kapachino

Category: personal

  • Priorities, Time Saving, Organization

    Did you know that in soccer you can get a yellow card for time wasting? It’s true; my brother specialized in it. But wait, did you know that a yellow card, in soccer, is like a warning? And if you get two of them you get a red card, which ejects you from the game, and also the following game? Some people think of their cards as badges of honor, but time wasting? It’s kind of a stupid reason to get a card.

    I hate wasting time. On my days off, I feel really disappointed in myself if I’m not extremely productive. It’s kind of ridiculous, because I know I need to just rest sometimes, but in general that’s how it is. Lately I’ve felt my life drifting into disorganization. A few days ago I realized that I’ve been spending time on too many things that I don’t care that much about, and not enough time on things that are important to me. I wanted to make some changes, but first I had to evaluate my priorities.

    Work takes up most of my time now, of course. Apart from that there is time with David, occasionally time with family and friends, church stuff, and household chores/tasks. Those are all necessary, although the chores could be a bit more organized in their execution. There are two things that are important to me that I’m currently not making enough time for: reading for pleasure and Bible study. I do both, but not as much as I’d like to. So I’m determined to make the time, and here is my plan:

    1. Change my alarm clock sound. I’m hoping this will keep me from pressing snooze so many times, giving me more time in the morning.

    2. Every morning, over my bowl of cereal, do some Bible study. Lately I’ve gotten in the habit of checking my email during this time. I won’t let myself open my computer in the morning anymore.

    3. On the bus to work use my phone to check my email and Twitter. I’d love to also use this time (which is about an hour) to read, but who am I kidding? I’d fall asleep in two seconds. Best not to fight it.

    4. If I have any downtime at work, check Google Reader.

    5. As far as blog reading goes, I realized that I’m following way too many blogs about things I don’t really care about. I want to read blogs written by people I am interested in personally, have a personal connection to, or that are well written. So I’ve gone through and purged my GR of those that I don’t think I’ll miss.

    6. Read on my lunch break.

    7. Read on the bus ride home (until I fall asleep).

    8. I spent some time researching different “To Do” iPhone apps, and after much thought I downloaded one called Things for $9.99. This one is set up closest to the way I actually think, and it has some features that are important to me that aren’t available on free apps. It’s really helping me keep my thoughts clear so I don’t have to worry about forgetting something. I also downloaded a free app called Lists which is where I keep track of things I need to buy, grocery lists, wish lists, etc. I like to have this separate from my to do list. This app is simple and clean, and works just like I need it to.

    9. Usually for my days off I write down a ton of things I want to get accomplished. Sometimes it’s overwhelming and I don’t know where to start. When that happens I ask myself the question, “What are the things that I’ll be mad at myself about tomorrow if I don’t do today?” I’ll make sure to do those things first, and if I don’t get to the rest I’ll feel comfortable putting them off until the next day, or whenever I have time again.

    10. I don’t watch a ton of TV, but it’s something that’s easy to get sucked into. I have a couple shows that I like to follow, but I’m not going to let myself start a new show. I’ll still let myself watch Law & Order SVU reruns with David though, because it’s time spent with him. :)

    I’m hoping that streamlining my life like this will free up some extra time that I can use to read, spend time with David, and learn how to rest without wasting time. Anyone else have any tips?

  • sleepover

    On Saturday night David and I invited our pastor’s kids Isaiah, 5, and Samuel, 3, to spend the night at our house. We obviously don’t have kids yet, but we love them and Isaiah and Sam are two of our favorites. After their parents Bryan and Misti dropped them off and we consumed some Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets, snack packs, and chocolate milk, we got right down to the business of having fun.

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    We started with a rousing game of Spiderman Sorry, which Isaiah “won”:

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    Then it was time to play hide and seek. My best hiding place was an empty box turned on its side which I curled up in and pushed up near the wall. It was a big box. But the most fun was hiding with the boys. Isaiah and I were huddled up in the hall closet waiting for David to finish counting, when I hear him whisper, “How long does it take to count to 40?”

    “Forty seconds,” I replied.

    “Wow, that’s a long time!” Isaiah responded.

    We had promised the boys a “camp-in,” so after hide and seek we got busy putting up the tent and then made s’mores. In the fireplace, of course, using real tree branches from the backyard to roast the marshmallows on!

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    After that we attempted to calm them down enough to watch a movie. We settled on “Hotel For Dogs”. David, Lauren (who came over for the fun), and I were cracking up when Don Cheadle was on screen and Isaiah pointed and said, “Look, the president is in the movie!”

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    After the movie it was seriously time for bed, because this girl was about to collapse. David asked Isaiah how he usually goes to bed. Does his mommy or daddy tuck him in? Isaiah’s answer was, “We usually eat sweets until we fall asleep.” Yeah, right!

    We ended up moving the boys’ tent into our room, but they were only in it for a couple minutes before climbing into bed with us. About 2:30 a.m., though, Isaiah woke up and decided to move back into the tent. I think he wanted to be a tough guy. :)

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    My spot was right there in the middle, cuddling with a couple of cute boys! One of them I get to keep. :)

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    In the morning David got us donuts for breakfast!

