"Please note that the price of The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (Bernie Rhodenbarr Mysteries) has increased from $3.76 to $200.00 since you placed it in your Shopping Cart. Items in your cart will always reflect the most recent price displayed on their product detail pages. "
Amazon always updates me with price changes with items in my cart and among the long list of things i see, i see this. what the ???
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
BR books arrival.
Came in 12/28. Still don't get why fedex always says i'm not home when i am. The UPS guy left this place after 12:30p and the fedex guy i believe just left a note on my door at 1:00pm and probably went straight to the office. Whatever happened to knocking.
Anyway, the ochem despite it's 2012 copyright looks like the old one i have. Now, i haven't perused the book yet but just skimmed quickly through it. The physics on the other hand has undergone a good deal of a make-over. Complete make-over in terms of formatting and not much of a makeover when in terms of content. it doesn't have the phases like the rest so i'm planning on using the 25 question review as phase one and the 52 question test as phase II. What will i use for phase 3? TPR passages and kaplan.come to think of it, it works out fine.
The gen chem looks pretty much the same and it should be because the copyright is 2010 which is the exact same one i had earlier this year.
Now, i need to finish my prelimary perusal of the material before i dive into these books. Tried to bid on the GS tests tonite and i didn't win. next one is up next week. Hope i win.
Anyway, the ochem despite it's 2012 copyright looks like the old one i have. Now, i haven't perused the book yet but just skimmed quickly through it. The physics on the other hand has undergone a good deal of a make-over. Complete make-over in terms of formatting and not much of a makeover when in terms of content. it doesn't have the phases like the rest so i'm planning on using the 25 question review as phase one and the 52 question test as phase II. What will i use for phase 3? TPR passages and kaplan.come to think of it, it works out fine.
The gen chem looks pretty much the same and it should be because the copyright is 2010 which is the exact same one i had earlier this year.
Now, i need to finish my prelimary perusal of the material before i dive into these books. Tried to bid on the GS tests tonite and i didn't win. next one is up next week. Hope i win.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
BR books
I was expecting Berkeley review to send me an email monday letting me know by books have been shipped. Nada. Last night at work, i decided i'll call them today and ask what's going on considering their check cleared my account first thing last monday which means they got it around wednesday and cashed it thursday or even Wednesday.
Anyway, the email is there. I'll get the item on the 28th. Looks like my initial estimate was right. Oh well, i hope they get here.
Anyway, the email is there. I'll get the item on the 28th. Looks like my initial estimate was right. Oh well, i hope they get here.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Associating phone voices with race
Considering i worked over the phones for 3 years, I think i've every right to comment on this issue. For all the years i worked for West, each time a person tried to guess my race,they'd think caucasian. Few times i've gotten asian (i'll say less than 5% of the time.) On rare occasions i've gotten german, it's the only other one i can think off. Most of the time, people think i'm from north carolina or they'll ask which part of the south are you from.
There's been times i've spoken over the phone with people, arranged to meet up and the first thing they tell me when we meet is "i thought you were white." I remember the first time i was supposed to meet Fred, i remember passing by him several times on Snyder and calling him and telling him what i was wearing and yet he said he couldn't locate me. So i went back to north philly, then he came to pick me up and said, i was expecting a white girl.
I've had people tell me "you don't talk black." Now, for those people, i'd like to ask, how is a black person supposed to speak? I've had few coworkers tell me i'm the whitest black person they've seen.
I usually expect patients to pick up an accent but instead they either think i'm from north carolina or from the midwest (Ohio is the most frequent guess). I'm still not sure where the north carolina vibe comes from.
Nevertheless, I've always felt all these people are colored by the stereotypes in the American society. Well, i guess i'm colored, too.
Today a young man called me and I think i coulda put my hands on a stack of bibles and sworn he was black. Did he sound black? I don't think so but he was overly polite over the phone. He called me ma'am,then miss and i don't know but come to think about it, i shouldn't have assumed that cuz i had a white prisoner for a patient the last time and he talked just like that - yes ma'am, thank you, etc. Anyway, guy shows up and out steps a white dude.
Guessing by the look on his face, he was a little surprised my color too. LOL...I guess we're all susceptible to a little misperception or what i call 'coloring' at one point in time. I didn't post the nitty gritty of the details but the whole thing just cracks me up.
There's been times i've spoken over the phone with people, arranged to meet up and the first thing they tell me when we meet is "i thought you were white." I remember the first time i was supposed to meet Fred, i remember passing by him several times on Snyder and calling him and telling him what i was wearing and yet he said he couldn't locate me. So i went back to north philly, then he came to pick me up and said, i was expecting a white girl.
I've had people tell me "you don't talk black." Now, for those people, i'd like to ask, how is a black person supposed to speak? I've had few coworkers tell me i'm the whitest black person they've seen.
I usually expect patients to pick up an accent but instead they either think i'm from north carolina or from the midwest (Ohio is the most frequent guess). I'm still not sure where the north carolina vibe comes from.
Nevertheless, I've always felt all these people are colored by the stereotypes in the American society. Well, i guess i'm colored, too.
Today a young man called me and I think i coulda put my hands on a stack of bibles and sworn he was black. Did he sound black? I don't think so but he was overly polite over the phone. He called me ma'am,then miss and i don't know but come to think about it, i shouldn't have assumed that cuz i had a white prisoner for a patient the last time and he talked just like that - yes ma'am, thank you, etc. Anyway, guy shows up and out steps a white dude.
Guessing by the look on his face, he was a little surprised my color too. LOL...I guess we're all susceptible to a little misperception or what i call 'coloring' at one point in time. I didn't post the nitty gritty of the details but the whole thing just cracks me up.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Mdapps
I spent the last 3 or so hours on mdapps looking at applications that i felt would be relevant to me and i have to say i'm going to have to fight an uphill battle. It was a little depressing. Lot's of rejections and not hearing back from schools. Kyrie Eleison
Friday, December 17, 2010
"Pay to Play"
While researching kaplan on mdapps, i came across this profile:
http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?view=viewprofile.discussion&id=17481
WOW! Real trooper.
http://mdapplicants.com/profile.php?view=viewprofile.discussion&id=17481
WOW! Real trooper.
Running
It's been a while since i went to the gym. Put running on the back burner in the summer to study, then i got lazy. Anyway, i decided a little exercise won't hurt so i got on the threadmill today and it wasn't bad. Only did a little over a mile, ran half of it, walked the rest. I plan to at least get to the point of running 1 mile by the end of december. Then i'll up it from there.
I also read my kindle while i was on the threadmill. It actually kept me distracted which is a good thing.
I also read my kindle while i was on the threadmill. It actually kept me distracted which is a good thing.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Five orange pips
Amazon's kindle has me reading all these free old books and among them, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Reading that got me interested in watching PBS 'Sherlock', which btw i like. Anyway, the actor mentioned the five orange pips and i can't help remember how i felt after reading that.
I felt sad, sad at the fact that the young innocent man was killed. His uncle, i don't care so much about. I mean i don't know what he did with the KKK and if they chased him to england, well... life is what you make it. His nephew on the other hand was innocent, had no idea what was going on and the fools didn't give him a chance.
The only thing i'm left to wonder is did the ship sink because of the equinoctial or whatever gales they were having or was there something 'fishy' involved. The question is did the ship sink? Oh well...i wish i knew.
I felt sad, sad at the fact that the young innocent man was killed. His uncle, i don't care so much about. I mean i don't know what he did with the KKK and if they chased him to england, well... life is what you make it. His nephew on the other hand was innocent, had no idea what was going on and the fools didn't give him a chance.
The only thing i'm left to wonder is did the ship sink because of the equinoctial or whatever gales they were having or was there something 'fishy' involved. The question is did the ship sink? Oh well...i wish i knew.
Powerscore RCB
It's obvious i'm desperate. I've come to realize that logic is important when it comes to this exam. i've been a little lazy reading the logic book i got from amazon. I took a look at Powerscore's LRB and i thought it is a better choice than the logic text simply because it teaches how to take tests.
Today, i went down to UB to borrow their RCB. I was a little surprised they didn't have it on reserve. CCBC has the LRB on their reference shelves so you can't even check it out. Anyway, i read through the RCB and i like it. I've only done a little over 20 pages but so far, i feel like it's the best of EK verbal along with the Ivy Hall verbal mastery. EK offers strategies which i find here but explained more in detail in a way that i like. Ivy Hall goes into question types and tells you to read and all that but the RCB offers that and something more. It actually offers practice.
Plus it includes stuff from myreading lab. So far, it's talked about transitional phrases, active reading and context clues for meanings. I think this is the best of everything.
So, i'll use this for the rest of december, do their passage type training and see how i do when i start TPR tests. Must i add that i think i'm reading a little faster now and i'm vocalizing less. I'll post an update on how i'm doing later.
Today, i went down to UB to borrow their RCB. I was a little surprised they didn't have it on reserve. CCBC has the LRB on their reference shelves so you can't even check it out. Anyway, i read through the RCB and i like it. I've only done a little over 20 pages but so far, i feel like it's the best of EK verbal along with the Ivy Hall verbal mastery. EK offers strategies which i find here but explained more in detail in a way that i like. Ivy Hall goes into question types and tells you to read and all that but the RCB offers that and something more. It actually offers practice.
Plus it includes stuff from myreading lab. So far, it's talked about transitional phrases, active reading and context clues for meanings. I think this is the best of everything.
So, i'll use this for the rest of december, do their passage type training and see how i do when i start TPR tests. Must i add that i think i'm reading a little faster now and i'm vocalizing less. I'll post an update on how i'm doing later.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Relapsing
I made a couple purchases at my favorite retailer for shoes black friday week. then purchased another last week and today i made 4 purchases, 3 shoes and a handbag. What happened to the recovering shopaholic i knew.
The deal now is no more shoe purchases till next year. Since I didn't get time to open the box for the brown skechers boots, i'm starting to think it wouldn't be too much of a bad idea to have UPS pick it up and return it. That's something worth considering.
Must i say that i purchased all shoes and bags today at 60% off with an additional 30% off. So in essence, i purchased hundred dollar shape-ups for less than 28 bucks. In my defense, i made the purchase because the last pair of skechers i bought during the black friday sale, i paid $37.60 and i considered that a very good deal. These are 10 bucks less. The rampage bag was something i'd been eyeing for a long time, and at that discount, i just couldn't pass it up. The last shoe i purchased was a 5" lauren jones pump, would pass for a louboutin, but anyway, by adding it to the other 3 items, it came out about 24 bucks. That shoe actually costs about 110. I ended up paying 63 bucks with my card because i had a gift card balance.
I was planning on using the gift card balance for those traciela books but it turns out powerscore has the same thing for $22. I'm waiting for another gift card from chase and God help me use it for the powerscore book and nothing else.
The worst part of today, i was supposed to finish up kinematics and equilibrium. What did i do? nada. I did finish up supporting details in my reading lab.
It's december, hospitals experience low census during this time and i think with all the extra free time i'll get, i need to chanel that to finishing the TPR books instead of spending it shopping. Heaven knows i've no room for more shoes. Plus, i'm earning less, too.
The deal now is no more shoe purchases till next year. Since I didn't get time to open the box for the brown skechers boots, i'm starting to think it wouldn't be too much of a bad idea to have UPS pick it up and return it. That's something worth considering.
Must i say that i purchased all shoes and bags today at 60% off with an additional 30% off. So in essence, i purchased hundred dollar shape-ups for less than 28 bucks. In my defense, i made the purchase because the last pair of skechers i bought during the black friday sale, i paid $37.60 and i considered that a very good deal. These are 10 bucks less. The rampage bag was something i'd been eyeing for a long time, and at that discount, i just couldn't pass it up. The last shoe i purchased was a 5" lauren jones pump, would pass for a louboutin, but anyway, by adding it to the other 3 items, it came out about 24 bucks. That shoe actually costs about 110. I ended up paying 63 bucks with my card because i had a gift card balance.
I was planning on using the gift card balance for those traciela books but it turns out powerscore has the same thing for $22. I'm waiting for another gift card from chase and God help me use it for the powerscore book and nothing else.
The worst part of today, i was supposed to finish up kinematics and equilibrium. What did i do? nada. I did finish up supporting details in my reading lab.
It's december, hospitals experience low census during this time and i think with all the extra free time i'll get, i need to chanel that to finishing the TPR books instead of spending it shopping. Heaven knows i've no room for more shoes. Plus, i'm earning less, too.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Berkeley Review
Last year, i mailed my check to BR before thanksgiving and received my books about 4 weeks later. i think i was 2 or 4 days away from the 4 week mark.
This year, i mailed it on December 3rd. Today is the 13th and i see the check in my account so i'll see how long it takes to get the books. I have a feeling i may get them by the end of next week. I believe they'll hold onto the check for a while but i'm thinking the by the 24th, they'll be here.
My initial anticipation was that They'll make it here by the 28th or 29th. My fear was that they'll make it here after the first. Right now, only time will tell.
This year, i mailed it on December 3rd. Today is the 13th and i see the check in my account so i'll see how long it takes to get the books. I have a feeling i may get them by the end of next week. I believe they'll hold onto the check for a while but i'm thinking the by the 24th, they'll be here.
My initial anticipation was that They'll make it here by the 28th or 29th. My fear was that they'll make it here after the first. Right now, only time will tell.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
evaluating my readin
The first time i took a speed reading test from reader's edge, it was online and my wpm was over 300. That was after practicing with acereader pro, mostly playing their games. Prior to that, my effective reading rate was about 201.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
evaluating my readin
The first time i took a speed reading test from reader's edge, it was online and my wpm was over 300. That was after practicing with acereader pro, mostly playing their games. Prior to that, my effective reading rate was about 201.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
Anyway, when i downloaded the program 2 days later, my initial reading rate with reader's edge was 275 with 100% comprehension, 325 with 75%, 324 with 100% comprehension and 280wpm with 100% comprehension.
After a week of going through 41% of their material, doing the recognition, motility, horizontal and vertical excerices, i take a comprehension test and my rate is 266 with 100% comprehension. So my comprehension level is the same but my rate is down. The report generated by the program shows a downward trend.
Should i have gone with my gut feeling and ordered acereader pro considering the fact that i tried increased my rate from 200 to 300+ in just a nights use? Right now, i'll keep doing the exercises daily for the next whatever days on the reader's edge and see how i do. if i continue to go down, i'll certainly take advantage of the moneyback guarantee and try acereaderpro instead.
Friday, December 3, 2010
walking tired
Work last night was great, for a thursday night. Great patient, went up to 14 for my 30min break, came down and strecthed out. Really good. Somehow i was tired by morning.
Went to the new hospital for the one hour tour and i was just dragging. Even these senior RNs who worked in the rehab floor and had 10patients were walking so fast, i was amazed. All in all, my feet hurt. A little surprised considering i wasn't running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.
Anyway, i got home, decided to mail my check to TBR ( original plan was to send it through the hospital's mail chute but i forgot the check at home.) Considering i cruised controlled down 95 home, i decided i was too tired to drive to the post office which is about 2 -3 blocks away. So i decided to walk to the mailbox by the 7 eleven.
Wore my skechers shape-up boots for the first time and boy, oh boy, i did not feel the pressure on my legs and thighs. I think i hurt because i place the weight on my sole because the skechers shoe puts the weight somewhere in the middle and i actually enjoyed walking to the mailbox and back. I didn't want to stop walking. I paid $49 bucks for these black ones and $44 for the brown ones i ordered yesterday at 70% off. I'm sure the timberland boots i wanted will be good but considering the comfort of these skechers, i'm glad i went with them.
Went to the new hospital for the one hour tour and i was just dragging. Even these senior RNs who worked in the rehab floor and had 10patients were walking so fast, i was amazed. All in all, my feet hurt. A little surprised considering i wasn't running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.
Anyway, i got home, decided to mail my check to TBR ( original plan was to send it through the hospital's mail chute but i forgot the check at home.) Considering i cruised controlled down 95 home, i decided i was too tired to drive to the post office which is about 2 -3 blocks away. So i decided to walk to the mailbox by the 7 eleven.
Wore my skechers shape-up boots for the first time and boy, oh boy, i did not feel the pressure on my legs and thighs. I think i hurt because i place the weight on my sole because the skechers shoe puts the weight somewhere in the middle and i actually enjoyed walking to the mailbox and back. I didn't want to stop walking. I paid $49 bucks for these black ones and $44 for the brown ones i ordered yesterday at 70% off. I'm sure the timberland boots i wanted will be good but considering the comfort of these skechers, i'm glad i went with them.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Shameful encounter
So i'm back from work, instead of going straight to bed, i make breakfast and watch psych. When that's done, i start to surf aimlessly and somehow i check chase's website. I see 2 charges for $12.71 from target. Without thinking further, i say to myself "i've been charged twice for the crockpot and mixer." So I leap out of bed and drive straight to target. Mind you it's almost 11am.
