Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Another 2 1/2 weeks has gone by....time goes by way too fast! We have done so much! We went to a Baltimore Orioles game, finally! We kept meaning to, but always had something else to do. We went on the day the 50,000,000th fan entered the stadium. They won 50,000 dollars and season tix for 5 years. We had a 1 in about 40,000 chance of winning but it wasn't our day. The game was a lot of fun! The oriole stadium is beautiful! We got free Orioles T-shirts b/c it was T-shirt night, an Orioles blanket, and a pin commemorating the 50,000,000th fan!
On our nights we haven't had something to do, collin and I have tried to get outside and be active. The area we live in is perfect for running. It's great weather in the evening and so many people get out with their families and dogs and enjoy the fresh air. I'll miss that part a lot when we move. Hopefully, our next home will have that ammenity as well.
Last weekend, we drove down to Richmond, VA. One of my closest friends, Christi lives there with her fiance. I went bridesmaid dress shopping with the girls while Collin hung out with Christi's fiance. Collin and Andy hit it off well and We got a beautiful dress so it was time to go out for the evening in Richmond. Downtown Richmond was a neat little area. We went to dinner and then spent some time at an Irish pub. Since I had been up for about 36 hours at this point (due to working Fri night), we decided to call it an early night. On Sunday, we all went to busch gardens together. We spent our day riding rides and enjoying a relaxing day. We got to do a beer tasting at the Anheuser-Busch house. It was a neat experience with food pairings and a personal server.
This past weekend was so much fun! I worked Sat night so when I got home Sunday morning, we left for NYC!!! I couldn't even sleep on the way. I was too excited! I have been to NYC before, but this was different. I was getting to share it with collin for his first time there, and we were going to a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium in it's final year. It was an amazing experience to see a Yankees game for one, but to know it was in a stadium that was known for so many historical baseball moments was exceptional. It's sad that next year it won't be the Yankees Stadium anymore. We saw the new stadium they are currently building. IT is going to be crazy with a Hard Rock Cafe included inside the stadium. After the game, we took a short trip over to Manhattan so collin could get a brief overview of what NYC is all about! We parked on the jersey shore and rode the Path train into Manhattan. AFter a few confusing train and subway connections, we finally made it to the WTC. Our subway rode right through the middle of Ground Zero. That is a sight that I will never forget. Last year when I visited this part of the subway was closed. Due to it being late on a Sunday, the WTC museums and tours were closed so we went to Wall St. Collin was overwhelmed to see the NY Stock Exchange, a place he dreamed of working at when he was younger. We then headed to Little Italy so I could take collin to my favorite pizza place, Lombardi's. It is supposed to be the oldest pizzerria in the US. We sat at the bar until our table was ready and enjoyed a drink. Our bartender was so much fun and the fresh sangria (another one of my favorite things about Lombardi's) was delicious! We got our seat and got to eat the yummy pizza!! It makes me happy everytime and the price is surprisingly reasonable.
We then headed to Times Square. There is nothing like Times square if you've never seen it so it was cool being with Collin for his first time there. He was so excited to see the NASDAQ studio. We then went to the Empire State Building. The line was 1 1/2 hours so we bought an express pass. It costs quite a bit more, but it is worth it big time. We weren't going to be home until 3 in the morning as it was so I'm thankful we chose to do express. It was only about 10 mins for us to get to the top. It was nighttime when we got to the top and it was windy. It was beautiful as always, but I just wish it wasn't so crowded. It has such a romantic vibe, but it's ruined by the number of people and everyone pushing to get their view off the building, but collin and I made the most of it. He was really glad we had the time to see it. Afterwards, we headed back home to MD.
Today, Labor Day, we went to the Maryland Rennaissance Festival. This is something I've never experienced in my life. It is really popular in this area, and it is a lot of fun! Everything is renaissance themed. All of the characters speak and dress as if they were from this era. The fair is filled with comedy shows, musical performances, magic acts, sword swallowers, games, axe throwing, stores, and best of all "The Joust". We had a great time. Our favorite two things were the sword swallower and the joust. The joust was set up as real as it could possibly be. They had a presiding court of kings and queens up in a tall building, the knights rode in on horses and we were the ladies and gents of the land there to cheer on our knight. It was really amazing to watch. There were several competitions, but the joust was great! We left in the evening to go to Annapolis, MD.
It was only about 10 mins from the fair, and it was worth going. It's a town right on the harbor famous for the Naval Academy. While in Annapolis, we cruised the harbor aboard the Queen Harbor. It was a tour of the harbor by water. We went at the perfect time so the view and sunset was amazing. We had the best seat on the boat. I loved it! After the cruise, we went to Pusser's seafood to eat! We sat outside on the dock, and I had the most delicious crab cakes I have ever tasted!! It was a perfect ending to our weekend!

