Ok, so work fucking blew yesterday. People are being weird and bitchy and high-schoolish. Whispering to each other, excluding people... god it was miserable. I spent the whole day running around two steps out of sync, and then getting yelled at for either not knowing what they refused to tell me, or for not telling them things, when in fact I tried a million times but they wouldn't listen. Aren't we too old for this? Then they were punishing me or something this morning (why I have no clue) and dumping work on me so I stayed like 4 hours late and didn't get home til 1 today.

Ok, sorry for the vent. Point is that all day long I kept thinking of little things to post, but never had a chance to, so I made a list. So here's a whole hodgepodge of crap.

First, a link for (e:Joshua) about the "classic" vs "modern" Hippocratic oath. Pretty interesting. Especially the part about considering "he" that taught me medicine as my father, and taking care of his children like my own, and teaching them all I know for free. And the part about not doing abortions. And the fact that "first do no harm" is nowhere in the thing.


And for (e:metalpeter)- when I walked into work yesterday I noticed a little autographed "Briere #48" stat card on the desk... I guess since he's injured and not playing he watched the game from the hospital, and one of my patients was on tv with him. (and my coworker chilled with him all night too. Said he's a cool guy. But short.) Since I don't know shit about (pro) hockey, and really couldn't care less, I had no idea who he was. (kind of funny, since I actually PLAYED hockey for 3yr in high school. (I was terrible.))

As I spent practically an hour scouring the cold medicine aisle at walgreen's the other day, I stumbled into the candy aisle- my god it is valentine's hell in there. All the red heart boxes... it was suffocating.

For the record- I have the worst med student of all time these days. He's awful. I am saying that here since I don't have the heart to tell him. He's useless! I mean even the less-than-genius ones are ok if they show (or at least fake) SOME interest, and TRY, but this guy just zones out and walks off and checks espn.com. Doesn't even pretend to try to help or want to learn. Oy. It's miserable. He is going to get eaten alive at ECMC next month.

Saw something weird in the elevator yesterday- a guy with really fat EARS. I mean he was a big guy, but in like a "65 year old grandpa with a gut" kind of fat way. But he just had these crazy fat earlobes... I couldn't stop staring. Bizarre. I kept thinking he could use some ear liposuction, and then how insane an idea that was. (almost as bad as vaginaplasty- which my friend (dog work crush #2 in fact) insists is a great idea, because 'no one wants a girl with mud flaps.' That's nice imagery.)

Ok, so I mentioned that work was a fucking soap opera yesterday. Everyone whispering and/or pissed off. The nurses were like 'oh... is THAT what they're all mad about?" and I had no idea what/who they were talking about, it totally spiraled into mass confusion. Til some (black) parents walked out all pissy, and Tasha (who is black) had to go try to pacify them. Afterwards someone asked "Tasha, what was that all about?" and she said "you wouldn't understand. It's a black thing." People were understandably a little offended that she would say that. I mean it's 2006 peeps. We've all had our PC sensitivity training bullshit. So some nurses were like "what do you mean we wouldn't understand?!" and Tasha said "well, like if they said 'where's the shiznit they gave us yesterday that worked so much better?' you wouldn't know what they meant." Oh.... Right.... Shiznit is secret black code that NO white person could ever possibly crack. STUPID!

Who the fuck decided to make sodium free saltines? They're called SALTines people!! The one food staple I can find in the hospital is "salt"ines, and soda- either diet ginger ale, or caffeine free coke. What a mean joke. Makes for a terrible "dinner".

So I think I will obstruct a little justice today...
Just got a weird email- I guess I have an efax number. Didn't even know it. But I just got an email of a fax that came to it. Wrong number, obviously. But it was from a personal injury firm, to a hospital requesting the records of a woman named Charlemagne (I shit you not), in her case of the 'slip and fall.'
Ooooh I am SO not helping Charlemagne weasel wegmans out of money because she walked where it said "warning, slippery" and fell. (no idea what the case actually is.)
There are not many people I respect LESS than personal injury lawyers. But I will check myself there on that topic and move on.

