I recently played Jak 3 (I haven’t for ages). It’s a great game, but I’ve noticed a problem.
You get these Light and Dark Eco Powers, so you can grow wings and fly, regenerate health and have a forcefield, and even slow down time, before turning into a dark monster and beating the hell out of people.
This should make you feel all powerful, but it doesn’t. The guns don’t seem to make up for it either, or the jetboard, or the massive range of vehicles at your disposal.
You probably don’t get to feel like some kind of super hero or god until you’ve unlocked the invisibility and invulnerability secrets, which requires loads and loads of precursor orbs. Oh Well.

Author: Jhoana Cooper
Source: articlesbase.com

There are several reasons on why you should buy any DVD collection. Putting aside money considerations, you always have that certain trait in you which longs to acquire, dvd,, dvd, items which will give you utmost pleasure. The Shield DVD collection is one of the extraordinary finds in the market. The Shield TV series is found in the 23 DVDs of this package. A total, dvd,, dvd, of 75 uncut episodes is up for the grabs in this minute package. Apart from these compelling ideas, you should get this DVD for the following causes:The story of The Shield has its own lessons to deliver to you as an audience. An account of what transpires in the crime scene, this TV series once showcased the differences between good, dvd, and bad cops. You will see what tears these people apart in making decisions to be true to their jobs. You will also learn to understand why things turn out to be, dvd, on the, dvd, negative side for police officers. With The Shield DVD collection, you will, dvd, certainly get the comprehensive details of what transpires in the world, dvd, of our either dedicated or greedy cops.The Shield DVD collection is utterly popular to a lot of viewers. In getting your own set, you will appreciate why the public had gone gaga over this TV series. Much more than what the story tells,, dvd, you also get to express your own opinions on how detectives and cops run their own thing. You may react to the certain twists in the justice system. The thickening of the plot invites more patrons to watch The Shield. This is perhaps one of the reasons why it lasted a very long six seasons of airtime.To convince you even more, a lot of audio visual businesses offer the product at a very low cost. The instant savings you get just by purchasing, dvd, The Shield DVD, dvd, collection may just entice you to get more copies which you may give as presents to friends who want to have their own The Shield DVDs. Buying in bulk also awards you the chance to save more on the shipping cost of the item. From the humble beginnings of this TV show up to its end, you will definitely,, dvd, dvd, say that you have paid for the right product.Getting The Shield DVD collection at a low, dvd, price may only be a chance of a lifetime. What may be true to its pricing now may no longer work in the near future. If you want to take advantage of the offer of online shops, well you must order The Shield DVD immediately. Otherwise, you may just wait for the next great deals to come with the product. This means you may, dvd, need to extend your patience for several months or even years to get it at a discounted price.Whatever your reasons are for acquiring The Shield DVD collection, what matters is that you feel gratified with the purchase. If you will be encountering problems with how the product functioned for your viewing preference, well you, dvd, must be able to consult your service provider about it. The Shield complete season is a rare find in the market. Even if the best names in the marketing industry,, dvd, dvd, offers, dvd, it, you may not get it at the same cost offered by several online shops. Be a very wise buyer if you want a DVD collection such as this one.

Are you interested with cop stories such as The Shield? Now is your chance to get the complete season through The Shield DVD Collection. Our site guarantees, you will save on cost.

Technical difficulties at the office prevented this blog from being posted at the SOAPOPERAWEEKLY.COM site. Figures that a time-sensitive piece would be delayed. Anyway, I figured if it cannnot run there, why not post it here?

Thanksgiving is upon us, and genius that I am, I stumbled upon the shockingly original idea of compiling a list of things for which I am grateful. (Hopefully no one else will copy me!) Being thankful for family and friends almost goes without saying, but we already don’t say it enough, so it’s worth repeating: I am thankful you are all in my life. But now, here are just a few of the TV-related things (in no particular order) which are worth acknowledging:

•Carly is back on AS THE WORLD TURNS, meaning Maura West and Michael Park get to work their wonderful alchemy together again. The CarJack whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
•GUIDING LIGHT went out on a high note that almost compensated for being canceled. (Okay, it didn’t even come close to compensating; it just made the loss more painful. But it’s a holiday and I’m trying to be charitable.)
•THE SHIELD also ended its run on a near-perfect note.
•JON AND KATE PLUS 8 was canceled! Thank you! If only we could erase any record of the show ever existing…
•Fox gave a show as “out there” as GLEE a chance to not only survive, but thrive. I am a confirmed Gleek!
•STARGATE UNIVERSE got to take flight on SyFy, despite the spotty record of STARGATE: ATLANTIS.
•24 returns next month!
•Tom Pelphrey is back on a soap (this time ATWT).
•Even though the brilliant David Tennant is leaving DOCTOR WHO, the show — as always — will carry on with a new face (Matt Smith’s) in 2010.
•After this weekend, I won’t have to hear the words “Black Friday” for another year.
•Soaps are slowly (but surely) making the transition to online.
•There are still seven soap operas on the air! Hang in there, folks!

