P.S.

Before anybody gets TOO choked up and actually starts thinking I have feelings, let me say that one of my classmates had a 66 year old man that got a cosmetic penile implant and she had to talk to him while his exposed and tremendous (primarily from swelling) penis was staring at her. We all got a good laugh out of her plight.

And don't feel bad for the guy. I read his chart and it was completely cosmetic. He just wasn't happy with what he had, apparently. I wish him well.

Patient #1

Today was my first day on the unit at the hospital. I took care of my first patient, and she lived to tell!

This semester, I will be spending every Wednesday morning from 7:45am - 12:15pm working as a student nurse on the post-operative med-surg unit at Beth Israel Medical Center. I will be exposed to all kinds of patients, so this is a really good introduction to the clinicial environment.

My first patient was a 55 year old female that had an unsuccessful angioplasty, followed by an aortic bypass, and now has pnuemonia while recovering from all of that. When I get the assignment in my group's pre-conference, I was a bit stunned. I was really hoping for, I don't know...skinned knee, bad headache, something like that. No, instead I got a woman who is literally stitched together.

Well, after nearly throwing up, I walked into her room and introduced myself. I explained that I am a student nurse, and that I was going to be available for her to try to help her in whatever ways I could for the morning. I then told her that I don't know enough to hurt her, so she shouldn't worry. That got a good laugh out of her, and it broke the ice.

She was terrific. I did temperature, pulse, respirations, and blood pressure on her. I helped her out of bed and into a chair, cleaned her room, etc. She talked to me about her medical situation, how she misses her job, and how she really hopes to get back to work eventually.

When I left for the day at around noon, I returned to the room to thank her for being my first patient. I told her that I will never forget her, as she was very kind and accommodating to being poked and prodded by a student with only 4 weeks of nursing school under his belt. She told me that it was her pleasure, and that she enjoyed having a private nurse for the morning. She then wished me the very best of luck and shook my hand.

I don't think it could have gone any smoother than that. What a great day.

Just like living on a farm...

I awoke this morning to find a rooster in my backyard. Mabye my neighbor and his French wife are planning coq au vin for dinner?

Academics, so far

So, I figured I would describe a little about what classes I'm taking this semester, and a bit about how they're going, what is being studied etc. I guess you could say I'm enjoying all of the classes on some level, but I'm not thrilled with what I perceive as a lack of organization at times with some of the instructors.

Anatomy & Physiology
The bulk of my time this semester is being spent on Anatomy & Physiology I. This class is wild. The workload is unbelievable, but I love the information. The focus so far has been on Chemistry (Biochemical stuff, primarily) and an indepth understanding of the cell, cell membranes, molecular transport into and out of cells, genetic code, protein synthesis, etc...stuff like that. It's been nearly 20 years since I touched any of this stuff in high school, and I can't stop wishing I had paid more attention back then. I have my first major exam on Monday. A "pretest" earlier this week gave us a hint of what's to come, and I got 10 out of 10 on that, so that was a bit comforting for a few minutes, until the teacher was proud to tell us that if we had gotten a single one of these 10 wrong, we were doing something extremely wrong, and not to expect such "gimme" kind of questions on Monday's real test. Oh well, ego back in check. The instructor is AMAZING. I really love her.

Nursing 101
As the name implies, this is really an "Intro to Nursing" course. So far we have been focusing on ethics issues, standards, legal implications, the nursing process, etc. Big picture stuff, none of which has yet involved learning about patient care per se. It's more about setting up the framework. It's interesting, to a degree. I think this class will be better when we actually start learning about real nursing "stuff."

Nursing Lab
This is the skills lab section that we have each week, where we learn actual techniques that we'll be using during our clinical rotations at Beth Israel Hospital. (Starts tomorrow morning at 7:45, in fact.) Things like blood pressure, respirations, temperature, radial pulses, bed bathing (yuck), etc. I really like my clinical instructor. There are four, and I think I got the pick of the litter. She's terrific...smart and demanding, but very laid back, in a way. There is a weekly exam, testing us on the previous week's skills.

