One Down, Two To Go!

My three month contract in Show Low Arizona is almost 1/3 done. The time's going fast, which is great because I'm SO homesick for my casita and my cat. Oh, and my husband.

I have three days off in a row, but too low on funds to go far or do anything that costs money. The first day was spent recuperating from work, as always. My feet and knees just kill me. I was limping around work Friday singing that song from the musical Most Happy Fella, "Ooh, my feet!" Can't believe I'm that old, nobody there ever heard of it.

This Memorial Day weekend, the entire town collectively decided to have garage sales. In Minnesota, you put up a neon sign on a stick, or staple it to a pole. Here they write on the side of a cardboard carton weighed down with a rock. Almost every corner has a mass of boxes with arrows pointing everywhere. I've continued to try to add color to this drab apartment. Here's a $1 find:

Basset Hound Poster

I hung it over the sofa.

I painted the frame the same color as the swan...

I found TWO of these, and got the owner down to $5 for both. Rusty wrought iron cats, with tacky silk flowers in a highball glass. They'd look better with little cacti in them. They're identical, not truly a pair, so I think I'll give one to my neighbor Eileen in Kino. She likes cats, but only has dogs.

And last is a free bamboo calendar from the Chinese restaurant:

No, I really don't have a place for the Bassett Hound poster in my casita or RV. It might just get left behind, a nice surprise for the next tenant...I'm keeping the Jack Sparrow poster though, even if it has to go on the back of the bathroom door or something. The cat and swan planters can live outside.

OMG, those eyes!

Yesterday, MyYahoo said we had a severe weather warning here. I'm used to severe weather warnings that precede heavy wet things pelting down. Turned out it was just wind, with gusts to 60 mph. And it blew my new bird feeder off my patio railing and I spent a good hour sweeping up birdseed. I hope to go fishing today, it's less windy. Yesterday I finally found Rainbow Lake: it looked like you could surf on it. There are rafts of ducks there, so I'll bring them my 3/4 loaf of stale bread. I've GOT to learn to freeze stuff, I waste so much. They should sell 1/2 loaves of bread.

And check this out! Here are two receipts from yesterday. (Sorry about the blurry phone photo, GEEZ I miss my camera.) Both are two $1 purchases, McDonald's and Family Dollar Store. McDonald's added 23 cents tax and Family Dollar added 18 cents. What's up with that? I don't ever remember paying over 10% sales tax ANYWHERE.

OK, sun's nicely up and time to get outside. I'm going to see if there's a place where I can wash my own truck at this apartment complex. If not,  the fish are beckoning...

Life in Show Low

I'm really loving this town! It's actually three towns within 7 miles or so, if you include Lakeside and Pinetop. Here's the Google Maps link to the area. CLICK

I added a Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow poster above my little desk. His eyes follow you.

 

I cooked one night! Up til now, I've either been eating Jack-In-The-Box tacos or nuking something, but Sunday night I actually made this, and it was terrific. Hot Italian sausages, Anaheim peppers, leeks, a dollop of Hoisin sauce, a dash of beer (wasn't saucy enough): all sauteed and topped with Mozzarella cheese.There was some leftover Fettucini Alfredo, and some good fresh French bread to round it out.

I went fishing Sunday! Didn't catch anything, but they took my bait a couple of times. Saw other people catch some trout, and did see a very large fish chasing minnows right near the shoreline while I was rigging up, but it was gone when I was ready. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I've been browsing thrift stores and yard sales quite a bit, and the best parts of that are the people I talk to there. This area seems to be a laid-back mix of aging hippies, Native Americans, and (mi favorito) Mexicans. There was a man in the WalMart parking lot holding a turkey, with another one in the open back of his hatchback car. He was selling fresh Araucana chicken eggs and I bought some. His story took 1/2 hour and he was delightful. The turkeys are his pets, tame, and do tricks.

I got to meet my online friend Ara Gureghian! I blogged about him back in March, the guy with the motorcycle and sidecar with his pitbull friend Spirit. He had just blogged on his website CLICK that he was in Show Low, so I emailed him and we arranged to meet in the K Mart parking lot. Amazing man, travels all over on that bike with the dog, camping in beautiful places. It was a cool morning, and Spirit was a bit shivery, so Ara said he'd probably put his heated jacket on him.

Had a distressing day yesterday. I apparently clicked on a bad link on Facebook and VOILA! Trojan virus masquerading as a Spyware program. Took over my computer, couldn't do anything. Had to spend almost 3 hours on the phone with HP getting it removed. Cost $62. I think it's quite curious that it happened 2 days after my laptop warranty expired... It made me very anxious about our online accounts AND not being able to contact Ron in Mexico. Really brought home how dependent we are on the internet. With no phone service where our casita sits, contact is only by SKYPE or IM programs. (I love SKYPE, you all should download it.) We do have the Magic Jack phone, but the sound quality is terrible: all broken up and staticky.