F5W5JHP7Q7ND

The next item in the composition of the Coat of Arms is the lambrequin or mantling at the sides of the shield. This is the flowing drapery arrangement which can be seen in most drawings of Coats of Arms, issuing from the helmet and flowing around the whols arms. The origin of the mantling is again, like many things in Heraldry, very practical. In the burning heat of the Middle East when the Crusades were fought the helmet became very hot and tiring and the mantling began like the old covering for the back of the neck. It was extended to cover a large part of the armor and it was found to be useful not only in protecting from the heat but in catching the sword points of opponents. The colors of the mantling are in general the primary color and primary metal of the shield.

Supporters are perhaps among the most familiar heraldic objects. Supporters are the figures on either side of the coat of arms which hold the shield and appear to support it. They are usually human or animal figures, both real and imaginary, supporters are rarely inanimate abjects. It is thought that they originated from the desire of artists and engravers to show the shield actually upheld by something, and to fill in the spaces surrounding the drawing of the coat of arms. In Britain the use of supporters is strictly controlled under the laws of arms and their use is confined to peers, Knights of the Garter, Knights of the Thistle, Knights of St. Patrick, Knights Grand Cross, Knights Grand Commander and certain Knights of the British Empire. In Scotland the use of supporters is much more widespread, not only peers but also private gentleman of ancient lineage amy often be entitled to supporters on the grounds of ancient usage.

“Do not be afraid, Giselle. I am your shield, your very great reward’” (Deuteronomy 20:3-4).

On Thursday evening someone smashed my car window, grabbed my bag and ran. All I could think of was to get out of there. With such fear I rode away in a panic, had to ask my Dad to call me back (was speaking to him while this happened).

As I drove home from the police station, following my husband in his car, I was shaking with fear. I called a friend, she calmed me down and told me to allow the devil to get to me.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

This verse is bringing me such power and knowing that my God is my shield. I keep praying and when the fear comes over me, I rebuke it. God has not placed this fear in me but the devil. Over the last few months he is been attacking me in all areas in my life.

I will NOT let him bring me down!

I will stand up and shout HE is my shield even though I go through darkness I will not fear because HE is with me!

Dear Daughter.

You are never too old to need my protection.  If I can give it, I do.  And I know when I can’t.

I can’t save you from the lady behind the car rental desk who is so miserable and small-minded that she automatically hates you for who you are.  Her selective deafness and tight lips are reserved for you and her conversation is directed to me.  Her refusal to acknowledge your presence except with curled lip and narrowed eyes is a direct result of her meanness, her ignorance,  and her fear.

I can’t save you from the man in the TSA uniform who spitefully decides to study each and every liquid you are carrying…from shampoo to toothpaste…no matter the size of the bottle.

I can’t protect you from the woman in the restroom who looks at your hair style  instead of your breasts and orders you to leave the restroom, assuming you are a man skulking in the women’s room.

Your protective shield falls into place before my comfort reaches you.  I talk myself down from my head pounding anger and swallow to keep back the tears.  I ache for you and for all of the people who can’t fit themselves into someone else’s box called “normal”.

It is a long list:  my daughter-in-law who is hispanic and is dissed in Mexico for not being fluent in Spanish; the airline steward who is such a queen that he can’t please the woman in 3a; the black boy who doesn’t understand why the teacher won’t call on him; the handicapped person who is can’t understand the words but understands the tone of the impatient person on the sidewalk.

Many responses are drawn from a deep well of ignorance in people who do not venture out from their small box to know that there is diversity and difficulty in the world.  The stares and comments  are a gut-level reaction to change to which they have failed to adapt and an inability to cope with anyone out of their  proscribed norm.

But is there a cure for rage and fury fueled by racism and homophobia? What can I do about those who go beyond narrow-minded to mean-spirited?  I can’t hit a woman for being rude. It’s illegal.   There’s no real protection from the person who glares; who feels threatened by diversity that is incomprehensible and intolerable to a circumscribed view of the world.

What is the antidote for hatred brought on by inflexibility and incapacity to love those who don’t “fit”?  I can try to develop compassion and hope for  enlightenment.

And I can tell you without equivocation that there is nothing wrong with you. Someone else’s inappropriate response to you doesn’t highlight any flaws but his own.  The people who know you understand and value you.  Those who listen hear your voice of humor, intelligence and clarity.  Those who touch you are warmed by the your openness and tolerance.  Those who see you walk through the world know the strength of your love for truth, knowledge and beauty.

Let this be your armor against the visual, verbal and emotional assaults you meet.  Be yourself because who you are is who you need to be.

xxoo

Overprotective
Shield them from the outside world
But for what purpose?

Infamous Chicago retailer Jugrnaut have released quickstrike limited edition crewnecks.  First we see their “Hella Haters” Black / Yellow crewneck and then their “Shield” crewneck printed on Champion.  Get them while you can as you can guarantee that these will sell out really quick.  Available both online and in-store.

