I’m here with the masses at the Indianapolis Library.. the main branch downtown. At 10 minutes to 1pm it’s like a mad house on the front steps… literally there are a few hundred people crowding in trying to be the first to get into the building when the clock chimes one o’clock. I know, I know… I need to get my Internet access hooked up…. I get an hour of time today on the computer… hopefully, during this time today I’ll find an Internet access deal that will suit me.
Scott wanted an update… I’m glad there is ONE person in Internet land who still is semi-interested in my life! 
I finished my first week of night shift last Friday morning. I go back tonight for 12 hours and then I’m off until next Friday night. Night shift is pretty interesting… I was worried that I would get tired and not be as sharp. Fortunately, my floor/unit is totally, utterly busy 24/7. Last Wed night I didn’t sit down (yes… SIT DOWN) until 1am.
The patients are interesting… the work is stimulating. I’m learning a lot. I’m learning that I don’t want to be a floor nurse for any great length of time…because, frankly it’s hard on your body. I hope to get off night shift in 6 months…but, that isn’t looking too realistic… most people are on nights here for almost 2 years before a day position comes up. The one saving grace about night shifts… I’m making almost $40/hr on weekend nights.
I still haven’t really met anyone that I would call a friend yet… I’ve met a lot of people, but as of yet… I haven’t gone out with any of those people yet. I’m thinking of taking a class… Indy has a big language institute here… I’m thinking of signing up for conversational French (I know… French will definitely come in handy in the middle of Indiana).
My hospital sells Colts tickets…. I might actually spring for a game. The cheap seats at Lucas Oil are $74 cash…. It would be fun to go to one game to see Peyton in action.
Nothing else totally exciting to report. My place is getting together… I got all my furniture from Costco a few weeks ago… bought a desk from IKEA when I was home last w/e in Chicago. It’s all very exciting stuff… NOT! 
Ta-ta for now.
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I’m at my parents’ house this w/e. Yesterday was our family reunion on my dad’s side. So, we melted in the 90 degree heat and ate our fried chicken and caught up on everybody’s life…
I’m getting tired of driving somewhere every w/e. Which, there is no one to blame but myself for that. And, since I have no friends in Indianap0lis yet… driving is the only way I’m not going to be completely alone.
Work is intense, although it’s not anything that I didn’t expect. The days fly by. I’m usually working 12 hour shifts, but Friday I worked only 8 hours. Sometimes I don’t even eat lunch until 8 hours have gone by. Friday was a complete blur because it went by so quick.
The main thing I didn’t expect was to have a different preceptor for almost every day I’ve been on the floor. I’ve worked on the floor for 8 days now. In 8 days, I’ve had 6 different preceptors. I’m frustrated because I’m not sure if I’m getting better or not because I do not have a consistent person watching and evaluating me. I’ve had 6 different people tell me 6 different ways of how they do things. On Wednesday of last week I lost it. My preceptor didn’t say a thing to me all day long. 12 hours of not being talked to. At the end of the day, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I cried for an hour after I got home. No feedback, no “where are you at now?”… I specifically asked for this person because I liked the way she worked and I wanted to model myself after her…so, what happens when I come back to work on Thursday… I have a different preceptor again.
I switch to nights next Thursday. Totally freaked out about staying up all night long.
I’ve come to realize that I didn’t get great at my last job in 7 days… and becoming a good nurse will not happen in 7 days either. It just takes practice and repetition. The more I do something the more I will get better at it.
So far I have seen a lot of interesting stuff… have met some cool familes… have met some not-so-cool families… It’s been fun and I leave at the end of the day thinking I have made a difference in what I do.
And, yes… the paycheck doesn’t hurt either. It’s nice getting a *real* check again.
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