Just what kind of nurse will I be?
And why can't life be like TV, where people work all day at a frenetic pace and then somehow have the time and energy to look fabulous while chilling out with their friends over a couple of drinks and still get a full night of sleep?
Will I ever be consistent?
And what is it like to fit into a single digit sized pair of pants, anyway? Or to use styling products and accessories with skill and reliable results? Do girls really use make up every day and enjoy it? Does it make a difference?
Can I really talk to God and represent Him to the people I love who don't have a clue about what He's really like?
Without falling on my face or disappointing people I love most in the world?
It seems that I can go for only so long before dropping dead in the middle of the race, and that doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. I mean, we're supposed to run with endurance, not brief spurts of exhilaration. Just when I'm getting the whole balance of working out, eating right, sleeping and even a little bit of fashion sense thrown in for fun, the spend time in the Word, talk to God, build quality relationships, learn things part goes out the window. I don't want a random amalgamation of junk. I want awesome.
We always think that if we change something, it will get better. All that needs to change is us. A new town, new car, new degree, new relationship, new job won't make the difference. I keep thinking that my life will slow down when the semester's over, or when I get my degree, or if I quit running so much rescue.
It won't. I've gotten addicted to the ratrace I hate so much...even though I swear I'm one of the laziest people to ever convert oxygen to carbon dioxide. The externals don't make the difference.
God, help.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Torning (Tonight + Morning)
We got a call right when I walked in the door at 1757 - dispatched as an illness, arrived on scene to find conscious but unresponsive guy. Unfortunately, I was driver on that call, so I had the chance to look inept and wander around getting stuff for everyone else doing actual patient contact. *sigh* honestly, I need more practice with patient contact in situations like that. They're the kind that still freak me out. If a person can talk to me we can get things eventually worked out. Case and point: the call we just got at 0317. Post op dude with catheter problems. He thought we could just flush it at his house....not so much. The medic showed up, asked if I was comfortable treating it BLS and left to grab more sleep. I would like to take this moment to brag on my awesome crew and state that our response time - out of a dead sleep for 2/3 of the crew - was 2 minutes and the total call time was 63 minutes. Rock it, ladies :-D
Sarah and I raided Bloom for strawberries, bread and cheese. She concocted a spice and olive oil mixture that had the firefighters raving about gourmet cooking - even though few of them actually sampled the awesomeness.
Annnnd I fought with the internet because it's stupid for some reason. I guess basic functionality is here, but I feel lost without chat. This same annoyance pattern can be seen with my frustration at TNT for not letting Mac users watch episodes of the new medical drama "HawthoRNe" online. I don't have cable tv and I'd like to watch this show, ok?! hmph. Ah well, in little over a month all thoughts of free time activities will be out the window. I'm going to sleep now.
Sarah and I raided Bloom for strawberries, bread and cheese. She concocted a spice and olive oil mixture that had the firefighters raving about gourmet cooking - even though few of them actually sampled the awesomeness.
Annnnd I fought with the internet because it's stupid for some reason. I guess basic functionality is here, but I feel lost without chat. This same annoyance pattern can be seen with my frustration at TNT for not letting Mac users watch episodes of the new medical drama "HawthoRNe" online. I don't have cable tv and I'd like to watch this show, ok?! hmph. Ah well, in little over a month all thoughts of free time activities will be out the window. I'm going to sleep now.
Friday, June 12, 2009
I think that learning to love is like learning to walk.
Horribly necessary, incredibly awkward and altogether pretty awesome
After you've done it for a while, you kinda take it for granted, and when it gets stripped away the pain and yearning for it to come back is overwhelming.
Rehab?
Harder than I want to think about right now. Just let me cry.
Horribly necessary, incredibly awkward and altogether pretty awesome
After you've done it for a while, you kinda take it for granted, and when it gets stripped away the pain and yearning for it to come back is overwhelming.
Rehab?
Harder than I want to think about right now. Just let me cry.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
And so it was...
...that winter left the mid-Atlantic, and with it, Naomi's mutant power of developing lizard skin.
And also, apparently, Naomi's ability to concentrate on things like school work and tests that are happening in 24 hours.
We've had the most gorgeous-bordering-on-disgustingly-hot weather for the past couple of days. Today is overcast and drippy, but the green of the grass and the leaves is so vibrant and alive that it really isn't a "curl up and sleep" sort of cloudiness. It's aching with the promise of now.
That's how I feel these days - aching with the promise of now. Promises mean anticipation and future awesomeness and "wait and see, it's gonna be great!" but I'm living now. In the present tense.
