Thirteenth Assignment: Bakersfield, California
Dates: May 4th, 2009 to September 12th, 2009
Address: Villa Sienna Apartments
6900 Valley View Drive
Unit 205
Bakersfield, CA 93306
Hospital: Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
After over three months off, I headed back to Bakersfield. This time I flew out to CA because I had to start quickly. I also had food poisoning, which made for a terrible trip! I got to Bakersfield and rented a car for a month. My parents drove my car out to me in June. While they were there, we went to Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Venice Beach, Malibu, Santa Barbara and then back to Bakersfield.
It helps a lot going back to somewhere you have already been. It makes a big difference when you already know the nurses, routine and paperwork. This time around I worked day shift. So busy!! Big contrast to night shift at Bakersfield Memorial. Eventually I got my routine down so I could keep up with myself with all the admissions and discharges coming back to back!
Socially, this time around was so much better. I went to Nelly's going away dinner at Macaroni Grill. We all had a good time. I went to Jacinta's 40th Birthday Party at Sheila's house and acutally did karoake...we had a blast!!! I went out several times with Sheila to this hole in the way bar called Lone Oak. That place is crazy. It is a mixture of young and old and everyone in between. I met some fun people there! I also had a roommate for a few weeks. Kim is from the bay area and was traveling back and forth to come to work for 3 days a week, so I said she could just stay with me. It was nice to have someone to talk to after work. We went to Santa Barbara for the day and shopped, ate, and laid out of the beach. So relaxing.
I did my usual exploring while I was there. I spent a couple days in Santa Monica and stopped in Burbank on the way back to Bakersfield. I noticed the traffic was getting heavy so I decided to stop and go ride a few rides at Magic Mountain. I rode X2 again....so much scarier that I even remembered. I screamed so much! I was able to ride 6 rollercoasters while I was there for 3 hours. Then I drove back and went to work the next morning. That was a very tiring day! I also went over to Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, and San Simeon for a few days. It was nice over there, but very cold! I was able to see Cindi and Suzanne while they were in San Francisco. We took a tour of the city and I was able to see a few things I hadn't see before, Golden Gate Park and Twin Peaks which looks over the city. I also spent some time with Butch in Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz where I went to a concert at Mountain Winery where he works. It was the Heroes of Woodstock with a very interesting group of people. I also flew down to see Missy and Tom. Missy was about 5 months pregnant at the time. We went shopping and only went in baby stores. It was a nice change of pace. I helped them pick out things for the their registry at Babies R Us. Katie is going to be one spoiled baby! We picked up Aunt Nell at the airport in Fort Lauderdale to go to the Hard Rock Casino. I spent the night there and played some slots and actually left with some money the next day. Aunt Nell and Missy went on to Orlando for their annual trip. I also went up to Portland, OR for a few days. I enjoyed Portland very much as it reminded me of Boston a lot. It is also a walking city and has really good public transportation. It is also on the water, the Willamette River. It is the City of Bridges and the City of Roses. I was able to go to the Rose Test Garden, the Japanese Garden, on a river cruise, and to the Pittock Mansion where I was able to see Mt. Hood in the distance. I really enjoyed my trip to Portland.
