Black Friday

I did it again.. I was up at the crack of dawn for my annual black Friday shopping extravaganza! Michelle was sick this year, so it was the first year that I went by myself. Normally, we make coffee and hit the road.

I woke up at 2 and was at the mall by 3:30. This was the first year that some of the stores opened at 4AM instead of 5. Needless to say, I picked the right store because as I was standing in line outside, they decided to open their doors 15 minutes early! This might not sound like a big deal, but when there is a mad rush of people sprinting across the parking lot, you'll be lucky that you were standing in line.

After 9 hours of shopping, I just about finished my Christmas shopping. I tried to convince John to purchase a big screen TV as a joint gift, but he was not having any part of it. Needless to say, our friends purchased one the same day and John was probably kicking himself for not saying yes. The deals were really good, but you wouldn't know that we were in an economic crisis with the financial stock markets by the way people were buying things! It was nuts!

at 2AM

Nursing: The Heart of Technology

Here a just a few quick pictures we took at the nursing convention we went to in Harrisburg. The convention was titled: Nursing, The Heart of Technology. We heard great seminars and attended an NCLEX review course to prep us for boards. I don't truly know if this was helpful, because after we were finished, our brains were fried, and I felt dumber than ever! Anyway, think about this slogan, I thought it was interesting:

1. Nursing, The Heart of Technology
VS.
2. Technology, The Heart of Nursing

We saw videos and demonstations on robotic machines caring for patients, passing medications, and now even doing procedures in operating rooms! It was crazy, but it made me think: is this was we have finally come to? Where is the compassion and "therapeutic touch" of another human being?

But then I saw the up side: These robots can care for people with easily transmittable diseases. Think about it... If a nurse cares for a patient with small pox (this disease is easily spread through direct contact or by touching a contaminated surface or area), they are putting other patients at risk by then caring for them. Do you really know if there are no organisms of anything on their clothing, their shoes, their pen? Scary, isn't it?

The bad thing about technology is people and their resistance to change. One speaker talked about the older generation of nurses and their resistance to change. The speaker commented that she was one who resisted the change from the mercury thermometers to the tympanic or oral! How little a change, but how resistance and stuborn nurses were. Can you image using a mercury thermometer today? I don't even know if I would know how to use one!

Anyway, I found myself sitting there, being one of those "old nurses." I saw these robots, the "incision free surgeries," the thoughts for pacemaker changers via telephone waves, etc.... and I thought, 'never in my time.' But guess what, it's coming... and sooner than we know it.



Study time :)

Jenelle, Me, and Kelsey. Look at all of our goodies. I bet we got about 30 pens, easily, tablets, hand sanitizers, lotions, all kinds of freebies!

Me, Dana, and Gail

Happy 25th/23rd Birthday!

I have decided that I officially do not like birthdays anymore. This year was really hard for me. I hated 25! I guess I wasn't the only one because everyone else that I talked to, felt the same way when they hit 25. I don't know what it is, I just don't like it. I feel I'm not done with school, I haven't really accomplished anything since highschool, and I have nothing really to show for my work after being out of HS for 6 years! UGH; 6 years; let's not say that again!

So, needless to say, no matter how I feel, my birthday came and went. After a long drawn out day of studying (6 hours), followed by a non-eventful night at work, I ended the night falling asleep by midnight. The following evening, after a long bickering event of where to go to dinner, everyone finally decided on this awesome restaurant called Johnny's. It is an awesome steak house for John and I am in love with their Salmon and martini menu! The night ended well and everyone had a fun time.


Janelle and I

Nothing like a good chocolate cake and a mango martini!

The boys

The girls