Nursing career battery

Miss Cleocatra is Jenifer Lewis! Let's discuss how the clue packages related to her.

• First clue package:
  • Hourglass
  • “Long ago, I was living life in technicolor.” = she made several appearances as various characters on the sketch comedy show In Living Color.
  • Thunderstorm
  • ‘Bel-Air’ sign = she had a recurring role as Will’s Aunt Helen on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
  • “My days were horribly split, going from gorgeous rainbows to horrendous black and white.” / “And that’s when I got the diagnosis I never wanted but so desperately needed. And suddenly, everything became crystal clear. And I’m so glad I reached out for help.” = she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1990, originally hiding her diagnosis, as she felt ashamed, but eventually coming to embrace it after 17 years of therapy and 10 years of medication.
  • ‘Vacay’ tag on suitcase
  • “People were calling me a national treasure….” = she is unofficially known as "The Mother of Black Hollywood."
  • Triangles/triforce
  • Crow
  • Tiara = she voiced Mama Odie in 2009 film The Princess and the Frog.
• Second clue package:
  • Snake = she voiced Mama Odie in 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, where her character had a pet snake, who was also her assistant.
  • “...starting with my own mother. She was a maid, so I didn’t have to be.” = her mother was a nursing attendant, but also cleaned houses to make extra money.
  • Domino ‘5:0’ = she starred in 2011 film Five, for which she received a Black Reel Award nomination for Best Actress in a Television Miniseries or Movie, an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special, and a NAMIC Vision Awards nomination for Best Performance in Drama.
  • Bette Midler = she was a member of The Harlettes, who were Bette Midler’s back-up singers.
  • Whoopi Goldberg = she was cast as one of the back-up singers to Whoopi Goldberg in 1992 film Sister Act.
  • Michelle Obama in stars = Michelle guest starred in the season eight premiere episode of Black-ish.
  • “I’m most proud of the little princesses who see me as their queen.” = she voiced Mama Odie in 2009 film The Princess and the Frog.
  • Glowing ring = she appeared in 2015 film The Wedding Ringer.
  • “I want them to know if they want to be supreme….” = she played Effie White in the workshop of musical Dreamgirls, which closely follows the story of The Supremes / she starred in television show Black-ish and 2011 film Five, alongside The Supremes’ Diana Ross’s daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross.
• Special clues:
  • First performance:
    • “Stormy Weather” by Etta James
    • Wizard of Oz inspiration → The Good Witch
    • Wizard of Oz Night Clue → Star wand / “I’ve already worked my magic. On an Emmy award winning show!” = she starred in television show Black-ish, which won the 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling.
  • Second performance:
    • “Free Your Mind” by En Vogue
    • Girl Group Night Clue → “Stop! In the Name of Love” by The Supremes / “The Supremes aren’t just on my playlist. They’re a part of my career.” = she played Effie White in the workshop of musical Dreamgirls, which closely follows the story of The Supremes / she starred in television show Black-ish and 2011 film Five, alongside The Supremes’ Diana Ross’s daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross.

Here is my ongoing accolades tally. It's still a work in progress, and I'm open to improvement suggestions!
What did I miss?

I’m wondering what the feasibility of studying to become a GP would be, as an CNS with some years of experience.

Hi everyone! I’m a pediatric oncology nurse (night shift) who has been in nursing for a little under one year now. As you can imagine, working on this unit is incredibly rewarding but also incredibly depressing and I’ve recently found myself wanting to work in an easier area of nursing such as school nursing or home health. I love working with kids but I’m finding this position to be too difficult mentally and physically. I’ve even considered leaving nursing all together.
SO many people say “there are so many avenues to take in nursing” but most require certain years of experience or require you to sacrifice something else, such as working with kids or a pay cut. I feel lost and wish that I had never pursued nursing. Does anyone have advice or experience as a school nurse/ switching careers?

