Last Day at Anchor Radiology

Another big change that has happened in my life is the closing of Anchor Radiology, my place of employment. I was told in late August that as of December 30th I would no longer have a job. This bit of news came as a big shock to me because it seemed as though the drama of hospital politics had subsided, but unfortunately it had not.

So today was my last day working for Anchor Radiology and I have to admit that it was a very sad day for me. Not because I haven't had enough of the politics--cuz I have! Not because I'll miss working on the weekends--cuz I won't! And not because I love performing those tasks dealt to me because certain people are lazy--cuz I don't!

I'll miss Anchor Radiology because I loved the crazy mix of personalities the radiologists had:

Dr. Fit-He is a brilliant radiologist. I'm calling him Dr. Fit because he is the only doctor I know who his so concerned with his own personal health and fitness. Dr. Fit exercises daily and is a strict vegetarian. He doesn't mind reminding you that red meat will give you breast cancer and chocolate will make you more prone to Alzheimer's Disease--while you are eating those things. MSG's are his worse enemy. Dr. Fit is very fun to visit with and was a very kind boss.

Dr. Teddy Bear-He is the oldest in the bunch and is a generous radiologist who truly cares for people. Dr. Teddy Bear loves to eat and bought us food on Thursday's because that is when the doctors' lounge serves plain ol' sandwiches. When he dictates reports he is the only radiologist that sounds like a news anchor. Dr. Teddy Bear is a laid back individual who rarely gets excited. When he loses his pen he always blames it on the "dope fiends". Dr. Teddy Bear was a pleasure to work for!

Dr. Giant- He is SO tall! He speaks Spanish to his wife for fun, and travels all over the world. Raman Noodles became his favorite dish for lunch. Dr. Giant was the President of Anchor Radiology and my main boss. He had a huge heart and always took the time to talk to the patients. He fought for me and the techs when he had to because he said that we were one big family. Dr. Giant has such a big heart that he worries about everything in the department...EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, this characteristic often made him a little OC. He wanted everything to work well so the patients would benefit. Although he was annoyed with me sometimes and I with him, he ended up being a great boss.

Dr. Music-Many were scared of Dr. Music because of his gruff personality. I quickly discovered that he was a very caring person who realized hard workers when he saw them. He will tell you upfront if he does or doesn't like your work, which I admire. Dr. Music loved music of all kinds. I have never met someone who enjoyed so many different genres of music. Dr. Music was a rocker in his day and has passed his musical genes on to his son who plays wordly music. He tells stories of his younger days when he was a "ladies man" and all the people he's met along the journey of life. I will never forget his stories. Dr. Music is a Tennessee man through and through who loves to be in nature. He is also the more liberal one of the bunch.He encouraged me more than any other radiologist which may seem weird to those who thought he was mean. You just have to get to know him!

Working with Anchor Radiology taught me many things. I learned that not all adults are mature, and people rarely take pride in their work. I learned the different bones in the body. I realized that it is possible for people to work hard to get their dream career, and be miserable when in it. My eyes were opened to hospital politics which has changed my view of medicine forever. I now know how to choose what doctors I want for myself and which pediatricians I DO NOT want for my children. I learned how amazing radiology is and how it has changed healthcare.

Yeah, I'll miss those radiologists even though they griped a lot. It's weird when I think of all the time I spent with Anchor Radiology. Monday thru Sunday I would be working in the Reading Room. Anchor Radiology was the topic of conversation many times between Justin and me. We saw each other's faces a lot, and I'll miss everyone.

We'll see what happens next...

Thomas Edison State College

One change that has happened since my last post in August is that I transferred from Stephen F. Austin to Thomas Edison State College. I mentioned this in a previous post, but I had no idea how it was going to work then. Luckily, I only had to complete 19 hours of electives to be finished with my degree! The semester seemed like an uphill battle though because I had a lot of work to do in order to get those 19 hours.

I am proud to say now that I am FINISHED! Well, at least on my end. All the paperwork has to be approved for me to get my diploma in March, plus my "mentors" have yet to grade my work. I am praying hard that everything works itself out.

Overall I am happy with my decision to transfer to an online school. Like anything there are pros and cons.

PROS:
-I was able to finish my degree sooner which allowed me to avoid so many student loans I would have incurred.