SOURCE: Jugrnaut

It amazes all the time to hear from so many men that they are not doing life with other guys that can speak into their lives.  That men today feel that they are tough enough to be able to handle life on their own.  One of the things that I have learned over the years is that I need to surround myself with men that are willing to fight.  I need to surround myself with men that see that this life lived in a relationship with Christ needs the support of others that are see the need for a battle ready group.  Here is a picture for us to look at when it comes to what kind of guys we need in our battle ready group:

All Saints Newsletter Vol. XII number 1 November 1st 2000
(Includes scheduling of Auchmaliddie all-quartz stone circle by Rt.Hon. Alex Salmond, M.P. & obit for Rt. Hon. Donald Dewar, First Minister for Scotland)

Picts were converted to Christianity by early Brittonic saints

In an early Celtic society which believed more colourfully in the intercession by God and all saints with man, the faith shared by simple monks who travelled the realm to convert and preach to the people of Pictland was a tangible belief for people who already had respect for age and listened to wisdom. Ancestors were after all, only the wise ones in another place and the recitation of one’s genealogy kept that sacred connection alive.

Latin manuscripts which survive from early-Historic (or so-called ‘Dark Age’) times are redolent with terms which mean little in today’s usage, but which reveal the importance of ancestry to people then. Most of us understand the use of Lat. filius, son and nepos, grandson (sometimes used as a general term for ‘descendant’), but probably only modern genealogists would get excited about any generation further back than a third great.

It is therefore illuminating to see in the 9thC Pictish Chronicles frequent use of terms such as Lat. atavus for fifth-time ancestor, or, translated into a family history context: one’s great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

Alexander III was greeted at his coronation with recitation of her genealogy

‘Benach de Re Alban Alexander mac Alexander mac William mac Henri mac David mac Malcolm.. (‘blessing on king of Scots’) repeating his royal lineage back to its source.’

If we have forgotten this connection or feel no need for saints or our ancestral roots, is it not our own loss?

Elizabeth Allan & Donald Dewar
IT IS WITH sadness that we note a joint achievement by a member and our first First Minister, who both died this year, no doubt wishing their deeds to be unsung. However because of their interest, progress was made:Mrs Allan pointed out the awesome beauty of the abandoned quartz stone circle of Auchmaliddie in New Deer. [See newsletters Vol.X no.4 &Vol.XI number 1, Jan. 2000]. Following our request to the First Minister to have it scheduled, the Rt.Hon. Donald Dewar initiated the process which resulted in its becoming a priority for scheduling on Historic Scotland’s list. We mourn their passing but thank them both for making a difference.

RCAHMS to lose Royal Warrant
Following exclusive coverage in our spring newsletter and your many letters to Parliament in support of RCAHMS, within the Scottish Executive review of Public Bodies, FOGS may have been instrumental in saving the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland from becoming disbanded or ‘un-departmentalised’. However we, among hundreds of individuals and heritage groups who wrote to the Scottish Executive in support of RCAHMS, have been unable to preserve it intact. In a thank you letter received from the Royal Commission, FOGS’ support is acknowledged, along with others who appreciate RCAHMS’ unique archival status, but a national outcry [albeit an esoteric one] was unable to save the Commission from losing its royal patronage. It appears that the Scots Parliament, while maintaining the important role which RCAHMS plays in recording the archaeological and historic man-made environment, believes that ‘further consideration be given to exploring a modern alternative to executive non-departmental public body status’. Procedures are already in hand for removal of the Royal Warrant. The reason given to the Commission by Allan Wilson is that ‘Royal Commission status is, I believe, only appropriate for bodies set up to undertake specific tasks over a finite period.’ For some reason, Ministers also believe a change of name would be ‘helpful in order to achieve greater transparency for the public both in understanding the important work it carries out and to encourage wider access to valuable public facilities.’ One wonders whether the gross funding required to implement this ‘visibility’ review and name change could not have been better spent in a large grant to continue the Commission’s dedicated work. It is also worthy of note that the Scots minister writing to the Commission does not even get its title right, so perhaps a dumbing down was felt necessary for some in office. In the tone of the ministerial letter, is it only our impression that the review body could find no fault in 95 years of meticulous recording, but felt it had to change something, and so concocted the removal of Royal status? Whatever our regrets may be, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that the Scots Parliament chose not to merge it with any other public body, nor to dilute its work by some other arbitrary means. RCAHMS Chairman Kathleen Dalyell feels our written support categorically made a difference. She states: ‘your support was, quite clearly, material in achieving this result and for that I offer you Commissioners’ best thanks.’

HISTORIC SCOTLAND is conducting a survey on the state of carved stones in Scotland, hoping to find solutions to prevent further decay. Volunteers may telephone 01313 668 8668 for free methodology handbook or Email cbrown.hs.scb@gtnet.gov.uk

©2000-2009MCY

Snapped this guy up on a telephone pole on 22nd/San Jose.

Maybe I’m being dense here, but I don’t get the metaphor. The joke definitely lies in the thumb head and the knightship, but I really can’t figure out how they’re related. Can anyone enlighten me? Please respond in iambic pentameter only.

