Closing Time: Yearbook Superlatives and the 2nd Floor

Hello readers! I am writing this while on the road East to home; currently at a TravelLodge in Nevada. I have my trusty movers with me (my parents) and my faithful furry companion. I am headed home to work on a SNF assignment outside of St. Louis, but still a travel assignment. 

My time in the beautiful (but VERY dry) state of California has come to an end. I chose to leave my contract early because I wanted to go home to pursue a school peds. assignment. While that didn't happen unfortunately, it is what it is and here we are. It is VERY hard to get a good pediatric OT job in the St. Louis area. Anyway, this last assignment in California (first one in Fresno) was such a wonderful experience and a zillion times better than my first Cali experience. I have met some truly wonderful people and worked with some great therapy and building teams. It makes so much of a difference when you take the time to get to know co-therapists but also your fellow staff members who work their butt off and deserve a raise (and more respect). 

I've been stewing on this idea for a while, for entertainment's sake. I'm going to issue some Yearbook Travel Superlatives for random titles from all the places I've worked- no hard feelings and no offense intended to anyone. I'm only doing this for kicks. 
Candidates: 

• Virginia
• Texas (East TX)
• Texas (SE TX- Beaumont and Vidor)
• California (Fresno)
• California (Ukiah and Willits)

Titles Earned:

• Most Likely To Succeed: Virginia 
• Most Likely to Continue Committing Medicare Fraud: Fresno! No other nominees.
• Best Executive Director: SE TX- Vidor!!! 
• Best DON: SE TX- Vidor
• Best Furry Co-worker:  California (Willits)- Teton!!! My chubby lil Bichon friend who was very upfront about the fact that she only wanted me to give her treats and then she'd leave. When she figured out I brought her some to work she came by often.  Honorable Mention: Heidi, the sweet  and shy boxer who came to work with her momma (SE TX- Beaumont)
• Biggest PITA About Productivity: Virginia and SE TX- when is everyone going to realize that productivity is bullshit? 
• Favorite Town to Live in: East TX- I loved Tyler
• Least Favorite Town to Live in: Port Arthur, SE TX (not the apartment, just the area)
• Best Hospitality: Virginia! 
• Best Documentation System: Rehab Optima! TX and CA. Casamba sux.
• Best Gossip: SE TX- y'all are nuts! 😛
• Best Patient Stories (good and bad)- SE TX 
• Prettiest Drive to Work: Virginia
• Biggest Ice Queen Boss: East TX. No other nominees. 
• Best CNAs: California- Willits! You all rock!!! Select Ukiah CNAs as well. 
• State I Could Actually See Myself Going Back to: the country of Texas. I have grown to love Texas.
• Best Adventures: California- Fresno. I went to so many beautiful places around the area! Northern California and Virginia second runners-up. 
• Best Soda Access: SE TX, both buildings. It's important for me to be able to access a cold CAN of soda at work. Helps take the edge off.  
• Best Housekeeping: Northern California, both buildings. 
• Laziest POS Therapists: FRESNO. No other nominees. 
• Best Gas Station (for sodas and snacks): East TX, near work. They had a mean fountain soda with the touch screens so I could make a cherry DC. 

I could go on and on making up shit but I'll stop there. Let's talk real quick about 'The Second Floor'; a co-workers euphemism for patients passing on to Glory, the Eternal Life, the Pearly Gates, what have you.. I could expand greatly on this topic but I will not because I'm tired and you don't want to hear it. 

Please talk with your loved ones; (parents, grandparents, spouses, etc.) about their choice for when it comes to end of life care or when tough decisions have to be made. We have had several deaths between my 2 California buildings in this last month and it is sad to see people fade away. I'm not saying it was anyone's fault that anyone passed or trying to point fingers- we all know the situations I'm talking about- feeding tubes, DNR, comfort measures, palliative care, etc. I'm specifically speaking of the elderly here, no other populations. Please try to ensure your loved ones get to go in the way they want when/if possible with dignity. Think Quality of Life. 

I'm off like a dirty shirt,

Peace, love, and H.A.K.A.S.

ME

Sparkle and Shine

I know you periodically wonder what chemicals are making up these big bangs. 

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! ⭐🌟🌠

I hope everyone had a good holiday! I started this post on the 4th and am finishing it on the 6th.  Last year this time I was in the great state (or country?) of Texas and this year I'm in Cali on the lake. Fireworks (outside of shows on the lake) are strictly illegal in this area as there is a HUGE wildfire risk. This area of NorCal (northern California, get it?) has been hit HARD by wildfires the last 2 years or so therefore no one's f-ing around. I have a beautiful view to see the fireworks from the lake as all local shows are shot from the lake for safety. The immediate area I'm living in did not have noteable damage but this entire county (Lake) and Mendocino county were overall pretty debilitated by the fires. Nevertheless, I move on. 

View from my house. Gives me a Hawaii-with-big-trees vibe.

I worked on the 4th. It wasn't bad- nothing significant happened- nobody passed, nobody got into a fight, no admissions, and most importantly NO ADMIN staff were there. It was a beautiful thing. The same guy who pees his pants and sits in it was doing his thing as was our grumpy resident who hates all of us and curses everyone out in Spanish. 

Bellers LOVES a car ride! 

Would you look at that smile??

So short version is that my time in California is winding down. I'm getting ready to leave soon so I can head back to the Middle West. That's all I'm going to say now because I really don't know what's in store completely.

This past weekend I took Bella and we drove down to San Fran- and when I say that I mean we didn't go into the city city because I ain't trying to drive around that or want to wander around on my own with a dog. I've been to SF for the day before with Jenny and it was cool. I'd love to go back but this trip wasn't for that. I did not intend to drive over the bridge but there was construction and I was confused about where I was going with GPS. We walked around by Fort Baker and enjoyed the sunshine. From there we drove through Sausolito and tried to go into the Muir Woods National Monument but that was a bitch. 2 Things.

1.  Why the F do they encourage bicycle tours in the city of and around San Francisco? Seriously. Let's make bike tours a thing in a city where the traffic is notoriously horrible, always construction going on, crime, homelessness, and TONs of tourists. So lets combine all those deficits and add bikes to the mix where a lot of drivers are tourists and a lot of tourists do not have a full grasp of English (no judgement, just affects communication in this instance). Let's  just stick with the bus tours, ok? 
2. Muir Woods- so parking is reserved. You have to make reseverations to park and go in. Normally, in another location, this might not be a problem. But here I think it's bullshit. It's down some very windy roads and then you literally have no option (if you don't have reservations) than to turn the F back around OR walk back up those windy roads, park, and walk back down. No thanks. We don't have time for that. The lady was like "you can call back around 6" to which I said "hell no!" Granted, it is well marked that reservations to be made but if you don't look it up or are unfamiliar with the area like myself, you're screwed. 

How many dogs can say they barked at chumps on the GG Bridge? This dog can

The sky over Fort Baker was so pretty!

Fort Baker Coast Guard station

Yes, that is Bella peeing. That's what I get for trying to take a nice picture of my dog with a pretty backdrop. 

 

Coast Guard dog wants to sniff. Bella wants to scratch. 

Sausolito!! So adorable.

And so out of my tax bracket. 

Muir Woods overlook

Since we didn't make parking reservations.. 

Have a great holiday weekend!

Peace, love, and Diet Dr. Pepper,