Techy

For the first time in my life I have latest of something. I need to blog about it ASAP because soon I will be out of style. Well for Christmas I got an ipad and a wii and I upgraded to an iPhone.do I need any of these things? No. Do I know how to really use all these things? No. Did I used to make fun of people who were Techy? Yes. Iam enjoying the luxury of it. I have Siri on my iPhone so I ask it anything and it's my personal assistant. Today I got a little mad at her because our relationship just started and I didn't get how she worked. But I think we will become good friends. I don't wanna become one of those ppl who is always on their phone though. This could be hard because it has so much and it being so new I get all excited about it. I'm sure the excitement will die down.

Maybe I should ask my phone if my eyes will burn out or hands fall of if I keep using it.

I also want to say that I started reading "The hunger games" that James got me for Christmas. It took me about 3 days to read it because it was such an interesting story and the author always ended chapters in suspense so I could stop reading them. So then I bought the 2nd book on my iPad kindle app....so many apps!!! But it's def a good read. I judged it at first because it sounds like a horrible plot but it's really good.

sick

I have been sick the past couple of days. According to webmd I either had the Flu or scarlet fever. and as an american i always must go with the most dramatic because of course i know better than everyone. so scarlet fever it is.

health fact of the day: the patients who use webmd are the most annoying. they always are so anxious and think they are going to die. i was trying to explain to this woman who was going to get her gallbladder taken out why her blood labs showed elevated liver enzymes and she totally twisted my words and said "so my liver is failing!?!" I understand now why they taught me in psych to never try to teach someone while they are experiencing moderate to severe anxiety.

There are different ways people handle being sick.

1. there is the dramatic kind. These people exaggerate their cold and often act as if they are dying. often seen in men and has been coined "the man flu". http://manflu.info/index.htm is a good reference for this epidemic. my brother Greg suffers from this.

2. there is the i-don't-care-I'm-sick kind: James, my boyfriend is a prime example. he drinks a bottle of nyquil and tries to continue to do everything.

3. then there is the kind of people who are sick and touch everything. they don't cover their cough. they touch everything and use every blanket and pillow around you. i think these people work for the pharmaceutical companies. side note: i have spent about $50 on home remedies for this cold already

there are 4 ways i have found that people handle sick people.

1. there are those who avoid you like the plague. they step back when u tell them u are sick and make a face of disgust like you don't feel gross enough about yourself.

2. there are those who ask lots of questions and try to remedy you with stuff they have. (i fall into this). they wind up giving you 10 different suggestions and packets of vitamins and drugs.

3. the completely clueless (sorry james). they mean well. but their help is more of hurtful than helpful.

4. those who laugh at you. today i came down the stairs feeling a bit out of it (understandable since i've been basically on a diet of Robitussin and vitamin c) and my roommate just laughed at me as i weakly tried to say hi to her with a blank stare (since my head feels like a balloon about to explode) and open mouth (since i can't breath through my nose). James laughed at me too as i tried to talk to him on the phone with my voice that sounds a lot more nasally and pathetic.

something also sick is when your roommate knows taylor swifts birthday by heart (which is today btw) but does not remember your own birthday. i am older than taylor swift but i feel like she has accomplished so much more than i will ever have. i mean she has broken up with about 50 guys. i don't think i can accomplish that before i die. (don't worry james i don't want to be like her)

balance of life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW8wMMIVBFM&feature=related

"i'll be home for Christmas" probably one of the most depressing songs for me right now seeing as I have to work and i won't be able to come down the stairs and my family be there with fruit bread that only my dad enjoys eating but my mom makes it every year just to make him happy and the Christmas music and the stockings full of gifts from the refrigerator.

okay pity party over....for now. i'll probably have another one in a week or so. ya'll are all invited.

lesson #2 about hospital/health care. I'd say about 90% of patients i get do not know what it means to be a DNR (do not resuscitate). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eIEeJfzs9o&feature=related this is a dry video but somewhat informative. (i don't know if i fully agree with everything said in the video but worth 1 min of ur time) fact: it has been said to ppl learning cpr "if your not breaking ribs you're not pressing hard enough" (not completely true but still its said) but doing chest compression on elderly with failing health is probably going to decrease their quality of life.

last night I have a doctor chew me out over the phone but after i had this patient who just wanted to tell me about how much he loves his wife and how he likes to treat people. he held my hand and was so sweet to me. so i had a random act of meanness followed by a random act of kindness. so they balanced out in a way.

this dog knows all about balance.

hope

http://www.npr.org/2008/03/28/89164759/a-victim-treats-his-mugger-right

a good article to read. Those stories make me happy. Its hard hearing a lot of bad stories on the news and working at the hospital i just see/hear a lot of bad cases.

lately I have really been wanting a dog but my roommate is allergic. i told her i could get her a discount on some allergy meds. she doesn't like that idea. i was googling hypoallergenic dogs. i liked this one. its called a Native American Indian Dog (i think it needs a shorter name)

i feel like i might have to live in Alaska to have him. then i was thinking about how in Alaska there are times of the year where its always sunny and i kinda like that. i miss seeing the sun. it'd be nice to work night shift there, way easier. i wonder if more stores are open later too.

its officially December. Happy December. last night i kept trying to write the month at 9 so writing 12 is going to be a hard transition.

so i realize working at the hospital that most people don't understand some health care lingo so i also want to use this blog to inform the public.

1st lesson. if someone asks you to rate your pain on a scale of 1-10 10 being the worst pain you have felt its not a trick. also if you say anything above 10 its not going to count for anything (i had a patient tell me "37"). we are taught to believe that "pain is what the patient says it is" so we cannot tell you that you are wrong or right. also the 1/2s don't count much either. i know its a kinda lame way to express pain b/c your in pain but its the best system we got for now since no one can tell how much pain another is experiencing.

right now i'd say my pain is a 2.