I get to target and tell the poor young fellow i've been charged twice. He talks to someone over the phone but the person tells him he can't find the transaction. I tell the fellow i also want to exchange the slow cooker since the bottom is scratched. I keep waiting, grab the new cooker, come back and keep waiting.
So i get impatient, very impatient. And start telling the guy it would take 30seconds to clear this up with chase instead of waiting hours. Then i ask if the person we're waiting for is coming. No response. Then i start pacing, impatiently. Then i tell the guy, to just do the exchange i'll go through chase. At this point i'm irrate because i've been waiting for forever and talking loudly, not loud as in yelling but... Anyway, i still wait and i'm more irrate because the guy seems to be doing other stuff and i feel like i'm being ignored. So he tells me i bought i curling iron and i go "i didn't buy a curling iron! Can you pull the receipts instead of having me stand here. i have slept since yesterday." Not in that exact order but i did say those things at different points.
For a second, I pause to think and ask myself, did i purchase anything else from target besides the pantene for $4 and the black friday deal? It starts to dawn on me that i may have purchased the kinky curly that day. To avoid disgrace,i tell the poor fella to check the cooker out and that i'll leave right away, i can't wait any longer. Guy ignores me still, goes about his business while i stand and wait. Then when the person finally shows up, he's pulled the receipts and tells me the two $12.71 charges aren't for the same thing. Lo and behold, i did buy the kinky curler knot today that same afternoon and i believe i paid $11.99 for it which also adds to $12.71 with tax, just like the crockpot and mixer. To conceal my embarassment,which i didn't show, i just kept on acting angry, got the exchange for the cooker and stormed off.
Shame on me! I kept saying to myself how much shame i feel and how guilty i feel for my awful, awful, disgusting behavior. I totally regret the behavior and if there's anything beyond shame, it's exactly what i feel. I made someone's workday misreable as a result of my stupid ignorance and impatience. I did not take a second to think when i saw the transaction online. All i did was jump out of bed and head out. And then i went to the store and prolly made the poor fellow feel bad although as i type right now, i feel like he has my attitude of tuning out whinny patients because he didn't seem to care that much and only seemed to not wait to get rid of me.
Nevertheless, a little patience would have benefited me. Taking a 2nd look would have saved me the gas, time and energy of driving to the store as well as the shame. A nicer attitude and i would've been a pleasant person to deal with and while my impatience could be due to the fact that i wanted to run there and run back quickly to sleep, maybe i shouldn't do stuff like this on no sleep, just so i don't appear rude. I kept apologizing to God all the way home and was appalled at my shamelessness. Had i been pleasant and calm, i could've easily admitted my fault and apologized. I've seen people do that when they laugh and say "my bad, i thought it was such and such..."
Lesson learned is be pleasant always even if you think those you're dealing with have wronged you and you are in the right. Be patient with others and be considerate of others. Lord i've been in situations where i feel patients/+ their families were impatient or inconsiderate and i found that very hard, stressful and just annoying to deal with. And here i am being an awful customer. Yes, the guy may have taken forever, the poor fellow was prolly ignoring me to deal with me but that didn't mean i had to act all annoying and irrate.
Lord, please help me to be pleasant and patient always when dealing with my fellow humans. And please forgive me and i hope the poor fellow finds it in his heart to forgive me. That said, it's gonna take me a while to set foot in this target. I know the last time i went there was over a year ago and after this annoying behavior that even i wouldn't put up with, Christe eleison.
I get to target and tell the poor young fellow i've been charged twice. He talks to someone over the phone but the person tells him he can't find the transaction. I tell the fellow i also want to exchange the slow cooker since the bottom is scratched. I keep waiting, grab the new cooker, come back and keep waiting.
So i get impatient, very impatient. And start telling the guy it would take 30seconds to clear this up with chase instead of waiting hours. Then i ask if the person we're waiting for is coming. No response. Then i start pacing, impatiently. Then i tell the guy, to just do the exchange i'll go through chase. At this point i'm irrate because i've been waiting for forever and talking loudly, not loud as in yelling but... Anyway, i still wait and i'm more irrate because the guy seems to be doing other stuff and i feel like i'm being ignored. So he tells me i bought i curling iron and i go "i didn't buy a curling iron! Can you pull the receipts instead of having me stand here. i have slept since yesterday." Not in that exact order but i did say those things at different points.
For a second, I pause to think and ask myself, did i purchase anything else from target besides the pantene for $4 and the black friday deal? It starts to dawn on me that i may have purchased the kinky curly that day. To avoid disgrace,i tell the poor fella to check the cooker out and that i'll leave right away, i can't wait any longer. Guy ignores me still, goes about his business while i stand and wait. Then when the person finally shows up, he's pulled the receipts and tells me the two $12.71 charges aren't for the same thing. Lo and behold, i did buy the kinky curler knot today that same afternoon and i believe i paid $11.99 for it which also adds to $12.71 with tax, just like the crockpot and mixer. To conceal my embarassment,which i didn't show, i just kept on acting angry, got the exchange for the cooker and stormed off.
Shame on me! I kept saying to myself how much shame i feel and how guilty i feel for my awful, awful, disgusting behavior. I totally regret the behavior and if there's anything beyond shame, it's exactly what i feel. I made someone's workday misreable as a result of my stupid ignorance and impatience. I did not take a second to think when i saw the transaction online. All i did was jump out of bed and head out. And then i went to the store and prolly made the poor fellow feel bad although as i type right now, i feel like he has my attitude of tuning out whinny patients because he didn't seem to care that much and only seemed to not wait to get rid of me.
Nevertheless, a little patience would have benefited me. Taking a 2nd look would have saved me the gas, time and energy of driving to the store as well as the shame. A nicer attitude and i would've been a pleasant person to deal with and while my impatience could be due to the fact that i wanted to run there and run back quickly to sleep, maybe i shouldn't do stuff like this on no sleep, just so i don't appear rude. I kept apologizing to God all the way home and was appalled at my shamelessness. Had i been pleasant and calm, i could've easily admitted my fault and apologized. I've seen people do that when they laugh and say "my bad, i thought it was such and such..."
Lesson learned is be pleasant always even if you think those you're dealing with have wronged you and you are in the right. Be patient with others and be considerate of others. Lord i've been in situations where i feel patients/+ their families were impatient or inconsiderate and i found that very hard, stressful and just annoying to deal with. And here i am being an awful customer. Yes, the guy may have taken forever, the poor fellow was prolly ignoring me to deal with me but that didn't mean i had to act all annoying and irrate.
Lord, please help me to be pleasant and patient always when dealing with my fellow humans. And please forgive me and i hope the poor fellow finds it in his heart to forgive me. That said, it's gonna take me a while to set foot in this target. I know the last time i went there was over a year ago and after this annoying behavior that even i wouldn't put up with, Christe eleison.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Back to searching
So my roommate left around 8am this morning so in essence, he gave me less than 12hrs of notice. i can't believe he was expecting some type of a refund. i took his check for the utilities to the bank today. he lived here for about 2 months, paid for 3, i think with the abrupt notice, he deserved nothing back. it's obvious he made his decision when he went home for the thanksgiving break. At least he could've called or emailed to inform me instead of walking from work, telling me "as of tomorrow, i'm gone and i'm not sure what you want to do about the rent."
In hindsight, i'm glad he refused me prorating his rent when he moved in. I'd offered to have him pay the prorate from the 22nd to the 30th of september and he decided he'll pay on the 21st to the 21st and i said fine. Had i prorated, he wouldn't have rent due till tomorrow and i'd be stuck with not being able to get rent from him. i'm also glad i made him pay utilities for the month he wasn't here because in that case, i got 2 months of utilities which is what he owed. I just think his reasoning was absurd.
Oh well, his money went towards paying december's rent so at least i'm good for a month. Hopefully, i find a good person by God's grace.
In hindsight, i'm glad he refused me prorating his rent when he moved in. I'd offered to have him pay the prorate from the 22nd to the 30th of september and he decided he'll pay on the 21st to the 21st and i said fine. Had i prorated, he wouldn't have rent due till tomorrow and i'd be stuck with not being able to get rent from him. i'm also glad i made him pay utilities for the month he wasn't here because in that case, i got 2 months of utilities which is what he owed. I just think his reasoning was absurd.
Oh well, his money went towards paying december's rent so at least i'm good for a month. Hopefully, i find a good person by God's grace.
Monday, November 29, 2010
more details
while folding laundry in my laundry room, my roommate starts of saying "part of the reason is my dad, and the other reason is the job down here." As i listened, he went on to explain that he doesn't work much and he's on making the rent to pay me so he's not making any money to cover bills back home and factor in the airfare, he's in the hole. I actually thought he works a lot, i mean for weekends when he's here, he works saturdays and sundays and he always works late, he's usually in after 10pm, normally close to 11pm. Do i think he makes $550 a month (which is rent and utilities)? No. But i do believe him when he says it's not what he expected it to be. Air fares cost about $200 round way (rough guesstimate) so twice per month is about 400 and i still think past that he should still have something left behind. Unless he means to say he makes $950 a month which i doubt. I mean when i worked at jeff as an externed i made close to that working 60hours per pay period. times when i did 72hours, i broke it.
he also went on to say part of the reason is that his boss told him today he's thinking about quitting. The part about the dad, i believe simply because he mentioned him being diagnosed with something a couple weeks back. The part about barely scraping rent to pay me, i don't believe.
I think a big factor is how hard it is for him. i know he mentioned it's hard for him and i know he's concerned about his wife which adds onto it. The last time he was saying something about how his wife has been doing something since he moved (can't remember the specifics) but i think it boils down to him rethinking the decision and realizing it's not worth it. I mean factor in being away from his wife and having to spend an extra $950 each month, i doubt if he's making more than he was making back in michigan at the end of the day.
The less than 12hour notice is ludicrous and plain absurd. i can't believe he was expecting some type of a refund.
Instead of being worried, i'm looking at the bright side and thanking God this happened at a time where i met my financial goals and don't owe ahm. That makes me very thankful to God. What will tomorrow bring? i don't know and i'm not going to worry about that. I'll just pray and commit it into the Lord's hands.
he also went on to say part of the reason is that his boss told him today he's thinking about quitting. The part about the dad, i believe simply because he mentioned him being diagnosed with something a couple weeks back. The part about barely scraping rent to pay me, i don't believe.
I think a big factor is how hard it is for him. i know he mentioned it's hard for him and i know he's concerned about his wife which adds onto it. The last time he was saying something about how his wife has been doing something since he moved (can't remember the specifics) but i think it boils down to him rethinking the decision and realizing it's not worth it. I mean factor in being away from his wife and having to spend an extra $950 each month, i doubt if he's making more than he was making back in michigan at the end of the day.
The less than 12hour notice is ludicrous and plain absurd. i can't believe he was expecting some type of a refund.
Instead of being worried, i'm looking at the bright side and thanking God this happened at a time where i met my financial goals and don't owe ahm. That makes me very thankful to God. What will tomorrow bring? i don't know and i'm not going to worry about that. I'll just pray and commit it into the Lord's hands.
l'il bit of a shocker?
So my roommate comes in today and says he's leaving tomorrow? Am i surprised he's leaving early? not really. What's shocking is that i didn't get a month's notice. What he said was i'm leaving tomorrow so i don't know what you want to do about the rent i gave you. I told him i needed 30 days notice. Beside, his cycle starts from the 21st and he's leaving the 30th. He's already been here 10days. I'm not sure how he expects a refund.
he said part of the reason why he's leaving is because his dad is dying. What's the other reason? he didn't say but i know sometime ago he mentioned how hard it is for him being away from his wife. My heart went out to him then and i think he tried. Truth of the matter is that it really is hard. Yes, he skypes with his wife and talks on the phone with her and goes home every other weekend but i think after being married and living with someone for a long time, it must be hard just leaving them to live somewhere else, even if it's temporarily.
The other thing that just popped into my mind as i write this is whether my attitude factors into it. I've not been the type of roommate to hangout a lot with him but in handsite, i think i've spent more time with him than i have with other roommates. I barely saw David, i think i spoke to him once in the house and saw him 2x outside while he was driving in front of the house back in philly. this roommate i've actually sat down to listen to him and had dinner at my dinner table. I just couldn't stand the unsolicited advice and made me resort to just saying hello and goodbye the few times i saw him or just being in my room so i wouldn't have to be out talking. I was also studying for this exam and didn't want to be interrupted while studying to come take a look at something.
Anyway, he was a good person. I saw him as hard worker and i hope it works well for him and his family back in michigan. Hopefully, he profited from working here. I think i'll miss him but oh well, things happen.
he said part of the reason why he's leaving is because his dad is dying. What's the other reason? he didn't say but i know sometime ago he mentioned how hard it is for him being away from his wife. My heart went out to him then and i think he tried. Truth of the matter is that it really is hard. Yes, he skypes with his wife and talks on the phone with her and goes home every other weekend but i think after being married and living with someone for a long time, it must be hard just leaving them to live somewhere else, even if it's temporarily.
The other thing that just popped into my mind as i write this is whether my attitude factors into it. I've not been the type of roommate to hangout a lot with him but in handsite, i think i've spent more time with him than i have with other roommates. I barely saw David, i think i spoke to him once in the house and saw him 2x outside while he was driving in front of the house back in philly. this roommate i've actually sat down to listen to him and had dinner at my dinner table. I just couldn't stand the unsolicited advice and made me resort to just saying hello and goodbye the few times i saw him or just being in my room so i wouldn't have to be out talking. I was also studying for this exam and didn't want to be interrupted while studying to come take a look at something.
Anyway, he was a good person. I saw him as hard worker and i hope it works well for him and his family back in michigan. Hopefully, he profited from working here. I think i'll miss him but oh well, things happen.
speedreading
I signed up for my reading lab earlier this month and i like it. i was led to believe that everyone gets a lexile diagnostic in the beginning. That part is a lie. It looks like it's only those enrolled in instructor-led courses and i say this based on the fact that i'm enrolled to work on my own and i don't have the option of taking a lexile diagnostic. This defeats most of the purpose of buying it because i'd like to know how i'm improving as i work through the program and if i can't measure that, how do i know if i've improved?
I think if they had it available for independent workers, they'll probably have peopl3 in schools where myreadinglab isn't used sign up to work independently.
By not having the lexile measure available to measure progress, i don't think myreadinglab is worth the amount paid. Why? because you can improve your comprehension with tons of exercise at towsendpress.com for free. If you want to know how to find the main idea? well,the book can tell you and then you can take the exercises.
For me, i purchased myreading lab to help my comprehension and have a way to measure improvement and since that isn't there, i personally wouldn't advise purchase considering you can find free resources out there.
So, in researching how to take a lexile diagnostic, i came across a teacher's syllabus from some school in missouri that uses the ultimate speed reader. Googled it but came up with other stuff. Acereader pro and reader's edge are the 2 that topped all the rest. Top 10 review rated my readers edge as #1 with Acereader pro as #2 but to me, they all received the same stars for virtually everything so they rank the same to me.
i read reviews on their actual websites and they both had great reviews. I also looked at amazon.com and Acereader has 5-star reviews. i was put in a dilemma saturday, all day sunday and couldn't decide. i downloaded the free version of acereader and i feel like just using it for that short maybe 30minutes tops put me in the 300wpm range. i've never read that fast before. Their comprehension exercises are 4 question only.It's cheaper than than the basic version of reader's edge.Personally, the impression i got was that it can increase your rate dramatically. I found their games challenging and fun. Reader's edge on the other hand was more expensive, had great reviews as well. They also had a sale for their pro version, it was selling for 74.97 (50%) off compared to $79.95 for their basic editon. Their comprehension tests offer more questions,i believe 6, compared to acereader. I also saw in their reviews, MCATers who'd used it and found it helpful. So, considering their prices are similar, which one do i buy?
i went out, came home, decided i'll get up before 1am to buy reader's edge but woke up this morning. i turned on this computer and boy am i glad i hibernated it. i still had my window open with the purchase page of readers edge on there showing the $74.97 price. Without thinking any further, i just clicked on purchase and paid for it. The only thing had me hesitate for a second was whether i should choose download or pay $7 to have the cd mailed to me ($7 is a ripoff). i ended up choosing the cd anyway because i'm hoping i can sell it to someone since the pro version can be downloaded unto 2 different computers. So $81.92 was the total. I'd looked at their facebook page and the best deal i'd seen there was them offering 20% off both versions so i thought the 50% off for their thanksgiving sale was a real deal. it wasn't posted on their facebook page though.
