The Wicked Witch of the West is Coming...

Apparently, Macon has tornado warning sirens. They're blaring. I'm spooked. :-) Got a bag with a flashlight, some food, my shoes and my wallet in the bathtub. I'm feeling quite spooked right now-- probably the weatherman's fault cause he's really rubbing in the fact that we are in DANGER. But if I turn him off, I can't tell where the storm is. The sirens aren't helping. I'll check in later- got my cell phone in the pocket of my jeans. I'm trying to distract myself with internet.

UPDATE: Sirens have stopped. Weatherman is taking time to sip on water. All is well. :-) No tornado in Macon tonight.

Still Too Good to be True

Get this: the hospital is trying to only pay me for 23 hours last week. They are not counting the 2 days I worked at their satellite hospital (16 hours) or the hour they sent me home early. Nice. May I please speak to my manager!?! I'll get it cleared up tomorrow- I was worried they wouldn't actually pay me for the time they sent me home and put me "on call"- never did I worry they wouldn't pay me for working at their satellite hospital! Grrrrr. I'm not stressed.

So, it's Beverly, MA for all those following the Ramblings of this Traveling Speech Therapist. Beverly is located on the North Shore, 17 miles northeast of Boston. I'll be working with outpatient kids, inpatient adults and head and neck cancer patients. The area should generate some lovely photos, and my rep lives up there so I'll have at least one person I (sort of) know in the area. Take-home $$$ will be more than the current assignment, and 2008 has been tagged my personal "year of saving up". So far, so good- I've even recovered financially from Christmas.

I had a lovely weekend. Didn't take many pictures, but I probably have one of the Jelly Fish Salad from the Chinese New Year to share. My camera didn't make it in from the car to capture the absolute adorable Drew, but it will next time. I'm sure his mom can send a few in.

Too Good To Be True

That line from the boss saying I'll be "on call" and get "Paid for watching TV"? Yep, I knew it was too good to be true. I've done three 8-hour days with 6-7 hours of productivity on each day since that little fib was told. There are worse things then getting paid to actually work, though! We'll see how the last 2 weeks run-- I'm thinking maybe they haven't had consults because there hasn't been a day-time SLP-- they've seen me and I can't hide!!!!!! "Oh- are you leaving? We have one more consult you absolutely must see before leaving!" Then that consult leads to a radiology visit and two reports and a conversation with a doctor that goes absolutely NO WHERE. Heh. Tough day at work... But I'm heading to a Chinese New Year Party and some good ol' fashion baby-sitting duty this weekend so things are looking UP.

Updates

No, I don't know where I'll be going next. Yes, I'm aware that my current contract ends February 22.

That being stated right at the get-go, I'll also state that I'm not worried. After all, it may be time to do a SNF. That's Skilled Nursing Facility for all you non-medical people out there. Of course, there's a hospital in New Bedford, MA that may need me. We shall sit back and see.

I've had a few good weekends. Two weekends ago I helped mom throw a baby-shower for her friend who just adopted a brand new baby girl. Adorable child! I walked in Friday night after driving almost 4 hours and was literally handed a dust cloth and instructions to make chicken salad. The "fun" didn't end until 6pm Saturday when the last guest left (the baby shower was supposed to be from 1-3pm!) but it's always fun working on a project with mom. She amazes me with her creativity and the fact that she thinks of EVERYTHING. She really should throw more parties. Sunday mom and I sat down and set up her new scanner so she can start scanning in old slides from her childhood. I visited with Grandma briefly, then headed to Augusta to visit with my childhood friend and her family before heading back to Macon.

Last weekend I had a lazy morning of house-cleaning in my PJs before heading to Atlanta for some fun. I met up with a crowd of former college buddies, and friends of old college buddies, and ate at a seafood place called 6 Feet Under (it was across from a cemetery). The girls then headed to "The Graveyard" and we drank until the Australia guy with the scarred face was cute. He did have a good accent.... The next morning we lazied around the house and watched Hellboy, then prepared for a superbowl party. I took a trip to my absolute favorite market- Dekalb International Farmer's Market in Atlanta- then helped the final set up (or got in the way, depending on the point of view!). I drove back 3/4 of the way through the game to avoid exhaustion the next morning-- and was informed that the last 10 minutes of the game were historical. Ah well, I ate good food and had seen several friends I hadn't seen in awhile.

I'm currently in an interesting position of being paid for being "on call" with slim chance of actually being called. It started today and will last for the final 2 weeks of my contract- something about overall productivity (NOT MINE! I've been hitting my numbers without problem). So I think I'll have time for some projects. Or maybe I'll have time to get hooked on soap operas? Hopefully I'll get the projects done. It's a numbers game of some sort. It's so strange, and very much against my grain, to get paid for not working. I can't believe I'm complaining about it-- maybe I'm just afraid I'll get lazy??? More later, I'm sure.

I'll try to find some interesting things to take pictures of while I've got spare time. Stay tuned!