Another Hurricane

Even though I got let out of clinic early today to evacuate, I find myself sitting at the computer in a house full of people NOT evacuating. I didn't do my presentation (haha) and I didn't get to share my fruit salad - what a waste. I have a flight out of Houston Hobby airport to Amarillo TX (where my mom would get me and take me to KS) but I can't get to the airport. No one will take me and a cab is way too expensive (I just don't have $900 in cash). Stupid Hurricane Ike. I have a stockpile of water in my room, but no boards for my window to ride the storm. I would say about 2/3 of the houses I passed on the way home today were boarding their windows, including the neighbors (the ones not related to us). I was also instructed to stop eating my lunch today because if we lose electricity (and we are more than likely to lose it) there will be no working toilet. But don't worry folks we have x-tra water for drinking stockpiled in an emptied kitty litter container. I feel safe and secure so much in fact I was wishing I had stayed at work and had someone at work swing by my house so I could pick up a suitcase and then they take me to the airport or go home with someone that lives further inland. No matter where it hits, we are on the dirty side. Lucky us. Apparently my family rode out the storm with Rita a few years ago with flooding, roof damage and no electricity. I can't say riding out a hurricane is or was on the top of my lifetime achievements. If I can escape the house tonight I am going to wal-mart for some canned goods and poster board. I am making a sign that says "hi mom, I love you Shawn, and please send me home to the NW." in case I am stuck on the roof of the house after the fact. So look for me on TV I guess. Maybe the storm will fizzle and be nothing, but then again I am not looking forward to the aftermath if it is bad. I may be out of touch and unreachable (and without clean clothes) for a bit.

Nothing new happened in clinic, my one sick call today was a man with hx of GERD/dyspepsia, waiting to get a GI consult in Jan '09. He's also HIV+. He was super gassy, so I gave him an anti-flatulent. Whoo. I did have my most complicated intake I have ever had though, lots of paper work and labs to be ordered: HIV, HTN, TB+ (s/p prophy 9months), SZ disoder, mental illness (thank goodness not my dept), bisexual (in for prostitution - important to know for safety reason, just glad he wasn't on estrogen) and currently on lifetime prophy for PCP. He took an hour.

Each morning I drive to work I try to catch a segment on one of the radio stations call "whatchya doin' at the courthouse" it has a catchy jingle that I found myself singing along with today. And the short bit is exactly what it sounds like. The radio DJ (Sara) asks people why they are there. Some are good, others are stupid and some, well only in Texas I'm sure. Here's a couple stories from today: a man accidentally caught his house on fire, when he poured gasoline in his doorway to keep out a friend of his that he was fighting with. The vapors caught fire from the hallway heating unit. Charge: arson. Next person was charging the police officers who tazed him when he was running from them for use of excessive force. Sara gave him a couple scenarios of would you rather... and here they are: would you rather have to bike to work everyday or be tazed? - ride bike. Would you rather go to jail for 6mo or be tazed - go to jail. would you rather be on the Maury Povich show to see if you are a lady's baby's daddy or be tazed - tazed - in fact you can taze me twice. A woman trying to get child support from her baby's daddy. She was asked how many kids she had - 5, and how many baby's daddy's? 6 (apparently there's one on the way - must be a lucky guy)