March 4's Photo-a-Day

"random"

This was actually meant to be "bedside", but as I've been sick the past few days, I didn't think snotty tissues would be impressive.

So here is a picture of me MC'ing the "DOULYMPICS" in - Asia. Somewhere. I actually for the life of me struggle to remember which port we had our Doulympics in. Well back to it. I was the host of hosts, and I'm pretty sure I was exhausted after the whole day. Its funny, the days literally blend together onboard. I have this memory that we had a variety of feasting tables with a variety of food, and then we moved down the the Doulympic Arena and commenced the fun games. It was department against department. It was hillarious. There were SO many people who cheated. I'm one of those game players who 'like the rules' unless you are playing "Cheat" - when there's actually no rules.

March 3's Photo-A-Day

"your neighbourhood"

A sneek-peek of my 'hood.

March Photo A Day - Day 2

"Down"

Yesterday was normally my 2nd and last day of the week at school.

Our class had the week off because a new class had begun on Tuesday.

Some of my classmates and I caught up and had coffee at Whipped Bar Cafe, Semaphore.

I was more than feeling under the weather, but knew that it would be a good time to share things about class.

I took this on my way back to my car because the grate next to where i was parked looked cool.

Pretty much was in bed the rest of the day feeling unwell once I got home, but after a restless night, I seem to be coming out the other side of it. Huzzah!

March Photo a Day

"Up"

Walking around town with some pals, we came upon a car that works for the railway company - one of those vehicles that have adjustments to them so they can drive on the tracks.

Wedged up in the grill support was this guy.

Awesome hood ornament.

Thought that the thrusting upward hand would be a grand start to a month of images.

The Unspoken...

I haven't written about this because... well I didn't know how to process it. Sometimes, when something BIG happens to me, all I need to do is just --- blaaarghgajlsfjasklfjaskfja --- or basically, dribble about whatever and to whomever and I sort it out better and feel good. Sometimes, that seems so insignificant. But reading about this happening to Reagan - a blog I stalk juuuuust a smidge - brought it all back... and I think I'm ready

It was just seems like one month ago yesterday that my secure, happy-go-lucky, free life drastically changed... I still remember walking up to the front door, and being aware that the big rubbish bin was propped up against the gate. I innocently thought "Perhaps there's a parcel" and the Postie was being clever... and after I dumped my stuff inside I would come back out and check.

Now, walking into our house you are greeted with stairs that go up on your right, and a room that bends round to your left, and you don't see much of the rest of the living area till you walk futher in. At first I saw a bag emptied on ground and thought rational things, like... "Why would my housemate accidentally empty a bag of stuff onto the ground and leave it? She must've been in a real hurry... perhaps the wind blew it over - but the window isn't open..."

It really was only when I turned the corner and saw the shattered glass that reached the front of the house from the smashed back door, and I saw that every drawer downstairs was opened and emptied onto the floor - even the pantry door was wide open - that I felt that bottomless pit of sickly feeling open up in my stomach... my housemate and I weren't the only ones who were in our house this day.

The shock of seeing it and knowing what you are looking at but not believing it is unreal. I really had to hold myself back from touching things knowing that the police would probably have to pay our house a visit. And its really strange what you look for first... and its strange what you see and believe that its normally there. And this was just downstairs...

I had to muster up alot of courage just to even call out upstairs - fearing that the new 'house guests' were still inside. But I grabbed --- something --- [a shoe I think?]--- and made my way up. I felt sick but my adrenaline rush was insanely strong and I'm sure even if someone was there, I would've shown them a thing or two with that shoe that a shoe probably couldn't normally do. Or I felt like I could. The first room I come to at the top of the stairs is my housemate's master bedroom. She'd had her room totally trashed, all her stuff was everywhere, all her containers where thrown around the room and all her precious jewellery was gone [which I only discovered after she got home later in the evening]...

My room looked relatively normal - in that the person going through my room seemed less aggressive and a bit more thoughtful - like they were looking for something specific. Infact, had I not just cleaned my room a few days before, I would've struggled to even recognise things were even out of place. They just seemed to empty a few things onto my bed and took a few pieces of jewellery. They also took my Mac and its charger... but thankfully left my external hard-drive - which had my backups on it from my Mac - but what was a huge blessing was it also had all of my school assignments on it too...

I was never the girl who got freaked by any noises or got spooked by anything. Having spent many moments being 'surprised' by my Dad and brother, I grew up tough. I was the girl who was strutted around thinking no-one would harm anyone who lived with me - like I was some beefy jillaroo or WWF pro wrestler. Got a spider? I'll fix it. Got a funny noise outside? I'll inspect it. Got a weirdo who keeps stalking you professing his love? I'll get rid of it [him].

I have just survived three weeks on my own, as my housemate was staying at a friends place after she broke her leg and couldn't master the stairs too easily. I had many moments of being spooked while in bed and I would set about checking the house 2 or 3 times a night just to make sure I was really home alone in the house and all the doors and windows locked. If i couldn't handle it, I would turn my fan on and hope that if I was broken into while I was asleep, that they would be quick and leave me alone. There were a few nights when it felt like hours before I found some comfort in sleep... waking up the next day feeling sleep-drunk and exhausted but with no real other place to go to get away from the lack of sleep, I just simply had to be brave and take each day as it came. I got to the point of needing to drink some form of alcohol on a nightly basis just to help me sleep.

The absolute worst thing for me, is - they know what I look like. Sure, stuff is gone, and thanks be to God that no one was home or hurt. But they know what I look like...

