Brrr!

Cool weather has finally come to the Pacific Northwest. Sure, the afternoons are still mid-60s and sunny, but the mornings are dark and cold.

When I was a day-shifter, being up at the crack of dawn was a normal occurrence. Since I've been in Seattle, I've been working the night shift, so I've rarely had a reason to be out and about at 6 a.m. This morning, however, I woke up around 4:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. After messing around, reading, and playing on my phone, I figured slumber wasn't coming back, and I better just start my day. I decided to head to the espresso shack (hut?) just a few blocks from my apartment to get a latte and get moving. The dark sky and cold temperature that greeted me outside reminded me how much I hated going out to my car to leave for my day shift on fall and winter mornings in Indiana. And it reinforced to me that no matter how much I really like Seattle (and I really do), I need to try to find a warm-weather contract for the winter. Just so this Hoosier can really see what a mild winter is all about.

Extension

Wow, I can't believe I've already been in Seattle for a little over two months. This contract has been tough but interesting so far, and I do feel like I'm learning every day. I was recently able to extend my contract until  the week before Christmas. In some ways, I've very excited about this extension: I'll have work until Christmas, and but I'll be able to take the holidays off. On the other hand, that means I'll be in this assignment for another three months. And it's been challenging. Did I bite off more than I can chew? Time will tell, I suppose.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Before taking this Seattle travel nurse assignment, I had always been a day-shifter. The night shift is turning me into someone basically unrecognizable. Right now, for example: it's a Sunday morning, and I'm awake. Under normal circumstances, I'd be drinking a Bloody Mary and maybe gearing up to watch the Colts game. However, I just got off shift, and I was too tired on the way home from the hospital to stop and get some tomato juice. So, I'm just going to shower and head to bed. A travesty, really.

Cable Cave

I finally caved and had cable and internet installed at the apartment. I was kind of hoping that if I held out, the agency would have moved me, and installing cable and internet here would be moot. Oh well. I'm still stuck in suburban hell, but now I have Law & Order: SVU to keep me company.

If the hospital offers to extend my contract, I think I'll say yes. I have to get out of this shitty apartment and boring area, though.

Be Prepared

Apparently, that's not just a motto for Boy Scouts. Travel nurses need to be prepared, too...financially, that it. Before I hit the road, even before I began talking with travel company recruiters, I researched. I read travel RN message boards and one book that most people seemed to agree is the "definitive" traveling book. They all reiterated the same message: have some money saved before you leave for any assignment. You don't know what issues will crop up along the way.

So, I embarked on my journey with a cushion of cash. The trip out to Washington came in under budget. Everything was fine, right? Well...

Upon our arrival to my apartment, my three-year-old laptop crapped out. I took it to the local office-supply superstore, and they just took 3+ weeks repairing it. Having the money to fix the issues wasn't the problem; I just didn't anticipate the time it would take. Luckily, my smart phone stepped in for all of my internet needs. Writing short stories and blog posts on the iPhone leaves something to be desired, though. I'm glad to have a computer with a keyboard back again.

Is this post just an excuse/explanation for my lack of updates recently? Yes. But it's also a reminder that no matter how prepared you might feel, something is bound to come crashing into to your life to shake things up. It's how we stay flexible.

Well, Zooey is doing a bang up job of clawing the rented furniture in the less-than-savory suburban apartment my travel company has housed me in. Fantastic. I may need to revisit my "declawing cats is cruel" stance.

I finally made it to Seattle! Have you ever driven from Indianapolis to the Pacific Northwest in a compact car with a cat, your best friend, and all the possessions you think you'll need to live for four months? If you haven't, it's not an experience I think of as necessary for finding true joy or anything.

All in all, the trip wasn't bad, but it sure was long. And now I'm more or less moved into the new place.

Pros: All the
furniture and utilities were provided for by the company. I literally rolled up to the apartment office, showed my driver's license, picked up my set of keys, and walked into a totally-set-up apartment.

Cons: I'm living in a south suburb, rather than the city proper. The commute to work shouldn't be too long, and I appear to have many dining and activity options right around me. However, I would prefer to be living in the city. I was intimidated by the idea of finding my own housing in a city I had never seen, and unsure of my ability to stay within the stipend budget. If I do take another travel assignment after this one, though, I think I'll make every effort to find my own housing, so that I can get more what I actually want.

Well, orientation starts tomorrow. Here we go.