This is the only way I can describe my last 2 nights at work...
It all started when I had 10 days off in a row -- 2 sick, then 8 scheduled. I had been home so much that I was DYING to get back to work...I know...I never thought I'd feel that way! I was working with some fun people the last 2 nights, and I started "playing" a little...just for kicks.
Thursday night was fairly steady, we'd come in to a mess and were just cleaning it all up. The computers had been down all day, so there was a bit more chaos in the ER than usual. We are currently working in a "pod" system, where nurses are assigned to work in a pod, or certain clusters of rooms. We have the rooms in the ER split into 3 of these pods, even though sometimes we have to overlap. Ed was in one pod on his own and had 4 patients. The rest of us had at least 2 nurses in our pods, and had 1-3 patients each. Ed was clearly the busiest. Then I was supposed to get another pt in my pod, coming in by wambulance, but the room was dirty in my pod, so Shay (charge nurse) asked if I'd take the pt even though she had to put him in Ed's pod. I told her I'd be happy to, if I could play with Ed's mind a little first. She agreed, so I sent one of the EMT's in with the ambulance pt to start getting vitals, IV's, blood, etc... then I tracked Ed down, pulled him out of a patient room, and took him over to the board where we were looking at all the patients in the ER, and were able to see which nurses had which pts. He saw that clearly he had the most patients and I asked him, "Does Shay hate you? Why is she giving you this new ambulance patient when there are other nurses that aren't as busy?" That's all it took...he was getting worked about it. He said something like, "I know! Look...xxx only has 2 patients and one of those is getting discharged!" So I said, "you'd better go talk to her...this isn't right!" He marched down the hall to find Shay, the charge nurse to talk about it. As soon as he cleared the corner, I smiled and walked in the patient's room to get report on this new patient from the ambulance crew. I was just finishing getting report when I saw Ed coming back towards me, smiling but mad because he knew I'd really gotten him worked up over nothing. I guess he approached another nurse and asked if she'd take this new one in his pod to help him out, and she said she was busy. Then he found Shay and had just launched into how upset he was and how unfair this assignment was when she stopped him and said, "Wendy's just playing with you..." and he knew I'd gotten him good! It made me giggle for a couple of hours afterwards, though he did get me fairly wet with a syringe of saline...
Friday night, again we were all busy for a while, but I had some extra single-use packages of lubricating jelly sitting around at the desk for some reason, and decided to have some fun...again at Ed's expense. I ripped one of the packages open and dropped it into his back pocket on his scrubs, in passing. Sadly, it got quite busy after this, and I never did get to see his reaction when he discovered his pocket full of jelly... he never knew it was me thankfully, and now that I've written about it, I will have to watch my back!
But it's been fun!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Mooning...a story from my past.
A few weeks ago at work one night, a slower night, we were talking and laughing about how patients always moon us (show us their bare-naked bum), frequently unintentionally. The conversation got personal as the question was posed, "Have you ever mooned anyone?" I claimed innocence for only a moment until a friend walked by and said, "Oh no, I KNOW YOU'VE mooned someone!" and I turned red...I was obligated to tell my story...a lot of things are told at 2:00 in the morning which you can't talk about other times! I was quite amused at how hard everyone laughed...I thought it was a regular boring mooning story, so I thought I'd re-tell it here to my family and friends, and hope you find it as amusing as my co-workers. To my mom who doesn't know this story...consider this one more story you should probably hear from me before you see the "great movie of my life" someday!
When I was about 12 or 13 living in Tonopah, Nevada, I was walking down the street at about 8:30 or 9:00 at night with some friends. I'm pretty sure I was grounded at the time, and was on the way home from a church activity. There were 5 or 6 of us, and it was mixed company, boys and girls. We decided it would be a "good idea" if we mooned the next car that passed. It was dark, and we were all laughing and joking around...then we see our car coming so we line up one the side of the road. Next thing I know, there we are -- 5 naked bums facing this car as it was passing. I couldn't resist so I peeked to see the looks on the faces of the people in the car...and I was HORRIFIED to see my SISTER IN the car!!! Let me just say, that while I was perfectly willing to show some stranger my naked bum, there are some things your family should NEVER see! I quickly aborted and pulled my pants up, and I know I must have done some fancy talking to get her to not tell on me, because I don't remember getting in trouble for this. :-) I don't think I've mooned anyone since then...I learned my lesson!
So now I want to hear your stories! If you're too embarrassed, e-mail them to me!
