world, I am enjoying night shift. The pace is much slower and less stressful, which allows me to take time to learn lots of details about the hospital and my unit, instead of learning on the fly and getting harried orders barked at me in the frenzy of dayshift. I get to really study up on my patients too, and since they don't have any visitors, I think we have better conversations (that is, when they are awake and talking). Like last night, we had a very confused woman who was wandering the halls and trying to escape down the stairwell. On dayshift, this could have been an enormous inconvenience and frustrated the busy staff (I know, I've worked it). But last night we just took all the linens and tousled them in a basket, told her the laundry needed to be folded, and she sat quietly folding at the nurses' station for HOURS. It was quite cute.

Yesterday it was a BALMY 69 degrees here in State College. Being a vampire, I was actually sleeping and didn't get to enjoy it, but none the less, that's crazy warm for January in PA! Today it is going to be 29. Yuck.

I got the neatest grill for Christmas, it's like a George Foreman, but there are three different inserts: waffle, grill, and quesadilla. And they are all removeable and dishwasher safe. I make chicken on it last night for dinner, very good. Can't wait to try quesadillas! MMMMMM Bueno!

Alrighty, I've been up all night and I'm getting loopy. Time to head home and watch soem daytime TV until I fall asleep. BTW, the sucky thing about sleeping during the day is that no one else thinks about the fact that you're sleeping. UPS, solicitors calling, neighbors, roof-workers, friends calling. It's hard to really stay asleep. So if you call me leave a message b/c I'm turning the phones off from now on.

Later!

ahh, 2005

2005-01-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

May it be better than 2004. So I spent New Year's Eve watching football and drinking beers with Andy's friends. Jon and Brian finally made their brainstorm the "Bacon wrapped Bacon Burger" into reality as a final hoorah Friday night. This consisted of bacon and ground beef in patty form grilled, then wrapped in bacon and cornmeal batter and deep fried to perfection. I told them all I would see them in the Cardiac Care unit later having heart attacks. Then I tried it. Pretty good burger. I imagine they will perfect the process over several evenings of beer drinking and grilling this spring.

Since the oil was already hot on the stove, and Junium mentioned that the Brits and Keowees also deep fry candy bars. Timmy went to the Exxon and came back with all the standards for experimentation (These are all scientists remember, they'll try anything in a very methodical, well planned manner). They rolled Twix, Snickers, and Milky Ways in pancake batter and deep fried them (my cholesterol is going up just thinking about it). I have to say that the Twix was TO DIE FOR (and i might). Goes well with champagne though.

State College had some fireworks, then I went home b/c I had to work at 645am New Year's Day. I've been working every day since, filling in gaps at work and making the big bucks. It's true, when you work 48 hrs a week you hardly find time to spend all the money you're making. Though, I do a good job trying.

Last night we were awakened several times by the sound of "pop, crack, whoosh, thud." Trees were down all over town after a heavy rain fell and the temp dropped to 32, just cold enough to freeze everything above the ground including branches and cars. The trees look beautiful with the silvery coating but it's dangerous and power lines are down as well. Andy said he changed the clock twice last night when it started flashing. I just kept sleeping. I'm good at that.

The boy and I are heading to his folks this weekend to celebrate the holidays with them, belated. Shopping for Christmas presents is way better after the new year b/c EVERYTHING is on super sale. I plan on heading back to the mall today before work to stock up on new clothes so I can clean out my old ones. Maybe I'll become a little more fashionable now that I'm a grown up with a real job. :-)

love to all
jen

Holiday Reflections

2004-12-31T10:46:00.000-05:00

Well, my Christmas in a nutshell blew. I mean, I did have bright spots, good things I'm happy and thankful for. But just to recap, a few updates on the things that sucked:
1. USAIR was the airline able to send me and Andy from State College to Nashville through Philidelphia on Christmas Day for $250. It was also the airline that still has not returned 10,000 bags to passengers after a weekend debacle in Philly. Read the link for more, bottom line Andy and I didn't get our bags until Sunday night.

2. Stomach issues as previously posted, I didn't feel entirely well until Monday and ate gingerly all week. I'm probably the only person I know who lost weight at Christmas (all water weight I'm sure).

3. The obvious. Christmas without Mom. It was weird, it was sad, and I didn't really get in the spirit.

4. Only getting to see Amanda for, like, a couple of hours! I miss seeing the Bradley's on a regular basis. Same goes for the Whites, although seeing them on Monday was a pleasant surprise I hadn't anticipated. Dottie was on the verge of the stomach bug too, and Chuck already had it and missed out on our dinner party.

5. Nana arrived a day late b/c of her stomach woes. What is it with the puking?! Everyone got sick this year!

6. Dad's making changes in life. He took us to see the property he bought at Center Hill Lake and is going to build a house on. I got a Christmas present from his girlfriend Nancy, which was weird. Apparently they're going to come up and visit me and Andy at some point soon. I know it's normal for him to move on, it's just not very comfortable for me and Tara right now.

