Secular Confessions

[Gwenn]

Chrissy, what you said is particularly true with Ph.D.'s ... you don't necessarily have to be smart to get them, only unusually obsessive about a topic. Generally people who do have them are a little off the end of the bell curve one way or another. And working in a school, I know a lot of dingbats with master's degrees.

Stash, enjoy your trip!

[Gwenn]

Okay, I have to laugh. I went to put some laundry in and found a load of DH's underwear and socks in the dryer. Seriously, he leaves for a year and wants me to put away his socks and underwear after he's gone? And wouldn't you think he'd want to take it with him if he bothered to wash it? He's not the type to do laundry just so it would be sitting clean on a shelf somewhere.

[3andMe]

Mandy, your dh sounds really sweet. Mine only tends to share heartfelt emotions when he's away from me, too. I hope the time passes quickly for you, and that the hardest days aren't so hard and the easiest days are easier than you imagined. There comes a point when a dh's absence is just routine, and that in itself is hard.

I don't think I have much to add about the doctors/nurses debate. Nursing does focus more on the whole person whereas MDs tend to focus on the illness, but that is not as clear-cut as it used to be and certainly varies by individual. It's not so much a random stereotype about "caring" as it is about what is taught in the courses. Doctors who have spent time pre-medical-school as nurses or NPs or even aides or pharmacists tend to be more sensitive to the whole picture.

And I know really wonderful doctors and really wonderful nurses, and really terrible specimens of each, as well.

To the comment about nurses not getting sued...
Nurses do get sued for things like infections post-surgery, but tend to not be as visible targets because most of those things are paid out by percent of responsibility--so if you have 20 nurses over the course of a week failing to observe a complication, plus the nurses who were in the surgery in the first place, plus the surgical team and the MDs caring for the patient on the ward, plus the hospital as a whole, each nurse is not going to be responsible for a big piece of that pie. Nurses mostly get sued for IV issues, or other things that are primarily nursing-related.

[The10Eels]

Bridget! I really hope you are able to make it to Alaska to visit your friends.. That house sounds amazing (and totally alaskan!) and I can imagine you would like moose meat.

Moose is actually one of the things I miss most about AK. (next to my friends, of course.) Its very similar to beef, but much leaner...

I confess I am one clinical, 5 draws, and one test away from being a nationally certified phlebotomist!

[Gwenn]

Mandy, your dh sounds really sweet. Mine only tends to share heartfelt emotions when he's away from me, too. I hope the time passes quickly for you, and that the hardest days aren't so hard and the easiest days are easier than you imagined. There comes a point when a dh's absence is just routine, and that in itself is hard.

I think the hardest part of it is not being able to share all the little details. That's what keeps us really connected and I worry we won't have anything to talk about.

[addysonreese]

I don't think I have much to add about the doctors/nurses debate. Nursing does focus more on the whole person whereas MDs tend to focus on the illness, but that is not as clear-cut as it used to be and certainly varies by individual. It's not so much a random stereotype about "caring" as it is about what is taught in the courses. Doctors who have spent time pre-medical-school as nurses or NPs or even aides or pharmacists tend to be more sensitive to the whole picture.

And I know really wonderful doctors and really wonderful nurses, and really terrible specimens of each, as well.

To the comment about nurses not getting sued...
Nurses do get sued for things like infections post-surgery, but tend to not be as visible targets because most of those things are paid out by percent of responsibility--so if you have 20 nurses over the course of a week failing to observe a complication, plus the nurses who were in the surgery in the first place, plus the surgical team and the MDs caring for the patient on the ward, plus the hospital as a whole, each nurse is not going to be responsible for a big piece of that pie. Nurses mostly get sued for IV issues, or other things that are primarily nursing-related.

The example that I used was from a book I have, written by a surgeon I admire. It was really the best thing I could give, since I'm not in the medical field yet and can't really give a solid example of a case where a doctor was sued for completely ridiculous reasons.. although I'm sure I could look them up. We're a sue-happy country.. at least we've seem to become one over the years.

