It seems that this last month and a half has been full of extraordinary things, both personally and professionally. Now as I told you in my last blog post, we have moved, and that has gone very well, and for that I am grateful in the extreme. But then - what else?
One of the things I have done is start my new job(s). Now this has been a real contrast for me, for my position at Deaconess Hospital I had come to consider as an old, well-worn pair of shoes - comfortable, predictable, yet faded with age. And it seems that, due to financial difficulties facing the institution I worked for, that my position, as I had gotten to know it, was going to be altered to fit their perceived needs. And so, needing more stability in my life, now that I had grandkids whom I rarely got to see and to interact with, I chose to move closer to them. Well, we did that, and it has been wonderful being closer to them and their doings.
But what of my job(s)? Starting over at my seasoned age could really be something of a challenge. Now, let me tell you that the two positions of work have been contrasts as much as anything. The first position, in the small community of Grove, OK has been the less taxing, less strenuous of the two. It was just getting used to being the only hospitalist in the hospital for a week, and away from my new home did get on my nerves, especially as the only eating places in the town of Grove did not seem to have much to offer, especially compared to what I get at home. But the two weeks in Grove really did go by rather quickly - especially as they were spaced apart. But what a contrast to my other position! Now, I came over to the Bentonville area with the idea that I would be working in the hospital in Bentonville. But it would seem that "fate" had other things in mind. For, as it turned out, the other hospital (in Springdale) suddenly found itself very short of hospitalists - so I was assigned to work in Springdale, and work I did. Even with three hospitalists working during the day (12 hours, seven days straight), I put out the work, seeing as many as twelve new patients in my 12 hours, which wouldn't be too bad if they came in all during the shift, but rather, they seemed to come in mostly between the hours of 2:30 - 6:30 in great clumps of humanity. And interspersed among the folks with chest pain, CHF and pneumonia were the "suicidal ideations", the drug addicts and the alcoholics, not to mention the orthopedic consults. Now I don't really mind working hard, but... Well, you get the picture.
And then I've done a couple of additional things, which were much more fun. The first was that my wife and I had already planned a great vacation, going out west to see the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce and Zion Canyons. And let me tell you that, between my two jobs, that was one great (and needed) vacation. Incidentally, you may see more of my vacation on my other blog (photosbydrachma.blogspot.com).
And the last thing that I did was to go over to Mustang, OK, to the headquarters of Tate Publishing, from which I just got back. What I was doing there was acting as narrator for my third book, Turbulence and Restoration. For two and a half days, I was stuck in a soundproof booth, with nothing but my novel in front of me. Now, you might assume that authors should be able to do this without turning a hair, but not so. With your own words there on the screen, and all your own beloved characters coming alive with the telling of the story, it really drains you. After all, it is your own blood, sweat and tears that make up the novel, isn't it?
Let me tell you, that I am looking forward to the rest of this week - we've got some ball games to go to.
One of the things I have done is start my new job(s). Now this has been a real contrast for me, for my position at Deaconess Hospital I had come to consider as an old, well-worn pair of shoes - comfortable, predictable, yet faded with age. And it seems that, due to financial difficulties facing the institution I worked for, that my position, as I had gotten to know it, was going to be altered to fit their perceived needs. And so, needing more stability in my life, now that I had grandkids whom I rarely got to see and to interact with, I chose to move closer to them. Well, we did that, and it has been wonderful being closer to them and their doings.
But what of my job(s)? Starting over at my seasoned age could really be something of a challenge. Now, let me tell you that the two positions of work have been contrasts as much as anything. The first position, in the small community of Grove, OK has been the less taxing, less strenuous of the two. It was just getting used to being the only hospitalist in the hospital for a week, and away from my new home did get on my nerves, especially as the only eating places in the town of Grove did not seem to have much to offer, especially compared to what I get at home. But the two weeks in Grove really did go by rather quickly - especially as they were spaced apart. But what a contrast to my other position! Now, I came over to the Bentonville area with the idea that I would be working in the hospital in Bentonville. But it would seem that "fate" had other things in mind. For, as it turned out, the other hospital (in Springdale) suddenly found itself very short of hospitalists - so I was assigned to work in Springdale, and work I did. Even with three hospitalists working during the day (12 hours, seven days straight), I put out the work, seeing as many as twelve new patients in my 12 hours, which wouldn't be too bad if they came in all during the shift, but rather, they seemed to come in mostly between the hours of 2:30 - 6:30 in great clumps of humanity. And interspersed among the folks with chest pain, CHF and pneumonia were the "suicidal ideations", the drug addicts and the alcoholics, not to mention the orthopedic consults. Now I don't really mind working hard, but... Well, you get the picture.
And then I've done a couple of additional things, which were much more fun. The first was that my wife and I had already planned a great vacation, going out west to see the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Bryce and Zion Canyons. And let me tell you that, between my two jobs, that was one great (and needed) vacation. Incidentally, you may see more of my vacation on my other blog (photosbydrachma.blogspot.com).
And the last thing that I did was to go over to Mustang, OK, to the headquarters of Tate Publishing, from which I just got back. What I was doing there was acting as narrator for my third book, Turbulence and Restoration. For two and a half days, I was stuck in a soundproof booth, with nothing but my novel in front of me. Now, you might assume that authors should be able to do this without turning a hair, but not so. With your own words there on the screen, and all your own beloved characters coming alive with the telling of the story, it really drains you. After all, it is your own blood, sweat and tears that make up the novel, isn't it?
Let me tell you, that I am looking forward to the rest of this week - we've got some ball games to go to.
No comments:
Post a Comment