I had my first clinicals ever this past Thursday and Friday. An experience all around, they were. This is my account of them.

My first day was actually spent doing my ACE with a classmate. The ACE is a little packet that contained various worksheets to complete; a facility review page, a job-shadow page, and an elderly interview page. This was a really good way for a newbie like me to start, since I got to explore the facility a little bit and try to get my bearings without having to worry about caring for a patient. I shadowed a really nice RCM, which is a nurse that oversees the care of residents in the facility — essentially, her job is to make sure everyone else is doing their job. Lots and lots of paperwork. Found that the facility was very, very good — only had one suggestion for improvement to make. And then came time for my interview. I asked my RCM if she could point me toward a willing and able resident, and she took me right into the room of a lovely, sweet, yet slightly heartbreaking old lady who was happy to answer my questions. All in all, it was a good experience, but it didn’t really feel like a “first day of clinicals”, since I didn’t actually help take care of anyone.

Friday was a different story!

On the commute over, I could feel myself getting more nervous as time ticked away. I managed to be there a full 20 minutes early, which is excessive even for me, so I zenned out a little bit in my car with tea and music before going in… but that didn’t help very much! I finally started feeling a little stir-crazy so I headed through the cold morning into the facility with some classmates, and a few minutes later was getting my assignment. Scary stuff!

I found the CNA I was going to work with and explained the situation a little bit, and was incredibly relieved to find that she was really nice and REALLY good at her job. I helped her get up one of her other patients before going in to meet my own, to find her already up and wandering around her room in her wheelchair, still in her nightclothes but awake and happy as a clam. I stutteringly introduced myself and watched as the CNA undressed her and got her shuffled off to the shower room, as it was her shower day. After that, I followed the CNA around some more, helping her with this and that. I was still SUPER nervous and didn’t really know what to do, so I mostly watched and helped her out with whatever she asked for. I helped to dress several residents, helped move a few (one with a gait belt, a couple just shifting up in bed, and one even with a hoyer lift!), brought breakfast to a nice older man, helped change a bed, and then finally was able to settle down and have some time with my patient’s chart.

After I looked that over for a while, I tracked my patient down again and talked to her a little bit. My already nervous state wasn’t helped because my patient didn’t really need a whole lot of care, she was pretty self-sufficient, which made it even harder for me to know what to do! We talked and I took her vitals, and I helped her re-make her bed (because we previously hadn’t done it properly), but I didn’t get to do a full assessment because I was running short on time and she wanted to take a nap. All in all, though, I had a blast and had the chance to get over some of my jitters and see what it really takes to care for people in the LTC setting. I’m really glad I have the chance to work in LTC before jumping into acute care, but I sure am looking forward to it now!

And really, I’m still petrified of the thought of having to take care of people, but I think I’ll be okay after all!

xx~Ceej

oh hi everybody.

I just had my mind blown (by who, I’m not sure, there were a lot of partially naked people there…)

Highlights of my night at the Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast by Los Bastardos:

1. Accidentally hitting a security guy in the eye with some toilet paper (I AM SO SORRY, GUY)

2. Dr. Frank-N-Furter coming up to me before the show and tugging on my party hat, which I was wearing in addition to my top hat.

3. The time warp.

4.  Being turned into a princess by a Transylvanian walking behind me (she attached a length of toilet paper to my party hat)

5. buying a big button that says FAIL on it.

so now i’m over at a buddy’s house and we’re having a war on twitter over height, boobies, and airplanes.

weeeeeeeeeeee

*Kiara

Yep. Today is my last day here in Corpus. Sadly enough, it might really be one of my last days here. Next year I’ll be starting college, so I won’t be able to come here as easily. Oh, we’ll probably still come down here, just earlier in the year. But, sadly, my days here are probably numbered, at least as a part of our traditional once-a-year vacation.

Not much happened today, we ran out of tourist attractions, so mom and I went to go see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D. It was…well, a kids movie. That doesn’t make it bad. Just not exceptional. A good movie, with lots of morals good for both kids (Greed = bad) and parents (Always tell your kids you love them and are proud of them. There will never be a time when they don’t need to hear it). The animation was pretty awesome, and the characters were memorable, and strangely well-developed for a kids movie. I loved the Devereaux family the best, Tim Lockwood and Baby Brent were pretty amazing, too (Chicken Brent was weird though).

