Phoenix, Arizona

Eighth Assignment: Phoenix, Arizona
Dates: September 10th, 2007 to December 15th, 2007
Address: 20250 N. 67th Ave, Apt # 2145
Glendale, AZ 85308
The Isle at Arrowhead Ranch
Hospital: Maryvale Hospital

When my mom and I arrived in Phoenix it was over 100 degrees! It felt like we were standing in front of heater that wouldn't go away! It was crazy! I almost passed out while I was moving in to the apartment. My apartment was very nice and spacious for a one bedroom. The bathroom was pretty big and there was also a wrap around balcony from the dining room to my bedroom. We had to stay in hotels for a week until we could move into my apartment on that Friday after arriving on Labor Day, which was on a Monday. We went to most of the malls and rode around looking for things to see and do while we waited to move into my apartment. We went up to Sedona to see the red rock formations, which were gorgeous. We went to several casinos in the Phoenix area...lost some, won some! We also explored a little bit of Old Town Scottsdale and saw the LOVE sculpture.

I started at Maryvale the following Monday. I was working day shift on the this assignment, which for them was 6AM to 6PM! I went to straight to orienting on the floor and not to hospital orientation like I thought I would. In fact, I never made it to the hospital orientation because they kept canceling it and not telling me when the next one was going to be, which fine because it's all the same from the all the other hospitals! The majority of the patients were spanish speaking only like it was in Oceanside. This was not a good assignment as far as the hospital was concerned. They were very short staffed and the management wasn't very good or helpful. They tried to give me 6 couplets one day or 12 patients, after having 6 couplets by the time the day was over the day before! I was so mad! I was almost ready to walk out, but they found some help and everything turned out alright I was just ready for the assignment to be over though after that incident. Although the nurses were nice and welcoming as usual.

I found my next assignment a little over half way through this assignment. I finally got the position in Palo Alto, CA! I will be working night shift again though, but to get so close to San Francisco I didn't mind! I will only be about 30 minutes south of San Francisco and by the bay!

While I was in Phoenix, I went to Seattle, WA because I had never been there. I had a great time! I stayed in a very nice hotel called Pan Pacific! It had the best bed and the bathroom! It was convenient to everything. I walked everywhere I went, expect I rode the Monorail and the buses a few times. I took the duck tour of Seattle and I went to the top of the Space Needle. I also took a ferry over to Bainbridge Island and back. I was very chilly on the ferry! I met some really nice people at the hotel and spent a lot of time laughing and talking with them.

I drove up to Flagstaff, AZ while I was there. It was cold in the mountains, which was a very nice change of weather and also scenery! I had a really fun time in Flagstaff. I walked around downtown and went up to the observatory. I met some cool people at the hotel and hung out with them for a while! On the way back from Flagstaff I stopped to see Montezuma's Castle, which is built into the side of a mountain. It was interesting.

I went to a baseball game at Chase Field. The Arizona Diamondbacks were playing the San Francisco Giants (was this fate!). I had seats right behind home plate. The D-backs won. The stadium was cool with the retractable roof. At first it was just like the Metrodome in Minneapolis, until the roof began to open. It was cool. The weather was 90 outside, but only 7o inside. I also went to a hockey game, Phoenix Coyotes vs. Boston Bruins. I was cheering for the Bruins and the won! It was nice, I was sitting right behind the Bruins penalty box!

I also went to the Arizona State Fair and rode a lot of the rides. I don't remember rides being so crazy! They flipped and spun you while going really fast! I might be getting too old for those type of rides! I hope not too old for Roller Coasters though!

I flew to Las Vegas with Aunt Nell while I was in Phoenix. I didn't ride any rides, which is very unusual. I tried to ride Speed at Sahara, but it was temporarily closed. Oh well, I'm sure I will be back. While in Las Vegas we rented a car again and drove all over the place. We drove over the Hoover Dam and saw the insanely tall bridge they are building! We hardly played at any of the casinos on the strip. We hit 7 splitters while were there! I had 3 and Aunt Nell had 4! Instead of a tour or show we went to the Spa at Bellagio! She got a facial, which she said was very nice! I got a Hot Stone Massage. It was THE best massage ever! It was so relaxing and felt so wonderful! We also got Manicures and Pedicures. We stayed at New York New York for the first 3 nights and the Bellagio the last 3 nights!