Quit-Pitt-Shit

I am done. Done. And I'm never going back.

Until the beginning of January. But it will be even more short lived than this little obsession that brought me here. I hate (as in, absolutely) this college. I took my last final today. I did terribly. Just one of those things you know off the bat. The reason you know it is because you never knew it; I don't think I learned a damn thing this semester. The things that some of these "professors" attempted to teach the class were wrong. And I am aware of this misinformed knowledge because I've ALREADY LEARNED THIS STUFF IN COLLEGE!!!

The texts are outdated (usually something I normally wouldn't mind due to my desire to use cheaper older editions, but my god, things in the health realm do change if FIVE years pass). My Informatics book cited Wikipedia. WIKIPEDIA. One of my professors sounded very adamant when telling us that men have atypical chest pain during a heart attack, whereas women have that very strong, heavy, crushing feeling when the heart infarcts (ummmm, I think most of us--non-health people included--learn in middle school that this is in fact not the case). They try to teach us to do a nutritional assessment by having us keep a 3 day food diary OURSELVES (and why not do an actual assessment on someone else, like you would on a patient, that makes far too much sense). These are a few things that have really irked my bones the past 4 months in regards to the curriculum/program content. Don't even get me started on the positioning of the soap dispensers in the bathrooms...

I can honestly say I've never been more let down by such a huge life decision in my, ahem, life. Ugh. This education ain't cheap.

Disappointment such as this has led to a bit of a turn: I'm quitting Pitt (with the exception of a disaster management course just for kicks) and transferring to Ohio University. It's going to be so much more wallet-friendly as well as less time-constraining (as far as my ridiculous night-day-night-day swing shift schedule goes). It's an online program. I've always felt a little funny doing internet classes in the past, but I'm much more excited about this than paying 6 G's a semester to listen to incompetent professors rattle on...

Also exited, I might add, to be reunited with G Town peeps (word to my mother) even if only briefly...THIS week!!!

gNarly November

Mom turned 28 this year and Brent and I arrived in town to briefly celebrate with some cheesecake, say hello to the folks who had just returned from a 6.7 year journey out west, and gorge ourselves on all the free (sort of) samples we could manage at the Fabulous Food Show. Fabulous, indeed.

Next stop, Jamaica?

Halfversary

I turned 22.5, which means I've been here 6 months, I had my first evaluation at work, a student nurse is going to shadow me briefly next week (role shock!!!), and I found this lovely gussied up hospital frock on the table in the locker room...

Ridic

It's [H1N1] flu season and...

There is a national shortage of masks.

I work on a respiratory floor with immunocompromised patients.

Bah!!

Blast from your past

It's been one helluva Team Grodek month. Maj and Paj were here. We did the typical tourist forays: Cemetery tours, Cemetery lunches, Strip walks, Strip teases, Thai treats, Incline seats. They were going to come here last month for Little Italy days, but Maggie, Liam, and I went to Maryland for the Renaissance Festival the same weekend. I think my favorite part of that was seeing my vegetarian friend Maggie take a whopping mouthful out of a giant red roasted turkey leg.

Presently, I'm in Chicago with Selena while she alters a sunshine yellow three dolla bill ya'll trench coat for me. We just dropped off the rest of the sibs in their respective transportation mode stops. Getting here was more difficult than that, and more difficult than I wanted it to be. Danielle and I BOTH missed our flights, hers from Columbus, mine from Pittsburgh. Funny enough, after our standby status was confirmed and passed, our flights were miraculously delayed and perfect in timing in that we arrived in Chicago minutes apart.

Brent had never been here before. The occasion was a 1000th show spectacular from one of my favorite bands. We couldn't remember the last time we'd all been to a show together. It was magical and sweaty, much like this New England day in 2005:

Annapolis, MD

with the Magster

I'd take G4 any day...

Most people I speak with back home haven't heard of the G20. Here, it's affecting most everyone's lives for a few days. Adversely. 'Cept those school kids...almost all of the colleges have closed their campuses today and tomorrow. 'Cept Pitt, cause is sucks, so I'm learning.

I've been receiving these long, drawn out emails from my unit director at work. If you live on the east end (which I do), please schedule yourself to work Thursday and Friday. Why? If you live anywhere else, it will take you 3 times the amount of time you usually take to drive to get to work. If you work 7a-7p today, you are welcome to stay at the hospital overnight. Why? You won't be physically able to leave. Why? There will be a 0.5-1 mile radius closed around the Presby campus. Phipps Conservatory is the scene of some big dinner this evening. No buses, no cars, and you better carry two forms of ID at all times in case you get accosted by the police.

If you don't prefer to live at your workplace (but I can't imagine who wouldn't want to have a one night stand with C. diff and MRSA and VRE), then there's another option: pay 40 bucks and sleep at Family House. As for the 7p-7a shift tonight, it will take you between 3 and 6 hours to get to work. You bes be leaving yo hiz at 2pm (when you should probably be sleeping so you can actually take care of people tonight). Hey, maybe they'll have a few extra hospital beds for a pre-work nap. Thank something or someone I still have class today, and that I have my own two feet and two wheels to get me to work tomorrow.

There are 3 designations for the wounded:

West Penn (right next to me in Little Italy) for the tear gassed protesters
Shadyside (right next to me down Aiken) for the beat up coppers
Presbyterian (my hospital, 30 minute walk/15 minute bike ride away) for the pres and co.

Ha. Maybe 10D will get to meet a well known diplomat. Maybe not. If something happens to one of them, they come to Presby and they take over. Take over? That means there will be no use for us, ie. they bring in their own staff and we get tossed aside. Sort of like that old phone book somewhere on my shelf...