The last 2 weeks!

It's been 2 weeks since I posted, and I've been busy. Work is going great! I like everyone I work with, and I've really enjoyed every area I've worked in. The hospital ratios really make this job enjoyable. Even on a med-surg floor, you can't have more than 6 patients. I have noticed that if you don't speak up as a traveler, they won't follow initial contract agreement. Although I was under the impression I would only work in ICU, IMC, and telemetry, I have floated to med-surg and ER. I didn't complain because I really enjoy all areas, but technically this is not within my contract agreement. As a traveler, it is important to speak up and stand your ground if they go outside of your contract. It is also important to be sure everything you need and want is in your contract. I've been told if it isn't in your contract, they don't have to do it.
Working nights is still pretty tough especially on weekends. I worked the whole weekend and I'm so worn out. It was tough not spending time with Collin too.
As far as what we've done for fun in the last 2 weeks.......
Collin took me out to dinner a couple of weeks ago to NICK's. It's a seafood restaurant on the water and it's delicious. The atmosphere was awesome.There is a tiki bar and a guitar player out on the deck where we ate. It was a great night!
We went back to Iowa where Collin is from for his dad's memorial golf tournament. Collin's dad died over 3 years ago. This golf tournament is the 2nd year. The proceeds go to scholarships given to high school students in the Iowa area. On our way to Iowa (yes we drove and yes we're crazy!) we took a Pitstop in Pittsburgh (no pun intended). We lucked out and ended up at an overlook of the city. It was one of the most amazing skylines I have ever seen. The weekend in Iowa started with a Fish Fry. The fish was unreal. Collin's uncle caught it all in Florida and flew with it to Iowa. Swordfish, Tuna, and Wahu. It was delicious and a fun night overall. The tournament was so well done and a huge success. It is impressive the amount of work put into it by the Koch family. On our way home, we stopped in Chicago. I ate real Chicago-style pizza for my first time and got to see The Sears Tower.
After getting home, Collin got pretty sick with a temperature maxing out at 103.5. So while I was working at night as a nurse, I also got to come home and take care of Collin during the day. It took a lot of ibuprofen and prayer, but thankfully his temperature went down and he started feeling much better. On top of this, our dog Allie also got sick so I've been giving her antibiotics for Colitis.
Since I was finally off work last night and Collin was feeling better, we went to an Aberdeen Ironbirds game. They are a local minor league team. It was a really fun night. Since Maryland is known for it's Crab Cakes, they have a huge crabshack at the game. The crabcake sandwich was yummy. The game was pretty exciting with the Ironbird's pulling off a win. During the game, we got to see The Bucket Boys perform which is a group of 4 guys playing drums on upside down cement buckets. They were amazing.
Today, I'm simply enjoying a day off and relaxing.

Washington D.C. and the rest of the weekend.

