Power Tools……Not just for the Y Chromosome Anymore

As has been the trend lately, I have been been out of town on business, but  I had the benefit of being home between Christmas and the New Year.  The whole time I was home, Nancy was attempting to get me to hang curtains in the guest bedroom.

All I could remember was the frustration of hanging the curtains in the bedroom.  Since they were some meaty curtains that we were hanging in the master bedroom, the curtain rod had to be hung such that the screws were hitting wall studs.  For some reason the stud finder wasn’t properly detecting the studs because whenever I would attempt to pre-drill a hole I just hit blank space.  I took forever to hang those curtains and a lot of choice words were loudly blurted out.

Now, the room Nancy wanted the new curtains hung in are the same as the master bedroom, so I didn’t really expect it to be much better.  Plus, the curtains once again required a well hung curtain rod.  To add to the frustration is that we were missing some screws for the curtain rod.  So, I just kept telling her I wasn’t going to do it. 

I’m a perfectionist when it comes to fixing things and building things.  I don’t want to start a project unless I know, without a doubt, it will be completed with some semblance of perfection.  This of course has led to many projects not ever getting started.  It’s probably the main reason why I haven’t ever proceeded with my desire to delve into the fine craft of woodworking.  I don’t want to begin a project unless I know I can do it with success.

Well, I digressed.

So I came home from my latest adventure abroad for work and found that Nancy hang just got tired of waiting for me to do it.  The Dewalt cordless drill was out and the curtains were up.  And the problem of there not being enough screws.  She took that complex problem and gave it a simple solution…..just don’t put two screws on each bracket.

Happy New Year

I’m sitting here on the couch trying to get my receipts into Quicken, when midnight hits and at that exact moment my cell phone rings.  It was Nancy calling from the ER.

For those who have followed this blog, they know she isn’t calling from the ER because she’s a patient, but because she is working there.  She managed to be away from a patient room at the stoke of midnight to fire off a quick “Happy New Year”.

That sure made the night a lot more tolerable.  I didn’t think it would bother me too much to be spending New Year’s Eve all alone, but it did.  Nothing like ringing in the new year with the “ka-ching” sound of the Quicken application as I key in entries.

Nancy was only able to give me a quick call because as of midnight they were crazy busy in the ER and all predictions were that it was only going to get worse.  I sure hope that she gets to come home on time at 3AM, but knowing how idiotic people are during those holidays that seem to revolve around the bottle, it’s probably going to be a nightmare for her.

One more RN Marches onward

Well,

I have always tried to be the best husband I can be, but we all have our weaknesses and faults.

One of my biggest weaknesses came out this week.  Nancy sat for her NCLEX examination in Oklahoma City on Monday. 

I have always known my wife is highly intelligent.  After completing her first degree in Sports Medicine she sat for the National Licensure exam for the National Athletic Trainers Board of Certification (NATABOC) and passed it on the first sitting.  It is rumored that only 30% of those who take this exam pass it the first time.

My wife also graduated Cum Laude from Texas Women’s University with a BS in Nursing.  Most of the time she hardly even studied much to the chagrine of her classmates who spent many sleepless hours preparing for the exam.

Even though she wasn’t a straight ‘A’ student in Nursing like some of her cohorts, when it came time for the benchmark exams, she blew the roof off them.  I told her that it must be because she is absorbing the data and not cramming in the minutia of the details required for A’s on individual exams.  Those people who were getting the A’s on the individual exams didn’t do as well on the Benchmark exams.

Well, due to beurocratic red tape in Oklahoma, Nancy had to be submitted to a curriculum audit in order to get permission to sit for the NCLEX exam.  This took almost 3 months to happen.  Meantime, she is working as a Graduate Nurse in the ER here.

Nancy only got 75 questions on the exam.  This is the bare minimum.  The maximum is 256 questions.  The test is an adaptive test.  This means that for every question you get right, you are given an even harder question.  If you get a question wrong, you get a slightly easier question and more of the same to determine if you know the material.  The purpose of the test is to determine if you are proficient in the material or not.

By only getting 75 questions means either you are extremely proficient or you are extremely non-proficient.  Since she got quite a few pharmocology questions, which are a weak point for her, she thought there might be a possibility of her failing.

Now here is where I wasn’t the best husband.  Everyone was telling her that they knew she passed the test.  My response……”What is the plan if you don’t pass?”….groan.

I’m the kind of person who prepares for the worst and all I could think of was her failing.  I knew she was smart, but I have this running theory that the elements are out to get me and everyone around me.  So, by marrying me, Nancy gets to deal with the bad luck that comes from being me. 

Nancy tries to tell me that she’s always considered herself lucky and that by marrying me, I have inherited her luck. 

Well, today, I think her luck beat out my bad luck.  I logged on to the Oklahoma Board of Nursing site and saw that she passed her exam and is not a Registered Nurse in the fine state of Oklahoma

This is a job for…..

Nancy!

For awhile now, Nancy has been craving seafood. So, we decided to drive down the road to go get some Red Lobster (for the seafood lover in you). Lunch was awesome! I love me some shrimp scampi…yum!

Well, after we paid our check we were slowly rolling ourselves toward the exit when we noticed a man sprawled across the floor in front of the hostess’ podium. Nancy immediately sprung into action!

I must say, I’ve seen Nancy be helpful before. She loves to help people cross the street, get in and out cars. But this time, she was helping someone who was in medical distress. Three people from the restaurant helped the gentleman get back into the wheelchair that someone from his party brought and then Nancy started doing all the stuff you’d expect a nurse to do when you were in the hospital.

She was there taking his pulse while asking him questions. She did a quick assessment to determine if he got a concussion and trying to determine if he was in immediate danger.

The manager alerted Nancy to the fact that they called 911 and if they should turn them back. Nancy was quick to point out that if it was her decision she would make sure the EMT’s arrive.

Meanwhile, I’m just slowly trying to get out the way. I got myself to the bench the farthest away from the action and hid. I hate being the center of attention, so in a way (a way that I feel guilty about) I was hoping nobody associated me with her.

The funny thing was that the hostess came up to me and asked me if I needed to be seated. I told her that I was with my wife and pointed toward Nancy. The hostess told me how lucky I was. Something I am constantly reminded about every day.

Well, the EMT’s quickly got there and Nancy and I just slid out the front door and left the man in the capable care of paid professionals.

Well blog-people, that was the excitement for the day. Hopefully everyone had a memorable yet good day.

3 Cheers

So I can just hear the roar through my Ethernet connection, “Ray! What did you do this weekend!” Well let me tell you

We hosted a cookout celebration for Nancy in honor of her successful completion of Bachelors of Science in Nursing curriculum at Texas Woman’s University.

Now if I tried to convince you that I was excited and eager for the honor of having 20+ people (some being children) over to my house, then I’d be lying to you. I am an individual that lives and dies by my routines. I don’t like to carry on “small talk” and I’m not comfortable if I’m not talking about work.

When it comes to parties, I just don’t make it a practice of attending them. When I was dragged to company parties under penalty of termination, I was the one sitting on the couch in the corner. If it was at someone’s house, then I was the once sitting in the corner watching TV.

My wife has a veracious appetite for the social. She loves attending get togethers and always wanted to host one at our house. What better opportunity than to celebrate her graduation from college.

I was politely told to fake my excitement and if I ruined her party I would rue the day. So I let her do what she wanted.

Since I was the designated grill-master (master being the laughable term), I immediately called the true grill master of the family….My brother….And asked, nay, begged for help. With his excellent guidance I knew how many bratwurst to buy and how many burgers we should have on hand.

I was actually amazed that almost everyone who was invited ended up showing up. Even her only brother, who lives about 2.5 hours away and who is very difficult to get out of his neck of the woods, showed up with his fiancee and kids. I think fun was had by all.

I even was even able to kick the brats up a notch. My brother asked me to try a new preparation technique and it proved to be a hit. This time, I had actual bratwurst connoisseurs in my presence and they were just nodding their heads in agreement after the first bite and giving me the thumbs up. Definitely an ego stroker!

My brother-in-law’s fiancee made the cake and it turned out to be a masterpiece. Granted, it went through a slight mishap on the way to our house. Apparently, my brother-in-law took an offramp too quickly and caused the cake to slide in the box and messed up the icing on one side. So, after a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up supplies, she quickly had it repaired and we got the joy of eating the frosting she scraped off to make the repair.

The most amazing thing was that the dogs behaved. We were really worried about how they would fare with that many people wandering within their domain. We were especially worried about Coco. She is really skiddish around strangers and we had 20+ of them running around. She would run and hide in the bedroom and then poke her head out of the bedroom door every now and again and look to see if everyone was still there. Sometime she would wander out, make a couple laps and then run back to her hiding place.

When it was all said and done, I didn’t ruin Nancy’s celebration and I made a few more fans of my grilled hamburgers and sausages.

So blog-izens, that’s all I have to say about my weekend.

Graduation Day

Well, yesterday August 10, 2006, Nancy completed her Fast Track BSN Program at Texas Woman’s Univeristy! She has conquered her Everest. This was a grueling accelerated Nursing Curriculum where they crammed the usual 24 months of material into a 15 month timetable.

Out of the 20 people who started, I think only 2 dropped out either due to not meeting academic requirements or familial obligations that interfered with the ability to meet the demands put on them as a result of an accelerated timetable.

I’m very proud of Nancy. When she got her Bachelors of Science degree in Sports Medicine from Brigham Young University her goal was to just get out and not fail. Any support she received from outside the university was non-existent. Thus, she finished with a 2.91 GPA. I like to refer to that period of her life as B.R. (Before Ray).

As she went through this program I was aware of her past foray into higher education and I attempted to be the most supportive person I could. Granted, at first, I was a despot at best at trying to get my wife to stay focused on the task at hand. I was such a dictator it put fears in Nancy’s mind about what kind of parent I would be to school aged children.

Well, after some “come to Jesus” meetings with my wife, I started to let up. I still had to stay on her a bit and try and motivate when the pressure was too much. Nancy is a chronic procrastinator and somehow still gets acceptable (A’s & B’s) with little or no studying.

Well, when it was all said and done, Nancy is graduating with a 3.698 GPA! The downside is that she is missing Magna Cum Laude by .002 GPA points (if my calculations are correct), but she is still graduating with honors (Cum Laude).

She has a job already waiting for her. It’s in Oklahoma City (yes that means we’ll be moving) in an Emergency Room. This is where she wants to specialize since she thought it would be the best marriage of her experience in Sport Medicine with her newly gained experience in Nursing Medicine.

It just so happens that it was far easier for her to get hired into an ER up there than it was to get hired into one in the Houston Medical District where they expect a certain amount of experience before letting you come in. So this move is more for her than it is for me. It will give her the experience that she need right after graduation that she’d have to wait 2-5 years to get a shot down here.

So now, a new form of reality is set forth for my wife. And a new adventure begins for us as a couple……

Mall Detox

For those who don’t know me real well, you’ll probably be shocked to know that my wife and I have had quite a run with the LDS lifestyle.

In regards to my involvement, it slowly snuck on me. I started hanging out with some people that introduced it to me and let me try it for free. Next thing you know, I’m hooked and cannot quite leave it behind. It’s amazing how many people, on LDS, are out there. They could be your neighbor, your family member, or even your co-worker. There are some tell-tale signs but you have to look for them. One such sign is as a strong desire to tell you about their cool older brother.

My wife on the other hand was born into this lifestyle. She really didn’t have much of a choice on what direction she went down. She tried a few times in college to escape her dependence on LDS by smoking and drinking at college contrary to her university’s co-dependant attitude.

Well, as of today, we are 2 years LDS free. We are on the wagon. Our footsteps felt lighter having gotten that giant monkey off our backs. Nancy had a harder time kicking the habit since she has been living with it her whole life. Giving up certain things, even though she didn’t feel they were bad for her, was hard to give up because it was such a part of her. But she has slowly gotten over those things. Her mother introduced her to the sweet nectar of the vine and her sister helped her broaden her appreciation of the libation. On top of that she’s learned that shorts come in lengths shorter than knee-length. I’ve been told that clothing can be liberating and therapeutic.

But, my female sources have told me that nothing is more therapeutic and liberating than shopping. Hence, the topic of this blog entry.

Here in Texas we are experiencing the annual ritual known as Tax Free Weekend. Anything clothes or other back-to-school related items costing less than $100 would be sold minus the sales tax.

We went to the mall on the premise of getting me some clothes for our trip to DisneyWorld in September. Since I only own 1 pair of shorts and an array of t-shirts my wife hates, she felt it was a good time to buy some clothes and save 8.25%.

Well after a fruitful trip to Old Navy, the official outfitter of Team Ray, we wandered the mall to try and find Nancy some new shoes for our Disney trip. Well, as luck would have it, we couldn’t get to the Lady Footlocker without passing by that bane of the dyed in the wool, balls-to-the-wall, hard-core LDS user’s existence……Victoria’s Secret (what is her secret anyway). Nancy turns to me and says, “I want to start wearing some strappy tops, and that means I need a strapless bra, should I buy at Victoria’s Secret or Dillards”. I told her to buy wherever she can get the most comfortable bra. So Victoria’s Secret it is.

Now I’m a man who always was turned into a blithering idiot around pretty women and even more around pretty women in sexy lingerie. So for me to walk inside Victoria’s Secret is like hanging a lump of Kryptonite around Superman’s neck. Where do I avert my gaze? It’s hard to walk around looking at one’s feet. Needless to say, my wife found two bras that she liked and it was off to find tops to go with them. After all, a woman can’t just buy one item of clothing. It must be accessorized. What better accessory to a new bra, other than a matching pair of undies, than a new top?

After all that looking I have these things two things to say …..

1. My wife has a great set of shoulders which all this time have been hidden underneath those sleeves all these years, and
2. They need more man chairs in women’s clothing stores.

Well, that is my story of our day of detoxification at the local mall, or what I more aptly like to refer to as the de-mormonification process

Nancy’s Good Karma Day

Nancy was leaving the parking garage walking to the train stop so she could take the train to her last final exam for the Spring Semester. As she was standing at the crosswalk she noticed a little old lady next to who was wearing those plastic “glasses” they give you at the eye doctor. Nancy asked the lady if she just had her eyes examined. The lady responded by telling Nancy that she just had her eyes dilated and she was afraid of tripping over the rail track and if Nancy might help her navigate across the street.

Nancy, of course, obliged the lady and helped her across the street. The lady thank her profusely and hoped that she was going in that direction. Nancy told her that she was really heading toward the train stop but it was her pleasure to help her across the street. The lady proceeded to bless her for her kindness and Nancy went on to school to take her last final exam.

This final happened to be one in which she had only a couple hours to study for. Later that day she found out that she was a few percent points shy of what she needed to get an ‘A’ in the class, but she scored really high anyway. To score a high ‘B’ on a test you didn’t study for is pretty amazing.

Nancy just said it was the Good Karma she got for helping the lady to cross the street. Honestly, how often do you hear of someone helping a lady to cross the street these day.

Boy do I love my wife.

It’s the little things

On Tuesdays, my wife has a shorter schedule at school and she typically gets out of class before noon. So we’ve started having lunch together.

I didn’t realize how much I started enjoying this time with her. I was able to have conversations with her while I’m still somewhat alert and not exhausted like I am at the end of the day.

It is recently that I’ve learned that it’s the little things that make the biggest different to my spouse. Lunch during the day, buying flowers without being asked to, little notes slipped into her lunches, etc.

I may be an old dog, but apparently, I can learn new tricks