Painting my house has turned into a bigger chore than I had initially anticipated. Natch.

Remember that I stated that I was painting my house because the walls in the office bedroom was peeling? Yeah, well, I’ve peeled away the big areas, sanded down the entire thing, washed the walls, started to tape it … and realized that more areas were peeling. Yep. The entire paint job has to go.

So I go and buy paint solvent (after spending numerous hours slowly scrapping away the paint) and spray it on. The reason the paint is peeling? Because there are at least five layers, five layers of paint underneath. The bottom layer, as far as I can tell is a salmon color. But it’s going to require lots and lots of paint solvent and very slow dissolving of all of the layers. Not to mention that it’s most likely lead based paint at the bottom, so I’m probably going to have all kinds of neurological deficits.

The good news is that I have painted my kitchen. And it’s pretty. Pictures will be forth coming when I get everything put back together again. And I think I’ve made new friends with this project, so there is always a bright side.

Chris and I play word games all of the time, an old habit fostered in the early days of our friendship. Sometimes, it’s a matter of dropping impressive words into conversation (I think we probably annoy those around us because we’re constantly interrupting to state “oh, good word!” to the one that succeeds). Other times, we play passing synonyms back and forth (sometimes with the same letter to make it even more difficult!) until one (usually it is he) is declared the winner.

Because of this, I’ve rediscovered my dictionary and thesaurus. Probably something that I should have done a long time ago (would have helped my pronunciation of all of those latin medical words, as I was never hooked on phonics. I can spell, but I can’t speak), but better late than never. It’s not that I have a poor vocabulary (despite how I sound here in LJ), but in the moment, the specific words rarely come to me and I end u saying things like “it’s lots of fun” and sounding like I’m ten. So I’m striving to improve that, by integrating the new vocabulary as I learn it (another lesson I should have learned from grade school!) And I’m always on the hunt for good words to speckle conversations.

Tonight’s word came from reading a patient’s medical record, where in the general physical portion, the doc described the patient as “loquacious.” He was obviously an attending–the medical resident on call possesses few brain cells more than required to just write “alert, oriented and in good health”–finding that just perfect adjective to describe how the patient is interacting with you requires high brain function only obtained with a well rested mind.

Nonetheless, I’ve filed the word away, awaiting with baited breath to drop it in conversation with Chris. Because this will impress his socks off. 🙂

**yes, I am posting at 4 in the morning, because my dear resident and attending allowed me to go home four hours early. Sweet! And now it is to bed. I have my house to tackle tomorrow (er… today)

I think it’s going to snow. It certainly is cold enough.

Of course, I could be wrong. I thought the same thing, looking out the window near the ICU, only, it was over a 100 degrees and August outside. The air conditioner, which works too well on some hallways, confused me. The people around me must have thought I was insane as I burst out laughing at my mistake.

Things are pretty good around here. I have to leave for a shift in the ER in a couple of hours, and I’m off to take a nap, but I thought I’d say hi, since you know it’s been a while.

I spent the day looking at paint swatches and I think I have finally, finally decided how I’m going to paint my house. I’ve hemmed and hawed about it, because the paint job from the last owners hasn’t been too awful… except that the paint is peeling off in my office (top coat is a creamy off white, underneath is “apple blossom green” and quite overwhelming) and staring at the patches has motivated me.

(For help in picturing what it all looks like, the pics to my house are still up at http://jcd1013.lotrinklings.net/house/house.html)

Details for those curious

I am never declaring a patient dead again. He/she can just be in the state of not-dead but not-living, forever.

From my attending: “This could get ugly so do not discuss anything further with [spouse] until we review the chart and talk to risk managament and medical examiner.”

Great. All from putting my little signature by the cause of death. Ain’t medicine grand.

They sure didn’t teach me any of this in med school.