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...
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
San Diego Wildfire
If you can, I'd appreciate good thoughts, chants, prayers, or whatever you might do, for my brother and his friends in San Diego. The fire is about 10 miles north of his home. He's okay for now, but fire isn't something you can predict the course of very well. Thanks.
Ya can't go back
My sister, Mel, e-mailed me last night and told me the house we grew up in was for sale again. She had talked to a realtor friend of hers and they were going to meet at the house at 11, just to have a look around for nostalgia sake, so she told me to meet her there. I ended up picking her up at work and we headed over. The real estate guy wasn't there yet, so we cruised the neighborhood. Holy bald-headed cats! The neighborhood has gone to hell in a handbasket. When I was growing up there were some dumpy houses close by, but now it seems like there are more dumps than nice houses now. One family even lived in the garage of a house they were building. All the kids grew up and moved away. I don't know if the house ever got done. When I moved out at the age of 18, they were all still living in the garage, just like they had been for the past 12 years...
Anyway, to get bake to our house. It was a small house, a little over 900 square feet, but when you're younger everything seems bigger I guess. Mom and dad had torn out the walls of my room to make a larger living room when I moved out. (Actually, knowing my mother, it was to make sure I didn't move back IN! lol) They moved the doorway from the corner of the house to the middle and put in a stone entryway. Dad and built a floor to ceiling bookcase on the west end of the living room and put a fireplace on the east end. Somewhere along the line, after dad moved out, they put a wall in the middle of the living room, but never moved the entryway, so you have this stupid room that's not usable. Too big for an entry and too small for anything else. The part of the living room where the fireplace is, is now a bedroom. It looks stupid, to say the least. The bedrooms looked minuscule compared to my bedroom now. I can't believe mom and dad had a king-size bed in their old room. When we were looking at the bedrooms, we were standing in the room that used to belong to mom and dad and Mel said, "Is this the smallest bedroom?" Uh, no. It was the largest one! Waaaaaay tiny. The bathroom was the same. The old fiberglass tub and shower were there that dad had put in. (He tore the entire wall out of the bathroom to do it too, it wouldn't fit in the house any other way. )
The kitchen was an absolute shambles. The guy who built the house was a cabinet maker and the cabinets were beautiful when I was younger. Someone had painted them white. Whoever did that should be shot. Plus they tore out a whole section to put a doorway for an extra room. (Which was built on what used to be the deck, and not reinforced.) That whole thing is going to fall off the house, I swear. The old backdoor is right where it always was. the same stupid back door we had - which needed to be replaced when I lived there 25 years ago... I can't figure out why they didn't built the extra room 3 feet over and use the door that was already there as an entry, instead of tearing out all the wonderful cabinets. Morons.
Dad had enclosed under the deck and used it as a shed, that was all opened up and full of crap. I don't think the lawn had been mowed since about August. And the backyard was much smaller than I remembered too. I had my camera along to take pictures, but I just couldn't.
The basement was okay. Definitely not as bad as the upstairs. Dad had enclosed the basement stairs on the left and put a wall in, they had moved it to the right side of the stairs and opened up the other wall, which was kind of stupid because the left side is where the family room was, so there was no wall there. (??) We also had a huge wooden front porch in front that went almost the entire length of the house. It was built over the old front porch stoop, because the stoop couldn't be taken out without doing some major work on the foundation. They cut the porch off to make a little wooden porch, but the old stoop is still there, looking stupid, and crumbling... All the concrete has to be replaced, it was cracked and sinking.
It was such a mess. I got into the car to leave and just cried. The only thing they didn't screw around with was the fireplace and the bookcase. (Which of course held no books..., it was empty except for some pictures.)
I have so many memories of things that happened there. All my grandparents had been to that house, my great-aunt Myrtle had been there. We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and mourned the loss of loved ones at that house. All my Christmases from age 6 to 19 were in that house. I took the missionary discussions and learned about the church in that house.
I'm sad, and I'm glad I didn't take any pictures. I'd rather remember it just the way it was.
Anyway, to get bake to our house. It was a small house, a little over 900 square feet, but when you're younger everything seems bigger I guess. Mom and dad had torn out the walls of my room to make a larger living room when I moved out. (Actually, knowing my mother, it was to make sure I didn't move back IN! lol) They moved the doorway from the corner of the house to the middle and put in a stone entryway. Dad and built a floor to ceiling bookcase on the west end of the living room and put a fireplace on the east end. Somewhere along the line, after dad moved out, they put a wall in the middle of the living room, but never moved the entryway, so you have this stupid room that's not usable. Too big for an entry and too small for anything else. The part of the living room where the fireplace is, is now a bedroom. It looks stupid, to say the least. The bedrooms looked minuscule compared to my bedroom now. I can't believe mom and dad had a king-size bed in their old room. When we were looking at the bedrooms, we were standing in the room that used to belong to mom and dad and Mel said, "Is this the smallest bedroom?" Uh, no. It was the largest one! Waaaaaay tiny. The bathroom was the same. The old fiberglass tub and shower were there that dad had put in. (He tore the entire wall out of the bathroom to do it too, it wouldn't fit in the house any other way. )
The kitchen was an absolute shambles. The guy who built the house was a cabinet maker and the cabinets were beautiful when I was younger. Someone had painted them white. Whoever did that should be shot. Plus they tore out a whole section to put a doorway for an extra room. (Which was built on what used to be the deck, and not reinforced.) That whole thing is going to fall off the house, I swear. The old backdoor is right where it always was. the same stupid back door we had - which needed to be replaced when I lived there 25 years ago... I can't figure out why they didn't built the extra room 3 feet over and use the door that was already there as an entry, instead of tearing out all the wonderful cabinets. Morons.
Dad had enclosed under the deck and used it as a shed, that was all opened up and full of crap. I don't think the lawn had been mowed since about August. And the backyard was much smaller than I remembered too. I had my camera along to take pictures, but I just couldn't.
The basement was okay. Definitely not as bad as the upstairs. Dad had enclosed the basement stairs on the left and put a wall in, they had moved it to the right side of the stairs and opened up the other wall, which was kind of stupid because the left side is where the family room was, so there was no wall there. (??) We also had a huge wooden front porch in front that went almost the entire length of the house. It was built over the old front porch stoop, because the stoop couldn't be taken out without doing some major work on the foundation. They cut the porch off to make a little wooden porch, but the old stoop is still there, looking stupid, and crumbling... All the concrete has to be replaced, it was cracked and sinking.
It was such a mess. I got into the car to leave and just cried. The only thing they didn't screw around with was the fireplace and the bookcase. (Which of course held no books..., it was empty except for some pictures.)
I have so many memories of things that happened there. All my grandparents had been to that house, my great-aunt Myrtle had been there. We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and mourned the loss of loved ones at that house. All my Christmases from age 6 to 19 were in that house. I took the missionary discussions and learned about the church in that house.
I'm sad, and I'm glad I didn't take any pictures. I'd rather remember it just the way it was.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)