Random endorsements

Maybe it's just because I'm totally tired. For no reason, by the way. Which is incredibly annoying. And when this happens my grammar and punctuation are the first to go. But the fact that it's only 8:12pm and I can't believe it's not midnight yet is mighty discouraging, especially since it's Monday.

But when I'm in this kind of mood I enjoy thinking about some of my favorite things, just like Julie taught me in one of my most favorite movies (of all time) as Fraulein Maria.

www.televisionwithoutpity.com
I go there to laugh my head off at the wicked satire and sarcasm aimed at my most favorite TV shows.

www.beaglesandbuddies.com
If I had a billion dollars and a few hundred acres I'd buy them out and give Scrappy a few hundred friends to play with.

www. jenniferniven.com
Because she's one of my bestest friends and a true Princess to boot. And she inspires me.

www.surlalunefairytales.com
Because Heidi is one of my bestest friends and besides, her website is unbelievable. She inspires me too.

www.kira-kira.us
The official website for Cynthia Kadohata and her book Kira-Kira that won the 2005 Newbery Award for achievement in children's literature. It's my latest favorite book.

www.lds.org
Whenever I feel down, I can go here and be truly inspired.

www.spa.ucla.edu/dept.cfm?d=sw&s=home&f=swintrohome.cfm
This is my alma mater. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have a job ... or a reason for this blog.

I'm going to go read "Pride and Prejudice" now.

"Lost" in frustration

So I don't know about the rest of you people, but I felt like I was going to lose it after that ridiculously ho-hum episode last night.

Was it just me or did half of it feel like a rerun? Maybe it's because there was nothing else on so I had the TV on for the actual rerun before the new episode, but good grief, we ended up at exactly the same spot we did last week in the hatch-house with Desmond, Jack and Kate.

Ok, so now we know where Kate is, but we didn't really get anywhere did we? I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm relieved that Sawyer, Mike and Jin are alive too. But hello, it's the guy from the stadium from like years before in the hatch-house! What the heckfire?!?

All in all, the whole hatch-house twist is pretty nifty. So I'm going to reserve judgement and continue to believe the whole thing won't end up completely ridiculous and disappointing like The X-Files. (Yes, I'm still bitter.)

So it turns out that the sociopathy running rampant in the psych ward continues to escalate out of control. We actually have a patient who is attempting to stockpile Wellbutrin. To catch all of you up on exactly how pathetic this is:

1. It is quite common for psych patients to attempt to cheek meds in an effort to stockpile them so that they can later (a) try to sell them, (b) get enough so that they can crush them up and snort them to get high, (c) get enough to try to kill themselves by O.D. or (d) remain crazy.

2. Wellbutrin is an anti-depressant. i.e. not a stimulant. not an anti-psychotic. slow acting. not lethal (ok, unless you had like 100 of them and chased them with a bottle of vodka). available in sample packs by the dozen at any doctor's office.

To make it even simpler: (1) there is no street value. (2) there is no way to get high on this drug. (3) you're more likely to kill yourself by choking on them than swallowing them in an attempt to O.D. (4) it takes like 2-3 weeks to reach its full effect so taking them isn't going to make a dent if you're crazy. (5) if you're crazy, you wouldn't be given this drug in the first place.

And yet, this dude is attempting to cheek the things. Why? Because he thinks it's funny to play mind games with the staff. What he doesn't realize is that it just makes us all hate him. Which, I guess, is the definition of sociopathy too. And just so no one thinks I'm completely heartless. I promise this particular sociopath is not crazy, or paranoid, or delusional. All of which might cause a patient to stockpile a substance for absolutely no rational reason. This guy is just a jerk.

Today is one of those days that has caused me to reflect upon the wisdom of my career choice.

But what about that "Lost" episode eh?

Waiting for a trauma

It's 0153 and I'm just sitting here in the office (which is freezing cold at this hour) bored and trying not to fall asleep. If I fall asleep now I'll never be able to drive home with the full confidence that I'd actually make it without winding up a patient here myself.

I'm on call in the ER tonight at a major medical center in L.A. I work per diem because I'm a masochist and because I really love medical social work, especially trauma medicine. It's almost like being a doctor without having any education, responsibility or the requirement to actually touch the patients and their blood.

On Thursdays my shift starts at 9pm (2100 hrs) and I got paged at 10:30. In other words, it was setting up to be a long night and it hadn't even started yet. I don't get off until 7am tomorrow morning, and a lot can happen between 2230 and 0700. And sure as I say "stat" I'll drive home after handling the first one and get paged 15 min after getting there only to have to drive back. Especially on Thursday nights when there's usually always 2 or 3 traumas -- usually always alcohol or drug related -- that come in between 2am-3am because the bars have closed and people are idiots and drive drunk.

So at 2230 I get called in. I rarely ever know ahead of time what I'm going to get. This time it's a dude who is (surprise!) drunk, and probably stoned as well, who managed to climb a 20 ft fence (for unknown reasons) and fall off.

Needless to say, he took a header (into some bleachers) and required emergency treatment. Turns out he's totally AMS (Altered Mental Status) because of the alcohol, not the fall, and doesn't have a clue as to why he was climbing a fence and can't form a sentence to tell me anything about himself.

He apparently told the paramedics that he was trying to escape a pack of dogs that was chasing him. However, no dogs were at the scene. Or near the scene. Thus my expert dx that he's been partying tonight using who knows what.

Anyway, my enlightening 15 min of perseverative questioning resulted in absolutely zero info so my clinical assessment reads "pt is unable to verbalize coherent statements and is oriented only to name and situation." Ho hum.

And yet, I get paid approximately $30/hr to do this!

Oh, and the dude is totally fine. No head injury. No nada. When they're drunk they kinda just roll with it and walk away from stuff without a scratch. I doubt the bleachers or the fence fared so well.

Now I'm blogging because I am trying to stay awake at least until 3am when I can hopefully drive home without fear of getting paged again. Waiting for a trauma is always exciting.

And yet, I get paid approximately $30/hr to do this!

I knew there was a reason I suffered through MSW school.