Hmmmmmm

Reading my last few posts you may think I'm an angry person or something. I'm not. it just so happens that there were a couple of thing bothering me this week. Last week I had some funny stories. It all just depends what strikes me to write aboot when I sit down to the computer.

I'll say this though, I AM very much looking forwards to the Holidays this year, Looking forward to spending the time in shul, in VT, with Robs family, and just plain looking forward to this year being over. I'll BLOG more aboot it all laterer, but in the meantime L'Shana Tova and have a good night!

It's STILL SEPTEMBER!!!!!

And yet THIS is what I saw in Stop and Shop this week. Actually I saw it two weeks ago but I forgot to BLOG aboot it. A HUGE EIGHT FOOT TALL inflatable snow globe with Frosty and Santa and a Christmas tree and "snow" blowing in on them in the Snowglobe. Amidst the Halloween costumes and candy, there's a giant Christmas Snowglobe. Why does the Holiday Season have to get earlier and earlier every year?!?!?!?!?!????

No wonder I'm such a Scrooge by the time Christmas comes along, it's been shoved down my throat for 4 months, intensity getting higher and higher as the day approaches. Who wants to think about it by then? THIS is why I so dislike Christmas. I'm sorry if I offend people by that. I know that there are those of you out there who have a meaning to Christmas beyond Hallmark. But the gross overcommercialization of the holiday is just too much for me to handle. Christmas decorations, talk, food, music, food, STUFF everywhere you turn..... I can't stand it! (not that I love the overcommercialization of all the other holidays either... Halloween, Valentines Day, Mothers and Fathers Days, etc etc etc. It's ALL too much)

People totally forget that there are other people in this world. I HATE it when people try and feel so sorry for me because I have to work on December 25th. To be quite honest with you, I really don't care. I can go to the movies and eat Chinese food any day. To me, it's just another day. But people forget that there are people out there who DON'T celebrate Christmas.
And they seemingly don't care when I try to explain it to them, or maybe they just don't understand, because they still act all sorry that I'm missing out on Christmas by working. Not all of the time but a lot of the time. "But you have Chanukah" they think, "And that's really cool because it lasts so much longer. You get presents for eight days!"

Yeah there are all the people trying to be PC or whatever by making it a Holiday Season, a Seasons Greetings and not just Merry Christmas. Ok, I appreciate the gesture. Sort of. There are those who genuinely mean it, who genuinely understand and all that, people who don't try to shove Christmas at you. But most of the time it's an afterthought. So there are a million and a half Santa Clauses and Christmas Trees, and like one Menorah or Kwanzaa decoration. And that they think makes it ALL BETTER!!!

Well I really don't know a lot about Kwanzaa, but I do know about Chanukah. Chanukah is NOT a major holiday on the Hebrew calandar. It has its place and importance but it's not a major holiday. It's not even a gift giving holiday. (Purim is the gift giving holiday. It's also the dress up and eat candy and pastry holiday) Chanukah a time to remember miracles, and eat fried food and win gelt from the dreidel game. I love Chanukah for what it's meant to be, not for what it has become. (That and I like fire. Lighting candles is great!) It has become what it has become, commercialized to make it a money maker for Hallmark and Toys R Us because it happens to fall round about Christmastime. So Chanukah is overcommercialized because of its proximity to the gross overcommercialization of Christmas. That really bugs me.

I don't always mind the random person in the hallway wishing me a Merry Christmas because they don't know any better and they are just being nice and happy and all that. I DO mind the people who should know better and don't. The people who try to get me in on Christmas activities I'm not interested in just because everyone else is doing them. Things like swapping gifts and going out, and dressing up and all that. The people who make Christmas parties at a Jewish School because they aren't necessarily Jewish themselves. And ironically, you can't get Kosher food at these parties, well you can, but you pay the expensive price to go and while everyone else gets a yummy buffet, you get a tv dinner. It's those things around the holiday season that bother me. The ignorance and stupidity which I realize I'm not going to change. But it still bothers me. But most of all at the risk of repeating myself, I truly hate all the production and music and food and decorations and just too much STUFF for sooooooo LONG!!! Not that I'll really change that either....

