gateslacker: (merlinsmile2TOUPpt1)
 School starts tomorrow! Ack!! Brandon will be a junior! Ack!! Isn't that just crazy???

He's whining about going to school tomorrow. LOL.

I'm whining about having to leave earlier since I go through three different school zones and that's even before I leave the county. Tomorrow will be the trial run to see how many I can avoid by leaving early

I'm kinda glad he's going back because I might see him more. Teenage boy plus girlfriend plus job plus car = a mom who has to schedule an appointment. I told him I feel like his landlord except I'm not getting a nice, fat rent check every month.

I still LOVE my job! The added bonus is that I feel as though I am really helping people even more so than usual because, let's face it, it sure does suck to be uninsured and I feel really bad for these people. It's practicing medicine with one hand tied behind your back.

It's strange. Kindred spirits are hard to come by in "real life". It hardly ever happens. At the moment, three of my fellow NP's are watching and loving Merlin. Go Figure?

I think it's gonna take longer to get used to how short the weekends are, now. I may whinge indefinitely.

But, hey, my exercise regimen has improved since I usually walk for 30 minutes during lunch. I walk outside and, because it's been pretty hot for quite a while, I have had people stop in the middle of a really busy street to ask me if I need a ride. Maybe they are just super nice. Maybe they think Fat girl's gonna fall out. IDK.

Today I really started looking forward to D*C and fun times with friends. Hooray!! But I am lamenting my overall lack of comfortable fannish T-shirts. I say comfortable because I'm not really a fan of the typical T-shirt that almost feels like a turtleneck and long sleeves and that I hardly ever want to wear no matter how much I am fangirling it. Still wish I had something Merlin related.......

I bought a new camera! For years, I've been considering purchasing an SLR but they are sooooo expensive. And cumbersome. And heavy. And there's the general inability to record video. Well, thanks to [livejournal.com profile] archaeologist_d  ,and all her beautiful travel photos (and I'm not just talking about the wonderful boyz pics from filming), I was a total copycat and bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35. It's so light!!! I suspect it weighs about half what my old Canon S3 IS weighs. And certainly less than an SLR would have. That means a lot when you are shlepping all over downtown Atlanta! I am hoping it will be the best compromise of portability and function.

I finally installed MAGIX. And that is about as far as I got. It might be as far as I ever get. The interface is very pretty. Your source material is automatically in the library and easy to find, also very pretty. Having to ask the program to scene detect (clip) and then watch it take an age to do so, not so much. Then you end up with a bazillion "takes" (clips). (Well, not a bazillion, really....my coworker says that I am the absolute Queen of hyperbole...but 400 plus!) Maybe that is actually related to my source material and how I acquired it, as opposed to ripping the episodes from DVD myself. Which also takes an age. On second thought........
gateslacker: (colinwow2)


  •  So, yeah, I was going to go easy on the bullets but since I am going to have to adjust to a whole different amount of free time based on my new schedule, I may have to keep bullet-ting for a bit.
  • But, first things first! Congratulations to [livejournal.com profile] soniag whose first novel, The Revenant came out TODAY! Unfortunately, I am still waiting on my copy to arrive (even though it was SUPPOSED to arrive today. Grrrr).
  • I had a great time this past weekend with my friend C who I met up with in Louisville, KY to attend a Christian women's conference. We used to work together before she moved "up north". I didn't matter that we hadn't seen one another in a year, we babbled on and on the entire weekend. We always had such great times working in the ER together (and have such great stories to rehash!).
  • But, I do so love it when real life and fandom collide (because it so rarely ever does). At one point, I was boasting a bit about my out of character spontaneity by going to Boston to watch a movie. Of course, this being real life, and therefore somewhat separate, I didn't go into any details and resisted the urge to wax poetic about Colin Morgan's cheekbones acting, though of course I was thinking it. Then, later, as we are comparing Netflix instant streaming habits, she asked me if I had "ever watched this show called Merlin"             
*blink*
(cue hallelujah chorus)
 
  • Don't you just love it when that sort of thing happens!?! It gets better. It seems that she, too, is somewhat enamored of CM. But really, who can blame her? The adorableness is, quite frankly, overwhelming. See exhibit A 
 
