Today was possibly the busiest and most interesting day of my job hunt. I started off the day with an interview at a hospital downtown. I was not sure how long it would take me to get there because of traffic. So left a little after seven for my nine o'clock appointment. I arrived about ten to eight.
The hospital has a little coffee shop in it, so I decided to get myself some coffee and a little breakfast, seeing as I had skipped it this morning. While I was enjoying my fruit and yogurt cup, and reading some Exodus, I got a phone call. The hospital that I had an interview with last week was calling me back for a second interview.
When I went for the interview at the current location, it went well. I enjoyed the nurse manager, and knew that if I were offered a position there it would make my decision all that more challenging.
On my way back from the interview I noticed that I had a voicemail. The voicemail was from a man at a hospital that I had applied to, but had not heard back from yet. I didn't have time to call him back because I was going to my Aunt's work for lunch.
When I got back, there was a message on the phone from the hospital that I had interviewed with on Tuesday. When I called back, I learned that they were officially offering me a position.
After lunch I had a phone interview with another downtown hospital. It went well and we scheduled an interview with the nurse manager for next week.
I has missed a call when I was on the phone for the interview. It was the hospital that I interviewed with in the morning. They were also offering me a position.
So... to keep track of the numbers for you there...
2...interviews
2...interviews currently scheduled for next week
1...interview to be scheduled for next week
2...job offers
I have to say, I am blessed. Wow. Being decisive would be a good quality trait to have right now.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
It is coming...
So, I do promise a real blog about what my life is like here, how I am doing, how the job hunt is going and all that goodness. HOWEVER, I am waiting for one letter to reach one person on a certain island in Asia. What fun is it for her to get a letter if I have already told her everything on my blog. No fun right, so no fun for you too. :)
But I will make a list of things I had to go to Arizona to learn:
But I will make a list of things I had to go to Arizona to learn:
- I knew it was going to be hot, but yesterday it was 85 degrees. It is March.
- The sun makes a huge difference. This is a desert. When the sun goes down it cools off. There isn't the moisture in the air to hold on to the heat: dress in layers.
- The sun is strong: yesterday when I was driving from point a to point b, got some sun on my left arm only. Note to self: invest in sunscreen.
- Iowa does not have traffic. We don't know anything about traffic. Traffic is crazy go nuts here.
- It is going to take me a while to get used to this lack of season business. I keep thinking that it is summer. I think the combination of it being 80 degrees and not having class is really throwing me off.
- I am not as adventurous as I thought. I need a support system to make a complete fool out of myself.
That is all for now. I am sure there will be more to come. In the meantime enjoy more pictures of my niece! One day old here!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
My Niece!
Ok, so the truth is I don't really have a niece. And I am not expecting one any time soon. BUT my cousin's girlfriend had a baby today and I have decided that she should call me "Aunt Holly." Doesn't that sound nice? So I guess that would make her my "niece" even though really, we are second cousins. But, I am old enough to be an aunt, even if my sister is not old enough, or married enough for that matter, to be having babies.
Her beautifulness was born today, March 23 at 11:30 am. She weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19 inches long. Her name is Kinsey Lynne. She is beautiful. Baby, mom and dad are doing great.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139
Kinsey Lynne!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
A picture is worth a thousand words...
So this many pictures should tell my story of spring break right? Well, you don't really have spring break if you don't have school, but I don't have a job either....so spring break it is!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
A little naughty, but how could I resist?!
| You Are a Schoolgirl! |
 |
Monday, March 13, 2006
Spring Breakdown???
My sister and I are on our way to Phoenix. I am moving there, she is joining me for the ride.
Our plan was to stop at our great aunt's on the way down. She lives in the Denver area and that is almost halfway to Phoenix. We left Des Moines on Saturday, arrived in Denver that night and stayed the day yesterday. We have a friend that goes to school at a school in Denver. I didn't want to leave my car in a parking lot seeing as it has nearly all of my belongings in it. So, I went and picked her up and brought her to my aunt's house. When I took her back it was snowing pretty heavy.
