Heart of Tears and Joy

Oh my... Update #1: Of mice and babies

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:44:45 GMT

So I awoke this morning, dazed and confused, trying to orient myself to my surroundings. Looking out the window, I was perplexed and slightly nervous; it was chilly out, yet it seemed all the snow had thawed. While wandering the house in a stupor, I came upon the calendar hanging in the living room and I let out a shock of gasp. September?! It can't be September... Questions filled my head: where did the last thirty-two weeks go? What have I been doing? Why haven't I posted on Livejournal?

-------------

So, yes, I've been rather delinquet in posting and maintaining a presence on LJ--mostly due to the insane business of my life that has been going on. But rather than try to fill in the entirety of the last seven months in one post, which would consequently overwhelm me and force me to give up trying to post at all, I'm going to try to do it in a number of little posts over the next week. And once that is finished, perhaps I can actually continue to post regularly. *snicker*

So, by now everyone should know that Megan and I have a wonderful son who has managed to bring unsurmountable joy and fulfillment to our everyday lives. He is now 7 months old and is the cutest little baby boy I've ever seen. And he now comes with action-packed crawling power! And he's pulling himself to a stand! It has been the most amazing experience of my life to watch him turn from a 8+ lb. infant completely dependant on others for everything into this incredibly active, personality filled little tyke.

If you haven't met him, or you haven't seen him in a while, I eagerly invite you to give me or Meg a call and find some time to full your day with some baby-lovin' joy!

Meme from Aspen

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:49:50 GMT

Guilt	What is yours?	Explain yourself
Culinary:	French Fries	How can the tuber of a plant, cut into tiny slices, fried in oil and then dipped in ranch taste so good? And be such a death stroke to my poor heart!
Literary:	Cheap Sci-Fi Novels	They're poorly written, have transparent plots and don't mean anything, but I waste my time with them. My favorite are Star Wars 'novels.'
Audiovisual:	Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel	No guilt because of the quality: I love these shows and Joss Whedon is a genius. Just guilt in the pure number of times I've seen most of the episodes.
Musical:	My Angry Music	Sometimes I get into the mood for music that is really angsty and rubs all the good feelings in me the wrong way, but it helps me get through stormy moods (for a while at least)
Celebrity:	Natalie Portman	I just like her. She's a good actress, she's beautiful and she has a very distinctive voice. But the only celebrity actress I've really attached to.

Now I tag:-

kwiksatik bex_rex geekus_duos ren_kittenlord and fair_orc_maiden

to complete this same Quiz, Its HERE.

You don't have to fill it out or anything, they just made me put in five people for some reason... Grr.

Venipuncture Tips

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:36:50 GMT

So, as we all get back into the swing of school, and I sit here waiting for my second class to begin, I thought I'd write something out that can be applied to everybody's life: Venipuncture Tips for the Everyday Patient:

So, as somebody who has had to perform venipuncture (drawing of blood for lab sampling usage) literally dozens of times a day in the past five weeks, I thought I'd share a few tips for anyone who must get their blood drawn, because although nobody enjoys the process, it doesn't have to be a trauma for you or your phlebotomist (although if you do any of these things, they'll probably just laugh about it when you're gone).

Don't flinch. Seriously. When the phlebomist is sticking a needle into your arm, make yourself calm however you can; take deep breaths, look away, think about something else, they don't care--just don't throw your arm around, cause it'll hurt you more than it does the phlebotomist (actually, it won't hurt them at all).
If you're an outpatient (not admitted to the hospital) don't complain to the phlebotomist about how many times you've been stuck in the past two weeks, cause odds are, that same phlebotomist has been doing inpatient draws lately and has had to stick the elderly man with COPD who wheezes when he breaths last night, or that post-op lady for the sixth day in a row at <b>six o'clock in the morning</b> while she barely has enough energy to stand up once a day. A little needlepoke isn't going to kill ya.
Don't tell the phlebotomist how to do their job. I don't care if the last phlebotomist said you always need to have blood taken from your left hand with 23 guage butterfly while you're standing on your head and reciting the declaration of independence in Russian--cause odds are that last phlebotomist was an idiot. So let me look at your arms when I ask without complaining, and when I use a vacutainer to get blood from your antecubital vein because it is the Nile River of blood in your body I'll point out that people's veins change tremendously from day to day because of stress, water intake, blood pressure and your health. But if you tell me how to do my job, I'll just smile and shrug after I prove you're wrong.
Sometimes things don't go right when the phlebotomist first puts the needle in. It happens, and we don't want it to, it makes my heart drop every time it does. But we're not trying to hurt you when we pull the needle out most of the way, feel around with our finger and try to redirect it--we're trying to save you the pain of getting stabbed all over again. All I ask here is to let me concentrate and let me figure out what's going on and fix it--as soon as I'm done, I'll let you know what happened and apologize for any discomfort.
Be glad that this procedure is quick, simple and provides such great results! It's amazing the different things the doctor can learn from your blood and serum, and it has helped make diagnosing more sure and less painful than the past!

