Sometimes, it helps to remember....

Today, on the whole, was not a bad day. First day on the consult service. It was decent, if anxious. Gonna be an anxious week, I think.

But I slept so poorly last night. Not super sure why. Which is why I'm going to be a little early tonight...

Sunday, in bullet points

* Went to work this morning. Not horrible. Finished up at Starbucks around 11:30.

* Came home. Ate lunch. Tried to nap. Didn't so much work. See above, re:Starbucks.

* My dad's in the hospital. Probably pneumonia, unless it isn't. Either way, he's feeling pretty good. Stress echo tomorrow. And probably an upcoming post about why you shouldn't sit around for a few hours waiting for chest pain to get better (Yeah, Dad, that one was aimed at you).

* I did something else this afternoon. I so no longer remember what the hell it was.

* Went to State Hospital with Maggie. Hung out with Peng and Matt, who were both moonlighting there today. Peng and one of the interns were hitting golf balls on the side lawn when I pulled up. Matt and I had a nice chat. Maggie was REALLYEXCITED about pretty much everything and ate more than a few acorns.

* Had a pre-interview gathering tonight with Sparrow, Rene, and Julius. Also five candidates. Several dog people. Much showing of phone pictures of various pups. Good time. Too much food = good leftovers. Four words: Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake.

* Talked to Sparrow for a little while afterwards. Miss seeing her as much as I perpetually seem to think I used to, even if I think that was really only in like the one month we were neighbors.

* Talked to my mom. Also my dad. Status quo.

* Damn, I'm tired...

Technical Difficulties

We're having some inconsistent connection nonsense over here tonight. So I'll just give you this fun story (if I can): I flopped on my bed tonight to read my email, etc, and Maggie jumps up on the bed with me. She snuggles up for a while, and then gets up and starts rearranging the blankets, like she does when she hides stuff. I wondered what it was she was trying to bury...and then I realized...I think she was trying to bury me. I cracked up. A lot. Which interfered with the burying....

Friday!! Oh, wait...

Today has been weird. It's Friday, but, I'm still going to work tomorrow. And it feels like Sunday. So, in the spirit of disconnectedness, we'll commence with Friday Fragments...
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I was done with rounds and notes by NINE AM today. It effing ROCKED. It's been a light load over the holiday. But I'm quite certain the rest of the weekend will suck. We'll be out of beds by the morning.
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I was reading everyone's Facebook updates this morning before I went to work, and read the details of my crazy friends who had been shopping all night or were sitting for hours out in the cold, and I thought, hmm. I wonder how many suicidal Black Friday shoppers we'll get today...
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I took the opportunity of the early dismissal to finally get my knee checked out. Damn thing started hurting last Tuesday (so, like, ten days ago), and for the LIFE of me I cannot figure out what the hell I did to it. I was sick Monday, and the next morning I woke up and my knee was all swollen. So, fine, I finally went to the Family Medicine urgent care clinic today. And I have a very distinct clicking in my left knee that says I presumptively have a torn meniscus. I kind of already knew that. Which is part of why I put off going to the doctor. But, she said it'll probably heal itself. So motrin, no gym, watchful waiting for two weeks. If it still hurts, then we'll let the orthopods get involved.
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Read this. I stumbled upon it today. I'd love to hear more of her story. Except, I think it might make me want to vomit.
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I got home around noon after work/doc/Walgreens, and my dog wasn't home. I thought that was a little weird. But then I noticed her leash was gone, and I figured that she probably didn't take herself for a walk. Sure enough, the dog walker returned her about ten minutes later.
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Immediately prior to that, I got pulled over by the local constabulary. Who was like, your plate is expired, ma'am. I said, no, see, they transferred my plates. But then they sent me this other plate in the mail, which, I don't quite get...and then I handed him the license plate. He didn't quite know what to do with that. He didn't write me up. It's a long story that probably has something to do with someone at the dealership checking the wrong box when I bought Joe, but I'll try to get it straightened out next week. Sigh.
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From the Ralphie May comedy special I'm watching right now: "But in Hollywood, they won't call her white trash. They call her bipolar."
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I'm hoping to find my Christmas decorations tomorrow. We'll see how that turns out.