I was driving cautiously, but I lost control of my car and hit the curb. I got out and looked but saw no apparent damage. I know that you can do some pretty good damage to a car by running into a curb. But, my car seemed fine.
This morning I thought I should take another look just in case. It was then that I noticed that my hubcap was broken (it is some sort of plastic) and my tire rim seemed bent. I was not sure if it was just the hubcap being broken that made the wheel look bent. So I asked my uncle to look at it. We both agreed that it would be a good idea to at least have it looked at.
Megan and I sat at the shop for about three hours before the service guy came out and told me that there was much more damage done to my car that could be seen from the outside. In fact, the suspension was messed up. I say messed up because I don't know if a suspension gets broken, or out of alignment. But, to put it simply, my car needed $1,600 of parts and service...To be safe. My car was unsafe to drive.
Praise the Lord that they had all the parts they needed to fix it and I have parents who love me enough to help me out. But, our trip has been delayed. I have learned some small lessons in this. Included in this is the reminder that money comes and goes. God is in control, even if I don't know exactly what is going on.
We will be setting off for Phoenix tomorrow, Lord willing.
Our plan was to stop at our great aunt's on the way down. She lives in the Denver area and that is almost halfway to Phoenix. We left Des Moines on Saturday, arrived in Denver that night and stayed the day yesterday. We have a friend that goes to school at a school in Denver. I didn't want to leave my car in a parking lot seeing as it has nearly all of my belongings in it. So, I went and picked her up and brought her to my aunt's house. When I took her back it was snowing pretty heavy.
I was driving cautiously, but I lost control of my car and hit the curb. I got out and looked but saw no apparent damage. I know that you can do some pretty good damage to a car by running into a curb. But, my car seemed fine.
This morning I thought I should take another look just in case. It was then that I noticed that my hubcap was broken (it is some sort of plastic) and my tire rim seemed bent. I was not sure if it was just the hubcap being broken that made the wheel look bent. So I asked my uncle to look at it. We both agreed that it would be a good idea to at least have it looked at.
Megan and I sat at the shop for about three hours before the service guy came out and told me that there was much more damage done to my car that could be seen from the outside. In fact, the suspension was messed up. I say messed up because I don't know if a suspension gets broken, or out of alignment. But, to put it simply, my car needed $1,600 of parts and service...To be safe. My car was unsafe to drive.
Praise the Lord that they had all the parts they needed to fix it and I have parents who love me enough to help me out. But, our trip has been delayed. I have learned some small lessons in this. Included in this is the reminder that money comes and goes. God is in control, even if I don't know exactly what is going on.
We will be setting off for Phoenix tomorrow, Lord willing.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Just as I always said...
Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 70% General American English |
| 15% Upper Midwestern |
| 10% Yankee |
| 5% Midwestern |
| 0% Dixie |
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
Friday, March 10, 2006
Holly Bartlett RN
Woo hoo! I found out today that I passed my board exam. Now the only thing that stands in between me and being a registered nurse is my FBI background check. For some reason, I am not that worried about it.
I did spend a lot of time worrying about my exam. Wednesday, I actually had a complete breakdown. I took my test in the morning. I did not feel good about it. It was hard and there were a lot of questions that I was not sure about my answers on. That afternoon I had my hair cut and colored. I loved the cut from the start. The color I wasn't so sure about. It turned out a little darker than I was anticipating and I felt like the contrast between the base color and the highlights was too great. After that I had my taxes done. Usually, I do my taxes myself. Last year I had a form that was different than a W2. This messed everything up and I ended up having to pay more taxes after the IRS sent me a letter. This year I had the same form and did not want to get stuck with the same letter. My sister had her taxes prepared for $50. I did not think it was that bad for peace of mind. Well, because of this same form my taxes cost $168 to prepare. That was it, the last straw. I started crying at H&R Block. Praise the Lord, my mom knew the woman, and I wasn't crying in front of a complete stranger. This is my life.
Any way, now I love my hair, my tax refund pays for the cost of getting my taxes done and I passed my exam. I worry. Sometimes about nothing.
I studied and worried. But I also prayed. Two verses that I was constantly reminded of were Philippians 4:6-7.
