I went to volunteer on Tuesday but my supervisor wasn't there. I was suppose to clear out and organize a cabinet but I didn't have the key. I waited there for an hour until one of the nurses told me the supervisor came earlier to tell the ward that she wasn't coming in today. I was so confused because I told her the day before that I would be volunteering on Tuesday. I learned on Thursday that a devastation has struck her.
What do you say when you aren't religious and a person asks you to pray for them. That's what the A.T. did when I ran into her Thursday. I think I hugged her, told her I would take care of her unit on Monday and Tuesday, and that she would be okay. She'll be okay.
I finally went on a city tour! I got to spend the educational day with Stephanie. We almost couldn't find the first tour, which started at the "southeast stage of Yerba Buena." Our first tour was "Theaters in SF." I knew that there were theaters and shows in SF but I didn't know where. Now I do. This tour was with Sue who lead the group of ~10 women on a brisk 1 1/2 walk. We went into 2 theatures and stood outside others.
Steph and I ate a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. The waitress didn't speak Viet. Haha...
Our second tour was of Nobhill. The group was a little bigger. There were 6 people from England, 2 from Oklahoma, 2 from Washington and the rest were from California. I liked this tour more, even though I wasn't listening to our tour guide, Kay, as much. The sights were so pretty.
I had the most interesting bus trip on Thursday. We went to MOMA to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit. When I got to LHH in the morning I went to the wrong ward. There were two that were going on the trip and the volunteer coordinator emailed me the day before telling me to go to O6 but I was actually placed with O7. I was not only excited about seeing the exhibition but about meeting the people on higher floors. I've heard that the higher you go up the more severe patients are..medically and psychologically. After the trip, I can't say that this is entirely false. When I was about to go into the unit, I stopped to introduce myself to 2 guys who were in the hall. It turned out they were going on the trip. One was seemed sweet. He apparently experienced 4 stokes. The other was a super chatty War World II veteran. I probably stood there for 20 minutes. The vet barely took in a breath when he talked to me and he was yapping 10 miles a minute. I tried really hard not to zone out and ignore him. He would yell out "ma'am!" every time I turned to greet someone else passing in the hallway or when I had to leave and help out the A.T. with other patients. The trip didn't even start yet and I was exhausted from that one guy. Plus, I got really annoyed later on by this other guy who flirted with anything with boobs and "nice curves." He asked me to marry him and told me that he loved me a couple of times. I gave the A.T. a "!!!!!!!!" look when she told me I could escort him around the exhibit. She gave me an understanding look when she saw my disgust and gave me the guy who pooped in his pants instead.
We had lunch on the bus right next to a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge. When we got into the museum we crowded the lobby with our 16 patients, 3 staff members and 3 volunteers. The MOMA coordinators let us go into the exhibit in bunches because it was already packed up there. Seeing the artwork really made the trip worth it. I sort of wanted to buy something at the gift shop just so I could have the Frida Kahlo shopping bag, but I decided to save my money on a another artist. Kahlo isn't one of my favorite artists but her work and the stories behind them are inspiring..not to mention magnificent.
After about an hour and a half, we boarded the patients back onto the buses. One guy rolled into the street and almost went across the crosswalk at a red light. A stranger was kind enough to catch him before he did. When everybody was settled the A.T. mentioned that this turned out to be a smooth trip. Unfortunately, she spoke too soon. We only moved a block and a half away from where we were parked when the engine broke down. The bus was in a middle of a turn so it was blocking two street ways. This wasn't the first time I was stuck in a bus that stopped. We were parked and in a safe spot the last time though. I thought LHH would have gotten new buses by now, since it's the end of summer! The CNA driving the other ward's bus hopped onto our bus and was fortunately enough to start the thing. We reached a red light a block after and when it turned green guess what happened? The engine failed again. The CNAs switched buses, since the other one was more skilled. We had a bumpy ride home since she didn't want to stop too long or else we would have been stuck again. The flirter hollered and yelped since his wheelchair wasn't strapped in tightly enough. Haha..He's not the first patient who's flirted with me. I usually let those comments slip since I know that patients are old and bored, but this dude really got on my nerves.
Friday turned out to be Autumn Krash. We didn't plan it..it turned out that the four of us ended up together. We rushed with our shopping in the morning. Then, we watched "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" for free. YAY for AE!
Today, I hung out at Sharon's. Poor Sharon was trying to find the first Pants movie for about 45 minutes but couldn't find it. We ended up playing "Mad Gab." It was hilarious. You're suppose to figure out the phrase/word of something that sounded like a jumble of weird sounds/words. The title to this post was one I couldn't figure out because I kept laughing. The answer is "Potato" btw.
