One more night.
Yep, the counting's over now. I got up late yesterday, but I got to work in plenty of time... and it was a madhouse initially. One of the newer techs had been up to surgery and had two surgeons ragging on her, and she was almost in tears from being so furious. Surgeons, more than any other profession, it seems, have to establish relationships with everyone that they work with. So if a new person comes along, they rag on them until they get a reaction, or no reaction at all. I've found that once you call them an asshole, they pretty much leave you alone. And it just takes once. If you don't, you're marked as an easy target when they need to vent their fury at the world. It's kinda funny watching, and very sad. Another thing that's really sad is my memory. I was supposed to be at the dentist's at 07:30 this morning for my crown prep. I was really planning on being there tomorrow morning at 07:30... I worked late, 'cause there was only one tech there besides me until 07:30, and when I got home and got sat down the phone rang. I checked the caller ID, saw it was the dentist, and answered it, expecting to be reminded of tomorrow's appointment. But no... the lady said that they could still work me in. I was there in ten minutes, jaw numbed in twenty, and back home in an hour. Jaw still numb, of course... it was a lower, so I'm drooling. Good training for the nursing home, heh? In other news... I only have one more night to work! And yes, I'm getting excited! I've been told three times lately how much better I will feel in a coupla months, once I get used to days... this from people who've made the switch, and that I can believe. Actually, I'm having some doubts about this whole thing. I figger that I need to give it at least six months... I know that there will always be opportunities on third shift, after all, if not here, then at lots of other places. What I'm worried about, of course, is not the work, that will be no problem whatsoever... it's the people. There are lots and lots of people that work days. I'll be mostly insulated from the greater masses, but still... there will be lots and lots of activity, and, unlike nights, I won't be able to keep up with all of it. And I will miss doing x-rays of trauma patients, I really will. We had a trauma patient come in last night, a fellow that works at a local tire manufacturing plant here... he'd got caught between an earthmover tire and another piece of machinery. Broke a bunch of ribs, and probably came really close to killing him had he been compressed another coupla inches... as it was, he is just really hurting. Since he was completely sober and seemed like a really nice guy, I was extra careful with him. No, wait, that doesn't sound right. I always try really hard not to hurt people, even the drunk and nasty ones. It's just that I was happy that he was grateful for the care that I took with him, since he was cognizant of what was going on. Anyway, it's patients like that that make me really happy to be able to do what I do. Or, what I used to do, starting tomorrow... This will be different. Besides the hours, I'm not gonna have the supreme confidence in my abilities as a CT tech that I do when I'm doing trauma x-rays. Have I mentioned that I'm the best trauma tech in Kansas? Probably in the midwest, possibly in the world? You've probably picked up on that without me actually having to say it out loud.... Yeah, my modesty is showing through, isn't it... Well, it's getting late... almost 10:00... and I gotta get to sleep, ready for that last night... there will be some partying tonight, and some food... lots of food, mostly chocolate, I hope... and I'll probably have to run my ass off and not be able to enjoy it!