Phlebotomy.

Frustration is definitely running rampant in me. I would say as of now, but the frustration really started about a year ago. 

I am frustrated simply because I feel inadequate. 

I was accepted into a fantastic Phlebotomy program a month before I graduated high school and completed the program a month after I graduated. I received a perfect score on my certification test and was top in the class for painless draws and locating difficult veins. I have a calm demeanor and I take great pride in the skills I have learned and will continue to develop.

But, I can’t get a job. From here stems the frustration. I have submitted 33 phlebotomy applications to numerous labs, hospitals, dialysis centers, and cancer centers, but have yet to receive an interview, or even as little as an email or call back.

Its because I have no experience. There is no place around me that accepts volunteer phlebotomists and I would have to join another program in order to receive an internship, that wouldn’t be paid. So in order to acquire experience, I have to already have it.

I used an entire $2,500 scholarship to pay for my program, which forced me to take some student loans when I first started attending college. I have a minimum wage job in a gift shop, but I need more money to pay my bills and pay for my wedding that has been pushed off a year because of my financial inadequacies. So, financial frustration is also weighing down on my shoulders. 

I’ve stopped in to the places where I applied. I have called the lab managers. I have visited with the lab managers. I have asked the HR departments to forward my applications, which most of them say they’ve done. Nothing I do is getting me a job, and I have no more answers or ideas. 

Another thing that frustrates me, especially with phlebotomy, is that many people in this field are without formal training. I have witnessed countless unsafe practices, such as a woman removing a needle and getting blood on her ungloved hands and then moving to another patient without disinfecting herself. Or another woman completely disregarding the vein I politely asked her to use, causing her to collapse my vein, creating a 6 inch hematoma and severe a blood clot. I have also been ignored and treated without caring or compassion by more than one phlebotomist. 

It is uncaring, careless, and dangerous practices, like the above, that frustrate me even more because I know how much better I am than that. This is not saying I don’t and won’t make mistakes, or that I am a better person than they are, but I know I will never do anything to endanger the patients or my own safety simply out of stupidity and lack of education.

I would love to be employed by a lab or hospital, just so I can show them some of the highest quality of work they have ever seen from a phlebotomist who cares about each patient, takes all necessary safety precautions, and strives for nothing less than the absolute best.

And, if you are a prospective employer who is somehow reading this, please, call me.

Number 95.

I remember September 18, 1996 like it was yesterday. I was 4 and woke up that morning to go to pre-school. I got all dressed and ran across the field to my Grandparents house. I saw my grandpa sleeping in his favorite chair by the fire place and did what I always did first thing in the morning, I ambushed him. I sat in his lap and watched my cartoons and drank my hot chocolate until I had to go to school. 


I didn't understand why my mom was crying when she picked me up later. I got home and no one was around. I ran to my grandpa's chair to tell him I was home, but he wasn't there. I walked into the laundry room and my cousin was sitting on the stairs. I sat down next to her and asked her what was wrong, and she started crying.


"Grandpa died." 


Those words will forever be ingrained in my mind. I didn't know what they meant then, but in retrospect, my grandpa has been one of the most important men in my life. And on the 15th anniversary of his death I went to visit him. I brought him some beautiful flowers and told him how much I missed him. I didn't feel sad though, I felt peaceful because I knew he was in a better place than he ever was here.


I could go into the many achievements of his, but his most important was how well he could hold our family together. He kept everyone in line and he was not gonna take crap from anyone. And for that I greatly respect the man that he was.

I love you Grandpa. 

838 days left...

 My lovely blog and my Day zero list have been neglected. From this point forward I have decided to change that. My life has been going through many changes in the last six months and that is giving me new perspective.

I have become engaged.

I have gotten a job.

I bought a car. 

I got a new apartment with Jason.

I'm learning to let go of people who don't matter to my happiness.

And I've been cooking, which means I need to work out.

