Monday, May 19, 2014

Musical Interlude

And now, because it's been a while since I've posted about my awesome daughter, here is your musical interlude.

The Dread Pirate Snuggles
Cuddler of the Seven Seas

"Favorite"
Sung to the tune of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"
Lyrics by Rich Howard

You are my favorite Ro of all there was,
there was,

You are my favorite Ro of all there was,
there was,

Of all the Rowans there ever was,
you are my favorite one, because,

I love you so much,

You are my favorite Ro.

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"Love"
Sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques"
Lyrics by Megan Tiffany Howard

I love Rowan,
I love Rowan,

Her dad, too, (Her mom, too)
Her dad, too, (Her mom, too)

We're a happy family,
We're the Howard family,

I feel loved, too
I feel loved, too

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Gratitude

I just finished editing a 15,000 word game document on shapeshifters by Robert Hudson. There is such a rush getting something like this to click, balancing interesting prose against the right game mechanic to present what you're thinking in an elegant way, knowing that people will use what you created to tell stories and build enduring memories with their friends. I freakin' love this job.

And I have another one just like it.

It's all over my About page that I have a day job in addition to my writing; I'm a critical care nurse at UCSD Medical Center's medical intensive care unit, or MICU*. All intensive care units are busy and extraordinary places to work and ours is no exception. Luckily, I work with an incredible group of nurses, managers, staff and doctors that make our unit culture one of support, laughter and encouragement. I couldn't get through 12-hour shifts without them.

So, with one job I get to support people's physical bodies during the hardest times in their lives, help their families understand what's happening to their loved one, and be there emotionally, professionally and spiritually when medicine can no longer help. With the exception of raising my daughter, there is no greater honor than that.

And with the other I get to inspire imagination and design games that people will use to enjoy the life they're living right now!

I could not be more grateful.

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* = There are four different ICUs at UCSD; contrary to popular medical shows, not everything is trauma. The NICU or neonatal ICU deals with our youngest patients. Those nurses are rockstars in my book. Our BICU or burn ICU deals with patients from little kids to the oldest adults, some healthy other than serious burns, and some where their burns are yet another in a list of medical challenges. I've floated to the BICU before and they deal with some of the saddest cases I've ever seen. The SICU or surgical ICU are our trauma specialists. They deal with the car accidents, falls, gunshots, stabbings and surgical cases that fly in from around the county and beyond. My unit, the MICU, deals with anything that's not a newborn, burn or car accident--kidney failure, liver failure, severe pneumonias, strokes, heart attacks, multisystem organ failure, seizures, and any number of other issues.