Thursday, April 14, 2011
martyrdom
it is really quite amazing to me, how very important some people think themselves. when i am resolutely unimpressed, the volume and whine of your voice grows as if i had simply not heard the first time. or second, or third, or fourth times either. in truth, it is simply the case that i truly am not impressed with, what sounds to any rational person, very unimportant and uninteresting drivel, and that i care less and less each time you escalate your own suffering importance.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Turn out the lights, the party's over...
"Brit is the last one working inhouse and Suzanne is the only telecommuter on tonight, so she will be the one to "turn out the lights" at midnight on St Joe's transcription." --Rita Maguire, Transcription Clerk, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
today is the last day that a doctor's report dictated for care given at peacehealth st. joseph medical center will be transcribed by a peacehealth employee.
i thought i was done grieving the loss of my department, my friends, the "old" way of doing things. i was wrong. i read rita's email just now and got this image of dear old (yes, she is very old, actually) suzanne shutting off her computer for the last time and turning out the lights. not just on our department, but on an era of personal service. service that was done with care and passion for doctors that we actually see and know by face. a service provided for the community that we live in and love because we truly believe that quality matters.
so, goodnight, transcription, and thanks for the memories.
today is the last day that a doctor's report dictated for care given at peacehealth st. joseph medical center will be transcribed by a peacehealth employee.
i thought i was done grieving the loss of my department, my friends, the "old" way of doing things. i was wrong. i read rita's email just now and got this image of dear old (yes, she is very old, actually) suzanne shutting off her computer for the last time and turning out the lights. not just on our department, but on an era of personal service. service that was done with care and passion for doctors that we actually see and know by face. a service provided for the community that we live in and love because we truly believe that quality matters.
so, goodnight, transcription, and thanks for the memories.
Friday, January 21, 2011
our "improved" cafeteria
it was not bothering me much until this week. the new "fancy" food options seem questionable at times, although not altogether unreasonable. but this week i am irritated enough to complain. loudly. and this has even been a good week.
on wednesday i noticed that the cafeteria is colder than my desk area. seriously? did you read my stupidly freezing cold office post? not only is the eating area of the hospital cafeteria colder than my workspace, but there is not a table at which one can sit and not have cold air blowing directly at oneself.
yesterday i realized that on none of the five days this workweek has either soup contained meat. the thai chicken curry soup i just ate was the first to claim to contain meat, however there was not a single chunk or shred of chicken in it. i even did the scoop-from-the-bottom-and-drain-most-of-the-liquid-out-of-the-ladel move. and, seriously, if there is going to be an additional cost for the dinner roll that used to be free with soup there really should be posted a price. this would prepare those of us who still pay with cash. do you have any idea the fury that comes after the following conversation?
- me: "three fourty-six? soup should be two ninety-eight."
- lourdes: "and the roll. the roll costs now."
- me: "oh. uh. i don't have enough. um, i could put it back?"
- lourdes: "huh? oh. um. well, how much do you have?"
- me: "only three dollars. it was enough yesterday."
- lourdes: "oh, ok. i just take it off. you don't worry."
now, none of this is lourdes's fault. she is simply the cashier, and a very sweet gal.
and then today. today i noticed that the (already overpriced) salad bar price-per-ounce went up. and i am pretty sure they started getting a cheaper brand of cottage cheese, one that is dry and sour.
oh yes, a complaint letter is being drafted.
on wednesday i noticed that the cafeteria is colder than my desk area. seriously? did you read my stupidly freezing cold office post? not only is the eating area of the hospital cafeteria colder than my workspace, but there is not a table at which one can sit and not have cold air blowing directly at oneself.
yesterday i realized that on none of the five days this workweek has either soup contained meat. the thai chicken curry soup i just ate was the first to claim to contain meat, however there was not a single chunk or shred of chicken in it. i even did the scoop-from-the-bottom-and-drain-most-of-the-liquid-out-of-the-ladel move. and, seriously, if there is going to be an additional cost for the dinner roll that used to be free with soup there really should be posted a price. this would prepare those of us who still pay with cash. do you have any idea the fury that comes after the following conversation?
- me: "three fourty-six? soup should be two ninety-eight."
- lourdes: "and the roll. the roll costs now."
- me: "oh. uh. i don't have enough. um, i could put it back?"