7. Titans lost. surprise.

8. No snow.

9. Back to work on Tuesday night. The real world doesn't give 4 weeks off for the holidays.

Okay, complaining out of my system.

Now I am going to self-impose guilt for complaining. Last night one of my patients who returned from pacemaker surgery and had many new health issues to complain about made me stop and be thankful for what I have. All she could talk about was the horrific sight of tsunami destruction and how awesome God's power is. We were both sad for all the victims, especially the parentless, hungry children. We couldn't understand why something like this would happen, why God would allow it to happen. It's a question I ask myself a lot about why anything in the last five years has happened. All she could say was, "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. I can only pray and be thankful for what I have." I don't blog about God a lot. I don't talk with my patients about god a lot either, even though they do frequently (nursing is a lot of therapeutic listening). I think I'll go to church this weekend. Maybe it's time to figure out where my faith went.

Things I am thankful for: Andy. Getting to see my family and friends on Christmas. Everyone arriving safely in their travels. Having a warm apartment to sleep in, enough (too many) clothes on my back. A job that allows me to make a difference in people's lives at their most pivotal and vulnerable. The prayers of loved ones that I know they send up for myself, my Dad, and my sister. We need them.

Okay, that was deep for me. Next time I'll blog about football or something a little more jenni. :-)

Merry Christmas!

2004-12-25T10:23:00.000-05:00

How sad is it that I'm blogging on Christmas Day? Right now kids are tearing open their presents and Dads are making morning pancakes and coffee. I'm sitting in Andy's lab printing off my flight confirmation and making my presence known on the blog again. I've got a phone line at the house, so after winter break here at PSU we'll have internet at the house and I can once again blog from my abode.

Christmas has been less that pleasant so far. Not only was I scheduled to work 11p-7a the last four nights, thus the Christmas morn flight home, but I caught the Mt. Nittany Medical Center Stomach Virus that plagued most of the staff for the last few weeks. That's right, after the schedule nightmare, I ended up not working anyway b/c I was at home puking my brains out. Oh well. At least I feel good enough to fly home today and I had some mac and cheese last night. Woohoo! No eggnog though, still testing the waters slowly. Andy was with me though, we watched A Christmas Story and unwrapped presents from his parents.

Gotta go to the airport now! TN here I come, and Go Titans today :-)

God Bless
Jenni

yummy things

2004-12-08T19:56:00.000-05:00

today was a yummy day:

1. I saw a new Stetson tv commercial while watching Oprah in the gym (when I'm on the treadmill, somehow watching Oprah doesn't seem so housewife-ish) Anyway, said black and white commercial featured pastures of waving grasses, horses, a dark mysterious woman in a flowing sundress, and of course A STETSON MAN. This wasn't any old male model-slash-actor on the rise from Ford Agency. It was the always pretty-when-he's-scruffy Matthew McConnaughey. At first I didn't think so, but at the end in the arms of the mysterious woman he smiles. There's no mistaking those dimples. Yummy.

2. The wife of a patient that passed away on our unit a few weeks ago brought in oodles of gourmet chocolates for the nurses. OODLESOFCHOCOLATE. Hence, why I was in the gym watching Oprah. By the way, a line from ER for all to remember, "Feed the nurses, they'll make or break your day." BTW, they'll also save your life :-)

3. The perfect yummy study companion: Starbucks peppermint mocha. I grabbed one on campus on my way in to see Andy, who's working hard on his AGU research poster. I am studying for my critical care course final test which is next week, but the 5 inch notebook of notes and three 'supplement' books of material will take me that long to trudge through. Many more mochas for me.

4. Reality TV - I usually pick and choose my reality viewing. Here's where I stand:

Yes: Real World/Road Rules/Battle of the Sexes (RW was the original by many years), Bachelorette (many yummy guys), and now, the Amazing Race. I LOVE THAT SHOW. What a cool concept, how didn't I catch on to this one sooner? I was moved to tears last night when the grandparent couple made it on to the next leg. cool show.

NO: Anything else on MTV. Anything on FOX. Big Brother and Survivor. The Bachelor (too many catty girls and one guy that's usually not too great). Fear Factor. They all need to go belly up and be replaced by more meaningful television. Like throwback Real World where the people look like a true cross section of American youth.

Okay, enough yummy things. Time to study heart rhythms. AMANDA, I'M CALLING YOU AS SOON AS I GET HOME! I have free nights and weekends and I'm a bit close to my limit on minutes so I'm trying to stick to after 9pm.

love to all
jen

Been a long time, been long time...

2004-12-07T20:26:00.000-05:00

been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time...

Just had that song in my head.

J! It took me so long to find you comment! It was way back on oct. 21st...this time click on the 'post a comment' at the bottom of this entry and I'll find it right away. And you're right, they don't say 'yinz' and they are Eagles fans. I think they like to identify with the Northeast for some reason, like it's better than the Midwest.

Of course, nothing is as good as being at home in the South :-) I'm flying into Nashville on Christmas Day, landing at 3pm ish. I get to work Christmas Eve night shift 11p-7a Christmas Day. As Andy said, I got hosed. I said some other four letter word, but I am refraining from most expletives on this site.