Gratitude

It's Thanksgiving.

AND it's Thursday. (I know, I know, Thanksgiving always is.)

So in the spirit of both, here are ten things I'm very grateful for.

1. The amazing and awesome people in my life. Some are near, some are close only in spirit but I really do count a lot of very, very wonderful people among my friends and family.

2. Although I've spent holidays with Maggie before and find that to be generally fine, I'm incredibly grateful for the good company I had tonight. Eva and her family welcomed me into their home today, along with Sparrow, Bernie, and Liam (who were also orphans today). We had a wonderful time. And look, there were favors:

Cute, huh?

3. As annoying as working the holiday weekend may be, I'm glad I got this one, because I'm going to be able to go home for both Christmas and New Year's, I think.

4. White chocolate peppermint mochas, and the best friend who introduced me to them.

5. The amazingness and wonder of children. I'm really looking forward to seeing my assorted nieces and nephews in a month.

6. Being a third year resident. Because you know I never thought I'd make it to second year.

7. Warm sun. Brisk fall days and rustling leaves. Softly falling snow. The smell of spring.

8. That there are things in the south that bloom this time of year. It's very cool.

9. The world's most adorable, most wonderful, smartest, cutest dog.

10. This crazy, messed-up, hilarious, dysfunctional, totally amazing life that I lead.

What dreams may come

Good night out

Peng and Chef fed us well tonight. It was sort of an impulsive thing - Chef had pork belly and needed people to help eat it. Cleo, Mike, and Matt rose to the challenge. I came along and ate salad (really freaking good salad). And butternut squash. And - wait for it - brussel sprouts.

It was a long ass, exhausting day. So the evening of good company, good food, and good wine was a welcome nightcap.

I really like my friends. I know that's kind of an obvious statement, but it often strikes me...I have good people around me (literally and in spirit). And that's pretty awesome.

More good advice

Get comfy. Put your feet up. Snuggle in under a light blanket.

Then? Read this.

I love this little article so much.

I absolutely think this is the way our society should work. Or maybe I'm really a displaced European. But I think I would do much better day to day (and maybe, someday, I will) with a diurnal sleep cycle. Or at least a little nap in the afternoon.

Then again, maybe it's my totally exhausting 70 hour a week job and a culture of residency that doesn't value sleep much at all (although, I concede, my program is better than most).

So, given that? I'm going to go knit a little longer...and then I'm going to bed early...

(Thanks, robin, for sharing.)

Doggone funny

So, today, I spent the day knitting (I have one blanket done, and the other halfway done, that need to be done Thursday) and fussing and frittering. I got an oil change. I got some groceries. I rearranged the furniture in my room and putzed around in there for a while. While I was doing this, I found a Jumbone, still wrapped and waiting for puppy love. So I offered it to Mags, and she giddily grabbed it and ran downstairs with it. Happy dog.

Fine, okay, so I finished the square I was knitting, and we went out for a walk. We come back in, I give her the obligatory treat, I wander off into the kitchen to reheat some leftovers and load the dishwasher. And after a while I peek in on my doggie, and she's passed out in the middle of the living room floor. But behind her, I see something...peculiar.

It's a very dirty Jumbone.

Now, this makes no sense to me. Because, I know she didn't bring anything in from outside. We no longer have a dog door. How in the world could it have gotten so much dirt on it? I started to worry that the "dirt" was actually ants or something equally icky. So I walk over, and look at it, and I think to myself, hmm, that looks kind of like....potting soil. What in the world...

And then it hits me.

So I walk back into the dining room, where the plants I just brought in from outside are lined up by the window.

Maggie had buried her Jumbone in the potted lemon tree.

I laughed really, really hard.

And then I rinsed it off and gave it back to her. She immediately took it back to her crate and started gnawing on it. She wasn't about to make that mistake again...

Good advice.

Be nice to those around you.



Because one day, you might not be the big dog anymore, you might just be the old dog.

