I'm down to one plant and it is really growing like crazy. There are some small buds that look like they may become flowers within the week and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they turn into little pumpkins.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
The day the music died (addendum)
So I ordered this marimba. I'm not telling you how much it cost. Suffice it to say you could easily buy a small Korean automobile for the amount of money I will be paying for this marimba.
It's going to be very nice and I am very excited.
The problem is that I could be waiting until November for it to arrive.
You see I ordered it from this guy I used to go to school with who now custom builds marimbas. It's an odd career choice, but he's becoming quite well known for this. Well known in the marimba community at least. Since it's just him building the instruments, it takes awhile to get your marimba. He promised me that he would work hard and try to get it finished earlier, but I don't have much hope. He's a busy guy and a quality instrument takes time to construct.
In the mean time, here's a picture of one of the marimbas this guy has built. Mine will be similar, but with a metal frame. And less shiny.
It's going to be very nice and I am very excited.
The problem is that I could be waiting until November for it to arrive.
You see I ordered it from this guy I used to go to school with who now custom builds marimbas. It's an odd career choice, but he's becoming quite well known for this. Well known in the marimba community at least. Since it's just him building the instruments, it takes awhile to get your marimba. He promised me that he would work hard and try to get it finished earlier, but I don't have much hope. He's a busy guy and a quality instrument takes time to construct.
In the mean time, here's a picture of one of the marimbas this guy has built. Mine will be similar, but with a metal frame. And less shiny.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
The day the music died
Long ago (it feels like a lifetime), I considered myself a musician. I had dreams of becoming an orchestral percussionist with a major symphony. I worked hard, practiced my excerpts, and spent hours in the practice room. The summer prior to my senior year at Florida State University, I stood in a practice room playing my marimba. Next door I could hear one of my fellow percussionists pounding out the xylophone part to Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. I stopped playing and listened to him practice the part over and over; slowing it down and picking out each note, striving for absolute perfection. He continued to play the same few measures over and over and frankly it started to get on my nerves. It was at that moment I realized that I would never be a professional musician. I simply could not be that person obsessively practicing the orchestral excerpt, removed from the rest of the music.
A few days later, I told my instructor that I would not be auditioning for graduate performance programs and would instead pursue a career in arts administration. I finished out my senior year of college earning a Bachelors in Percussion Performance, hoping that I would be able to find a job doing something in the arts world. I put away my mallets and instruments and didn't touch them for 8 years.
Today and I am in a nursing career that I love. (I'll save the story of how I got into nursing for another day!) Though recently I have felt like something was missing from my life. That thing that is missing is music. I have decided to welcome music back into my life and have done so with gusto. I have joined a local community band and will start playing with them in August. I have pulled out my mallets and snare drum and have started practicing once again. Most significantly, I am having a 5 octave rosewood marimba custom-made for me. It will be a few months until it is ready, but I have already stated planning what music I will play once it arrives.
Perhaps 8 years was too long to be away from performing, or perhaps it was just what I needed. I can't really say. All I know is that music is once again enriching my life and I really believe it's here to stay.
A few days later, I told my instructor that I would not be auditioning for graduate performance programs and would instead pursue a career in arts administration. I finished out my senior year of college earning a Bachelors in Percussion Performance, hoping that I would be able to find a job doing something in the arts world. I put away my mallets and instruments and didn't touch them for 8 years.
Today and I am in a nursing career that I love. (I'll save the story of how I got into nursing for another day!) Though recently I have felt like something was missing from my life. That thing that is missing is music. I have decided to welcome music back into my life and have done so with gusto. I have joined a local community band and will start playing with them in August. I have pulled out my mallets and snare drum and have started practicing once again. Most significantly, I am having a 5 octave rosewood marimba custom-made for me. It will be a few months until it is ready, but I have already stated planning what music I will play once it arrives.
