When one of my patients passes away, I make a point of reading their obituary in the paper.  I don't exactly know why I do it, but if I were pressed for an explanation of it, I guess I'd say that it gives me a sense of closure.  Because I was ill last week I didn't get to see the obit of the patient I sat with Friday before last.  However, I was able to find it online this morning. His family thanked me.  ME.  For the 'loving kindness' I showed their relative. T...

I had to get an arthogram done on my shoulder today.  It involves putting dye into my shoulder joint and then using a MRI to see if the dye leaked anywhere.  I don't do MRI's really well.  I'm claustrophobic, and the last time I had to have one I got a little freaked out and decided that I'd be better off sedated for the next one. So, I call my doctor, and he gives me 3 5 mg tablets of valium.  One is to be taken an hour prior to the exam, and the other 2 right before the...

I didn't get to do any of the embroidery or the other things I wanted to do this afternoon. I got called to sit vigilance right after I posted that article.  I just got back about 15 mins ago.  My patient passed away this evening. Confidentiality prevents me from saying anything more about it.  But my patient was, from the accounts I've heard this afternoon, a wonderful, generous, loving human being, and the cosmos is one gutsy and adventurous soul richer this evening. I'...

Project biggest baddest baby blanket is almost complete! I finished the knitting part of it last week, and yesterday I pinned and stitched the knitted part to the fabric backing.  It about made me cry with frustration - the knitted front part is stretchy and the fabric  back part isn't, so trying to pin them together without stretching the front out of shape and creating puckers in the back was a bit of a headache.  But, I did it.  I also got three of the four sides s...

I don't usually post email forwards, but this one was interesting to me so I've decided to share it.  I haven't gone and fact-checked yet, so all you history buffs should cut me a little slack, ok?     Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.     Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.     Both...

One of the guys in Dave's unit died this week. He was riding his motorcycle without a helmet. He pulled a wheelie at an intersection and ran into some kid who was crossing the street.  The kid was treated and released from the hospital later than evening.  Our guy was pronounced brain-dead shortly thereafter. I dealt with his death the way I deal with most deaths - I went and thought about it for a while.  I thought about it for a long while, actually.  I didn't com...

I'm giving in. I'm asking for help.  I don't usually ask for help with many things, I'm pretty independent and like to do things on my own....but this Excel homework is driving my insane. I need some help with the formulas and functions that Excel uses. I have a graded project that I have to turn in, and despite having read the textbook cover to cover I can't find the formulas that I need to complete the project.  Can anyone help me?  If you think that you can, could yo...

I'm taking a medical trascription class online.  When I get done I'll be certified through the Medical Transcriptionist's of America organization, and I'll also have some more college credits to my name. The first few lessons were easy, with multiple choice answers on the exams.  I scored high on them; the lowest I ever got was 88%. The next lessons were harder, requiring written answers in the form of essays.  I figured that if I scored higher than an 85%, I'd be happy. ...

Yes, this is going to be a very boring blog about domesticity and appliances.  If you don't like this sort of thing, feck off now.   Last Friday I put a load of clothes into the washer, set the cycles, and walked away.  an hour later I went back, expecting to find my laundered clothes spun and ready to be dried.  Not so.  The tub was full of water and it wouldn't drain. I knew what had happened because it had happened before.  There are gears and cogs u...

I've never liked Air Force pilots much. I've always thought that they were a bunch of egotistical bastards who were too full of themselves for my liking, and are/were incredibly clique-y. I still think they're egotistical, but I understand the clique-y-ness now.  My husband and family have gorwn tired of my trying to explain to them the feeling of incredible lightness that occurs as you pull back on the controls and are airborne.  We were driving around the pe...

Karma tagged me, so now it's my turn to write 5 embarrasing things about my childhood.  Hmm....let me see. 1) I used to sing in the church choir, and we wore traditional robes, ruffled collars and hats.  I was short back then - heck, I'm still short now - so the robes were a wee but too long for me.  Mum tried to hem them up, but because they were so old she was scared that she'd damage the fabric, so she tacked them a little and told me I'd have to make do and be careful. ...

My birthday is the friday after next, and Dave's been asking me what I want.  I haven't been able to come up with anything; my desires have decreased as I get older and I haven't been able to come up with anything that I REALLY want. Until today. We live on an Air Force base that has a private Aero Club for people who have little Cessnas and prop jobs to tool around in.  The Aero Club has just started offering a one hour inital training flight for $60, where you get to sit in the...

I am human.  I have human emotions, feelings...I am not controlled by them, but nonethless my words and actions are affected by them. I am not immune to hostility and anger.  When you cut me, I bleed - and today, your words and your actions cut me.  I'm not going to overexaggerate and say that you cut me to the bone, but you cut me you did, and I bled and shed tears.  I don't need many people very often; I've become adept at managing on my own...but toda...