Demographics:
Gender: Male
Family Income: $120,000
Residence: Massachusetts
School: Medium-sized vocational (not traditional) school with 1,500 students
Class rank: Either valedictorian or salutatorian (i think, but we don't do rank)
Hooks: URM (Haitian-American immigrant), First-Gen? (Parents only did Associates in America)
Intended Major: Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
Academics:
GPA: 4.0 Unweighted / 4.56 Weighted
SAT: 1530 (750 EBRW, 780 Math)
Coursework (before senior year): AP Language and Composition (5); Dual enrollment: Speech Communication, Principals of Sociology, English Composition I, Art History, Personal Finance, Spanish I (4.00 GPA through the community college)
Senior Year Coursework: AP Biology, AP Stats, AP Calc, DE Spanish II, Honors World Lit
Extracurriculars:

1. Work (Paid) - Resident Care Associate (CNA): Cared for 24+ elderly residents overall; Assisted with daily living and organized group activities; Ensured safety and needs of residents were met. 300 hours
2. Career Oriented - Externship: Social & Clinical CNA Training: Biweekly, socialized w/ 20+ elderly residents & facilitated group social activities (2021-22); Completed 80+ clinical hours for CNA certificate (2022). 286 hours
3. Research - Research Intern at _ Community College: 4 month full-time research on urbanization’s impact on bees; Gathered & analyzed 500+ insect samples; Participated in weekly journal club discussions. 136 hours
4. Community Service (Volunteer): Weekly, distributed food packages to 50+ in-need local families; Organized & Advertised food & toy drives, collected 100+ donations. 80 hours
5. Work (Paid) - Nutrition Guest Representative: Worked in a team-based setting to take orders, gather, and distribute patient-specific meals to 400+ hospital patients; Stocked floor kitchens. 574 hours
6. Student Govt./Politics - Media Coordinator, Student Council: Designed flyers to increase school-wide student engagement; Created and managed IG account (500+ impressions); Organized cultural & community events. 54 hours
7. Science/Math - Co-Captain and Participant, Math Team: Learned complex math topics; Led team in Regional Math League Competitions; Improved team ranking from 7th to 3rd (2022-23). 96 hours
8. Career Oriented - Competitor (2021-24); Treasurer (2023): SkillsUSA Medical Terminology Competitor (2021-24); Managed SkillsUSA budget and expenditures, raised funding for chapter activities (2023). 135 hours
9. Student Govt./Politics - Attendant (Judge, City Council, HOR), Boys State: Served in judicial branch, House of Rep., and city council in Boys State Leadership mock government; Orated speech for closing ceremony. 144 hours
10. Other Club/Activity Member and Club Chair, Cooking Club: Weekly, created dinner and dessert dishes in small groups; Designed new cross-cultural recipes; Led new member recruitment. 218 hours

(in my additional info, I included currently working as a dietary aide, newspaper club, and my YT channel where I play roblox)
Awards:
Certified Nursing Assistant Certification (March 2023)
SkillsUSA Medical Terminology Competition - 1st Place Regional; 2nd Place District; States Qualified
Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair - 3rd Place in Local Fair; Qualified & Attended Regionals
National African American Recognition Program
National Honor Society
Essays/Supplementals/LOR:
Personal Statement
I would say my personal statement was pretty strong. I wrote about the stories I heard and encountered while taking care of the elderly and how I've begun making my own stories. I kept it as genuine as possible. My Yale AO said this made her tear up and I think it was a pretty sentimental piece. Initially, I was comparing my essay to those of people online and I was so worried because mine didn't look like theirs and I didn't start ec dropping and shit like them but honestly I had nothing to worry about. Rating maybe: 9 (or 9.5?) / 10
Supplementals
My supps were def rushed but I would say these were really good as well. I kept them genuine and did my best to convey as many aspects of my character as possible. Compassion and diversity was a big theme for me loll. Rating maybe: 8.5/10
LORs
I didn't see most of my LORs but I assume they were good. My calc teacher wrote how I was the best student he's had in years and my lang teacher talked about some classroom moments (forgot what exactly). Rating maybe: 7 - 9 (crazy range ik) / 10
Interviews
Tufts (9.5/10): Very chill and she calmed my nerves a LOT. It was like talking to another kid my age. Lasted like 40 minutes?
Harvard (8/10): Almost very chill, was at starbucks. I messed up and stuttered a few times but overall this was very good. Lasted like 70 mins
Yale (10/10): My interviewer and I were both Black and were able to connect really well because of that. We talked a lot about the Yale environment and being a person of color on campus. Lasted like 80 mins
Princeton (9/10): One of my shorter interviews but he was sooo chill. He was a busy guy so our interview only lasted 20 mins but I was able to express myself pretty confidently and tell him why I liked Princeton.
Duke (6/10): Ok my interviewer was lowk a bot bruh and the interview was p awkward. I didn't do enough research so when he asked me why Duke, I gave a vague answer and bro told me "Well other schools have that too, what makes Duke different."
URichmond Scholars (9.5/10): Even though it was in front of like 8 other people it was very chill. I was able to confidently talk about myself and what I'd like to do at Richmond
DECISIONS
Rejections:
University of Miami (EA)
Brandeis University
New York University
Boston University
Waitlists
Washington University in St. Louis
Acceptances
Duke University
Yale University (likely letter)
Northeastern University (EA)
University of Massachusetts Amherst (EA)
University of Massachusetts Boston (EA)
Northwestern University
Johns Hopkins University
Tulane University (Deferred EA > Accepted RD)
Emory University
Tufts University
University of Richmond + Richmond Scholars full-ride (EA)
Harvard College (likely letter)
Cornell University
Princeton University
Case Western Reserve University (EA)

