STRESS!

I should be working on one of the many things that needs to get done in the next 48 hours, but I'm far too stressed to really do anything. I find when I'm this overwhelmed, it helps to make a list of everything that needs to get done in order to stay sane.

Today:
Now-figure out what to do for lunch, maybe work on something.
12p-2p- Psychology Theory class
2p-4p- Write another 4 page chunk of my lifeview paper, due at 6pm. I'm in a far too sarcastic mood to write anything worthwhile right now. My lifeview is currently that the nursing program is just an elaborate 4 year hazing designed to drive me crazy. After writing some soul-stirring paper, I need to finish up my debate for tonight. I'm debating that the NCAA should set a minimum GPA for all athletes to compete in any division. I hate sports, and I resent having to debate about something that does not matter.
4p-5:30p- Get presentable for my debate, find time to eat dinner with Wade
5:30p-6p- Get to class early, have a panic attack because I have to give a 9 minute speech. Pray that Julia sneaks Bailey's to class in her coffee mug again.
6p-7p- Julia and I each give our presentations about why there should be a minimum GPA, while 2 random guys argue that there should not be. Julia and I will win, because she's going to law school and is awesome like that. Also, we baked cookies for our prof last night, and who can turn down cookies?
7p-9p- Suffer through the rest of my senior seminar and feign interest in talking about Pete Rose.
9p-12a- Find time to finish watching the movie Wit for my special topics class, write a critique for a nursing research article, and become certified in human subjects research online. Maybe write a paper about Wit, or get up early to do it tomorrow. If I'm feeling exceptionally motivated, I can finish up making the gift I have to give my sorority daughter tomorrow when I pick her up for the first night of pledge...or make her that sign that has to get done by tomorrow night.
Well, I wish I could say that I feel better now that I've made my to-do list. Somebody please pray for me.

How to store anything

Before heading back to college, I decided to visit with Wade's sister Amanda. She's already been through Hope's nursing program, and she works in the NICU, which is where I'd like to work when I'm done with school. We also both love coffee, scrapbooking, and dirty jokes, so we have no problems finding things to chat about. We decided to hit up Starbucks and then head over to Archiver's to look at all of their scrapbooking supplies. For some reason, everything we saw looked really dirty. Amanda thought she saw a sticker that read, "Boy on Boy" and I found a William Shakespeare quote that made me blush at first glance. Then Amanda found the jar. She ran over to me giggling, and I knew that I had to sneak a picuture. At least now we know where Amanda will be keeping all of her spare teats. Thank you Archivers, for making it possible to store anything.

Indy!

So, Boyfriend approached me last Thursday morning and told me that we were taking a surprise trip to Indianapolis. You would think that as a responsible nursing student, I would have asked to wait until Friday at 4pm when I was done with classes. Instead, I shouted, "Hell yeah! How soon can we get out of Michigan?" So, I skipped about 3 classes but going to Indy is so worth it. We get to stay at Wade's house with his sweetheart dad, his cute Dachshund Heidi, and his mom, whose cooking puts Paula Dean to shame. On top of that, I get to sleep in this amazing king size bed and play with all of the adorable grandkids.


See...they really are freakin' adorable! This trip couldn't have come at a better time. College has been getting really hectic and stressful for both of us, and we really needed a weekend retreat to refocus and just have fun. I'm very happy to say there was no shortage of fun on this trip. From playing with Wade's nephews and niece to hitting the bars on Broad Ripple to shooting shotguns, we had an incredible time!

You have how many siblings?!?!?

Chicago was incredible. If you can't tell, the woman on the right is Kate Gosselin from Jon and Kate plus 8. She answered questions for about 45 minutes and then did a book signing in the entrance of the church. I bought a book, but the line was way too long and I did not stand a chance at getting her autograph.
Sadly, the next day I was back in Michigan and ready for another day in a psych hospital. This week I was on the adult unit, and I got to take care of a man, B. He was a good ol' country boy who loved welding and fishing. He had a drinking problem in the past, but had been sober for 6 years. B. had been unemployed for 8 months and living off of his wife's income...2 million dollars that she had won in the lottery. He wanted her to buy him a $2,000 welding machine so that he could get back to working and feel useful again. She said no. 20 minutes and 2 fifths of peppermint schnapps later, B. tied a noose around his neck, threw the rope over a rafter, and hopped on a bucket to "prove a point" to his wife. She called the cops, and B. was tackled and brought to the mental hospital.
Some fun facts about B., he was the 17th child out of 22 children. After number 18, his mom started giving them away like kittens. She gave birth to all of them, and only had one set of multiples (triplets). He has two sisters that he's never met and says that he's not close with any of his siblings. B. spent a total of 12 years of his life in prison. He also has a thing for beating up child molesters and taking 2 by 4s to wife beaters.
B. was very nice to me, and willing to talk openly about his life. B. has mellowed out quite a bit since his prison days, and now he has 4 daughters and 5 grandkids. He loves his family dearly, and tries to spend as much time as possible with his grandchildren. It was weird for me to counsel a man old enough to be my father. I do not mind taking on a leadership role in the child and adolescent unit because I'm older and smarter and have more life experience. It's uncomfortable for me to walk into an adult unit and assume an authoritative position. What could I possibly offer a man like B. who has gone from a criminal alcoholic to a grandfather who built his own house? I like to think that just listening to his stories helps. B. told me that he has a lot of knowledge that he would like to share with the world. As weird as this sounds, I've learned so much from people that I've worked with on different psych units, and B. was no different. He was just a nice guy with a crazy life story.