Long overdue update
Becca complained that she never knows what I'm doing any more, since I never update this thing, so here's a (not) brief rundown of everything that's happened since November.
Steffie's Late Hallowe'en/Bonfire Night Party
Got the train there, was picked up by Steffie, Jon + one of Steffie's mates. Another of her friends came round a bit later and the five of us went out for a Thai meal before going on to some proper swanky hotel bar, which was completely full of trendy public school kids. Fun. Highlights included getting stoned on the patio and writing messages on the table in fake blood. Funtimes.
We then went back to Steffie's, ate cake and ice cream and had a bonfire/fireworks - luverly.
In t'morning me + Jon got the train back to Brum, where I had a half-hour meet up with Becca before getting the connecting train home.
Florence Nightingale Hospice Fashion Show
The new hospice shop where I've been volunteering since August decided to team up with the other hospice shops in the county and do a fashion show as a fundraiser. Since our shop's specialities are evening wear and bridal wear (we have a load of brand new brides'/bridesmaids' dresses donated, but sold at half price), that was what we were mainly showcasing. And get who got picked as a model? Yup. Plus Mum + Dad did it too. I ended up wearing a slinky black Bond Girl dress (although I never did get to accesorise with the plastic gun I asked for) and.... a fucking wedding dress. Yup. Me in a wedding dress. And what made it even weirder was that Dad was modelling a morning suit, and so they made us do a 'Father-of-the-bride' type thing, which was just ODD.
Anyway, it went really well and was actually kind of fun. We raised £2000 for the hospice as well. I'll post some pix when I can find them.
FNH shop Xmas Dinner
When Steph (my boss @ the hospice shop) invited me to the Xmas do, I'd originally said no because a) I couldn't afford it and b) there'd be nothing I could eat, so I'd be paying for not much. But then someone dropped out at the last minute, and they wouldn't have got their deposit back, so I filled in (the price had gone down to £10 then anyway) and Steph rang up to sort me out a meal, so all was fine.
It was a really really fun night. Despite it being - as Steph's husband put it - "like dinner with Help The Aged" (most of the volunteers were over 60), we did have a great time. The two of us got pretty merry, and danced non-stop to REALLY cheesy 80s classics. Oh, and there were rocket balloons and party poppers and everything, and I made a bet with Dan that he had to get rocket balloon up a drunken girl's skirt which, after many attempts, he finally did.
Megan and Alex's 18th
Well, I felt like a celebrity, purely coz every single person who saw me yelled "VEZ!" and rushed over to hug me/enquire as to what I'm doing with my life. It was nice, but at the same time I felt kind of frustrated/bored/fake with exactly the same scene being played out repeatedly throughout the night. There were people I really was genuinely glad to see, but there are only so many times you can ask how someone is when you don't really care, tell them what you're doing with your life when they don't really care, and then make polite chit-chat about the only subject the two of you have in common - school. Oh, joy.
It was an alright night, but I just felt uncomfortable and somewhat estranged for a lot of the time. Some people there I didn't know at all; others I'd known to see at a party or whatever when I'd been at school, but didn't know them; and others had been my "bestest friends" when I was there, and bizarrely, still thought of me that way, despite the fact we hadn't seen each other for a year, and hadn't kept in contact or anything. Sigh.
Last day of work
Frday 14th was my last day at the Healthy Living Centre, since I FINALLY got a start date for the HCA job. Whereas under normal circumstances, my "goodbyes" would've entailed me hurrying out of the door at 9.30, pushing a trolley full of lunches and looking stressed, my last day was different. It was the pensioner's Xmas party, and Ruth had asked me to provide the entertainment by playnig a few classic 30s type songs. Since I wasn't doing that till the very end of the meal, I stayed around and helped with the preparation/serving etc. And it was a really brilliant day - not because of the pensioners, but because I had such fantastic colleagues. We just messed around and had a laugh all day, and it was so much fun. And when I left they gave me a card + present, so I gavea heartfelt speech about how lovely they all were etc. It was a great note to leave on, and I'm glad I've offered to help out with extra shifts or whatever, coz I really enjoyed working with all of them.
