Lucky for me I found  a site on the social network that shares information and insight about traveling nurses.  Discussions of contracts, tax options and stipends are insightful and helpful but from what I can tell there is quite a few people wanting to reach out to others or at least ask en masse what one does about the loneliness. i am alone but not lonely.  Being a traveler is kinda of a solitary event, driving to your location, entering a new place and finding housing. Most go at it alone and others hook up the fifth wheel and live out their contract at a RV park with family in tow. The weird  thing is now I’m beginning to prefer it more at this time in my life than ever before.  “People do it all the time”  and some people are especially good at it.  Is that why girls go the bathroom together? Have play dates with other mom’s or avoid going out if no one else is up for it. Songs like “All By My Self” or “One Is The Loneliest Number” make me second guess myself but I get over it quickly because are we really all alone?

NELSON HERE IT IS!
1. The people
2. No matter where you are, you will
     Hear someone say “Porterville” at
     Least once a day.
3. Sense of community and honesty
     “There’s not much going on here in
     ‘Porterville'”.
4. The Manfest at my hotel. Firemen &
     Construction guys in mob like
     fashion at the 6am breakfast buffet
5.  The rolling unoccupied hills of ochre
      and almond.
6. The night which is both quiet.     
      Peaceful and the abundance of
      twilight.
7.  Orange Works. A tri-tip sandwich
      enhanced with a roasted garlic
      spread  finished with a thin slice
      bleu cheese, that would make Julia
      Child proud.
8.  Cost of living is reasonable and not
      gouging which is a refreshing relief.
9.  Just about everyone say “good
      Morning” accompanied by good
      eye contact  and a sense that they
      mean it.
10. SENSE OF HUMOUR. I hear
       laughing more then whining or
       sighing.

I’m sitting in a tiny lunch room in a big hospital  in Porterville California.  Deliciously listening to my new co-workers chat and enjoying a garlic laden tri-tip sandwich (the perks of the job). I drove only 3 hours from Los Angeles but this is different place.  All farmland and rows of deep forrest green shrub like trees with their tops shaved off. Oranges and lemons I am told are the main crops but I’m sure there are others. Evidence of drought is obvious but it’s part of nature. Like a blonde surfers back the hills are smooth, strong and comforting.  I shared , with my lunch companions, that “once you let the cat out of the bag” …even when asked “Where do you live?” “Well in a truck and Las Vegas but not really til late Oct. And sometimes in “The Cement capital of the United States”.  Irwindale California.  And Huntington Beach but not til 2017. I feel compartmentalize but it’s not a bad thing or is it?  I do feel at home here. I find it interesting that most of the peeps I’ve encountered, may go away for awhile like to school or the military but they find their way back easily. I guess it’s a spiritual thing because when I am  less distracted by the “stuff”, there is  room to be closer to God nature  and family and this seems to be the unwritten law here in Porterville.

I have, in a nutshell, woven a series of events or mishaps into  tapestry of sorts. I wish to apologize for quasi-abandoming this blog.  Planning a month long trip to Southeast Asia I panicked when I realized I was not  going back into the OR once I returned from the road….darn.  And  getting back out on the road was out. What’s a gal to do? Start applying for OR positions like crazy. And then there were crickets. One major hospital said “didn’t meet criteria” one interviewer said was “over qualified” translates to “we rather pay less and new grads are chosen” Nursing is funny and fickle. Experience counts but gaps in employment don’t. I chose nursing specifically so I could travel. Then I got pounced on by several nursing agencies and their goal is to land a fish, filet the heck out of it and if nurse is lucky she’d get the  scales.  One particular agency was aggressive and told me this position  pays 35 an hour. I said “that is new grad pay.” “Well how much do you want? Back and forth ensued then I dropped them when they said “we will give you a 10 dollar stipend” “So 45 an hour?” Sensed hesitation the “Yes yes”  a ten dollar stipend is 10 dollars a day and not 45 an hour. They called often throughout the day set up interviews and pushed “so are you accepting the job…right….yes” when I asked to “think about it” the agency gal put her boss on the phone to put the squeeze on. Bottom line I choose a reputable agency and taking an 8 week OR  assignment in Porterville California. Porterville is a farming community with rich farmland and their owners, who I’ve heard, seek out their health care elsewhere because they can.  And that’s fine I wish to treat any and all people regardless of their livelihood.  I have no idea what I’m walking into, so cheers Mazel Tov to another adventure.