Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The best tip I've ever received.

As all my faithful readers (all three of you) are aware, at the moment I work at a clinic inside a casino on the strip.

Last Friday, shortly before closing, this tiny old lady walked in and toddled up to the reception desk, where basically I'd been twiddling my thumbs since we'd been slow all day.

She asked me sweetly how much it would cost to see the doctor to get her blood pressure checked.

I assured her that I could check her blood pressure for free, and that she didn't need to see the doctor if she didn't want to.

So I took her into the back, waited while she undid layers and layers of clothing (old lady, remember?), put all her various and sundry shopping bags and purses on the chair in the exam room, and got situated on the table.

Her pressure was great and she was ecstatic. After putting all those layers of clothes back on, she started rummaging in her purse for a bit. I was wondering what was going on, then she turned back towards me with three crisp, new one dollar bills in her hand, stating she wanted to give me something for my trouble!

This is not as strange as you might think, it is Vegas, after all, and I've been offered plenty of tips.

After I refused the money many times, she said to me, "Well, you can take a hug, right?"

Then she gave me the best hug, EVAR. She was so tiny, maybe five feet tall, if she stretched, and the hug really reminded me of the hugs I used to get from my Oma, my German Grandma.

The lady squished me, and even rocked me back and forth a little.

I have to admit that I got a little choked up, and I'm not ashamed about it, either.

And that's the best tip I've ever received.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Thanksgiving

Well, better late than never, right?

And it's still Turkey Day here, for another 25 minutes, anyway!

I hope all you multitude of readers (all two of you) had a wonderful Thanksgiving, at least as wonderful as the one I had.

First, I had a long talk with my younger spawn (who are residing with their father in the great Midwest while I go to school). Thing 1 and Thing 2 are doing great, and I can't wait to see them in just a few weeks! I'm going to squeeeeeeeze them like great big tubes of toothpaste and leave them utterly deflated for a few minutes (that's how you know you've done it right!).

Then, the older spawn (Silver) and I went to see "Casino Royale", after having our "turkey dinner"at Caprioti's, which consisted of a "Bobbie", a sub sandwich with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce on it...mmmmm, delicious!

The movie is fantastic by the way.

I suck at reviews, so that will be it, except to say Daniel Craig...mmmmm, delicious!

Pardon me while I wipe the drool off the keyboard.

Those eyes...

And all the rest, too...

Ahem, there was plenty of eye candy for all you straight men and lesbian women, too (my sorry attempt at political correctness).

Hotties all around!

And cool cars, etc. Thank God no invisible ones!

So, a fun time was had by all.

We finished off the day with some harsh video game action (I say "harsh" because if I play for more than around 30 minutes, depending on the game, I get motion sickness!), then did some stuff to get ready for work tomorrow.

Yes, I know it sucks that I have to work tomorrow, but I'm very thankful that I got today off, and that's what really matters.

So have a fantastic weekend, you all!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Pooped

Flu shot clinic today...totally exhausted...will try to post more tomorrow...after frickin' massage internship (WHEN will I get my weekends back? Oh, yeah...I graduate in four weeks!!!!)

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

People are weird...

This little old lady from Canada comes into the clinic, right before we close.

Her left arm feels "heavy", and she's been feeling dizzy and weak all day.

I tell her to go to the Emergency Room, ASAP.

She tells me to just check her blood pressure...it's 200/98!

She says, "Well, shit!" (Took the words right out of my mouth!)

She also tells me she's diabetic, which means that she might not necessarily have typical heart attack symptoms, even if she's having one.

I AGAIN tell her to go to the Emergency Room, ASAP.

Her response, "I'm flying home tonight, I don't have time to go to the Emergency Room."

Thankfully I was able to convince her that it MIGHT be a bad idea to get on a frickin' airplane if she's possibly having a heart attack, and I put her in a taxi to the nearest hospital.

I just don't get people.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Veteran's Day

All honor to the men and women who have served our country in the past, or are serving our country now.

All too often you don't get the respect you deserve.

Thank you.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Marching band competition results nobody cares about except me...

Well, it is my blog, after all!

Silver's band did not place in the top three (or four, or five...).

