My Dad...

I'm writing this post because I feel driven to do this. I want to say how much love and respect I have for my father. He always provided for the family as I was growing up. I remember him being there for our soccer games and taking us to and from practices. He spent a fair share of time on the road away from us, but I hold no resentment in my heart for that. He did what he had to for work and an honest income to provide for his wife and children. He spent time raising us the best way he knew how. You may say at this point, 'aw, I see, he's doing a tribute.' But, I don't as yet have a personal motive behind this, nor do I know where this will lead. I simply feel prompted by the spirit to write some of my thoughts down. I have been thinking a lot about my father recently, largely due to his condition. I have been reflecting on my life with him, and my siblings' experiences with him as well. I feel so grateful to have him visit, even if only for a short time, last year. It was a positive experience. We have never been close emotionally, as reflected in our conversations about everything computer and politics-related, but nothing emotionally deep, self-reflection, or lending to spontaneous physical affection in the form of a nudge or hug (those things always felt mildly awkward and forced when I initiated them). He mainly shared his experiences and memories from earlier in his life, and offered advice based off of these experiences as he felt prompted. As I have grown and been nurtured in the gospel and the priesthood, I have had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with several mentor-like leaders who have connected with me on the spiritual and emotional level and consequently have provided me rich spiritual experiences. I have also felt the loving embrace of a kind Heavenly Father through prayer and the influence of the spirit. I really wish I could have had that with my earthly father. Yet, how easy it would be to dwell on what I didn't have in our relationship and consequently miss out on the blessing of having a father that was there and that I had a relationship with, who showed love in his own way, and I really felt he cared but that he may not have known how to show this to us in a way that we looked for love. The divorce only grew this divide between us and him, both geographically and emotionally. Several of us tried to reconnect with him after some time, with widely varying degrees of success. Some of these only increased heartbreak, some left an emotionally tepid feeling, and others felt some benefit. My father was always big into scouting and involved in the troops. He tried his best to be in our lives growing up, and I love him for that, even if that were the only contribution. More to come later...

What a Ride!

It's been an incredible six-seven months now since residency started. While I still feel vast areas of knowledge gappage in this brain of mine, I must admit that there are times when I actually feel like I got the hang of things. Granted, there are many more times that feel the need to phone-a-friend, but it's refreshing to feel like I can contribute something and that my four years of med school weren't a complete waste of time. It's crazy how the learning curve never really slows down, in fact it accelerates. It's feels great when a med student asks me a medical question and the answer starts pouring out sometimes before I even completely realize what's happening. It feels great to know something well enough to feel comfortable enough to teach it to someone else. I think I'm starting to pull my chin up out of the water-line a little bit more and tread water. It's a wonderful feeling. While there's so much more to learn and I'm not even close to being done learning (in fact, every day feels like a fresh start), I'm enjoying the ride and trying my hardest to make time for my family-- the greatest blessing in my life right now, they keep me sane! Thank you Michelle! Friday, we celebrate our 5th anniversary, I can't believe it's been that long. She's such a delight. She's my most tangible constant in this crazy hectic masacistic work schedule that I have. And my kids are such sweet angels, and a gift from above. They have so much personality and spunk that they remind me of that lady I married ;) TTFN.

Finally, A NEW POST!!!

Hi all, between moving and starting residency, I have neglected my blog big-time. I haven't even been on facebook in many moons...SHOCKING!!! I am now working 80+ hours, 6 days a week. I get home around 6:30 and go to bed at 8:00pm which leaves just enough time to eat and play with my kiddos. My days off are spent at church or doing chores. Not much time left for the world wide web. After three weeks, I finally am starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of the system at the hospital. Everything records-wise is electronic and comes with a steep learning curve. I guess I now can focus a little more on the medicine side of things. Stay tuned

Our House in NC

We just found a house in Fayetteville!!! We are VERY excited about it. We got a steal. The rent is $995/mo for 2300 square foot newer home. Here's the videos of it:

Outside & Common Area:


Upstairs with Bonus Room and guest BR & Bath:


Pantry & 1st Bedroom


2nd Bedroom and Laundry


Master Bed & Bath


Backyard

May Flights

Wow, everyone is gonna be flying every-which way this next month. I have to fly to NC to house-hunt the first part of May. Mom will be flying to Mary's for graduation. Mary will then be flying here (KC) for graduation (yay!!!). It'll be so nice to no where we are going to live before we move. We'll know if we need our appliances or not, we'll have a forwarding address for mail (no need for a PO box), less stress worrying, and the list goes on and on.

Thinking back, I've flown quite a few times on several different airlines in various parts of the country, and it seems like southwest airlines flight attendants seem be the happiest and have the most creative renditions of pre-flight instructions. I've had one where the attendant threw some funny one-liners in there, I've had one sing, but I don't think I've ever had an attendant do it this way (pretty entertaining):

Hip Hop Flight Attendant @ Yahoo! Video

This made gave me a good chuckle, so I thought I'd share.

