You know what really grinds my gears?

To steal a phrase from the infamous Peter Griffin - you know what really grinds my gears?

Yes this will be a rambling self-involved post of little to no interest for those who are not, well, me.

I'm sitting here on my "lunch" break.

At the mall - yes, much like CWH, this grinds my gears but isn't the reason for this post - at Panera using their internet.

One thing that grinds my gears is that I'm sitting at Panera at "lunch" and it is only 1:00. Remember a previous post that indicated my start time? I start work at 10 am and end at 7. Why the heck is my lunch 3 hours after I start? Furthermore, why in the world do I have to work for 5 hours after lunch. My preference, not that anyone cares, is to work more hours before lunch and fewer after lunch. I hate going back to work after lunch.

Its like when I was in track. I hated the rest lap between intervals. It made the start of the next interval more difficult.

Its also like going to a show. I hated the part of the set where the band felt it necessary to talk and then play slow songs. It made me so tired that when they played fast songs again I couldn't "dance" anymore.

I guess I should count it lucky that I get lunch. At DVW it was a 10 hour work day with NO lunch. Insert roll eyes here.

It also grinds my gears that this morning I only saw 5 exams and an office visit and this afternoon I have a million people scheduled. Some of the times I have three scheduled for the same time. Sure some probably won't show but I prefer a perfectly symmetrical schedule. We as optometrists are too concerned, probably due to the levels of competition out there, that people won't come see us if we don't bend to their every fancy. We, therefore, ask "when do you want to come in?" rather than saying "we can see you at this time".

So this afternoon I'll be running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off - which is really quite the sight, not me, the chicken. I encourage everyone to see, at least once in their life, a chicken with its head cut off. At least it will make the afternoon go quickly.

My gears were further ground by the fact that yet again I needed to refer someone out of the office for something stupid. When you work the types of jobs I do the type of equipment at your disposal is very limited. I saw a fine chap for an exam this morning and between the looks of his optic nerve heads and his results on a very rudimentary visual field test I was slightly concerned that he might have glaucoma.

Now note I said slightly concerned. When you don't have equipment on hand and you are slightly concerned about something a great debate begins. Do I really want to refer this person out of the office for something that will probably be ok? If I had the equipment it would be so easy just to say we need to run these tests. Now it is explain the problem, explain the tests, explain why I think its important for them to go. Hope that they go, hope that the doctor sends a note back, hope that the doctor doesn't think me a fool for being even slightly concerned.

Oh well. I figure if you're having the debate you might as well send the patient out.

It will be nice to work at a practice that has at least some basic "non-prescription finding" equipment at my disposal. It will be even nicer if I could get paid to use it (that is an insurance rant that you Canadians just wouldn't understand).

My gears are still being ground by the fact that the Canadian dollar is nearly on par with the US dollar. I paid much of my optometry school tuition in Canadian dollars while the Canadian dollar was at record lows. When I started school it was at about 63 cents on the dollar. For my four years of school it ranged from 63 to 68 cents. So every dollar I borrowed I was only getting 60 some cents of goods and services.

I figured by staying in the US and earning US dollars paying back the Canadian loans wouldn't be a big deal. For every dollar I earned I would be able to pay back $1.54.

Wrong.

For every dollar I earn now I can pay $1 back. Do the math. I'm losing my shirt.

I blame Bush whether its his fault or not.

I should mention what I got for my birthday because some of you are curious.

I haven't actually spent my birthday money (received from my parents and parents-in-law) but the plan is to buy Corner Gas Season 4 (season one will soon be shown on TBS for those in the US who want to see what its all about - check your local listings) and a better zoom lens for my camera.

After I buy said lens I'll have a cheaper version of the lens for sale to anyone interested in a Canon compatible 70-300 mm lens with macro. Will sell cheap.

Oh! One last piece of sad news. The chairs that have been in my family for over 30 years are no longer members of our family. I asked a million times, a million people in the family if they wanted them and nobody jumped at the opportunity. Our place is far too small for 6 dining room chairs and a dining room table so we got rid of them. They are now for sale at a Goodwill somewhere in the greater Atlanta area.

Long live the chairs.