Life as Lizzie

i work again 3-11 today, but until then... i plan on listening to this unbearably obnoxious song (whose artist/title i will not disclose) until my brain and ears can't take it any longer. also: now that i am the owner of the deluxe 3-disc edition of twilight, i may watch one of the extra discs... or maybe just the whole darn movie. we'll see.

work better be an improvement upon yesterday. really. it got better toward the end of the night, and i had a good chat with laurie who happened to be on our unit yesterday (yay!). i also made fun of todd for his earlier hostility, which he seemed to get a kick out of. plus, louise was there, and i just love her. she makes me not miss mel and marlo so much (my great nurses from day shift). 

and so: let the stupid songfest begin!

My first day of 3-11 went well, considering I had a sore throat and a 101.2 fever. 

As for the weekend... We put up our big Christmas tree on Saturday. We were supposed to go and see Thursday, because I had already bought tickets, but neither of us really felt like it... so we went and saw New Moon instead! I was thrilled, obviously, and Kevin really liked it, so that worked out great. I wasn't liking the idea of jumping into a pit filled with hundreds of people and coming home sweaty and cold. It snowed that night, too! It was a very pretty drive back to our shabby little apartment.

We had a great time on Sunday with Josh & Kit visiting-- they watched Leon: The Professional (a favorite of mine, thanks to Aaron) while I made dinner, then we played Catchphrase and nearly died laughing about it. About halfway through that, we took a dinner break and then went down to see Lights on the Lake.

Lights on the Lake is a couple mile long Christmas (or should I say, holiday, because they tossed a random Hanukkah group of lights in there) lighting display, along Onondaga lake. People out here get very excited about this, but seeing as we all live(d) out in western MA, home of Bright Nights in Forest Park, it's not actually even good. Bright Nights puts on an amazing show, and if you ask me, the one we saw here can't compete. 

Upon our return, we played some more Catchphrase (what can I say, it was a hit!) and then decided it was probably time for bed. Kit took a shower and we got their air mattress blown up and fitted with sheets/blankets/pillows.  Winnie came in and slept with us (she has been doing much better since the last post-- one accident, but she does much better with tons of attention).

Kevin's alarm went off sometime early in the morning, maybe 4:30? Kit came in around 7 to say goodbye, and I was still pretty comatose. I woke up around 9 to a very very sore throat. I checked my temperature, which was about 98.9, no biggie. Hours later, around 1:30 or 2pm, it was 101.2. It was late enough that I wouldn't bother calling into work. Cassy and I rode in together and the shift went fine.

Came home last night to find Kevin making me tea, and he had the Vitamin C tablets out for me  :)  We watched an episode and a half of Seinfeld before deciding it was bedtime, and we went to sleep. He's been working like crazy to make up for the job he lost (and by 'he lost,' I more mean, 'they took from him.' Seems more appropriate.)

I can't believe that on Christmas Eve, we'll have been married for 4 months. It feels like it's been longer than that. Maybe 'cause the move to New York seems like the beginning. Maybe 'cause we were always so serious about each other. I don't know what it is, but it makes me happy. Anyway, I have Christmas Eve off from work, so I'm looking forward to that.

I am not looking forward to work tonight, just 'cause my body feels like it's... I can't find an appropriate comparison. It just feels BAD. I secretly hope I have strep, because I want my tonsils out so badly (look up tonsiloliths and you'll see what the issue is), maybe one more positive strep test would get it taken care of... Anyway, we'll see.

I know a few things about tomorrow:

1. My dear friend Rob will be joining me on the back hall at work! I am thrilled about this because even if the day somehow is shot to hell, he usually makes a point to try to improve my mood, whether it involves doing little things for me (like making a bed or two that I haven't had time to get) or hurling disgustingly kind words at me (flattery to the point I become nauseated), or just being a moron to get a chuckle from me. Also: It's a non-shower day, so things should be less hectic than normal for me (like today!). We'll see. In any case, we work very well as a team, and get both our assignments done pretty quickly so... three cheers for a good outlook.

[Nicole, my usual back hall partner, is very fast but she's a little rough, and sometimes I find it unsettling. Also, she's very pregnant, which not only creeps me out (sorry, I'm more afraid of pregnant women than even my crippling fear of spiders) but it makes her moody. And things are bad at home for her, so she's usually kind of withdrawn lately. Still, we ARE friends and DO chatter a lot. I like her lots, but I am looking forward to Rob's company for the day. Some change is good.]

2. Lights on the Lake opens tomorrow from 5-9pm for dogs to walk through with their humans. We are planning on bringing Winnie to this event, provided I can layer enough clothing to keep warm for the 2 miles of walking. Should be interesting. We went through the whole thing with everyone last year (in a car, mind you) and it was good and awkward. Everything while we were staying with Nana & Pop was awkward. Yeah, ask me about that sometime. Ugh.

3. We'll have been married 3 months as of tomorrow. Why does it feel like it's been so much longer? Maybe because we've both been so incredibly stressed out? Probably. It feels like it's been forever. Maybe because we were so serious about everything. Right off the bat, I knew he was just It. You know, The One Everyone Is Looking For? Yeah, I found him, and I knew it.

I remember one night, the first time we went anywhere alone, after work. It was over to a place by our houses, just to get some ice cream. We talked forever, and I've never been stuck in what can only be described as an eye-lock with anyone like that. For a good hour, we just talked, and stared. It wasn't awkward, like I feel it should have been, thinking back on it. That was the night that I knew I really really oh my gosh, like this guy, and what do I do next? (Yes, those were my thoughts.)

I think it was November, may have been early December, of 2007 when I told my mother, "He's the one, Mom." She didn't know what to say, I could tell, but her response ended up being, "You know, I sort of expected that. I think you're right." He rode his bike 40 miles to surprise me at my grandparents' house one night, with flowers, while I was visiting them on a weekend away from Keene. He rode his bike 7 miles to my house in the pouring rain before work to give me a CD he made me. He took me out to Otis on the jet ski to get my mind off my problems with my parents that summer. We talked out on the dock for hours, about anything and everything. He drove me to Keene for move-in day, and it was a horrible goodbye. He hiked Monadnock with me while we skipped class. He drove up from home nearly EVERY day (not even kidding-- he put 100,000 miles on his car in a matter of MONTHS) after class, would spend the night, and leave in the morning for work. His first night over, he slept totally in his clothes and was very very shy. He ran out on the quad with me at night and we set off tons of Diet Coke explosions with the help of Mentos. He used to hide notes around my room for me to find later, while he was back home, when I was missing him.  He'd bring flowers some mornings when I'd meet him out front of Huntress.

Now I'm just rambling and reminiscing... It's been real. You know, my favorite part of loving Bella and Edward from Twilight is noticing the parallels between the movie/book and my own life. I saw a shirt that said "Edward Cullen has ruined it for the mortal men out there." In my Bear's case, I couldn't disagree more. I'm pretty darn lucky. We're pretty happy together, and who can complain about that?! 

Grin!

Horrible day. Won't even write about it.

Still, you should know: the nurse responsible for the other day's "situation" was fired.

I put in a request to switch to the 3-11 shift ASAP, preferably the open spot on my current unit.

If I get switched, I will buy more scrubs. If not, I will apply for other jobs.

I hope that my wrist tattoos [And I will fear no evil / For my God is with me / And if my God is with me / Whom then shall I fear?] come in handy when I face my unit manager next at work...

I missed 4 calls from her today, because I left my phone at home while Kevin & I were out and about all day. Two girls from work called to inform me that she "rewrote" Karen's statement from yesterday's events, to protect Lori.

I'll be damned if I change mine for anyone. I might lose my job over this. I'd rather lose my job than cover up something like that, for someone who has caused me so much frustration without a second glance. My residents deserve better than that, and I deserve better than that. If it comes to it, I'm leaving.