Unable to relocate at this time… I’m currently working in a town with only 1 hospital which owns the clinics and other healthcare facilities around… only made 48,xxx last year gross income and my student loans are 35k in debt. I also need a new car and I would only get 1100 for it to sell it and need 4k in repairs… overall, l am very unhappy and thinking of a career change. I know nursing is not all about money, but in this economy I cannot survive on this small income. Should I just get a second job? I can’t work more hours because my mental health is already bad working 80 hours…

7 years in January that I had been free. I don't remember anything except waking up confused and hurting. My wife luckily for me is a nurse, she said I reached over to turn my alarm off and started convulsing so she turned me on my side and thankfully it didn't last but about 30 seconds according to her.
I've been weaned down on my Trileptal quite a bit in the past year without any problems at all. The past couple weeks though I decided I wanted to try and get off of my effexor after taking it for over a year and not noticing much difference. I was on I believe the smallest dose of it as well at 37.5 mg. Got down from taking a full pill to only a quarter after waiting a week in between dosage changes. I didn't realize that effexor withdrawal can cause seizures though especially if you have a history of epilepsy.
I've been in the process of starting my dream career but I'm not sure what that looks like now because it's a job that I most definitely can't have seizures with. Not really sure what the moral of my story is, guess I just needed to vent to some like minded people. Stay healthy everyone.

Hello fellow nursing professionals,
I'm a recent nursing grad who just began my orientation in the ICU at a county hospital, located quite a distance from my primary residence. To manage this, I've rented a room nearby, but I commute back home on weekends to spend time with my wife. I am truly grateful for the chance to work in a Level 1 trauma center; however, the separation and commute are proving to be quite tough.
Additionally, my background in EMS has sparked a strong interest in trauma care, leading me to consider a switch to the ED. Interestingly, I was recently offered an interview at a local county hospital, which is also a Level 1 trauma center and much closer to home. However, since I've already signed a contract with my current employer, I'm hesitant to make any moves that might be perceived negatively or burn bridges.
I would deeply appreciate any advice from those who have faced similar dilemmas early in their careers. How did you handle transitions or opportunities without compromising professional relationships? Any insights or advice would be immensely helpful.
Thank you so much in advance for your support and guidance!

Hi guys, I’m 23F and I was sort of lost after graduating high school. It took me a moment to get my big girl pants on but eventually I did and I have a stable job working as a receptionist that pays $20/hr. It’s hardly a livable wage in my area and it was meant to be a transitionary job for me. Now I’m looking into my career options, I’m ready to tighten my bootstraps and work for it. I’m debating on pursuing fashion in the film industry which is my passion but wouldn’t pay much or pursuing nursing which would pay really well and offer me and my future children stability. Nursing is hardly my passion but it would beat working a 9-5 dead end desk job that makes me want to rip my hair out. I could always try my hand at fashion and get a certificate for approx. 10k and try to break into the industry and go for nursing later.
Any advice?

