Finally A Day OFF!

I am really starting to appreciate my 12 hour shifts and three days off I use to have back in the states. Here we work 6 days a week with one day off.  And let me tell you that day goes fast. I usually have Sundays off but they were holding a class for some people so I worked Sunday and had off Monday.  I tried to do everything too and my lil day off. I worked out with my trainer, went to get my hair touched up. The salon here is off the hook, its amazing how Kuwait is really a transient work place for many people around the world. For example the ladies that worked in the salon. Most of them had came here from Ethiopia (shout out to Chrissy!!) and Camroon Nigeria. By the way Ethiopian woman are beautiful I was just admiring their skin and bone structure and eyes very distinctive.  So i digress. But they leave their families to work here. So for 50 dollars they took the front section of my braids out, washed and conditioned my entire head, massaged my scalp, blew it dry, rebraided the front and then dipped and crinkled it all over in two hours! I was like wow that is great. Then I went to another beauty shop that was owned by people of asian decent ( i don't want to offend but I can't tell the difference between chinese, Vietnamese, korean or  what so I will categorize by using of asian decent)  and they do massages, pedicures, manicures, eyebrows, and facials. So I got my eyebrows down and they don't use was they do the threading technique which was interesting I did get it down in maryland before (thanks Trina)  and it hurt like hell but it wasn't so bad this time. I researched it a little bit and they said it is better than waxing because waxing leads to less elasticity around your eye area and will give you "crows feet" and saggy eye leads.  I didn't venture out and get my feet done because we take care of a lot of people with ingrown toe nails and cellulitis. I want to by my own supplies and take them there first before  I venture out on that. Then I went to the pool and when the water was as hot as it was outside and it felt like I was taking a warm bath I went back to my area and called myself taking a nap which lead to me being up at 0300 my time 2000 your time. So anyway I feel good about getting out doing me on my day off. 

Praise Report

So yesterday or maybe two days ago I lose track of time on night shift. We were hurrying to get things ready for day shift because they come in at 0615 to check the charts and then our report starts at 0630, so I am ready I got all my charts in front of me and read to go.  So you know ole girl i wrote about a couple of post ago, who just makes my skin boil, she still be having lil smart comments and what not to say out her mouth. Well I am like okay ladies do you want to check charts first or go to report? Well she says "Well thats why we are here at 0615" very matter of factly and sarcastic!! Well I went off, I didn't ask for the smart remark I just asked a simple question do you want to check charts or get report!!! So she is trying to cut me off like LT Reynolds, LT Reynolds!! Now I know i keep going because my boiling point had been reached. Well in retrospect I realize I let my temper and emotions get the best of me, because I was out of line snapping on her in front of the corpsmen (enlisted members) and our dept head walked in on the tail end. But I just snapped.  

Well low and behold I had been praying since I had the run in with her and the starbucks situation. And wouldn't you know she is being transferred to another base in kuwait.. SHE IS LEAVING I will not have to work with her anymore starting like mid September.  TELL ME GOD KNOW S JUST WHAT YOU CAN HANDLE!    But I also realized I was out of line and did pull her aside to apologize for going off on her at the nursing station. I explained to her that her comments are offensive and unnecessary. She admitted with being very sarcastic and understanding how people don't receive it will and may take it personal. I said it may be okay when you are around you homegirls or close friends, but not at work!  So we have an understanding and all is well. LIFE!

PICS

These are pics of the bus stop you wait at to go to one area of the base to the next. Me getting ready for work and slimming down look how flat my tummy is getting.  Me and the rock of our american flag, we are not allowed to have one hanging here.  EMF stands for Expeditionary Medical Facility.  Me pulling that anchor to shore. LOL

Patient diagnosis

I have actually been busy doing what I love taking care of patients. It has been busy this week with an influx of patients getting knee scopes to dehydration to appedectomies. I have noticed somewhat of a sad trend however. When I was in bethesda, I took care of marines who where in Iraq very close to suicide bombers, which are people who attach bombs to themselves and position themselves in close proximity to our soilders and "take their live in honor of Allah". I would also see marianes who were injured from IED ( improvised explosive device) on the road that they were patrolling. These men lost limbs, eyes, and mostly self esteem. So when I see these guys who come from Iraq complaining of stomach pain or hurt themselves playing softball, i challenge my ethical system. Now I am a nurse and will care for patients no matter what or how the injury occured. It is just crazy when I have marines that will lay in bed in get pneumonia because they will not get up and walk around the ward. I mean your fellow solider is still in harms way and they are not concerned about getting back to thier unit. I had marines with one arm ask me Ma'm when will be able to get back with my guys. So its slightly disheartning. But hey I had 5 patients the other night and was grateful because it was busy and this week has flown by!

Well I guess everyone is becoming busy with the normal hustle and bustle of life, my emails are becoming fewer and post are shorter. I understand, I know how life goes. I have to realize life doesn't stop or begin with me!! HAHA.