I don't have this down. I am a worrier. I don't relax. It is just not my thing. I had to constantly hand the test over to our Great God. Frequently, I would realize that I was placing all my trust in my own ability and the effort I had put forth studying. Don't get me wrong. I don't thing God wants us to spend all of our time praying, and no time studying. But there comes to a point when we have to TRUST, no matter what the outcome may be. So I prayed. Specifically, I prayed that I would pass and pass in 75 questions. That is exactly what happened.
Sometimes I am afraid to pray for specific things. Why? I don't know the complete answer. I think perhaps I feel like I am being selfish to pray for specifics. Often I don't feel like I should pray for myself. I guess that is pretty silly. Perhaps, this is the lesson I was to learn throughout this. It is ok to pray for myself and it is ok to pray specifics. God wants to answer our prayers. I hope that this response would be the same if I would not have passed my exam. I'm not sure. But, there would probably be a different lesson to be learned in that case.
I did spend a lot of time worrying about my exam. Wednesday, I actually had a complete breakdown. I took my test in the morning. I did not feel good about it. It was hard and there were a lot of questions that I was not sure about my answers on. That afternoon I had my hair cut and colored. I loved the cut from the start. The color I wasn't so sure about. It turned out a little darker than I was anticipating and I felt like the contrast between the base color and the highlights was too great. After that I had my taxes done. Usually, I do my taxes myself. Last year I had a form that was different than a W2. This messed everything up and I ended up having to pay more taxes after the IRS sent me a letter. This year I had the same form and did not want to get stuck with the same letter. My sister had her taxes prepared for $50. I did not think it was that bad for peace of mind. Well, because of this same form my taxes cost $168 to prepare. That was it, the last straw. I started crying at H&R Block. Praise the Lord, my mom knew the woman, and I wasn't crying in front of a complete stranger. This is my life.
Any way, now I love my hair, my tax refund pays for the cost of getting my taxes done and I passed my exam. I worry. Sometimes about nothing.
I studied and worried. But I also prayed. Two verses that I was constantly reminded of were Philippians 4:6-7.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.
I don't have this down. I am a worrier. I don't relax. It is just not my thing. I had to constantly hand the test over to our Great God. Frequently, I would realize that I was placing all my trust in my own ability and the effort I had put forth studying. Don't get me wrong. I don't thing God wants us to spend all of our time praying, and no time studying. But there comes to a point when we have to TRUST, no matter what the outcome may be. So I prayed. Specifically, I prayed that I would pass and pass in 75 questions. That is exactly what happened.
Sometimes I am afraid to pray for specific things. Why? I don't know the complete answer. I think perhaps I feel like I am being selfish to pray for specifics. Often I don't feel like I should pray for myself. I guess that is pretty silly. Perhaps, this is the lesson I was to learn throughout this. It is ok to pray for myself and it is ok to pray specifics. God wants to answer our prayers. I hope that this response would be the same if I would not have passed my exam. I'm not sure. But, there would probably be a different lesson to be learned in that case.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
FUN! 10, 9, 8, 7....
Ten Firsts:
First best friend - Jenny Gauthier
First screen name - hollbear16
First pet - Zach, his full name was Holly's Little Zachary, a maltese
First piercing- ears, which got infected and closed, so we had to do them again and I cried before they started
First crush - Andy Gauthier
First kiss - I think Andy Gauthier, yes my best friends little brother, rock on rock star
First CD - Green Day Dookie
First car- 87 Gold Honda Accord
First stuffed animal - a bear, which was actually a beaver, i just called it a bear
First broken bone - T. B. D.
Nine Lasts
Last beverage - decaf coffee
Last car ride - back from Starbucks
Last movie seen - Rent was the last full one, I watched part of Spanglish yesterday though
Last phone call - the sis
Last CD played - Ty's Recomendations (J-pop, woo hoo!)
Last bubble bath - when Joanna went to see her friends from her summer trip in Japan. So December?
Last time you cried - I don't think I have cried in a couple of weeks. I think it was when my Dad told me that my sister and I are all that matter. We are the only thing he talks about.
