Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Funniest Answer I Have Heard to an ER Question in a Long Time

Yesterday I overheard a co-worker checking in a patient. From the answers she was receiving, it was clear that the patient was not the brightest bulb. That assessment was confirmed when Anna asked, "And do you have a religious preference?" After a long, thoughtful pause, the lady answered, "You mean, like, White?" Anna deserves a raise, because she was able to not laugh, and calmly typed in "none".

I suppose in some places "White" might be considered a religion (insert Northern Idaho joke here).

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

My Childhood Home as I Know it is Gone....(subtitle: a trip to the ER)

Lest you think I am terribly sad...I am so relieved for my Dad's sake that it is sold! Now he is so fortunate that he will not have a mortgage payment at all. How many people can say that!?

Of course, the last weekend at the house was full of work, lots of work, cleaning, last minute closet and garage emptying after 36 years of accumulation, and detail projects that had to be done.

After the last bit was put on the trucks, we had a small 5 minute project to tackle. Really, it should be easy to install a new spring on the garage door. Until an 8-foot flourescent light fixture came down on Dad's head. Right in the middle of the bald spot. And shattered. Thank goodness he listens to me. I took one look, said "Oh, now we get to go to the ER" and he didn't even give me an argument. For once. They removed a 3/4 inch shard from his head and put 6 staples in to the 2-inch laceration.

He's fine. A bit of a headache. But also relieved to be done with the house!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

From Here to There (and Back Again)

Now that my drive to work is around 40 minutes most mornings, and about 50 minutes in the evenings, I am using that time to de-stress from work, and to "read" some books that I haven't had much time for lately. In the mornings sometimes I like to listen to Seattle's classic rock station's (say that with a big booming reverb voice) morning talk show, which is a group of guys that discuss everything in the world. Their perspectives are always diverse, and I sometimes think they take opposite sides of the issues to make for interesting conversation. It's funny.

And on the way home I have been listening to Donna Leon's Commisario Brunetti novel, Suffer the Little Children. The books are set in Venice, and follow Brunetti's cases. My attachment to Brunetti stems, I find, from his relationships with people, particularly his wife, Paola. They share an ease and an appreciation for each other that I would emulate. Leon's books, however, make me wish I knew much, much more about good wine.