No, I will not pet you I’m studying STOP being so Damn Cute!

 

FAIL

Believe it or not, my title has nothing to do with grades.  Hubby and I are both big fans of the “FAIL” pictures.  Great for being stuck in line!  Anyway, I had a pretty good one today.  I was on my way home from class and spontaneously decided to go for a run at the park.  This isn’t a problem clothing wise b/c what I wear to class can go straight onto a trail without so much as a sneaker change.  That of course is my excuse for dressing in sweats, “What if I feel like going for a run after class?”  Granted it has only happened 3 times this semester, but its still a good reason in my book.  Anyway, my run started off pretty good, but then I realized that it was a bit colder than I thought.  It was in the 50s, but my ears, nose, and especially fingers were FREEZING….also, I started to feel a little light headed to I slowed to a walk and then started thinking about my nutritional stats for the day.  2 mugs of coffee, 2 bananas, and some Peanut Butter Puffins.  Not good.  Oh well I was almost back to my car.  I untied my shoelace where I usually string up my car key and there was my house key.  FAIL!  I guess I used up all my brain cells on my Patho test today.  Luckily, I was not too far from home and at least I would be able to get in my house.  Unluckily, I did not have my phone or any $ on me.  I guessed that home was about a mile away.  I had to walk by 2 yummy restaurants and my favorite coffee shop   I wanted to steal this guys scone so bad, but I wouldn’t have the energy to run away.  Ha, I kid, but seriously, if some random person steals my scone one day when I’m sitting outside, I won’t be mad.  I’ll just call after them as they feebly try to run away “I Understand!”  Finally, I made it home and ate all the rest of my sunflower seed butter (SO GOOD), and fell asleep for an hour.  And that is how I added 1.6 miles to my run (I just looked it up on Google maps).  I highly DON’T recommend it. 

Oh a happy note, I have a few more hair picts!  Hubs likes it when my hair is curly so he took a few picts the other day with his nice, fancy camera that he gets to use for school.

  

He’s turning into quite the bossy photographer.  J/K   If you guys could only imagine how many picture we have of Ginger.  I promise to have more soon!

BLOG PLUG TIME:  Since I’ve only forgotten for the past month…  Did you know that the coolest person in the World has a blog?  Well, she does and she also happens to be my best friend.  Drop by Unapologetic Motherhood.  Here is her most recent post:  Clicky. 

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Question:  Do you guys have any good FAIL! stories?  Feel free to add them in the comments

Hair gone

So let me just start off by saying, I usually donate my hair to locks of love.  Trust me, they have gotten lots and lots of hair from me over the years.  However, since my school budget has turned out to be unrealistic (didn’t include things like oil changes and transmission flushes), I decided to sell my hair this time.  Looking back, I don’t really recommend it b/c it’s a lot of work and there are tons of creepers out there which makes this very difficult.  Anyway, just wanted to give some background in case you’re wondering why I asked my friend to chop my hair off in little tiny ponytails.  It was to get the right length.  Have no fear, we went to a salon moments after and they evened everything out.  Here are some photos during the process. 

We were laughing so hard the entire time.  After we were done, I put on a cute hat and off to the salon we went.  Hubby took some AFTER after pictures for me:

I feel so much better.  Especially, when doing yoga!  Which reminds me….I kind of forgot about my workout page.  It was great for a while and then when I wasn’t blogging as much, I just kind of stopped updating it.  I guess I will give it another try.

Okay, well despite the fact that it is SPRING BREAK I still actually have tons of work to catch up on.  It seems like I am eternally behind on my reading and since I definitely don’t have time to do anything other than studying for tests/quizzes during a normal week, I need to get most of my projects underway pronto.  I also have a test, project, and a lab eval as soon as I get back so I think its kind of expected that we use this time to catch up.  I’m still glad to have the chance to clean my apartment, cook real meals, and hang out with hubby more than usual.  Too bad he doesn’t have a break from school at the same time. 

My favorite thing about Spring Break so far is the PACE.  I have really been enjoying my quiet coffee mornings, when I can take my time sipping peacefully, reading blogs, and writing my to do lists.  Too bad I have to actually complete all the things on my list.  Well, maybe just one more cup of coffee first

What is time?

