In the first day in our new house, the movers had just finished dropping off our stuff, and we’d finished the pizza we ordered for dinner. We hadn’t unpacked any trash cans yet, so I figured I’d take the pizza box all the way to the cans in the alley. … Continue reading
Loot de Doot Doot and I moved into a high-rise Streeterville apartment that didn’t have any pet prohibitions. At one time, it must have had a wonderful view, since one entire wall of the apartment was comprised of glass windows. By the time I moved in, another building had been… Continue reading
When I first moved to Chicago, I moved to a cheap apartment known as a “4+1,” for four levels of living over one level of parking. No pets were allowed, but they did allow the tiger fish I had at the time, so it wasn’t a concern. After about a… Continue reading
On my first day in college, I was settling into my dorm room, and in wandered one of the ugliest people I’ve ever seen. The college experience is unique in that you’re suddenly in close proximity to a large number of people whom you don’t know, are vaguely your own… Continue reading
I fly a lot, though I flew even more in the days before online conferences were remotely practical. In the early 90’s, I was flying from O’Hare to Dulles. I had some time to kill, so I used a payphone to dial my voicemail. If that didn’t make it clear… Continue reading
For a while in college, I lived in a weird, 50’s-era, largely metal dormitory. It probably seemed ultra-modern at the time, but now had a kind of vintage, well-worn look to its metal shelves and cabinets. Also at the time, I was quite fond of Swiss Cheese Crackers (renamed to… Continue reading
Three days. When a patient was first brought in to the hospital, an analysis was done over 72 hours to determine if the patient is “a danger to themselves or others,” and therefore will be staying indefinitely, or if not, to be released. It’s also the first thing a new… Continue reading
Second shift was my primary shift — and my favorite one, because I could wake up around noon and wander in to work and still be on time. There would only be one meal served on second shift, and by the time it was over, most of the patients would… Continue reading
On the ward, we had a color television that received a few broadcast channels, suspended from the ceiling in the day hall. On the CTG Wards (“Continued Treatment Group” — shorthand for “expected to be here forever”) very few patients actually paid attention to the television, though a handful of… Continue reading
One gets used to patients thinking they have talents or pasts they don’t, so when “Mike” told me he wanted to play the piano, at first I wasn’t sure he actually meant it, or even meant it literally. I found out the hospital had a piano a few floors down,… Continue reading