I totally don’t get British humor. Oops, humour. If this is a Monty Python ref, I’m gonna be pissed.

GREAT NEWS FOR PEOPLE NEEDING MORTGAGE HELP!

Anyone who is facing missed or reduced mortgage payments, and/or foreclosure should immediately get on the phone with their current lender and try to re-structure their loan. Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard this before and maybe have heard of lenders not being quite so helpful. This blog installment covers some important steps you can take to protect your home and your credit. But WAIT…THERE’S MORE!!!! Read on to find out about an effective, free resource available to struggling homeowners. I just learned about it and I can’t wait to share the good news with others. Be sure to read through the factual info to “Stella’s Story – Part 1″, below.

1. Reality check, please!

Most lenders won’t help you re-structure/modify unless you prove hardship. You have to have a job. This comes in the form of a missed payment or two, OR a process in which the homeowner has to show the lender all of their bills to prove they can’t pay. Either way, it’s a tedious process and one that will require follow through. The biggest obstacle is the homeowners themselves because often, they get so discouraged and frustrated that they give up. This is the most important piece – they must never give up. Take notes, write down who you talked to (i.e. numbers, dates, times etc.). Ask for supervisors; call every day. It’s worth the time and aggravation to try and save your home, not to mention your credit.

Once a homeowner is 90 days late, the foreclosure process will be started. From there, there is a certain amount of time (75 days or period of redemption), where a homeowner can pay the default payments and potentially save their home from foreclosure. Most often, people can’t pay, so they go into default and it’s almost impossible to stop it.

Short sales – this is when someone knows they can’t pay, but before their home goes into foreclosure, they list their property and have the bank agree to the offer.

2. How do these things impact your credit?

Foreclosure will be on your credit for 10 years. Under current guidelines, a conventional lender will not lend to you for 5 years.

Short sales will also be on your credit for 10 years. Under current guidelines, a conventional lender will not lend to you for 4 years.

Late payments – This is ideal and the easiest to repair. Most likely, if you’re late on your mortgage, no one will lend to you for a year, maybe more, but certainly less than 5 years. Hence, this is the reason homeowners need to put their pride and fear aside and tackle their challenge head on with their lender so they can protect their future.

3. Where’s the GREAT news? Read on about Stella:

Stella’s Story – Part 1

A close personal friend of mine, “Stella”, is going through a modification right now. She is a smart, beautiful, and successful woman, who has fallen on some hard times due to her industry. This can happen to any one of us. Because of our mutual trust, Stella has allowed me to tell her story in hopes that her experience will help others. Here are the details:

1. Stella called her lender for help BEFORE she was late or missed a payment, but this story applies to anyone who isn’t being foreclosed upon (i.e .has missed payments etc.).

2. Stella’s lender had to analyze her financials and determined that, because Stella was employed, but not making enough to cover all of her bills, they would agree to reduce her mortgage payment temporarily while they were trying to qualify her for a loan modification. Their formula was 31% of her income.

3. Stella did this for two months, but the deal included the following condition, Stella needed to call each time she was going to pay. On the third month, Stella was in for a nasty surprise.

4. Stella was told by her lender that IF Stella could pay the lender $1,800 now, they would continue to consider a loan modification.

5. Stella says, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I DON’T HAVE $1,800, WHICH IS WHY I’M TRYING TO MODIFY MY LOAN!”

6. The lender representative said in response, “You need to stop spending so much money on food.” (Don’t get me started….)

7. At this point, Stella was furious. But she had come this far and was determined to figure this out.

HERE’S THE GREAT NEWS:

Stella found this website: http://makinghomeaffordable.gov. She clicked on: “Find a Counselor” (Tab 4, at the top) She called the 800 number: 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). Stella and the counselor called Stella’s lender on a 3-way call. Magic happened. – After 10 minutes on hold, magically, the lender decided that Stella should be in the loan modification program without paying an additional $1,800.  The counselor is paid by the government. The government has been lending money to banks for this very reason. The counselors are the lenders’ check and balance so USE them. We are all paying for this.

I can’t thank Stella enough for finding out this information. I’m in this business and didn’t know about this resource. I encourage you to please send this information to everyone in your database. Someone you know, or someone they know is in trouble and they may be able to get some real help. As Stella’s story unfolds, I will continue to update you.

If you’re in trouble, or facing it, the best thing you can do is get a modification, and from there, learn how to manage your credit and finances by aligning yourself with a good financial planner, mortgage professional, CPA etc. Please contact me and I will connect you!

Megan McDonald, Licensed Mortgage Planner Excel Home Lending
383 Inverness Parkway, Suite 130
Englewood, CO 80112
Cell: 303-717-9995
Off: 303-790-2022
Fax: 303-468-6133
www.excelhomelending.com
www.mcdonaldlendingservices.com
http://twitter.com/megmcd

The shield is the central and essential component of the Coat of Arms. Without the shield there cannot be a coat of arms. The shape of the shield may vary just as the design of the arms as a whole may vary and in fact does. It would be possible to have half a dozen examples of the same coat of arms yet to the uninitiated it would appear that they are different coats. The reason for this is that the artists in creating the arms from the original written description have been influenced as all artists are by varying fashions and styles in Heraldry. The shield can be represented in many ways and directions according to the fashion of the time, what goes on the shield however does not change.

