Princesses and Superheros

I recently discovered the world of Marvel movies. They are full of adventure, superpowers, flirting, showing off, and humor. Of course guys (and gals) like these movies! The characters, especially the superheroes, are witty, confident, and seem to always show up at the right time with the ability to save the day. Then, in the end, they get the really cool girl that they've been flirting with for a good majority of the movie. Sometimes they meet this girl and begin to "fight", showing that she is independent and strong. But, she eventually sees his  side and begins to follow his lead.

Contrast that to Disney princess movies that are now being made with live action technology where these princesses are portraying the stories many already know: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and all the rest. The princess plays this strong, independent lady who is being oppressed by the world around her. She overcomes many obstacles, shows herself to be strong and lovely. Then she is transformed into this person that everyone wants to know and she ends up with the guy of her dreams who adores her with all he is and he treats her like the princess/queen she is.

Now, look at these types of movies next to the data that has been collected and analyzed by Shaunti Feldhahn (For Women Only/For Men Only), Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs (Love and Respect), Chad Eastham (Guys Are Waffles, Girls Are Spaghetti/Guys Like Girls Who...), and countless others. I don't know about you, but I see the common pattern pointed out in the books being played out in the movies. Guys watch movies about guys who are strong, leaders, respected, fighting against the evil in the world (and winning). Inevitably, there is a girl there who adores him and respects his role in everything. Looking, then, at princess and romance movies, we see strong girls who are adored by guys for her independence and strength. She finds a source of stability, protection, and love. She proves herself throughout the movie and he, the prince, falls madly in love with her, treats her with respect and absolute adoration, and they proceed to live happily ever after.

Friends, these probably aren't huge revelations to you, but the connect between movie audiences and Disney/Marvel was a new one for me. I watch the cartoon Disney movies because they are usually "wholesome", not trigger happy movies, and they have fund songs. I discovered Marvel movies because we talked about Thor at church last week and I've seen little things about Groot. I wanted to see why everyone adored him so much. So, in the spirit of research, I got part way through Thor before the scary lava guy made me too nervous. So I tried Guardians of the Galaxy and in the second one, little Groot is dancing all around as everyone of his friends is fighting for their lives! I laid in bed, falling asleep, but laughed because some days I feel like the fighters and some days I feel like little, baby Groot with chaos all around and I'm just in my own world, dancing to the happy music.

I think these connections are important, especially when talking about marriage. Obviously, that is why Shaunti, Dr. Eggerichs (and his wife and daughter! [she worked on Love and Respect (Now) and she's hilarious!]), Chad, and so many other talk about these things in relation to marriage/dating. These wonderful people use data, based on thousands of surveys, to help women and men understand each other and how to relate to the opposite sex better. Directors and authors (even fiction) have been focusing on these differences for centuries, but I am so grateful for the people who have worked so hard to bring us the data along with whys and how to help us relate to each other. I've learned so much.

If you guys get a chance, visit the websites of the authors above and read their books. I think it'll bring some light to the mysteries between genders.

Busy, Busy Summer

Guys, I forgot to blog a few weeks ago about my good day and now I can't recall what was so great about it. We'll just talk about other stuff then!

My new job has got me all sorts of excited. I was nervous that I would be overly tired after working nights but after a red bull at about 0200 and another when I start nodding off (only on occasion, I usually don't need the second one) then I am good to stay up for what feels like weeks. Just kidding. But I stay up the whole day, go to work, then stay up the whole next day until it's time for a decent bed hour or slightly before that. I then wake up at my normal 6 a.m. and I'm ready to go again! When I work back-to-back, I will definately have to sleep during the day. However, this up for 36+ hours thing is working for me so far. I think I can even make it work with school.

Also, I love that job. Being able to focus on one patient all night and get to know them and how to make them comfortable is a great feeling. That's also what I love about working NICU. You learn the babies and their likes/dislikes. Then you can make sure to devote your attention to your 3 babies and go from there. It's not like working med/surg where you are running from pt to pt passing meds (if RN), and making sure 6-8 patients have what they need when they need it.

I think I'm going to quit my long term care facility. I love the residents but it's getting hard to even be a CNA now that I've gotten a taste of NICU. Let's be real, if you were able to taste your favorite pie, but had to wait and work really hard just so it could be ready in TWO YEARS, would you be able to handle that well? Ya, I'm struggling with my NICU pie... Until G-d puts me where He wants me, I'll bloom where I'm planted and learn as much as I can along the way.

