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It has been a nice quiet weekend. Ultradad was actually able to come home on Friday and is even getting to spend two nights here, so that is nice. Today, he and sister Pat spent the morning in Elko. I had been in that town every day this week, so I opted out of that little excursion and puttered around the house doing sporadic, random bits of housework while listening to The Kite Runner on my Walkman.
We played a little cribbage with Pat in the afternoon, when she came to retrieve the new books she had purchased, but that UDad had “accidentally” taken home. I actually cooked dinner tonight, a now rare event. It was a delightful meatloaf which we both ate too much of while watching a 1976 Lawrence Welk show.
I think it’s about time I fill you in on the classes I’m taking this semester.
My 6-credit class is my C N A or Certified Nurse’s Aid class. This is funny; every time I type in “c n a ”, my computer changes it to CAN, so I have to leave spaces between each letter. You know, once in a while, just every so often, it happens that I really do know more about what I intend to write than the computer does. But it never believes me.
Whew, I got a little off track, didn’t I? So, I go for 2 1/2 hours twice a week of classroom work. Some of it is lecture, but lots is hands on, as we learn how to wash our hands (there really is a technique), make beds, take vital signs, feed, turn, move and bathe people. We sometimes practice on each other, and other times on the manikins. One time I noticed that a very anatomically correct male manikin was wearing a wrist bracelet that identified him as “Sarah Johnson.” Poor guy must be having some serious identity problems. Five out of the ten students in the class already work at the nursing home where we will do our clinicals. Getting their C N A license will enable them to do more for better pay. Darla and Erika are in the Radiology program, Eneritz wants to be a trauma nurse and Geronimo has dreams of being a doctor someday. Me? I’m just trying to get an idea if this could be a direction I want to go.
We had our first clinical Thursday morning starting bright and early at 6 A.M. Donna, Eneritz and I get assigned to 400 Hall, where, as in 300 Hall, more or less normal residents live. 200 Hall is for rehab, and 100 Hall is where the Alzheimer’s residents live. Sometime I will have to take my turn there, but the normal hall is enough for me today. Donna and I shower Livia. It is difficult with two people and Donna tells me she usually works alone. I do not see how. In the dining room, we help feed breakfast to several women who are more or less asleep and occasionally swallow, as it seems, by instinct. Everywhere Tvs are on and the talk is of the earthquake in Wells. Enertiz feels cheated because she slept in this morning and did not even feel it. An elderly gentlemen they call “Boni” tells me how he used to break horses for Roy Rodgers, Gene Autry and Bing Crosby and how Howard Hughes was a personal friend of his. I take this information with a small grain of salt.
My Tai Chi class is twice a week and lasts one hour. It is at the Senior Citizen’s building, or “The Terrace” as it is called. I am probably the youngest one in the class, including the instructor, but I am enjoying it. Bill, our instructor is a kind, patient man, and spends a lot of time talking about the technique of breathing deeply and slowly. We do warm up exercises and begin learning “Nine Forms.” Several weeks into class, I think we may be up to form 3 or 4. Inevitably I compare these vibrant, intelligent senior citizens with the residents I saw at the nursing home. What a difference.
My third class is part of the new Human Services program being offered at the college and is called “Drugs in Society.” The textbook details licit (tobacco, alcohol, prescription and OTC) as well as illicit substances of abuse. We learn how these drugs cause physiological changes in body functions and how many of them can cause physical as well as psychological dependence. Part of the class assignment requires us to write up a contract detailing a health change we wish to make, and how we will measure our achievement. I am choosing exercise, and am committing to five 1/2 hours cardiovascular sessions and 2 hours of strength training/stretching each week. Several of the things we learn in C N A we also talk about in “Drugs”, but from a different perspective. Initially, this class was offered Tues and Thurs afternoons when I am at work. As it happened, the teacher asked the class, and they all agreed to meet once a week on Wednesdays instead, which is my day off. I would much rather attend class in person than to take it online.
Of course I am also leading one or two Weight Watcher groups and working four afternoons a week and spending most weekends at Ruby Valley with UltraDad.
