Act 3: Virginia is Pretty but the drivers suck
After making it so far the first day, I only had about 4- 4 1/2 hours (or so I thought) left to go. I was really struck by how beautiful the mountains of western Virginia were in the morning – even more stunning with the light rain and mist hanging in the valleys. The drive from Lewisburg to Richmond was very enjoyable and I only wished that I had time to stop and hike around and see some of the sights. At Richmond, it all fell apart. After filling up with gas, I was excited by the prospect of only another 90 miles to my destination!! I took the bypass around Richmond then hit I-64 again headed for Hampton Roads. Immediately it was bumper to bumper and crawling around 20-30 mph. I ignorantly assumed there must be some accident up ahead to explain it given that the west bound traffic seemed OK, but after the miles passed on – I realized there was no accident. I have no idea how long it took me to travel those 90 miles (I quit watching the clock because I was trying to stay calm and collected) but I did have to stop and pee not once but twice! I was recalling how Buddhists perceive these types of lines and waits as “found time” so I just enjoyed my audiobook. So this slow 30 mph crawl pretty much went the entire 90 miles, but apparently Virginia drivers defy traffic!! Folks were weaving in and out (not using their blinkers of course) trying to buy that elusive 5 seconds in their overall journey. Tailgating and aggressive weaving were actually more irritating to me than the traffic, I kept waiting for a 10 car fender bender (actually was kindof hoping for it with a few particularly dangerous drivers) but it never happened. After getting to my apartment, I learned that it’s just a busy route on the weekends for all the folks heading to the Hampton Roads area. Something I would assume the Virginia drivers would know and be prepared for!!
The best part of my drive was coming out of the town of Hampton and hitting the I-64 bridge/tunnel and seeing the Chesapeake Bay for the first time. To the left it seemed to go on forever, and on the right there were sailboats cruising around and huge Navy ships docked in the naval station at Norfolk. I’ve never lived near the water before so this is going to be exciting!! Tomorrow, exploration is planned!!
Post script – while spellchecking this post, I found it humorous that some of my typos for “Virginia” come up with the recommendation “virginal” It takes so little to amuse me…..
Saturday, August 12, 2006
THE MOVE cont.
Act 2: The Midwest is Long and Boring
So I made it 750 miles on Friday, from Columbia, MO all the way to Lewisburg, West Virginia. It was a relatively uneventful trip with stops in Mt Vernon, IL; Winchester, KY; and Beckley WV. Mainly I saw a lot of trees – trees lining the interstate all across southern Illinois and Indiana and hills with trees across West Virginia. Basically it was like driving across Kansas and Nebraska only substituting endless prairie as far as the eye can see for trees lining both sides of the interstate. There were also a few car accidents, mainly rear ending but one spectacular looking rollover in Kentucky with lots of cop cars and flashing lights. Given how calm all the bystanders were and that several apparent passengers were sitting in the grass, I’m guessing there were no major injuries. Or maybe they just take roadside tragedy with a grain of salt in the Bluegrass State. Speaking of Bluegrass state, I didn’t realize how thick the accents are in Kentucky. At McDonalds I couldn’t tell whether she was asking me what kindof “sauce I needed for my nuggets” or if I was “lost and needed some huggin’s.”
In West Virginia, right around the time I started to feel fatigued I stopped at a major crossroads and quickly learned that ALL of the hotels were full. I had no choice but to go another 50 miles to the next town of consequence only to see a sign indicating that the State Fair was going on there. I had already decided to just park somewhere well lit and open in town and crash in the car for a few hours- but I tried the Super 8 just in case. They did have one room and I admitted to having 1 dog knowing that with 2 I had little to no chance of entry. The guy was nice and put me in a room in the back, but I realized that they have security cameras he was monitoring and since it was after midnight he was likely to make sure I got in alright. I actually tried to shove Tosca (my terrier) into a duffle bag thinking I could pass her off as luggage but those of you who know her, know that there was no chance in hell that would work. I decided to just quickly and brazenly walk down that hallway with both dogs and pray that I was left alone. If he came to my door, I was so exhausted that I would have had no problems manufacturing some convincing tears, but luckily my deceit was not detected … or it was and he just didn’t care.
