Just One of Those Days
Ever have one of those days where absolutely everything goes wrong and not because of anything you did? I've had plenty of those and I'm sure there are plenty more to come. But today was one of those days.
Let's start at 7am in the morning, when I dropped my car off at the shop. I was getting a few things fixed and the guy on the phone quoted me that it would cost about $350. Painful, but acceptable. My buddy from work picked me up right on time, and off we went to the office.
After putzing around the office for an hour, the mechanic guy called me up and told me that the total cost would be $750! Woah! Twice the amount??? I guess. So he went ahead and started working on the car.
In the meantime, I was going to add up my patient tracking cards for the past 2 months. Every two months when we switch rotations, we're required to write down all the names and diagnoses of all patients whom we've seen, count them all up, and record them on a floppy that was provided to us by the program. So as a responsible chief resident and one who likes to set a good example for the junior residents, I've been diligent about keeping track of all my numbers. However, today as I tried to open up the disk and add in the numbers, the computer kept telling me the disk was blank and unformatted, i.e. all my data from the previous 4 years, including this year, was lost. No way am I going to count up all those cards, again. But it was very aggravating to realize all my work was for naught.
Next on the crap list, I had to work with someone whom I think is one of the nicest people I've ever met, however working with them drives me to the looney bin! And I was stuck working with them for 2 hours or so. Much more than my tolerance level could handle. But this person was teaching me some things, so I guess it wasn't all that bad. Needless to say, however, that by the end of our session I was seething.
As 5pm rolled around, I began to wonder how I would get back to the car shop. My buddies were all still in clinic or seeing consults. I decided to call another buddy up who actually lives near me. The plan was for him to pick me up on his way home and drop me off at the shop. He was supposed to call me when he was on his way back home. Well, as 6pm rolled around and I still hadn't received a call, I brainstormed the situation on how I would get my car. Aha! There was a train stop right by the shop; I'll take the train!
So off I went, walking as if I were in a walking race at the Olympics, blowing past the old geezer who was walking leisurely while smoking a cig. I got to the blue line and rode the train to Jackson St. where I got off and had to transfer to the red line. The thing is, at the Jackson St. stop, there are no signs to tell you which train is going south and which is going north. I looked at my watch; 6:30pm. I had 30 minutes.
Two trains finally thundered to a stop at the Jackson station at the same time. Unfortunately, both of the trains had a sign that said the final stop was "Howard St." so I couldn't tell which one was going North or South. So I chose the train that had fewer people boarding and prayed that the next stop was one north of Jackson. And as Murphy's Law would have it, I found out at the next stop that I chose the wrong train. Great.
So I got off and waited for the Northbound train, which came about 10 minutes later. I still had time, though it was slowly ticking away.
So there I was, finally on the correct train heading in the right direction with a few minutes to spare. At one of the stops, a hoard of people got on...and then just kept on getting on and on and on with each stop. There must have been a Cubs game, or something. In any case, I had to push and shove my way to the doors by the time my stop came.
Luckily, the car shop was just a couple of blocks from the train station. With 10 minutes to spare, I finally made it to the car shop. I paid my arm and leg for the car and drove home.
Murphy's Law would strike for a 6th time today, as my engine sounded like Luke's land speader from Star Wars. Don't get me wrong; that kinda sounds cool but it can't be too good for the engine. And I couldn't take it back because then, the garage was closed.
So the madness begins, again, tomorrow at 7am back at the shop. I can't wait.
Let's start at 7am in the morning, when I dropped my car off at the shop. I was getting a few things fixed and the guy on the phone quoted me that it would cost about $350. Painful, but acceptable. My buddy from work picked me up right on time, and off we went to the office.
After putzing around the office for an hour, the mechanic guy called me up and told me that the total cost would be $750! Woah! Twice the amount??? I guess. So he went ahead and started working on the car.
In the meantime, I was going to add up my patient tracking cards for the past 2 months. Every two months when we switch rotations, we're required to write down all the names and diagnoses of all patients whom we've seen, count them all up, and record them on a floppy that was provided to us by the program. So as a responsible chief resident and one who likes to set a good example for the junior residents, I've been diligent about keeping track of all my numbers. However, today as I tried to open up the disk and add in the numbers, the computer kept telling me the disk was blank and unformatted, i.e. all my data from the previous 4 years, including this year, was lost. No way am I going to count up all those cards, again. But it was very aggravating to realize all my work was for naught.
Next on the crap list, I had to work with someone whom I think is one of the nicest people I've ever met, however working with them drives me to the looney bin! And I was stuck working with them for 2 hours or so. Much more than my tolerance level could handle. But this person was teaching me some things, so I guess it wasn't all that bad. Needless to say, however, that by the end of our session I was seething.
As 5pm rolled around, I began to wonder how I would get back to the car shop. My buddies were all still in clinic or seeing consults. I decided to call another buddy up who actually lives near me. The plan was for him to pick me up on his way home and drop me off at the shop. He was supposed to call me when he was on his way back home. Well, as 6pm rolled around and I still hadn't received a call, I brainstormed the situation on how I would get my car. Aha! There was a train stop right by the shop; I'll take the train!
So off I went, walking as if I were in a walking race at the Olympics, blowing past the old geezer who was walking leisurely while smoking a cig. I got to the blue line and rode the train to Jackson St. where I got off and had to transfer to the red line. The thing is, at the Jackson St. stop, there are no signs to tell you which train is going south and which is going north. I looked at my watch; 6:30pm. I had 30 minutes.
Two trains finally thundered to a stop at the Jackson station at the same time. Unfortunately, both of the trains had a sign that said the final stop was "Howard St." so I couldn't tell which one was going North or South. So I chose the train that had fewer people boarding and prayed that the next stop was one north of Jackson. And as Murphy's Law would have it, I found out at the next stop that I chose the wrong train. Great.
So I got off and waited for the Northbound train, which came about 10 minutes later. I still had time, though it was slowly ticking away.
So there I was, finally on the correct train heading in the right direction with a few minutes to spare. At one of the stops, a hoard of people got on...and then just kept on getting on and on and on with each stop. There must have been a Cubs game, or something. In any case, I had to push and shove my way to the doors by the time my stop came.
Luckily, the car shop was just a couple of blocks from the train station. With 10 minutes to spare, I finally made it to the car shop. I paid my arm and leg for the car and drove home.
Murphy's Law would strike for a 6th time today, as my engine sounded like Luke's land speader from Star Wars. Don't get me wrong; that kinda sounds cool but it can't be too good for the engine. And I couldn't take it back because then, the garage was closed.
So the madness begins, again, tomorrow at 7am back at the shop. I can't wait.
posted by V-Hume at 10:05 PM
2 Comments:
Aww, sorry you had such a crappy day. Remember, in everything give thanks. So cheer up! It'll be better tomorrow.
Didn't you have a back-up or something?
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