Independence Day, Plugs, and Chart Funny #2

Happy Fourth of July. There is nothing more perfect than a three-day weekend, unless it is an entire week off, an old-school summer vacation, or the complete liberty to do only as one wishes for the rest of one's natural life.

I didn't mention previously that I also write, and have been paid for, articles for Demand Studios.com. Mostly because I am not sure how to link to my stuff. I just finished one about whether or not h pylori infections can be transmitted in the womb. I am perhaps most pleased because I got to post a cute picture of a gerbil with it, since I cited a study done with pregnant gerbils. For the most part, though, I find the Demand Studios stuff difficult, because you have to select specific topics, and the list of things I know absolutely nothing about is embarrassingly large. Of course, I had to laugh when I saw a topic titled, "How to Remove Urine from a Laptop Computer." The article I would have written would not have met the length requirements--i.e., "Try not to be such a butthead that people want to pee on your computer!"

For the moment, I'm done with self-promotion, so I will turn to some plugs for others I have been meaning to make. One of the blogs I follow is http://livesofthespiders.blogspot.com. This is the work of my dear friend Robert McDonald, whom I have known since high school. He is an amazing poet, and his blog is a lot prettier than mine. He lives in Chicago.

I also want to say thank you to my first "follower" (I hate that word--makes me feel like I'm trying to start a cult), Margaret Bumby. She is a friend from U of M days--the most amazing mixture of determination and kindness you'd ever want to meet. She goes to a lot of science fiction conventions, and chronicles her adventures at http://mbumby.livejournal.com. I am so blessed in my friends.

Chart funny #2: "Breast augmentation in 1997. Breast reduction in 2000." Make up your mind!

quick update and first chart funny.

I just posted another chemo article to Suite 101. This one's for you, Daddy. http://chemotherapy.suite101.com/article.cfm/common-chemotherapy-drugs-paclitaxel.

I promised chart funnies, so here's one: "He takes one tablet with meals, then he takes an extra one with a small male at night."

This is why I had to become a nurse in the first place; no one will pay for decent editing.

Update, link, and day jobs

Thought I'd better make another post. I feel like a business while remodeling--please excuse the mess while I gradually get the hang of the blogging program. I thought I should add another link. I have more writing out there, for a site called Suite 101. I've done book reviews and the odd medical article or two, and am starting a series on different types of chemotherapy. You can access these (as well as an unflattering photo) through my Suite 101 profile page: http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/elizabeththomas.

Speaking of medical articles, I will be talking about my day job from time to time. I will not talk specifically about my employer, because they are very touchy about their image, and I don't want to get in any trouble with them. For the most part, they are a great healthcare company to work for, and to seek treatment with. I am a registered nurse, and have been since 2005. I have started bits and pieces of a memoir about being an English major and deciding to become a nurse, but if and when I publish it, it will be under a pseudonym. One thing that will find its way to this site, however, are chart bloopers. My co-workers and I laugh ourselves silly over the way doctors' dictations wind up sounding in patients' charts. Of COURSE, I will keep everything completely devoid of identifiable personal details.

Be nice to me, I gave blood today.