A daring escape

I'm skipping out of work today! I did GET up to go to work and even got the husband to drive me INTO work and I even WENT to work and even brought in my contribution to the potluck (Trader Joe's cheesecake) I arrived at work and they tell me I'm being floated (evil word!!!) to the OTHER hospital! Now, that's a problem! Needless to say, this was not going to happen! No one had informed me of this 'floating' thing (though they claim they left a message on my machine....they didn't), I had no transportation, looked pale as a ghost (was a awake off and on last night, and don't think I could deal with an unfamiliar unit today). With the backing of my colleagues we came up with a plan for my escape. I, of course, had to call the husband back to come get me (I made sure to give him enough time to get his coffee and made sure to bring him a piece of the cheesecake) and I took off out the front door. I get home and check my email. My friend sends me the link to this article about an 82-year-old woman who refuses to leave the hospital. IS SHE CRAZY? I'm outta there so fast even when they give me a paycheck!

Sunshine

I worked with a traveler last weekend named Sunshine. We were all ready to hate her....with a name like that. Of course she's nice and smart and all that...so we don't hate her.

I know everyone hates it when I brag about the weather here....but today is one of those days where the sun is so warm and perfect it just makes you slow down to soak it up...even in the grocery store parking lot. Saw some blossoms coming out on the plum tree just outside our door. Got some Quinoa cakes at the store and Soy Chai Latte...a way to treat myself this lazy feeling Friday. Quinoa Cakes? What is that....well....I'll tell you....Quinoa is a grain with a "light nutty flavor. Higher in protein than other grains. It expands to 4 times its volume when cooked. Good in salads, stuffing, in enchiladas." There you go. I should be doing school work of course...but I don't really feel like it. I think I need to go outside.

10 worst snack foods

Ugh,...I hate it when MSN has these little blurbs...it always makes me want to check it out.
As if we didn't already know this, they've listed the 10 worst snack foods. I'm really going to miss #7....PORK RINDS. Who in the *^((% eats pork rinds anymore? French fries, yes, Pork Rinds...yuck!

Weird internet sites!

I knew it was going to be a weird day as soon as I walked outside with my tea mug in hand...no sooner had I taken my first sip did I notice a big old mosquito floating on the top! What is a mosquito doing here!?

I was searching for a picture medical dictionary on line (for our spanish speaking patients) and came across this site Sword Swallowing Dictionary

Weird!

Tofu

Just sitting down to an evening snack of fried tofu. The pan wasn't cooperating with me, so I've smoked up the house and the husband is laughing at me. Thought I'd take this opportunity to send people a link to a website with tofu recipes....looks pretty good: Tofu recipes

And for those not convinced about the benefits of vegetarian lifestyle, here are a few tidbits from WebMD

Spent the last two days working. Phew!!! One day at work work and today at my new clinical site (another 7am start!). I was so damn tired by 2pm today that I could hardly keep my eyes open (did a lot sitting and listening today). Home by 5, asleep by 5:30 for a good 3 hour nap! How do you guys work full time!!!

The virtural exercise world

So the husband sprained his ankle on Saturday at frisbee so he went shopping while I was at work. You know what happens when HE gets the urge to shop. He buys something electronic and usually it's expensive.

This is what he came up with this time:
Yourself fitness

Actually exercising with a virtual trainer is pretty fun and motivates you to do something everyday, even if it is just 15 minutes.

Of course, he bought the Xbox version.....meaning he had to buy an Xbox.
GEEZ!!!

Fat Thighs!

Deep into reading research articles for the dreaded "Plan B" and came across an amusing article citation today....one that is perhaps quite fitting considering we are just post the holiday season gluttony:

"Contributions of regional adipose tissue depots to plasma lipoprotein concentrations in overweight men and women: possible protective effects of thigh fat."

I believe they find a postive correlation between thigh fat and HDL (the good cholesterol).

If you are interested you may find this article in Metabolism 1991; 40 733-720, authors: Terry, Stefanick, Haskell, and Wood.

Now we don't have to feel so bad about ourselves for eating all those See's chocolates over Christmas....

Wisdom teeth and the soft mechanical diet

The husband got his wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday. This weekend he's advanced from water to juice to a soft mechanical diet. I've participated in the taste testing. I mean it isn't every day that you get to eat only pudding, smashed potatoes, yogurt, oatmeal, soup, and right now we're enjoying some mac and cheese! My niece and nephew would be so proud of us! (It is Annie's brand, though). Poor husband....hasn't had a slurp of coffee or beer for three days! No wonder he's a bit crabby!