I was off work Saturday and Sunday so we decided to take advantage of it. On Saturday night, Collin and I went to dinner with Stacey and Jason. I work with Stacey at Upper Chesapeake. We went to a small mexican restaurant called La Tolteca. It is a hole in the wall but the margaritas and food are great, and I don't even like Mexican. Collin told the servers it was my bday so they placed a ridiculously huge sombrero on my head and Collin wore one too. The pictures are hilarious. After dinner, we went to a local pub named Looney's. This is where a lot of the local Bel Air kids go to hang out. It was a lot of fun.
On Sunday, Collin and I went to our Nation's Capitol, Washington D.C. I had been before when I was 10, but Collin had never been. I think we chose the worst day to go because it felt like it was 100 degrees outside. We started at the Smithsonian Museums. Our first stop was the Natural History Museum. It was a little disappointing. It would probably make a great place to take children, but it was a little boring. Afterwards, we went to the National Air and Space Museum. This museum was a little more interesting with all of the planes and shuttles. I do not recommend the flight simulators unless you are 5. We rode in one and even a 10 year-old kid looked back at me and laughed.
After the museums, we went down to the Washington Monument. All of the tickets had been give out so we weren't able to take a tour. This seemed to be our theme of the day. We saw the Capitol and White House as well, but did not tour it. We also saw the Lincoln Memorial and Vet Memorial Wall.
This is all very easy to do on foot, but I wouldn't recommend it in hot weather. It made the day a lot less enjoyable. After we got back to our car, we drove to see the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Both are less than 2 miles from D.C. We drove around the perimeter of the Pentagon. It was not as big as I thought it would be. You could still see where the plane hit on 9/11. Afterwards, we drove over to the cemetery. They ushered us into the parking lot and not one guard told us the cemetery was closed until we walked all the way to the entrance, and yes, they made us pay for parking and we saw nothing. We weren't real thrilled about that.
We have decided we'll go back to do all the tours and see the cemetery and Mount Vernon. Lesson Learned: Be prepared and don't go when it's 100 degrees outside unless you are P.Diddy and someone is willing to carry your umbrella.

I survived my first week of night shift!

I completed my first week on the floor. The first night I worked, I oriented with a preceptor in the ICU. It was very similar to working at Parkwest, but the charting was a lot different. The patient care is very much the same, but it makes it challenging when you don't know where everything is and how to use all of the equipment. Thankfully, the monitors are exactly the same, but the IV pumps are completely different. It just makes it difficult when you are running around half the night trying to find something or find someone to ask. The other thing I thought was different was that nurses don't seem to have as much responsibility as I did at Parkwest. Techs take Vitals, give baths, take blood sugars, and empty foleys. At Parkwest we did most of this except we had a lot of help from techs when it came to baths. Also, at one point, my patient had a really high blood pressure. I asked my preceptor if we should call an MD. She said they would be around shortly. There is an MD on the ICU floor at all times. I couldn't believe it!
My second night, I oriented in the IMC...Intermediate Care. This was very similar to ICU but I had 3 patients instead of 2. In IMC, the max no. is 4 patients. This night was busy, but I didn't have any trouble. The only thing I wasn't used to was that the patients in IMC are a lot more mobile and talkative.
On my third night (my first night solo) I was in telemetry. I only had 2 patients to begin with but I transferred in one and admitted another before the night was through. The patients here are not as sick, but the amount of work is increased due to the number of patients. The most you can have in Tele is 5. By the end of my 3rd night, I was so exhausted, I could barely thing when I was giving report to the AM RN. She probably thought I was dumb.
One of the things that is different in this hospital that will take some getting used to is the pharmacy. I'm used to a pharmacy being open at all times. The pharmacy closes at midnight so if you get a new patient or you forget to call down for a drip before they are closed, it is more challenging to get it. One of the other things is that they used Kardex for their Medication Record. Meds are always taken off by a secretary onto the Kardex. That is weird to me. We also only have one secretary at night in the ENTIRE hospital. Something I really like that Parkwest didn't have is that we all have personal phones along with our pagers. Pagers are only used to page tele and monitor abnormalities. You can dial anyone directly instead of paging them including techs and secretaries.
My coworkers are nice and helpful, and I love the hospital. It's just going to be a matter of getting used to it all. Of course, by the time I do, it will be time to move on.

Philly Day 2!!

