Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Graduation Day
So, yesterday was my graduation. It was so hard to sit there and think that nearly two hears had elapsed since I started school. It's alarming to me that time can just vanish so quickly. As I looked around at my fellow students before, during, and after the ceremony yesterday, I had a difficult time comprehending that I had been surrounded by these people for 21 months, day in and day out, in classrooms and on clinical units....now it was actually done.
The lead-up three or four weeks to graduation were just big blurs. There was so much going on, paperwork to get done, NCLEX review classes to attend, luncheons, etc. I even squeezed in five days in SC a couple of weeks ago. So, the actual graduation date of June 5th seemed very far away. And then I woke up yesterday morning. And it all sank in.
The ceremony was very nice. It was nice to see and feel such a spirit of energy and love pouring out of everyone. In attendance were Farrell, my grandmother, my mother and father, my sister Kim, and my dear friend Ceci. They were just two rows behind me throughout the entire ceremony, and I could literally feel their excitement for me the entire time. (Of course my grandmother was so excited that she had to be woken up a few times, but what's new?)
My salutatorian speech went well. I wasn't really nervous until about five minutes before I had to walk up and speak. It was terrifiying at first. So, I simply told the packed auditorium that I was shaking like a leaf. (That technique always seems to make nervousness go away for me. I have figured out during years of public speaking that a big part of what makes me nervous is the belief that I have to try to conceal what I'm feeling from the audience. So, telling people you are about to vomit seems to break the ice. But, I digress.)
It was such an honor for me to stand in front of the dignitaries, the faculty that I have grown to adore these past two years, all of my friends and fellow students, my partner, and my family. It was especially poignant for me because I finally had a chance to honor my sister Kim publically for being an inspiration, a role model, and the definition of compassion and caring. I did not know until just a day or two before the ceremony that Kim was going to be able to attend. When I found out she was coming, I really started to get excited about graduation. I wanted her to see and hear what a big part she played in helping me get to this point. My fellow students have been hearing about her for years now, and so many people came up to me afterwards wanting to meet her.
I won a few awards. I won't go into the details, but one was called the Rose Muscatine Hauer Alumni Award for overall outstanding contribution to the school over the last two years. This was a tremendous honor for me and was very unexpected. I felt there were so many others who were deserving of an award like this, so I was very humbled and grateful for it. I also won an award for having the second highest academic achievement. These awards actually came with a little cash, so that was a nice surprise. Not a lot, but nice gestures on the school's part, for sure.
After the ceremony, we attended a reception back at the school for a short while. It was beautifully coordinated and was a nice way for the celebration to continue a bit longer before everybody disbanded with their own families and went on their ways. We stayed for a while, my grandmother ate the free food, and then moved on to my favorite part of the day, my lunch with six of the most important people in my life.
Farrell discovered a great restaurant quite by chance. It is called Shaffer's. It's pretty much completely a seafood place; raw oysters, clams, the works. We had a beautiful table in the back, under a sky light which flooded the room with natural light. The ambience was terrific, the food was amazing, the wine was great, and there I was sucking down raw clams. Things really don't get much better than that, and I made a point to remind myself of how lucky I was.
...Lucky to have a handsome and wonderful husband that loves me to death and has supported me so unfailingly these past two years. (Well, technically, almost six years now!!)...Lucky to have beautiful parents who have raised a family that loves each other to death and considers family the most important thing. Lucky to have a grandmother who has also played the role of best friend to me for my entire life....Lucky to have a brother and sisters that mean the world to me...and lucky to have Ceci, a friend who has been there for me every step of the way these past four years...
So, sitting in that room, surrounded by those people, it was hard not to think I was the luckiest man in the world. I can't thank Farrell enough for making such a special part of such a special day possible. (I think I have to make him a cake now. He's been begging for one for months. It's the least I can do.)
After lunch, Kim, Gram, and Ceci came back to our house where we sat around, relaxed, drank wine, and watched tennis. Of course Nuala was like a kid in a candy store with all of these guest faces to lick. Gram gets such a big kick out of "him". (After six years of trying to correct her on my dog's gender, I give up.)
And then it came time for all good things to come to an end. Everybody packed up, and Ceci and I drove Kim and Gram home, after which Ceci and I had a little snack at P.F. Chang's before heading home ourselves. A perfect day. It could not have been better. Thank you to everyone for making me feel so special. I will treasure the memories forever.
So, now it comes time to say goodbye to this blog. I started it as a means of tracking my day to day progress through the nursing school experience. While it never really became what it originally was intended, and become more a semi-weekly collection of inside jokes and posts that made little or no sense to most people who visited, I hope it offered some fun and a few laughs. Thank you to everybody who posted comments along the way. You provided most of the laughs. I can't believe it's been two years since this:
xxoo
The lead-up three or four weeks to graduation were just big blurs. There was so much going on, paperwork to get done, NCLEX review classes to attend, luncheons, etc. I even squeezed in five days in SC a couple of weeks ago. So, the actual graduation date of June 5th seemed very far away. And then I woke up yesterday morning. And it all sank in.
The ceremony was very nice. It was nice to see and feel such a spirit of energy and love pouring out of everyone. In attendance were Farrell, my grandmother, my mother and father, my sister Kim, and my dear friend Ceci. They were just two rows behind me throughout the entire ceremony, and I could literally feel their excitement for me the entire time. (Of course my grandmother was so excited that she had to be woken up a few times, but what's new?)