Yet Another Fun Tune

Yet another funny tune by a different group about colorectal surgeons. Alas, no medical specialty is safe from self-humor! LMBO!!!!

Funny Tune about Anesthesiologists

I hope this humor isn't lost on everyone else. It pokes pretty good fun at anesthesiologists. I laughed pretty good. It's great to find something so humorous after a long day on rotations. I hope you enjoy it!

Ode to My Clunker

After most recently putting ~$800 in engine repairs to keep Suzy (our Dodge Stratus) running, I’ve drawn a line in the sand. Simple comparison of the last years maintenance: our recent hand-me-down 1990 Honda rusted-out Civic with no A/C and manual everything—alternator $90, thermostat $10; our ‘nicer’ 1996 Dodge Stratus—broken ball joint + leaking oil sending unit $550, glitchy computer modules + bad electrical distributor $800, along with a failing ABS module and noisy valves (newer isn’t always better, huh). I came THIS close to junking it. So, Suzy, consider this your ultimatum:

In case you were wondering, you ARE expendible. I am not too attached to you to keep draining my account into keeping you running. I’ve said before that if it got to the point where I was putting over $150-200/mo into keeping you running, then I would rather put that money into payments on a newer car less temperamental and more comfortable to drive. You can say, “Oh, you would dare!” Well, missy, just try me. I already have a wonderful woman in my life to take care of. I don’t need a winy, high-maintenance nag on top of that. If you force me to choose, she stays, you go.

So, I just wanted to let you know that your days are numbered. Your retirement is fast approaching. I alone make the decision as to how soon that will be. Consider yourself on a four-month probation. You have this time to prove to me that you deserve to stay. This is last and final warning to shape up or you will booted out on your lazy, no-good, free-loadin’, pollutin’ rear-end.

Vacation, Facebook, and Birthdays

Last month was a nice break from the norm of rotations. I got to spend a ton of time at home with my awesome family. We got a Nintendo Wii with Wii Fit for our anniversary and have been loving it ever since. Michelle was completely surprised. I got her good this year...hehe. My beautiful daughter Lizzy had her first birthday which went wonderfully. Her biggest feat was the smearing of cake on her face, and the placing of her frosting-laden plate on her head. But seriously, I have never seen a kid attack a piece of cake like that with such speed and amazing fury.

I have slacked off on blogging this past month because I use it quite a bit as a stress relief, and I haven't been stressed out while on vacation. Plus, I have been dabbling in Facebook and discovering many long-lost friends who I haven't talked to in ages. Michelle is officially addicted to YoVille, a minigame within facebook. However, I must qualify that statement. 'Addicted' for Michelle is just normal gaming activity by my standards. She is not a game person to begin with, so when I see her playing something every day, she must really like it. That's all for now. I'll try to add a few pics later.

I Hate to Steal Thunder From My Previous Post...

I saw this news video and couldn't see not sharing this awesome story that really touched me. It really brings home the important message about families. Here's the LINK.

The Results Are In!!!

I logged onto the computer this morning... are you all in a lot of suspense, yet??? Wait for it, wait for it...
...
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(see comments section for results)

T - 2 Days and Counting...

I officially find out where I will be spending the next three years of my life on Wednesday, December 17. It is just so exciting to finally find out my fate. I'm not really nervous, it's more just excitement. I mean, I could be on the West Coast, East Coast, Hawaii, or down in Texas. Of course I have my preferences, but I know we'll make due wherever we end up, and it will be such a fun day. On a side note, as an update about the Radioshack drama, I filed the complaint with the Better Business Bureau a week ago and a rep from Radioshack personally called and left a voicemail today and up'ed the offer to $20 off the original $129.99 price tag. They had previously only been willing to offer $10 off. So, while it's still not nearly good enough to satisfy me (the BF sale price was $49.99), it's a step in the right direction, and maybe it's a sign that they are willing to negotiate a more reasonable and realistic deal on the phone. If not, oh well, I haven't lost anything by trying, and it will only look bad for them, not me. Let's all hope this impacts their customer service policy in the future, so other people don't get taken for a ride like this, or maybe they don't learn from their mistakes and they go under, time will tell.

Dear Abby (Advice Wanted)

Okay, first you have to hear my story/rant then help me figure out what to do about it.

I was perusing the black friday sale items and found a new digital cordless telephone with answering machine I wanted for our house since our old one has been needing replaced for a long time. It was at Radioshack. So, I originally planned on going to the closest Radioshack when it opened and pick it up. Well, I found out that Radioshack made their deals available online Thanksgiving night. So, I thought "sweet, that will save me some standing out in the cold and early wakeup. So, I placed the order online instead of going to the store--same price with free shipping.