I stayed an extra 6 weeks because there was still no travel assignments available. I am glad I did because Boston came up again. While I was in Portland, OR I found out I was going back to Boston! I was so excited! My dad flew out to help me drive from Bakersfield to Boston. We took a different route than last year from Bakersfield to Lowell. The first day we went from Bakersfield to Gallup, NM. We stopped in Williams, AZ which is a very cute town that my parents had stopped on their trip to bring me my car. The next day we went to Tulsa, OK. Then on to Indianapolis, IN by way of St. Louis to see the Gateway Arch, which we just drove by and took a couple pictures. We also stopped at a casino for an hour in Oklahoma and drove into Kansas about 5 feet and then turned around, just say we had been to Kansas. The next day we went from Indianapolis all the way to Mystic, CT. It was a 16 hour drive. We saw Penn State along the way which has a very nice campus. It is a very beautiful drive through the Pennsylvania mountains. We came very close to the Poconos. The final day of the trip went spent about 6 hours in Foxwoods before I drove the last little bit into Boston. We moved all my things in to my new apartment, explored Boston, and then my dad flew back to GA.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Boston, Massachusetts
Twelfth Assignment: Boston, Massachusetts
Dates: November 3rd, 2008 to January 29th, 2009
Address: Charles River Park Apartments
1 Longfellow Place
Unit 2414
Boston, MA 02114
Hospital: Brigham and Women's Hospital
Well, I finally made it to BOSTON!! I was beyond exciting to get here!! I went home between assigments to see my family. I then flew to Huntsville to see Brandie and go to her baby shower. It was so great to see Brandie and Ray. We had a great time as usual. Anessa was doing some martial arts inside Brandie's belly. She was kicking my hand pretty hard. It was great. I couldn't wait to meet her! I flew from Huntsville to Boston on November 1st to move into my apartment in the city! I was picked up by Lin, who I met while in Lowell. She was very nice and helpful to watch my car, full of all my things, at her house while I went home to Georgia. She picked me up from the aiport in my car and we drove to my new apartments, Charles River Park Apartments. We got the key and went up to the 24th floor to my studio. We walked outside on the balcony and screamed as we jumped up and down at the amazing view! It was beautiful. When you looked to the right, you were looking at the buildings of the Back Bay and then you followed the Charles River back and across to Cambridge. Then looking to the left was the Zakim Bridge and the Bunker Hill Monument. Just beautiful all the way around. She then left to take the train back to her house and then I moved all my things into the aparment before my mom arrived later that day. After I had moved in, I went to the airport to pick up my mom. We went out to dinner that night in Quincy Market. She stayed for almost 2 weeks. We went to Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod. We took the Duck tour of Boston, which is always fun. I also started at Brigham and Women's Hospital while she explored some of Boston.
I went through 2 days of hospital orientation and met some nice nurses while there. I learned the best ways to get to and from work. During the week I was able to take the shuttle from Massachusetts General Hospital, which is right behind my apartments, to Brigham for free and on the weekend I took the T from North Station to Brigham Circle. I enjoyed working at the Brigham while I was here. The nurses were all very nice and routine and paperwork was easy to adjust to as well. I worked night shift as I most always do. At the north nurses station, you can see the sun come up behind the Back Bay buildings which was very beautiful. I was blamed for every flake of snow by one nurse in particular. All I wanted was a white Christmas and ended up seeing Boston's record snowfall! The snow made it very interesting getting around on foot especially when you got to the curb and to step over a mountain of snow into a huge puddle in the street and then again on the other side of the street! Luckily my car was parked in the underground garage so I didn't have to shovel it out to drive around, which was very helpful and plus I didn't have to drive very often.
While I was in Boston, I went to a Red Sox game, Bruins game, and Celtics game. I went to the Celtics game with Loum, Samantha, and Samantha's sister. We had a great time. I went out with Loum, Samantha, and Danielle on New Years Eve in Nashua, NH, in which I had to venture out in 8 inches of snow! We had a blast ringing in 2009! I mostly just enjoyed City Living. I walked all over Boston. I would walk to dinner, to go shopping, to the movies, and just to see the city...even in the snow!
In January, I flew to Ohio to be Ann's Maid of Honor in her wedding to Olivier Marteau. She was married on January 7th at 2pm in Columbus in a very small but beautiful ceremony with close family and friends. It was even snowing outside during the ceremony. The night before we made our bouquets, which both turned out very beautiful even though we had never done anything like it before! We are naturals! I stayed at the Granville Inn, which was a very quaint hotel in Granville, Ohio. After the ceremony we all went to dinner in downtown Granville and had a wonderful time celebrating the newlyweds! That night, Anessa was welcomed into the world down in Alabama! It was a wonderful day!
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I was unable to renew my assigment in Boston and so I had to leave my favorite city. My dad flew up to Boston and we made out way down to Rocky Mount, NC to see Aunt Nell. I picked him up from the airport and we drove down to Foxwoods where we stayed the night and gambled. The next day we drove down to Philadelphia, PA. We took the trolley tour and saw all the historical sites as we tried not to freeze to death! After that we made out way down the Rocky Mount. My dad took the midnight train to Georgia, literally, and I stayed with Aunt Nell for a few days until we went out to Las Vegas to meet my mom for a week of gambling. We stayed at the Wynn Hotel and saw to shows while we were there. We saw Jersey Boys and "V" the variety show. They were both excellent and very entertaining. I celebrated my 29th birthday in Rocky Mount with my aunt and her neighbor Fran. We ate at Cracker Barrel and then went to see a movie. It was a nice relaxing birthday.