Liberals flee to Canada:

A friend sent me this and it made me chuckle...



Subject: illegal aliens



November 16, 2004



Ottawa,Canada:The flood of American liberals

 sneaking across the border into

Canada has intensified in the past week,

sparking calls for increased

patrols to stop the illegal immigration.

The re-election of President Bush

is prompting the exodus among left-leaning

citizens who fear they'll soon be

required to hunt, pray and agree with Bill O'Reilly.



Canadian border farmers say it's not

uncommon to see dozens of sociology

professors, animal-rights activists

and Unitarians crossing their fields at

night.



"I went out to milk the cows the other

 day, and there was a Hollywood

producer huddled in the barn," said

Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose

acreage borders North Dakota. The producer

was cold, exhausted and hungry.

"He asked me if I could spare a latte and

some free-range chicken.  When I

said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't

even get a chance to show him my screenplay."



In an effort to stop the illegal aliens,

Greenfield erected higher fences,

but the liberals scaled them. So he tried

installing speakers that blare Rush

Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective,"

he said. "The liberals still got through, and

Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give

milk."



Officials are particularly concerned about s

mugglers who meet liberals near

the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons,

drive them across the border and leave them

to fend for themselves.



"A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario

border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking

water.

They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."



When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often

wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have

been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education

camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch

NASCAR.



In the days since the election, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious

ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on

bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a

half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration

authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen

passengers. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence

Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.



Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating

an organic broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.

"I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't

support them," an Ottawaresident said. "How many art-history majors does

one

country need?"



In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice

President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the

administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to

Cheney said. "We're going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And

we

might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The president is

determined to reach out."

Angel of death?

What do I make of this: the last two times I've been to work I've had a DNR patient (do not resucitate) since I am so "calm"( apparently???). Both of these patients had been hanging on....far longer than people thought they would...and then they die on me before 11am? Hmmm...someone better warn my future patients!

It's very traditional for the Hispanic families we've had on our floor to have everyone from the family come view the body of the deceased and spend quite a long period of time with it...today we did not disturb them for hours until finally someone went in and asked if they were still waiting for someone to come. They said they were just waiting for us to take the body away!!! So much for cultural sensitivity!!!

Nothing really...

I've been avoiding entering a new blog entry because I feel that all I have to talk about is the weather!!! It's been damn cold here in SD over the last two weeks...especially at night. It has even reached the 30's! People are freaking out here. The poor husband has actually been wearing long pants to work everyday for the last week! We are in so much trouble next year!! Egads. What else...well, they fired the ND football coach and I'm actually kind of sad about it! Guess I'm starting to feel some kind of connection to the place. We are hoping to look at some houses in two weeks...probably good to go at this time of year, eh? What else.....had my last clinical visit by my professor today and she didn't even see a patient with me. Thank God. I get freaked out when she's in there observing me! Funny thing I had to ask my preceptor today "How do you DO crystal meth?" There have been lots of folks admitting to doing crystal meth this week as well as lots of alcohol consumption and I realized that I don't know too much about crystal meth...so needed to learn more about it. I'm so ignorant.

East County and SD people!

Went out to East County today to study with E and went for a hike at Cowles Mountain (sure is nice being a grad student!!) Family members may be interested in the website where I found these pictures. Check out the Mission Trails Regional Park link on the above website. I hope I can drag everyone from the family (including the kids!) out on this hike while they are here over Xmas. I've really started to like the terrain out in East County....it's recovered nicely from the fires and since we've had "so much" rain in the last month it's actually kind of green! We took the dog on the hike...1.5 miles UP to the top. Funny thing I've noticed out here in SD, when you pass someone on a hike or walk they DON'T OFTEN say hello or even make eye contact. AND WE EVEN HAD A CUTE DOG WITH US. It actually pissed me off today! One woman was jogging and we stood to the side to let her by and not even a wave of the hand acknowledging us! So I made it up a little research study on the hike down and said hello or smiled at everyone we passed....got about a 50% response rate. GEEZ!!!

There may be hope

The Husband sent me this link from the S.Bend Tribune

I'm thinking there may be hope for S. Bland after all!

Breastfeeders for Bush

A classmate of mine was distraught the week before the election, losing sleeping over the thought that Kerry might actually win the race. It's gone so far that the current top name choice for child #2 is the "W" name from George W!!! I wanted to bite my tongue until after the election to point out a very obvious inconsistency, but couldn't hold out! I finally blurted out; "But B, how can you vote for W? You are an extended breastfeeder?" (she breastfed child#1 until after age 2)I got more than a few laughs from the rest of the class with this comment....Does anyone else think this is strange???????

