"LIFE ON MARS!" he says, spraying champagne all over the lab

Forgive me, but I'm going to wait for the UK life on Mars, if you don't mind.

seems like a rather inaccurate description of the book

Inaccurate and not trivial. That shifts it from an exercise in "See how you like it?" to "Other people's inner conversations". Thanks!

msbelle, that sounds great for Mac. Is it possible to incentivisereward him within the books themselves? Or is that a bad idea, to set up a certain kind of book (maybe comics?) as a reward for the broccoli reading? I am never sure what's underscoring "this is a chore" and what is making the stick look more like a carrot.

In random news, my boss gave us each a paperwhite bulb in a jar as a gift

I am still not at the part yet where this isn't a v. generous gift of e-readers to everyone...

I was actually a little worried about that, since I knew a few years ago they had put each other as backups and I knew that wouldn't work any more

I don't know what he's doing, exactly. I've made a point about never looking at my parents' financial setups, and that's pretty silly in the light of day. I just...I feel safer not knowing. Hello, call for Not About You holding on the white courtesy phone? But I don't know if this is my inheritance, or it's a backup plan. He did say he expected us not to fight, but I've never even mentioned to my sister that he was doing this, quite precisely because I was avoiding knowing enough information to have anything other than a fraught convo. I should probably have a chat sooner rather than later.

Kat, if it's not the wrong (and never right) time to ask, what are the goals of this procedure specifically?

Neuro's assistant called me because I'm on her boss's calendar as having an appointment today, but not actually in the System system. She wanted to make sure I didn't come in by mistake, and we're safe on that one. It's not in my system either. And she wanted to check up and see if my ER visit had gone okay. I wish I had an answer in a bigger scope than day before yesterday, but it's basically that the attending and I go way back, and he's been understanding and kind this whole time, so I don't know if it was personal or procedure that got me treated well. Still, I always appreciate him coming and talking to me...wait, I just realised I don't know if he's an attending or a resident--I've assumed attending because whenever he sees me, I always get the right dosage, but many of the residents will tell me that decision is out of their hands. Well, maybe he's in between. Whichever way, he's on my side, and I like that (especially in a visit with no familiar nurses--it's kinda sad how much I don't like that).

Co-worker is taunting me with the Samsung S3. Bastard. But it's the prettiest damned phone I've held/seen in a while, and he's gotten the (correct) idea that if I see it in burgundy, I'm way weaker in this battle of wills.

I don't have to work Thanksgiving! Either all the adjusters in the Northeast are dialing back this week or they've got things under control.

Sadly, I think everyone's going, "I'm going home for Thanksgiving, dammit, I haven't seen my family in a month, I'll pick this up next week." Which means working through lunch for another few weeks, probably.

October Was 332nd Consecutive Globally Warm Month

Twenty-seven or younger? Then you’ve never experienced a month in which the global temperature has been colder than average, according to the latest data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Scary.

Forgive me, but I'm going to wait for the UK life on Mars, if you don't mind.

LIKE.

I totally bribe Dylan to read books, and so does his school. (At school, reading earns points which can be exchanged for "Bee Bucks" which the kids can use to buy Bee Buck things like pencils and stickers and whatnot. At home, every ten books earns a toy from the mystery bag.)

it's the prettiest damned phone I've held/seen in a while

That's my next phone, unless my lizard brain talks me into the Note 2 instead. Which is a really impractical phone but a gorgeous little tablet, and it's not like I use my phone for making calls anyway...

It really does surprise me how many different staff configurations you get at the hospital, given you're pretty much there at the same time each week, right? Is it because it's a shift that people don't want? Or do ERs not have the kind of regular weekly schedules that jobs like mine have?

I am still not at the part yet where this isn't a v. generous gift of e-readers to everyone...

I don't even know what that means. (I mean, I do now that I've googled.)

I just got this case for my new iPhone: [link] and it is so purty. Every time I use my phone, I feel like petting it. It was pricey, but I tend to knock things around, so a good case was called for.

Kat, if it's not the wrong (and never right) time to ask, what are the goals of this procedure specifically?

Each time it's a larynoscopy and bronchoscopy. So technically it is just to look. But they are checking the size of the opening. Doc also either dilates or lasers scar tissue. Ultimately we hope for decannulation. Sigh. I would like for this to be a faster process but oh well.

Better slow but done well, right? Still, ugh.

I totally agree. Except we do this every 8-10 weeks and we have been doing it for two years now. As Grace gets older it gets harder because she is more aware and she gets way more upset.

Yeah, that sounds terrible for everyone.