It has been a fun and interesting holiday, I got for Christmas a neat-o device...a Kindle...yes I admit it...I folded...got another piece of technology...I feel like Napoleon Dynamites' brother.."I love technology", no pages to turn, no nice smell of the book binding.
But then again, it will fit nicely in my clipboard at the hospital and I won't have to rip my trashy novels into pieces to fit in the little space under the clipboard writing area. Oh, yes...I would sneak the pages out during my lunch to read...often hidden in a nursing magazine so I would look studious.
This nice tiny device downloads books pretty quickly, but I was having a bit of a problem getting the thing to work...I hope I have it fixed now that I have taken a total of eight hours fiddling with it...as it is one of those things..."HOW do it know?" If it won't work...since I have no idea how it works in the first place...I would never be able to get it fixed myself...
And have you ever talked to one of those tech-help guys...sitting in India, or some such place...named Peggy of course, they all try to sound like Americans. HA! as if I couldn't tell in two seconds they were on another continent! Anyway, those guys are a pain and so far I have never had one of them ever help...for example...the story about one day when Mike and I tried to build Patrick a computer and the processor blew up! What a mess!
Against our better judgement we called the help number...The guy on the other end kept saying "What does the bios-say?" "Hey, buddy, the screen is black..blank." I yelled into the receiver, only to get the question again. "So tell me now, What does the Bios say?" "Dude", I said loudly, "Can't you get it...no screen on...no bios to SEE or read..."Now mam, (the condescending voice said) simply...take a little peek, What does the Bios say??? I hung up and returned the smoking thing to Fry's electronics...AND, I have to tell you honestly that before I left the return counter I saw them shrink wrap it-up and put a price tag on it..."HEY! that processor does not work...It blew up!" I said,...The guy just looked at me and smiled..."Now are you sure honey?" I stomped off and I know some tech-slob bought that processor and is cursing out someone thousands of miles away who is asking..."hmmm, now...tell me...What does the bios say fella?"
Yes I admit I read silly novels at work because after a while how many times can you read about child birth, care plans, wound care, and insulin administration so I do read the occasional book of nonsense, for after 50 years as an RN I feel entitled.
Hey wait a half a mo...No! I can't be that old..no way, impossible! I was a child nurse I know. Wore pigtails delivering my first babies, and when I worked as a research assistant with a doctor who took care of mostly movie stars and politicians, broke the rule frequently "not to go out with patients". Heck, I was a child, and tinsel town was exciting. I went to more star-studded parties than an astronomer, AND frequently dated people you would know if I mentioned them, but I won't, today. I broke the rule because I was a kid who thought the rule did not apply to me, and I know my mentor and doctor, Martin Covel MD. of Beverly Hills and USC. (thought I was more like Loretta Young than anyone he knew because I could not open a door without throwing it aside to make a grand entrance
...anyway, he surly knew ( don't call me Shirley, sorry I can't help it.) I broke the rules all the time and kept his mouth shut because he knew most of the patients treated me like a mascot of sorts, and would be upset if he fired me.
In fact when I first suggested I leave his employ after I married my Frenchman, he lured me to stay with the same pay, yet dropped me from 8 hours to 5 hours, (quite the deal in those days.) I did that for another three years, giving B12 shots to hung over actors by driving to the studio, and going to the sets where they were working. I guess it was a glamorous job now that I think about it, and a good thing there was some bit of cerebral activity to keep my brain busy gathering and assisting to gather data or I would have been very bored. Weird that it was many years later that I took statistics to get my BSN...since I had been fully immersed in compiling and calculating data for this job not even realizing I was doing a statistical analysis.
For this very gruff doctor (yet a cream puff on the inside) at lunch time we provided him with a fat free diet as he was very rotund. His wife insisted (he married his first secretary) and I heard, not too long after I left his employ he died of a heart-attack. He loved rich food, but worst of all he smoked. He CLAIMED he didn't. But my Loretta Young behavior of slamming open the sliding doors without a knock...caught him often with a cigarette, which he quickly threw into his trash can...or the drawer with his patient charts where he hid his ashtray. (many of the charts had burn holes in them). He couldn't fool me...first, because of my great nose...and then because smoke would frequently be wafting from the bottom drawer of his desk as his charts went up in smoke...I would leave and quickly return with a large glass of water...and a towel...then exit his office. I guess we both had secrets...and told no one.
During those years, the late '60s, I was especially friends with Vicki Carr, and we went to lunch together often. I think she thought that me in a nurse uniform kept her anonymous as she was a very popular singer at the time. And whenever Katherine Hepburn who would ride her bike into the office and sleep on the couch in the waiting room while waiting for the doctor to arrive for her physical often we'd walk down to the corner and have breakfast after I drew her blood for tests. At first I made her toast with jam and coffee, but she said "Dear, I need a more substantial breakfast and would like some company." and I know she did need a bigger breakfast (or so I thought)...as I was quite skinny in those days, but she was very tall and looked even thinner than me. She wore a scarf on her head and sun glasses and no one ever knew who she was...and I guess being with a kid dressed in a nurse uniform was her celebrity disguise. She didn't talk a lot and wanted to know about my life. I told her about my husband and all the softball games he pitched in. It seemed she liked hearing about anything that wasn't acting. I wasn't very impressed with the famous folks who came into the office there in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Blvd., including Richard Nixon and Walt Disney (who once also wanted me to keep him company during his breakfast)...I guess because with my dad in the movie industry I was around what one would call "stars" for most of my life. I only thought of people as nice, kind, or mean and nasty. What a person did for a living never seemed to make a difference much to me. I remember once making friends with the cleaning lady from next door. The fellow who lived there was the director/producer of the original Godzilla. Everyone thought he must have been Japanese, but he was Jewish, and I remember he was also a diabetic...his daughter let me play their piano and we would sneak candy out of his stash for if he went into insulin shock. I know my indifference to famous or celebrity people was one of the things this Doctor liked about me.
