May Blog Post 76 Be with You. Thanks for stopping, reading, and laughing at this month’s musings. It seems I failed to fool as many people this year as I did last year with my April Fool’s Day Post. Well done to all those who learned a lesson from 2020.

A Year Like No Other… Except Last Year

Is it just me or does this year seem a lot like last year? No travel, stay-at-home orders, and news of some virus every day. It’s not the way I thought we’d be spending 2021, especially with a vaccine or two being available… “available” being something of an exaggeration here in Canada. My wife and I had planned to travel to Europe this fall but with each passing month, it seems that dream is getting further and further away.

Anniversary

It’s ten years to the month that I became a Registered Nurse. It’s been quite the journey. The thing with nursing is that the learning never stops. You learn the job, about people, and also about the self. I am proud to say that I’m not the same person I was ten years ago… not even close.

I was recently in a conversation with several fellow nurses, some younger and some older. The conversation turned to school. Several nurses were in school to become Nurse Practitioners, others were in programs to specialize in ICU and the OR, and several others were taking courses to get their Master’s Degree. Eventually, it came to me and I was asked about schooling and any courses I was taking. “Umm… I’m not taking any courses or going to school at all.” There was a collective gasp. “I learn on the job every day and battle to keep up with the current changes to policies, routines, standards, and protocols that seem to be occurring daily these days. As Elon Musk said, ‘you can learn any skill you want for free online. School is for showing you can do your chores.’” There was definitely some head shaking. Hey, look at these beautiful flowers!

Reading

Over the past year and a half, so many people have been referencing the book, 1984 by George Orwell. With that, I decided to read this well-known novel published in 1949. I’m over half way through and so far, it’s been interesting even if not that enjoyable. The references people are making are to the totalitarian society depicted in the book with Big Brother/ Government controlling all information and comparing it with the current society we are living in today, during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the novel, people are killed and ‘vaporized’ if straying from the government mandate of control. It hardly seems similar to what’s going on now… at least here in Canada.

Novel Progress

Segwaying is hard. The first draft of my first novel is nearing completion. I have four chapters remaining. It’s been a tough slog over the last month as I’ve struggled to force myself to sit down and put in the time and work needed to complete this project. There’s such a natural resistance to doing difficult things that my mind has labelled as “not needing to do.” The struggle is real.

Words of Wisdom… and Inspiration

1. Give every May everything you’ve got. Then replace ‘May” with ‘day’ and do that until your very last.

2. Do difficult things. Nothing really worthwhile can come from a state of ease and comfort. Also, don’t stay in school!

3. Sleep is very important. Get your sleep.

My in-laws live outside the city of Kamloops. The surrounding mountains are known for having big horn sheep (which aren’t as plentiful or visible as they once were).

My wife: “You used to be able to walk over to the mountainside and count them all.”

Me: “I tried to do that yesterday but I fell asleep.”

4. Pay attention. Listen carefully. Listen before speaking. Listen to learn.

Overheard Conversation:

Woman: “I had a Pontiac LeMans.”

Other woman: “I also had LeMans class when I was pregnant.”

Thanks for reading and supporting this endeavor. Share, Like, recommend, comment, and whatever else your conscious tells you to do to support this free service which makes your quarantined life so very much better than it otherwise would be. And now, it’s time for the ending jokes… which were limited because of so much hilarity into the Words of Wisdom. Enjoy.

I found an air compressor.

What’s an air compressor used for?

Compressing air.

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Do you worried about money?

No, but me worried about you grammar.