Dragonfruit-- what a nice treat after a day at work. And dinner too! Thanks, Neil. Now that I'm off work, I can't stop replaying everything that has happened during my 12-hour shift. Did I forget something? Did I do something incorrectly? How could I have answered differently? Was there a different way for me to handle that situation? I hope nothing I did causes any discomfort for the patients or grief for the next nurse. I analyze everything. Unfortunately, I don't get a lot of time to actually do that during my shift. My whole day consists of trying to complete my tasks: hang IVs, give meds, check lab results, change dressings and drains, assess, document, teach, order supplies, discharge and admit patients... I have to constantly remind myself of what needs to be done while keeping up with patient requests and relaying information to other health-care practitioners and hospital staff. Nothing else can really get processed through my brain right now, which is why I am watching the presidential debate but not really hearing anything they are saying. So I will blog. I had 3 patients recovering from surgery and 3 that came in with complications. Two of them were from other floors and had respiratory infections, which meant I had to put on gloves, gown, and mask everytime I entered the room (important but time comsuming-- I had to stay 2 hours after my shift ended yesterday.) My floor is specific for gastric cancers/tumors, so I am not comfortable taking care of patients with other types of cancers, especially if they have a lot of complications and breathing problems (chest tubes, pneumonia, etc.) like my 2 patients today. But I got through the day. And I learned a lot. And I really liked (most of) my patients. It was a good day overall, but I am definitely looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. My five days off in Toronto went by quickly. Aside from watching dvds at home, we went out to eat and spent some time with friends who recently returned from the Peace Corps. It was Thanksgiving in Canada but... who really cares! All I know was that there was enough traffic on Friday to crush my plans of going to Algonquin to see the fall foliage. At least we watched Burn After Reading-- my only other plan for the weekend-- and was not disappointed. Now the debate has ended. I thought it was interesting, didn't you think so too? I heard something about Joe the Plumber...