Work: It's what brings in the dinner

I don't normally post on Saturday, which is why this will remain short, uninformative, and relatively boring. Work has been rather busy as of late, so my blog is the one to suffer. I spend a lot of time in the OR and not a lot of time sleeping. The good news is that I have made significant progress on my med-school application. I have received some good constructive criticism from a number of people on my entrance essay, but it will still be a couple of weeks before the application is sent out. If you get bored and want to help me with it, leave a comment.

A fool and his money?

First off, sorry about the cutesy picture. I try not to endorse that sort of thing. Second, I'm not a big fan of cats. So there.

I have been criticized often enough for giving money to the homeless that I figured the subject deserved a post. This was never an issue when I lived in the suburbs growing up. There simply weren't any homeless people wandering around. But now that I live in Phoenix, they are common enough.

When they approach me, I try to find out what they really need. Some are just looking for food, some are looking for a bus ticket, and some just want money. I do my best to oblige. You see I view the money in my possession as an investment from God. He has put me in charge of it with the idea of getting a good return on his investment. If someone in need asks me, and I, having plenty, dismiss the request, then I have done a terrible thing. 

Some of you will argue that the homeless person just wants to buy drugs or alcohol. Then he (or she) will have to answer to God for that. I won't knowingly support the abuse of those things. But if I refuse them aid when they have need, then I will have to answer to God for that. So I give, out of kindness and out of obedience. My conscience is clear.

Missed Opportunity

I did a lot of walking today. 

That's a good beginning, don't you think? It leaves you wondering, does he normally not walk much? Why was he doing all this walking? And is it really significant? Lots of people walk. Why should I care?

Well, dear reader, read on to find the answers to your questions and so much more.

My dear, sweet wife got a phone call last night to babysit today out in Gilbert. I had a meeting scheduled a few blocks from our house later in the morning so she took the car and I walked. I was going to have her walk, since technically I scheduled my meeting before she was scheduled to babysit, but she offered to take care of Turkleton too, so I let her have the car.

Anyway, while I was out, a homeless person approached me for money while I was waiting at a crosswalk. I pulled out some money (more on that tomorrow) and gave it to him and conversed in some polite small talk, but tried to show that I was anxious to not miss my opportunity to cross the street. By the time there was an opening in the conversation, the "STOP" hand was flashing and I gave a silent sigh of frustration.

And then I caught myself, instead of seizing this wonderful opportunity to talk with this man, to engage him in meaningful conversation, instead of being enter-active, I threw it all away so I could get across the street faster. That's terrible. 

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, other than to say that I hope I've learned a valuable lesson. Opportunities abound, I just have to have eyes to see them.

Here doggy *whistle whistle*

You know what really bugs me? Medically themed TV shows. I love them and hate them at the same time. Scrubs and House are some of my favorite shows to watch, but invariably I see something that's wrong and it makes me grumpy. Like every episode of CSI. But we won't get into why I frown on that show today. 

It's a lot like a dog whistle. You could throw a party, invite all your friends and then bust out your dog whistle. You blow into it with all your might and nothing happens. Except, your dog that lives there is going nuts. Oh yeah, he can hear it. And he knows it's you. He'll leave something extra special on the carpet for you. But nobody else even knows that there's a problem. "Cool, a whistle that doesn't whistle," your friends will tell you.

I'm the dog. I'm enjoying the party, eating scraps, loving it and then bam! The fun leaves. I was watching House (the second season) last night and typically they get a lot of things right that most medical or regular shows get wrong. In every movie ever made you will find this. A guy is in a hospital and you hear the beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor. When out of nowhere he flatlines and you just hear one single, sustained pitch indicating his heart is not beating. The medical staff all rush in, one grabs the paddles, someone yells "Clear!" and then presto his heart is working again. Wahoo.

