R.N.

The Exam

I got to the test fifty minutes early (I almost missed my LPN exam the year before because I couldn't find the building and I didn't really want to deal with the adrenaline rush this time). People slowly trickled into the building (there were four other BYU nursing students) and at 7:30 they opened the testing center. They called me up to be scanned and fingerprinted and after six failed attempts my palm vein scan went through...but it didn't match up with the scan from my LPN scan (although I doubt my veins did any serious moving in only eight months :) ).

One hour after everyone else started, I was allowed to begin (they had to do some weird back-up procedure). I was expecting lots of 'select all that apply' questions, but I'd say they only made up about 1/6th of my test. I did get massive amounts of priority questions (you know, if patient A is in dire condition, patient B is seeing lights at the end of the tunnel, and patient c is trying to jump out of the window, who will you see first?) and a good deal of medication
questions. The test questions really weren't that bad (as in I recognized the material, but I was still pretty iffy on the right answer). I had one math question and none of the audio or diagram type questions. I answered 75 before getting kicked out.

The Wait

I left feeling pretty good about life because a) we were told that BYU students never get kicked out at 75 questions and fail and b) our instructor was pretty sure that all BYU nursing students who pass the LPN exam also pass the RN exam. The next day Calvin, a student from my testing group, posted on facebook that he passed. I rushed to the dopl website, but my name wasn't there.

I looked up the other four BYU nursing students. They were all listed there, but not me. At that point I started to panic. In the next two hours I went through 4 of the 5 stages of grieving and then went to bed planning to spend the next day eating lots of tator-tots (they're my comfort food) and mapping out a rigorous study schedule.

The one sure way to know if you failed or passed the exam is to wait for the results to come through the mail or to shell out $7.95 two days after the exam and find out early. I needed closure, so I paid the money and found out I passed. Dopl now has my name up (I'm still not sure why it took them so long to post my results) and you can see it here :)

Lakin Hays, R.N.

Now What?

I'm still working at my nursing home, but now as a registered nurse (woot for a $2 pay raise) and I'm applying for a second job at my capstone facility. The position is night shift on the medical/surgical floor. I'm not thrilled about the prospect of messing with my eight-hour, 9-5 sleeping schedule, but it will be wonderful to be working in a hospital again. Now I just have to find a hobby to fill up all of my spare time :)

Fireworks

First dates are typically awkward. There are so many unknown variables: sense of humor, interests, background, values, friends, goals, etc. you have to sort through to find if this relationship might have the beginnings of amazingness or crickets.

We had fireworks (of the literal and figurative variety) on our first date.

I waited for three solid weeks for Robb to ask me out. We walked together to choir practice several weeks in a row, we talked every time we met in the fishbowl, and there was even flirting (at least on my part)... which probably didn't come across as flirting, but I tried anyway.

He finally got around to calling me up and we made a date for the 4th of July. It was perfect. To begin with, he smelled really good. It was like having my own mobile and manly scented air freshener. We went to Red Robin (home of the most amazing hamburgers my taste buds have ever come in contact with), sat down, and started talking. Our poor waitress came by three times to get an order, but we were so wrapped up in conversation we hadn't had time to glance at the menu.

We left the heavenly hamburger joint, walked through the Freedom Festival, and joined a group of friends to watch the Stadium of Fire from the MTC playing field. They were playing card games, but we decided to sit a little ways off and continue talking. It was the easiest thing to be with him. And the fireworks were pretty amazing too :)

Traffic going home was terrible. We loaded up in his car and waited a good half hour just to leave the parking lot, before deciding to the ditch the car and walk home.

And from that point on I was smitten with Robb Hays.

Every year we celebrate the anniversary of the world's most amazing first date by reenacting that day.

2008

2009

2010

Thanks, Robb, for the three most amazing 4th of Julys of my life.

MOAB!!!

(Click to enlarge...the more times you click, the bigger it gets.)

If you couldn't tell by the title, Lakin and I went to Moab over Memorial Day weekend, and it was awesome. We hit pretty much all of the arches on the first day including a sunset stroll to Delicate Arch (which should be renamed to either Arch-which-was-once-thought-delicate-but-which-has-now-proven-more-permanent or Arch-where-everyone-and-their-dog-goes). We just missed the sunset when we got there, but the clouds were just beginning to light up orange and pink, so it was still a good picture.

The first arch we went to was Tower Arch, which is off on a washboardy old sideroad, but definitely worth the drive because there are a lot less people there. We also visited Broken Arch and Sandune Arch.

