ER Drunk Guy

Last night at work, we got a 911 phone call from a guy who said, "I've had too much to drink...mumbles mumbles" click...

The techs were able to track where the phone call, and away they went in the ambulance to go get him.

We anxiously awaited the arrival of some drunken idiot, or worse some unconscious idiot...but when they returned- the guy came walking in all on his own, was totally sober, and coherent.

He apparently didn't know who had made the phone call. There were several people at his dorm room drinking, but they all had left.

So we didn't really know what to do. At first I thought we needed to send the ambulance out to go find the drunk guy, but the nurse and the techs talked me out of it. They said it would be like going door to door trying to find a drunk guy to bring in. How would we ever know which drunk guy it was that actually made the call?

In the end, we took the guy back to his room, and kind of forgot it happened. The nurse assured me this is the way it was to be handled....apparently she was wrong. I got a good talking to this morning, and again this evening...

I thought the whole thing was kind of dumb, and to be honest I agreed with the techs who didn't want to go door to door. We can only do so much! If we went to the place where the phone call came from and no one in need of medical attention was there, is it really our obligation to hunt down some drunk guy to treat?

Overall the night was pretty exciting, with a seizure patient and a croup patient, and some patient with knee pain for several weeks who suddenly at 3am decided that was the moment she had to be treated. So she got up at 3am, yes 3am, and got dressed, braved the 20 degree weather, and came to the ER. It was quite the emergency and I gave her some ibuprofen. Thank god she came in, otherwise she would have woken up totally fine in the morning and been well rested!

At least I have tonight off, but it is back to the salt mine tomorrow night, and the night after that.
We leave for Hawaii in one week! Yeah! But, I take my test in one week- boo!

Want, Want, Want

I am always wanting...

I would like to be one of those really frugal people, that can live on practically nothing. Certainly you know the type. Those are the people who only shop at the goodwill and are perfectly satisfied with their one pair of pants, and one shirt they have in the closet. They don't seem to care about the newest trends or new technology. The television they watch is an archaic throw back to the 1950's, but it works for them and they are perfectly happy with it. Cable tv? Never even thought about it, bunny ears will do just fine.

They are the type of people who don't want stuff b/c your stuff ends up owning you. I remember when I was in Jr. High we moved to a new house. My dad was so paranoid to "leave the house alone". One day while he and my mom were out, I also left the house. So for a period of about 4 hours not a soul was home. My poor dad was furious and thought that a team of crooks were waiting to ambush the house. Thankfully nothing was stolen.

From that day I remember thinking I wanted to be the complete opposite. I would not let my stuff control what I do, where I go, and in general run my life. My life would not been spent in the acquisition of useless junk. My main pasttime is shopping. There are so many things that I want right now it is ridiculous. Somehow I find more and more stuff that I NEED!

I wear uniforms to work everyday, but that doesn't stop me from wanting all kinds of clothes. I want a new watch that will monitor my heart rate and caloric expenditure. I want new furniture for Jordy's room because I feel guilty he is still sleeping in a pack-n-play since we got to Korea. I want new sheets b/c I accidently got bleach on my favorite set and now they look bad. I want, I want, I want.

It is really depressing to me that I want all of this stuff. I am proud though that I am able to control myself (most of the time) and not buy everything in sight. Joe makes it even harder by constantly saying, "You deserve it honey, you work so hard". Who could resist that?

Thankfully I don't let the stuff run my life. If someone came in here and robbed us blind, I would definitely recover- plus then I would be able to go shopping for more stuff. Come to think of it maybe we should leave our doors unlooked....

Things that are on my mind...

Things I am really happy about right now:

• My little Jordy, he is so cute! He learns so much everyday and is starting to really talk more. He says Hi and Bye accompanied by a wave.
  
• My Job. I really enjoy it, except for the night shift...I love the guys that I work with- we have a lot of fun together. Eric, Travis, and Trent have become like brothers to me. I really feel lucky to have them as friends, and privileged that I get to know their families too!
  
• Getting to go to Hawaii and see my mom & dad & Jenn & Adam next month.
• Joe & I are getting our finances together. We actually have a spending plan!
• Being married. I love coming home to Joe everyday. After 7 years of marriage and 9 years together, I can't believe that we still get along so well! I am so glad that I said, "I do".
  

