Bad attitude and beaches.

The other day someone said that being a travel nurse sounds luxurious. I don't agree entirely.

Sure, we get to see lots of beautiful areas and cities, but my response to them was, "that also means I get to see the excrement of different people all over the country."  Sounds gross?  It is...


Disliking one's job pervades almost every aspect of life.  It's a burden that seems to linger throughout my entire day, even when I'm off.  My commute seems longer and less tolerable.  Sleep isn't sufficient.  Gross things are more gross. Etc.

Yesterday evening I worked and was floated to a med-surg unit.  The night was actually going well when they told me I would be floated again, to another med-surg unit.  What ended up happening was that every unit I walked on to said they didn't need me, and that there were enough nurses working. 45 minutes later, totally confused and frustrated, I find out that the reason everyone told me that they didn't need me as an RN was because staffing decided to float me as a PCT (patient care tech, i.e. an aide). I'd like to say that my outward appearance of being helpful and busy was a reflection of what was going on inside, but that would be a lie. I was mad. In my mind I kept having thoughts like, "this hospital is just using me. they don't even value me as a nurse. this isn't what I went to 4 years of college for." and other I'm too embarrassed to place in writing. My plan was to write an email to my company telling them how this was "totally unacceptable" and that I would not be forced to work as an aide again..

If  you've had the thought already that I was acting like a brat you are permitted to think that, and you are correct.

After sending a text to my mom (yes I'm an adult that sent a whiny text to my mommy), she graciously pointed out to me that I was really upset because, and I quote, "you think that work is beneath you."

Oooh shoot. She's right.

Reality set in and it's like the exotic facade of travel nursing was pulled down to show what the real purpose of our job is.  We're not here just to see the sites.  We're not here so that people can marvel at our nursing skills and listen intently to our tales of travel and excitement. We're here to support the nursing staff.  While I have heard this before, now I feel like I really understand it.  This means taking the unwanted shifts, caring for the patients that the nurses need a break from, floating to different units to fill in empty spots, and of course, working as an aide if there isn't enough supportive staff.

I'm not used to not liking my job. But the days off, when I can partake in the pretty aspect of being a traveler, makes it all worth it.  Being a nurse is strenuous.  It requires something from you. But why not do it in a new place  with different culture, sights, and beauty?

Hopefully this realization will change my attitude for good and I won't act so entitled anymore. I want to be humble and helpful, because that's why they are paying for me to live in this great area and care for the people in this community.

Well anyway, enough life lessons.  How about some sunshine?

Saturday, Tanya and I braved the weekend traffic and found our way to Muir Beach.

We spent the afternoon hunting for parking spots, then laying on the beach.  

We thought we were being tricky and avoiding traffic home when we decided to cut through a National Park and take a windy road through the woods.  This was a great idea until we were lost and my fuel gauge was blinking and counting down to the miles we had left until we could be stranded at night in some forest off of the pacific coast.

The view was beautiful and kept us from constantly looking at the diminishing number flashing "distance to empty".

Eventually we found a town and got some gas.  We were able to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening hanging out with our friend Aaron.

Today after church we wanted to spend more time at the beach so we headed to a spot near the golden gate. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the water, we found what is famously known as June Gloom, and instead of the hot sunny weather in San Rafael, we found cold misty winds on the bay.

So we headed back to San Rafael and found a spot on a hill with a great view.

that's the San Rafael-Richmond bridge in the distance

Tonight and tomorrow I work.  So stayed tuned for mores stories about this little piggy that went "wah wah wah" all the way home.

touristing.

Sunday Funday.

We went to Alcatraz.

It was a chill and foggy morning as we rode the boat to the island.

It's only about a mile from the city.  There are quotes from prisoner's saying that the most torturous aspect of the penitentiary, was that they could hear and see the city, but couldn't take part in life there because of what they'd done.

We were welcomed to the island by a ranger who instructed us to walk towards a main room and watch a 17 minute video.  After that we walked up a ramp to collect a headset connected to a laynard with something that looked like a walkman on it.  It was a self guided tour narrated by past prisoners and guards who's voices walked us through the prison and island, telling stores and history about the famous rock.

