A cold, a gift and snow

Potsdam, Germany
08:20 pm
Snowy, cold

A coughy hello to all of you,

Finally, a couple of days away from work. My Christmas was nice. I spend the 24th at home waiting for my sister to give me a call. She had to work and I volunteered to pick her up and take her to Berlin. The day was spend wrapping presents, writing cards, watching Christmas movies (I watched 3 different versions of Dickens’s Christmas Carol) and drinking hot chocolate.
By a quarter to 7, Marina called and we were on our way to spend Christmas eve with my parents and my great-great aunt in Berlin. We had potato salad (which I made) and sausages, our traditional dinner. Afterwards presents were exchange. You should have seen my moms face. This year my sister, my dad and I all put our heads together. She got 4 presents in this order: a red dot on her forehead, a 40 € worth gift certificate for a popular fashion store, a Soundtrack called “Bharati” and last but not least, 2 tickets for the musical “Bharati”. Mom was speechless. There’s always a first time for everything.

Mom and I will go see it on January 1st.

I had to work prior to the 24th and on the 25th and 26th as well. But my mom stayed with us and we had a fabulous goose on the first Christmas day as well as some old movies like “Pyjama For Two” with Doris Day, played some cards (I won – hehe).

It started snowing today. Very lovely for about 5 minutes. It’s not cold enough to stay on the ground, but I can always wish for a white 29th of December.

BTW, the coughy hello comes from me having another Bronchitis. Been coughing for about 6 days now, but I have been treating myself with some ACC and Ibuprofen for the headache, as well as a good old bath. I’ll be up and about in no time.

Good night and have a safe and Happy New Year,
A.

Christmas Is Coming To Town

Potsdam, Germany
04:55 pm
Icy, cloudy day

Yawn,

I’m back on my couch, cuddled into my favourite blanket. This weekend I had my annual Christmas celebration. Usually my closest friends come to bake Christmas cookies, decorate my Christmas tree and to have dinner together. This year I bought a 6.8kg (about 13 pounds) heavy turkey, because I was expecting a lot of people.

To those who came, thank you, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed having you here. To those who told me that they couldn’t come, I am sorry that you were not able to make it this year. To those who did not give notice, I am simply disappointed, please consider at least calling me next time.

Despite that, I enjoyed it very much. Jana, a former colleague and now dear friend, brought her nearly 4 month old toddler, Yannick. He is such a character already, smiling and flirting with everyone. The wee one was the highlight of the party.

We did “stehrumchen” (roughly translated “stand-arounds”). You take something from home, which you don’t use anymore or never have used before (which is standing around) and wrap it beautifully. Use one dice: 6 is take a present, 1 give someone a present, 3 everyone hand your present(s) to the person on your right. You can add things like: 2 roll the dice again, 4 everyone hand your present(s) to the person on your left, etc. Set a time for 30 min. up to an hour. We loved it and the present everyone wanted (a beautiful blue box) was probably the ugliest - LOL.

If I am not able to blog before Christmas:

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. Hold tight to your families. Give love to those who are without it. Remember our loved ones who can not be with us.

Ho Ho Ho,
A.

Thoughts and Flashbacks

Potsdam, Germany
10:10 pm
Cozy cold and starry dark


A warm hello,

Sitting on my couch I’ve been reflecting on my last two days. I have been “given” to another ward (Kids age 6-17), which I did enjoy. The kids are older and I am able to properly talk to them, no “yes, you are a good baby. Yes, you are. “. LOL.

The other ward is calmer, less stressful. It’s been a change of pace. The kids were grateful for being entertained and I was happy to be entertainment. We currently have so called “S1” students on many of the wards. They have started their education to become a nurse on October 1st and this is their first practical assignment. At the ward I help out, S1’s are not considered useful but a burden. They do the dirty work, like cleaning stuff, making the beds etc. and are pretty much bored. In my eyes, nurses should start training the students from day one on. If I give a little of my knowledge to the students, they are able to take some load of me by being able to help.

Jennifer is one of those students, who I “dragged” behind me for the early shift. Granted, I did a lot of explaining, showing, controlling and some stuff took a bit longer. But at the end of the shift, Jennifer was exhausted but happy, having been able to learn more on 1 day than in the last 2 weeks and I was happy, because our work was done.

You give a little and you are able to receive a little. It’s as easy as that. During these 2 days I took my time to talk to the S1 students on the kids ward, because not so long ago I was in the same situation

My second practical assignment was on that ward and 2 days into it, I was crying after work, actually thinking about dropping the whole education, because obviously I was useless. Jennifer admitted that she, too, had cried the first couple of days at home.

I wonder whether the big part of those nurses will ever change. For the sake of good nurses in the making, I hope so.

