23:16 - Things Are Looking Up for 2008

I am thought to have survived the holiday season relatively intact. The familial and other associated celebratory gatherings were far less taxing to the soul than the unrelenting bullshit factor to which I was subjected as an occupational hazard.

My daughter is a warped one. I am not sure how it occurred (yeah, right). We were talking about the willingness of Americans to accept celebrations of other cultures. She has decided that the only reason Muslim observances are not embraced by Americans is because there is no drinking involved. Americans are all about diversity and multi-culturalism provided alcohol is a component of the celebration.

Went to work for 4 hours. Double-time. It works. I was out of there by 7:15p. The drive home took a bit longer than usual due to the blowing snow had the roads quite slick.
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It is now Wednesday evening. I ran in and out of single-digit temperatures for 8 hours today. My feet are still numb. I hate this time of year. When the temperatures are this cold, I ache continuously. It isn't to the "time to take the morphine" ache yet, but it is getting close.

I have inherited my daughter's Welsh Springer Spaniel. Not my idea. Really. The dog that my son-in-law insisted they take 3 1/2 years ago when Jason could no longer care for it because it was soooooooooo attached to my daughter has been annoying to him for that very reason since the day they acquired her. "Velcro Dog." As I already have my own Velcro Dog, it has proved to be quite an up-my-butt fiasco these last 3 days. Mocha has come to visit and spend the night occasionally. She will run into my house with Addie and not want to leave until after Amanda has gone to bed, so she ends up spending the night. She even stayed the week when my daughter went to California a couple of years ago. Michael is just flat-out mean to her, so she was better off here. This is her third day here. It would seem that she has decided that she lives here now as she is challenging Addie for dominance. I have not informed Hindolo about the acquisition of Velcro Dog #2.

I inherited the dog because my daughter is getting two ferrets next week. One of the guys that my son-in-law works with knows a recent widower who wants to get rid of his deceased wife's ferrets. Being that Amanda absolutely adores ferrets, there was no question of her wanting to take them. The problem lies in the fact that Mocha loathes small, furry creatures of all types. She has killed a squirrel, an opossum, a couple of stray cats that she didn't want in the yard. She is suspected in the killing of one or more escaped hamsters during the short-lived "hamster phase" that occurred next door.

She has no problems with her own cats or with my cats. Only problems with those interloping cats. Ferrets and Mocha would not make a good mix. Being that the cats travel freely back and forth from one household to the other via a couple of gaps in the basement wall and through the plumbing access in the bathrooms, I imagine in won't be long before the ferrets figure out the passageways. As Mocha went through four owners in two years after her original owner died, neither Amanda or I have the heart to send her to someone else. She is not a bad dog, and she is happy here. So, I inherited her.

It would seem that the Nyquil is starting to do what it is that Nyquil does... I'm off to bed for now.
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Thursday afternoon and I have been relieved of kiddo duty. I am going in for four hours this evening to fill-in due to a call off. I should not complain too much. It could have been 12 hours.

I have been asked, again, to consider taking the night supervisor position. Things have gotten so bad that I am to the point of seriously considering it. We have both staff and nurses that need to be gone. It is not something that I want to do forever. I certainly had other plans that I was considering for the next year while Hindolo finishes school. Sometimes the very reason that you do not want to do something is why you should do it. We have a nurses meeting scheduled towards the end of the month. I told Brian that I would make my decision and let him know before the meeting. I have a feeling my plan to work part-time weekend day-shift starting in February is in jeopardy. This is not going to be an easy decision by any means.

I queried four other nurses. Two were positive, two expressed reservations at my desire to not really want to do this. My mom thinks it's a good thing for me to do. Amanda said that my reasoning of being 46, single, no kids is exactly why I should consider doing this rather than not. I mentioned it to Hindolo, and he expressed some reservation about me working nights. It may simply be that he doesn't want me running around grounds alone in the middle of the night. We will talk more this weekend. I need to schedule an appointment with my doctor to see what she has to say about this idea before I make a decision.

The guy started back to class today. More classwork than clinicals this quarter but a comprehensive exam at the end covering the last three quarters in order to be admitted to the final year of the program. Oh how lovely will my life become here in about 8 or 9 more weeks?

I have much to think about here in the coming days. Personal changes are underway for eating and lifestyle. I suppose those would be my New Year's Resolutions, though I began to implement changes last year. I do want to do more with my design work and crafts. Last year was a total "bust." Just write it off and start with a clean slate. At the least, I'm headed into the new year on a positive note. That's always a good thing.