Craziness at Work and Other News

I have a headache. Not because of allergies, though the dust and pollen around here have really amped up over the last few days. No, I'm going crazy because Annoying Coworker is roaming the hallways of work.

You see, there's an argument over intake paperwork into which people are putting WAY too much energy. Annoying Coworker doesn't want to do the task that we've been assigned, so he's throwing his energy into saying that the paperwork should not be done the way the boss wants it done. Rather, it should be done his way. And since the boss (and the doctor) aren't in this week, he's coming into my office and venting. Thankfully, I'm not a chaplain anymore, so I don't have to pretend I'm compassionate. I am compassionate, mind you, but when dealing with Axis II personality disorders such as narcissism, it's best not to let that show. Otherwise you're simply fueling a fire that will never end.

So Annoying Coworker is annoying, and I'm trying to get in touch with my boss to figure out what's going on. In the meantime, one of my colleagues is leaving today for Florida, so a group of us are meeting after work for dinner and drinks. The talented people seem to be fleeing here, so now I'm beginning to nervously wonder if getting hired on as a permanent employee was such a wonderful event!

But wait, there's more going on today!

Annoying Coworker also took Tuesday off, leaving me to run the entire clinic BY MYSELF. Insert expletives here, please! Yep, even though the doctor is on vacation, he's decided that he can skip town to run some errands, even though I'm the one with the least experience with this patient population. On the plus side, I won't have to deal with him. On the negative side, the patient group that's coming in on Tuesday are really messed up individuals, and require a lot of work. Grrr.

Over in the pirate department, there are updates!

The pirates apparently have called in reinforcements from Somalia to rescue their four comrades who are holding Captain Richard Phillips on a lifeboat. Thing is, those reinforcements, assuming they're dumb enough to show up, will be met by the USS Bainbridge, which is already on station, and the USS Halyburton (named after a corpsman who died in battle during WWII, and not the infamous government contractor - which is spelled Halliburton, by the way - as I had originally feared!), which is on its way.

In this article, a spokesperson for the pirates stated blustered, “The situation will end soon. Either the Americans take their man and sink the boat with my colleagues, or we will soon recover the captain and my colleagues in the coming hours.

“But if they, Americans, attempt to use any military operation I am sure that nobody will survive,” he said.

If he's referring to people on his side of the conflict, I'm inclined to agree. Otherwise, I think he's wrong. A destroyer and a frigate against a bunch of guys in open boats with outboard motors? I'm thinking their rescue operations won't get anywhere near Phillips and his captors.

Factor in Navy Seals and Marines who I'm sure are present as well, and the odds go against the pirates exponentially. This is going to get very interesting very soon.

And, in an anticlimatic final thought before I leave here, head to a bookstore to relax and then head to dinner with Drink Man, Departing Colleague, and a couple others, I am happy to point out that my Pirates of the Mysterious Islands cards should be delivered today by UPS. Small joy, but a geeky needed one!