Like I said, I'm mainly biased to it all because I for one, cannot see myself as the physician who does not care. I just don't have that in me. On the opposite side, I actually worry about my emotions getting the best of me, and that I might care for my patients a little too much. I think going into a peds rotation will probably kill me, and I hope Clinton is ready for the bawling if I come across a particularly hard case.

I tend to see a lot of shows, or comments about how nurses always save the ass of a doctor and I just really feel that it's overplayed a ton. How is anyone supposed to trust their physician if there is always someone saying that they suck for some unknown reason?

[Bridget]

I confess that I've been in the guest room for 2 nights now and not really speaking to dbf at all. He's holding that he lies because he feels like if he doesn't, I get mad it him. But what's funny is that I really only get mad at him for lying. He thinks that it is every time he goes to hang out with his friends but he ends up lying every time he goes out with his friends. The problem for me is that he's still trying to defend himself instead of seeing that he is wrong. And oh how I love the, "I'm sorry your upset" apology. You can't be sorry for how I feel thank you very much. Be sorry for your actions.
I'm excited because today is my brother's birthday and I'm going to go and meet all of his friends, who also happen to be my friends, for dinner. If my mom is up for it then her and my dad may go as well. I'm really, really looking forward to it even though it's a 40 minute drive.

[missychrissy]

Bridget, he's being manipulative and trying to make this into something about you. Whether it's because he's being passive-aggressive or an alcoholic or has some personality disorder-who knows. But this is 100% him and I honestly don't know how you tolerate it.

I hope you have a really great time at your brother's birthday and that it's a good day for your mom.

[Bridget]

]Bridget, he's being manipulative and trying to make this into something about you[/B]. Whether it's because he's being passive-aggressive or an alcoholic or has some personality disorder-who knows. But this is 100% him and I honestly don't know how you tolerate it.

I hope you have a really great time at your brother's birthday and that it's a good day for your mom.

I know, Chrissy and last night when we were talking and he kept saying things like, "Well you make it really hard for me" and trying to put it all on me I actually thought to myself that it was a little scary the way he was trying to flip the switch. And if I was a weaker woman, I might believe him.

[missychrissy]

I'm glad you don't. I'm sorry he's putting you through this.

[Cosmosmom]

I confess I am one clinical, 5 draws, and one test away from being a nationally certified phlebotomist!

Very Cool!

[Cosmosmom]

Mandy that email was really sweet! I totally believe men can be as emotional as women....I just think that a lot of times they don't feel they can let anyone see that.

[daylilies]

AUGH I don't know what's up with my laptop but it's driving me nuts. The cursor keeps skipping around as I'm typing and it selects things and deletes them. Like, everything I just typed.

[missychrissy]

Do you have a touch-point thing? Like a little erasure-like thing in the middle of your keys? I find if I'm typing on one of those and it's too sensitive, that happens a lot. You can also try toggling the insert button 1 time & see if that helps.

[Bridget]

I confess that I was surprised when the grandma of a little boy dropped him off an hour early this morning. Until she handed him to me and said, "He has a present for you in his diaper. He wouldn't let me change him so here you go."
Can you believe it? Brought him to me early so I could change his poopy diaper!

[daylilies]

I don't see any eraser like thing...I was thinking maybe the touch pad is too sensitive, but I hit the insert key and that seems to be helping. Thanks!

[MammaMia]

I confess that I was surprised when the grandma of a little boy dropped him off an hour early this morning. Until she handed him to me and said, "He has a present for you in his diaper. He wouldn't let me change him so here you go."
Can you believe it? Brought him to me early so I could change his poopy diaper!

Nice! I had people do that to me too when I was a nanny.