Well, I waited the three business days for order processing which in my mind was rediculously long to begin with--I'd never waited more than a day or two on any online order; something just smelt sour about this. I checked the order status several times online, and it kept saying "item located, in stock" which by clicking on it explained that this meant the item had been located in their warehouse and was just waiting for next shipment going out. I also called customer service Tuesday (2nd bus. day) during the day wanting to know why it had not been shipped and was fed the line of "we have up to three business days to ship, and that it was still in stock." So, I was a good customer, did not show frustration or anger at the agent, and simply told her that I would wait and if it had not been shipped by Wednesday than I would be calling back. Well, Wed came and went, still no change in order status and it had not been shipped. So, I called back, still being nice and cordial to the rep, and was told that "due to the high volume of orders on black friday, that their shipments were back-logged and it would be a few extra days." I asked if there was anything else I could do to get the phone sooner, and was told there wasn't. I asked for an estimate, and they told me that it should be shipped by Friday.

The happiness over getting such a good deal on the phone had long since faded after waiting this long. I had ordered something from Bestbuy a day later and had already received it a day before Radioshack was even planning on shipping my item-- very frustrating. So, I waited until Friday, and still nothing, so I attempted to call customer service again only to find out they were closed for the weekend--very convenient!

But wait, it gets better. I get an email this afternoon (Saturday) from customer service saying, "Thanks for shopping with us at http://www.radioshack.com/. Your business is important to us. We regret to inform you that we are unable to complete your order. The following item(s) are unavailable at this time and have been cancelled from your order... Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We appreciate your business." They haven't actually charged my card yet because they don't do that until the item ships.

So, here I am. Frustrated, annoyed, feeling wronged in so many ways. I feel that they misrepresented their product and service by displaying that it was in stock when the order was placed, by their order status displaying that it was found in stock, and by verbally reaffirming that it was still in stock and waiting to be shipped. Had I know that ordering online from them was going to be an issue, I would have gotten my lazy rear-end up out of bed on Friday morning and picked it up from the store. But now, because they misrepresented their item, they have caused me to miss out on the sale price. I checked online, and the phone now says that it is not available online, but that it is in stock in several Radioshack stores nearby.

I feel that they should either (1) give me a voucher for the sale price to pay for and pick it up at one of their nearby stores, or (2) give me the same sale price on a comparable brand and model online. What do you guys think??? Is this not bad business? Do I have any bargaining power here? The only think else that I can think to tell them, is if I leave this transaction feeling sour, I will not be back, and I will tell everyone I know about this horrible business practice; and, I am true to my word-- ask buy.com (that was the fiasco 2 years ago with Cam & Crystal's christmas presents that got shipped to the wrong address, and they refused to do anything for us).

Making the Most of that Fruitcake this Year

'Tis the season where lots of traditions start to crop up-- for better or for worse. If you don't enjoy fruitcake, but hate to see it go to waste, then here's some alternative ways to put it to good use:

10. Use slices to balance that wobbly kitchen table.
9. Use instead of sand bags during El Nino.
8. Send to U.S. Air Force, let troops drop them.
7. Use as railroad ties.
6. Use as speed bumps to foil the neighborhood drag racers.
5. Collect ten and use them as bowling pins.
4. Use instead of cement shoes.
3. Save for next summer's garage sale.
2. Use slices in next skeet-shooting competition.
1. Two words: pin cushion.

This was taken from http://www.dezert-rose.com/humor/christmas/fruitcake_uses.html under "Top Ten Uses For Fruitcake"

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So, it snowed last night and today. Not a lot of snow, but enough to coat the ground a little, so YAY, the snow made it here just before December. This was a holly bush just outside the Church building. I was walking past it after Church and saw that it had all the christmas colors and it seemed to capture the season appropriately. Unfortunately, I only had my camera phone with me so the picture's not the clearest nor the greatest quality (I'm a perfectionist, remember) but I still think it does the scene some justice.

In the spirit of Mary's latest post, I will tell my Black Friday story: I did participate...online at least. Last year I went all out. I went to www.blackfriday.info (there's many other websites as well, just google 'black friday') which has all the deals in one location and with a keyword search option for the item you're seeking and price comparisons...very helpful. I made my list, mapped my route according to which store opened at which time, which items were high priority in terms of selling out the quickest. It was VERY fruitful. I hit five different stores and got everything on my list. I'm telling you, it was quite the prep work. I rehearsed my plan of attack for driving and parking, and I knew my strategy cold. I even held an after-action review with Michelle when I was done. I started at 4am and was done with shopping and home by 7:30am. This year, I decided that I only needed one thing at Radioshack and was planning on getting there right when it opened. But, I was checking online to verify opening time, the item, and location and saw that those deals were already available on their website that night. So, I got to have my cake, and eat it too. I got the deal and got to sleep-in. I'm gonna try to do Black Friday online from now on--WAY EASIER.

