A Random True Story: The Stalker

I'm bored, eating shrimp lo mein and watching Living Single so I decided to write a random blog post about this guy I was never involved with for your entertainment. Enjoy.

So, I knew this guy in high school, we'll just call him "Dan" as I'm not into putting people on blast for my personal enjoyment. Unless they've pissed me off but that's neither here nor there. Back in school Dan and I weren't really friends. I mean, we were acquainted, had classes together and traveled in the same social circle but we never actually hung out or anything. Anyway, the years went on, we graduated and went our separate ways. Me with barely a thought about Dan because, as I said, we were hardly friends. 

Cut to college and the beginning of the Facebook craze. Back then you actually had to have a college email address in order to sign up. Ahh, the good old days. Dan and I became FB friends and eventually AIM buddies as well (that's AOL Instant Messenger for the youngins). Am I the only one who would spend an obscene amount of time trying to come up with a catchy away status? More often than not it would just end up being song lyrics but now I'm getting off topic. I wanna say around freshman year of college was the first time Dan started showing some romantic interest in me. I wasn't interested. In fact, I went out of my way to avoid any type of in person meeting with him.

There were several times Dan asked me to hang out via AIM but I wouldn't. There was one incident in particular that threw me off. Dan is a black man and he told me that he'd never dated a black girl before. My teenage mind was shocked by such a revelation. Then he said something to the effect of "Your black parents would be happy" if we went out. Huh?! I just......what does that even mean? I don't know, it just through me off. Either way, I definitely wasn't interested.

Now, it's some time later and I'm home for the summer or winter break or something. Either way it's like I see Dan everywhere. Out at the club or at my favorite chain restaurant where he happens to work. What are the odds right? I began referring to him as my stalker when it seemed like I was seeing him everywhere all over town. I'm sure I was exaggerating but so what. I had a stalker. 

Fast forward to now and Dan randomly starts talking to me on Facebook messenger. I'd say it started a few months ago, it was still warm out. He asked me out yet again and I finally agreed to meet for drinks one evening. He said he got out of work around 7p so we agreed to meet about 730ish. Mind you, we'd never exchanged numbers all this time. I go, I sit, I wait for about a half hour to forty minutes. He never showed. Then I get a FB message from him asking what I'm doing at almost 830. Say what now? I'm sitting here waiting for you! Fuck you mean what am I doing?! Then he says he JUST got out of work. But I thought we were meeting at 730. Oh, the time I get out of work can vary depending on the case he tells me. This would have been nice to know BEFORE. 

Now, I really didn't want to go out with him in the first place but I was bored and sick of him asking. Plus now that I've matured, I figured I should just go for it because who knows, I might actually like the guy if I give him a chance. Well, he blew it. I felt like I was stood up. In fact, an older gentlemen at the bar left before I did but I ran into him on the way back to the parking garage. He actually stopped me and asked "Did your date not show up?" BURN. He then proceeded to ask if I wanted to grab a beer but he was easily in his 50s so I wasn't into it. Nice guy though.

I told Dan maybe some other time. We finally exchanged numbers but never made any real plans to hang. Then he started FB messaging me again. Not sure why since he was the one who wanted to exchange numbers in the first place. A couple of nights ago he asked if we could make plans to meet up again. I said I didn't think so. Why he asked. Because I'm not interested (never really was tbh) and now I have a boyfriend so that would just be fucked up. He didn't reply and I haven't heard from him since. 

And that is the random true story of my stalker. Now that I've written it all down, he wasn't all that much of a stalker. Oh well, too late to find a new nickname now. Bless your heart if you actually read all this. I'd probably just see the length of this post and decide to not even bother. But thanks if you're still here.

Good day kiddies.

Time to Get Serious: Workout & Study Plan

I'm one of those people who keeps saying how much I need to start working out/going to the gym/etc but never actually get around to it. Or if I do get around to it it only lasts for a few weeks max. Eventually I'd really like to be one of those people who actually enjoys working out and looks forward to it. I really want to get into a regular workout routine now because I have a few trips coming up this summer and I want to be beach ready. My hope is that once I get into a routine I'll really stick with it this time.