Turred.

(Apparently that means "tired" in Southern)

I'm so freakin' tired. It's been a long effing day, and I can't even thing straight enough to come up with something clever to say.

(Except I do find it notable that I originally wrote that as "strait". As in, jacket....clearly a sign that I need one...)

So, here's something to amuse you, care of Barb. A little gross, kind of juvenile, and really, really freakin' funny.

Long ass week

So, I sit down at my computer tonight to write something bloggy, and I find yesterday's post...still waiting....hadn't published. Guess it decided not to. Bleh.

So, there it is.

Meanwhile, read this story.

This case has been in my periphery for a while, although I didn't know it. I'm glad they found her and the families involved can have closure. And I hope her husband gets a really big, really sadistic cellmate.

And did you hear Oprah's retiring her talk show in 2011? That might actually be a sign of the apocalypse. Maybe we should be worried about 2012....

I've gotten a fair amount of bad news in the past couple of days. And did I mention, Monday I was sick with this URI thing. Tuesday, my left knee gets all swollen and sore. I don't think the two are related, but I'm really annoyed by both. I don't actually remember doing anything to said knee...

So....here's something a little happier...



Also happy? Tomorrow's Friday!!

Whoosh....

Tuesday, Tuesday...

One day closer to Friday.

Meanwhile, I'm feeling a little better.

And, I need to go to bed.

So, here's a fun link, courtesy of robin...

Blehhhh, Monday.

Today, itself, wasn't too bad. However...I woke up at 3am, and was a little stuffier than usual. Went back to sleep a half hour later or so, woke up again when my alarm went off, started sneezing. And on the way to work, I couldn't stop sneezing. And by mid-morning, started to feel pretty darn crappy, had a little fever, etc. I got summarily dismissed from afternoon clinic, so I came home and slept after lecture. Had a milkshake for dinner. Missed Peng's housewarming party (I owe you a Riesling, hon). And am now going back to bed. I'm still holding on to the delusion that it's just a big allergy attack, but...

I did find this, though, that I think kind of sums things up:

Sunday night

I'm up way too late on a school night again.

I had SUCH a productive day today (finally!). Mags and I got up this morning, bummed around for a bit, and then I went to Starbucks and spent more time on paperwork. Which I finished. Seriously!! I'm totally caught up!! You know, until tomorrow, when I get behind on my notes again... Anyway. Then I made it back to the gym for the first time in almost 2 weeks. I picked up some lunch, came home, and then....wait for it...I cleaned. No, like, I unpacked and stuff! You know, it's only been six months since I moved back here. And this morning, if you'd come to my house, I would've made you stand on the step, unless you already knew me well enough that you were at this point required to love me. Now? The first floor still isn't awesome, but it's clean enough that I'd let you in my house. I'd even invite you to sit down.

Crazy, I tell you, crazy.

This evening we had a dinner for the prospectives who are interviewing tomorrow (it's recruiting season again...). It was at a pretty nice place down the way from the hospital. We had six prospectives, two spouses, and four of us. It was a pretty good time actually. And I have leftovers easily for two days. I had a really interesting time talking to one of the gals and her husband, who's a high school teacher and had some great stories to tell about his students (his wife was like, "When I was on the Adolescent unit, we discovered that we do the same job"). Plus there was chocolate. And then I went to Whole Paycheck and picked up a couple of things I needed and spent the whole time being "that person" on the phone with Veronica, who has nearly convinced me that I need to write a book called Queen Nut in the Nuthouse. Don't steal that, it's mine.

Anyhow, y'all, it's been a good day. And now I'm hoping for a good night. Because I have an early patient tomorrow, and then? It's gonna be a long week....the only night this week I expect to be home at any reasonable hour is Friday. Oy...

Saturday amusement

So, you know how, when you go to Google, and you start typing in whatever it is you're searching for, Google tries to be all helpful and suggest things you might be looking for.

Sometimes, it goes very, very wrong. Sometimes? It just gets weird. But often, it's pretty darn funny.

