extraction distraction

so, i forgot to mention the best part about last night!

i called my boss, Charlene, when i was on my way home, because she stayed at the house while i stayed at the hospital. and so, i called her at quarter to 2am and she said, "so, why don't i just finish the overnight, and since i'll be down here in the morning, you don't have to come down." NICE. so, i got to sleep in. and she said we would work on figuring out hours and everything later because she didn't want me to lose any time.

WHICH WOULD SUCK. because the overnight time is different than the day time. i really hope i don't have to use personal time because i was working until 2am.

anyways. so, went to bed at 3am. cell phone woke me up at 11:30.

"Julie, do you want to work this afternoon until around 4:30?"

i said yes. they just needed someone to bring a resident to her doctor's appointment and stay there with her. oh, and pick up another resident at the hospital and bring her home. ok, fine.

so, staff meeting was pushed back until 1 today. and we didn't really start talking about anything until 2. so, then i had to leave at 2:15.

here was the plan:

- bring GIRL 1 to her doctor's appointment
- drop her off and go pick up GIRL 2
- bring GIRL 2 back to the house
- go back to the hospital for GIRL 1's appointment

the appointment was at 3 and the scheduled pick up was at 2:30. nothing happened on time.

- i dropped GIRL 1 off at the appointment at 2:30
- picked up GIRL 2 just after, but of course they weren't ready and she still had an IV in and everything.
- leave the hospital at 3
- at the house by 3:15 (every red light. so much traffic)
- back at the hospital for 3:35

so, i felt really bad being a half hour late for her appointment. and so, i go to check in and tell them i'm here and they're like, "oh yeah! she's in a class right now."

and that's when i realized i had absolutely no idea what this appointment was for.

it was for her wisdom teeth! i walked into this class of kids and their parents and the doctor was explaining the wisdom teeth extraction procedure. it was funny.

and then after his presentation there was another presentation by the nurse. it was like,

soft, cold foods!
no sports for two weeks!
no mouthwash!
ice for ten minutes!
take your prescribed medication!

the whole thing seemed kind of lame. it just totally felt like a way for the doctors to make it a more personal experience or something. but like, a staged one. not a real one.

and then they individually went over each child's chart with them and their parents. they all thought i was "the mom." not sure how i feel about that. this girl is 16. i'm 23. really?

i had to sign a consent form saying that i was going to get GIRL 1 have her wisdom teeth out. and the LNA got pretty mad at me because i turned around and asked GIRL 1 if she wanted me to say 'no' or 'yes' in case of the need for blood transfusion.

LNA: No! She's only 16, she can't consent to anything! YOU need to decide, that's why I asked you if you could sign consent forms. Well can you?!?!
JULIE: Yes!

that just irked me. and then, she got mad at me again because i was taking too long to read the form. or, i WAS reading the form. i think she thought i was just there to sign things. OH NO.

LNA: Ok, just sign the bottom of this.
JULIE: Alright.
LNA: (walks away, then comes back.) Ok, just sign there.
JULIE: I know, I'm still reading.
LNA: (sits down in a huff)

seriously, she was in a huff. and then! she was upset that she had to fill out the "hannah house medical follow-up form," which we need to bring to every appointment. it was like, "you wanted me to sign all your forms, now you can sign mine!"

yeah, what a great personal experience. thanks, Dartmouth Hitchcock.

but! the lady that saved the whole day. Karen. the appointment setter/wisdom teeth secretary. she was GREAT.

we walk in,

KAREN: (in a thick long island accent) Hello hello! Come in, please. Alright, we're here now to set your appointment...(looks out the door at another lady) OH! IT WAS YESTERDAY!!
OTHER LADY: Haha! No, ours is on Saturday. We're all going to celebrate.
KAREN: Ok, count me in. (back to us) Everyone's just havin a birthday around here, you gotta celebrate the secretaries birthday's too, ya know. Ok, so when would you like to have your wisdom teeth out?
GIRL 1: As soon as possible.
KAREN: Ok. Please, sit down! Take a chair, pull up a chair, relax a little!! Ok, as soon as possible. Geeze, you've got beautiful lips. Doesn't she just have beautiful lips? Oh, you look so much like my neice. Paige. Oh, I love her but she's a little devil. A little disaster, that one. Not that I'm sayin you're a devil. Although, maybe you are, I don't know.

oh, she was great. i immediately wanted to be her best friend.

so after that, i dropped her off at school and went home. checked in downstairs for a while. there was lots of gossip. so much drama.

so then, i went to the upstairs office to check in with Diane. actually, i wanted to see Julie. the other Julie. to talk to her about the girl who was admitted to the hospital last night. but, Julie was already on her way to the hospital.

so, Diane called her cell phone for me and i talked to her. i just needed to know if she still needed me to bring up the list of things she needed. Julie thought no, because she had already brought things up this morning and then was bringing more then.

but, we actually talked for a while on the phone. i really like Julie. she had worked one-on-one for a while with (we'll call her GIRL 3) before she came to live here. so, they are really close. and Julie told me that when she went to see GIRL 3 this morning at the hospital, GIRL 3 told her how nice it was to have me there with her last night and how she was really happy we were able to have a conversation without me getting mad at her, or getting her in trouble. which has been most of her conversations with some other staff here.

and she told Julie that she thought "the two Julie's and Sue" were the only people there who liked and supported her. so, that felt really nice to hear.

and that's actually why i decided that i didn't mind taking her to the hospital last night. i knew how i would be with her, but i didn't know how another staff would. i knew that she liked me more than the other staff who would have brought her up, had i said no. so, i'm glad i made the right decision.

and then, Julie told me the best part. she said to me,

"it sounds like you really made a difference in her life last night."

wow, that was pretty much like the best thing to hear, ever. it actually made me a bit teary. that's like - the ultimate. ya know? like the thing that is above all things. making a difference. having it really mean something to another person, especially when they need someone to support them.

so, i felt really good after that. i still feel really good.

and then! i was telling Diane how hott it was upstairs and she was like, "here! borrow this window fan!!" yes! so, i got that going. i had to use the extension cord from my chandelier because there are no outlets in my bedroom. well, none near windows.

anyways. so, 6pm i finally got back upstairs.

oh, also, last night in the hospital, me and GIRL 3 were talking about her baby girl. the 10-month old who is so smart and beautiful. and she said,

GIRL 3: Whenever I hand her to you, your whole face just lights up!
JULIE: I love her!! She's the greatest baby.

so, that made me happy too. and also a little embarrassed. ha. oh, i love that baby.

alright. well tonight, i have a busy schedule. i have to do homework for my medications class. i was going to do it last night, and the night before. but, i ended up working. so, lots of reading.

also the bed bug guy came back today to reinspect. he did another treatment because he found one alive in the infected bedroom. so, that's just great. i haven't seen anymore up here.

also, tonight i got a phone call from Aer Lingus. the airline we're flying to Ireland. she said the flight times have changed and we're now also stopping over in Shannon. i said that was fine. thanks, bridget.

ok friends. i hope you are having a good day. again, too hott. one "bank sign temperature" display said it was 92 degrees. it was quite warm. i hate it.

andrew is coming to visit tomorrow. we're going to start work on a new cd. lyric writing and recording, i think. should be fun and exciting as always! i like making cds.

alright. hope your night is well. stay cool, san diego. i'll talk to you later.

<3,
.Jacuzzi.Jacuzzi.