| (no subject) |
[Nov. 26th, 2009|09:51 am] |
I'm exhausted. Very busy at work. The ER was full all night - with a full waiting room. I've looked at so many urines through a microscope, I see crystals and blood cells floating in the ether around me. Heart attacks, animal bites, dizzy/vertigo, abdominal pains, oy! Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi! When I got home, I had to drag in the newspaper (it must have taken an entire tree to print all the ads for Black Friday), then lie down (lay down - I always forget which it is) on the bed for 15 minutes. Of course, while trying to relax on the bed, I was serenaded by the eloquent SCREECHES of Cockleburr.
I am now going to go take a shower. A long, hot shower with lots of a bubbles. I'm cold, my legs ache, and I itch. (Dry skin sucks) Afterward, I may crochet, I may play video games or I may say screw it and go to bed. Got one more day this week. Whew.
Tomorrow after work, I will be late posting. I received a call yesterday that a product I ordered from Stampede (rubber stamping store) came in. I will be going there. Possibly going to Staples, too, so I can buy a printer cartridge. I also want to hit a yarn shop. Luckily, the stamp store and the yarn shop are both privately owned things and somewhat out of the way... less nuts--- er, shoppers to deal with. Then I will come home and crochet or make more cards.
I have a total of about 66 holiday cards just about done. I have to stamp the sentiment inside and sign the back. Only about 15 more to go and I will be done done done DONE! Then I can stamp the envelopes! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
I will reply to comments later. I'm so pooped, I need bed or shower.
Hope you all have a good holiday. For those of you out of the USA, happy Thursday. One more day and then the weekend. |
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| Weird Sicknesses of Patients |
[Nov. 25th, 2009|10:40 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | work | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  melancholy | ] |
Work was intense and then boring. First half of the night was running all about, doing tests on patients while trying to perform maintenance, run quality control, etc. Then somebody locked the door to the ER or something because everything dropped off suddenly. I even had time to do the competency testing I needed to do.
I will be working for Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a good day. :) My regular phleb is off the rest of the week. ARGH! Her replacement isn't one I know well. Not sure what to expect of her. The third shift tech before me told me to bring in something to do. She said that most of the time, TG was for medical and legal alcohol levels.
Here's a new diagnosis for you: Rhabdomyolysis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis) Have a patient at the hospital now who has this. Usually, this problem is from crushing injuries or from overexertion of the musculature. However, this patient was an overdose yesterday. The other half of his diagnosis is polydrug overdose. In running his serum chemistries, his creatinine kinase was over 44,500. Normal is 159. His level was so high that I had to program the machine to dilute it by 35 parts (as in, one drop of his serum plus 34 drops of a diluent) just to get the machine to register it. Oh, and his AST level (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartate_transaminase) was over 700. Hello, Renal Failure! From what my regular phleb was saying (she had to draw blood from him a couple times) most of his muscle damage that is easily visible is his right arm. He has nerve damage in it as well as muscle. He can't move it, can't feel it, etc. Hello, Mr. Lefty!
Patient Rhabdo up there came in with a female who had also overdosed. She was able to go home on her own recognizance. But she wasn't well.
Also, a 24 year old male came into the ER tonight for cardiac arrest. He didn't leave. His family did... but he stayed. No, he wasn't admitted. He was given the "Feet First Discharge" and taken to the morgue.
All of these cases leads the techs in the lab to wonder if we have a bad batch of drugs floating about town. :(
WTF. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 24th, 2009|10:13 am] |
Work was going well until about 0130. That's when a nurse called and asked, "How do I initiate transfusion reaction protocol?" I was in blood bank for nearly two hours. It wasn't difficult to do but I had to read the procedure then do the testing part, then read a bit more, work a little bit, back and forth. I think I did everything correctly. I did check over my work a hundred times. (OCD much?) I had to call the supervisor three times to make sure I was doing things correctly. Sigh. One of the steps in the process was to check paperwork against each other, the computer records and stuff... that all matched. The type, etc, were all correct. The patient has developed a urinary tract infection so maybe that was it. The transfusion reaction was called because the patient's temperature rose nearly 3 degrees. But that wasn't until the unit was finishing up being infused. So I dunno.