Bottom line, if you're going to be in Nashville 12/25-12/28 I'll be around. Give me a call. Also looking into getting over Detroit way after New Year's, like, 7-10th or something with Tara. Columbus, I'd love to get there, but I don't think it's going to happen. I'm off work this weekend but I'm still fighting this cold and I don't think I should drive all that way by myself. Andy's leaving for Cali Friday to see Shag and then next week hit San Fran for American Geophysical Union Conference. So maybe I'll just wander the Nittany Mall and buy all my Christmas gifts. I could change my mind by Friday though, that is a woman's perogative.

Things on my mind:

Somehow the Alamo Bowl doesn't quite induce a crazed fan frenzy like the National Championship Fiesta Bowl did...Oh well, watch the Buckeyes beat up on Oklahoma State Dec 28th at 8pm. I'll be sleeping, preparing for my night shift.

Barry Bonds: like we didn't know he was on steroids. By the way Barry, if you didn't know you were using an illegal steroid but were told months ago in testimony that your product was an illegal steroid, how is it that you have managed to keep your big muscular physique to this day? Doesn't it follow that you're still using now? Jason Giambi has lost weight, mainly because he quit using the illegal products. Barry hasn't. 2+2=fraud

I love watching my soaps on tv. I can't wait until I have a position where I only work 4 days a week so that I can watch more of them.

We got a new toilet. It sucks. No flush power, leaves floaters frequently.

I want to get a mini-tree, but I realized that I don't have any ornaments of my own. They're all in TN. Maybe I'll get a discount tree after Christmas and save it for next year when I'll have ornaments.

BTW, I never put up a good Thanksgiving post. Here's what I'm thankful for in a nutshell: FAMILY, Andy, My animals, graduation, new beginnings, memories of Mom, the gracious Marones who had us for dinner, Andy's family who checks up on us weekly, old friends that never fade away, and the ability to go to work and make a difference in peoples' lives no matter how small.

Love to all
Jen

Muck Fichigan

2004-11-22T20:40:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvan-ese

2004-11-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

So, my Critical Care clinical educator, Gail, who is an amazingly smart and dedicated nurse that I am absorbing much wisdom from, speaks PENNSYLVAN-ESE.

For those of you out of the great state of PA, that means she says things like:

"Let your bags there, we're back after lunch yet." meaning: "Leave your purse there, we'll be back here after lunch."

"To may-zjure..." which is "To measure"

And the ultimate brain-piercing PA word: SODA. Which if you're from TN is Coke, and if you're from Ohio or MICH is "pop."

And a Grilled Steak salad is lettuce, tomatoes, FRENCH FRIES, steak, and cheese. That's worse than Taco Salad. Who puts french fries on salad and then tops it with dressing!?! It's just gross.

Sorry, I've been sitting in class these last few weeks listening to her say MAY-ZJURE over and over again. It's grating on my ears.

That being said, not much doing around here other than work and class. Andy is going to Columbus for the game this Saturday, leaving me alone to watch the game and throw things at the TV. Next weekend we're going to his parents for a Thanksgiving (belated, since I'm working Thursday and Friday). As far as my Christmas schedule, Amanda, I don't know what's up b/c I don't have my work schedule yet. I know for sure I'm not working Saturday and Sunday, but I could be forced to work Friday and Monday so I'm awaiting the finalized holiday assignments. You should come see me! All are invited to see the wonders of Central PA and visit Jenni and Andy. We have an extra bed, and a lot of beer. Andy promises a skiing weekend in January sometime. I want to explore the Northeast in the spring. Certainly have to get back to TN when it's warmer :-) Andy may also be in New Orleans for a conference in May. FUN! Jet setting young-uns. Bye y'all!

love
jen

Let's go Suckeyes!

2004-11-15T20:15:00.000-05:00

That's what Dad, Andy and I are calling the OSU football team. Nevermind the big CLARETT CLOUD that's haunting us again. Stupid media. Stupid Maurice. Get over it, you are an idiot!

That being said, Amanda has put some really funny things on her blog lately, check out the Diva Domain for funny pictures of dogs and beavers.

Also, for those of you Christmas shopping already, check out my cousin Amy's website for fun handmade ornaments. I'm ordering several last minute gifts from there. I have ornaments that say Jennifer's First Christmas on them! (Hope I'm not dating you Amy)

JR was really good today. That was the best part of the week so far! I have to get a picture of him up here.

So my sis Tara has a site now too, even though she's transferring from Lambuth next semester.

