1: Happy Birthday Tony! (it was yesterday.) (sneaky bastard)

2: My apologies for the gross post- guess I'm too desensitized. Didn't mean to give anyone nightmares or make them puke or anything. (but in case you're curious, the guy from yesterday is doing great. All swollen and stuff, but I must say looks pretty damn good considering he doesn't have a jaw anymore.)

3: this police shooting this makes me absolutely furious. Violent crime makes my blood boil. I am so glad I am not working at ECMC right now. I dealt with a cop that was shot in the head (and died) in med school... what a mess. Major press, same kind of thing as this.

But the thing is, I was eating at Hardware that night, and randomly happened to sit next to one of the trauma PAs from ECMC that we work with, and while we were eating she got a page and read it and said 'huh. two GSW on their way. Glad I'm not on call tonight." Found out later it was this crime, only blocks away. Yuck.

3.5: ajay, glad you're with me on the dinner invite. I thought (think) maybe I was just being a whiny baby, but I thought that was pretty rude.

Don't smoke people, ok? Please? Promise?

Long day at work, was in the OR for 13hr straight (no breaks). But it was cool. This guy first came in b/c he noticed his dentures didn't fit. Well, this problem must have been going on for quite some time, but he's old and a little crazy and didn't notice. Bottom line- he had a huge tumor in the floor of his mouth that had eaten through his jaw, and was actually exploding out of the skin. It was stinky and weepy and scabby. It was really gross. And sad. (and probably caused by smoking). So we had to cut his jaw off. His entire chin. From the corners of his mouth, down. Like a puppet. Just sawed it off, and put it in a bucket to send to pathology. We were going to take a bone from his leg to make a new jaw, but he was deemed "too sick" so we used metal plates instead (which don't work as well). Then we took his pec muscle to make him a new mouth/chin.

So it was a long case, but it was actually super cool. And I realized that I like fixing the hole (which is the domain of plastic surgeons) better than making the hole. Always nice to reaffirm that I actually like my chosen field. :)

But anyway- that part is gross and horrifying, sure. But they do it at roswell all the time. The part that actually got to me today was when we were getting started. Put the guy to sleep, shaved his beard (or tried to, it was all crusty and gross), put pads under his heels etc etc. Usually we tape people's eyes closed, so they don't get scratched or anything. But this time since we would be working on his head and need to move it around and stuff I guess he wanted to be extra careful. I heard him ask for a stitch, and I wasn't sure why so I went to look-

He freaking SEWED his eyelids shut.

I know he didn't feel it and we took the stitches out before he woke up etc, but that kind of freaked me out.

And my annoyance for the day- last week was invited to dinner at Nektar. I replied "yeah sure, if I'm off work in time. What time is dinner?" "dunno, I'll let you know." Well it was tonight. When I got home I texted the guy "so, what happened to dinner?" He replied "you snooze you lose." I wrote 'I was waiting for you to write me back with the time." He said 'oh... well you should come by, we're just finishing."

Thanks fucker. Invite me for dinner, then forget to tell me what time, and don't even notice I'm not there. I feel so loved...

Crap. I have a big text saturday morning and I am not ready for it. It's only a practice test, so it's hard to motivate to study, not to mention I've been working late. But I am dreading it.

If only there was a party or some way to get drunk afterwards... ;)

See you soon peeps. Stay cozy!

-J

From the Onion's gift guide-

For People Who Want A Watch That Isn't, By Any Practical Definition, A Timepiece

Nooka Zub 20 Watch ($125)


For a while, wristwatch technology was all about making it easier to tell time-lots of large, digital number displays, soft, glow-in-the-dark lighting, and comforting beeps. But eventually, consumers realized that they could get that same technology from their cell phones, but without having to remember to put on a dumb piece of jewelry in the morning. This shift forced wristwatch manufacturers to re-think their whole approach: "Instead of making it easier to tell time, we should make it more difficult," they thought, "That way people will believe they need wristwatches." And so the Nooka Zub 20 was born-a wristwatch that has a weird name, a flexible rubber band, and a face that looks like a calculator and that's "made of dots that represent the hours and a bar to tell you the minute plus a digital second window which toggles to show the date." Of course. Also, it's blue.

Find it at: Urbanoutfitters.com

and here's a pic:

I was going to write another whole post about this guy saga- but instead, I won't. (E:pyrcedgrrl) I think has hit it the closest. I think he really is just trying not to be an asshole, esp since he knows I had my heart a little traumatized fairly recently. Commendable behavior. But at the same time- (e:newjason) may have a point too. I don't want wishy-washy. I want someone to take charge, and to want me, and to let me know that. If he breaks my heart, maybe that's the price I pay.