We went back to Philly yesterday. We started our day by picking up our tickets to Independence Hall. We went to Congress Hall first where we had a personal tour which took about 15 minutes. Congress Hall is where Congress met when Philadelphia was the Capitol of America. There is still original furniture that was used here during the 10 years the hall was used. Afterwards, we went to Independence Hall which houses original copies of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bill of Rights. From there, we had brunch at the Continental. This was a diner on Restaurant Row that was trendy and delicious. We both had omelettes. It was really good and had a neat atmosphere. From there, we went to the Liberty Center to see the Liberty Bell. It was interesting to read about the life of the Liberty Bell and how the crack first occurred. We went to the National Constitutional Center next. This is an interactive museum and has a great Theatrical presentation about the meaning of "We the People." I was able to take an oath of office as if I were the President of the US. It was a fun museum. We then went to the Christ Church Burial Ground. 5 signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried there including Ben Franklin. Ben's grave earns 3000$ a year in pennies placed on his grave. This is done in honor of his quote "a penny saved is a penny earned." After this, we went to the Tomb of the Unknown soldier in Washington Square where we also visited the Moon Tree. This tree is the only seed that has been taken to the moon and back and then planted on US soil. We then got on a double decker bus which tours the city. Our plan was to go to the Eastern State Penitentiary, the first in the US. Tours were given when the penitentiary was still active in the 70's b/c it was such a new concept. It was closed so we are planning to go back one day. Instead, we went to the famous "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We ran the steps and then laughed as others did the same each displaying their own version of the rocky pose. We went into the Museum of Art. We were pretty disappointed at this museum especially since many exhibits were closed before the museum closing time. Following the museum, we went to the city tavern. This tavern has been around since colonial times and the beer, food, and servers all represent this time. We had a couple of colonial beers and then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. We plan to also go back to go to the Franklin Center Museum. That and the Penitentiary should have been done on day 1 but we didn't know how great they were supposed to be until they were both closed.

Yo Adrienne!!

Since I have the weekend off, we decided to spend it in Philadelphia! This was my first trip to PA. We drove so we traveled through Delaware and New Jersey on the way to and from Phila. It cost $9 just in tolls to get there, but it was only about an hour drive.
We parked near the Independence Visitor Center. We had bought Philadelphia Passes onling the night before so we had to wait til 11 to pick them up. First, we went to the Reading Terminal Market. This market is really interesting. It has fish and produce stands, bakeries, used books, cheesesteaks, dutch goods, crafts, music, and a beer garden. It was neat just to see and we got cookies from Famous Cookies and they were delicious!
Next we went to Hard Rock Cafe to pick up our Phila passes. They are also available at the Independence Visitor Center. From there we walked about a mile to Pat and Geno's Steaks. These two Cheesesteak Restaurants both claim to be the original and the best. They have been shown on Food Network and The Travel channel. They are literally right across the street from each other and have been the two biggest steak rivals for decades. We decided to try both. First Pat's! As a beginner, I learned quickly they don't like u to be slow. You must know what u want when u get in line and have ur money ready. We were a little disappointed at Pat's. Drink was flat and cheesesteak not the best we'd ever had. We headed across the street to Geno's. The line alone was proof it was probably better than Pat's. We were satisfied. The guys working were exactly how you would picture them. Greased back hair, tight shirts, and gold chains. The italian look i suppose.
Afterwards, we decided to take a Ride the Ducks tour. This tour was included in the price of our Philadlephia Pass and would have been 25 dollars without it. The tour is a bus that shows you highlights of philadelphia and then turns into a boat for part of the tour and takes you into the delaware river. Our guide was upbeat and fun! He sang songs and acted crazy! We all got quack kazoos to play during the tour that looked like duck beaks. It was well worth it.
After the Duck tour, we hopped on the subway to see if we could get tickets to the Phillies game. It was soldout but we were hoping we could buy some outside the stadium. I now know the subways in Phila expect u to have exact change. The man working at the turnstyle was extremely rude because I didn't know it had to be exact. We got to the stadium and tryed to buy tickets. We ended up with some awesome tickets behind 3rd base on the first level. The game was a lot of fun!
After the game, we went to McGillin's Old Ale House which is stated to be the oldest continuously running tavern in the US. The atmosphere was great! It was dim in the bar and had old wooden tables and doors. The beer was also tasty! We headed home after because we were tired. We will return tomorrow for Part 2. We plan to do most of the historical parts tomorrow.

My first assignment!

I started my job on Monday, July 7th. I was very nervous, and I was not at all sure what to expect. I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed so far. I am assigned at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in the ICU/IMC. I am working days this week....about 8 to 5 everyday. It is general hospital orientation. I have been told this is not the norm at most hospitals for travelers. Sometimes you're lucky if you have 2 days of orientation. The majority of this week has focused on hospital policy, watching videos, and learning equipment. I have been very impressed by the hospital and staff so far. I took a tour of my unit for the first time on Tuesday. I will start up there next Tuesday night. I will spend Tuesday and Wednesday night with a preceptor and then I will be on my own. It seems quick considering I don't know much about the hospital, but surprisingly there are a lot of similarities when compared to my hospital in Tennessee.
I have already made friends with several girls and everyone seems eager to provide information about the area and the spots only the locals know about. It has been a big help. Without them, I wouldn't have known about the Scrub outlet where everything costs about 9.99. They've told me about their favorite restaurants, spas, entertainment, workout facilities, and more.
I'm excited about starting on the unit. I do think switching to nights will be a challenge especially since Collin will be working days, but I know we'll manage. Collin has had a lot of success with jobs and will know by the end of the week where he will be working. Right now, it's between Lockheed Martin or Medstar. It's amazing how much God has blessed us. It seems as if everything has fallen into place. I'm looking forward to this adventure, and I'm glad it has finally begun!