My salutatorian speech went well. I wasn't really nervous until about five minutes before I had to walk up and speak. It was terrifiying at first. So, I simply told the packed auditorium that I was shaking like a leaf. (That technique always seems to make nervousness go away for me. I have figured out during years of public speaking that a big part of what makes me nervous is the belief that I have to try to conceal what I'm feeling from the audience. So, telling people you are about to vomit seems to break the ice. But, I digress.)
It was such an honor for me to stand in front of the dignitaries, the faculty that I have grown to adore these past two years, all of my friends and fellow students, my partner, and my family. It was especially poignant for me because I finally had a chance to honor my sister Kim publically for being an inspiration, a role model, and the definition of compassion and caring. I did not know until just a day or two before the ceremony that Kim was going to be able to attend. When I found out she was coming, I really started to get excited about graduation. I wanted her to see and hear what a big part she played in helping me get to this point. My fellow students have been hearing about her for years now, and so many people came up to me afterwards wanting to meet her.
I won a few awards. I won't go into the details, but one was called the Rose Muscatine Hauer Alumni Award for overall outstanding contribution to the school over the last two years. This was a tremendous honor for me and was very unexpected. I felt there were so many others who were deserving of an award like this, so I was very humbled and grateful for it. I also won an award for having the second highest academic achievement. These awards actually came with a little cash, so that was a nice surprise. Not a lot, but nice gestures on the school's part, for sure.
After the ceremony, we attended a reception back at the school for a short while. It was beautifully coordinated and was a nice way for the celebration to continue a bit longer before everybody disbanded with their own families and went on their ways. We stayed for a while, my grandmother ate the free food, and then moved on to my favorite part of the day, my lunch with six of the most important people in my life.
Farrell discovered a great restaurant quite by chance. It is called Shaffer's. It's pretty much completely a seafood place; raw oysters, clams, the works. We had a beautiful table in the back, under a sky light which flooded the room with natural light. The ambience was terrific, the food was amazing, the wine was great, and there I was sucking down raw clams. Things really don't get much better than that, and I made a point to remind myself of how lucky I was.
...Lucky to have a handsome and wonderful husband that loves me to death and has supported me so unfailingly these past two years. (Well, technically, almost six years now!!)...Lucky to have beautiful parents who have raised a family that loves each other to death and considers family the most important thing. Lucky to have a grandmother who has also played the role of best friend to me for my entire life....Lucky to have a brother and sisters that mean the world to me...and lucky to have Ceci, a friend who has been there for me every step of the way these past four years...
So, sitting in that room, surrounded by those people, it was hard not to think I was the luckiest man in the world. I can't thank Farrell enough for making such a special part of such a special day possible. (I think I have to make him a cake now. He's been begging for one for months. It's the least I can do.)
After lunch, Kim, Gram, and Ceci came back to our house where we sat around, relaxed, drank wine, and watched tennis. Of course Nuala was like a kid in a candy store with all of these guest faces to lick. Gram gets such a big kick out of "him". (After six years of trying to correct her on my dog's gender, I give up.)
And then it came time for all good things to come to an end. Everybody packed up, and Ceci and I drove Kim and Gram home, after which Ceci and I had a little snack at P.F. Chang's before heading home ourselves. A perfect day. It could not have been better. Thank you to everyone for making me feel so special. I will treasure the memories forever.
So, now it comes time to say goodbye to this blog. I started it as a means of tracking my day to day progress through the nursing school experience. While it never really became what it originally was intended, and become more a semi-weekly collection of inside jokes and posts that made little or no sense to most people who visited, I hope it offered some fun and a few laughs. Thank you to everybody who posted comments along the way. You provided most of the laughs. I can't believe it's been two years since this:
xxoo
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Professional Image
This is taken from a catalog of scrubs I received yesterday. This is just one example of what I believe is incredibly demeaning attire that this entire catalog is made up of. And nurses want to know why they're not taken seriously? When you dress like an imbecile, you must expect to be treated like one. When was the last time you saw a doctor wearing smiley frog or teddy bear scrubs? If nurses want respect, they have to start by respecting the image of their own profession. Dress the part.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
21 Months Later...
Next step, pass the Boards! I think that will be in early July. I have about a month to study.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
"J-E-N-N-I-E-dash-O"
I really don't know what to say about this. I think it will have to speak for itself-o.
Mother's Day Tailgate Party
First of all, we have an answer to the trivia question that was raised during our Mother's Day Tailgate Party at Gram's.
The Bronx:
The land was first settled by Europeans in 1639, when Jonas Bronck, for whom the area was later named, established a farm along the Harlem River in the area now known as the Mott Haven section. The Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as "Bronck's Land".
Secondly, here is a rough estimate of what our Mother's Day Tailgate Party 2007 would have looked like if I had my camera handy at the time, with the exception of the mountains in the background, of course.
And no, I have no idea who these people are. I hope they don't mind the publicity.
The Bronx:
The land was first settled by Europeans in 1639, when Jonas Bronck, for whom the area was later named, established a farm along the Harlem River in the area now known as the Mott Haven section. The Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as "Bronck's Land".
Secondly, here is a rough estimate of what our Mother's Day Tailgate Party 2007 would have looked like if I had my camera handy at the time, with the exception of the mountains in the background, of course.
And no, I have no idea who these people are. I hope they don't mind the publicity.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
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