Tear Down

Got offered a position halfway across the country. Working with and for vets, it's something I've been hoping to do for many years. The downside is packing up a house that's been lived in since late 2002. The Wife and I have a habit of acquiring things. In my case, things that go boom, and the equipment to keep them running. Which means moving interstate with equivalent of a small gun store's worth of stuff.

And I used to think hauling four duffel bags of gear around sucked.

Say Again?

As my coworkers know, I've some hearing loss, along with moderate tinnitus. So frequently when they speak to me quickly, I have to process what it sounds like I heard into what was probably said. So when I was typing an e-mail today, a coworker asked what I was working on. I replied that I was trying to send information on a medical system being taken down for an upgrade, but my typing (I'm old; even on a computer, it's typing to me) was giving me problems. And the response I heard, before I was able to process it, was this:

"Well, I'm-a huntin' pecker"

That stopped my typing. Until my usual process kicked in, and turned it into "Well, I'm a "hunt and pecker" (typist)".

End result, it's apparent I have a filthy mind, and my female colleague will never use that particular phrase again.

The Power of One

I actually came home from work in a good mood today. The only difference? Just one person being absent. Making all the difference between a desire to smash things with a bat, or walking into the house with a smile and a hug for The Wife.

A Little Slice of Heaven

This weekend:

Will be my first days off after six continuous weeks of work and Guard;

Will have the spring gunshow put on by the local gun club in the local Guard armory;

Will see some extended family on The Wife's side coming to town, resulting in a visit to the local provider of steak and beer;

Will probably result in another blast of sleet and snow after two days of acceptable (above 39 degrees and dry) riding weather if the local weather-guesser is correct.

I'll take three out four.......

Out of curiosity: Iowa has a long history of gunshows being held in armories. I've always taken this as the norm, but looking at some states' view of private gun ownership, I wonder if that is correct. Anyone have any experience with that from other states?

Half Tech, Half Student, Half Soldier.......

Starting the second of three weekends in a row of drill weekends, with this one running Thursday through Sunday. On top of the multiple call-back weekend for work before the drills, and the weekend of being on-call after the drill weekends are over. Given that I have been given the designation of "shit-magnet" by my coworkers for my unparalleled ability to draw long, complicated cases and unpleasant patients almost every weekend on call for the last six months, I'm guessing I'll be at work for the that last weekend also. AKA, six weeks of work with no days off. I had more free time in Iraq in 2003 than I've had in the Midwest since getting home from deployment #2. And if it weren't for having to be away from The Wife, I'd actually be grateful to be going on deployment #3 at this point. Makes me wish we'd bring back the tradition of camp followers.

On an up note, the local hotel I stay at for drill is down the street from a Goodwill store. Which has a fair number of used book racks. Based on past experience, and input from those who've already been to Afghanistan, Internet access can be spotty, especially if you're attached to infantry, who don't spend much time doing the REMF thing. But mail rates for bound material are cheap, and I used to read for actual entertainment or personal interest back when I had personal time. So, it's time to start stocking up on books for $3.88 (hardback) and $0.50 (paperback) for the time when I settled in somewhere, and The Wife can ship a box over for diversion. Two good finds this time around; a large, good-condition hardback of Rand's Atlas Shrugged and a decent paperback copy of Asimov's Prelude to Foundation. Never gotten around to reading the first, and read the other over twenty years ago. A brief perusal of Prelude serves to remind me why I enjoyed it back then; it actually requires attention and thought to follow the story line. Looking at what passes for entertainment currently, I'd wager there's a larger segment of the population that would find this frustrating or uninteresting. Perhaps I'm wrong, but looking out at Facebook and Twitter, I rather doubt it.

A Quick Prayer

Dear Lord,

Please do me the favor of taking me out before I become that old guy that leaves a butt-track everywhere he sits in the hospital.........

I May Be Middle-Aged....

but I can still hump my half of a 250 lb Fijian heart attack patient on a folding litter into a running Blackhawk helicopter at 0200 hours in the morning when I have to.

Recon Run To Beer Sheva Hospital

This was a run was to familiarize us with the route to the Beer Sheva hospital, so that we aren't getting lost when we have to do this in an ambulance at night.

My partner for the day, SGT M. This is how we are required to dress anytime we're enroute to Israel as long as we're on the Egyptian side of the border.

Coming up the entrance to the Beer Sheva medical center. Note the spike strips in the foreground, high fences, and security guard booths with steel traffic gates. Each individual coming in is questioned and inspected. This includes hand-held and walk-through metal detectors. They take bomb and firearms threats seriously here.

The common Israeli ambulance. I've yet to see any of the Type I or IIIs in Israel. The patients are unloaded out in front of the hospital, and wheeled in through the same ER entrance as walk-in patients. There seems to be much less concern with privacy here than in the US.