Is it worth it? I hope it is. i feel like unlike my reading lab where i can't measure my progress, this gives a graphical detail showing your progress. Plus i get to practice speed and comprehension at the same time. I paid abut $12 more than i'd pay for ace reader (of course if i buy ace reader with cd shipping then that'll be $4 more. If it turn's out it's not worth it though, i'll pretend i had a pay a red-light ticket. They have a money back guarantee. I'll use if dilligently for the next 30days and see how much progress i make,if not much, i'll email them and get acereader. Like i said, i liked how acereader's interface was. i think the most cogent testimonial that got me to purchase reader's edge was the one from the MCATers. I'll post an update later.
I think if they had it available for independent workers, they'll probably have peopl3 in schools where myreadinglab isn't used sign up to work independently.
By not having the lexile measure available to measure progress, i don't think myreadinglab is worth the amount paid. Why? because you can improve your comprehension with tons of exercise at towsendpress.com for free. If you want to know how to find the main idea? well,the book can tell you and then you can take the exercises.
For me, i purchased myreading lab to help my comprehension and have a way to measure improvement and since that isn't there, i personally wouldn't advise purchase considering you can find free resources out there.
So, in researching how to take a lexile diagnostic, i came across a teacher's syllabus from some school in missouri that uses the ultimate speed reader. Googled it but came up with other stuff. Acereader pro and reader's edge are the 2 that topped all the rest. Top 10 review rated my readers edge as #1 with Acereader pro as #2 but to me, they all received the same stars for virtually everything so they rank the same to me.
i read reviews on their actual websites and they both had great reviews. I also looked at amazon.com and Acereader has 5-star reviews. i was put in a dilemma saturday, all day sunday and couldn't decide. i downloaded the free version of acereader and i feel like just using it for that short maybe 30minutes tops put me in the 300wpm range. i've never read that fast before. Their comprehension exercises are 4 question only.It's cheaper than than the basic version of reader's edge.Personally, the impression i got was that it can increase your rate dramatically. I found their games challenging and fun. Reader's edge on the other hand was more expensive, had great reviews as well. They also had a sale for their pro version, it was selling for 74.97 (50%) off compared to $79.95 for their basic editon. Their comprehension tests offer more questions,i believe 6, compared to acereader. I also saw in their reviews, MCATers who'd used it and found it helpful. So, considering their prices are similar, which one do i buy?
i went out, came home, decided i'll get up before 1am to buy reader's edge but woke up this morning. i turned on this computer and boy am i glad i hibernated it. i still had my window open with the purchase page of readers edge on there showing the $74.97 price. Without thinking any further, i just clicked on purchase and paid for it. The only thing had me hesitate for a second was whether i should choose download or pay $7 to have the cd mailed to me ($7 is a ripoff). i ended up choosing the cd anyway because i'm hoping i can sell it to someone since the pro version can be downloaded unto 2 different computers. So $81.92 was the total. I'd looked at their facebook page and the best deal i'd seen there was them offering 20% off both versions so i thought the 50% off for their thanksgiving sale was a real deal. it wasn't posted on their facebook page though.
Is it worth it? I hope it is. i feel like unlike my reading lab where i can't measure my progress, this gives a graphical detail showing your progress. Plus i get to practice speed and comprehension at the same time. I paid abut $12 more than i'd pay for ace reader (of course if i buy ace reader with cd shipping then that'll be $4 more. If it turn's out it's not worth it though, i'll pretend i had a pay a red-light ticket. They have a money back guarantee. I'll use if dilligently for the next 30days and see how much progress i make,if not much, i'll email them and get acereader. Like i said, i liked how acereader's interface was. i think the most cogent testimonial that got me to purchase reader's edge was the one from the MCATers. I'll post an update later.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Black Friday
I've been shopping at walmart a lot the last 6 or so months. i barely shop at target. i'll say 2x. the first cuz i was coming from work and needed to buy hot cocoa but didn't want to drive further down to walmart. The 2nd time was because i was so sick and needed the theraflu badly.
I saw the black friday ad for target and decided i'll go get the $3 toaster and return the one at walmart. I also planned on getting the $3 hand mixer. When i got there around a little close to 7am, the $3 deals were gone. One of the target sales associate mentioned people took 6 of them at time and they later found them in the aisles so they're bound to come back on the shelves. i walked out after 7:30 with just a pantene conditioner in hand.
I came home, looked online and decided to go to walmart after seeing their deals.walmart had a similar deal as target $3 deal but for $2.97 (the rival chopper, slow cooker and hand mixer). Target actually had the chopper, toaster and chopper for $3.
Anyway,i got to walmart and found the hamilton beach slow cooker for 14.88, savings of $1.12. It was a 5 quart cooker but maybe they were out of the $9.97 5qt one they'd advertised for. Their rival toaster was $6.36, down from $6.54. I actually purchased it for $6.54 a week ago and the difference was insignifcant so i didn't see the need to buy it and return with my other receipt. I walked out of walmart with nothing in hand. To me, walmart deals were no deals.
In the end, i walked out of target with a $3 mixer and a $8.99 hamilton beach slow cooker. Total was $12.97, tax included. Last month, i was looking for a slow and the best i found at walgreens was $14.99 but i had to pay $19.99 and send in for a $5 rebate which is something i tend to forget to do so i gave up. From where i stand, i got what i wanted for a really good price.
I saw the black friday ad for target and decided i'll go get the $3 toaster and return the one at walmart. I also planned on getting the $3 hand mixer. When i got there around a little close to 7am, the $3 deals were gone. One of the target sales associate mentioned people took 6 of them at time and they later found them in the aisles so they're bound to come back on the shelves. i walked out after 7:30 with just a pantene conditioner in hand.
I came home, looked online and decided to go to walmart after seeing their deals.walmart had a similar deal as target $3 deal but for $2.97 (the rival chopper, slow cooker and hand mixer). Target actually had the chopper, toaster and chopper for $3.
Anyway,i got to walmart and found the hamilton beach slow cooker for 14.88, savings of $1.12. It was a 5 quart cooker but maybe they were out of the $9.97 5qt one they'd advertised for. Their rival toaster was $6.36, down from $6.54. I actually purchased it for $6.54 a week ago and the difference was insignifcant so i didn't see the need to buy it and return with my other receipt. I walked out of walmart with nothing in hand. To me, walmart deals were no deals.
In the end, i walked out of target with a $3 mixer and a $8.99 hamilton beach slow cooker. Total was $12.97, tax included. Last month, i was looking for a slow and the best i found at walgreens was $14.99 but i had to pay $19.99 and send in for a $5 rebate which is something i tend to forget to do so i gave up. From where i stand, i got what i wanted for a really good price.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
saving time
I hate it when people tell me come here and let me tell/ask you something when it's something they could've asked you without you walking over to them. I get this a lot from one PSR and it's usually something like what A1c or something like that. Honestly, unless you want to ask a person a private question in a public avenue, i don't think you need to have them stop whatever they're doing just to hear somethng they could've heard while away. Afterall, we listen with our ears.
My roommate yells "come here for a minute." Not wanting to get out, I tell him i'm indisposed and asks if he needs something. He tells me i'm leaving it at your door, i was paying my bills. Obviously, it's rent check. He's notorious for that and after going through it the first weekend, i've made it a point to respond to him without going out because it's always been him showing me something he either could've told me about or something i don't care to know about.
I mean, at this time, i'm usually sleeping. I don't see how he expects me to get up from bed to come pick up a check that he could leave at the table like the last time.
Maybe, it's my fault. I already have a sign on my door that says "please leave all communications at my door and i'll respond asap." maybe i should get something that says "do not disturb."
The last thing i need is to be interupted while taking a FL exam. Honestly if that happens, i'll not respond.
My roommate yells "come here for a minute." Not wanting to get out, I tell him i'm indisposed and asks if he needs something. He tells me i'm leaving it at your door, i was paying my bills. Obviously, it's rent check. He's notorious for that and after going through it the first weekend, i've made it a point to respond to him without going out because it's always been him showing me something he either could've told me about or something i don't care to know about.
I mean, at this time, i'm usually sleeping. I don't see how he expects me to get up from bed to come pick up a check that he could leave at the table like the last time.
Maybe, it's my fault. I already have a sign on my door that says "please leave all communications at my door and i'll respond asap." maybe i should get something that says "do not disturb."
The last thing i need is to be interupted while taking a FL exam. Honestly if that happens, i'll not respond.
roommates again
so i go into the kitchen and my roommate tells me his doctor told him his cough is from his blood pressure medicine he's been taking for years. yeah right! Yes, drugs like ACE inhibitors can induce cough but seriously, guy had a cold last week that spread to me.
I do my usual uh, huh-huh, good for you, and i don't say much. when i say see you later, he goes "you're going back to your cave?" As opposed to sitting outside and hearing needless ignorant remarks? my answer was "huh, huh," then he laughs. Annoying!
my appropriate response would be "i'm going to my room" but i don't see the sense in saying much to a too-knowing ignorant person. why flog a dead horse?!
I do my usual uh, huh-huh, good for you, and i don't say much. when i say see you later, he goes "you're going back to your cave?" As opposed to sitting outside and hearing needless ignorant remarks? my answer was "huh, huh," then he laughs. Annoying!
my appropriate response would be "i'm going to my room" but i don't see the sense in saying much to a too-knowing ignorant person. why flog a dead horse?!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Packing on the pounds
Last time i went to the docs office,which was in october or late september, i weighed 9lbs less than i do today. I'm over 130lbs now. Now that was shocking. While it's obvious in how i can't fit into my pants, i think my belly is taking most of the fat. I need to do sit ups now and i also need to hit the gym and start running. Lord, I loved the way i was. i loved being able to fit into size 0 italian clothing. Now, i'm a 2 in US clothing and a 6 in my italian abito. I hope i can nip it in the bud here.
On the other hand, i called out of work today. Wanted to show up and suck it up but i'm way too sick. Still having chills, i can't even breathe through my mouth and the doc is telling me i have an ear infection in addition to my throat being red and inflamed. Plus you're very congested and your heart rate is high. Those are here words, not mine. Honestly, i wanted to go to work simply cuz i figured i'd make more with the differential but i'd be jeopardizing my patients. i mean i spoke to my roommate for couple seconds in the kitchen saturday and 2 days later i was coughing like he was and sick. For something this contagious, i wouldn't want a poor patient recovering from surgery catching it. Yes, i could wear a mask but i remember the situation back at UPenn when one of the nurses wore a mask throughout the shift and somewhere along the line, i heard him telling Jackie that his patient was complaining about catching the cold from him.
Anyway, i wouldn't want some hypochondriac to tell me at 4am in the morning that they think they're experiencing the onset of a cold.
Anyway, bedrest and amoxil - that's what the doctor ordered. If only this fever would come down...
On the other hand, i called out of work today. Wanted to show up and suck it up but i'm way too sick. Still having chills, i can't even breathe through my mouth and the doc is telling me i have an ear infection in addition to my throat being red and inflamed. Plus you're very congested and your heart rate is high. Those are here words, not mine. Honestly, i wanted to go to work simply cuz i figured i'd make more with the differential but i'd be jeopardizing my patients. i mean i spoke to my roommate for couple seconds in the kitchen saturday and 2 days later i was coughing like he was and sick. For something this contagious, i wouldn't want a poor patient recovering from surgery catching it. Yes, i could wear a mask but i remember the situation back at UPenn when one of the nurses wore a mask throughout the shift and somewhere along the line, i heard him telling Jackie that his patient was complaining about catching the cold from him.
Anyway, i wouldn't want some hypochondriac to tell me at 4am in the morning that they think they're experiencing the onset of a cold.
Anyway, bedrest and amoxil - that's what the doctor ordered. If only this fever would come down...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Another reason
To not have a roommate. Spreading germs. My roommate came back from Michigan with whatever germs he got and here i was this morning coughing like he was. I've only spoken to him twice. Once on my way to work the day he was sick, i said hello and goodbye. Then yesterday when i came from shopping and found the toaster broken, he decided he wanted to fix it. i stated i don't need it fixed and once he opens the bottom up he tries to lecture me on how it works. My whole body language and how i went about doing whatever i was doing should've given him a clue to stop talking because i wasn't listening. I've taken enough physics to know how stuff works and who said i needed him to tell me how a toaster works. So as soon as i was done doing whatever i had to do, i walked away. I can't stand people who think they know stuff when they're actually ignorant.
Also, i'm sick of the noise. He's loud. Very loud. I can hear him talking on the phone no matter where he is. Plus he sometimes has his phone on speaker and with my door close, it's still the person on the other loud and clear. I remember thinking saturday night, i never heard what Corey was saying.
Oh well, 7 more months.
Also, i'm sick of the noise. He's loud. Very loud. I can hear him talking on the phone no matter where he is. Plus he sometimes has his phone on speaker and with my door close, it's still the person on the other loud and clear. I remember thinking saturday night, i never heard what Corey was saying.
Oh well, 7 more months.
Friday, November 12, 2010
The strange case of the rising blood sugar
So, patient whose dinnertime blood sugar was 88 jumps to 528 at bedtime when the tech checks it. i check it about 20minutes later it was 574. Order said give 16units SSI and notify HO. Patient refused SSI and self-administered 9.7units of novolog via her insulin pump. recheck a little after an hour later, was more than an hour cuz i was busy and the fingerstick was now 584. Patient finally consented to getting SSI but the max she'll take is 10units. spoke to doctor who ordered it and administered. Rechecked a little over an hour and it was 594. at that point, gave 10 units and notified doc again.
Doc says give 20units. Then she says "i'm afraid she'll go into DKA, how much do you think i should give her?". I reply 10. She's NPO. She goes "If she keeps going up, she may not be able to go for surgery in the morning. give her 20units. if she drops too low we can always give d50." Surprisingly, i saw where she was coming from and didn't argue about the dose. Now was that a faulty logic? I don't know and i think it's hard to decide.
The thing with blood sugar levels is that too high is bad and too low is also bad. How will a person's body respond to insulin administration? It's hard to tell. For example, this lady's fingerstick kept climbing up despite multiple administration of insulin. Did the doctor think it was going to keep going up? Yes. She told me over the phone that "she needs a high dose of insulin".
Anyway, i recheck at 440am, it had dropped to 212. At 0639, it was 93. When i left patient, she said she was fine. After walking into the room to introduce new nurse, The patient stated i feel 'low'. Since i was done report, i told my coworker to have the tech check it while i complete the patients OR checklist. So at 0735, it was 31.
Coworker who left me in a crappy situation comes in this morning and tells me you shouldn't have administered 20units. Well, if the lady kept climbing high as she was and went into coma, first it would've been my fault and i'm sure this same person would've criticized the doctor for not being aggressive. Can we treat DKA? yes, insulin drip, IV NSS and a whole bunch of crap. I remember when i worked at Jeff, i had a lady who came in with bloodsugar reading "HI" on machine, she was on a insulin drip, q1hr fingersticks and it took more than 12hours for blood sugar levels to come to the 500 range. And we've had patients here at who've had to be transferred to the ICU so they can get an insulin drip. Can you push D50 and have the blood sugar come up in 30minutes, yes. Sometimes, you may have to administer D50 twice.
So was the doctor's reasoning faulty logic? i don't think so. I mean she could've looked the other way and said, let's not give her anything and the bloodsugar could've gone past 600 and she coulda been in a coma. Neither one of us can predict how the patient would react. It's bifurcated road that leads to the same place. You don't treat aggressively, you risk the patient going into DKA. You treat aggressively, you risk the patient bottoming out. At least in this case the patient was conscious and communicative and action was taken.
There's been times when i've looked at out comes and thought, this doctor could've done this or this should've been implemented in the patients care to avoid such and such. Today, i support the doctors judgement. I know on my drive home, i tried to think if there was anything i could've done differently and honestly? i couldn't think of any. Between 10p and 6am, the lady got 8 fingersticks. One almost every hour except during the hour between 5 and 6am. I did 6 of those fingersticks myself and my tech did 2. i documented 6 times each time i took it. Knowing i'd given the patient 20units insulin, i checked the blood sugar levels afterwards and 20minutes before shift change, i rechecked and documented. She was 93. How was i supposed to know she'll drop considering i held her AM dose of insulin? The doctor didn't play God. I feel like she did the best she could do. Her reasoning led her to the choice she made. It was based on sound logic considering the inability predict an individuals reaction.
