The Mountains

my latest adventure was the Blue Mountains with Jo. she had never been and i really do think that the Blue Mountains are a must see in Sydney. so the week was rainy and cold and i started to think, oh lord don't let it be like this on Sat. would you know, Sat was the only day that it was clear and sunny, still cold but beautiful. so it was a good day to go and it was worth seeing. we went to the sights, rode on the steepest railway in the world and did the scenic skyway and lift. we went to the town of Leura, and missed the train getting back from there. so we had to wait an hour. we made good use of that by going to English tea, complete with scones, jam and cream. oh my goodness that was good. ( and i do realize that i have been getting really excited about food. what can i say, it is winter and cold.... i eat more during this season)

so that is what i have been up to. my little get aways, so that i can go to work and be of some use to patients. at some points i am just enduring the week, till the weekend. but its all good.

I'm Baaaack

i do apologize to you my family and friends, who use this blog on a catch up of what is happening in Ruth-Ann's life, for being delinquent in writing. i have wanted to write many times, but was just too tired to do it justice. also the things i would write about would just be about work, and i really don't want this blog to just become me venting about work. i just don't think it would translate well to blog world. neways i have finally done some things that were not work, so here i am to fill you all in.

lets just start by saying, i'm fine. things are going well or as well as can be expected. still busy but not as busy as i was doing emergency. so a little more breathing space. i am still tired when i get home and still feel like the weekends aren't long enough, though i do feel lucky to have most of my weekends again.

and on one of those weekends i went to the hunter valley with 2 friends. we drove down on Sat morning and stayed till Sunday. it was a BRILLIANT trip. just simply relaxing. we stayed at Nightingale Winery and Villas and it was absolutely superb. the villa was luxurious, the winery was beautiful in its winter splendor and the food and wine were just sumptuous. we spent some time going around to other wineries and then on Sat night, there was a Christmas in July function at Nightingale.

that my dears was just stomach filling. we met the owners and had a great time. they started with champagne and nibbles in the cellar, then moved on to the dining room where we had like 5 courses of food. i was stuffed by nights end. the food just kept coming, and when we thought that we couldn't eat more, they brought out a cheese platter, and then i thought, 'oh i couldn't eat another morsel' they brought out chocolate cake and the Nightingale Gail Force Port, which is simply the best port i have ever had. smooth, velvety, went with chocolate and had no burn. ahhhhh you know i got a bottle of that when i was leaving. the wine flowed and man they had some of the best wine. we also met some amazing people, Philip and Jo who were this beautiful couple at our table celebrating their 2nd anniversary. their story was soooooo cute. neways that was a great night.

the next morning i slept in, took my time and relaxed. the stay included hot breakfast in the restaurant which was great. the whole weekend Jo and i thought, man we chose a great place to go to. the staff, everyone was so friendly. the service was spot on. you could tell that these people took pride in their jobs and loved the winery. i mean, we saw one of the girls dusting the wine bottles, and she didn't just dust the front ones, she unpacked all of them, dusted them all and re stocked them on the shelves. Philip and Gail, the owners, a different Philip to one mentioned above, were so friendly, kept checking on us to make sure we were having a good time and that all was well. there were so many other little things that they all did that just made the experience great. in terms of wine, i found a great red, their signature Cab Sav which was a red that 'spoke' to me and their Permium Cab Sav was really good as well. in the white category, their Verdelho was beautiful and their Oaked Chardonnay is probably the only oaked wine that i really liked. they oak it differently from other wineries and that makes it have a softer taste, which was perfect for me. i know how they do it but i won't give away their secrets....:)

so all in all it was a great weekend. and i have re stocked on wines, thanks to Nightingale wines. i will definitely be going back and sending people to them.

