The Golden Triangle

Storm blowing over Port Arthur

Happy Sunday evening!

I am now 4 weeks down in my assignment and movin' right along here. I'm still stressed about trying to be productive and effective (see previous post if you're confused). That's all I'm going to say about that right now. 

Today has been uneventful but in a good way. I've done all my laundry and ironing and caught up with my exercise program. Not to mention two successful naps. Yesterday and today I went to the pool- the water could definitely be cooler but it's TX and stupid hot. One of my COTA's and her husband came down to hang out at the pool yesterday. It's sometimes nice to socialize with others than just my dog. 'Socializing' with Bella is just talking to a one-eyed canine version of myself. If this said COTA has sunburn tomorrow she will not be getting sympathy from me because she declined my offer of sunscreen stating "oh we don't use sunscreen." 

Bella and I are going to take a brief sabbatical to STL soon for some scheduled time off and we will be flying. Stay tuned to see how this goes with flying with a sedated dog- she won't be completely knocked out but for everyone's sake she needs something. 

My grandma made this blanket so I'm laying on it. I prefer homemade blankets. 

Are you wondering about the title and what the Golden Triangle is? 

First, I'll tell you what it is not:

- a knock-off McDonald's

- a strip club

- the name of a ranch

- a restaurant

- a specialized instrument

- a martial arts move

While I feel like those are all good and valid suggestions- the Golden Triangle actually refers to 3 cities here in Southeast TX- Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange.  There are Golden Triangle Urgent cares down here. 

Lake Charles, LA

Last Sunday, Bella and I drove to Lake Charles, LA- what some may call the Cajun Vegas? Not my words. There are quite a bit of casinos in this area (which I keep calling St. Charles) but we really weren't looking for those. Lake Charles is right inside the LA border and about an hour Northeast from me in Port Arthur. 

at the Visitor's center. Dog not interested in pictures. 

Somewhere in this picture is a gator.

I feel like we all know someone who looks like this guy.

The visitor's center is right off the highway and is a nice stop. It looks like the Cypress Nature Trail was a couple exits before. I wasn't interested in bugs, heat, and excess sun- as we all know I'm delicate in regards to sun exposure. 

Everything is right on Lake Charles- makes sense, huh?

Historic City Hall 

Courthouse

Old church

So I'm going to be honest and tell you I don't really know much about the town so every thing I'm going to tell you right now is from the pamphlet/map. Lake Charles is in Calcasieu Parish and has some beautiful historic houses in the Charpentier District. There are walking tours you can take to see these houses- I don't know if you go in or just hear info about each house. The houses are gorgeous- reminds me of the Azalea District in Tyler, just a different vibe. I would love to go on a tour but driving was enough for that day having a dog in the car. The Charpentier District is kind of hip and trendy-looking but appears reminiscent of New Orleans. There are also walking tours along Shell Beach Drive to see these beautiful lake houses- so we drove down there too. I think we only got to the tip of the iceberg that is Lake Charles- if there is something going on in the area it is likely happening there. The Golden Nugget casino has some good looking concerns coming up including Starship!!!!

Nothing else to report of interest. 

Here some more fun facts for you:

- the earliest form of ballet has been traced back to the 1400s

- wire-haired Fox Terriers see in color

- Praying mantis' are cannibalistic- the female bites the head off her partner after mating (yikes). 

Peace, love, and fountain soda, 

ME

Traveling Coincidences and Bullet Points

My name is Bella. Here are my toys. I will destroy them all. 

Hello from apt. 525! where the days are wild and the nights are even crazier. I just finished ironing my scrubs... it's LIT around here.

Anyway, nothing too exciting. Work is work and it is hard to find a balance between maintaining high productivity and working reasonable hours to get paperwork done. I feel like did I just go to school longer for OT so I can do more paperwork? Good grief. FYI for those who are not in the therapy world- here are the things only an OTR can do in the SNF world paperwork-wise:

• Discharge summaries
• Part A recertifications
• Part B progress reports
• G-codes (part B)
• GG codes (part A)
• write orders
• do evaluations
• screens (state depending)
• E-sign all COTA's notes
• modify/write new therapy goals
• Be legally responsible for all COTA documentation and service provision

So think of ALL of that and now try to figure out how to complete it in a 'productive' manner because realistically it's only likely you'll write your daily note during your direct time with a patient. So where does the rest of that time go? Either you work off the clock to stay productive or stay on the clock and risk decreasing your productivity. 

Moving on. 

So I've been thinking a lot about all of these strange coincidences popping up in my brain between my traveling jobs and home. It makes you wonder....