We went to Winton’s candy store, too. That place has some seriously delicious fudge, and caramel. They also have Gummy Ninjas… which are way too fun to eat. Bought some jewelry at a beach shop dealie… aaand came home to pack.

You might think I’m sad about how little I’ll be able to come here pretty soon, but I’m not. I can’t be at all sure how many more times I get to visit. Is this my last time? Or will I come back loads of times over my life? I have no idea, so I can’t justify feeling sad. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll look forward to many more vacations here in Corpus Christi.

Goodbye for now, but not forever, Corpus.

End of boring trip reports.

*K

OOPS

Hey guys. Present-time Kiara here once again. On this day of the vacation I forgot to blog. So uh. No report today, even if the last update was four days ago already. Although, even if I had remembered to blog, there wouldn’t be much. As I remember it, mom took me around to some of the beachy, touristy shops to look at the knickknacks and buy some stuff. I think I didn’t buy a single thing for myself besides a wad of taffy and a pair of earrings. XP

Anyway. Present-Kiara signing off. Past-Kiara will continue her reports tomorrow, I’m sure. She’s pretty good at keeping a schedule (PFFFFFFFFFF)

*K

Actually, I’m not kidding this time. Sorta.

I find it interesting that I’ve gone somewhere touristy every day so far, but dad didn’t go with us one day, and today mom stayed home.

Weirdos.

Anyway, today my daddy and I went hiking around the USS Lexington, another favorite place of mine, although I don’t have any particularly great stories to share. The Lexington is something that I just enjoy experiencing.

The USS Lexington is a huge navy aircraft carrier from the 1940’s that has been converted into a museum of navy history. It’s a bit of a climb, since much of the ship is the same as it was seventy years ago and the stairs are so steep they’re practically ladders, but it’s a lot of fun to go through and see what it was like. The museum is very large and sprawling, but I learned today that only 20% of the ship has been renovated to be open to the public. I also learned that despite the fact that the ship is right on the bay and still in the water, it would be one of the safest places to be if a hurricane ever hit Corpus because of how deep it’s buried in the sand.

I think all three of the places we generally go here, the Lex, the aquarium, and the museum, all of them have asked me to volunteer there before they learned I live eight hours away. Hee.

I’ve also decided that I prefer coming here in late October but before the Ween. Because I like being home for H’Ween, but since we don’t have cable at our house, if we go before mid October we get to see all the commercials promoting the cool movies and TV specials for H’Ween but leave before they actually go on the air. :( I’ve never even seen half the movies they’re advertizing for, and they’re CLASSIC Halloween movies! I wonder if I can remember them when I get home and rent them.

Wow this is a scant blog, comparatively… erm… and that’s all I really have to report.

…um…

END OF BLOG.

{Hey guys, present-day Kiara here to tell you that the next Corpus Report will not be posted until Tuesday. I’m going out of town, again (this time by myself, though, to all you burglars out there. Someone WILL be home! So hah!))

*K

The Texas State Aquarium.

…Oh my gosh you guys. I cannot tell you how much I love this place. I have learned so much about fishies and other critters there it’s just. Whoa. I love it. If I lived here, you can bet I would be volunteering there. In a friggin’ heartbeat.

And it’s not just fishies/critters I learn about there. I always leave that place feeling better about the world, and myself. There’s just so much energy surrounding the building that I can’t help but smile the whole time I’m there—much like the stingrays they keep!

I’ve always thought that stingrays look like they’re constantly smiling. It’s just how their mouth is shaped. That’s why I collect Stingray stuff. They’re like little reminders of one of my most important personal beliefs: Always do your best to be happy. Have fun in whatever you do, and keep smiling! Even if you get kicked in the head by someone who doesn’t know how to do the Stingray Shuffle!

