Because Jimmie said so...

My friend Jimmie has a fabulous blog.  You should read it.  She's funny and witty and just basically wonderful.  And I lurve her.
She is so funny and witty and wonderful and writes so pleasingly that she won an award!

Now, this award caused her to point to me and some other bloggers to tell about other bloggers that we think folks should read.  Jimmie did 11.  I am not in the Nigel Tufnel club of blog following, but there are several that I enjoy.  So:

Obviously,  Jimmie's World, for all the aforementioned reasons

but also,
 Runner Girl (she's pretty famous, but she's also local -- to me-- and awesome) She's super fit but so encouraging to anyone who wants to try to become fit or more fit

 No Bags to Check is a personal favorite.  I am a travel junkie and this is right up my alley.
911 You Can't Make This Stuff Up is less of a blog and more of a facebook page, but I love it.

and finally, The Happy Hospitalist, it's irreverent and right on.

Jimmie also asked us to answer her stolen interview questions.  That sounds like fun, so here goes:

What is your favorite word?

Purulent.  No, really.  It is.  It is much better than trying to relate, in writing, a patient's complaint of drainage from, say, an ear, than trying to turn "pus" into an adjective.  Trust me on this one. 

What is your least favorite word?

Ratchet.  As in, "I thought she was cool, but that bitch ended up being ratchet."  First, it's a bastardization of the word, "retched" and second, it alludes to the scariest, worst example of a nurse of all time.  

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

It's sick, it's twisted, I know.  But, the hardest shifts, with the sickest and most injured patients, when I get to really use all of my skills and experience to make a difference in a patient's life.  That's what covers all of the above for me.  

What turns you off?

A sense of entitlement.  From anyone.  Whether you think someone owes you some sort of deference because of your supposed social standing or whether you think just the world in general owes you.  I can't stand it.  No one owes you anything.  No one.  

What is your favorite curse word?

Jimmie stole mine.  It's fuck.  And any of many variations on that theme.

What sound or noise do you love?

The sound of my pups' paws clicking on the tile.

What sound or noise do you hate?

Monitor alarms that are being ignored.  Set your parameters so that shit only goes off when it means something and stop ignoring it!

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I've tried others.  This is it.  Maybe teaching, but even then, I'd want to teach nursing.  

What profession would you not like to do?

Respiratory therapist.  I know and love many of them.  But, dude...I can't deal with snot.  Just. Can't. Do. It. 

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Your Pop is standing over there, he's been waiting.  And be careful, because Erica is hiding behind the gate waiting to jump out and say, "Boo!"

Quarantine

Yes, Ebola again...

How did this whole conversation about quarantine or no quarantine become political? It's ridiculous.

Here are the facts:

* No, it is not airborne, though it can be spread by droplets (cough, sneeze)

* It is not super contagious, but it IS contagious enough that whole counties are overrun with it and even medical professionals who know how to maintain precautions have become infected

* If someone becomes infected, they have a 70-90% chance of dying. That same mortality rate is the reason we give tetanus vaccines to EVERYBODY for even minor scrapes and give updates even when we aren't sure whether you might have had one recently enough.

Even though your chances of contracting tetanus are very, very low.

So, how has a simple 21 day quarantine been turned into a political battlefield?

Reason, folks.

It's somewhere in between the panic and the insane need to insist that this disease is no threat at all.

And it's apparently beyond this country.