- lourdes: "huh? oh. um. well, how much do you have?"
- me: "only three dollars. it was enough yesterday."
- lourdes: "oh, ok. i just take it off. you don't worry."
now, none of this is lourdes's fault. she is simply the cashier, and a very sweet gal.
and then today. today i noticed that the (already overpriced) salad bar price-per-ounce went up. and i am pretty sure they started getting a cheaper brand of cottage cheese, one that is dry and sour.
oh yes, a complaint letter is being drafted.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
my stupidly freezing cold office
i work in an annex "building". like the ones you see on elementary school playgrounds. a helicopter landing 200 yards away literally shakes the wall to which my cubicle is attached. one day this winter i brought a thermometer to work just to see how freezing my work space truly is.
now, i am not an entirely unreasonable person, and i know that i tend to run on the cold side. i wear sweaters year-round and wool socks at work simply because i want to feel my toes when i stand up. a lot of days i do not even take off my scarf when i arrive. but i work at a desk, typing on a computer, and gloves are not especially conducive to any kind of productivity on my part. i would truly LOVE to watch the cushy executives in their cushy heated office stick their hands in a bucket of ice water and then try to type a sentence. actually, what i would really love to watch happen...um, well, that is an entirely different post.
anyway, back to the thermometer test. while standing outside the "building", the thermometer read 39 degrees, and while sitting on my desk rose to a whopping 55 degrees. i do not care if you are hot-flashing menopausal or 400 pounds of fat sweaty grossness, there is no acceptable reason under any circumstances to keep an office where people sit at desks all day that freaking frigid.
now, i am not an entirely unreasonable person, and i know that i tend to run on the cold side. i wear sweaters year-round and wool socks at work simply because i want to feel my toes when i stand up. a lot of days i do not even take off my scarf when i arrive. but i work at a desk, typing on a computer, and gloves are not especially conducive to any kind of productivity on my part. i would truly LOVE to watch the cushy executives in their cushy heated office stick their hands in a bucket of ice water and then try to type a sentence. actually, what i would really love to watch happen...um, well, that is an entirely different post.
anyway, back to the thermometer test. while standing outside the "building", the thermometer read 39 degrees, and while sitting on my desk rose to a whopping 55 degrees. i do not care if you are hot-flashing menopausal or 400 pounds of fat sweaty grossness, there is no acceptable reason under any circumstances to keep an office where people sit at desks all day that freaking frigid.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
inside voices, people!
[insert your preferred expletive here]!! seriously? it is called an "inside voice" for a reason. it is the volume at which normal people use while indoors. this should be audibly contrasted to an "outside voice" with which one may use while romping outdoors across a field or cursing out a ref at a football game.
in the workplace, an "office voice" may even be noticed. it is a hushed version of the "inside voice" just above what would be commonly considered to be a whisper. courteous professionals use this "office voice" while discussing both personal and work-related topics while within the office walls. by using this "office voice", these individuals acknowledge the fact that some people in the office may actually have work to do that requires some tiny amount of concentration and really do not care how great drinks were at such-and-such bar or why you, for the sixth time this week, have to ask how to access the department's shared drive.
in the workplace, an "office voice" may even be noticed. it is a hushed version of the "inside voice" just above what would be commonly considered to be a whisper. courteous professionals use this "office voice" while discussing both personal and work-related topics while within the office walls. by using this "office voice", these individuals acknowledge the fact that some people in the office may actually have work to do that requires some tiny amount of concentration and really do not care how great drinks were at such-and-such bar or why you, for the sixth time this week, have to ask how to access the department's shared drive.
new year, new outlook
well, the new year is here and, so far, it is proving to be better than 2010. not that 2010 offered me much in the way of positive life experiences. if each day can be even remotely better than the same day last year, maybe life will prove to be worth more than the load of crap that rolled in truckload after truckload last year.
you might think it mildly amusing or irritating that this is the best "new" outlook i can come up with. i am not one for resolutions and hardly consider january 1 as a true new beginning every time it comes around, so you can believe it when i say this is quite a step up for me to find hope at all that this year might bring anything better than the last.
you might think it mildly amusing or irritating that this is the best "new" outlook i can come up with. i am not one for resolutions and hardly consider january 1 as a true new beginning every time it comes around, so you can believe it when i say this is quite a step up for me to find hope at all that this year might bring anything better than the last.
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