Back to the aquarium, though. Our visits there are not often very different from the others. I know every word of every show they have, I know exactly when to raise my hand to be called up as a possible volunteer, and I know the answer to every trick-question the keepers ask their audiences. But even if I can anticipate exactly how my day will go at the TSA, I still love to go and watch the animals. Every single one of them is beautiful in their own way. I could sit and watch them forever. Not to mention the other visitors. It’s great to watch both children and adults opening up and having fun by getting up close and personal with a tortoise or a baby alligator. It’s just really great, guys. All over great.

Although, there was one moment of my day that is quite worthy of a mention(and a video):

One of the shows they do there is a sort of exhibit of creatures from all over the world. An african serval, a barn owl, couple different kinds of hawks, a turkey vulture, some mice, and many more. At one point in this show the keepers ask for an adult volunteer (a rarity, most volunteers called are children). Specifically, an adult volunteer with a camera. Now, I’d forgotten my camera at home, but I did have my phone with me that has both a regular camera and a video camera. Despite the large crowd, when the call came out for a brave volunteer, only myself and one other young lady raised their hands. I suppose my hand went up first because I was called (of course, I also knew what was coming, too).

I came onto the stage and was asked to sit on a little stump and keep my camera ready. I did so, and…well, check out the footage I got:

{Hey guys, present-day Kiara here. Technical difficulties (my computer and phone won’t play nice and share videos together) prevent me from sharing my cool video with you. Sorry about that. As you can see, Past-Kiara wrote around what was hopefully going to be an uploaded video inserted here. Oh well, she is a rather good summarizer, if I do say myself.}

As you can see, Xander, a Harris Hawk, flew directly over my head and over the crowd to perch over near the keeper. Then, turning around, he immediately flew extremely close to my head and landed on another perch right behind me. Mom got a picture of the bird sitting over my head as I ready my camera to get another shot of him flying around some more:

I was told I didn’t even flinch, and the bird came closer to my head than expected. Of course, this was because I knew the worst he might do is bump into me. I’ve learned over the years to trust the keepers, and I’ve learned what creatures they keep are aggressive, and which aren’t. And most are not. Most of the critters at the TSA don’t want to hurt you unless you’ve hurt them, so I wasn’t the least bit worried about Xander trying to claw my eyes out or anything.

It’s because of that mentality that it continues to surprise me when people refuse to pet the baby alligators simply because they’re afraid of them.

It’s perfectly safe, the gator is being held by a keeper who will keep it under control, which is absurdly easy because the gators they bring out to be petted are very small. So long as you don’t put your fingers near their mouth they won’t hurt you (and let’s face it, doing that would be a stupid thing to do).

I suppose I’m just more comfortable around dangerous animals than most individuals who aren’t trained to handle them? o_O

And now, more pictures!!

I forget what kind of eel this is, but there were like...fifty of them just hangin' out in the sand.

Needlefish!

I love stingrays so muuuuch. <3 They're horrible to try and take pictures of, though. so speedy~

Hellooooo!!!! <3

Despite the crappy phone quality, I like this picture. (It's a shark, if you can't tell)

One of the eels in the Flower Gardens tank decided to come out of his hidey-hole and swim. I have *never* seen them do that, but it was soooooo cool to watch.

More of my attempts to actually take a picture of a Stingray "Smile".

This is a Cownose Ray, by the way. My favorite. They seem to look the happiest. <3 this guy almost looks like he wants a hug. d'awww.

Romaine Lettuce, AKA: Fishfood. om nom nom, angelfish?

If you can see it, there's a Barracuda in this picture. His name's Bullet.

This diver is crazy. An eel could bite off your bare hand, and she spent several minutes feeding them bits of Squid barehanded. She's been doing this for ten years or more, though, so she knows how to handle them (I'm sad I didn't get a chance to ask her what petting an Eel feels like!)

Underwater view of two of the aquarium's dolphins. They were total camera hogs.

Another one of the dolphins, posing for the crowd.

This eagle was standing so still, I didn't even see it at first. Which is a wonder since they're a lot bigger than I expected them to be.

I wonder if he likes fruit loops...

I'm not sure what sort of hawk this is (It could be Xander, I forgot to ask), but he suuure was pretty up close.

Once again, dunno what kind of hawk this is, but I strategically put my clothes in danger by sitting under his perch *just* to get this shot.