So I ache.
And wonder what to do and where I'll go and how it all works out, only to conclude that it WILL work out, somehow and all I can do is my best, right now, so quit thinking, start doing and....
it's finals week. why am i blogging? :-P
And also, apparently, Naomi's ability to concentrate on things like school work and tests that are happening in 24 hours.
We've had the most gorgeous-bordering-on-disgustingly-hot weather for the past couple of days. Today is overcast and drippy, but the green of the grass and the leaves is so vibrant and alive that it really isn't a "curl up and sleep" sort of cloudiness. It's aching with the promise of now.
That's how I feel these days - aching with the promise of now. Promises mean anticipation and future awesomeness and "wait and see, it's gonna be great!" but I'm living now. In the present tense.
So I ache.
And wonder what to do and where I'll go and how it all works out, only to conclude that it WILL work out, somehow and all I can do is my best, right now, so quit thinking, start doing and....
it's finals week. why am i blogging? :-P
Friday, April 03, 2009
This is Me
I think that I don't write very much any more because I'm getting better at talking - and I actually have people to talk to now. As opposed to high school when I knew basically nobody.
That said, there are still a number of things that float through my head that I don't really express very much. Or maybe I DO talk about them, but a certain depth of exploration can be had when words are written rather than spoken. For instance: I am sick of being fat. I have been fat for years and years and years. For a long time, I didn't know anything different. I thought it was normal to be a size 14 at 14 years old, and, well, to continue until you hover on the border of XL for years at a time in such a way that is nearly maddening. "Normal" clothes don't fit, and "plus size" is like wearing a tent. Great. Besides that, though, there's an entire facet of my personality that never gets to explore because of being overweight. I LOVE being outside. I went on a 13 mile hike this past summer and it was absolutely amazing -- though it took a heck of a lot longer than it should have for a 23 year old person. Hills kill me...probably always will, but they shouldn't make me feel like that after 10 minutes. I want to snowboard, ski and RUN. I want to ride in a 3 day event [and I have a trainer pushing for me to do just that this coming Fall . . . ] I want to dance.
Sure, I want flat abs. Who doesn't? It'd be nice to have things that are supposed be toned be...toned. But it's more than that. I'm sick of being the fat funny friend. I'm sick of wondering if the only reason I rarely get hit on is my weight. Not that I WANT to be hit on by skeevy dudes, but it makes you wonder when your 15 year old sister has to figure out how to handle that sort of thing when you've never had the problem.
I realize that there are so many people out there with health problems and other issues that prevent them from living an active vivaciously physical life. I'm not one of them. I'm just freakin fat.
And yeah, I've been sick of it for a long time, and sure, I've tried various diets and work out routines and whatever. I've gone down and regained and contemplated anorexic behaviors. The only thing I haven't done is actually gotten better. This isn't a disease, this is a lifestyle of ignorance leading to poor choices and denial.
Turn the lights on; it's over.
That said, there are still a number of things that float through my head that I don't really express very much. Or maybe I DO talk about them, but a certain depth of exploration can be had when words are written rather than spoken. For instance: I am sick of being fat. I have been fat for years and years and years. For a long time, I didn't know anything different. I thought it was normal to be a size 14 at 14 years old, and, well, to continue until you hover on the border of XL for years at a time in such a way that is nearly maddening. "Normal" clothes don't fit, and "plus size" is like wearing a tent. Great. Besides that, though, there's an entire facet of my personality that never gets to explore because of being overweight. I LOVE being outside. I went on a 13 mile hike this past summer and it was absolutely amazing -- though it took a heck of a lot longer than it should have for a 23 year old person. Hills kill me...probably always will, but they shouldn't make me feel like that after 10 minutes. I want to snowboard, ski and RUN. I want to ride in a 3 day event [and I have a trainer pushing for me to do just that this coming Fall . . . ] I want to dance.
Sure, I want flat abs. Who doesn't? It'd be nice to have things that are supposed be toned be...toned. But it's more than that. I'm sick of being the fat funny friend. I'm sick of wondering if the only reason I rarely get hit on is my weight. Not that I WANT to be hit on by skeevy dudes, but it makes you wonder when your 15 year old sister has to figure out how to handle that sort of thing when you've never had the problem.
I realize that there are so many people out there with health problems and other issues that prevent them from living an active vivaciously physical life. I'm not one of them. I'm just freakin fat.
And yeah, I've been sick of it for a long time, and sure, I've tried various diets and work out routines and whatever. I've gone down and regained and contemplated anorexic behaviors. The only thing I haven't done is actually gotten better. This isn't a disease, this is a lifestyle of ignorance leading to poor choices and denial.
