my own year in review

had to do it. bear with me.

i've been out in southern cal now for a full year. my life has changed more than i ever thought possible. in some ways good, in other ways not. but more than likely, the areas i view to be not good changes are things i just need to get acclimated to.

good changes #1: i'm still a travel nurse. i didn't really know how long i'd be able to say that. i've got much too much attitude to be a travel nurse. as a travel nurse you've got to keep your mouth shut, and do your job as best the facility's policy and procedure manual will allow. this has been really hard for me. case in point - my current facility. it's a Level II NICU (Level III being the highest; well, actually there are Level IVs but they're very sparse). i've always and only worked in Level III NICUs before this one. so i've been trained and worked at a higher acuity than their patients. there are some incredibly moronic 'rules' this place has, none of which are backed up with policy and procedure. they don't even HAVE a policy and procedure manual that i've seen yet, and i'm in my 5th month here. what does that mean for me? well, i'm not real sure yet. it means that i practice as best i can, do the things i know are right, and pray like hell that i don't get called to court one day. hence my being doubly covered with malpractice insurance. it's funny how quickly this particular 'good thing' has turned into a bad thing, but the underlying premise here is that i've not yet managed to get my ass fired. oh, wait, i did do that this year! damn. ok, so maybe the underlying premise is that i'm still a travel nurse? sure, we'll go with that.

good thing #2: i'm a triathlete. so crazy. and i say it, yet i still don't really believe it. maybe that's because the season is over and i feel so removed from it since i've been off training for so long now. my unemployment era was wonderful for my training this summer. i had all day, every day to go nuts, and i did. i start IMAZ training in a week or so. couldn't be more ready, i'm going a little stir crazy here. i've enjoyed the time off, but now i just feel like a slob. i think training is essentially my therapy. there's nothing better than having a ton of stuff on your mind, hopping into a warm pool and just swim and swim and get it all figured out. i miss that. i've got an MRI tomorrow for my knee, and i'm supposed to see one of 'THE' premier orthopedic surgeons next week. i look forward to becoming 'a runner', for what that's worth anyway.

good thing #3: my family. my friends. i came out here not knowing a soul. that's part of the appeal for me as a travel nurse. it took me a couple of months, but then i met dave. and then eve, and the whole TNS crew. i can't begin to express how lucky i am for these people. my father is in good health now after quadruple bypass and pacemaker placement after 20+ years of being a die hard roadie and marathoner.

good thing #4: my boyfriend. our new life together. our apartment. hey look, that's 3 right there.

there are of course bad things that have occur ed. but listing them isn't really necessary, because they don't even nearly outweigh the good. i've got a couple of new year's resolutions, but nothing too fancy. i think signing up for IMAZ pretty much solidified any possible outlandish resolution i could come up with for this particular year...