In August my semester ended and I went
on vacation up to Oregon and saw all the lighthouses (11) some of the
covered bridges (16) and the temples (2) – in retrospect I crammed
way too much in for how much time I had available but I had a lot of
fun! I got to see a ship wreck, a museum, I walked along the beach,
explored Astoria, went hiking through the Redwoods (hugged one too),
did a ton of driving along the coast and the middle of the state, saw
both the Medford and Portland Temples and the awesomest bookstore
I've ever been into, in Portland they have this forest in the middle
of town – it had a very curvy road but it was so picturesque, I
went up and down it a couple of times just to enjoy the scenery (it
was like the Romantic Spot that we found in Wales on our way to the
hostel) and I ate a gourmet donut from Voodoo Donut (that was a
delicious experience). On my way back I swung by Las Vegas and saw
The Phantom – sadly it was going off stage after 2,700
performances and I wanted to see it, so I bought a ticket and saw one
of the final performances in The Venetian – I got a front row seat!
I tell you what it was INCREDIBLE! And definitely worth the money I
paid. Later that month I saw Jeffrey on his way out to California and
I went back to school and work underwent a restructuring that was
rather tumultuous.
In September I worked a ton, and I went
to school. And I saw Vickie, Calvin and Gideon when they came down
for the Brigham City Temple Dedication.
In October work eased up a bit, I went
to the Leonardo De Vinci exhibit downtown – it was all about his
life and works, it was very cool and I spoke in sacrament meeting
about following the Holy Ghost and how it's more a feeling you can't
explain rather than a voice telling us the things we should do – it
was referencing Elder Christensen's talk “The Unspeakable Gift from
God” from the Saturday morning General Conference session. As much
as I don't like speaking in sacrament meeting and am super nervous
the entire time, I think it went rather well and people told me
afterwards that they could relate to the stories I shared – which
is always good. And I donated blood – I haven't donated blood for a
long time, not since I was a freshman in college, the last time I
tried to donate plasma I couldn't because my levels were off (I
wasn't healthy enough) so I was understandably nervous this time but
it went off without a hitch – wahoo!
In November I started applying for
other jobs – when my boss was let go in August and was replaced by
someone who had no experience, was in way over her head and was
arrogant enough to think she could do it without anyone's help, I had
my misgivings but was willing to try and make it work – I'm not the
type to just quit and jump ship without trying first. Well I tried
and it was exhausting and very stressful – if you want to lose
weight, not sleep and have no life because work is sucking you dry, I
can tell you how. So I started applying to other jobs and
interviewing and before the end of the month I had another job offer.
It was at a facility downtown working nightshift – not ideal but it
was an acceptable out. My semester was getting ready to end and I
figured I could work hospice and the facility during Christmas break
and then quit at hospice before the semester began in January. That
and it would give me some money to get my car fixed – hospice has
not been gentle on my car. I went to Thanksgiving at Jamie's place
and that was a lot of fun – I had a visit I had to do earlier but
it wasn't too bad. And that weekend I got sick and Mom and Dad came
into town for Brandon's ordination.
In December my semester ended, I went
on vacation and saw Jena in Ohio and Jenifer and Carys in Virginia.
Jena and I went hiking through Ritchie Ledges and saw Brandywine
Falls both of which were gorgeous and very peaceful. And we went to
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum – that was pretty cool. In
Virginia we toured James Monroe's house, which was really neat and he
had peacocks and HUGE oaks – it was sunset when we left which made
everything that much more picturesque and beautiful. I had horrible
connections the entire trip but wound up my vacation in Colorado
visiting Mom and Dad and one of my friends. And then it was back to
work – days at hospice, nights at the facility. Not only did I have
to work my birthday, but I also had to work Christmas Eve, Christmas
Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day – it was on a volunteer basis
so we had to sign up for it, two or three people did it last year and
no one had to work that long but this year I'm the only one who
signed up – I was working all day long, talk about lame. Day before
Christmas I put in my two weeks notice at hospice and day after
Christmas I put in my two weeks notice at the facility – I don't
mind the work but it was making sick and dizzy and nausea and I would
be fighting migraines all night long and pretty much be useless the
next day. While I could make it work if I had too, I saw no reason to
continually put myself through such a horrendous experience every
night when I had another option available. And no it wasn't to just
stay at hospice, after 20 months I was pretty much done. No, the job
I wanted got back to me right before I went on vacation and offered
me the position. I got hired on at Intermountain Medical Center,
which includes the Intermountain Medical Center, LDS Hospital,
Riverton Hospital, TOSH, and Alta View Hospital, I'm joining their
Float Pool and start in January.
And there you have it, six months summarized.
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