And finally, to follow up the PBS (priapism) talk I had with (e:josh), here's a little info from my handy palm pilot:

Basics:
-Description: painful and/or abnormally prolonged penile erection [as opposed to what kind of erection??]
-Age: young adult
-Sex: male only [haha, DUH]
-Risk factors: dehydration, sickle cell disease (>85% of black kids with priapism will have sickle cell!)
-Possible complications: impotence (doh!!)
-Expected course: Even with excellent treatment detumescence may require SEVERAL WEEKS. Impotence is likely.

Causes:
-meds injected into Johnson (never a good idea)
-prolonged sexual activity
(other boring things)

Diagnosis:
-physical examination (gee...)

Treatment:
-reassurance
-anesthesia
-hydration
-pain relief
-sucking the blood out with needles

Prevention:
-avoid dehydration
-avoid excessive sexual stimulation
-avoid causative drugs

Ok, I think I'm finally done.
My apologies if that sounded like a bad stand-up routine. "I mean what's the deal with fat ears!! Right people?? and don't get me started on saltines!"- sorry.

Oy...
Must study.

To anyone that actually read this all- thanks. I'm impressed you put up with my blathering.

And to (e:larsonbros)- the coffee invites are about to run out if you don't accept one soon. Just a heads up that I'm about to leave it all up to you if you keep rejecting me!
Just kidding. Sort of. Love you mystery boys. Kiss kiss.

Good things about spot tonight-
1: the hot guy working there who was very nice and complimented me on my necklace, and gave me a free cookie on round 2. (he loves me. I know it.)
2: finally did a little studying
3: yummy drinks/food
4: stalking (e:mike) without his (or even my) knowledge. (sorry (e:mike). I wasn't sure enough it was you to say hi. But I was in the purple sweater. Hi!)
5: seeing a friend from work.

Bad things about spot tonight-
1: conspicuous absence of unnamed twin(s) despite near-bribery with cough drops.
2: lack of seating due to 8-person tables being "taken" by two people.
3: did not do enough studying
4: (e:Salvatore) did not say hello.
5: impending loss of sanity as I started to wonder if every person who walked through the door was from (e:strip) and I just couldn't recognize them.

Though 1 & 4 may not be all bad, as they would have worsened 3

Since this is starting to sound like a word problem, I will stop.

(E:mike) is this you sitting next to me at spot?

Bleh. I'm sick of being sick.
And I must go study.
But a few things to share.

First, some lyrics from a song i like-

I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain.
I've kissed you in places I'd better not name.
I've seen the sun go down on Sacre Coeur,
but I like it much better going down on you.

And then a silly doctor joke:

First day of anatomy lab, the prof tells the new med students "there are two rules. One- you can not be disgusted about any part of the body." then he sticks a finger in the cadaver's ass, then then puts it in his mouth. And says "see, now you all do it." And they hemmed and hawed, but eventually they all did it. Then he said "rule #2: pay attention. You will see I put my middle finger in the ass, and my index finger in my mouth."

This is not supposed to happen to me. I never get sick!! Now this is the third time since thanksgiving! I have been trapped in the hospital all day today, feeling my throat get more and more sore and my ears closing up, with nothing I can do about it and no access to the stash of cold medicine I have at home. I mean really, my EARS? You're not supposed to get ear infections after about age 5. I have been sneaking to the ER to steal shots of children's liquid tylenol.
Damn kids... germy little bastards! ;)
Or if not the kids... who else can I blame.... ladycroft? Mom, 500miles away? Josh who i haven't met, weren't you sick lately? hmm...

this is terrible timing too, since I have a huge exam on saturday, and cannot spend this whole week sick in bed sleeping.

So, I am going to try to sleep a little now, instead of trying to get AM work all tucked in in advance. Which means I will have to stay late, but I don't care; I just really want to be in bed.

And on that note, a big hot cup of tea (and to a lesser extent studying) at spot/aroma/somewhere tomorrow after work (>12?) sounds tempting...

If you see me there, say hi. I promise not to breathe on you.

G'night,
Sicky

PS of course: Happy Birthday Paul! Thanks for all you do!

