ER Griping

Last night I held my boyfriend's hand as he writhed in pain next to me while trying to put on a tough face. We were in the ER--my second time there in a month, a different reason but still the transportation--and the waiting room was entirely empty. We were told "any minute now" every hour on the hour, and soon it was 6am. Neither of us would be on time to work, that was for certain. And while I have a precious few vacation/sick time hours left, his current job does not allow him the luxury.

He would nod off next to me for a couple of minutes, only to wake again with the pain moments later. The frustration and anger built up in both of us. How busy could they be with only us in the waiting room? Why couldn't they DO something?

For a while the only other person in the waiting room was a homeless man who had come in trying to get warm. He had garbage bags with random articles of clothing that he seemed to be taking an inventory of. Then he left and it was just us again.

Maybe it was because we were two young, able-bodied 20-somethings. Maybe they assumed we only wanted to get our hands on some prescriptions. Maybe the invisible ambulances that the front desk kept telling us were arriving--we were right next to the ambulance bay and saw none--had too important people waiting to be seen. I tried to comfort him best I could, while trying not to freak myself out over the fact that my seemingly indestructible 6'5 boyfriend was experiencing pain that made him keel over in pain every few minutes.

Once we were called, after 5 hours of waiting, his temperature and blood pressure were taken, and then we waited another stretch of time I will estimate at about an hour and a half. Finally a doctor saw him, and the entire transaction took ten minutes. He was told it was a pinched nerve, and given a prescription. The doctor was gentle and apologetic, but seemed to be suggesting that the pain he was experiencing did not warrant an ER trip to begin with. He seemed concerned that my boyfriend had self-medicated with painkillers from a previous injury and I almost heard a condescending tone. I gritted my teeth and thanked him. During this exchange three elderly people were pushed past our room in stretchers, all seemingly awake and responsive and some even smiling. I wondered how many grandmas had taken a fall during Christmas celebrations and if elderly people should consider not living in homes with stairs. Then I felt like a bad person for thinking ill of the elderly.

The entire time I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being put off just because we are young. I feel this sort of discrimination regularly, but I also feel like complaining about it would fall on deaf ears because of a sort of "young privilege" or something. Like how I cannot compare my years of people scoffing "EAT A SANDWICH!" at me to someone being teased for being overweight because I happen to have a slimmer body type. I'm young, I shouldn't complain, and I should respect my elders and let them go before me in all things in life. My chance will come. Right.

I cannot count how many times I have gone to work feeling ill, only to have a smiling coworker say "party too hard last night, eh?" as they noticed the bags under my eyes or that I looked somewhat off--typically on a day where I choose to not wear makeup, ugh. I feel like whenever I am sick for any reason these days, it is assumed it is because I have "partied too hard." Yes, occasionally I have to deal with a hangover. But, as a somewhat responsible young adult, I try to keep my "partying" contained to the weekends and NOT on a work night.

I've heard stories of young people faking illness to get meds. And older people too. But do they wait for six hours, or do they give up? I don't know. Maybe that's the minimum wait to make sure you're not going to sell them or whatever--as he did end up getting painkillers or some sort. I don't know how the ER works, and I understand this is just going to look like me complaining. The fact that a ten minute meeting with a doctor needed to wait six hours is just mind boggling to me.

I do hope everyone in the ER that night was able to be discharged quickly. I'm just irritated I suppose. And sleepy. Very. Very. Sleepy.

Merry Day After Christmas

I'm sure all of us who are back at work today wish we had one of these things.

A Contractual Christmas

Well, next week starts the last week of my contract work for the "initial company." It has been ...interesting. This is not my first time doing contractual work, but this IS the first company where I feel as though they truly appreciate my time and effort.

It will be bittersweet. Although I love the people here and the work that we are doing is interesting...there just wasn't much actual work for me to do. Currently, I'm the only person in the office today and I have brought a book with me as well as a PDF of my resume because IT IS TIME TO JOB HUNT...again.

I have my fingers in a few pots but it's the never-ending process of continually attempting to find full-time work on a salaried basis and not a full-time contractual basis. Life is hard.

Also, I was not a very good little girl and was a bit frivolous with my money. Let's just say my family is getting a VERY good Christmas from me this year. Don't get me wrong, I have saved money up over the past few months for rent and groceries to last me a while, but I will be having NO fun until I find a new job (except for my trip to Iceland...my reward for absolutely nothing).

But I am going to stop myself there. It's Christmas (or "The Holidays") and I'm going to try and be positive for a spell. I will have some time to rest up, I will be able to fully enjoy Iceland, and I will be able to have all those doctors appointments that I have put off for lack of time (or desire). So...YAY, positivity.

