Sunday, November 20, 2011

Whining and Bored

I sincerely hope I never come down with a fatal disease. If I am THIS CRABBY with a simple head cold, I can't imagine how I'd behave if I were really sick.

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I took a high-powered cold tablet at 1 p.m. yesterday. Next thing I knew it was dinnertime. I woke up feeling 100% better...and at midnight I was still awake. I finally went to sleep (after watching RED DRAGON for the sixty-eleventh time) and woke up at nine this morning feeling almost as crappy as I felt yesterday morning at this time.

I rarely get sick. In fact I brag about this on a regular basis. People can be dropping like flies all around me and I won't have so much as a sniffle. I always believed that working as nurse for so many years has given me an immune system of Herculean proportions. I've never had the flu in my entire adult life. This simple cold, however, has knocked me on my ass. Being knocked on my ass means I am bored beyond belief.

I don't do well with boredom, either. I once quit a job because I could pass meds on 45 patients without ever having to look at a chart.

So this morning I took a "non-drowsy" cold tablet instead. I swear if I sneeze one more time I'll splatter brain matter out my ears.

BOO!

Friday, November 11, 2011

FRIDAY 5

1. THE UNQUIET is available for pre-order on Amazon.
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The official pub date looks like July 17th. :) :)

2.

3601 / 50000 words. 7% done!

3. Birthday party tonight.

4. SCBWI brunch tomorrow.

5. Q: How do you tell the difference between a gall bladder attack and a heart attack?
    A: When you wake up in the morning, you know it wasn't your heart.
    Ow, ow, ow.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Wendy Wunder's THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this amazingly beautiful story:

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THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES by Wendy Wunder (release date December 8, 2011)

From Amazon: Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

This is definitely one to keep your eye out for! Loved it, loved it.

Criminally Negligent WITHOUT A DOUBT

It's making me nuts to hear so many people say that Michael Jackson was an addict, and therefore responsible for his own death.

People. Michael Jackson doctor-shopped till he found someone--Conrad Murray--who agreed to give him GENERAL ANESTHESIA every night in his own bed. Every other medical practitioner he asked turned down this outrageous request. Why? Because propofol is NOT. EVER. GIVEN. outside of the O.R. or ICUs. It's unheard of. It's beyond comprehension.

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Propofol is not a sleep aid. You are not "sleeping" when you are given this drug. YOU ARE UNCONSCIOUS. You need to be heavily monitored--vital signs, oxygenation, airway, EKG, etc.--NONE of which Dr, Murray had, other than a rinky-dink pulse ox machine anyone can buy online--because you can stop breathing at any moment.
You need emergency equipment: a breathing tube, emergency paddles, medications like epinephrine, etc. Again, none of which Dr. Murray had at hand. The fact that he was found doing CPR with Michael still on the bed instead of pulling him to the floor convinces me he wouldn't have known what to do with the paddles if he had them.

Before undergoing anesthesia, you're aren't allowed to eat after midnight because you can vomit while unconscious and aspirate it into your lungs. You also have to sign a release, saying you understand the dangers. This is called informed consent. Michael should have read and signed this paper every single night.

Dr. Murray rendered Michael unconscious every night for weeks, He did not keep ONE SINGLE NOTE that entire time. Can you imagine visiting your own doctor even for a routine checkup and he doesn't write one single thing down--ever?

Then, one morning, Michael stops breathing while under this general anesthetic (i.e. unconscious) while Dr. Murray was out of the room for God knows how long. What would you do if you found someone unresponsive? The same thing any FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILD has already been taught to do: Call 911. NOT waste valuable time on the phone blabbing to a bunch of other people, one of whom did call 911...not Dr. Murray. He then proceeded to throw out as much stuff as he could (aided by someone who testified in court) and never bothered to mention "propofol" to the emergency room doctors.

This doctor is so grossly and criminally negligent on so many levels, there aren't enough words to describe it.

To those who insist MJ miraculously regained consciousness long enough to administer his own fatal overdose...even if this is true (which defies logic, IMO) what difference does it make? Dr, Murray was ultimately responsible. He brought the drugs to him. Addict or not, Michael did not deserve to die in this awful manner, with his children nearby.

This is not the first time someone's been prosecuted for supplying an addict with drugs. Remember John Belushi?

"Cathy Smith stupidly gave an interview to the National Enquirer admitting that she shot Belushi up. She was re-arrested, and had to serve 18 months in prison for this little escapade." THE DEATH OF JOHN BELUSHI

Michael did not insert that needle into his own (leg) vein. Like Belushi, he had help--not from a fellow addict, but by a licensed physician who once took a vow to DO NO HARM.

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RIP, Michael. You were loved.

Monday, November 7, 2011

RANDOM MONDAY

1. I've had a pathetic start to NaNo:


1246 / 50000 words. 2% done!

...but actually a very good excuse because I was revising a few pages of my wip (THE UNBIDDEN) after getting excellent feedback from Tina. This is by no means a "done deal"--but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

P.S. If anyone wants to join me on NaNoWriMo, my user name is JenG.

2. Creepy movies I've seen recently:

TV: THE RITE with Anthony Hopkins. Personally I loved it, as long as I didn't stop to analyze all the theological stuff.

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Theater: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3

The first one was decent. The second one sucked. But THIS one--

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--scared the LIVING HELL out of me!

3. What I did this morning: tried to shake off a migraine. Yeah, a bad one. Luckily I got a vacation day so I didn't have use a sick day or--worse--drag myself in high on codeine and butalbital. The census is down because, swear to God, all my patients get their disability checks the first of the month and they're out blowing their money right now.

4. What I am doing right now: waiting for the verdict in the Michael Jackson death trial. I'm guessing he's guilty, though, after Casey Anthony, nothing will surprise me.

5. What I am doing later: hopefully, writing. :)