Developmental Psychology
This is a psychology course that is taught by a Pace University instructor at our location. I have to say, this is probably my least enjoyable subject matter, but the actual class time itself isn't too bad. I find the teacher very interesting....an older woman from the Netherlands who married a Korean while studying here many years ago at NYU. Her last name is Van Der Groot-Kim. Go figure. Anyway, you can't help but like her. She's got a peculiar and charming way about her.

Math for Medications
This is a course that is all about exactly what the name implies...how to figure out proper dosages of medications, and how to properly fill doctors' orders. I actually got lucky with this class and became eligible to take a CD-enhanced version of this course. What does that mean? In a nutshell, I don't have to show up for class anymore, other than for the midterm and the final. I can do all the work on my own at home with electronic resources the instructor has provided.

So, that's a brief summary, in case anyone was wondering 'What does someone actually study in nursing school?" I'll check back soon!

CPR

I'm sure you'll all be happy to know that I completed my 8 hour training and am officially certified for the next two years. I will remember nothing of this by Monday.

Oh Boy...

Just typing this quick update from school. Had my first Anatomy & Physiology lecture today. We covered in 3 hours what took a week to cover during the Chemistry immersion program over the summer. All I can say is thank GOD I took that summer session. There was a look of absolute horror on the faces of many of the students in the classroom who hadn't taken it.

I've been here since 8:00 this morning and will be here until 9:30 tonight because of a mandatory CPR class I have to take tonight and tomorrow night. All I remember from CPR 15 years ago was that you have to yell out "I'm certified! Get help!"

Should be a blast.

U.S. Open Finals

Well, I couldn’t really have been any more disappointed than I am with the outcomes of the finals. Pierce lost to Clijsters, and Agassi lost in a heartbreaking match to Federer today. I expected Agassi to just completely crumble and be humiliated in straight sets. That was certainly not the actual outcome. He lost the first set, won the second set, and lost the third set in a crushing tie break. That tie break caused the ultimate breakdwon in the fourth set, leaving Federer with $1.1 million and Agassi with a silver plate. (Yes, he got half a million for his time today, but that just wasn’t the point!)

You just can’t help but like the guy, and I think it’s his class and the manner in which he conducts himself both on and off the court.

As far as Pierce is concerned, that was an easy two set annihilation for Clijsters. It was over in about 45 minutes, I think. Pierce just completely buckled. But what I witnessed when the players met at the net was unlike anything I had ever before seen happen at that potentially awkward and contentious moment. Pierce and Clijsters hugged, kissed, and then Pierce whispered something rather lengthy into Clijster’s ear, which prompted Clijster’s face to erupt with this huge smile. And then when speaking to the crowd, Pierce kept it simple and humble...”Kim, you’re just too good. You deserve this.”

Question: Can you IMAGINE either of those Williams animals demonstrating even 5% of this level of sportsmanship and class? I am thankful that they are slowly but surely disappearing into the abyss. Nobody takes them seriously anymore. Tennis is slowly but surely being de-ghettoed.

A Day at the U.S. Open

Chris invited me to the U.S. Open today for the Womens’ Singles Semi-Finals. First match was Mary Pierce and Elena Dementieva, which Pierce won in the third set. She is one freaky chick, but you can’t help but like her. She’s loaded with all these weird ticks and OCD-ish type behaviors, especially before a serve; rubbing her skirt, touching her wrists, fixing her huge Rapunzelish braid, etc. It must be a bit annoying to play her. And she always has this strange smile on her face...it almost looks chemically-induced...like a “haze” of some sort. It was fun to see her in person. You just really end up rooting for her.