If you got my email petition about the FDA member David Hager that Bush is trying to appoint to the head of the Reproductive Drugs Committee, I did some research on the guy and the jury is still out. I think the opinions expressed against him took some liberties with his record in twisting him to be a Bible-beating right-wing women's oppressionist. His defense against the FDA approval of mifepristone has some vaild arguments, I think the drug needs more research done. I do believe that it can still be on the market though with more cautious instruction to doctors about its use. Also, he admits that he advises unmarried women to abstain from sex to avoid unmarried pregnancies and STD's. "If they insist on being sexually active, I advise them to always use birth control pills and condoms." I think the key word there is "unmarried." If you are going to advise women on the most effective way to avoid unwanted pregnancies it should be to all women, not just those out of wedlock. What about married women? I wonder if he tells the wife who does not want any more children to abstain from sex with her husband or if he prescribes her the pill right away? And I wonder if he believes that married couples are at a lower risk of spreading STD's to one another than an unmarried monogamous couple... Hmmm...

I think that the moral of the story is don't believe everything you read (which I usually am really good about!) and to MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND. I will be an informed reader (and forwarder) from now on. Look for a well researched dissortation on David Hager, MD. to come. Sorry Kristen!

Ok, I filled up another page with my ramblings...leave your ramblings...jen

Inhaling Gas

2004-11-08T16:54:00.001-05:00

So last week I noticed that there was an odor of gas eminating from our kitchen. I opened the windows, turned on the stove, and noticed that the two right burners didn't work. Hmmm. I waited a couple days. Come home Thursday, big old gas odor in the house again. Called the maintenance guy. It appeared that the pilot light on the right side was out. He fiddled around with it for a while, got stuff to work, no more gas odor.

The reason I find this interesting is that last week I felt awfully crappy all week. Stomach aches, headaches, tired. I have noticed that since the stove got fixed I feel a lot better. MAYBE INHALING GAS IS BAD FOR YOU....

So now that I'm not slowly being poisoned by my appliances, Friday night Andy and I went to see the Incredibles. WHAT A GREAT MOVIE! I highly recommend it. Afterwards Harley and I were in the ladies room and what did my moron ass do? I dropped my cell phone in the toilet. Yes, in the toilet. After I did my business. I swooped in and rescued it, dropped it on the floor, and then went searching for a stall with toilet paper in it. This was one of those bathrooms with twenty stalls, two with toilet paper, and those eco-friendly air hand dryers and no paper towels. So my wet phone sat on the floor soaking up the pee-water while the uber-pregnant Harley laughed at me. Bottom line: my phone got dried off (and sanitized), still worked, but now does even funkier things with the screen and occassionally turns off in the middle of ringing.

Andy and I are headed to Verizon to get a new phone, a plan, and a landline for the apartment. Push came to shove with the toilet incident.

It got FRIGID and WINDY today in the Happy Valley. Yuck. They keep mentioning the "S" word but I'm in denial. It won't snow. Not until I'm ready. Hmph.

Kristen: Not really angry, so much as irritated at people who are sore losers. If you hype an American way and participating in the system in order to bring change for the country, and then you lose, why does the system suddenly become the enemy? Why should we feel shame in the country or the voters? I just hate sore losers. And I'm behind the winner. I will support my president. I just hope that he doesn't change a couple major things.

Love you all!
jen

Inhaling Gas

2004-11-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

At least the commercials will stop...

2004-11-03T18:56:00.000-05:00

Well, how quickly (relatively) the election came and went. And then there was one. Incumbent George Bush. In the thick of it all, OH-IO.

I have to emphasize to all those who might be quick to thrust me into the mire of the swing state, I have not been a resident of Ohio since I was 5. When in college I voted as a resident of Tennessee. Now that I live in here in State College, I voted here in Pennsylvania, which was not as important a swing state as Ohio (further proving my theory that Ohio is a supremely cool state).

I digress. The point is that now I will disclose the vote that I had been agonizing over and holding secret for months:

I voted for John Kerry. It was a vote of conscience. It was a vote of character and faith, not economics or terrorism. It wasn't even a vote of party affiliation. I just plain felt I couldn't watch the U.S. repeal Roe vs. Wade or ban gay marriage on my vote. Nuff said.

On the other hand, I think that Bush will not send the economy into the toilet, nor will he turn Iraq into Vietnam part duex, nor will his tort reform plan fizzle and die. So now I encourage you all to keep participating in the process, make the newly elected congress and president stand up and listen. And for goodness sakes, don't be bitter. There will be another election in four years, and guess what, GW can't run.

BTW, I just want to say that I saw something that made me sad today. Someone had spray painted on their own vehicle: ASHAMED TO BE AN AMERICAN.

How can we be ashamed to be American when we just had the highest voter turnout since 1968? For the first time since 1988 the winning candidate won the popular and electoral votes. How can we be ashamed that the process founded, updated, revised, and upheld since 1776 worked yesterday exactly the way it was intended? And the losing candidate, a LAWYER, called off the threats of lawsuits and conceded with grace and dignity because of his faith in the country and the system. Today, though I voted for John Kerry who lost, I am still proud to be an American. This is a damn fine country. If you don't like it, keep trying to change it. If you can't handle loss every once in a while, move. Be sad, be disappointed, be deflated, be angry, be inspired, be determined, but don't be ashamed.

Okay, I got all political and fired up and now I'm va-klempt. Happy post-election!