After spending some time with Aunt Nell, I drove home to Georgia to find another assignment. Three months later after applying to many travel and permanent jobs, I finally got a job in Bakersfield, CA. (AGAIN!!) I could hardly believe I was going back! While I was looking for a job, I was able to see Luke and Lauren several times and of course Chuck and Brooke. I saw Annie while I was in Valdosta seeing Chuck and Brooke and the kids. It's always great to spend time with Annie even though it is always so few and far between. I was also able to spend some quality time with my parents while I took over the upstairs! I was also able to see Missy and Tom and learned that they were expecting their first child. Very exciting! I went to St. Augustine with Missy and my mom for a couple of days. We took a tour of St. Augustine and even played mini-golf. We all went out separate ways when we left. My mom and sister went back home and I went to Disney World to see Cindi! I hadn't seen her in a long time, so it was a lot of fun! She was there with a lot of her family and I just fit right in with them. I was even fought over by her cousins about who would ride what ride with me. I rode a new roller coaster in the Animal Kingdom, Everest. It was a lot of fun. We went to Blizzard Beach and her cousins made me go down the really tall slide that goes straight down that I had always been to scared to do! I screamed all the way down!! My best acheivement though, was walking around in my bathing suit...I must be growing up! I went back home and finally found the position in Bakersfield. Before I went back to Bakersfield, I drove over to Huntsville to finally meet Anessa, who was already 3 1/2 months! She is gorgeous and we bonded immediately! It was so great to see Brandie and Ray again. We had a good time just hanging out and playing with Anessa. We also went to Church and birthday party for one of Brandie's friends. I always seem to crash birthday parties while in Huntsville. Back in October, I went to Valerie's, Brandie's sister, birthday party at their favorite mexican restuarant, Rosies. Yummy! Then I went back to Georgia to pack for California.
Dates: November 3rd, 2008 to January 29th, 2009
Address: Charles River Park Apartments
1 Longfellow Place
Unit 2414
Boston, MA 02114
Hospital: Brigham and Women's Hospital
Well, I finally made it to BOSTON!! I was beyond exciting to get here!! I went home between assigments to see my family. I then flew to Huntsville to see Brandie and go to her baby shower. It was so great to see Brandie and Ray. We had a great time as usual. Anessa was doing some martial arts inside Brandie's belly. She was kicking my hand pretty hard. It was great. I couldn't wait to meet her! I flew from Huntsville to Boston on November 1st to move into my apartment in the city! I was picked up by Lin, who I met while in Lowell. She was very nice and helpful to watch my car, full of all my things, at her house while I went home to Georgia. She picked me up from the aiport in my car and we drove to my new apartments, Charles River Park Apartments. We got the key and went up to the 24th floor to my studio. We walked outside on the balcony and screamed as we jumped up and down at the amazing view! It was beautiful. When you looked to the right, you were looking at the buildings of the Back Bay and then you followed the Charles River back and across to Cambridge. Then looking to the left was the Zakim Bridge and the Bunker Hill Monument. Just beautiful all the way around. She then left to take the train back to her house and then I moved all my things into the aparment before my mom arrived later that day. After I had moved in, I went to the airport to pick up my mom. We went out to dinner that night in Quincy Market. She stayed for almost 2 weeks. We went to Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod. We took the Duck tour of Boston, which is always fun. I also started at Brigham and Women's Hospital while she explored some of Boston.
I went through 2 days of hospital orientation and met some nice nurses while there. I learned the best ways to get to and from work. During the week I was able to take the shuttle from Massachusetts General Hospital, which is right behind my apartments, to Brigham for free and on the weekend I took the T from North Station to Brigham Circle. I enjoyed working at the Brigham while I was here. The nurses were all very nice and routine and paperwork was easy to adjust to as well. I worked night shift as I most always do. At the north nurses station, you can see the sun come up behind the Back Bay buildings which was very beautiful. I was blamed for every flake of snow by one nurse in particular. All I wanted was a white Christmas and ended up seeing Boston's record snowfall! The snow made it very interesting getting around on foot especially when you got to the curb and to step over a mountain of snow into a huge puddle in the street and then again on the other side of the street! Luckily my car was parked in the underground garage so I didn't have to shovel it out to drive around, which was very helpful and plus I didn't have to drive very often.
