Home Sick for the Weekend

Whew College in the Fall of 2009 is absolutely nuts! Swine flu, OB clinical, & Psych are taking over my life!

I had to miss a soccer game and practice (quite unfortunate because I was SO looking forward to them both!) -and today's Michigan game- to go home last night for potential swine flu. One of the eight girls in my clinical came down with the flu (yay H1N1!) and I started getting sick two days ago. Didn't want to risk getting my roommates sick, so I went home for the night. It's been quite an entertaining weekend. My mom blocked off the bathroom with signs saying "STOP! DO NOT USE!" (It is now my personal bathroom) and there is a huge bottle of hand sanitizer near my door. Anyone that comes in or out has to use it. She bought two thermometers (spending over $50 on them!) to check for fever, and got a bunch of DayQuil, NyQuil, Thermaflu, and Cold-Eeze. I wasn't allowed to touch anything except the things in my room (which I'm sure will be Lysoled before I leave) and my mom has been the only one to come in my room (everyone else is too afraid). So far my fever hasn't come back though so we're hoping it's just a really bad cold and not H1N1 flu. At least I'm allowed downstairs now! Oh, not to mention potential ovarian cysts. But we'll see! I've got quite a few interesting symptoms that don't really go together. God just loves to keep things interesting!

Now I'm sitting at home with cups of Thermaflu and Cold-Eeze trying to get rid of whatever this is, while simultaneously watching a movie with my mom and trying to finish the mountains of homework due Monday. And yet, I feel like I could sleep for the next 5 days and still wake up tired. Obviously I'm having trouble focusing on homework. In all fairness, I did write a paper today. Next I have to do a medication care plan and notecards (which took like 20 hours last weekend). At least I have nothing to do tomorrow except help my uncle with math! =) Not to mention the steak dinner my parents are feeding me.

Yay for being sick after the first week of class!

Welcome to the First Week of Junior Year

This was an absolutely crazy week. Welcome to the life of a Nursing student, I suppose!

Monday was a holiday this week, but in the future it will be 6am-12pm psych clinical (with little kids!) and 3-8:30pm psych clinical with grownups.

Tuesday was quite busy too as I went to 7am Mass, then class all day, followed by volunteering at the Children's hospital and a Students for Life meeting until late evening. Starting next week I'll be in OB clinical from 6:30am-3:30pm with babies!!

Wednesday was 7am Mass, class all day, buying Coursepacks, volunteering, and studying at the library with Sarah until late.

Today was better. =) I couldn't go to Mass because my 8am class is a 40 minute walk away & starts promptly at 8. It was an interesting class though. I got to feed people baby food. Woohoo! Then it was time for the Exam of Death. If we didn't get an A on it, we were kicked out of the Nursing school. (Yay!). We passed though!! (By we, I mean my friend Sarah & I). Surviving the nursing school for at least another day...

After the exam I worked the Festifall table for Students for Life & then went to class again. After class people came over & we watched fun TV shows while doing online homework. Then it was time for the soccer game!!!

I absolutely love those soccer games. I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much more this year as opposed to last year, but it's what I look forward to every week. And when I say "look forward to" I mean REALLY look forward to it. We have a lot of younger people on the team, which is fun because I'm meeting all sorts of people. But the girls haven't changed (still Jill Liz Patty & me) which is nice, because I know them relatively well now.

Not to mention that the past few weeks of running and training have apparently done wonders for my soccer skills. Not that I'm very good (I'm still a goalie at heart) but the guys actually pass to me quite regularly now, and my shots are actually hard and on goal! I'm not sure if it's that the (now ex) boyfriend isn't on the team, so I'm not as nervous, or if it's just natural improvement, or if it's just that my self esteem has really truly grown THAT much in the past 2 months... but I actually feel confident when I'm going to shoot a ball. And I LOVE playing!!! Ah such a stress reliever. And a great workout!

I was so pumped after the game that I went for a run with one of the roommates. We went 2 miles at 8 min/mile (conversation pace). It was great! I usually hate running with people, but we had a great time. We did a good ab workout afterwards. Getting closer to my fitness goals! =) I'm quite excited.

Completing #28: Go skydiving.

So it's official. I've crossed off #28 and lived to tell the tale! Not only that, but the 72 year old Morality teacher survived too!

Got up early & got ready... went to Kyle's to sell my ticket... drove to Monroe. Met Kelsey Sags Wick & Lauwers at SMCC and headed to Tecumseh. We signed our lives away on a massive legal document and waited for our turn. =) It took forever, so we got some McDonald's and played with the skydiving baby (Sophia). Eventually they called us into the back room and stuck us in harnesses and pretty parachute pants. We met our videographers, did a few interviews, and met our tandem guys (aka the guys we were going to be strapped to). Kelsey met a Clamdiggers guy that followed her around... he ended up giving her a gift certificate for Clamdiggers. Good times. =P Finally the plane came round & we loaded up!