I stumbled across this site today, possibly as a link from FailBlog, but I can't really remember. It was some moment of time-wasting in between writing clinic notes at Starbucks. Read. Laugh. Enjoy. And then, go to Google and try it for yourself. And if you're feeling really adventurous? Find out why exactly it is that you can't own a Canadian. And let me know.

Fr d ay fra ent s

Because I wasn't fragmented enough by the end of the week....
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Apparently there's a nationwide shortage of propofol. The company is blaming a manufacturing error, but personally? I had no idea Michael Jackson's habit was that bad...
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The end result of the above is that this morning in the ECT suite we had to use sevoflurane, an inhaled anesthetic. I...I can't stand that stuff. I've had it a couple of times when I was under the knife, and I had a hell of a time coming out of it, I was nauseated; it's good stuff for most people, but I'm just not a big fan. And I remember when I was in GYN, when we'd have a long day of cases, I'd occasionally be quite woozy and wacky from inhaling that stuff all day. So when I smelled that this morning, I was not super pleased to be standing at the head of the bed.

One of my inpatients, however, came back up to the floor after his morning ECT treatment all like, "wow, they used this different anesthesia today, and man, that stuff was great! I feel so much better!!" I relayed this to the team downstairs between cases, and they all cracked up. Apparently he was one of the few people that had a pretty profound activation reaction to the anesthetic, and got rather giggly and was flirting with the nurses.
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My dog is sleeping with her back feet up by her head. She is the cutest thing ever.
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Here's a funny story I'm stealing from my cousin Danielle - her daughter, who's 2, came up and told her that the dog had nipped her. Danielle asked, why did he do that? Her too-smart-for-her-own-good kid says, "Because I pissed him off."
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I'm watching this week's SVU while I write this. All the major players are bickering at each other. That kind of makes me queasy, like watching your friends' parents fight.
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I do appreciate that Alex Cabot is back - again - though. And when the hell did Dickie Stabler grow up and get adorable?
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So things get a little loose in the psychiatry department on Friday afternoons. This evening, Eva comes into my office and convinces me and Betty to accompany her down the ER for a brief little thing she had to do down there. So we're on our way down, and we were contemplating what you would call a group of psychiatrists? A herd? A gaggle? Eva says, nah, I'm pretty sure it would be a murder, like crows. A murder of psychiatrists. I said, hmm....do you think we're really a murder? Or just, like, a homicidal ideation? So we start giggling about this. And relate the story to Sparrow, who looks at us, deadpan, shakes her head and says, "Word salad." Which lead to a lot of cackling (shrink humor. Not to mention that at this point, Eva, Betty, Peng and I were sitting in an office that belonged to none of us) and Betty howling, "We're a homicidal word ideation salad!" I, of course, couldn't leave that alone, and finally caught enough breath to yelp, "We're a homicidal salad!!!"

Heh. And our patients think we're sane....

Oops.

Once upon a time, in my first year of medical school, two of my friends and I decided to go to South Carolina for spring break. It was February in Chicago, which equals cold, grey, and dismal. We were grumpy, we were tired, we were all contemplating making excuses to not go and to hole up in our respective houses for the week. But, we piled into my Jeep, and we headed for sunnier, beachier pastures.

And something really, really interesting happened.

Within two days of being there, I was feeling SO MUCH BETTER. I kind of overshot "better" a little, actually. I was up, and going, and focused. We stayed up late and I was still up way before my friends. I was sleeping like three hours a night and was just fine. Yeah, I was hypomanic. Which was mild, and productive, and actually kind of delightful. And started to wear off after a couple of days.

I don't know if what I "have" is technically Seasonal Affective Disorder. I tend to think of it more as light responsiveness. But the point is, I do way better with sunshine, less well with lack of sunshine (this is one of the many reasons I'm not a radiologist...). I've always sort of know that about myself, I often underrepresent it in the day to day.

But this morning...I woke up at three. I was up for a half hour or so. I went back to sleep. I woke up at ten to 5. None of this is all too unusual for my insomniac self, frankly. But then my alarm went off at 5:10. And after three whacks at the snooze bar...I was like...why is it so damn hard for me to get out of bed? Why has it been so hard since I got back from Hawaii? I wasn't even jet-lagged. I mean, I...um......oh.

