No Respect

West Virginia won the NIT championship, and, not suprisingly, still cannot get respect. Take notice to the lovely championship shirts the NIT printed up. Note to the NIT - West Virginia has three "i's" in it...not two. I just shake my head in disbelief.

Spring Fever

Today we met with Dr. J from SU about residency standards. This is a bit *yawn* boring...and a bit late by my calculations. We also discussed when the official date for the end of my residency. I'm marking my calendar for Friday, June 1. That puts the residency countdown clock at 10 weeks. Is it June 1 yet? ...almost there...

Oderint Dum Metuant

Today I started a new rotation at my residency. I travel to all the VA clinics in our service area and interview veterans new to the VA system. I figured most of the vets would be young; however I was very surprised. My patients today ranged from 26-89. There was one thing they all had in common - they all kicked me out of the examination room. Actually, they didn't kick me out. They were fine with me being in there to interview them, but when it came time for the physical examination, I had to go. Apparently this is the first time that the guys were so modest. The only guy that let me stay was the 26yo, and I could only stay on the stipulation that his pants stayed on. Fair enough. I was quite intrigued by his numerous tattoos. His ankle was encircled with "Veni vidi vici." I was impressed by the Latin. He had the requisite "Freedom is not Free" tattooed on his shoulder blade. The most impressive was the tattoo spanning from his neck to his tailbone. It went straight down his spinal column and said, "Oderint Dum Metuant." I asked him the translation (I figured if you're gonna get a foreign language tattooed on you, you better know the translation!). He told me it was "Let them hate so long as they fear." He then explained that it was one of Caligula's favorite sayings. It was pretty awesome. Residency completion count down = 15 weeks.

Salute to WV DOT

I learned today that our Department of Highways is something like 600 snow-plow drivers short. Did I say 600? Why, yes I did. Apparently having a CDL is not a requirement for employment. When I think of the DOT, I really don't think of cars. I picture trucks that likely require a CDL to operate. Just another ineptitude of WV... We got 3 inches of snow today and our little town came to a halt. I drove to work at 7:30 this morning and the roads had never been touched - no plow, no salt, no cinder. However, the construction crew, which is apparently putting my tax dollars to work, made it to the work site with no problem. Construction + 3 inches of snow = commute from Hell. I asked the following question at work today - "Why can't WV do construction at night like other states?" The lab tech , who hails from Virginia, informed me that it was because WV only has one construction truck...and the lights are broken. I told him to kiss my WV ass. :) At least we can agree to hate Virginia Tech...