I will end this with my Friday Before Christmas Playlist, that contains NO Christmas songs whatsoever:

1. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
2. Howlin' For You - The Black Keys
3. Ceremony - New Order
4. Lovestoned/I Think That She Knows - Justin Timberlake
5. Closer - Kings of Leon
6. I'm Going Down - Mary J. Blige
7. Jane Fonda - Mickey Avalon (video NSFW)
8. Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
9. Glycerine - Bush
10. How I Roll - Charlie Mars
11. Everlong - Foo Fighters (I have always loved this video)
12. Without You- Harry Nilsson
13. The Truth - Precious Bryant
14. When You Were Mine- Prince (the only version I could find that was actually Prince was on MySpace!)
15. None of Your Business - Salt n' Pepa
16. Eyes on Fire (Zeds Dead Remix) - Blue Foundation (Zeds Dead)
17. Life's a Gas - T-Rex
18. I was a Lover - TV On the Radio
19. Kiss Off - Violent Femmes
20. Death - White Lies (Crystal Castles remix is pretty good too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCnF6T59jm4)

Pet Peeve and Phobia Rolled Into One

Hair in food is the worst.

I don't care if I have just scrubbed my scalp with Lysol and coated my hair in a gallon of Purell to literally watch the hair float gently from my own head and lightly land on my dish and even onto a portion of the plate that has little to no food on it. I DON'T CARE.*

Stolen from here but is a stock photo of some sort? WHY.

Yesterday I watched helplessly as a strand of my own hair landed on my chicken cacciatore when I was no more than halfway done with the dish. Into the trash it went. 

Would YOU want this to touch your food? I think not.

I was reminded of this tragic event just now when I noticed a stray hair on my hand as I reached for my cake pop and yelped "NO!" --I did this. I yelped, with my office door open, terrified that my dessert enjoying experience would be ruined by my own dead cell buildup.

It's okay, guys. I saved it. That was a close one.

*I am gagging while I write this. :shiver:


EDIT: So I just read through the link where I stole the hairy plate image from. I guess ingesting hair is not really a health hazard. UNLESS YOU INGEST AN ENTIRE HEAD'S WORTH. How is that even a point you need to make?

• "The only real scenario in which hair would pose a threat, she continues, is if you ate a whole head’s worth. Large quantities of the stuff can do to your digestion what it does to your shower drain. Ingesting that much could make long clumps of hair, called trichobezoars, form in your stomach and cause abdominal pain and other symptoms."

AHHHH SHOWER DRAIN BELLY. GROSS GROSS GROSS.

It goes on to further scare the ever-loving-shit out of me:

• The truth is, you might have eaten hair today. Food manufacturers use L-cysteine, an amino acid in keratin, to stabilize dough and perk up the taste buds that detect salty, savory flavors. Although some factories derive their L-cysteine synthetically or from duck feathers, others get it from human hair. It’s clean, though, thanks to the fact that the manufacturers who use human hair boil it in hydrochloric acid to extract the L-cysteine from the keratin.

So, now whenever I eat a non-homemade baked good (first they take away my Twinkies, then they make me fear my ZebraCakes!?) I am going to be chanting "please be duck, please be duck, please be duck..." between each bite. LOVELY! Also, seriously guys, THINK OF THE VEGANS! Does human hair fall under their umbrella of no-eat-foods? I would think so...

 And then, just to end on a happy note:

• The FDA has set many standards for what it defines as “natural or unavoidable defects” in foods, but hair doesn’t make the list. And if you think that’s icky, there might be something even worse in your spaghetti; the FDA also okays up to two maggots per can of tomatoes.

THANKS, POPULAR SCIENCE. I'm going to go cower in the corner now.

Entry-Level Job Miracles

Source: istock.

The most exciting part of my day was seeing the iced coffee machine in the lunch room. I am scared to use it, in case it is a mirage.

This ties with yesterday when I received a FREE CARRY-ON LUGGAGE that someone left on the "freebie table" ie one of the lunch tables where people occasionally put stuff they don't want anymore with post-its that say "please take!"

In less-exciting news, someone has offered up free soy sauce packets on the freebie table.

Spreading Good Cheer with Tears in Our Eyes.

The events of Friday in Newtown, Connecticut were heart-wrenching, heart-breaking, a tragedy.. That is something we can all agree on. I feel similar in the aftermath as I did when September 11th happened--while it didn't affect me directly, it made a profound impression and left me feeling helpless. My heart is aching for these families. I lost someone close to me once, and while not in such a violent and hate-filled way, the ache is still there and I cannot even imagine what those families are going through.