Last time you laughed - sometime today with Cate
Last time you fell - good question.
Eight Shows you like
1. CSI
2. Law and Order
3. Law and Order SVU
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Project Runway
6. The Biggest Loser
7. Gilmore Girls
8. Without a Trace
Seven Things You Are Wearing
1. pink and pink striped sweater
2. eye liner
3. long and leans
4. danskos
5. mary kay lotion
6. socks
7. unmentionables
Six Things You've Done Today
1. read the newspaper
2. drove my sister's car
3. shaved with a PINK venus
4. straightened my hair
5. studied for the NCLEX
6. hung out with Cate
Five Favorite Things
1. pink
2. schedules, even when not followed
3. 2006 honda civic
4. getting ready for the day
5. deep conversations
Four People You Can Trust With Anything
1. Megan
2. Rachel
3. Joanna
4. Liz
Three Choices
1. Hot or cold - yes
2. Black or white - black
3.Chocolate or Vanilla - vanilla
Two Things You Want To Do Before You Die
1. have a family
2. check off the list of 1000 things to do before you die
One Thing You Regret
1. going into college with nonChristian friends and leaving college with none
First best friend - Jenny Gauthier
First screen name - hollbear16
First pet - Zach, his full name was Holly's Little Zachary, a maltese
First piercing- ears, which got infected and closed, so we had to do them again and I cried before they started
First crush - Andy Gauthier
First kiss - I think Andy Gauthier, yes my best friends little brother, rock on rock star
First CD - Green Day Dookie
First car- 87 Gold Honda Accord
First stuffed animal - a bear, which was actually a beaver, i just called it a bear
First broken bone - T. B. D.
Nine Lasts
Last beverage - decaf coffee
Last car ride - back from Starbucks
Last movie seen - Rent was the last full one, I watched part of Spanglish yesterday though
Last phone call - the sis
Last CD played - Ty's Recomendations (J-pop, woo hoo!)
Last bubble bath - when Joanna went to see her friends from her summer trip in Japan. So December?
Last time you cried - I don't think I have cried in a couple of weeks. I think it was when my Dad told me that my sister and I are all that matter. We are the only thing he talks about.
Last time you laughed - sometime today with Cate
Last time you fell - good question.
Eight Shows you like
1. CSI
2. Law and Order
3. Law and Order SVU
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Project Runway
6. The Biggest Loser
7. Gilmore Girls
8. Without a Trace
Seven Things You Are Wearing
1. pink and pink striped sweater
2. eye liner
3. long and leans
4. danskos
5. mary kay lotion
6. socks
7. unmentionables
Six Things You've Done Today
1. read the newspaper
2. drove my sister's car
3. shaved with a PINK venus
4. straightened my hair
5. studied for the NCLEX
6. hung out with Cate
Five Favorite Things
1. pink
2. schedules, even when not followed
3. 2006 honda civic
4. getting ready for the day
5. deep conversations
Four People You Can Trust With Anything
1. Megan
2. Rachel
3. Joanna
4. Liz
Three Choices
1. Hot or cold - yes
2. Black or white - black
3.Chocolate or Vanilla - vanilla
Two Things You Want To Do Before You Die
1. have a family
2. check off the list of 1000 things to do before you die
One Thing You Regret
1. going into college with nonChristian friends and leaving college with none
I Was Tagged
At least I think that I was tagged. My name was spelled correctly so I am not quite sure. And, I am pretty sure that I have done this before. Possibly on MySpace. I was going to copy and paste, but its gone. I have no idea where it is. And I can't remember if if the passive form of its or the the contraction its gets an apostrophe. So if my answers are different, sorry. If you can remember how I answered them then wow, I would like your memory.
