kapachino

Category: conversations

  • Back To School Encounter

    It was back to school today, my last first day of school. We had a really good lecture about cellular anoxia and hemodynamic monitoring, but I will spare you the details of that. Instead, let’s review the following conversation that I had with one of my classmates.

    ***

    E: So did you get anything really great for Christmas, did you get engaged or anything?

    Me: Not yet.

    E: Sucks, doesn’t it? I was sooo disappointed.

    Me: Oh, were you expecting it?

    E: Yes, and he gave me a ring, too! In front of his whole family. I was so excited, all ready to say yes, and when I opened the box it was this ugly ring, and it was missing something called a diamond. I was so mad I wanted to cry. His family probably thought I was so rude. And then later I went into the other room and I did cry. I mean we’ve been together forever, and I don’t want to just keep dating and then have him dump me for some 20-year-old, because that’s what will happen!

    Me: Wow, that’s not fun.

    E: So I keep dropping all these hints. I found the exact ring that I want, and I keep leaving the catalogue lying around where he’ll see it, open to that page. The other day I asked him if he were to buy an engagement ring, which one would it be? When he showed me I told him it was the ugliest thing I had seen, and I would return it if he gave it to me.

    ***

    And this was after she showed me all these pictures of her and him making out in front of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City, where she says she wants to get married (even though she’s not a member of the church). My thoughts? I’m so glad Boyfriend David and I are on the same page with our desires and plans for our relationship.

  • Making The Grade (Or Not)

    I took the final in my pediatric nursing class this morning. This is a class that I disliked the entire way through, and which had a reputation for being very difficult. I got a low B on the first test, freaked out, and then worked really hard the rest of the semester and pulled off low A’s on the next two tests and a perfect score on a group presentation. The way things stood, if I got a 91 on the final this morning, I would get an A in the class.

    Well, the grades were just posted, and I got a 90.

    Talk about frustrating to a perfectionist like me.

    As soon as I found out my grade I went and vented to my roommate, Amanda. One of the things I said to her was, “I worked so hard in this class and made A’s on everything except the first test. But my classmate made C’s on most of her exams, got a B on the final, and ended up with a B in the class also. Our grades are the same. Why did I even try so hard?”

    She responded, “But that’s not why you worked hard. You did it so you could learn, and look back and say that you did your best.”

    Feeling dejected and guilty, I hung my head and said, “You’re right.”

    After a moment’s pause she said, “But that’s not what you want to hear right now. So if you want, we can go toilet paper your professor’s house.”

    That’s what friends are for.

  • Holiday Decorating

    My roommates Amanda, Courtney, and I are hosting a game night at our apartment tonight, so we decided we wanted to decorate the place for Christmas first. We all love the holidays and are very excited about it. So this morning, before Courtney woke up, Amanda brought out her share of the decorations, which include some creations she hand-painted herself.

    When Courtney woke up and emerged from her room, this was (more or less) the conversation that followed:

    Courtney: (sarcastically) Ahh, the ceramics. I’ve missed them.
    Amanda: I just don’t see how you don’t think they’re cute!
    Courtney: Um, well, hmm…
    Amanda: I mean do you see how much work I put into this? Look at the bricks on the house, you don’t just paint that one color. And the wood, look at the texture! And this bow on top…
    Courtney: Yes, the BOW on top is lovely.
    Amanda: OK, it’s not like I would go out and buy something like this already painted!
    Courtney: Oh, well, that’s something, I mean, I AM glad to hear that. Because if it’s sentimental, if you painted it when you were a little kid–
    Amanda: When I was 17.
    Courtney: I’m gonna go with a little kid, trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here.

    In the end the snowman, the house, and the Santa’s Express train got to stay. All the rest either have to go into Amanda’s room or back into the box.

    I like my roommates because they’re funny, and they indulge my need for symmetry when it comes to decorating, which is extremely important.

  • Weekend Update

    I went to Kansas for my college’s homecoming this past weekend. For those of you who didn’t go to a small school, homecoming is more like a reunion than anything because I pretty much know everyone who comes. I still have 4-5 really good friends who live in Kansas, so I’ve made it a tradition to go to homecoming every year to see them.

    I stayed with my best friend Becca and her husband Micah while I was there. I had signed up to run the homecoming 5K by myself, but when I was packing I couldn’t find my iPod. That was annoying because running by myself without music isn’t that great. So on Saturday morning I asked Becca, “You wouldn’t happen to have an iPod, would you?” Knowing Becca’s technology deficiency I figured there was no chance. But she said, “Yes! That is one thing we do have!”

    Then Micah dug an iPod shuffle out of a box and handed it to me. He said, “I think there’s only one Josh Groban song on it, though, and maybe a sermon.” I figured it was better than nothing.

    Becca asked him, “Did you win the iPod or something?”