Xmas gathering with rellies
Ruth, Simon, Gordon + Sarah and their kiddies came to visit last Saturday, which was brilliant. I'm not the biggest fan of children, but I really really love having that lot round - adults and wee ones. It's always great to catch up with them, and mess around and be a kid myself with the littluns. We exchanged xmas pressies but didn't open them.
First day as a HCA!
Monday was my first day of the new job. I arrived stupidly early and got on my sexy purple and white striped uniform, and then was given a tour of the ward by the housekeeper. I'm based in stroke rehab, so the patients are VERY much dependent on the staff. They range from those who are welll on the way to recovery, ie. can walk on a frame, self-feed and are completely with it in terms of spatial awareness/knowing what's going and who people are etc., to the other end of the scale, where you have the patients who are totally incoherent, doubly incontinent, partially paralysed and can't walk, and are on NG feeds. My job is mainly stuff like giving bed baths, helping with feeding, changing pads etc. I don't mind the unpleasant aspects of the job - I knew what to expect, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. Whether it's washing an old man with a catheter or changing the (really messy) pad of an incontinent women, I can deal with it. And I'm actually really enjoying it so far.
The one downside of the nature of the patients I work with is that, unlike with most other wards, there's a definite lack of patient/carer interaction. Since a lot of them are lacking in a lot of cognitive skills, you don't get a lot of response from them, and it can make the job seem somewhat impersonal. Although I always talk them through exactly what's going on, it still feels weird performing tasks on people who can't tell you how happy (or otherwise) they are with what you're doing. Still, I'll get used to that side of it, I guess.
They gave me Xmas off, which was nice. I would've been prepared to work it, but I think they thought it would be mean to make the new girl do Xmas day. Plus I have new year's day off - yay!
Becca came home last night, and is staying til Boxing Day, which I am very, very, very pleased about. :-)
Steffie's Late Hallowe'en/Bonfire Night Party
Got the train there, was picked up by Steffie, Jon + one of Steffie's mates. Another of her friends came round a bit later and the five of us went out for a Thai meal before going on to some proper swanky hotel bar, which was completely full of trendy public school kids. Fun. Highlights included getting stoned on the patio and writing messages on the table in fake blood. Funtimes.
We then went back to Steffie's, ate cake and ice cream and had a bonfire/fireworks - luverly.
In t'morning me + Jon got the train back to Brum, where I had a half-hour meet up with Becca before getting the connecting train home.
Florence Nightingale Hospice Fashion Show
The new hospice shop where I've been volunteering since August decided to team up with the other hospice shops in the county and do a fashion show as a fundraiser. Since our shop's specialities are evening wear and bridal wear (we have a load of brand new brides'/bridesmaids' dresses donated, but sold at half price), that was what we were mainly showcasing. And get who got picked as a model? Yup. Plus Mum + Dad did it too. I ended up wearing a slinky black Bond Girl dress (although I never did get to accesorise with the plastic gun I asked for) and.... a fucking wedding dress. Yup. Me in a wedding dress. And what made it even weirder was that Dad was modelling a morning suit, and so they made us do a 'Father-of-the-bride' type thing, which was just ODD.
Anyway, it went really well and was actually kind of fun. We raised £2000 for the hospice as well. I'll post some pix when I can find them.
FNH shop Xmas Dinner
When Steph (my boss @ the hospice shop) invited me to the Xmas do, I'd originally said no because a) I couldn't afford it and b) there'd be nothing I could eat, so I'd be paying for not much. But then someone dropped out at the last minute, and they wouldn't have got their deposit back, so I filled in (the price had gone down to £10 then anyway) and Steph rang up to sort me out a meal, so all was fine.