So I rolled over and started Googling dawn simulators.

We had a lecture last week (on a grey, rainy day) about Seasonal Affective Disorder. And our attending spent a while extolling the virtue of light boxes and dawn simulators (Sparrow says to me today, what, can't you just open your blinds in the morning? Brat). And so I did a little research this morning...I did a little research later this evening...and one of the options I found on Amazon was this:

This gives a whole new meaning to "light on your feet."

"Nana's ready to have her picture taken."

Crisis averted.

Thanks, robin, for alerting me to the fact that I did, in fact link to the "latest episode" widget, which ::shudder:: made it appear that I might have been related to Rachel Ray. So try this link instead...you're looking for Sebastian Maniscalco, which, again, is around minute 32...

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Answers

Ohhhh, what a day. I came home and have spent the last three hours doing notes. I never quite woke up today (sooooo tired....). And so, I'll address the questions of the last few posts...

Carol, I TOTALLY read the comments. And love them all. A lot. More comments, people!!

And, of course I learn things from you.

Robin, no, my cousin is not Rachel Ray. Thank God, because I can't stand that cutsey little twit. (I'm sure she's a lovely person, but she annoys the crap out of me!)

DJ - that's 'cause my dog *is* awesome!

Allison - to the extreme. I rock a mike like a vandal. Light up the stage and wax a chump like a candle.

And here's a bonus, small piece of wisdom. Paulo Coelho, on Twitter tonight, said this: "you can only recognize true love if you don't trade freedom for safety."

I? Love that. A lot. I'm still not entirely sure I get it.

Randomness

Well, we haven't had a good Friday Fragments post in a while...and yes, I know it's Sunday...but nonetheless....
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I am now completely caught up on my discharge summaries. Which is helpful, because I was about to get suspended for delinquency. Which...I have to say...I think is completely ridiculous. I take good care of patients. And they're going to suspend me for paperwork. I mean really though....
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I still have two weeks' worth of clinic notes to do, however. All that damn patient care gets in the way, you know?
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Maggie and I went to the Cook Out for dinner tonight. I live right behind it and every now and then the smell gets the best of me and I cave. That's some good stuff, man. What was even funnier was that I put Maggie in the back seat of the car instead of in the way back, which is her spot. Because it was easier, and we were literally going like two blocks. I had to pick her up and put her in the back seat (she jumps readily into the cargo area), and she refused to walk up into the front seat to get out. Wouldn't budge, just kept standing there in the back seat looking at me through the window with this pleading, "don't leave me here!!!" kind of stare. One foot in front of the other, pup...
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There's a show coming up on National Geographic Channel called Search for the Amazon Headshrinkers. It claims to be about a tribe in the Amazon jungles who still practice the shrinking of their enemies' heads. I think, though, that if you based it purely on the title, this search could end in my office.
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I FINALLY unpacked the new vacuum cleaner I bought like two months ago to replace the one that died about then. I vacuumed up a whole new dog today. Not to mention about a jillion little dead bug carcases. I even pulled out the little tools and did the stairs. Meanwhile, my floors may be cleaner, but my allergies are through the roof...
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This was on my radio this morning. I cracked up.

(And ps, what horrible videography we had back then...)

Such a throwback. I love my satellite radio.
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I'm so completely appalled at what happened at Ft. Hood. And have so much to say about it. I'm hoping to finish that post later this week.
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I'm the ECT resident this month, right? So two weeks ago, I get really lost wandering around the second floor. They do ECT in the main OR procedure room, which is at the back of the PACU. Which I finally found, and had a panic attack walking through post-op. Which is when I realized I hadn't been back in an OR since the Emerald Palace.
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I got over it.

It turns out I really like doing ECT.
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Look! Here's a picture of my cute dog....

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Yeah, it's time for bed........

Oh yeah....

