Transferring to a New Unit

Details: the new unit I'm moving to is going to be leukemia, thoracic and telemetry. I have just recently figured out how to properly spell t-h-o-r-a-C-i-c. I want to put an S where that C is. But that's wrong. See how open to learning new things I am at this time in life? Thought I should take advantage of that impulse and push some more info into my brain. Expand my knowledge!

The new unit will open at the end of January. I don't know yet when or how I will train for it. That should be interesting. I went to a get-to-know each other meeting the other day and was pleased to hear one of the ice-breaker questions brought up The Office.

Oh I love The Office, someone else said. And then someone else. And then someone else! Yay! My new co-workers and I have similar t.v. tastes. That is always a good thing. I love you G-9 Lymphoma, my current floor, but I just cannot get into Dancing With The Stars AT ALL.


via videosift.com

Changes

Well I'm back from my hiatus. Sometimes I need to disconnect from the internets. I'm sure most people get that.

There are some interesting changes going on in my life right now. I'm moving to a new unit at work. It's leukemia, thoracic and telemetry. So I'll be learning new things.

Willy and I are also going to Tampa for an Oncology Nursing Conference which should be fun. More on this later.

I'm really into work right now. Probably a large part of why I'm not posting. There is always tricky issues to consider when posting about anything work related. But right now I'm really enjoying what I do. It's a great feeling. Not that I didn't before - but it's different now. I'm actively seeking out challenges.

I like this time.

American Nurses Association Endorses President Obama's Healthcare Reform

So how does one follow up a speech to a joint session of Congress? By chatting up nurses of course.

ANA Nurses Answer Call to Support Obama’s Stand for Health Care Reform
ANA President Patton and members of ANA joined President Obama today at the White House to demonstrate their strong support for the President and his speech to the joint session of the U.S. Congress last night urging action on health reform that would provide more security and stability to those with health insurance and guarantee access to affordable health care for those without it. video of the event complete with cute nurses in scrubs and lab coats. His comments about nurses in his life are really touching.

In this speech he mentions a blog I like by Theresa Brown, an oncology nurse.

Yay nurses!


photo by Doug Mills / The New York Times

Today in my Kitchen

Roasted vegetables with rosemary and a cauliflower casserole.

Bicycle Storage

Now that the weather is cooling off a little.... low 90's instead of high... I'm riding my bicycle more. I made a space for the bikes right by the front door so they're easy to get in and out. But I'm always looking for the ultimate indoor bike storage that's going to... I don't know... be easy to access when I'm ready to go and out of the way when I'm at home.

Wonder how this one is from uncluttered (via Swiss Miss. I love the simplicity of it. And it's cheap too - less than $14 on amazon right now.

For a little more this looks nice too from the art of storage.

Like that little shelf. But that one probably won't work for mine AND Willy's. Well. We'll have to see. For now the bikes just stand on their own behind the sofa by the door.

sam rey write up on The Daily Meaux

Want to point out this nice mention that sam rey got on the Daily Meaux in a post by Cecil Doyle:

"No commercially available recording has arrived yet from Sam Rey. Neither have they gigged much (having to my knowledge, performed maybe just once or twice in public, thus far). But this should in no way deter you from searching out one of the area's best kept new secrets. Like ominous smoke rings lifting from the ashes of Bluerunners (the band who in my humble opinion were most emblematic of the sum of everything musical about the Lafayette area for the past twenty-something years), Mark Meaux and Will Golden ARE Sam Rey. When they debuted recently at The Blue Moon Saloon, a small gathering of locals witnessed a truly unique musical experience. Sitting comfortably side-by-side near the front edge of the tiny stage, an antique lamp table (complete with working lamp) between them serving as platform for their accompanying effects / drum machine; they wailed a brief set of down home, blues-informed dittys that bore little resemblance of the dance inducing rhythms that fueled their former long running vehicle. Meaux's Dylan-by-the-way-of-Grand Coteau-esque vocal delivery stews perfectly with the duo's rootsy musical plate peppered to the fullest by multi-instrumentalist Will Golden on a variety of stringed instruments (steel & slide guitars, banjo, etc.). Every tune sounded like home.....even the spacey, transmission static employed on great original numbers like "Satellite Lights" (perhaps because that particular tune leaves me feeling like I've just walked on the moon!). Besides being able to catch fleeting moments of their tracks regularly on my own weekday radio program on KRVS; about the only other way to currently catch a batch of Sam Rey is by checking out their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/7samrey) or just 'google' or 'bing' them up on your computer and something is bound to happen. Try and keep the feet still with "March On" or wonder just when the New Orleans Tourist Commission will catch hold of and use their new track, "Meet Me In New Orleans" and slap it on every television and radio commercial they produce over the next five years. Expect pure brightness from Sam Rey!"

