Category: happenings

year end… again

So again, I find myself at the end of another year, and I am sitting here asking myself, what has happened with this year? It has flown by. Since I started nursing school, and since being a nurse full time, I find that I need to have way more down time, and time that I spend recovering from the job, mostly because it is so tough. That being said, I am definitely still here, and things are good; in fact, much better right now than before, and I feel that it will keep getting better. Here’s a few things that have happened recently that I probably should have blogged about, but didn’t.


In September, James and I got married in DC. Here’s a lot of photos, and I realize that I need to upload so many more… in time. It was an amazing experience. We have been together for a little over 11 years, and we got married with friends and family, and it was honestly, the best I could have imagined. My parents were there, James’ parents were there, and everything went over without any issues. The wedding itself was short and sweet, which I liked, the reception was amazing, and is something that we can always cherish. There were many great memories, lots of fun, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

A little over a month ago, I decided to take a big chance, and switch jobs (and hospitals). So far, going from the Emergency Department to the ICU has been a bit of a change (unorganized chaos to timely structure), but I can already tell that I am a lot less stressed, and a lot less upset all of the time. I think the pressure of the ungrateful, not-sick-give-me-a-sandwich patients in the ED finally wore me out, and the universe gave me a huge sign that it was time for a change. I am excited about this new opportunity, and I cannot wait until I get more accustomed to my new environment, and feel as comfortable here as I did in the ED. I have already learned a lot, and I know that this was a good move, and I am excited for the new experience.

Lastly, I started grad school for my MSN, which will propel me from RN to FNP. I am getting more into the process, and I am sure that this is going to be a great thing in the long run, but it’s definitely another major undertaking, that I have decided to take on. It seems that I either love school, or love student loan debt, because here I go again… although the outcome will be a major reward, and I know that it will be difficult, but is ultimately a great choice.

All in all, it’s been a busy year, and many changes have taken place; and I expect great things as a result. Here’s to a great (and hopefully even better than 2014) 2015!

an update post (of sorts)

So things have been pretty quiet around here, and for that, I don’t even know what to say. I have kind of been in limbo since I finished school back in May, and after taking the NCLEX, I was happy that I was finally a RN, but honestly, all I could think was, “What next?”. Well, thankfully, I was able to recently interview for a job, and have since accepted a position to be a nurse at a hospital that I really like, and that is close to my house; two major pluses. People keep asking how happy I am, and honestly, I keep teetering between completely terrified, and somewhat excited; yet not much in between. The thought of actually BEING a nurse is a daunting one; one that I am sure will come with time working and experience (two things I desperate wish could happen faster than is possible, which I begrudgingly accept). In the mean time, I am just trying to get used to the idea. I completed orientation last week, and will start on the floor this week; again, very excited, and even more terrified/nervous.

Other than that, not much has been going on with me. Things are pretty good; money is tighter, but hopefully, that will remedy itself soon seeing as the job thing has come to fruition (thank goodness!). Life is pretty lazy, I guess, and that is a good thing, I guess, right?

On a final note, we did end up going to see Britney last night at Philips. Everyone who knows me, knows that I have a soft spot for the pop princess, and while I was glad I decided to go to the show, and really enjoyed it, I have to say, it might be my last Britney concert. At her best, she was clearly only giving about 60-70%, and it was pretty noticeable; especially considering how amazing her Circus concert was a couple of years ago. She looked tired for most of the show, and we even joked that we were at a Sit-ney Spears concert for the first half, because of how many times she just sat down on props, and parts of the stage. I know she’s gotten older, but I think it’s clearly time to switch things up a bit. If she’s not willing to (or cannot) go all out and dance like she used to, and kill it like she used to, then I think she needs a new, revamped act. I still love the girl, and yes, I know she just lip syncs (and no, it doesn’t bother me, so save it if that’s your only comment), but before, she would make up for it with sheer performance and theatrics. This time, there were some theatrics, and a few attempts a dancing, but most of it, she just seemed to want to smile, whip her hair, and prance around. While that’s cute, and I enjoyed it, it wasn’t her best, and if you have her previous stuff to compare it to, it’s just that much more clear, sadly. Either way, it was a fun concert, but it certainly wasn’t her best; and that’s coming from a die-hard fan. Oh well, I guess you can’t win ’em all.