Now that I’m in my second month of Nursing School I have a better idea of how things are going and what to expect of myself.  And Honestly… I’m a little worried.  I like to keep positive on my blog b/c who wants to read about a lot of complaining?  Also, I try to talk myself into being positive by writing positively, however I also want this to be an accurate representation of what’s going on, so here it is.  Nursing School is fun and interesting….but I’m not very good at it, which makes it a little less fun.

I knew that it was going to be hard and I was prepared to spend virtually all my free time studying, but I wasn’t prepared for doing so and still struggling to pass my classes.  I have had to come to the startling reality that I may not be capable of realistically passing my classes.  My main problem is still concentration.  I have so much trouble focusing that I need to take a lot of breaks and I’m just not accomplishing enough or retaining enough.  I’m still in the advice gathering phase right now, so I don’t know what the future will hold, but I’m going to keep trying my hardest and keeping a close eye on my grades.  I’ll reevaluate in a few weeks.  I’ve had some time to process all this and I’m feeling  a lot better about things.  I can only do what I can do.  And instead of wondering what that will be I’m going to jump back into studying

Break time

So I’ve decided to take a week or so break from blogging, reading blogs, and basically anything electronic that doesn’t have to do with school.  I wish I could leave you with some cute picts of Ginger, but someone has borrowed my card reader.  Don’t worry, you’ll get to see them soon enough.  So please excuse me while I attempt to strip away every ounce of free time out of my life in hopes of catching up with school.  Be back soon!

 

Eeking by

Its been a while since I posted and honestly, I really don’t feel like writing right now, but I want to try to get in at least one per week and try to keep an accurate idea of what is going on.  So its been pretty rough.  I’m still having a lot of trouble concentrating, which would be okay if I had 2 classes, but not so good with 9.  I still love my actual classes and find all the info really interesting, but I’m not doing so well grade-wise.  I guess the biggest difference for me with this degree vs. my first degree (Coms) is that before my work was almost 100% projects.  I can put in the time and do well on projects, but most of my program seems to be tests and quizzes.  I do put in the time studying for them, but it does not really show up in my grades.  Don’t worry, I’m still trying to be optimistic.  I need my classes to be hard if I’m going to pass the NCLEX.  I just need to find my concentration again.  I know its in there somewhere…

Someday I will know what I’m doing, Right?

I’ve decided now is a good time for an update, since my legs are being taken captive by this:

Nothing says comfort like shins…

 

Now, on to my update.  I think in lists.  Usually these are specific to do lists, but sometimes they are bigger picture lists.  This week I found myself making a What NOT to do list and a To figure out list.

What NOT to do:

1. Forget umbrella
2. Forget Hat, gloves, and scarf
3. Be late
4. Bring to class foods or drinks that spontaneously combust
5. Plan too many errands into one day
6. Try to make phone calls on the bus
7. Sit in between people talking on the bus
8. Trip on dogs on the bus (while spilling coffee)
9. Not have napkins
10. Not know all the time variations of the bus schedule

1 – 2

By now you’re getting a pretty good idea of my week, right?  I’m sure somewhere in a parallel universe there is a Mel walking around with all her weather appropriate things, checking things off a perfectly organized to do list, and accomplishing all manner of lofty goals, but its not me.  I do, however, have a new solution for bringing what I need to school.  A Box.  I know a school bag might make more sense, but since I’m constantly switching between bags (depending on how much stuff I have to lug in) this usually ends up with me somehow having exactly what I don’t need.  So I have a box to put my books, folders, nursing supplies, hat, water bottle, gym clothes, etc.  It actually is helpful for me because I can SEE everything all at one time.

3

I was late to my first lab, which also happened to have a quiz.  A quiz for which I studied quite a bit.  I even got up early to study a little more before leaving.  I thought I knew where I was going, but I hadn’t actually made the trip solo sans GPS yet.  I left on time, but not in enough time to account for me getting lost while stuck in traffic, and then having a meltdown, and trying to compose myself…  You see I have a very serious problem with directions.  You would think that living in DC (where South means North and sometimes West) would have taught me to be better at directions, but it didn’t.  I just got lost there a lot too.  And ended up in Maryland.  A lot.  This also explains why I do not like the Movie Homeward Bound.  You see, I also had quite the battle against nature in a National Park (Rocky Mountain), but the results were not quite so majestic…also the fact that 2 dogs and a cat have better survival skills than me is embarrassing.

BTW, I haven’t been late to anything since then.