Bad Blogger

2004-11-01T17:03:00.000-05:00

OK~I haven't done this in a while I know. sorry. I've been busy. Here's the skinny:

Started my critical care course at work, which means that two days a week I sit in class and take periodical exams to then take one big exam at the end of nine weeks. I have a five inch notebook of material to read through, and I fight off falling asleep all day in an uncomfortable chair in a lecture hall with powerpoint in front of me. I THOUGHT I DID THIS FOR FIVE YEARS ALREADY! DIDN'T I GRADUATE!?

Andy and I went back to Columbus this past weekend for the PSU/OSU football game. Go Bucks! OSU won, but it wasn't pretty. We have to beat either Purdue, Michigan State, or M!ch!g@n in order to be bowl eligible. That won't be easy. I'll have to appeal to a higher power on this one.

Saw bunches of friends and family in Columbus, but the weekend went by way too fast. I hate when I can't just spend quality time with people. I also had entirely too much fun on Saturday night and that hour of my life that I got back from Daylight Savings...I probably spent it detoxing. Oh well, work hard play hard.

The apartment is a mess, and I have a lot of work to do on my scrapbook. !!! Better get comfy on my nights off here this week.

Gotta go vote tomorrow...and so do you! If you weren't going to vote, or are undecided, vote Kerry for Lambert since he screwed up his absentee ballot. Yes, Matt, I'm going to keep giving you hell about it. How hard is it to register to vote!? You had four years to figure it out...

I'm still technically undecided. I will disclose tomorrow or the next day what my final decision is. I need to reflect.

Andy and I had a good time listening to the Grateful Dead Live Marathon on XM Deeptraks last night on the drive back to PA. Your homework for the next week is to listen to at least half an hour of Grateful Dead. Good for the soul.

Alright peeps...if anyone is actually reading this...later!

Jenni

Fall is great!

2004-10-21T17:39:00.000-04:00

Top ten things I love about fall:

1. Football. Yes, I know that the football teams I pledge allegiance to are in rough shape right now, but I truly love football! What better way to spend a Saturday than tailgating, going to a game in the Shoe, then watching the rest of college football all evening while ordering pizza and drinking beer with friends?! I miss Columbus...

2. Sweaters. I bought three cute new ones today, one has a matching hat and scarf and another has matching mittens. When there's a little chill in the air but it's not cold enough for heavy coats yet, I love to wear sweaters!

3. Trees turning colors. It's especially gorgeous around here in Central PA. I wish I would have taken pictures to post to show you just how pretty it is. Oddly, the prettiest trees I saw are near the Rockview State Correctional Institution...Maybe I shouldn't have stopped to take pictures of those.

4. Candy corn. I had some at the hair salon while waiting to get my hair trimmed. It's gotta have some cancer causing agent in it but DAMN it's good. And I swear, it was all made in 1989 and just gets re-released to the stores every October.

5. World Series baseball. Come on, who doesn't love the playoffs!? It's America's pasttime and I love to watch. Since I don't really have a team, I can always find one to root for in the playoffs (or at least one to root against).

6. Pumpkin. Pie, bread, cookies, pumpkin spiced coffee...I love it all. Gotta put on the winter layer somehow :-) Check out the pumpkin spiced latte at Starbucks, it's yummy.

7. Hot apple cider. There's a great farm down the road that presses it on site and sells it by the gallon (but only on the farm b/c they don't pasturize it and therefore can't sell it to stores). Heat it up with cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, splash of cranberry juice, orange zest and plenty of dark rum. Warm and fuzzy like my sweaters.

8. Thanksgiving. The official end to fall and the start of the Holiday Season. Again, putting on the winter layer. Turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, homemade rolls, and the company of extended family at Lone Mountain are some of my favoritest memories in the world.

9. Fireplaces. If we had one, I'd make a fire in it every night. Cuddle up under my fleece Red Wings blanket with a hot apple cider and watch the baseball. Or football. Back when Andy lived with Shag, Lambert and Breck they'd make fires all the time and we'd do homework in front of it like Abe Lincoln.

10. Daylight savings time ends. Finally, I get that hour of my life back!

hehe, okay, that's all for now.

luv
jen

Extreme nurses love Emerald Nuts

2004-10-19T19:10:00.000-04:00

I need to get a can to put on the nurses' station at work...how funny would that be?!

So kudos to Vicki's on their pink collection-I just bought oodles of underwear in lots of fun pink patterns (yes Amanda, you heard that right, I bought pink) and got a cute pink stuffed puppy as a free gift. YAY! Anything for Breast Cancer Awareness month, October. I'll even buy pink.

Go Red Sox! This is the second two cups of coffee morning in a row at work b/c I stayed up watching baseball. IT WAS SO WORTH IT! After my shift ended at 730pm, I did a complete workout (watching on tv in the gym), changed clothes, drove to campus (listening to the game in the car on XM ESPNRADIO), went to Wendy's (heard it on the TV back in the kitchen), visited Andy in the lab (watching the score updates on ESPN.com), drove home (XM radio again), and the GAME WASN'T OVER YET! Caught the end in my living room jumping up and down and scaring the bejeezus out of Bam. Thank goodness I don't have to work tomorrow, maybe I'll get to take a nap and catch up on my sleep!

