today's ponderings

Starting at 12:30 this morning:

• What can I do to help my sister deal with a broken heart? My sister called me to tell me her boyfriend of 2 years had broken up with her. It's hard enough going through your own break-up, but man is it hard when your little sister's heart is broken. Don't get me wrong- I like the guy and respect him for what he's going through in this. Still, it's hard to have watched my sister be the strong one, the rational one, the I-want-this-but-if-you-can't-do-this-then-I-have-to-let-it-go one in this situation. Even harder to feel like I'm not much better off in my own experience, so I'm not sure I can give any solid advice. And I know I don't have to offer advice but just be there for her.

6-something this morning:

• Why do guys cat call? I mean, there I was, running just after sunrise and a guy in a service van honks at me. There was no way he was honking at anything else- there was no one else on the road. But he honks not just once, but 3 times. He's waking up the neighborhood for crying outloud over me. And what kind of reaction from me is he looking for? Me chasing after him? I think it was definitely not called for.

Sometime around 10 this morning:

• Do I have what it takes to be a nurse? They showed this video in orientation this morning in which a mom shared about her daughter's death due to medical neglect at the top hospital in the nation. I was reminded of the huge responsibility I'll be carrying as a nurse, then nurse practitioner. I can cause life and I can cause death. But I realized that it's part of why I want this so bad- I want to be challenged in caring for others.

7 tonight:

• Why is this the 2nd time since I moved here that our county water treatment plant has lost power and we've been unable to drink from the tap? I'm at a bar with my roommates and we had to buy bottled water because the tap water has been declared unsafe to drink unless boiled for 3 minutes since the storm last night caused a power outage. No wonder the water was brown this morning when I tried to get a drink from the kitchen faucet after my run. You'd think they'd have back-up power generators. But it also shows that even in 2008, we still don't have all the answers.