From the shield we come to the helmet. This object exemplifies the essential practical side of original Heraldry. In the days when knights were bold and adventurous everyone wore a helmet of some sort in battle, so everyone was entitled to a helmet in their grant of arms. Heraldry has shown a power of adaption which has enabled it to survive when contemporary arts such as Armor making died out. The shape of the helmet, like that of the shield, is varied and numerous. Some helmets are of the tilting variety, others are the barrel type where the weight began to be borne by the shoulders. More important than the shape of the helmet is its position. In Heraldry’s earliest days the position of the helmet in the coat of arms varied as much as the shape of the helmets, but since the 17th Century there have been rules laid down and generally observed for the delineation of helmets. A royal helmet is of gold, placed affrontée, i.e. with the helmet full face on, and the bars of the helmet down but the visor raised. The helmet of a peer is silver, in profile, visor raised and the bars are of gold. The helmet of a baronet or knight is steel, affrontée, visor up and without bars or grills. The helmet of an esquire or gentleman is steel, in profile with visor closed.

Download FrostWire “Arctic Shield”

The newest FrostWire release “Arctic Shield” (version 4.18.5) has arrived.

By the request of our users the latest version adds some serious connection and anti-spam improvements.

FrostWire “Arctic Shield” is by far the most significant update of 2009 and we strongly recommend this update.

Refresh Connections

An entirely new tool that lets you Refresh Connections, this will retrieve a list of fresh and active ultra-peers to connect with when your application cannot find any initial ones is a true lifesaver for some.

FrostWire “Arctic Shield” has updated UPnP code for improved router/firewall interaction to fix possible bootstrapping issues.

Ready for your new 64-bit OS

FrostWire “Arctic Shield” is compatible with the latest operating systems Microsoft’s Windows 7 and with Apple’s Snow Leopard, while keeping backwards compatibility with older versions.

Spam Battle Continues

Nonetheless, the most significant improvement to the software comes in the form of updated FrostWire’s IP BlackList technology that helps to remove over 70% of spam and fake search results from showing up on your screen.

Your Pictures on the Splash Screen

FrostWire developers have also included a special functionality in this release that will display different user submitted Splash Screens every time FrostWire loads to showcase the creativity & involvement of our community.

Pictures of the FrostWire Stickers all over the world have been selected for many of the splash screens. We encourage everybody to get their set of free stickers and submit their own pictures for a chance of being featured on FrostWire loading screen on future updates.

If you have some pictures already, you can send them to contact [at] frostwire [dot] com.

We give attribution to the following photographers for the splash screens of 4.18.4: Nany Wilson, luis_fonseca2, xmarcelinaxx, Green_713, bigdogbee, Katay Santos, jacksonenterprize, Steven Blue and the FrostWire Team.

Here are the detailed release notes:

FrostWire Version 4.18.5 “Artic Shield” (November 2009 hotfix)
- Fixes two NPEs that was causing FrostWire to kill uploads. (related to httpcomponent/nio)
- Updates: License is upgraded from GPLv2 to GPLv3 to allow proper license compatibility with Apache Licensed components.

FrostWire “Arctic Shield” Version 4.18.4 (October-November 2009)

- New: “Tools > Refresh Connections”. A network of FrostWire Sentinels maintains a list of reliable nodes that can be used to bootstrap your connection.
- FrostWire IP BlackList technology updated to get rid of over 70% of spam and fakes (thanks Aaron.Walkhouse).
- Update: latest UPnP code merged from LimeWire Codebase for better connectivity.
- Update: Network core more efficient and stable thanks to the latest Apache HttpComponents (httpcore-4.0.1 and httpclient-4.0)
- Update: Random Splash Screens. Now showing different community submitted Splash Screens to spread the FrostWire culture.
- Update: The Chat Server is now a parameter on frostwire.props.
- Fix: Connection Doctor addresses more connection bootstrapping issues.

About FrostWire
FrostWire is a peer-to-peer file sharing program for the Gnutella and BitTorrent protocols. FrostWire is written in Java, and is a fork of LimeWire, another popular Gnutella client. Released under the GNU General Public License, FrostWire is free software.

Related Links:
FrostWire’s Website

The seven elements I have been painting in order to morph my Nikephorian Byzantine army into a Konstantinian Byzantine one are very nearly finished. I am pleased with the shield decals I made for them. I think the lesson is that if you’re going to make shield decals, use a complex design that you wouldn’t want to hand-paint.

The Konstantinian part of my Konstantinian Byzantines

Rather un-patriotically I spent the Melbourne Cup long weekend painting the 37 foot figures for a Papal Italian army rather than watching horse races. I’m still working on the shields, and the hot weather is slowing me down a bit, but I hope to have them finished in a week.

