I need a new job. It turns out that working in an Emergency Department is:
1. Noisy
2. Full of strangers who want you to talk to them.
3. Full of other medical personnel whom I am supposed to direct.
4. Full of telephones I am supposed to use to call people. People I don't know.
Any one of these things makes me uncomfortable, so all of them together is kind of hideous.
At the same time that I've been stewing about my job, I've been admiring people who actually put their minor super hero talents to work. My neighbor's super power is getting kids to eat vegetables, and she has been organizing Farm to School projects, and Eat Your Carrots! day at the elementary school. My other neighbor has this way of listening that makes me want to tell her all kinds of stuff. I seriously don't shut up when I'm talking to her. She, of course, is a psychiatrist.
So, what's my minor super power, and how can I put it to work? I'm a decent story teller. I'm a quick reader. I can fall asleep easily. Oh, Oh, I know! I'm good at staying calm. I am Unflappable Girl! That could come in useful somewhere I bet, somewhere...like...like...like the ER.
Dang it.
Anybody have any suggestions?
book editor?
ReplyDeleteyouth camp nurse/doctor?
chauffeur?
some sort of director for the red cross?
maybe you should just take over for ira glass when he retires.
I always thought you should publish your stories or write a book thats my suggestion
ReplyDelete1. "kind of hideous" - always a description of a job that i would want to quit. any one of #1-4 would make any ashby sister grind her teeth or scream involuntarily (depending on the sister).
ReplyDelete2. i have a friend with a listening superpower. it is wonderful and scary at the same time, isn't it?
3. i LOVE the idea of carrie as a youth camp nurse. go hiking, give out benedryl and bandaids. i always thought she would make a perfect school nurse, but she gave me a reason why she wouldn't like that and i don't remember what it was just now. oh that's right. no money. (proceed to #4)
4. the more $ a job pays, the more "hideousness" you can put up with. just keep thinking of how many hours you would have to put in somewhere more pleasant to make the same $.
5. you DEFIANTLY should be writing a column somewhere. i don't think any of us think that telling stories is a MINOR super power for you.
"chauffeur?"- hahahaha
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should think a little harder about that other title you've been given. Are you not some assistant professor or something like that?
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about telling stories in front of a class? Do they have lecturer positions that could take some of your time?
- I AM going to be a camp nurse. This summer, at girls' camp. I'll let you know how it goes, and how much money I make.
ReplyDelete- #4 is what keeps me going at it. Turns out there is a price where I will talk to strangers.
I've decided that I need a job where staying calm in a non-stressful situation is an asset. Hmmmm.
how bout at nasa, or some kind of simulation training? where you pretend that something bad is happening to train for what to do, but you really know that it is all ok. or like where they bring you pigs, instead of real people, so it isn't so bad... oh, wait. sorry.
ReplyDelete