Photos above: Inside the hospital, some rather interesting biblical artwork.

One of the village girls who lives next to the border checkpoint. Kids will frequently try to get handouts from MFO vehicles.

Back in the Sinai, heading to North Camp.

It's The Weekend...

and I'm on clinic duty for the next 48 hours. But it's not like I'm here all by myself; I've got the Veterinary Medicine Staff Sergeant with me. If we have to euthanize anyone, he's got plenty of experience. Unfortunately, I get to see all other problems. Except the jock itch guy. I don't call in doctors for groin fungus. But since only the docs can prescribe anti-fungal cream (yes, it is that stupid here) my advice to him was go back to your room, open a window, find a comfortable chair, and get some sun to the affected area. If I hear about a pervert getting arrested for exposing himself to passers-by later today, I'll know he took my advice. You get what you pay for, and I give advice for free.

Last Day At Work

In which the pantheon of radiology gods crapped all over me. As our major exam physicians are on vacation, we've reduced staffing for the week, rotating days off. Except that the person I was supposed to work with today was practicing her dinosaur calls in the bathroom all night, so I was called in the early morning for the purpose of being told to get my butt in ASAP as there were patients waiting, and no tech. Followed by a dog pile of unscheduled exams tacked on by various doctors wanting the exams done Right Now, cause its Friday, and they don't want to be here late. Followed by the Amazing Surprise Patient who showed up at the desk for an exam that nobody in his doctor's office bothered to mention to us last week when they told him to show up. Followed by the lice-infested patient. Followed by the last-minute abscess drain that the floor had known about for the last six hours. Followed by the working around the moderately controlled schizophrenia symptoms for a catheter placement. Followed by getting to be on-call tonight, and maybe tomorrow, depending on tonight's retch factor for the originally scheduled tech.

Sixteen hours on sitting in a plane bound for Egypt isn't looking all that bad tonight.

And what kind of man puts a toupee on his monkey?

Just One More Wafer Thin Mint......

There's a reason why you can find a higher percentage of fat people on the hospital staff than the general population. Odd (if any) times for meals, picking what's available immediately, eating late at home after a double shift, and above all, having obscene amounts of starch/refined sugar/fat laden foods at hand. Today, in a department staffed with eight people, the following was sitting behind our nursing desk: cinnamon rolls, meat & cheese tray, assorted chocolates, a 12 x 18 inch roasting pan of home made cookies/sweets/sugar-coated stuff, and four different types of cheesecake. At the rate we're going, I expect to find a hog on a spit back there by Monday.

Why I Love Elderly Patients

There's nothing quite as endearing as a five foot, five inch man in his eighties. Especially when he sweet talks the staff with the following:

"You're a dirty fucking jew!" to Senior Female Technologist.

"I'll kick your ass!" to Large Breasted Nurse.

"I'll get both my nephews to kick all your asses!" to the same nurse, who wanted to know, "Do your nephews beat up women often?", with response of "You're not a woman, you're a half-man". Not the top half, I'm sure of that.

"Help, I'm being kidnapped!" to various people in the hallway.

"I'll sue all of you, and you won't get a damn penny from your soybeans!" to Fed Up Male Nurse on the floor.

I received some especially charming words after pinning his bony butt to the guerney after his attempt to punch Large Breasted Nurse. He was mad that she wouldn't stand still long enough for him to connect with his foot to her head. Thus, the staff received a display of rapid geriatric roping courtesy of me. And that was the high point of the day.

Onward To Geezerism

I was sitting in our hospital lobby eating lunch with a co worker today, listening to one of our young radiology students talk about doing the hair on her fiance's son. She mentioned that she wanted to give him a mohawk, at it would make him look "cute", but the father said he didn't want his kid looking like a punk rocker. That caught my attention, and I asked her if she liked punk.

"Sure!"

How about the Ramones?

"Who?"

Yep, you sure do like punk rock.

Long Week

I have over 60 hours worked this week, so posting has been non-existant. Hopefully it'll slow down soon, so I'm doing something besides working or sleeping.

Death By Work

I think my employer is trying to kill me through my job. Go in early, put on non-breathing, full wrap 20 pound lead apron, set up sterile field/table, assist physician for a couple hours during case, clean room/process images as fast as possible, get next patient and repeat until several hours after scheduled end of workday. Go home, sit down, come back in middle of night to do some more, then go home: repeat process all next day.

I've got a lead apron that looks like it's developing unknown lifeforms on the lining, and it's generating interesting smells depending on the room temperature.

I wonder if my local library has any openings for a job requiring sitting in a chair for hours on end with an occasional foray into the stacks?