I did a quick search in Google with breastfeeders and Bush and came across this Blog. Thought it might be something the sister and brother-in-law might find interesting...given the way they talk politics with their kiddos!

CITY SCANDALS TO A SURFING MAYOR???

One of the only fun stories over the last few days here in SD.....

" SAN DIEGO – Surf is definitely up in San Diego politics.

Donna Frye, a surfer who sports long blonde hair and refuses to get a driver's license, is riding a wave of write-in votes for mayor that could sweep aside two graying 60-something Republicans and carry her into City Hall. The surf-shop owner has capitalized on a confluence of circumstances, including a financial scandal that threatens San Diego with bankruptcy.

The votes have not been completely tallied, but so far, the write-in ballots lead with 35 percent of the vote; Mayor Dick Murphy has 34 percent. The overwhelming majority of write-ins are expected to be for Frye, 52, who is "extremely optimistic" she will win once all the ballots are counted.

Frye, a Democrat, campaigned on change in this historically Republican seaside city of 1.3 million people, the nation's seventh largest.

Murphy was beset by a deepening scandal that has prompted federal investigations into whether officials hid bad news about an underfunded retirement plan from investors and taxpayers......"

See www.signonsandiego.com for the full article....

NOT ANOTHER WINTER STORM!

Another winter "storm" here in SD today! The news was all a buzz about it last night and warnings about morning traffic headaches and flooding. Remember, this is a desert out here and the soil doesn't really absorb the water. As I tried to fall asleep I thought about those REAL winter storms when I was a kid back in the midwest. A foot of snow falling over night and waking up to listen to WCCO and the "schools cancelled" list. What a feeling of freedom that was when they finally called your school! A whole day to romp in the snow! These poor kids out here in SD, never do get to experience that. Last year they did get off school for a week, but that was because of FIRE storms. Your house or your neighbor's house burning down doesn't have quite the same feeling....

(By the way, the stoooopid neighbors kept me up late with their porch-chatting and noise. The husband always seems to be out of town when they really act up. Last time I called the police on them....didn't feel quite that mean last night. The caffeine I had in the afternoon didn't help either....so I slept horribly. )

But alas, there is a higher power. I woke to the phone at 6am. Now, those that know me well, know that only ONE place calls me at 6am....WORK....but I picked it up anyway and was pleasantly surprised to hear my preceptor's voice instead of the night charge nurse. "Amy, it's M....I'm not going in today....my 2 year-old is sick and I don't want to lug the kids around in the rain today". Oh joy of joys!!!! That unexpected "YIPPEE I GET TO GO BACK TO SLEEP" morning!!!

Thank goodness for the winter storm!
-A

microwave cuisine

The new countertops have arrived! Not a moment too soon. Funny how a month+without a kitchen gets you down! Pretty soon we won't have to store everything in the fridge and we'll be able to cook a real meal again...no more microwave dinners! However, I hear Martha Stewart has been enjoying microwaving lately.....

Of course, after any good remodeling job, there are inches of dust and touch up to do...should take about a week to get reorganized. And, of course, the husband is out of town until Saturday....typical!!!

RESTING HEART RATE and mitochondria

Well....the husband and I often have competitions on who has the lower resting heart rate. Usually I have him beat by about 2 beats/min. I often check mine when I am bored sitting in class just to see if I can will it even lower. Today....got beaten quite a bit by a very athletic mid-30's guy who came in with a ST (sorethroat). Resting heart rate of 40....

Heard something interesting on NPR on the way home about the possible role of mitochondria (passed on by mother to kid) in high blood pressure and cholesterol. Thought my mother and other family members might be interested in this one...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4121113

RAIN

Saturday night it rained in San Diego. First rain in 180 days. Some guy we came across in the condo complex parking lot saw the wet pavement...he said "when did it rain?" We told him at about 3 am. He said; "damn, I missed it". And he truly was upset. Guess when you don't see rain for half a year it becomes a grand event. Well, lucky for that guy it rained today, during the day, a nice steady rain for a couple of hours. It was so nice that I opened the blinds in the room of a patient at work today and told him he had to watch the rain....I think he appreciated it.

Beer

Discovered that a few sips of beer with dinner turns my night of sleep into a relaxed, deep, and grand event....best night of sleep I've had in two weeks.