So, once upon a time, this was an anonymous blog. The first post or two I ever wrote, way, way, way long ago, were very frank accounts of what I was thinking. I didn't especially feel the need to censor myself, since I was quite sure no one I knew would be wandering by, and if they did, by chance, they wouldn't actually know it was me. That's why my handle is dk, and not just outright Kate.

When I was getting ready to leave for NC, my friends convinced me that I needed a public blog, so they could follow my adventures (and mundanity) when I was so far away. I could easily have just started a different blog, but there was something about the one I already had to which I felt attached. And to be honest, I'm a really well defended person (note the difference from "defensive"), so even in anonymity, that kind of extreme openness was really difficult. Plus, that was a point in my life when my defenses needed to be particularly strong and well-structured, so it wasn't the time to push that. Thus, I deleted my initial efforts, and started again. In retrospect, it was a reenactment of my real world - I was starting over, trying to be open about things I didn't need to be ashamed of, to be accepting of myself. Less about what others wanted me to be. More about what I think, feel, and know, but in that truth, of course, still guarded - particularly acutely - still measured, but more authentic than the previous few years of my life had been.

As the years have passed, I have a more regular readership; more of my family, more of my co-workers (hopefully none of my patients), more people I really do know, either through actual real life or from the blogosphere. This makes me sanction myself differently, I think, but regardless, I don't mind; it's something I find strangely reassuring about my relationship with the people who are real and important in my life. Yes, it means my thoughts are more filtered - i.e., I don't talk much about the dysfunction of my various families, I lose the ability to complain about my coworkers, and I sometimes have to think pretty hard about what I want people to know who can look me in the face the next morning and have an opinion on it.

It's funny how, despite the exhibitionist, narcissistic, self-important nature inherent in blog writing, so much of what I do here is centered around other people, even before I type a single character. And I'm cool with that. I always have been a fan of irony.

But every now and then, I have these moments where I remember that, in fact, this is my blog. It's a window into who I am, regardless of how tightly I pull the curtains from time to time. I have no particular reason to be ashamed of who I am, or why I am this. And I forget, sometimes, that this is an acceptable forum for being who I am.

Curious, though, that this is the incident which led me to this musing.

I had barely a confrontation this morning with someone I considered a friend. Not necessarily a "good" friend, but someone to whom I felt connected in a couple of different ways. Someone I know to be resistant, but, being who I am, I tend to tolerate resistance fairly well, and to be frank, thought there was progress. And after a little too much ambiguity for a little too long, I finally took the "What exactly is going on, here?" road (in much more subtle language). And...I can't say that didn't work out, because I'm always a fan of knowing over not knowing. And I think drawing a boundary in this case was actually an important communication in itself. But the answer was sort of painful, for a variety of reasons for which this particular friend is and is not responsible.

I responded, on the surface, reasonably, I think. Internally? I felt for a moment like my little boat had been capsized.

Not that this friend has all that much power, but the issues activated were much greater. So I did my best to let those pass, tried not to fight them, to figure out what was at the real heart of the situation.

I gave up on what I'd been doing (because, well, distracted...), and I picked Mags up and we went over to State Hospital. Which may seem like a weird place to walk your dog and think, but trust me, that's just the place. The grounds are beautiful, there's a lot of open space to run (if you're Maggie) and a lot of trees and sunshine and scenery (if you're me). The place has a mojo, you know? Lots of stories of hauntings abound, but whatever, the place has a very old energy. So we went, and we walked a little. Maggie played with some other dogs, I played with some other owners, and both Mags and I made new friends. It was a great choice.

And what I came to, eventually, was that under the anger and defensiveness and fear of what had been stirred, was mostly disappointment. At that, mostly in my friend's lack of insight. There was some sadness and a little bit of sorrow about the things here that I can't fix (because that's what I do, I fix things). And ultimately - really, the part that was and still is painful several hours later - a good deal of recognition of the things I can fix; that is to say, the things that are mine. Unfortunately, none of those will particularly help this individual situation, but they will help my own journey.