4-5

I think these are pretty self explanatory.  They both cause added frustration.

6-10

Also, I think you get the basic idea.  I have never ridden a bus before and wrongly assumed one hand was enough when attempting to stand and keep my balance.  Dogs are hard to step over when the floors are wet and I’m carrying 3 bags and a coffee mug and the driver starts driving before I’ve gotten the chance to grab a rail.  The dog was not harmed since I only stepped on fur while being thrown backward by the bus and only spilled coffee on myself.  One day, I will go the entire day without wearing my food/drinks.  One day.

What to figure out:

1. How to do a better job keeping track of my to do lists
2. How to work faster/smarter
3. How to sit still
4. How to lower my expectations for how much I THINK I should be able to accomplish in X amount of time
5. How to adjust to feeling stupid most of the time
6. How to make mistakes and move on
7. How to make mistakes and move on

1

I’m pretty sure that I spend half my day jumping around different locations on Blackboard, my downloaded files, my paper files, and my books trying to figure out what I need to do and in which order.  Some things are easier to access directly via Blackboard, but if I don’t download them I have to rely on my apartment complex internet.  So then, I always have to go back to BB and double check that I didn’t miss something new being added.  Also, cross referencing 9 syllabi is no small task.  I definitely need a bigger planner.  I’m thinking of switching to Outlook.  I have used a combination of Google Calendar and a paper planner for the past year or so, but now I’m thinking I need something a little more advanced.  I just started using OneNote a few days ago and that has helped a lot with organizing my typed notes, but I still have a lot to learn.

2

I think this one kind of ties in with a few of the others, but I need to find a way to increase my productivity.  I think once I get the hang of my classes, I will start to improve more.

3

Its incredibly hard for me to sit still.  I find all of my classes extremely interesting.  In fact, a lot of this information is the type of thing I would look up and study in my free time back when I used to be a nine to fiver.  But I’m just such a fidgeter.  Its actually the worst when I’m at home studying by myself.  I’m going to need a lot of study candles.  Again, I think this is something that will get better with time. 

4

I am absolutely clueless as to how long things are going to take me and my estimates have been WAY off.  For example, I thought my Pharmacology reading would take a few hours and it ended up taking me 9.  Granted, I wasn’t just reading- I was also taking notes and answering questions, and quizzing myself- but still.  When I’m wrong on my estimation it stresses me out.  I look at the clock and notice X amount of time has passed and I still haven’t done very much.  Oh NO!  How am I going to read 4 more chapters If I’m not even through 1 yet?  This continues on and keeps interrupting my thoughts.  Then, I get upset that I’m ruining my study time by worrying about studying.  Then, I have to calm myself down and start studying again.  Then, I see the clock.  It is a vicious circle.  And I haven’t really figured out the answer yet.  I need to estimate my study time so that I can properly schedule my time to accomplish everything.  The only thing I know to do now is to try work ahead as much as possible.  But, I’m already doing that.  Hmmmm.

5

I really like exact instructions, but nursing school isn’t about following a step by step manual.  We have to learn to think creatively and independently.  We have to combine our knowledge with common sense.  We have to put ourselves out there and push beyond our comfort zone.  I do not know exactly what I’m doing and I will not for quite some time.  There is no quick remedy for my inadequacies.  That is why I am in SCHOOL.  But the more I learn, the more I realize I DO NOT KNOW and this can be a tad overwhelming.   But I am learning to be okay with that and try to channel it into my motivation.  In one of my classes, the teacher handed out a Highlights drawing where we needed to search for hidden objects.  This was awesome for 2 reasons.  #1.  Because I was all about Highlights when I was a little kid and it brings back happy memories #2.  Because she explained that nursing is like a Highlights puzzle, because you don’t always know what you’re looking for, but you have moments of recognition that steer you in the right direction (like finding a bird made up of a beaver, a rabbit, and a shopping cart). 

6-7

I wrote down this one twice, because I imagine that I will be coming back to read this list pretty soon and will probably need to emphasize this one.  I’m  not going to do everything (anything?) right the first time.  I have many, many firsts ahead of me.  These firsts will have varying degrees of success.  I need to do my best, use what I’ve learned to be better in the future, and move on. 

So these are a few areas I’m going to work on to help myself better adjust to student life.  If you have any advice about Calendars, organizing, or not spilling coffee on yourself, feel free to leave a comment!