When my friend, Merle, was visiting recently from Hilo, Hawaii, one of the stops
on our tour of San Francisco was the Palace of Fine Arts. While the temperatures
were still cool, it was a glorious sunny day and we got some wonderful photos.
I loved the tree shadows and I am posting them both to Sundays in My City and Shadow Shot Sunday, #159. I enjoy both of these memes very much and urge you
to check them out and add your photography!
It was so nice to be there on a Monday when there was almost no one else around.
Of course, all that is going to change, now that school vacations have begun and
tourism is going to be in full swing in our beautiful area of the country!
Alphabe-Thursday, A is for Antidepressant - September 23, 2010
Well, I must admit, I have had the blues these days. Things are going from bad to worse.
I have depleted all my savings now, supplementing my half time pension and social
security since my job loss eighteen months ago. The pension, after taxes, is twenty five
dollars less than my rent and my social security doesn't even cover food, utilities, my
car payment and other bills. My lease is up, though, the end of November so I will be
moving out of the home I have rented for the past ten years. I have begun the tedious
and sad process of clearing things out and disposing of much of my life. I had never
anticipated this is how things would end up for me toward the end of my life.
This past weekend, I threw away most of my forensic nursing life. I discarded books,
notes, conference materials, and the like, since it looks like I won't work in the field
again. What a painful experience that was. Forensic nursing absorbed the past
twenty-one years and was the passion of my nursing career. I identified with this new
field for nurses and was thrilled to have been part of the meeting that founded the
International Association of Forensic Nurses. I attended every single scientific assembly
for the first ten years. Now, I am debating as to whether I will even renew my
membership in the organization as that is money I could better spend elsewhere. I may
even, after45 years, let my nursing license go inactive. All of this is too sad for words.
I've tried to tell myself that I am better off than so many people in this world and I know
that I am. I have been a world traveler so I know the poverty and pain I've witnessed in
places I've visited. At least, I'm getting a half time pension and social security. That is,
I'll get social security again. I've just gotten a notice that my payments are suspended
from September until December because they inadvently paid me for February 2009
when I, in fact, worked that month. So, instead of the $2300 pension and $1300 social
secuity, I'll only have my $2300 pension which doesn't even quite cover my rent. I do
have an appointment October 5th to try to challenge this or to beg for some sort of
payment option so that I don't have all my social security check attached each month.
I am not on antidepressants. I wouldn't take them. At least, I did have a wonderful
antidepressant this past week in the form of a visit from one of my dearest friends,
Sherry Arndt, the forensic nurse who used to live in Santa Cruz and taught me how to
be a sexual assault nurse examiner. Our entire nursing group from the San Francisco
Rape Treatment Center went to Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz for our SART ( sexual
assault response team ) training in April of 1990. Sherry was not only my instructor,
she became a mentor, a great friend, and a traveling companion, with whom I shared
many wonderful adventures about the world.
Sherry and her cousin, Nancy, made an overnight stop at my house, during a road
trip which started at Sherry's home in Minnesota. That visit did so much to lift my
dragging spirits. We had the most incredible San Francisco weather - blue skies, no
fog, and warm temperatures and we made the most of it.
We started out with lunch at American Sushi House near my home in Daly City,
complete with a wonderful sake and bento boxes with assorted dishes. Then we
drove into San Francisco for sightseeing. It was especially nice since the tourist
crowds had departed with the start of school, parking was easy and the weather
continued beautiful.
Bright and sunny at the Golden Gate Bridge
Sherry & Nancy with San Francisco in the distance
A stop at the Palace of Fine Arts
Afternoon break at the Cafe Divine in North Beach
Cheers from the Champagne girl
Champagne AND espresso with vanilla ice cream for me
Nancy and her dessert
Yummy!
Nancy & Sherry in front of Sts. Peter and Paul Church at Washington Square
With Robert and Nancy, dinner at Nick's in Pacifica
Waiting for our crab sandwiches!
Dungeness crab sandwich with tomato, red onion and avocado - eggplant fries
A beautiful end to a perfect day
After dinner, we came back to the house and finished our night with a bottle of
champagne, talk, and lots of laughter. Sherry's visit, all too brief, made me realize that,
no matter how dire the circumstances may become, friends are what get us through the
hard times and give meaning to our lives. When it comes to that, I am, indeed, wealthy.
I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday - join us!!
-Check out the link for info on my blogaversary giveaway:
http://rnsane.blogspot.com/2010/09/flash-55-friday-happy-anniversary-to-me.html#links