Here are four items for each category:
Four Jobs IÂ’ve Had in My Life:
Nanny at the H house in Japan (I don't know if that counts for a job, but it was my favorite)
Old person company keeper at Homesafe
Practically a nurse at ICRC
Pancake server extrodonaire at IHOP
Four Movies I could Watch Over and Over, and Have:
16 Candles
Bridget Jones
Shawshank Redemption
and basically any other romantic comedy
Four Places IÂ’ve Lived:
Hachioji, Japan
Iowa City, Iowa
Granby, Colorado
Des Moines, Iowa
Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:
CSI
Law and Order
Grey's Anatomy
Project Runway
Four Places IÂ’ve Been on Vacation:
Karuizawa, Japan
Panama City Beach, Florida
Zimbabwe, Africa (not really a vacation, but my grandparents said it was)
Denver, Colorado
Four Websites I Visit Daily:
Angie and Joanna's Blogs
Gmail
Facebook
CNN
Four Favorite Foods:
Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal
Ice Cream
Picante Pie
Sushi
Four Places I Would Like to Visit:
ChinAustraliaila
Europe
India
Four People I am Tagging with this Meme:
I think every one that will do it has done it, but I tag:
Jess
Alex
Megan, even though she doesnt have a blog
Kelly B
Here are four items for each category:
Four Jobs IÂ’ve Had in My Life:
Nanny at the H house in Japan (I don't know if that counts for a job, but it was my favorite)
Old person company keeper at Homesafe
Practically a nurse at ICRC
Pancake server extrodonaire at IHOP
Four Movies I could Watch Over and Over, and Have:
16 Candles
Bridget Jones
Shawshank Redemption
and basically any other romantic comedy
Four Places IÂ’ve Lived:
Hachioji, Japan
Iowa City, Iowa
Granby, Colorado
Des Moines, Iowa
Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:
CSI
Law and Order
Grey's Anatomy
Project Runway
Four Places IÂ’ve Been on Vacation:
Karuizawa, Japan
Panama City Beach, Florida
Zimbabwe, Africa (not really a vacation, but my grandparents said it was)
Denver, Colorado
Four Websites I Visit Daily:
Angie and Joanna's Blogs
Gmail
CNN
Four Favorite Foods:
Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal
Ice Cream
Picante Pie
Sushi
Four Places I Would Like to Visit:
ChinAustraliaila
Europe
India
Four People I am Tagging with this Meme:
I think every one that will do it has done it, but I tag:
Jess
Alex
Megan, even though she doesnt have a blog
Kelly B
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Memories....like the corner of my mind...tear...
So in response to Yudai, I am posting a couple of pictures from my last night in Japan. What a fun, fun night. I had no idea that so many people would show up to say good bye to me. These were the people that stayed around until the last minute.
Back row: Tomo, Ty, Momoru, Mitsuru
Front row: Jin, Natsumi, Yours Truly, Joanna, Mary
This is our cheesy school picture.
So in response to Yudai, I am posting a couple of pictures from my last night in Japan. What a fun, fun night. I had no idea that so many people would show up to say good bye to me. These were the people that stayed around until the last minute.
Back row: Tomo, Ty, Momoru, Mitsuru
Front row: Jin, Natsumi, Yours Truly, Joanna, Mary
This is our cheesy school picture.
This is the picture that I cannot explain. Maybe I need some help from weird Japanese things explained??
My last few days were super fun. We went on the snow boarding trip the week before. We had so much fun during the day and then hanging out at night. We were able to have so many good conversations. I learned a new game that I thought would be dumb, but was way fun.
Saturday, I got to see the older children in the best production of Peter Pan I have ever seen. I am not even kidding. I have no idea how the teachers were able to get the kids to do this. They had costumes and sang songs and danced and remembered lines. It was all in Japanese, but probably the most pure entertainment I had in Japan.
That night, Mrs. H. made dinner for our house, the R house and Eddie. We ate breakfast food, my favorite. Then I was super encouraged by everyone sharing fun stories and making me sound better than I actually am. Then I was able to share what I had learned from them. Way cool.
The next day there was a 5 year old birthday party for Big J. Wow, there are so many cute Japanese kiddos. They had so much fun. The moms and some of the dads came. The adults even played a game. Big J got the coolest toys. Every thing lights up and changes color or shoots something. It must be super fun to be a 5 year old boy.
That night was when so many of the students came over to say good bye. I barely knew most of them. But they came. I praise the Lord for their friendship. What a fun group of people.
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