Tomorrow tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big interview day!

Rap On

Better than Justin Timberlake!

Medical Bringing Sexy Back!

A Collection:


"I'll let you potty if you just behave." Possibly the best song lyric ever.


Watch out for the grey and blonde mullet dancer at the end!


Sad, sad, sad. Dancing. If you call arm waving and frowning dancing.


This is a good rap. Suprisingly.


I laughed myself sick!

Count Down

The XXX hospital called me today to make an interview appointment!

Next Tuesday is the Big Day.

I'm so nervous. I really, really want this job.
It's a much bigger hospital 150 beds vs. 25 beds at my present job.
And I would have a 5 min. commute vs. my 30 to 45 min. commute right now.

'Bout Me

An awesome opossum blogger - X-ray Set Up and Beyond - tagged me for a meme!
I feel so loved!
Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

My 7 Weird and Random Facts:

1-I'm an only child, but I have 2 imaginary older brothers-Tea and Jack.
People that I knew when I was younger still come up to me and ask about Tea and Jack.
Jack lives in New York City and Tea is happily married to a Brazilian woman and they have two kids.

2- I'm double jointed.

3- I love men in kilts. Knees are too sexy!

4- When I was 4 I started collecting dead animals and dissecting them. My mom finally bought me a box of white latex gloves, so I wouldn't contract some horrible disease, like hantavirus. Thanks Mom!

5- I'm very, very white. My nickname in school was ghost. As far as nicknames go, I didn't think that was too bad. My family heritage is Scottish/English via New Zealand. So what the fogs of Britain didn't bleach out of my genetic code, the hot sun of New Zealand scorched out.

6-I'm bilingual. Spanish/English. All of my friends speak Spanish. The only people I know who don't speak Spanish are my co-workers.

7- I bought a house when I was 21 and my neighbors hate me. I moved in and they came over to 'check me out'. I introduced myself to the first neighbor and she said(I swear), "Are you married?" "No." "Do you have any kids?" "No." "Well, this neighborhood is for families and older people." And she walked away. The second neighbor came over and we chatted a little bit and then she said, "Do you work?" "Yes." "Oh, I just wondered, because you never seem to go anywhere." Weirdos.

OK! So now you now my deep, dark, hidden freaky soul. (maybe not that hidden)

Who to tag...who to tag? Hmmm.

I'll just pick my favorite blogs to read.

I'll pick The Oracle , Trauma Queen, and Life In the ER.

The End.

Wages ?

I need your help!

I'm filling out a job application.

This question has me stumped:

Wages expected:______

?

?

Do I put in what my wages are right now?

or

Put in a lower wage?

or

Write present wage or negotiable?

?

I don't want to look greedy or out price myself, but

I also don't want to look desperate and under price myself.

Please help!

If you have an opinion or advice please leave me a comment.

Spring Chicken

Signs of Spring

My Easter Egger bantam hen, Lavender, is broody!

It's cute, but also kind of sad.

I don't have a rooster and I can't have anymore chickens, so she's sitting on 2 golfballs.

She takes very good care of her golfball babies.
She talks to them, tucks them carefully underneath her and warns the other hens to 'stay away!'.
I've explained to her that I have enough golfballs and we don't need anymore, but she won't listen to me.
I also warned her that if they hatch, she had better take good care of them and not let the golfballs roll around and get underfoot.

These are the nice green eggs she layed when she wasn't broody.

More signs of Spring!

American Cancer Society daffodils. I always buy 5 bunches. I keep 2 and give 1 to my grandma,1 to my mom, and 1 to a friend.

I started some seeds last Friday. They sprouted!

Doctor Blue

Mr. CP died on Monday. I guess he wasn't one of the 20% that survive.

Two things you should know about my hospital, before I start my story.

• After 8pm we are not allowed to page overhead.
• I've worked here 4 1/2 years and we have had 3 Dr. Blue codes.

So, on Tues. at 10:28, 2 mins. before my shift ends for the night, I heard a frantic page-"Doctor Blue to the ER! Doctor Blue to the ER!"

Yay! something exciting to do. So I hurry to grab a cassette, grid and turn on the portable machine. Rush to the elevator, push the button...wait....wait....wait...ding!...rush into the elevator...wait...wait...ding!..rush out of the elevator into the ER.

There are three disembodied heads peeking out from between the curtains of exam rooms 2,3 and4. The patients are all goggling at the trauma room, so I head in that direction.