Perhaps 8 years was too long to be away from performing, or perhaps it was just what I needed. I can't really say. All I know is that music is once again enriching my life and I really believe it's here to stay.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Pumpkin Watch: Day 18
My pumpkins are really coming along. I've trimmed them back so now I only have three plants left. The tallest is about 6 inches. I'm going to let them grow a little bit more and then select the strongest plant and trim back the others. Only 82 days till harvest!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Pumpkin Watch: Day 7
Today was planting day at the pumpkin patch. If the seed package is to be believed, I only have 93 days until harvest. Woo, hoo!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Pumpkin Watch: Day 4
My pumpkins have started to grow! I am just so excited. I can't wait until they are big enough to carve. I suppose I've got a little bit of time until that will be possible...
Friday, May 25, 2007
My pumpkin patch
I have decided to grow pumpkins this year.
Never having grown pumpkins before (or anything else for that matter), I am preparing myself for everything to die. However, I am going to work very hard to have several jack o'lantern grade pumpkins in time for Halloween.
I will be documenting my attempt through pictures. Stay tuned for future updates!
Monday, May 21, 2007
View from the top
This was taken from the condo we're staying at in Chicago. It is an incredible view.
Monday, April 23, 2007
The post in which Dead Nurse reveals that he's really just a big insecure mess
A. and I spent the weekend out of town with "friends". I put the word friends in quotes, since I have a difficult time thinking that the people we spent the weekend with are really my friends or ever will be more than just casual acquaintances. Here's the situation...
The whole reason for going out of town was to celebrate the birthday of one of these guys. This particular guy is a little different from the others in that he and A. dated during our breakup early last year. In fact it was my wanting to get back together that caused A. to stop seeing this guy. A. very much wants to stay friends, so I put on a happy face, pack my bag, and spend the weekend with this guy.
I'm sure it sounds weirder than it actually is.
Truth is that all of the people we were with are very nice, intelligent folks. Of course it doesn't help that A. dated one of them and met all of the others while we were apart. I had met several of these guys in the past, and I have always felt that I am being eyed with suspicion since I'm the "asshole boyfriend" who broke up with A. (my words, not their's). This entire weekend, I felt like my presence was simply being tolerated since they all really like A. I appreciated them all welcoming me, but I just couldn't shake that feeling of not belonging. There we were to celebrate the birthday of this guy who once dated my boyfriend. Any wonder why I felt a little out of place?
I had considered saying something to this guy. Something along the lines of "thanks for inviting me. You're a nice guy and I hope we can be friends, blah, blah, blah..." A time for this little chat never really presented itself and part of me thought that he'd probably just shrug his shoulders and say "no big deal." Then again, I'm not even sure that I really want to be friends with my boyfriends ex-flame. He is a nice guy, but it just seems weird that I should be spending the weekend celebrating his birthday.
As for the other guys in attendance, they all seem nice but I don't think I did a very good job at making an impression. Have you ever been to a party where everyone knows each other and you're the only person there who is an outsider? That was me this weekend. I was the outsider in this big circle of friends. Most of the time I just sat by listening to conversations about parties I wasn't at or trips I didn't go on. There were moments where I just wanted to slowly back out of the room, get in the car and drive back home. Perhaps someone would notice for a brief minute that I was missing. "Where did that quiet guy go?" someone would ask. It would stop the conversation for a few seconds, but then they would just keep going.
Perhaps I just don't do well in groups. Perhaps my impression of "just being tolerated" is completely off base. Or perhaps there truly are moments and situations in which you don't belong and for the sake of one's sanity and self esteem, you should just keep yourself the hell away.
The whole reason for going out of town was to celebrate the birthday of one of these guys. This particular guy is a little different from the others in that he and A. dated during our breakup early last year. In fact it was my wanting to get back together that caused A. to stop seeing this guy. A. very much wants to stay friends, so I put on a happy face, pack my bag, and spend the weekend with this guy.
I'm sure it sounds weirder than it actually is.
Truth is that all of the people we were with are very nice, intelligent folks. Of course it doesn't help that A. dated one of them and met all of the others while we were apart. I had met several of these guys in the past, and I have always felt that I am being eyed with suspicion since I'm the "asshole boyfriend" who broke up with A. (my words, not their's). This entire weekend, I felt like my presence was simply being tolerated since they all really like A. I appreciated them all welcoming me, but I just couldn't shake that feeling of not belonging. There we were to celebrate the birthday of this guy who once dated my boyfriend. Any wonder why I felt a little out of place?
