This Could Have Been a Totally Crappy Day

Today started out kinda crappy. I overslept because I didn’t click the right box in my new alarm app (Note to Self: No more new stuff until the semester ends!). Being late is unacceptable, so I hustled and managed to get ready (at a most basic level) in about 20 minutes. My housemate’s girlfriend dropped me off, and I still managed to be on time. I got to seminar and there was a quiz. On the second day of school. I had studied for the dosage calculation test, but honestly, I only gave the chapters on leadership and delegation a cursory glance. That will never happen again. 

I also discovered that the policy acknowledgement pages I needed to initial, sign, and bring to class were not in my bag but still at home on my printer (I love making scratch paper). I ran to the library during a break in lecture to use a printer, which only accepted coins or small bills. All I had was my debit card. I fought the urge to kick the machine and ran back to class.

I’ve been looking for a reason to use this GIF for a while now…

Then the dosage calculation test comes, on which we are expected to earn 100%. Like we can’t leave the room unless we’ve got all of the right answers, and if we can’t figure out the right answers, we must remediate before we’ll be trusted with medications. And right off the bat it starts with the type of problem I had trouble with on the practice test at home last night. I get that one wrong. And I get another one wrong because apparently I didn’t key in the right numbers on my calculator. It takes me too long to figure that out, and even longer to sort out question 1, but eventually I do.

At this point I’m grumpy, have a headache, and just want to go home and take a nap. But I still have to go back to the library with some coinage and print three pages. I get that done, turn it in, and catch my bus home. I change into my jammies (because it was that kind of day) try to get that nap, but my housemate has some major project going on outside that involved a chainsaw and leaf blower, so…

Then my phone rings. It’s Mrs Bailey, the Health Coordinator. She’s responsible for making sure we’ve all had our shots, done our background checks, and our BLS is up-to-date. She was calling to let me know that my BLS couldn’t be accepted because it didn’t appear to include CPR and AED, and I won’t be able to attend clinical until I have a new card. So basically, the BLS I had was the healthcare equivalent of the little driver’s license you get at Disneyland. (True story: I had a guy that would come into the courthouse when I worked there and try to use that as a valid ID. “Disneyland is not a government, sir.”)

At this point I have a headache and am entirely too tired to even panic the way I felt the situation deserved. I knew of a training center right literally a 5 minute walk from my house, so I checked their website to see if the had any classes over the weekend. They didn’t, but they did have one TONIGHT. Like, in 35 minutes. I called and asked if there were seats available for walk-ins and she said yes, but I might not have my card until Friday. I just need it by Tuesday, lady. Friday’s good. I would have ran there except El Niño decided this was the day he wanted to swing by Southern California with a little rainy love. Whatever.

I got there, and it was actually fun. It was a small group of only five, and we had the cool people for instructors. To be honest, it was the best part of my day.

And someone was there to print out my card, so I’ve got my new BLS in hand, along with a few life lessons.

Do the readings. Squeeze them in. You don’t have to read every single word, but you need to know what’s there because QUIZ.

If you need to take a nap but your housemate is working on a major yard project WEAR EARPLUGS. If someone wakes you while you’re trying to day-sleep it’s really on you.

When an unexpected problem arises, you can panic or get to work fixing it. If I had panicked today, I’d have a lot of make-up work in my future waiting for another BLS class to come around.

And lastly, days that start crappy don’t have to end crappy.