[Gwenn]

Bridget. I deal with the shifting of blame, too, when DH was drinking. It was unbelievable how he could twist things around and believe it was somehow my fault when the truth is I was the opposite of what he was saying. Again, when he stopped drinking all of that also stopped. Our relationship is 180 degrees different.

Please PM if you want.

[MammaMia]

I confess that I have a FB friend (I actually barely know her) who puts her daughters in pageants. The pics of them really weird me out. They're 2 and 4, and wear more make up than I've ever worn in my life. Then she has these weird portfolio pics of them where they're Photoshopped to within an inch of their life, like this:


(That's not my friend's daughter, but her pics are in the same style).

I find the whole thing super weird!

In other news, I started my new job today. It was a good day.

[daylilies]

LOL, that girl doesn't even look real! At first I thought it was a doll, but around the eyes looks so fake she doesn't even look like a doll.

Honestly, if you're just going to photoshop the crap out of a model, what's to stop any of us from getting a modeling job?

PS, my laptop is still screwing up. Edited for clarity.

[daylilies]

Oh and I'm glad your first day went well!

[Cosmosmom]

Sarah I find that creepy too! I'm not anti-pagents...if only they would let 4 yr olds look like 4 yr olds and not middle aged hookers.

[Gwenn]

That's incredibly creepy. Glad you had a good first day!

Our school met with the staff of the school we are merging with after we close. There is another person there in my position and apparently she works part time. It turns out she was expecting to work full time next year by taking the students coming in from our school. And the best part is, she doesn't even work for our district but she's a hired contractor. The district policy is that contractors are only hired for a year at a time and re-hired from year to year as necessary. I'm a district employee with tenure. Yeah, this isn't going to be pretty. I've already emailed my boss about it. This woman asked me if I was planning to continue with my students next year and looked pissed when I told her that not only did I plan to, but that our supervisor had told me I could.

[addysonreese]

That's incredibly creepy. Glad you had a good first day!

Our school met with the staff of the school we are merging with after we close. There is another person there in my position and apparently she works part time. It turns out she was expecting to work full time next year by taking the students coming in from our school. And the best part is, she doesn't even work for our district but she's a hired contractor. The district policy is that contractors are only hired for a year at a time and re-hired from year to year as necessary. I'm a district employee with tenure. Yeah, this isn't going to be pretty. I've already emailed my boss about it. This woman asked me if I was planning to continue with my students next year and looked pissed when I told her that not only did I plan to, but that our supervisor had told me I could.

Uh oh. Unfortunately, she should know the rules regarding her job and the fact that you have senority. At least, I'd hope so.

[addysonreese]

Oh, and that pic of the girl was really creepy. Shame on the parents for doing all of that. We have enough of society cramming "what we should look like" campaigns down our throats that we don't need to start it when they're 4.

Sarah, I'm glad your first day was good!!

[missychrissy]

I confess that I was surprised when the grandma of a little boy dropped him off an hour early this morning. Until she handed him to me and said, "He has a present for you in his diaper. He wouldn't let me change him so here you go."
Can you believe it? Brought him to me early so I could change his poopy diaper!

No! I can't believe it!! But that's funny

I confess that I have a FB friend (I actually barely know her) who puts her daughters in pageants. The pics of them really weird me out. They're 2 and 4, and wear more make up than I've ever worn in my life. Then she has these weird portfolio pics of them where they're Photoshopped to within an inch of their life, like this:


(That's not my friend's daughter, but her pics are in the same style).

I find the whole thing super weird!

In other news, I started my new job today. It was a good day.

That's beyond creepy!!

[The10Eels]

I confess.... I actually like the new Miley Cyrus song "can't be tamed"

[stephmama]

Did Janeen have a baby yet?

[missychrissy]

I confess.... I actually like the new Miley Cyrus song "can't be tamed"

I watched the video. I can't decide yet if I like it or not.

Did Janeen have a baby yet?

I don't know...but your siggy pic is a trip.

[stephmama]