You know you're a SA when....

I have really been slacking on this whole blogging thing, so I thought I'd start it up again with a dedication to my family at the BAIC.  We come across the most interesting situations, which you really need to see to believe.  Below is a little look into our lives.

1. When an Food Blast is sent out about treats on the 3^rd floor

2. When a patient tries to check in for an appointment and they’re not scheduled

3. When they ask you if you can do OT

4. After you say yes to OT

5. When someone forgets to give a patient paperwork but it wasn’t you.

6. When you look out into the waiting room and you can’t see any empty seats

7. When you’re told you need to find a covering MD

8. When someone tells you they come ALL the way from Long Island, Brooklyn, Staten Island etc.

9. When a patient talks about how hard it was to get her because they come from NJ

10. When someone tries to hand you a fecal sample

11. When a patient won't stop talking to you and you have 4 other patients out

12. When a patient steps away from the waiting room

13. How you feel After a GD clinic

14. When you say that you “work at a Cancer Center” and people reply with, “ That must be soooo hard!”

15. When a patient brings along an attractive member of their family between the ages of 20-35

16. When a patient starts telling you how you should schedule them, when you already have the MD’s orders

17. When a patient tries to tell you how to do your job

18. When a last minute NV gets added on to the schedule

19. When you have a second to step away for a “lunch break”

20. When you’re not finished with printing and clinic is about to start

21. The 1^st time Rocco leaves

22. The 2^nd time Rocco leaves

23. The 3^rd time Rocco ( cause who wouldn’t be surprised if he came back again) leaves

24. When a certain  MD is rude to you for no reason

25. Dr. N/H/&B patients

26. When PFS doesn’t answer and you have to send them an email to get a hold lifted ASAP

27. When someone sends a patient around to check in

28. What you want to do when a patient is being really loud and rude to you

29. When you’re done scheduling your last patient and it Friday!

30. How you feel about your co-workers at the BAIC

Hope you enjoyed a look into my life.

Much love,

Lolo

  * Letters have no correlation to anyone's names  *wink*

My Night In The ER- Uneventful and Pathetic

It all started with a good nights rest….then POW…3am in Friday morning I walk up and felt it, a kink in my neck.  But, not the normal kinks when you sleep weird, this one was different.  I tried to rub it out, and figured it would go away, and then I tried to get ready for work…I couldn’t pull on my pants, bend over, or put my I.D. badge over my head, my whole right side had worked its way into an incredibly painful spasm.  I trudged it too work and my co-workers were very patient and understanding, they were picking things up for me, there to catch me when I almost fell…multiple times ( don’t know what that had to do with the spasm), to say I was off my game.  I found a wellness center and called them and said, “ I have a spasm on the right side of my body, what do you have after 4pm today, I don’t care if its, Chiro, acupuncture, massage, whatever just give me something”.  She probably thought I was crazy, but gave me a Chiro consult and “massage” appt. 

Dr. Dan was so kind, he was laughing at me as he examined my range of motion, which was pretty pathetic.  He was also very attractive ( married, but still), he kept saying things like, “ I’m just trying to think what I want to do with you today”, “ don’t want to be too hard on you today”,  every time he said that I would say that I would giggle inappropriately in my mind “ I know what you can do with me”, then I’d laugh at myself and remember I looked like a robot made of stone.  He finally “did what he wanted” with me, and then I couldn’t push myself up off the table, so Dr. Dan, ever so gently had to reach his arms around me and hold me while he lifted me up.  I mean, seriously Dr. Dan, you’re killing me with your hotness right now.  When that was finished his masseuse gave me a quick “massage” but she was afraid to put pressure on me, so it pretty much just felt like energy work with no pressure.  I went home still in need of a deep tissue massage, with no one around to do it.