Bel Air, Maryland!!!!!

I now live in Bel Air, Maryland! Now you know why it's been almost 2 weeks since I posted last. It was hectic. Trying to move 9 hours away was a lot harder than I thought. I had 1 1/2 weeks to get ready for the move...3 of those days I worked, and 1 I spent celebrating my 26th birthday. It took missing a lot of sleep and a lot of help from family and friends to get everything done in time, but I did it. I made it up here on Saturday, July 5th. Collin was already here when I arrived. It was a great feeling to know I didn't have to worry about finding an apartment. Everything was ready and waiting, except furniture! Due to the holiday weekend, our furniture was not delivered until today. That has been one of very few setbacks. Our apartment is nice! We are staying in Calvert's Walk. The outside looks a little rundown, but the inside is perfect! New cabinets, countertops, and most importantly.....a brand new 42" flat screen mounted on the wall! The fitness room was a bit of a disappointment. 3 treadmills and none of them work. Collin started running on one only to have it shut off instantly when he was at his max speed. I think it's time to find a local gym.
We spent most of Saturday unpacking and sleeping. Sunday, we decided to explore Baltimore. We drove to downtown Baltimore and parked at the Inner Harbor on the Chesapeake Bay.
There is a place to walk along the water with multiple shops and restaurants. The Bay has paddleboat rentals available including some that look like dragonboats. The USS Constellation sits in the harbor. This ship was used during the Civil war. http://www.constellation.org/. We decided to take a water taxi over to another part of Baltimore called Fell's Point. http://www.fellspoint.us/

The water taxi is $9 a person and can be used for unlimited trips all day. At Fell's point we visited a couple of pubs and explored the shops. The cobblestone streets were really interesting to see. We returned to the Inner Harbor on the water taxi and decided to grab some dinner. We chose Philip's, a seafood restaurant.
Although the food tasted good,
the price was a little high and the service was not the best. We're hoping for a better dining experience next time we're in the harbor.

It's official!!!

I was officially offered the job Thursday afternoon, and I, of course, accepted the job! This morning I went into work with my resignation letter in hand. I was so nervous. I couldn't believe I was quitting a job I love to move 9 hours away to a city, hospital, and job I know little about. My manager was more than understanding. She let me know I had a job if I ever changed my mind. This information was comforting considering I know very little about what I'm getting myself into.
One thing helping to ease my mind is that I won't be doing the traveling alone. My boyfriend, Collin and his dog, Allie, will be coming along too. Collin will be posting his thoughts periodically to give an insider's perspective of someone traveling with a travel nurse.
At this point, I think our biggest challenge will be finding temporary work for him on each assignment. He has already started looking at his options. Some of the available jobs look promising.
We are about 1 week away from our moving date. It's been moved up to July 5th because the apartment office is closed on Sundays. I can't believe it! 1 week!

It's actually going to happen!

I'm Erin. I live in Knoxville, TN. I'm a critical care nurse. I've been a nurse for a little over a year, and I've decided I'm going to take the leap. I want to be a travel nurse! So, I researched the concept and the travel companies and contacted a company a week ago. I spoke to my first hospital today!!! I couldn't believe it all happened so fast! The hospital is in Bel Air, Maryland. It seemed to me that I asked the manager a million questions, and she practically laughed at me when I asked if I would be dealing with a lot of gunshot wounds and stabbings. The job and the area sound perfect for my first assignment. I am so excited, but I only have 2 weeks to prepare. I'm supposed to start July 7th. What does this mean? I have 2 weeks to pack, move my furniture to my parent's house, and say goodbye to all the Knoxvillians that I love! I'll know by the end of today if it is all official. If so, I put in my notice at work tomorrow. I need some major prayers!!!