Diary from the ER

I've seen quite the variety of people as well as cases this month: the good, the bad, and the insane. A disclaimer: my intent is not to poke fun at people with legitimate medical problems who can genuinely benefit from the medical care we provide, but the intent is to find some humor in otherwise disheartening and depressing social situations (ie. seeing people misuse and abuse medical care while others who need it can't get it). Besides, there's times when you gotta find ways to laugh to keep from crying or overly stressing yourself out.

In terms of types of patients, there's the ones that can't imagine a life without daily narcotics/sedatives/major tranquilizers and would like our help in legally obtaining these (wink-wink, nudge-nudge). There's others who I feel silly asking who their family doctor is--because DUH, that's what the ER's for (my mistake). Then, there's others who think we are McDonalds: if they've been waiting 15min then that's too long, and their knee (which seems to be hurting unbearably every time they visit the ER meanwhile they watch TV looking quite comfortable and walk around with ease) trumps the guy with a heart attack and the lady who can barely breathe. Still (it gets better) others audaciously demand to be fed during their 1-2hr visit the ER. There are those who have no sense of the cost of providing healthcare because they don't pay anything in the form of a copay or deductible and have no incentive not to abuse the system. There's others who refuse to accept any consequences to their behavior and see fit to accuse and verbally abuse others when their actions lead to unhappy outcomes. For example, a person came in complaining of abdominal pain, but not in acute distress, and had no medical indication that anything was emergently wrong with them. This person denied having any relief from prescription-strength tylenol or motrin, so was given a dose of strong narcotics which the patient finally said it helped. The patient became upset when the staff held onto her narcotic prescriptions while she went out "for a smoke" and just erupted when she was told that we legally could not allow her to drive her car knowingly under the influence of heavy narcotics (the equivalent of being sloppy-drunk)-- she would have to call and wait for someone to come get her. She was even offered a taxi ride free-of-charge. Neither of these options were acceptable to her, and she forcefully yelled and fussed at the staff about everything being our fault (which very much resembled a toddler temper-tantrum, quite entertaining to a small degree but mostly annoying and tiresome). The police were called to help talk some since into her and calm her down. Well, they ended up slowly chasing her around the parking lot for at least a half-hour until eventually hauling her away.

Then, there are those who I refer to as the "heart-break kids." Those who have a bad case of the "kids-raising-kids" syndrome. Those who are more upset about the inconvenience to their personal lives than the fact that their children are hurt or sick--which just breaks your heart (hence their title).

Other times, there are people that come into the ER because of what the doctor affectionately calls "a case of TMBD" (too many birth-days). These are the people who I'm sure at one point led fulfilling lives and contributed much to society, but who now can't control their bladder or bowels, can't tell you what day it is, who their are, or what they did that day, and a part of you wonders if they have come to the hospital for their final admission. (once again, not meant to be insulting, just a way of finding an ounce of humor in an otherwise depressing situation)

Then, their are the bright spots in your day. There are those who have come into the ER not because they wanted to, but because the ambulance or their spouse brought them. They are so appreciative of any care you provide to them, they are more worried about being a burden on your time than the concussion, deep cut, or heart attack that they are experiencing, their family and friends are supportive and grateful for the care they are receiving, and they keep apologizing for injuring themselves and making you take care of them.

I must admit that I've met both some of the nicest and easy-going people as well as the meanest, most manipulative people while working in the ER. All in all, it's been a great experience and one I will not soon forget.

A Hint...

I fear that this one may be a little far out there for most. So, these hints should help a lot:

Were all three people physically normal with full faculties of speech, hearing, and sight? -- YES

Had they ever spoken directly to each other? -- NO

Would they like to speak to each other? -- YES

Is there any physical barrier that prevents them from conversing? -- NO

Had they grown up together? -- NO

A New Riddle

Now that we've warmed up so quickly with the last one, here's a new one:

A woman sat at her kitchen table with her two sons. She spoke to each of her sons and they replied to her, but the sons never spoke to each other. The boys had not fallen out and did not dislike each other. Although they conversed freely with their mother, they never addressed a word to one another. Why?

Here's a Conundrum, a Riddle if you will...

Farmer Giles has four sheep. One day, he notices that they are standing in such a way that they are all the same distance away from each other. That is to say, the distance between any two of the four sheep is the same. How can this be so?

The first person to figure it out gets major kudos/props. Good luck!

Blast From the Past

Yes, maybe I do have too much time on my hands, but I couldn't resist...alas

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