No eagles on tv makes ben go something something......

SU WINS! 37-34 with last minute field goal! GO SU!

When going from buffalo to syracuse on the thruway, do you go through albany? This question was asked by a 14 year old boy! What are they teaching in schools?

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife!

Why is it that when Murphy strikes, it is always at the worst time?

To DC and beyond........

Well, after spending two days in Washington, DC with 50 8th graders, I am exhausted. We had a lot of fun and they pretty much behaved themselves with little incidence. I had a great time, being able to see all the different places we went as well as going on the dinner cruise. The kids also had a blast, enjoying themselves on a "vacation" outside of school while still being able to learn a bit about our nation's history. From the National Holocaust Museum to the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, there was so much more we could have seen, but just didn't have the time.

It's Been a While

Well, I know it has been a while since I have posted, but oh well. Life has been busy between family, work and school. Spring courses are done with, but I have jumped right into summer classes in an effort to lessen my course load for the final two semesters, this coming fall and spring. Also my little girl turned 2 the beginning of the month, so that was a busy day, also very joyful. Between working full time and 2 classes right now, it doesn't leave much time for family, but I have been trying to work it in wherever I can. It seems that there isn't enough time in any day to be able to do everything I want to. Hopefully we will be able to find a new place to live that will accept our pets and also be within our budget, but it doesn't look good at the moment. I don't really want to live here anymore, but we have to make due with what we have and try to improve in the future.

End of another semester

Today marks the end of clinicals and classes for another semester. One more semester and I will be able to sit for the NCLEX-RN license exam next summer. This summer will be full of more classes and work, and of course family. I have finals on monday and thursday, but those won't take long and I don't count them as classes.

Lions, Tigers and Bear....Oh.....Elephants?

So on this past Saturday, my family and I took an excursion to the local zoo. It was a great day. Sunny, a bit cool with the breeze, but a really nice time spent with my wife and daughter. Although we have been to this zoo many times over the course of our lives, it is always a interesting and cool thing to go experience. And yes, we saw lions, tigers and bear. All three were really close, but the coolest part was when the handlers brought one of the elephants right up to the rail so that the crowd could feel the skin and hair of the animal, pet it if you would. I loved the experience, especially the part when my daughter (I was holding her for a better view) decided to start crying. This is understandable of course being that the elephant is about 100 time her size. Other than that one mishap, she had a ball and loved every minute of it.

Spring Break, then back to the grind.

Well, now that spring break is over with, it's back to the grind of school. 4 more weeks left until finals. Came back from break today to the big exam of the semester, cardiac. Woot, not! It wasn't that bad of an exam I guess, but then again I actually did study for this one. I had forgotten about the last couple exams, so at least I should have done better on this one. This is said to be the exam that separates the men from the boys, which is ironic since there are only 8 guys in our nursing class, the rest are women. It is really weird at times since the overwhelming majority of our class is female. It makes for different conversation that I am used to as well as a chance for new friendships to form. So, back to spring break. My birthday was good. I made dinner for myself, my wife, daughter, friend and aunt. Although I keep forgetting that my daughter has a sensitivity to milk, so I forgot about making her some lasagna that she can have, along with leaving some bread without butter. We are still trying to get into the flow of thinking about allergies as my wife and I do not have any food allergies. My daughter got her birthday present early (a month early). We got her a swingset, and now we can't keep her away from it. That is one thing we don't have to worry about, her not being active enough.

Fish have feelings too!

It is now 7 days into the beginning of trout season, and I haven't been able to be out for a single day. Whether working or shitty weather, I have so far been withheld from the rivers and streams. I have done a bit of lake fishing before the season opened and I've thrown my line in the water times since the season has been open, but between work and lots of rain, I haven't done any serious fishing. With the rain we have gotten, all the creeks and streams in the area are flowing fast and are all churned up, so there is no visibility and the fish are being forced downstream. And what of these fish being forced from their normal stretches of the waterways? Maybe their feelings are hurt since they are not where they want to be. They have been separated from the homes and the other fish that they hang with. Speaking of such things, do fish have friends? I know that they must have families, however disorganized they may be, but do they construct meaningful relationships with the other fish that they hang around with?

So my birthday is tomorrow. I do enjoy the one day out of the year that I call my own. The one day that I am the one who people celebrate for. Well, at least the people who are close to me since that is all that matters. It would be kinda weird if people that I didn't know walked up to me and wanted to celebrate my birthday. I probably would let them and invite them in, but for people who have no connection to myself or my family I would have questions.

So back to the fish. I hate it when I find a new place to fish and I find out that it is a HUGE attraction of fisherman. I have been introduced to a couple new places for trout fishing, but come to find out on the first few days these places are mobbed by tons of people, making it impossible to have any sort of fun, much less catching fish. I need to find a great place to fish that doesn't have tons of people already attracted to it.

Today is a beautiful day for chicken.

A sunny and warm day today, it is nice to see this kinda weather instead of the cold, wet and snow that we have had as of late. On vacation from school now, I don't have classes or clinicals, but I still have to study for an exam that is the day we come back from school. The kicker? It is probably the hardest exam of the semester, which should be fun and means that I better start studying and reading up on everything it will be on.

It is amazing to me what people argue about, especially when it comes to politics. Here we are in the middle of an economic crisis, more people are out of work than ever before which means more people that do not have health insurance, and all the politicians can seem to focus on is blaming the other side for the problems and yelling about how the others are wrong and they are always correct. Get off you damn asses already and fix the country. We need a strong economy back that is regulated so that it doesnt' go off on it's own. We need health insurance for everyone. It works in other countries, why can't it work here? Because people want to make tons of money at the expense of anyone they can draw from. There are some getting millions and billions of dollars in bail-outs and bonuses while those of us actually busting our asses to just get by on extremely modest ways of life are falling deeper into poverty, which the politicians then bitch about how the other side is making it worse and their choice is the best. It all just sucks so bad.

First Thoughts

Being that this is my first post, I am not sure exactly where I am going to start. Might as well go with what ya know.

Most people look at community college as a stepping stone from high school to a "real" college. I have seen it as an opportunity to press the restart button on my life. I have been enrolled in the nursing program at Cayuga Community College now since last April and I am working on completing my second semester. Anyone that says community college is easy never did a nursing program. Once I am done this May, I will be halfway through the program to be able to sit for my RN license exam. I cannot wait until that day comes that I take that walk to get my nursing pin from graduation and also receive my appointment for sitting for the NCLEX examination. Actually being able to have a career where I can grow and change instead of just a job is going to nice and is really exciting to me. Don't get me wrong though, I will be continuing my education. I want to go on to get my bachelor's in Nursing as well as working my way towards a CRNA or certified registered nurse anethstitest. That is my final goal at the moment.

While going through my schooling, I am also work part time and a personal care aid for a boy that was paralized due to a horrible accident. Even with everything he has been through, he still seems like a good kid and tries to act as though he was part of a normal existence. He is great to work with and give me many chances to learn more information that correlates to my education as a nurse. The only thing that I do not like about the job is the life at his home, but that is not for me to worry about nor comment about. It does provide for tough situations at times, but I try to be as absent from the problems as possible.

And for the last, but most important part is my family. I am married for almost 4 years now to a beautiful, smart and wonderful woman that I love dearly. She and I have been through a lot together, but we have endured with all that life has shot at us. We have a very smart daughter who is almost 2 years old now and has inherited the cursed combination of height and curly hair from both sides of our family. She is as tall as most 3-4 year olds, has a mound of curly hair atop her head, and keeps her mother and I on our toes at all times with how quickly she figured things out and picks up on new ideas and thoughts. It is extremely trying at times, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.