Death and friendship

I spent last weekend with my friend, C, from work. This is the third year in a row that we have attended a four day bluegrass festival at a campground just south of Austin, Texas. He had invited two other female types along as well and for the most part we all got along. Both C and his friend were dealing with difficult health news about family members. As a result there was a lot of talking and a few tears. Being outside of this nexus of pain was frustrating and a little confusing. What can you say to someone who is frightened of losing someone they love? There are no words to ease their pain and "I"m sorry" is so meaningless. This is amplified when there are two individuals wrapped up in these feelings in close quarters. I hope that by talking and by just being around I helped somewhat.

What classic movie would I be if I were a classic movie

My aunt is shaming me with her growing blog. This test was one she had posted and both she and I are the same classic flick. I wonder what that says about nature vs nurture.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

American health care - part deux

There are times that I long for Canadian healthcare inefficiencies. Today, is one of those times. I had a minor surgery on my toe in my regular clinic here in Houston. Let me make it clear, as a Canadian wait times are expected, IN HOSPITALS. I have been waiting for this appointment for approximately six weeks. It took me two weeks to see my PCP (that's primary care physician for the Canadians out there) for a specialist referral, then another three weeks to get an appointment with a podiatrist who "does feet". That's five weeks folks for a procedure that apparently takes fifteen solid minutes.

Anyone else longing for Canadian healthcare where I could have walked into any clinic and had this procedure done virtually on the spot? Did I mention that there would be no forthcoming bill for the service? I fully expect to pay up to 20% of the cost of this fifteen minute procedure and that's with "good" health care. F***ing frightening.

So pleased to have gotten an appointment with an actual podiatrist with whom I could discuss all my treatment options I get a physician who is in such a rush that she screws up my first name on the prescription. The reason she is in such a hurry is because she herself is running late for a doctor's appointment. The irony is palpable.

After proposing that a PA (physician's assistant) could do the minor 15 minute surgery I assure her that this is not happening. I have waited FIVE weeks to see HER, not someone who can't get into medical school. She sighs, looks at me as though I have inconvenienced her to a level that is immeasureable and agrees to do it. I am rethinking my obstinance on this point as I contemplate a speed toenail removal. She freezes my toe, comes back in and does a very professional job. I thank her, take the prescription and all the vast paperwork and leave.

On the way home I decide that I would really like to have the Darvocet and antibiotics sooner rather than later so I stop at a Walgreen's Drugstore. After waiting for 45 minutes I approach the pharmacist and politely ask if my prescription is ready. I am told that I will have to wait for a second time and told that I should know better than to come in the day after Easter Sunday. WTF does Christ's resurrection somehow cause all the crazies to need more meds?

It is at this point that the electricity goes out in the Walgreen's. Then we are told that we will have to leave for safety reasons. I think that the pharmacists were the only ones in danger at this point. I ask (as nicely as possible) to have my prescriptions back so I can get them filled elsewhere. BTW by this point the freezing is starting to go away and having expected some form of pain killer by this point I am almost tempted to liberate a bottle of Advil on the way out the door.

Having been assured by the kind pharmacy people at Walgreen's that my prescriptions are "in the system" and I could go to another location to have them filled, I do so. Everything goes tickety boo and the pharmacist walks up with my prescriptions all nicely packaged to go. My heart lifts and bird song fills the store. For some reason the pharmacist while looking directly at me is calling me Georgia. My heart sinks, the birds all keel over. I explain to the pharmacist with as much patience that I can muster that the doctor had been in a hurry and probably had misheard the name. Now could I please have my drugs?

Oh no, this is not what happened, the pharmacist concerned for MY safety insists on speaking to the doctor to confirm that these drugs really were prescribed to me (and not Georgia), and that they were the correct drugs. While I am sure that in the future I will appreciate his due diligence I could have f***ing killed him at that point in time. He calls my health provider who leaves him on hold for an unusually long period of time (par for the course). I did explain that my doctor wasn't there, that she barely finished bandaging my foot before she bolted for the door, but he insisted. He finally gets through to an afterhours nurse (this is 5:15 in the afternoon) and tells her that he needs the doctor to call the pharmacy before he will give me the prescriptions. We continue to wait for another 25 minutes by which point I can feel every nerve ending in my foot firing up.

He comes over and tells me that they are still waiting for the call but he was sure that it soon come. For some reason his completely unrealistic optimism caused me to start laughing hysterically which quickly turned into tears. I inform him that I am going home to take some pain medication and could they please call me when they would liberate my medications. As of this moment I am still waiting for that call. My only solace is the idea that the pharmacy guy is still sitting by the phone patiently waiting to hear from my doctor.

I only have one thing to say about this experience, hoarding Vicodin from previous surgeries does pay off.

Kid's book kerfuffle

Well it took four and a half years but I had someone within the library who felt that a book I had placed in the children's or juvenile collection was inappropriate and then questioned its placement. I think that I am most disappointed that they didn't discuss their concerns with me directly. I found out from the individual who would have needed to change the location in the record, who properly contacted me when approached with the concern.

