Thursday, March 27, 2008

Early early morning rambling

The world is such a different place at 2 in the morning. Sometimes it's nice. Sometimes it's lonely. I guess it depends on the circumstances of why you would be up at this ridiculous hour.

I outgrew the bar scene shortly after my 18th birthday. I almost make it a point not to be out on a weekend night...or morning...and try to avoid the drunks on their way to Denny's. People get stupid at 2am on a Saturday. But in the middle of the week......Wednesday night for instance.... it's peaceful. And quiet. Most people are snuggled up in bed unaware of the world around them while their alarm clocks count down the minutes. Hardly anyone is driving out on the roads, regardless of the weather. Phones aren't ringing with telemarketers promising the "free" trip to the Caribbean. It's a time of day when you wouldn't feel bad if you curled up with a warm blanket, a good book, and a cup of tea.

The downside of this time of day, however, is the fact that it's 2 freaking o'clock in the morning! There is no sunshine. Nothing is open. Nothing is on TV. There are a lot of drunk people on the roads. Most people are sleeping, which usually means that you should be too. So what are you doing awake? Probably tossing and turning with your warm blanket (which may be too warm depending on the time of year), still reading your book that you can't put down, while your mind is churning with thoughts of caffeine from that dam tea.

I find myself in this dilemma quite often. Usually it happens when I am preparing to work my night shifts....like tonight. Sometimes it happens when I am working my day shifts. It's not nice. I can't go to bed when I feel tired, instead I have to keep myself awake. Then when every fibre in my body wants to stay awake, I have to force myself to fall asleep. Stupid. But then I remember that for some strange reason, I like working my night shifts. It screws up my body and mind, but I like nights.

I'm strange, I know. What sort of nurse likes working nights? It's NOT less busy than a day shift. Babies don't care what time of day it is. In fact I'm more likely to miss a break while on nights rather than on days. But there isn't as many people around. Of course that also means less staff working. The atmosphere is different, I guess. Less politics. Less confusion. Everyone knows what's happening, and everyone pulls together when needed.

But lately I've been having problems adjusting to my days as much as my nights. The first night on a stretch is always the hardest, but you get yourself into some sort of rhythm. I can't seem to get that done for day shifts, though. I've tried pretty much anything and everything. I've even tried PRi's aromatherapy sleepy-time bubble bath that I got her. I'd rather shower, but in the interest of trying to fall asleep, I've gotten into the bathtub. Tonight, I am going to try something new. I bought a melatonin supplement, and after careful consideration, I'm going to give it a try. I'll let you know how it works when I'm done my 5 nights.

In the meantime, it's time for tea.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Blurry

Where has the time gone? All of a sudden it's Easter, and I feel like it was 40 below zero just yesterday. I suppose I've been busy, but I just can't remember what I've been doing for the past....well.....while.
I want to say it almost feels like I'm on a long stretch of nights....I can't figure out what day it is half the time, and don't even ask me what I ate for breakfast today because I'm sure I won't be able to tell you. Things are a blur.

Last year I had somewhere to go about every two months, so I was always counting down to something. This many more sleeps...... where are you going this time? It doesn't matter....as long as I'm going somewhere. It's turning out to be a long stretch from November until May this year. Mmmm....May. Not far off that May. It's already Easter.

Easter used to mean big Ukrainian dinners when I was growing up, beginning of course with the snacking of newly found chocolate. Recently we haven't made any dinners for Easter (and though dad said the Easter bunny is "getting tired" I will find a basket full of chocolate on Sunday). We still celebrate this time of year as a family, only we make reservations for brunch. And of course fall asleep to The Ten Commandments.

Really, has anyone ever seen that movie in its entirety in one sitting?



Wednesday, March 05, 2008

The impossible task of distraction

It's taken me three weeks to write this post for some reason or other. My usual excuse of procrastination doesn't apply here, and to simply say I was distracted would be a lie. I just couldn't figure out how to say what I wanted to say. I had a hard couple of weeks, and there were many things I needed to either vent about, get a second opinion on, or just say what was on my mind. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't think I was lazy. Or maybe I was....

I'm not remembering my dreams as much right now. Probably that means that I'm not sleeping properly again, which is most likely. I'm really tired. I really need to get that problem fixed. First I have to find a new doctor. Hmmm......
Though I have had repeated dreams of drowning. What I'm drowning in, and under what circumstances I'm drowning changes each time, they are recurring. I haven't had recurring dreams for years. Hmm......

Otherwise I guess I'm alright. My last stint of nights was tough, and I thank everyone who helped me out.

My hands are shaky. Hmmm......

So I have a student that I'm preceptoring at work. I wasn't sure if I was ready to take on being a preceptor, but I suppose if my manager didn't think I was ready, she wouldn't have put my name in as a volunteer. I suppose I'll learn more about my practice and myself while teaching. It will be fun. Challenging, but fun.

Hopefully I'm a good teacher. My student will be working on the unit in six weeks....for serious.....