It was a really really fun night. Despite it being - as Steph's husband put it - "like dinner with Help The Aged" (most of the volunteers were over 60), we did have a great time. The two of us got pretty merry, and danced non-stop to REALLY cheesy 80s classics. Oh, and there were rocket balloons and party poppers and everything, and I made a bet with Dan that he had to get rocket balloon up a drunken girl's skirt which, after many attempts, he finally did.
Megan and Alex's 18th
Well, I felt like a celebrity, purely coz every single person who saw me yelled "VEZ!" and rushed over to hug me/enquire as to what I'm doing with my life. It was nice, but at the same time I felt kind of frustrated/bored/fake with exactly the same scene being played out repeatedly throughout the night. There were people I really was genuinely glad to see, but there are only so many times you can ask how someone is when you don't really care, tell them what you're doing with your life when they don't really care, and then make polite chit-chat about the only subject the two of you have in common - school. Oh, joy.
It was an alright night, but I just felt uncomfortable and somewhat estranged for a lot of the time. Some people there I didn't know at all; others I'd known to see at a party or whatever when I'd been at school, but didn't know them; and others had been my "bestest friends" when I was there, and bizarrely, still thought of me that way, despite the fact we hadn't seen each other for a year, and hadn't kept in contact or anything. Sigh.
Last day of work
Frday 14th was my last day at the Healthy Living Centre, since I FINALLY got a start date for the HCA job. Whereas under normal circumstances, my "goodbyes" would've entailed me hurrying out of the door at 9.30, pushing a trolley full of lunches and looking stressed, my last day was different. It was the pensioner's Xmas party, and Ruth had asked me to provide the entertainment by playnig a few classic 30s type songs. Since I wasn't doing that till the very end of the meal, I stayed around and helped with the preparation/serving etc. And it was a really brilliant day - not because of the pensioners, but because I had such fantastic colleagues. We just messed around and had a laugh all day, and it was so much fun. And when I left they gave me a card + present, so I gavea heartfelt speech about how lovely they all were etc. It was a great note to leave on, and I'm glad I've offered to help out with extra shifts or whatever, coz I really enjoyed working with all of them.
Xmas gathering with rellies
Ruth, Simon, Gordon + Sarah and their kiddies came to visit last Saturday, which was brilliant. I'm not the biggest fan of children, but I really really love having that lot round - adults and wee ones. It's always great to catch up with them, and mess around and be a kid myself with the littluns. We exchanged xmas pressies but didn't open them.
First day as a HCA!
Monday was my first day of the new job. I arrived stupidly early and got on my sexy purple and white striped uniform, and then was given a tour of the ward by the housekeeper. I'm based in stroke rehab, so the patients are VERY much dependent on the staff. They range from those who are welll on the way to recovery, ie. can walk on a frame, self-feed and are completely with it in terms of spatial awareness/knowing what's going and who people are etc., to the other end of the scale, where you have the patients who are totally incoherent, doubly incontinent, partially paralysed and can't walk, and are on NG feeds. My job is mainly stuff like giving bed baths, helping with feeding, changing pads etc. I don't mind the unpleasant aspects of the job - I knew what to expect, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. Whether it's washing an old man with a catheter or changing the (really messy) pad of an incontinent women, I can deal with it. And I'm actually really enjoying it so far.
The one downside of the nature of the patients I work with is that, unlike with most other wards, there's a definite lack of patient/carer interaction. Since a lot of them are lacking in a lot of cognitive skills, you don't get a lot of response from them, and it can make the job seem somewhat impersonal. Although I always talk them through exactly what's going on, it still feels weird performing tasks on people who can't tell you how happy (or otherwise) they are with what you're doing. Still, I'll get used to that side of it, I guess.
They gave me Xmas off, which was nice. I would've been prepared to work it, but I think they thought it would be mean to make the new girl do Xmas day. Plus I have new year's day off - yay!
Becca came home last night, and is staying til Boxing Day, which I am very, very, very pleased about. :-)