Hello everyone,
I am (hopefully) leaving my current school at the end of this year, and moving on to a new district. This year will mark the end of my 6th year of teaching, and I have spent my entire career working in the same school.
For context, I work in public school in the US.
I work in special education, in a mostly self-contained classroom for students who need the highest levels of support offered in my district. There is one other classroom in this program (I will call it Life Skills- that is not the name, but my district has a unique and distinct name for the program).
Although the Life Skills program is a special education class, due to our students complex health, social/emotional, and behavioral needs, we tend to be our own little sub-department, if you will. Because of this, the people who I work closely with and who know my work are the other teacher, my para educators/instructional aides depending on your location, and specialists (speech therapists, OT/PT), and administration. I do collaborate with the PE department to make sure we have accessible activities set up for the students, but they haven’t actually seen me teach.
I’ve gotten letters of recommendation from the other Life Skills teacher, one of my paras, an SLP who just retired last year but who I worked with for my entire career, and a 1:1 nurse who supported an incredibly medically fragile student in my classroom for the last 3 years. I will also be getting one from my evaluating administrator at some point this week.
So, my question is, can you list the same people who wrote you letters of recommendation as references? I don’t mean on my resume, where I put references available upon request most of our school districts have systems where you create a profile, fill everything out, upload docs, etc., and many have a references section. If not, I do have a few people I could ask- I have positive professional relationships with my colleagues- but they don’t necessarily know exactly what I do and how well I do it.
So, to sum up an essay that could have been a 2-3 line question: is it ok (or perhaps normal/typical) to list the people who’ve written you letters of recommendation as references as well?

I was offered an interview for a student vet nurse position. I have a degree in medical sciences but I decided to change my career to veterinary nursing. What kind of questions should I expect during my interview? Thank you in advance.

I have never been a handy person. When it comes to fixing broken things around the house, solving puzzles, assembling furniture, the ability to look at a bunch of spare parts, and put them together, I am the most incompetent person I know. I maybe have a shot if I have clear visual instructions, but the ability to “problem solve” or figure it out by looking at things, I’m at a disadvantage. I think it may be the way my brain works combined with my upbringing and most of those things being done for me by my parents. But I have struggled as an adult, and most things around the house my SO has to do. When I attempt things on my own I usually break them by accident in the process. The more I’ve been reflecting on this, I am worried this will be detrimental to my nursing career. Couldn’t I be potentially dangerous if I am not good at hands on work or trying to figure out machines or setting up catheters, IVs etc. Nursing seems to be 100% hands on. Maybe all these skills can be taught to me with proper visual instruction and It’ll be okay? But I definitely am concerned about it, and concerned with the embarrassment of it.

I see a lot of people of here that want to leave the nursing field and I guess I'm jumping on that train too. I recently, three years ago, received my masters and I am just not over the moon with my job. I'm not at the beside anymore, but I still feel like my job is mostly just dealing with people that don't want to help themselves. Sure, there are outliers, but the majority of every day consists of me telling patients to quit smoking, eat right, and exercise. I don't hate my job, but I am doubting if nursing is even something that I am meant to do long term.
So, I've been looking into going back to school for computer science. I feel like it is a major change in careers, but I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with a career change that has nothing to do with nursing. Bonus points if you are in your late thirties/early forties with a family. Was is worth the change? What would you have done different?

mahirap po ba makapasa sa slu nursing? may battery exam po ba? huhu undecided pa po ako sa college eh

hi everyone :) i’m (27F) currently a full time nurse and have been looking for a different career path, or at least a part time job that i actually would enjoy doing! i have been doing reformer pilates for 2 years now and love it. i’ve been going back and forth on becoming a teacher. i read that a lot of places would want you to be certified in yoga teaching before pilates, is that true? also, part of me is nervous about being a teacher - such as being in front of a group of people and being able to remember everything to tell the class to do.
i currently live in chicago so i know there are probably plenty of options. which teacher training program do you recommend here? i switch around between 3 private studios currently, and one studio offers a teacher training program that is 500 hours and teaches mat/reformecadillac/chaibarrel. it doesn’t say it follows a certain program or not.
TIA :)

Hi all, 28yo CNA here! I’ve been working as a CNA the last 4 years, but I have a wide variety of things I’ve tried over the years. I’ve worked in manufacturing/maintenance, corrections, healthcare, and food service, as well as a brief few months as an insurance sales rep.
I’ve been wanting to pursue nursing, but Covid has really killed my passion for healthcare, and I’m becoming burnt out. My back is not in good shape either, and I have planters fasciitis in one foot.
I really am at a point in my life where I want more of a career that won’t destroy my body. I have a friend in another country who works from home managing a cell phone company’s social media account, and to be honest, something like this sounds perfect, working from home and not on the phone all 8+ hours of my shift.
I’ve also looked into things like patient care advocates, care coordinators, even insurance adjusters, to stay in a similar field as what I’ve worked in, but even filtering for entry level leaves jobs that expect 2+ years of experience and/or a bachelor’s degree.
Going to school for something might be an option in a couple of years, but the thought of having to continue working in healthcare while I wait to maybe get to go to school makes me want to cry.
My wishlist for a good career to settle in to is: not terribly physically demanding, ideally WFH, room for growth and advancement and learning, and not call center type work.
I understand that I may very well need to take a call center type job to break in to the WFH space, and if that’s the case, then I’ll manage. I’m also open to in-office work, but would prefer WFH, or the option to ultimately advance into a WFH role.
My problem is I have no real desirable skills outside of customer service. I have my CNA license and a life and health and casualty insurance producer license and that’s it. No other certificates or associate’s degrees or anything.
Is what I’m wanting crazy unattainable? Can anyone just point me in a direction?

