Ladeewolf's Blog

Emjay has been showing pics of her kidlings and it has made me nostalgic about my sons.  Here are collages I made Christmas before last that give small glimpses of their journey to manhood.  I am so proud of all three of them.

Daryl collage

Mike collage

Matt collage

I couldn't resist.  I knew you'd love this pic. 

Boyz will be boyz!

Harry Potter

We have a message board by the door of our lab.  This board is supposed to be used to let everyone know which pagers we have and where we are going through out the hospital.  We also use this board for our creative outlet.  I wasn't having one of my better days last Saturday and left a sad face on the board, so all my coworkers would know to either pamper me or avoid me.  This is what I found when I returned to the lab.  I thought it was a rather good likeness of myself.  Thanks, Doug.  Doug wants to be a doctor.  Maybe he can be a doctor/artist?!

Unhappy Elbee

Now, show us your dream job.

Constantly Risking Absurdity     

Lawrence ferlinghetti

Constantly risking absurdity
and death
whenever he performs
above the heads
of his audience
the poet like an acrobat
climbs on rime
to a high wire of his own making
and balancing on eyebeams
above a sea of faces
paces his way
to the other side of the day
performing entrachats
and sleight-of-foot tricks
and other high theatrics
and all without mistaking
any thing
for what it may not be
For he's the super realist
who must perforce perceive
taut truth
before the taking of each stance or step
in his supposed advance
toward that still higher perch
where Beauty stands and waits
with gravity
to start her death-defying leap
And he
a little charleychaplin man
who may or may not catch
her fair eternal form
spreadeagled in the empty air
of existence

Show us a musical genius.

 Bela Fleck

Belafleck03

Here is variety of music that proves my point.

Video: Show us a video that makes you want to dance.

Show us your favorite album cover.

Cheap Thrills

Janis Joplin still blast my spirit and the art of  Robert Crumb was revolutionary

I was so impressed by Emjay in D cup's A good lesson that I hope that she doesn't mind me posting part of it here.  The part about what she has learned because it inspired me to think about what I know.

I've learned, that no matter what happens,

 how bad it seems today, life does go on and things will get better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way

he/she handles four things: 

a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. 

I've learned of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they are gone from your life. 

I've learned that making a 'living" is not the same thing as making a "life.." 

I've learned that life some times gives you a second chance

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. 

You need to throw something back. 

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. 

 But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others,

your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you. 

 I've learned that when I decide something with an open heart,

 I usually make the right decision. 

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. 

I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone. 

 People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. 

 I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Things I know,

No matter how impossible things seem,

I know they will always change and even if it changes for the worse,

that change will also give me new solutions to the problem.

I know I have to laugh, especially at myself. 

I am my greatest source of entertainment.

I know I can’t blame my childhood for all my limitations

I have to take responsibility or I'll never be free to grow

I know that life can too quickly be snatched away.

The dishes will wait and pointing out the

shapes of animals in clouds is always fun

life will always gives me a second chance, but I have to be willing to take it. 

And a lot of times a third, forth or whatever is needed to get it together.

The important thing is that I try

I know that change takes courage,

because sometimes it is easier to resign to disappointment

than to take an unknown chance at a new beginning

I know that life does not revolve around me

and that I am here to reach out to others.

In a way giving seems a little selfish because it feels so good

I know what seems so damned important today

I probably won’t remember tomorrow and I know I’ll forget it by next week

I know that the only possessions that will last an eternity are relationships

And I also know the sorrow of lost relationships

I know opening my heart is worth the risk of being hurt

I know that I am never so set in my beliefs

that I shouldn’t welcome a challenge to those beliefs

and I also know I have a lot to learn.

Today at work there was a doctor that when a suggestion was made to him, he proceeded to point to the title on his identification badge and barked “What does that say?”  Fortunately, I was not present during the incident, because I am sure it must have read “ASSHOLE”.  I am sure at the very least I would have had a write up.  I’ve been present before when this particular doctor behaved badly.  He is new to our facility and hopefully administration will clue him in on what is acceptable behavior.  I’ve been with this facility for many years and I am glad to say this sort of incident happens much less then it did in the past.  There is a new attitude prevailing in healthcare as of lately.  Doctors are no longer the gods they once were thought to be, by themselves and treated as such by the nursing staff.  I can remember in the past doctors that would throw equipment, yell and berate the staff.  That is no longer tolerated and pleasantly less likely to happen.  The newer doctors seem to realize the value of team work.  They ultimately have to make the final decisions, but I’ve witness them ask for suggestions and opinions from other doctors and staff.  This is good not only because it results in better patient care, but it lets other staff feel that their insight and experience has value. 

There are many benefits to being involved in healthcare.  I get a pretty decent wage, but of course it should be better for what I do and the experience I bring to my job. I’ve had better paying occupations, but in all honesty, I’ve never had a more satisfying one.  I met an elderly woman today. She is 92.  She had spent New Year’s Eve dancing til midnight and was anxious to get discharged because she bowls on a league on Fridays.  She told me that old age just keeps getting in the way of her activities.  Isn’t that marvelous?  I meet people like that everyday.  Each one is different, but somehow each one touches my life.  Some days are frustrating and tiring, but there are a whole lot of days that I just feel blessed to even briefly meet these people.  I don’t talk about it much at work, because it might sound corny and ingratiating, but I really get a kick out of these patients.  They come in all shapes and sizes with varying educational backgrounds.  Some can be as funny as any comedian or as weird as anyone in Ripley's Believe It or Not, but just one of them can make up for a dozen arrogant doctors.  I guess I am lucky to be able to do what I enjoy, but I still deserve better pay.

I have recently read two books concerning healthcare and what I believe is a new prevailing attitude in the medical world or at least should be.  The author Atul Gawande is from Ohio and is a surgeon and writer.  His books, Complications and Better are very well written and I enjoyed them completely.  I hated finishing the second book because I found his ideas and insights to be enlightening, challenging as well as informative and I just wanted more. 

If you are a healthcare worker anywhere from administration to environmental service, you will find these books well worth the read.  I wish every healthcare worker would read them.  They should be a mandatory read.

It is with a sigh of relief that 2007 is over.  I have high hopes for 2008.  It isn't because I think that all bad things will go away or that I'll magically become younger and thinner in 2008.  It is because 2007 just pretty much sucked.  In the Ozarks everything just went to sh_t with the ice storm of 2007.  I was foolish enough to think how beautiful it was.  “Like an ice fantasy land" What a dweeb!  Truth was that many people were without heat, venders and motels took the opportunity to show their greed and gouge people to the point the Attorney General got involved after the fact.  The poor and homeless suffered the most and financially things just never recovered, nor did the people of the Ozarks.  I spoke with a woman today that still feels a lot of anger about the way many things were handled or not handled.  It has been almost a year and it is still what everyone talks about.  But I digress, my main point is yippee, we survived. This year there will be no black-eyed peas eaten in this house nor will we be eating sauerkraut.  It didn’t help last year and I hate black-eyed peas. (that's the bean, not the music group)  Instead I’ve built a nice fire in the fireplace, opened a good bottle of Shiraz and am enjoying this with some cheese, fruit and good music.  Everyone is gone this evening, so I have the house to myself. That is, if you don’t count the three dogs, the cat and the bird.   It is a rare treat to have some alone time.  I adore my husband, but hey, everyone needs a break sometime.  So I raise my glass and say f__k  I mean the heck with 2007.  I am getting drunk alone the first day of 2008.  It ain’t all bad!  Check back with me next December and I'll let you know if it worked.