A good friend emailed this to me and I thought most of them were right on regarding life in the Pacific Northwest. Had a few good laughs, too (thanks, Mercy, for sending this to me)  --Jess

“I thought Jeff Foxworthy did Southern humor but he
seemed to nail this one... The Pacific Northwest According To Jeff
 Foxworthy.



1. You know the state flower (Mildew)

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5 You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, its not a real mountain.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Veneto's.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima and Willamette.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark while only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches
and a poncho.

16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain,"and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.

20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.

21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.

22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.

23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.

26. You measure distance in hours.

27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.

28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer & Elk season (Fall).

30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward them”

So here I am hanging out at the fire department on shift for the ambulance, and we all start talking about a particular weird case we saw sometime this past year. A real headscratcher. Anyway, tonight the mystery was cleared up when our medical director told us the final diagnosis...this person had a life-threatening allergic reaction to cold water! NO KIDDING! Turns out its not that uncommon, just usually not life-threatening.

After a little bit of research on the 'net, we found out that some people are genetically predisposed to breaking out in hives when exposed to cold water. It usually shows up in older teens and young adults and may only be present for 5-6 years but can stick around for a lifetime. In some rare cases it can cause an anaphylactic reaction (low to no blood pressure and swollen airway) that often results in death. Usually swimming in cold water is the culprit for the life-threatening reaction.

Guess how they diagnose it? Yup, the doctor slaps an icecube on the patient's arm and holds it there for 4 minutes. If the patient ends up with hives where the icecube sat...they are diagnosed with Cold Urticaria. Nope, I'm not making this up.  You can check out this website for more info: http://dermatology.about.com/cs/hives/a/coldurt.htm

I learn something new and interesting all the time working in healthcare, but I think this gets the award for the most wacko, unbelievable but true disorder. Who would have ever thought that jumping into cold water could kill a person?! Or that drinking a glass of ice water could make them break out in hives and start wheezing?! Wow.

Oh no! I'm tagged...hmmm, let's see, what makes me happy...? The top ten (in no particular order) are...

1.) Cruising at 3000 feet in the airplane on a cold, crisp late afternoon in autumn with the sun low on the horizon and the fall colors glowing red, yellow and orange against a background of dark green, and a lavender alpen-glow on Mt. Hood with wispy haze at it's base and the full moon rising behind it

2.) Walking on the beach during a gorgeous sunset

3.) Hanging out with my family

4.) Seeing a patient get better and go home that almost died a few weeks or days before

5.) Driving fast with lights & sirens to answer a 911 call for help (when the pavement is dry and the night is clear, daytime is even better...foggy, rainy, murky nights do not count--that can be a nightmare)

6.) Reading a good book

7.) Spending quality time with friends

8.) Finding an obscure movie soundtrack that I really like on CD

9.) Listening to my favorite classical pieces played by a live orchestra (Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, Holst, Williams, Grofe, Copeland, Gershwin, etc) A good arrangement on a CD works too, but not as cool

10.) Traveling anywhere...going on adventures...seeing cool scenery...meeting cool people...eating good food

So, there you have it...hmmm, now who should I tag?  I tag Em, Rachel, and Mark.

I didn't realize when we no longer had the photo program that my background went bye bye and my site had the invisible mystery  postings. Hence the new blue background so my postings can be read.  Not quite the same as the sky over the Oregon coast but at least it's not black.

I'm having a blast at my new job at Willamette Falls Hosptial ICU in Oregon City. Slowly, but surely, i'm gaining confidence and getting a little more efficient and speedy in getting everything done. I still feel like a student (probably will for a long time) and I look forward to the day when I feel like a real nurse.

I've had the chance to care for quite a few really pleasant patients and interact with their families. I've also been challenged with a wide variety of medical and post-surgical issues to manage. My preceptors have been very helpful and so supportive. It's turned out to be a real blessing to be there.

In other news, I'm almost for sure going to move out to Milwaukie into my own apartment in December, so I'm a little closer to town for school and work, and I can dig all my stuff out of storage so I can actually use it. I'm looking for someone who'd like to share the 2 bed 2 bath apartment, so if any of you know any nice gals who'd be interested, please let me know.

Hope all of you are doing well, and I'll try not to take so long to get the next post up next time. --Jessica 

Please, PLEASE never be a driver that brings a car out on to a public road with out making sure that every passenger is securely and properly buckled in and that every little kid 4 years or younger are in carseats that are correctly installed and the kids securely fastened. It could make a lifesaving difference if the unthinkable happens...

Stop signs are there for a reason, please don't blow through them. Pay attention to road signs, don't drive distracted, be ready to react...

October 28, 2004--two little girls died and another little girl critically injured when the driver of the vehicle they were in didn't notice a huge red stop sign and drove right across a highway into the path of a semi at the intersection of Hwys 211 and 170. It wasn't just something I heard on the news...I was one of the crew on the first ambulance to arrive to find them dead.

July 29, 2005--one little boy died, and his 4 siblings critically injured when the vehicle they were in was hit by a truck that blew past a big red stop sign at the intersection of Hwys 211 and 170. None of the kids were buckled in, the smallest one not in a carseat. The occupants of the truck were buckled-in and came out with only minor injuries. SEAT BELTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!! They just might have saved the life of a little boy and protected his siblings from horrible injuries and memories that didn't have to happen.

Little kids shouldn't have to suffer the consequences of stupid and negligent actions of adults who should know better. If the two different drivers' who missed the big red stop sign had only noticed and stopped, three little kids would still be alive today. Last Friday night might have turned out differently if the driver of the van had taken the little bit of time to install a carseat and ensure that all his passengers were properly restrained.

Okay, whew! I think I'm done venting...PLEASE BE SAFE, BUCKLE UP, and

REALIZE THE RESPONSIBLITY YOU HAVE ON YOUR SHOULDERS WHEN YOU GET BEHIND THE WHEEL WITH KIDS IN THE CAR.