As I said, when Dr A is on shift, weird crap happens. I wish it would be FUN weird crap. However, since I did this, I know have an understanding of it and I think it won't be as difficult next time. Unless something is screwed up. Then there would be a problem.
Oh, and, you know, just some advice. If you're sick after having had a night of heavy drinking and ingesting illegal pharmaceuticals and you develop vomiting and nausea... the reason you feel like shit might, juuussst might, be due to your chemical concoctions, NOT an illness. Thus, going to the ER and feeling as if people aren't taking you seriously... well, just don't be too surprised.
TO TOTALLY SWITCH GEARS, I have a question for you:
Is there a divide between science and spirituality? Can you have belief in something (God, ghosts, etc) without having proof (as in tangible)? If so, how do you do it?
I would like to open myself up to spirituality a bit more. I'm not going to start going to Church, Temple, Mosque, Pagan Circle just yet but I want to have a bit more meaning to myself.
An example: I was feeling very depressed one day when back in college. One of the academic advisers told me to lay my problems down at God's feet and He would take care of everything. She said that's what she did and she was always content and happy... which is how she came across to me in my daily interactions with her. I can't do that. I have never been able to do that. I want to do that... but my analytical brain tells me that, if I were to give my problems to something (in this case, God) and didn't do anything, then nothing would get done. Nothing would be solved/fixed/healed/changed/etc.
How do I find this spiritual soul and be able to balance it with a mind that is analytical?
And why is Nikolai Tesla listed in a new age bookstore?! |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|10:27 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | family | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
Oh, forgot to mention: I have a new friend on Facebook. My uncle Carl! Ha ha! That site will let ANYBODY join! Yes, he's the protagonist in the "IT'S AN ALLIGATOR!" golf story. :) Now, just need to get aunt Dinky on there. ;D We could have an online family reunion! Of course, with a few of the relatives that are on FB, that would be the best way to have a reunion. (IE: P and her two kids, M and S. Oi! S is a demon spawn... and he knows karate. Way to go, 'rents.) The bad thing is I wouldn't get to play with Danny. He's a good kid. Loud, insane, and some what hyper. Lots of fun to play with. :D (No, that isn't sarcasm. He is fun because he is so weird. He's Calvin without the Hobbes.) |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|10:07 am] |
Well, I'm here. I'm also rather tired.
Not much happened at work. That's good. It will soon pick up. Dr A is coming on shift tonight. Always busy when he's on.
After work, I hit the Wal-Fart. Got the socks I wanted and finished up shopping for Flippy/Baybay. I bought her a ton of stickers. The woman must have truckloads of stickers. Maybe just one room in her apartment is packed full of them. Anyway, I bought a few more strips for her. I also bought those knee high socks I wanted. Hopefully they'll go around my fat legs. :S
I thought about getting a membership to the Crochet Guild of America for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) catarzyna but it doesn't really seem that interesting. I'm probably going to take her suggestion and let her "make her own gift". :) I know what I want to get, I just need to find out when the store opens. I want to buy some yarn for another gift. Something bulky. (I don't have any bulky yarn here - it's all WW or thinner. Oy!)
Yesterday, I just cut paper for my cards. I don't think I cut enough, though. I got a list of lab employees and I have over 30 people there. So... back to cutting paper and stuff. I think I'll just assemble the current batch and see how far I get with that. I may need to make more but it will only be a smaller batch than the 40 or so I'm going to do now. (I have 28 completed... out of, what? a bazillion? Well, at least 70.) Anyway, the cards look lovely and I should be able to get most of them done before 12.25.09. Heh. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|12:50 pm] |
Ugh. Woke up really depressed. Dreamed about my mom and various family members back home in WV. :( Very sad as most of the people in the dream are dead. Way to go, Subconscious. (*Under breath* You rat bastard.)
