the end is near

Hallelujah, the "scholars" leave tomorrow! Nerves are very frayed, eyes are drooping, voices are loud...the whole bit. We're all ready for a good night's sleep and not having to deal with where we can take and what we can do with 300 students.

The other day I really flubbed up. We had 16 students scheduled to go to Memorial Hermann Hospital, but we had only 2 students scheduled for shadowing doctors. So, my BOSS when on the site visit, while I spent the day on the phone, trying to find departments and doctors that would take some students. I think they had a good time - they got a tour of the hospital and of Life Flight - but it was just crazy. I thought I would have the day to sleep because I didn't have anything else going on (just preparing for next week, when we do this all over again) but instead I was up at o'dark thirty, helping to get students out of their rooms when they overslept and making cold calls to Hermann Hospital.

But I went to bed early last night, and I slept in late this morning (no time for a shower!) so I feel somewhat better. I still can't wait for tomorrow! It's my birthday, the kids are leaving, and I have friends coming to spend the weekend! And I get to sleep in my own bed and cuddle with my dog (who misses me VERY much).

I have found that I've been more social the past couple of days. I actually went down to dinner last night to spend time with the other staff members, which I rarely do. It feels good to get out of the office and hear what everyone else is doing, especially since I helped negotiate their activities and speakers.

I think I will get to enjoy next forum more because I know what's going on, what we need to do ahead of time. Maybe I can actually talk with the speakers, listen to a few of them and have more fun than I've had so far. I think I have a higher sense of obligation - that I need to be working, that I can always find something else that needs to be done - while some of our other staff members feel fine with just hanging out when they haven't been assigned a task.

An observation that just came to me: that kind of attitude means that I might make a good manager, huh? I don't have to be assigned tasks - I can get things done without close supervision. Well, that makes me feel good about my future!

I just need to take things a little less seriously. I felt like it was MY personal responsibility that these students had fun this week and learned a lot. I started crying the other night because I was so frustrated that the Memorial Hermann visit wasn't ready and I was afraid that those 16 students would have a horrible day, when they came here to learn more about the medical profession (and paid a lot of money to do just that). Luckily, my boss saw my tears for what they were and helped me calm down. She was really cool with everything, even though it completely inconvienced her to have to go to the hospital with the students.

(Note on 7/17: Now that I think about it, I'm SURE lack of sleep had something to do with the tears as well, not just frustration!

I am actually posting this on 7/17. For some reason, Blogger didn't post by blog on the day I wrote it. Oh, well. I'm just glad it wasn't lost for good!)