Turn the lights on; it's over.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Being Single/in a relationship/Married . . . . Human?
The macadamia and I saw "He's Just Not That Into You" the other night. Of course, being girls, we don't really need a reason to start talking about relationships and people, but the movie definitely spurred some conversation. What does a healthy relationship look like? Which of the relationships portrayed in the film most closely resembled that? How much of a difference is there between relationships with a Christian foundation and relationships without one? (Somewhere in there, I pointed out that there is a significant portion of the female population that NEVER gets marred. She didn't believe me, but we looked it up - 24%. That's almost 1 in 4. Given the number of weddings I've been associated with, well . . . I won't say it here, she'll hit me again.)
And then my brother called me a couple of nights ago and we started talking about the same sort of thing - only with a broader scope. The tone of the conversation was different simply because neither of us is in a relationship right now and we can ask questions like "is it really beneficial to get paired up with another person?" Sure, the desire's there for a reason, but if you're honest with yourself, are you going to live a life of fuller productivity for God with the distraction of another person? That, of course, raises the question of which is the greater distraction: desiring a relationship, or being in one. I'm not sure we reached much of a solid conclusion with that, beyond "Some relationships are really good and definitely founded on mutual pursuit of God...others, not so much. Right now, God has both of us in a place of 'being single' so we'll just go with that." It was a good conversation.
All of the talking got me pondering. And then I read 1 John before I left for work tonight.
"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." ~ 1 John 3:16-18, NKJV
I could keep typing up verses from that book - there are so many that go *ZOT!* - but I'm pretty sure that all of the random brain things that I'm typing up already are going to get confusing, so I'm going to try to slow down my thoughts to match my typing speed and make the statement that I almost used as the title to this post: love sucks.
Regardless of the context - romantic, friendship, parent-child, passing acquaintanceship - love, real love, sucks. It hurts. It's sacrifice. There are definitely a bundle of benefits to go with it - and the warm fuzzies of knowing someone else cares are pretty cool - but when you get down to the nitty gritty of just what it is that God's telling us to do.....yeah, it bites.
Think about it: when Christ was on His way to the cross, that was love. That was why He came. We're called to pick up our cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Our love for Him brings the likelihood of persecution and lack of understanding on the part of others (John 15:20). Putting some serious thought into the whole "marriage is a reflection of Christ's relationship with the church" thing will absolutely blow your mind. Christ died for the church. The church is martyred for Christ. Christians don't take part in certain lifestyles because we believe they are not honoring to God. It's a form of sacrifice not unlike the sacrifices that are made in solid marriage relationships every day.
*sigh* Ok, my train of thought totally got interrupted by various dealings here at work. The general point that I'm trying to make is that love is hard. But I guess that makes sense...I mean, it's a - if not THE - key aspect of God. Without Him, it's pretty much impossible.
And then my brother called me a couple of nights ago and we started talking about the same sort of thing - only with a broader scope. The tone of the conversation was different simply because neither of us is in a relationship right now and we can ask questions like "is it really beneficial to get paired up with another person?" Sure, the desire's there for a reason, but if you're honest with yourself, are you going to live a life of fuller productivity for God with the distraction of another person? That, of course, raises the question of which is the greater distraction: desiring a relationship, or being in one. I'm not sure we reached much of a solid conclusion with that, beyond "Some relationships are really good and definitely founded on mutual pursuit of God...others, not so much. Right now, God has both of us in a place of 'being single' so we'll just go with that." It was a good conversation.
All of the talking got me pondering. And then I read 1 John before I left for work tonight.
"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." ~ 1 John 3:16-18, NKJV
I could keep typing up verses from that book - there are so many that go *ZOT!* - but I'm pretty sure that all of the random brain things that I'm typing up already are going to get confusing, so I'm going to try to slow down my thoughts to match my typing speed and make the statement that I almost used as the title to this post: love sucks.
Regardless of the context - romantic, friendship, parent-child, passing acquaintanceship - love, real love, sucks. It hurts. It's sacrifice. There are definitely a bundle of benefits to go with it - and the warm fuzzies of knowing someone else cares are pretty cool - but when you get down to the nitty gritty of just what it is that God's telling us to do.....yeah, it bites.