I don't think it's right to use this tragedy as an excuse to stand on a soap box or promote a political agenda. The parents and families of those whose lives were lost have not even buried their slain loved ones yet. No thank you, I do not want to hear about how this had nothing to do with guns, or everything to do with guns, I don't want to hear about God not being in public schools or not in public schools and what that means, or whether or not mental illness is a factor in it all and what should be done about that. I don't care whether or not these meme-images coincide with my own beliefs, it is NOT the time or the place. I feel a little bit of rage build up inside of me whenever I see these things in my newsfeed. I want to cry because yes, what you believe is important, and yes, you have every right to express it, but to use a horrible tragedy to try and force others to see your side just feels so wrong to me. Even if change is set into motion by huge events such as this.

It could just be me, I don't know. But that's not the point of this post. Instead of griping on my facebook (there's this blog for that now, heh), I re-posted this link with the following:

"As the year comes to a close I think it is important to remember that despite it all, there is good in the world, and there are people who dedicate themselves to perpetuating it. We should take tragedy not as an excuse to get on a soapbox or spread political agendas, but as a catalyst to propel ourselves forward as human beings. We are all people, we all need each other, and love is worlds stronger than hate. Let's make our New Year's Resolution to try and make it on a list like this for 2013--if not on an internet buzz site but in the heart of someone who needs it. Happy Holidays to all, please let's remember what this time of year is all about."

And I mean it. I am 25. I am often selfish and self centered and while the worst thing that ever happened to me was losing my father, more often than not I think my world is ending because I cannot have the things I want. Or I don't have enough money. Or I don't live in NYC or California. When a tragedy like the Newtown shooting happens, it puts things into better perspective. I am so lucky to have the people in my life that I do. I am so lucky to have a roof over my head, food in my belly, a job, and even a bank account that isn't in the negatives. I need to pay it forward way more often than I do.

Why don't we put the soap boxes away, take a break from re-blogging and sharing memes that reflect political views--at least until the holidays are over--and instead re-channel that energy into something positive? Everyone is fighting their own battles, and no matter what they are a friendly face and helping hand are always appreciated. Pay for someone's coffee in line behind you. Donate $10 to a charity you care about. Leave an anonymous gift on the doorstep of a friend who needs cheering up. Volunteer somewhere. Pay for a stranger's lunch. Do something to make someone smile.

I guarantee you, while it won't change the world or dull the pain of such a terrible event, it will feel so much better than sharing a photo on Facebook.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”- Mr.Rogers

Happy Friday the 14th Playlist!

I seriously cannot express how happy I am that it is finally fucking Friday! #FFF

It has been a most interesting week and I am so thankful it is over. Before I get into my playlist and gripes of the week/day I just wanted to take a minute and thank all of you that have been following and reading so far! I know I can speak for all of us here at 20-Something Gripes, that we are super appreciative of your support and interest. We are at over 1,000 views, so thank you!!

Now on to more important things! Today I am going to talk about one of my MAJOR shortcomings: holding  grudges. I try not to, but there are some things that I just cannot forget no matter how hard I try. I still remember in second grade one of the boys in my class (I still remember his whole name, too!) stole and broke my favorite pencil and then made fun of me because I brought the Beach Boys Greatest Hits CD to class for show and tell. Trivial? Yes.  Stupid? Yes. Will I get over it? Well, it's been about 18 years....so probably not.

Internet

There are, of course, much more serious wrongs that have been done to me over the years but I am not comfortable talking about them on the internet for all to see, let's just say that in some of my grudges I am justified.

I know that I should get over this grudgemania, but I can't seem to shake it. I have been told many times how unhealthy and detrimental it is but I am a firm believer in the difficulties people havechanging behavior after 20 years of living one way and there are more important things to deal with...right?

Am I crazy? Do you hold grudges? If not, how do you get over it?

Since I am having a meh Friday, here is the playlist that I am using to get me through:

1. I Love It - Icona Pop
2. The Dope Show - Marilyn Manson
3. Push and Shove - No Doubt
4. Boys Wanna Be Her - Peaches
5. Meds - Placebo
6. The Wild One - Suzi Quatro
7. Phenomena - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. Top Rated - Icona Pop
9. Rhinestone Eyes - Gorrilaz
10. Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation
11. Gold on the Ceiling - The Black Keys
12. Countdown - Beyonce
13. Rocky Took a Lover - Bell X1
14. Glass Onion - The Beatles
15. Jumanji -Azealia Banks
16. Stuck on a Puzzle - Alex Turner
17. Next Girl - The Black Keys
18. All I want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
19. All the Time - Diamond Rings
20. Toxic - Mark Ronson feat. Triggers

Be well and safe this weekend, my friends.