Now our children's collection is labelled a juvenile collection but this is an academic library and all my materials from board books up to young adult are located in the "juvenile collection". Perhaps it is the name of the book that caused the concern, The Book of Bunny Suicides

The humour is dark, and more than a little twisted, but does that automatically make material adult? Teenagers are exposed to more graphic representations of death everyday through television and film. When do we expose children to humour that represents the darker aspects of life? Having had a close family member kill themselves, I am aware that the word "suicide" holds alot of emotional impact. Not to mention that such things are not discussed in polite company. When do we trust our children and teenagers to determine what is "appropriate" for them to read?

Having checked several library catalogs (thanks Worldcat) the book has been treated in several ways. Some public libraries chose to place the book in the non-fiction section, which is where controversial children's titles go to never be found. Others like Fort Worth Public Library have placed their copies in their Teen or young adult sections.

I am comfortable with keeping the book in the Juvenile collection and I appreciate the professionalism of my colleagues. Looking at the book website I see that there is a sequel, now where would I find the ISBN?

Geek Status confirmed

A friend sent me this quiz. I guess the debate is over.

American Health Care - student style

It started out as a beautiful morning. I was very much enjoying sitting with Ranger's kitty Annika eating an orange. Work was calling so I packed up my bag, pet the kitty one last time, and walked out the door. Suddenly I felt my ankle turn, which led to my ungraceful landing on her front step. A curious mailman looked like he might walk over but I think my cursing sent him away. Crying, cursing, women apparently are not his cup of tea.

I must be honest, this wouldn't be the first time I turned my ankle and sat swearing on a curb, front step, or convenient rock. On my trip to New Zealand I successfully navigated a glacial field with no problem but twisted my ankle in the restaurant where we had lunch. Walking is apparently a dangerous activity for me.

Living in the land of for profit healthcare I have a few options to have my ankle checked. Hospital emergency room, indigent drop-in clinics, or our campus health clinic. Loathing the idea of waiting in an emergency room (holdover from Canada) and not being indigent, I decided I would make use of the student health clinic.

Quite the eye opener. I am used to my primary healthcare site and much more handholding (holdover from Canada again), than I received here. While the staff were pleasant enough I was asked to climb up on the table without the use of a stool or better yet a small ladder. This can be challenging enough able bodied but I was stumped by the request. The nurse turned around and asked me what I was there for and I said, "I twisted my ankle and I can barely walk". It was only then that she seemed to realize the problem. I was asked to walk to x-ray where I got to listen to a racist, misogynistic, rant from the technician. The x-ray machine itself looked like it had been obtained from a Nicaraguan hospital during the Somoza regime.

One of my coworkers who earned a degree or two from MPOW, has called this clinic, the "Voodoo Hut." I always thought that was a little harsh but now....

Well it had to happen sometime

I have had a relatively good week. Two neocon politicians I loathe have resigned or are in the process of resigning from politics.

In Canada, Ralph Klein announced that he is stepping down and he has been an advocate for Bushie-like policies from the get go. This leader of Alberta, which is my home province, has been a thorn in my side practically since adolescence. One of my proudest moments was when I ambushed him at a high school with a question about his disregard for both the environment and native rights.

Here in Houston, Tom Delay has resigned his congressional seat. I swear the roof of the library nearly flew off from the shouts of glee. Its true, if you wait long enough, and don't mind the scraping noise from their fingernails as you pry them out of their positions of power, it can happen.

Bluegrass Nirvana

To solidify my reputation as a geek I am attending a bluegrass music festival this month. The festival is over a weekend starting Thursday night and ending Sunday afternoon. I look forward to this festival and the corresponding camping trip every year. The festival, the music, and my friend's hammock always make for a memorable trip. There is nothing finer than lying in the hammock with a cold beer listening to live music. An added bonus is that my friend does all the cooking. Yes, you heard correctly, all the cooking. And the boy can cook.

Geek Exposure

Allright, allright, I will take the chance that an academic librarian might already be perceived as a wee bit geekish. I confess, I have been involved in role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. I actually worked at one of the largest game stores in North America, The Sentry Box while I was a student. You're welcome Gord. With this in mind, I took an online test to determine what type of dice I was. If you are currently muttering "what type of dice are there?", this is not your test. I wasn't happy with my first designation so I rerolled. Much happier with the second result.

You are the rare, the overlooked, yet incredibly useful dodecahedron: the d12. You are a creative, romantic soul. You often act without thinking, but make up for your lack of plans with plenty of heart. You easily solve problems that stump others, but your answers tend to put you into even deeper trouble. You write long, detailed backgrounds for all your characters, and are most likely to dress up as one or get involved in cos-play. You can be silly at times and are easily distracted by your own day dreams, but are at the end of the day you're someone who can be depended on.

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

Movie Buddies

Does anyone else have friends that they watch "certain" types of movies with? My friend R and I met through online dating and on our first (and only) date we saw an arthouse movie. R and I decided that we would do better as friends but arthouse, foreign, and just plain strange movie viewing became a standard activity. Today we are going to watch a movie that he has preselected and I know that I will enjoy it based on past experience. Is there a better way to spend a hot Saturday afternoon than in a dark room with someone you know is enjoying it just as much as you are? I doubt it. Vietnamese sandwiches beforehand seal the deal.