Tomorrow I will be back on my ward (toddlers). The colleague I will be working with is the oldest nurse on the ward and every other nurse has gone through her hands. She’s sweet but intimidating at the same time. When an unexpected situation turns up, she goes into stress mode, which in turn makes me go crazy. But it’s only 8 ½ h. It’ll pass. Hopefully.

Love ya all,
Good night and sweet dreams
A.

Christmas Joy and an Angel gets his Wings

Potsdam, Germany
08:30 pm
Freezing cold and dark

Ho Ho Ho,

I am so much into the Christmas season. My lights are up and I made my own “Adventskranz”. My apartment is decorated by candles. Here I am sitting on my couch, wearing my new snoopy PJ’s and Christmas socks.

A very good friend of mine works at the Christmas fair in Chemnitz and got me some “Children’s Punch”. I love that stuff. Yum Yum .

The last weeks have been as stressful as ever, although I had 4 nightshifts, which I prefer. The whole ward is quiet (most of the time). Children sleeping, no nagging parents. Just me, the second nurse and my work.

We are currently dealing with a lot of kids that have a Rotavirus, which causes them to be ill and have diarrhea. Oh, btw, it hit me too. 2 days out cold. But with the proper meds and a bit of TLC, tada, all better.

I am lighting a candle for baby Paul, who died two nights ago. We love you sweetheart and know that you are now free of pain and smile upon us. We will remember.

Money is nothing compared to a tiny smile of a shy babe.

A.

Past, Present and Future

Potsdam, Germany
05:45 pm
Rainy, dark and frelling cold (sorry just watched Farscape LOL)

Cuddlyhey,

it’s November already. I had promised myself to update this Blog at least once a week, but as with many other things I won’t manage that.
Work is as stressful as ever. I managed to take a 5 day break at the end of October, which I spend in Wismar, a small town at the East Sea. Some very old friends of mine have a little cabin and they let me have it for those days. It felt very good being away from my apartment, my roommates and my work for a while.
The days were spend with long walks at the beach, interesting discussions with art, philosophy and history students as well as sleeping and a great deal of simply being me. Wismar has beautiful old churches and though I am not religious it is still amazing to how much peace and quite churches radiate.

I’ve been watching a couple of good “old” movies, like ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ and ‘Phenomenon’. The first is hilarious, young Whoopi Goldberg at her best and the second one as sad as it is beautiful.

Halloween was last Tuesday, but I had to work so we had a post Halloween Party at my place. As usually less people, than planned, came and it was more of a lovely evening than a party, but we had great fun. Good food, fun games, awesome friends.
I am currently cuddled under a blanket on my couch nearly dropping of to sleep. Have a great November evening.

Love,
A.

Trials and Exhaustion

Potsdam, Germany
09:12 pm
Icy cold

Hello,

my first 2 weeks of work as a nurse are behind me and I am beyond exhausted. It was planned that I was going to be the 4th nurse on the ward, but one of my colleagues got sick and I was thrown into the cold water. First week mostly 9 children to take care of, 5 of them babies who have to be fed at the same time. I managed. Don’t ask me how, but I did. Everyday after work I went home, thinking “Did I do the right things? Did I give every medication, right time, right dosage and right patient? “.

It is very strenuous and makes my emotion go on a roller coaster. After I finish the next 10 days of working I will go on a short vacation to get some strength, gather some energy and do some organizing, concerning my thoughts.

Thanks a lot to my colleagues for the patience, open ear and mind, as well as the help that I was provided with in the last 2 weeks.

My roommate was able to get a job now, too. She did a lot of cleaning and organizing at my apartment, which I am thankful for, but she was also exhausted by not being able to really work. I am able to comprehend her feelings, because I have been in a similar situation for 3 months.

Sandra needs to work, to be with children and show what she can do best. Good luck to her.

I will fall into bed in a couple of minutes, because I will be working 4 early shifts at the ER, which usually is tough, but lots of fun.





Night,
Rea

Goodbyes and Makeovers

Potsdam, Germany
20:21 pm
Chilly Night

Hiya,

well I had the official graduation from my nursing school. I wore a complete different style for this celebration and a lot of people didn't recognise me at first glance. My sister did my hair and make-up and helped with the choice of clothing.

The celebration started with speeches, a high school gospel choir singing and us, graduates, getting the congratulations and such. Afterwards they had a huge buffet with all kinds of things.

Two girls in my class had become pregnant and will finish the education about one year later. They also joined us afterwards. The first baby that was born is Collin Oliver. Our second "class baby" is Yannick. He is the cutest little guy I have seen in a while.

One of the patients I have been taking care of is a 17 year old girl with a chronic inflammation of the colon. She had it taken out, survived multiple infections and her last operation was yesterday. She was white as a sheet when I visited her today on our ICU (I had promised her to come in my graduation outfit).