OH yeah...JR is finally here. He's awesome, it's been crappy weather so I haven't ridden him outside yet but that might be better. He's pretty wound up from not getting much attention for the last couple of months. It's good for me though, gives me another man to spend time with when Andy's busy or out of town. ;-)

Damn Titans. Damn Buckeyes. Damn NHL.

Still an undecided voter, but yes, Amanda, I will encourage all my swing state friends to get out and vote. It's our civic responsibility.

and one final thought: I saw an "Exclusive TV Offer" for Everclear's Greatest Hits. I just laughed. First, I feel old that Santa Monica is now considered the first hit of a band that has a Greatest Hits album. Second, are they just giving those things away now? That should be an elite club, bands with greatest hits collections. discuss at your leisure

bye for now
jenni

woohoo! go titans!

2004-10-12T11:23:00.000-04:00

Quick post to say HOORAH for the Titans. Though I saw none of the game b/c I was at work, and I didn't even know until an hour ago the final result, I am SO HAPPY that the Titans had a big night on MNF. Maybe the football tides are changing...

Ahh, rotating...

2004-10-11T20:35:00.000-04:00

So I have officially become a rotater now. Rotating shifts at the hospital that is. The past two nights (night means 7pm-7am) I have been at work, while the rest of the town sleeps. I think I like night shift, the pace at the hospital is much more chilled out. The people who work night shift are interesting as well...Tonight I work a true night shift, which is 11p-7a. Once I am off orientation I will only work eight hour shifts so I'll end up working a lot of those 11p-7a shifts. It's hard to spend time with Andy on this shift, but I'm not on it all the time.

JR gets here on Wednesday! He is currently laying over in Western PA at Steve Culver's farm, who will bring him to me on a truck Wednesday. I'm so excited that get to see him. The weather here is perfect for riding outside and enjoying the fall scenery. Saturday that might be my plan...ride the horse all day...don't watch football...

Andy is going to the Berkshires this weekend with the GeoSci department. They're staying at a professor's cabin in the woods near the Mass/Conn/NY state borders. He says there's not really a website to look at the area so no link to this trip. They'll just be looking at the rocks all day, hanging out at night. What a rough life...

Amanda has left Capetown and is in Johannasburg for the rest of her trip in Africa. She will be back in Brentwood Wednesday night, so look for new posts on her personal blog after that. She's a beautiful person and I am excited to hear what she did for the remainder of her mission trip. I'll also be happy when I know she's safely landed home (so will MamaB).

I have to tell you all that I have taking up another hobby: scrapbooking. I decided to make a really organized memory book of my trip with Nana to Europe this summer for her as a special surprise. BTW, if you talk to Nana, don't tell her. It's still a surprise. The world of scrapbooking is WAY overwhelming. I think I jumped off the deep end here with the project, but I am determined to finish it. I went to the Scrapbook Store here in State College and I bought up loads of cool papers, stickers, borders, and other decorative odds and ends. I'm about 5 days into the 14 day trip and I already have about 12 pages. It's going to be a long book!

I'm not even going to comment on the Buckeyes. I don't want to talk about it.

(going down my list of things to write about...)

Went to a great party Friday night with Andy. I had met a lot of people in his department by now, but this night was the first where Andy really let me circulate as my own person and get to know people better. I made a lunch date with Harley and a bet with Dan. We watched the presidential debate and Sean (sp?) tried to convert me but really we just discussed the issues. I felt better about finding a 'group' here in State College and not just tagging along as Andy's girl.

okay, my list is exhausted...talk to you all later :-)

jen

Journalling...

2004-10-07T08:59:00.000-04:00

This blog is a bit like a journal for me. I was never one to keep a journal, I thought the idea of writing to myself was strange. This is different though, b/c I can speak to a general public that might possibly be interested in what I say. Or not. Either way it's not as strange to me to post these messages.

Two things need to happen though soon. I either need to start writing ideas down for the blog at home, or I need to get internet at the house so I can do this daily. As I sit here in Andy's lab, I have forgotten everything I wanted to say in this blog.

Ok, I remembered a couple things. Keep checking out Amanda's Africa Trip. They are doing amazing Christian things and I'm envious of her fortune to have this experience. I'm so happy for her I want to cry.

Second, I'll be working nights this weekend Monday night, so if you call me during the day be aware that you won't get an answer. I'll be sleeping.

Thirdly, everyone keep watching the presidential debates. I'm not an overly political person, and I don't often express my views on national issues, but I believe that everyone needs to get out and vote. Find the issues that mean something to you, take a stand, and vote accordingly. Use your own head.

Andy and I had a very good discussion after the VP debate. It was nice to calmly discuss politics with him. I usually follow the rule that you avoid religion and politics as topics of conversation if you want to stay friends, but this time we remained civil. Signs of a maturing relationship...