The Aquarium's residant African Serval. His name was either Keemani or Peabody... They sound kinda similar through a speaker system, apparently.

A tortoise, making a desparate break for freedom. Just a few more yards!!!

Dang! Foiled again!

Last but not least, yours truly, hitching a ride on the back of one of the huge Whale figures rising out of the bricks outside the aquarium.

Well, that’s all! Or at least, all that came out well. I took roughly 90 pictures throughout the whole day. Those are just the good ones.

About the only other thing I can say from today was that I came home with quite a good haul from the gift shop. A new Sting Ray necklace (now, my favorite Rays are of the Cownose variety, however it seems that the only type anyone ever wants to make jewelry or plushies from is the Southerns and Atlantics. :/ *shrug*), a set of earrings, and a cool anklet with bells on it!

Weirdest thing ever: For some reason, only I can hear those bells. Or at least hear them *well*. Neither of my parents can hear the bells jingling as I walk, and they can only barely hear them when they’re in their own hands! At first I thought they were just going deaf or something, but when I tried to record the ringing with my cell phone, it couldn’t pick up the audio no matter how close I put the bells to the mic. I hear them loud and clear!

Maybe when I get home I’ll get some second opinions. It’s pretty dang weird, though.

Aanyway. G’bye for now!

*K

(^– Veggie Tales reference)

Once again, coming to you live with a pre-typed blog, Kiara with another Corpus Report.

Today was a little lazier than yesterday. We slept in and had a late breakfast-lunch dealie, then just hung around the condo and relaxed until we decided to go see a movie.

So the question became “what movie?”

I voted for 9, but both my parents hadn’t even heard of it. They asked me what it was about and…uh… I realized I really had no idea. I mean the trailer looked AMAZING but the voice-over in it was…supremely vague as far as plot goes and the setting was totally unrecognizable so… I looked it up, and we decided to go see it.

The movie was…erm… great visuals but the story… er. Was barely recognizable. It was kinda like watching the middle of a movie with no beginning or end. I was questioning the setting a lot. I mean, it’s pretty clear that the technology is a bit more advanced than ours is, but all the clothes, buildings and lots of the scenery elements looked like they were from the 1940’s. Which is just fine but…it’s never explained why. There was little to no character development. Why was 1 so stuck in his ways? Why were 3 and 4 separated from the rest? What made 7 so bitter? Not to mention 6 and his obscure ability to just “know” things with no explanation. And why did 9 wake up so much later than the others? What made him more special than the previous 8 little-robot-thingies? There was no real introduction, explaining how anything got to be the way it was until you were already fifteen minutes into the movie, and the ending was just as confusing, not to mention just barely being an actual ending.

The visuals were very good, and the design of the robots was very interesting (I especially loved those sentry-siren-bot-things), but the storytelling was just… confusing.

Aaanyway. After the movie we came home, lounged some more, then daddy took me to a mini-golf course that’s very close to the condos. We had fun and I was very happy to spend time with dad. He beat me by about…7 points, I think. I also talked him into buying me a huuuge pirate flag in the gift shop of the place, as well as a plaque that says “Dead Men Tell No Tales”. I’ve been looking for things to put on my walls lately, so I’m pretty happy with those.

I walked home from the golf course to get in at least one good run while I’m here, and then took a shower. Now, this next story is just something I have to write. I expect at least one person to stop reading as soon as they realize what it’s about.

See, the condos we stay in are over 30 years old. But the unit we’re in this year is a newly renovated one. It still has the kinda-crappy wicker furniture and the TV doesn’t have proper plugs in it for hooking up my PS2 for use as a DVD player, but there is definitely a difference and it’s much nicer than the one we stayed in last year. One of the differences is in the showers. I am overjoyed with the showers. I am so happy I could do a dance, and I think I did do a little dance when I told mom about it. The shower head is different. It’s the sort that can be removed from the wall, which is wonderful, but that’s not the greatest thing. I can actually stand up straight underneath the shower heads. Thank the lord almighty I can STAND UP STRAIGHT!!