  • Anyway, it was quite the fun time comparing "what to watch" notes and, now, it seems that I have a "Texting Tudors" watch with C in addition to the Farscape Friday chat that is already ongoing.
  •  If I am going to watch this much TV, I will need to learn new free time management strategies now that I am working the same schedule as the rest of the world. 
  • Speaking of work, even though I am still in paperwork mode, I am getting some good vibes thus far and think I am going to like it. I had a similar "Yay, kindred spirits!" moment when myself and two other NP's got to talking about Anne of Green Gables.
  • We'll see. For the next few weeks, I get to travel to several places and work with different preceptors as part of my orientation. It's a good thing I *finally* bought a GPS device. The only question is is why I didn't make that sort of purchase years ago. So far, I LOVE it. Of course, it hasn't yet instructed me to turn left into a lake or some similar nonsense.
 

*Gulp*

Feb. 18th, 2011 02:34 pm
gateslacker: (iamafish)
 
I have worked some extra hours this week so I haven't been about. I can tell from my f-list that I have missed loads of cool, fun things, including birthdays, travel news, wonderful new fic recs, and scads of drool-worthy photos. Perhaps I can remedy that this weekend at some point.

Yesterday's brutal workday has bled into this one, even though I am off. There didn't seem to be enough coffee on the planet to get me motivated. However, after checking my e-mail, I saw that I had received a notice from the ANCC and OMG!!!! I now have an actual, bona fide test date.

***is now in full-blown panic mode***

One of my all time favorite quotes from Red Dwarf (and also my e-mail tagline) has never been more appropriate.

Lister: "Hey, it hasn't happened, has it? It has `will have going to have happened' happened, but it hasn't actually `happened' happened yet, actually."
Rimmer: "Poppycock! It will be happened.It shall be going to be happening. It will be was an event that could will have been taken place in the future. Simple as that. Your bucket's been kicked, baby."

ETA:

GULP!! But in an entirely different way. Oh, how the THUNK can take your mind off things....

Colin Morgan (Carlos). Photo by Johan Persson
gateslacker: (colinB&Wdemure)
 Happy Belated Holidays!!

I haven't posted in a bit and I am not sure why, other than the business that came with graduation and the holiday. I never even got my tree put up this year and only really felt the Christmas spirit on Christmas day! I have also picked up some extra days at work since school is out and I could always use the money, especially considering the huge amount I am going to be out over the next couple of months.

Graduation went well and I am so relieved to have that bit over with, even though there is still much to do. I haven't submitted my application for certification because APSU apparently has a wonderfully long Christmas break that is unheard of in other working sectors. It must be a school thing. Anyway, they notified me at 5pm last Wednesday that my sealed transcripts were ready and that I could pick them up the next day. Naturally, I had to work the next day and the 12 hour shift meant that, nope, I wouldn't be picking them up. Of course, Friday was the 24th and after e-mailing them of my intention to pick them up today, I learned that they won't be back till after January 2nd. Such is the complication of a December graduation. And since I have a review course in Memphis Jan 3-5, Jan 6th will be the first day I can pick them up.

What does this mean? It means that I won't be submitting my application till sometime after January 6th and I have no idea how long it takes for them to assign me a test date/testing center and it could be mid February or later before I can even test! I hadn't planned on worrying about job searching until after I pass the test (Please, oh please!) but I have had three different potentially interested parties/job offers which makes me a little more anxious about delays and whatnot. I don't want to lose out as two of these potential, possible soon to be job offers are two places I would like to work. On the positive side, it gives me more time to study, which I need to do as I haven't cracked open a book since graduation.

Add that anxiousness to the apprehensiveness I feel about  my upcoming "role change" anyway and it makes for a fair amount of stress. I like being an "expert" and dread the awkwardness and uncertainty that comes with being the "novice" again.

Argh!

Ah well. I don't often meme but I rather liked this one that I nicked from [livejournal.com profile] archaeologist_d . It was a fun distraction.