So, UltraBob, do you see why I am having such a hard time getting your package together and in the mail? Next week for SURE; I promise!
UltraMom the Student
I have been meaning for quite some time to write a post about my new classes. This post would, theoretically, be witty, poignant and insightful. But everytime I think about it, I’m just too tired to be any of those things. So I have decided to just ramble on about whatever comes to mind until I’m no longer coherent. How about that?
The big thing today was the earthquake, over 6.0 on the Richter Scale, centered in Wells, NV, not all that far from where I live. It occurred about 6:15 this morning, a time when I would normally still be in bed. This particular morning, however, found me at the nursing home in Elko for my very first clinical experience for my Certified Nurses Aid class. I was standing in the middle of a hallway, as a supervisor figured out what we were going to be doing for the morning, when suddenly the floor started rolling, and I felt like I was on a ship. Then we noticed the chandeliers were swaying. One of my coworkers was kind of freaked out, but it didn’t seem to bother the residents. More about my Nursing Home experiences at a future date. It really wasn’t all that bad where I was, but I understand they had some pretty extensive damage in Wells, though no one was badly hurt. When I arrived at the prison that afternoon, I learned that most of the inmate work crews had been sent to Wells to assist with the clean up, and I ended up working an hour overtime waiting for them to return so I could hand out their store purchases. I talked to UltraDad tonight, and he is fine also.
We had a very nice time last weekend. I had been planning to spend the long weekend (taking Friday off, with Monday a paid holiday) at Panther’s house in Emmett, ID. Jimbo would be there, having recently returned from his trip to Nashville, as well as my brother and wife, Dave & Jane and their daughter Linda, who is a Senior at nearby Albertson’s college. At the last minute, UltraDad ended up being able to go along, thanks to the good weather projected for the weekend.
We had a great time, and were able to spend part of Saturday at Panther’s husband John’s family cabin in McCall, ID. “Cabin” doesn’t really do it justice; it’s a charming log house on 10 wooded acres, including a stream. We were able, in turns, to try snowshoeing, which I really enjoyed. I had always pictured snowshoes as giant, woven tennis-racket looking contraptions, and the walking with them as quite an arduous undertaking. These modern snowshoes were maybe the size of a badminton racket head, and were super easy to put on and take off. Using them to walk confidently on top of 4-5 feet of snow seemed not much more difficult than normal walking with normal shoes on dry ground, though I could feel the snow kicking up the back of my legs and hips as I walked. I really want to get a pair for Ruby Valley winters! The ‘boys’ (Murphy and Rowdy), weighing 5-7 lbs each, lightly skipped across the top of the snow, gathering iceballs in the long hair of their legs and bellies. Some of the ice balls were golf ball sized, and I think the dogs weighed twice their normal weight by the time I got them back in to thaw out by the fire.
Jessica was able to meet us at the cabin, which was great. We enjoyed a great meal of chilli, biscuits and oreos and played a very fun game I had never before played called “Apples to Apples”. Maddeningly (for us) , and unwittingly, Jessica and I kept playing right into Jim’s hand!
Panther and John were soon to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary (congrats kids!), and would be returning to the cabin on Monday, so Jessica opted to leave her pickup there and come back to Emmett with us for a few days. On Sunday, we were to go to church with Linda, and she invited anyone who wished to go early and sing in the church choir with her. She ended up with four would-be singers; Ultramom, Panther, her Dad, Dave and brave Jessica. The choir director was great about it, and we soon found ourselves resplendent in choir robes, singing our hearts out. It was great fun.
Later that afternoon was the great Pizza Cookoff, pitting Aunt Panther’s bread machine pizza-dough recipe against UltraMom-Jessica’s thin crust. Actually, this recipe started off as an UltraMom’s specialty, but Jessica has taken it to a new level, and Ultramom only assisted on this particular day. Several of Panther’s inlaws came to help judge and enjoy the repast: John’s mother, who is amazingly active and loads of fun, his sister, Donna and husband Jeff, and their two grandkids Jack and Naomi. The consensus, when nearly all the pizza had been consumed, was that both pizzas, each in their own special way, were winners.