I swear to you, cross my heart and whatever oaths you want, the shower heads before were so low I think the only person who could rinse their hair without stooping would be a midget. And I am not a midget. I am actually a pretty tall person. I had to bend double. I actually used to avoid showering here (which is kinda nasty with how humid it gets) just because the showers were so damn difficult. I am so happy about this, guys. So happy.

….Sooo happy.

*K

(I have a test tomorrow. The first test of the year. It’s driving me up the wall, not knowing exactly what to study or what it’s going to be like. Thus, I’m not retaining a whole lot, and decided a blog break was in order.)

You know, there are pros and cons to having both parents in nursing. On the one hand, I have a handy source whenever I find myself having trouble. On the other hand, both parents were trained 20+ years ago and were not taught the same way I am being taught.
So, really, for practice purposes, they are a terrible resource for someone uneasy like me, since as soon as I try to practice on one of them, they go NO, UR DOIN IT RONG.

Well, at least now I know that it’ll be cool later when I’m spending more time at school practicing with my peers than at home being told I’m doin’ it rong. :|

(god i hope i’m better at this game than i feel. i am not a people person and i have no idea how to interact with patients. i can handle the theory without a problem! bring it on! it’s the … talking to people that i have issues with! at least i don’t have to worry about that too much until next week. for now, i can worry about theory and such to pass my test tomorrow.)

xx~Ceej

Hello everyone! Once again, I speak to you from *dun dun duuunnn* THE PAST!

Today, 9/26/09, my family and I went toThe Corpus Christi Museum. This museum is our usual first stop here in CC. In fact, we strategically arrive on a Friday so that we can attend the museum’s 50-year Saturday-afternoon tradition, the Treasure Hunt. My family has been coming to CC, and the museum, for about 30 years, longer than I have been alive. Every year for as long as I can remember I’ve participated in the treasure hunt, I don’t always bring home a ribbon, but I always have tons of fun. So long as a person isn’t taking away the fun from children, I don’t think you’re ever too old to act like a kid. This treasure hunt reminds me of that. I never want to be too old to participate; it’s just too much fun.

This year, though, was a little different for me.

The way the treasure hunt works is the hunters will get a sheet of paper with six multiple-choice questions, with one of them randomly circled. You go out into the museum, find the answer, and bring it back to the judges who will tell you if you got it right or wrong, then send you back out with another randomly selected question. Obviously the first person who gets all the questions right comes in first with the others following along behind.

My family is also good friends with the museum’s curator, and he knows what kind of kid I am. This year I attempted to play a trick on some of the museum staff and the customers by dressing up in my pirate costume and walking the museum. Three times I got mistook for just a particularly enthusiastic museum staff member, and I absolutely loved the attention from all the kids. When the curator saw me, though, he didn’t even bat an eyelash. I’m sure it wasn’t too surprising if you know me even a little. I like silly things.

After a little while I found out that the museum was a little understaffed today and the curator asked me if I would like to volunteer to be a judge for the treasure hunt. At first I was a little scared, I mean, I’d never really paid attention to the judges or what they have to do, so I was afraid I might mess it up and make some poor kid’s experience in the museum a less-than good one. But I assured myself that it couldn’t be terribly difficult and I wasn’t going to be judging by myself, so I agreed.

It was a whole new experience for me, to be sitting on the other side of the table and marking things down instead of traipsing around the museum, and I still had a ton of fun.

My costume gained lots of attention, too. Several pictures were taken. In fact, as soon as I walked into the museum, what appeared to be a high school field trip was just leaving. As soon as I entered in my full Pirate regalia, the camraphones flew and I was fighting giggles, since the sound of canned shutter noises were anything but discreet, and a few of them were even talking about me as if I wasn’t able to hear them chatter. I didn’t think it was rude so much as just funny. Eventually I offered to pose for pictures, either by myself or with others. Later on I had a trio of older ladies ask me for directions around the museum, and what exactly the Columbus Ships exhibit was about. After I’d answered their questions I asked if they realized that I was in no way affiliated with the museum, and they looked stunned that I could know so much without actually being an employee.

But the thing I enjoyed the most, as I said, was the kids. “Daddy that looks like a pirate!”, “Are you a pirate?”, “Of course she’s a pirate!”, and one of my favorites was the little boy I didn’t understand. He, as near as I could tell, told his father all about how I was a pirate, a real pirate, in Spanish. I couldn’t understand a word he or his father said, but it was great to know that my appearance transcended a language barrier.