Here's another thing I notice: when people are coming from a defensive place, they tend to say the exact opposite of what they really mean. Not always knowingly, and in fact, they probably consciously hold that what they really feel in that moment is what they're saying. But in the light of authenticity, this is rarely what they actually feel.

Today? That I know this, and my friend seems not to, makes me really, really sad.

Bonus picture Friday

(Because I'm freakin' exhausted...and SO ready for a weekend....)

All in the family.

Click here.

Drag the little thing on the bottom to the 32 minute mark (right after the 4th commercial break).

Watch. Laugh. Enjoy.

So this guy is my cousins' cousin. By marriage. Which, by the rules of Greek (and Italian, and particularly combined Greek-Italian) families? Makes him ours.

I like to think he got his funny genes from me.

It struck a chord...

Tired

Dudes. It was a crazy long day. Full of crazy people. And crazy shit. And my own craziness.

Crazy.

And this is kind of how I feel.

(I stole that from my Weekly Coyote email courtesy of The Daily Coyote. I have multiple pictures of Ms. Mags making that face, but this one is her long-lost cousin Charlie. I opened my email tonight, looked at this and was like, oh, exactly....)

How is it Monday again?

Seriously. And what a Monday it was.

People are so irritating. I spent a while in Mikaela's office today ranting about this. Particularly about how freaking annoying I find men who can't quite get the idea that sometimes, other people know better than they do, or see things differently than they do, or whatever, and just because that person's a woman doesn't mean you're any less awesome and manly and virile.

I hate that politicking nonsense. Go stroke your own ego. I have patients to take care of.

Get a therapist. Hell, get a hooker. Whatever works. I don't care, just get out of my way.

But in better news, I got some quality girl time with my aunt tonight since my uncle was out of town. We ate breakfast pizza for dinner (crescent roll crust, with scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheese, etc on top, made like a pizza) and looked at pictures online of Saturday's soiree and it was very very nice.

Meanwhile...I'm going to bed...maybe when I wake up, people will stop being stupid.

(It could happen. Don't crush my delusions. It's just mean.)

Falling back

It's November!!

Today was one of those weekend days when I need another weekend. Coverage today was fine; there were some glitches, but, it wasn't super horrible. I still haven't finished my ECT consult notes, but, I'll get them in the morning. Because right now? Bed. I got four hours of sleep last night, even with the time change.

Tony and Cleo's was a heck of a good time last night, though. It was the usual crew - Sparrow (who is in yesterday's posted picture, twirling with a sparkler, with a sloooow shutter speed) was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz; completely adorable. Rene was a very tall and kickass She-Ra. Tony was a cop, Cleo wore a jingly elf costume. Faye was Lady Gaga. Ruthie wore her Naughty Nurse costume we actually bought for her last year (I forget why she didn't come...). Eva was a pregnant nun (she's very gravid at the moment), and her husband was a vicar. May and her boyfriend came as Bugs Bunny (her costume was awe-some) and Elmer Fudd. Veronica was Ugly Betty. We had a pair of bees (Fritz and his wife. She had a real costume, Fritz had face paint and a shirt that said, "Bee"), an awesome 80s hair band rocker, a belly dancer. Wayne's brother and friend came as Bernie Madoff and the Sham-Wow guy, respectively. I? Went as Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, passion, and opportunist costumes (I repurposed my bridesmaid's dress from Peng's wedding). But I do think the best costume of the evening was Scott, who came as a remarkably accurate Sigmund Freud.

Seriously. Nothing in the world more fun than a room full of drunken psychiatrists.

There were lots of fun pictures, including a bunch of sparkler-related hilarity. There was good food, good conversation, and good people. You can't ask for much more in an evening.

But it was a late evening. And of course today I got up at 5 and went in to work. I left there around 10 and went to Starbucks and wrote notes until 2, because they're painting and sanding in our clinic, which does not mix well with my allergic, asthmatic self. And then I went to Whole Paycheck and was on my way home to do laundry and consult notes and Peng called, so I stopped by their new house (AMAZING!!!!) and saw pictures from their honeymoon, and my "I'll stay for a half hour" turned into me staying for three hours. But, again - good company, good people. What can you do?