While I was in Boston, I went to a Red Sox game, Bruins game, and Celtics game. I went to the Celtics game with Loum, Samantha, and Samantha's sister. We had a great time. I went out with Loum, Samantha, and Danielle on New Years Eve in Nashua, NH, in which I had to venture out in 8 inches of snow! We had a blast ringing in 2009! I mostly just enjoyed City Living. I walked all over Boston. I would walk to dinner, to go shopping, to the movies, and just to see the city...even in the snow!
In January, I flew to Ohio to be Ann's Maid of Honor in her wedding to Olivier Marteau. She was married on January 7th at 2pm in Columbus in a very small but beautiful ceremony with close family and friends. It was even snowing outside during the ceremony. The night before we made our bouquets, which both turned out very beautiful even though we had never done anything like it before! We are naturals! I stayed at the Granville Inn, which was a very quaint hotel in Granville, Ohio. After the ceremony we all went to dinner in downtown Granville and had a wonderful time celebrating the newlyweds! That night, Anessa was welcomed into the world down in Alabama! It was a wonderful day!
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I was unable to renew my assigment in Boston and so I had to leave my favorite city. My dad flew up to Boston and we made out way down to Rocky Mount, NC to see Aunt Nell. I picked him up from the airport and we drove down to Foxwoods where we stayed the night and gambled. The next day we drove down to Philadelphia, PA. We took the trolley tour and saw all the historical sites as we tried not to freeze to death! After that we made out way down the Rocky Mount. My dad took the midnight train to Georgia, literally, and I stayed with Aunt Nell for a few days until we went out to Las Vegas to meet my mom for a week of gambling. We stayed at the Wynn Hotel and saw to shows while we were there. We saw Jersey Boys and "V" the variety show. They were both excellent and very entertaining. I celebrated my 29th birthday in Rocky Mount with my aunt and her neighbor Fran. We ate at Cracker Barrel and then went to see a movie. It was a nice relaxing birthday.
After spending some time with Aunt Nell, I drove home to Georgia to find another assignment. Three months later after applying to many travel and permanent jobs, I finally got a job in Bakersfield, CA. (AGAIN!!) I could hardly believe I was going back! While I was looking for a job, I was able to see Luke and Lauren several times and of course Chuck and Brooke. I saw Annie while I was in Valdosta seeing Chuck and Brooke and the kids. It's always great to spend time with Annie even though it is always so few and far between. I was also able to spend some quality time with my parents while I took over the upstairs! I was also able to see Missy and Tom and learned that they were expecting their first child. Very exciting! I went to St. Augustine with Missy and my mom for a couple of days. We took a tour of St. Augustine and even played mini-golf. We all went out separate ways when we left. My mom and sister went back home and I went to Disney World to see Cindi! I hadn't seen her in a long time, so it was a lot of fun! She was there with a lot of her family and I just fit right in with them. I was even fought over by her cousins about who would ride what ride with me. I rode a new roller coaster in the Animal Kingdom, Everest. It was a lot of fun. We went to Blizzard Beach and her cousins made me go down the really tall slide that goes straight down that I had always been to scared to do! I screamed all the way down!! My best acheivement though, was walking around in my bathing suit...I must be growing up! I went back home and finally found the position in Bakersfield. Before I went back to Bakersfield, I drove over to Huntsville to finally meet Anessa, who was already 3 1/2 months! She is gorgeous and we bonded immediately! It was so great to see Brandie and Ray again. We had a good time just hanging out and playing with Anessa. We also went to Church and birthday party for one of Brandie's friends. I always seem to crash birthday parties while in Huntsville. Back in October, I went to Valerie's, Brandie's sister, birthday party at their favorite mexican restuarant, Rosies. Yummy! Then I went back to Georgia to pack for California.
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