I know some nurses look at medical judgement and think it shouldn't be done that way but i think we see things differently. Doctors stand far away and see a picture those of us standing close to the patient don't see. This time, i think the medical judgement, however aggressive it may look, was a fine decision.
Doc says give 20units. Then she says "i'm afraid she'll go into DKA, how much do you think i should give her?". I reply 10. She's NPO. She goes "If she keeps going up, she may not be able to go for surgery in the morning. give her 20units. if she drops too low we can always give d50." Surprisingly, i saw where she was coming from and didn't argue about the dose. Now was that a faulty logic? I don't know and i think it's hard to decide.
The thing with blood sugar levels is that too high is bad and too low is also bad. How will a person's body respond to insulin administration? It's hard to tell. For example, this lady's fingerstick kept climbing up despite multiple administration of insulin. Did the doctor think it was going to keep going up? Yes. She told me over the phone that "she needs a high dose of insulin".
Anyway, i recheck at 440am, it had dropped to 212. At 0639, it was 93. When i left patient, she said she was fine. After walking into the room to introduce new nurse, The patient stated i feel 'low'. Since i was done report, i told my coworker to have the tech check it while i complete the patients OR checklist. So at 0735, it was 31.
Coworker who left me in a crappy situation comes in this morning and tells me you shouldn't have administered 20units. Well, if the lady kept climbing high as she was and went into coma, first it would've been my fault and i'm sure this same person would've criticized the doctor for not being aggressive. Can we treat DKA? yes, insulin drip, IV NSS and a whole bunch of crap. I remember when i worked at Jeff, i had a lady who came in with bloodsugar reading "HI" on machine, she was on a insulin drip, q1hr fingersticks and it took more than 12hours for blood sugar levels to come to the 500 range. And we've had patients here at who've had to be transferred to the ICU so they can get an insulin drip. Can you push D50 and have the blood sugar come up in 30minutes, yes. Sometimes, you may have to administer D50 twice.
So was the doctor's reasoning faulty logic? i don't think so. I mean she could've looked the other way and said, let's not give her anything and the bloodsugar could've gone past 600 and she coulda been in a coma. Neither one of us can predict how the patient would react. It's bifurcated road that leads to the same place. You don't treat aggressively, you risk the patient going into DKA. You treat aggressively, you risk the patient bottoming out. At least in this case the patient was conscious and communicative and action was taken.
There's been times when i've looked at out comes and thought, this doctor could've done this or this should've been implemented in the patients care to avoid such and such. Today, i support the doctors judgement. I know on my drive home, i tried to think if there was anything i could've done differently and honestly? i couldn't think of any. Between 10p and 6am, the lady got 8 fingersticks. One almost every hour except during the hour between 5 and 6am. I did 6 of those fingersticks myself and my tech did 2. i documented 6 times each time i took it. Knowing i'd given the patient 20units insulin, i checked the blood sugar levels afterwards and 20minutes before shift change, i rechecked and documented. She was 93. How was i supposed to know she'll drop considering i held her AM dose of insulin? The doctor didn't play God. I feel like she did the best she could do. Her reasoning led her to the choice she made. It was based on sound logic considering the inability predict an individuals reaction.
I know some nurses look at medical judgement and think it shouldn't be done that way but i think we see things differently. Doctors stand far away and see a picture those of us standing close to the patient don't see. This time, i think the medical judgement, however aggressive it may look, was a fine decision.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
The wierdest coupon ever.
So barnes and noble sends me a coupon in my email saying "25% of Any One Item". I thought why not buy the logic book at BN since the price is the same as amazon and while i'll have to pay tax at barnes and noble, i'll still be better off $7.50 after the $10 discount.
Got to the website and decided to sign up for the free trial membership. I'm told i'll have to buy something to qualify for the free trial membership. I add the logic book expecting to get the 10% discount but all i get is the express free shipping that the members get. Does their 10% discount not apply to textbooks? I try to apply the coupon telling myself the 25% coupon is better than nothing and it tells me the order doesn't qualify. I thought the textbook was an item. So i read the fine print and here's what is says:
The email said the coupon can be present in stores because it says "to save 25% in stores, present at register".
No this fine print says it's not good for textbooks, software, electronics, digital stuff including nook stuff PLUS it's not valid and Barnes and Noble retail bookstores?
They just lost my business and potential membership. Well, i wasn't gonna keep the membership but at least i'd purchase stuff from them while i had it. If i'm not going to get the 10% membership discount on first purchase, have a coupon that applies practically to nothing, why sign up for a useless membership on to go through the trouble of cancelling later?! I mean amazon beats the membership prices at barnes and noble anyway. Plus, i don't get taxed for amazon purchases.
So back to amazon i go.
Got to the website and decided to sign up for the free trial membership. I'm told i'll have to buy something to qualify for the free trial membership. I add the logic book expecting to get the 10% discount but all i get is the express free shipping that the members get. Does their 10% discount not apply to textbooks? I try to apply the coupon telling myself the 25% coupon is better than nothing and it tells me the order doesn't qualify. I thought the textbook was an item. So i read the fine print and here's what is says:
This coupon is (i) not redeemable for cash or cash equivalents (including Gift Cards and online Gift Certificates); (ii) not valid on past purchases; (iii) not eligible for purchases of the following products and services: Barnes & Noble Memberships, Gift Cards, Gift Certificates, shipping or handling expenses, gift-wrapping, textbooks, digital content (including but not limited to digital books, textbooks, magazines, and periodicals), NOOK(TM) and related accessories, other hardware and electronics, software, products available for pre-order, products from the Rosetta Stone Series, or products marked as not eligible for "coupons or promotional discounts;" (iv) not valid on purchases made from third parties accessible from the BN.COM website (e.g., used books, PC and video games, etc.); (v) may not be combined with any other coupon or discount promotion; and (vi) may not be combined with the Educator program discount. This offer is subject to change or discontinuation without notice; we will, however, honor properly placed orders with valid methods of payment with sufficient funds placed prior to such change or discontinuation. BN.COM is not responsible for typographical or pictorial errors. This coupon is not valid at Barnes & Noble retail bookstores or Barnes & Noble College Bookstores. Void where prohibited by law.
The email said the coupon can be present in stores because it says "to save 25% in stores, present at register".
No this fine print says it's not good for textbooks, software, electronics, digital stuff including nook stuff PLUS it's not valid and Barnes and Noble retail bookstores?
They just lost my business and potential membership. Well, i wasn't gonna keep the membership but at least i'd purchase stuff from them while i had it. If i'm not going to get the 10% membership discount on first purchase, have a coupon that applies practically to nothing, why sign up for a useless membership on to go through the trouble of cancelling later?! I mean amazon beats the membership prices at barnes and noble anyway. Plus, i don't get taxed for amazon purchases.
So back to amazon i go.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Is this me, is this you? or is it a sign?
So i got up early, studied, drove to the testing site and got there before 7:30, 7:25 to be precise. waited in my car till 8. They open at 8 so i walked in at 8:15. Sat till 8:50 to be called only to be told i needed more than my drivers license if i'm testing here. Lady at the test center said to call prometrics. I called prometrics and they said to call ETS for a voucher. ETS says they can't help me.
Part of me was excited as i left thinking it's God's way to prevent me from flunking the first time. Got excited when i geico told me i was getting the check and started counting my blessings.
I'm not interested in paying for this test again. In hindsight, i should'be gone ahead and studied for the 1/29 exam instead of switching gears. At least that would've allowed me to take a full load in the spring.
After coming this far, it's hard to back down. What if it's the devil trying to deter me?
Am i going to study for this exam past today? No. Will i continue to improve my vocabulary? Yes. But even if i decide to do this again, i would not be devoting time to studying this. I may spend an hour here and there at work mastering barron's stuff via my kindle but to spend dedicated time otherwise for this? i believe i'm done.
While i was a little upset earlier, I'm moving on today and following my plan. In hindsight, i read the ID instructions. I just didn't get to part bottom part where it talks about testing outside you country. Oh well, Ne a Nyame b3y3 biaa y3.
Part of me was excited as i left thinking it's God's way to prevent me from flunking the first time. Got excited when i geico told me i was getting the check and started counting my blessings.
I'm not interested in paying for this test again. In hindsight, i should'be gone ahead and studied for the 1/29 exam instead of switching gears. At least that would've allowed me to take a full load in the spring.
After coming this far, it's hard to back down. What if it's the devil trying to deter me?
Am i going to study for this exam past today? No. Will i continue to improve my vocabulary? Yes. But even if i decide to do this again, i would not be devoting time to studying this. I may spend an hour here and there at work mastering barron's stuff via my kindle but to spend dedicated time otherwise for this? i believe i'm done.
While i was a little upset earlier, I'm moving on today and following my plan. In hindsight, i read the ID instructions. I just didn't get to part bottom part where it talks about testing outside you country. Oh well, Ne a Nyame b3y3 biaa y3.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Somewhere between shocked and petrified
So i took one of the CAT on the kaplan CD and my score was even worse than my SAT. 'Shocking' is a better word for it. Now, i say that to make the point that i didn't even study for the SAT which at that time was also on a 1600 scale. Now i was soo mortified that i packed all my stuff from the library and came here. I did another kaplan CAT online and got a much better score. Something i'd be pleased with getting. I did an ETS powerscore one and an even worse score. On the 2 kaplan tests, i did better on the verbal. In this ETS exam, i did significantly better on the Quant. What's crazy is that i guessed on about half of the math.
Should i not show up tomorrow, i forfeit $160 and forfeit the opportunity to apply to JHU. But what if i do poorly? will having a previous awful score mess up my chances? All i've had in my mind this weekend is reasons why i shouldn't take this exam. Lord, if you please, whisper to me one cogent reason why i should go ahead and not forfeit.
Should i not show up tomorrow, i forfeit $160 and forfeit the opportunity to apply to JHU. But what if i do poorly? will having a previous awful score mess up my chances? All i've had in my mind this weekend is reasons why i shouldn't take this exam. Lord, if you please, whisper to me one cogent reason why i should go ahead and not forfeit.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Yet another kindle post
Obviously, i'm bored from having to cram for this exam. Just previewed amazon's christmas commercial for the kindle and it states the price as $139. Boy am i glad i didn't wait till Christmas to get it.
Anyway, gotta go back to reading.
Anyway, gotta go back to reading.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Nook Color
Here's something i thought about for a brief second this monring: Supposed i didn't own the kindle, will i purchase the nook color? It only lasted for a second because my answer was "no." At $250, it's a luxury item. At $139, the kindle is something most people can afford. Besides, i enjoy buying kindlebooks taxfree among other perks that comes with the kindle.
Besides, i'm not into the andriod and iphone stuff. I don't care for it and i certainly don't want to read on a LCD screen for long hours. I may as well do it on my computer. BN claims the nookcolor is great for reading magazines and periodicals and also children book with color. Which middle-class family, in this struggling economy, buys a $250 nook for a 8 y.o? And for the adult, why buy another android tablet to read magazines if you can access the magazines website on your phone that has the android technology?
For someone who'd like to own an ipad but can't afford the hefty $499 tag, the nookcolor might be a better option to settle for. But then it's going to be limited in the amount of apps it can run. if the primary purpose is to read, then the nookcolor will be ok if the person doesn't have an android phone. I mean BN has a nook app for the phones anyway.
I, personally, can't find one reason to buy the nookcolor. I think for someone who has BN membership, the regular nook is an option. I just never joined BN because i never saw the sense in paying to get discounts considering i wasn't buying lots of books in the past and when i did start buying lots of books, i realized i can get even better discounts at amazon as compared to those with BN memberships.
After being named the whatever scholar - can't remember the award anymore but it came with a lovely plaque and $100 BN gift card. Anyway, i sold the gift card to my roommate. I actually offered her a 5% discount but she chose to give me the full price.
Either, i'm glad there's competition in the ereader world. There's sony, kobo, amazonkindle and the nook.
Besides, i'm not into the andriod and iphone stuff. I don't care for it and i certainly don't want to read on a LCD screen for long hours. I may as well do it on my computer. BN claims the nookcolor is great for reading magazines and periodicals and also children book with color. Which middle-class family, in this struggling economy, buys a $250 nook for a 8 y.o? And for the adult, why buy another android tablet to read magazines if you can access the magazines website on your phone that has the android technology?
For someone who'd like to own an ipad but can't afford the hefty $499 tag, the nookcolor might be a better option to settle for. But then it's going to be limited in the amount of apps it can run. if the primary purpose is to read, then the nookcolor will be ok if the person doesn't have an android phone. I mean BN has a nook app for the phones anyway.
I, personally, can't find one reason to buy the nookcolor. I think for someone who has BN membership, the regular nook is an option. I just never joined BN because i never saw the sense in paying to get discounts considering i wasn't buying lots of books in the past and when i did start buying lots of books, i realized i can get even better discounts at amazon as compared to those with BN memberships.
After being named the whatever scholar - can't remember the award anymore but it came with a lovely plaque and $100 BN gift card. Anyway, i sold the gift card to my roommate. I actually offered her a 5% discount but she chose to give me the full price.
Either, i'm glad there's competition in the ereader world. There's sony, kobo, amazonkindle and the nook.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Fedex
I've always preferred UPS to fedex and i'm glad amazon uses UPS. So while waiting around for a package from fedex on saturday, i checked online this morning only to find a delivery exception saying i wasn't home. There wasn't a note on my door and the leasing office was open till 5pm ( the exception was made at 3:56pm). i was in the kitchen around that time. i didn't go to bed till 5:06 and all i did was open the door and didn't see a note saying i was missed so i know the fedex person WAS NOT HERE. i mean why not leave a note on my door or leave it in the leasing office? or even knock?!
So now i have to wait till tuesday, am i home tuesday? no? but i'll leave a note telling them to leave it at the office. Hopefully, my roommate doesn't take it off.
Lord i can't wait for this lease to be over.
So now i have to wait till tuesday, am i home tuesday? no? but i'll leave a note telling them to leave it at the office. Hopefully, my roommate doesn't take it off.
Lord i can't wait for this lease to be over.
Dealing with ignorant people
Most of the time, i just let them speak their ignorance, listen, laugh at them in my head and walk away. i've been doing that to my roommate and yesterday i wish i'd said something to him.
I had some shito i bought in philly sitting on my kitchen counter since i got back last week. Last night while putting some on my rice, he tells me "i looked at the bottle and it said to refrigerate after opening so it's probably gone bad. Just to let you know"
First of all, wtf! Second, what do you know about african food to tell me how to store something i've been eating since i was little. I told him it doesn't need to be refrigerated. he goes 'well, i'm telling you because it said it has shrimp in it and it looks like the shrimp might be marinated."
I looked at him and decided i wasn't going to respond to his ignorance simply because i needed to get back to the NCIS that was playing on my laptop. But i did think, stupid fool, how do you tell me how i make something i've been making since i was 8? If he wasn't ignorant, he'd realize that villagers in hot parts of Ghana who don't have fridges make this. I almost told him i made this and took them to school for 3months but i deciced as always, let him him think what he thinks. I make it a point not to argue with an ignorant person who thinks he's a know it all because it's worse than chasing after the wind. It's plain foolish!
To tell me the shrimp has been marinated? what the ! Did he even see shrimp in the thing while looking at it? Reminds me of Marcia telling me palm oil is bad for you. Yet, i'm the one who isn't fat and have been eating it all my life and my greatgrandma ate it and lived to 106.
Sometimes i pity the ignorant and sometimes i'm thankful for them. Hadn't not been for ignorance, the God who worked that miracle knows i wouldn't have graduated from college. So let them think there are no fax machines in Africa and that it is a big jungles with people roaming through it. For when they ask me what my favorite food is and i reply "snake legs" and they go "that's nice" (which is usually the response i get), they wouldn't realize that it's my euphemism for "you ignorant fool, snakes don't have legs. ha ha!"
I had some shito i bought in philly sitting on my kitchen counter since i got back last week. Last night while putting some on my rice, he tells me "i looked at the bottle and it said to refrigerate after opening so it's probably gone bad. Just to let you know"
First of all, wtf! Second, what do you know about african food to tell me how to store something i've been eating since i was little. I told him it doesn't need to be refrigerated. he goes 'well, i'm telling you because it said it has shrimp in it and it looks like the shrimp might be marinated."