Why does the Holiday Season have to extend from September through until February? I think I'd better stand it if it were between Thanksgiving and New Years. I know it would be probably too much to ask for the world to open up and see something beyond themselves, to realize and respect that there are other people of other religions in this world that don't like Christmas being shoved at them every year, but I don't think it's too much to ask to make the season a month and a half long instead of six.

But then again, Christmas is a big $$$$$ maker and well I guess Hallmark, and Toys R Us have to make $$$ somehow. So thank you for allowing me my little rant, and I'll go back to my quiet, personal, try to tolerate it dislike of the Christmas hooplah.

Elevator Pet Peeve

I HATE it when people start hiting the door open button when the elevator has barely reached the floor! This happens CONSTANTLY at work.

The elevators at work aren't the greatest, they're old, and they lurch a bit, making my already sensitive vestibular and digestive systems do a flip flop. And it makes it worse when people start pressing the open button too early.

What happens: The elevators, as usual, are busy. Someone is in a rush, and they don't like that the elevator stops at most floors. So as soon as the elevator slows down to stop, they press the open door button, in the hopes that it'll speed the process along.

The result: The doors start to open as the elevator is still moving, the elevator lurches, if you're in the front, you can see the elevator slowly rise to the floor level with the doors open. The people who want to get off, wait until the elevator actually stops moving, and it probably takes LONGER for them to leave than if the elevator stopped, and then opened as opposed to opened and stopped. And in the process, your stomach lurches and it's pretty uncomfortable.

Why are people in SUCH a rush? I don't think it saves time, but even if it did, what it would save half a second? Is that REALLY going to make a difference in your day? It's like the people who rush in front of you while driving only to be one car ahead, and then stop at the same next traffic light with you, ending up in the same place anyway, just waiting stopped longer.

I don't really get it. There are some time saving strategies to cut real time, but pushing the elevator key for half a second and makeing others ill is NOT one of them. If you're in that much of a rush and don't want to wait for and in the elevators, take the stairs. I do all the time. It's MUCH faster for shorter distances, 1-3 flights, and healthier. I NEVER take the elevator for less than 3 flights. 4 or more and I'll take it. And at busy elevator times, like lunchtime, I'll take the stairs for more. We often go down (8th floor is rehab, second floor is cafeteria) and all you might get is dizzy, but not too physically hard going down. And we've taken to go up after lunch too if things are too busy. That's a bit of a challenge, but I'm getting better and better at it, ESPECIALLY as I'm getting more in shape. :) And I almost ALWAYS get there sooner than the one who waited to take the elevator. That's what saves time. Not the button pushing.

And THAT is my elevator pet peeve. That and when people take it one floor. DOWN one floor. Unless there's a physical problem which there ususally isn't (I know a lot of these people) TAKE THE STAIRS!!!!!

Back From Boston

I got back from Boston yesterday. I was there to visit Shriners Hospital for Children. I met their director of Rehab when I was in Chicago, and she invited me to visit and see what they do, and learn and all that jazz. It was GREAT! I had an amazing time! (minus the door to my compartment on the train not opening and me almost not being able to get off in Stamford, running down to the other end of the car in a panic "DON'T START THE TRAIN YET!!!!!" Kinda funny thinking back on it but not so funny at the time.

Again, I'll not bore you with itty bitty details. Just the highlights.

Boston Highlights:
I LOVED Beacon Hill. It was the cutest little neighborhood! Little narrow streets with little colonial row houses/buildings. Ivy climbing some of the walls, flower boxes, brick sidewalks, it was so cute! And i was peeping into a realtors window, and while some of the apts went for a million to buy many decent looking ones were only about 4-500,000. That seemed reasonable to me! Probably would have been double that in NYC. Not that I have 500 grand, but one can dream...

