The Great Depression

Since I work in the health care industry I thought I was safe from the economic slump that Bush (in my opinion) put us in. Well that is sadly not the case. Over the past few weeks my wonderful nursing home has been in a slump just like the rest of the country. Our case load has been dwindling for a number of reasons:
1. Lots O' Death...I know its not funny but when you work in a nursing home you have to laugh about it. I do believe in the old saying that death comes in threes. I can count 9 wonderful people who have left this world over the past 2-3 weeks. 3+3+3 = 9 Scary huh
2. People are opting not to have surgery...at least the non-life threatening kind like replacing the old knees and hips. How does this affect a speech therapist you ask. Well 9 times out of 10 a patient goes into surgery sane and comes out a wackadoodle. Speech Therapy then swoops in with some awesome cognitive therapy to get them back on track.
3. People are going back to there homes after leaving the hospital to save on money rather than spending some time or the remainder of their life in the nursing home.
With all this said, I am extremely bored at work and my productivity has been in the 30's (the goal is 75%) Ouch. So keep your fingers crossed that things pick up and my job is secure.

One more thing to add to the depression. People called Jessica Simpson fat in this picture! I'm not the biggest fan of JS but come on, she is not fat! Sure she has on some horrendous mom jeans with the beginnings of camel toe but fat...no way.

Historic Tuesday

We have a new president! Woo-Hoo What an amazing day. I don't know about you but I had some major goosebumps and tears in my eyes during the inauguration and seeing the enormous crowd gathered in DC. As I was walking down the hall at work, you could hear the speech loud and clear. Every patients room had the TV on and blaring as usual because of the high incidence of hearing loss in the geriatric population. :) It really resonated (literally) how important this day is/was.

Now on to random thoughts for the day:
1. Marley is becoming quite the model. Just look at that face! Never mind the fact that he mistook my finger for his toy last night and bit me so hard that I cried. 2. I'm in love with my DVR and comcast On Demand. No more coin tossing on what to watch on Tuesday night. I can now record American Idol and watch it after the Biggest Loser.

3. Green Mountain Blueberry Coffee is AMAZING. It gets my going in the morning.

Happy Tuesday!

Say what!?!

So I have this patient at work who has a very complicated medical history and has recently become very confused. Okay confused is an understatement. She is completely bonkers. Here is an example of our therapy session today:
Me- "Is a ball round?"
Patient - (staring at the wall) "Uh euca, eucalyp, yeah eucalyptus."
Me - "Let me ask that again. Is a ball a round object?"
Patient - "No"
Me - "Is a leaf a living object."
Patient - (still staring at the wall) "Fiber!"
Later in the session I asked her why she was here (meaning why was she in a skilled nursing facility). Her answer was "I'm here because I'm here."

And it is only Monday...

Good-Bye 2008

Good-Bye 2008
Hello 2009

Here is a rundown events in 2008 that stick out in my head:
1. I got my first raise! Woo-hoo for being an adult
2. I got a puppy
3. I had my first visit to Memphis, Tennessee
4. I experienced hard core gambling in Tunica, Mississippi (no more penny slot machines for me)
5. Went to Memphis again to get trained in Vital Stim
6. I had my first trip out west to Denver, Colorado for the Mile High Music Festival
7. Went to my first Titans game, got to go down on the field, and sit in a box!
8. Went to NYC for a long weekend with three high school friends
9. Lost my childhood pet, Angel :(
10. My parents sold the house I grew up in

All in all it was a good year, I was healthy, wealthy (well maybe not that wealthy), and happy.

Goals for 2009
1. Run a 1/2 marathon
2. Get another raise
3. Travel to Vegas
4. Travel to LA
5. Eat healthy
6. Cook more
7. Read more
8. Train my dog to not jump on people :0)

Happy New Year Everyone!