Monday, October 15, 2007

Monday's Musings

I left work early Saturday night because I thought I would become snarled in Elton John traffic on the way. So, I buzzed down 70, waiting for the backup of cars. Surprisingly, there wasn't any.

As I cut through on 670, I was still surprised to see hardly any traffic. Where were all these people who were going to see Sir Elton in concert?

Then it occurred to me...I was coming from the east. Jackson County. Land of people who are paying for the arena, but actually can't afford to go. It also occurred to me that in the land of Jackson, there might not be a huge Elton John following. I suspect the ratio of Garth Brooks fans to Elton fans to be very lopsided.

I popped out onto 35 South and saw the traffic coming from the Kansas side. Ahhh...so that's where the majority of the tickets went.

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I'm still grossed out by the fact that there is a dead opossum sitting in a yellow garbage bag in my driveway. Brother is going to toss it in outgoing garbage for Monday. I don't care what he does with it, as long as I don't have to touch it. I'm kind of weird about that. I don't like touching dead animals. People are okay, but critters? No way!

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I've decided to resume classes in the spring. It appears that to have a position beyond what I currently do, you have to have a Bachelors in Nursing. I only have an Associates. I find it amusing how some people put so much weight in a BSN degree vs an ADN degree. We learn the same things, we sit for the same boards, we can do the same job for the same salary. The only thing different is that the BSN programs have a couple more lessons in leadership...which also amuses me. I've always held to the belief that leadership isn't just learned by reading a book on it. That's like reading a book on surgery, and then proclaiming yourself a neurosurgeon. History tells us that all great leaders overcame some form of adversity to become the strong leaders of their day. And when I mean adversity, I'm not talking about a hangover you got once from partying too hard at a frat house. Or that you are going to have to actually work for money because once you graduate, the parent's take their credit card away.

At any rate, I figured I may as well start classes now. I may dislike my job, but they offer a pretty good tuition reimbursement deal. In a year I can bridge to the BSN, then take Bosshole's job.

Or not.

6 comments:

Mo said...

Congrats on the decision to go back for the BSN. I'm going to start my pre-requisites in the spring for nursing school and haven't yet decided whether to just go for the ADN now and find a tuition reimbursement program down the road for the BSN or just get the BSN out of the way now. What's your suggestion?

6502Programmer said...

Congratulations on the decision to go back to school! I can't imagine what it would be like to seriously entertain the notion of going back to school now that I'm in my thirties. I never did get a degree of any sort, but I did complete three years of ChemE before I decided I didn't like chemistry and chemistry hated me.

GB, RN said...

I'm in my 30's. I work with residents who are a lot older than me. Just goes to show that you're never too old to go back.

As far as the course I would suggest...I would go in the program with the shortest waiting list. If you have to wait 2 years to get into an ADN program, you could be two years into a Bachelor's program. But, you also have to consider finances. I paid for my degree out of my own pocket without help from parents or Uncle Sam, so it took me a little longer, and the price tag that came with the degree was much more palatible than that of the four-year degree. OR...if you already have a Bachelors in anything, you can check into those accelerated programs at Jewel or Research.

Lots of factors to consider: family situation, financial, etc.

SmedRock said...

Hell yeah. Good choice, in my late 30's and just finished my B.S. in I.T. which will almost double my salary by the next year or two. Despite all my certifications, they still wanted that magic piece of paper. Amazing what doors it does open. I was given my current job just base don the fact that I was going to school. That was three years ago.

At least you get tuition reimbursement. Nada for me. Blew my GI Bill years ago. Good luck. You need Bosshole's job. May turn you into one. Scary how management will do that too people.

6502Programmer said...

I made the mistake of not realizing at the time that my hobby, computers, could be my profession. By the time I'd sunk three years into ChemE, it wasn't worth the time to go back to CIS. As it stands, that really hasn't been an impediment to my IT career. I'm doing the work that I love, getting paid a whole lot to do it. I only have one certification (CISSP), but as a developer, it's really more about being able to think like a developer, regardless of the language you're using at the moment.

SmedRock said...

That is true. And CISSP is a nice cert (working mine now), but it tipped the decision my way when it came time to hiring. So it did help. Either way, I enjoy my work, and mine started as a hobby too. So understand that aspect too.