Comic strip is up. Enjoy. Slightly based on a true story. http://art-fumes.livejournal.com/
Made about 25 holiday cards last night. It's slow going since my cards are always so stupidly intricate. *Smacks self* Why do I do make stuff so damned complicated?
Ordered a skirt and shirt from Roamans.com. It's an outfit that I have been wanting since they first came out. Both were on sale but still cost me nearly $100 after shipping was added. 8-S I need to get some socks so I can wear some high heels with it. The catalogue shows the model in boots... but I already have ankle boots. If they look ok with it, I'll wear them. If not, I will wear some high heels and kneehighs. It's my holiday outfit.
Well, I need to do something today. Not sure what. Really just don't feel like doing diddly shit. Maybe I'll just read and/or play video games. :P |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|06:27 pm] |
Today's to do list:
* go to Stampede (rubber stamping store) and buy more paper for holiday cards. DONE!
* get a printer cartridge so I can print up some Holiday Wishes. Didn't get a printer cartridge but I printed some anyway so DONE!
* draw tomorrow's comic strip.
* continue working on COM's holiday gift. DONE!
* Balance checkbook. DONE!
I have to do the strip yet. I'm also working on my holiday cards. :S I bought all the paper and (hopefully) all the envelopes that I will need. I also did some holiday shopping. I finally got Flippy/Baybay's stuff. She is SO hard to shop for. However, Joann Fabrics had some Halloween stuff on sale thus I bought for her several packets of stickers and a big paper punch of a bat. I also am going to get a packet of paper ready for her, too, since she likes to make friendship books all the time. Not sure what else to do for her. Something skull related, I guess. I did a skull etching for her last year. Hm.
I did the eHarmony thing. You know, filled out the big profile crap and submitted it. Out of how many millions of people they claim to have on the site... they found only SEVEN matches for me. Only seven within 120 miles. Good Lord. I guess I really am that weird. Of the seven, only one of seemed as if I'd actually be interested.... and he's the one that is the furthest away. *Crosses eyes* Oh, and all over them are over 40... one is just under 50. Now, don't mind the over 40 set (prefer older men) but getting over 50. I'm 36. OK, yeah, I'm an art major (as well as a science major) but I can do simple subtraction. That's 14 years difference. Don't think I'd have much in common there. :S Better than COM who gets matched to men over 70 when she's only 39 or 40. Heh. So, looks like I'm gonna be single for a while longer. Meh.
Well, need to go draw the comic... and stamp out more cards. Gah. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|09:30 am] |
Where have I been? Well, here, actually. Just not on line. Sorry if you missed me. (Kidding.)
Yesterday, we had computer downtime at work. Not fun. However, we weren't busy so it wasn't too bad. Found out that I have turned a coworker/friend into a rubber stamper. >:D YAY! I hope she makes me a card. I love to see other people's artwork. :D
Came home, fiddled around on the net for a bit. I went to bed for a nap. Went to the post office to mail out some things then to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I live SUCH a wild life. Ha!
Once home, I started working on cornerofmadness's gift. It's coming a long well. I have the pattern memorized now so I can do this in my sleep. Well, I wish I could. I might actually get it finished by Xmas! Oy! I've been told that holidays are good days to work because not much happens. If that is the case, I may be dragging this along to work with me over Thanksgiving... in the break room! Not in the lab! Stop freaking out. Oh, and COM, please be aware that you can have all the free cat hair included with this gift as a token of love from Her Royal Majesty the Queen Cockleburr. She will NOT let me crochet unless she sheds on it. Bizarre.
Today's to do list:
* go to Stampede (rubber stamping store) and buy more paper for holiday cards.
* get a printer cartridge so I can print up some Holiday Wishes.
* draw tomorrow's comic strip.
* continue working on COM's holiday gift.
* Balance checkbook.