Harvard was nice. Crowded, but nice. It looked pretty much as i expected it to look. :)

Somebody hung roller skates off of Ben Franklin's statue (somewhereon the freedom trail, i think the old state house or city hall or something like that. maybe it was where he read the declaration of Independence, I don't remember exactly where. But it was a cute site. And Someone put furry boots on John Quincy's statue just across the courtyard. I'll post the pics as soon as I finish the roll and get them developed.

My new hat from Quincy market! Yay! A nice black hat (no to some of you, not a black hat black hat, just a hat that is black) to go with my nice spring/fall jacket, and it has a pink flower on it! :)

Oh yeah and I LOVED the name of this bagel shop chain around town. Finagel a Bagel I thought that wa REALLY cute! Though the bagels were only ok, not great but I've had worse. It wasn't a NYC bagel that's for sure. But the name made up for it.

Shriners Highlights:
I learned how to make and made a TON of splints! They were really generous with their splinting materials. And this is awesome because now I can make splints if our OT is away, and patients won't have to lose range of motion. So not I can make a resting hand splint, and a rotating elbow splint, and a neck splint, and a foot splint! The hand and the rotating elbow are the most exciting. They're the ones that'll get the most use. I love the elbow because it has a strap that gets pinned up and keeps the shoulder elevated and helps prevent shoulder contractures! YAY!

I got to go into the OR! It was really cool to see, and the PT's there go into the OR all the time. They do passive range of motion assessments while the patient is under anesthesia, so they don't fight you, you get to look at the wounds and see what's what, and they re-splint the patients too. it was awesome. I want to be able to do that! It would help SO MUCH!

Just watching and learning all the different things they do and techniques, it was great. The trip was SO worth it. :) I had fun and learned a ton that I could bring back and use at Bridgeport. I really had an awesome experience.

YAY for Boston, and YAY for Shriners Hospital!

Gas

Ya know, how amazing is it that I got all excited about paying two dollars and ninety-nine and nine-tenths cents a gallon for gas this morning. I thought it was so cheap!

How wrong is that! $3 a gallon and I'm happy. $30 to fill up my car and I'm happy. What has this world come to...

When I first got my car in 1997, gas was $1.01 a gallon. 10 bucks to fill up. When I first started working in Bridgeport 2 years ago, gas was about $1.60. It's more than DOUBLED since I started working there, and I put 50 miles a day on my car (25 miles each way) 5 days a week. I can't afford to drive to work anymore!!!

OY YOY YOY!!!!

I Can't Even Think of a Good Title, This Story is So Good!

My co-worker told me this story... It's second or third hand, but according to her, she knows the person it happened to and it's true.

My co-worker's sister's friend took her kids to the Mystic Aquarium. Her son has Downs Syndrome. He's about 10 years old. So they're walking around the aquarium and somehow her son goes missing. She gets frantic, can't find him and goes to security. They ask her to describe him, what he's wearing etc. She described him, said he was wearing jeans, a tshirt, and had on a backpack. It's his "security blanket" and takes it everywhere.

They go looking and looking and can't find him anywhere int he Aquarium. Finally they find him, OUTSIDE the aquarium, walking up a hill away from the aquarium. He's SOAKING WET from head to toe. And he's nonverbal so he can't tell them where he was etc. So his mom puts him in the car and they go home, but the kid stinks to high heaven, they have all the windows rolled down etc.

When they get home she tells him you're all wet and dirty, you need to take a bath, we need to wash you clothes etc. She runs the bath for him and tells him to get into the bath, she'll be right back. So when she gets back, she can't get into the bathroom, he locked the door, she can't get in and he won't let her in. And he NEVER acts like this apparantly. So she finds the key to the bathroom and opens the door, and in the bathtub is her son.... and a PENGUIN!!!!!!

Her son stole a penguin from the aquarium and brought it home in his backpack! How crazy is that! We were all ROLLING when she was telling us this story. She practically couldn't finish telling it she was laughing so hard.

