Status Update!

     Hello all,
     It's been a while, hasn't it? Instead of several posts for this week, I am going to try and smash it all into one. Settle in and read on!
     This week has been crazy! I finally got credentials at the end of the day last Friday, which means I have been working in the O.R. all week. IT'S AWESOME! So nice to finally be able to do what I trained to do.
     I need 30 cases for peer review, and managed to accomplish half of them this first week. It's almost been like being back in school, having late days and early mornings. One night I fell asleep by 8:30, and another night I was in zombie mode; staring off into space, not answering questions, etc. But it has been fun.
    I did manage to get out of work in time to teach the Wednesday night Bible class, dealing with 2 Cor 2:7-10, talking about forgiveness. We had a great discussion, and I think that several members of the class actually learned something. One of the things that was brought up is that we, as a society, have a faulty understanding of what "forgiveness" means.
     Forgiveness is not letting someone off the hook for whatever they do, no matter what. Forgiveness means that when a person asks us to forgive them, we do our best to forget it, blot it out as if it had never happened. That doesn't mean there aren't consequences for actions, but true forgiveness can only come when it is asked for. That is the example of God, who loves us so much He sent His son to die for us. How can we think to go beyond God and forgive someone who doesn't ask for us?
     The other point that was brought out, and really hit home for me, is this: If we are wrong, would we want someone to "Forgive" us without letting us know we are in the wrong? How can we correct our mistakes, if we don't have them brought to our attention? This does need to be done in love, of course, not in a spirit of meanness.
     Change of subject now: We are dog-sitting for one of my co-workers and his family while they are out of town to attend a funeral. A sad reason to go, but it has been good for us to have a dog in the house again. For those of you who don't know, we had to put our dog down last summer, and it has been an adjustment. While Mrs. Penguin has graciously made arrangements to add to the roll of little penguins wandering around the house (Due the end of May/1st part of June), we still like having a dog around. We are now on the adoption list for a miniature schnauzer, and hope to add one to the household in the coming months.
     Boy Wonder's Tae Kwan Do class moved to later in the evening to accommodate the influx of new DoDos, so we are experiencing even later bedtimes on a regular basis. We also found out that Boo will have to take a break from tumbling this summer due to the deployment of her coach, so she also will become a DoDo for a few months!
     Last night I got to reconnect with my family, and today has been a nice lazy day so far. In a few minutes I'm going to enjoy some wonderful cinnamon rolls (Thanks, Will at Alaska Cake Studio for the idea!) and then get to work on the oft-delayed bookshelves. Stay posted for pictures of the bookshelf project. I hope to have the trial set assembled this weekend.
     Thanks to you all who have continued to spread the word about the Penguin. I was feeling a little blue, thinking about shutting it down since there had been so few comments or votes lately, that I wasn't sure anyone was reading what I was posting. However, there have been a few new fans added this week, so I will continue the wonderings for a while, at least.
     That's the brief update of this week's wanderings of the penguin . . . and how was your week?

Finally, don't forget to vote in this week's poll.

Third Time's the Charm

     Here is the final installment of trying to bring all my labels up to 2 each.

     While the Penguin has had many travels, covering 4 continents, 7 countries and a multitude of states, both United and mental, I have to agree with Dorothy's statement in the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home."
     It is at home where one receives the warmest welcome. It is the home where one can engage in woodworking, knowing that the results, whether perfect or not, will be accepted and cherished. It is not at work, it is not when one is out treking the remote wilds, nor when one is on the golf course that he discovers what he cherishes most. It is when one is in his own domicile, surrounded by his family, gazing at the ultrasound of his unborn child, that one best understands the phrase, "All is right with the world, and God is in His heaven!"
     For those of you who don't have a family of your own yet, I pray you get the opportunity to experience all the blessings that come with it. If you are blessed like I am, take this opportunity to give thanks to the Man Upstairs!

Good Night and God Bless!

First full day back to work

     It's finally happened! Today was my first full day back at work. I have longed for and dreaded this day almost since I found out I was accepted into anesthesia school three long, arduous years ago.
     I have longed for, because it means I have successfully completed something that only a privileged few (relatively speaking) are allowed to even attempt, let alone finish. Longed for, since it represents the accomplishment of the goal I set for myself while I was still in nursing school, over ten years ago. Longed for, in view of the sacrifices my family and I had to make to arrive at this moment. Longed for, because it represents confirmation of the support and encouragement I have received from so many sources over the years.
     Dreaded, because this day is the milestone from which the rest of my career will be determined. Dreaded, since this means I am no longer in the student role, but am now truly and completely responsible. Dreaded, because it means I cannot be lazy and sleep in, or spend the time with my family I have come to enjoy over the break. Dreaded, since it means I have to be a responsible citizen again.
     Of course, this would all be so much more applicable if I was actually allowed in the O.R.! That's right, I am in-processing. For those of you who are not in the military, in-processing is an inglorious and painful (really, really painful) opportunity to visit many different aspects of the hospital and/or base that I would never see otherwise! I think I logged about 2 1/2 miles treking back and forth between the first floor and the third floor and the second floor and the outbuildings and the third floor and the first floor and the second floor and the third floor and the second floor and the third floor and the . . . you get the idea, don't you? It didn't help that I out-processed this same place not too terribly long ago, and many things have moved in that intervening short time period, so I got to walk extra to visit areas that weren't where I left them.
     So hopefully I will be in the O.R. soon, fulfilling the role of CRNA as intended. But in the meantime, at least I get to go explore and meet new and interesting people!