As I entered my room with the intent of scrolling for porn again, I realized how unproductive I was today. But before that, i'll introduce myself muna. I am 22 y/o, M, unemployed (recent board passer), and overweight. After passing my dreadful board exams, I scoured for opportunities to start my career as a licensed practicing nurse. 2 private hospitals (DLSMC, USTH), and 1 government hospital (AFPHSC). Fortunately, I am able to pass all their qualifications naman. Yun nga lang, the said private hospitals wanted me in and make a decision, while I wholeheartedly want to enter the gov hospital.
For that part, I had to take the AFPSAT and luckily enough I am qualified to be a P2LT and a military nurse. I underwent 1 minor surgery (PRK), and 1 major surger (tonsillectomy) to meet the physical demands of the said organization.
What bothers me the most would be the results for my neuro-psychiatric exam. Kasi they wont tell you if you've passed or failed. Like imagine, your parents spending almost 100k pesos but failed one test, leading to instant disqualification.
Dagdag pa dun, may 100 item qualifying examinations pa about nursing in which kailangan maka 80/100 ang score. Kaya nakakapressure lahat.
What makes it worse for me is that wala pa akong plan B kasi the 2 private hospitals already rejected my application. And this gov hospital application took almost 3-5 months to process kaya nakakatest ng patience and nakakaanxious.
My friends have already been working na rin while I lay down on my bed 24/7 playing Wild Rift or Apex Legends. Man, I hate seeing myself as a man-child. The doctor instructed me as well to rest for 1 month after tonsillectomy (currently on my 10th day of recovery) para walang further complications. At dagdag pa dun, bawal pa ako sa solid foods. I have to eat ice cream or bland porridge para lang malipasan tong gutom ko. Tho hahaha, it helped. Somehow I lost 5 kgs in 1 week pero pota ang unhealthy nung way na yun.
Hays fuck me talaga. Anyway, sorry if magulo kwento ko. Im just typing kung anong unang pumasok sa isip ko.

I’m 35 (f) will be 36 at end of this year. I’ve got quite a varied background in terms of career. Teacher for 5 years, then moved to IT project management following a software MSc and stayed for almost 7 years. Recently I’ve been struggling in my PM job with the pressure/hours/internal mismanagement and decided to follow my 18yo self’s dream of working in healthcare and becoming a nurse so I took a job as a HCA in a local trust with a view to studying and working at the same time to become an RN.
Nearly a month in and I’m miserable. There’s an underlying culture of bullying from management to lower bands and it’s bitchy and there are obvious cliques. The drs and senior nurses are really patronising and often make jokes that I’m the most overqualified HCA they’ve ever had. The pay is horrific (which I knew) and my elderly parents are leaning on me increasingly for financial support. My partner and I are thinking of starting a family soon and as I’m not getting any younger I think it might be wise to return to corporate (not to the same company) for more stability, better wage and more flexibility once we have kids.
Should I stick it out with healthcare or go back to corporate? My issue was more with the company I worked for as a PM as opposed to the work. I figure that time isn’t on my side in terms of having a family and that’s more important to me than anything right now. (I posted this in Life Advice but realise this thread is more suitable)

