
Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.
An you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You’ll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.
And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.
Haruki Murakami | Kafka on the Shore (via blogut)
While reading this, I remembered all those years I cried over Nursing and how desperate I was to pass and how nervous I was that I’d fail. But here I am now. Happy and proud to be RN. ;)

EXTRACURRICULAR MEDICAL READING
Hey Cranquis! Second year med-student here, just joined the Tumblr community and really dig your posts. I had a question about extracurricular medical reading: recently I’ve started reading more “medically themed” books such as Atul Gawande’s “Better” and Samuel Shlem’s “House of God” and was wondering if you had any further recommendations? I’d really appreciate it - and thanks in advance!
Oh, I think I have a few books to recommend. (House of God isn’t on that list… it’s a “classic” book about residency, but pretty depressing and pointless.)
And if you’re looking for some medical journal recommendations, well, I’ll throw that in for free. :)
Good luck with school, and thanks for reading!
***Pending Cranquis-Mails: 7; Inbox: Closed***
http://flibbertigibbety.tumblr.com/ you might want to see this. :) LOL.
Nurse, “It’s like going to space.”
Me, “Ha, Did you hear NASA is launching another explorer thing to Mars this week?”
Nurse, “You mean Russia?”
Me, “Er, no NASA, from Florida. A lander vehicle to Mars.”
Nurse, “Tsss. NASA was sold to Russia like 5 years ago. It was on Fox News an’ eehverryyything.”
Me, “O__o”.
WHUT? NASA sold to RUSSIA?? O_O
WOUND DRAINAGE HERE WE GO:
Serous: Clear, watery plasma
Purulent: Thick, yellow, green, tan, or brown: indicates infection process
Serosanguineous: Pale, red, watery: mixture of serous and sanguineous
Sanguineous: Bright red: indicates active bleeding
(Source: lubamonster)