my trip to see Jess, Matty and Abby

i drove up to toronto to have a visit with my best friend Jess and my neice and nephew yesterday. being so far away means not being able to see them for months at a time.. so i try and spoil them every chance i get so i can keep my "cool aunt" status for as long as possible... abby got a pair of light up drums that you touch with your hands and they light up and play a catchy tune... and matty got a playskool digital camera that can be dropped and dropped and dropped and will still work. you can take pictures with it, and view them on the display screen and even upload them to your computer. i bought one for hunter a couple of years ago, and he really liked it. plus it should help keep matty from using jess's more expensive digital camera.

i had a really great time with the kids but as usual the time flies by, and now i'm back home. my place is a mess and i have to go and pick up my fed ex package.. i'm hoping its the sweater i ordered from Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.. if you've seen the show whale wars (one of my favourites) they are fighting to save whales from being slaughtered by the japanese. if you haven't seen shark water, or the cove.... i highly recommend them. if only i had millions of dollars to donate to charities all over the world trying to save wildlife... and domesticated animals..

bleeding heart i know.

anyhow, now back to the kiddies: how friggin' cute are they???

road trip!

I'm leaving soon for toronto to go visit jess and the kids..

I can't wait! I'm anxious to see how much abby has changed since the last time i saw her, and of course can't wait to hear some nuggets of wisdom from matty. He told me yesterday to lock my car... very sound advice if you ask me.

I went to dad's yesterday for a visit, and my sister Terri and my nephew hunter were there... hunter is very tall now, and missing a few front teeth... and as handsome as ever.

i love my kidlets.. i just wish i could see them more often.

anyhow, i have to find my camera...

frequent flyer tour

henry rollins was poignant, clever and funny last night at the bronson centre in ottawa, and talked for a mere three hours without even a sip of water.

what stamina!!

he made some digs at ann coulter which i thought were spot on and was happy to hear this morning that the she devil's appearance at the university of ottawa was cancelled thanks to an angry crowd of about 2000 protesters.

i didn't get a photo op this time, as it was well past eleven at night and ross had to work in the morning, so i settled for a signed poster and a tshirt.

can't wait for the next time he rolls into canada on his self proclaimed bon jovi mobile...

i'll be buying tickets.

two nights to go before i'm off for 7 days... and get to see henry rollins in ottawa on tuesday..

can you say stoked??

working nights this week will be much different than last week because i get to work with mandy and kari... girls my age who move at a quick pace, and are a lot of fun.

mandy's bringing in guacomole and i'm bringing in movies.

looks like no one is going to be moved until the fall, and it doesn't look like anyone is being laid off so i'm pretty happy about that. anyway, time to get some laundry and cleaning done.

daylight savings time

don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour saturday night

dog city

one thing i like about living in my apartment, is that it is pet friendly and there is an open field right beside it, that technically is a city park (so it gets mowed regularly) and there is no risk of anything being developed for the dogs to run in....

one thing i don't like about living in my apartment is that there are a lot of asshole dogs and asshole dog owners living around here...

i'm one of the few dog owners that regularly picks up after their dog, the rest just let them shit wherever they want and leave it for me or someone else to accidentally step in.

here is a brief synopsis of my observations....

there is "skinny bad teeth guy that has a parking spot next to mine" and he has two white bishon type dogs that are unkempt and whose leashes are all tangled up and short so they're kind of fused together. not a great walking experience for those two. i named them "vicious" and "a little less vicious".. because that's what they are. they go ape shit anytime another dog is near, and once or twice i've said to the guy, just let them meet and let them work it out, but both times they've bit stella so i don't try that anymore... gracie would rip their heads off if she weren't busy hiding behind stella.

there is "bald crazy eyes" who i don't talk with anymore because he scares me. he has a cute little chihuahua named jackson who gets along well with little dogs like gracie, but hates big dogs like stella. he is one of the few that picks up after his dog. for that he gets points. but every time i've talked with him he's calling one of the people in his building a mother fucker or a stupid bitch or something.... very negative. and crazy, so now i just avoid politely.

there is a new guy whom i've just decided to name "i've retired from being a narc, now i just stare impolitely at people" guy.... he's well past middle age with a little dachshund and he stands in the tree line staring... and his dog stares too. it's very odd behaviour. especially since there are no leaves on the trees and i can see your turquoise jacket and red hat perfectly. it drives my dogs crazy because i have them both on the leash and they want to rush over to say hi.... but i don't let them because they might ruin this guy's special ops, and blow his cover...... what he's looking for, i'm not quite sure...

my neighbor has a little jack russel/cairn terrier mix who is great when he's outside, he's a little butterball and loves playing with gracie and comes when i call him to get some belly rubs... but living next to him is a nightmare... he barks at everything. there is no ninja that could escape his senses... he knows all and smells all and hears all.... other than that i have no problem with him.