My questions are How the heck did he get into the penguin habitat? How did no one SEE him getting into the penguin habitat? How did he get the penguin in his backpack? Why didn't anyone hear the penguin squawking around or see it moving around in the backpack??? And what possessed the kid to literally go in and get a penguin anyway???? And the kid can't talk, and the penguin can't talk, so all of these questions go unanswered.

The kid brought a penguin home from the aquarium in his backpack. Can you imagine?????

Oh The Patients I Had.... ( A Dr. Seuss Version of My Day)

Oh the patients I had,
Yesterday what a day.
It was not a good time,
It was not fun and play.

The first two of the morn
were in the ED,
And the Case Manager there
Should be stung by a bee.

Patient number one
was a very sick man.
He just recently left
And then came back again.

He arrived in his home
and then fell on the floor.
He came back to the hospital
for he felt very sore.

Case Manager told me
"Say he's safe to go home.
We can't keep him here,
there is no broken bone."

"He lives by himself
And he's not safe" I said,
"He may fall again,
He may hit his head!"

"I won't say he's safe
if I think he will fall.
If I do and he does,
it's me they will call!"

"I'll write what I see.
I won't lie for you,
I won't risk my job
So don't ask me to."

His balance was poor
His gait was unsteady
"Sorry," I said,
"For home he's not ready."

Discharge now harder,
but what can you do?
I then read the chart
of patient number 2

This woman I read
Had pain pretty bad
And of course some more problems
Oh the patients I had!

When leaving from rehab
I'll give you a tip;
Be careful so you don't
dislocate your new hip.

No orders were there
to get out of bed
nor to walk on that leg.
"I won't touch her I said!"

The doctor was called
He said, "Not one pace!
She can't move from the bed!
Not without her brace!"

Her brace was at home.
A long time it would take.
Case Manager upset at me.
She should jump in a lake!

Her husband came later
her hip brace in tow.
Her eval got done.
To rehab she'll go!

On the surgical floor
the third patient, how bad.
This man is NOT smart,
Oh the patients I had!

His colon was fixed
for there was a hole.
Oh how it got there!
With laughter you'll roll!!!!!

Home remedy he tried
For he couldn't poop.
Oh the patients I had
Imagine how stup! (id)

No enema for me!
That just won't work!
A garden hose I'll try,
and right up I'll perk!

Oh how wrong was he
A hole, somewhat big.
Colon surgery for him
And in future, eat a fig.

And as you can see
My morning was bad
Everyone was cranky
Oh the patient's I had.

My afternoon not much better
On the burn unit for me
That needs no more explaining
None were pleasant to see.

House fire, self lit,
hot water, and more,
Glad when day over,
to get off that floor.

I'm usually just fine
But the morning was bad
Couldn't deal with those burns
Oh the patients I had.

Cranky and painful
Arguments, a butt popped.

And as you'd imagine

I got home and flopped!

Yesterday wasn't fun
Yesterday was a drag.
not easy, but with a laugh
Oh those patients I had.

Weekend in VT

Spent this past weekend in VT. I love it up there. :)

I was SUPPOSED to work this weekend, but, I never get a 3 day holiday weekend because that's the way the cookie crumbles. I work Saturday and Sunday, and big deal I get Labor Day Monday off. I would have been off on Monday anyway. SO if I want a 3 day weekend, I have to take vacation time. I think it stinks, half the staff doesn't have to do that, I know it's every other weekend, but it should work out better than that that we should rotate the holiday weekends better. I missed Memorial Day weekend, I took vacation for Labor Day, and I have to work the whole weekend after Thanksgiving. Big Deal, I'm off Thursday. I would have been off anyway. If you have to work Friday through Sunday it's a pain in the neck being off Thanksgiving.

ANYWAY, so it worked out that my Thursday off before the weekend was switched to Friday for the month of September. So I had a 4 day weekend, PLUS I also took a vac day on Tuesday. 5 days away from work. YAY!

We drove up to VT Friday afternoon, left Monday afternoon.

