Monday, March 28, 2011

update on travel assignment

It is now seven weeks into this travel assignment and things have slowed down and are
working out fine.  I have mastered, almost, the new computer charting and learning where everything is in the unit. The nurses I work with are terrific and easy to get along with.  I had heard that travel nurses sometimes hada hard time with resentment from staff nurses but I have not found that here.
They seem pleased to have us, and there are several travel nurses on this unit.  The hardest part is the time it takes me to get to work.  I leave the RV Park at 5 pm and my shift starts at 6:38 pm. I do get there around 6 but if I leave later the traffic is worse and I barely make it on time.  Nelson and I took a day and drove to all the RV parks we could find around the hospital, but in the end decided the amenities here, including being safe and having good neighborhoods around us with lots of restaurants, made the drive worth it. 


We are staying at La Haceinda RV park and it is very nice.  The sites are clean, the bathrooms and
laundry facilities are clean. Now that spring is here they are planting more trees and flowers.  They have events in the pavilion on some nights so people can get to know others in the park.  I think my all-time favorite is the hot tub.  The only downside to the hot tub is that it is only hot from 5 to 10 pm.  We have cable here also.  One night we took the TV outside and had some new friends over and watched a movie outside.  It’s like being on vacation whenever I am not at work.   

Friday, March 25, 2011

My mustang

The weather here is so beautiful and I had really been missing my convertible.  One day I mentioned that I wanted a convertible again and the next day the search started.  We started out searching on craigslist. I thought I wanted an Infinity G37 hard top convertible.  It did not take long before price and the lack of truck space made that an unreasonable option.  Then we started looking at other cars.  We drove a beautiful red Sonoma convertible and it was nice but just not the “I can’t wait to get this” feeling I was looking for. We drove another one that smelt like mold inside, that was definitely a no.  Next it was Volkswagon hardtop convertible and I loved everything about it till I drove it.  It had leather seats that were heated and was loaded with features but it drove like the 4 cylinder that it was. 

We came back home and I started looking again and kept coming back to the mustangs.  I had loved the one I had before, it was a 2002 red mustang convertible with a peanut butter top. 
After several hours of looking on the internet we narrowed it down to 3 places to go the next day.  The first place we looked at the car but did not drive it.  It was nice, black, but it had cloth seats and I really wanted leather, but we left it in the running.   The second place we went they had just sold the car.  It was at this location that I realized the body style had changed from 2009 to 2010 and I really liked the 2010 body. 

At the last place we found the winner.  There were two to choose from, both 2010 models, one silver and one red.  After walking around the red car I noticed a tear in the top, that left the silver one.
The sales lady brought the keys and when the doors were opened the scent of leather rushed out to greet us. The sleek look of black leather combined with the matte look of silver trim was elegant and inviting. I sat in the driver’s seat and she started going over the features. 

It has Microsoft sync which is amazing.  It links to my Bluetooth phone which is great but it also uses voice command for my IPOD.  I think it is amazing that I can tell my car which song to play!  Another neat feature is the interior lights.  I can change the dash lights, the halo around them and the other lights in the cup holder and by the door.  The can all change to different colors so I can mix them up. 
It is incredible to drive my car with the top down and enjoy the hill country of Austin.