Some news from my corner of the world

Twenty four hours ago, Jon and I were sitting at the Cheesecake Factory in Scottsdale, having dinner amongst the beautiful well-bred denizens of this upscale town in Arizona. We had done a little shopping around at Kierland Commons and needed some dinner to fill our empty stomachs before making the 2-hour drive back down to Tucson. Little did we know what awaited us at home.

In search of those bright sprays of wildflowers prevalent this time of year, Jon and I made the drive up to Picacho Peak. To our disappointment, there was little of what we were looking for. It was not a waste of a trip, however, as the day was perfect for a light hike. We took a 1-mile hike up a peak to an overlook, and although there were no flowers I still snapped a few pictures of the desert vegetation (will share later). The hike was steeper than I expected it to be, and towards the end my IT band was protesting the inclines. I made it back down, though, and changed into some more presentable clothes for shopping up in Chandler and Scottsdale.

Mainly, we were looking for furniture. We're redoing our whole living room: coffee table, end tables, and entertainment center. In the end we decided on this, this, and that, some of which are on backorder. Jon is in the living room right now putting the media stands together. Mission accomplished!

We both were exhausted when we got home, yet not too exhausted to check the mailbox. You see, the walk to the mailbox this past week has been full of anxiety and anticipation, hoping to see that envelope with "University of Arizona College of Nursing" logo on the envelope. Well, last night it greeted Jon when he opened the box.

I had gone inside to let Sammy out and drop some bags off. When I came out Jon was flipping through the mail stack feverishly (I swear he's been more anxious than me!) He pulled out that coveted envelope and handed it to me. It looked a lot smaller than I hoped and my heart sank.

"It's here, but I don't think the news is good."

I take it in my hands and assess its bulk. Hmm. I got a couple rejection letters from them twice already and this one is a little thicker than I remember. Maybe, just maybe it holds good news.

Surprisingly calm, I carefully rip open the envelope, hold my breath, and unfold the paper containing our future.

I gasp "I got in!"

"Oh you did? Yes!" Jon exclaims.

Aaaahhhhhh!!!! Finally!!!! I'm still in disbelief but I'm so so so happy! What does that mean for us? We're definitely here for 4 years, as opposed to two with Jon's Army commitment. We're probably staying in Tucson for the remainder of Jon's Army career (sorry Baby). I get to quit my godawful job. Most of all, though, I told Jon that he barely escaped having a baby anytime soon by this much! Yeah that's right. If I hadn't got in, he knew I would have been pressuring him for a little Jon or Tania in the very near future and he's not ready yet!

I'm all nerves!

I've been up since 6 this morning, tossing and turning in bed. I've been waking up sporadically throughout the night as well. I can't sleep!

I finally got up at 7 and took the mutt with me so Jon could get some more sleep. I definitely could sleep more, but my mind is racing, contemplating what questions will be asked during the interview. I don't know if they will have all our information in front of them, so I don't know how specific these questions will be. I read over my papers last night, just in case they ask me about them. It's highly doubtful, but wouldn't that look awful if I couldn't tell them what they were about? I am one of the authors after all! I also made sure I remembered all the steps in the nursing process of care, since I mentioned it and compared it to the scientific method in my statement. Thank you to my friend Sandra for pointing out this similarity to me! I really don't think they'll ask me anything too in depth, but I want to be prepared!

I went to an info session last night after work. The purpose was to hear from representatives from all the sponsor hospitals and to ask questions, so that we can rank them in order of preference. We were greeted with bad news right from the very beginning. One of the sponsor hospitals had completely dropped out. It happened to be my number two choice. I guess the day right after the associate dean sent out those letters inviting candidates to interview, the hospital contacted her and informed her that they were unable to sponsor anyone. I wanted to bang my head on the table when I heard this because I knew this hospital offered the most slots in the past. They are the ones who stepped it up in the program. Soooo.......available slots went from 96 last year to 48. You should have seen the dropped jaws and uncomfortable squirming in the auditorium when the news was announced. The hospital that dropped out had 40 slots to offer last year, down to 24, then down to a big fat zero. Stupid economy! I figured maybe that the number of slots had gone down, but not by that much! Hospitals in the area are hurting right now. My top choice hospital has eliminated raises indefinitely. My (now second) choice hospital is unable to offer jobs to all the newest grads they've sponsored. It isn't looking very good for new RNs.

