Working Colfax

I had jokingly threatened to work my corner of Colfax if a nursing job didn't materialize 'soon enough' (whatever that means). Well, I've managed to fulfill both goals (or at least the verbal harassment portion of the latter).

For those not in the know, I am working as a registered nurse in a medium sized correctional facility in a town south of Denver. Thus far I have trained in the infirmary, where prisoners stay if they're detoxing from a substance or just can't live in general population, i.e. the person in a wheelchair, the man who is so sick he's turned a shade of gray, etc. And I have been trained to work in the pods.

A 'pod' is a living quarter of this facility's inmates. There are 6 pods each with 5-6 day rooms with 20-ish sleeping quarters off the day rooms. There is one day room for women, the remainder are for men. Most of the cells don't have doors, but the day rooms are kept closed and locked most of the time with a person in 'the tower' overseeing all of the inmate's activities within the pod.

Each pod has an exam room in which I check blood pressure, give insulin, check wounds and change dressings and give medications. Indeed, many of these skills I learned in nursing school; what requires instructing is the policies and procedures of the jail and what just takes time is getting familiar with the personalities of the inmates. Such as those of the men in 6A.

Six-A is 'the hole' of Pod 6. It consists of a day room off of which there are 7'x7' cells housing one man each that are kept locked 23 hours a day. The men on this unit are half a step away from the bottom of their housing options (the bottom being the behavioral control unit in the infirmary) so they have little to lose, which makes them, uh, perhaps more vocal than their counterparts in other day rooms.

Which translates into my getting catcalled, just like I might working Colfax. For several days running, this little ol' black guy would wait until after I medicated him to make his appreciation of my ass known to every man on the unit, "Look at her. She has a nice ass. And she KNOWS she has a nice ass. Yes, she certainly does know she has a nice ass. So-and-so said she has a nice ass and she knows it and I know it."

So, while being a nurse may be a better regarded and less illegal profession than walking the streets and working the corners, sometimes the atmosphere of the two jobs is the same.

Nearly Virgin Hare

Despite some controversy as to whether I was a 'virgin' (=new) hare or not, I laid a Hash trail today. The weather did not cooperate; it was overcast with variable amounts of rain. Because I laid trail with flour, I ended up sticky, pasty mess, of which I did not get a photo. Believe you me, it was messy! As with most experiences, I learned from this one.

A) 25lbs of flour is plenty to lay a ~5mi trail.
B) If the trail is well-marked, folks won't balk at its ~5mi length.
C) Try to avoid laying trail so as the hounds stay within site of the start of the Hash.
D) 11 cases of beer is plenty for seven Hashers with some leftover.
E) The public seems less antsy about powdery white substances randomly strewn about, but I think I'll color my flour next time just to be safe (but, no, I didn't see the haz-mat crew. Anyone else? Bueller?)
F) I didn't get snared because the fastest FRB (=front running bastard) wasn't present. In the future, I will prelay the end of my trail, as well as the beginning, as insurance for avoidance of pantsing.
G) I like haring; I'd do it again.

Coming soon to a state near you: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I just watched a terrifying YouTube video about women who were forced to give birth to children in the way that their respective states saw fit, as opposed to how they (and in some cases, their doctors) saw fit because of 'fetal rights' laws, such as those that Personhood USA is trying to enact all over the US (and successfully did so in North Dakota). I shan't embed the video in this post, since that would muck with folks' ability to load the page, but I shall link to it.

Please, go watch, become outraged, and act on the next women's or fetal rights* campaign that comes to your attention.

*Chances are I would encourage you to act in favor of women's rights and against the fetal rights, but just ask and I'll give you the best answer I know.

Take action!

In his last days as president, Bush enacted a regulation curtailing patient's access to medical treatment if the provider or pharmacists or secretary of the medical practice disagrees with said medical procedure or medicine or device, etc.. The regulation was billed as a 'conscience clause' to protect providers against being forced to perform abortions -- but a regulation doing just that existed prior to Bush's administration.

As I observe below, the regulation is actually a thinly veiled attempt to limit women's access to contraception. Below is the letter I wrote to Obama, with the help of the website of the National Organization for Women, supporting his rescision of this regulation. Or if you prefer, Planned Parenthood has a page about it, too. No matter how -- go speak your mind!

Dear President Obama,
I strongly support efforts to rescind the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services "provider conscience" regulation (which is in the 'comments' portion of the regulatory process to rescind it, so we need to let Obama know how strongly we support his overturning this regulation).

As a nurse practitioner who closely follows news about reproductive health care access, the aforementioned regulation seems like a thinly veiled attempt to restrict women's access to contraception. This is appalling because, combined with comprehensive sex education, access to
contraception is the best way to reduce unwanted pregnancies, which is a goal no matter what side of the political aisle one sits on.