Ron's never home anyway. Always out fishing, and when he IS home, he and neighbor Jack are sitting outside, drinking beer and solving the problems of the universe. I don't believe I'm missed all that much!

The job's going well. I'm an old dog learning a new computer system there. Yes, nursing now is 1/2 computer documentation and 1/2 nursing. They're being patient with me, and the patients are beginning to realize I know what I'm doing (the nursing half, anyway.)

So there it is, life in Show Low is proving to be very different from anywhere I've lived before. Minnesota really IS like the movie Fargo, and San Diego is, well, Californian. I'm eager to see more of the area, and with 3 days off every week I'll be wandering around and trying to see it all.

Alone again, for the first time.

Apologizing in advance for the blurry phone photos. My camera's in Mexico, and I haven't gotten the hang of this yet.

At the age of 21, I went straight from my parents' home to my first marriage. Seven years later, we separated and I moved to an apartment, but my toddler son was with me 1/2 the time. But I wasn't alone very long, because I met Ron two weeks after I moved there and we've been together ever since.

I'm alone now, for a three month stint as a travel nurse, and it's SO weird. To have lived 58 years in the close company of others and suddenly have:
NOBODY to talk to.
NOBODY to pick up after.
NOBODY to consider in my daily proceedings.
NOBODY to lean on or share the burdens. Or open jars.
No noise.

It's only been a week here in the apartment, and it's sterile-clean. Turns out I'm not a sloppy housekeeper after all. I find myself picking up a lint thing off the carpet, walking to the trash can under the kitchen sink, and disposing of it. And every night, I wash and put away my bowl, 2 spoons, coffee cup, and gin and tonic  glass.Who IS this person?

I'm talking to my two plants. I'd read somewhere they like that. Not that I consider myself a talker, as I have a high need for solitude, but I miss the option of having someone to talk to.

My Christmas Cactus.

SO quiet. Too quiet. Having worked daily since my arrival, the TV's only been on for the 2 hours in the evening before I go to bed. At home in Mexico, it's on whenever Ron's awake. CNN, sports, Military channel, History channel.

I'm eating badly. This week I'm plowing through a family-size Stouffer's Lasagna, alternating with an 8 piece fried chicken from the Safeway deli. That's all, except for a bowl of ice cream most evenings. Sometimes I fall asleep in my recliner and miss the ice cream part. (Ice cream wasn't possible at home in Mexico, too far from the store.)

Usually I'm in this recliner

Or here on my laptop

After five years living in a fifth wheel and a tiny casita crammed with furniture and gaudy decor, this spacious neutral-hued apartment takes some getting used to. It's awfully white. With brown, black, and beige for contrast. I bought a planter at a yard sale for $1. Big red ceramic swan. It had red-white-and-blue plastic flowers in it. Now it has a cactus (50 cents, next yard sale). Pretty much the only color in the whole apartment.

Don't you think I need a huge Johnny Depp poster on that white wall? Maybe this one?

I love the area! It's mountains and lakes and rivers, with pine trees and elk. The temperatures were a big change; 40s at night (or colder, snowed last night!) and 60s and 70s during the day. Smells piney, reminds me of Gin. You know, the juniper berry smell. There are elk right across the road from the clinic I work at, they wander down the slope mornings and browse around. Last Sunday I drove over to Show Low Lake and talked to a few locals there for a long time. It's stocked with rainbow trout, and also has walleyes and catfish. The top two state record walleyes came out of there: same angler, Gregg Munck, a local.

I'm going to LOVE the shopping here. There's a Big Lots, several Dollar stores,  WalMart, K-Mart,  four thrift stores, and garage/yard sales everywhere. For someone that doesn't like to pay retail, it's almost a mecca. Not that I have room for more stuff when I return to Mexico, but still...

The job is going to be OK. The manager's terrific, staff are nice, and the patients have been mostly welcoming, so far. Having to learn a new computer system is awful, but I'll get it. My feet and legs hurt after 10 hours standing, hence the recliner. Have also rediscovered the pleasure of soaking in a bathtub: it's been a long time.

So between work, fishing, shopping, and exploring these mountains, I'll be OK. Just kind of lonely.

And so it goes...

This morning, I left the hotel to do a couple of errands. Found myself near the dialysis clinic where I was supposed to go tomorrow morning for orientation, so I thought "Well! I'm going in! Introduce myself, find out where to go tomorrow and at what time."

They never heard of me. Had no plan to orient me. No staff available. No orientation classes anywhere in the city.

Then there was a gazillion phone calls: my recruiter, her manager, the clinic's education supervisor (on vacation), the Show Low manager, and HER supervisor. I was sent back to the hotel to await a plan.

I REALLY hated getting the phone call (at 3 PM) that said "Pack it up and drive to Tucson. You'll start orientation there tomorrow at 7AM."

Turns out (although it's still unclear exactly what went wrong) the education coordinator that OK'd my start date went on vacation and didn't quite communicate it properly...

