each day an adventure in alaska: fall means rain as well as beautiful colors...

you must accept the rain, it's part of the season.

these are at the Matanuska Glacier.

rain is great for sleeping. i took full advantage of it this week between shifts. i did ACC, ER and then up to Peds for a night. haven't been there in ages. not bad. felt like i had to get my bearings a bit. they've done some remodeling. admittedly not my favorite crew in my section but somethings never change and it does remind you that you made the right choice making a change.

i'm always amazing how many hours some people can spend staring at screens. i must be an idiot as i just can't think of that many things i have in interest in looking up on the internet and obviously i have no friends as i don't have much to text to many people. i think the one co-worker must have spent at least 7 of her 12 hour shift staring at her phone screen. wow!

work ethics are a bit sketchy...has it always been like this and i never picked up on it or is this a relatively new thing. much harder for jobs to control smart phone use. you can't constantly be policing people and they bring them back out the second you walk away anyway i'm sure. hell, the staff i see often don't even bother to attempt to hide the fact that they are getting paid to text their friends and look up silly things online .

keep people busy enough and they have less time for such things. the ER is almost always hopping and i don't see many folks down there so attached to their phones.

while i was charting the one girl i was working with snapped a photo of her dinner....i'm sure i sounded rude. i mean who brings a lunch to work worthy of a photo? the only work dinner photo i have ever taken was when we got pizza delivery and the pizza's were so mangled from their trip over...never before or since have i seen pizza look like those pies did in those boxes. that was worthy of a photo. i have snapped the occasional photo of a meal when i'm out to eat, but overall, that isn't the sort of photo i tend to take anyway.

needless to say conversations last night were limited. thankfully, i had a lovely charge nurse and tech. great to work with them again. i'm sure my hours will pick up there as the fall changes to winter and the respiratory bugs take on the children of Alaska.

so happy that the ER tends to just put me on the east side of the unit and leave me there. i don't feel as exhausted working there. i was lucky and didn't get the holds..my fellow resource pool nurse got that job and i know he worked hard that night.

had an adorable very elderly lady who i discovered was wearing spanks when i assisted her to the bathroom...spanks, really? she was tiny to boot. pride and ego do not always leave us as we age. guess it was better than a 90 year old in a thong. i'm sure that is coming soon as well. do not rule it out. prepare ye, prepare ye.
above you see the place that you access the glacier puts out walkways to help keep you out of the muddy silt on the glacier. you sink in a bit in places but though it looks dark...that is all ice under there.

arm is sore as i got my flu shot last night. love that charge nurse but that girl put that injection in about an inch from my shoulder...more in a ligament than a muscle i fear. have felt the usual chills and exhaustion i tend to feel when i get a vax. they always say there will be no reaction but i always get a bit of one anyway. personally, i think it seems normal anytime you put something foreign in your body to expect a little reaction from the body.

i know, i'm a wimp...but swimming was out this evening. did take Blossom out in the rain around the Bog. Rio again opted out. we snuggled on the couch later and watched, "the bucket list". always a good movie.

just love these trees. it is starting to change more and more here in Anchorage.

my crazy love for reflections was in overdrive out at the glacier that day. so pretty.

someone dropped their sunglasses...the silty mud is always on the move so they were getting swallowed up quickly.

one letter sent off to speedy to get letterhead put on it. still need to finalize the other one and get that sent off. perhaps after i write this.

chatted with my niece for a bit this evening. put my walk a bit behind schedule...which is always worth it. :-)

knee is improving. feel like my legs have gotten weak as i've been babying them. so i'm trying to toughen them up again. need to get on the stair stepper and just do things without using my arms to assist me..squatting/standing...amazing how quickly you can decondition.

had fun working ACC and ER...good crews around me.

Scotland voted to remain with the UK this week. not sure what they would have to count on financially if they divided out, don't know enough about their economy. it was actually much closer than i would have expected and they seemed to have a large turn out for the vote. Quebec has attempted to become independent from Canada on a few occasions...probably due for another run at it.

watched a few tedtalks. i do this in spurts it seems. probably good, fresh stuff that way.

one was by a woman Mary Roach. it was pretty funny. light is always good. she just did a talk on 10 things you didn't know about orgasm. how could that not be interesting. haha. she mentioned one lady who, for some reason, would have an orgasm every time she brushed her teeth. my first thought was that she must have the best dental care of us all, but i guess that wasn't true at all. she did not see the gift of her affliction and instead avoided brushing her teeth and just rinsed her mouth out with a mouth wash. she feared the orgasms were some sign of a demon inside her.

sorry, sideways...

another small study postulated that orgasm could be a cure for intractable hiccups. so if anyone gets this affliction please feel free to report back.

another one was about being heard and how to be a more effective speaker...i could use all the help i can with this one. in new situations with new people i can be way too shy. it's silly and irrational and frustrating at times.

first the guy spoke of things that are conversation killers and tend to make people avoid conversations with you. he said to avoid gossip, negativity, exaggeration, judging, complaining, excuses and dogmatism. he also spoke about tone and quality a bit.

he felt to be heard one should speak with honesty, integrity, love and be authentic.

not sure i'm ready for public speaking after this brief lecture, but every little bit does help. he also said silence is acceptable and certainly preferred to ums and like's and such.

of course, he spoke with an English accent...that just naturally makes people want to listen,right?

these are with the smaller camera. not a bad view from the road, right?

Homer looks decent this weekend..Seward not bad..hmm...tempting. there are always some good fall hikes that must be attempted.

sweeping scenery....so Alaska!!

Anchorage looks like it will be wet this weekend so leaving would be a great idea. i tend to just wake up and have a look around. go where it looks more promising...unless i have no idea as it's socked in around me. today the mountains weren't visible. the pirate pub crawl event is saturday...could always dress up like a pirate and head out. right. hmm...

senate votes to arm and train syrian rebels...that is the headline today. i'm not a fan of isis but this arming and training other rebels has never really worked out well for us in the past. it's always come back to bite us in the arse.

2 former Alaskans face felony charges for PFD fraud/theft. many people leave the state and try to continue getting that money. i'm sure many get away with it, but when they do catch you...they will throw the book at you. i've never seen them be merciful...it's a warning to all. this years check will be $1884.00 so a nice amount. not worth going to jail for i'd say.

Maggie was an elephant that lived at the zoo here in Anchorage. the zoo began when someone in Anchorage got or won a zoo?? i think that was Annabelle...after she died, there was outcry that Maggie should be moved to a more fitting place. she has lived in California on a sanctuary for over 7 years now and seems to be faring well.

more lovely scenery. can't go wrong with that, right?

a mama brown bear from Katmai has taken in an abandoned yearling. she already has one cub but now she will have two. guess that will make the winter den that much warmer this winter. the sow is said to be 18-20 years old. they call her "holly". she was also known to staff in Katmai from another year when one of her cubs had broken it's leg. she was very patient and caring while the young cub recovered from it's injury. that cub was nicknamed "backpack" as it was seen riding along on her back several times. she'd bring food to the young cub.