Of course you should look at the original post because Mr. Doyle has interesting things to say about other local music coming out of Southwest Louisiana. If the music of SW La is not part of your listening pleasures, well it's time to start.

photo shoot for sam rey at Frank's

Saturday Willy and I met Mark over at Frank's studio to shoot some images for Sam Rey, their new music project. Damian, another photographer friend of the family was there as well. Frank and Damian have worked as photographers in Houston for a long while and their work is amazing.

When I was in high school and used to pour over this free weekly called Public News for interesting things in Houston my sister Patti and I would talk about how cool the Texas Junk ads were. I learned years later that was Frank - my future father-in-law. How small world is that. A young Willy was in some of those pictures.

It was interesting watching Damian and Frank work. They really knew their way around lighting - often the thing that makes pictures their best. They would manipulate it over and over until it was just right. And some of the images they ended up with were really gorgeous.


Another great thing about Frank's studio: it's a circus of curiosities. I never tire of looking at the things he's collected. And I always find something new I never saw there before. I've been visiting this studio on and off for 15 years now and it never fails to be interesting.

The camera above is a perfect example. This was a nice Cannon camera of Franks that was in their beach house when it burned down.

Another favorite is in the bathroom. It's a collection of polaroids and at the bottom it says: 61 lies about 63 people.


A young Willy is in one of the polaroids:


And his little sister Emily:


And a bunch of other curious looking people:




Remember earlier when I said I always see something new? Well this time it was the hairbrush holder in the bathroom:

Note the scrunchy on there. And the squished dried frogs.

A few other details:


Gorgeous old clocks:



An interesting day.

twitter

"You know, sometimes it's nice having you around. But now ain't one of those times. Now gimmie the remote we're not watching this bullshit."

From shit my dad says, the twitter feed of Justin, a 28 year old who lives with his 73 year old father. Justin writes down the things his dad says.

I may have to revive my twitter account.

I've had a twitter account for a few years now and never really got into it. Not because of any sort of judgement against twitter but rather because I am reluctant to start new things online. I always think: Kate, you are online too much as it is. DON'T join something else that will make you be online even more.

I'm the same way with television shows. I tell myself to not start watching some new show that everyone is talking about because you already watch too much tv.

What would I do without my inner voice of behavioral condemnation?

Twitting in front of the television probably.

But a while back I did start to pass judgement against twitter - I think I saw some ad on television to follow Mario Lopez's Extra Extra tweets. And the snob in me jumped on that. Ugh! I am soooo too smart and busy for the celebrity tweeter take over of twitter.


But I think I'll try a little bit again with twitter. Maybe just to follow the tweet at the top of this post - because that's exactly the sort of random stuff I love about the internet anyway.

Dooce has a great post about the power of twitter right now. She tweeted/complained about a brand new washing machine not working while her house filled up with dirty baby things... it's a fun read - check it out.

Thank You Senator Kennedy

photo Stephen Crowley/New York Times

While reading a thread about Senator Kennedy's passing I came across a list of accomplishments he made over the years. One was the National Cancer Act of 1971. The goal there was "to amend the Public Health Service Act so as to strengthen the National Cancer Institute of Health in order more effectively to carry out the national effort against cancer."

Today I've been loosely thinking about my own contribution to my community. Senator Kennedy devoted his life to public service. I want to do more. I don't really know where or what yet, but I want to do more.

Down the Street

Swamplot has a tour of John Zemanek's lovely house. He was an architecture professor at University of Houston. When he built the place he built it around all the trees on the lot. Not one was chopped down or in the way. I don't know what he does either because wild flowers seem to love the place too. Every once in a while some beautiful weed will take over the yard and it's beautiful. Then he clears it all away for something else that seem to thrive there too. Very nice fellow.

Willy was on an HGTV show - What's Up With that House - when they did a bit on this place. He was an interviewed neighbor. They seemed like they were trying to find a neighbor who didn't like how different it was, but all the neighbors love the place. I think they finally got some production assistant to say a bunch of baah humbug tee vee stuff for the show because we didn't recognize that guy at all.