Fur Rondy time...

 

last stretch with 3 shifts in a row, hopefully anyway. i suppose it could happen again. i'm officially .6 part time so 2 shifts/week required. will be great.  i'm just slowly backing out of the current job.  hoping this makes things much better. if not...then it will just push me closer to straight up retiring. it is nice to have the option really. 

had my evaluation this last week.  i'm average...at least that is how the upper management would see me according to my files. i'm sure they prefer all their employees to be average..then it makes it easier for them to ditch us anytime they want. 

when i first became a nurse i bought in to all the fluff about us being professionals.  we are blue collar workers.  we clock in and out and our time all must be accounted for. i have loved working 12 hour shifts for years.  in that whole life/work balance thing, i have been way ahead. overall it's been a good career.  able to take care of myself. met great people and every 12 hours you do seem to manage to make some ones life a little better. happy i wasn't some corporate drone, lost in the money loop.  more money just leads to more trouble in many cases. not that any of us wouldn't always love more money...it's just that it's not all it's cracked up to be.  

simplicity is probably a more manageable, fulfilling life. it works for me.  my work can be frustrating, especially if i think of the big picture..and post covid i have thought more of how little we are respected by administration.  that is frustrating to me. we should have gotten more recognition and appreciation for what we did for our community and for our hospital. that will never happen though. 

you can only dwell on those things for so long until you just know you have to let it go. 

it's what we do for each other and what we do for our patients that counts.  it's part of why i have stayed on nights.  cuts the bull and at night you are just a crew of people taking care of sick and injured as a team.  days...it's just too many reminders of how little you are valued by admin.  luckily, i have a pretty nice middle management team...the other reason i have stayed.  i'm really not that difficult to please in many ways. i work to live not live to work...

i'm sure on the outside, my life is pretty basic, but that has been a very great life. 

suspect covid pushed us all farther faster toward burn out. many of the younger nurses are already in burn out mode. with aging i find it's easy to imagine yourself having all sorts of medical issues. i can imagine myself into a frenzy.  overall, i'm doing pretty well for the age i am compared to many and probably not as well compared to others. 

got my echocardiogram. just mild leaking in a few valves. of course, this sort of caused me some stress and anxiety.  you want there to be nothing wrong with you but that isn't how aging works. we are all classic cars at a certain point. in need of special care and constant attention. 

last week i worked ER-Renal Care-ER.  i got to escape an hour or two early for both of those ER nights. got to walk a dog one night.  made me want to work with dogs and cats again...maybe i'll look for a vet tech/front office gig at a clinic. even just for a bit for a break from what i do. 

this week was PCU-ICU.  i was cranky last night in ICU just because they gave me the triple but it always feels like they just downgrade too fast sometimes. in the end it wasn't a bad night. i got over whining. 

the fur rondy is in full swing.  i worked through the dog sprint races but have hit a few of my favorite events.  the snow sculptures were up so i headed down town Sunday.  there are some good ones. my most favorite this year depicted the salmon life cycle.  very detailed, impressive. 

today i headed over to the Dimond Mall where natives gather with their arts and crafts for sale.  always just some amazing stuff.  ended up buying a few pairs of earrings and a painted piece of baleen. it was a little pricey but i was able to barter her down a bit so that helped. i have a few things to hang up on the walls so perhaps i'll do a bit of that tomorrow. today was bills and litter and stuff

changed out the back seat dog cover. the other one had gotten worn out over these past few years.  it was time. there was a hole in it and worried Ivy would fall through the hole. 

this pretty puppy below had her 8th Birthday last week. i am aware that dogs are not aware of their Birthdays but i still like to make it special. it's still a little tough each year knowing Tusker isn't here to celebrate with us.  i got her some toys treats and then we had a great walk followed by pool time.  was able to get Ivy Rose pool time on her special day.  we attempted to convince Sunny Boy to swim but he wasn't interested. he had a great time running around the pool and wading in to steal Ivy's tennis ball as soon as she came out of the water.  both dogs were exhausted that evening. 

otherwise just the usual walks and activities that happen in my life. there are a few books on my reading list so perhaps i can get some chill reading time in.  

this weekend is Iditarod.  the winter seems to speed up as these events happen and the light lengthens. 

still need to book some time in Homer. looks like a good low tide coming up in April. always need escapes to look forward to. we also have Tonsina cabin lined up for late April

other than the internal drama my brain puts me through life has been pretty calm.  