HIPAA

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 06:24:31 GMT

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) was enacted partly to give patients privacy--no unauthorized access to their health records. It's a great idea, and I'm all for privacy, but there is definitely room for finding a way to share information amongst healthcare providers, as evidenced by Emergency Medicine Doc's Blog.

"So here a layperson, whose current job is working as a cashier in a supermarket, sees everyone with wireless phones, broadband internet access, satellite TV, has the ability to view and pay her bills online thinks it would be safe to assume that this should occur at every level in business and especially in healthcare where a life may hang in the balance."

And those CT scans aren't cheap.

Work Rant

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 06:47:25 GMT

So, I work at the Sterile Processing Department at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital (SPD for short). Basically, we get the instruments used for surgery, as well as other procedures around the hospital (sutures kits from the ER, delivery sets from Labor and Delivery, heart cath trays from the Cath Lab, etc.), and we wash it through various means, and then package and label it and then sterilize it in either the Autoclave of the Sterrad before sending it back to where it came from. Sounds easy, but actually gets fairly complicated because you have to actually know what most of the surgery stuff is! And that means memorizing and remembering dozens and dozens of instruments, as well as how to reference and look stuff up when we don't remember or know, as well as how to operate all the equipment, and how to record all of this on paper, etc... It gets to be quite a bit.

Which lead to the policy that was enacted by Surgical Services to create a four month orientation/probation period when you start working. You're an orientee, so you're learning everything and are given certain privledges for mistakes and such, but there's a little catch: If you don't cut it after the four months, you're out. Kinda harsh, but it's fair, if you can't consistently provide accurate and safe materials for the scrubs to use, it produces a great deal of problems, including safety issues. My issue however, comes with the fact that there is no clear criteria that you must complete in order to pass the orientation period. It is completely subjectively determined by a pair of characters called 'Team Leaders.' These two women are just like the rest of us: do the same work in the same environment, engage in the same conversations, eat lunch together, etc. They just have a little added responsibility in 'organizing the SPD team.' But they are not our supervisors, nor or are they in a supervisory position--that falls to the nursing supervisor in the OR--who is on a completely different floor from us and is forced to delegate responsibility to these team leaders. So, what happens if one of these Team Leaders isn't all that intelligent, has low self-esteem issues and a strong personality conflict with one of the orientees (not me--I'm off of orientaiton). Today happens, and it's ridiculous and unprofessional.

"Why can't we all just get along?"

Because nobody likes everybody--it's not necessary in order to do your job well and effectively, and I'm sick of people who have a little title in front of their name having all of this power of the rest of us. I don't care if you don't like her, she's a good worker and you can leave your passive-aggressive nature at home and be honest and try to figure out everyone can work together--even if they don't like each other.

Grow up people.

Hehehe...

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 05:52:39 GMT

BOOK MEME

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences, along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

"Drovna, I.K.S Klingon warship, Vor'cha class. In 2372 the Drovna illegally mined the Bajoran system with cloaked explosives."

From the Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future; Updated and Expanded Edition.

And there's no way to explain that away, so I won't try.

So Here We Go

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 06:56:55 GMT

So, the wedding is no longer a surprise to anyone (I think), and I apologize if you feel left out because I didn't contact you through MSN or LJ, I just felt like it wasn't how I wanted to spread the news--it's not anything personal. Also, it still feels odd for me to get on here and expose me and my personal life to you all, I'm still a natural loner at heart--to a certain degree at least. So, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. And I thought I'd post the Wedding Site as well. It's pretty crude, but not a bad 'Out of the Box' website--although I'll instantly admit it's much more Megan's project than mine.

Also, thanks for the advice to everyone who dropped by about the apartment, we found something very much to our liking: an actual house with a main floor and a basement, we have the entire main floor (the basement is two other apartments). It's very close to my grandmother's house, it's really quite spacious and it just feels like 'us.' So yay for that!

