last week i was on back-up- the academic equivalent of a lifeline. that means that, in addition to normal busy-ness and receiving, i was responsible for fielding questions from interns and providing on-site aid when needed. no matter the time. there is an occasional back-up who resents intern calls, but i would always rather be woken unnecessarily than have an animal die because the intern was going it 'without a net'. of course, the down side is that one doesn't always get much sleep if they are approachable and supportive. so last weekend was going to be my saving grace. this weekend, i was going to catch up on email, catch up on posting, catch up on exercise and sleep. well, none of those things happened.
at the end of the day, i was just plain dead tired. i was at the hospital 10 hours Monday, 12 each on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 13 on Thursday. Saturday, i put in 9 hours. that meant my weekend was already reduced to Sunday when i only spent a measly hour at the hospital.
so, this week i was off back-up though still on clinics. i hoped, for no reason i can divine now, that i would have better luck making headway on, well, everything, but not so much. i did make it to the gym Monday and Tuesday, but developed a nasty migraine Wednesday that plagued me the remainder of the week.
tragedy was introduced at Travy's work when Tuesday they were told that one of his fellow trainees had committed suicide. this was perhaps even more saddening than one might expect. although they had only known each other two weeks, the trainees work through four months of training in a tight group with lots of team-building and group projects. of course, the woman who committed suicide stood out in the group as the most supportive and most interested in everyone else. as is always the case after a suicide, Trav is fluctuating between sorrow at her loss and apparent inability to ask for help and anger at the selfishness of her act. sigh.
the rest of the week was spent putting out client communication fires and struggling with very complex cases. though the days ran 11-12 hours a piece, our service had no inpatients remaining for the weekend. this is both good, because i really needed a break, and bad, because it means pretty much all of our inpatients died despite our best efforts.
most of the weekend has been spent puttering about home, watering plants, cuddling critters, and killing ants. Saturday, Travy kicked me out to attend the monthly meeting of the TV Handspinners guild. i had a great time listening to the chatter and watching other people's projects develop. Saturday night, we both went out to an Hard Knox Roller Girls bout to support one of Trav's co-workers. it was a good time, though the attendance certainly pales in comparison to DRD bouts.
then there is my current sweater... Valpuri. this is a great example of the importance of stash... the yarn i ordered for this project ended up too fine somehow and i didn't like the look when i adjusted needles to get gauge. off to the stash and, lo and behold, the perfect yarn! this is yarn i picked up in North Hampton England when staying with friends to celebrate Y2K. seven years it has been skulking in my stash, biding its time, for this right pattern. as
because winter is approaching, i suspended sock knitting to make the Wine and Roses mitts my purse knitting. my gauge is a little lacier than the model's, but i think that will balance the warmer temperatures here in Tennessee nicely.
finally, there is a lace shawl/scarf on the needles from Victorian Lace Today in Knitpicks Gossamer Sweet Peas. it hasn't come very far though so i will reserve pictures for another post.
oh yeah, did i mention we have hummingbirds now? yippee!!