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    Then I let the boys play with the camera a little bit, which is why I have a bunch of pictures that look like this:

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    But I did manage to get one good one with them:

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    It was interesting carting them to church in my little truck with two tiny jump seats in the back, and Samuel did manage to bump his head twice, but he also said to me only a few minutes after we’d left, “Kafleen? I miss David and the dogs.” So sweet! I’m not sure who had more fun, them or us. :)

  • Just Some Stuff

    Lately I feel like there are so many things going on in my life, little and big, that it’s hard to keep straight. I just want some time to relax and read my books, but it’s hard to let myself have that time. Anyway, before I head to bed I want to share with you a few of those random things that are happening, or that I’m thinking about.

    >The triathlon that I’ve been training for is about a month and a half away. I’m pleased to report that running is going very well. As long as I don’t attempt it in the heat of the day, I have no trouble running the 5k. Swimming is another matter. After I successfully completed the entire 750m, the next couple of swims were extremely tough. I feel like I’ve backslid in that area. And as for biking, I don’t go that often because it takes so long, but I am confident that I can complete the 14 miles. I’m quite slow at all three events, but my goal is just to finish. Unfortunately, my training buddy cracked a rib this past weekend and can no longer race. I’m left to do this one on my own, which is no fun. It’s hard to stay motivated, but I’m really going to try to tough it out.

    >I’ve been enjoying listening to podcasts while I run, and also while I drive. A few of my favorites that I’ve found so far are: The Dinner Party Download, Stuff You Should Know, Filmspotting, and Radiolab.

    >We only have 8 beds (out of 28) open on my floor at work now, so there are only 2 nurses needed per shift. It’s very strange; the rest of the unit looks like it’s under some weird kind of quarantine. We will be floating to other units a lot now, and on Sunday I actually have to work the 3-11 p.m. shift. I’m kind of nervous about it, mostly because I don’t stay up that late hardly ever.

    >Yesterday I registered to be a bone marrow donor. This was one of my 101 goals. Methodist made it pretty easy, because they had a table set up right in the lobby. It only took a few minutes to fill out a form, swab my cheek, and done. I didn’t realize it, but 70% of bone marrow donations are done by pheresis, which is just like giving blood.

    >Ellen, a good college friend of mine and one of my bridesmaids, had a baby today. It blows my mind.

    Off to bed now, one of my favorite times of day!

  • Seven Things

    I was tagged to write seven things about myself on Saturday by Kaitlyn, and since she said I am an awesome woman I simply must comply. Tomorrow I should have some great pictures of our somewhat-finished living room to share with you, but for now I hope you enjoy these tidbits:

    1. I was born at The Methodist Hospital, same place I now work.
    2. One of my favorite things about my job is when I get to make beds. I’ve always enjoyed that task; I find it therapeutic.
    3. The mattress for our bed is my favorite piece of furniture. It cost $4000 and we are paying it off in two years, no interest. WORTH IT.
    4. I am also still paying off a $2000 credit card debt, amassed while I was in school with only a part-time job and measly loans to pay my bills.
    5. I am considering going back to school in the somewhat-near future to slowly become a nurse practitioner. I probably will, although it frightens me a little. OK, a lot.
    6. I don’t have very many irrational fears, although I almost had a panic attack when attempting to bait a hook with a live shrimp once. And I did have an emotional meltdown when a roach crawled on me in bed while staying at my brother’s house.
    7. My husband is not afraid of shrimp or roaches. And he loves me better than anyone ever could, which is the same way I love him.

  • When It Rains, It Pours (Or Insert Another Such Pun)

    Talk about a Monday.

    This morning I was in a patient’s room giving 9 o’clock meds when I heard the sound of running water. At first I thought it was the shower, or perhaps the sink. But there was no one else in the room. A few moments later my confusion evaporated when water began pouring from the ceiling near the door. I kid you not, within minutes the entire room was covered with an inch of water. Brown, stinky, disgusting water. Obviously chaos erupted.

    First of all, we had to get the patient and all of her belongings out of the room. That was interesting in itself considering she couldn’t walk and had to be wheeled in her bed. We found an empty room for the patient down the hall and parked her in it. At one point while I was in the leaky room packing her bags the light fixture crashed to the floor. Thankfully I was out of the way, but it sure scared me. We also soon discovered that the water leak was spreading to all of the other rooms nearby, but the one I was inside when it started by far got the worst of it. All in all we had to relocate 5-6 patients STAT.

    Once we got them out of the way we focused on containing the leak. We had already thrown down tons of blankets to keep the water from gushing into the hallway. Maintenance got there in a hurry and brought with them huge barrels to vacuum the water into. There might have been 6 inches of water in that room before they began to clean it. The hallway smelled like the big pipes that run through the bayou. I know what those smell like because I used to play in them with my brothers when I was young. We were safe and sanitary like that. They ended up shutting down the entire hall, even the rooms that weren’t affected, so that they could work. Our unit capacity was cut in half.

    So THAT was exciting. I have the day off tomorrow so I won’t have to deal with it. I’m secretly hoping that I won’t have to go in to work on Wednesday either, but that probably won’t happen.

    If the crazy work day weren’t enough, David and I came home to discover that our air conditioner isn’t working. I set it at 78 degrees before I left this morning, and when I got home it was 83. When I turned it down to cool off, hot air began blowing out, and immediately the temperature began to rise. Obviously, in Houston this is not acceptable, and that is why I am currently at my in-laws’ house (again) waiting to see if we will need a new A/C unit or not.

    Update: The compressor was locked up and needed a starter kit applied. So $440 later we’re back in our lovely home and cool as can be. I had better plans for that $440, but I just thank God it wasn’t $4400.