Hope you're all having good summers, and I'll be seeing ya around!

Gahh.

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:39:08 GMT

So afyer a very delayed departure from Bozeman I am now on my way to Cieur d' Alene for the next week. However, my trip has been severly delayed by extensive roadwork. Oh well though.

Lex Luthor Returns or Superman or whatever, was increible. Ooops, traffic is going, will finish later.

Day of the Superheroes

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 07:23:42 GMT

I hate to keep populating your friend's lists with posts about superheroes and the movies we craft about them, but... massive Drooling.

Also: Italy v. Australia? Incredible. (Please don't post any World Cup results here though as I'm mostly catching the games a few days late due to TiVo, thanks.

Tomorrow

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 02:50:34 GMT

Tomorrow is the release of Superman Returns which has gotten rave reviews and I'm definitely planning on seeing. Anyone else up for a viewing?

This whole call thing

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 20:54:17 GMT

So I've embarked on a new and interesting path in my journey of becoming a CPD Tech, that path being 'On Call.' Yes, indeedy, I have bound to my cellular phone all weekend as I have eagerly awaited the buzzing that would indicate it is my time to come in to sterilize whatever hapless surgical cases that may pile up, and it's been fairly interesting. Call is very slow, yet busy at the same time. Mostly it's having to do a bunch of stuff really quickly and then wait for everything to cook and cool.

The bad part of this whole endeavour however, is that my allergies have begun to get worse and worse and worse these past two weeks, until they have culminated into a sinus clogging, eye watering, havoc headache creating monster that leaves me miserable eighteen hours of a day. Needless to say, I hate it, and am greatly looking forward to returning to Coeur d' Alene for a week and a half this Thursday where my allergies generally leave me to enjoy life.

C'est la vie, I guess.

Have a great week all.

Interesting Article

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:49:38 GMT

Plastic Surgery Meets Hollywood.

Very interesting article.

Literary Meme

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 06:17:58 GMT

As yoinked from beloved_tree, who originally found it at lit_meme: Pick 5-10 of your favorite books. Post the first lines in your journal. If the book has a prologue or introduction, use your own judgement. Have your friends guess the titles/authors. If you then choose to extol the virtues of your favorite books/authors in your journal or comments, it is unlikely that anyone will stop you.

I had some troubles since most of my older books (Idaho and before era) are still packed away and in storage, so it isn't the greatest variety in the world. But anyways, here you go, my

~~1. "My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip."~~ -Great Expectationsbeloved_tree

~~2. "'Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug."~~ - Little Womenkampsvr

~~3. "Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting."~~ -The Sound and the Fury kampsvr

4. "A city's blank white concrete slabs, the giant ones ringed by the less giant, gave space in their midst to a broad pinkfloored plaza, a playground in which some two hundred young children played and excercised under the care of a dozen supervisors in white coveralls."

~~5. "In the fall of 1995, after resigning from my last academic post, I decided to indulge myself and fulfill a dream."~~ -Reading Lolita in Tehran kampsvr

6. "The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. The flood had made, the wind was nearly calm, and being bound down the river, the only thing for it was to come to and wait for the turn of the tide." -Heart of Darkness kampsvr

7. "When I was little, my uncle Pete had a necktie with a porcupine painted on it."

8. "It was love at first sight."

9. "Somewhere in _______, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing."

~~10. "It was a pleasure to burn."~~ -Fahrenheit 451 beloved_tree

The Stuff of Me

Fri, 26 May 2006 22:35:31 GMT

I was tagged by warrior_bride

Since you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 6 weird facts/things/habits about yourself, saying who tagged you. In the end you need to choose the 6 people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs.

1. I have what can be considered a need to fidget with something almost constantly. A coffee cup, a piece of string, biting my own lip; anything will work, but you'll rarely see me completely still.

2. I don't think I've been comfortably warm since last August. I'm almost always too cold--I believe it to be a psychosomatic response.

3. In regards to my looks, I either don't care at all how I appear, or I'm incredibly vain and self-aware of it.

4. I'm a complete anal neat-freak at work, and thorougly enjoy a cluttered and messy room at home.

5. I've never liked drinking water. I drink lots of diet soda, coffee, tea, italian sodas, pretty much anything with flavor, but I only drink water when I'm very dehydrated.

6. I consider myself a good story-teller, but don't have many people who I feel comfortable enough to tell any stories to.

With the wave of this wand, I tag thee: fair_orc_maiden! kampsvr! bex_rex! taranabug! eloquent_labrat! yllisbelladonna!

