So what is this Friday Feast thing? A weekly meme brought to us by Susie…folks sign up for her email alerts and every Friday am we go to the FF site to get the week’s questions. Copy and paste them, answer them and have fun. ALSO, go to a few of the other Friday Feasters posts (found via the comments at FF site) and leave some feedback! Part of this meme is to get to know OTHERS. When you leave comments for others, they usually come by to read your post!

Appetizer
How many pieces of jewelry do you wear most days?
Oh…that’s easy. I wear 7 rings, a necklace and four earrings. And sometimes my belly ring; AND bracelets AND anklets AND toe rings. All silver as I hate gold. I AM A JEWELRY freak for some reason.

Soup
What is your favorite instrumental song?
Huh?? What’s that??

Salad
Who has a last name that you like?
No one. I think last names are stupid. I really do.

Main Course
Name a popular movie you’ve never seen.
Oh just about all of them.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: Nothing makes me ___________ like ____________.
Ooh…this could turn BAD and naughty real fast. BUT…let’s keep it clean.
Nothing makes me relax like a thunderstorm.
Heh.

Hazy. Hot. Humid. Even in Maine on the coast. Can you FEEL it??

Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have.
Mornings: I roll out of bed, shower and get dressed. And GO. No coffee. No TV. No computer. Whether I’m working or just have errands to do, or grazing on the beach- I don’t sit around and “wake up”. I’m told this is an odd habit.

Soup
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?
Guitar. Electric. And I’m pretty sure if I got a hold of one I could teach myself to play it in a few minutes.

Salad
How long is your hair?
Shoulder length. I need to get it CUT so it grows out evenly.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?
A long time friend who always put me and my lifestyle down; she never seemed to accept me as I am and tried to change me. WE has a huge fight last yr and haven’t talked since a few weeks ago. When I let it go and moved on.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
I live very simply. I don’t have lots of appliances and fancy gadgets because I can’t afford them, AND I don’t NEED them. My favorite? Has to be the blender. I’ve owned the same Oster Blender for almost 20 yrs now and it still works great and never fails me.

I’ve been back and forth between NH and Maine this week- 6 times (and a TON of cash wasted on gas!)– moving from Wells to Old Orchard. And getting settled in for the next four weeks. After work Sunday, I’m heading back up with no plan to return to NH anytime soon.

There’s an amusement park here, with lots of fun rides and cotton candy.

My new home away from home- a fifth floor mini apartment-over looking the pier- this is where I’ll be living for the next four weeks:

Ahhhh..the bed….with that awesome window over it, that allows in the scents and sounds of the ocean:

and bathroom lol:

It’s not as quiet up here as it is in Wells. Many more people, rich people too. It’s a good thing I know where to hide out on the beach too or I’d go NUTS being around all these snotheads.

Up until a few hours ago it’s been kind of cool and raw up here…OK it’s been freakin COLD and wet. Rain. Lots of it. And thunderstorms. Lots of them. So cold I’ve been wrapped up in my trapper blanket while sitting outside on the little itty bitty porch reading and sipping coffees.

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You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.

Julia Child

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M. F. K. Fisher

They grow so fast.

Pepe…as his name appears to be at this point.

He’s losing his black coat and it’s growing in brown…which is his true color. Soon enough he will be a true Chocolate Golden-doodle. I wonder how big he will get? If he’s anything like Taz, he will be HUGE.

I’m sitting outside right now, snapping pictures of my puppy and sipping a spiked apple cider. And thinking about work. Last weekend was pretty rough. A favorite patient of mine coded, and we “saved” him… and I just heard he died today. It took him a week to do so. Sometimes I ask myself, when these codes happen, should we do it all? Is it worth it? Of course, legally we have no choice in most cases. We have to not only do it all, we have to do more. And the life is often saved but only for the short term. We’re pretty invasive too, when someone codes. It’s not a pretty sight; heck it’s not even as cleansed up as a show like Grey’s Anatomy makes it appear.

It’s not easy working with the population I work with. Sometimes it’s a NUT HOUSE at work. I swear Full Moon Madness comes each month like clockwork. A few of the patients are not in comas or other states of altered conscience…usually they are coming out of a horrific brain injury and this is very challenging to deal with. We get beat up, kicked, picked up and thrown, spat at, hair pulled…you name it, we get it. I cannot recall a weekend where I have not been bruised, badly, at work.

When it’s not the patients, it’s the staff I work with. Someone is always in an uproar about something. I have little patience for the bullshit too. I don’t get into stupid gossip sessions and bitch breaks. I rise above the politics of the place (most the time lol) and just do my job…and a lot of the time I do much of my co workers’ work as well. Many of them are half my age and I run circles around every one of them. There is something different with younger people and their work ethic, that is for sure. I don’t like it at all either. Lazy takes on a whole new meaning these days. So does entitlement. Thankfully I don’t need the ego building bulloney so many people seem to depend upon from their careers…I KNOW I am highly skilled and above well tuned into what I have to do.

Work has been busy as hell too…I go in every weekend and run almost all day…my day is 16 hours long and when I stop at 10pm, I usually hurt all all over and feel emotionally drained. For quite a portion of this past spring I worked 12 hour shifts in the Physical Therapy dept…this was a requirement for my schooling. I found that I missed the nursing though, so eventually I started helping in my former nursing dept unit. Now, I’m back there- nursing units, every weekend. In spite of the negatives that do happen, I find myself truly content and satisfied with this work. With all it’s bad parts- nursing- the good is always present. There is nothing like hands on, nitty gritty nursing work to keep a person humble and in check of becoming to big for themselves. The endless tasks that must be done, for me, are what keeps my patients comfortable, pain free and able to heal. Sure, the work is back breaking and I’m never caught up. My feet KILL me by the time my weekend is up. And the pay sucks all in all…But when one sees the real fruits of their labor all the pain of this work is very worth IT. I wouldn’t do anything else for a living.

Which leads me to the thought: Do I really want to be a Physical Therapist? I always thought I did. I have dreamed about it. I respect the work they do and some of it is more important than nursing. I would sure as hell make a lot more money. But I’m not sure I would be…content. And this is very important to me. What good is life when you’re making lots of money- but the manners and ways you earn that money are not fulfilling? Money means nothing to me. Being happy and content DOES.

After work Sunday evening I’m heading back to Maine. Where I will be pondering this, and a few other deep things spinning ’round my head. Life offers us all so many choices and chances; sometimes we’re always looking for more, more when it’s the last thing we really want and need. Damn this cidah must be really spiked tonight! Have a good week.