June 13th Day 6 on the ship
More good news! I just looked at the schedule and it has been completely redone. My last 3 nights were replaced with 3 days! And my nights were consolidated into one block, which makes the sleep schedule way better. I kind of feel dumb for being so negative about it before now that things have panned out my way. I'm just glad that I didn't ever whine about it to the commander or any of the lieutenants on the unit or I would feel even more like a ninny. What a blessing. Small things like officers quarters and day shifts can change everything, although I should have had a better attitude to begin with. I finally get to work tonight! So far we have only one kid lined up for the unit. They reassigned me to have one shift on the adult unit, and I think it's because this peds unit thing is kind of turning into a vacation.
The seas are finally calm. I still feel the boat rocking occasionally, especially when I'm trying to balance at the morning yoga class, but I'm at least not so sick like the last two days. We saw Dolphins again yesterday and I keep wandering outside trying to run into some again. This is me trying to take pictures of the Dolphins jumping. (As you can see I was not successful but the water is pretty)
It's the best when a group of us spend the evening watching the sun set and looking for different types of fish and turtles in the water, and telling all sorts of stories about or travels. These women are fantastic, and they have a lot of great stories to tell. They're the adventurous sort, and this trip is just one on a long list of world destinations. These kind of women are my spirit animal... you get my meaning.
I'm running out of stuff to take pictures of. I'll keep writing for the journals sake, but with the HIPPA rules I won't be taking any on the job. There's only so many sunsets and beach shots you can take, and most of the stuff we do is your typical military life. Wake up at 430 to work out, eat, work out, eat again, go to the beach on shore.. Work out again. It's a never ending cycle.
I'm trying to hone in on my self discipline. I'm realizing how completely wild my habits are compared to this regimented life. I almost feel defiant sometimes at the thought of forced conforming. This is a lesson in humility and self control in every way. It's painful, but I feel a sense of balance and inner focus because of it that I didn't expect. This might also be because my internet dependence is wearing off. I feel less bored and more goal oriented when I'm cut off from wifi. If only I could carry this home. I can now step back and realize the changes I need to make in my daily life.
I tried to sleep before my shift to get me prepared to stay up all night, but my nap was disappointingly short. Jordan and Debbie seem to have vanished off the ship, and everyone else is on duty. I'm trying to be meditative but I'm getting all antsy. There are plenty of military people eager to talk and socialize, but my introverted self avoids those long draining conversations. It's ironic that is I was typing that sentence, someone came up to me and started talking to me. We ended up discussing religion and spirituality for a long time. I feel like a bad missionary for not being more open about gospel doctrines, but this guy seemed too eager to discuss religion. It almost felt like he was looking for a point to argue. He also mentioned his past exposure to Mormons was a little negative and to me seemed a little misunderstood, so I felt like the best I could do was to model Mormons accurately as open reasonable people with beliefs that aren't too far out. I tried to find common ground instead of a bible battle. Hopefully it put a positive picture in his head about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
2000 I got floated to the adult unit. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I didn't care and was actually thinking it might be easier to stay awake this way, but people kept apologizing about it. Maybe I should be stamping around? I've never done adult hospital care before. They've assigned me 3 corpsmen for my 3 patients, and they have more capabilities than techs, so I really am just overseeing for the most part. They keep coming and going saying yes ma'am no ma'am at attention and I don't even know what to do. I feel a little foolish doing absolutely nothing but giving orders to people that are older than me, and probably know more than I do about this unit. This will be interesting.
2200: It's only 10 and I've already burned through my emergency food supply. It's getting cold and the night shift desperation is creeping in.The corpsmen have all the work and charting covered for the night so now its just toothpicks for the eyelids from here on out. 😳
0600 I'm still alive. Barely. I just looked in the mirror and my lips are actually blue with cold. I remember again why I hate night shifts so much.
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