Well here I am, sitting very surprised, and let me just add, very pleased with the fact that I have received very nice comments from so many on this blog, both from some family and friends that I had not heard from in so very long. Strange how times have changed. We used to pick up the phone and call one another, or walk across the street and have a cup of coffee and visit, and now we find ourselves "catching up" using this particular medium, and by way of little invisible molecules of electricity...beeming words and even pictures to one another thousands of miles away. In a word...awesome! In another word, lazy.
I used to be so good at writing letters, I mean real letters. When my grandmother was still living, I prided myself on writing to her, catching her up on things with not only myself and my daughter, but also with the happenings of my parents who were always so busy, being self-employed, and working from dark until dark. I knew that she liked to take those letters out and read them over and over, almost wearing the ink off the pages. It's like getting a beautiful card from a loved one, words that touch you somehow. This medium is fast as a blink of an eye, and has all the magic of sharing the photos that we might never get around to sending otherwise, but somehow...something has been lost. You can't hold it...you can't detect the aroma of a perfumed letter to a beloved. It's just not the same.
Still, with the hectic schedules, and with all the people that I would want to send something to, I'm afraid that this would be the only way that I would be able to send anything to anymore. Or at least...that will be my excuse...my crutch.
Even with all of that, this medium has, however, been such a blessing, because as I mentioned earlier, I was able to hear from so many that I truly believe that I would never have otherwise, and for that...I am so tickled!
I have an aunt that lives in northern Louisiana that wrote and told me how she and my uncle (now in their 70's and 80's) are doing, along with all of my cousins. I hadn't heard from them in years. She also told me about another aunt that had moved to that same town, and how she was doing. Electronic miracles.
A friend in Hobbs, New Mexico dropped me a short line, and I hadn't heard from him since the passing of my step-father in 2002. This man has been like a big brother to me over the years, and I miss him. Where does time go? It was good to hear from him. Another electronic miracle.
Time...that was one of the things that Pat and I had made a decision to make an effort to spend more of with one another...and on ourselves this year. I guess that was one of our New Year's Resolutions, (that and I want to try to eat healthier...not less, mind you...just healthier)
This effort to do more for ourselves has already created one obstacle for me jobwise. You see, if you have read some of my earlier blogs, you might have read that I do not care for where I am presently working...or rather, for what I am doing. I cannot, however, complain about what I am getting paid, since they don't want to lose me (their words) and told me they will keep me at my Director Of Nursing salary and benefits if I will just stay on with them until they can "someday" get my hospital open again, although we have no idea when (or if) that will actually happen. And I cannot complain too much about the hours, as I am working two 12 hour shifts on Saturdays and Sundays. There are problems with that only when our Red Knight group have events on the weekends...and that seems to be the ONLY time they schedule events. so, needlesstosay, that screws me up on getting to do anything with them ever again while working this shift. Still, you just can't beat the pay/hours. I just wish I could stand the job. It is miserable, and I can't seem to get past that.
The hospital I worked for before going to work for the corporation I work for now tried to get me to go to work for them as an admitting nurse in the ER, but I couldn't see taking the pay cut, so I passed.
They recently had a course in critical care offered, and I called to see if I could take it on Mon, Tue Wed (Pat is off on Thur-Sun, so it would give me Thur and Fri with him)but I found out the class day is Mondays and two days were with the preceptor on whatever their schedule was. No problem, I thought, as long as the classes run through April. I could do that. Then I found out, that the preceptors have to work every other weekend. That knocked me out with the other job. Oh well. So much for that. Not to mention an almost $10/hour pay cut. Passssss.
It's funny. One of my nurses that worked for me when my hospital was open is now fixing to go to California and work in their "in house pool" and work 5 days on and 10 days off at...ready for this??? $71/hr!!!!! Yep. Her sister-in-law is already out there and doing it, so she is going to share an apt. with her and 3 others that are doing it. Nice change, huh? And they talk about all the nursing shortages here in New Orleans. What is REALLY funny is that this same hospital has just signed a contract to bring in 60 nurses from out of town at a whopping $40/hr to start and they jump up to $60/hr for their overtime, yet do you think the nurses that stayed for the hurricane or hung in their after will be compensated like that? Nope. The hospital says they are bringing in those 60 nurses at that rate to get the other departments up and running because of the severe shortage they have. I ask you...don't you think they are going to have an even larger shortage once the existing nurses find out what the new nurses are going to be paid instead of them...with their $20-something/hour pay after they hung in there for them? Talk about a mass exodus. The hospital had better get ready to bring in even more of those out of town nurses.
It never ceases to amaze me the insanity of it all. They will pay outrageous amounts to out of towners and not compensate the faithful, when they could just help them out and get everyone what they need. For instance...Houston just hired a bunch of New Orleans' nurses, and though they couldn't afford the salaries listed above, they did offer an incentive..they offered to pay their house notes for a year. Granted, after a year, it's all over, but hey, it was an incentive, and their isn't a hospital using agency down there now, either. Oh well.
Well, I am not into traveling to California. At least, not right now
Still, if they are not going to reopen my hospital anytime in the near future...I will keep looking. Life is too short to be in a miserable condition...even for two 12 hour shifts. Who knows, maybe I'll go back to school and do something all together different, like something in art. Wouldn't that be something?
In the meantime, I'll keep plugging along. I'll keep my eyes open, my ears open, and my wits about me.
On my days off, I'll continue to try to get the house repairs finished, to do all the things we've been planning to do done, and figure that this schedule has happened for just such a reason. And on the days and evenings that Pat is off...we will do whatever he wants to do, like this Friday, when we will be going out to Byblos, a Mediterranean restaurant with his sister and brother-in-law. And I just might go ahead and take an art class or two during the week...just in case.
Posted by irishchannelrn
at 3:05 PM EST
Updated: Monday, 16 January 2006 11:38 PM EST