I looked at him and decided i wasn't going to respond to his ignorance simply because i needed to get back to the NCIS that was playing on my laptop. But i did think, stupid fool, how do you tell me how i make something i've been making since i was 8? If he wasn't ignorant, he'd realize that villagers in hot parts of Ghana who don't have fridges make this. I almost told him i made this and took them to school for 3months but i deciced as always, let him him think what he thinks. I make it a point not to argue with an ignorant person who thinks he's a know it all because it's worse than chasing after the wind. It's plain foolish!
To tell me the shrimp has been marinated? what the ! Did he even see shrimp in the thing while looking at it? Reminds me of Marcia telling me palm oil is bad for you. Yet, i'm the one who isn't fat and have been eating it all my life and my greatgrandma ate it and lived to 106.
Sometimes i pity the ignorant and sometimes i'm thankful for them. Hadn't not been for ignorance, the God who worked that miracle knows i wouldn't have graduated from college. So let them think there are no fax machines in Africa and that it is a big jungles with people roaming through it. For when they ask me what my favorite food is and i reply "snake legs" and they go "that's nice" (which is usually the response i get), they wouldn't realize that it's my euphemism for "you ignorant fool, snakes don't have legs. ha ha!"
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Burglars can't be choosers...
"We're all imperfect creatures leading imperfect lives in an imperfect world, and all we can do is the best we can." Bernie Rhodenbarr from burglars can't be choosers.
This is the 2nd burglar book i've read this month. The first through the kindle. I wanted to read this using the kindle but it's $7.99. Honestly, if it was 5 bucks i'd have ordered it. Plus it's an e-book. I'm only getting rights to read it on my device so long as i have a reading device. The used book cost $2.40 or thereabouts and i thought it was cheating to buy the kindle version for that much. Besides the library has it so i borrowed it from the library instead. Was too lazy to read it but sunday night i sorta started and couldn't put it down, read some stuff last night after i got back from philly but i was too tired and only covered a little and this evening i finished it up.
Now i can go on to read the other buglar book i bought after burglar on the prowl. i think it's the 3rd in the series. It reminds me of back at RPS when i used to read like crazy.
This is the 2nd burglar book i've read this month. The first through the kindle. I wanted to read this using the kindle but it's $7.99. Honestly, if it was 5 bucks i'd have ordered it. Plus it's an e-book. I'm only getting rights to read it on my device so long as i have a reading device. The used book cost $2.40 or thereabouts and i thought it was cheating to buy the kindle version for that much. Besides the library has it so i borrowed it from the library instead. Was too lazy to read it but sunday night i sorta started and couldn't put it down, read some stuff last night after i got back from philly but i was too tired and only covered a little and this evening i finished it up.
Now i can go on to read the other buglar book i bought after burglar on the prowl. i think it's the 3rd in the series. It reminds me of back at RPS when i used to read like crazy.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
VR
Based on the last study for the beast, it's obvious that VR requires as much study time, if not more, as the rest of the other subjects. My new plan involves following Chaney's,then doing virtuoso and then passages. So far, i'm doing fine with my kindle. Subscribed to atlantic and boston globe. i think i'm going to go through a good amount of these kindle subscriptions.
I also just came across a website today which has reading exercises and answers to help with comprehension. My goal right now is not speed but rather comprehension. I'll use Chaney's VM passages for speed. I'm refering to the passages at the end of the book.
We'll see how it pans out.
I also just came across a website today which has reading exercises and answers to help with comprehension. My goal right now is not speed but rather comprehension. I'll use Chaney's VM passages for speed. I'm refering to the passages at the end of the book.
We'll see how it pans out.
Roommates
So i had a new roommate move in. OCD clean freak?! Anyway, this roommate has rearranged my living room which i didn't mind, the dining room closet, which i didn't mind. This sunday, I saw him cleaning his room and bathroom. None of my business, i thought to myself. I went out with friends, got home close to 9 and he was telling me he's rearranged stuff. First of all, i hate being called out of my room for information i don't care about and secondly, i was too tired to absorb whatever he was saying. Monday, i get home and find he really has moved stuff in my kitchen. That's crossing a line right there. I'm sure he was trying to be helpful but some of the stuff are what's his name stuff i need to throw away and i dont' want them getting mixed up with my stuff. I mean, he should've thought how far is too far. My bags were thrown away. Last time i had bags and receipts in my ziplock drawer, he moved them. So i decided to start storing them in the drawer my first roommate used and he threw them away again.
What's worse is that i can't find the spatula that came with my rice cooker. i used it friday night, washed it and it sat in the dishdrainer. i didn't bother to move it cuz i'd tons of stuff sitting there. The dishdrainer was emptied on sunday by my roommate and i can't find the spatula. The whole 'where's my spatula' thought is something i find very unsettling. I tried to look in the trash but it smelled so bad with the fruit and whatever else was in there and i couldn't locate it. But i did take it out of the container and look though the plastic. Bottom line, i would be very pissed if i can't find that spatula.
I'm also sick of roommates. I know i've a problem with people rearranging stuff of mine, i don't mind general stuff in common areas but there's a fine line somewhere and i feel it when it's crossed. I can't wait to move out of here and God-willing get my own place. Right now, i'm upset at just the thought that that spatula might be missing. God i hope it's not.
What's worse is that i can't find the spatula that came with my rice cooker. i used it friday night, washed it and it sat in the dishdrainer. i didn't bother to move it cuz i'd tons of stuff sitting there. The dishdrainer was emptied on sunday by my roommate and i can't find the spatula. The whole 'where's my spatula' thought is something i find very unsettling. I tried to look in the trash but it smelled so bad with the fruit and whatever else was in there and i couldn't locate it. But i did take it out of the container and look though the plastic. Bottom line, i would be very pissed if i can't find that spatula.
I'm also sick of roommates. I know i've a problem with people rearranging stuff of mine, i don't mind general stuff in common areas but there's a fine line somewhere and i feel it when it's crossed. I can't wait to move out of here and God-willing get my own place. Right now, i'm upset at just the thought that that spatula might be missing. God i hope it's not.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Kindle
Well, earlier this year i wanted the $259 kindle. It was just too expensive for me to buy. I know they'd been about 300 bucks earlier when they first came around. I actually wanted it for my birthday and then amazon brought out the latest generation with a lower price - $139. I knew i had to get one. I pre-ordered after going back and forth trying to decided between the kindle and the nook. I cancelled my pre-order after i hearing from the grapevine that amazon will likely drop the prices around Christmas. I thought why not wait. Well, I need to read. Part of what killed me during the summer was that i was too lazy to read. I borrowed books from the library and i barely read them. I figured the kindle might help me read more.
Guess what? it did. I got it last week, and thought what more to kindle my love for reading than burglar novel by Lawrence block. I believe the last book i read completely back in kansas was a Block novel about Bernie and i loved it back then. The library only had 2 of his burglar books so it ended there. I purchased "The burlgar on the prowl" and finished yesterday. Now i can't put my kindle down. I own the barron's hardcopy book but studying word listse from it has been a pain. So i ordered the kindle version last night and i've read the analogy section twice and completed 2 of the tests. I actually like reading on the the kindle better.
Even if amazon isn't making profit on the kindle, they'll surely make profit on book sales. I mean the probability that i'll order a block novel from amazon is zero because the library has them. But with the kindle, i've purchased 2 so far. Kinda suckx a little knowing that amazon sells the used copy for $2.39 and ships free with prime, too. I had the used ones in my cart but i love being able to look up a work immediately while reading instead of looking it up in a hard copy dictionary. I've learned soo many words just by reading. In fact the same applies to studying with the barron ebook. You can move your cursor to a word to look it up. Normally when i read the hardcopy book, i don't stop to look up words in the answer stem i don't know because it's tedious flipping back and forth through the dictionary. Plus the dictionary that came with my kindle is more comprehensive than the pocketsized one i own and offers things like "the right word" concerning words of the same semantic.
The kindle has 2 dictionaries by the way. I've purchased free books but i plan on buying the non-free ones as well. I know most of the books i wouldn't purchase, like Steig Larson or the doctor nover, knife music, i believe is the title. But i've seen them on the kindle store front, and for knife music, i read something by the author from the kindle daily and it made me wanna order the book right away.
I just wish the books were a little cheaper. i mean Blocks first Bernie novel is 8bucks. The book was written in the 70's. Why can't it be $5. I know i'll be ordering them in packs instead of buying them one at a time. Besides, i plan on reading the rest hardcopy. Buying a kindle book gives you the right to own read the book on your device. it's not like you own it like a hardcopy where you can sell it used.
i got a free biology textbook via kindle and i loved how it felt real, easy to navigate through the chapters, diagrams were just like the books. Great i thought. But considering publishers are selling e-books for about the same price as paperbacks or even more in some cases, i'm definately not going to dish out $150 for a bio textbook or o-chem textbook. Normally, i keep my textbooks clean and sell them either at profit or break even. Rarely do i sell at a small loss. I refused to buy the ichapters book for the bio II textbook because at $25 less than the physical copy, i considered it a waste of money, besides you couldn't sell it and only had access for a year.
If i'm a taking a litterature class or philosophy class where i can get kindle books cheap on amazon, i'll definately buy it but for a science major, i don't see the benefit.
I could go on and on and i know this post is somewhat desultory but i love my kindle, i'm glad i chose it because the $10 difference between this and the nook wasn't a big deal but i'll have to pay 6% on the price of the nook, 6% on books i buy and amazon has cheaper book prices than barnes and noble. Heck, barnes and noble has my philly address so they'll prolly be charging 8% tax instead of 6%. Plus i earn rewards on amazon. i heard the kindle was faster with page turns and to me, it's very fast, almost evanescent. i mean the old page vanishes and new one reappears in milliseconds. I'll end it here
Guess what? it did. I got it last week, and thought what more to kindle my love for reading than burglar novel by Lawrence block. I believe the last book i read completely back in kansas was a Block novel about Bernie and i loved it back then. The library only had 2 of his burglar books so it ended there. I purchased "The burlgar on the prowl" and finished yesterday. Now i can't put my kindle down. I own the barron's hardcopy book but studying word listse from it has been a pain. So i ordered the kindle version last night and i've read the analogy section twice and completed 2 of the tests. I actually like reading on the the kindle better.
Even if amazon isn't making profit on the kindle, they'll surely make profit on book sales. I mean the probability that i'll order a block novel from amazon is zero because the library has them. But with the kindle, i've purchased 2 so far. Kinda suckx a little knowing that amazon sells the used copy for $2.39 and ships free with prime, too. I had the used ones in my cart but i love being able to look up a work immediately while reading instead of looking it up in a hard copy dictionary. I've learned soo many words just by reading. In fact the same applies to studying with the barron ebook. You can move your cursor to a word to look it up. Normally when i read the hardcopy book, i don't stop to look up words in the answer stem i don't know because it's tedious flipping back and forth through the dictionary. Plus the dictionary that came with my kindle is more comprehensive than the pocketsized one i own and offers things like "the right word" concerning words of the same semantic.
The kindle has 2 dictionaries by the way. I've purchased free books but i plan on buying the non-free ones as well. I know most of the books i wouldn't purchase, like Steig Larson or the doctor nover, knife music, i believe is the title. But i've seen them on the kindle store front, and for knife music, i read something by the author from the kindle daily and it made me wanna order the book right away.
I just wish the books were a little cheaper. i mean Blocks first Bernie novel is 8bucks. The book was written in the 70's. Why can't it be $5. I know i'll be ordering them in packs instead of buying them one at a time. Besides, i plan on reading the rest hardcopy. Buying a kindle book gives you the right to own read the book on your device. it's not like you own it like a hardcopy where you can sell it used.
i got a free biology textbook via kindle and i loved how it felt real, easy to navigate through the chapters, diagrams were just like the books. Great i thought. But considering publishers are selling e-books for about the same price as paperbacks or even more in some cases, i'm definately not going to dish out $150 for a bio textbook or o-chem textbook. Normally, i keep my textbooks clean and sell them either at profit or break even. Rarely do i sell at a small loss. I refused to buy the ichapters book for the bio II textbook because at $25 less than the physical copy, i considered it a waste of money, besides you couldn't sell it and only had access for a year.
If i'm a taking a litterature class or philosophy class where i can get kindle books cheap on amazon, i'll definately buy it but for a science major, i don't see the benefit.
I could go on and on and i know this post is somewhat desultory but i love my kindle, i'm glad i chose it because the $10 difference between this and the nook wasn't a big deal but i'll have to pay 6% on the price of the nook, 6% on books i buy and amazon has cheaper book prices than barnes and noble. Heck, barnes and noble has my philly address so they'll prolly be charging 8% tax instead of 6%. Plus i earn rewards on amazon. i heard the kindle was faster with page turns and to me, it's very fast, almost evanescent. i mean the old page vanishes and new one reappears in milliseconds. I'll end it here
Monday, August 23, 2010
a word of encouragement
Rev. Mensa Otabil posted this on facebook and i find it encouraging:
RUN YOUR RACE. While others rush in haste, STAY IN YOUR TRACK. Refuse to be envious of other people’s success. REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE. Remember: Blowing out another's candle will not make yours shine brighter. Light your own candle. Some may step ahead of you but…BE AT PEACE WITH YOURSELF. God will not pass you by. YOUR DAY OF VISITATION IS COMING. You’re not late. You’re not behind. YOU WILL GET THERE!!!
RUN YOUR RACE. While others rush in haste, STAY IN YOUR TRACK. Refuse to be envious of other people’s success. REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE. Remember: Blowing out another's candle will not make yours shine brighter. Light your own candle. Some may step ahead of you but…BE AT PEACE WITH YOURSELF. God will not pass you by. YOUR DAY OF VISITATION IS COMING. You’re not late. You’re not behind. YOU WILL GET THERE!!!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Itunes
I don't like Itunes. i had an account 5 years ago. Anyway, i signed up again because i needed to download storyside B's be still and while i was at it, i figured why not get Peter Cetera's do you love me. That was over a month ago and i don't use itunes to play music. I use a different service for downloads.
Anyway, today, i get 3 unauthorized charges to my account. I only get receipt for one and i see the charges in my paypal account for 3 transactions. Looks like some fool got into my account. not sure how. I called chase and the customer service guy i spoke to said he had the same thing happen to him last week but itunes removed those charges. I find disputes with paypal and called their customer service and they said they'll reverse the charges in 3 days. Honestly, when this is all over, i'm cancelling my account and removing the itunes software from my computer. I don't trust apple, i don't trust itunes. It's a shame walmart and amazon didn't have what i was looking for. I'm glad i've never had any interest in the I's, whether ipod, ipad, iphone, iwhatever.
Anyway, today, i get 3 unauthorized charges to my account. I only get receipt for one and i see the charges in my paypal account for 3 transactions. Looks like some fool got into my account. not sure how. I called chase and the customer service guy i spoke to said he had the same thing happen to him last week but itunes removed those charges. I find disputes with paypal and called their customer service and they said they'll reverse the charges in 3 days. Honestly, when this is all over, i'm cancelling my account and removing the itunes software from my computer. I don't trust apple, i don't trust itunes. It's a shame walmart and amazon didn't have what i was looking for. I'm glad i've never had any interest in the I's, whether ipod, ipad, iphone, iwhatever.
Monday, August 16, 2010
A silver lining
So my door wasn't fixed. They guy came and spent an hour and couldn't fix it. I actually had to get someone else to come in tonigh to fix it. but now it's fine.
I went down to the college to speak to Dr Cosby today. I'd mentioned to one of the students that i was looking for a research position and they said to speak to him as he'll know people at JHU. Well, it was great talking to him today. Great man, great insight, very knowledgeable. I got into 407 by the way and he mentioned that he was starting this program with 15 students who'll be going to the NIH to do research and what not. Guess what? I AM IN!
I think i need to work hard and skip precalc so i can just take calc online and have time to dedicate to other things. i think just 2 classes is ok. i really wanted to do histology but i think it's a good thing i'm not doing that this semester.
Anyhoo, despite the fact that everything seems to be going wrong, ALL is not wrong for here i have a silver lining.
I went down to the college to speak to Dr Cosby today. I'd mentioned to one of the students that i was looking for a research position and they said to speak to him as he'll know people at JHU. Well, it was great talking to him today. Great man, great insight, very knowledgeable. I got into 407 by the way and he mentioned that he was starting this program with 15 students who'll be going to the NIH to do research and what not. Guess what? I AM IN!
I think i need to work hard and skip precalc so i can just take calc online and have time to dedicate to other things. i think just 2 classes is ok. i really wanted to do histology but i think it's a good thing i'm not doing that this semester.
Anyhoo, despite the fact that everything seems to be going wrong, ALL is not wrong for here i have a silver lining.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
A bloody nightmare!