Highlights include, in no particular order:
-The peacefulness VT gives me.
-Singing the Welcome to VT song. dobedobedobe
-The weather which was PERFECT!

-Finding a new hair product that I like so I can leave my hair down without blowdrying it and it's pretty manageable, and not crunchy. I've been looking for something like that for AGES!!!
-Shul both Friday evening and Saturday morning.
-Family relaxing/visiting/conversing time.
-The Southern VT Arts Center. I guess it's kind of like a cross between a museum and a gallery. I was very happy. There was a cool exhibit on the 1960's and Woodstock. And there were some really nice watercolors elsewhere in the museum. I wish I could paint like that... There were some of architecture, with details that were amazing, and so hard to do in watercolors. And there was another room with river water, and waterfalls and flowers in watercolor. These were amazing. They were light yet full of color, and so flowing... I tend to be heavy handed with my painting, I need to learn to be looser and freer and lighter. These were beautiful. There were also some nice pastel paintings, one in particular of sunflowers that was great. (I LOVE sunflowers)
-Our hike Sunday to a river with a waterfall. A not so bad hike, 2.3 miles in and out, and the falls are really pretty. Rob climbed the falls and got sopping wet while I sat on a rock and painted. Waterfalls are REALLY hard btw. But, it wasn't so bad for my first attempt.

-My trailname: Care Bare :)
-The egg and cheese sandwich and coffee I had for breakfast on Monday morning. Maybe it's the atmosphere, or the milk/cheese, but it's the best little breakfast you want to eat.
-Playing with the Dogs. (James, Elliot, Brandy and Jack) I now have white fur all over me thanks to James and Elliot.
-The painting time I had, all outside in natural light. WHOO HOO!
-The bookstore. I love spending time in bookstores. I spent time browsing and reading and then I got some really awesome watercolor technique books. One on flowers and one on landscapes. :)
-The Potatoes with Crack (aka Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary) I made with supper Sunday night.
-Cornfields!
-VT itself. YAY for VT.

Lowlights include, in no particular order:
-Wind-ey roads that make me carsick.
-The gas prices we paid to make it up there.
-My sunglass clip chipping my glasses and causing the chip to fly into my eye, and then trying to (and succeeding) in flushing it out, and the irritation that ensued for the rest of the day. My eye is fine btw, it doesn't hurt at all, I'm ok.

-The drive home. For multiple reasons. One, carsick, two, fidgety, three long way home, four leaving VT.

And that was my weekend. I'm very much looking forward to going back in a few weeks. We're spending most of October for the High Holidays (aka HiHo's according to Rabbi Bob) and that makes me a Happy Carie! :)

A Fish Named Dog

According to my latest Snapple Cap, the most common name for a goldfish is Jaws. Cute. :)

When I was a Freshman in College, I had a goldfish. I named him Dog. He was my first pet ever. Dog died 2 days later. (It was very sad) Luckily the pet store had a 7-day guarantee on their goldfish. If it died within 7 days, you got another one for free. (no joke) So I got another goldfish. I named him Dog Jr. He died within 24 hours. (I wasn't feeling to happy about my pet caretaking skills) So off to the pet store I went for Dogg the III. (He lived 9 months) :)

Why Dog? Well my first day at school the RA's and the RD has a meeting with all the freshman in the building (YAY Cleveland! Velveeeeeeeta!!!!) and they told us that we couldn't have any pets unless they were in a bowl with water. And no we couldn't buy a dog and name him Fish. But yes, we could by a fish and name him Dog. (I asked) So I did. Tee Hee!

As it turns out, Dog means fish in Hebrew. So it worked out well. He was a good goldfish. Well all 3 of them were, but I really only had a relationship with Dog the III. I was very upset when he died, I gave hima proper burial and everything, I didn't just give him a burial at sea via the toilet. I never had a goldfish after him. Ah well.....

And if I ever get a dog (and being in a relationship with Rob there's a pretty good chance of that) I may just name him Fish. :)