Wednesday, October 22, 2008

thank god the weekend is over (how many people say that?)

this weekend was unbridled chaos the likes of which i haven't seen since july 4th weekend. i don't know why. the previous weekend was so slow, i went home on saturday early to watch football. this weekend - every cage was full. it was terrible.

one of the internal medicine specialists made an eloquent analogy for our job. it's like a relationship with a boyfriend that beats you. sometimes it's really great - and everything is rocking and rolling. and sometimes it beats you down.

this weekend beat me down.

ok, it's a stupid analogy. but it worked at the time.

on sunday, i arrived at noon and didn't leave until 7am monday morning. i squeezed in a 3.5 hour nap, then went back to work for the noon to midnight shift again. i was exhausted, emotional, and depressed. one of my patients died - and i still don't know if it was something that i did or not.

i saw some interesting cases that i might feel like talking about sometime soon, but for now - i want to block out the last weekend in its entirety. it was awful. finished off by my being selected for a random drug that i was supposed to go take on monday. after working for 20 hours and sleeping for 3 hours. i flatly refused. first - i think drug testing is insulting. i am a doctor. i'm not working at mcdonald's, for god's sake. at any rate, i refused to go that day, because i had a patient in dire condition. so i got to go on my day off and piss in a cup. YAY.

today, i was a naughty monkey. really naughty. i went and had my hair colored - it's a really deep purple-red now (my grandfather will have a heart attack - and i think my nanny - who reads this blog - will rat me out). and i went to clinique and got a make-up consultation and finally learned to actually apply it. it was fun. they went a little heavy on the eye makeup, but the overall effect was awesome. i bought new perfume (dior addict 2). i bought make-up. it was bad, but i feel better. drowning my sorrows in unabashed frivolity. ah...the american way.

i need to go clean litterboxes and bird cages in preparation for our trip to the hometown tomorrow.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

EXCUSE me? PLEASE don't tell me you think you're above someone because you're a 'doctor'. Those people working a Mc.Ds work just as hard and are probably under WAY more stress in terms of their livelihood then you are. Yes, you save animals, that's great. But DON'T even THINK you're superior to an other human being.
Why you find it insulting that a research project asked you to test a drug, no one knows. What do you think they do? Pick all the poor hobos off the street because they don't contribute to society as much as YOU do? Nice thinking. EVERYONE should have an equal chance of being picked A)to diminish Biases of the test, and B)because we ALL take advantage of the results.

How can you use any current drugs will a clear conscience, if YOU will flat out refuse to test them?
Those drugs you use for headaches and nausea were tested on people before YOU ever got your pretty little 'doctor' fingers on them.

That blatantly selfish comment sent me over the edge. Otherwise I enjoy your blog.

Anonymous said...

Ok wow --- I guess we know why Anonymous chose to stay anonymous. That was quite a tantrum. I'm always amazed by what people are willing to say in an anonymous way online. You would never be so rude in person. Once you unwad those panties and move on you'll feel better.

Sarah said...

that anonymous comment is hilarious. there isn't a "let's test this random drug on random people" duty in the US at least! maybe he/she'll understand after reading your current post. i've worked in 4 human hospitals and 2 veterinary hospitals and with the exception of the mandatory pre-employment drug screen, we don't get tested unless we raise suspicion.

Amy said...

ok so kinda confused.... was this a drug screening?? or for a volunteer trial/ testing of a drug?? cuz if it's a trial thing those are volunteer or get paid for things and anonymous' comment/rant doesn't make sense... sounds like a screening thing just to make sure you're not a narc/illegal drug user at which anon's comment REALLY doesn't make sense....
but just to comment on beachgirl's comment I think it's good that all get tested randomly despite status.... this comming from someone who's worked with several user's who needed help and weren't going to get it unless someone found out about their abuse and are now glad they got the help.
Having said that, I totally understand refusing after that kind of day just due to pure exhaustion and a need for some rest before returning to work.
On a totally diff. line of thought... purple red hair I look forward to seeing :)