My roommate moved out. i was happy, had a visitors over, changed my lower lock. Everything was fine. This guy kept repeating over, and over, don't lock yourself out. i told him i never lock myself out because i always lock my doors with my keys from the outside when i leave. Well, as i was seeking him off, he locks my door from the outside because he saw me holding my keys. I had my keys because i needed to get into my car. Here's the problem, the new keys weren't on my key chain so basically, he locked me out of my apartment and he was gone. A neighbor had to break me in. i called him to make him aware he locked me out. He tells me "i thought you had your keys."
What a nightmare. That's one way to describe my life these last couple of weeks - a bloody nightmare!
What a nightmare. That's one way to describe my life these last couple of weeks - a bloody nightmare!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Can't wait
So i got myself into this mess. I made the mistake of not investigating my roommates background. Worse still, and everyone has mentioned this is the worst thing i did, was allow a nigerian, born here or not, the concensus is that they're all the same. I'm not holding my breath for someone to prove me wrong.
So now i play the waiting game, again. Waiting for thi devil to move out. Talk about a roommate from hell, this is it. Really. Part of me is really happy that i asked this devil to move out 2 weeks after he moved in. Should be out by saturday.
Right now, i'll let this fool have his course. just 2 more nights or one if we don't have to count this one. This time, the fact that i didn't think got me into the this mess. As always, i pray God gets me out. Sigh.
So now i play the waiting game, again. Waiting for thi devil to move out. Talk about a roommate from hell, this is it. Really. Part of me is really happy that i asked this devil to move out 2 weeks after he moved in. Should be out by saturday.
Right now, i'll let this fool have his course. just 2 more nights or one if we don't have to count this one. This time, the fact that i didn't think got me into the this mess. As always, i pray God gets me out. Sigh.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Oops, i tripped the circuit breaker
And boy oh boy. My room is very comfortable with the fan on. I shoulda thought of that last week instead of letting the fool get comfortable. No internet for him, i changed the network name and access password. And since comcast never came to install the digital cable, i'm curious to see how long this fool lasts in this heat, no internet and cable. All i need at this time is a dog to run around. A black mastiff preferably but since i don't think i can do a mastiff, i'm get a black whatever... forget what the name is but i asked my friend if i could borrow the dog for a while. We'll see.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Can't wait
so i had a lock put on my bedroom door. and i got someone to come hang around this place while i'm gone. Counting the days when my 2nd bedroom will be empty.
Friday, August 6, 2010
More drama
If i say i don't regret letting this fool into this apartment, i'd be telling a lie. I've been quiet for a while having him have his way. But tonight i said stuff back to him. If a person is black and american, they are black american. it doesn't matter their heritage. I didn't want that fool to think he could run around this place freely. I told him peter would come talk to him saturday and he starts going off. Then he goes i'm going to call the cops. i told him to go ahead. Based on my experience in philly, i know cops cannot do anything when it comes to tenancy issues. So i call 911 telling them he was threatening me. Police came over and lo and behold said they can't do anything. Fact of the matter is that this time, i told him to shut up, to leave, i talked back to him. I think he just realized i'm not as quiet as i appear to be and that i wasn't going to take his nonsense anymore so he got dressed and left out of this place. I had agreed i'll let PNC send him a check but no more. I'll write him one. In that case, if he reverses his i reverse mine. Even.
I spent the bulk of my evening trying to find someone on craigslist to teach this idiot a lesson but i'll let God run the course. I'm sure He can serve justice better than my revenge. Revenge may be sweet but i'll leave it to the Lord.
I fell so much better now. I feel a lot better knowing this roommate of mine is out of the house. I hope he doesn't come back tonight and i hope he moves soon.
I spent the bulk of my evening trying to find someone on craigslist to teach this idiot a lesson but i'll let God run the course. I'm sure He can serve justice better than my revenge. Revenge may be sweet but i'll leave it to the Lord.
I fell so much better now. I feel a lot better knowing this roommate of mine is out of the house. I hope he doesn't come back tonight and i hope he moves soon.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Thank God for a new day
After all the drama my roommate was trying to create, i'm so glad it's a new day. And i'm glad i didn't buy into his stupidity. So i did think a little and i'm glad i told him to move out. Really, really glad. Last year, i decided to suck it up with my roommate and i couldn't wait for my lease to be over so he could move. This time, it's great to tell the person to move out even if it means you've no one to share your rent with you. I'm a little tired of roommate. This one was me not being smart. i shouldn't have let him move in the first place. But oh, i saw the opportunity to save $525 this month and in the end, there is no savings. Right now, i pray he finds a place and gets out of here. Of course after coming across his kind, i'll stick to my usual 'type' when it comes to roommates.
If i do decide to look for a roommate, i'll be more careful, patient and selective. Although i can't wait for my lease to be over so i can move. The neighbors upstairs are noisy.
If i do decide to look for a roommate, i'll be more careful, patient and selective. Although i can't wait for my lease to be over so i can move. The neighbors upstairs are noisy.
If it looks like a duck
Now my new roommate is someone i wouldn't have allowed to move in if my head was functioning. But in the name of saving a little bit of money, i let the this person move in. Honestly, my old roommate was better. Granted he made me uneasy among other things but he was ok.
This one acts like a child. He actually appears childish but reason demands that he has to be older. i guess reason is wrong. i had him borrow my NOT lamp when he moves in. Asked him to return it and he said he will return it monday. Yesterday, i wake up to find a box in front of my door. he did go to ikea to buy it and he placed the box in front of my door. So i place it in front of his door informing him i can't assemble it and i don't want something new to replace the old thing i have. he writes an extensive note which i really didn't read in detail saying as a sublandlord, i'm required to provide light. Huh, i never said that to Jenny when i moved into to monument and the person who lived here never said that to me but that could be because they grew up in baltimore so they know how things work.
So anyway, i told him he can take his lamp and i'd like for him to move out. Yes, it'll be my loss but after hearing his attitude with the comcast CSR when i put him on, i realized he's not what he seems to be. He got the nerve to ask me for the last 4 of my SSN and i told him i wouldn't tell him because it's personal. When he asked me to tell the CSR that he's authorized on the account, i told the CSR all i want is for him to add the digital cable and not to be authorized on the account. I said that only because of the behavior he'd exhibited with the customer service person. i'm glad i made that judgement.
i was thinking to myself i'd like to not have a roommate next year. I did consider for a moment that i shouldn't have allowed him to move in when he did. I wish i'd acted wisely but there's no need crying over spilled milk. I'm glad he's moving out. locked him out of the internet and he started acting childish, saying "i'm going to play loud music" which he did and being loud. He really reminded me of Sade. I'm really forcing myself to not think that nigerian kids who're brought up here are all one and the same. I was really forcing myself not to think like that but after standing next to him when he said he wanted to copy the note i wrote and had him signed, he smelled like he'd smoked something. Just like Sade. Looks like they're one and the same afterall.
The big lesson? I should've waited upon the Lord to give me a good roommate.
This one acts like a child. He actually appears childish but reason demands that he has to be older. i guess reason is wrong. i had him borrow my NOT lamp when he moves in. Asked him to return it and he said he will return it monday. Yesterday, i wake up to find a box in front of my door. he did go to ikea to buy it and he placed the box in front of my door. So i place it in front of his door informing him i can't assemble it and i don't want something new to replace the old thing i have. he writes an extensive note which i really didn't read in detail saying as a sublandlord, i'm required to provide light. Huh, i never said that to Jenny when i moved into to monument and the person who lived here never said that to me but that could be because they grew up in baltimore so they know how things work.
So anyway, i told him he can take his lamp and i'd like for him to move out. Yes, it'll be my loss but after hearing his attitude with the comcast CSR when i put him on, i realized he's not what he seems to be. He got the nerve to ask me for the last 4 of my SSN and i told him i wouldn't tell him because it's personal. When he asked me to tell the CSR that he's authorized on the account, i told the CSR all i want is for him to add the digital cable and not to be authorized on the account. I said that only because of the behavior he'd exhibited with the customer service person. i'm glad i made that judgement.
i was thinking to myself i'd like to not have a roommate next year. I did consider for a moment that i shouldn't have allowed him to move in when he did. I wish i'd acted wisely but there's no need crying over spilled milk. I'm glad he's moving out. locked him out of the internet and he started acting childish, saying "i'm going to play loud music" which he did and being loud. He really reminded me of Sade. I'm really forcing myself to not think that nigerian kids who're brought up here are all one and the same. I was really forcing myself not to think like that but after standing next to him when he said he wanted to copy the note i wrote and had him signed, he smelled like he'd smoked something. Just like Sade. Looks like they're one and the same afterall.
The big lesson? I should've waited upon the Lord to give me a good roommate.
Monday, August 2, 2010
White Flag
So i think i threw in the towels yesterday or saturday. i studied chapter 7 of TBR gen chem II and then i gave up. I'm scoring 7s on the VR tests i've taken so far. i was scoring 9 earlier but still that is low. i'm not sure how i was going to raise that to a 12 or 10 by september. now that i put down 10, that's actually doable. But what about bio? i've not touched much of bio since early july. Thing is those who took it in june screamed genetics and 7/29 people where typing "GENETICS, GENETICS, GENETICS" all over the place. i purchased the schaum's book and i've not had the time to go through. Nova helped with physics, gen chem i feel ok save for acid/bases. orgo i feel fine, besides, most people keep getting one passage per exam and most say it's not that bad. I feel like i spent more time trying to master orgo and neglected bio.
All in all, i've EK bio 1001 to go through, i went through 4 passages per certain chapters but that was back in june. i've only done 4 gen chem topicals. i've done a good amount of EK 1001 orgo and a few gen chem and lately some physics. i've done a good amount of TBR chapters, mostly phase one which has been lately. For the ones i did in late july, i haven't even gone back to do phase II a week after as recommended. I'm still a little fuzzy on physics though i feel like NOVA helped a great deal in helping me gain intuition and understanding it and i can see the results when i do the EK physics now, i'm doing great. But i still have like 95% of TPR Sci wrkbk to go through. I've topicals, sectionals and discretes,subject tests and FLs to do. i've TBR phase II and III to finish, along with their CBTs. I've EK 1001s to go through, along with the 30minutes. Plus the AAMC.
Bottom line, i've a lot of stuff that needs to be done in so little time. I do have a one week vacation coming up. The question is do i know the stuff like the back of my hand? I'm not well prepared.
I had a plan. i stuck to it, not completely, but i think i followed it closely. In hindsight, i didn't follow the plan. i didn't stick to it. I kept tweaking along the way. Things came up. I had to read NMR and the COOH from the textbook because i didn't know it. In hindsight, i wish i'd studied when school was in session instead of trying to go through EK part of the time.
It's not that i didn't invest a lot of time into this. God knows i did. Worst case i did 12hrs a day. My plan was 16 but 12 hrs x4 is about 48hrs a week, not including the few 1 or 2 hrs i did on days i had to work or the more hours i put in on days when i got cancelled. So it's not about me not investing the time. What is it then? What did i do wrong? what did i not do? or what did i not do right? i think the last 3 questions are one and the same.
Only think i can think of is the fact that i'm ill-prepared. i did not stick to the plan completely. But plans are meant to be tweaked a little so they can adjust to circumstances.
Maybe it's my lack of confidence, and my self-doubt that's doing me in. Frustration, doubt, despair, self-reliance. Maybe that's my flaw. There are so many things to weigh. do i suck it in these last couple of weeks and flunk? do i suck it in for the last couple of weeks and really get a miracle that makes me excel? what if that doesn't happen, then i'll have wasted even more time. Looking at it from this point, i wish i'd studied for the stupid precalc thing in that case i could've taken calc I this summer while stuyding for the alternative. I'd have made more money by not taking time off in june, by not asking to be cancelled at times when it wasn't my turn. Money and time spent driving here to study, going to bn to study, buying a drink and/or cookie while i sat there. Lord, this is so........... i don't know what word to put down.
So what happens now? I've not given up on taking the exam. Absolutely not. A coworker asked me what i did yesterday and i mentioned sleeping, going to the mall and watching tv shows. She asked "you didn't review?" i responded i was too tired. A patient asked have you taught about further your career to become a doctor? i told him that's what i started as but i changed to nursing. His response was don't give up on your dream. So, i'm going to take the kaplan online FL since i'm going to lose them anyway in november. see how i do. It's not like i've done terrible on the kaplan topicals. On the contrary i've done very well. i think TBR is my confidence killer. i even do good on the TPR workbook. so i'll decide by the end of this week on what to do. I'd rather do this right than go in ill prepared.
LIS took this exam last fall and felt ill-prepared so he voided and studied for however many months, doing 40 FLs to score a 40. i know he did the sci wrkbook and recommends doing that and then a third of TBR. So, while i feel awful, i know people who've studied hard and flunked, studied harder again and flunked, i can actually think of one. So, instead of rushing in and making 20s, i think i'd rather go in prepared.
I'm not giving up on my dream. No, when it comes to that, i'd rather try and try again and again than just look from a distance and give up. I'm just trying to push it back and prep harder. I just hope i have the same drive.
Now that brings up a lot of stuff like what do i do this fall, do i take histo, do i take the remainder of august to prep for the alternative and test out of precalc. Do i take calc instead of histo or both? do i look or a RA position. Which reminds me i'm supposed to go talk to some doctor for a recommendation. So many things to think about and decide.
Lord Jesus please guide me in making the right choices.
All in all, i've EK bio 1001 to go through, i went through 4 passages per certain chapters but that was back in june. i've only done 4 gen chem topicals. i've done a good amount of EK 1001 orgo and a few gen chem and lately some physics. i've done a good amount of TBR chapters, mostly phase one which has been lately. For the ones i did in late july, i haven't even gone back to do phase II a week after as recommended. I'm still a little fuzzy on physics though i feel like NOVA helped a great deal in helping me gain intuition and understanding it and i can see the results when i do the EK physics now, i'm doing great. But i still have like 95% of TPR Sci wrkbk to go through. I've topicals, sectionals and discretes,subject tests and FLs to do. i've TBR phase II and III to finish, along with their CBTs. I've EK 1001s to go through, along with the 30minutes. Plus the AAMC.
Bottom line, i've a lot of stuff that needs to be done in so little time. I do have a one week vacation coming up. The question is do i know the stuff like the back of my hand? I'm not well prepared.
I had a plan. i stuck to it, not completely, but i think i followed it closely. In hindsight, i didn't follow the plan. i didn't stick to it. I kept tweaking along the way. Things came up. I had to read NMR and the COOH from the textbook because i didn't know it. In hindsight, i wish i'd studied when school was in session instead of trying to go through EK part of the time.
It's not that i didn't invest a lot of time into this. God knows i did. Worst case i did 12hrs a day. My plan was 16 but 12 hrs x4 is about 48hrs a week, not including the few 1 or 2 hrs i did on days i had to work or the more hours i put in on days when i got cancelled. So it's not about me not investing the time. What is it then? What did i do wrong? what did i not do? or what did i not do right? i think the last 3 questions are one and the same.
Only think i can think of is the fact that i'm ill-prepared. i did not stick to the plan completely. But plans are meant to be tweaked a little so they can adjust to circumstances.
Maybe it's my lack of confidence, and my self-doubt that's doing me in. Frustration, doubt, despair, self-reliance. Maybe that's my flaw. There are so many things to weigh. do i suck it in these last couple of weeks and flunk? do i suck it in for the last couple of weeks and really get a miracle that makes me excel? what if that doesn't happen, then i'll have wasted even more time. Looking at it from this point, i wish i'd studied for the stupid precalc thing in that case i could've taken calc I this summer while stuyding for the alternative. I'd have made more money by not taking time off in june, by not asking to be cancelled at times when it wasn't my turn. Money and time spent driving here to study, going to bn to study, buying a drink and/or cookie while i sat there. Lord, this is so........... i don't know what word to put down.
So what happens now? I've not given up on taking the exam. Absolutely not. A coworker asked me what i did yesterday and i mentioned sleeping, going to the mall and watching tv shows. She asked "you didn't review?" i responded i was too tired. A patient asked have you taught about further your career to become a doctor? i told him that's what i started as but i changed to nursing. His response was don't give up on your dream. So, i'm going to take the kaplan online FL since i'm going to lose them anyway in november. see how i do. It's not like i've done terrible on the kaplan topicals. On the contrary i've done very well. i think TBR is my confidence killer. i even do good on the TPR workbook. so i'll decide by the end of this week on what to do. I'd rather do this right than go in ill prepared.
