Mumps!

In CPE meetings today, I was paged. At 8:45, my personal pager went off. Since my personal pager almost never goes off, this was at first very surprising. I didn't recognize the number, but assumed it was probably another chaplain, because who else would know of me, and know to page me? And if it was a floor trying to get me, hopefully they would know to not wait long, and page the main chaplain pager. Because the chaplains should know that I was in meetings, I assumed they would figure it out.

After the meeting, an hour later, I learned my assumptions were very wrong! Employee health was trying to get a hold of me. I recently went to them for my first MMR shot, because they had determined that I was lacking immunity to the diseases that covers. It takes two shots, so I am still not immune. And it turns out that one of the patients I visited a week ago turns out to have mumps! (One of the M's stands for Mumps) So, Employee Health was all up in a tizzy, because had I worn a mask going in there? I had, so all is quiet once again. But I was wondering there for a bit, if I had somehow managed to doom my life, the life of the child, and the entire well-fare of the hospital!

Nope, no over reactions here!

Office Space!

Third week of the new residency, and I made a discovery: I have an office! I found this out by accident. Sitting in one of the tiny shared offices, another resident said "I'm going to my office for a bit." I said, with my laptop perched on my lap, "You get your own office?!?" "Yes," she replied, "Don't you? I thought the resident before you had one. No wonder you've been in here..."

Next day: I had a key to my office, the office no on had told me about! I commented on it to the other resident downtown, and saw on his face that this was news. "I thought they said you had an office, too." "Well, I haven't heard about it yet." Today: He has an office! We're all so thrilled.

And the lingering question remains, if all the chaplains knew we had offices and where they were, why didn't anyone actually think to tell us about them?? Ah well, the tree outside my window doesn't care. So, I will leave it at that.

Road-less Travel

In CPE today, during our group time, there were various sharings of feeling lost in life right now from various people. While listening, my eyes wandered onto the bookshelf across the room, looking at titles (bookshelves are often distractions). And in that wandering, I saw again a book title "The Road Less Traveled." And my mind played with that, and turned it into "Roadless Travel." That thought seemed fairly pertinent to the discussion at hand...

Roadless Travel sounds to me like something that could be thrilling, or very disorienting. On the thrilling theme, it sounds like trailblazing! Setting forth into an area where no one has created a road before, or even a path. Exploring new territory: having new experiences, meeting new people, all kinds of exciting ways to grow and expand one's world view. A great, thrilling, adventure! Roadless Travel, here we come!

On the disorienting theme, it sounds like wandering in a wilderness. Stuck in a hostile environment, wondering if I will get out in time before I die, and no road or sign or path or smoke signals or anything at all to indicate a way out. Nothing at all. Desperate for a road, we travel aimlessly. Possibly we travel in circles, making a 1 year journey turn into a 40 year journey. Possibly we give up, and become one of the many skeletons dotting the landscape of "The Farside" cartoons.

Roadless Travel, please save me from it!