Fannish year, 2010 meme )
gateslacker: (arthursword)

In between prolonged bouts of fanfic reading, I have been reminiscing in the form of reading old LJ posts. It is hard to believe that I have been posting since November of 2004! I'm only up to August 2006 with this review and I have already learned that many of my posts from way back when are thematically the same as they are now. I suppose that reflects the way things change but really stay the same. It also makes me think that there are some topics I just need to finally get over and just shut up about! I also discovered how much I tend to forget. There are movies that I talked about enjoying that, now, I cannot even remember seeing! I was also able to see that vidding went by the wayside when I started grad school. So that is what happened. Duh!

On July 27, 2006 I posted this "Well, I have been accepted. Oi!! Do I really want to do this???? (worried about my negligible self-discipline in relation to an online course of study)"

Wow! And here I am, about to embark upon my last semester. It seems like a verrrry long time to complete a Master's degree but I did sit out one semester and, with one exception, did not attend during the summer. I had to work full time for most of it and there was just no real way around that.

I also unwittingly predicted a few things. Surly teenager was one of them. Yep, he's arrived. It was nice to read about a sweeter, less surly Brandon. Another that made me laugh was when I posted about how I (initially) disliked Ellen Tigh and hoped she was a Cylon so they could shove her out an airlock. Hee! All the BSG fans know how that turned out. Funny how much my opinion of both Tigh's changed as the series progressed.

In light of my current Merlin obsession, this entry made me giggle

I finally managed to watch King Arthur last week. I know this movie has been out for ages and ages. What can I say? It seems that I will see movie previews that I am interested in seeing but since I don't really have the opportunity to get to the theater all that often, I actually forget what I wanted to see. So, when I saw that this was being shown on one of my free movie channels I said, "Didn't I  want to see this?" and recorded it. That was several weeks ago and it was only last week that I watched. And Gee whiz, I do believe that Clive Owen is THE most striking Arthur I have ever seen! I couldn't keep my eyes off him. Yowza!!! 

Sorry, Clive, you have been usurped by Bradley James!!!! (Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] archaeologist_d for the original, de watermarked image...which I only tweaked a bit)



Yowza, indeed!! Who could possibly resist that glorious pout?!?

 (I know I blather on and on about how wonderful Colin Morgan is but, truly,  Bradley hasn't totally escaped my notice! :D )

I wonder just how long LJ archives these posts. I also wonder how one backs them up because I would like to save them in case the archiving stops after a certain period of time.


gateslacker: (coffee is out)

Three post in as many days. What is up with that? It's likely more of a side effect of sitting the summer out to save money. However, that means that what I have to say can't be too terribly interesting. Usually, that is enough to stop me from posting. Not this summer, it seems.

Brandon is off to church camp. I might have gone with except that I work tomorrow. That's the way it usually works out. How is it that I can work every other Saturday and somehow manage to hit the fun times? But, I probably could use a break from him since I frequently want to smack him upside the head. Though, not so much this week. Either he has been less annoying or I have been less likely to be annoyed.

After I dropped him off I headed to Paris Landing to prove to myself that I would actually go without him. Since it is a little bit out of the way, I figure that if it's just me it isn't really worth the trip. Well, it was worth it.  It was another scorcher (high of 96 but heat index of 105..or so the weather report said it would be) but the water was perfect. When it is this hot, I typically get wet first before trekking around the park. Still, it was pretty hot and I was sweating buckets by the end and giving thanks for anti-diuretic hormone for keeping the balance. Handy hormone, that.  (see what happens when you study!).

Still, the workout has taken a hit these past couple of weeks. It could all be remedied by me being able to just get out and go early in the morning. But, I am not really a morning person though I can fake it pretty well. I don't think I could really drag a pot of coffee and a bottle water on an early morning trek....LOL. No, my optimal exercise time is midday which isn't very handy. And I wonder again at equivalencies. Are two days with an hour or more each day the same as four days with 30 minutes each day? See how I begin to rationalize. And it's partially for naught since I am such a pig. Sure, I have disassociated weight loss from exercise but it would still be nice.

