Sunday, February 24, 2008
During the middle of the parade I guess there was a fire, they stopped the parade and moved all the barricades to let the truck go by
Ronald McDonald...in the Chinese parade but sounded like a guy from Brooklyn
us with the dragon in the background
cute little girl was FREEZING!!!
Fireworks
There were several dragons in the parade (more to come) this was the first one and they had fireworks too! They would throw down a pile of fireworks and then run around it...it about scared us to death! But it was cool!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
We finally get to wear our boots!
We bought these rain boots after the first two days of ALL rain! Luckily its been gorgeous since and we haven't needed them. Today we did...it was the Chinese New Year parade and raining and cold outside...but we got to wear our boots!!!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Santa Cruz
Again, is this not a gorgeous place? I wish I'd gotten a pic of the boardwalk it was too cute! Notice all the surfers out in the water and this was just in one section...they were all the way up the coast in Santa Cruz. I'm gonna have to learn how to surf...apparently everybody there does it! I even saw and old man with a gray beard in a wet suit carrying his surf board. Notice all the houses too...they are right on the ocean! I loved this place!
Toto's First Beach Trip
He wasn't really sure what to think. This particular beach that we were on had little pebbles everywhere making it really hard to walk. Toto would try to run and would just sink. He also loved those little cactus things (see pic). He would just sit in the middle of a patch of them. 
Heinold's
We finally made it to Heinold's, the bar down the road from our apartment thats like over 100 years old. It is a great place! Apparently the earthquake from 1906 really hit it hard so the whole building is slanted. The floor, the bar, the barstools are crooked. There are also several cool things around that different people (mostly soldiers) have given to the bar. We also met a girl who came here as a travel nurse several years ago and fell in love with the bartender there and now they're married...cute story :)!!
us with our new friend
This was a helmet from a nazi soldier during WWII that a guy brought back.
And I took this picture for Carrie...
Drive down Hwy 1
This morning I woke up and decided to drive Hwy 1. Hwy 1 is the highway that runs the entire coast of California. From San Francisco both Hwy 1 north and south are suppose to be gorgeous, but I chose to go south. I wanted to try to make it to Monterey but I made so many stops along the way I didn't make it. When I first saw the ocean I stopped at like the first 3 beaches. I have never seen anything so pretty. From Oakland I drove west across a forever long bridge and then I went through some moutainous farm land, traffic through here was awful! I moved 10 miles in about an hour but I finally made it to Half Moon Bay, which is a small coastal farming town. As soon as I turned left onto Hwy 1 from here I passed like 3 houses, turned a curve and there was the Pacific Ocean! It was weird cause there would be cows grazing right in front of the ocean. At one point there was 2 John Deere tractors in a field in front of the ocean...I thought that was cute but couldn't get a pic. It took me about an hour driving down Hwy 1 and then I got to Santa Cruz...the most gorgeous place I've ever seen! They had the cutest boardwalk and there was thousands of surfers out in the water. I've decided I want to live here and if they have a children's hospital I'm so going there next! I came back from Santa Cruz on the interstate just cause Hwy 1 took so long.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Slightly Stoopid
This is the name of the band we saw tonight. Before we even came out here Laura bought tickets to go see them. I was afraid they were gonna be weird but they were actually pretty good. They were a little rock, alternative, and reggae all mixed together. And the bald saxophone player is HOT! After the show we walked a few blocks and had the BEST pizza ever! (Mama I think this may have been the place you were looking for!) Seriously, I doubt it...it was a hole in the wall place but it was really good! On the way home we drove past the Full House houses (you know the ones that the Tanner's (Danny, DJ, Stephanie, Michelle) lived in)...I was soooo excited! I tried to take pictures but it was too dark but I WILL be going back!
I needed a night out in the city after working these past few days. I miss the ER so much! Floor nursing really sucks even though I like the nurses who work most of the floors. There is just this one floor that I hate (and Laura does too)! None of the other nurses help you and this is the hemoc floor so I really don't know what I'm doing! My night working here I was in tears so I really needed to go out and enjoy this wonderful area that we are living in cause I do love this place (just not the job). I wish we could just live out here and not work...
Monday, February 11, 2008
All by myself
Last night was my first night to work by myself, off orientation. I was on my favorite floor (the one where the nurses act like my people back home) so I was extrememly happy about that. And I stayed there the whole 12 hours. I had some pretty complex patients although there were not that many meds to give out so I really wasn't that busy. I had 2 different kids with chest tubes, a kid in halo traction, and a postop appy. The only one who gave me any trouble was one of the chest tube kids...he was a big baby and extremely rude (they were probably from Sausalito...or to you guys back home Mountain Brook people). But noboby died on my watch and I think I did all my charting right. We still don't have our schedule for the rest of the month apparently our nurse manager does not have it together. We gotta go back in tonight and then I work Wed night and I'm done till next monday...more to come!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Laura's Blog
All of you need to go to Laura's website...its not up to date yet but its very fancy and a lot better than mine!
http://web.mac.com/lpopwell
No...this is not a postcard
I know its so touristy but it was sooo gorgeous up here. This is something everyone needs to experience once in their life. There were tons of people up there just standing and looking. 