Things I am excited about:

• Moving to Florida and getting a house with a yard. I want to start gardening and can't wait to get Pezzy (my little schnauzer) back.
• Having a garbage disposal again! Having more than two outlets in the kitchen. Having a regular heating system- here the heat comes from the floor! Getting a bed that doesn't feel like a rock.
  
• I can't wait to have another baby. Joe is not sure that we can handle another little terror, but I am ready!
• Passing boards next month (hopefully).

Things that I am worried about:

• Boards. I take the big test in two weeks. I really haven't studied as much as I should. It is hard to study since I feel like nothing I will study will actually be on the test!

Things I am sad about:

• Being so far away from our families. It is hard to be away and miss so much. I miss hearing all the news from everyone.
  
• Not talking to Heidi, my sister, often enough. She has been so busy that she never calls me anymore...
• Not reaching my sexy goal, AKA Operation Stork Attack. I wanted to be sexy in Hawaii, but I think that people will think I am a land cow when I get there. I full intended on working out regularly, but that kind of fell apart once we got to Korea. It was really hard to go to the gym here. I just feel really bad coming home and then leaving Joe again to go to the gym. I tried to do some work out videos at home, but wasn't very dedicated. In a way I did reach my goal- I am back to my pre-prego weight, but it looks nothing like it used to :( Much more jiggly :( Joe and I have decided to shoot for a new goal- be as fat as we can in Hawaii. To kick of this goal we have eaten like pigs today. I made a pumpkin cheesecake with a pound of butter and 4, yes 4, packages of full fat cream cheese. In addition to a slice of this, Joe also ate a small tub of Ben and Jerry's. We are well on our way to fatdom...
  
• Jordy growing up so fast. I want to savor every moment with him. The other day I was at work and I called Joe to see what he was up to. Joe was putting Jordy into his "jammies" and getting ready for bed. I was so sad that I was missing everything. I do enjoy my job, but really want to be here to take care of Jordy.

Working the Night Shift...

I don't know how people do it. I worked the last two nights and it was hell. Everyone kept telling me how slow it would be, that I would have tons of time to study for boards, I would be so bored they said... WRONG!!

We were so busy both nights. Everytime I would even think about laying down on my office floor- seriously there is no call room!- they would come in and wake me up again. It was pretty much non-stop the entire time.

It is pretty sad to look in my office. There is an exercise mat that someone left in there and an old wool blanket. I roll the mat out and use the blanket. Hey when you get desperate, you will do anything! Unfortunately I didn't get much sleep d/t constant patients and constant questions regarding my orders. Apparently I stuttered when I wrote the orders down...so frustrating when the nurses just ask a billion questions, "Are you sure you want to do this, what about this, what about that?" Seriously my patience was wearing thin... murderous rage building...

Then this morning they had a recall and everyone had to come in. I didn't mind that part since I was already there- it was kind of nice to have all the company for the last part of my shift. But then I had to stay an hour later until we were released. I was dead for the day. Joe watched Jordy and did a really good job of keeping him quiet. He had to confiscate his new favorite toe- the push-corn popper dealie (not sure what the real name is for it!). Jordy found it at the Bx and pushed it around the store for an hour and a half while we shopped. We ended up buying it for him b/c it made him so happy!

As soon as we got it home I wished we hadn't gotten it. That thing is so shockingly loud in our house. It didn't seem so bad in the store with all the other noise going on, but now it is like a machine gun going off constantly. To make it worse Jordy can't push it in a straight line so he periodically picks it up and slams it back down in front of him...it is so loud! We have to yell at eachother to communicate! At least Jordy is entertained!

So since I am on this night schedule, now I don't know whether I should stay up all night tonight and sleep tomorrow, or go back to a normal schedule. But I work Thursday night, then Friday night off, then Saturday and Sunday night....

Waste Report

Well this week I didn't do much better. Partly b/c last week I didn't clean out the crisper, which many years ago my dad renamed, "The Rotter". Unfortunately it's tendency to rot food has carried onto my household as well.