Quote Meme

Thu, 25 May 2006 20:47:39 GMT

As yoinked from beloved_tree The quote meme!

Take 25 quotes from 25 of your favorite movies, and have your friendslist try and guess them. NO Googling, NO IMDBing, NO Wiki-ing.

1. Just because you own half the county doesn't mean that you have the power to run the rest of us. For twenty-three years I've been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now... well, being a Christian woman, I can't say it! The Wizard of Oz warrior_bride

2.Character 1. I want to do something for her... but what?
Character 2. On, there's the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep... Beauty and the Beast beloved_tree

~~3. If I were human I believe my response would be "go to hell."... If I were human.~~Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country warrior_bride

~~4. If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it.~~ Pirates of the Carribean beloved_tree

5. I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure. The Matrix beloved_tree (sorta)

~~6. I only gamble with my life, never my money.~~ The Mummy warrior_bride

~~7. You're trying to kidnap what I've rightfully stolen.~~ The Princess Bride beloved_tree

~~8. Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.~~ Shrek warrior_bride

~~9. You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do.~~ Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark taranabug

~~10. I don't like violence, ______. I'm a businessman; blood is a big expense.~~ kampsvr

Sat, 20 May 2006 19:42:34 GMT

As somewhat yoinked from beloved_tree. Tried to make them just characters but needed to include one actor.

10. Natalie Portman. A mediocre actor, but a hauntingly beautiful woman, Natalie Portman has incredible eyes.

9. Holly Golightly. Fred=Hannibal, Hannibal=Fred aside, Holly is mysterious, charming and beautiful. She seems to bend the very definition of what life is.

8. Dr. Beverly Crusher. She's compassionate, she's intelligent, she's an awesome dancer, she's very beautiful and has a no-nonsense attitude. What's not to love?

7. Willow Rosenberg. She's a nerdy redhead who also happens to be witty. This is admittedly pre-season 4.

6. Lavie Head. Yeah, she's an anime character, why do you mention it? She's also a pacifist, an excellent navigator and has a loving heart. I had a crush on her from moment rei.

5. Arwen Evenstar. A beautiful elf who throws off the limiting shackles of her own kind. Isn't afraid to get dirty and follows her heart--even though it will mean her eventual death.

4. Delenn. She risks being shunned by her own race in order to cause necessary change to try to save the universe. Also happens to marry the Starkiller--a man universally hated by the Minbari.

3. Dr. Jean Grey. Very intelligent woman who works towards good and healing. Understood Professor Xavier's message better than any of the other X-Men.

2. Aerith Gainsborough. The last of the ancients and the quintessential figure of good. Sacrificed herself to assist in defeating Sephiroth. I literally cried the first time I saw her die. (sorry about the bad Advent Children picture--I'm at work so I can't edit it)

1. Hermione Granger. She's cute, she's funny, she's a witch and she's a know-it-all-braniac. She's not afraid to voice her mind and she champions for the rights of others. Is there anything that isn't perfect about her? Oh, and yes I know that she's only 14 in the movies right now, but let's remember a few things: 1) When I first started reading the books we were the same age; 2) She's 16 in the books, which is mildly better. (And yes, I like Ginny Weasley too, but I hate hate hate the girl they have playing her in the movies)

Good Quote

Tue, 16 May 2006 07:46:06 GMT

"Daily I am amazed at your inexhaustable ability to just live."

"It's either that or die."

- Alan Shore and Denny Crane, Boston Legal

That's fair

Mon, 15 May 2006 01:06:54 GMT

Which Horrible Affliction are you?
A Rum and Monkey disease.

The description is Transmitted by direct contact with one of your infections (usually through unprotected sex), you're one nasty STD! In your initial stages, you cause sores, usually on the genitals or in the rectum, but that's only the delicious beginning. Later on, you'll cause a rash, and then slip away ... but you won't be gone. No no, my friend. You're far too cunning.

You'll still pass yourself on to anyone the poor soul you've infected has sex with (anal, vaginal or oral), and you'll start to erode their muscles and nerves! In fact, you'll eventually lead, if left untreated, to malcoordination, blindness, paralysis, dementia and then death!

And that's not all - if you infect a pregnant women, you'll also be passed to their child! A single shot of penicillin will kill you, but shhhhh .. I won't tell anyone if you won't.