Jumping out of a plane is interesting. While in the plane, you get strapped to your guy. This has the potential to be a very awkward situation. They put you between their legs and strap themselves to you. Then they pull you up on their lap and tighten things up. Hands go in places that they should neverrrr be (especially on the day you meet). Luckily Ian & I got along and had a good time... else that would not have gone over well with me. Anyway, once you're all strapped up and they've successfully manhandled your chest straps and inner thigh harness pieces, they carry you. Or, at least, Ian carried me. Mr. Lauwers walked to the door of the plane... Ian told me "put your feet on my butt" -- which was more difficult than you'd think! -- and he carried me to the door. I wasn't touching the ground when we jumped either. I'm not sure if that's to avoid me chickening out at the last minute, or just because it made him seem more macho, but that's what we did. =P

It was quite cold up that high. But it was so fun that I didn't even mind. In fact, I didn't really notice it until the parachute went up and Ian asked if I was cold. Haha. Go figure. But it was SO fun! You free fall for a while... once you hit 200 miles per hour, they put up a mini white chute to slow you to about 130. Then they pull the regular parachute and you fly around. Ian let me drive the chute for awhile... quite difficult but amazingly fun. Not to mention the AMAZING weather we were blessed with! I might be addicted to this whole skydiving thing... which is bad, because it's quite an expensive habit. (Good thing my dad's a pilot! Maybe he'll drive the plane for me!). It's SO amazing to just float up there like that!

When you land, you have to hold your legs up as though you're sitting on the ground (because that's what they want to happen when you land). Good thing I've been working on my abs! =)

Basically the most amazing thing I've ever done. I wanna go again!!!

The Adventures of Settling In

Well, my room is just about officially done. We finished arranging the living room and finally have a shower curtain, complete with rubber ducks.

It's been a great week though. We moved in Tuesday morning and spent the day unpacking. Wednesday I had my dentist appointment and spent the day in Monroe. Thursday was babysitting & a bonfire with C. I expected that to be awkward, given that we are now both ex's of the same guy, but it was really fun! We have a lot more in common than I expected. I'm glad I'm more outgoing now, else I probably wouldn't have had the courage to go.

Speaking of that, I have become quite an adventurous girl in the past 2 months. On my 20th birthday something changed. I'm not sure what it was, but my self confidence went from -23472 to a positive number. =) I found what makes me happy and am sticking to it. Before June 30th, I never would have considered skydiving. I never would have gone to C's house for a bonfire. I never would have decided to train for a triathlon, and I wasn't as happy and outgoing as I am now. Thank God for unanswered prayers!

As for the craziness of college life... I wish we had more time before classes start. I have three more days and I have no idea when I'm going to get everything done! Tomorrow I'll be in Tecumseh and Monroe all day, Sunday is the Miles Christi picnic, and Monday is a holiday. Sometime in there I've got to buy my course packs, figure out where I'm going on Tuesday, write a paper, study for The Exam (if I don't get an A, I'm kicked out of my nursing classes), hang out with Jade, etc etc etc. Too much to do!

Today was nice though. Last night was girls' night, and although we ended up arranging furniture and discussing all of our potential boyfriends instead of watching Little Miss Sunshine, we had a great time. (We felt very high school). This morning the Comcast guy came and gave us cable/internet (quite exciting). I drove one of the girls home and went grocery shopping & to KMart to get a wireless router. Set that up (tried to be all techy... it apparently worked!) and then went to the pool for an afternoon of meeting people in the apartment complex. =) Then I visited my brother and went babysitting. Quite an eventful, relaxing day.

Last night was the first soccer game of the season. I love that team. =) I'm so glad J asked me to play -- I didn't realize how much I missed soccer until I played last night! Looks like we'll be better this season too - hooray!

Duty calls - the 3 year old threw up and I get to go play nurse. (Poor little guy).

Goodbyes & Fresh Beginnings

Go figure. I moved out yesterday and already I'm back home. Just for the day though... dentist appointment before the semester started. No cavities, mom! =)

It's been an eventful day. First I woke up really confused, forgetting where I was. Then I remembered, but realized I was really cold because I left my window open all night and apparently it was quite the chilly night! Anyway, went to Monroe for my dentist appointment, unpacked some bins & such that I brought back home, and then reloaded the car. Who would have thought that there would be an entire carful of stuff left to bring back! I loaded up my bike, two bins that fit under my bed, a bunch of board games (for our weekly game night!), a few care packages from my grandparents for my brother & I, and my turtle.

About that turtle.

His name is Usasem (although if you ask my neighbor's niece, the turtle's name is "Sassy" and it's a girl). Usasem, the real name, stands for United Soccer Association of South Eastern Michigan. (He was my team's mascot). He's been through a lot. He was adopted from a parking lot or something of the sort by my biology teacher in high school. She forgot about him and left him in a box for an entire summer. She found him, and thinking he was dead, asked me to go dispose of him and his brother. His brother was rotted out of his shell, but this little guy wasn't. So I checked and sure enough, he was breathing. So I adopted him! My freshman year roommate dropped him a few times, my friend Sarah threw him across the room on accident, and he's fallen off a table or two. But he's still alive!

Today just added to his miseries. I left him in the car. I completely forget that I'd packed him up... and I went to lunch with my mom for an hour, visited my Morality teacher (who I'm skydiving with!) & my soccer coach for two hours at school, went to my grandparents' for an hour... I hope that turtle lives to see his new home in Ann Arbor!!!

Anyway, I'm at home in Monroe typing this up because my apartment doesn't have internet this week. Hopefully we'll get that set up soon! In the meantime, I'll be playing in my first soccer game of the season, babysitting some of the cutest kids ever, skydiving, and organizing the apartment - such joyous events!

Life is good. =)