LIS took this exam last fall and felt ill-prepared so he voided and studied for however many months, doing 40 FLs to score a 40. i know he did the sci wrkbook and recommends doing that and then a third of TBR. So, while i feel awful, i know people who've studied hard and flunked, studied harder again and flunked, i can actually think of one. So, instead of rushing in and making 20s, i think i'd rather go in prepared.
I'm not giving up on my dream. No, when it comes to that, i'd rather try and try again and again than just look from a distance and give up. I'm just trying to push it back and prep harder. I just hope i have the same drive.
Now that brings up a lot of stuff like what do i do this fall, do i take histo, do i take the remainder of august to prep for the alternative and test out of precalc. Do i take calc instead of histo or both? do i look or a RA position. Which reminds me i'm supposed to go talk to some doctor for a recommendation. So many things to think about and decide.
Lord Jesus please guide me in making the right choices.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Life keeps moving, even when you stop
So the focus of my summer has been studying to conquer this 'thing'. I've been saying i don't have a life but the fact is i've been saying that since being at DU. I tell myself i'll work on that when i'm done with this but the fact of the matter is while i'm working on this, that is still very much existent, and as i move along the x axis of life and the t axis, that also moves.
That means i need to multitask, to deal with this and that.
Talking to a friend, who's like an older sister to me, made me realize while i'm engrossed in just one thing this summer, life is moving, along with everything in it. Question is, what will the displacement be when i stop to look around?
lesson learned is better start looking around now.
That means i need to multitask, to deal with this and that.
Talking to a friend, who's like an older sister to me, made me realize while i'm engrossed in just one thing this summer, life is moving, along with everything in it. Question is, what will the displacement be when i stop to look around?
lesson learned is better start looking around now.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
There's pain in knowledge
I find it hard watching someone fight a losing battle in a movie because i know they're not going to win and i tell myself they're better off saving their energy.
I find it heartbreaking watching myself fight a battle i think i'm going to lose looking back at all the times i've failed in the past. It's quite depressing, in fact. Do i throw my hands up in the air or do i keep on fighting hoping for a miracle? What are the chances of a miracle looking at the past. But then again, do i forget about the past, realize it's a new day and keep fighting till the fight is over and i'm declared a loser. Just the thought sends tears pouring. I find it soo hard to give up. On a road where failure has popped up certain times, attaining success does not just require a miracle, it demands one. I feel like i wouldn't be surprised it i end up with Queen's result despite all the work i've put in. Sure, I might cry or hold the tears inside, but i won't be surprised. The pain in knowing the truth is that it hurts, it cuts like a knife. Ignorance surely is bliss.
I find it heartbreaking watching myself fight a battle i think i'm going to lose looking back at all the times i've failed in the past. It's quite depressing, in fact. Do i throw my hands up in the air or do i keep on fighting hoping for a miracle? What are the chances of a miracle looking at the past. But then again, do i forget about the past, realize it's a new day and keep fighting till the fight is over and i'm declared a loser. Just the thought sends tears pouring. I find it soo hard to give up. On a road where failure has popped up certain times, attaining success does not just require a miracle, it demands one. I feel like i wouldn't be surprised it i end up with Queen's result despite all the work i've put in. Sure, I might cry or hold the tears inside, but i won't be surprised. The pain in knowing the truth is that it hurts, it cuts like a knife. Ignorance surely is bliss.
Stagnant
i feel like i've slacked the entire month of july. i feel like i've done nothing. Maybe it's because i don't see much of a progress. It's pretty discouraging. I'm not sure what i'm going to do. Christ have mercy
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The song of the Cebu oops Miami
In the song of the Cebu, larry starts with a slideshow of pictures where he goes "this is me and my aunt ruth, this is me fighting a bull, this is me and the bull and i think that's the bull's cousin,..." at some point, the audience see something bad on the slideshow that isn't supposed to be there and Larry goes "forget about that one." and they show audieces like junior and the gourds trying to shake thier heads and narrow their eyes in surprise.
So a colleague of mine goes to miami, didn't work on my floor last night but i came down sometime during the night and asked how her trip was and she goes awesome. so she asks would you like to see some pictures and i go "sure."
The whole "picture showing" thing was much like Larrys. 3 audiences gathered around my friend with her digicam and she going "this guy is soo fabulous,blah, blah, blah..." and each time i 'll get the camera to get a closer look. after a couple tries i just stood behind like everyone else and watched do her little slideshow. Till we get to the part where she goes "this guy invited us to his pool party" and the next picture that comes up afterwards is a naked guy with 3 of them in bikini and then she hits the back button like Larry going forget about that one. Soon as i saw that picture,the slideshow was over for me. Yes i see naked people all the time at work but i don't take delight in seeing stuff like that out so i walked off the floor but to where i came from and everyone looked at me like "what's wrong?" For starters, i don't wish to see what else is on that camera. I like to guard eyes and ears.
So a colleague of mine goes to miami, didn't work on my floor last night but i came down sometime during the night and asked how her trip was and she goes awesome. so she asks would you like to see some pictures and i go "sure."
The whole "picture showing" thing was much like Larrys. 3 audiences gathered around my friend with her digicam and she going "this guy is soo fabulous,blah, blah, blah..." and each time i 'll get the camera to get a closer look. after a couple tries i just stood behind like everyone else and watched do her little slideshow. Till we get to the part where she goes "this guy invited us to his pool party" and the next picture that comes up afterwards is a naked guy with 3 of them in bikini and then she hits the back button like Larry going forget about that one. Soon as i saw that picture,the slideshow was over for me. Yes i see naked people all the time at work but i don't take delight in seeing stuff like that out so i walked off the floor but to where i came from and everyone looked at me like "what's wrong?" For starters, i don't wish to see what else is on that camera. I like to guard eyes and ears.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Roller coaster ride
I took a look at the GRE stuff at BN today and ended up reading the verbal tips in TPR book instead. I thought that was helpful. Anyway, goal was to read kaplan to the aromatics, do corresponding EK and do topicals. done with 2 topicals out of 3. can't find the other one. I think i may jump on to acid bases for the remainder of the time and do the other one tomorrow. So far i've been focusion on ochem and come to think of it, i feel like there're only few questions on the subject on the exam. But anyeay, the more i practice, the more i learn and the more i realize that i learn from rationales because i get to apply rationales i learned earlier to new questions. Anyway, i still need a miracle and some icecream.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
I really feel like giving up
honestly, i'm starting to think maybe i should quit and focus on the GRE for the next month and refocus on this so i take it next year. I've invested soo much time and money and the opportunity cost is not only enormous but it increases exponentially with time.
i spent my afternoon at bn and i couldn't do any physics. I feel like i need more time. Question is how much more time do i need? I've not had a life this summer thanks to studying for this. And to just throw my hands up in the air and walk away is just something i can't bring myself to do. I feel like it's one of those days when i need to hit the gym. Hopefully feel better
i spent my afternoon at bn and i couldn't do any physics. I feel like i need more time. Question is how much more time do i need? I've not had a life this summer thanks to studying for this. And to just throw my hands up in the air and walk away is just something i can't bring myself to do. I feel like it's one of those days when i need to hit the gym. Hopefully feel better
Sunday, July 11, 2010
diagonistic
I called out of work today because i felt so sick and nauseated this morning that i had to lay in my car for a while before driving home. i took 2 extra strength tylenol before going to bed but i woke up with the headache (much better than before) and nausea. i really wanted to work this 3 day weekend simply for the fact that it would be a "full weekend pay" and also i'm saving my sick time for later. Could i ran around at work for 5 hours nonstop this evening? i don't think so. i've been sitting here and already the headache is starting to worsen.
On the bright side, i read over the verbal mastery book and i feel it helped me with the 4 practice passages i did this evening. i think it's better than the painless reading comprehension in that it's more curtailed to the college person who doesn't have time to look up too much words in a dictionary and need to know the need-to stuff. although painless reading has the same thing in it. thing is i did see some improvement today.
On a more gloomy note, i finally mustered the courage to take the kaplan diagnostic and i had a 53%. I did great in verbal, i seem to always to great in kaplans verbal but i heard they're a lot more easier than the real things so i'm not too excited. Bio had stuff on genetics and stuff that made me go HUH? and ochem had stuff on aromatics. Since i didn't read the chapter on aromatics, i bombed that part. My stereochemistry is solid so that's reassuring. Without going into details, let's just say i bombed the ps section. My brain is too tired to microanalyze the results to i'll do that later. Thaat said, i need to review hit the books because i've not been able to do any studing the last 2 days. i have a FL coming up and the recent diagnostic results is equally pathetic and scary. The only thing about the diagnostic is that it doesn't give you a raw score.
God, the more the day draws near, the more i feel i need a miracle greater than heaven and earth. Part of me feels like dump this, take the GRE and refocus in the fall. God knows i've invested soo much time, soo much energy and the opportunity costs is too enormous to just give up. Plus, i'm not a quitter. If it's bad on the day, i guess i can void or retake. Plus, who's to say i'll have the time in fall to invest in this when i've classes, work with lots of competencies and what nots to do.
So all things considered, this is my one good chance to hit it and hit it hard. I'm going to have stop slacking, and study hard.
On the bright side, i read over the verbal mastery book and i feel it helped me with the 4 practice passages i did this evening. i think it's better than the painless reading comprehension in that it's more curtailed to the college person who doesn't have time to look up too much words in a dictionary and need to know the need-to stuff. although painless reading has the same thing in it. thing is i did see some improvement today.
On a more gloomy note, i finally mustered the courage to take the kaplan diagnostic and i had a 53%. I did great in verbal, i seem to always to great in kaplans verbal but i heard they're a lot more easier than the real things so i'm not too excited. Bio had stuff on genetics and stuff that made me go HUH? and ochem had stuff on aromatics. Since i didn't read the chapter on aromatics, i bombed that part. My stereochemistry is solid so that's reassuring. Without going into details, let's just say i bombed the ps section. My brain is too tired to microanalyze the results to i'll do that later. Thaat said, i need to review hit the books because i've not been able to do any studing the last 2 days. i have a FL coming up and the recent diagnostic results is equally pathetic and scary. The only thing about the diagnostic is that it doesn't give you a raw score.
God, the more the day draws near, the more i feel i need a miracle greater than heaven and earth. Part of me feels like dump this, take the GRE and refocus in the fall. God knows i've invested soo much time, soo much energy and the opportunity costs is too enormous to just give up. Plus, i'm not a quitter. If it's bad on the day, i guess i can void or retake. Plus, who's to say i'll have the time in fall to invest in this when i've classes, work with lots of competencies and what nots to do.
So all things considered, this is my one good chance to hit it and hit it hard. I'm going to have stop slacking, and study hard.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
post gym strategy
Back from the gym. i was on the threadmill for 15minutes and i've decided that i need to do countless number of problems in TPR and the kaplan topicals in addition to doing the questions in nova again. So, i'll go over nova twice. The other thing is that i need to think like i did in nursing school, in a 3D fashion not in 1D just so if they throw a question at me that incorporates different sujbects, i can answer it. These are just what i think. The important thing here is that i ask for God's blessings
Equally nervous and discouraged
So i did the nova physics and that brought my confidence up. i felt i finally understand the concepts and i do. i did 3 passages in TBR physics (phase I) and i feel pretty violated. So one, i forgot that something being thrown horizontally means vertical velocity is zero. Nova taught me that, how did i forget? i need to add that to my wall poster (Yep, i've posters on my wall now with facts i think i'm likely to forget, formulas and what nots. i'm starting to think i may need 2 for physics alone.)
Needless to say, TBR questions are pretty convulated.The only thing that compares are Dr Poyss' questions for adult health which makes me think i should've taken this exam right after nursing school simply cuz i knew how to think through convuluted stuff then and spot every trick. I guess i need to stimulate that part of my brain to wake up.
Anyway, i just got home. i'm equally depressed and nervous. I've decided to hit the gym after a 5 month hiatus and think up a strategy on the threadmill. Never in my life have i felt i need a complete miracle to pass an exam than now. Christ have mercy because i'm gonna need a little bit more than his help, i'm gonna need his doing, a complete miracle to pass this. off to the gym i go
Needless to say, TBR questions are pretty convulated.The only thing that compares are Dr Poyss' questions for adult health which makes me think i should've taken this exam right after nursing school simply cuz i knew how to think through convuluted stuff then and spot every trick. I guess i need to stimulate that part of my brain to wake up.
Anyway, i just got home. i'm equally depressed and nervous. I've decided to hit the gym after a 5 month hiatus and think up a strategy on the threadmill. Never in my life have i felt i need a complete miracle to pass an exam than now. Christ have mercy because i'm gonna need a little bit more than his help, i'm gonna need his doing, a complete miracle to pass this. off to the gym i go
Friday, July 2, 2010
Panicking
So i just took a TPR passage and got 3/7. That just sent me into panic mode. Christe Eleison for i can't do this bad on the test day. I've already completed a month's worth of intensive review and didn't do much of problems doing those times except for a few passages in TBR. Anyhoo, first thing i did was boot up this laptop and go the TPR website to see if they have any classes in july just in case. first time at content review as pretty much learning the stuff. So i decided to make these 2 weeks before july a quick review for gen chem and phys. The passage i did was on solutions so maybe the fact that i haven't reviewed solutions 2x may be part of the deal but for those questions that required reasoning, i'm worried about.
so i went to SDN and i read posts about people who've prepped for a month and are getting 20-something on their practice tests. I'm just afraid to hit any practice tests now till i master fluids.
so far, the 2nd go around for physics has been a joke as i've been very lazy lately but tonite's wake of panic has made reality set in and i'm going to bust my behind. I did master the last contents of phys from waves, E&M, sound, light and optics. basic mechanics and work i need a quick review and for fluids, i need a 2nd detailed review. gen chem i seem to be working a lot more on all i have to finish is solutions, thermodynamics, acid bases and redox.I haven't done the 2nd go around for ochem. I have to work tomorrow and i really need to work tomorrow. i've been cancelled every week the past 2 weeks and i can't afford to be cancelled again. Prior to that i was on (unpaid)vacation. God help me finish up gen chem tonight. it's 1:30 AM. i'll do couple passages till 2 and then do solutions, passages, acid bases, passages and finish the rest of chem tomorrow. We'll see.
so i went to SDN and i read posts about people who've prepped for a month and are getting 20-something on their practice tests. I'm just afraid to hit any practice tests now till i master fluids.
so far, the 2nd go around for physics has been a joke as i've been very lazy lately but tonite's wake of panic has made reality set in and i'm going to bust my behind. I did master the last contents of phys from waves, E&M, sound, light and optics. basic mechanics and work i need a quick review and for fluids, i need a 2nd detailed review. gen chem i seem to be working a lot more on all i have to finish is solutions, thermodynamics, acid bases and redox.I haven't done the 2nd go around for ochem. I have to work tomorrow and i really need to work tomorrow. i've been cancelled every week the past 2 weeks and i can't afford to be cancelled again. Prior to that i was on (unpaid)vacation. God help me finish up gen chem tonight. it's 1:30 AM. i'll do couple passages till 2 and then do solutions, passages, acid bases, passages and finish the rest of chem tomorrow. We'll see.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The case of the maggot infested foot
God being so kind, yesterday was good. ER sent a patient up. As most times, report was shady but the nurse mentioned that the patient, who presented with blisters on bilateral feet that was infested with maggots, was all cleaned up and they'd gotten rid of the maggots. YAY or so i thought.
So up came the guy, btw, he is one of the sweet homeless folks ( i need to blog about the kinds of homeless folks who come to the hospital one of these days) but anyway, after getting him settled, i proceeded to do a skin assessment. when he walked in, i noticed an open wound, from a blister that had burst, on the plantar surface of his left foot. my goal was to figure out the length, breath and depth of it so i can apply an appropriate dressing. In so doing, i noticed something black between his great toe and 2nd toe so i went ahead to take a better look thinking it was gangrene. I mean with all the diabetics in bmore, i see gangrenous toes so often it almost looks like a normal variation of the foot and toes. Anyhoo, i open up the toes and out comes MAGGOTS!!! I freaked silently because i'd hate to have the patient think whatever. Anyway, i say maggots and the nurse doing the validation with me goes "let me see.
" Seriously?! if i was doing a skin validation with someone and they said maggots, i don't think i'd be so quick to see although on second thought, i'm soo nozy when it comes to medical stuff. Tell me a patient in room so and so has this and i'll make sure that even though i've no business in that room, i'll see it. So in hindsight, that would have been my reaction as well. Anyhoo, i call the resident asking if she'll like to order something for me to use to get rid of the maggots because i was told the ER had the guy soak his foot in something. The nurse wasn't sure what.
