My work week in review

  There were a few things this week that made an impression on me in one way or another. I'd thought about blogging about the one incident, then decided to mention them all on here:

A kindness shown

  The hospital I work at has been putting in a new helipad for the last several weeks. First, they had to turn most of the Emergency Department parking lot into a temporary helipad. I have been stationed out there every day to help tell people where to park, and where not to park. Since I am out there, it has also fallen my lot to help when a life flight helicopter comes in..... stop traffic, make sure no one walks close, and then guard the helicopter while it sits there waiting for the patient to be brought out.

 As I watched the helicopter, a young man came towards me with a boy about 8 years of age. He said the boy, his brother, was autistic and had never seen a helicopter up close. He wanted to know if he could take the kid's picture in front of it. I asked the pilot, who was by the helicopter, and he said it was fine.

 I watched as the grinning boy stood in front of the helicopter and his brother snapped a couple of pictures. Then the pilot walked over to them, said something, and next think I knew, he was helping the boy into the pilot's seat in the helicopter. The brother took some pictures, thanked the pilot and I, and left.

 I was impressed. The pilot didn't need to let the boy in the helicopter, but that is something the kid will never forget.

A funny thing happened......

  This may not be as funny as the time a drunk woman was feeling my butt and kept saying I had a nice butt, but it comes close.

  Thursday as I stood on the sidewalk between  the Emergency Department parking lot and the next lot over, a woman pulled up beside me and asked where to park. I pointed at the lot to her left and told her in there. She immediately cranked her steering wheel and started to turn and ran over something. She stopped, and I walked to the front of her car on her side to look. There are two traffic cones in the middle of the driveway with "pedestrian crossing, please yield" attached to them. She had run over one of the cones and signs.

 There was no car behind her, so I had her back up off of the cone. That didn't go so well. The cone was stuck between her front tire and the bumper. I had her crank the steering wheel as far as she could, and it wouldn't budge. She goes "don't tell me I am going to have to drive around forever with that in there!" Trying not to laugh, I assured her I'd get it loose. I put my foot on the cone and started stomping down on it. After several tries, I knocked it loose, and held onto it as she backed up, minus the cone.

  She parked, and as she walked past me she said how embarrassed she was and that she wasn't telling anyone. I chuckled after she walked past. Women drivers........ :)

Affirmation given

 There is a position open at the hospital I am interested in, but it has its advantages and disadvantages. Since I am not an actual hospital employee - I work for a security guard company that is outsourced by the hospital - I cannot apply for it yet, as this week it is open to only hospital employees. I called the lady Thursday that I thought was over the position, and she was not, but said she would let the right lady know I was interested.

 Later that day, my boss was outside chatting with me, and goes "so I hear you might apply for that new position? Don't expect me to give you a good reference, I don't want to lose you."

 The next morning, he was talking to me again, and told me I should apply for it, and said that I'd be a shoo-in for it. He said it would be a good move for me, but it wouldn't be good for him to lose me as an employee. That made my day. He doesn't give compliments often, and I really appreciated it.

A free lunch

 This one isn't meant to toot my own horn, but is something nice I did for someone. I don't buy food often in the snack shop/coffee shop. I'll occasionally buy soup, and I buy the walking taco every Friday because that is the only day they have it. As I threw my garbage away, I said hi to Jeff,  a young male nurse that is always friendly with me. The kid - he is 21 - worked over in the Emergency Department as a PCA for a while, and I got to know him a bit there. Then I would see him occasionally as he was training to be a nurse, and I'd ask him how it was going, how much longer he had, etc.

 Then he became a nurse on another floor, and I see him occasionally in passing. I asked him how he was doing, and we chatted for a moment. He told me rather excitedly that he was going to be coming back to the Emergency Department soon as a nurse, and I told him that was awesome. He stepped up to order, and I walked over to the register to pay, and the thought hit me, "I should pay for his food." I heard him order the Nachos Grande, and saw he had a bottle of pop. I told the cashier, a lovely volunteer lady of 85 years of age who likes my jokes, what I got, then quietly told her I was paying for that nurse's food, and what he got. I paid, then stopped at the desk in the main lobby to say hi to my lady friend there (78 year old Thelma).

 Jeff exited the snack shop, walked over, thanked me and shook my hand and said he appreciated it. I told him he was welcome, and we parted ways. Yes, the kid makes a lot more money than I do and could easily afford his meal, but I like to do that every once in a while. It feels good, and it feels good to the person on the receiving end.

An embarrassing moment

  There is a no smoking policy at the hospital where I work. No smoking anywhere on the grounds. I often have to tell people that they can't smoke. As I was standing outside Saturday, a young woman was walking towards me that appeared to be smoking. As soon as she came around the small tree blocking separating us, I politely informed her of the policy.... but she was only eating a cookie. Fortunately, she was amused and graciously accepted my apology, and even offered me a cookie..... which I did not take.