Just a week's work left on these.

###WARNING### — this post will contain very graphic description of surgery and operating room stuff.  If you’re not cool with reading that, stop reading now and go here.  This means you, S, J, R, M, and Y.*

*I totally made these people up, by the way.  Unless your name starts with S, J, R, M, or Y, and you’re easily skeeved by blood and guts.

Let’s try writing in the present tense for this entry.  Change it up a bit.

So.  Let’s see.  Friday morning I wake up at 5AM.  This is early.  Normally I’m dreaming about car fires or delicious little impossible cupcakes at this point.  But I wake up to my alarm (set to 93.3 WMMR, because it’s the only station I receive clearly on my 20-year-old clock radio), shave, shower, eat some breakfast (per my instructions … don’t wanna be passing out in the OR), and make my way to the hospital.  This time I am in the main hospital building, which houses some 30 or 40 operating rooms, I believe.  I take the elevator up to the floor with some of the ORs.  I knock on the door of the OR nursing suite.  “Hello?” I say to no one in particular.  It is 6:45AM, and I don’t see anyone here.  Finally, a woman sees me and says, “Ok, grab some purple scrubs (yes!), put them on in that bathroom, lock your stuff in the locker, and wait in that room over there across the hall.  Someone will come to get you.”

Hmm, ok, I think, this isn’t so bad.  I change into my sweet purple scrubs, lock my stuff away in the locker, put the key around my ankle, and turn the corner into the OR lounge.  Yikes.

There are about 40 people in here.  All wearing either teal or green.  All drinking coffee and eating danish or donuts.  All talking to each other.  I stick out, but people ignore me.  I sit down on a couch and wait.  To my left is a bug zapper.

Wait, a bug zapper?

To my right is another bug zapper.  I can only assume, given the vast amounts of food and drink to be seen in this lounge, that they’ve had a little problem with lil’ critters.  Hence the bug zappers.  I assume.

At precisely 7:01AM, all the green- and teal-clad folks begin checking a master sheet, file through a door, and disappear down the hall.  I take it that these people are all nurses and techs and have disappeared to start the day.  I am left alone in the lounge, watching the sad news from Ft. Hood.  I am tempted to stuff my hole with donuts, but I resist.  At 7:30, another student comes in and we chat.  She changes into her purple scrubs, and we sit together for a while.  At around 7:50, a nurse comes over and introduces herself, saying she’s sorry, but someone called out sick, and she’s been tasked to take care of us.  For the next 15 minutes, she goes over the “house rules.”  This includes things such as:

• Do not talk to the surgeons unless they talk to you.
• Do not touch anything blue or clear plastic.
• If you feel faint, sit down immediately and tell the circulating nurse.

So after these rules are hammered home, she says, “Ok, let’s go, follow me!”  She gives us booties for over our shoes and a hairnet/cap.  She is perusing what looks to be a master list of all the surgeries scheduled for that day, and is trying to figure out where to put us for the morning.  We follow her downstairs and to the next building (which is connected with a bridge).  And then we finally enter the OR suites.

At this point we are standing in a very long hallway, with ORs on either side.  The nurse gives us a duckbill mask here, and instructs us to wash our hands.  As I’m stepping toward the giant sinks they have for the surgeons to scrub in, I hear the following:

WOMAN #1: Oh man I gotta go wash my eye out!

RANDOM MAN:  Why, what you get in it?

WOMAN #1:  Oh, just some blood.

Our friendly nurse says we should always wear that mask inside the OR.  She also gives us a flimsy-looking coat of some sort, because it gets very cold inside the ORs.  Lastly, we are told to wear disposable plastic glasses to protect our eyes.  We follow this nurse down to OR #5, at which she drops off the other student.  She wants me to go into OR #3, and we enter through the door.  Five people turn around and stare at me for a few moments, then turn back to the patient, who is lying on the table, completely under anesthesia, with her abdomen exposed.  They’re about to start a laparoscopic resection of the colon.  Cool!  I think this is my lucky day.  Then things turn sour.

The surgeon seems upset.  He’s going on about some machine that isn’t working properly, and they can’t start the operation.  The nice nurse who’s been taking me around says, “Ok, let’s find you another room — this one’s quite ornery.”  She then says, “I think there’s some ortho surgeries going on, let’s go down there.”

We knock on OR #36, which seems to already have a surgery going on.  I’m allowed in this room, introduced to the circulating nurse, who will be taking care of me here all morning, and then the charge nurse disappears.  Ok, this is it.  I’m alone now.  On my own.  Gotta keep it together and be professional.

I’m introduced to the people in this OR.  Right in the middle of their surgery.  From left to right:

1. Circulating Nurse, who is the only one not in the sterile field.  She wears a mask and cap, but normal scrubs.  No gloves.
2. Scrub Nurse, who is in the sterile field.  She seems to be standing next to the instruments and handing them to the surgeons.
3. Scrub Nurse, who is in the sterile field.  He seems to be manning the hooks and retractors.  That seems to be his only job.
4. Chief Resident, who is in the sterile field.  His job seems to be opening the case, making the incisions and getting started.
5. Registered Nurse First Assist (RNFA), who is in the sterile field.  She is manning the suction and other tools.
6. Patient, who is in the sterile field (duh).  He doesn’t seem to know what’s going on.

