Happy Labor Day!!!

This is going to be a relaxing day. My plan is to study some medical terminology. I’ll say it’s for my career but at this point it’s to pass a quiz I’m going to have in a week. Oh, first I’m going to walk to Beaners which is about 2 blocks away. Then I’m going to study. Beaners is chain of coffee houses that started here in East Lansing and it seems to be the “Starbucks” of the town. There are hardly any other coffee shops around except for Starbucks of course. I happen to have a $1 coupon which also influenced my decision to go to Beaners.

Then I’ll take a break for lunch and come back to the house. Maybe get some knitting done. I went to Threadbear Fiber Arts on Saturday to buy some bulky yarn to make a hat or two. I’ve got 2 projects that are lace. Meaning, I may never finish them. I needed a quick instant gratification project and I figured a hat would be useful for winter. I ended up buying some bulky Alpacca yarn that is simply lovely and soft in burgandy, some superwash Cascade 220 in spartan green, and some Patons Shetland Chunky in Taupe to make a gift. My boyfriend is always complaining that I can’t make hats that fit him. I’m determined this time. I actually made a simple rolled brim hat last night but since I didn’t use a pattern it came out a bit short. So I’m going to reknit it. But here is a picture of it along with my other stash additions.

When I stopped in on Saturday, they were having movie night which was a lot of fun. A group of knitters come in to knit, eat pizza and popcorn, and watch a movie. I got to meet a few people and got to talk to Rob, who is one of the owners of the store. Really nice, sweet, and helpful man and I enjoyed his store immensely. If you’re ever in the area visit Threadbear Fiber Arts in Lansing. The store is huge and there is an extensive list of classes. Rob told me that every 1st and 3rd Saturday, they hold a group activity. Movie night and I think a free knit time. Very cool and a nice way to meet some knitting folk!

The rest of the day may be spent doing my health history assignment. I’m supposed to conduct a health history on someone. I don’t know anyone in the area so I may do my boyfriend. Maybe my roommate if she’ll let me. The idea is to practice your interviewing skills. Funny, I’ve never had a health history so complete done in any of my examinations in my life. You actually ask a patient about diet, mental health questions, some even more embarassing than that. I guess they want you to get practice asking these kinds of questions. In real life one would probably only pick out the pertinate questions.

I don’t get good TV here, not even the news. Our cable channels include QVC, Discovery Channel (which I like), and paid advertising. So I haven’t ben able to watch any news other than what I can on the internet, which is quite extensive. I’ve been trying to follow what is going on in New Orleans and Mississippi (spelling?) and what a tragedy. I wish I had some money to donate. All sorts of charities are coming out to help like the Red Cross and the Humane Society. But things are going to be tight for me shortly. The people in my program are getting a grant from the state of MI. But they may be “adjusting” financial aid packages. Some people in my program are getting their loans cut back to the point where they don’t have the wiggle room that they had before the grant. Does the financial aid office really expect you to live off $200 a month after rent is paid for? I spent over $600 in books alone! If you want to eat something other than Ramen noodles 3 meals a day, $200 isn’t going to cut it. Add in the gas that we’re going to have to pay for to get to clinicals and what’s a nursing student to do! Really, in the grand scheme of things, these problems are nothing compared to what’s going on in the South but… not being able to donate money sucks. Maybe I’ll give a small donation of $10 or $25. That way I can feel like I’m contributing something

Well, back to the books!