Nurse Paige has arrived...

Hello Everyone who chooses to read this blog -

I am now in Massachusetts and getting settled. It has certainly been a long journey but it has already been very challenging and rewarding at the same time. My meltdown in the supermarket today was a real help, stress relief as I was searching for the Cheese Whiz. Stupid boys at the supermarket have no real idea where to find things. They just pretend like they know stuff and then send believing young women like me in the opposite direction leading us to mental breakdowns while holding easy cheese...which although resembles cheese whiz, is NOT and I repeat NOT the same product.

Anyways, that was my minor breakdown for the evening. It helped me realize that this blog which I had originally created before leaving Utah, should be put into use, so that I might express some of my feelings and also, share some of my experiences with all the important people in my life who are so far from where I am at the moment.

It has been hard leaving everything that I know and love but it is a blessing in disguise...I am sure of that. (I have to keep thinking that way in order to not break down in tears in even more embarrassing places than the supermarket.)

School will start in just a few weeks. I have my first class on September 8th. I am incredibly excited to see where this adventure will take me. Not so excited about all the exams but...well, happy about everything else. I also got a job. It was incredible actually. I had put out soooo many job applications without hearing anything from anyone for months. Well, actually I did hear one thing from one hospital, the HR lady recommended that I stay in my previous nursing job until December so that I could have a full 12 months of working as a nurse under my belt and then she could easily offer me an interview at their facility. I informed her politely (of course) that I would love to stay in my previous position on the surgical/trauma unit at IMC (which I loved and I miss all the amazing people I worked with,) but that I am going to be starting a graduate program at Boston College this fall and it would be a heck of a commute. I think she was sorta stumped as she then excused herself and the phone call was terminated.

Anyways, I got a job in the Emergency Department at a hospital which is a little ways outside of Boston...it is between where I live and where I go to school in Chestnut Hill...Which is a little suburb of the city of Boston. Got that? Lots of cities I visit every day. Sometimes, I drive through 4 or so cities to just get some nice sweet corn. Have I mentioned this state is foreign to me? I can't tell north from south, east from west, and I'm pretty sure I'd end up in New York if it wasn't for my GPS which I have lovingly named Gretchen. Anyways, back to my job. It is in the ER, which is actually the place I would have loved to have worked first going into nursing. I am intimidated because I will have to be sharp with my assessment skills, and work with kids, which is frightening, but slightly disappointed because I am not working at a trauma center, and so my hospital doesn't typically get many trauma patients, which has been my specialty for the last 7 months.

Anyways, life is treating me well so far and I don't have much to complain about. I have a beautiful apartment with a pool, hot tub, and a gym (which I have actually used) It is secure and safe and I love it. My bed will be delivered on Wednesday which means I will need to deflate the air mattress I have been sleeping on since mom and I arrived on the 13th.

Since I've been here I have witnessed some of the hottest, most humid days of the summer in Massachusetts, One hurricane (Bill) and am currently cuddled up in my sweats as tropical storm Danny wreaks havoc on the area and is making it cool and comfortable, bringing in the feeling of Autumn, which I hear is breathtaking in New England. Oh, also, Senator Ted Kennedy died...That's a huge thing around here, the only things I've heard about him are things my ultra conservative brother Chad has told me but apparently everyone in Massachusetts loves the man as all of the news channels have been playing non-stop coverage of his life and achievements since he passed away. It has been an interesting few weeks and I can only imagine it will continue to get more and more interesting.

That's it for now. I hope to blog at least once a week, if not more to share experiences that I have had. Also, I intend to post various photographs so my brother Chad (whom I love and adore can stop asking for them ;) )

Love,

Paige