Where Have I Been Q & A or I'm Not Dead

Q. Um, so what's the deal? You haven't updated for nearly a month. Are you okay?

A. To say that I have been busy is like saying President Bush has a little trouble with public speaking. I have been so damned busy I have lost over 8 lbs/3.6 kgs without even trying. I will now put part of that back on today since I receive MM's shipment of peanut butter cups (love you Mom!).

Q. Wow. What's going on?

A. As I eluded in past posts, I have begun my clinical practical coursework and am now on my final week. It is 5 days a week, 8 eight hours a day in a hospital that is a minimum 45 minute drive from my house. Since I can't put my family into cold storage while I get this done (note to self - if anyone comes up with a way to make that practical, claim ownership and part of the profits) and still have to work part-time for the Large Grocery Store That Employs Me to pay for the obscene child care bill of 5-days-a-week pracs, I have to try as do as much as I did before as well. Blogging, along with housework, will just have to wait a little longer.

Q. How are you managing to squeeze this post in now then?

A. This is one of my weeks I do the evening shift, from 3pm-11pm. I have dropped Clive and Her Majesty off at child care and so have the place to myself. Since it is Tuesday, that means Cheap Pizza night at Dominos so I don't have to cook dinner beforehand. A choice between blogging and housework? Blogging will win every time!

Q. I see. So how are the kiddies and the Hermit doing?

A. That's been the other horse fly in the ointment. Her Majesty came down with a raging fever a week and half ago - I'm talking 40 C/104 F - that, after a trip to not just the GP but the emergency room at a more local hospital the following evening when her temp skyrocketed again, turned out to be Influenza B (the offical nasal swab diagnosis). I missed two days of prac that week and she's still not 100%. It took an entire week for her appetite to come back and she's still falling asleep early. Her preschool teachers tell me she's still not tearing around like she was pre-flu, although she is slowly on the mend. Clive was sick just prior to her, but no where near Her Majesty's level; the Hermit had to leave work early to collect him from child care one day, and Clive stayed home with an also-sick Miss Thing the next day. Sparky was ill this past week, as was the Hermit, but nothing like Her Majesty. No doubt I will get sick next week, when I'm back home and everyone expects me to pick up the slack around the house.

Q. So everyone is helping out at home?

A. Meh. Yes with some things, no with others. If I leave specific instructions then it has a 90% chance of being done. If I just wish that all of them would look around the joint and see it's a mess and then show some initiative to clean it up for me, then I need to start believing in the Tooth Fairy. I'm not going to get into a bitch session, so I'll leave my disappointment at that.

Q. How is your prac going?

A. Very well. The staff where I am is fantastic. It helps that, while I am technically a student, I have that knowledge base of real-life nursing. I'm not afraid to do the scut work, I don't do the minimum and I'm always willing to help out. I've gotten good feedback from the staff and my facilitator/instructor, and I feel more confident than when I started. That being said, I'm looking forward to the break after this week. Maybe if I had a paycheck to go with the 40 hours a week I'm putting in I'd not look forward to the time off so much. :-)

Q. When can we expect you back? And will you bring the Skinfest with you?

I should be back this weekend and the Skinfest will be back as well. The NRL season is winding down what with finals this weekend - and I am so annoyed that I have to be at the hospital Friday night instead of watching the Broncos/Roosters game - but there are always hotties to display.

Thanks for your patience and understanding. I am looking forward to reading some awesome blogs again as well as updating this one.