I really miss the twins, I spoke to them yesterday and they asked when I was coming to see them and why did my job send me so far far away. I also started crying when I recieved a much uplifting email from shemeika who brought to my attention how I am accustomed to having people around me that care for me and will do things together socially because we click that way. Its not like that here I don't really have anyone that I can trust to talk to, so it gets hard. But there is one friend I know I can count on and that is JESUS! So I keep calling on him to make my days shorter and my weeks fewer!

THE NIGHT SHIFT!

I have been blessed with a great night shift crew to work with. Everyone is so laid back and I realize that God created MAN and Woman for balance. We have two guys on our shift and to me they make the biggest difference. I was starting to feel frustrated with the whole political crap and nurses not looking out for each other but then I prayed about it and GOD showed his power. The girl I was having a problem with actually came to me on her day off and was just as friendly. I started to get nervous at first like is she going to poision me or knock me out when I turn around because before there was noticable tension between us. Even during our nursing report she ask me questions and the most polite way instead of whispering or making faces and what not. GOD IS GOOD! He worked that out for me.

I went to the bible study they had last night and it was awesome. So now I am starting my 2nd personal goal, a deeper and closer spirtual relationship. I had a yoga class for my body and mind and the word of god for my spirit. So the topic at bible study was Seeking presence and understanding. We went through many chapters and scriptures in the bible that related to seeking. The best analogy given through our group discussion is seek GOD like you are a child playing hide and go seek. Remember how bad and hard you searched for that peroson when you found them how excited it made you feeel. I am at work but later I will add the scriptures from the lesson I know it encouraged me.

Nurses do eat their young-OFFICE Day blues

So of course I have to get used to all these new policies and ways of doing things in this new hospital. So there are about 4-5 nurses on each shift, two may work in the er one night the other two on the med surg floor.  Well the day shift crew is killing me, i have been having this issue with one nurse in particular who has rubbed me the wrong way ever since I met her. She is always talking to me like I don't know what I am talking about and thinks she knows everything. Well the other morning we got smashed right around 4 am. So I got a patient with possible heart attack around 5 am then my other guy had a 102.3 temp. So I have to remind everyone that this hospital is very basic, everything is in close walking distance open one door you are in pharmacy open another door you are in the lab.  So Im trying to get meds from pharmacy, draw labs, write notes in this 1980 style computer. You know when the computer screen has black screen and the flasher for the text is a big white blinking cursor.  Im talking old school commodore 64 atari type computer.  Well anyway the next morning when I am giving report and this whinch had the nerve to say why didn't I give my 0600 dose of motrin to my "stable patient"  I had explained already in report my night and plus you have to take motrin with food and I was not going to wake my patient up at 0600 to take a pill when he was resting comfortably and I had just given him IV tordaol @ 0330. The breakfast trays come at 0700 so the day nurse could give it then.  So she states "Well that is something that should be passed on, and You can use crackers and milk  for that " all matter of factly!!!!  So I stay cool Im like "Your right. Are you here nurse?" I said sarcastically or rhetorically cuz i knew the answer. ( knowing good and well she wasn't)  She replies "No Im the team Leader"   I said, well I will discuss it with the nurse, and the nurse who had the patient had no problem with it, See this girl does not have any management skills trying to micro manage everyone and she don't know jack.

Anyway today when we move into our new place. The day shift was told to come in early around 0615 to get report and relieve the night shift so we can help load the trucks and bring everyones bags over from the tent area to the building. Well the chicks call around 0612 and say they are going to be late they missed the bus.  So Im like okay.  Now mind you the day shift got off easy peasy, because we had to load their stuff from the tent to the truck from the truck up the three flight of stairs to their rack!!  And im not talking bout a small lil gym bag. 1-2 SEA BAGS full of crap!  So when they show up at 0645 with STARBUCKS COFFEE CUPS in their hands I went off!! I waited till report was over and asked the nurses to stand by. Then I said a prayer to myself to not come off pissed but maturely and professionally. I basically stated (and this was for homegirl that thinks she is my  mom)  We need to stick together as nurses instead of running to our department head about issues from one nurse to the next we need to work it out amongst ourselves, if anyone has a problem with anything I may do or the other may do, speak to that person directly instead of running it all the way up to the highest level.  Also I find it very unacceptable  for you all to come in late  when the word was put out a week ago to be here so we can help move YOUR stuff.  And then to show up with Starbucks cup gives me the impression you took the time to stop and get starbucks but didn't look out for your shipmates. (They could have at least bought the night shift some coffee since we had to stay up late to move their s#&$!) Im sorry  I digress, getting angry all over again. They seem to have processed what I was saying I didnt get any responses back in my face cuz the hookers knew they were wrong!! 

I mean selfish people, I cant understand that I am always thinking about how my actions may affect others especially people I have to work with! Thats why I hate calling off unless I really need to.  Anyway  WHATCHA GOING DO! Anybody have The OFFICE DAY BLUES going on at their job?

College part Two!