What do you say when you aren't religious and a person asks you to pray for them. That's what the A.T. did when I ran into her Thursday. I think I hugged her, told her I would take care of her unit on Monday and Tuesday, and that she would be okay. She'll be okay.
I finally went on a city tour! I got to spend the educational day with Stephanie. We almost couldn't find the first tour, which started at the "southeast stage of Yerba Buena." Our first tour was "Theaters in SF." I knew that there were theaters and shows in SF but I didn't know where. Now I do. This tour was with Sue who lead the group of ~10 women on a brisk 1 1/2 walk. We went into 2 theatures and stood outside others.
Steph and I ate a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. The waitress didn't speak Viet. Haha...
Our second tour was of Nobhill. The group was a little bigger. There were 6 people from England, 2 from Oklahoma, 2 from Washington and the rest were from California. I liked this tour more, even though I wasn't listening to our tour guide, Kay, as much. The sights were so pretty.
I had the most interesting bus trip on Thursday. We went to MOMA to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit. When I got to LHH in the morning I went to the wrong ward. There were two that were going on the trip and the volunteer coordinator emailed me the day before telling me to go to O6 but I was actually placed with O7. I was not only excited about seeing the exhibition but about meeting the people on higher floors. I've heard that the higher you go up the more severe patients are..medically and psychologically. After the trip, I can't say that this is entirely false. When I was about to go into the unit, I stopped to introduce myself to 2 guys who were in the hall. It turned out they were going on the trip. One was seemed sweet. He apparently experienced 4 stokes. The other was a super chatty War World II veteran. I probably stood there for 20 minutes. The vet barely took in a breath when he talked to me and he was yapping 10 miles a minute. I tried really hard not to zone out and ignore him. He would yell out "ma'am!" every time I turned to greet someone else passing in the hallway or when I had to leave and help out the A.T. with other patients. The trip didn't even start yet and I was exhausted from that one guy. Plus, I got really annoyed later on by this other guy who flirted with anything with boobs and "nice curves." He asked me to marry him and told me that he loved me a couple of times. I gave the A.T. a "!!!!!!!!" look when she told me I could escort him around the exhibit. She gave me an understanding look when she saw my disgust and gave me the guy who pooped in his pants instead.
We had lunch on the bus right next to a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge. When we got into the museum we crowded the lobby with our 16 patients, 3 staff members and 3 volunteers. The MOMA coordinators let us go into the exhibit in bunches because it was already packed up there. Seeing the artwork really made the trip worth it. I sort of wanted to buy something at the gift shop just so I could have the Frida Kahlo shopping bag, but I decided to save my money on a another artist. Kahlo isn't one of my favorite artists but her work and the stories behind them are inspiring..not to mention magnificent.
After about an hour and a half, we boarded the patients back onto the buses. One guy rolled into the street and almost went across the crosswalk at a red light. A stranger was kind enough to catch him before he did. When everybody was settled the A.T. mentioned that this turned out to be a smooth trip. Unfortunately, she spoke too soon. We only moved a block and a half away from where we were parked when the engine broke down. The bus was in a middle of a turn so it was blocking two street ways. This wasn't the first time I was stuck in a bus that stopped. We were parked and in a safe spot the last time though. I thought LHH would have gotten new buses by now, since it's the end of summer! The CNA driving the other ward's bus hopped onto our bus and was fortunately enough to start the thing. We reached a red light a block after and when it turned green guess what happened? The engine failed again. The CNAs switched buses, since the other one was more skilled. We had a bumpy ride home since she didn't want to stop too long or else we would have been stuck again. The flirter hollered and yelped since his wheelchair wasn't strapped in tightly enough. Haha..He's not the first patient who's flirted with me. I usually let those comments slip since I know that patients are old and bored, but this dude really got on my nerves.
Friday turned out to be Autumn Krash. We didn't plan it..it turned out that the four of us ended up together. We rushed with our shopping in the morning. Then, we watched "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" for free. YAY for AE!
Today, I hung out at Sharon's. Poor Sharon was trying to find the first Pants movie for about 45 minutes but couldn't find it. We ended up playing "Mad Gab." It was hilarious. You're suppose to figure out the phrase/word of something that sounded like a jumble of weird sounds/words. The title to this post was one I couldn't figure out because I kept laughing. The answer is "Potato" btw.
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