I've been reading message boards about the whole process at the UA and went into that info session almost confident. My impression was that the majority of those who interviewed got accepted into the program. The interview is a way for them to see how well you communicate and if the program (and nursing itself) is the right fit for you. I think I communicate fairly well and I know this is what I want to do! But last night discouraged me. I got there early so I was able to watch people as they filtered into the room. When we got started I could see the auditorium was filled to capacity. The woman sitting next to me and I were trying to count how many people were in the room, since these are all the people interviewing. We were told that 130 were invited to interview. And now from those 130, only 48 would be granted admission. The program went from being competitive to being really, really competitive. I'm sure if the hospital dropping out had let the nursing school know earlier, not as many people would have been invited to interview. I don't know that I would have been.

With that, I have to get ready. The recently purchased suit and shoes are sitting in the closet, ready for action. Off to the shower I go. Hopefully in a few weeks you will be reading the thoughts of a newly admitted nursing student!

Good news!!!!

Besides the fact that my husband should be in my arms Sunday afternoon.....

I GOT AN INTERVIEW FOR MY PROSPECTIVE NURSING PROGRAM!

It's the next step in the application process, and in the two other times I applied to this very program I was never offered one! Happy dance!!! Happy dance!!! Happy dance!!!!

OK....settle down. Must settle down to watch Grey's Anatomy.

Result of the "empty nest" syndrome?

I was just doing my usual rounds on the net before getting my butt off the computer here when I ran into this article. I know it's not funny, but I busted up laughing when I read this. Apparently, a woman left one of these creepy Reborn Dolls in her car while she was running errands and cops mistook it for a real baby. They broke in her car window in efforts to save the unconscious "baby."

I've heard of these dolls before, and they seriously creep me out--they are way too lifelike!

On a sidenote, President Bush is in town for a fundraising event this morning. I went up north to the foothills to have dinner with my kickboxing class and on the way back I saw sheriff's and TPD sitting with their lights off in every entry way off the road. It seriously freaked me out...I thought there was some psycho on a rampage. I called my kickboxing instructor and found out why they were there. I felt better, but then I booked it the rest of the way home. I couldn't escape TPD, though, or those rubber-neckers slowing up traffic because I live near the DM Air Force base and that is where Air Force One was landing. I did make it home though, before he came in!

How could this happen?

I just now heard about this news story while watching my local news. So I decided to look it up on the good ol' Seattle Times. It's so sad. Apparently a father in Federal Way fell asleep with his son outside and had a fire going in the fire pit. When he woke up, he found his son in the pit, badly burned and dead. He's been taken into custody for investigation of manslaughter. If it was an accident, how can one be so careless with fire when their child is present? Did he pass out from intoxication? That's what I'm wondering, if in fact, this is a horrible accident. But I find it hard to believe that somebody could sleep through the poor child's screams of pain.

Finally!

There's a study out that says the oldest child really does have it harder than the younger siblings! Ha!!

What is this world coming to?

When you hear about how third graders were plotting to attack their teacher, you know we're in trouble. I'm sure you all have already heard about this, but here's the article if you haven't. I remember being that age and not even thinking about looking at an adult the wrong way, much less try to stab one! Kids are lashing out more these days and I feel there is a loss of respect from the younger generations. These kids were planning an attack because the teacher scolded them and they wanted to retaliate. They were well prepared too! I'm glad somebody caught it before they had the chance to harm anyone!