That reminds me of shift report the other day when we were talking about an 80 year old patient who just would not eat and we were discussing strategies. It dawned on me, and  then I had to say it,  that I am going to be royally pissed if, after trying not to eat my entire life,  I finally lose my appetite when I am 80! Of course that degenerated into jokes of me calling the nurses station at 5am, reminding them that it was time for my am weight and to hurry up about it. (Seriously, I know it serves a real, medical purpose but who wants to be awakened at 5am and be told that it is time to be weighed!)

Leverage continues to entertain and I am still loving Hardison the mostest even if Eliot is a total hottie. I lurve all his fight scenes!
gateslacker: (merlinarthurwhitebck)

It's Movie Tuesday so what are we going to see today?  Brandon wants to see The Last Airbender as he used to watch the cartoon all the time. I know nothing about it. Could it actually be a situation where he is one up on me on the geek level? Nah. Not posible. Still, I have read some crap reviews.  I don't always let reviews steer me away from movies because I've liked LOADS of movies that critics have panned. But, there seems to be a consensus on this one. Still, the fault finding shouldn't be much of an issue with me as I know nothing about this series.

The review course is going well. I am impressed as I fully expected to be bored to tears while listening to and from work but she is a really good teacher. Her analogies stick with me.  I really loved her analogy of the bone marrow as the body's air traffic controller. Thus far, I have been relieved at how much I do know and how many answers I get right. However, I haven't got to those areas where I feel I am weak. *cough* musculoskeletal *gag* skin. I hope I'm not being lured into a false sense of confidence and security.

My favorite ER doc who is leaving in September (boo) would like me to come work for him as his nurse whereby I could transition to the NP role when his practice is built up. In many ways that would be an ideal situation because I could learn and transition gradually instead of feeling thrown into it. It wouldn't take long for his practice to grow because he is smart, knows what the heck he is doing, and patients love him. He's the one who helped me see that altering my stride when I am walking for exercise would help with the lateral ankle/nerve pain that always plagues me and slows me down. I did what he said and he was right! It felt awkward at first but it has helped immensely. I would LOVE to join him as we get along well and he is always teaching and challenging me when we get to work together. Alas, the practice is in Mayfield, KY and I still  have to meet the requirements of the scholarship I took. I told him I may be on his doorstep one day and he better not be all, "Glenda who?".

I was really excited to hear about this news about Comic Con. I have never wanted to be there more! And don't I wish it was Dragon*Con instead!
gateslacker: (Merlin)

I escaped my strange, ongoing hermitude today in order to head to Clarksville to see Toy Story 3. It was good and I even shed a few tears during the film. Thankfully, the 3D glasses hid them well..LOL. I had invited a friend in my choir group to come with because I have observed how infrequently I make an actual effort to make new friends other than coworker friends.  She is my age and I do believe she is a genre girl, too, so that was a pleasant surprise. Afterwards, we perused the bookstore and I bought two Terry Pratchett books. People have been telling me for ages that I would like the Discworld books. However, are they to be read in order? There wasn't any definitive way to tell because when I looked at the inside covers of various books, I would see two different listing orders? Is it one of those things where it doesn't really matter? Anyway, I decided on Making Money and Mort. Not sure why other than Making Money was listed first on most of the inside covers and Mort just sounded interesting. Have I totally messed up with regard to chronology?

When I got home, I discovered in my mailbox the CD's and handbook for an NP review course. I have a very generous friend and fellow student because this set would have cost me $289 had I purchased it on my own. What a totally nice thing to do! She recently took her certification exam and passed and she tells me that this review course really helped her. So, for the next 6-8 months, my plan is to listen to them on the way to and from work and when school starts for Brandon (and the pool closes) I am going to set aside one or two days a week to head to the library and study. I had intended this to be my summer of study but have now revised it to my August of study because I am literally eat up with the lazy...LOL.

I am back into Burn Notice. Like Lost, my interest in this show waxes and wanes and it was one of those times where I had left last season's finale on my DVR forever and was able to watch finale and premiere episodes back to back. That works pretty well for me sometimes. It can be such an exciting show and I wonder why I let them pile up. Probably too much going on at the time.