HOWEVER, they did improve immensely since the beginning of marching band season.
They got a ranking of "Excellent", which is only only one step below "Superior", the highest possible rank, and they only missed Superior by 0.05 points.

The winner in their class/division was an AWESOME band from Highland High School in Albuquerque, NM. The Hornets, BTW.
They got an amazing score of 84.4 points, which blew the competition away.

Whew, now I've gotten all the band-geekiness out of my system...aren't you all happy and relieved? ;-)

In other news...when I got home yesterday from various errands, I realized I didn't have a speck of makeup on.

I must have forgot because we were in a hurry to leave since we had to be somewhere by a certain time.

All you men out there are thinking, "Big Deal!"

You don't know, you just don't know.

When a woman reaches a "certain age", she needs HELP to achieve that youthful glow, that flawless complexion...VISIBLE eyelashes, dammit!

And I was wondering why everyone I spoke to yesterday prefaced their remarks with "Gaaaaah!".

Ahem.

I can't depend on my daughter, either. She didn't even notice. Unlike 95% of teenage girls nationwide, she hates makeup.
When I got on her case for letting me out of the house with a naked face, all she said was, "Mom, you look fine, don't worry about it."

Obviously no help there. If I hadn't been there at her conception and delivery, I'd think she was adopted. And since she looks a lot like me (according to most people who see us together), I guess I have to rule out a mix-up at the hospital, too.

At least she can get ready to go anywhere in about 15 minutes, that's including shower time.

Hope you're having a not-so-sucky Monday!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Fun is...

playing Crash Team Racing and getting crushed by my daughter, while trash-talking the entire time.

Hope you all have a great weekend, please wish my daughter,
Silver, good luck at her marching band competition tomorrow.

I'll let you know how we did [like you care ;-)]!

Friday, November 03, 2006

So, who' d you like to be?

That is my question to you, my friends.

Who would you like to be for a day? And why?

Anyone, in any time period.

I would like to be John Ringo, one of my favorite authors.

I've always loved to read.
As a matter of fact, even though I can remember not being able to write my own name, I can't remember a time when I was unable to read.
But as vivid as my imagination is in picturing things I read about, I've never been creative enough to write fiction of my own (that's not dreck).
I just don't have those "creative juices" one hears so much about.
So any writer earns my admiration.
But John Ringo is in a class by himself. Not only is he extremely talented, he is also prolific as hell, especially during the winter (as it gets cold, his brain supercharges).
He can knock out an entire manuscript in a number of days.
So, I wonder what it's like to be him, to have characters and plots jostling for supremacy, dialog just waiting to be written, fighting to get out.

Okay, now that I've admitted my embarrassing fan-girl status, let's hear who you secretly (or not-so-secretly) wish you could be.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Good riddance to bad rubbish...

I hope he burns in hell. I only wish he had reversed the order of events!

Body Found Likely That of N.C. Fugitive

Nov 2, 12:12 AM (ET)

ROBBINSVILLE, N.C. (AP) - A body found Wednesday on a houseboat is likely that of a man wanted for forcing his way into a domestic violence shelter and fatally shooting his wife, authorities said.

John "Woody" Woodring had been hiding from police since the Sept. 18 murder of Bonnie Woodring in Sylva, about 50 miles southwest of Asheville.

The sheriff's office declined to confirm the identity of the body found Wednesday on a houseboat in far western North Carolina until autopsy results are available. But District Attorney Michael Bonfoey told the Asheville Citizen-Times that Woodring's body had been found.

The victim's family said that law enforcement officials told them Woodring shot himself in the head with a stolen handgun, the newspaper reported.

"You always wonder if he's going to show up, but this is the best news," said Bonnie Woodring's daughter, Christina Stojanik.

Woodring, 35, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife at the shelter where she and her son were staying to escape him. Woodring was already wanted on domestic violence charges after being accused of violating a protective order and trying to strangle his wife at her home Sept. 14.

Woodring fled in a stolen car after the shooting, police had said.

The killing put domestic violence shelters across the state on high alert. The shelter in Sylva had panic buttons, a fence, an alarm system and locks on every window and door, but Woodring forced his way in as a staff worker was leaving, investigators said.

Before the killing, Woodring was a teaching assistant at Western Carolina University, where he was seeking a degree in counseling.