*Bangs head on keyboard* Too much to do! ACK! <8-S |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 19th, 2009|11:12 am] |
Dear Cockleburr,
You have a bowl of water in the kitchen next to the food you did not eat. Please stop walking through the house, screaming as if you are dying just because I won't let you into the tub and turn on the faucet. Also, get off my desk.
Love, Me
Work was blah blah blah. Afterward, phlebotomist buddy and I went to Panera Bread. I downloaded some video games and we chatted. Both had souffles. I also had a cuppa mocha and a pumpkin Muffie. I got some bagels to go that I will take in to work tomorrow. :9 All was very good. Phlebuddy had never been to PB before. Good food. :9 I downloaded three Big Fish Games: Hidden Expedition: Devil's Triangle, Mystery Case Files: Huntsville (the only one in the series that I didn't have already), and the 1912: Titanic Mystery. Then I went to Super Shoes, since it was just up the street, and bought a pair of Crocs (yes, those God Awful shoes) and a new hoodie - this one is thermal lined so I can wear it all winter. I need to sew some patches on it.
I've found three wishes to fulfill from the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) holiday_wishes community. :) I could do a lot more but I have to watch what I spend so that I can buy/make for my friends and family.
Lastly, Using only four words, tell me what you would say to me if we woke up in jail together. Then copy and paste this into your own Live Journal and see what responses you get. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 18th, 2009|10:12 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | sick, work | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  bored | ] |
Today I have gone past "froggy" and straight into "munchkin". I mean, in earnest, I sound like one of the Munchkins that sing the "Lollipop Guild" song. Bizarre. WTF?
A life lesson for you all: if you happen to have your hands full, carrying, say, a bag of blood in each hand, and you have to sneeze, try to aim for the floor. Sneezing onto your jacket sleeve is very, very unsanitary, extremely gross and makes your phlebotomist laugh her ass off. :S Yes, I will be doing laundry today. :P
I'm bored with Facebook already. Typical.
Gosh. I write such thrilling journals, don't I? Do you want to read the scintillating details of how I changed my car insurance? What about how I crocheted on a gift for COM? Ooo! Ahh! :P PHBTHPT!
I will be working all holidays from here until probably sometime next year. If the holiday is on a weekday, I'm doing it. I can use the money and it's during my regular shift rotation. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 17th, 2009|10:21 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | bored | ] |
Well, let's see. Work was nuts. Meh.
I still sound froggy. Ugh. The worst is waking up and realizing that you have to go to work despite the fact you feel and sound like royal shit.
Don't have much else to post. I have to make a card for a friend. That's about it. I spent all yesterday evening (my evening, your morning) looking through the weird house listing site. Ha ha.
I'm not sure what the hell is the matter with my cat. It sounds like she's in labor and trying to give birth to an elephant. She's been fixed so that can't be it.
Why do we say that an animal is fixed when it is spayed/neutered? You're actually paying someone to BREAK the animal's reproductive organs, not FIX (repair) them. FIXING is when you take the animal back and get the organs switched back to normal. So, the last sentence of the paragraph above should read, "She's been broken so that can't be it." |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|10:50 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | amused | ] |
First of all, I had to share this with you: http://tinyurl.com/ygusrjf This is a link to lovelylistings.com where you can see collected amusing (or disturbing) photos of homes that are for sale. The tag line for the site is "Odd finds in real estate listings". Can't get much odder than a room covered in Muppet as seen above. Also, the tv that is set into the wall... very vintage. (That's a nice way of saying "old".) Were I to be locked inside the carpeted room, I doubt I'd be able to find my way out. Also, why did they have to use so many different carpets in one room? Never mind. Thanks.
Work was fine.
Spending time on the above mentioned website because I'm a geek. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|11:24 am] |
Comic strip is up. http://art-fumes.livejournal.com/
I'm still feeling like crap. Still have sinus infection. Tempted to chew on bread mold. Pills don't seem to be helping too much.:S I sometimes have a voice, but not always.