I love you all! Welcome J, if you read this. I'll try to have more to say next time.

luv
jen

ps- sympathies to Rich W., who lost his mother this week. I know his pain too well.

Football blues

2004-10-03T13:16:00.000-04:00

If you follow college football at all, you'll know why I'm depressed today. All I have to say about the ugly horror that was the Buckeye game last night is WE DON'T HAVE KRENZEL ANYMORE. We have a sophomore quarterback and a struggling o-line. And if we can't beat Northwestern, the next eight games are going to be ugly and heartbreaking.

So I guess that leaves me the Titans. Oh wait, they're sucking it up too. I guess I can root for Penn State. Wait, no. They're REALLY AWFUL. Well, maybe my old homestate favorite, UT. Hold on, they lost yesterday bigtime. With Gameday there. To Auburn. I remember when Auburn was a joke in the football world. I also remember when UT and OSU had National Championships.

I'm getting old and cranky.

The good news is that Amanda finally clued me in to how to put links up, so now I can post the links I said I did last time. Check out her Africa trip, it sounds like they're having an amazing experience so far. She got attacked by a babboon! It's because of that ugly hat, everyone knows pink is not Kentucky's color. I haven't put up OSU's page, they're in timeout this week.

After waffling for a week about the horse, I finally made the definitive decision to bring him out here for now. Now I have to get people to call me back. I gotta get JR out here, for my own well being! If I get a digital camera someday I'll put pictures of him up on here. Today there is an IHSA show at the Penn State barn I'm trying to board JR at, so I am off to check out the scene here in a minute. I didn't realize how much I missed riding until I almost sold the horse. I was at home bored b/c Andy went on that field trip and I realized that I need something of my own to do.

I got in touch with my old chem TA Jason from PA on Monday night. I finally decided to track him down through the small-town method: call his parents. I knew he was from Nicktown PA so I called information and gave them his last name and the hometown and I ended up talking to his dad. The thing about Central Pa is that everyone knows everyone and it's very small townish. So I don't think I seemed like a total weirdo, just a girl out looking for her friend. It was good to talk to him, he suggested some hiking spots in the area and promised to call if he ever came through State College to see his brother. He lives in Philly now, and if Lambert checks this, he says hi.

Thanks for the comment Lara! It took me a while to figure out who you were, but after a mental checklist of the B's and Z's in my family, I put it all together. Hope the kids are well, and Rich too. BTW, Andy's the one who plays poker, I just pretend. And that night we ended up playing euchre b/c the guy who was supposed to bring the poker chips thought that Andy had them (which he didn't) so we all ended up watching football and playing euchre instead. Now there's a game I can really play.

Work is good, getting paid is GREAT. Got paid on Friday, wrote a bunch of checks, paid some bills, now I'm near broke again. Two weeks til next paycheck. That's ok, I think Andy has plenty of money and we at least went grocery shopping :-) Getting out from under the move is gonna take til Christmas!

Alright, Andy is hungry so we're going to eat. Go Titans! (seriously, go. take my pride with you.)

jenni

:-P on the Titans

2004-09-28T09:34:00.000-04:00

So I can't even watch most of the Titans games here in PA because of silly regional coverage, but now that I've seen the highlights for three weeks, I'm not sure the games are that interesting anyway. :-P on the Titans. I'll have to root for the Browns, at least I know in advance they're going to suck.

Two twelves this weekend, mostly quiet on Saturday. Sunday, however, provided for an interesting shift. At 6pm one of my patients went from happily eating his dinner to getting emergency cardiac drugs and being put on an external pacemaker in a matter of minutes. Scared the pants off me and kept me at work charting until 815. Oh well, I figure at least this happened on a Sunday during the second week rather than week 6 when I'm supposed to be almost totally independent. Oh yeah, and earlier that day I got puked on. That's always fun.

Yesterday I was off so I was a slug at home and did some little chores here and there that I had been neglecting. Tomorrow Andy leaves for Algonkian Regional Park in Virginia with the department until Saturday. I wish I could take a field trip. But then again, I don't wish I was still in school so I guess I can live without the field trips.

So I have to sign up for car insurance today. Geico is the cheapest, gonna go with them for a while until I can afford real car insurance. This whole paying-for-everything is a real drag. I have no money! I need my paycheck! AHHH! Oh well, live frugally for a while, then maybe things will get better.

Everyone wish Amanda well on her trip to South Africa. I will miss talking to her! And her comments, since she's the only one that leaves them. I put her trip's link up so check out what they're doing for the people of Capetown over the next few weeks.

I also put up a link for Algonkian Park and the cruise I went on with Nana. We'll just start collecting links of the cool places people go. I think that's way interesting.