There's a couple of routines I have in mind that seem like they could be fun, hold my interest, and not kill me. The first one is the Bar Method (or some variation). I kept seeing people on twitter talking about it so I did a little research and it looks like something I would enjoy. The other is Booty Ballet. Again, something I saw on twitter...lol. Then the most recent one I found is called Socasize, which looks the most fun. It's basically turning Soca dance moves into a workout. It's still pretty new but there is a DVD that you can order on the website.

Then there's the studying thing. I'll be done with nursing school pretty soon which means I'm gonna have to take the NCLEX to get my license. I really need to study and be prepared because I do NOT want to fail this test. They recommend doing 5000 practice questions prior to actually sitting for the exam. So crazy but it can only help right? The problem is that I have a really short attention span when studying and I get distracted really easily. Anyway, the point is that I need to come up with some kind of plan to get this stuff started so here's what I'm thinking:

Start Small - I'm gonna start working out and studying in small increments. I saw a video online called '8 minute Abs' so that might be a good place to start. Then for test questions maybe I'll start doing 10-15 a day then slowly build as the weeks progress.

Discipline - Another problem of mine is that I get lazy about tasks and I'll make up excuses not to do them or put them off. I could probably get a lot more done if I stopped that.

Don't Procrastinate - A HUGE problem I have is procrastination. It's like I'm physically incapable of not putting things off to the last minute. Something I really need to work on.

Stick With It - I really need to try to stick to the plan and goals that I set for myself. I usually start off strong but end up back in the same boat.

Wow, this post is a little on the long side...oh well! Anyway, this is the plan so hopefully I can stick to it this time. Wish me luck!

About Grad School......

So, after much deliberation about whether or not I wanted to attend grad school I've decided that yes, I do. It's taken me a while to get here but I realized that as much as I hate the thought of even more school, I REALLY want to get my master's and be a nurse practitioner. Yay me! I'm graduating in May and I'm really not trying to start school up again this fall so I'm gonna take at least a year off before I jump back into the trenches.

After I finally decided that I actually wanted to go to grad school, I had to decide exactly what I want to specialize in which was yet another challenge. At first I wanted to do family health, then for about 5 minutes I thought I wanted to do pediatrics but that must have been a momentary psychotic lapse. I have a job in peds now and I like it but I really don't think I'd want to make that my life's work. It's cool but I'm not really passionate about it. Finally I realized that what I really want to do is women's health. It's perfect because it incorporates by favorite patient population: adolescent girls, women and their babies. I really want to focus on maternity, pre & postpartum and sexual/reproductive health. But I'm also interested in possibly working with domestic abuse victims. Either way women's health is my best bet. Not quite as broad as family health but it's more focused on what I really want to do.

Now the only problem is figuring out where I want to apply....decisions, decisions

I'm Back...

Not that I ever really left. But by back I mean back at school. To be honest I didn't really miss being in Philly at all and I can't wait to go home. It's not like I have many friends left here anyway. Most of them moved away after they graduated. Classes start tomorrow and I'm already dredding everything about this week. Not to mention that I have no cable or internet until Friday (I'm typing this in the computer lab). And of course I still don't have a roommate....ugh. Hopefully someone will be moving in soon but it's taking entirely too long to find someone so it's really stressful.

In addition to that nonsense, it looks like I may need to take yet another class in order to graduate. This wouldn't be annoying if I hadn't been told before that I did NOT need this particular class. Even then I could deal with it but of course the class doesn't fit in with my nursing schedule. Color me surprised :/. I don't know why but I feel like it's always one step forward, two steps back for me. Maybe I need a vision board or something to put some positive thoughts out into the universe for myself. I just don't know what to do about anything right now. I feel like I'm in a borderline state of depression, or maybe it's just homesickness.

Anyway, I really don't have much to say right now I just wanted to post something because I really haven't in a while. Hopefully once I get my internet back I can go back to posting on a more regular basis if I'm not too busy studying.

Later....

My Ship Has a Major Leak in It

So remember that job interview last month that I totally bombed? No, well that's probably because I never wrote a blog post about it. It was probably my worst interview EVER which is difficult because I suck at interviews anyway. But to my surprise I just got a call for a job offer for that very position...yay! In case you're wondering it's a student nursing assistant position in pediatric oncology. Cool shit if you ask me. It's been almost a month since the interview but the lady told me they interviewed a lot of people. Of course I was all too eager to accept since I'm broke and I've been jobless for way longer than I care to admit. And then the other shoe dropped.

