Time Flies

Time flies whether or not you are having fun.  It has been 2 months since my last post.  So much has happened, none of it particularly noteworthy.

Work has been up and down.  Health care in Florida is fairly seasonal.  Blame it on the snowbirds, or everyone having selective (not elective) surgeries - if you need a new hip, you NEED a new hip - but you can put it off for a long time if you can stand the pain. Whatever the phenomenon is, we are BUSY in the winter.  Last year, one of the companies I worked for had 4 full time Physical Therapists, and 2 very busy per diem employees with a full time load, and we were still giving patients to contract companies, because the staff had all the overtime they could handle.  Now, this same company has 2 full time and 2 per diem PT's, and none of us has a full case load.  This is across the board - I have 5 jobs - only one of them is giving me patients, and I am not that busy.  So what gives?  In this crazy economy, health care is the one thing that is supposed to be stable, especially in the geriatric population.   When I am slow, I usually run out and get a new job, because everyone will hire a per diem employee, even if they have no current need, especially this time of year - because they want to have coverage when the dam breaks. 

At least I have time to spend with the family.  In the last couple of months the Wild Child had a vendor's booth at the local Sunday Market of Seminole Heights.  They moved the date because of weather, then it was freezing, and drizzly and damp all day, but she still did OK.  Good enough to want to try again this month.  (there are still calendars available)

Then it will be ON!  Gymnastics season is about to slam into us.  2 meets per month, very few of them close to Tampa.  Gym girl is now a solid level 7, she has almost all of her 8 skills, and they waffled on what she would compete, but I think she is more comfortable with perfecting her 8 skills while she competes 7 - so, go her.  Back handsprings on the balance beam, and double back fly aways on the bar are unnerving for the momma - I'm happy with whatever she decides to do. 

I have decided to take a certification course in the treatment of Lymphedema.  It is 145 hours of independent study, then 8 straight days of classes in Orlando this October.  After waiting for weeks to get my course materials in the mail, I was more than over-whelmed when they arrived.  I huge text-book, like you you would expect for any college based science course, 2 Gigantic spiral bound manuals (really gigantic, not exaggerating), and 5 dvd's.  This is just the supplemental portion of a mostly on-line course.  Did I say overwhelmed?  Plus, I am shocked to find out that I am old.  My brain is losing all of those elastic/plastic qualities that I have depended on, that made didactic learning so incredibly easy for me when I was younger.  My "study" habits have been pretty much read the material, maybe rewrite my notes, because I can't read my own writing, then never look at them again, 'cause I already got it.  Not any more.  I read it, write it, color it, watch the video, and it still all just looks like words on paper.  Words that I understand when I read them individually, but when they are all strung together as part of a sentence, they lose all meaning. 

I often make comments, especially after driving, or listening to the news that people are stupid.  It has occurred to me that I, also, am in that category.  ALL people are stupid.  Maybe instead of bitching about it, I could make more allowances, because it is really nice when people react kindly when I do stupid things. Stupid is inevitable, Mean is a choice. My New Year's Resolution will be to choose "Mean" less often.