The next match was Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters. I really didn’t know who I wanted in this match. I kind of like them both, but neither one of them enough to make a clear cut decision. In the end, I decided to go with Clijsters; Sharapova has been a very successful media whore already, and has made a fortune in the process. I decided Kim needs the money more. And as it turned out, she shall have it. She won the first set somewhat easily, and then played a really contentious second set that ended wtih a tiebreak that Sharapova won. But she came back in the third set, and pretty much blew Sharapova off the court. There was great playing by both players. It was awesome.

I have some pictures below; two of Pierce, and two of Sharapova in action. Thanks, Chris! It was an awesome day. Especially what we got to see in one of the side courts. :) But that will remain between us, and we can discuss that further when we get to hell.

Classes have begun!

Classes started yesterday. I had my first Nursing Lab section, which was pretty cool. We learned proper sterile gloving techniques and proper handwashing. Nothing too terribly difficult, but you’d be surprised at how hard it can be to do something so “basic” when you are being observed by an instructor. I also met my Clinical instructor. She is the professor with whom I will be working at Beth Israel hospital during my clinicals every Wednesday. I found out that my first rotation will be in a post-opp surgical unit, so that should be interesting. ;

Also yesterday was Developmental Psychology, which I think is going to be a complete and total nighmare. 3 papers, 3 exams, and a group project, all within 12 weeks.

Today was a 7 hour Introduction to Nursing lecture. 7 hours. S-E-V-E-N H-O-U-R-S. Started at 7:45 this morning. The classroom had no air conditioning and it was packed. I thought I was going to die. In the future, half the day on Wednesdays will be on the unit at the hospital, so it shouldn’t be that tedious. I ended up having to give a presentation already today. I represented my clinical group and presented a case study that we had been working on for a while in the afternoon. It was scary, but I enjoyed it.

And after all of that, I ended up having to go to work, but that actually was fun. I was looking forward to it in a strange way, now that I’m not there full time anymore.

Up tomorrow, my first session of Anatomy & Physiology Lab. I’m looking forward to that a lot. I’ve heard that the instructor is brutally difficult, but excellent, and that the course is fantastic. I think this is going to be the part that will interest me most this semester.

More on the people I’ve met next time. I’ve made some great friends; some really funny and smart people that I think are going to make great study partners.

I promise more frequent entries going forward!

The party's over...

I can’t believe how quickly this past month has flown by. A month seems like such a long time beforehand. It’s really not. I’m glad I had this time to try to get myself mentally and physically acclimated for the next two years. I have been able to spend a lot of time with Farrell, Nuala, Ceci, and our families, and I’m really grateful for that. I was able to get to the gym 22 out of the last 29 days, so I’m pretty happy about that too. I had really fallen off the gym “wagon” for a while, so it feels good to have accomplished that.

So, tomorrow’s the big day. Orientation takes place for the next four days. I’m very excited, but I’m a little nervous too. In fact, I already have my clothes laid out for tomorrow morning like my mother and I did when I was a kid. I wish you were here to pack my lunch mom! (I used to get little notes from my mother written on my lunch bag! I just got a little teary-eyed thinking about that.)

I really don’t know what to expect for the next two years. I guess tomorrow will shed some light on it. And now begins the real purpose for this blog. I’m not sure how many actual photos will be involved in documenting the next couple of years, but I’ve gotten really into using the digital camera again, so I’m sure I’ll find things to include on the blog from time to time.

Farrell has been such a huge motivation to me this last year, as he has been undertaking law school in addition to working a full time job. I hope to be able to make him as proud over the coming months as he has made me.

Another day with Grandma

We spent the day down at Jones Beach again today. It was just the two of us this time, which was actually a really sentimental experience for me. She and I went to beach together millions of times while I was growing up. It was a routine...she always packed an amazing lunch, and today was no exception. I had a number of really vivid flashbacks and memories throughout the day. We also took a really long walk along the beach, just like we used to. The weather was perfect, too. 80 degrees and cloudless, with a light breeze off the ocean. Really nice. I am a very lucky man to have had her as a grandmother and as a friend all these years.