I should mention here that this OR is different-looking.  They do only “joint” cases here (involving joints and bones and such).  Because of this, they use some sort of strange air-flow system.  All the people in the sterile field, which is represented by a giant box drawn on the floor (I was instructed to never step over this line, by the way), are wearing these futuristic-looking helmets with battery packs.  Over these helmets they have what appear to be space suits.  They really look like the scary government guys from the movie “ET.”  Hilarious.  Apparently these draw the air up and into the ceiling or something.  I never did figure out what that was.  There is a giant apparatus attached to the ceiling, to which they have taped plastic sheeting in front of the patient’s face.  Only the anesthesiologist, who is not in the sterile field, can see the patient’s face.

This first case is a bilateral total hip replacement.  As I arrived, they had just finished this man’s right hip.  They are ready to start the left hip now, and I have arrived just in time.  I’m told to stand where I can see what’s going on (which is still about 6 feet away), and this is pretty much where I stand for the rest of the morning.  They have a giant flat-screen TV, which is showing a close-up camera view of the operation.  I sneak a few peeks at this from time to time, but it’s much more interesting to look at the surgical field.  There is an iPod hooked up to a miniature speaker system sitting on the floor to the side, and this is pumping out some tunes at a reasonable volume.

So, onto the first surgery I witnessed.

As I mentioned, this is the left hip replacement.  The patient is a man in his 40s, and has severe degenerative joint disease, which has rendered both his hips in pretty crappy shape.  This patient has a spinal epidural in place, and is under only conscious sedation — Versed and Demerol.  So the anesthesiologist talks to him from time to time, and the patient answers back.  Amazing.

At this point they’re ready to get going.  The chief resident and the RNFA seem to be doing most of the prepping — they have shaved this patient’s left hip and leg down to just below the knee.  Then the circulating nurse applies liberal amounts of betadine to the patient’s leg.  Then the Chief and RNFA wrap the hip and leg in some sort of yellow material from 3M.  I think they call it Ioban.  It wraps skin-tight and stays on throughout the surgery.  They actually just cut right through this material when they make their incisions.  The chief asks for the scalpel, and starts his incision, which runs about 8 inches down the outside of the left leg.  As for the surgery and operating room … some observations:

• There is a giant drape/blanket sitting on the floor in front of me (between me and the operating table).  The chief and RNFA, who is in charge of soaking up the blood with sterile sponges, throw their trash onto this blanket.  Sometimes when this trash lands on the drape, it splashes onto my lower legs a bit.  I don’t mind this.
• At the beginning of the surgery, the scrub nurse and circulating nurse write down everything they are using for this surgery (25 sponges, 2 scalpels, etc.).  At the end of the surgery, these nurses go over this list again, and ensure everything that went into the patient has also come out of the patient.
• The circulating nurse does a lot of paperwork during the surgery.  Every now and then she is asked to get something from the surrounding cabinets or outside the OR, and she gets this, opens up the package very carefully, and extends her arm into the sterile field, where the scrub nurse grabs it from the package.  The circulating nurse also calls over to the PACU to let them know the patient is almost ready after surgery.
• After prepping the patient for surgery, the 1 scrub nurse, the chief resident, and the RNFA all go out to scrub in for surgery.  The other scrub nurse remains behind to continue prepping the room, and when the other 3 come in, she and the circulating nurse help them get their gowns and gloves on.  It’s really a well-oiled machine and team.
• The anesthesiologist has an interesting role.  A lot of the time during the surgery he is just sitting there looking bored.  Other times he is hanging some blood on the IV pole or monitoring other numbers.  During the entire surgery, he is often chatting with the other members of the team.
• Speaking of chatting, there is rarely any silence.  They talk often and loudly, about many topics including vacation spots, the Phillies, and dinner plans.  I’m sure they’re concentrating, but you couldn’t tell from the mood in the room.
• The chief resident starts the surgery, and opens up the patient and does most of the work.  Then, in the middle of the surgery, the attending surgeon walks in, takes over, does the actual implanting of the titanium hip the patient will receive, and then walks out again.  The attending surgeon is there for, at most, 15 minutes.  The surgery lasts about 75 minutes in total.
• During the surgery, lots of random people (all wearing scrubs, of course) walk in and out of the OR.  Some of them start talking to the operating members, and some of them just watch for a while, and then leave.  Apparently these are other nurses from other ORs who just feel like visiting.  I didn’t know this happened during surgeries.
• The attending surgeon and the chief resident are both triple gloved.
• It is astounding how much the surgeons manhandle the patient.  After the hip is implanted, the RNFA and attending take this patient’s leg and turn it every which way, sometimes appearing to discolate his hip.  They are doing this to ensure he will have proper range of motion, as well as to ensure he won’t dislocate his hip when he walks on it.  However, they aren’t exactly gentle when they do this.
• Once the thighbone is exposed, the chief and attending break out the big tools.  They have to attach the new hip to the hip and thighbone, so they basically just take out this giant chisel and hammer, and WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK away at the bone.  It seems almost barbaric, but I suppose there really isn’t any other way to do it.  Then they take out this extremely loud bone saw and just saw away at precisely measured places of bone.
• The smell of burning bone is one I will never forget.  When the chief is burning some of the areas, and chiseling away at the femur, there is that distinct smell that I can still remember.
• Even standing about 6 feet away, the chiseling of the bone makes some blood and bone marrow spray on my glasses.  But only a little bit.  The chief and RNFA have liberal amounts of it on their face shields.  From time to time they take a sterile towel and wipe it off, like surgical windshield wipers.