When Martin hired me he didn't know my father was in the movie industry...I think the main requirement was to be somewhat attractive, and very smart (he gave me a math test as part of the interview). Wow! Now that I think about it...my second job as an RN nurse was perfect for me...awesome, and really fun!
But then again, it will fit nicely in my clipboard at the hospital and I won't have to rip my trashy novels into pieces to fit in the little space under the clipboard writing area. Oh, yes...I would sneak the pages out during my lunch to read...often hidden in a nursing magazine so I would look studious.
This nice tiny device downloads books pretty quickly, but I was having a bit of a problem getting the thing to work...I hope I have it fixed now that I have taken a total of eight hours fiddling with it...as it is one of those things..."HOW do it know?" If it won't work...since I have no idea how it works in the first place...I would never be able to get it fixed myself...
And have you ever talked to one of those tech-help guys...sitting in India, or some such place...named Peggy of course, they all try to sound like Americans. HA! as if I couldn't tell in two seconds they were on another continent! Anyway, those guys are a pain and so far I have never had one of them ever help...for example...the story about one day when Mike and I tried to build Patrick a computer and the processor blew up! What a mess!
Against our better judgement we called the help number...The guy on the other end kept saying "What does the bios-say?" "Hey, buddy, the screen is black..blank." I yelled into the receiver, only to get the question again. "So tell me now, What does the Bios say?" "Dude", I said loudly, "Can't you get it...no screen on...no bios to SEE or read..."Now mam, (the condescending voice said) simply...take a little peek, What does the Bios say??? I hung up and returned the smoking thing to Fry's electronics...AND, I have to tell you honestly that before I left the return counter I saw them shrink wrap it-up and put a price tag on it..."HEY! that processor does not work...It blew up!" I said,...The guy just looked at me and smiled..."Now are you sure honey?" I stomped off and I know some tech-slob bought that processor and is cursing out someone thousands of miles away who is asking..."hmmm, now...tell me...What does the bios say fella?"
Yes I admit I read silly novels at work because after a while how many times can you read about child birth, care plans, wound care, and insulin administration so I do read the occasional book of nonsense, for after 50 years as an RN I feel entitled.
Hey wait a half a mo...No! I can't be that old..no way, impossible! I was a child nurse I know. Wore pigtails delivering my first babies, and when I worked as a research assistant with a doctor who took care of mostly movie stars and politicians, broke the rule frequently "not to go out with patients". Heck, I was a child, and tinsel town was exciting. I went to more star-studded parties than an astronomer, AND frequently dated people you would know if I mentioned them, but I won't, today. I broke the rule because I was a kid who thought the rule did not apply to me, and I know my mentor and doctor, Martin Covel MD. of Beverly Hills and USC. (thought I was more like Loretta Young than anyone he knew because I could not open a door without throwing it aside to make a grand entrance
...anyway, he surly knew ( don't call me Shirley, sorry I can't help it.) I broke the rules all the time and kept his mouth shut because he knew most of the patients treated me like a mascot of sorts, and would be upset if he fired me.
For this very gruff doctor (yet a cream puff on the inside) at lunch time we provided him with a fat free diet as he was very rotund. His wife insisted (he married his first secretary) and I heard, not too long after I left his employ he died of a heart-attack. He loved rich food, but worst of all he smoked. He CLAIMED he didn't. But my Loretta Young behavior of slamming open the sliding doors without a knock...caught him often with a cigarette, which he quickly threw into his trash can...or the drawer with his patient charts where he hid his ashtray. (many of the charts had burn holes in them). He couldn't fool me...first, because of my great nose...and then because smoke would frequently be wafting from the bottom drawer of his desk as his charts went up in smoke...I would leave and quickly return with a large glass of water...and a towel...then exit his office. I guess we both had secrets...and told no one.
During those years, the late '60s, I was especially friends with Vicki Carr, and we went to lunch together often. I think she thought that me in a nurse uniform kept her anonymous as she was a very popular singer at the time. And whenever Katherine Hepburn who would ride her bike into the office and sleep on the couch in the waiting room while waiting for the doctor to arrive for her physical often we'd walk down to the corner and have breakfast after I drew her blood for tests. At first I made her toast with jam and coffee, but she said "Dear, I need a more substantial breakfast and would like some company." and I know she did need a bigger breakfast (or so I thought)...as I was quite skinny in those days, but she was very tall and looked even thinner than me. She wore a scarf on her head and sun glasses and no one ever knew who she was...and I guess being with a kid dressed in a nurse uniform was her celebrity disguise. She didn't talk a lot and wanted to know about my life. I told her about my husband and all the softball games he pitched in. It seemed she liked hearing about anything that wasn't acting. I wasn't very impressed with the famous folks who came into the office there in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Blvd., including Richard Nixon and Walt Disney (who once also wanted me to keep him company during his breakfast)...I guess because with my dad in the movie industry I was around what one would call "stars" for most of my life. I only thought of people as nice, kind, or mean and nasty. What a person did for a living never seemed to make a difference much to me. I remember once making friends with the cleaning lady from next door. The fellow who lived there was the director/producer of the original Godzilla. Everyone thought he must have been Japanese, but he was Jewish, and I remember he was also a diabetic...his daughter let me play their piano and we would sneak candy out of his stash for if he went into insulin shock. I know my indifference to famous or celebrity people was one of the things this Doctor liked about me.
When Martin hired me he didn't know my father was in the movie industry...I think the main requirement was to be somewhat attractive, and very smart (he gave me a math test as part of the interview). Wow! Now that I think about it...my second job as an RN nurse was perfect for me...awesome, and really fun!
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