On that note, I totally embarrassed myself today. I was the float which means that I am a CNA who goes between all four of the courts at my LTC facility and make sure I am helping the floor CNA's with anything I can. So, I did vitals. I took a bunch and they were really low so I made a mental note to go tell the LPN. When I got to her med cart, she had just left for break. Awesome. Now I have to wait. No big deal, I'll just keep going and tell her later. Several hours later my charge nurse comes up to me asking if I took the vitals. I said I did. She asked what I took them with and I told her it was with an automatic wrist cuff. Right then it dawned on me that I forgot to tell the LPN!!! Ugh! She is/was my favorite charge nurse but now I'm too embarrassed to hardly make eye contact with her. I know I get way too embarrassed way too easily, but I thought I was doing okay today. Silly things I forget that just make me feel dumber than dirt. Really, my memory is an issue. I'm going to have to get on top of this because forgetting something might cause someone their life. Today it made someone get late blood pressure meds and they almost didn't get it because my measurement was way too low. Like they were 150/70's but my cuff said 80/40's. I'm giving general numbers, but they were in this ballpark. 

So sorry that I haven't been posting lately, life has just been busy, but a boring busy. It's kind of nice for summer. Talk to y'all later and I hope you're having fun wherever you happen to be in the world.

Loose Interpretations

I've been looking on Craigslist for potential roommates because that seemed like a good idea and I have noticed that people have different interpretations of just about everything.

"Huge room with view!" Translation: the bedroom is about 2 inches squared using a generous measuring system and it overlooks the neighbors window.

"Nice house with BRAND NEW appliances." Translation: nothing has been changed since the 1800's and the house could collapse on top of you while you're sleeping.

"Nice neighborhood." Translation: it's in a part of town that even cops refuse to visit.

No, it was not my idea to look for a roomie on CL. I know that it is all sorts of bad ideas because there is no real way to know them and there are murderers and other people waiting to do unsavory things to the poor people that fall into their traps. My friend talked me into it. Let's call her Big Red because she is the tiniest petite little lady I've ever met, but she has red hair. Anyway, that's what she and I did during class this week when my teacher decided to call on me TWICE during the class time. I had no idea what she was asking or what we were doing but I survived. I'm getting better at pretending that I know what I'm doing even though I hardly ever have a clue.

I turned in my letter stating I will be leaving my apartment when my lease is up. That's pretty scary because I have nowhere that I am planning to go, yet... Oh L-rd, I trust You and I REALLY need a place to live with good roommates that won't make life miserable and preferably a lot of space. It would be fantastic if they decided that they liked me and we could be buddies. That would be a miracle. I believe miracles happen and I desperately need several of them... simultaneously... pronto.

G-d doesn't move on our time frames. He's not our genie or Santa Clause or our servant. It's a good thing He isn't because life would be awful and the World would be a huge mess with everyone getting everything they ever wanted whenever they wanted it. Can you imagine? Yikes.

Found a New Blog

So, I think y'all should check this blog out. Yes, it is mostly on dating, but has a lot of great advice and makes some interesting points. So far I like this post the best and definitely recommend reading it. This is about the difference between "Girls" and "Women". Now, there is also one on the differences between "Boys" and "Men" so check that one out too.

Let me know what you think!

I'll hopefully be back on in the near future to talk about the funeral I went to tonight but for now I must go finish my epidemiology paper on C. diff. Yum.

A Glimpse Inside My Brain

Now, this whole blog has kind of morphed into a diary of my inner thoughts and experiences. I don't know if that is good for you or not yet, I'm still collecting and analyzing data from this little experiment. Regardless, I will share the random thought I had last night.

I was driving home at 11:20ish last night, just thinking about life. I started to think about how my "thing" has always been school and good grades. I have never been good at sports. Never been the class clown or even a social butterfly. I associate my identity, some of it, with being the quiet girl that sits in the back and does really well at school (sometimes, even without studying). College has since crushed that identity. I think that is why I was so distraught when I got an A- last year. The B I got in Micro was tough to take, but G-d has relieved my initial upsetness (that's now a word) over getting this grade that I viewed as being unacceptable. At the heart of this problem, though, is the fact that I realized I am just a typical person. That's disappointing. Doesn't everyone want to be extraordinary?

