Uh... Was that sunrise, or sunset?

That was the official question of the day... So, I just finished working my last night shift for at least the next two weeks... Wow, working nights is just so wierd, I don't know how people make a career out of it. I guess the bright side of it all is that I have seen some beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the past three weeks...

Last night was the first time in about six months that I have actually felt like a bonafide RN, not just some nursing student pretending to be an RN (as I have felt for the past three weeks)... I guess it also helps that my preceptor isn't hovering over me all of the time and lets me plan my shift as I see fit (as long as everything gets done). I am also quite proficient with the computer charting now, so that always makes me feel as if I am actually "getting it."

For the last two nights I have had the pleasure of caring for one of the cutest 4-month-olds I have ever encountered. Just the sweetest little thing, so smiley and friendly, despite the fact that she is as sick as a dog. When I went in to take her vital signs at 4 am today, she grabbed my finger and pulled my hand toward her chest while I was trying to put the pulse oximeter on her thumb. She was just so content to have something to hold on to, I had a hard time leaving the room. That absolutely made my day after a long 12-hour shift.

Wow, I just got off work, and I am still talking about work... On to something else.

Jim and I ate at this awesome restaurant by our apartment complex last week. I had the second-most tender filet (nothing surpasses Tarpy's, of course), the second-best mashed potatoes (Tarpy's again), and the second-tastiest green beans I have ever eaten (fooled you! This time it's Buca). I even had enough left over (yep, there was enough for me to have left-overs. Shocking, I know) to take to work the next night. All of the nurses on the unit were jealous that I had such a nice dinner in my tummy, and they only had Lean Cuisine...

It also rained cats-and-dogs the night before last, so there were some awesome puddles to drive through in the apartment complex yesterday morning. It reminded me of driving through puddles a long time ago, with a boy, in a Jeep, laughing and/or screaming the entire time. Always fun, it definitely put a smile on my face after a long, disorganized, and generally crappy night.

Other than that, not much is going on. Peter and I are trying to make some plans to get together this week, since he has spent the past two weeks in the field, so we'll see how that works out. Hopefully I can see Marty at some point as well. They definitely had some interesting experiences with weapons during the past two weeks, judging from Marty's play-by-play e-mail commentary...

Well, it is now 9 am and I need to head back to the apartment and pass out...

66H out...