T minus 38 hours and counting

I'm not anxious for surgery on Friday, can you tell? There are a couple things going on Saturday that I want to do, so I'm hoping really, really hard that I don't have too much postop pain.

There's going to be a transcriptionist's reunion for all the transcriptionists that have worked at the hospital in Fremont, and several that I've worked with in the past will be attending. There's one in particular, JW, who used to work nights when I worked days and out shifts overlapped by about a couple hours every day. She left to move to Arizona and has since moved back to Missouri, but she's going to attend and I'd love to see her! She was a hoot to work with. And fast... Holy bald-headed cats, that lady could type like a demon. And, get this, she could sing along with the radio and type at the same time. I can listen to the radio, I know some transcriptionists who can't stand to have a radio, I need music in the background when I type, it makes the night go a heck of a lot faster, but I sure as the devil can't sing along with it! I've tried, and I end up typing the lyrics I'm singing. I swear she must have 2 separate brains! Of course all of us who work there now are going to be there too, and we don't have a chance to see each other outside of work very often, so it would be fun to just visit.

One of my good friends from OPD is celebrating her 50th anniversary Friday night, but I think it's pretty much a given that I won't make that... Then again, if the pain pills are good enough, you never know!

I had my annual review at work today. Before I say anything more, I have to say it was a good review. It was a very good review. I don't get a raise because I'm at the top of the pay scale, that kind of sucks, but I got a good bonus in July when they did across the board raises, so I have no complaint about that. However... (You knew that was coming, didn't you?) Part of the review includes grading our performance from 1-5, with 5 being the best and 1 obviously being that you need some work in that particular area. I scored 4 in all areas, except for communication and compassion. (Quit laughing.) Do you know why I didn't score better in these areas? Because of that numbskull I work with at night. I couldn't believe it. All the problems that we have in working together are because she thinks everyone (including the day girls) leave all the hard work for her, which is absolute BS. The other problem we have goes back to the fiasco we had earlier this year where we ended up in HR because she supposedly had to take her husband to the ER and wasn't back by the time she was supposed to be on call so I offered to cover for her. She took offense at that and wrote me a nasty e-mail and she didn't like my reply so it ended up in HR. I was totally exonerated by HR of any wrongdoing and we were supposed to "start from scratch" in our work relationship. Since then she won't respond to my e-mails or even acknowledge that she gets them. I fully acknowledge that I won't contact her via telephone because I am NOT going to get into any kind of communication with her without some kind of documentation. She twists everything you say and blows things out of proportion. No one in the office can get along with her, and I mean no one. I've tried to be polite to her, when I get e-mails I respond, etc., but apparently that's not good enough. The more I think about it the madder I get. I suppose you could say I'm not compassionate when I think she lies like a rug. I really am a compassionate person, and I would do anything for anyone else in our office, but time and time again this particular person has lied about not being able to work for one reason or another (very obvious lies) and she's been caught in a lie more than once about this. I'm not wasting my energy feeling sorry for someone who doesn't deserve it. End. Of. Story. I just don't think it's fair for me to lose points on an annual review because of another person's behavior. Okay. I'm done griping for now. I signed the thing as it was and didn't bother to comment. My boss knows how I feel. Ugh. (Oh, and I know calling her a numbskull doesn't show much compassion either, but it's a lot better than what I would like to call her!)

Little Brother in San Diego made it through the fires with no damage - lucky him! I can't begin to even imagine the enormity of the loss that's been suffered by the people of Southern California though. It just boggles my mind. They all continue to be in our prayers. What a tragedy. Those firefighters have been fighting a losing battle with those winds. It looks like things might be calming down a bit, I certainly hope so. Several people on a MT list I'm on also have family and friends in the area, and luckily all have come through unscathed - personally. I'm sure they all know people who have been affected by this disaster.

Okay, I have some work to do before bed. Thanks for listening to me complain...