So I made it 750 miles on Friday, from Columbia, MO all the way to Lewisburg, West Virginia. It was a relatively uneventful trip with stops in Mt Vernon, IL; Winchester, KY; and Beckley WV. Mainly I saw a lot of trees – trees lining the interstate all across southern Illinois and Indiana and hills with trees across West Virginia. Basically it was like driving across Kansas and Nebraska only substituting endless prairie as far as the eye can see for trees lining both sides of the interstate. There were also a few car accidents, mainly rear ending but one spectacular looking rollover in Kentucky with lots of cop cars and flashing lights. Given how calm all the bystanders were and that several apparent passengers were sitting in the grass, I’m guessing there were no major injuries. Or maybe they just take roadside tragedy with a grain of salt in the Bluegrass State. Speaking of Bluegrass state, I didn’t realize how thick the accents are in Kentucky. At McDonalds I couldn’t tell whether she was asking me what kindof “sauce I needed for my nuggets” or if I was “lost and needed some huggin’s.”
In West Virginia, right around the time I started to feel fatigued I stopped at a major crossroads and quickly learned that ALL of the hotels were full. I had no choice but to go another 50 miles to the next town of consequence only to see a sign indicating that the State Fair was going on there. I had already decided to just park somewhere well lit and open in town and crash in the car for a few hours- but I tried the Super 8 just in case. They did have one room and I admitted to having 1 dog knowing that with 2 I had little to no chance of entry. The guy was nice and put me in a room in the back, but I realized that they have security cameras he was monitoring and since it was after midnight he was likely to make sure I got in alright. I actually tried to shove Tosca (my terrier) into a duffle bag thinking I could pass her off as luggage but those of you who know her, know that there was no chance in hell that would work. I decided to just quickly and brazenly walk down that hallway with both dogs and pray that I was left alone. If he came to my door, I was so exhausted that I would have had no problems manufacturing some convincing tears, but luckily my deceit was not detected … or it was and he just didn’t care.
THE MOVE - A Horror Story in 3 Acts
Act 1 :Preparations
First of all, I moved my work schedule around and had every intention of leaving Columbia Wednesday, spending the night in Springfield, then leaving bright and early Thursday morning. This would give me a whole weekend to enjoy in Virginia before starting my job. Well, in true Jenn fashion those plans went horribly astray!
I didn’t leave until Friday because as usual I procrastinated and was literally packing my car and cleaning my duplex at 11 p.m. on Thursday night! I have been so stressed the week its ridiculous and it all could have been avoided by NOT waiting until the last minute. I practically gave away everything I owned on Freecycle (who knew I had so much crap?) and jammed the rest into a storage unit. With care and planning, none of this should have been a problem, but care and planning are not a part of my repertoire. Example of my stupidity … while taking out the trash and waiting for the carpet cleaner to arrive on Thursday I LOCKED MYSELF OUT of my house. Yes, that’s right – it’s 100 degrees and I’m outside frantically wishing that I was a trained criminal, jamming an opened wire hanger into the lock (as if I have any clue what to do with it) and contemplating which window I should break to get in. The keypad on my garage door – which was always my trusty way to get inside - had been on the fritz for a week, and I keep my front door locked religiously which is something I failed to remember as I walked out the front door and pulled it shut to keep my precious air conditioned air in trhe house. I had to call a locksmith and pay him $40 to break me into my own home. Oh, and did I mention that this happened to me earlier in the week?? Only that time, I was lucky enough to have had my patio door unlocked. Let’s just say that I am glad to be living out of my car for the foreseeable future.
First of all, I moved my work schedule around and had every intention of leaving Columbia Wednesday, spending the night in Springfield, then leaving bright and early Thursday morning. This would give me a whole weekend to enjoy in Virginia before starting my job. Well, in true Jenn fashion those plans went horribly astray!
I didn’t leave until Friday because as usual I procrastinated and was literally packing my car and cleaning my duplex at 11 p.m. on Thursday night! I have been so stressed the week its ridiculous and it all could have been avoided by NOT waiting until the last minute. I practically gave away everything I owned on Freecycle (who knew I had so much crap?) and jammed the rest into a storage unit. With care and planning, none of this should have been a problem, but care and planning are not a part of my repertoire. Example of my stupidity … while taking out the trash and waiting for the carpet cleaner to arrive on Thursday I LOCKED MYSELF OUT of my house. Yes, that’s right – it’s 100 degrees and I’m outside frantically wishing that I was a trained criminal, jamming an opened wire hanger into the lock (as if I have any clue what to do with it) and contemplating which window I should break to get in. The keypad on my garage door – which was always my trusty way to get inside - had been on the fritz for a week, and I keep my front door locked religiously which is something I failed to remember as I walked out the front door and pulled it shut to keep my precious air conditioned air in trhe house. I had to call a locksmith and pay him $40 to break me into my own home. Oh, and did I mention that this happened to me earlier in the week?? Only that time, I was lucky enough to have had my patio door unlocked. Let’s just say that I am glad to be living out of my car for the foreseeable future.
