So I woke up a bit tired this morning, nothing much, just stayed up way too late last night. Looked at my clock, and -yeep!- found out that it was noon:30. I had meant to fix my car up, clean the big house up, and get the lawn all cleaned up. Well, scratch all that! I got my std::wakeup() function completed, and started on that lawn (knowing that I wouldn't finish).
What lay before me was an electric lawnmower that my dad had bought. This sucker is WEIRD! I hate having to manipulate the chord all the time so I don't cut it (I usually run over the vacuum chord when vacuuming), but I do like how the thing STOPS when I let go of the choke, and how it's much quieter (not to mention more efficient) I give it a thumb up!
So then I had to run to work. Damn, the chaos that resulted from not planning and executing nearly wrecked my week schedule! Have so much to do on my next two days off... (that's right, mofo's. I have Tuesday-Saturday as my job, at 2:30-11:00!) I will try to survive, but now I gotta work double time!
Today was my first day being all by my little lonesome (well, not quite. Sara (formerly a checker at WinCo) worked with me, but she's done the ER booth as much as I have -- 5 days), and I got to say, me and Sara did awesome (she agrees). After being VERY dead for the morning shift people, The hospital got HAMMERED with all kinds of people; it was like a jungle! So many qeues... people spilling over into other waiting rooms for need of a seat... it was staggering!
There was this one crazy guy who tried to act all cool in a James Dean sort of way. When the nurses became busy with other patients, he got off of the gurney outside of the hallway and started walking down the hall, looking at everything. As one of the nurses caught him, he insisted that he just wanted to check out the hospital, especially because he used to work at the hospital. When the nurse got him back on the gurney, she left because there were too many people to take care of to mess with him. So, the guy got back up. THEN, he flipped out a knife.
The knife was connected to a chain, and the guy would rotate his hand like a wild west gunman to get the blade spinning. He even started cutting the hallway every now and again!
After a whole bunch of sudden patient concerns, I called the police (who came by rapidly), and had them convince the guy that he should give up his knife until he's done with his visit.
That's just one of the many psychos we get. It feels kind of normal to deal with them now. But, I was a little bit antsy over how so many patients were lined up for a visit. What if one of them couldn't take having to wait anymore?
I'll never forget the army of old ladies that visited. They had waited there for 3 hours just to get a triage. At the end of the 3rd hour, the lady (that all the other old ladies were at the hospital for) got so upset that she got up, out of her wheelchair, and started hobbling towards the exit. The other old ladies tried to get her to get back on the wheelchair because she was damaging herself (or so I overheard), while at the same time screaming at the top of their lungs (at me) with that harsh old lady tone. I won't easily forget the large emotional dumpings of those angry, angry faces and the angry postures and gesures I was graciously given. Reminded me of a flock of wet hens
In a way, I love my job. I love it so much that I don't take breaks when I should. My coworkers feel the same way and we all stay in there and fight it out! Progress!
I still don't really feel like I'm helping these people, though (which is what everyone, including my dad, the nurses at work, and even the patients insist). I feel like I'm there to steal their money. I feel like it isn't fair; it isn't right. At least, I don't feel like the volumes of money being extracted is ok to do. Secretly, I root for the people who ask me questions that make me do more work, just to get them out of billing (rescind bills that are not earned, etc.) I can't help everyone, since there's too many things to do to fix every bill, but...
Strangely, I'm a very happy person. What is it that makes me happy after doing my job? Is it the fact that I have to be happy for all the sick people? My job is not an amusement park job, after all.
Or is it that seeing hurting people makes me happier to be all well? Meh.
Could it be that there's lots of hot women around me and in close quarters 8 hours a day? Could be. But I'm not really thinking about that.
Could it be that my job is easy? Possible, too.
It's probably a combination of all these factors. Just know that, a middleman job is usually easier than a job that gives the immediate good or service.
Anyway, I need to sleep so sign off time be now. yow.
No matter what happens... somebody will find a way to take it too seriously. ~Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"
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