Things That Keep me up at Night

I am not a light sleeper. Most nights I don't remember my dreams, if I have them. And most of the time, I could pretty much sleep through a marching band. But this past week I have not really been sleeping well. I wish I could totally attribute it to the late night thunderstorms we've been having, but I know that's only part of it.

It could be from a lot of different things. There is an awful lot that has been swirling around in my head lately. But at the forefront of it all is my current state of unemployment.

I think I really took for granted the fact that I am a nurse. I assumed that with the so-called nursing shortage, HR would be banging down my door, begging me to interview. I assumed that with my six years of critical care nursing experience, I would be a top candidate for any job I applied for. And I assumed that this process would go much quicker than it has. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I applied for three different jobs 29 days ago. I allowed one week for processing of the application, and then I started trying to contact nurse recruiters. I left messages with multiple people in HR, stating my interest in interviewing. Not one of my phone calls was returned. The next week I was on vacation, and I tried not to worry about it, telling myself that they are just busy and that they would call me soon. Nothing. As soon as I got back from vacation, I made some more phone calls, and finally got someone on the phone. The nurse recruiter seemed to have a genuine interest in me, asking me questions about myself and why I was interested in these particular jobs. He seemed confident that I would be contacted within the next couple of days for a possible interview. All last week, nothing.

So what am I supposed to think? Was he just stringing me along? Are there that many other candidates that are better than me that they are interviewing first? Or is it just a delay from red tape, paperwork, or other processes? Should I continue to be patient and wait for a phone call? Or should I be a persistent, pain in the ass? Have I been going about this all wrong? Should I have been calling from day one of submitting my application? What if I have waited all this time, and I don't even get the job? Should I go ahead and apply for other jobs, or just wait this out? And all the while, my checking account balance is slowly decreasing, my credit card bill is staring me in the face, and there are about one million things that I would like to buy for my house.

By nature, I am a very patient person. But enough is enough already! Persistent, pain in the ass, is what I will have to be. And I can be a very persistent pain in the ass when I want to be.

Back to Reality

Holy crap, I just laughed for like five minutes straight after reading this. It could only happen to him.

Annnyway, I am back from the beach after spending some wonderful R and R time with my main squeeze. It rained quite a bit, but we did get at least one full sunny day of beach time. It was at least enough to give my pale ass some color, so that was good enough for me. The week in a nutshell: we slept in every day, we drank many delicious cocktails, we ate some delectable seafood, we watched the Olympics every night, we laughed at the cute lizards that hop around all over the place, we snuggled, we went to the Kennedy Space Center and ogled the geeky space stuff, we visited the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, where we saw a whole bunch of birds we didn't know the names of, 2 baby alligators, several turtles, 1 raccoon, and absolutely not one single manatee (although we tried), we got eaten alive by mosquitoes, and we just had some good old-fashioned fun. It was just what we both needed.

My birthday was spent driving home from the beach, and that was just fine with me. We had been partying the whole week anyway. Plus, turning 28 is somehow just not all that exciting. Meh.

Now that the vacay is over, it's back to reality: working on the house, paying bills, and finding a job that does not include taking care of 350 pound people that are comatose. I talked to one of the Emory nurse recruiters this morning, and he seemed confident that I should be getting called for an interview within the next day or two. Here's hoping!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

I can finally breathe a huge sigh of relief now that my better half has been returned home safely to me! He rolled up last night around 10pm, just in time to catch me frantically trying to finish cleaning our house in preparation for his return... doh! At that point there was not much use in trying to pretend that I had kept the house sparkling clean all summer while he was gone, so we just had a good laugh and a great big hug instead.

Soon after his arrival, we headed over to a small reunion of friends, and to catch the last few minutes of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. (Thanks to the DVR, we rewinded and watched all the shows at the beginning of the ceremony too.) Only one word can describe such an amazing collection of performances: WOW! OK China, you win the prize!

After we returned home, it was just like old times... We stayed up way too late, talking, laughing, listening to music, and drinking way more alcohol than was necessary. It is so incredibly wonderful to have him back home again. The phone wasn't ringing every second, and I got to have his undivided attention once again (a luxury I had sorely missed over the summer).

I am so incredibly grateful that he is back home safe and sound, back where he belongs. I still love him just as much as I did when we first fell in love four years ago, and then some.

Updates Galore

In the past two weeks I have successfully applied for three jobs. Two of them I have already been rejected for because apparently I do not meet the requirements. It's just like with any job--how am I supposed to get the experience required for the job if I can't be hired for a job that will give me experience? (Say that ten times fast!) I'm feeling very frustrated, but I'm sure something will come up soon. I'll put in some more applications and just see what happens. You know the economy is bad when even a nurse is having a hard time getting a job!

Oddly enough, my back has been more sore and generally more uncomfortable since I have started physical therapy. I guess it's just from the strengthening exercises--I am sure that my muscles were pretty weak since I am so out of shape. It's not like I am unable to perform my regular daily activities or anything. It's just an annoying sort of soreness. Perhaps the doctor can shed some light on things when I go back to see him again this Friday. I think that regular massage therapy and visits to a chiropractor would also help a lot--I need to get on that.

Last week I spent three and a half very long days working on the guest bedroom. I finished it just in time for my mom and my sister to visit this past weekend. And when I say just in time, I mean that in the very literal sense. As in, after removing excess furniture, removing the closet door so it could be painted, painting the walls, the trim, and the baseboards, vacuuming, making the bed, putting up curtains, and returning the furniture to its original place, I finished screwing the freshly painted closet door back in place literally minutes before they arrived. And did I mention that they arrived at 3am? (It's not just me, running late is a genetic disorder that my family carries on both sides.) At any rate, I was very proud and happy to present warm and inviting (and finished!) accommodations for the weekend to my very tired family. Now I can check another room off the list!

I had a wonderful time with my family this past weekend. I always forget how much I had missed them. I only get to see my mom and my little sisters about twice a year, so it's always a bit of a reunion when we can get together again. Sometimes I really wish they lived closer so that I could be closer to my sisters. There have been a lot of "firsts" in their lives that I have missed as a result of the distance. And that is just kind of tough to think about sometimes, because I practically raised them during their younger years when I was in high school.

I also had a meaningful talk with my mother about what it was like to grow up in that household, where she and my stepdad were constantly at odds with each other. It was very stressful, and I just remember being so incredibly ready to get the hell out of there when I went to college. I can't believe they have been married for seventeen years and my mother is still miserable. It sucks to see her so unhappy and to feel helpless in doing anything to make it better. She knows what she has to do, it's just a matter of getting up the guts to do it.

In two days my favorite person in the whole world will be returned home to me again. I can't wait!!! Thanks to all of my best peeps (you know who you are) for taking me under your wings while he has been gone. It has meant a lot to me to know that I have friends to call on when I am at my loneliest. Soon our big, happy family will all be reunited....yay!!!