the young couple two doors down from me have two great girls named macie and ella... macie is a bordercollie mix and ella is a boston terrier.. they love playing with my dogs and they all run around and have a great time. and the owners pick up their poop... they're great.

there is a girl one floor down and one apartment over who lets her dog shit on her balcony, and doesn't ever clean it up... i mean, ever.... i hope she gets evicted because i can just imagine what else is brewing in that place. i've honestly never seen the dog... so i know she doesn't take it out... it just stays in her apartment all day long..

so there is a run down of some of the really bad and few good dogs/owners that live around here. the one thing i'm afraid of, are the bad dog owners ruining it for the few of us who follow dog etiquette, and eventually the landlord deciding to ban dogs from the building....

lets hope i buy a house before that happens.

i've been a bad bad girl...

i haven't been messing with a delicate man...

i spent the day lounging around watching illegally downloaded movies.

naughty!

chow mein bitches!

i've already changed my mind about the camera...... i don't want it.

after doing more research, i want the more expensive Nikon D90......

hope i win the lottery.

well i made it through my 3 nights over the weekend.. barely.

the old girls were droning on and on last night at feverish speeds and i thought i was going to go awol. I got up and left the nursing station when the one started playing a pavarotti/bryan adams collaboration on youtube....

these are the things i have to put up with.

we have one nurse who is a bit manic (all the time) and i kind of lectured him this morning as a teacher does to a child who is overactive... that i was tired and when it was time for me to give report that he should pay attention and not talk through the whole thing. the good thing about him is that he is very self aware, and realizes sometimes he is disruptive and distracting to other staff.

so he took it with good humour.

and i got to leave at a decent time.

so now i have two days off before working nights again wednesday and thursday... and yipee... i'm working with the old girl again.

enough about work...

i am making a conscious effort to update my blog more regularly, so all three of you who read this get to hear about my mundane happenings. lucky you.

not sure if i'm going to sleep today, i feel like it's a waste of a so-called "day off"

i'm resisting the urge to make a major purchase, because i'm trying to be smart with my money.... here's hoping my will holds up.

http://www.henrys.ca/35900-NIKON-D5000-W-18-105VR-And-55-200VR.aspx

it sure is pretty though!!

nights nights nights

i'm working nights all weekend and really can't wait until tonight is over.

i don't mind nights normally, but i'm working with a couple of old girls who talk all night, move in slow motion, and shirk some of their responsibilities, which i end up picking up, and it can be a bit irritating...

usually when i work nights i come in for 7pm, head to the nursing office, get report, and then we all decide who is going to do what. one person normally pours the meds for all the pts, another one takes the nutrition cart around and the third person pulls down the beds and makes sure there are enough supplies on the cart.

then the round begins... 28 pts to transfer to bed, change their briefs and tuck them in... or restrain them.. some of the pts routinely try to climb out of bed and are a high risk for falls, so we belt them in so that doesn't happen.

sounds easy, but i work in geriatric psychiatry and nothing ever goes as planned. more times than not we have pt's screaming, some are aggressive and it's like a wrestling match trying to get them into bed.

the one old girl i work with a lot has good intentions but sometimes tries to take the "therapeutic approach" when the pt is aggressive, and tends to agitate them more. she attempts to reason with them and explain why they need to go to bed and holds their hands... which is fine if they can comprehend what she is saying.. but she's not very realistic sometimes. and she gets on my nerves because she never learns.... and she's slooooowwwwwwwww. LOL i'm a type A personality for sure. i like to get in, get everything organized, get all the pt's in and then move on to all the paperwork and other jobs we have to do... not take forever to get things done. i guess they call her "turtle" for a reason.

when a confused demented pt is agitated, their mind is racing and it's hard for them to grasp what you're saying. short directions tend to work best, but she drives me crazy when she's droning on and on....

"time to sleep" is what i normally say

"dear i think it's time we go to bed, aren't you tired? do you want to lay down? let's check your pants, here, crawl in.." blah blah blah is what she says...

sometimes i just say "enough!, let's get them in"

and then she speeds up a little. and by a little, i mean a little.

i could tolerate her more, if she was quick... or i had more sleep. LOL.

anyway, it's already time to hop in the shower and get ready for work. and i'm looking forward to being off for a couple of days. i get up at 4pm, and have an hour and a half to enjoy a coffee or two, take the dogs out for a run and get something to eat before getting ready.

ugh.

i really want to see this!

mission organization

so i'm finally done with my spring cleaning for now... the two rooms i focused on were the kitchen and living room since that is where i spend most of my time.

i woke up in a really great mood today... perhaps because i got the day off thanks to unused stat time and a willing part timer agreed to work my shift...

sweet!

the dogs are being super cute this morning too... and the weather is really nice.

it's a glass half full kind of day.

this is what spring cleaning looks like

i'll post after pictures if i ever actually finish.... ugh... why do i do this to myself???