In the real world, the paddles, or defibrillator, are used to stop a person's heart. Right before they are used, a persons heart is fluttering like a humming bird's wings. The heart monitor will be beeping rapidly and the patient will be dead soon. Thus the need for the defibrillator. It sends a large jolt of electricity through the body and literally causes the heart muscle to seize up and stop. And that's the point. The heart will restart itself and hopefully find a normal rhythm. If the patient flatlines, then they are either dead and shocking them with electricity is just not nice, or the heart's rhythm can't be picked up by the machine and then other treatment options are preferable to shocking them.

Back to the post, House does a great job of showing this realistically. What they don't show is the painful burn that is almost always left behind. We get cases where I work with people who have been defibrillated and you can clearly see a red burn in the shape of the paddles on their chests where they were shocked. Electricity burns. Who knew.

I was going to let this go as I watched the show the other day, but then in the very next scene they showed a spinal tap. A procedure that involves sticking a very large needle into a person's spinal chord to remove spinal fluid. This is very painful even with numbing agents. The guy on House barely flinched. He grunted in pain like someone stepped on his foot and then he continued to talk. Most people suffer severe pain, some scream, lots cry, most tense up and try to not distract the doctor so the procedure will get over with as quickly as possible. Not this guy, he loved it. He was chatting with the doctor with barely a grimace.

And so ends my rant. It bugs me to no end when shows get things wrong, but like a dog at a dog whistle party, I love the all the free cake. And so I keep going back.

Epic Failure

I was going to post today about my efforts to get into med school, a recent, potentially life changing decision and my search for another job, but I just can't seem to put the words together. So today I will be showcasing a couple of pictures that describe a phenomenon known only as epic failure. 

This first one is sort of depressing, but it gets better, have no fear.

I don't even know how you get into this position.

'Nuff said.

Milk shot out my nose on this one.

Heh. Heh.

Again, how do you get into this position. Was nobody on this ship a little worried when they saw the beach coming closer and closer? 

I'm not a big fan of tag

So my buddy posted this little ditty on his blog and now I'm supposed to do the same. Since it has been a while since I last wrote anything, I thought this would be a good way to ease my way back in.

four jobs I've had

1. Kindergarden PE teacher - best job EVAR

2. Chili's foodserver, aka Chili-head

3. Seamstress (or the male version of that) - actually yes, but not in the typical fashion

4. Tissue Recovery Technician - I recover bones, nerves, veins, and muscles from tissue donors

four movies I've watched more than once

1. Princess Bride

2. Duel - Spielberg's first movie, artistic and slightly 80's

3. Gladiator

4. Emperor's New Groove

four places I've lived

1. Denver, CO

2. Gilbert, AZ - I want to live there again some day

3. the ghettos of Phoenix

4. A very wonderful little townhouse in Phoenix

four tv shows I watch

1. Scrubs - Dr. Cox is absolutely amazing

2. House

3. The Office - I know way too many people like Dwight

4. John and Kate plus Eight - thanks to cable and my wife for this one

four places I've been

1. Florence, Italy - an amazing honeymoon

2. Nairobi, Kenya - I saw two things I'll never forget, elephants mating (I've tried to forget, believe me) and a wild buffalo taking on a lion

3. the vicarage in Laugharne, Wales

4. Vancouver - I would also love to live there someday

four people who email me regularly

1. My boss at DNA - usually updates to the work schedule

2. Shaun Palmer - demotivational posters to brighten up my day

3. My mother

4.  My Uncle-in-law - he sends me a daily devotional, I like that

four of my favorite foods

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

2. Pizza - usually of the pepperoni persuasion

3. Chocolate eclair desert - it's like heaven on earth

4. Chips and salsa

four places I would love to visit

1. Germany - it seems nice enough

2. Spain

3. New York - I have traveled plenty but I have never been to the Big Apple

4. Japan - I just threw this one in here because I couldn't think of anything else

four things I am looking forward to in the coming year

1. Hopefully med school

2. Learning to play the guitar

3. Another wedding anniversary - Number Three!

4. My folks starting a new school

four friends I'm tagging

1. Phatty - my little brother

2. Jamie - my little wife

3. Turk - my little dog

4. Shaun - because you didn't call no tag backs