Thankfully, my housemate is home now, and I think I've finally had the best nights sleep knowing someone else is here. It makes me mad I feel so vulnerable in my own home, and that I despise coming home to this place now that its been broken into. But I persevere through each day trusting that God has my back and I don't have to fear because He will protect me.

NB: I just discovered its 2 months today that the big break in happened. It really feels like it was just yesterday...

Pointy Finger Index

Typing isn't very easy when you have a well-bandaged finger in the air... so I'll keep this to some dot points and pictures [sorry for the repeat, Al]... [pictures might be a bit much for some folks to handle]

- Sat morning -

- 730-1600 shift -

Shower Resident 1.

Encourage Resident 2 to shower before breakfast.

A2 Residents in Dining Room for Breakfast.

Prepare Resident 3's coffee.

[[NOTE-the whole time I've worked at this facility, we've done the same routine: heat any main meals in the microwave before serving & heat drinks made with boiled water in the microwave. Resident 3 doesn't eat and drink them hugely fast, but I think the idea is she enjoys consuming the whole contents at a relatively warm tempetature.]]

Look in door-window of microwave - coffee is not boiling, foaming, frothing or looking overly agiatated.

Microwave beeps.

Take cup of extra-hot coffee out of microwave and place spoon in cup.

Eruption of contents over hand/s... owie owie ow...

Immediately put hands under cool water...

10minutes later EN [enrolled nurse], who was present at the time of accident, assesses hands, notes the affected areas, [thumb, pointer & middle finger from RIGHT hand worst affected, ring and pinky finger from LEFT], gets flaximide [? - burns cream] and covers both hands in cream.

Tells me to let it absorb for a while.

Wait with creamed hands looking at the work left to do in the kitchenette [I was early at this point].

Decide to put gloves on and using cold water finish dishes and kitchen cleaning.

This feels pretty good -- being in the cold water.

Go to Resident 3 who is now ready for a shower.

Showering with warm water = pain agony!!

Attempt to be as quick as possible.

Fail - resident chooses to rethink each item of clothing - of course.

Hands feeling not good.

Have a couple of sneaky peaks at right fingers, they look ok and still well creamed.

Finish Resident 3.

Right hand feeling less comfortable.

Take gloves off - right pointer has a small blister.

Decide to show the EN [about 40 minutes after accident].

EN calls the Boss, decide I should visit the doctors.

EN wraps pointer finger and re-creams other fingers.

Drive off with big bandaged finger in the air.

Doctor notes well done bandage by EN and approves of cream and bandages used.

Says he does not need to see under bandages.

Gives me a list of things to get from Chemist and says for me to come back Wednesday.

Do errands, go home and have lunch.

Fingers don't feel bad.

Pointer finger doesn't feel like anything,

Mid Afternoon - Saturday.

Notice my bandage keeps slipping off.

Decide a bit of air might help before re-creaming fingers.

Upon removal of bandage, this is the sight that I'm greeted by:

That's so attractive.

Continue to apply cream, paraffin strips, gauze and wrap in a dressing.

Saturday night my finger looks a bit more like this:

That is even more attractive.

Dubbed "Pregnant Finger", the blister is entering the end of the first trimester.

Must be a girl blister...

Weight [blister width] on the sides and long [creeping towards knuckles].

Photo's get quite the uproar of "POP IT!!!" from Facebook by my friends and their "qualified medical advice" - haha.

Pointer finger still doesn't feel like anything really.

Re-cream and strap all burnt fingers and head to bed.

- Sunday -

Was surprised blister survived the night.

Merry Christmas fabulousness-es...

All burnt finger bandages survive minus pinky finger bandage.

Felt this was a good achievement.

Attempt a shower - relatively successful.

Late afternoon, Pregnant Pointer looks like this:

Dead sexy.

As you can see - blister continues to grow.

Let it air, re-cream and strap and head out.

Slight ache in 2nd proximal knuckle...

[if counting from the tip, its the 2nd knuckle down].

Pop a couple of pain killers and head to bed.

- Monday -

Pregnant Pointer survives night #2 - amazed.

Keep finger unwrapped for morning.

Still growing.

Not hot to touch or any particular painful areas.

Took Pregnant Pointer to the cinema to see Tintin.

We both enjoyed it.

Finger starts to ache more when out for tea at classy McDonalds.

Check finger's progress:

You're major impressed right?

Me too...

I think we've reached full term.

And I think I might see if my doctor can see me tomorrow instead of Wednesday.

I don't really want to have to wait till I can say "I think Pointer's waters have broken!"...

Prayer would not go astray, my friends...

Chordae Tendineae... Heart Strings

I am constantly finding things that make my heart jump into my throat - like my is saying "Here's a little sneak peak of where you want to be" -- like God has put them in my path...

The two bigger things so far involve a book and a television show...

I have been reading this book for a while now, which is weird because when I'm totally involved and in-love with a book I usually don't put them down - but as I continue to read through this awesome book, I get such a bigger longing to be a trained midwife and to serve the Lord somewhere, Australia or overseas. It also makes me impatient to be already studying midwifery, and so perhaps dragging out reading this book is helping to delay that urgency... because in reality, I'm within a year of becoming a nurse. Shazzam!!!

The and the TV series featured on SBS called "Toughest Place to be a...", and Episode three focuses on a Midwife and her journey from working in well provided, relaxed and comfortable UK to stretched resources, overfilled and stressed Liberia. Oh my... *tear*

And thats just a little blurt about a part of my day to --- whomever reads this