I urge that the HHS refusal rule be rescinded in its entirety promptly at the end of this comment period. Thank you for the opportunity to speak out.

Sincerely,
Jennifer, NP

Buddhicat

One of the tenets of Buddhism is non-attachment. To me, this means not relying on anyone or -thing to 'make' one happy; it's finding happiness within one's self while still appreciating the people and creatures in one's life.

Another tenet of Buddhism is reincarnation. This one is huge. The short version is that all sentient beings (roughly bugs to humans on the evolutionary scale) have wants and desires that cause us suffering when they're not met (which is a lot of the time). So, those who practice Buddhism meditate, do good deeds, treat others as we'd like to be treated, etc. so that, ideally, we reach enlightenment (freedom from suffering) in our current life. Given how little I've been meditating, my reaching enlightenment seems unlikely, but perhaps the attitude with which I regard the cat will help the process.

Some regard the relationship of cat to human to be that of pet to owner, but I find that set-up to imply attachment of the human to the animal. So I am turning the dynamic 'round. I am regarding Max the Cat as a sentient being who needs care during his current life as a cat until he can be reincarnated on his next spin through the cycle of rebirth.

Between the waking me up in the middle of the night and howling at everyone who walks by the apartment (we live at the front of the building, so that's pretty much everyone) he is pushing the limits of good karma, but I've still got my sights set on his becoming a human next time.

Character: a meta-analysis

In a book on how to do a myriad things well (the title of which I will remember the moment after this post goes live), there is a chapter on how to discern a person's character. The first step is to figure out what character means to you.

After thinking on it for a week, I decided that interweb research was in order. One of the definitions that helped me get thinking on the subject is: "The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another." Note 1: I've discovered that some define personality with the same terms hence this discussion will address both. Note 2: These qualities or features are addressed in dichotomy with the realization that very little is black and white. What follows is a list of qualities or features of character that come to mind quickly:

Honest/dishonest; ungracious/gracious; prompt/tardy; passionate/apathetic; engaged/distanced; altruistic/selfish; patient/impatient; laid-back/anxious; sympathetic/callous; logical/emotional; empathetic/self-centered; corrupt/honorable, pure; adventurous/cautious; liberal/conservative (although this dichotomy leaves room for many many incorrect conclusions as to someone's character); forthright/deceitful; forward/reticent; sexual/repressed...

But how do you discern a person's character? Perhaps I'm jaded, but it seems particularly easy with, for instance online dating, to misrepresent oneself. Have I found this to be true in reality? No. But the better question is, have I been paying attention?

A straight forward character trait to evaluate is "outdoorsy." It seems every man on Match who lives in Colorado says he loves the outdoors. I've found, with one clear exception, most of the men I've met are outdoorsy at least in the way that I am; they participate in weekend outdoor adventures year-round. But what about the less obvious characteristics -- qualities such as empathy, callousness, altruism, and deceitfulness? Beyond what is said in the profile, how does one get a sense of such things in a first, second, or even third meeting?

Perhaps evaluating a person's more obscure personality traits needs to be like doing online research. I start with the person as the topic and check the dating site for a basic idea about him, links to additional sources (rarely), and a jumping off point for formulating additional questions. Then exchanging emails helps to flush out some of the questions brought to mind by the profile. Finally, meeting in person can confirm or refute some opinions formed during the computer research phase. And, provides information about interpersonal chemistry that cannot be evaluated electronically. Now to figure out which characteristics are deal-breakers... *sigh* the quest for good relationships is never-ending.

"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." - Abraham Lincoln

I. Am. Not. New.

I have been job hunting for a year and, as the process drags on, what I hear with more and more frequency is that I'm a 'new grad' and managers want to hire employees with experience. So I am writing this piece as an ode to all that is not new about me as an ego boost in otherwise ego deflating times.

I am not new at job hunting; I've been doing that for a year plus. Nor am I new at doing female annual exams; I did 250 of those in the five months I spent in prison filling in for the permanent employee. I am not new at nursing in odd situations; I've worked at a clinic in Nepal, state prison, as a traveling camp nurse in hotel rooms all along the eastern seaboard and given flu shots in most of the conference rooms in downtown Denver.

I am not new to compassion, which lies at the heart of nursing; I have it in droves. I cried when I put away my Cabbage Patch kids because I was afraid they'd suffocate in the plastic bag in the attic. I pity my cat for being stuck inside all day because he seems bored (although he'd seem dead were he to run around Colfax during rush hour). I nearly faint when I watch someone get local anesthesia because I know that the anesthesia shot is the worst part and I hate that s/he is suffering through it.

Finally, I am not new at identifying my strengths and weaknesses. I am not new to creating strengths from weaknesses. I am not new at accepting criticism, constructive and otherwise, about my weaknesses. I am not new at accepting praise for my strengths, although that doesn't translate into my doing so well.

I. Am. Not. New. Now hire me, please!