now i know why i rarely date...haha...

 but first...Blossom and I made the mile walk to the local Carrs store where they have tree recycling.  sled, bungee cord and streets of ice helped make it a wee bit easier!!  nope, no real improvement in the ice situation.  did make it out and have done well on my steps per day counts.  try to keep track of workouts in my map my fitness.  it's not all inclusive, but minus general walking steps i've done well over 24 miles this last week and 14 recorded work outs.  never got to gym that 4th day but did get out walking and did get on the bike in the garage another time...so i think week one of working out went ok.

 the rest are in Laguna Beach, CA.

 plan to swim M-W this week and hit the gym.  was a bit tired but did there today for rowing and elliptical workouts.

 worked ER all 3 nights.  the first night was holds.  those are frustrating nights as you end up with an average of 8-12 admits in a 12 hour period.  you never get caught up on anything and mostly feel like you are treading water with 20 pound weights attached to both legs.  i could use the work out but not the stress.  one person that night, gets worked up when in charge and i really did not take well to the demands made on me.  the last thing you need when you are booking, doing a crazy night of holds, is someone being rude and demanding of you.  certainly not a good time for them to toss the F bomb on me.

 i swear like the best of them.  not when in a position like charge.  there is a time and place.  i had other nice people.  one friend who came back and asked if i wanted a break after i had been told i would not be getting one if i didn't go right then...which was right after i'd been given yet another patient with a list of orders to deal with.

 that morning i headed in to management to chat... my next 2 nights in er were the usual busy but everyone was super nice.  overall it is a good place to work and i enjoy it.  nobody in the float pool likes those holds though.  you get pressure to clear rooms fast from the ER and you get grief at times from the floor nurses who feel you haven't done enough of the admit stuff in the hours they see the patient has been in the ER.  at the end of the day you are exhausted and feel like you have done everything half ass.

 there was some comments by ER management in the gathering at shift change...so i figured my frustration was passed along.  this morning as i left there were a few hold nurses down there getting report from the one that was there the night before.  we are supposed to write down when we are there for holds and for how long...i suggested we start adding on how many admits we get in that 12 hour period.

 one night i went with a transport tech to deliver a  bariatric patient in a bariatric bed...not an easy job.  we worked our way up to the room only to discover when we got there that we had gotten off on the wrong floor..so we had to work our way all the way back through the maze of hallways back to elevator and to correct floor, new maze, then to actual room.  i should have seen that as a sign of how that night was going to go.  lets just say, i'm guessing those beds are at least 200#so that means 2 of us hauling around like 700#.  that should count as double steps.

 of course, it's patient centered care so we are supposed to pretend that we don't notice the large size.  political correctness. it's not that i would want to hurt anyone or offend anyone..but to me facts are facts.  i have told a large patient that no i couldn't move them every 15-20 minutes as she kept wanting to be moved.  i cannot move her alone and i cannot get a crew together every 15-20 minutes to shift her.  i told her that we all have to protect our backs as well.  i offered to see if i could call a doc to order more pain meds for her...i knew i had a career ahead of me and damaging my back would put me off work.  to me these are just the facts.

 the usual drug addicts, alcoholics, screamers...it's what we do.

 was having fun with the sunset and these splashes...

 so the reason why i suspect i rarely date now..apparently, people are getting their butts bleached.  they pay for this.  these are apparently fairly regular folks who pay money to get their arse's bleached...what kind of sex are these folks having that their partner is examining this aspect so intensely that they feel the need to bleach it?

 don't we have enough to feel self conscious about without making our nether regions an area that requires a bleach job to make presentable?  guess this started with porn stars...well, i guess they have a valid reason for this..i mean they get pretty close up in those shots.  it's what they do for a living.

 i'm willing to be a misfit in society if these are to be the new rules.  bleach your butt hole, remove every bit of hair on your body that isn't on your head, botox, boob jobs, lifts, tucks, colonics...so much time, money and effort in this quest to make one appeal to the object of their lust.  is this progress?  i feel badly for the younger generation and for others who feel this is all required.  love/sex...just seems it should be more simple and pure and enjoyed as such.  it should be stress relieving not stress inducing for hell sake!! just turn off the lights and go crazy...

 there was also an odd conversation which i gently tried to get out of.  student loans. i have none, i went the credit card route for books and tuition that i couldn't cover.  i'm not saying this proudly...i was clueless and had no idea what other options were available to me.  so one person was saying that another friend had told her to just stop paying.  that she'd never have to pay.  it seems to be catching up with her a bit and she seems to be dead set on finding a way not to pay....you got the education. i just kept quietly saying..you owe the money, pay the debt.

 there is no way i could imagine myself making that choice.  my dad did have a pretty profound impact on me in these areas.  he was honest, some would say to a fault, but what he felt, he said. if you wanted to hear the truth all you had to do was ask him.  there wasn't any sugar coating. his moral compass was true...there were no loopholes.  i'm sure there are moments i would have liked to have said to heck with this moral crap...but my Dads voice has always been there.

