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Life as we know it
Nov. 19th, 2001 07:10 pmWell, it's been a few days since my last entry, mostly because I haven't been able to get online, but also to a great extent because I haven't really had much to say. Life goes on, I wake up, eat breakfast, try to keep the cats out of the bathtub. Go to work, fix some beasties, gripe a little, praise a little. Come home, cook dinner, forget to turn the tv on and miss the new episode of Smallville. Nothing really thrilling or sensational.
I got a new pet, though, and that's exciting. Orpheus is a ball python, about 4 1/2-5 feet long, that someone abandoned. He was brought into our practice by the animal control officer, and I just couldn't bear to see him go to the MSPCA - they tend to euthanize exotics, since they don't have the funds or facilities to care for them. And I've wanted a snake for as long as I could remember... and he's so sweet and friendly, I just had to keep him.
He's not flawless - he's got mites, worse than I thought at first, and the cats keep trying to jump on top of his cage. But I can bring him in to work later this week to treat him, and the cats will learn over time.
I treated my smallest patient ever this week - a zebra finch, attacked by a cat. I just knew it was a bird, not what kind. When the owner came in apparently empty-handed, I was a bit surprised... then I realized the bird *was* in the palm of her hand. The tiny thing weighed all of 10 grams, and was shorter than the first two joints of my pinky, from beak to tail-tip. We have a special room for exotics, that's supposed to be escape-proof, and he managed to run under the door, then under the closet door, and hide under a dust bunny. Thank the powers that be that he didn't have any broken bones, I can't imagine how I'd splint something that tiny.
I'm a bit frustrated at work right now. The practice owner, in an obvious effort to break her usual habit of negative appraisals and negative feedback, has started giving some of the doctors presents for random reasons. One got a present for having the best detailed records, another got a present for having to input a lot of stuff into the computer one night and doing it all right, and so forth. And I know it's petty, but I'm a bit frustrated. It's still not good team-building to single out a few like that. Why don't I get some sort of recognition, for being the first new grad in the history of the practice to show a profit in my first quarter as an employee, or for knowing the computers better than anyone else, or for covering everyone else's vacation days without taking any time off myself? I know I do these things because I like to, and not for recognition or reward, but it's still kind of irritating to feel like what I do is never important enough or good enough.
Life would be so much easier without administrative hassles.
But I'm home now, with a snake in the living room, a cat on my lap, and poundcake in the oven. My mom is coming to visit for thanksgiving, and I have the weekend off. Still dull, still just life, but it's also still good.
I got a new pet, though, and that's exciting. Orpheus is a ball python, about 4 1/2-5 feet long, that someone abandoned. He was brought into our practice by the animal control officer, and I just couldn't bear to see him go to the MSPCA - they tend to euthanize exotics, since they don't have the funds or facilities to care for them. And I've wanted a snake for as long as I could remember... and he's so sweet and friendly, I just had to keep him.
He's not flawless - he's got mites, worse than I thought at first, and the cats keep trying to jump on top of his cage. But I can bring him in to work later this week to treat him, and the cats will learn over time.
I treated my smallest patient ever this week - a zebra finch, attacked by a cat. I just knew it was a bird, not what kind. When the owner came in apparently empty-handed, I was a bit surprised... then I realized the bird *was* in the palm of her hand. The tiny thing weighed all of 10 grams, and was shorter than the first two joints of my pinky, from beak to tail-tip. We have a special room for exotics, that's supposed to be escape-proof, and he managed to run under the door, then under the closet door, and hide under a dust bunny. Thank the powers that be that he didn't have any broken bones, I can't imagine how I'd splint something that tiny.
I'm a bit frustrated at work right now. The practice owner, in an obvious effort to break her usual habit of negative appraisals and negative feedback, has started giving some of the doctors presents for random reasons. One got a present for having the best detailed records, another got a present for having to input a lot of stuff into the computer one night and doing it all right, and so forth. And I know it's petty, but I'm a bit frustrated. It's still not good team-building to single out a few like that. Why don't I get some sort of recognition, for being the first new grad in the history of the practice to show a profit in my first quarter as an employee, or for knowing the computers better than anyone else, or for covering everyone else's vacation days without taking any time off myself? I know I do these things because I like to, and not for recognition or reward, but it's still kind of irritating to feel like what I do is never important enough or good enough.
Life would be so much easier without administrative hassles.
But I'm home now, with a snake in the living room, a cat on my lap, and poundcake in the oven. My mom is coming to visit for thanksgiving, and I have the weekend off. Still dull, still just life, but it's also still good.