i mean there is the usual drama of politics and all that but there really isn't much i can do. people are going to have to make their own choices and live with the consequences. i'm disturbed by it all and by the support that this idiot still garnishes.  these fools just keep sending him money. as they say a fool and their money...

we should be lined up for our event at REI. always scary planning public events. 

i made some little flyers and put some up at the hospital in a few units. i also took one down to REI for them to put up.  need to look on their web page and see what they put in there...maybe send them a few photos to add in to their listings for our lecture. with covid, the crew at REI and Fish and Game have both changed up. so that makes it a bit more stressful. 

these are of our night at Orca Island.  a little spendy but worth it i think.  still not a place i will head to over and over. so happy i had a willing guest so i could go check it out.  so fun and so beautiful.

below is not Orca Island as it rained the full 24 hours we were there. 

we shall see what this summer brings. hopefully, lots of our door time. i will need to repair the little free library.  it's not surviving the winter.  the main box is okay but it's falling off the post. 

the Skelly's are falling apart as well. may put them out with free signs at some point and replace them.  got them into St Patricks Day attire tonight. 

this bridge out at Orca Island is so picturesque. if i was out there more i would just take photo after photo with different light/tides. i imagine sunset/sunrise shots as well. 

as the light returns i feel more like getting out further from my home base.  

we will have a late spring again this next year as we have so much snow to melt.  it is always surprising how fast this place changes up. i should start more intense spring cleaning projects.  i also really should get some projects going at the house. 

these memories from this summer trip will for sure last a life time. 

me and the sisters. Homer. these must be the wonderful photos that were taken by SH.  she is an amazing photographer.  i suspect like me, she is often more comfortable behind the camera than in front of the camera. it was such a perfect group, all 6 of us. reminds me of the Chilkoot hike...just the perfect group to be traveling with.  so much positive energy and support. 

and back to Orca Island. we saw a humpback while we were out there, no orca's. 

the yurts were very comfortable. 

mushrooms!!

below is a nice shot of those kayak holders that you slide the kayak into. not as stable as i assumed and i looked like an old lady trying to get myself out of the boat.  pretty embarrassing actually. haha. 

a stop to enjoy the lupine 

sunset at Bishops Beach

more from the Matanuska Glacier tour.  another treat 

lost my internet for a bit last night. thankfully,  this draft, though incomplete remains.  so it's just like when you are on the phone talking away but the connection was lost and you are speaking to nobody. 

not sure of my plans yet today.  it's 3 degrees out there and the tide is going out so perhaps a little beach walk will happen. 

the other day there was a tiktok, a girl dressed head to toe in Maga crap.  she was talking about swifties not knowing they were in a cult.  i suspect that she was being ironic and wasn't a maga rat at all. i was laughing though. i'd much rather join a happy, loving, hugging, singing, dancing, bracelet sharing cult than the cult of hatred, division, guns, rights removal and an orange turd leader. sign me up. 

Swift finished in Australia and now heads to Singapore next.  that place is already decked out and prepped for their Swift invasion.  special added trains just to get to and from the show.  selfie ops through out. not sure how she ever tops what she has done this past year, career wise. she is sure taking advantage of this moment she is having. i don't think she will go quietly into the night after this though.  some stars remain relevant their entire lives...folks like Dolly and Betty White. for some their talent isn't really appreciated for decades. i always say artists are unique and unlike most of us, they aren't quite as replaceable as we are. 

i am now the oldest, aside from some Dr's, when i work.  most nurses have left the bedside entirely by this age or have moved to days.  no idea how old M in ICu is or EP in ER..older than me and still kicking butt as nurses.  many of the younger ones are ready to book after a year or two. no idea how these places are going to keep staff once the old guard leaves. right now it feels like constant turn over.  was talking with my younger co-workers the other night. it often comes up...they want to know what things are different from when i started...i also mentioned how one day they will be thinking about all the things that have changed since they entered nursing. it is another thing many of us like in medicine.  

of course, all this immigration bashing, can only be bad for this profession.  when i look around, i know these hospitals would fail completely without staff at all levels that have come from elsewhere. stats say that the vast number of advanced degrees being earned in our nations universities are from other countries.  those people are bringing to much to our nation and this negativity and hatred will drive the brain power out of this nation and take it to others. it's not just brain power though.  workers at all levels are needed. the drug addicts and alcoholics i see on a regular basis...i gotta say, they are not first or second generation immigrants. just saying. with out immigration in all forms...our nation fails. 

better get the day going.  shower, walk, hang photos...

thankful for A. shorter work weeks. B. dogs, they are just so amazing. C. the artistic gifts all around us.