 Pay Your Damn Loan.  those who come after you will find it more and more difficult to get similar loans..it seems pretty dang selfish to me.

 we walked the bog in the ice and the dog park on ice...it's all ice.

 we did have some pellet like flakes coming down today...there is talk of snow. we shall see.  still hoping we will have more snow before the Iditarod happens.

 fun watching the kids in the surf as the sun set.

 the water is so beautiful with the sun reflecting off it.

 today, i wanted to sleep. yesterday i did.  broke into my emergency bottle of soda the other night.  of course, i've carried it for weeks so there was great risk of explosion.

 in nursing school, first day of class, third semester, i got thirsty in class and opened a bottle i'd been carrying for quite some time.  that thing shot up a good 10 feet and covered several of my classmates. pretty embarrassing...

 almost as embarrassing as showing up on the wrong floor with a bariatric patient.

 my friend bought two WARIS stickers at work and i tossed the cash in my pocket...i suspect it came out of my pocket when i went for an alcohol swab or it's in the laundry...i'll just put my own money in to cover it and hope it shows up.  if it fell on the floor, one can hope it was a homeless person who picked it up.  the universe givith,the universe taketh away.

 figure i'll mix it up between bike and elliptical. i like them both and i think they are both good for legs and knees.  i think i prefer the elliptical though.  rather do the bike outdoors.  it should be going places.  you'd think i'd feel the same about rowing since i like to paddle

 rowing is good for the core and for kayak training for summer.  hopefully i will get on the water this summer.

 need to make plans to see bears...or head to Round Island?  hmm...could use a million more pictures of the walrus for the non-profit...using my own pics is free.  i don't have to worry about copyright and all that.

 things happen for a reason...rarely is it about you.

 need to print out some cd's of pics for a few folks.  then i need to hit the post office tomorrow. get some calendars out.  we still have some!!

 we'll give some away as door prizes at the lecture.  hope folks sign up!!  free snacks and door prizes!!  come one, come all!!

 that is Catalina Island in the background.  have been there on several occasions.  always have had fun there. that is why Rio was named, Rio Catalina.  thought it would be cool to incorporate a fun place with my girl.

 still miss that big sweet girl.  she's not laying here snoring, she's not laying on the couch.  her bowl is empty....the water no longer is all slimed up.  the food lasts longer.  she's not following me around, searching for me when i walk away.

 loved the light in these

 the kids were enjoying that last light.

 the pelican

 reports of starvation and deaths happening in a town in Syria.  snow covered some of the vegetation that people have been scraping by on.  apparently the cat population has also been a source of food.  they are being held within the city since October at least.  if they try to flee they are forced  back, shot at or some hit land mines.  when this is over the stories that pour out of these places will no doubt be horrific.  no doubt this will all get worse before it gets better...the middle east is a complete and utter mess with no end in sight.

 guess a few sheriffs did make their way to the Oregon idiots and encourage them to leave peacefully.  they have made these demands that just have no way of being met.  not going to happen so that leaves them with no way out really.  was telling my friend there should be a twitter/facebook call to get birders/natives and environmentalists to gather at the refuge and walk in.  those guys would be beyond stupid to fire at a group of unarmed citizens....would be a way to force them out.  it would then be citizens against citizens...not idiots against the feds.

 cute story about a zoo in Russia.  some time ago they had put a goat in for the tiger to kill and eat...that goat was not having it and instead won over the heart of the Tiger.  now he just chills in the enclosure with the tiger

 a teenager, who was living with a family, killed the mother and daughter. he was only 15. the dad came home to find his wife and daughter dead.  not much information beyond that. he's a minor so...pretty sad case.  they sound like they had taken him in..and now this.

 my sunday paper must be on the front deck still.  i was tired when i came home...didn't even hunt it down.  crashed.  will have to go check for that before i head to bed here in a few.

thankful for: A. the many supportive and cool folks that work in the ER...no matter where you go there is always someone who can get nasty when the going gets tough.  B.  REI for letting us have a lecture there.  let the planning begin.  C.  for those who try to focus on the good and the positive and don't let the negative drag them down!!