    “No, my parents gave it to me for Christmas.”

    “Last Christmas?” I asked, not believing that he had it a whole year without putting songs on it.

    “No, a few Christmases ago,” he replied. “There’s a reason Becca and I got married!”

    ***

    Driving to Hillsboro from Wichita is a lot of highway with farmland surrounding it. I slept in the car, and woke up when Becca realized that we had missed our turn. So we turned around and as we were backtracking our friend Julie said, “I think the turn’s coming up, there’s a silo that looks familiar.” That’s a phrase I don’t hear in Houston!

    The 5K went alright, except that there weren’t that many runners and the cross country team ran and left me in the dust. It was kind of embarrassing. I was probably one of the last ones to finish, and I still ran it in a faster-than-normal time for me. Afterwards I showered and we spent a lot of time wandering around campus. We ate lunch at the “young alumni tailgate party” and then drove to a neighboring town to visit our friend Erica who couldn’t make it to the festivities. All of us fell asleep while there. After a couple of hours we returned to Hillsboro, watched the second half of the football game (we lost), and then ate dinner at Pizza Hut. Hillsboro has exactly 5 places to eat: Pizza Hut, Subway, Sonic, Olde Towne Restaurant, and a new Mexican restaurant. The McDonald’s in town actually went out of business.

    During the evening I hung out with one of my college roommates, her husband, and their new baby. We didn’t get back to Wichita until about midnight, and I was so exhausted. We went straight to bed, and then I woke up in the morning and flew home.

    It was a quick trip, but definitely worth it. I find that every year I go, there are less people that I really care to see and spend time with. But the ones that I do want to see are very important to me, so the tradition will continue. I like taking little trips like this, but I love coming home. I’m very happy with my life here and the people in it. These are strong ties that I hope I don’t ever have to cut.

  • Another Example Of How Coffee Runs The World

    On Fridays at work there aren’t many people in the office, and so today I was asked to cover the phones as the regular receptionist would be out. I used to answer the phones at my old office no problem, but I knew that clinic inside and out. After working at my current job for almost a year I still know little about bankruptcy and who handles what in the office. So answering the phones makes me nervous.

    The first 30 minutes this morning were OK, but then the flood of calls came as it always does. In between them all I also had a coworker, Betty, trying to explain to me how to handle payments received. She was my witness to the phone madness.

    In the midst of this I got a call from a sweet old woman from New Orleans named J.M. who works in our office, and who, for the record, I think is adorable. But when it comes to her food and beverages, she doesn’t mess around. So amid the flurry of phone calls, she asked me desperately, “Do you know who made the coffee this morning?!”

    “No, I don’t,” I replied calmly, hoping that my soothing voice would have an effect on her.

    “Well then can you page whoever it was that made it to call the kitchen because I don’t know which one’s regular and which one’s decaf!!”

    She sounded desperate, so even though I didn’t know how to page I said that I would. But as soon as I hung up with her another call came in, and then another. I got nervous thinking about J.M. standing by the phone in the kitchen, worried and forlorn, wondering if I had forgotten about her.

    When finally I had a chance to attend to her request I first had to figure out how to overhead page. Betty (still standing by trying to explain the payments to me) didn’t know. I saw a button on the phone marked “All page” which I thought was promising, so I tried it.

    “WILL WHOEVER MADE THE COFFEE PLEASE CALL THE KITCHEN, EXTENSION 3455?” I said into the phone. “Did it go through?” I asked Betty.

    “I don’t think so,” she replied.

    Plan B was to ask Shirlie, another woman in the office who I knew had answered the phones before. But when I asked her, she told me she would call me back in a minute after asking someone else. I thought to myself that when I agreed to this paging thing I didn’t realize it was going to be such a complicated procedure. Shirlie called back a minute later and said, “Press ‘All page’ and then ‘7’.”

    So I tried again. This time I heard a beep overhead and static in my ear. “WILL WHOEVER MADE THE COFFEE PLEASE CALL THE KITCHEN, EXTENSION 3455?” Then, “Did it work that time?”

    “I think so, I heard the buzz,” said Betty.

    But a second later Shirlie called me. “Try again; it didn’t go through.” I sighed. Now people were calling out to me from across the room.

    “What did you say?”

    “It didn’t work!”

    Many minutes had gone by since J.M.’s original request. Was this even worth it? But then I thought of how cute she is, so I gave it one more go.

    “WILL WHOEVER MADE THE COFFEE PLEASE CALL THE KITCHEN, EXTENSION 3455?”

    Two more people walked up to my desk.

    “We couldn’t hear you.”

    “What about the coffee?”

    I patiently explained my quest to them.

    “Oh, I made the coffee,” one of them said, “and I already talked to J.M.! I told her they’re both the same.”

    Seconds later someone else walks up. “What’s wrong with the coffee?”

    Sigh.