And finally- for (e:kara) (and all other dog lovers)-

This recipe comes from Deb Sprague, who says:

Thought I would share one of Avalanches favorite recipes.
I made them today for the boys and they loved them too.!

2 Cups whole grain spelt flour
1 Cup Cornmeal
3 eggs
1 1/2 Cups canned pumpkin(make sure its canned pumpkin and
not pumpkin pie filling that is loaded with sugar!)

Mix all ingredients if it looks too sticky add a bit more spelt
flour and roll out to about 1/4"

Cut into bone shapes place on slightly floured cookie sheet

Cook at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes then turn off oven and
let them sit if you want them crispy..If you want them softer
for your older bullies take them out right away and they will
be chewy.

yummy! no wheat, and pumpkin is good for bully
digestion! I'm going to have to eat a few too.

And new info for you music peeps out there- Just learned there's a 5-disc Sufjan Stevens xmas cd out there. Downloading (legally of course) as we speak. Will give reviews later.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

So I tend to always be cold. I can usually deal with it, but sometimes in winter, that chill just sets in to the bone... Sometimes I can get bundled up and face the cold and it's even refreshing... but other days I just dread having to go out there. I stall and make excuses... So today was one of those days. But finally I headed home. There's barely any snow on the ground, but the roads are DAMN slippery! I was crawling along at like 2 miles an hour like an old lady. Giving myself TONS of room before stopping or turning.... and my car behaved itself very well, all sorts of traction-control lights flashing on and off, and keeping me going in the intended direction.

So then I was coming down North, into the circle at Richmond. (symphony circle?) Going nice and slow, since there is a car stopped ahead waiting to enter the circle. Step on the brakes, car doesn't slow. Anti-lock brakes start stuttering... car is not slowing down. Traction-control blinking like crazy... I'm thinking 'wait, what is it? turn INTO the skid?' then realized "but wait, I'm not turning". Then I think 'pump the brakes?" "no, anti-lock brakes. Don't pump them."
Then it hits me- I am not going to stop. And I just sat there for what seemed like an eternity, thankful I had my seatbelt on, and wondering if my airbags would go off when the inevitable impact occurred.

Fortunately it was about a 2mph impact, so the airbags did not go off. And the guy was very nice. On his way to choir practice at Kleinhans. No one was hurt. My car is fine, from what I can tell. His was mostly fine- the plastic on one of the back lights cracked. So we exchanged info, and went on our ways. Then of course that god damned good-for-nothing detour on richmond is still up, which sent me skidding through yet another intersection. Scary.

My car was about to be in time out, until I noticed that every car I saw was skidding at the stop signs, so I guess it's just the shitty roads.

Blah... just what I needed on top of this lame day.
(I got a very ominous message yesterday from J, saying "we need to talk". Have not been able to make contact yet, but I find I am scared. Feel like a naughty child that is about to get yelled at.)

Anyway... I think some tivo and hot chocolate is in order. Stay warm (and off the roads!) peeps!

A

Ok, time to pause my babbling for something much more meaningful-

Just found another cool charity idea- Charity Checks the website is a little crappy, but the idea is great.
Basically you send them a donation, and they send your designated recipient a check for that amt of money, with the 'pay to' field blank, and then the person you send it to gets to make it out to ANY charity they want. Sort of like a Charity gift certificate.

Ok, can anybody tell me anything about the annoying detour on Richmond and W. Ferry that makes me late for work every morning since I forget about it? The road has been blocked for just that one block, for the entire week. And I see ZERO signs of construction, road work, anything. Does anyone know anything about this? Google was not helpful.

Ok, so the season of giving and getting and gluttony is officially upon us. I went to Target this morning (not as horrible as I was expecting) only to see bratty little kids out in full force. I saw one boy, 10 or so, yell at his mom- "Mom. MOM. MOM!! Skates! That's what I need. New skates. And not the crappy ones!" as he drags her down the aisle. Then he goes "and I want them NOW. I am SO not getting my speed up on the skates I have!" I wanted to slap him.

Anyway, so it made me realize that it's probably time to start thinking about christmas/holiday shopping.

And I remembered the perfect gift for the impossible-to-shop-for person that has everything.

Check out Heifer International . I've been giving people gift-donations from there for a few years.. I always wonder how much it actually helps when I send $20 to the Red Cross or whatever- but this one makes me happy. You "buy" an animal (chicks, ducks, rabbits, llamas, goats, sheep, heifers, etc., they even have bees, and trees- from like $20 up to "an ark" for $5000), and they give the animal(s) to a family in a developing country, and teach them how to raise it, breed it, etc. And part of the deal is that the family has to give one of their animal's babies to another family in the village to keep the whole thing going. You can buy a pair of ducks, and they teach the family how to raise the eggs, or a goat and they teach them how to milk it and make cheese and stuff.

First off, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Hope you all had some quality time with family/friends (and, of course, stuffed your yaps). That fog last night was surreal! Felt like Silent Hill.

I had to work this morning, annoying. Was supposed to have sat/sun off, though, since I have no patients in the hospital, which would have been nice. But oh no, at the last second someone decided to schedule a (non-emergent) case for 9am today, and of course the guy needs to be admitted, so now I need to go in sat/sun to see him. Not for long, but just enough that I can't leave town. Bastards. There was a reason the OR schedule was wide open today- to let people have some time with their families. Ah well, no use complaining.

But so after work I came home and spent some quality time with my new little friends, Cinnamon and Sugar. (yes, those are their real names. My landlords got them from N's boss- she said "he had 2 rabbits, now he has 20, so everyone is getting christmas presents.") I just thought "yup, that's what rabbits do". Also, I don't think giving animals as presents is a good thing to do. And, I don't like that they have to be banished to the basement, but whatever.

But anyway, so I gave them each some play time and brought them upstairs for photo shoots. First they were a little shy, but then they warmed up and hippity-hopped all over. Eventually were so comfortable the just plopped down for little bunny-naps.

So Tony, I hope you are prepared for another cute attack.
(sorry if there are too many pix. I actually took 65, so this is edited.)


Sugar. She's albino. Supposedly have flemish-something, half angora.




Bath time.




Being tall.


Miss Cinnamon.


Despite their soft little feet, they have some claws under there!!




I just love the little cottontail.












A split second before this they were giving each other a little bunny kiss.

I'm thankful for little lovey furry creatures. :)

So a recent chat has me thinking...

Why do we write these things?
Someone asked me that the other day, and before I could answer, he said "ego".
And at first I was annoyed that he would say that.
I thought "it is NOT about my ego! I write just to get things off my chest... just to put thoughts on paper... to vent... to get advice..."

But then I realized that I could do the first three of those things with a pen and a notebook, or with a non-public text file.

But somehow that's not as fun.
Because deep down- yes, I want people to read my journal. And I guess I assume that at least some people do. And, whether it's right or wrong, I often write as if I know people will read it. And to some level I tailor what I say to that effect. I try not to piss people off, or hurt them, etc. I also try not to write things that I will be (too) embarrassed about if someone reads them. And, yes, I try to be funny and interesting and maybe a little bit scandalous at times.

I like to think I don't care what they think- but of course I do. I don't want people to think I'm boring. Or fat. or stupid. or mean. etc etc.

I certainly wouldn't say I'm an exhibitionist- but part of me likes sharing my life here in a semi-anonymous way.

And that's just me.

I think people have all sorts of reasons, but I think my friend was actually right, I think ego comes into all of them to an extent.

And some people write just for attention. Which is fine. Who am I to judge. I just think that when you seek attention just for attention's sake, you should probably analyze your motives. And remember that not all attention is good attention. And, remember the boy that cried wolf. Eventually ridiculous stuff gets boring, and then you get NO attention.

ok, end of random introspection. Off to visit the bunnies!

Ok so yesterday I went for a walk/hike. Not too strenuous, except for all the stairs at the end. But I didn't slip or fall or anything, no bad steps, didn't twist my knees/ankles that I know of- but all day today my right ankle keeps seizing up on me. Like I'll just take a step and practically fall b/c I can't put weight on it. Then I'll sort of shake it out and it's fine for a while. Totally weird.

But even weirder-
So I just went downstairs to do laundry. Now, my basement is huge. The size of my apartment. And it's very odd. Half is totally unfinished, cement floor, etc. But at the same time it has a full kitchen and full bath. And there's a pool table down there, and a full bar. TV, stereo, and couch. Would be awesome for parties, but it needs to be all set up, which hasn't happened yet, for the last two years.
But in any case, there are these other weird back rooms that I never go in. But today I was looking for a screwdriver so I went back there-
And I found rabbits!
A cage with two bunnies in it!
WTF?!
I have no idea whose they are, what they're doing there, how long they've been there, or how long they're staying.
But they are so cute and friendly! i opened the cage and they hopped right over. The brown one practically jumped in my arms, so I held him for a while and petted him.
Amazing how five minutes cuddling an animal can make my day.
What an awesome surprise. I am totally going to go play with them all the time.

But I must say I think it's kind of shitty that the poor things are locked away in this freaky back room of the basement.

But I think this rivals the solarium as a cool surprise that I randomly stumbled upon, and it's in my own house no less.

Ok, time to switch laundry, and pet the wabs again. :)

Hope you all had a good weekend. :)