Bathroom Memo

As a fair warning to all...this particular post may get a little more detail oriented than some may like. Today I got the opportunity to pass around the official "Bathroom Memo" at work. This is the 2nd time I have had to pass this out to all of the staff in the last year. But it is quite entertaining, as I have never encountered a workplace with such a memo. And although I don't have it in front of me to quote from, I feel as though I can give you a pretty good description of what it is:

The bathroom is to be kept neat and orderly at all times. If necessary, TURN ON THE FAN as a courtesy to other staff members and patients. We appreciate your cooperation with this matter.

As you can guess, this wasn't a random thing we decided to do today, but done more out of necessity. And although it was a pretty serious situation at the time, there is always some humor that comes with the fact we do have in place a "Bathroom Memo".

Drunk Driving

Saturday night Mike and I were driving to Walmart to drop off my prescription at their Pharmacy. We were just driving along, minding our own business when from out of nowhere this baby blue Ford Escort came out of nowhere, swerving into the turning lane next to us. Mike noticed it first and stated that the car was close to hitting the other car next to us. Well I didn't notice him until he got in front of us, which is when I realized there was probably a 'habit' that was contributing to his less than text-book driving skills. He served into the curb, and then back across our lane into the turning lane, and then back into our lane, inches from the car in front of him. He then proceeded to make a left hand turn, onto another busy Anchorage street, but this time he missed the street, and drove up onto the the sidewalk but kept turning so that he eventually got back down onto the road. At this point Mike and I decided we should call him in, so I called 911. I told them what we had witnessed and what our location was. At this point we were still following him, but he turned right onto a street, and we still needed to continue straight. We realized later, we probably should've kept following him. Once again as he turned, however, he turned onto oncoming traffic, and swerved back into his lane. That was the last I saw of this car, and the lady at the 911 dispatch said that they would locate the closest police car and take care of the situation. Well, later that evening the police called me back and asked me again what happened. I went through the story again with the policeman. He then said that they had found the car, and that he had ended up hitting a bicyclist (who they said was fine) but that the driver was "Drunk as a Skunk" so they had to get my statement. I felt so important! ah...the things you see at 6:00 p.m. in Anchorage!

Urgent Care

Friday I woke up at 3:00 a.m. with excruciating pain in my right ear. I took some ibuprofin, applied a cold pack and finally got back to sleep. I went to work on Friday, hoping it would just go away. Friday night still wasn't great, so I tried to fix it myself....I hate going to doctors! I first applied Hydrogen Peroxide in my ear...that REALLY hurt. then I tried some warm Olive Oil, hoping that would help. Well, I didn't have anything to flush the Olive Oil out with (you're supposed to use those blue things that sucks the boogers out of babies noses) but we were fresh out at my house. Needless to say the Olive Oil just stayed in my ear, clogging it up. So I then tried more Hydrogen Peroxide to get the Olive Oil out, but it didn't work. Saturday morning, after being woke up 2 days in a row from pain, I decided to go to Urgent Care. It was quite the experience. I was the first one in line, so they took me right back to get my BP, temp, O2 level and weight. Then put me in a room to wait for "Dr. Neumann". I put his name in quotes, because I don't really now if Doctor is the proper title for him. But, it's Urgent Care, I don't know why I was expecting anything more. But as I sat there waiting for him, I began to look around at my surroundings....and this is what I found. The X-ray view finder looked like it hasn't been upgraded since the 70's, as well as the metal "stand" that they kept all of their necessary tools. Then you take in consideration the blue metal table, and it looks like a Doctors office straight out of a horror movie or at the very least...a Haunted House!
Well, for some reason it took "Dr. Newman" roughly 20-25 minutes before he made his way into my room (which happens to be the ONLY patient room in the whole building.) He walked in wearing nothing less than a what appeared to be fishing vest that kept the rest of the tools he may need. Again, I'm not sure why I was expecting anything more from Urgent Care, but the Doctor fit right it in this "horror room." Well, he took a look at my ear and said the whole thing is swollen, and that I have an ear infection. So, I guess he has his license at least, because he was able to prescribe me a few items to help kick it. So now I have the necessary items that will help clear what ever is in my ear!