Pictured here you will see all my good intentions of eating good. I full intended on eating celery sticks (bottom right of picture), salads (which I actually had a few as evidenced by the partially eaten lettuce). I planned on eating cucumbers with my salads, but forgot they were there...

I accidently bought too much cilantro for a recipe and meant to make some salsa with it...but forgot. This one really pisses me off since at the commissary cilatro is 2.50 a bunch!! In the states we got 3 bunches for a dollar!

In the back of the photo is a tv dinner for babies that Jordy would spit out everytime we forced him to take a bite.

There is also a jug of some Korean drink that I thought was aloe morning- not the same. It is "Be Original" and is not quite as yummy as the Aloe Morning. The Aloe Morning has a yummy tropical flavor and tastes like the carribean (if you can imagine that).

Anyways, I can't add up how much all this waste has cost me this week. Partly b/c I just polished off a bottle of wine and no longer have the ability to add two numbers together. Also b/c sadly, this picture does not detail all the waste we actually incurred. Today I tried to make a salad out of some lettuce that looked okay in the bag, but when I got it out it was pretty slimy :(

For my birthday I asked Joe for Quicken. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he got it for me instantly. I have been learning how to use it. It is harder than I thought. My friend at work has a genius wife who is a financial wizard. Katie is helping me get my finances in order and become a responsible money manager. She actually tracks every penny they have and has a yearly budget! I don't know how she does it! Maybe someday I will actually know how much money is in my bank account at any given time. Interestingly enough, she did suggest the "envelope system" until we get the hang of it! Joe and I rolled laughing explaining that Joe's mom LOVES the envelopes!

I will keep you posted on the evolution of the budget and the waste report...

My baby boy...getting so big so fast!

It has been a while since I have written much about the ever changing Jordy.

He is now 14 months old. I think he is about 28lbs (just a guess though as I don't own a scale). He is getting really tall and can take things off of our table, and on his tip toes can take things off the kitchen counter. Most of the time when he pulls things off the kitchen counter it is disastrous- pulling down plates of food or sharp knives. Luckily we have had no casualties yet.

Jordy has three teeth!! I know, I know it is a miracle! About three weeks ago he started to get his lower left front tooth, then the top front two popped out. Poor guy has been miserable. I think that all his teeth are gonna pop out now pretty quick. I am amazed he made it this long with no teeth. Actually I was started to get a little worried as his little cousin Isabella practically has a full set of choppers- including molars!

Jordy still isn't a big talker. He says Bye-Bye with a wave. A few times he has said hi, but not too often. He says momma and dada. But despite the endless babble that comes out of his mouth, no other actual words.

He really enjoys pushing buttons. Our dishwasher makes all kinds of fun noises with every button push. He keeps turning on the dishwasher to all these crazy cycles.

Joe and I are constantly being stalked by Jordy holding up books. He loves to be read to, but doesn't have the attention span to make it through the entire book (all 3-4 pages of a board book!).

He loves when Joe does his crazy scream. Jordy will stop whatever he is doing and just let out a big hearty laugh. It is adorable. Whenever he does this in public (the laugh, not Joe's scream) everyone smiles and laughs with him.

His favorite food is by far hot dogs. He sees us making one and he goes bezerk! He screams until he is served the whole thing. Then he dives in with both hands shoveling little hot dog bits into his mouth! For a while he loved grapes, but that obsession had died down a bit. Chocolate is another favorite, but we don't give him too much of that.

Jordy Bugs Laugh

Jordy used to love the bath, then for some reason he got really scared of it. For about two weeks whenever we would put him in there he would scream bloody murder.

So we tried to make it fun again for him. We taught him to throw stuff out of the tub, and Joe screams, and Jordy laughs so hard! Of course we end up soaked at the end of the bath, but at least Jordy isn't screaming!

The Waste Report

Right now there is a package of hamburger that has gone bad in my refrigerator. It was only 2.00 b/c it was in the reduced bin at the commissary, but still it was wasteful. Last Sunday I took it out of the freezer with the intent of making a meatloaf. It was defrosted when I came home from work on Monday, but I was so tired I didn't make it.

Then Tuesday Joe picked me up and had got Burger King for us, yummy! So I didn't make the meatloaf.