More of the Golden Gate Bridge
I really don't see how these people that drive over these bridges everyday don't wreck from looking up. I still love the Bay Bridge better but the Golden Gate Bridge is gorgeous too...its just a wonder to look at. Its awful to drive though. I think its 3 lanes going each way(so 6 lanes all together)and the only thing separating you from ongoing traffic is these little yellow probably 1ft high poles. I hate driving it but it is cool to do!
Sausalito
We rode into Sausalito today. Sausalito is across the Golden Gate Bridge and its a small little town that is VERY expensive to live in. They have a main street that follows the water and has several cutesy shops and restaurants. On our way back we stopped at the infamous spot where you can get your pic made with the golden gate bridge in the background and we also watched the gorgeous California sunset. These pics are of the bridge from the street in Sausalito, San Fran from across the bay, Sausalito, and some guy stacking rocks trying to make some money...he was really good but I just wanted to knock them all down!!!
Tequila (Jose) Bar
Last night me and Laura walked down the street to a mexican restaurant that also serves as a tequila bar. We got there around 11pm but they had already stopped serving food. Luckily the bartender (Ben...see below) liked us Alabama girls and got us some nachos. Ben was the best bartender ever and very nice! The entire staff was...they all sat around and talked with us.
Uh oh...I've taught Laura THE POSE!!!
Us with Ben
Friday, February 8, 2008
OK maybe I was wrong...
Tonight was a MUCH better night! I was on a unit where the people act like ya'll crazy ER people and I loved them! We were busy too my preceptor kept apologizing for being so busy...I was like grinning ear to ear and saying "I love it!"
Thursday, February 7, 2008
As for my schedule...
forget what I said before. We work random days not even on or off a weekend so if you wanna come visit just tell us when and we'll figure it out later.
I'm ill & Tired...(excuse my insults)
Nope...I HATE floor nursing!!! Last night was even worse than the night before! From 7p-11p I had a great preceptor who showed me lots of stuff. I was on the hemoc floor so there was some new stuff I'd never seen before...then came 11p. I was with somebody who was a TERRIBLE preceptor. She would just walk away and leave for like 30min and then she would be over there charting away and I would go and ask what she was doing or if this was something I needed to know and she would say nope and keep on charting. If you're a floor nurse reading this you may want to stop now, I'm ill right now at floor nurses and I'm tired. I've realized that us ER nurses work WAYYYY harder!!! I have now done both and ER (and intensive care nurses) deserve more money. Floor nurses don't even go see their patients its all about the paperwork...who gives a rip??? I got so ill tonight cause my preceptor would not show me anything I finally just said screw it and charted what I knew how to do and just left the rest...I mean I'm only there for 3 months...are they gonna fire me? I've decided I'll do better on my own learning everything and as long as my patients are taken care of...who cares if its charted right! Anyway, sorry for my ranting I'm ill and tired and I miss the ER. Me and Laura called our ER last night in the middle of the night just to pretend we were there instead of up on a floor. Oh and tonight I got to listen to the floor nurses dog the ER nurses cause they had a patient that was coming up to our unit then was going to the OR then they decided he was coming to the unit...anyway the floor nurses were like don't they know whats going on...blah, blah but you know what if they would've brought this hemorrhaging kid up then the floor nurses would've complained about that too saying he was unstable! OK maybe tonight will be better! Its only 3 days a week...
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Being a floor nurse...
So we had our first night as floor nurses...ummm I'm an ER nurse. I think ER nurses just have a different mentality of importance. I'll write more on my feelings about this after tonight cause maybe its just the unit I was on last night. But Laura kinda had the same night I did. Don't get me wrong it was fine. The nurses were very nice and the patients were good just different views as being "busy" and different views of patient care and charting. I learned more on how poor this hospital is. They have no pixis for supplies or meds. Supplies are in the clean utility room and meds are in a cabinet, narcotics are in a locked cabinet and the charge nurse has to give you the key...its very 1990s! I'll tell more about my patients later too I've gotta go get ready for another night of working!
Sealions
Here are pics of the sealions and also a video of them barking. Turn the sound off the music player on the side (you've probably already muted it) but make sure the main computer sound is on...
Going into the City
Tuesday before we had to go to work we took the ferry into the city again. We wanted to #1: Find shopping, #2: find the sealions at Fisherman's Wharf, and #3: find the bushman-a homeless man who makes $60,000 a year hiding behind a eucalyptus leaf and jumps out at people saying ugga bugga. We rode in and walked several blocks up Mission St (which is where we thought shopping was suppose to be) but never found nothing but a Walgreens so we turned around and walked back to the ferry pier and got on a trolley to Fisherman's Wharf. We walked to the end of the pier but didn't see any sealions however we could hear them so we walked around until we found them. There was hundreds of them hanging out on the rocks all barking at each other! We continued on at Fisherman's Wharf but never found the bushman...oh well we still have 3 months.
Pics from the ferry ride:
