The month of July has been very busy but exciting. I began the month by working a lot the first week, including the 4th. We had fun at work though, and enjoyed the best silent fireworks shows of all time. It went on for 2 hours nonstop all across the horizon. We only watched for about 15 min though.
I had a wonderful visit to Boone and got to see my nursing school friends and enjoy many happy hours on the mountain with the fam, including the Pinkertons.
While in Boone, I sustain a head injury from a kayak and ended up in the ED to undergo a CAT scan (thankfully it turn out to be a concussion only). I am relieved to have no lasting effects from my concussion as far as I can tell – just waiting for the bill.
Charis came back to St. Louis with me, and Emily, the faithful airport driver, picked us up. We’ve had a fun filled week with a bundle of new memories. The first day we took my Congolese twins and their little sister to the pool. They didn’t say a word the whole time until they got in the pool and then they didn’t stop talking. I think they were a little shy of Charis. Afterwards we went to Ted Drews (a frozen custard place) with the Lightners, minus Amos. The second day we went to the City Museum and spent the afternoon crawling through “caves” and swinging and climbing in the “jungle”. We also climbed up a metal mesh tunnel high in the air to an airplane and then over to a castle. We were both impressed with the creativity of the place (pictures below). Apparently the building they used was an old shoe factory. There was a 10 story slide but the line was too long so we settle for the 5 story one instead. We had pizza at the Lightner’s house afterwards. We also went to Six Flags and enjoyed some thrilling water slides. Today was our visiting day. We went to Emily’s and my Afghan friend’s house and enjoyed visiting with them and eating yummy food. Then Charis and I went to a coffee shop and walked through part of Forest Park which is the biggest park in the city. In the evening we went over to my Congolese friends’ house and enjoyed more yummy food and fellowship. So far, it’s been a blast having her here.
I am officially moved into my new apartment. I still want to hang a few things up so pictures will be in the next post
Now a work update: For the past year I have been told that I would only need 1 year of floor experience before I could cross train to the Emergency Unit, but the other day I learned I had been mistaken. Apparently since this is my first nursing job, I need 2 years of experience before cross training. The other disappointing thing is that once I commit to cross training, I must agree to 2 years of service before leaving. After talking to my manager, she mentioned she may be able to negotiate since I have previous medical experience but right now, they can’t spare me from the floor, and I don’t think I want to be here for 2 more years. For the past 6 months I had been planning on just 1 more year.
Prayer request: please pray that I pass the CLEP test on August 9. If I don’t pass it, I will have to delay getting my bachelor’s degree a whole year.
O lives in the apartment across the road. We had her over to my new apartment for dinner one evening and then went to her apartment to watch a movie
Frozen Custard at Ted Drews
The next couple of photos are from City Museum A invited us to join her at the nearby park that does live music and food trucks on Fridays
Beauty at Forest Park