Straight A's

I have just completed another quarter at the highly esteemed Charter College and the results are in...and once again I have received an "A" in both of my classes. For those of you who are real smarty pants, this may seem as merely expected, but let me let you in on a little secret about me...I don't do 4.0's! I never received one...ever. Does that mean I'm stupid? No...but my priorities ranked as followed: social, work, social, family, social, little school, social. So now I'm all grown up and applying myself, it's a weird concept I know, but it's working...who knew! My parents bribed me for years, dangling wonderful things in front of my pretty little face, but I never bit, much to their dismay. They even offered me a trip to Florida, to see the Miami Dolphins play, which actually caught my attention, but alas...I came up short. So here I am YEARS later, and I'm doing it all on my own! It helps that I actually enjoy my classes and look forward to going to them, which was another concept I had never grasped and couldn't comprehend...Enjoying school?!? Impossible! But I really do. Now I really understand why people enjoy going to school. So now I embark on another quarter, beginning Monday 2 more classes, Pharmacology and CPT, that I will again work towards keeping up this GPA that I never thought was possible!

Sully’s

Last Saturday night Forrest, Jamie and I went to Sullivan's Steak House. (Mike couldn't go because he was slaving away at workL.) For anyone who hasn't had the privilege of eating at Sullivan's you are definitely missing out. They don't really have too many locations, but for some reason we have one here in the great state of Alaska. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision for us to go, but a well made decision. Forrest works there as a waiter, and actually had the night off, so he made the suggestion that we go. I had crab stuffed halibut, with a steak on the side (I don't know all the fancy names for the different cuts of steaks, sorry.) They also gave me their gorgonzola garlic dipping sauce for my steak, which was to die for. We were treated like royalty, because of Forrest's wonderful connection, which made our dining experience that much more fun. They had a non-alcoholic wine that had been given to the steakhouse that Forrest has wanted to try, so they gave that to us as well. As you can see, Forrest looks a little tipsy, but I can assure you that no alcohol was consumed. I thought the stuff was nasty, but who am I to judge really. They do their side dished 'Ala Carte' so we ordered their scalloped potatoes and asparagus with this amazing butter dipping sauce. Then came dessert: Jamie and I shared this chocolate brownie that was cooked on the outside, but still a little doughy on the inside, topped off with some vanilla ice cream. Oh, so good! Due to the price of their menu, Sullivan's isn't typically a restaurant that we pick, but it is greatly enjoyed every time we go! (And when it's free, it's even that much better!) I'll make sure Mike is in attendance next time too!

Left Overs

I achieved a great accomplishment today....I ate left overs. I've never really cared for left overs, I'm not sure why. My mother loves them, but states that none of her children like them. Mike LOVES left overs, in fact I think he likes them more the second go around then the first. I personally don't understand this concept. I tried to convince Mike at one point that I did like left overs, but he's now come to an accurate realization of my feelings for them. So, whenever we go out to eat and I don't finish my meal I take it home (with little intention to eat it) but it usually ends up in his belly. Prior to us dating, they would just sit in the fridge until it was ready to be thrown away. I don't consider myself to be a wasteful person, I'm just ready for a fresh idea for a meal rather than eating the same thing over and over and over! But today I reached to a new height by eating my left over fresh spring roll and pork fried rice. And although I don't necessarily want to admit it, it wasn't too bad. In fact, I liked it. Does this mean that I will forge forward and eat left overs all the time...probably not. But I thought it should publicly be known that I did eat them!

Temple Fill

I FINALLY got my wedding dress yesterday! I actually purchased it back in April, but alterations have been working on it since May. It's is now temple approved, and BEAUTIFUL! I had been a little worried at first that it was going to look like a patch work quilt, but the group down at David's Bridal did an amazing job. I would post a picture, but then Mike would see it and we can't have that! So that means you all have to come to my reception to see it! I am just so happy! Yeah for David's Bridal and their "Temple Fill".