Okay so today we moved into our permanent dwelling for the next six months, and can I say its Temple Johnson and Hardwick all over again. To my TU peeps remember walking to the cafe through the p-way and taking the elevator up to 3rd floor or 5th depending on who you were visting. And remember how tight that space was with your lil area on one side and that long wanna-be desk under neath the windows that pulled out towards you so no one could try to commit suicide. Well imagine that small lil space minus your roomates side, no elevator, threee flights of stairs and that describes my new living quaters.  Im not complaining thought Im just glad we have indoor plumbing no more walking across the road to pee and shower.  Its like the Hilton up in this piece. Ill take pics and post in the morning. But its cool cuz yall know I hooked my lil area up. right.

 So let me break it down how being nosy and thinking ahead like inspector gadget always pays off. (Shout out to Kee and Kameel my nosy folk)  So I knew people that were here for six months and we were replacing. So I hooked up with them like the first or second night we were here because they were already staying in the building.  So of course they were packing and trying to take the least amount of stuff with them. So Im like well save me that, and that and Ill surely use that, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!  So I was able to lock down some good stuff. Well when we moved in all the people that went home left all there stuff they no longer wanted in the center of the floor. It was like going to a flea market, I felt like a lil homeless person rummaging through people's trash. (One persons trash is another persons treasure!) But I hooked it up. Im the only one who has pink plastic drawers with matching pink and fuschia complete bed set. A lil pink candy dish. My shower curtain that blocks off the front of my area is nice Its silver with metallic circles. Colette is going to send me a bright one like my personality to really sit it off. The only thing that is missing is pics of my girls, my love and family. I have two metal lockers that I can get some magnets and put pics on so send me some pics people its time to download those digital pics and print out pictures so I can hang. I wonder if they sell those fabric letters or stick on pics cuz I was going to put them on my lil back splash to hook that up.  The pics will give describe it all. But it feels a lil more like home now.

 Tomorrow is Monday and I am going full speed ahead with my workout plan and eating schedule. I will blog about that whole process I start off real strong then start fading come that 3rd 4th week.  I have a personal trainer so hopefully that will help keep me on target. 

 

What's your favorite memory about college?  I would have to say mine was joining my sorority! SIGMA GAMMA RHO I have some strong sisters for life who I love very much we had so much fun party strolling, facilitating campus programs, and of course stepping!!

Quick Update

So I am on night shift at work which above all things is pretty decent. Less drama no people around but us and the 2-3 patients. My night shift is early evening for the east coast gang. I am seven hours ahead of east coast time. Its really amazing how your body acclimates to the weather, 102 degrees feels nice out to me now. Hopefully I will be moved into my permanent dwelling spot soon, Im ready to get my area up and a routine going on. I started a light workout monday and watching my eating. But let me tell you today they had soul food tuesday and had the nerve to have ribs and black eye peas..... And it was good. I said see they are going to sabbatoage my work out plan. They have homemade biscuits and grits in the morning, the whole breakfast menu is off the hook. I will being taking more pics soon so stay posted. Until then HOLLA~!

Funky Cold Medina

Okay I forgot to post about my two day plane ride!! Okay first somehow I missed when the officers got called to line up and board the plane so We ended up getting on last. Which was fine because all the officers sat in the front part of the plane. However all the good seats were taken like the window.  So me and my battle buddy Judy decide to sit together and I took the aisle seat since i always have to get up to pee! Well the Commander sitting near the window had serious BO (ive learned from my "other" counterparts that means Body Odor). I mean when he raised his arms you got this whiff of air that smelled as if the man was living in Kuwait for 6 months and had not bathed. I didn't really get much wind of it until he got up and passed me literally leaned over me to go to the bathroom. Poor Judy was stuck next to him for the entire first leg of the trip. So there was all this drama about why he smelled like that and why no one had brought it up to him, so on and so forth.  So after we got off  the plane when we arrived in Maine. I had a discussion with some of the male officers that shared a seahut with him over the past two weeks. They stated it was like that and he sleep right next to the door so it was the first thing you smelled coming and going. So my question is as a man why didn't you mention it to him or bring it to his attention. 

So we went to our next stop and we all had a chance to freshen up because it was like a day had passed. So when he got on the plane I said sir did u get a chance to freshen up and he said yes i did and proceded to put his chin to my nose so I could smell. Now it did smell like he shaved cuz it smelled like aftershave but not washed his pits. So the guy in front of me stated "you need to cuz you smell bad" Well the guy kinda played it off and hit him playfully on the shoulder. Well he ended up moving his seat to another window seat that had more room. So I took his window seat  and had the middle row open. 

Well I got into this debate with one of the females about how I was inappropriate and disrespectful for asking him if he had freshened up. I didn't think I was being disrespectful. I think it was wrong for everyone to laugh and talk about this man behind his back instead of approaching him or pulling him to the side and informing him of his BO. The girl went on and on about how I could get called to captains mass for disrespecting him and yada yada!  

So I made it a point to pull him aside on our next stop to ensure I didn't offend him in anyway. I stated what I said and asked him if it was offensive. He said no he moved seats for more room. I also let him know he did smell a little and he stated it was something he wasn't aware of and we were still cool! His words exactly.

So wouldn't you tell someone if they had a problem, I mean I know you all have ran into that person who has stinky breath all the time, what would you do?