Goodness I’ve written a lot about tonight and I didn’t even get to the Columbus Ships themselves (the museum houses replicas of the Pina and the Santa Maria, two of the three ships that Christopher Columbus sailed). The most I can say without fearing the teal deer is that the ships have been falling into disrepair recently, mostly due to a lack of manpower. Both the ships had lost their masts when I saw them last year. This year, however, I was absolutely overjoyed to see that the Pinta had new masts, AND some new rails. The ships are being repaired, and it’s like watching an old friend recover from a severe illness. I’m ecstatic to see those ships looking better, I can’t even begin to express it.

We also got the internet sorted out tonight. I can check on things (but not post blogs). Although it is dial up, so it’s near-impossible to…get…much of anything really *done*, simply because the mast majority of websites have upgraded, since faster internet can allow for more things. So these high-speed websites are horrible on a downgraded connection. This wouldn’t bother me if all those lovely high-speed websites weren’t the source of movie times and TV schedules and other research for vacation funspots. :/  Ah well, they load…eventually.

I have got to stop typing, since I’m sure you all dropped off as soon as you read the word “museum”. :P Expect another report tomorrow!

*K

Hello. This is the Kiara of the past, typing to you from 9/25/09. It’s a long story to explain why.

You see, my mother seems to be of the belief that vicious burglars haunt our internet connections just *waiting* to hear one word about us being out of town and away from our lovely home so that they can run off with our belongings. Ever since I can remember us having internet I’ve understood that, as a rule, she would skin me alive if I ever mentioned actively being out of town on the internet in such a way that leaves the house empty.

Currently, as I type this, I and my whole family are in Corpus Christi, Texas, vacationing it up. However, I am not allowed to actually post any recounts of our daily adventures here until we have returned home, because of the aforementioned fear.

So this, as well as the next seven posts, will be day-to-day reports of our time here. (Interestingly enough, it was mom who asked me to “keep a diary” of the trip.)

So, that’s my explanation. Here is the actual blog.

This is just the first day here, so not a lot has happened yet. We went to Red Lobster with my aunt & uncle, so my dad and uncle could order all-you-can-eat Shrimp and eat themselves into crustacean comas. :P We came home with three bags full of delicious cheese biscuits, too, because our first waitress was a bit of a deadbeat. Another young lady took over, though, and she was nice.

It’s great to be back in Corpus. We’ve come here every year for as long as I can remember, and to be honest, I think my year would be pretty bleak without coming here. I love this place, the sights and smells (bad and good) are enough to make me smile even if I’m having the worst of days. Although, the condo we have a timeshare at has yet to buy into the whole “wireless” deal, so my family of three extremely active internet users are stuck on a one-computer dial-up connection. This is the time of year I am thankful I stay up so much later than my parents—they go to sleep and I have the connection just to myself. That is, if we can get it connected. We’re working on that currently. If else fails perhaps I can ask mom to truck me up to a coffee shop nearby. I’d drive myself now that I have my license, but we’ve taken our Chevvy Suburban and I’m a little frightened of driving in that beast by myself. I love riding in it, but the thought of driving it is quite daunting.

Although, don’t get me wrong. I can survive without internet just fine for a week. It’d be nice to have it, sure, but it’s not absolutely necessary and I won’t go stir-crazy. If nothing else, I refuse to. I don’t want to be leash-tied to a computer all my life, eugh. However, books or not, since my father’s idea of a vacation is to sit around and relax (understandable) and mom doesn’t really want to spend all day driving (also pretty understandable), I’m tied to the condo all day, and I’d love to catch up with my friends, and the internet is good for that.

For now, though, both the TV’s in the condo are tied up and the internet connection is nonexistent, literally. I do believe I will go down to the pool (provided the Corpus Christi monstersquitoes don’t eat me) and read a book. :) I will write up another blog tomorrow, and uh…post it…later. Sigh. Goodbye for now, future-readers! I hope none of us get into deadly accidents before these are posted!! :)

*K