With Becca I have learned that it takes courage and lots of love from the family to survive a lot of bullsh** that is thrown into your life. After everything she's been through, including countless hospital stays, IV-medications, operations and a stoma, the thing that helps lifting her spirit is a smile. Whenever I visit her, we talk about funny things that happened to me, anecdotes from work, things I've seen on TV, things that make both of us laugh. Today she thanked me for visiting her and giving her a short break from feeling totally out of control.

Never forget the power of a simple smile. It is free, the richest person can not do without it and even the poorest can give it. It cannot be forced, only given freely, without harming the giver. But if you are graced by someone smiling at you, please return the favour and take a break to enjoy the simple things in life.

" You are only truly seeing with your heart. The most important things are not visible for the Eye."
- Antoine de Saint-Exapèry (free translation)

Have a great evening,

A.

40 Years Star Trek

Potsdam, Germany
09:10 pm
Nice night

Welcome,

to all the Trekkies out there a hearty „Live long and prosper“.

40 years Star Trek, isn’t amazing how things change. I started watching TNG when I was 10 and I loved it from day one. The movies are great, though I admit I am for a change of crew, too. From all the Star Trek Series Voyager is still my favourite. DS9 is good, but too much war for me. Enterprise was a great show but had a lot of weak moments.

The greatest time was when I went to a convention in Düsseldorf. I went by train in my red uniform, met some Klingons and chatted with them till we arrived. Every moment I experienced there was awesome as well as the day I spend at Star Trek the Experience in Las Vegas.

Okay enough Star Trek for now. (Am just watching the first Star Trek movie… Bones..LOL)

Today was eventful. I slept in till 11:30 am, finally. My sister came back from a party night in Berlin and we cleaned the apartment. New glasses were ready to be picked up as you all can see.

That’s all, folks.

A.

Breaking glass

Potsdam, Germany
19:58 pm
mild, starry night

Phew,

we finished the moving process. Sandy out, Marina in. My apartment looks like a mess, but I am too exhausted to clean up. I still have 2 days off, enough time to do something about it.

2 days ago my glasses broke. Another unplanned thing in my current day to day life. Yesterday, I ordered a new one which hopefully will be delivered tomorrow. My reserve glasses are round with a bluish colour and pink bows. I look like a cheap female Harry Potter, LOL.

During my sister’s move her glass ball broke. It was given to her by my mom and had a horse inside of it. At that same Christmas I got one as well with a Sultan in it, which broke this year, too. Coincidence, I don’t think so.

Sandra is out with friends and staying the weekend at her mom’s place. Marina is on a date with her “not yet” boyfriend. And I am alone at home, nursing a coke and watching “Dirty Dancing”, while my feet sway to the music.

*Falling asleep on my couch.*

Good night,
A.

Coffee breaks and moving days

Potsdam, Germany
11:25 am
Rainy, mild day

Hiya,

Well, I spend the night at my friend Donnée’s place. She graduated from a college and has now a business management degree. We celebrated her and my graduation together with her mom, some chocolate and champagne.

At breakfast I managed to spill some coffee, not just on me but on the whole table. Note: This was not a first.



I decided to drive home early to change. At home, my roommate Sandy is preparing to move out on Friday. She is spreading restlessness and stress all over my apartment and it makes me itch. On the same day my sister is going to move in so I will caring boxes and heavy furniture 5 floors downstairs, be driving about 250 km, carry boxes and heavy furniture 5 floors up to be able to fall into bed that night, exhausted, drained and with muscles hurting, that I didn’t know I had. Looks like it’s gonna be one fun day.

"If everything is going well, you obviously don't know what the hell is going on."
- Murphy's Law


So long,
A.

In the beginning

Potsdam, Germany
09:23 pm
It's dark outside, mild, with a light breeze.

Hellu.

Well, I have to start somewhere. I'm Rea. 24. Nurse.



My days are usually busy...with work, with family, with friends, with other stuff.

The place I work at is a hospital in Potsdam, Germany on a ward for toddlers and kids to age 5. I love my work, because I am able to interact with people, especially children. It is a great challenge that I love to take every day. To listen, to chat, to teach, to touch, to smile, to laugh and to cry.

In Potsdam, I live in a 3 room apartment with my friend Sandra and a co worker, Sandy, who is going to move out next friday. My sister Marina, who's 5 years younger, is going to move in on the same day. Her goal is to successfully finish the nursing school, which she starts at the 1st of October.

The thing is, I am currently on the phone with my mom, who has been talking nonstop for the last 30 minutes. She is overly concerned about...herself. For the last 4 years that I have lived away from my family, my mother has been calling on a frequent basis, telling me about her life and her problems, not caring whether I have the time or the interest to listen to her ramblings. I do understand that she is alone (my dad ignores her and my sister flees whenever mom starts babbling), but I do have a lot on my mind that doesn't concern my mother.

Alright, I guess enough of my ramblings for today.

"For justice, for peace and for the future, we have come home. "
- JMS

Have a lovely night,
A.