• In Port Arthur (PA), I am living in Jefferson County. 'JeffCo' is also a county right outside of STL. Also, there is a family I met in Tyler TX (TT) who the father is from JeffCo, MO! TT is in Smith County. In Virginia (VA), the county next to where I worked was Smythe County- where we got a lot of patients from Smythe County Hospital. 
• I just realized this one!! I have a COTA who is a twin (Kelsey!) AND in VA I had a COTA who is a twin as well (Kayla!). Crazy. Both have female twins like myself. 
• In TT, there was a doctor who did a lot of referrals to the clinic and her first and last name was the exact name of a patient we had in VA. Also on that note, there is a CNA here who has the first and last name of a patient in VA (although her name is a bit more common). 
• My neighbor at home in STL is from Whitehouse TX which is just outside of Tyler.
• In VA there is a hilarious PT named Alvin who happens to be Filipino. I say this because I work with a hilarious PT down here who is ALSO Filipino. It's so funny. I have to stop myself from calling him Alvin. And they look nothing alike. 
• In TT, there is a parent who is a dead ringer for my STL friend Summer. I even showed this mom a picture of Summer and she was like oh my gosh! If you're wondering, Summer is gorgeous and a badass so it's a compliment! 
• There is a travel PTA here from Michigan and there was a travel SLP in VA from Michigan. I know that's a bit of a stretch..
• There have been total of 5 pregnancies within the therapy departments (including all 3 sites) - 2 girls born, 1 boy born, and another girl and boy on the way- all within 3-6 months of each other. I'm glad I'm not drinking the water... but happy for them!
• In TT, my upstairs neighbor had a cat with a disability (3 legs) to my dog with a visual impairment. 

I'm sure there are other ones I'm forgetting and more to come. I just find it fascinating and strange at the same time. 

On that note, we have two patients who I have decided look like George Bush Sr. and Robert Dinero- both gentleman have not found it as amusing as I have. 

Also, there is a patient here who called me a "walking angel" which is very high praise seeing that she isn't a fan of therapy and historically doesn't like white people (I'm sure she has her reasons and this is well-known fact at this facility).  She's adorable with her wig askew and poor seated posture. I like her. She's sharper than people give her credit for. 

That's it for tonight. Not sure what/if I am doing anything interesting tomorrow. 

Here are some fun facts for you from a book of trivia I have: 

• Benjamin Franklin founded the first circulating library in Philidelphia in 1731
• The most common birthday in the US is October 5th (a lot of winter January shackin' up going on...)
• 1912 was the last year the Olympic medals were entirely made out of gold

Peace, love, and minutia,

ME

Carcinogens and Cell Blocks

Hello and Texas-sized greetings from PA! 2 weeks of work have gone by and here we are gearing up for a 3rd week starting all too soon. I'm gonna give you a 2-week roundup.
But first I shall explain the title.
This area along the coastline from Houston over towards Louisiana is called the Carcinogen Corridor (learned this last night from co-workers) due to the high pollution from the refineries, plants, factories- whatever. I don't know if I will see a completely clear night sky while I'm here in Port Arthur. I think it goes without saying that chemically-caused cancer is very prevalent in this area. The refineries are kind of fascinating to look at as I see them en route to either work site.
Also, I drive by at least THREE prisons within the same half mile or so on the way to work. It kind of progresses nicely though- there is juvie, county prison, and then a state prison. It looks like one or two of the complexes though are closed as a result of Harvey (for those of you unaware- the hurricane hit this area very hard).

Last week, I hit overtime at work by about 3-5 hours due to the nature of catching up on A LOT of paperwork that only I as an OTR can do and just getting my shit together at a new job. It's kind of hard trying to figure out the most effective plan for work that day in terms of buildings- do I start at which building and where do I have the most to do? I go between buildings daily (about 15 minutes from each other) and so does one of my COTA's. So I have two DOR's (director of rehab) to communicate and coordinate with as well as two sets of therapists basically- though others float too.
The facilities are much smaller than I'm used to and mainly long-term residents who are not exactly good rehab potential. Unfortunately for them, they are not equipped as well as they would like to be but that really isn't their fault. Things like extra wheelchairs, positioning devices, ADL equipment, etc. just can't seem to be fit into any budget (the age-old therapy question). I can't say that this is the best nursing care I've ever seen but there are good and bad staff everywhere you go. I've found that pretty much everywhere the therapy team is great and communicates well- there is good everywhere in this world, I suppose.

Last weekend, Bella and I went to Sea Rim State Park in Sabine Pass, TX- right on the coast and hit hard by Harvey- pretty much the whole town and all the houses are raised on stilts- it is kind of fascinating to see a church and a high school (parking garage under) raise. It seems like the mentality has always been to stay strong, rebuild, and hope you've done enough before the next hurricane comes through.
Sea Rim is small but has a nature trail on a boardwalk over the marsh and a beach for fishing. I still cant' get over how everyone parks their cars right on the beach. Weird. Most people fish from the beach- if you're fishing from the beach you don't need a fishing license (I think).

Driving through the carcinogens to the coast. 

Gambushia Nature Trail

It was a nice day and there was as good breeze. 

Due to the possibility of gators, a rickety boardwalk, and a senior dog....

I made a sling for BJL out of a sarong. 

By the way, gambusia are a genus of fish more commonly known as mosquitofish. They live in freshwater habitats and are most richly located in Mexico, Texas, and the Greater Antilles. Thanks Wikipedia.

Dog was ok with the sand. 

Not interested in the water.

The boardwalk in in the distance was destroyed by Harvey.

Always looking for a good spot to #1 and #2. 

Showers/baths for both after the beach. 

We didn't do anything exciting really this weekend since I worked yesterday morning for an eval and had errands to run in the pm. The weather has not been consistently good to motivate me to go to the pool. Pretty much everyday some ominous clouds loom and we get short storms but nothing really significant. Went to a game night/dinner with co-workers at one of the DOR's apartments.

Plans to do something this next weekend but not sure what yet.. I try to think of places I can bring my dog. My dream store is like a glorious combination of a Wal Mart, Target, Old Navy, and a Hobby Lobby BUT it is guest-list only and the most important part is you can bring your dog. 

Peace, love, and G-codes,

ME