I push the portable machine and drag the EKG machine in my wake (this is a skill:driving the port machine and pulling the EKG machine at the same time, I usually end up running over someone or bashing my heels with the EKG machine).

When I get to the trauma room I see: A man in blue jeans, lying on the floor, spread eagle on his back. Nurse Bumknee kneeling by the pt's head trying to get O2 tubing attached to a tank. Dr. Blackjack kneeling and talking to the pt.

Nurse Sunny, who is 9 months pregnant, comes in behind me and grabs supplies to start an IV in the pt's left arm. A couple seconds later, the lab tech arrives and kneels down to take blood out of the pt's right arm. The pt is surrounded, swarmed and I have to straddle the pt. to get the EKG stickers on his chest.

EKG:normal. And five minutes after all the excitement the ER is back to normal too.

It was fun while it lasted!

HP Tofu

I could eat a whole pound of tofu by myself, if it's cooked in HP sauce marinade.

The fruity is de-li-ci-ous, but I also rather like the india mild.

Hmm, choices,choices.

This is my recipe:

1lb. firm tofu-cut into 1"x1"

cubes and pressed

for 20min to remove water.

3Tbs HP sauce

2Tbs soy sauce

2Tbs vinegar

1Tbs rooster chile sauce(pic below)

2tsp cornstarch

Mix together and let sit for 10 min.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Lay marinated tofu cubes in an even layer

on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown.

Eat.

This is thai rooter chile sauce. No kitchen is complete without a bottle of this in the fridge.

Capitan Calzoncillos

Mi Heroe!

Muy divertido y Jorge y Berto son tan lindos.

Superheroe fantastico! Nadie aqui, de mis amigos, les gustan.

Piensan que estoy loca, pero son divertidos!

Ellos son los locos. No saben lo que es bueno.

Por ejemplo: Un pasaje aleatorio- "En la cocina:Menu de dia-Sopa de ajo, Albondigas caseras, pina tropical, te (?te por ninos? no importa) -

Despues de Berto y Jorge - Menu de dia: Estropajo, Bonigas secas, picadillo de ranas."

Ewwww! Ja ja ja!

Translation: I like Captain Underpants.

Something Small

So......................I had an interesting Sat.

My finally call was a 6:55am.
That's right, 5min. before my shift was done.
CT facial bones on a drunk guy, punched in the face.
Sissy posh kid, wearing loafers.
His skin wasn't even bruised. I've seen worse marks on the daily LOC-old-lady-bumped-head.
His friends were very funny. One was getting a facial lac sewn up when I brought Loafer Boy back to the ER.

LB's friend,whispering drunkenly:"Is he gonna stay OK?"
Me, whispering:"I don't know."
LB's friend, whispering to another friend, sitting in the corner trying to hold his head together with two hands(hangover, anyone?): "He look 'sa real bad, huh? She saysa he gonna not be good. Ouch, right?"
Crazy drunks. Home for Springbreak I suppose.

Lemonsucker Tech was late, so I ended up working 24 hours and 25 min. Lotsa money for me!

Dr. Shrug was working in ER again this week-end.
At 11am: A 74y/o man came in with chest pain radiating into his back. Dr. Shrug ordered a Port CXR. She talked to the Rad., Dr. Pissoff, about it. She calls in Dr.Tightpants and they admitted the pt.
I'm having fun naming everybody!

Anyway, around about 3PM the floor orders a 2view T-spine film for back pain. Ho hum. Boring.
When I get to the pt's room, Dr. Tightpants is telling the pt about a report she just recieved from another hosp.

3 months earlier the pt went to hospital Xxxx and had some tests.
Results: Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA)
Treatment: Um, nothing.
The pt. didn't even know what an aneursym was. Dr. Tightpants tried to explain it without totally freaking him out.
"Well, it's a sac, in your chest, full of blood, that bulges and if it ruptures (not that your's is!) it can be fatal. You can die."

