Rush Hour

www.weather.gov is running very slowly right now.  Hmm.

Gustav?

When are they going to give up and just start numbering these things?  I mean, really.  At least you can pronounce this one...Georges was just a pain in the frenulum to say.

Anyway, there's an about-to-be-hurricane about-to-be in the Gulf of Mexico.  I got official notification this evening that I should expect to stay in town and ride it out in the EMS response vehicle of my choice.  Extended-family planning session went fairly well, with most folks agreeing that they should leave town.  Current plan is to head northeast.  Anybody want to offer crash space?

Define: Priapism

n a Prius that has gone too far.

I saw the lamest ecotrendy vehicle in the world the other day.  A Prius covered in overwrought left-wing bumper stickers and (most importantly) a set of California "eco-friendly HOV lane permit" stickers.  Very cute and admirable, except I LIVE IN LOUISIANA!  

Fantastic!

Today was Draft Day for my fantasy football league.  A bunch of medics, one ex-medic, and two lawyers got together and spent several hours picking players for their imaginary teams.  A remarkably small amount of beer was drunk.

Having never played fantasy football before, I didn't really know what to expect.  So I brought my trusty laptop, loaded with scouting reports, cheat sheets, and whatnot.  Made my picks based on an ESPN recommendation list, and seemed to gain a certain amount of respect by doing so...I may have a knack for this sort of thing.

What I didn't realize is that fantasy football drafts can get dull.  At one point, the pace had slowed down so much I started the only game on this computer, which is chess.  Shortly thereafter, one of my fellow "owners" noticed what I was doing between picks and began to mock me, calling me a "nerd".

I pointed out that we were a bunch of overweight, middle-aged guys who were choosing up sides for our pretend teams in our pretend league, most of whom I personally knew to play Dungeons and Dragons when the opportunity presents, and therefore "nerd" didn't really fly as an insult.

Do not use the words "pretend" or "imaginary" at a fantasy football draft.  You could hurt someone's feelings.

Just When I Think I've Gotten Jaded...

...I hear a story about a 95-year-old guy who presents to the Emergency Department complaining of chest pains after his family members persuaded him to try crack for the first time.

Caffeine Withdrawal

My recent long run of shifts involved lots and lots of caffeine and red bull (well duh).  The bad news is I was getting to the point where those uppers didn't give me any kind of boost, they just kept me going at baseline.  Which meant that the past three days have been detox time.  

I've slept an average of 15 hours a day, gotten not-a-thing done, and had a headache the whole time.  It hasn't been fun.  The good news is that today I seem to be feeling better.  We'll see what a diet coke does for me on my shift tonight.

That was Exhausting

I just finished a run of 15x12 hour days.  That's kind of a lot, causing me to work/sleep/work, leading to no posting.  The good news is that it's over, and I'm enjoying three days off as a reward.  I've spent two of 'em sleeping so far.  There's a "honey-do" list to be attacked tomorrow, but it's not the sort of thing one wants to tackle at 4 a.m.  so I'm updating the blog.

Weight-wise, I fell off the wagon during the last couple of weeks.  Working too much leads to eating garbage.  It's back to lean meats and fresh veggies starting tomorrow.  I'm even going to try to take the dog for a walk...I've been missing my strolls on the levee.

House-wise, the hot tub has been a real boon.  It's an awesome way to relax after working too damned hard.

Speaking of work, I'm over halfway done with the last formal stage of my training.  How scary.  You'd think I'd know something by now.

The Wife is doing well.  She's been kicking butt and chewing bubblegum at work, and bringin' home the bacon as well.  Ahhh, second paycheck....

That's all the news that fits.