Ring-a-ding-ding

Ten-page fax from other hospital's colorectal unit -- patient referral. Cover sheet for fax asks us to let them know when the patient's appointment will be. Answer: two days ago.

There's a little boy asleep in the inner office. Dr Slater's apparently trading off which of her kiddies she's bringing to work on any given day. Yesterday was the daughter, now one of the sons. Seems odd that Dr Slevin, with his grown kids, has a fortnight off before the New Year while Dr Slater, with school-age children, keeps slogging away when school's broken up and someone has to look after the littluns.

On hold with X-ray Filing. Then on the phone to surgical oncology to tell them to make their own damn referrals, thank you so very much. (Hey, I'm under orders to pass the buck. I'm not complaining.) Then I need to find out why this one lady hasn't turned up to three appointments we've made for her, so ringing the GP.

This is gonna be a phone day. I can feel it. And I haven't even had my coffee yet.

Christmas Spirit

I've just printed off the lyrics to Tom Lehrer's "Christmas Time is Here, By Golly" and tacked it to the bulletin board in my office. No, I'm not really feeling all that Scroogey at the minute. It's just the bit about "It doesn't matter how sincere it / Is, or how heartfelt the spirit / Sentiment will not endear it / What's important is the price". I like Tom Lehrer for the creative approach he takes to rhyming, and for the sarcasm.

Seriously, it's something I started thinking about when considering my various Christmas weirdnesses; this whole gift-giving thing and various people's approach to it. Take for example consultants. It must be a really tricky time of year for them because they want to show they value the people who work so hard to make their professional lives easier, yet they don't know these people on anything but a surface level and therefore have no idea what they really want. Take for instance Dr Slater. Most people in the office got bottles of wine from her; I got chocolates. And I don't mind. In fact, I'm well chuffed. Why? Because Dr Slater has no idea whether or not I drink ... but she does know that my recently deceased grandmother was a recovered alcoholic. (I ran Nanny's case by her when I heard about the bowel cancer because, hey, consultant oncologist who might be able to tell me what the odds were.) And she also knows I like chocolate. That took thought on a more personal level than Dr Slevin's gift, which means that I appreciate it in a different way than I do the wallet that I can't really use but feel bad about selling on eBay. After all, he didn't have to.

Another tricky one is the parents. I don't have to deal with that this year, and I'm breathing a sigh of relief -- not because I don't have to shop for them, but because I don't stand to get anything from them. I know how that sounds, but the thing is that my mother uses the holiday season to give me, not things I want, but things she thinks I should have; namely, clothes. I know she hates how I dress, but does she have to use Christmas as an excuse to revamp my wardrobe? (Not this year, she doesn't. In fact, she can't. Thank God.) That's a really twisted kind of generosity.

I know I've been depressed about the holiday season lately, but I've come to the following conclusion. I'm spending Christmas with people I want to see rather than those I feel obliged to endure. I managed to get the gifts right again this year; everyone seemed happy with what I got them. Not only do I not have to put up with the 'self-improvement gifts', but I got some nifty stuff that proves people know what sort of things I'd actually want (yay coffee mug!). People care, and it's a good thing. So really, that makes this Best Christmas Ever. I intend to at least try not to forget that.

I also intend not to go post-Ghost Scrooge on everybody. I tend to be a little more mellow about my epiphanies.

Sing Along with Gates!

I've done this one before, but what the hell: via nightskywarlock

step 1: get your playlist together, put it on random, and play.
step 2: pick your favorite lines from the first 10 songs. (that is, the first ten songs that have english words.) try not to quote the song title.
step 3: post and let everyone you know guess what song the lines come from. (And no Googling, please; that's cheap.)
step 4: cross out the songs when someone guesses correctly.

1) Well, I don't think you like me / Well I hate you as well...
2) A bad trip child, rolling stoned, keeping high / He don't know what he's doing / He just keeps getting by...
3) Take you with me while your heart just fades to gray...
4) I wish for you what I wish for me / The flashlight, the means, the reason, the medium...
5) Don't you hate when it gets stuck in your mouth / And then those words get in the way...
6) Because it's time to bring this fire down / Bridle all this indiscretion...nightskywarlock
7) And little ever changes if anything at all / Just reminds ourselves how small we are...
8) We change by the speed of the choices that we make / And the barriers are all self-made...
9) The things we've written in it / Never really happened... nightskywarlock
10) the weathers cold the news is grim / I'm under pressure / I won't give in...

You know, it's bizarre. A couple of years ago it would never have occurred to me to have to include the English words thing, at least not when it comes to my playlist. But when you get "Salva Nos", "Du Hast" and the Metallica cover of "Carol of the Bells" all in one go ... well, eesh.