All too soon, Monday was here, and it was time for UtraMom and Dad to return to their normal-for-now, busy lives.
Okay, kids, that’s it for tonight. After I got off work late, I stopped by the LDS church close to my house where a Blood Drive was going on, and I donated a pint or two, so I’m using that as an excuse for my weariness; that and the fact that I got up at 4:30 this morning. At least I had an excuse to eat a few cookies.
That was a jam-packed post. You’ve had a busy week: nursing home, earthquake, prison, snow-showing, choir-singing, cook-offing, blood donating, etc. Whew, you must be exhausted! We love apples to apples too. Perhaps we can add it to out Thanksgiving repertoire.
Jim was really good at getting in our heads when playing apples to apples. I think that if we spent less time trying to make him lose, we might’ve done better ourselves. Jim not winning is almost the same thing though. 
He’s so cute! You guys get much better u/s pics than we did. I think his lips are cute too.
At least he does not have his Grandma McDonald’s nose, thank goodness. The detail is amazing. I already love him and can’t wait to hold him!
In spite of the bad angle, I still think he looks cute.
As you know, if you have been reading this post for any length of time, UltraMom is a very proud mother of four amazing, now adult, children. At various times, I relate to you their incredible feats, as well as their foibles. Today let me present to you, the Majestic Johnny, lawyer in training extraordinaire. First, let me quote to you part of an email recently received from him, and you will see what I mean.
“Over the past several months, I have been competing in the Vanderbilt Moot Court Competition which consisted of a written brief and competitive rounds or oral argument before panels of judges (consisting of professors and lawyers in early rounds, and actual judges in the last round). My partner Scott Goldman and I advanced from an initial pool of 73 teams to the final two, which was a lot of work. We had our final argument tonight, which was in front of two Federal appellate court judges and one justice from the eastern district of Tennessee federal court. We argued well in front of an audience of around 100, and the judges commended us on our preparation but ultimately the other team won. They were very good and we have no hard feelings about the loss. A lot of you knew about this competition before so I wanted to let you know how it turned out. For the rest of you, I suppose I just wanted to brag about an impressive loss We did end up 2nd our of 73 though, and as my brother Jim would say, “That ain’t bad.”
Jim was able to witness the finals, and he said Johnny and Scott were brilliant. He, and many others thought they had won, but unfortunately, Jim was not one of those aforementioned court judges. And Jim is totally correct: 2nd out of 73 teams ain’t bad at all; in fact it’s pretty dang good.
Proud UltraMom
I wish I could also have witnessed the finals. I was a law major in college but didn’t study hard enough to be a lawyer… I am still very interested in the court process: details of the arguments and stuff like that.
johnny’s #1 in our book. Competing against 73 teams is incredible.
He’s #2 in ours. A lot of people thought he had won, but the judges decided he had been narrowly edged out by someone else.
Imagine my surprise when I found this post and the next one hiding down at the bottom of the page!! Good job Johnny. Wish I could’ve been there to watch your moot court competition.
So much is happening in World UltraMom I hardly know where to begin. If you were to ask the “boys” (Murphy and Rowdy, of course!), a little TOO much is happening and is keeping UltraMom, slave of poodles away from home far too much. They like the weekends that we have been spending at UltraDad’s country home in Ruby Valley: a nice ride in the car, getting to see Dad and then lots and lots of attention.
We have actually just returned from one such excursion. UltraDad has been getting very little time off, as we are in the midst of a winter the likes of which noone around here has seen since ’83-84, as related to UltraDad by a Ruby Valley oldtimer. It occurs to me that Jimbo was born in that winter, and I think back trying hard to remember if that was a particularly bad, snowy winter in Idaho. Yes, come to think of it, I do believe it was.