This is the part where I jump in.
"Ah, Dr. Tightpants? Are you looking for a TAA?"
"Yes."
"Well, you know a T-spine x-ray won't really show that very well. A CT would show that a lot better."
"Mmmm, maybe, but Mr.CP here has an iodine allergy. Could we do it without contrast?"
"The images would turn out better with contrast, if you wanted to pre-medicate him? or I could do it without contrast. The images won't turn out as nice. It's better to do it with contrast, but..."
"No, I don't want to wait and do pre-medication. Just do it without the dye."
"OK"

Fastforward: CT done. I call the Radiologist, Dr. Pissoff.
"Hi, Dr. Pissoff. This is Katalia from hospital Xxx."
"Hello! Hello! How are you this fine day?"
"Great thank you. I have a CT chest that I just sent over. I don't know if you have the paperwork yet? It's a Mr.CP"
"Well, sure I do, it's right here. For TAA, hmm?"
"Yeah, that's right, um I just wanted to warn you, Dr. Tightpants wanted me to do it without IV contast.."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME! That just PISSES me off!"
"..so I did it without and the pt has a contrast allergy..."
"I am so PISSED OFF right now! What the hell were you thinking! What the HELL!"
"...and so I did it without contrast."
"So PISSED OFF. GOOD BYE. whatthehell"
He slams the phone down.

It turns out Mr.CP had a ruptured leaking TAA. He was rushed to another hospital for surgery. I hope he is still alive. Only 20 to 30 percent of ruptured TAA pts survive.

Dead Time

I hate my job.
Getting called in at 4am to do perfectly healthy pt.s
Now I can't sleep.

Yes, dear pt. it is quiet in the hospital at 4am.
In fact it's dead around here.
Oops, did I say dead?
In a hospital?
To you?
Sorry.
I only did it because, I know there's no way you could die, you're just fine.
Rash-on-my-head-for 2 weeks-attention-seeking-come-in-at-4-in-the-morning-lonely-old-man.

Why Not?

Dr. Rad,
Why don't I want to call you, you ask?
Well, duh,'cause everytime I do you swear at me!
Sorry your Sat. is ruined.
And I know you can't yell at the Dr.s that are ordering x-rays.
Thanks so much for taking it out on me.

Much hate,
Me

Buck Up

People! If you're going to insist on telling me your life history: Please Put In Your Dentures!!

Ok, ok, maybe you weren't telling me your life history, you were complaining about me running over your foot, but I would have known that if you had Put In Your Dentures!

edited: I've only run over two patients with a wheelchair and one Dr.'s foot with the portable machine. I'm really a very good driver. wink wink

edited again: And a surgeon's foot with the C-arm. He said(yelled) I broke his toe, but...

24 Hours

Working a 24 hour shift again.

Moon Attacks

I'm reading this book, Life As We Knew It.
Just like when I watched The Day After Tomorrow, I feel like hording food, buying a woodstove and learning how to make homemade soap.
Actually, I wouldn't mind learning how to make my own soap, it sounds like fun, but I suppose you'd have to use lye....hmm I don't know.

Anyway, this book is a, "frighteningly plausible account of the local effects of a near-future worldwide catastrophe.", according to Amazon. It's written like a diary and describes the family hording food and winter clothing, cutting down to two meals a day, chopping down trees for heat, washing clothes in the bathtub, ect. ect. I'm only half way through and I wanted to stop reading after the first three pages, because it hits a little too close to home.

After a comet crashes into the moon and alters its' relationship to the earth, the fuel and food prices skyrocket. Does this sound familiar? I guess we don't need astronomical interference to bring the end of the world.

Well, I plan on canning a lot of food this summer and maybe getting a wood stove.

X-ray Poem

I took a little artistic liberty(!) with the Statue of Liberty poem, The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus.

Radiographer's Poem

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled kyphotic masses yearning to breath free, without COPD,

The wretched refuse scooped from off the floor

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed half-drowned to me,

I lift my x-ray beam inside the lead lined door.

Here's the original poem:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I love my job! This week has been really, really good in x-ray land. I did an awesome cross table knee on Tues. The pt was unconsious, but the films looked like they were done on a walkie talkie. X-ray rocks!

Suck In

Reasons for holding my breath, while pushing a patient's wheelchair:

• vomit and nicotine
• greasy old man hair
• greasy old woman hair
• old woman butt crack
• rotting cast skin
• week old urine
• diarrhea
• full and leaking ostomy bag
• smoker's stench
• infected bed sores
• full diaper
• cow poop on shoes -came in from the barn stink
• drunk yesterday-tequila leaking out pores stink
• mouth breather with rotten tooth stumps
• football/hockey player locker room stench

Peep Peep

I haven't written about my pet chickens in a long time, so...