 

It's so cool there. And as dumb as we felt with the head phones and lanyard, the tour was really interesting.

The prisoners spent most of their time in their cells, with very little outdoor time.  Some men would paint, crochet, read, and study. They were given an hour a day for music time in which it was said they didn't really know how to play instruments, but just made noise for an hour. 

There were only three men who successfully escaped.  They carved imitations of their heads out of soap and stuffed their beds. 

Then with spoons that they broke to create a sharp edge, they enlarged the vent under the sink to create a tunnel.  This led to an area behind the cells full of pipes and the sewer system.

They followed the sewer pipes to the bay and were never found. 

This is their isolation cells, where people would go for punishment or extra security.  In isolation, a prisoner was allowed no entertainment, light, or time away from the cell.  They were absolutely trapped in a dark box.

Some prisoners were only permitted to leave their cells three times a day, twenty minutes each time, for meals. 

The cafeteria.

When the tour led us outside we were excited to see beautiful blue skies and sunshine!

When our morning and early afternoon had been adequately filled with Alcatraz, we got back on the boat.

Just a few blocks down from the Alcatraz pier, we headed to Fisherman's Wharf for more food, shopping, and entertainment.

 We took a drive down Lombard Street, which is famous for having crazy hair pin turns on a steep block.  

Next up was some more shopping, then back across the bridge to San Rafael.

When we got to the apartment it looked like total chaos.  Arielle and Leslie, friends from the NICU at Presby who are also travelers now (in Connecticut), had arrived in Cali to get their licenses and have tons o fun. 

With music blasting, hair dryers going, phones buzzing, talking, laughing, singing, shouting, all 5 of us got ready for a night out in San Francisco. 

We crammed in to a cab and rode across the bridge.

We did a bar crawl of a string of bars that people had suggested. 

Laura and I

Ashley and Arielle

Leslie and I

We had so much fun telling stories, drinking, dancing, and laughing a lot :)

A late night out started a late morning Monday.  Then we were delayed further because my keys were misplaced.  Laura and I searched everywhere, but it seemed hopeless.  With the amount of people temporarily living out of suitcases, there was stuff everywhere.  My keys were either buried or laying on the street somewhere in San Francisco.  Ashley took Arielle and Leslie to Sacramento to get their licenses, and I went to the main office to ask for an extra key.  Then I tore my room apart looking for my spare car key, which was in a place I could not for the life of me remember. 

Finally I found it and Laura and I left to grab lunch somewhere, leaving my room and the apartment as a whole a total disaster. 

We ate lunch at a local place on the marina, then Laura left. We had such a great visit, full of so much fun and cool places.

Next up for me was an 1.5hr nap before nightshift.. 

The shift started off in med-surg, but then I was floated to ICU.  It is so much more enjoyable working at the ICU at this hospital, but I feel like I rarely do.  As a policy, travelers will be pulled to fill empty spots before the staff.  I hate getting pulled. 

Nice snack at 4am.. coffee and sugar. 

I got home and slept for another 1.5hrs, then Ashley, Leslie, Arielle, and I headed up to wine country. 

First up was Sterling Vineyards.

We chose to take a self guided tour around the vineyard and taste their fancy wines and enjoy the beautiful views.

 Remember Tanya from our assignment in Woodland Hills?

She was recently hired for an assignment at UCSF and will be staying with us until it starts. We are so happy to see her again and to work in the same region :)

We left Sterling but down the road took  U-turn to visit the Sutter Home Vineyard, after I pointed out the sign that said, "complimentary wine tasting"

Down the road and another U-turn led us to Menage a Trois Winery, a favorite of Arielle and Leslie. 

We had our fill of wine then drove a far ways down to San Francisco and had dinner in Ghiradelli Square. 

On our way back to San Rafael, we drove down Lomard Street, this time viewing the city at night. 

Needless to say, I was beat after non-stop tourism.  Today I enjoyed a day cleaning, laying low, and giving lots of hugs and scratchies to Bagheera.