no 5SF this week, but some great news

As you may notice, there is no five song Friday occupying its regular slot this week; I have had a really bad week (from being sick to the hot water heater woes to school work overload), so I am taking a break. I need to write up my concert experience from Mat Kearney last Friday at the Center Stage (it was amazing), and edit like a million pictures I took at the show too, but I just don’t have any energy. Being sick is not something I do well, and hopefully, I will be back to full strength soon enough.

Hopefully, my weekend will be better than my week was.

With that being said, there is some great news that may signal a good weekend ahead: The Senate approved the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes bill on Thursday. While it bothers me somewhat that there were 29 who voted against it, I am more than happy this important legislation passed through the senate, and is on its way to becoming the real deal when Obama hopefully signs it into law. For those naysayers, I hope that you understand that the reason why it is important, is because these safe guards are already afforded to everyone else EXCEPT gay people. This is a real step in the direction towards gay people having equal civil rights, and it should be celebrated. Here’s to civil rights and equality for all… including gay people!!

my awesome day, starring the hot water heater

This morning, I woke up like normal, took a shower like normal, and then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, also like normal. When I walked towards the bathroom door, I stepped in what I thought was a fresh patch of pee, and before I could even chastise Mr. Pickles for ruining my morning, things got instantly worse. James declared that the pee didn’t smell like pee at all, and that is when we discovered it wasn’t pee; the bedroom carpet was saturated with water. Instantly, we figured out what had happened: the hot water heater had leaked, and flooded a lot of our bedroom. After some quick scrambling to see how bad things were, we found that not only had it leaked, but it had completely busted, and all of the 40 hot gallons of water were now resting comfortably somewhere outside of the tank.
Wonderful! Our hot water heater is flooding the bedroom. Awesome!!
A couple of phone calls, and a plumber later, we had spent $1100 and our hot water heater issue was no more.

…Or so I wish.

The floor was saturated, and since this has actually happened to me before, I knew that we needed to act fast, because that water would certainly attract every spore of mold from miles around if it wasn’t dried up quickly. After a clean up estimate that I thought was kind of ridiculously high ($1800), I set out to rent the fans and a dehumidifier myself. Since the pad of the carpet is pretty much a big, floor covering sponge, I decided to just pull it up and throw it away, so that I could increase my chances the actual subfloor might dry in time. I also made that decision based on the fact that carpet padding is pretty inexpensive overall, and the padding that was there was pretty gross upon inspection.
Awesome day 2009! Ugh
As I write this, my bedroom is not a bed room at all. Our bed has been moved to the office, and the carpet has been pulled up, the pad has been cut out, and there are fans blowing wildly in the room that was my bedroom this morning.

Yeah, it could have been worse, but that sentiment hardly makes one feel better when their bedroom floods and they have a day like I did. I’m still trying to convince James that this just gives us a good reason to get hardwoods for the bedroom (which we have been talking about since the day we moved in), but what will happen in the coming days is yet to be seen. I’m hoping that something good can come out of this truly annoying situation; and at this point, the hardwood floors are all I have have to cling to in keeping that hope alive. All and all, a pretty shitty day that I had to use a vacation day on.

atlanta flood 2009

I, like many of you, heard lots of reports of how bad the flooding was out there yesterday, and I don’t think I really realized it until I was driving home and saw this:
Ok I believe it's bad.
While I know my personal observation was relatively minor compared to everything else that went down, I have to say that the whole thing is rather scary. Also, it has me reliving when hurricane Floyd came through Greenville, NC, and the whole town was practically underwater because of the surge of the Tar River. I was in college at the time, and luckily, I lived in the dorms, so I personally was relatively “untouched” by the storm (well, except for being out of school for 2 weeks, and being forced out of the dorm because of water contamination). Well, that, and a lot of my friends lost their homes, cars, and most of their possessions, and it was horrible. I remember the aftermath of the storm, and the times after the flooding were almost worse than the actual flooding, so I know there are many Atlanta residents that have a long journey ahead of them.