UDad is working on the tail end of a month of working nights, heroically trying to keep the roads plowed open. This weekend he actually ends up getting two days off, though he had to stay around, just in case. He was able to spend part of Friday in Carlin, and after I got off work, we caravaned back to Ruby Valley. On Saturday, we play cribbage, cook and watch an old Johnny Cash movie, The Pride of Jesse Hallam, about a young widower with two kids who is illiterate. To the backdrop of Johnny Cash songs, proud Jesse pays for his daughter’s scoliosis operation, takes his wayward son in hand, and learns to read. Really, not a bad movie. We also watch an episode of The Cisco Kid, one of my childhood favorites. The title is “The Phony Sheriff”, and opens with Cisco and Poncho moving a herd of cattle. The phony sheriff, whom they don’t yet know is phony, inspects the herd and says the brands have been tampered with. He and his cohorts are ready to string up our heroes to save the law abiding taxpayers the expense of a trial. But with diversion, a little fisticuffs and some very slow reacting bad guys, Cisco and Poncho ride away to fight another day. My favorite line comes later when the pretty woman is sheltering the phony sheriff and tells Cisco she has not seen him, when obviously the guy has just been there. I mean, his horse is tied up outside. “Miss,” says Cisco sternly, “You are being very annoying.” Strong words indeed! Meanwhile, the bad guy is unsaddling Cisco’s horse and making his escape. Of course Cisco can’t chase him until he resaddles the horse. Can you imagine what his fancy black suit would look like with horsehair all over its, uh, posterior?
Sunday afternoon, we take a drive in the pickup through Secret Pass to see if the “Road Closed” sign means what it says. Turns out, if it does, it shouldn’t. The road is fine, and we decide to go on to Elko for lunch and a few more groceries for UltraDad. At KFC, we order an 8-piece meal. That way, UDad will have some leftovers for the next day or two. As promised, I save some prime chicken scraps for the “boys” who have been patiently waiting in the car. On the way back to the Valley, I grab a few ‘Zzs’. All too soon, its time for UltraMom and the poodles to head back home.
This was a much nicer going-home drive than the one we had last Sunday. That day the roads were terrible. It was questionable if I could even make it home going the long way through Wells, but I followed UDad’s coworker, Chick, who was on the snowplow, and made it to Wells on ice and snow covered roads with very poor visibility in patches. I thought I had it made as I booked it down the Interstate towards Elko. Suddenly, I was skidding on some treacherous black ice. I can never remember what you are supposed to do in case of a skid, at least not while I am skidding. Steer which way? Do what with the brakes and gas? Fortunately, no one else was on the road right then as I went back and forth across the highway, ending up in the median in a deep pile of snow, which probably kept us from further harm, both to ourselves and to the car. I found the “Emergency Winter Road Kit” in my trunk and got out the little, telescoping shovel. How to make the handle stop collapsing? Finally I just started digging with the head of the shovel. A very nice young couple stopped. They had a bigger shovel, and also knew how to lock mine straight. But we couldn’t dig it out. I was just too packed into the snow. I only had to wait an hour for a Triple A certified tow truck to come pull me out. The car was driving fine, and I was really looking forward to getting home and out of my wet boots. But when I got to my street, I could see that Ruby Valley wasn’t the only place that had had a lot of snow that weekend. There was a huge mound in front of and in my driveway. I parked in the street, put the dogs in the house and started shoveling. So that is what I was doing while you were enjoying your exciting Super Bowl game! At least I didn’t have to use that floppy little travel shovel on my driveway. I’m trying to look on the bright side here.
On the Road Again,
UltraMom
That’s a scary story, I’m glad it turned out ok! I’m sure it wasn’t much fun at the time.
Wow almost missed this post. I’m really glad you weren’t hurt in your exciting ride. Maybe you should go have the car checked out just in case. Tomoko and I finally got some of our picture frames hung, and they include a couple of shots from Disney Sea, really brightens the room up.
I really think Disney Sea was my favorite day in Japan, next to the wedding, of course. We had SO much fun, especially The Tower of Terror!