FRIDAY: Worked in my little altered art book. It's a day planner from 1960 that I am changing into an art book. It's neat so far. :)
YESTERDAY: Did have time to go to Starschmucks to play on their wifi. :S Went to rubber stamping club. LW is moving to Delaware. :S She will sometimes come back for club - her two daughters live here so she has to visit occasionally. Heh. We did "shoebox projects". This is where a few club members made up quickie kits and put them in a shoebox. The container is passed around and you get to make a card that they have prepared. Nice ideas. Conversation was nice. Several of the group are crazy so it's nice to be with like minded people. Did some shopping and got items together to make my Xmas cards. Some of my relatives (Dad's side) don't get my sense of humor so I make cards for them... everyone else just gets the comic strips I draw up. When I came home, I just fiddled about for a while - watched tv mostly. Then I drew today's comic strip (which I think is cute but we'll see how everyone likes it) and started making Xmas cards.
A discussion sample from yesterday's meeting: studios. Who has the messiest studio. OMG. I am NOT alone! :D Heh. SB said that her husband never comes into her art studio. Last night, he had to talk to her while she was stamping. He opened the door and couldn't see her. Ha ha ha! I'm not that bad. That's because all my stuff is on the floor! :D I ought to do that. Post a photo of how messy my studio is. I mean, really. Think of how many crafts I do. They're all crammed into one itty bitty space. Sigh. When I grow up, I'm going to have a house with an unfinished basement and turn that into a studio.
I bought a rubber stamp of a tree thinking it was a pine tree. Nope. Deciduous of some sort. Shit. So, rummaging through my bin of "nature stamps" I find the PERFECT little pine tree. I have a nice apple tree (?) stamp with nothing to use it for yet. YET. I will find a use. I did make a nice Xmas card for this year, though. :) No, it doesn't involve cats. Just trees and snow.
The Holiday Wishes LJ community is open. I'm going to be a part of it this year, too, I guess. It's a nice way to meet people - several on the friends list come from there. Not sure what, if anything, I'm going to put up as my wish list. 8-S |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|10:14 am] |
Feeling a bit more human. Still can't talk but I'm no longer in pain when I do speak.
A while back, I bought a set of pajamas at Wal-Fart. The tag on the outside of the clothes said "2X" - my size. Well, yes and no. Yes, in that I could wear them... but no, not my size. See, thing is, I am (or so I thought) a 22-24, which is a "2X" most places. The PJs are 2X meaning 18-20... and I could still wear them. OK. The buttons on the top are pulling apart in the boobalogical area but the bottoms fit and so did the shirt below the breasts. Holy Shit! The only problem besides the too big o' boobs is that, well, they are quite ugly. I had to get them, though. Despite the fact that they are neon green with red lettering, well, dammit! They have KERMIT the Frog on them! *Squeezey hug for Kermit!* So, though I may not have lost weight, I must have somewhere... or the company sewed in the wrong tags.
Work was worky. ( Please to be skipping to avoid work related bitching )
I purchased a subscription to two humor magazines: Funny Times (it's more of a newspaper) and Mental Floss. I found the FT through a kind coworker who left her/his edition in the breakroom. It has comic strips as well as humorous writing featured in it. Mental Floss is an unknown. I read bits on the website occasionally but I've never read their magazine. I hope that it is as good as the web. Plus, when I'm finished with them, I can leave them in the breakroom, too!
In other news, "Man propositions girl online; discovers its his wife" http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/6653/
Yes, that is me "singing" there. I had to do that because I didn't know the name of the song (well, other than that "annoying Pina Colada" song). Here is it's actual title and a bit more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_(Rupert_Holmes_song)
To quote the Wiki: Also on Mystery Science Theater 3000, during one of the host segments of Show #421 (Monster A Go-Go), Joel Robinson and the robots discuss the deeper meaning surrounding the song and critique the couple: "They don't even know each other likes piña coladas?! What, would they always panic and order Manhattans or something?"
MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
Now, how many of you have the song in your head? |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|09:07 am] |
Some where around the dream about being on tour with Dr. Demento and Weird Al, I woke up. Yeah. Drugs are good for you.
Went to work. Stupid. Should have stayed in bed. I'm extremely tired. I also cannot talk much due to the throat still being raw. I did manage to make it through the night without screwing anything up. Also, did all the testing. Really sick people were coming in. Several cardiac patients (one who had a troponin level of 27!!!! normal is 0.034 at the high end of normal) and one who had post-op bleeding.
I needed comfort food. Stopped at the grocery store along the way home. Came home to make green beans, potatoes and ham. :9 Also bought myself some chocolate milk and one Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie. I would totally screw Little Debbie just to get free oatmeal cream pies. Seriously. The snack cake was 75 cents - these things used to only cost 25 cents! And this thing was huge! I'm talking the size of a Big Mac, ok, maybe not that big but it took me a while to eat it. I don't think I'll eat again until next week. Ugh.
So, yeah, I still feel like hell. I hope that this penicillin kicks this stuff out soon, though. I'm tired of feeling so crappy.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Must go sit on my butt now. Maybe will try to crochet as kitty above. Actually, the pile of yarn there looks as if a Muppet threw up... but maybe that's just me. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|08:39 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | sick | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | sick | ] |
hi. my name is death on a cracker.
went to bed at 4pm yesterday. woke up at 7am. i had taken some tylenol pm stuff but i don't know if the pills would account for that type of sleep.
am now on penicillin and a decongestant. i have one nostril clear. weee. no longer breathing through my mouth, at least.
still feel really weak and tired.
have to go to work anyway this evening. had yesterday off. really. i was so ill i called in. urgh.
every freakin' year i go through this. wtf?
crawls back under rock. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|10:51 am] |
hi. sorry i can't talk any louder - i have a cold from hell and/or a sinus infection. very sore throat, can't breathe through my nose, yadda yadda yadda. i feel like death. i feel like the leftovers in the back of death's fridge that he forgot about somewhere aroun oh, i'd say 1100 ad. ugh.
i did go to work. it was slow - thank god. i'm moving very slowly and i'm weak. i don't know if i can make it to work tonight. i need something mediciney. antibiotics. painkillers. cough syrup. and maybe some knock out drops.
spent the last hour looking at www.ugliesttattoos.com no one on there that i knew. no tattoos that i designed on there either. actually, some of the illustrations were drawn/inked very well it was just the subject matter that was the wtf? or the placement - yeah, like having "FUCK YOU" tattooed across your forehead is going to get you that CEO position you've worked all your life for. yeah, i know. if you have fuck you tattooed on your forehead, you've probably never worked.
soon time to leave for my doctor's appointment. yeah, i'm that sick. ugh. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|09:39 am] |
Heh-LLLOOOOoooo!
M'k. Let's see. Last night at work was busy... the good kind of busy, not the "I'm going to have to kill somebody" kind of busy (meaning Friday). Lots of patients. Three flus, several cardiac patients, etc.
Some @#$%@#$ hung the Christmas decorations in Glen Rock. WTF?! It isn't even Thanksgiving yet and they put up the plastic holly, lanterns and crap. If I find out who did that, I'm gonna throw a shoe at them. If Xmas carols start playing before Thanksgiving, I'm going to have to fire bomb the place! It's over 60 F'ing degrees out! The leaves aren't even off the trees yet! ARGH!
I'm thinking of going back to visit the family (and maybe cornerofmadness sometime in January next year. I did a motel search online. Wow! Huntington actually has some fancy, schmancy hotels. However, I have to ask, one thing: How the fuck did they do this?
It's a photo of a mirror... without a camera or a person in the photo. OK, yeah, I know "Photoshop" but WHOA! Talk about a mind fuck! I mean, I know I'm not too focused when I come home from work but this tripped me out. *Shakes head - insert cartoon sound effects here*
I think I need to lie down. |
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exhausted
contemplative
blah
geeky
weird
tired