My heart goes out to anyone that was touched by this unusually heavy storm; I hope that everyone is safe and their homes are safe as well. Luckily for us, we just lost power for a few hours, and that was the worst of it. I just hope that things don’t continue to escalate for those that have already suffered. If you are still out there facing the flooding, please, stay safe. I only hope that the coming days of forcasted rain don’t make this dire situation even worse.

last original sugababe leaves

According to the Sugababes’ website:

The current line-up of the Sugababes has disbanded.

Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah will continue as the Sugababes and will be joined by new member Jade Ewen. They release their album ‘Sweet 7’ on November 23rd through Island Records.

Keisha Buchanan will continue to record for Island Records as a solo artist.

Well, there go my hopes for their next album being better than Cat Fights and Spotlights, and thier chances of finally “breaking” the American music market are definitely going to diminish (even further) without Keisha. Oh well… at least we still have Push the Button, right?

six years

me and james

We’ve had some good times, some not so good times, and mostly, some pretty great times over the past six years together. I’m hoping for many, many more years and wonderful times together. Happy anniversary, to my wonderful lover!

I noticed a lack of photos of the two of us when I was looking for one to post; something which I really need to remedy. This shot is of us last summer in NYC, on top of 30 Rock (hence why I am sweating profusely in the picture).

ponyo on the cliff by the sea

I rarely ever get excited about movies, and I almost never get chills watching a preview (go and check it out here, since embedding is disabled on most of the youtube clips), but both things apply to Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea, the upcoming Hayao Miyazaki film. I have been a fan of Miyazaki’s for many, many years, and with Ponyo, I dare predict that my love of Miyazaki will only continue to soar.


My first experience with one of his films, was when I saw Princess Mononoke in college and loved it. However, it wasn’t until Spirited Away that I realized how amazing his films truly are. After seeing Spirited Away the first time, I was completely blown away, and realized I had seen one of the best movies of my life. This motivated me to check out some of his previous work, and I discovered Nausicaa of the Valley of The Wind, another brilliant film that also has a place amongst my favorite films ever made.

Miyazaki’s films contain a sense of imagination, wonder, and hope portrayed in a medium that I haven’t seen anywhere else. His whimsical stories are usually backed by a deep concern for our footprint on our world, and often explore the consequences we might face if we ignore the signs; which is kind of deep for a “kid’s movie” huh? His animation, story telling, and direction take dreams, and make them into a visually stunning experience that you can enjoy while you are awake. I find it almost impossible not to fall in love with is characters, and even more impossible not to enjoy their adventures.

As Ponyo is being released this Friday, I will do something I NEVER do: I will head to a theater to see this film. Those that know me, know very well that I HATE going to the movies (with one notable exception: the drive in), but my excitement for this film will force me to put my hatred of all things movie theater aside, and go out to see it. If anyone wants to come along, let me know, because I can’t wait to see this movie, and I definitely want to see it this weekend for sure. I’m hoping that it is everything that I think it will be and more; and given Miyazaki’s track record and the previews, it looks like it might be just that!

Also, I am really, really hoping that the release of this film gets some (if not ALL) of his films onto Blu Ray here in the states. As I said, his films are visually stunning, and bringing them to high definition would be outstanding!

guitar hero 5

So here’s the list of songs that will be included on the upcoming guitar hero release (GH 5): (I have conveniently bolded the ones that I am excited about)

