Don't Worry, I Saved The Receipt...

Oh my god-- someone secretly videotaped me in the classroom when I was a teacher...

The Defining Moment

My old friend Tim discovered, recently, that he has a Wikipedia entry for "Odd Jobs," his webcomic. Reading his Wikipedia entry, I discovered something about him I hadn't known-- that a basement flood in the late '90's had destroyed years of output of his artwork. It must have been heartbreaking for Tim, who is a gifted graphic artist and cartoonist.

Rather than despair, Tim turned lemons into lemonade: the disaster was impetus for Tim to launch "Odd Jobs." Past editions of "Odd Jobs" have also been published as graphic novels and are still in print.

I'd been thinking lately about a thing I call a "defining moment." I'd been thinking a lot about two acquaintances who were handed defeats-- one in a romantic matter and another in a an professional matter-- and seem never to have recovered from it. They are bitter and don't seem to want to move forward from it.

This stands in stark contrast to my longtime friend Tim, and also to my friend Joe, who was recently relating the story in a blog post memorializing a mentor, how he got into a career of police work, a job he both loves and excels at, after losing a photography job.

A couple of days ago, as I sat in my nursing class getting ready for my test on Monday, deep in discussion with several classmates about material we had covered, I had a moment. I suddenly realized that the 20 of us had taken 20 wildly different paths to that moment there in the classroom, I thought back to the second week of June, 2006. I've alluded to this week as the worst week of my life. I'd been told I was being "RIF'ed," teacher slang for being laid off, and so a black cloud hung over me-- the knowledge that a job I loved and had planned to do until retirement was about to end. In the midst of that, my father was diagnosed with cancer-- a huge tumor in his abdomen. And of course, the third and most awful part of it-- the murder of my close friend Mark Evans. It was a very bad week, easily the worst in my life.

Looking back to the year that followed, I took a couple of steps back and looked at my life and asked some hard questions about my life and future.

Some years ago, I read an article about the guy who computerized the Chicago Board of Trade. He was considered a kind of wunderkind and was, of course, quite rich. When asked about the secret of his success, he replied that the secret was failure-- that for every success he had, he had at least ten failures. It reminded me of a bumper sticker I've seen a couple of times, that I suspect is related to AA-- "If you get up one more time than you fall down, you are a success."

I've come to the realization that your defining moment in life is your choice. You can take a failure in two ways: a license to accept defeat and the consequent self-pity, or as an opportunity to back up, brush yourself off and try something different.


My defining moment could have been that week in June of 2006, filled with pain, disappointment and failed dreams. I've chosen instead to let my defining moment to be the afternoon this past April when I got back from my Anatomy class and opened an envelope telling me I'd been accepted into Truman College's nursing program.

Nursing Midterm Friday Random Ten

I can't believe we're approaching midterm already. We have a test Monday, so I'll really be hitting the books this weekend.

In the meantime, we got some great news. My wife Kim, who was laid off from her job in June, got a new job this week, as a salesperson for one of the big life insurance companies.


1. One Night Stand- Rick Nelson
2. The Bottom Line- Big Audio Dynamite
3. Take a Picture- Filter
4. Paralyzed- The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
5. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You- Elvis
6. Stop What You're Doing- The Beatles
7. Killing An Arab- The Cure
8. God Save The Queen- The Sex Pistols
9. Outside of a Small Circle of Friends- Phil Ochs
10. Down By The River- Neil Young



Notes:
1. I first heard this one when Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band performed it on a talk show in the early seventies.
2. Heard this one a million times in clubs in the eighties.
3. A one-hit wonder from about ten years ago.
4. This song is widely recognized as the worst song ever recorded.
5. I love me some Elvis. This is one of his most lovely songs.
6. From "The Beatles For Sale."
7. The Cure's first hit.
8. "God save the queen/She ain't no human being...."
9. A song about the Kitty Genovese murder. Dozens of people heard her being stabbed to death and did nothing.
10. An epic song.

One More Vid: The Del Fuegos, "Don't Run Wild"

Late last night, after work, I was, for some now unknown reason, watching the vid for the Del Fuegos' "Don't Run Wild." Then, today, while I was out with my son out on the road for the first time for driving practice, the song came up on Little Steven's Underground Garage on my satellite radio. I had to laugh, thinking maybe it was my wish-- for him to be a lot more cautious than I was in my life.