21

Last night Mike, Jamie and I ordered pizza and watched 21. Jamie and I have been doing a cleanse for the last month (You know...the pre-wedding rush to look as good as you can as quick as you can!) so pizza was a real treat for us. I do have to admit that I have cheated much more often then Jamie, so this wasn't my first slice of pizza since the cleanse began. I had been wanting to see the movie since the time I first saw previews, but we never got around to it. A bad habit that I have is buying movies, even if I haven't seen them. I have been trying to be better about this poor habit, and renting them instead, but we seem to accrue in late fees what we would pay for a movie! So, needless to say sometimes I am disappointed in my purchases, but this one was well worth it. I think Kevin Spacey is a great actor, and it was action packed, so it kept my attention. I would definately recommend seeing it. And afterwards, we treated ourselves to Coldstone, cause if you're gonna cheat, you may as well cheat big, right?!? YUM!!! It was worth the calories!

My New Temp Room

Mike's and my new residence won't be ready for move in for a few weeks, and the girl who is replacing me in this house will be here on Wednesday. This posed a slight problem, as this is only a 3 bedroom apartment. So I am sleeping in the front room! I packed all the clothes I don't need and am keeping the rest in a bookshelf! It's quite entertaining really. Ahh...the single life....it's amazing what we do! I'm very excited for my next move and my next roommate!

Pink Coat & Stinky Meat

I am trying to pack up my apartment and get everything that I don't need for the next month boxed away. I entered into the coat closet and found my pink fur coat that I had forgotten all about. I will give you a background on this coat, as it is quite entertaining. One evening when I first moved to Alaska, I had gone out shopping with a friend and we ended up at this local boutique full of clothing that really just doesn't fit my style. Well this friend that I was with made me try it on, told me it was a must have for the season (which I'm afraid that season still hasn't come) and pretty much forced me into buying it (she did pay half...that's how much she wanted me to have this coat!) I believe I wore it once that evening when she forced me to where it to Institute, and then packed it away only to be brought out for comic relief! Now, I know that some people actually do like this coat, and think that it was a great purchase, but I just don't get the same vibe from it. My favorite use for it was last year on Halloween when I dressed up as Cindy Lou Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and the coat was perfect for the ensemble. So fast forward to today, I pull it out and decide to show it off for my roommates, which then brought eruptive laughter. As we are standing around laughing at not only me in the coat, but the history behind the coat our doorbell rang. Well, nobody ever rings our doorbell, most just walk themselves right in, so we were all a little startled. I decided it would be fun to answer the door dressed like above. Well, it was my roommates dad who had come to clean our big deep freeze that we have outside. Story goes as follows....we live in Alaska. People hunt moose, bear, goat amongst other big game I'm sure. People also do lots of fishing, because well there is lots and lots of Salmon and Halibut to be had. So, the freezer was full with a moose (I think the head was even still in there...gross, Iknow) and some fish. One day, about a year ago, the freezer got unplugged on accident, and without being noticed. It wasn't long before the smell of rotten meat and fish permeated the front of our house, but nobody new what it was from. We kept emptying the garbage that is next to the freezer, but the smell remained. Finally it was figured out....and we were all disgusted. Nobody wanted to deal with it, because well it isn't a light smell, it's foul!! So there the stinky freezer has sat for a year, not being usable, and storing lots of dead stinky meat. So, back to today, and the doorbell ringing. My friends dad has been kind enough to come and clean the freezer and take all the rotten meat to the eagle refuge. So, as I open the door I am greeted by him, who is holding the freezer door open (which is still full of stinky meat, mind you). He talks for a bit, and then all of a sudden it hits me. The smell was SO overpowering! And for anyone who doesn't know, I quit my CNA job at the hospital, and decided against Nursing School, due to my lack of control when it comes to smells. So I get this whiff of nasty meat carcass smell and leave, with the door slamming in this nice mans face, dry heaving, trying really hard not to vomit. Within seconds our whole house stunk like dead moose. It was horrible, but entertaining all at the same time. I had to run into the bathroom, just in case, but we all survived. I do believe we used an entire bottle of febreeze to help with the stench. But in the end, we were all laughing and I was still wearing this fancy coat of mine!