I had considered saying something to this guy. Something along the lines of "thanks for inviting me. You're a nice guy and I hope we can be friends, blah, blah, blah..." A time for this little chat never really presented itself and part of me thought that he'd probably just shrug his shoulders and say "no big deal." Then again, I'm not even sure that I really want to be friends with my boyfriends ex-flame. He is a nice guy, but it just seems weird that I should be spending the weekend celebrating his birthday.
As for the other guys in attendance, they all seem nice but I don't think I did a very good job at making an impression. Have you ever been to a party where everyone knows each other and you're the only person there who is an outsider? That was me this weekend. I was the outsider in this big circle of friends. Most of the time I just sat by listening to conversations about parties I wasn't at or trips I didn't go on. There were moments where I just wanted to slowly back out of the room, get in the car and drive back home. Perhaps someone would notice for a brief minute that I was missing. "Where did that quiet guy go?" someone would ask. It would stop the conversation for a few seconds, but then they would just keep going.
Perhaps I just don't do well in groups. Perhaps my impression of "just being tolerated" is completely off base. Or perhaps there truly are moments and situations in which you don't belong and for the sake of one's sanity and self esteem, you should just keep yourself the hell away.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
I'm alive!
Ok, so I have been a bit slack the last couple of months when it comes to this site. It's not that I've just been sitting at home playing World of Warcraft. (Alright, so maybe I've been doing that a little bit...) Here's a brief update on what Dead Nurse has been up to:
My friend Ben visited from Montreal.
We saw a bunch of cherry blossoms.
I watched the Oscars with Aaron, Stephanie, and Jessica and ate a bunch of junk food.
We saw a whole bunch of tulips.
Oh, and Aaron and I bought a house.
So as you can see, I have been doing quite a bit. We close on our house April 25th and I can't wait to get moved in. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're both looking forward to it.
Hopefully it won't be two months until my next posting.
My friend Ben visited from Montreal.
We saw a bunch of cherry blossoms.
I watched the Oscars with Aaron, Stephanie, and Jessica and ate a bunch of junk food.
We saw a whole bunch of tulips.
Oh, and Aaron and I bought a house.
So as you can see, I have been doing quite a bit. We close on our house April 25th and I can't wait to get moved in. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're both looking forward to it.
Hopefully it won't be two months until my next posting.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Friday, February 02, 2007
Sometimes it takes a whip
We have this physical therapist at the hospital who is just so damn good at her job. She shows up early in the morning and pushes patients to move. She is able to get those little old ladies who refuse to get out of bed for everyone else up and walking down the hall. She gives people what they need: a swift kick in the ass (figuratively, not literally). For this reason many patients hate to see her coming into their room because they know she will make them work hard.
The other morning I had a patient who was previously living independently and now claimed to be "too weak" to get out of bed. She would call for us to pull up her blankets and to raise or lower the head of her bed. I quickly grew weary of this behavior and started to challenge her.
"Who pulled up your blankets for you at home?" I would ask. She pretended not to hear me.
I saw the physical therapist coming down the hall and was thrilled to hear she would be visiting my patient. I went into the room, turned on all the lights and informed my little old lady that she would be getting out of bed and walking before breakfast.
Needless to say, she was not thrilled.
I left and allowed the therapist space to work. About five minutes later she was out at the nurses station documenting in the computer. The patient had flatly refused to get out of bed. This left me and the physical therapist frustrated because without getting out of bed this patient was going to rapidly deteriorate.
I went back to the patient's room and questioned her. She told me that she was too weak to walk and just couldn't do it.
"You know if you don't walk there is no way you will ever be able to return home by yourself," I informed her.
"Fine. Just put me in a nursing home."
I could see she was giving up and that there was little I could do to have an impact in the five minutes I had left in my shift.
I passed on to the day shift nurse what had occurred that morning. I suggested that she try to at least get her up to a chair for meals and to start using the bedside commode rather than a bedpan.
"If you need to, just get yourself a whip. That should get her moving," I suggested
Because sometimes it takes a whip (literally, not figuratively).