Crappy Mood

man, this is a short one just to vent. i am at work and just not in a great mood. i haven't been in a good mood since the begining of this week. even though conference has been amazing. i feel like i have that joy for the moment and then when i leave i am just tired and blahhhh. i don't have enough hours in my day and i really need a break. today i am on for 15 hrs and i really, really don't want to work. the weekends are too short and not enough time to even rest. and for some reason my legs have been slightly numb, its cold outside and i am really sick of my transport situation. i really was holding out on getting the car because of some other stuff, but maybe i am gonna have to reconsider. i, at this moment, am really disliking the train and hating getting rides from other people. neways, i'm just in a sucky mood and really not wanting to be at work. i really need this weekend.

saturday will be my sleep day.....

New Job

so i haven't really mentioned my new rotation. i am doing geriatrics at the moment. so its pretty much an 8-5, Monday to Friday job, with the odd rostered overtime shift, either during the week till 11pm or the weekend which is 8-11pm. it is very weird to be able to leave hospital at 5 or 5:30. the first week it was just throwing me off. i was like, is this how regular people live their lives? their day actually finishes this early? i was amazed. so that has been a new experience and a good one. i still come home, eat, shower and go to sleep. every now and then i watch some tv. i must say that because i have gotten out of the habit, i haven't been turning the tv on. i just leave it off an do stuff on my comp and usually go to sleep. now with Wimbledon, i turn it on just for that late at night, watch bits and fall asleep. so its more the tennis watching me that me it.

in Geri's i have been moved 3 times in 3 weeks. i was moved from one consultant to a different area, even before i started, and i wasn't told about it. so i turned up to work prepared for one thing and was thrust into another area. so that was a bit difficult. then half-way through that first week, one resident quit, due to family issues and had to be replaced. the chosen person to go to assist that team was one of my colleagues. he decided that after one afternoon with them, he wasn't going back. and he proceeded to tell the boss this. his reasons? that team had too many patients.... can you believe it!!!!!!...... NEWAYS.... the consultant of the team then comes in to the department, had a pow wow with the Registrars, and you know who was the chosen one to replace them both.... yep, moi......so off i went to assist this team for 2 weeks. my first job? to certify a death. i never had to do that before, and yep i had to go view the body on the ward, make sure the man was dead, then fill out the death certificate, cremation certificate and such. i had visions of all the zombie movies i watched. for a split second it runs through your head, what would you do if the person wasn't really dead, or if there were the undead/living dead....lol i know too many horror movies.... it turned out to be a good, very busy 2 weeks. but it was a great experience. i mean when a consultant comes in and says, 'Ruth-Ann, i have a favour to ask. I want you to be my intern for 2 weeks.' seriously... you can't say no.

so now i am back in the area i came from, and it is very different. i think i am gonna miss those patients that i left back on the ward. but that is ok. i'll get used to my area again. it was a blessing, very, very busy, but it made me a better prioritizer and i think i put myself in good standing with the consultants. key if i need a reference. seriously, i don't think that other guy was looking at the long range effects of what he did. i mean you don't tell the boss you are not going to where he sent you...... not good.

neways, worked out for me..... so i know this was a long one, but who knows when i'll feel like writing again, so i thought i would get it out now...:) blessings....

oh Geriatrics is dealing with old people... over 70 yrs. too many things to write....next time i'll tell you how i felt after i reassured a patient in the morning then heard she died in the evening.........:(

Long time

my friend Jo and I went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago and it was one of the best times i have had out. it was just us and we went to this restaurant at the establishment. it was one of those that had a chef's menu....lol.... yes, it was a bit on the upscale end. but it was so good. the food was great. the service was just excellent, a vast improvement on the service one can usually expect at other places in australia. the trials of service is for another blog. neways, after we ate we went downstairs to the club. Jo joked about how we were husband hunting for me.... lol.. not so. it just hammered home the point to me that most people that you meet in a bar or club are not really looking for the same things that i am. don't get me wrong, i'm not saying you can't meet your life partner in a club, i am just saying that if you do, count yourself one of the really blessed ones. these same men, met in a different environment could be the ones, but in the club, the impression left one me is usually not the best ones. neways.... we ended up having a sleep over at Jo's. i hadn't had one of those in a long while. she showed me over the weekend her usual haunts and i baked her a chocolate cake. it was one of those very, very relaxing weekends. no fuss. exactly what i needed.......