funny bone

Posts Tagged ‘conundrums’

dance whenever! wherever!

Loved, loved, loved seeing ELECTION DEFENDERS make lemonade out of long-line-lemons,  spreading cool moves and positivity to VOTING in Philly.  Rachel Maddow interviewed the enthusiastic Nelini Stamp and showed what creative get-the-vote-out-thinking can accomplish. Nelini’s contagious smile and kick-ass movement: JOY TO VOTERS made me want to boogie back to the polls again.

Imagine a place where no one’s asking what party you’re part of because everyone’s partying together. Yeah,  you might need to go to a SWING STATE to see it —  or you can bring a social-distancing-dance-vote-movement to your own State. Remember, the State of the Union is up to each one of us.

Cha Cha Slide to the POLLS —

It’ll make you believe in democracy again

At my hospital ER Volunteers are still on “Pause” for Covid, but this week we all got emails saying it’s time to come in for Flu Shots. It’s a mandatory situation for anyone working in our hospital, so we always get them.

Gotta be honest, going back to the hospital after 6 months forced leave felt a little eerie, like walking into a black-and-white Twilight Zone episode where things seem normal but not. Fewer, quieter people walked through the lobby. Hardly anyone was sitting. No Volunteers behind the Information Desk. Just a guard.

Masks are mandatory in the hospital, even on outside bridges. I avoided elevators, wore rubber gloves to open doors and skipped using the restroom.

A nurse whisked me through the vaccination process – I barely had time to fill out my form. Probably was there eight minutes tops, and that included a short, socially-distanced wait in line.

Thinking about everyone in the ER…

I took the outside stairs down to the ER and hung out by the automatic glass doors just long enough to wave to Anthony Chan, wearing a face shield over his mask, triaging a patient.  It didn’t feel right to walk in, yet…

Dr. A’s car was the parking lot, so I left him a cute note on his windshield. I wonder when he’ll find it…

I miss all my friends/co-workers — Dr. A, Anthony Chan, Mira, Tyrell, Miguel — even Charlayne.  I miss the patients and their families, the EVS workers, the paramedics, the doctors, the nurses. I miss helping. I miss giving hugs. I miss being in on the action. I even miss the bad coffee in the employee lounge. I especially miss the non-paranoid, non-mask-wearing me.

Who knows about Covid, but at least I won’t get the flu…

I’m glad I got my flu shot at the hospital because I’ve definitely built up a lot of anxiety about the place. It felt less scary than I’d anticipated. But not going-back-to-work comfortable yet.

So strange, these times. Fears get magnified. The known feels unknown. Normal feels like an unattainable dream…

Frontline Workers will be among the first to get the Covid vaccine. Is an ER Volunteer a Frontline Worker? Google doesn’t have the answer. If Google doesn’t have the answer, what’s the world coming to?

I sometimes wonder… a lot actually…

(I wonder how he liked the note…)

Meet Darby Carter —

Half-hour rom-dramedy at its best — 

HBO Max’s LOVE LIFE by creator Sam Boyd is perfect for pandemic binging. The series follows DARBY CARTER (Anna Kendrick) through her twenties as she navigates her career and romances in NYC. Darby gets lots of input from her impulsive best friend Sara (Zoe Chao), Sara’s likeable boyfriend Jim (Peter Vack), and the brutally honest Mallory (Sasha Compère).

Sara Yang, Darby’s fearless bff —

Sometimes you’ve got to find yourself before you find the one…

In the first five minutes we know we’re on a journey to help Darby, the wounded pleaser, find the love of her life. Darby struggles through her fear of rejection to make romantic connections, short and long — with a couple of broken hearts, flings and hook-ups in her path. What gets in her way? She doesn’t know what a true connection feels like — thanks to her narcissistic mom, weak dad and confusing examples surrounding her. What keeps her going is her unshaken belief that she’ll find what she’s looking for someday…

Augie and Darby… what does it all mean?

Darby’s love life reminds me of mine – catastrophic yet eternally hopeful. LOVE LIFE is a hybrid anthology series that turns the rom-com upside down… definitely worth watching — with unexpected twists and turns and a really good ending. That’s all I’m going to say. Don’t want to spoil it.

(Wish I could star in my own anthology series. Would definitely like to know how it turns out, ahaha.)

Me too, Darby!

It seems craaaaazy to me that humans who see dying rates all over the U.S. are arguing about wearing masks. Come on people! It’s a small inconvenience with a possible big payoff. Huge.

I talked to Dr. A the other day and he’s very worried that our ER capacity is going in the wrong direction. I’m very worried about him. He says it feels a little creepy being at the hospital in the time of Corona. At the end of each work day he takes all his clothes off before he goes into his house and heads directly into the shower.

Spikes — Yikes!!!

Yeah, our hospital and all the others in L.A. are now spiking. California is cluttered with Covid.  It’s hardly a surprise after Memorial Day crowds gathered at beaches, boardwalks and bars. Add to that the gazillion Protests where everyone yelled in each other’s faces.

A couple of days ago I got an email that Volunteers were being called back to my ER, but then today I got another one that said they’ve decided to hold off. To be honest, I’m a little relieved they’re holding off…

High Quality Masks from Etsy

Getting back to masks… if we need to wear them, they might as well be good ones, right?

I like the ones made in Japan. They’re breathable, fit well and they stay on. They also come in different sizes. And some have extra layers.