When I was about 12 or 13 living in Tonopah, Nevada, I was walking down the street at about 8:30 or 9:00 at night with some friends. I'm pretty sure I was grounded at the time, and was on the way home from a church activity. There were 5 or 6 of us, and it was mixed company, boys and girls. We decided it would be a "good idea" if we mooned the next car that passed. It was dark, and we were all laughing and joking around...then we see our car coming so we line up one the side of the road. Next thing I know, there we are -- 5 naked bums facing this car as it was passing. I couldn't resist so I peeked to see the looks on the faces of the people in the car...and I was HORRIFIED to see my SISTER IN the car!!! Let me just say, that while I was perfectly willing to show some stranger my naked bum, there are some things your family should NEVER see! I quickly aborted and pulled my pants up, and I know I must have done some fancy talking to get her to not tell on me, because I don't remember getting in trouble for this. :-) I don't think I've mooned anyone since then...I learned my lesson!
So now I want to hear your stories! If you're too embarrassed, e-mail them to me!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Family Canning…
A few months ago, my mom came up with this great idea that we go canning at the Family Cannery together. Basically, you work for 2 ½ hours at some station in the cannery, helping to can a variety of things like chicken chunks, hamburger, shredded beef chunks, pork chunks, jams, beef stew, etc, and then you can buy a few cases of the products at a good price. They are good products and good to have on hand in case you never go shopping for real food (like me). None of my other sisters would do this with her.
I used to go canning in Seattle (dry foods like flour and sugar), and had fun doing it then, so I thought, why not…good bonding time with my mom, I can stock up on a few items that would be good to have around, and it’s sometimes fun to do work that you would not normally have a chance to do. Every time we’d gone together so far, we were put in the packaging station, where we run the machines that label the finished product, package them in boxes, and label the boxes. It was always fun, easy-going, I could even wear my cell phone and text while I was working…and we had time to rest in between batches…until yesterday.
Yesterday, everything was different. I had a bad feeling getting ready to go, and felt like I should wear my older clothes so I wouldn’t care if I got something on them. But I wore my new tennis shoes, since I’d thrown away my old ones. It had been stormy earlier in the day, and the skies had cleared up, so now it’s cold…about 20 degrees F or so. I met her down there, and arrived just a little late. The orientation was a little different than in times past, and included how to pack the chicken into cans, how not to get burned on the hot machinery, and how not to get your fingers cut off in the machinery. The last thing she said was that our shoes wouldn’t get too messy unless they got the sprayers out (big hoses that clean off the machines at the end of the day). I figured that would put us in the actual canning areas and not in packaging…oh well…I guess I couldn’t get lucky with the easier (and cleaner) jobs too many times in a row. We got all ready and walked in, and everyone else got chosen for other jobs. My mom and I were the last 2 to get chosen, and they took me over to the machinery they were finished with and had me climb up and taught me how to use the sprayers…I could tell it might get a little messy so I immediately went out and traded my shoes for boots. I was up for this…
Yeah…
So I’m spraying chicken parts off of the machinery while trying not to get any spray on the people who are still actively canning chicken parts about 10 feet away. Then one of the older men who works there on a regular basis starts spraying from the bottom towards me! I quickly learned to keep my mouth shut, and was thankful for the little bitty plastic apron they provided, because I figured it would at least help a little. A short while later, I find myself spraying out the bins they had used to hold the chicken, and I realize that I’m SOAKED from my mid-thigh to my knees. I realized I was soaked because I was standing by the big garage door which kept opening to the outside (which was freezing!). The gusts of wind that came in not only made me cold, but also were effective at blowing the tiny bit of apron that had once been useful, out of place…so now I’m wet all down my legs. Then I feel the water dripping down the inside of the boots to my feet. Nice.
I looked across the room at my mom who’d been assigned a nice job washing dishes at the sink. I giggled as I thought to myself, “I’m out…no more of this for me…I’m buying my chicken from Costco from now on! I’m all about supporting people in third-world countries who are trying to work to feed their families doing crap like this…”
When I finished with the bins, they gave me a big broom and I got to sweep up the chicken parts that I’d just sprayed off of everything. Every time I thought I was finished and had stopped working for a moment, they would find another interesting job for me. I finally looked around and found a woman who knew the secret – I swear she swept the same pile of chicken back and forth for 20 minutes in an effort to look busy!
At the end, when I told my mom that I’m buying my chicken from Costco from now on, she just laughed…hard! She thought I was kidding…
I used to go canning in Seattle (dry foods like flour and sugar), and had fun doing it then, so I thought, why not…good bonding time with my mom, I can stock up on a few items that would be good to have around, and it’s sometimes fun to do work that you would not normally have a chance to do. Every time we’d gone together so far, we were put in the packaging station, where we run the machines that label the finished product, package them in boxes, and label the boxes. It was always fun, easy-going, I could even wear my cell phone and text while I was working…and we had time to rest in between batches…until yesterday.