I went to sleep early and at midnight woke up in excruciating pain.  I would try to move and my breath would get taken away, I needed a cortisone shot to release the spasm and urgent care wouldn’t open for 7 more hours.  There was no way I could sit on the couch and look straight for 7 hours at the risk of moving wrong and not being able to breathe.  I decided to cave into the pain and went to the ER.  I was too afraid to go to an ER in East Harlem, because I was pretty sure it would be full of meth addicts and people pooping and peeing everywhere, so I googled one on the Upper East Side.  Needless to say, I don’t know if a “better” ER really exists anywhere, but for some reason I thought it would manner.  I was wearing a pajama dress ( visualize that how you will) and slapped on some sneakers to head out.  I really should have taken a cab, but I knew the ER co-pay was going to be pricey so I trekked it on the Subway, which actually wasn’t too bad and brought me right in front of Lenox Hill Hospital.  The ER wasn’t busy, there wasn’t even any people for me to talk to and make friends, so I just sat there.  They took my vitals and all that jazz and just moved me to different waiting areas.  There was a lady who was dressed up nice with a big cut on her head hobbling around in high heels, and then 2 young girls, separate from her also hobbling around in high heels.  Nothing too crazy, no commotion, or  good stories to tell.  I just sat there, looking straight ahead, no reception on my phone, no magazines, nothing to do but watch some random movie on BET that was quietly playing and read the hospitals privacy policies ( riveting really). After 3 hours of sitting there, a Dr. lady came over ( no more hot Dr. Dan), she asked me some questions and then said “ okay, I’m going to give you some Tylenol”  WTF.  I want a effing cortisone shot and did not sit here for hours in the ER to walk away with some effing Tylenol.  I let her finish he sentence and she added on some valium to that Tylenol which calmed me down a little bit.  I wasn’t supposed to take it and go home alone, but alas, I’m a big girl and did it anyway.  Apparently they don’t do cortisone shots in the ER,  really wish I’d known that earlier, but the damage was done.  She gave me a prescription for a few muscle relaxers to get me by for a couple days, and sent me off.  I didn’t even get a freaking hospital bracelet, that’s like the coolest part about going to the hospital is the jewelry you come out with. 

Needless to say, that was a colossal waste of time and money.  Still in pain, I found this 24hr massage place by Grand Central with fairly cheap massages.  I figured they would be sketchy, but at this point I didn’t care, I needed someone to rub out part of this spasm.  SPA45 was pretty clean, small rooms, but clean, and they work they did helped my spasm.  I can now pull on my pants, carry my purse, and function back to normal with only a smidge of pain, which hopefully will relieve itself once I’m able to enlist some friends to give me some neck massages. 

My pride was definitely shaken this weekend.  I pride myself on my high pain tolerance, which I still think I do have, but it’s not nearly as strong as I thought it was and that makes me lose some street cred.

All in all, not the weekend I had planned, or what I wanted to do with the beautiful weather we’re finally having ,but alas, another interesting New York City experience to jot down.   I guess I’ll have to pay more attention to my crazy sleeping positions.

Much Love,

Lolo

Shoot me I'm 30!

Reflecting on the last 10 years of adulthood.

My first day at being 30!

The mood swings, the hot flashes, unpredictable irritability, no I’m not talking about menopause, I’m talking about turning 30!  I’ve been trying to mentally prepare myself from leaving my 20’s, but  I can’t quite shake the fear of going into this new decade.  I guess its because this is not the life I envisioned I would have at 30. 

My 30 year old self as thought up by my 5, 10, 15, & 20 year old self is as follows:

• Married to an ambitious worthy Mormon priesthood holder
• My husband works a simple 9-5 job that pays enough for me to stay home and be a homemaker
• 2 kids, thinking about our third
• A home of our own, 4 bed 3bath, white picket fence, small garden in the back
• Cute, cuddly dog.  Possibly a fish, if one of the kids is learning about them in school or something
• 2 conservative and safe cars that fit everyone comfortably, probably a Toyota or Honda

That’s pretty much it, not too much to ask for, and I totally thought I was going to get it.  The ever so revealing and psychic game of M.A.S.H has turned out to be a complete and utter fraud.

The reality of the last 10 years:

• Went to Rochester, New York for 18months on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
• Paid for my mission myself 
• I bought a Mazda2, which I drove for 3 months, and is now sitting in UT trying to be sold.
• Got my heart broken
• Put it back together!
• I graduated from Utah Valley University in Community Health Education and Digital Media.  3.7 GPA
• Hade a successful work life for the past 15 years working at a Dentist Office, Nordstrom, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, with a few odd jobs in between.Moved to New York City!

Definitely different from my perfect vision.  So many curve balls.

 

When I turned 28, I was told by the Sweetest Scottish Dr. that I've been living my life at half capacity.  I spent all of 2013-14 getting my blood drawn every 3 weeks keeping track of  different numbers, and blood levels, in attempt to figure out my body. In her cute Scottish accent Dr. Esme said " Laura, don't give up.  I'm not going to give up."  Because of her diligence in working with me for over a year, I have the chance to start my "ahem", 30's, off at at least 3/4 capacity. Knowing this gives me hope for more success and more adventure in this coming decade.

 

Currently I am working on my street cred while I live in one of the "sketchiest" hoods  in Harlem.  I already have a street name which is  "Little Red Riding Hood".  Hopefully that will keep me safe while I'm living in "Zombie Land", which is what the local authorities call my neighborhood. 