This post will be all about them.

They arrived in a box at the post office on Aug. 1st, 2007.

I was expecting them to arrive the next day, but the post office called at 10pm and asked me to 'please pick up your peeping package'.

Sadly, one chick, a bantam barred rock, died from shipping injuries.

This is their first picture. From the right-clockwise: Pippa(Sebright Bantam), Honey(Delaware),Zela(Australorp),Butter(Delaware), and Lavender(EE Bantam).

They were very sleepy after hatching, being popped into a box, and traveling through the postal service.

I love how Pippa used to sleep on her head!

They grew up fast! Here they are at one week old.

Pippa's such a fashion model!

Here they are 2 weeks old.

At three weeks they're starting to look a little ratty. Poor pre-teenagers! Just wait it gets much worse. They lose all their baby fuzz and get their first big girl feathers.

At five weeks, Honey is starting to look like a big girl, but there's a long way to go. She's still a little chick!

At six weeks, they enjoy a juicy tomato and hopping up onto my back!

Here they are a seven weeks. The big girls, Honey, Butter and Zela really start to grow, leaving the bantams, Pippa and Lavender, in the dust.

The big girls are standard size chickens.

Bantams are usually miniature versions of standard size chickens. Like if you have a toy or miniature poodle, there's a standard size too.

However, Pippa is an exception to the bantam rule.

Sebrights are true bantams and there isn't any standard size (large) chicken of her breed.

Sebright bantams were bred by Sir John Sebright in the early 1800's.

They are the only chicken breed named after a man.

(You never know - this could be a winning Jeopordy question some day! File this info away.)

Well, this is a long enough post. More some other day.

Aspirin Kills

A funny thing just happened in the ER!

A woman came in with chest pain and I was doing an EKG. The pt. was using mask O2, because she was having a hard time breathing with all her chest pain. Anyway, I'm putting the stickers on her chest and the nurse is on the other side of the bed talking to the pt.

The nurse pulls down the mask and says, "OK I'm giving you 2 baby aspirins now."
She pops the aspirin into the pt's mouth.
The pt starts choking and we quickly help her to sit up.
After a good hard cough the pt finally weakly says, "It went down the wrong tube. Are you trying to kill me?"

I thought this was hilarious! But the ER nurse didn't think it was too funny.

Come in for chest pain and we'll choke you!

Amo esto

These are some things I love.

The streets - Dry Your Eyes



And Fit But You Know It


Monarch of the Glen - I'm a big, big, fan of Duncan! But after Hector died the show sucked!


Decemberists - 16 Military Wives video Poor Carl :(


Newsies - Christian Bale singing and dancing


Highland Reign - Ride with the Devil - Crazy drunk guy dancing


HP sauce!! I can't decide if I like fruity or indian better. mmmmm makin' me hungry.

Thanks USA

This post ,about a family's ER and hospital experience, made me thankful that I live and work in America.

Can you imagine working in a third world country's medical system?

Happy March

Happy March!
I turn 25 this month. Boo.

It's depressing. If I live to be 100 (ha,ha, not likely) 1/4 of my life is already over.

But really, I should look at it as 1/3, because statistically I'm more likely to only live to 75.
Sad.

I thought this article about hormone related side effects was interesting. I see anecdotal evidence of this when I'm doing mammograms on women that have taken HRT in the past. Their breasts are very firm and hard, so it's much more difficult to get adequate compression. We all hate doing HRT pts.

However, the worst are women with breast implants. We draw straws to see who has to do those.
One woman came in to the dept. and was suprised at how difficult her mammogram was now that she had breast implants. Her surgeon told her that mammograms would be easier now that she had the implants, because there 'wasn't as much breast tissue'. -Not true!

As you can see from these pictures.
First, standard mamm views are taken with moderate force to the breast and implant.



Then, implant displacement views are taken. The implant is pushed back against the chest wall and the breast tissue is pulled forward and compressed. Imagine a half empty tube of toothpaste. Just like pushing the toothpaste toward the cap, we push or squeeze the implant toward the chest wall. There are double the views(x-rays) = more time and more times compressing the pt.

Knead Me

I did a bunch of baking today.

First, Brioche.

Date-Nut bread.

Almond puff pastry baking.Almond puff pastry with lingonberry preserves. Drizzled with lemon sugar frosting and topped with candied pecans