Wednesday I had the day off so I had fully intended on making meatloaf, but didn't do it.

Now, Thursday, I am afraid of the meat. It has kind of turned a funny brown color. SCARY!

Normally I would just toss it out and move on with my life, but today I am realizing how much we waste. Joe and I are pretty awful when it comes to food. We will make a meal and never eat the left overs. Nearly every time I open the fridge I find various foods in different stages of the decay process.

And it is not just food, we buy a lot of things that we never use. For instance Joe and I bought a baby carrier that was supposed to be a little backpack carrier. After one trip Joe said it was the most uncomfortable thing to wear, and Jordy hated it. So we never use it. Thank goodness it was only cost 20 dollars.

So I would like to keep a weekly update of all the things and money we have wasted.

This week:

1. 1lb hamburger meat- 2.00
2. Portable Crib (couldn't find mattress that fit it- wondering if I should spend additional $ to have mattress shipped here, or just stash it away and not use it, or sell it)- 50.00
3. Bedding for the Crib- 54.00
4. Accidently turned the heat up too high and had to open all the windows b/c we were roasting- Unknown $

Well that is all I can think of this week (so far), but that totals at least 110 bucks!

Maybe next week will be better.

Never say Never

Yesterday as I was pacing around the hospital in full chemical warfare gear, huffing and puffing in my gas mask, I can't believe my life has taken me here.

I remember in high school there were three things I knew I would never do. Number one was get married. Marriage signified the end. Once you were married you were locked in, no more variety, no more fun. A husband would only hold me down, keep me from achieving my goals, and overall make me miserable. Turns out I was wrong on that one. Once I found Joe, I didn't know instantly he was the one. But after he stood by me through some really hard times, I still didn't know. Luckily Joe didn't give up easy and after cancelling our wedding- not once, but twice....we finally did it! I couldn't be happier. Being married hasn't stopped me from achieving anything. Joe has only made my dreams possible. Without him I don't think I would have finished medical school, or residency.

The second thing I was sure I would never do was have children. If getting married locked you down, children were a million times worse. I didn't want to worry about kids and raising them properly. When Joe and I finally got married we agreed- absolutely no children! Then after delivering several babies at work, I started to think more and more about it. Then I think biology took over and then I really wanted them. Fortunately Joe really likes kids and was willing to compromise on the issue. Now that we have Jordan, I can't imagine life without him.

Everyday I look forward to seeing what new tricks Jordan has learned, what new thing he will do, and what he will destroy. The funny thing about it is that I don't even care what he breaks-most of the time!

The third and final thing I would do was join the military. I was sure that this would be an awful decision and I would regret it terribly. And pretty much I was wrong about everything, except this rule. The military does suck completely. I can't wait to get out.

My first Exercise

At our base we do these exercises quite frequently. We pretend that we are actually at war and go through all the procedures that we would do in the event of a catastrophe. This week has been quite exciting. At work we had to wear all of our Chem Gear over our regular uniform, carry our gas masks and be ready to put it on at a moments notice. Yesterday we ended being in MOPP 4 (wearing everything; gas mask, rubber gloves, rubber boots, chem suit, hood, kevlar helmet) for about 90 minutes. Plus when we go outside we have to wear a FLACC vest which is really heavy, and I don't even have the bullet proof plates in mine! Then during that time we had to "bug out", and evacuate the entire hospital. It is really hard to see wearing our gas masks. It is kind of like walking in a tunnel with no peripheral vision.

After about an hour in the gas mask I thought I was gonna pass out. I was sweating like a pig, my lenses on the gas mask were fogging, and I just wanted to sit down. Finally I sat down and started to close my eyes. Then I thought, If I pass out, I could really die in this mask and no one would realize it. I forced myself to open my eyes and concentrate on taking big deep breaths. Finally they announced the all clear and we could take them off.

I don't know how I would ever be able to actually work and treat patients in all that crap!

Thank goodness I am off work today and tomorrow. I have to work on Friday, but that is the last day of the exercise so hopefully it will be all wound down by then.

I hate all this exercise stuff, but it is nice that if we ever actually had to do it we are prepared. They pretty much make us do it so often, that when it happen for real it wouldn't be any shocker, just another day at work!

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