Greetings everyone,
This is just going to be a post about me venting and asking for advice on my next steps as I’m so uncertain where to go.
For starters, I have been an athletic trainer for five years. Of those years, I have worked under physical therapy and under an orthopedic surgery clinic
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved my undergrad and all the information that I was able to obtain. However, working in D1 football in undergrad I knew it wasn’t something I would want to do long-term. Hence, switching to clinic.
I have considered so many different paths to move forward. The main things I’m looking for is better growth opportunities and better pay. I can’t tell you how many different paths and careers I’ve looked into.
I have thought about going back to school for a nursing or physician assistant. However, with nursing, I wonder if the extra amount of debt would be worth it in the long haul. In the meantime, I am looking to switch into something more just as a back up plan in case I wouldn’t get into PA school right away. I have thought about doing industrial setting, I have also thought about going into a clinical specialist role in medical device. I have also thought about just getting out of healthcare as a whole. however, I feel like my whole purpose has been healthcare and it’s the only thing I can really see myself doing long-term. I don’t know if I would feel fulfilled in any other type of industry even though the growth and payment opportunities are better. I am just tired of always feeling underappreciated and undercompensated.
Please, if you could give any advice or any input whatsoever, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Greetings everyone,
This is just going to be a post about me venting and asking for advice on my next steps as I’m so uncertain where to go.
For starters, I have been an athletic trainer for five years. Of those years, I have worked under physical therapy and under an orthopedic surgery clinic
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved my undergrad and all the information that I was able to obtain. However, working in D1 football in undergrad I knew it wasn’t something I would want to do long-term. Hence, switching to clinic.
I have considered so many different paths to move forward. The main things I’m looking for is better growth opportunities and better pay. I can’t tell you how many different paths and careers I’ve looked into.
I have thought about going back to school for a nursing or physician assistant. However, with nursing, I wonder if the extra amount of debt would be worth it in the long haul. In the meantime, I am looking to switch into something more just as a back up plan in case I wouldn’t get into PA school right away. I have thought about doing industrial setting, I have also thought about going into a clinical specialist role in medical device. I have also thought about just getting out of healthcare as a whole. however, I feel like my whole purpose has been healthcare and it’s the only thing I can really see myself doing long-term. I don’t know if I would feel fulfilled in any other type of industry even though the growth and payment opportunities are better. I am just tired of always feeling underappreciated and undercompensated.
Please, if you could give any advice or any input whatsoever, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much.

