Third Degree

It is three degrees outside. It is so cold that even with a coat on, Shelby did not want to go out. He ran out for a few seconds, did the minimum of his needs and ran back in. If I had to go to the bathroom naked in three degree temperatures, I would run in too. The technical name for this weather band is Polar Vortex. My name for it is F*cking Cold Out.

No Consolation

One of the doctors in work has two elderly parents. They are 96 and 97 years old. A few weeks ago her father was sent to the hospital because he was not feeling well. He is now in a rehab nursing facility. The doctor is heartbroken not only that her father is probably not going to survive much longer, but for the fact that her mother will be without him after 75 years of marriage. I totally understand what she is going through. I have spoken to her a few times about this and tried to ease her pain as best as I could with kind understanding words. Yesterday my receptionist answered the phone and it was the doctor calling from the rehab to say she would be a few minutes late for her patient. I did not hear what the doctor was saying but I heard what my receptionist was saying. I could fill in the blanks since I know the situation. This is what I heard: The doctor must have said, "My father is not doing well". My receptionist answered, "Well, he is 97 and no one lives forever". The doctor must have then said something like, "My mother wants him to get better and come home", to which the receptionist's answer was, "We can all wish for whatever we want but that's not the way it works. You don't always get what you wish for, sorry". I sat there with my hand on my face, like The Thinker statue. Was I really hearing this? My grandchildren could have consoled her better. My receptionist has a 90 year old mother living with her, so she should have a bit more compassion. When the shoe is on the other foot, is that how she would want people to react?

Two Applicants

I had two appointments for job interviews yesterday. One was set for 9:30am and the other 10:30am. At 9:24am I got a call that the woman waslost on the 4th floor and she could not find our door. I told her that we were on the 1st floor, so why was she on the 4th? A few minutes later the door opened and a woman walked in and sat in the far corner of the waiting room. Other patients slowly filtered in. I knew the first person was the applicant, but did not know why she did not have enough sense to come to the front window and get an application to fill out. I decided to let her sit there for a while to see if what she would do. After 10 minutes I opened the window and said, "Which doctor are you here to see?" She said she was here for an interview. The patient sitting next to her told her that when you come for an interview you are supposed to go to the window and say you are here. The woman looked baffled. I knew that the interview would be short and she was not getting the job. As she filled out the application, the next interviewee walked in. She said she was early for the 10:30am interview (it was 9:45am) but she wanted to make sure she was on time. I took in the first woman and spent about 4 minutes with her. She had not worked since 2009 due to a "brutal divorce". I brought the next girl in and she was wonderful. She was hired!

Roast Beef

In 1938 a roast beef restaurant named Brennan and Carr opened up in Sheepshead Bay. It was located in a real log cabin. There was no menu. It was written on a chalk board on the wall. You could order your food from an outside window while waiting for a bus as the bus stop was right there. It was cash only. Drinks were served in paper cups. The roast beef sandwiches came "double dipped", if requested. If you said double dip, it meant you had been there before. Last night after dropping off my father, we ate there. Nothing had changed since 1938. It was like walking into a time warp. The sandwiches tasted exactly was we remembered them and the corn fritters were heavenly. It is nice to know that sometimes things stay the same and it is possible to relive happy times.

Birdie Egg Face

Years ago I bought a small egg pan that was the size to make one egg. On the handle was a bird face. It was a smiling face and I named it "Birdie Egg Face". I used Birdie Egg Face for years and then the Teflon wore out so I had to throw it away. This morning my sister said that she needed a small fry pan and was going to order a Birdie Egg Face. She saw it on Amazon. It was funny to hear her use the pan's name as it was a long time ago when I had it. I guess for us, a small egg pan will always have that name.

Think Less, Know More

I see a change in behavior since I got an Iphone. I am trying hard not to become the person who always has a phone in their hand. I put it on my desk in work and leave it there. I put it in my den and walk away. I know where it is, but do not need to rely on it. Sometimes I am not successful. When I have a question, I get it. I realized that it is easy to keyword a problem and get an  immediate answer. I do not have to think or try to problem solve. It is immediate gratification. This morning I had a mathematical question. Instead of getting a pad and pen to figure it out, I got my phone. I put in the equation and voila, I had the answer. I knew it would be correct. I knew more but I thought less. It made me sad to think everyone is doing this. When a real problem arises, will we have the skill set to solve it?

Proof Read

I am not the best proofreader. That is where my sister comes in. She proofs my blog, usually on a daily basis, because I can never see my own  errors. I read them as if they were correct. My worst offenders are commas and apostrophes. Since I am looking for a new receptionist, I am receiving resumes in my email. I not only read their qualifications, I also see how they write. One woman put her last name in lower case letters. One said she pays "attenshin" to detail. Another said she graduated from "some college" in New York. I am not making this up. These are the actual resumes I received. I will allow for one typo error. We all do that. When it becomes a pattern in the resume, I discard it.