  • 3 Doors Down – “Kryptonite”
  • A Perfect Circle – “Judith”
  • AFI – “Medicate”
  • Arctic Monkeys – “Brianstorm”
  • Attack! Attack! UK – “You and Me”
  • Band Of Horses – “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”
  • Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
  • Beck – “Gamma Ray”
  • Billy Idol – “Dancing with Myself”
  • Billy Squier – “Lonely is the Night”
  • Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
  • Blur – “Song 2”
  • Bob Dylan – “All Along the Watchtower”
  • Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
  • Brand New – “Sowing Season”
  • Bush – “Comedown”
  • Children Of Bodom – “Done With Everything, Die For Nothing”
  • Coldplay – “In My Place”
  • Darker My Love – “Blue Day”
  • Darkest Hour – “Demon(s)”
  • David Bowie – “Fame”
  • Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo (’99 Remix)”
  • Dire Straits – “Sultans of Swing”
  • Duran Duran – “Hungry Like The Wolf”
  • Eagles Of Death Metal – “Wannabe in L.A.”
  • Elliott Smith – “L.A.”
  • Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”
  • Face To Face – “Disconnected”
  • Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
  • Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
  • Gov’t Mule – “Streamline Woman”
  • Grand Funk Railroad – “We’re an American Band”
  • Iggy Pop – “Lust For Life”
  • Iron Maiden – “2 Minutes to Midnight”
  • Jeff Beck – “Scatterbrain”
  • Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed American”
  • John Mellencamp – “Hurts So Good”
  • Johnny Cash – “Ring of Fire”
  • Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss a Beat”
  • King Crimson – “21st Century Schizoid Man”
  • Kings Of Leon – “Sex on Fire”
  • Kiss – “Shout it Out Loud”
  • Love and Rockets – “Mirror People”
  • Megadeth – “Sweating Bullets”
  • Mötley Crüe – “Looks That Kill”
  • Muse – “Plug in Baby”
  • My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”
  • Nirvana – “Lithium”
  • Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
  • No Doubt – “Ex-Girlfriend”
  • Peter Frampton – “Do You Feel Like We Do (Live)”
  • Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde – “Bring the Noise 20xx”
  • Queen & David Bowie – “Under Pressure”
  • Queens Of The Stone Age – “Make it With Chu”
  • Rammstein – “Du Hast”
  • Rose Hill Drive – “Sneak Out”
  • Rush – “The Spirit of Radio (Live, 2008)”
  • Santana – “No One To Depend On (Live)”
  • Scars On Broadway – “They Say”
  • Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”
  • Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
  • Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
  • Spacehog – “In the Meantime”
  • Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
  • Sublime – “What I Got”
  • Sunny Day Real Estate – “Seven”
  • T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
  • The Bronx – “Six Days a Week”
  • The Derek Trucks Band – “Younk Funk”
  • The Duke Spirit – “Send a Little Love Token”
  • The Killers – “All the Pretty Faces”
  • The Police – “So Lonely”
  • The Raconteurs – “Steady As She Goes”
  • The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy for the Devil”
  • The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
  • The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”
  • Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”
  • Thrice – “Deadbolt”
  • Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down a Dream”
  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
  • TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”
  • Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”
  • Weezer – “Why Bother?”
  • Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music”
  • Wolfmother – “Back Round”

What a list! As always, there is a bunch of shit I have never heard, but just the bolded ones indicate that this will be a fun edition. I better get to practicing, because I need to be crisp for when this baby is released in a couple of months!

get yer swimmies on!

While I wasn’t able to move heaven, I definitely moved a lot of earth to make the pool possible. The “easy set” pool has to be on level ground, and if you look at the picture, you can tell that it STILL isn’t on totally level ground:
guess what
However, it is REALLY close, so I am not going to worry about it anymore (next year, James and I agreed that someone else will be coming out to level the ground before we try to install the pool ourselves). I have a very sore back, and I just hope that this damn thing was worth all of the headache, blood, sweat, and tears that went into making it a reality. I am going to focus on enjoying it, and try not to dwell on the minor leaning thing.

I got in it yesterday after it filled, to put the salt in, and it was very cool and nice, even though I didn’t actually “go for a swim”. It is only about 3 and a 1/2 feet deep, so it isn’t really enough to “swim” in, but it is surely enough for me to float in and drink a well deserved Mai Tai (which I am still trying to find my favorite recipe) or seven. I just hope that I can enjoy the fruits of all my back-breaking labor, and hopefully have a few friends over to share in the fun. Who’s in?