Here are two excellent sellers:

MaryRoseArtCrafts masks are high quality and fit really well. You can order them in men’s women’s or kid’s sizes. With one two or three layers.

BotanicFolkShop linen masks are so lightweight you forget that you’re wearing them (which is a good thing.) They’re very simple and flattering, plus they come with a separate layer you can add.

If not for you, wear a mask for someone else…

Oh… and when you wear your mask, please wear it the right way — thanks!

Trying to stay up, but feeling down in the time of Coronavirus. As Californians attempt to follow the rules by staying in and binging on TV, Americans in other states have things ass-backwards. They’re distancing themselves from the guidelines and binging on boardwalks and beaches which of course will not bode well 2-3 weeks from now — for any of us. Ugh.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but the writing’s on the wall. Just as my hospital is getting things under control, those who can’t control themselves are gonna mess everything up. They’re gonna make it a longer recovery for the rest of us. Sooooo frustrating.

Binge Shows NOT Beaches!

Meanwhile, back at the screen — here are my recommendations for binging shows. My favorites tend to be about female protagonists who keep getting in their own way and who fall in like/love/lust with someone off-limits. Big shock, right? I know, I know…

NORMAL PEOPLE — Warning: it’s addictive. Everyone who watches Normal People becomes obsessed. OBSESSED!!! Heavy emotions, heavy breathing, lots of sex and melancholy. You’ll fall in love with Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) and want to knock some sense into both of them. Set in Ireland in 2010, it’s gorgeous. 12 half-hour episodes on Hulu.

FLEABAG — I know, it’s not new, but shockingly some people haven’t seen it yet. Second season is by far the best. BY FAR. Phoebe Waller-Bridge deserved every award she received. It’s brilliant. She’s brilliant. She’s the bad girl who is sooooo good. The attraction/seduction between Fleabag and the Priest (Adam Scott) is catastrophic, crushing and electric. 12 half-half hour episodes on Amazon Prime.

NEVER HAVE I EVER –Mindy Kaling’s creation about a first generation Indian family in the Valley is loosely based on her own experiences. It’s a unique, smart, coming-of-age comedy about Devi’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) complicated life. Devi, an overachieving high school sophomore, has a short fuse (like John Mc Enroe, the narrator) that gets her into trouble with her Mom (Poorna Jagannathan), her friends, her crush, her nemesis… basically everyone. You’ll love her “perfect” cousin, Kamala (Richa Moorjani) and her therapist, (Niecy Nash.) Snappy dialogue, clever catastrophes, and lots of heart. 8 half-hour episodes on Netflix.

The NEWS is BUMMING ME OUT. Big shock. It’s bumming everyone out. Divisiveness, name-calling, blame-gaming – it’s happening every day, obnoxiously… sooooo obnoxiously!

What happened to —

• “Live and Let Live”
• “Agreeing to disagree”
• “Doing onto others…   ???

Why can’t our government work more like a hospital?

One of the things I really like about Volunteering in the ER is that it’s an equalizer. Old, young, rich, poor, black, white, brown, yellow, educated, uneducated, males, females, gays, lesbians, gender non-specifics… everyone gets sick. Everyone has accidents. Everyone needs medical assistance at one time or another.  Doctors, Nurses, Surgeons, Anesthesiologists, EMTs, Clinical Partners, Radiologists, Environmental Service People come in all colors, all ethnicities, all religions, all economic groups, and guess what – everyone manages to successfully work together. Go figure. 

As a volunteer I always try to find the common ground. It’s always bonding in some way. Finding the common ground immediately helps the other person relax. It’s easier to solve problems when we’re not biting each other’s heads off.

Let’s bring back civility. Let’s listen to each other, learn from each other and find the common ground.

Wish someone would help us relax on a national basis, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.

We need to reclaim our humanity and make America kinder again…

Enuff said. 

VOLUNTEERING in the ER is sometimes the BEST, sometimes the WORST. Sometimes it gives me a lump in my throat.  Experiences unexpectedly stay with me, depending…

Life-and-death, happy-sad, love-hate: I’m emotionally all over the map.

VOLUNTEERING PUTS PROBLEMS INTO PERSPECTIVE

I always flashback to Orientation when my supervisor Charlayne scolded: “If y’all can’t focus on the patients, get your poor-me selves outta my department”

THE ER IS THE UNIVERSAL EQUALIZER

Patients with chest pains, symptoms of strokes, or difficulty breathing are all treated exactly the same in the ER. It doesn’t matter if you’ve donated a gazillion dollars to the hospital, or if you’re super famous, or homeless and can’t afford to pay your bill. Life-threatening symptoms get priority. Period.

INCLUSIVENESS IS PART OF THE MAKE-UP

The Hospital is the one place where diversity is a given: staff-wise, patient-wise and family-wise. Everyone is there to help or be helped. Tolerance is the normal state. If only the world would follow suit.

IT’S NOT ALWAYS A HAPPY ENDING

When someone dies and the family hasn’t been told yet, holding back the tears is a major challenge, even for an Actress.

I’M CHALLENGED BY LUMP IN MY THROAT MOMENTS

When a mommy and child come in, memories flood. I have to step away to compose myself because I identify so closely. In some ways it’s good because I can be compassionate. In other ways, not so much, because I’m on the verge of behaving like a basket-case.

THE SIGHTS, THE SMELLS, THE SOUNDS ARE DISGUSTING

Gotta be honest, the ER can get pretty gross fast. That’s when we page “Environmental to Triage, STAT!” I don’t know how they do it (but thank God they do!)