Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Cruise for Christmas

Look like a dream? Well, mine's about to come true, in less than 8 months!



I sat down with my parents last week and we booked a family cruise for right before Christmas. I am pretty ecstatic, seeing as how I've never been on one. It docks from Miami, FL, is out at sea for a day, then off to a private island called Labadee, in Haiti. Then we'll depart to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and from there we'll be another day at sea, and then back to Miami. So there's a total of 5 nights.


In Labadee, one can rent jet skis, go parasailing, ziplining, shopping, or of course, just lounge around in the sun, floating on a mat in the ocean. Sounds good to me.


Then in Ocho Rios, they have this 600 ft. waterfall.


Or then there's my personal favorite.


I have a guess I'll be doing a lot of this. :)

Monday, April 20, 2009

Nurses vs. Bowling Pins

Last night I was talked into going bowling after working all weekend with my friends from work. It was the "Weekend Warriors" on our floor, Pediatrics, and the Respiratory nurses that are on the same hall through our locked double doors. We had a blast, although I must say this was the worst night bowling that I've ever had. My first game I only got a 49. 49!!!! "Gotta get it together Tandra," I'm thinking. Second game, I finally at least got a spare and ended up in the upper 60's. And since each game is only a quarter after paying the initial $5, we played a third game where the lights went low and black lighting came out. This time my first roll I got a strike! YESSSS!!! I'm thinkin' I'm gonna own this game now! But then every other set after that was only mediocre, so I only ended with a 73. How disappointing seeing as how I usually AT LEAST break 100 by the last game I play. Oh well. It had been a while since I'd played. Better luck next time. We're gonna try and make it a monthly thing to have a girls' night out.

A fun bunch of Nurses!!


Yes, that is a bowling ball. :)




On another note...believe it or not, Rhodora, my 63 year old co-worker and side-kick hadn't ever been bowling in the States. She's originally from the Phillippines and said they played a similar game there with coconuts and something about ditches. Ha ha...that cracked me up! She was so cute. Before we left the hospital to head over there, she said she'd have to go home first, and I asked her why. She said she'd have to change her shoes and I told her that they gave you shoes there. She gave me this shocked look and inquired if they cleaned them in between people, and I assured her that they did spray them. It was funny. I think she even bowled better her first game (beginner's luck of course) than I did all 3. A neat experience, indeed.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Bad drivers

I confirmed on my trips to and from Fletcher this week that I definitely am annoyed by bad drivers. More specifically, the impatient ones. One scenario happened to be when there was heavy traffic and of course we're all wanting to get to our destinations, but some are just more impatient than others. I was in the passing lane, patiently waiting as this 18-wheeler took his time passing an even slower car. There were long lines of traffic in both lanes. The stupid guy behind me - I presume to be a young college student, judging by the University of NC sticker on his SUV, decides he's gonna swerve over to the right lane, pass me and the guy in front of me, and dart back in front of my leader. To me, this was idiotic! What does gaining 2 car lengths do for you?! We're still all waiting behind the slow truck! Seriously. So, he proceeds to do the exact same thing again to the next few people in front. This goes on for a good 20 mile stretch, and I just had to laugh. It was either that or curse, but that would've gotten me nowhere. I wonder, if we had the same destination, this ignorant guy and me, how much time he really saved by dangerously darting in and out?!

Then there are the ones that think they own the road and don't even pay attention. They have the whole road wide open and yet they still ride in the passing lane. I mean, that's one of the first things I do when I'm clear of the person I'm passing - get over! That is definitely a pet peeve of mine. Also, if you're gonna pass, speed up while doing so, then you may slow back down once you're over. This one guy went like 1 mph faster than the slow lane and took like 30 min. to pass the long line.

I'd like to think that I'm a good driver - somewhere between conservative and moderate. And though I do like to speed a little, I cannot stand bad drivers. Just can't. Maybe the impatience slows down with age, but sometimes these young people annoy the heck out of me! (haha...I talk about college students now as young...lol)

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Unstoppable

So, I just found out that one of my favorite all-time bands, Rascal Flatts, just had a new album released on the 7th. It's called "Unstoppable." I can't wait to go pick it up!!


I was able to see them in concert the year before last, and I loved it! Would love to go see them for this year's tour, but I looked at the dates and I'll probably be working when they come through Atlanta. Poopy! :( At any rate, they're great!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Parentals visit

So, my parents came up this weekend. It was Mom's 35th (long time, I know) high school reunion at GCA. I was pleasantly surprised when Mom surprised me after her reunion festivities at work yesterday. I hadn't seen them yet. She hadn't seen my hospital or the floor I'm on before, so I gave her a tour and proudly showed her where I spend my weekends. Everyone said they had no doubt she was my mother - I guess I resemble her a lot. No surprise there.

Then after eating with Aunt Joni and Uncle Bud, my sis, parents, and I went back to our condo and Dad helped us do fix-it stuff. I had a list of things that only someone handy (namely my Dad) could do. We hung rods on the kitchen doors so I could finally put the curtains up that have been laying there for about 6 months. Then, the built-in microwave that came with the condo stopped working a while back, so Dad demounted it (not sure if that's a word - ha). There's this awful nasty wallpaper behind it. We're hoping to replace the old one soon with another built-in - something my Dad will of course have to come back down for. Maybe then my sister will stop having a cow over how bad that empty area looks. geez! We also did a few other things, like fixing my leaking toilet, and I'm so thankful for my Dad and his knowledge of handyman things. It truly amazes me how he can take just about anything and remedy/fix it up somehow. I definitely took those things for granted growing up. Now that I'm on my own, I realize it.

Their visit was short and sweet, but we ended it this morning with a good ol' fashioned breakfast at The Cracker Barrel. mmm..mmm...good. It was such a beautiful day! I enjoyed having the morning off, but then went in at 1 to split the shift with Rhodora, the other RN on weekends. We had 4 patients when I arrived, but then sent 3 and were down to the last one, so I sent Jenni (the 3rd nurse on weekends with us) home 2 hours early. Not a bad afternoon at all. Thankful for my job and the hours I DO get to work in this crazy economy! Overall, good work weekend, good visit with the parents...