Some other thoughts about my experience:

• Some other nurses and HCPs talk about something called “Imposter Syndrome.”  This is especially true in my OR observation.  How is it that I, a little old nursing student in my 2nd month, am allowed to just wander in and out of rooms where they are performing major operations on people a few feet away?  It’s crazy!  Such trust!  It’s amazing to me that I’m still allowed to do these things and be given access to these ridiculously cool scenarios.
• Orthopedic surgeries are super bloody.  The patient has given 2 units of his own blood to use during surgery.  Cutting into bone is very messy.  Lots of blood and marrow and other gunk.  Because of this, the blanket in front of me is filled with bloody sponges by the time the surgery is done.
• After the total hip, I get to stay for a 2nd operation, which turns out to be a total knee replacement.  This is less bloody because they use a tourniquet on the patient.  However, it’s infinitely cooler, as I get to see the entire knee exposed 4 feet in front of me (I lean in a little closer by this point).  All the tendons and ligaments they talk about on TV — all right there.  Incredible.
• Patients fart a lot during surgery.  At least my 2 patients sure do.
• After the range of motion is confirmed and the titanium hip implant is secured, the chief and RNFA measure the length of each of the patient’s legs.  I can imagine it would be a bad thing if the patient’s legs were two different lengths, right?

The soundtrack for the surgery (iPod edition) includes:

1. The Killers:  Somebody Told Me
2. Matchbox 20:  3AM
3. Nickelback:  Rockstar
4. Maroon 5:  This Love
5. Modest Mouse:  Float On
6. 5 For Fighting:  Superman
7. Radiohead:  Karma Police
8. Weezer:  Beverly Hills
9. Sublime:  What I Got
10. Third Eye Blind:  Jumper

I wonder who gets to pick the songs.

After seeing the total knee, it’s time for me to leave.  I go back through the doors into the lounge, where I see … 25 people eating lunch.  There are pizza boxes everywhere, and people are digging in for the lunchie munchies.  I change back into my regular scrubs, return the purple scrubs to the charge nurse, and leave the hospital.  My back hurts from standing.  My feet hurt from standing.  But my mind is spinning with intrigue.  I love the OR.

I was reviewing some files I had on my desktop computer and came across a poem that was in a book that I once read.  Obviously, I enjoyed it so much, I copied it and saved it to my computer.  I don’t know who the author is but it is a wonderful poem.  Read it, be blessed and pass it along….

FAVOR CONFESSION

Father, thank you for making me righteous and accepted through the blood of Jesus.  Because of that, I am blessed and highly favored by you.  I am the object of your affection.  Your favor surrounds me as a shield and the first thing that people come into contact with is my shield.

Thank you that I have favor with you and man today.  All day long, people go out of their way to bless and to help me.  I will have favor with everyone that I deal with today.  Doors that were once closed are now opened for me.  I receive preferential treatment and I have special privileges.  I am God’s favored child.

No good thing will He withhold from me.  Because of God’s favor, my enemies cannot triumph over me.  I have supernatural increase and promotion.  I declare retoration of everything that the devil has stolen from me.  I have honor in the midst of my adversaries and an increase of assests – especially in real estate and an expansion of territory.

Because I am hightly favored by God, I experience great victories, supernatural turn-rounds and miraculous breakthroughs in the midst of great impossibilities.  I recieve recognition, prominence, and honor.  Even ungodly authroities grant petitions to me.  Policies, rules, regulations, and laws are changed and reversed on my behalf.

I win battles that I don’t even have to fight because God fights them for me.  This is the day, the set time and the designated moment for me to experience the free favors of God that profusely and lavishly abound on my behalf.

In Jesus’ Name,  Amen.

Be Blessed!

Tereciah

The very first Laois Astro League Awards Night will be held on Thurs. Dec. 10th in the bar upstairs @ The Killeshin.

As they say on SKY ‘guapa’. Event kicks off @ 9.30pm.

Deck the tree with silverware!kicks off @ 9.30 with the League Champions honoured around four in morning. No really will finish up at 12'ish to let younger brigade hit Egan's. Does it open on Thurs.? ( showing my age there )

Raise a glass or three to our first-ever Champions!