Tired - Tiring Things

It is nearly 10 - and I just finished my dinner. It is Thursday. I left for my shift at the hospital at 5:40 and got home at 9:00 - I left a little early today. I worked from home today - which usually means that I eat lunch late. Today I didn't eat lunch until nearly 2:30 - so there was no way that I would eat dinner before 5:30. So I ate a Zone Bar and left to go volunteer.

Hmm - volunteering at Great Western Hospital. Well - British Hospitals smell worse than American Hospitals - I wouldn't have thought that possible. I think this volunteering experience really is going to challenge my desire to get myself into nursing school in a few years. But - as many negatives as there are - I do find it quite rewarding. Even just the piddly things I do as a volunteer. Tonight I did more rounds of drinks (I think much better this week - I'll make a wicked cup of tea by the end of this). I also learned a lot about nutritional risk and how it is mitigated by hospital staff - so I am learning. I am getting to know a few of the patients - most on the ward are pretty old and tired of being in the hospital. Who could blame them? There's not too much to recommend a stay in the hospital - I'll always just pray for a quick recovery. For now I'll just pray I stay healthy.

Ironically - the worst I have felt in recent memory is when I was at home over the holidays. 4 days after I got home I was scheduled to take the GRE (the first of a great many steps and pre-reqs for my nurse plans). I bought a Kaplan book and had been "studying" for a couple of weeks. In the days before the test I was super anxious. So anxious that it affected my muscles - they were all so tight. I had short breath and I tightness in my chest. I was a wreck. I remember thinking that I was in major trouble - no health insurance - so I couldn't be really sick. Chest pains at 29 seem really ridiculous! It was just anxiety - about 6 hours after the test, I was back to normal and then enjoyed the rest of my holiday. I did decently on the test - so I guess I am on my way to grad school. It will take me at least a few years and some creative financing to get there - and I am tired just thinking about it.

So now I am relaxing - trying to wind down for bed while I digest. Journeyman is on - it is one I haven't seen yet - so that is nice. :)