Yesterday, everything was different. I had a bad feeling getting ready to go, and felt like I should wear my older clothes so I wouldn’t care if I got something on them. But I wore my new tennis shoes, since I’d thrown away my old ones. It had been stormy earlier in the day, and the skies had cleared up, so now it’s cold…about 20 degrees F or so. I met her down there, and arrived just a little late. The orientation was a little different than in times past, and included how to pack the chicken into cans, how not to get burned on the hot machinery, and how not to get your fingers cut off in the machinery. The last thing she said was that our shoes wouldn’t get too messy unless they got the sprayers out (big hoses that clean off the machines at the end of the day). I figured that would put us in the actual canning areas and not in packaging…oh well…I guess I couldn’t get lucky with the easier (and cleaner) jobs too many times in a row. We got all ready and walked in, and everyone else got chosen for other jobs. My mom and I were the last 2 to get chosen, and they took me over to the machinery they were finished with and had me climb up and taught me how to use the sprayers…I could tell it might get a little messy so I immediately went out and traded my shoes for boots. I was up for this…
Yeah…
So I’m spraying chicken parts off of the machinery while trying not to get any spray on the people who are still actively canning chicken parts about 10 feet away. Then one of the older men who works there on a regular basis starts spraying from the bottom towards me! I quickly learned to keep my mouth shut, and was thankful for the little bitty plastic apron they provided, because I figured it would at least help a little. A short while later, I find myself spraying out the bins they had used to hold the chicken, and I realize that I’m SOAKED from my mid-thigh to my knees. I realized I was soaked because I was standing by the big garage door which kept opening to the outside (which was freezing!). The gusts of wind that came in not only made me cold, but also were effective at blowing the tiny bit of apron that had once been useful, out of place…so now I’m wet all down my legs. Then I feel the water dripping down the inside of the boots to my feet. Nice.
I looked across the room at my mom who’d been assigned a nice job washing dishes at the sink. I giggled as I thought to myself, “I’m out…no more of this for me…I’m buying my chicken from Costco from now on! I’m all about supporting people in third-world countries who are trying to work to feed their families doing crap like this…”
When I finished with the bins, they gave me a big broom and I got to sweep up the chicken parts that I’d just sprayed off of everything. Every time I thought I was finished and had stopped working for a moment, they would find another interesting job for me. I finally looked around and found a woman who knew the secret – I swear she swept the same pile of chicken back and forth for 20 minutes in an effort to look busy!
At the end, when I told my mom that I’m buying my chicken from Costco from now on, she just laughed…hard! She thought I was kidding…
Friday, February 1, 2008
Outside without a coat!
Okay, I finally escaped to San Francisco last weekend to visit my friend, Tiffiny. We had a great time, but the best part for me was just being outside without a coat a good part of the time! I even went for a walk in my little jogging suit! I love that city...so much to see and do, and beautiful buildings! Here's a few pics...
Friday, January 25, 2008
S.A.D.
Okay, while I refuse to “own” any real diagnoses, I have finally come to admit that I might suffer (at times) from a mild case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). This is the condition where people get depressed in the winter, usually because they don’t get enough bright light or something like that. I have so far been in denial because I was somehow able to live (and enjoy living) in Seattle for almost 8 years, with seasonal problems only one of the winters. But after 2 winters here that have made me wonder “What was I thinking?!” nearly every week, it’s time to own it and do what I need to do to fix it, so I’m not dreading this season every single year. It has given me cause to reflect upon my time in Seattle, and I have discovered that for me, the frequent combination of bright light and water is powerful, and it is usually enough. I think this is why I never had problems in Seattle – because everywhere I lived, I had a bright heat-lamp in the bathroom, so when I was in the shower every morning with the bright light on, that was enough to keep me happy and therefore healthy. The only winter in Seattle that I had a rough time was the winter I lived in a place that did not have a heat-lamp in the bathroom.