They only do orientation for the job every other week and it's a three day thing so you have to be available to do it all three days. Unfortunately the most recent one started Monday. Too bad I didn't get this call last week huh? The next orientation isn't until August 30th but of course this also happens to be the day that I start school again, in another state. I certainly can't take 3 days off school to do an orientation, especially if one of those days is a clinical day. The next time I would be available is for winter break starting in December but of course the orientation starting on December 13th is also the same day that finals week starts. Gotta love that. The next one is January 3rd. The lady said she's gonna see if they would be willing to hold the position for me until January.

It's possible because it's only a casual status position with no benefits so it's basically me showing up if and when they need me. She also made it clear that there's no guarantee of hours. But then again if they were looking they obviously need someone so I can't be mad if they're not willing to wait. I guess I'm just gonna have to wait for the phone to ring again and keep my fingers crossed. If I get this foot in the door now it'll put me that much closer to getting an RN position at this hospital after I graduate next year which is exactly what I want. Wish me luck!

My Dad is so Weird/Mother's Day Tidbit

My dad called me today to ask about mother's day. First thing he says is: "How did you enjoy mother's day yesterday?" Maybe I have a child somewhere that only he knows about. Just kidding, I get why he asked that...sort of. Then he told me he went to put flowers on my mom's grave and said: "Yeah, she was smiling and all that good stuff." Really daddy? Hahaha, he cracks me up. Anyway, I'm glad to know he was thinking about her after just coming back from visiting his new wife in KY (long story). That's all for now, much shorter than my usual blog post but whatever. Still studying for finals, only one more then I'm officially done for the semester...yay!

RIP Mommy <3

Grad School...yay or nay?

This decision has been weighing on my mind lately. To be honest I never even considered the possibility of grad school until they handed out some survey in class about a new DNP program for nursing. I'm not graduating from school until next year but I'm so indecisive about everything I really need to start thinking seriously about this now.

First off, I don't NEED a masters degree. Once I graduate I'll have my BSN then I can take the NCLEX, get my RN license and be an official nurse. As an RN I can get a job and work anywhere and be totally fine. Bottom line is, a masters degree isn't necessary for me to have the career I want. Also, going for my masters means at least 2 more years of school, maybe 3 depending on the school and the type of program. I've already been in school much longer than I should have or wanted to be. With setbacks, being out of school for a period of time, and having to retake classes, I'm graduating way after I was supposed to. Because of this I really, REALLY don't want be in school any longer than absolutely necessary. Another thing is that more school also means more money, which means more student loans, which means more debt after I graduate. I'm already cringing at the thought of all the money I'm gonna owe when I finally do get out of this place. *sigh*

On the up side, with a masters degree I would be able to get a higher level job which means better pay and more authority. Nothing wrong with that. And of course, I'll be able to have more letters at the end of my name...Hahaha. Wow, way more negatives than positives for the masters degree so it's looking like a no but I'm still not entirely sure. Add to the negatives the fact that I would have to take that stupid GRE just to get into grad school...ugh.

Anyway, like I said I have no idea what I'm gonna do about this. I still have some time to decide and with school at least you know it's always there. But I think it would be harder to go back if I were out for a while, unlike if I just went straight through. *sigh* So many decisions.

Just an Update...

I haven't posted anything in a while so here's a little mini-post about what's been going on. This weekend I went home for my friend's birthday party and that was pretty fun. I went on a nice little trip to the mall and got a few dresses which is always good. Then on Saturday the birthday girl and I went to see Jordin Sparks perform at the Wolf Den of the Mohegan Sun casino for FREE! It was fun and she was great. The funniest thing was this older woman who fell on her ass because she was so drunk...smh. She tapped my friend and I to say she liked the video we were taking and all we could smell was alcohol. A mess! Then the real kicker for the evening was my period unexpectedly showing up. I was really shocked until I realized a new month had started so technically it was right on schedule. Too bad I had to throw away a perfectly good pair of underwear and spent most of the night having my friend check my ass for blood stains *sigh*. Girls, you know what I'm talking about and guys, sorry if that's tmi. Anyway, now I'm back at school and thank God it's the last day of classes. Although I feel it's completely ridiculous that we should actually have to go to class today but whatever. I don't know how much I'll be posting in the next couple of weeks with finals and everything but we'll see. DUECES!!!


Jordin during the show.