She turns around and asks me what would you like for me to order? I find it wierd that after 4 years of medical school, you expect a nurse to make a medical judgement for you. So i tell her i think the ED used betadine and she says i'll order it and she never does.
Anyway, the thing here is that there are tons of homeless people here who live in terrible conditions and go through awful things that Christe Eleison! makes my heart ache at times when i see them. To come to the point where maggots feed on you feet? boy, i thought the dead were the ones who had those little creatures feed on them. Are you better off than the dead or not? i mean the only difference is that you breathe but like the corpse underground, you're organic matter.
So up came the guy, btw, he is one of the sweet homeless folks ( i need to blog about the kinds of homeless folks who come to the hospital one of these days) but anyway, after getting him settled, i proceeded to do a skin assessment. when he walked in, i noticed an open wound, from a blister that had burst, on the plantar surface of his left foot. my goal was to figure out the length, breath and depth of it so i can apply an appropriate dressing. In so doing, i noticed something black between his great toe and 2nd toe so i went ahead to take a better look thinking it was gangrene. I mean with all the diabetics in bmore, i see gangrenous toes so often it almost looks like a normal variation of the foot and toes. Anyhoo, i open up the toes and out comes MAGGOTS!!! I freaked silently because i'd hate to have the patient think whatever. Anyway, i say maggots and the nurse doing the validation with me goes "let me see.
" Seriously?! if i was doing a skin validation with someone and they said maggots, i don't think i'd be so quick to see although on second thought, i'm soo nozy when it comes to medical stuff. Tell me a patient in room so and so has this and i'll make sure that even though i've no business in that room, i'll see it. So in hindsight, that would have been my reaction as well. Anyhoo, i call the resident asking if she'll like to order something for me to use to get rid of the maggots because i was told the ER had the guy soak his foot in something. The nurse wasn't sure what.
She turns around and asks me what would you like for me to order? I find it wierd that after 4 years of medical school, you expect a nurse to make a medical judgement for you. So i tell her i think the ED used betadine and she says i'll order it and she never does.
Anyway, the thing here is that there are tons of homeless people here who live in terrible conditions and go through awful things that Christe Eleison! makes my heart ache at times when i see them. To come to the point where maggots feed on you feet? boy, i thought the dead were the ones who had those little creatures feed on them. Are you better off than the dead or not? i mean the only difference is that you breathe but like the corpse underground, you're organic matter.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Another whew and the importance of practice.
ochem is done. I think i've been speeding through my last bits of reading just so i can get done. i think i want to see myself doing practice questions. i've been thinking lately, actually just yesterday and today, about the importance of practice. I thought about the nclex. i really didn't study for the exam during the 3-months post school that i took it. Even the last quarter of school, i didn't study for the HESIs i took because i'd done so much practice i knew the stuff by heart. I mean between the reviews and rationales i did along with nclex 3500 and other CDs i had, i'd gone through tons of questions. i did most of the nclex 3500 in review mode but did some few in test mode. So come test day, i remember when i sat in front of the computer to take the exam, it seemed like me sitting in front of my laptop in the library tyring to do some practice questions in test mode, except this time i can't review right after i'm done.
Likewise in Ghana, i knew my physics, chem and math so much because it was all "solve questions, solve questions, solve questions". Mr Brew used to say that about math. He said math can be taught in an hour. The rest comes from "solving questions". So i practiced, practiced and practiced. i had the 1001 book for physics and i think i had other physcis books. i went through KOVs soo many times for chemistry. And it's no surprise that after doing one year of high school at Blake and another year without chemistry, i was able to take chem 1 withiut studying for it 2 years later and then tutor chemistry 3 years later because i remembered the stuff. I mean now i've forgotten.
So in both instances, i practiced a lot and that's what me better. I've been reading posts from sdn i saved and each one of these 40+ scorers practiced, practiced and practice. For the nclex, i was able to think like the testmakers because after doing all those questions i knew how they tested. Someone on SDN mentioned by taking practice tests, you get to know how the testmakers think. i couldn't agree more.
So, point here is that i should be lots of practice questions. i started EK 1001s for some of the chapters but laziness ....
So, beginning today, i'm going to practice, practice and practice. All i have left now is physics so i think i'll work hard on these last chapters and then practice. i've soo much study material with lots of practice. Aside from that, i think i need a break from studying before my brain gets into overload mode. I'm just glad i've gone through my first cycle of studying. I still feel that i need serious prayers and the love of God to make it through.
Likewise in Ghana, i knew my physics, chem and math so much because it was all "solve questions, solve questions, solve questions". Mr Brew used to say that about math. He said math can be taught in an hour. The rest comes from "solving questions". So i practiced, practiced and practiced. i had the 1001 book for physics and i think i had other physcis books. i went through KOVs soo many times for chemistry. And it's no surprise that after doing one year of high school at Blake and another year without chemistry, i was able to take chem 1 withiut studying for it 2 years later and then tutor chemistry 3 years later because i remembered the stuff. I mean now i've forgotten.
So in both instances, i practiced a lot and that's what me better. I've been reading posts from sdn i saved and each one of these 40+ scorers practiced, practiced and practice. For the nclex, i was able to think like the testmakers because after doing all those questions i knew how they tested. Someone on SDN mentioned by taking practice tests, you get to know how the testmakers think. i couldn't agree more.
So, point here is that i should be lots of practice questions. i started EK 1001s for some of the chapters but laziness ....
So, beginning today, i'm going to practice, practice and practice. All i have left now is physics so i think i'll work hard on these last chapters and then practice. i've soo much study material with lots of practice. Aside from that, i think i need a break from studying before my brain gets into overload mode. I'm just glad i've gone through my first cycle of studying. I still feel that i need serious prayers and the love of God to make it through.
Another whew
I'm done with bio. Took me forever cuz i wasn't focusing and i think i spent 30% tops fo the last 6hrs studying or maybe less. Part of me wished i'd taken bio II this past semester but i still remembered most of the stuff. Now i need to finish ochem and then do EM. I'm not sleepy. i hate it when my sleep schedule is messed up. I'll try to sleep anyway and see if i can get up in the afternoon and get back on schedule.
Whew!
Gen chem is done. OMG. i did start redox yesterday and my expectation was to finish before work. Well, i started reading KOV's which i believe is better than TBR. So that made reading TBR easier. it was just hard to read. Thanks God it's done. It's after midnight. I'm soo tempted to read bio and finish that off. I actually worked on gen chem at work last night but it took me forever to understand one of the exercises in TBR that my entire time was wasted. That and the fact that i was relaxing with my legs elevated at the front desk and laughing at catherine's jokes. Work isn't all bad. It really isn't bad. Actually, all that sux is the stupid politics and cliques but other than that, i love my patients, i love being there, i learn a lot each day and i like most of my night coworkers. i used Most because i don't care much for those who go to the "office" to rat people out.
On funny note, i got off work on time, got to church premises right at 8am because for some reason, i thought the morning service started at 8am. what was i thinking? So i sat in my car reading gen chem and then i fell asleep. i made it to the service. If i'd known it was father's day, i think i'd have skipped church. I thought it was next week. On the bright side, i figured out where the prayer center is at. I need to start praying some serious prayers if i need this to succeed.
On funny note, i got off work on time, got to church premises right at 8am because for some reason, i thought the morning service started at 8am. what was i thinking? So i sat in my car reading gen chem and then i fell asleep. i made it to the service. If i'd known it was father's day, i think i'd have skipped church. I thought it was next week. On the bright side, i figured out where the prayer center is at. I need to start praying some serious prayers if i need this to succeed.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Yet Another cancellation
So i've pushed back tonight. I saw it coming. I'm trying to finish the last but one chapter for ochem, amines. it's not going to great. So, i ate some haagen-dazs and i'm reading the 6/17 MCATers reaction thread. It's always the same reaction. People come back and write how hard it was, and a month later, they do better than they thought. Goal for tonite is to finish the ochem chapter i'm reading, finish bio lecture II in TPR and finish gen chem 10 in TBR. That'll leave me with the last ochem topic which i'm thinking i may do on sunday with the last section of EM cuz the EM chapter in TPR is long, almost a 100pages. I still need help with fluids. Plan is to go through Nova and see if that help with my physics intuition, review TPR gen chem quickly and TPR ochem next week. Then start all over with TBR only.
So far, bio has been intuitive. I think my approach of just knowing my Anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology for nursing school helped out. Honestly, those are all that matters, i actually think physiology is the main thing. Know how something normally works, the pathophys is the opposite. medical and nursing interventions are geared to reverse the pathophys.
Alright, back to studying. i'll finish going through the SDN threads at work tomorrow nite.
So far, bio has been intuitive. I think my approach of just knowing my Anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology for nursing school helped out. Honestly, those are all that matters, i actually think physiology is the main thing. Know how something normally works, the pathophys is the opposite. medical and nursing interventions are geared to reverse the pathophys.
Alright, back to studying. i'll finish going through the SDN threads at work tomorrow nite.
Cancellations
So here's the thing about working overtime. I don't do it anymore. Primarily because i have better things to do such as school but during the semester and now i've lots of studying to do. But the other reason why i don't do overtime anymore is the fact that on 2 occassions last year, i was called in for overtime and my name was put down to be cancelled on the saturday. On one of those 2 ocassions, i was working the thursday, i wasn't put down to be cancelled sunday. Instead i was put down for the weekend so i don't make the differential. Couple other people have stopped coming in for overtime primarily because of the latter reason.
Anyway, coworker of mine did overtime during the week. On saturday which she was scheduled to work, they cancelled her and pulled a nurse from a different floor to come work on our floor so they wouldn't pay my co-worker overtime. Now, this is just aboveboard but it leaves me with the question "how far are they willing to go to save a dime?"
Anyway, coworker of mine did overtime during the week. On saturday which she was scheduled to work, they cancelled her and pulled a nurse from a different floor to come work on our floor so they wouldn't pay my co-worker overtime. Now, this is just aboveboard but it leaves me with the question "how far are they willing to go to save a dime?"
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Bless me Father for i've sinned....
I just spent $115 at victoria's secret online store after spending more money at their store in the mall today. Awful. I feel like an alcoholic or drug addict that's relapsed. Technically, i should feel like one cuz i'm used to be a shopaholic. I spent so much money at Victoria's secret last year, it's a SIN! I mean from the bra tops to the dresses to the pants. So last year, i had them unsubscribed me from their catalogs, i stopped their emails and cut off all contact with them.
But, i purchased today because i need pants. I like their pants. They're colorful, different, not like regular pants. I actually went there to shop for underpants but then i remembered i needed work pants to wear to the clinic. Then i saw a bra and then a top, and then an oversized top. Honestly, if i didn't purchased that on-sale $25 oversized top, i'd have purchased one at saks for $84. So here's to saving! Yes, i'm justifying but the fact of the matter is, this is all my summer shopping. Heck, i can't fit into some of the summer clothes i purchased last year and i never wore them, some i only wore twice. I've soo many clothes and i've a bunch in a bin i need to donate. i really don't need any more clothes. All the closets here, my huge walk-in, dresser and whatever i have, closet outside, my shoe closet (yes, i've a closet that's just stacked with shoes.)
So, here's a blog reminder to self that this is my summer shopping. I think i've spent 200 bucks if i add the 5in heels i got on amazon (may i say those are so hawt!!). Here's to saving.
But, i purchased today because i need pants. I like their pants. They're colorful, different, not like regular pants. I actually went there to shop for underpants but then i remembered i needed work pants to wear to the clinic. Then i saw a bra and then a top, and then an oversized top. Honestly, if i didn't purchased that on-sale $25 oversized top, i'd have purchased one at saks for $84. So here's to saving! Yes, i'm justifying but the fact of the matter is, this is all my summer shopping. Heck, i can't fit into some of the summer clothes i purchased last year and i never wore them, some i only wore twice. I've soo many clothes and i've a bunch in a bin i need to donate. i really don't need any more clothes. All the closets here, my huge walk-in, dresser and whatever i have, closet outside, my shoe closet (yes, i've a closet that's just stacked with shoes.)
So, here's a blog reminder to self that this is my summer shopping. I think i've spent 200 bucks if i add the 5in heels i got on amazon (may i say those are so hawt!!). Here's to saving.
Things you can't cheat: work and sleep
Let me speak physics in layman's term. Pressure is defined as the force acting on a unit area of a substance. Work is defined as the force x distance or the force that moves something through a given distance.
So back to pressure. If you apply pressure on fluid, it distributes evenly and each part of the fluid experiences the same about of pressure. That's how hydraulic lifts work. so imagine applying a little amount of force to a piston of a hydraulic lift. it allows you to lift a heavy item on the cylinder barrel which would otherwise be very difficult to lift. Thing is while you apply a smaller force to move the piston a large distance, the cylinder distance moves a smaller distance. You can see a better demonstration at the hyperphysics website.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
Fact is, while you use a smaller amount of force, you only move the force through a larger distance. So in the end, the same amount of work is done cuz if you used a smaller force to lift the heavier load on the other side of the cylinder, you'd move the same small distance as using a smaller force but moving that force through a larger distance. So, thing i learned is you can't cheat work.
I think the same can be said for sleep. Your body needs X amount of sleep. it'll get X amount of sleep, doesn't matter when. i went to bed at 5am hoping to get up at 8:30 to go to the clinic. My eyes opened at 10:02. My body got the 5hours of sleep it needed. And i'm sure if it didn't, it'll try to make up during some time during the day. I really feel awful for not showing up at the clinic. I think i need to get a new alarm clock cuz this read one can't be trusted.
So back to pressure. If you apply pressure on fluid, it distributes evenly and each part of the fluid experiences the same about of pressure. That's how hydraulic lifts work. so imagine applying a little amount of force to a piston of a hydraulic lift. it allows you to lift a heavy item on the cylinder barrel which would otherwise be very difficult to lift. Thing is while you apply a smaller force to move the piston a large distance, the cylinder distance moves a smaller distance. You can see a better demonstration at the hyperphysics website.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
Fact is, while you use a smaller amount of force, you only move the force through a larger distance. So in the end, the same amount of work is done cuz if you used a smaller force to lift the heavier load on the other side of the cylinder, you'd move the same small distance as using a smaller force but moving that force through a larger distance. So, thing i learned is you can't cheat work.
I think the same can be said for sleep. Your body needs X amount of sleep. it'll get X amount of sleep, doesn't matter when. i went to bed at 5am hoping to get up at 8:30 to go to the clinic. My eyes opened at 10:02. My body got the 5hours of sleep it needed. And i'm sure if it didn't, it'll try to make up during some time during the day. I really feel awful for not showing up at the clinic. I think i need to get a new alarm clock cuz this read one can't be trusted.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Something Holy
"We were born to be a part of something holy all of us are restless till we find...
we were born to be a part of something holy, bigger than you and I."
Grammatically, the you and i should be oops "me". I'm not a stickler but it's amazing how most people say you and I.
we were born to be a part of something holy, bigger than you and I."
Grammatically, the you and i should be oops "me". I'm not a stickler but it's amazing how most people say you and I.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Brief encounter
So i went to barnes and noble to study gen chem today. First of all, their wifi isn't working, which isn't so much of a big deal. Guy working up the roof got dust all over my stuff so i stood up to move my stuff, girl sitting behind me who's been talking since she walked in asks if i'm studying for the CAT and how long it takes to go through "that book". Turns, we both had TBR gen chem books. She tells me her plan is to go through each chapter within 3 days and then do the passages. She's taking the exam in july, 5 weeks from today. I told her it takes forever to go through the chapters but i usually do 2 chapters in a day, not the same subjects. Good thing that's working for her is that she states she doesn't need much bio and ochem review. Come to think of it, i shouldn't need much bio review either. Ochem, I'm good on the SN1,2 and E1 and 2. NMR, i have it all nailed down. So i think i need to crack down a lot more on the PS section.
Good thing for her, she just graduated, stuff is still fresh in her mind. Me, i took these classes so long ago that i don't remember anything. So she shuld be good in 5 weeks, at least for a person smart enough to get into columbia, she should be. I actually left the store because i couldn't study anymore. Two guys walked by and she's been talking for the last hour. Still talking as i left.
Good thing for her, she just graduated, stuff is still fresh in her mind. Me, i took these classes so long ago that i don't remember anything. So she shuld be good in 5 weeks, at least for a person smart enough to get into columbia, she should be. I actually left the store because i couldn't study anymore. Two guys walked by and she's been talking for the last hour. Still talking as i left.
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