I will probably get back to the comp Sunday or Monday. If you need me before then, call my cell. Later-jenni

Jenni Stockwell, RN

2004-09-24T17:03:00.000-04:00

This week came my first two real shifts on the PCU/CCU/ICU at Mt Nittany Medical Center. I can honestly say, I LOVE BEING A NURSE. I get to think and learn all day long, I'm always busy. And I'm getting paid! WEEE! The people on the unit are great, helpful, laidback, totally friendly. Until they find out I'm from Ohio State. Then they make the obligatory taunting comments.

The weather has been great this week, unseasonably warm and sunny for late September here I think. Andy and I are going to head to the nearby state park for dinner tonight to hang out and enjoy some early fall colors. Picnic dates are fun!

I get to work back to back twelves this weekend (ugh) while the rest of the town gets to enjoy college football. Every other weekend will start to wear on me I do believe...oh well. I have to serve my time as a peon.

Came to a somewhat sad conclusion the past week: I think I'm gonna have to sell the horse. I just can't afford to keep him once he becomes my responsibility in March. It was awesome having him, and I'll miss him, but I can't go broke for a hobby. I'll probably take lessons somewhere and go visit him if I get a chance. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Gotta find car insurance today...the cheaper the better. And register to vote. Those are my goals.

Ok, not much else to report. Bucks are off this weekend, so go Penn State!

Jenni

Today in PA...

2004-09-20T17:23:00.000-04:00

...I tried to open a checking account at a lovely branch of a Central PA bank. It appears that Mon-Thurs banking is reserved for those lovely individuals who don't work between the hours of 9AM and 4PM. Oh well, at least I have tomorrow off, I can do it then.

Since we last spoke:

-Friday my nursing license came in the mail, notifying me that I passed my NCLEX! YAYAYAYAYA!!!!! I did a jumpy dance. Then I drank some wine. Then I ate some ice cream. Biggest accomplishment of my life thus far and that's how I celebrated!? I had a long week, I was tired. The real world is exhausting, what can I say...

-Saturday I slept in, watched Penn State and cleaned house while Andy was at the game. I bought beer in Central PA (which I can assure is a huge pain in the ass...even more so that in TN). When he got home we watched the Buckeyes win (albeit an ugly win) over NC State. Take that Chuck Amato. We had one guest for the game, another Buckeye fan, which was all the company we needed (thanks Doug).

-Sunday I slept in and felt like a walking virus all day. I think I logged about 18 hours of sleep in a 24 hour timeframe. I got run down last week with the stress of new job-jitters and readjusting to getting up at 6am. Lots of tea and oranges, and Andy made me soup. What a Champ! He even did the dishes. For his efforts I gave him the virus. That's what happens when you share a bathroom.

Today was my clinical orientation day, nothing exciting. Wednesday I start the real thing, finally, with my preceptor Shelly. Tonight we're helping Zach and the rest of the Geosciences dept. kill a keg and play poker. That's the benefit to having Tuesday off.

Alright, enough for now. As they say in PA, I've got things to do yet. I'll let you alone.

So I have a blog now...

2004-09-15T22:07:00.000-04:00

Thanks Amanda. All I wanted to do was post a cute little message remarking on the excessive use of pink on your blog and now I have one of my own. I will have to find a Buckeye template so that I can be equally as obnoxious.

So, here I am, in Central Pennsylvania after three days of orientation at Mount Nittany Medical Center as a graduate nurse. What have I learned? There is a lot of fog in the Happy Valley in September. Trust me, there's nothing happy about knowing you could drive straight into Beaver Stadium at 7am and never see the field for all the WHITENESS in front of you. Of course, WHITENESS is apparently the overriding theme in these parts. Fog, snow, the Pennsylvanians....

I think overall the people are fine. Other than the crazy Clarks groupies we stood behind at the Crowbar last night. Imagine me, then add 4 inch platform heels, 30 lbs (not counting the 10 lbs in makeup alone), a red velvet halter top and superhoop earrings, and a pitcher of rum & coke with a straw. Now multiply times three. That was the trio backin their collective asses up into my personal space all night. I actually heard one of the b!@#$*s say to the other, "hey, keep leaning into her so she'll move, that's what all that junk in your trunk is for." Guess who they were leaning into. I guess some people just have no sense of common courtesy or at the very least personal space. Andy can attest to my anger. He witnessed it firsthand. And I can assure you, had I been drinking there might have been a lapse in my own manners.

I caught hell at the Pita Pit just now for paying with my OSU credit card. That's another thing, apparently OSU and Penn State are big rivals. Apparently we hate each other. At least, that's what I keep getting told. I don't know about that...most Buckeyes have no idea where Penn State even is. But they can tell you that Ann Arbor is a Whore and that they don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan. PSU needs a real rival, because the one they think they have is really not interested in teams that go 2-10.

Alright, that's enough Central PA rantings for today. The good news is I think I'm really going to like my job, Andy's grad student friends are cool, and the apartment is nice. Plus, I don't have to go to school anymore! It truly is pretty up here and I hope that we get to share it with people before we leave.

So long for now...

oh yeah, I have to use the internet in Andy's lab so I won't be updating this thing terribly often. But keep reading and posting comments. I'll try to be interesting.