The more I thought about my ordinary life, the more I realized that my life is the "typical" type of life. I was a college freshman that lived in the dorms. Now I live in an apartment 5 minutes from school. I got my first job at 16. I went through school in the grade that I was supposed to be in (no skipping grades because I was super smart) and I was usually in the average class, not the accelerated classes. I graduated in the typical fashion, but didn't go to my actual graduation because it was on a Saturday. I grew up in the suburbs, rode a school bus to school or walked. I was not someone to finish high school by age 12 and become a full-fledged MD by 18. I was not born into royalty and not many people know my name. I may never actually do anything extraordinary in life, but that's for G-d to decide. So, I have to learn how to serve the L-rd in my typical, ordinary life. School is not my identity. I can only get my identity from the Creator. Period.

Thoughtful Thursday! “Giving Birth Is A Natural Process…”

Thoughtful Thursday! “Giving Birth Is A Natural Process…”

Very true. Still doesn't firm up my beliefs about birth control yet, though.

Why am I even thinking about birth control? I don't even have a boyfriend yet...

My Life with a Nurse: A Man's Perspective - Nursing Humor / Share Jokes

My Life with a Nurse: A Man's Perspective - Nursing Humor / Share Jokes

Read this, seriously. I love it! I grew up thinking that guys are all tough, but nurses are tough! Even in college, I have friends with mixed majors and they cannot even stand me talking about my older population of residents.

I hope my future boyfriend/husband understands what he is getting into because I like a good, gross story. I love to tell those stories even more to someone who can appreciate it like I can.

So, read this whether you are a nurse, nursing student, medical professional/student, or anyone who knows a nurse (trust me, all of you know at least one nurse, even if you don't realize it yet).

Beauty of Summer School

Life was good just a few hours ago. Then, I get a call from my friend about our summer microbiology course. It turns out that we were signed up for micro at a campus far from the campus we had signed up for the course at. Long story short, I will have a 45 minute to an hour long drive from the place I am staying at this summer to my summer course instead of a 20 minute drive. We had even physically gone down to the campus we wanted to attend in order to sign up, but we were signed up for another course. We are all human and all make mistakes, but it doesn't make this any less frustrating. Now the campus that we want to be at does not have any seats open and we may not even be able to be on a wait-list. Plus, if I get into this other course, I will miss the first 4 Monday classes and labs because I may be in work, unless G-d can allow my manager to let me have those days off even though I am already scheduled.

What was I thinking trying to take a summer class? This whole ordeal has proved to be nothing but difficulty after difficulty. I was also told to turn in the wrong tax year information and so there is a good chance I will not get financial aid...

Oy vey! Yes, this phrase is usually meant for more traumatic occasions, but I am at my wits end with schooling. What was I thinking even trying to go to college in he first place? They make it so difficult!

In other news, I found out that my rabbi was a biology major before he became a rabbi. He told me this on Shabbat when he was catching up with me about my schooling. It's interesting how people don't talk to you until after you leave for extended periods of time. Then, all of a sudden they feel the need to have these long, in-depth conversations every time you return. I'm not much for social interaction of any kind, but I do little social experiments on my own to pass the time. This was one such observation/study I have begun recently. I'll keep y'all updated.

Fun Facts

Just a warning, this next post talks about sex, artificial and natural insemination and some other random things that may be considered offensive. Forgive me for the images that may be brought to mind and also for bringing up this subject. Seeing as I am hoping to be a midwife, these things do not bother me and I am actually quite fascinated with reproduction and babies and everything, but I understand that it may not be deemed appropriate, especially for a woman of faith (such as myself). Unfortunately, I cannot discuss such matters with my friends because they will all leave me for being even weirder than they had originally discovered...

So, I am writing a paper about the views of college students on marriage and yada, yada, yada. Anyway, I was encouraged to do some research about counter arguments to my claim, one of the counter arguments being that infertility treatments are often expensive and time-consuming and stressful. You know the whole thing, I'm sure. Anyway, I was looking into the costs of in-vitro and artificial insemination and I ran across an article explaining how to do artificial insemination at home... on your own. Of course, this is joked about in movies when women say they will just use a baster, but it never occurred to me that women actually do that at home. If you're at home, wouldn't natural insemination be easier than trying to collect everything and then put the "seed" into a cup and then into a needle-less syringe and everything else? I suppose it makes sense to no do it the natural way though because then that would involve all the hormones that bond you to someone else through sex, even if you don't kiss, because that's just how G-d designed it. Kinda funny how the girl who refuses to kiss anyone until she is married is wondering why people aren't just shacking up if they are trying to have a kid. I know, I am full of ideas and thoughts that make no sense and I promise, the constant incongruities drive me nuts too.

Just something to think about.