summer on a string

as usual, i just am exploding with new happenings and i find myself with very little time to sit and write it all down. but i know im starting to forget great memories so i need to try and put some it on the ole blog, even tho i should be taking an online test, writing an email to my instructor, and eating supper right now. oh well...this very moment is just an example of my summer of hanging on by a string.

 first lets tackle the band. we sound like a real band now. when we play it feels like being in a band! and oh man...what a big feeling. we added a drummer (good buddy chris), and for our last show we somehow convinced our friend sean to make us look even cooler by playing bass for us. we played at the firebird, which is a legit venue where touring bands come, and we knocked it out of the park! a reviewer for playbackstl was there since we were opening for a touring band and she said we were a pleasant surprise and wrote a flattering paragraph on us (http://www.playbackstl.com/concert-reviews/11592-the-mynabirds--070112)!

 the show before that was a bit of a disaster though...the sound was just off the whole night and it made for awkward stage moments and frustrated stage communication with the soundguy. i'm only writing this to remember the ups and the downs....we decided to take the rest of the summer off because we want to record the second album which is exciting as hell. we think it will be called 'island of the lotus eaters' and it will be very themed with island imagery and thoughts on memory and longing.

 at work i've started a new journey that is just making me all the more excited about my future in healthcare. i am in pca (patient care associate) training, which is basically nurses aid training. it has been full time, and i am barelyyyyy hanging on to my sanity juggling a band, school, and work. but it is so worth it! i bonded with my pca class a lot. the instructor said she's never seen a class bond so quickly, and also told someone else that we are her favorite class she's ever had.

 the new job itself is making me just so happy about my current path. i am so happy i was a transporter and got to know the hospital and all it's people, but now i am happy to have a new color of scrubs and new responsibilities. i am slowly but surely starting to think maybe i can handle the role of RN.

 in my first week i had 2 very memorable patients, but im not sure how in depth i am able to go in an online setting so i should probably not tell those stories here. one of them, i will say, had ulcers and sores on almost his entire body and handled the pain with such grace and humor that i found myself holding back tears while i talked to him. pain makes everything hazy and confusing and angry, and to see this guy smile and joke through tears was just...inspiring. it's an honor to care for people like that. ...i also bathed a 600 lb gentleman, and sat in on a minor surgical procedure they did in a patients room! quite a first week.

 not too much misc. news. i had two weeks were i was having weird symptoms that kept me bed bound. since i live alone it was a scary 14 days. i had fevers, dizziness, pain in my groin that made it nearly unbearable to stand straight, a bruise like rash on my shins that hurt like someone had beaten me with a hockey stick, and a swelling ankle. all during FINALS! then like that, it just went away. i got to model for stl style again. found out my buddy dan is on tulsa's news station now as a correspondent. my nephews keep getting cuter and cooler. makes me want to have some kids.

school has been one of the most difficult things i've ever done. my life is: wake, go to work, make sure i've studied for this weeks test, write this weeks paper, prepare for this weeks medsurg clinical, plan and attend this weeks community clinical, practice guitar for a bit or go to practice, make sure the house is spotless in case there is a showing (mow lawn too), study a bit for end of semester ATI exams (3 of them), set up a meeting with financial aid lady, and with gov't lady who is suppose to help with tuition, and my clinical instructor (which unfortunately seems to be weekly events because no one else has their shit together), and if there is time i also like to eat and shower and pay bills. occasionally i have to deal with annoying things like check engine lights, but who doesn't. each day i wake at 6 and without fail i never turn off the lights until 1am at the earliest.

 i am loving all my classes though. community may not be teaching me much about my future career, but it is teaching me a lot about humanity in general. we get the opportunity to help at homeless shelters, food pantries, and charity events. it is such a good thing to serve. whenever i am at the homeless shelter i just realize how blessed i am to have a roof over head, and money to go get food any time i please. not to mention i have people in my life who love me and are happy. i could very easily find myself penniless, homeless, and alone. but i am not. and it makes life seem rural good when you think about that.

 needless to say there is not enough time for loved ones. which is frustrating because that was like my only goal for the new year.  there is no time to give the truest quality of my friendship to those i care about. i am a work horse. i am not complaining, because i really am loving the feeling of holding onto life's horns and riding it like a bull. i just know it will be so nice once i can go on vacations again and spend time with people i care about and all that. 10 more months baby.

 i will leave you with my favorite quote of the year by regina spektor. it sounds stupid until you think about it, and then it makes you want to enjoy the moment very much: "today we're younger than we're ever gonna be."