On Sunday we went to church in Moab, and met one of the senior couples from Jordan's mission that had just returned home. Apparently, they served in Jordan's first area and knew him very well. When we told them who we were they immediately got this frown on their face that said something like, "We really have nothing good to say about Jordan." Just kidding! Actually, they got way excited and started going on and on about how great of a missionary he is.

After church we went on a drive around Canyonlands National Park. It's basically a miniature, less spectacular version of the Grand Canyon, at least the part we went to. After about 2 hours we got to the point of saying, "Wow, more pretty red canyons." The best part was the sunset, but other than that there's definitely not enough to consume a whole day. We only saw the Island in the Sky district, but there's also a Needles district and a Maze district. There are apparently more things to do in those parts, so we'll have to see that when we go back some time.

On Monday, we got permits to go into the Fiery Furnace in Arches. It's basically this small area of the park where there are no established trails, and they just let you wander around in and amongst the big sandstone fins and boulders. We had a lot of fun climbing all over the place, and the best part is that there are hardly any people. Definitely worth the $4 for the permit.

That about sums up our trip to Moab.

...You might be a redneck.

Last week we made the trip back to good ol' Montana for my sister, Brooke's, college graduation. She graduated with a bachelors in music education from the University of Montana. On the way up we got to see my grandparents in Idaho. It was a very short stay, though, as we had to leave early in the morning to get to the graduation on time.

The graduation itself was fairly entertaining owing to the nature of the College of Arts. Let's just say there were lots of birkenstocks, flower dresses, hiking shorts, pirouettes, and quotes from famous Marxists. Many snide remarks may or may not have been exchanged with my brother in law, Al...

While we were there we stayed with Brooke and Al in their new house. Al took me out gopher huntin', and I developed quite a shot by the end of our stay. I wasn't counting but I think I unloaded about 10 clips myself. I even had the rare opportunity to shoot a mama gopher and her baby. I know, I'm a cold-blooded killer, but that baby gopher had it coming... Lakin wasn't too keen on shooting things that have fur and breathe but shot a few clips from the rifle and even tried out the revolver. She hit the first target she's ever shot at in her life! I'd say that's pretty good. We're definitely going to have to get back to Montana soon to clean up any survivors.

Not all Montana license plates are created equal

Perfect's DMV

I'm sure we've all heard the Walgreens commercials about a little town called Perfect where elderly ladies always cross the street with an escort, neighbors greet each other by name, and everyone firmly believes in recycling.

Today I entered their DMV.

I drove into my 2-hour parking space with a sinking feeling. Past experience with the DMV has taught me to block off a sizable chunk of time before entering said building, but I continued on (I was pretty sure I wouldn't get in anyway with only 1.5 hours standing between me and closing time). A man standing behind a large desk greeted me, decided I was worthy of their time and attention, and then handed me a number: 755. That's a big number, the kind that indicates you will be waiting in line...forever.

I walked into the waiting room. As I was looking at the three rows of empty chairs, trying to decide which one I would sit in, an automated voice said, "Now serving number 7-5-5." A happy attendant took my papers and gave me a set of license plates in return.

I was there a grand total of 10 minutes (and that includes a conversation with a cute, dirt-covered 5 year old who wanted me to stay and then demanded I say hello to his two brothers and mother).

Welcome to Perfect!

One year ago today...

...Lakin and I got married! (If that last phrase confused you, it's because you didn't read it together with the title.) We celebrated yesterday by going out to eat at the Bombay House (an Indian restaurant on University Ave). It's very good, so if you're looking for a new restaurant to try, go there. I recommend the garlic naan and lamb vindaloo.

After dinner we watched "Up!" and, yes, I cried (three times). We had already watched it at the dollar theater a while back, but it's a good movie, so we figured our anniversary was a good time to watch it again.

Today, after church, we visited all the Lakin and Robb Historic Sites, including the locations of our first date (Red Robin and the MTC field), first kiss (the parking lot next to Monticello, very romantic), and the proposal (also at the MTC field). We took pictures of all our adventures of the weekend for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoying the meal at Bombay House

The Monticello lawn where we first met

The skating rink where we first held hands (cliche but effective)

The car (and parking lot) where we first kissed

Las Vegas

Robb and I decided during winter semester (when there seemed to be no end to snow or studying) that this will be our summer of adventure. First stop was a trip to Las Vegas for our friends, Alex and Troy's, sealing in the Las Vegas Temple. We took a quick stroll through the strip and made a stop at the Hoover Dam on the way home. I love being done with school!

I'm sad their eyes are shut, but don't they look happy?