So I'd been planning on a nice quiet weekend full of lots of studying, but then suddenly I grew a pair and gave the boy the old heave-ho. Which was kind of traumatic. And brought about insistant invitations for imbibition. So after a bit of a fiasco of a dinner at sahara grill (food was mediocre at best and service was pretty terrible), (e:ladycroft) and I parted ways and I met some people at at Colter Bay, and we eventually migrated to Mother's. It was a blah night. I can't lie, I would not have been opposed to a little attention from the boys, might have even been willing to give out some digits... Even wore my favorite sexy bra "just in case". Silly me- I should know by now that wearing sexy underwear is a guarantee that I will go home alone.

So it was an ok night. I was sort of expecting lots of shots, etc. But no. Pretty tame. Conversation was inevitably medical, which gets old pretty fast- especially for the poor non-medical people involved. Now, I enjoy talking about shopping and makeup etc, but I realized- I need more boy-friends. not boyfriends (well that too), but male friends...

In college I didn't really date anyone, and my group of friends was largely guys. It was awesome. Then mostly guys again in DC. Then in New Orleans I dated the same guy for 3 years, and that was my life. Then in Chicago was the first time I really had girlfriends. And it was fun. Kind of a new experience... Then my first year in Buffalo was spent with the ex. And now I'm single again. And need people to go out with. And I find I have mostly girlfriends. Which is great. But sometimes I don't want to TALK about everything. I just want to drink and tell dirty jokes and play games... to be one of the guys.

I guess my point is- I find myself with some slots open in my friend roster.
Any takers? Tryouts will be held over wings and beer.

And now, time for a (hopefully) dreamless, tearless sleep...

Ok, even by my standards this is probably over the top, so I'll keep it short.

I woke up from my nap to 6 comments, 2 emails and 2 voicemails. Dinner invites, drink invites...
I love my friends.
Means so much to me that old friends, new friends, and people I haven't even met yet are there for me.

So thanks.
You rock.

/end mushfest.

Ok.
I did it.
He's gone.
Deleted.
Done.

Hardest thing I've done in a long time.
I'm scared to death.

And I haven't cried this hard in a long time.
But I don't need that shit in my life.

So I'm going to bed now.

But I will probably need some drinks later.

Bye.

I love when boys are adorable...
One of my friends at work is getting ready to propose to his GF. he's so cute, she's so cute... he's so nervous and in love. And I feel so lucky to be part of the secret plan (i have to provide some cover and some transportation.) Aww...
And my med student is so cute too. Well one of them- the other one makes me nuts. But stud #1 is first of all married. and devoted and talks about his wife all the time. but beyond that is just nice and funny and eager... always offering to help, "what can i do how can i help", but not in a kiss-ass way. So sincere... and just a nice guy. the other day held a door for me, and did that 'put his hand gently behind me/on my back to 'guide' me through the door' thing (hard to explain but I hope you know what i mean)- i dunno, just seemed sweet. and I'm not especially attracted to him, but i did feel a little zing with even that little touch. But anyway so tonight we were running around like crazy and he offered to be in charge of ordering dinner. (god I ate so much tzatziki! yum.) But so he picked it up and took it upstairs and paged me to say it was ready. i had to finish a few things, and when I got there he'd set up a little place with paper towels from the bathroom as a napkin, and a little mini soda from the patient kitchen. the only cups they had are like 2 oz- they're ridiculous little shotglass paper cups. so i went in and he had my food laid out with my 'napkins' and the soda poured into four little mini-cups with ice. i dunno... it was just so kind. and nice to be reminded that there are still some nice guys out there (even if they're married).
A+ for stud #1!! hah.

I think (e:Jason) may be onto something with his V:Day idea. maybe a party is called for. but not a stupid 'we hate vday and are bitter' party- just a plain old party. but let the girls get all dolled up... that would be fun. i'm not really a girly-girl, which makes it all the more fun to wear a great dress and get all made up once in a while, maybe even dig out the hair dryer...

totally random, but a bit for any other tv geeks out there- just got this link from my dad; must say i'm pretty psyched.

i feel like i had more to say, but my mind is in an annoying caffeine-racing state.
And as my mom always said 'if you can't remember it, it was either a lie or not important.' (or maybe just boring.)

So I think I will adjourn.

Baci e Abbracci,
Alessia

Well, it seems the ante has been upped.

So... Work is still tiring. And long and hard (unlike other parts of my life- har har). Today I did 8 operations. Some lifesaving, some not. But I got out at a reasonable hour. Came home, indulged in some chocolate, had a nice long chat with girlfriends... Watched lost... ahh, simple pleasures. Again I didn't study, which is contributing to my guilt-ulcer, but eh, I'll deal with that later.

But so operating today, plus my current drama, plus girl chat, plus talk of stripclubs got me thinking...
about what? What else do girls talk about. penises. duh.

Guys- just so you know, if you are in any significant (or sometimes insignificant) trauma and are taken to ECMC (or anywhere for that matter)- there is a very high chance you will have your clothes cut off. All of them. And a pretty good chance you will have a foley (urinary) catheter placed. Into your bladder, via your penis. This is a routine, minor task, often delegated the med student. In front of a few nurses and maybe even female surgical residents like yours truly. But the rectal exam is too advanced for students, so I get that job. So while I am of course the consummate professional, I usually have to check out your package. And for the record- what they say about black guys is true, in general.

But so the boring-routine-workday part of the story...
We (surgeons) fix hernias. A lot of them. Every day. Umbilical hernias, incisional hernias, and mostly inguinal (groin) hernias. Obviously to do this we have to expose your groin. And we have to make sure it's not just clean, but sterile. [which brings me to a random tangent PSA- please clean out your bellybutton lint before elective laparascopic surgery, or else we will have to.] So after you are put to sleep, we will take your gown off. And then we will scrub the whole area with betadine. then we cover most of you back up, except a little sterile square where we will work. Then we go about our business and fix your hernia. When we are done, we clean up our mess. Which includes scrubbing off the excess betadine. Now like I said, you are asleep through this. And we are professionals and do it day in and day out.
But as the most junior person in the OR (usually), I end up with the clean-up task.
And i swear, every time the moment comes that I have your dick in one hand, holding it up out of the way, scrubbing the betadine off your balls- you wake up.
The guy always wakes up with me scrubbing his junk. Lovely. Maybe it's just the cold water that does it, but I think the anesthesiologists just like to embarrass me and time it that way on purpose. Fortunately the amnesiac effect lasts a little longer, and I don't think you remember this. I can only remember a guy getting hard on me once. Not sure if that's a commentary on the anesthesia, or how I look in scrubs and a mask.

But once I did a varicose vein case- and the guy didn't want general anesthesia. Fine, reasonable choice. But that means he's pretty awake. And we had to prep his ENTIRE leg with betadine. Up into his groin. Again, the job falls to me. start with his foot, calf, knee, all fine. But eventually i have to move higher- and I end up with his foot on my shoulder, while I scrub his crotch, while he is awake. All I could think was "poor guy, bet you wish you were asleep now."

And how perfect- as I typed that the Ying Yang twins came on. "wait'll you see my dick. beat the puss up, beat the puss up."

I don't have anything to add about the ex today. It still all sucks. Nuff said.
But haha, the song switched and now I have SNZ- "when you lose the one you love, there's always plenty more!" I think it's a sign.

I don't really have anything political to contribute either.
Well here's something- Ray Nagin (mayor of new orleans) is a jackass for this "chocolate city" crap, and then trying to backpedal and say "well how do you make chocolate? dark chocolate plus white milk! that's what I meant". dumb-ass.

And I haven't bought any custom or designer clothes in a long time. Though I did find a fantastic grey silk strapless dress over christmas. It's hot. I just need somewhere to wear it.

But the bottom line is- I post because it feels good to write. I don't consider myself a writer, and while I have been accused of having a wit, I don't really try to be entertaining. I write for me. And if people like reading it, well then great. But if you don't like it, if I'm too boring, it won't break my heart if you pass me by...

G'night peeps!