So to update my life I am also going to update my blog. I am going to try to blog at least once a week, and I might even add some recipes to spice things up. Cheesy I know. Now I just can't help myself. 

I am also going to update my Day Zero list and work diligently on completing it. I have a feeling that actually completing the entire list is going to be challenging fun and rewarding. So with nothing else to do, here is Day Zero.

1. Acquire 100 pairs of underwear.

2. Cook dinner every night for a week.

3. Host a Harry Potter Movie Marathon.

4. Compete in a triathlon.

5. Get Married.

6. Get my passport.

7. Get a massage.

8. Go to a college football game.

9. Fly a kite.

10. Go on a midnight picnic.

11. Open a savings account.

12. Put back $20 for each completed task.

13. Buy a cute piggy bank.

14. Take pole dancing aerobics lessons. 

15. Go to a drive in movie.

16. Blog everyday for a week.

17. Buy a digital camera.

18. Grow my hair out past my chest.

19. Go to Harry Potter World.

20. Visit Disneyland.

21. Vacation at the beach.

22. Sew an apron.

23. Sing karaoke at a bar.

24. Have a tea party.

25. Create a garden.

26. Visit Mexico.

27. Visit Canada.

28. Visit a lighthouse.

29. Take a hot air balloon ride.

30. Go skydiving.

31. See the Northern lights.

32. Read 100 books.

33. Watch every Edward Norton movie.

34. Go snowboarding.

35. Eat a different course at a different restaurant for a five course meal.

36. Eat at the melting pot.

37. Buy a fondue pot and have fondue night.

38. Go horseback riding.

39. Make homemade ice cream.

40. Knit a blanket

41. Knit myself convertible mittens.

42. Go to a New Years Eve party.

43. Make cake pops.

44. Have my fortune told.

45. Go on a camping trip.

46. Go hiking on Mount Pisgah.

47. Go out to a nice restaurant on our anniversary.

48. Buy flowers for no reason.

49. Write a message in a public restroom. 

50. Leave a 100% tip.

51. Leave $20 in a book for someone to find.

52. Complete the 5000 question survey.

53. Ride a train to another state.

54. Visit Coney Island.

55. Buy a Little Black Dress.

56. Bake a pumpkin pie from scratch.

57. Make an entire meal from only my garden.

58. Join a yoga class.

59. Knit Christmas stockings.

60. Try Absinthe.

61. Ride a wooden roller coaster.

62. Make my own Christmas cards.

63. Go lobster hunting.

64. Go skinny dipping in the ocean.

65. Participate in PostCrossing.

66. Ferry to Alaska.

67. Don't log on to Facebook for a week.

68. Complete a 1000 piece puzzle.

69. Say I love you every day for a month.

70. Make my own cookbook.

71. Buy the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.

72. Get my cookbook published.

73. Visit the Statue of Liberty.

74. Harvest honey.

75. Own chickens.

76. Make snow angels.

77. Host a Harry Potter Halloween Party.

78. Vote.

79. Take a picture every day for a month.

80. Cook Thanksgiving dinner.

81. Host a game night.

82. Make my own jam.

83. Have a paint balloon war.

84. Cook my way through a cookbook.

85. Build a bookcase.

86. Make my own jerky. 

87. Make a piece of art and hang it in my house.

88. Get a puppy.

89. Watch the sun rise and set over the Pacific and Atlantic.

90. Make a pizza from scratch.

91. Buy a car.

92. Post a song cover on YouTube.

93. Sell five things from my online shop.

94. Save up $3000 in my savings account.

95. Visit my Grandpa.

96. Watch every episode of Lost.

97. Make my own wedding veil.

98. Create a craft area.

99. Pick berries for a pie made from scratch.

100. Make my own window coverings.

101. Go to OSF and watch a play, or three.

I have already completed some of these, and will create blog posts about them that hopefully include photos. But there are some I would love to redo :) 

See you at my next post!