The Boston-based Del Fuegos were one of the many great indie bands in the eighties. They consisted of brothers Dan and Warren Zanes (singer and guitarist, respectively), bassist Tom Lloyd, drummer Brent "Woody" Giessmann and keyboardist Br. Cleve.

Despite being promoted by Tom Petty and appearing in a beer commercial, they never had a huge amount of commercial fame. "Don't Run Wild" and "I Still Want You" got a good amount of airplay.

Dan Zanes has had some success doing childrens' albums and shows. He plays at the Old Town School of Folk Music, just a few blocks from my home, once a year or so. In 2007, he won a Grammy for Best Children's Album. His brother Warren went a more academic route, earning two Master's degree's and a PhD. He is currently the vice-president of education at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Don't Run Wild" is one of my favorite songs from the eighties. It reminds me of a particular friend from college, who, ironically, didn't run wild at all. These days, she is a suburban housewife who is married to the first guy she ever dated.

THe "Nolympics" Friday Random Ten

Just saw that Chicago got voted out in the first round of the Olympics voting. I'm not particularly upset by it-- there are lots of places the money would be better spent, like improving our terrible mass transit system, fixing our terrible schools or hiring more cops to deal with the crime rate in a lot of our neighborhoods.

1. Love Is The Stranger- Eurythmics
2. Bette Davis Eyes- Kim Carnes
3. Stupid Girl- The Rolling Stones
4. Maxwell's Silver Hammer- The Beatles
5. Lord Grenville- Al Stewart
6. Welcome To The Working Week- Elvis Costello
7. Joy- Apollo 100
8. They're Coming To Me Away- Napolean Bonaparte XIV
9. Cyprus Avenue- Van Morrison
10. You Light Up My Life- Patti Smith Group


Notes:
1. This is my favorite Eurythmics song. Love the creepy video, too.
2. One hit wonder from the eighties.
3. I'm compiling a "Top Ten Most Un-PC Songs Ever" list for a future post. This song, from the terrific "Aftermath" album, is on that list.
4. We got the kids the Beatles Rock Band, so lots of Beatles going on around here lately.
5. From Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat" record. It was one of the first records I bought, when I was in high school. Still love it.
6. This tune has one of the funniest opening lines ever.
7. A big hunk of '70's cheese, and I love it.
8. I loved hearing this one on Dr. Demento when I was a kid.
9. From the lovely Astral Weeks album.
10. Yes, THAT "You Light Up My Life." And yes, THAT Patti Smith. It's one of the little rarities I have on my Itunes.

Occasional Forgotten Video, Huey Lewis and the News, "Heart and Soul"

I've really begun to realize that they weren't kidding when they said that my nursing program is accelerated. We are moving at a furious pace. I'm good with it, but it's leaving me less time for things I'd like to do, like posting on my blog. Therefore, today's is a quick one, an "Occasional Forgotten Video."

I was talking to an old friend on the phone the other day and was reminded of this one.

In 1971, Huey Lewis joined the San Francisco Bay area band "Clover." Clover-- without Huey-- backed up Elvis Costello on his debut album "My Aim Is True." Eventually, the band mutated into Huey Lewis and the News, and had a hit on their second album, "Do You Believe In Love" in 1982,

It was 1983's "Sports" that broke them big though. They had a number of hits from that album, The first hit was "Heart and Soul." The video is classic eighties-- weird imagery, silliness and romance. It's one of my favorites, especially since I found out that Huey Lewis is the biggest man in the music business.

The "Buried In Schoolwork" Friday Random Ten

Had my first nursing test on Monday. Got an 86%, a solid B. Had more clinicals yesterday-- finally got to work with a patient. It's all good. Got a ton of reading to do this weekend.


