Thursday, January 20, 2011

It never hurts to ask, does it?

1. In nursing, one never, ever uses the Q word to describe a rather silent night. To do so angers the powers that be, not to mention superstitious colleagues, and the end result will be anything but peaceful. If you say the Q word, you've asked for it. I confess I dropped the Q word several times last week, so don't feel sorry for me, I brought this on myself.

2. In the dead of winter in Detroit, never ask, can it possibly get any colder? You know the answer to this. As I was leaving the hospital at midnight last night, under the light of the full moon, the thermometer in my car read a mere nine degrees. The wind chill was oh, so much lower than that.

3. If you mock the full moon, you will pay the price by having to deal with madness far beyond the coping ability of most people. As a special treat, it will turn out that a client's relatives can often be crazier than the sickest of patients. Sometimes they're even cruel. Sometimes they're just filthy. If you've really mocked superstitious beliefs, they could be a combination of both. Now that's something really special, so much so, that when I got home last night, I washed my ears out with soap.

Then I made a really strong fig martini.

Once in awhile, if you pray hard enough for a break, you sometimes get one. The plumber came by today and found no obvious leaks. He spent 20 minutes in my basement and left without a charge. God bless his little heart for taking pity on a half crazed hospice nurse.


As if to answer today's question of whether or not tonight can be as bad as last night, look what's here to greet the rush hour. My assignment is 25 miles west of me. Because we all know a dusting of snow at rush hour causes people to drive as if they've lost their minds, I'd better leave now. With luck I'll get there by midnight.

15 comments:

Jeannette StG said...

These people in traffic rush -the problem is that they HAVE lost their minds, LOL
Hope you get back safely (and keep warm)!

Silliyak said...

I can't say whether it hurts to ask, but I cAN say it can hurt to answer. "Does this make me look fat?" "If I died would you remarry?" etc

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

i don't know what the q word is, i tried and tried to figure it out but in my foggy brain, nothing... and your street sure looks cold honey, stay warm, k?

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxo

The Bug said...

I left work early today just so I could avoid rush hour. And I'm glad - the roads were pretty bad. Six inches so far I think...

Hope you didn't have any problems!

Charlene said...

A winter night in Detroit sounds awful. Is there as single place where people drive in snow with a sound mind? I don't think so!

Here, driving in a rain can be dicy.

Stephanie V said...

You must have done your penance for the universe by now. Stay warm, safe and silent. See? I didn't have to use the Q word.

Gail said...

Be safe and warm.

Brenda said...

That sounds like one lousy night. Sending positive vibes your way.

sandy said...

wow, love that photo of your neighborhod with the snow and the gorgeous houses...Q word..shhhh, I won't mention it.

Enjoyed reading you. Stay warm.

Ruth said...

Your street looks magical - to someone who has never shoveld snow been in snow or driven in snow. All of which I imagine are nat at all fun for a lot of the time.
Not going to mention the q word either as i off to work now and am hoping for a enjoyable shift.Stay safe and warm.

Celia said...

We got a little snow Wednesday and there were so many cars in the ditch.

Rositta said...

Ah Rudee, we have the same weather. It hasn't stopped snowing here for three days, albeit very lightly. Enough though that it has to be shoveled occasionally. It's very very cold with the wind just like your part of the world. I'm in my fleece jammies knitting mittens for my husband. He's wishing I could knit faster. Hope you get away to Florida real soon...ciao

Unknown said...

The Q-bomb is a nasty word. I had a printer thrown at my head, then one of those tape dispenser paper weights plus several other heavy objects thrown at my head after a CNA dropped the Q-bomb.

I was the bad nurse that stuck a guy with the haldol when he woke and decided throw chairs at windows on the dementia unit. After that I was the target.

Winifred said...

Mmmm!

Eleventh Commandment is: Do not ask "Does my bum look big in this"?

Anonymous said...

Those homes are so little..do you live in the Shire?