 

Things are looking up, and I'm not using a sarcastic tone when I say this.  I have good people in my life, and work for a great company.  I'm gonna put the good vibes out into the Universe and say, " I'm looking forward to being 30!"

 

Much Love,

Lolo

6 Months in Manhattan!!!

Today marks 6 months that I have LIVED in New York Freaking City, the city of dreams.  One thing I’ve learned about NYC is that it breaks you down, and it does so quickly.  Its strips your outer shell off and gets to your core.  It forces you to examine who you are, not who you’re pretending to be, not who you have been, not who you want to be, not who your parents know, not who your friends know; it forces you to really examine yourself for who you are in this very moment.  There is no hiding from what it reveals.  You can try to fight it, to protect yourself from dealing with the truth about yourself, but it won’t let you, you will inevitably cave. You should cave. You have to let New York work its magic on you, it may feel like black magic and suck the big one, but, I think there’s a method to its madness.  Living in New York is like living in the middle of the refiners fire.  Right now, I am in the middle of the heat, being melted and sculpted, I’m convinced this is as hot as it gets, but I’m sure I have a few more degrees before I start to take shape.  But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Somedays you feel like a shell of the person you used to be, the person you thought you were.  Those days are lonely days.  Its crazy to think that you could be so lonely when you’re in a city so big, full of so many different kinds of people, but it happens.  It happens a lot.  I don’t know what I would do without the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  I give so many kudos to young people who move to NYC on their own and literally know no one and have to start from scratch.  I already had a base built in because of the church in my life.  I joined all the Young Single Adult facebook groups before I stepped foot off the plane, I had some sort of community that I could crash, without having to figure out where to start.  I’m so thankful for that.  That is my favorite thing about the church, is that you have this built in community all over the world, not just in major metropolitan areas.  That’s so comforting.  I’m not saying you’ll click with everyone in that community, and that you’ll want to even be friends with them, but knowing that they’re there is  comforting.  Anyway, enough with the fluffy, mushy, boring stuff.  Let me recap my last 6 months for you.

NYC by the numbers

Number of Pizza Slices: 19

Number of Pizza places tried: 6

Number of Restaurant tried: under 10 ( this doesn’t include pizza, or delis, just sit down places)

Number of Cabs hailed:0

Number of Cabs taken: 5

Number of cars ridden in that wasn’t a cab :2

Number of buses taken: 200

Number of subway rides taken: 400+

Number of Boroughs I’ve been to: 4 (out of 5)

Number of times I’ve been lost: 13

Number of Jobs I’ve had: 5

Number of Jobs I’ve applied for: 300+

Number of times I’ve fallen: 1

Number of times I’ve tripped: Under 20

Number of dates I’ve gone on: 3 ( maybe, I’m not sure what they were)

Number of little crushes I’ve had: 3

Number of times I’ve made out with someone: 0

Number of time someone’s made out with my cheek: 1 ( refer to past blog post about quiet clubbing)
Number of Babies I fell in love with:1 ( Ari my lover)

Number of strangers I’ve hugged: 5

Number of People I've seen sleeping in public: 100+ ( I'm starting a People of the subway album)

Number of Broadway shows seen: 6      

Number of movies I’ve seen being filmed: 3

Number of movies in a theater I’ve seen: 2 ( Meet the Mormons & Imitation Game.  Dollar movies are of the past)

Number of times I’ve been to Central Park: 4 (Haven’t had time to go more, it’s a goal)

Number of homeless I’ve given money to: 10

Number of times I’ve panhandled: 1

Number of time’s I’ve been to the west side: under 20

Number of people I’ve yelled at on the subway: 1 ( it was a hard day)

Number of times I’ve cried in public: 10+

Number of ferry rides I’ve taken: 3

Number of wardrobe malfunctions: 3

Number of times I’ve been to the beach: 1

Number of times my phone broke: 1

Number of times my credit card # was stolen: 1

Number of times I forgot my umbrella:13

Number of times I’ve bought an umbrella: 3

Number of Shoes I’ve gone though: 2

Number of new shoes I need: 5

Number of miles I’ve walked: 400+

Number of Chobani yogurts I’ve eaten: 32

Number of visit to Rice to Riches: 5

Number of time paid for over priced, over ripe food: everyday

Number of times I questioned if I should be here: my whole first month

Number of times I knew I shouldn’t be back in Utah: my last 5 months

Number of times I wish my best friends were here: ALL THE TIME

This is just a small sampling of some of my NYC highlights.  Hopefully more great ones to come.

Much love,

Lolo

Sending love from the Big Apple