So I move to SLC, and haven’t had that bright bathroom light. Last year was kind of a fluke…I had my “sunshine trip” to Cabo in December, and while the rest of the winter was rough (especially January!), I thought it was just my feelings about being here in Utah. The beginning of this winter was rough several times, not my best year, but once the initial shock was over (Sept-Oct sometime), I didn’t seem to have as many problems. Then I realized I was taking a water aerobics class at the U, and swimming in their pools with the glass roof, thus getting my sunshine in the water twice a week. That only went from the end of October to the beginning of December, and I’ve been struggling to keep my head on straight ever since. I didn’t realize what was happening until a couple of weeks ago, I’d had a particularly rough stretch at work, and was ready to come home and sit with my knees pulled up to my chest, staring at the wall, and perhaps hitting my head against it a few times, for my entire 2 days off until I had to go back again. My friend, Heidi, wanted to hang out one day, and we’d been meaning to go work out again, so I agreed to go swimming with her at a nice community center pool that we found – a lap pool with big windows to the outside. From the second I hit that water until I got out over an hour or so later, it was pure joy – the most I’d had in WEEKS!!! I finally felt alive again…and I realized that that is the secret for me…the combination of bright and water a couple of times a week. Of course a good thaw-out in some tropical destination every winter doesn’t hurt either!
The good news is that I finally feel alive again…now I just need to feel warm without a ton of clothes on!
So I move to SLC, and haven’t had that bright bathroom light. Last year was kind of a fluke…I had my “sunshine trip” to Cabo in December, and while the rest of the winter was rough (especially January!), I thought it was just my feelings about being here in Utah. The beginning of this winter was rough several times, not my best year, but once the initial shock was over (Sept-Oct sometime), I didn’t seem to have as many problems. Then I realized I was taking a water aerobics class at the U, and swimming in their pools with the glass roof, thus getting my sunshine in the water twice a week. That only went from the end of October to the beginning of December, and I’ve been struggling to keep my head on straight ever since. I didn’t realize what was happening until a couple of weeks ago, I’d had a particularly rough stretch at work, and was ready to come home and sit with my knees pulled up to my chest, staring at the wall, and perhaps hitting my head against it a few times, for my entire 2 days off until I had to go back again. My friend, Heidi, wanted to hang out one day, and we’d been meaning to go work out again, so I agreed to go swimming with her at a nice community center pool that we found – a lap pool with big windows to the outside. From the second I hit that water until I got out over an hour or so later, it was pure joy – the most I’d had in WEEKS!!! I finally felt alive again…and I realized that that is the secret for me…the combination of bright and water a couple of times a week. Of course a good thaw-out in some tropical destination every winter doesn’t hurt either!
The good news is that I finally feel alive again…now I just need to feel warm without a ton of clothes on!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
My little after-Christmas Massacre...the story of my tree.
The tree turned out beautifully!
This is how I take it down without dragging it out and making a HUGE, sappy mess all over!
This is how I take it down without dragging it out and making a HUGE, sappy mess all over!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Working Christmas…part 2 – Christmas Night
The second night of my adventure started with a planned pot-luck. One of the doctors was providing the meat, and everyone else had to bring all of the other things to add to our Christmas dinner at the hospital. In the past, they have provided hamburgers and hot-dogs or steaks and we’ve barbecued (yes, the ER has a department gas barbecue that we keep right outside near the ambulance bay). I was curious to see what the meat would be this night. Imagine my surprise to learn that she had brought two 20-lb turkeys, and someone else brought the deep-fryer – my first time to have deep-fried turkey! They do this is the south, but here there’s six inches of snow on the ground outside and the temps are in the 20’s!!! And yet, the dinner must go on!
The Turkey...
The Warning...
At least we're a Burn Center!!!
Ryan is one of our EMT's...
...and he's a pyro!
Safety First!
Our Charge Nurse, Brad...
Second Turkey...
One of the Airmed guys there to watch...
Do I look as cold as I feel?!
Now THAT is a beautiful bird!
Christmas Dinner!
This was one of the best turkeys I've ever had!
Our resident Pharmacist, Erin carves the bird with a scalpel...
She can do anything!!!
What would Christmas be without presents? Our Unit Secretary and EMT brought/made white-elephant gifts for everyone!
Everyone enjoyed the gift exchange.
Brad got a Family Home Evening Manual from 1977!!!
Overall, it was a fabulous Christmas, and a very memorable one for me! I'm not sad that I was working it.
The Turkey...
The Warning...
At least we're a Burn Center!!!
Ryan is one of our EMT's...
...and he's a pyro!
Safety First!
Our Charge Nurse, Brad...
Second Turkey...
One of the Airmed guys there to watch...
Do I look as cold as I feel?!
Now THAT is a beautiful bird!
Christmas Dinner!
This was one of the best turkeys I've ever had!
Our resident Pharmacist, Erin carves the bird with a scalpel...
She can do anything!!!
What would Christmas be without presents? Our Unit Secretary and EMT brought/made white-elephant gifts for everyone!
Everyone enjoyed the gift exchange.
Brad got a Family Home Evening Manual from 1977!!!
Overall, it was a fabulous Christmas, and a very memorable one for me! I'm not sad that I was working it.
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