1. The Man In Me- Bob Dylan
2. It Was A Very Good Year- Frank Sinatra
3. Meet Me In The Morning- Bob Dylan
4. Santa Domingo- Phil Ochs
5. Party Girl- Elvis Costello
6. Every Day Is Like Sunday- The Smiths
7. Thousands Are Sailing- The Pogues
8. Idiot Wind- Bob Dylan
9. Stormy Monday- The Allman Brothers Band
10. Every Breath You Take- The Police


Notes:
1. This was in "The Big Lebowski."
2. I love me some Sinatra, and this is one of my favorites of his.
3. A sweet little song from "Blood On The Tracks."
4. A powerful protest song about the United States' 1965 invasion of the Domican Republic.
5. From the phenomenal "Armed Forces" album. Can you believe it's 30 year old?
6. Morrissey can be a little whiny at tiimes, but I still like the Smiths.
7. My favorite Pogues song, but "Fairytale of New York" is a close second.
8. A Bob Dylan Hat Trick! This one's also from "Blood On The Tracks."
9. "They call it Stormy Monday/But Tuesday's just as bad..." Great live track from the "Filmore East" album.
10. Those of us in college in the early and mid eighties remember this song getting near-continuous play on MTV and radio. I'm just getting over the trauma.

Nursing School, One Month In

Today I had my first test in nursing school, about a month after I started. I also had my first "clinical" last week-- an experience in a hospital, working with patients. Here are my observations and comments so far.

I have come to really like my teacher, Mrs. Murphy. Her enthusiasm for both nursing and teaching shows. She really appreciates the diversity of our class and the consequent range of experiences we are able to bring to our classroom discussions.

My classmates are an amazingly diverse-- and increasingly closeknit-- group. There's Raj, who is from India. He must be in his mid-thirties. Karen, who, like me, is a parent, is my "buddy"-- the person I've buddied up with to make sure that if one is absent, the other makes sure to get any handouts, etc. that were passed out and let the other person look over notes. Eric must be about 20-- he graduated from Lane Tech, the high school nearest my home. Jackie is a high-strung, but likeable former dancer who's married to a Chicago cop/reserve soldier. Cyd is the person closest to me in age, and in fact my daughter goes to school with her son. Nicole, who we've all been looking out for, helping as we can, started divorce proceedings a week before starting nursing school. One guy I've hit it off with is Bisrat, a friendly, supersmart guy from Eritrea (it's near Ethiopia).

There are people of every ethnicity and walk of life. We range in age from about 20 to nearly 50. For some, this will be a first career, others a second career, and for some of us, even, third careers.

Thursday afternoon, a group of ten of us began our "clinical" experiences. We all gathered in the lobby of Illinois Masonic Hospital to meet Mrs. Murphy. I chuckled, remembering the last time I'd been in that hospital, 21 years ago, after the stupidest thing I ever did. We went over some school material, signed a form that we understood that we needed to protect the privacy of patients and records that we worked with, and went upstairs to the geriatric ward.

We were shown around the ward and then were paired off with another student to start working with the electronic charts. I was paired off with Bisrat, and we spent about 45 minutes looking through our patient's chart. We tried out the various features-- there are incredible advantages over the old paper charts. For instance, while looking at a value for something like white blood count or blood sugar, we can check what the normal value would be. If a med is listed, we can click on it and look up a dossier on the drug-- what it's for, dosages, side effects, etc.

One of the things that both Bisrut and I started working on was the "big picture;" what do all of the things we're seeing add up to?

At the end of the day, we had a meeting. We were all exhausted, but had learned a ton.

I spent portions of Friday, Saturday and Sunday preparing for my first test. One of the things I'm enjoying about nursing is that it is not overly based on memorization (though there's some of that) but on knowledge of concepts. In short, we're learning how to think like nurses.

I could tell this morning that we all nervous. There would be 50 questions, and there was a month's worth of material for those 50 questions to come from.

One of the things I've learned after several rounds of college (this will be my fourth college degree) is that you learn about the teacher during that first test. I've been teaching my kids this. As we finished the test, one by one, we gathered in groups out in the hall, discussing the test. The consensus-- we had kicked ass on it. We had figured out what the important information was out of the ocean of information we'd received in the last four weeks. We discussed the merits of different answers: e.g. in order to reorient a confused older patient, do you post a calender of weekly activities or speak in clear, calm, short sentences? The order in which to bathe a client (head, arms, chest, etc.). What not to do for a diabetic client (trim nails-- it risks a cut, and diabetics typically have trouble healing. You file the nails instead).

We talked about the various answers that we'd gotten wrong or right, and realized that we'd all done pretty well. I began to realize that this group had walked into the classroom a month ago as a bunch of separate strangers. Today, we walked out into the hallway as an increasingly tightknit and confident group of friends, fellow students, and future colleagues. I walked out of the building with the feeling that I'd really made the right decision early this year when I applied to nursing school.