So I'm in Tucson. Plain old motel, but the room has a fridge, coffeepot, microwave. I gave my frozen  pizzas to the desk manager here at the motel. Threw away 1/2 carton chocolate almond mocha ice cream.

Grrrr......

Hurry Up and Wait

So I got the job. I'm going to work a 13 week contract in Show Low, Arizona, hopefully the last gig of my career. I've never done the "Travel Nurse" thing before, because I really hate learning a new job, with new people, new policies and procedures, new everything. Old is familiar, old is comfortable, old is Macaroni and Cheese. Cinnamon toast. My flannel flamingoes-and-campers pajama pants...

I was packed before I even got the job, OCD that I am. All I had to throw in were the toiletry bags (yes, plural). There are a gazillion Travel Nurse agencies, and all supply a FURNISHED apartment. The one I chose, AMN Nurses Rx, does as well, but upon questioning I discovered their cupboards are bare. So I packed minimally for a three month stay, and luckily duplicates were available as we have a stocked RV in addition to the casita. Not wanting to leave items in the bed of the truck, exposed to thieves and the elements, I did NOT include large things I can pick up cheaply on arrival (laundry basket, trash can, etc.) Did I forget anything? Certainly, continue reading...

So far, I'm still in Phoenix, where my orientation will be. I drove up on May 1 and checked into one of those extended stay hotel suites: full kitchen, tiny living room, bedroom, bathroom, 3 days for $200. My employer won't begin paying until May 5. Went to a grocery store for essentials. Came back to my kitchen to discover what I thought  was an oven wasn't. It's a dishwasher. There's a 2-burner range, microwave, full fridge with icemaker, toaster, coffeemaker, but no oven. So the frozen pizzas aren't going to do me much good...

May 2nd was a nightmare. Post office first to pick up our forwarded mail, as my Minnesota Nursing License renewal was in there, and I needed that to apply for the Arizona one. Then to the Board of Nursing, completed packet in hand. After only an hour's wait, I was checked in and sent a few blocks away for fingerprinting, $12. Back to the Board, application processed, cough up $250, done. I could come pick up my license in 48 hours.

Next, 10:30 AM to the clinic for my medical clearance: drug screen, physical, blood test for hepatitis and rubella titers, and TB test. One hour waiting to be called, and then only to be given a stack of forms to fill out. Another hour before I'm called again, but merely to be informed that my employer is paying only for the drug screen, and please cough up $250. I may need to ask them for something for this cough. I've never in my 34 year career had to pay for pre-employment medical screening.

Another hour's wait and I asked to use the restroom. Big mistake. Twenty minutes later they called me to go pee in a cup for the drug screen, and I couldn't. Not a drop. I  drank a gallon of water and waited 30 minutes, and tried again. 2 drops, but they wanted more. More water, more waiting. I finally was able to produce their sample at 3 PM.

Back to the waiting room. After only an hour, I was shown to a cubical, where I shivered in a paper gown for 30 minutes. And then in a flurry of activity, I was given a physical, had my bloodwork drawn, given a TB test, and was all done at 5:30 PM. Only seven hours.

May 3: errands, mostly going back and forth to Staples to fax stuff to my employer. Had to buy scrubs, mine are in storage in Minnesota, except for two pair I use for jammies. $48.

May 4: I picked up my nursing license in the morning, and my medical results in the afternoon, and then faxed it all at Staples. Faxes are $1.79, EACH. Cough up $30.

I busted my ass getting all this done quickly because the manager at my Show Low clinic needed me to start ASAP. I was legal and ready to go Wednesday afternoon. Turned out THEIR orientation staff are unavailable until Tuesday, May 10. Yes. Six days to kill. No salary yet. Plus this coughing spell! Have already spent $1000 with diesel fuel. Fairly depressed and I miss my cat. Oh, and my husband...

So I've been shopping. Am getting my fix of thrift stores and yard sales, although yard sales in 100 degree heat are less than fun. Got a red cashmere cardigan, new with $159 tag, for $3 at Goodwill!

I eat Jack-In-The-Box tacos every day. 2 for 99 cents and I get 6. They're small.

Yesterday they had to replace my fridge in my suite after I discovered soupy ice cream when I tried to have some for breakfast. The ice cubes were fine, though. Weird, huh? Had to throw out all the other stuff in there, too. I think the hotel should reimburse me for that, but they said no.

So, the things I forgot. Something else occurs to me every couple of hours. Lamp. There's probably only overhead lighting, needed a desk/reading lamp, Goodwill $1. Pillows. Even if they ARE supplied, I don't want to sleep on someone's used pillow. $3 at Big Lots. I remembered my cocktail shaker, but not a lawn chair or a fishing rod. I brought 3 purses, none of them adequate enough to tote my laptop and paper files around: compartmented, padded shoulder tote 50 cents, yard sale.

Today I might go to the zoo. Or a movie. Or a bookstore. Or all three. Need to do laundry. The time will pass, I'm trying to view this as a vacation. Actual work is always such a shock after 6 months of sitting on the beach in a lawn chair...