Still Merlin obsessed and looking forward to being able to see The Last Dragonlord on 42 ince widescreen...LOL (Since I have only watched it on the computer a half dozen times). I haven't mentioned some of the great episodes over the past few weeks because, well, even though this is my own journal for chronicling the yawnfest that is my life and the very word journal should imply that I would write about these things whether anyone was interested or not,  it seems silly to post about something for which no one else has the least modicum of interest or will want to read. Yet, still I post. That's where obsession comes in, you see. And it is an obsession of Stargate SG-1 proportions even if I don't quite understand exactly why my fanzeal has reached that level.

Merlin stuff for the (hopefully) interested. )

And, of course, I have to post the facebook recap of The Fires of Idirsholas.

Favorite bit of the recap

Gaius: You didn't have a choice, Merlin. You saw how dark her eyeliner was getting. Once she moved from charcoal to black onyx, it was only a matter of time before she axe-murdered us all.

Heeeee!

BTW, [livejournal.com profile] de23  I have Netflixed season one of Leverage.

Ah, Summer

Jun. 3rd, 2010 02:19 pm
gateslacker: (BBThee)

Yesterday, I was able to head to Paris Landing and it was glorious! A great, albeit warm walk. Sun. Water. (Contented sigh).  Since it has been pretty warm, the water didn't freeze me to death. Typically, it is mid June before I am able to stand it. While there, I started a new book, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and it has been a bit of a slow go. Fanfiction has forever ruined me with regard to story pacing. Hopefully, it will become a page turner soon.

I hope to head out again tomorrow. I can't today as I signed up to donate blood this prevening (3:45pm and thanks to Sheldon Cooper for that new word. He's right. It does fulfill a real need in differentiating afternoon from evening...LOL)

I also happened across some of the funniest fandom related articles I have ever seen at thetorchonline.com. They are facebook style ep recaps for Merlin, series two. After reading them, I wish I could find them for some of my other fave shows. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I laughed till I cried!!!

I am going to provide the link. If you want to read them in the series order, you have to scroll down. Be warned, the recap for Friday's 'Lady of the Lake' is at the top of the list so, spoilers...sortof. Let me know what you think. I like to share the hilarity.

HILARIOUS!!!!!
gateslacker: (Merlin)

Rain and reality )Of course, some may wonder how I have found time for my second topic...fantasy, namely The SHOWS! I can only say that as I have become older, I have been unable to study after 8pm. Seriously, nothing puts me out faster than reading a textbook after 8! So, I spent that time with my favorite forms of escape. And with regard to my beloved fantasy forms, it really has been all about poignancy and heartbreak.

Fantasy (somewhat spoily for Fringe/SGU/Merlin )SGU and now Merlin raise an issue I have been internally debating. The casts for these shows are, for the most part, twenty somethings. As a woman in her 40's, at what point does fannish devotion to younger characters, even if they aren't teenagers, become sort of pervy and pathetic? (Assuming that previous or existing fannish devotions weren't already pathetic...LOL)  As we grow older, it is only going to get worse, I think. Any thoughts?
gateslacker: (danielteddy)

I am "away" for a few days and the place runs amok with posts regarding just about everything. From Threads to Pride and Prejudice...Can I ever hope to reply to it all??? It has been such a long time since I read Pride and Prejudice that practically only the names sound familiar. And I haven't seen this production everyone is raving about. I may have to check that out in my spare time *snort*.

I had a very productive weekend. Finally managed to clean this desk off in the computer room. I hate clutter and it was way over due. I have books lying about with very few places to put them. I need to clean out the book shelf to make room because I ordered another book. It is the second book in a series from Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter (rapidly becoming a favorite author). The series started in Time's Eye which I highly recommend. Of course, I am wasting my time as no one ever really reads anything i recommend...LOL! Sunday was a busy day with church and a youth fundraiser/basketball game, Youth VS. Geezers, which I renamed "It's all fun and games till someone breaks a hip!". Fortunately, the geezers won with their hips and other body parts intact. Then, I went to visit my aunt who, unfortunately, has pancreatic CA, one of the those cancers with the most dismal prognosis. I have never seen anyone with Pancreatic Ca last very long but since I don't know all the particulars about her cancer, I won't be making any predictions.

Gotta have a work rant )


On death and dying )

April 2016

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