TGIF odds and ends

Oh, you know it's going to be an interesting day when your boss calls and asks "What the hell is going on?" Got that cleared up and it was better than I thought.  He/she isn't mad anymore, just worried that he/she will have staffing issues.

I'm a big picture career person, so that's what I'm thinking. Pleasing the boss is important, but having peace of mind and career growth is important, too. One of these days, the HR reps in the Hotel will learn how to read and use telephones. All I can do now is wait.

I found out today is the birthday of the inventor of the x-ray. Unfortunately, unlike our radiology nursing friends at Washington, no one brought donuts.


Since the lovely folks in the media department are printing my MegaConference poster, F., the designer sent me the mockup this week. As usual, she does amazing work. I can't wait until she gets it done.

I'd like to publish something one of these days, but as this article mentions, some publishers are not what they seem, so beware!

On my way out the door today, I did a little occupational therapy reinforcement (along with my unit tour guide duties). I showed one of our newer patients how to navigate the inpatient wifi on his phone.
He was up and running listening to his favorite radio stations on his phone by the time I left.

A little head bopping and a huge smile was a great way to greet the end of the workday

Hope you have a happy weekend wherever you may be.

The joys of spring

Yes, RehabLand is warming up for the moment. The neighbor's daffodils are up and looking bright. I'm going to be trapped inside, since I got invited back to MegaConference nursing section. I'm not going to lie: I was a second string presenter, but since they found a bigger room, they decided to invite me. This year, MegaConference is not far away and Dahey can visit lots of friends and relatives. It was a no-brainer.

Bubba had fun on his spring break. I don't think he'll like going back to school, but it will be over soon enough. Getting a kid to do homework when the weather is nice is challenging.

Dahey finally got a new (used) car. Hallelujah! I'm just hoping this former grandma mobile can handle him driving it all over the place.

So I'm going to stop for now. Thank goodness we have a printing group who works on short notice (and mine is very nice). I'm going to be busy doing my homework this weekend.

More to come...

Three words...

Expense report hell.

Still waiting for reimbursement almost a month after MegaConference. Pushing the expense report back and forth, back and forth. Passive aggressive accounting people are so much fun!

Praying this is over soon.

More to come...

No, it's not normal

My life is not THAT exciting, thank you so much!I thought walking miles at MegaConference and staying in a place without flushing toilets was exciting.

No. I was topped again. I talked to my pharmacist friend who told me about her week. Besides the usual crazy cast of characters in the large metro neighborhood, one of them decided to steal a police automatic rifle, out of a police car, one block from her store.

Said thief must have been what she lovingly calls an "unlicensed pharmacy professional" who obtained said firearm for protection of his "inventory." Thief then sells his wares to local yokel and shows him the rifle.

Local yokel takes random drug of the moment (she had no idea what) and has a bad experience. Could he get physically sick? Oh, no! He does get psychotic thought and starts trashing aisles of BigPharmacy, where she works. Store management calls police and 911.

Once local yokel sees they are on to his bad trip, he runs to the pharmacy and proceeds to jump over the counter, screaming, "The machine gun man is coming to get us."

My friend, freaked out and having no idea, that Local has been reported, calls 911. They put her on hold. She wanted to run out of the store (via a back door) but her tech froze, so no dice.

After  all the hubbub, Local is taking to station, and stuff  written up. Local only got a night in jail.

So what's the first thing you do after you crazily climb into the pharmacy and tell everyone a murderer with a machine gun is coming?

You call your pharmacist (at the same store) and ask for a refill, because you forgot it.

Madame Pharmacist was not amused...

I didn't run away...

Oh.My.Heavens. MegaConference was just that--MEGA. And I had to walk miles every day just to get to the different sessions. I met lots of folks and enjoyed myself immensely.

Fun, fun, fun. Stay tuned!

Choices

Yes, it's the weekend. So many choices ahead, as I get ready to go to MegaConference. Do I buy tons of food to see if Dahey and Bubba will actually eat it, or do I let them fend for themselves?

Do I keep up with laundry, so I don't have a bunch to do when I get back? Decisions...

It was like that at work this week, too. Lots of decisions for me and for the patients.

One patient who needed a specialty appointment decided not to go, even though the weather was nice that day. Why? I don't know, but it could be a decision that changes his life.

Another patient had to take a chance and be seen in our SU clinic. He enjoyed it tremendously.

Many patients were deciding whether or not they needed to do some things on the unit. A couple of our patients decided they didn't need to do something important, which then reminds me of that saying, "Failure to plan is not necessarily an emergency on my part." I did a lot of teaching with one of these folks. It seemed like he took it all in, but only time will tell.

Otherwise, he'll be making some other decisions. Stay tuned!

Up, down and all around

This describes my week perfectly.

The ups: getting my new clinic finally going after two months and seeing the look on the patients' faces. They are really excited.

Another up: I'm getting sent to a HUGE conference. And I am presenting a poster. It is a really huge honor. Pinching self that the Manglement at the Hotel really came through. I know the Big Boss really made it happen. (Thank goodness he/she is a nurse!)

Downs: when I had the administrative people tell me that "no way is this clinic set up right." Good thing they had their wits come back the next day, and they recanted everything they said the day before. (So I put the Tums and Nexium away...)

All around: Me in the house. Doesn't matter that Dahey's off work, I still have my chores.

But when I'm gone to the MegaConference, he'll just have to hold down the fort for me.

Happy weekend to all, wherever you are!

More to come...