Siouxsie...

...looking better than ever at an HMV signing this week for her new DVD release. Ceci has decided that she must have those earrings.

Some good news!

This should help save me a few pennies.....

For my mother...

My mother was complaining that the picture I chose of Olivia in my last post misrepresented her, as she is not that young and beautiful anymore. Okay. I'm only too happy to oblige and provide a more recent picture.

Is this one better, Mom? Taken just a few months ago at the Australian Open, and looking as good as ever if you ask me. Murderer. (And by the way, the other picture is probably only a couple of years old at the most.)

Just a thought

Do you think Olivia Newton-John killed her boyfriend? Wouldn't a little more love have made it right?

What a life...

An eleven mile walk

I had to head down to Chambers Street this afternoon to drop something off for Farrell at New York Law School. It was such a nice night, I decided to walk home along the west side. It took about three hours to make it from Chambers up to 125th. I got some nice pictures, which I figured I'd post here. As always, clicking on a picture takes you to a higher resolution version.

The Week in Review

I can't believe it's been a week already since my last post. Farrell's vacation went really quickly. We spent most of it doing family related stuff. We figured that with Farrell starting school today, and me starting next week, who knows when we'll have the time to make these kinds of visits over the next couple of months.

I went out to Garden City last Thursday. My mother and I drove down to the beach, where we met up with my sister Kim and her friends Amy and Kelly. Introducing Kim and Mom:


Kim is extremely shy and really resists posing for pictures:


Kim all cleaned up and ready for her date with Mr. Rooty Tooty Fresh ’N Fruity. (Those who need to will be able to understand this reference to a classic IHOP pancake breakfast dish.)


We had the unfortunate experience of being forcibly exposed to an amorous couple with little in the way of modesty or shame. At one point I thought he was trying to administer CPR.



That's Kim's friend Amy on the top left pointing to the inseparable lovers, both of whom were so white, it looked like this was their first day outside of their bubbles:


We finished the week with a trip up to Milford, CT to spend an afternoon with Farrell's grandmother, Virginia. She is Farrell's mother's mom, and she is really a trip. She had us laughing pretty hard the entire time. She's 87 years old, and sharp as a tack, with an equally sharp sense of humor:



Overall a really nice week. Only one week of freedom left!

A Day at the Beach

With Farrell on vacation this week and Ceci off from work today, we all decided to head out to Long Island and spend a day at the beach with my grandmother. It was not the greatest day in terms of weather, but we had a really nice time. I got attacked by two sea gulls. (No joke. One flew over my head and it me with its legs while his accomplice hit me from the side and swiped a hot dog right out of my hand. Vicious animals!)

We had a chance to stop by my parents for a quick visit after the beach, which was nice. They were headed to a wake, so it was just a quick visit, but I've never seen my mother look better! She should befriend as many dying people as she can.

We ended the day with a nice dinner at a steak place that is a favorite of my grandmother's. I love her to death, and we all had a lot of laughs, but she managed to wear all three of us completely out. Overall, a really nice day. I got a few nice pictures.









We watched this seagull dig into this poor unsuspecting beachgoer's bag. It was incredibly tenacious.


And as far as the following shots are concerned, all I can say is, you just have to know her. We were so proud.

A walk to New Jersey and back

Farrell and I took a walk up to and over the George Washington Bridge today. It probably wasn't the smartest idea we've ever had. It was really too hot. We've done it before, but never in weather like this. It was 99 degrees at 3:00 when we left the house. It only got hottter from there. There's a little park nestled into the Palisades on the New Jersey side of the bridge that affords a great view of Manhattan. It was probably about 11 or 12 miles round trip.

A vew from the Manhattan side. This is the lighthouse made famous in the children's book "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge".


A view from the New Jersey side. It was so hazy and humid that it came out kind of blurry.