Think about it: when Christ was on His way to the cross, that was love. That was why He came. We're called to pick up our cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Our love for Him brings the likelihood of persecution and lack of understanding on the part of others (John 15:20). Putting some serious thought into the whole "marriage is a reflection of Christ's relationship with the church" thing will absolutely blow your mind. Christ died for the church. The church is martyred for Christ. Christians don't take part in certain lifestyles because we believe they are not honoring to God. It's a form of sacrifice not unlike the sacrifices that are made in solid marriage relationships every day.
*sigh* Ok, my train of thought totally got interrupted by various dealings here at work. The general point that I'm trying to make is that love is hard. But I guess that makes sense...I mean, it's a - if not THE - key aspect of God. Without Him, it's pretty much impossible.
Friday, February 13, 2009
I am not Wonder Woman
It's true. While I may have been christened WW back at my former place of employment, I can't do everything all at once. I've tried...again. And again, well, I've failed. But! I quit while I was ahead, and life is good :-) [side note: lifting heavy boxes of paper and stuff is no where near as difficult as lifting heavy people who want to bite you]
As further explanation of my current situation, I am no longer enrolled in the nursing program that I fought tooth and nail to get into less than a year ago. When I started in the fall with all sorts of administrative hoops and other idiocy, I had an inkling that this wasn't going to work, but I gave it a shot anyway. This semester, with more credits than I've EVER taken (except for that one time back in my freshman year when I tried 21...) and a full time job on the night shift, I basically died. Not literally, mind you. In fact, I've been doing better as far as life in general goes. Academically, however, life was going less than great. I completely forgot a paper that was due, fell behind by about two week's worth of assignments in an online class and finally ended up postponing an exam until the end of the semester. I never forget papers. Ever. While online classes are easy targets for procrastination, the point I was reaching was unacceptable. And postponing exams is very near the top of "things I REALLY do not like to do." All of the stuff that I had to do would render me incapable of logical thought. I would literally log in, look at my classes and freeze.
"I should study Pharmacology for tomorrow"
"But I NEED to study micro"
"Oh gosh, that stupid paper was supposed to be submitted three days ago"
"It's 4 in the morning. Why am I up?"
"Dratit, I need to read that other thing, too . . . ."
My brain can be a pretty crazy place sometimes - and thank you for the concern, but all of those thoughts were not voices and I'm not seeing things or having suicidal ideation.
After a great deal of consideration, consultation and a rather healthy dose of prayer, I decided to drop two classes. That places me at 10 credits for the semester, and I fully intend to pull a 4.0 on them. I do not believe that education should come at the cost of my life. I love everything I'm involved in right now - my job [well, you know, most of the time], rescue squad, my INCREDIBLE friends and family... and school is just another thing to add to the list. It's important, sure, but it doesn't trump anything else - except for maybe work...and work involves income, so that's not really possible for me right now.
It might take me until I'm 80 to graduate, but at least I'll have lived along the way.
As further explanation of my current situation, I am no longer enrolled in the nursing program that I fought tooth and nail to get into less than a year ago. When I started in the fall with all sorts of administrative hoops and other idiocy, I had an inkling that this wasn't going to work, but I gave it a shot anyway. This semester, with more credits than I've EVER taken (except for that one time back in my freshman year when I tried 21...) and a full time job on the night shift, I basically died. Not literally, mind you. In fact, I've been doing better as far as life in general goes. Academically, however, life was going less than great. I completely forgot a paper that was due, fell behind by about two week's worth of assignments in an online class and finally ended up postponing an exam until the end of the semester. I never forget papers. Ever. While online classes are easy targets for procrastination, the point I was reaching was unacceptable. And postponing exams is very near the top of "things I REALLY do not like to do." All of the stuff that I had to do would render me incapable of logical thought. I would literally log in, look at my classes and freeze.
"I should study Pharmacology for tomorrow"
"But I NEED to study micro"
"Oh gosh, that stupid paper was supposed to be submitted three days ago"
"It's 4 in the morning. Why am I up?"
"Dratit, I need to read that other thing, too . . . ."
My brain can be a pretty crazy place sometimes - and thank you for the concern, but all of those thoughts were not voices and I'm not seeing things or having suicidal ideation.
After a great deal of consideration, consultation and a rather healthy dose of prayer, I decided to drop two classes. That places me at 10 credits for the semester, and I fully intend to pull a 4.0 on them. I do not believe that education should come at the cost of my life. I love everything I'm involved in right now - my job [well, you know, most of the time], rescue squad, my INCREDIBLE friends and family... and school is just another thing to add to the list. It's important, sure, but it doesn't trump anything else - except for maybe work...and work involves income, so that's not really possible for me right now.
It might take me until I'm 80 to graduate, but at least I'll have lived along the way.
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