Some Things Just Suck No Matter What Kind of Spin You Put on Them

So I had to drop back a track in my nursing program. After I had one tire blow out on my truck I ended up needing new brake pads, rotors and calipers for my front brakes. I didn't have the money for that plus tuition plus textbooks so....... no school for me this quarter. Let me explain, for those of you not involved in a structured clinical program, what that means. Unlike other degrees, one cannot simply "take a quarter off" and then jump back in the next quarter where they left off. You have to get the entire staff of the School of Nursing involved. They have to save you a clinical spot and give you a new counselor and make sure the admissions team knows they will be admitting one less (sorry but I'm sure you'll get in next time) applicant for the new class. It's an embarrassing mess (yes, I asked my parents and no they cannot afford it either.) Once that is all said and done you have to wait until the clinical rotation you were either in or supposed to be starting comes up again. In my case it was Pediatrics and Obstetrics and it won't be up again until January of 2010 (the next Winter quarter). Nine months away (approximately). I will be taking some non-clinical classes between now and then to stay up with that but to say I've been a bit of a funk is a dramatic understatement. I've been in this field long enough to know I'm suffering from depression. Sub-clinical yes, but depression nonetheless. Knowing this I have purposefully made an effort to do non-pharmacological things to get out of the funk. I've been getting on the treadmill with increasing regularity. I'm back on a low-carb eating plan. I've got a (basic) list to follow every day that reads:

1. Get out of bed.
2. Get dressed in clothes other than pajamas.
3. Shower.

Like I said it's a basic list. I fell into the trap of WoW too and today I decided to make a concerted effort to stay away from WoW because it is the mother of all time suckers and motivation suckers. Today so far I've done steps one and two but not three because I'll be getting on the treadmill before too long. I've also read some very entertaining blogs about life in Scotland (*sigh* soon, it will be soon) and am planning on getting started on finishing a pair of socks I started around Christmas. Speaking of Christmas... it's time to get started on my Christmas knitting or I wont ever be done. It's raining all week here so I can't start on the soap making yet but that will be before too long also. It's also my 30th birthday this week so I'm trying to decide on my birthday present to myself. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the new Blackberry Storm. I've played with one a few times and each time I like it more. We'll see what the week has to say about it though. Also, since I've still got my book list from this quarter I'm planning on purchasing one of my textbooks each pay period and getting started reading according to the syllabi's so I can really have the material down pat come Winter quarter. You don't want to half-ass it when it comes to kids and neonates. Well, that's about it for today. Now that I have more time on my hands I'll probably be updating more frequently. I may even sit down and get back to work on my podcast. One never knows.