Focus and Finish!!

Ah, yes, Focus and Finish. That has become my motto lately. Actually I got it from a student in my class. Every semester at this time, the students (and the instructors) get a bad case of burn-out. They have two weeks to go with the last unit exams and then finals. We have a few days after that to get the grades in, and the we are FREEEEEE, too! But THIS time, I really will be free!! Today, I had a bit of a panic attack for a moment, suddenly realizing that I didn't have the calendar done for the summer term. But wait a minute....I don't have to do that. It feels so weird. I always have that done about a month ahead of time, and have it posted on my faculty web site so the students coming to the next class can make their plans plenty far ahead of time. I don't know if Diann has done that or not. These kinds of things just keep coming to me. Just let go, Sheryl!! Hmmmm....easier said than done.

Today was the next-to-the-last clinical day. Tomorrow will be the last. I don't know why I felt so antsy today! But I sure did. There were several hospital staff members that won't be there tomorrow, so I told them good-bye today and thanks for all their help through the years. I've had the best place to take my students. Everyone has always been so nice to me and helpful to the students. I will miss many of them. Several are nurses that I had in my class at one time.

Wading through all this Medicare maze is time-consuming - and confusing. I signed up for Part A when I turned 65. I didn't know that I needed to sign up for Part B at the same time. So I had to drive clear across town to a Social Security office just to pick up these two pieces of paper. They couldn't email or fax it to me, and the forms were not downloadable from the internet. ARGH! Come on, people! Get with the 21st century!! What a waste of precious gas, to say nothing of one's time. You walk in this office where there are (as I remember) 7 windows with women typing and 2 people being helped. You take a number and wait. My lady really was quite nice and very helpful when I got to her, but it still irks me to have to do things like that in this day of computer technology. I guess they just figure if you are going to get their services, you are going to have to jump through all these hoops.

I really don't do well waiting in lines. I remember going to grad school. This was back in the days when you had to "pull a card" for the class you wanted. You would have to wait in these enormous lines to get your card. Sometimes, you would finally get to the front of the line and find out you were in the wrong line all this time, or your class was now "closed." Another very distaseful line was/is the one at the car tag/license office. Sometimes it would be out the door. I would always take a book to read, because you knew you were going to be there for a very long time as that line just creeped along. I can't tell you the number of times I've finally got to the lady (who always took her sweet time), and I didn't have all the papers I needed. ARGH! At least now they do allow you to renew your tags online. BUT they charge you extra to do so. What's up with that?? Why should you pay more for the more stream-lined process that takes less time for them?? Whenever I have to intersect with any government official at any point for any reason, it is not a pleasant experience. That is just the long and short of it.

Wish I knew what to have for supper.....