A New NICU Perspective
I now have a different perspective on my job as a neonatal ICU nurse. My good friend Kim had a baby born yesterday that was sick and transferred to a NICU. As I listened to her and her husband try to convey what was going on, I realized just how scary and unfamiliar a medical crisis is, even to educated people. Most of the families I deal with are either very young or very uneducated so I expect them to be pretty clueless. But listening to her, it gave me a whole new perspective on how a parent perceives the information provided to her by the nurses taking care of her baby. So many things are routine to me … an intubated baby, IVs, ventilators, tests etc that I often think of my patients as “sick” and “not really sick” when in their parents eyes they are ALL sick. I hope that I am compassionate and understanding when dealing with my patients’ parents and most importantly, I hope I convey information to them in a way that makes sense and is reassuring.
As for little Bodie – it sounds like he’ll be alright after a week of special care. I’ll certainly be sending all my thoughts his way.
As for little Bodie – it sounds like he’ll be alright after a week of special care. I’ll certainly be sending all my thoughts his way.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
When it has to all fit in one small car, what do you take??
I am making some progress on the packing front which is encouraging. Well in all honesty, I haven't packed so much as I have given away tons of stuff. When faced with the dilemma of taking only a few things and putting the rest into storage, I have decided that there are lots of things that I now need to part with. Hand me down couch and loveseat - gone, various clothing that is several years old and too big for me anyway - gone, things that have remained unused since I moved here from Colorado - gone. If you're ever needing to get rid of stuff, check out Freecycle it's a great network and many people have been very enthusiastic to receive crap that I no longer need. So though I'm not fully packed by any stretch of the word, I have whittled my life down considerably and started to place things I know that I'm not going to need into a storage unit.
The biggest problem I have is in deciding what I need to take with me. First and foremost there is a definite space issue given that all of my life's possession need to fit in my car and since I'm more of a tree hugging sort as opposed to an SUV driving, gas guzzling sort, my car is small to start with. And it's not just packing for me, but packing for the dogs as well. I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot of "we'll just buy that when we get to Virginia" going on because there's just no way to know exactly what I'll need and to fit it. I am a little torn by what to take though. For example, I'm putting my DVDs into storage but what happens when I'm depressed one night and the only thing that will fix it is the perfect Buffy episode? Or watching Dirty Dancing for the thousandth time?? And how about one of those days when I'm feeling nostalgic and I'm wanting to recall a Pi Phi party from 1995 but all of my photos are in Missouri. I don't necessarily mind simplifying my life, but every now and then it's those silly things that bring comfort. And music, I guess I'm going to have to load lots of stuff onto my laptop because when you're in the mood for 1980s Madonna or the Cure's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me it's gonna have to be accessible. So I think the biggest challenge is going to be deciding what I have to have, what luxuries I want with me, and what things I can do without. I'm sure that there will be lots of moments in Virginia where I'll think "man, I wish I would have brought x" but I'll just have to get over it. When I think about it, my life is pretty simple already. I think I'm a little less burdened by possessions than others so I should think of this as an opportunity for growth. If nothing else, when it's all said and done, I will have replaced all of my older crap with newer crap and isn't that what capitalism is all about??
The biggest problem I have is in deciding what I need to take with me. First and foremost there is a definite space issue given that all of my life's possession need to fit in my car and since I'm more of a tree hugging sort as opposed to an SUV driving, gas guzzling sort, my car is small to start with. And it's not just packing for me, but packing for the dogs as well. I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot of "we'll just buy that when we get to Virginia" going on because there's just no way to know exactly what I'll need and to fit it. I am a little torn by what to take though. For example, I'm putting my DVDs into storage but what happens when I'm depressed one night and the only thing that will fix it is the perfect Buffy episode? Or watching Dirty Dancing for the thousandth time?? And how about one of those days when I'm feeling nostalgic and I'm wanting to recall a Pi Phi party from 1995 but all of my photos are in Missouri. I don't necessarily mind simplifying my life, but every now and then it's those silly things that bring comfort. And music, I guess I'm going to have to load lots of stuff onto my laptop because when you're in the mood for 1980s Madonna or the Cure's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me it's gonna have to be accessible. So I think the biggest challenge is going to be deciding what I have to have, what luxuries I want with me, and what things I can do without. I'm sure that there will be lots of moments in Virginia where I'll think "man, I wish I would have brought x" but I'll just have to get over it. When I think about it, my life is pretty simple already. I think I'm a little less burdened by possessions than others so I should think of this as an opportunity for growth. If nothing else, when it's all said and done, I will have replaced all of my older crap with newer crap and isn't that what capitalism is all about??
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