I guess we should have hung our Tower of Terror pictures instead. Something like this:
v v 0 v
Sounds like you have a ton of snow down there. It has also been snowing a whole bunch up here. They closed the university for two days because no professors could get to school. It ended up being a four-day weekend, but all the roads were closed so I was stuck here anyway.
I finally put my remaining Hershey’s kisses in the freezer, which is only minimally slowing down my consumption of them. They are dark chocolate, which is a particular weakness of mine. I was discussing this obsession with Johnny when he posed an interesting question.
“I always hear people talking about being ‘chocoholics’, but I never see any chocohol.”
That’s right, Johnny. And you WON’T see any either, if I have anything to say about it. The chocohol is all for me .okay maybe just a little for fellow chocoholic Jessica.
UltraMom the Addict
Dark chocolate is a health food. It has lots of antioxidants. That’s how you should view your chocoholism--you’re just maintaining a healthy lifestle. I highly recommend Green & Blacks brand. Yummy.
I love chocohol!! Thanks for sharing with me! Dark chocolate is very good for you. I’m not quite sure if a fellow chocoholic researcher came up with that or not, but it makes for a good excuse to eat it!
My girlfriend gave me a bag of kisses for my birthday and I could not stop eating them. As much as I tried, I would always go back just to have the taste in my mouth. They say it is an aphrodisiac and I believe it.
Wow, you are a posting machine these last few days, good work!
You are a posting machine. I love reading all your posts! My Grandma lived in an assisted living home and there was a guy there who thought that he was Colonel Sanders.
I’m glad you can out-think the computer. It reminded me of an episode of The Office where Michael and Dwight are driving in a car. The gps system tells them to turn right even though that means they will drive into a lake. Michael insists they do what the computer says b/c they’re always right. They end up soaking wet and narrowly escaping from a sinking car, their belief in technology forever scarred. You have avoided that.
You really have someone in your class named Geronimo?
First off I would like to scold Chenoa for forgetting to mention that you are a posting machine.
Secondly I would like to scold your computer for correcting CNA to can but not correcting your horribly misguided spelling of mannequin.
Now that the scolding is out of the way, this was a delightful post, and I really enjoyed it. Have you decided whether to go into nursing or drugs yet? Incidentally methinks that if you were using pages to write your blog posts instead of Microsoft Word you wouldn’t have these spelling problems. You may want to look into that.
Lastly I’ll have no more excuses about the package I want my robot and I want it now! At this rate I’ll have no time to play with it before I have to play with the diaper part of the package instead.
Your devoted son,
UltraBob
I quote:From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A wooden mannequin
A wooden mannequin
For other uses, see Mannequin (disambiguation).
Mannequin (alternately, mannikin, manakin, dummy or lay figure). The word comes from the Dutch word manneken, literally meaning ‘little man’. Mannequin is the French form.
So, I mean if you want to use the French form....
Yes, Chenoa, there really is a kid in my class named Geronimo! I thought it was weird at first, but now I don’t think anything of it. Speaking of French, we were discussing how many Americans were /are avoiding all things French lately, and Geronimo informed us that Mattie’s, a local restaurant, now served “Freedom Fries” instead of, well, you know. He knows whereof he speaks; when UDad and I went to Mattie’s for an early lunch last Friday, we saw Geronimo, complete with green apron and order pad. Turns out he works there.
Jessica, did you ever let Colonel Sanders make you some Kentucky Fried Chicken? I hear he’s rather famous for that.
And lastly, to my bratty, threatening son, your Robots are now on their way, so quit bugging me.The diaper part will follow relatively shortly.
Your loving mother,etc, etc
Interesting. I am quite sure I have never seen that word spelled manikin before. As for Mattie’s, they’d have to be really freaking good not to have me stop patronizing them after a shirthead move like switching french fries to freedom fries. Thanks for the sending the robot you will be spared when my robot army takes over the planet.
The Colonel Sanders who lived with my Grandma did not make any fried chicken, but the real Colonel Sanders did make some pretty awesome fried chicken. Colonel is a really weird word. Its pronounced “kernel” but there aren’t any r’s in it.