If you wish, you can proudly tell the world that you burst their bits and make their mind mad with the following fine graphic.</lj-cut

Summer School

Mon, 08 May 2006 21:52:58 GMT

Well...

It looks like the whole summer school thing isn't going to happen. This has both good and bad consequences. The good is that I have the whole summer off to enjoy myself, work, sleep in and generally not worry about school. The bad is that it's probably going to take me another semester or two to finish my undergraduate degree. I'm looking forward to it, hopefully God will help show me what I'm supposed to be doing with my life this summer, let me rest and recuperate and really go after school next semester, and most of all, just let me enjoy life for a while.

Here's hoping, at least!

This is... Disturbing.

Mon, 08 May 2006 07:22:40 GMT

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

Third Emperor of Rome and ruler of one of the most powerful empires of all time, your common name means "little boots". Although you only reigned for four years, brief even by Roman standards, you still managed to garner a reputation as a cruel, extravagant and downright insane despot. Your father died in suspicious circumstances, you were not the intended heir, and one of your first acts as Emperor was to force the suicide of your father-in-law. Your sister Drusilla died that same year; faced with allegations that your relationship with her had been incestuous, you responded, bafflingly, by declaring her a god.

You revived a number of unpopular traditions, including auctions of properties left over from public shows. When a senator fell asleep at one such auction, you took each of his nods as bids, selling him 13 gladiators for a vast sum. You attempted to have your horse, Incitatus, made into a consul and hence one of the most powerful figures in Rome. It was granted a marble stable with jewels and a staff of servants. At one point you forced your comrade Macro to kill himself - in much the same vein as your father-in-law - accusing him of being his wife's pimp. You, of course, were having an affair with said wife at the time.

Things went from bad to worse. When supplies of condemned men ran short in the circus, you had innocent spectators dragged into the arena with the lions to fill their place. You claimed mastery of the sea by walking across a three-mile bridge of boats in the Bay of Naples; kissed the necks of your lovers, whispering sweet nothings like "This lovely neck will be chopped as soon as I say so,"; dallied with your sister's lover and made her pull her unborn child out of her womb prematurely. Towards the end of your reign, you had a golden statue of yourself made and dressed each day in the same clothes you yourself wore. When you eventually died, the terrified people of Rome refused to believe that such a cruel reign could ever end, and believed you to be alive for years afterwards.

For my friends:

Sun, 07 May 2006 19:20:07 GMT

Memes

Fri, 05 May 2006 22:49:19 GMT

Memes as yoinked from Teh Aspen, aka beloved_tree

1) Do you like your birth-name? Why? Indeed I do! Because it's very unique (how many Olivers do you know), it's old fashioned, it sounds very professional and it just seems undescribably like me.

2) If you could change your name to anything else, what would it be? Tristan. Because that's what I was nearly named, and I think it fits the exact same requirements as above, except for seeming like me. But I think it would have after 20 years.

3) What names would you consider giving your children? Well, Violet was one of my primary girl's names, but now it's been used so it doesn't count. Margaret is high on the list for a girl, and Quentin Cole for a boy.

4) If you had a band, what would you name it, and why? I think it would depend on the genre of the music, but "Working As Intended" was a joke between a few friends and I for a while and stilll find amusing. You won't get it if you don't play WoW though.

5) Is there a name that you completely hate? Why? Anthony/Tony. Have never been able to stand anybody named that or any of the variants--especially including my birthfather.

Because it was demanded by the beloved_tree:

Comment and:
1. I'll respond with something random about you
2. I'll challenge you to try something
3. I'll pick a color that I associate with you
4. I'll tell you something I like about you
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on yours

Sorry for the Triple Posting...

Thu, 04 May 2006 00:25:08 GMT

Couldn't help myself from making another post this afternoon! I am very excited for the new Superman movie, and the trailer only increases that feeling! Also, X-Men III comes out on May 26th. We are seeing it, yes?

Interesting Commercial

Wed, 03 May 2006 17:49:25 GMT

If you like Wes Anderson (directof of the Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore, you might enjoy this commercial. It's very well done.

EDIT:

Found this as well. I can't stand the man and truly believe he is a complete idiot, but I respect him for being able to get up in front of everybody and be made fun of like this.

I'm done!

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 16:42:33 GMT

I'm done! I'm finished! No more English 221 ever again. I finally finished the stupid, evil paper.

And it's crap. Pure, unadulterated crap. I'm embarassed and ashamed to turn it in at the unpolished state its in. I doubt I will get above a B- on it.

And I don't care! Because I'm done!