One Down, Eleven to Go

This is definitely going to be a quickie.  It turns out that school is hard.  And unfortunately I have an exam coming up.  So this blog will not feature my usual humorous banter.

As promised, here is my progress report on the first of my year of resolutions:

I am happy to report that I passed my January goal—not picking/biting my nails—with flying colors.  It was hard for the first few days, but it actually was much easier than I intended.  Which is good, because my February goal is probably going to be one of the hardest:  No sweets/desserts for a month.

I would like to take this time to commemorate my last dessert, as pictured below.

Here lies the last dessert I, Bryan, shall eat for 29 days (it’s a leap year).  It was a Cookie Monster from the restaurant Cheddar’s, which was every bit as delicious as it looks.  You will be missed, dessert.  See you March.

Speaking of cookie-guzzling beings, be on the lookout for more CK this weekend!

Nursing School: Ready, Set, Go!

Well, it seemed this day would never come.  Tomorrow I officially start the second-degree bachelor’s of science nursing program at the University of Kentucky.  I’ve got all my textbooks, most of my supplies, and still a crapload of reading/assignments left to do for one class.  But I’m finally starting.  I’m both excited and scared.

Nursing is not easy.  I certainly don’t expect to be a straight-A student anymore, and I acknowledge that I will very likely no longer be at the top of my class.  Actually, more towards the bottom.  In fact, with only 15 other students in my class, I could easily be the bottom.  Everyone coming in already has a bachelor’s degree in something else, and many of them have worked as nurse aides, paramedics, medical assistants, etc for years.  So experience will no longer be my savior.

On the plus side, it will be great to be in a group of people that all have a very specific common goal in mind.  When I was studying psychology/neuroscience at OSU, it was anyone’s guess as to what any individual student was going to actually do with that degree (I’m not even using mine for my current job, and I doubt most of my former classmates are either).  All of my new classmates are highly motivated to help people and still be highly academic.  I’ve already made friends.

Anyway, don’t be surprised of the quantity and/or quality of my blogs suffers a bit during the semester.  I’ll be working around 20 hours a week but classes are going to be full time, so my allotted time for writing blogs will be minimal.  Fortunately for you all, I’ve prepared a few blogs during winter break that I will post during the next few weeks.

Also, I’ve linked my Google+ profile to my blog now, so if you are following me from there, it’s now easier to read/comment!  Unfortunately, Facebook is still insisting on no longer allowing you to publish blogs from outside sources into Notes, so I will be continuing to post links to each blog as I write them.  Maybe someday.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s followed me so far and encourage you to continue to follow me, especially if you’re interested in nursing/medicine/patient care/health in general.  But don’t worry.  I’ll still keep my sense of humor.  And of course I’ll still keep posting cartoons about the big blue blog (aka CK).

Thanks again for a great first few months!

Bryan