Traveling with a heavy heart

I'm writing this from my Comfort Inn couch in Colby, KS - the "oasis of the prairie" - as I once again traverse the great state of Kansas. Today I officially left Denver and hopefully all of my bad karma behind. I can't move into my Little Rock apartment until February 2nd so I'll spend my remaining week and a half off visiting my old homes of Columbia, MO and Springfield, IL.

The past few days have been very stressful with the packing and trying to stuff my belongings into my new car. When I got to Denver, I was hoping to stay for a few contracts so I ended up buying some new stuff (a stationary bike trainer, new beds for the dogs etc) and basically had more than I could easily carry. So in addition to the stress of packing (have I mentioned how much I hate moving??) there was the sadness of having to leave a place I love so much. Anyone who's been to Denver knows how beautiful it is having the snow capped mountains in the distance, how crisp the air feels, how bright and sunshiney the coldest days can be. Not to mention, I was just getting to know all of my friends and coworkers again. So all in all, it was just sad having to leave.

I want to give a shout out to a few people:
Joanie - thanks for all of your help from lending a crock pot, making sure I had a Christmas tree, to driving over an hour round trip just to give me a ride! I'm sorry I'm not going to be there for Carly's birth but I'll be there in spirit!!

Christine- Try not to go too crazy in the hospital!! Just remember that every day you keep those babies from being born is a good day!! 36 weeks won't be *too* far off and little Broomhilda and Balthazar will be perfect and healthy!

Jen - I'm so glad we reconnected after all of these years!! Who would have thought when we were freshman "skate bait" that we would turn into these fabulous women! I'm glad I got to meet your girls - they are awesome!!

Dee- I'm going to miss our planned training rides and snowshoeing expeditions! I'll just have to whip myself into tri shape without you but maybe we can still race together later this year??

Lynn - I enjoyed hanging out with you and the girls. We'll have to try the aquarium again the next time I'm around.

Here's hoping that Little Rock brings untold adventures ... at this point in time I'm really needing a little pick me up in life.

reporting from I-70

Next stop: Little Rock, Arkansas

I finally have a new assignment confirmed - Arkansas Children's in Little Rock, Arkansas! I don't currently have a license there, but the packet is already sent out so I'm hoping to have it all in place by my February 4th start date. My other option was Georgetown University but they couldn't start me until 2/14 and I don't want to be out of work that long, not to mention drive across the country yet again. So I can breathe a sigh of relief at having a job.

What do I know about Arkansas?? Absolutely nothing. Apparently its motto is the "Natural State" and I have no clue what that means. My recruiter swears that I'll find Little Rock interesting so I'm banking on that. I'm most excited about the fact that it's the home of the Bill Clinton Presidential Library! I'll definitely have to make a visit once I get there :)

She was a good car

Today I had to say goodbye to my little Purple Escort. She's been with me for over 8 years and will always have a place in my heart as the first car that I bought for myself (all my previous cars were family hand-me-downs). We've driven almost 120,000 miles together including a vacation to South Dakota, many back and forth drives between Denver and Illinois, all around the Front Range of Colorado, a move to Missouri, then Virginia and finally all the way from Virginia to Colorado. Yes, it's bright purple with a faded dashboard, tons of dog hair, stained carpet (more spilled coffees than I can count), some rust spots and an occasional paint chip - but it's been with me for many trips and I'll miss her.




Sadly, it was so sunny outside that the pictures don't do justice to her special hue of purple, a color you just can't find these days ... which some might say is a good thing.

Though it will never fully take her place, I now welcome a new 2007 Toyota Matrix to the family. Bright red, hatch backed and loaded with options - it will hopefully lessen the pain of my loss. This is my first *brand new* car and though it will be rough to have a car payment after all of these years, it will be nice to have a warranty, reliability, and a hatchback for the pooches to occupy. Now I just need to get some new outrageous, liberal bumperstickers to truly claim it as my own :)


R.I.P. my Barney purple little friend

Let's Play A Game!!

can I play?? can I??

Courtesy of my cousin Travis' blog:
1) Find nearest book
2) Name book and author
3) Turn to page 123
4) Go to 5th sentence and copy the next three to blog
5) tag 3 others


Book is "No Shortcuts To the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks" by Ed Viesturs

"The only remedy on such terrain is to bang the side of your crampon with the shaft of your ice ax, knocking loose the clump. It's a tedious, even vexing process. Another thing: you can't put your crampons on inside the tent."

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse .....

It is a known fact that the last 10 days of my life have COMPLETELY sucked!

I ended a relationship, found out that another ex is getting married, and lost my job. Thinking that it couldn't get any worse (which clearly is a dangerous thing for me to do) life exacted yet more karmic revenge on me. Last night while driving to dinner at a friends my car started to make a knocking noise, then sputtered and died on the side of the highway. I couldn't pull all the way over because the shoulder is still heavily drifted with snow, so there I was barely out of the lane with cars whizzing past me. Using my cell phone I called information thinking that *surely* they could help me as I asked for roadside assistance in Westminster, CO. The operator said "what listing" and I explained my situation, "umm, I'm stuck on the side of the highway in my car in Westminster, CO and I'm needing some help." His reponse, "so what do you need??" Apparently, it's impossible to actually get assistance these days!! He said, "I'll look up towing and give you a listing" which seemed reasonable. So I called that number and was told that they don't tow, they just jump cars or change tires - I asked if she could recommend another local service and she said "look in the yellow pages!" As I tried to explain I was stuck on the side of the road, she hung up on me!!!!!

