Update on the update

For those of you I haven't told, I decided not to take the job in the cath/EP lab at Memorial. I interviewed on Monday; it was a bit intimidating. I didn't realize I was walking to a group peer interview but I think I did very well and came across as confident and self-assured (even though I wasn't completely feeling that way). I felt some vibes during the interview I didn't like between a few staff and I think just being in there and talking about the job with them and coming home and evaluating my life made me realize why I like the job I have and how dedicated to the new job I would have to be to make it work. With everything that's going on in my life, I decided I would rather stay where I am. I didn't know if they would even offer me the job since they were worried that I didn't have critical care experience. However, as they said, "You have big people batting for you" meaning a cardiologist, his nurse, and one of the heart surgeon's nurses. They called on Tuesday morning to let me know if they were going to offer me the position but I didn't even let her tell me what they had decided. I just said I had decided that I wasn't ready to do it yet.

So I've decided that there was a point to all of this because it really made me evaluate my job and existence and realize what I like about it. I will get to see the girls at Christmas and go home too. I get to deal with patients every day and I interact with doctors who will teach me things and let me get involved in learning about my patients, not just handing them instruments. It was almost funny because on my way to work Wednesday I asked God to let me learn something new and different at work that day. When I got there I was floated to a different floor than I usually work on and had patients with diagnoses who were completely different than I usually have and I dealt with crazy weird issues all day on multiple patients. So the moral of the story is: watch what you pray for. I think God has a sense of humor. I think exploring this option of a new job has given me the kick in the pants I need to finish the semester and be content in my own situation.

One of the docs who saw me when I was floating downstairs Wednesday walked past me in the hallway on Thursday and said "You just don't know where your home is, do you?" I stopped and thought about it and I realized, I do know. 2 Central. Where I get a little respect from my coworkers, I know what I'm doing, and where everybody knows my name... Thanks to all of you for your prayers and listening to me talk this decision out. You probably got really tired of hearing "I just don't know..." ;-)

Now it's off to camp for the weekend at Cumberland Falls state park in Kentucky. Pictures will be coming to a couple of er... several blogs near you...

Ah... the mountains...

On Sabbath I had Ryan, Jerad, Chris, Jon, Stephanie, and Tanya over for spaghetti with key lime pie for dessert.

Then we headed to Signal Pointe for a hike, some beautiful scenery, and a little rock climbing.














The boys take a whack at rock climbing...

while Stephanie watches from above.

If Jon were really falling lets hope he wouldn't look this calm...

update

Well, I have an interview with the director of the cath/EP lab on Monday at 2 PM. I've talked to several of my mentors, my advisor, family, friends and I don't feel like the door has closed so I'm going thru with the next step. This means a big change for me, it could totally restructure my schedule, perhaps most importantly working full time during the 2 month orientation while going to school and probably not getting to go home over the holidays as much as I had hoped. But it could be an exciting new opportunity to stretch my brain and learn a lot, which sounds very intruiging to me right now. So say a prayer for me, will you? Growing up and making all these big decisions is fun and not so fun all at the same time...

Me in my Turtle

My Kelty sleeping bag came today while I was at work. It's a little big don't you think? But hey, who could pass up a $35 deal? I probably won't ever use it when I would actually need the 30 degree rating anyway. The back is grey and the front is green, makes me feel like a bit like a turtle or a strange caterpillar. Now I'm ready to go camping...

All-Night (and afternoon) Softball

Team Shazam! at midnight before their first game. Because they had such a good record, their first game wasn't until 12:15.

After game one (where Ryan hit 2 home runs and a triple) at about 1 AM. We already look a little tired... As you can see I carried lots of camera equipment.

At 3 AM it started pouring so the games were postponed until Sunday afternoon at 3 PM. Shazam! was still undefeated but in the middle of a game with Bartender Jack, one of the best contenders.

Before the games on Sunday we went down to Cohutta Springs to watch a bit of the Triathlon. Here's Stepahnie in her volunteer garb and Kari calling out numbers as the swimmers come out of the water. Below is a picture of Ryan and I waiting for Ryan's friend Carlson to come back from the bike leg of the relay.


With the sun out, my dilemma became: picture vs. video.
Here's Ryan making an out at first during part 2 of the postponed game with Bartender Jack. (He hit another home run during this game by the way.)

During the championship games my dilemma became: Who do I watch, Ryan or Robin? In the end I paid more attention to Ryan's game but here's a few pictures of Robin (Ryan's sister) playing with Chic This. They lost but put up a good fight against the beastly team Unity whose members have been dominating girls softball at Southern in some form for years...

We got a nice break waiting for the competition to weed themselves out. In the end the guys championship was Rebels vs. Shazam! with the Rebels having to beat them twice since they were undefeated. The teams were definitely well matched but after a good fight, the Rebels won by a narrow margin. Below is a picture of Shazam! with all it's supporters. I wish you could see the backs of our shirts, they were pretty funny. Mine says Ford Tough. Now it's on to football...

Sabbath (& the self portrait show)

After church Ryan and I decided to take some pictures. These are self portraits, believe it or not, with the help of my trusty tripod.

Then we headed to Kari Shultz house for some mexican food. Here's a few more pics while waiting for the food...




Below you can see the whole group: Kirsten, Anthony, Stephanie, Kari (mom), Dave, Nick, and Ryan's hands. After lunch it was off to take a nap before All-Night Softball.