Up: Carl and Ellie

So I have a thing for Disney movies, especially Pixar collaborations. There, I said it.

Months ago, I saw a glimpse of the type of relationship I have been looking for. Yes, in a Disney movie. Call me sappy or hopeless, but the idealism in me still lives behind the sewn together patches and bits of my heart. She is Ellie, an adventurous spirit and he, Carl, is the one who loves her. In the beginning of the movie, Carl and Ellie meet and it goes into a montage of the couple lovingly growing old together. It's a relatively short part of the movie, but it was the part I remembered best. Getting married, building a home together, their challenges, their affection for one another. The love was in the details.

(sigh...)


On another note:

I will be done with my prerequisites next month and will be able to apply for schools (FINALLY!) The part of me that wants it all tells me that it might be time to look for Mr. Right while looking for the right nursing school/program. So much easier said than done. Factors in choosing a nursing program:

- How fast I can get started: Down with waiting lists!
- How soon I can work as an RN: Includes reputation of school, how long the program is, % of new grads with jobs,
- Cost: Consider my final debt to income ratio, support system, whether I can work at the same time
- Location: I've always wanted to live somewhere beyond SoCal
- Associated vs. Second Bachelor's vs. Masters
- What kind of nursing do I want to end up doing in the end? FNP, ICU, ER, Pediatric, other?

Decisions. Decisions.

Dream

For the past two nights I have woken up from dreams. I'm not sure what's going on with me internally (stress, hormones,diet etc.) or externally (body, neck position, etc) that is causing me to remember my dreams but I feel compelled to start writing them down since I don't usually remember them--to the point where I question whether I have them at all.

This one was interesting because it involved applying for a job at the organization where I used to work as a community organizer, but in a much different capacity than I had previously worked. It was for a supervisor/coordinator for the employment access and job training program. It was the portion of the interview where a classroom full of people could get to know the candidates: some of the people in the program, the employees of the organization, and community members. They asked the 4-5 candidates, "What would make you a good lawyer? Why are you applying for this job?" Question itself was random and it kind of threw me off, but I had my answer.

I waited until the other people spoke. I don't remember what they said, but I do remember what I said. I said I'm not applying to become a lawyer, but a humble leader and strong facilitator. But what I do know is that a Coordinator is essentially an advocate--an advocate for clients, the program, and her staff. (Part of this dream made me miss my former coordinator at the organization.) I spoke clearly and confidently about how I observed that this program meets that needs of individuals on a basic level, serves the people, builds dignity, and in turn strengthens the sense of community in the area. I have long admired the fact that after basic job training, people feel compelled to return and give on the backside. After they have found jobs and/or gotten themselves settled. The backflow on the backside was why I wanted to apply for the position and what I felt the strength of the program was.

I woke up really wanting to go back to doing community work. I woke up really wanting that job.

It got me thinking about how much different I am (or the same) after having left the organization 4 years ago. A lot has happened in that time. I have been working as an EMT now for two years and everything about it has made me a better person. Running emergency-911 calls and inter-facility transports between hospitals for the sick and recovering has introduced me to a myriad of different personalities of different social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. From Huntington Park to Huntington Beach, I have served people at their most vulnerable...sometimes thanklessly. It has taught me patience, humility, to trust my skills and to stick to my convictions while observing protocol and respecting policy. I am thankful for the opportunity to be doing what I do for a living. But I do want more. I know I can do more. Learn more. Grow more.

I think that's what this dream was about.

Resolutions, not new

I left for Vietnam several days after New Years Day without any new resolutions. I'm guessing it's because people usually make resolutions when they want to actively make a change, and I kind of already acted on some before January 1. Before I left the States on the 4th, so many changes had already been set (relationships- something to nothing; career- manufacturing to nursing/medicine; and employment- 1 1/2 jobs to none) that another shift in thought and action would have been excessive. SO instead I set out to (re)define my goals in life for my 2008 resolutions. It's somewhat like restating these goals I've had since college but my life experience up to this point gives them more sophisticated definitions. Wanna hear it, here it goes:

Expanding my mind and worldview
Giving what I can
Staying healthy
Being present
Creating beauty

Which super-villain are you?

Your results:
You are Mystique

Mystique 75% The Joker 65% Dr. Doom 63% Dark Phoenix 61% Apocalypse 60% Venom 57% Juggernaut 55% Poison Ivy 54% Lex Luthor 49% Two-Face 47% Riddler 46% Catwoman 46% Mr. Freeze 45% Magneto 44% Kingpin 29% Green Goblin 27%

Sometimes motherly, sometimes a beautiful companion, but most of the time a deceiving vixen.

Click here to take the Super Villain Personality Test

Back Burner

TOMORROW i will call the Career Center at Scripps and finally get more active about my career decisions and goals. I just hope they can help.
So here are the things that I am considering:


Registered Dietician / Public Health
After having worked with high school youth for almost 5 years and not doing it for a year, I realized that I really miss it and I should explore career bring me closer to youth and education. As an RD/MPH, I see myself working with school districts on nutrition education, maybe even cafeteria menu planning. Getting the right foods to fuel young minds at work and for needy families is important to me. If needed, I could also plant myself as a Dietician in fitness clubs (Sports Club LA) and private practice on the side...getting myself fit as I do it. What would also be neat is if I start community health education via live classes or video: cooking course, grocery shopping trips. Way to incorporate shopping into my career, huh? The MPH track would allow me to travel and work with peoplein underdeveloped countries [during the times school is out of session].

Exploration step: Talk to Hawthorne School District nutrition program director.


Registered Nurse
I've thrown around the idea of being a nurse, mostly because it's a road well-traveled--the idea of which is conforting to me. I'm making it sound practical and dry, because that's what it is to me. It is the "I'm going to have a family one day, and I need to put food on the table and clothes on their back" option. With the Baby Boomer retirement exodus out of the workforce, jobs in nursing, education, law enforcement, ... almost everywhere will need to be filled. And it helps to know that Nurse anesthetists, the majority of whom usually hold Masters or Doctorate degrees, make 6-figure salaries.

Exploration step: Volunteer at a hospital.


Entrepreneur
I want to open up an e-commerce stationery store, making greeting cards, journals on my home printing press. I would have to find a niche in the seemingly saturated market of small presses/custom stationery & cards in order to make high-volume sales, but I think it would be the most creatively rewarding option. It can also be a hobby turned side-job that can be combined with any career option.

Exploration step: Take a letterpress course. Enroll in LTSC's small business course.