Today I got the news I've been waiting for... for those of you who didn't know, our units at the hospital were being reconfigured and positions on my floor, the cardio-thoracic surgery stepdown unit, are being eliminated. As of yesterday, I was first in line for the chopping block. But today I got the call, and I was offered my same position on day ( Read more... )

The sun is sinking quietly behind a purple cloud, the water is calm for the first time in days. Instead of shrinking away from the cool water, I embrace it, and it in turn embraces me. I sink into it, back into the womb, the place I came from, the place to where I will return. There is no tangible difference between us, the pulse of the waves, the ( Read more... )

I spent 6 days in Oberlin, Ohio at the National Women's Martial Arts Special Training. I went to the self-defense instructor's conference as well, which turned out to be not much self-defense, but more theory and how to deal with cultural issues. ST itself actually started Thursday, and classes I took included aikido throwing, expanded vision ( Read more... )

My apartment looks like it's been hit by a tornado. Upon closer inspection, it looks like a menagerie of boxes, big and small, spread helter-skelter. Over the last two nights I've succeeded in packing up about 80% of the place, with the rainstorm last night helping to sweep away some of the oppressing heat. The AC, which I installed with tinfoil in ( Read more... )

"Growing up it was just me and my mom against the world
And all my sympathies were with her when I was a little girl..."My father was a soft-hearted, absent-minded, musical genius. He was a little boy abandoned by his father, locked out of his mother's room, caring for his sister and brother. He was a young man searching for someone to love and ( Read more... )

I spent yesterday gettin' dirty. After my usual lawn mowing ritual, I decided to clean off those dock steps. You could barely see the stone steps anymore, it was so covered with dirt and weeds. So I was up to my elbows in dirt but the end result is fabulous! We took the boat out for a spin and I got my tree hammock up. Now, I need a weed wacker ( Read more... )

"Home is not just where I am anymore ( Read more... )

Next month I am moving again, after two years on 1934 Jackson Ave. It's the longest I've lived in one place since I started college at 18. The first year I lived alone and traveled a lot. The second year was my first year as a nurse and the foundation of my career. Now I am turning a new stone, moving out and on. It's a little scary but that's life ( Read more... )

Erin and I planned a trip to Chicago to "get away from it all" and we did! The train ride from Ann Arbor to Chicago was hot, smelly, and long. We were all eager to get there already.


( Read more... )

So I was talked into taking my cousin's money-wise class. Even though it's got a Christian bent to it, the guy is supposedly a genius at getting out of debt and building wealth. I actually learned a lot from it. I didn't think I was a bad budgeter or saver before the class, but I fine tuned my budgeting and now it's really working for me. I also ( Read more... )