By this point, the 10 degree temperatures outside were starting to make me shiver. Luckily I had two blankets in my car which I wrapped around me for warmth. At this point I called my friend, who kindly offered to bundle her infant and young child up and come get me. I suppose the moral of this part of the story is that

1) AAA might be a good idea.
2) Having blankets is a necessity for winter travel because in that approx. 40 minute period I would have froze without them.
3) Some businesses truly have no soul.

My friend picked me up and I have to admit it was quite scary because cars really weren't pulling over and I had to run through drifts to make it to her car. After getting back to her place I used the recommended yellow pages to find a towing service. The gentleman was very kind (a Nebraska native who had spent time in Ft Leonard Wood as we bonded over shared Missouri experiences) and referred me to his personal service establishment that just happened to be within a few blocks of my friend's house. So it appeared that my horrible experience was going to be redeemed ..... or maybe not.

It turns out that my car's sputters and knocks were actually the indication of the Escort's impending death. The diagnosis was a blown head gasket from a massive overheating. I was confused because I just had my oil changed, my coolant levels were good and there was no indication of impending death - what had I done wrong??? The mechanic assured me that this sometimes happens to these engines ... especially 10 year old engines with 140,000 miles on them. It could be fixed, but the cost would be high and at this point would it really be worth it???

So I guess tomorrow will be the day to shop for a new car which is EXACTLY what I want to do when I'm unexpectedly out of work.

reporting from hell,
jenn

I get by with a little help from my friends

Even in bad situations, every now and then you realize that there really is a lot of goodness in others. Case in point, I'm suddenly and without warning out of a job. Now I know that lots of people out there have an "emergency fund" just for these types of things, but I've been working as a travel nurse in order to get out of debt. I haven't been recklessly spending and doing lots of touristy things, instead I've been diligently putting all of my extra pennies towards debt that has been following me around since finishing nursing school. So all of a sudden I'm faced with having no paycheck for at least two to three weeks, the stress of trying to scramble to find something else, and the sadness of having to leave a place that I really have enjoyed. It's been so nice being back in Denver, reconnecting with my friends and former co-workers and just enjoying the more laidback lifestyle to be found here. I also loved my job and was learning a lot and enjoying the people in the NICU here. So not only do I have the financial concern, but there's also just a lot of sadness about this whole deal.

In the midst of all of this, I've been overwhelmed by how generous my friends are. Within the first day I've had three friends kindly offer their spare rooms to me despite their own circumstances. For example, one friend is currently in the hospital on bedrest in premature labor with her twins, another friend has two young children and is starting her PhD next week while working full time, and the third is very pregnant and has a young son allergic to dogs (and I have two) so her husband offered to pay for their kenneling if I stay with them! I have to be thankful to have people like this in my life!! In addition to my friends, even folks who are practically strangers - fellow nurses I've worked with a time or two here in Denver - were offering up their homes and couches to me if I needed a place to stay. So despite being blindsided and feeling a bit depressed and helpless in the situation, it's been a good lesson in the value of those around me.

As for my current plans, I'm still looking for a position and will likely be heading back to the midwest to crash with friends and family until I know where I'm headed next. When all else fails, Mom always says "you can stay with me as long as you need to!" :) Hopefully I'll have something lined up by the end of the week. Til then, I gotta just keep smiling!

Blizzards, Holidays and getting TOTALLY screwed!!!

As usual I've been a delinquent blogger and a lot has gone on since my last post. First of all, we had a HUGE blizzard here in Denver right before Christmas. I had a friend fly in that morning and it was a white-knuckled drive all the way to the airport. In all we had about 2 feet of snow and the city was pretty much at a standstill for two days. Lucky for me I didn't have to work (though it wouldn't have been a problem since I live across the street), but unfortunately for my friend - there was little to do during his visit except sit inside and watch the snow pile on the streets. The side roads really hadn't been cleared very well before we had a second big snow - but luckily for me I headed back to Illinois for a New Year's visit right as snow storm #2 was hitting.

Now don't get me wrong, I do like snow! It's white and fluffy and fun! But it makes things like getting to the grocery store, training for my half-marathon, and walking the dogs a bit difficult. I'm just thankful that I don't have to drive to work.

As just mentioned, I did go home to Illinois for New Year's. I had to work Christmas and the day after (both day shifts which was a point of extreme terror for a confirmed night shifter like myself) so it was nice to break away after the holiday and see the family. Not to mention there is nothing more relaxing than a long drive across Kansas .... no seriously, it really is relaxing!!!

So I got back from Illinois, worked a set of shifts then had a visit from my good pal Kristin. She's getting ready to start her PhD (good for her!) and needed a quick break from family and responsibility. We did some shopping, hung out, ate fattening food and just had some good girl time which is always nice.

Then the floor dropped out from under me. I get a call this morning that my contract has been cancelled effective THIS FRIDAY! I love the hospital I'm at, but their census is low and they just don't need the pricey labor of a travel nurse. Apparently they like me, I'm a great nurse, blah, blah, blah but I'm cancelled with four days notice! My company tried to talk them into at least two weeks notice but no dice. There's only one other position in the Denver area and it is a significant cut in pay but I had no option but to apply. We're also scrambling for any other job that I could get into quickly. Of course there's nothing in Missouri, nothing else in Colorado and the only other state I have a license in is Virginia. Another option is California where I can get a same day license if I drive to Sacramento. So we're putting in for several jobs and now I just have to sit and wait for someone to call me for an interview. This completely sucks and totally ruins my week. The best part is that I work tonight and the next two after so I have to try to grin and bear it despite this hospital totally screwing me over. Even in a best case scenario it looks like I'll be out of work at least two weeks - Happy New Year to me huh???