In My Groove

Today I turned the corner and got into my groove. I was able to stay alert enough during class to not want to fall asleep on my desk two hours in during class. In fact, today went much quicker than my first two days. I don't think the material was more interesting, I just kept finding things to keep me amused. I hopped on FB during lunch (they got some computers in the common area at Haskell Hall this quarter, yippee) and I also had my phone handy since the instructor doesn't seem to care that half the class is texting all day long. I also found people extremely funny today. One girl (the one who talks SO much) kept saying incontinent instead of incompetent. She did it yesterday too so I thought it was just a one time thing but she did it two more times today. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself and remember when I did the same thing in a job interview when I was much, much younger. I said the word monogamous instead of monotonous. The difference between me and this girl was that I realized right away what I had done and she had no idea what she was saying. Maybe not the funniest thing in the world but when your class is as boring as mine you have to get creative.
I also counted the times the instructor said something like..."I can't stand it when that happens" or "I hate those things" or "that drives me crazy". I kept a running tab and ended up with 12 but I think I missed a few since I didn't start counting until about 2 hours into class. I wasn't exaggerating when I said she was jaded by the health care industry but she also seems be bothered by a lot of things people do or policies facilities have. She is not a fan of intercom systems, air fresheners or some of the things housekeeping and the kitchen staff do. It was kinda like I spy...it kept me paying attention to add to my running tab. Don't judge...I was bored.
Tomorrow we get to mix things up and do labs the second half of the day. That should be a nice break. We ran out of time to learn peri-care today (darn!) so we'll have to do that tomorrow morning. We did, however, talk about it PLENTY! There is nothing off limits during clinicals either. We will be doing all of the skills we need to know in order to take the state exam (if we are planning to do that) and become a NAC. I am not planning on becoming a NAC but I may take the test anyway. I believe Whatcom CC requires the license before doing the nursing program there and you never know, I could end up there. The whole process and program is different but I'm only loyal to BTC because I am getting some funding through a program there. Once that ends I'll have to reevaluate. You never know if you can or will get into Whatcom either. They don't have a waiting list and it's based on grades and such so you could apply there many times and just never get in. Skagit is another option, a lot of people go down there. My plan is to get on the LPN waiting list after I am done with this class at BTC and then work on the last three classes I need for the RN prerequisites. Once those are done (which won't be until the end of spring quarter next year if I only do one at a time or the end of winter if I combine two in fall or winter) I can determine if I want to apply at WCC or Skagit.
The girls are doing okay with me being gone but I get completely mauled when I get home and they are a bit on the grumpy side. It's hard for them to have me gone all day when they aren't used to it, it's probably confusing with Eric home and me gone but that are managing. Mornings are the most difficult. They are waking up earlier because I get up earlier (they are usually in our bed by then and get woken up with my alarm or when I get up). This makes them tired in the morning and they are sad and sometimes cry when I leave. None of this is easy and I wish I didn't have to be gone so early and for so long but it's short term and I've got to remember that. They are handling it, they may not like it but they are doing a good job considering. After next week I won't be going to clinicals until 2:00 p.m. so I'll be able to spend the morning at home. I'm not sure if it will be easier or harder since I will be gone during bedtime for the 6 days I have the 8 hour shifts. They will do fine I'm sure