I saw Sonic Youth in January of 1991 in Cleveland touring Goo with Neil Young. I was still a teenager and a lot of what the band was up to at the time was a little over my head. I was there for Neil Young’s unconventional guitar: elongated jams interspersed with totally valid and catchy pop song hooks. I knew his songs. But Sonic Youth was a little off my radar - I was familiar with Dirty Boots, Kool Thing - and Social Distortion’s Ball and Chain. I suppose you could say it was Chuck D and Public Enemy that introduced me, really. It was bit weird but not bad.
The pairing at the time seemed really wild and frankly inappropriate.
Neil Young was just about to turn into this “Godfather of Grunge”. And now, in hindsight, the pairing makes perfect sense. Generationally it was all wrong. But sound-wise it was absolutely the right match. And that connection between generations is incredible to witness.
Neil Young does this thing where he just jams on a note for a solo. Just one note over and over again sometimes with a bend in it. Cinnamon Girl ha ha ha. Go listen to it. it features 30 seconds of one note over and over again.
He just likes the way the guitar sounds. And Sonic Youth does the same thing.
By the time Jim O’Rourke was added to the band they had lost me just a little bit. Washing Machine is my personal favorite (side by side with its era companion A Thousand Leaves), and NYC Ghosts and Flowers really slowed the ship down and changed directions. I didn’t hate it as much as the critics, but something was up. They were evolving into a more serious band. They wanted to create massive soundscapes, mood-establishing rhythms, and acid-tongued street poetry. Immersive, abstract, and without rules. Beatnik shit into jazz.
The end of this particular run (their fourth?) is Sonic Nurse. I have rediscovered this album in the last year and I want to talk about it.
The thing that got my attention was listening to Unmade Bed with headphones on. Do it. It’s a real masterpiece. You have three complete guitar parts playing off of each other in absolutely fantastic, harmonious ways. The production of this is flawless, you can clearly hear each part on each part of the stage. Kim is mostly just augmenting Steve on this track. You can hear three motifs happening all at the same time, or really variations on one, with Jim scratching out a wide background rhythm that alternates between a plucked basic theme and a set of jazzy chords.
Thurston and Lee are violating standard rock notions here just climbing around each other and ignoring the notion of “who is presenting”. It’s almost like they are playing either hand in a piano fugue. How Steve Shelley is able to concentrate through all this makes no sense to me. Who is following who? How many times do they rehearse this shit? Are they just THAT familiar with each other?
This album reminds me of Daydream Nation. DDN is not my favorite. I know everyone loves it, but I can’t help but think this album is just as good and suffers from having the wrong song open it up.
Pattern Recognition is too jarring for me. Those opening notes are not interesting to me. Once we get past this attempt to get things going everything’s fine, but that dippy theme is some kind of lazy klaxon. The pattern does not re-emerge that I can tell.
I know the opener likes to get the heartbeat going. If I could switch one thing about the song order for this album I’d put New Hampshire as the opener and put Pattern Recognition where NH was. I can’t help but think that opening alone would have made this album the next DDN. It slowly gets you into the mood and then kicks in. Alternative tuning repetition time. Thurston has said that they only really used standard tunings on their first EP. When he jokes about not knowing chords, I think there’s some weird truth happening.
The Kim songs are incredible and diverse. The scathing sarcasm on Arthur Conan Doyle - you can hear side-eye skepticism dripping through the whole thing. Maria Carey - both victim and propagator of American media pop culture described. Kim’s patented slidey screetch and Lee’s echoes lets you know. Yet somehow it’s a totally different space with Golden Blue. Softer, not guarded or tricky, earnest curious thoughts, immersive, welcoming. It starts with tension, then tension, some light tension, a little tension, OK, let’s go. If Pixies are Loud-Quiet-Loud, SY is Tension-Resolution-Tension. Dissonance and consonance explored thoroughly.
Somewhere in between these notions we have Dude Ranch Nurse which frankly I can listen to over and over again. That and our lone Lee song. Paper Cup Exit also offers you chaos and then pop resolution. The Guardian doesn’t know who they are talking about at this point. These two songs are utterly underrated and lost in the seas of musical time enormity. When Dude Ranch Nurse slowly brings you back to the pop chords it feels like you just climbed a mountain.
The theming of the album is a series of paintings by Richard Prince that caught the attention of a pretty cool nursing website at the time suggest some kind of a concept album, but really I think it’s more a reflection of SY’s attitude of the moment driven by Kim who I believe selected the theming. Nurses with their faces covered - a pretty cool concept suggesting simultaneously a subservient silence and yet supposedly a trusting societal role for women only. There are no male nurses in Prince’s series. We see this feminine social role concept play throughout their career, challenging and questioning prevailing notions. Modern women cry. Modern women don’t cry.
Incidentally, the painting “Dude Ranch Nurse” sold for 3.177 Million Pounds in October 2008, four years after the album was released.
The most listened to track in YT Music is Stones, which is sounds to me the most DDN-like. A Thurston rock that could also be an opener instead of New Hampshire, a lengthy but catchy tune that doesn’t really devolve and has a similar repeating theme to Pattern Recognition - this one more pleasing to my ears. You can distinctly hear all three guitars working threads on this one as well, going away from each other and coming back in unison as if on endless separate journeys that return to each other for conference every once in a while, with Jim supplying a home base.
This album was released June, 2004, twenty years ago already. In the wake of 9-11 and George W. Bush’s handling of subsequent events they close it with Peace Attack, an ironic notion of peace through violence. You can hear Thurston’s patented drone sound here probably the most, reminiscent of his solo work like Elegy For All The Dead Rock Stars almost ten years earlier.
I was at THIS show about a year prior to the release which had both Peace Attack and Arthur Conan Doyle. The sound was bloody perfection, and coming off of Murray Street I think they had found that they had matured this era into what they wanted - or it SOUNDS like that anyway. The clearest distortion you might know done with such purpose as to be staggering. From afar it must sound so chaotic.
Reading the reviews of the time the critics are generally surprised by the band’s longevity and relevance on “Murray Steet II”. “South Youth are prehistoric now.”
That was written 20 years ago 😬

recently lang, nag-uusap kami ng mga kaibigan ko about sa kung anong gusto naming career. lahat sila alam na kung ano gusto nila, pero ako hindi pa. when i was a kid, gusto kong maging doctor, but now, since i searched about it, parang masyadong mahal at maraming taon para maging doctor tapos mag-s-struggle talaga to live comfortably and mag-support ng pamilya. i thought na siguro nurse na lang? but is that what i really want? plus nurses are underpaid here in our country.
p.s. i really want to work in the medical field dahil interested ako sa biology. i have good grades in english, and decent grades in science and math. 2nd year HS pa lang ako at alam kong marami pang time para makapag-isip, but i really want an advice dahil bothered na rin ako dahil dito.