-From my point of view the students are much more mature. I have taken online classes through SFA and the students there felt like they could speak to the instructor however they wanted because they weren't face-to-face. Thomas Edison's students were there because they wanted to learn...probably because they are older.

-Online classes force you to read the textbook, so I think I learned a lot more in these classes than I have in face-to-face ones.

CONS:
- I do not get a graduation ceremony. All of my college career I have looked forward to the day I would walk across that stage, so I am sad about that.

-I do not like to write! All of the work consisted of reading and writing. Boring.

-I missed the interaction between my classmates and professors. I felt that very little experience on the instructors part was incorporated into the class.

Now that I am basically a college graduate, I look forward to just working and coming home to my husband, not schoolwork. After I get my diploma I plan to start a program so I can earn a teaching certificate.

In summary...Thomas Edison State College is the real reason I haven't blogged and I am glad I transferred because I.am.finished...basically.

Cha Cha Cha Cha Change

Congo is creepy. I really didn't get that far into it. I ended up leaving town a lot later than I expected, so it was very very dark while I was driving in the boonies.

Gorillas chewing people's faces off+Dark woods+Weird looking moon=Paranoia.

This weekend I was able to meet the people Justin has been talking about since this time last year. They were so nice! I was even able to meet Justin's man crush: Matt, the bassist. I was very dissappointed with the amount of time Justin spent with Matt...after all he spoke so highly of him. It just didn't seem very "crush-like" to me. I guess that's what happens when you invite your wife. Overall, I had a good time.

I am supposed to be home with Justin right now, but I received a call today that informed me I'd be working all day. I'm finding out more and more how much I don't like change! I find my little cozy spot and want to stay in it. Today I had planned to get home, relax with Justin, and have enough time to make a big meal before he goes to practice. Now I'll just feel rushed.

I found out today that just because I have a student holiday, it doesn't mean my online course does. Not only did I miss a chat meeting on Sunday (which was okayed by the prof), but I missed a billion other things! Evidentally these people live on the computer because there were a lot of topics on the discussion board that I had no idea about. There was this survey I was supposed to fill out on Saturday, and an assignment due today. When did he announce this? It wasn't in the syllabus...I'm both confused and discouraged.

The hospital I work at has been advancing in technology. I used to say that part of my job was hanging films, but we are all digital now. Now my job is to answer the phone and handle paperwork. We started the process of going paperless this week. Am I getting weeded out? Although it will take a little bit of time to be fully paperless, it still worries me. I've started to grow frustrated with my job. I feel like I'm not accomplishing anything. People get x-rays 24/7. There is never an end. I never go home feeling like I've completed something because I know tomorrow morning we'll just be playing catch-up with all the x-rays taken that night. I'm not sure if I do any good for people. Every other job I've had just felt different. I know I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. I miss people. I miss serving people and knowing that there was a need met.

So I freak out about change. I let it ruin my day. I need to get over it.

I'VE BEEN MARRIED TO JUSTIN FOR ONE MONTH TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Rebirth of Pink

The color that is. When I was a youngster I absolutely loved the color pink. I work pink shirts, dresses, and bows. Gave pink presents to my favorite teachers. I longed for any toy that had just a glimmer of pink in it.

One day I asked my grandma what her favorite color was and she said that it was blue. After that I started wearing a lot of blue. My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Simms, told me that the color blue matched my eyes. (I suppose a concept that I had never thought of.) So then, my favorite color turned to blue.

Before I knew it, I was in high school and my wardrobe was every shade of blue imaginable. (my friends will attest to that) The only other colors I wore were the ones that came on my church shirts. Man, I even liked that song, "I'm blue."

ANYWAY...my freshman year of college I rediscovered the color pink! Pink and I have rekindled what we once had. So all of this got me wondering what makes us like the colors we do. So I have done some heavy research using Google in order to answer my question. (what else is research?) And I have no answer! If anyone does find out the answer please tell me--I want to know.

BUT, I did find some interesting facts about Crayola. Did you know the average child in the USA will wear down 730 Crayons by his or her 10th birthday? (I always snapped them in half because I colored too hard so I doubt I made it that far) Also Crayola made several changes to the names of their crayons in order to adapt to the American society. And here is a video I found that explains all of that:

I always wanted to do the crayon naming contests when I was a kid. My favorite crayon was "Tickle Me Pink." Did you have one?