I think the local hospital was built on what used to be a pond or reservoir. There are many fowl hanging around the parking lot and the manmade pond in front of the hospital. I took this photo with my phone when I was leaving around midnight. Poor ducks. It’s actually sad to be part of the problem displacing nature from its original habitat.
In the spirit of The Office, I considered replicating Michael’s attempt to impress a personalized contribution to society by dunking my face in the newly minted black-top (It was still steaming) in the hospital parking lot. The thought was short-lived, however; somehow I doubted that fresh black-top is as malleable as wet cement. Nonetheless, it would have been more enjoyable than performing medical research, with comparable results.
I’m always amazed at the types of food that hospitals serve in their cafeterias. I remember that I once saw a McDonald’s in the basement of one of the teaching hospitals of Baylor. The food court of the Cleveland Clinic (in Cleveland, not to be confused with ones in Abu Dhabi or Florida) also has a McDonald’s, right across from a TexMex stand that serves tasty nachos. Yes, why don’t we serve a 1500 calorie extra value meal to a guy whose family member just had an MI? What a great way to strum up future business in the cath lab!
My current hospital is no different. During my block of night float, I discovered that the cafeteria grill cooked items off menu. Off menu! I liked that. So on the last night of my block, when the only parts of my body that hadn’t been punished were my arteries, I custom ordered a Texas Toast grilled cheese sandwich. Two extra-thick processed slices of white bread painted (yes, painted) with a glistening coat of grease, with FOUR slices of american cheese in the center. Wholesome goodness. They should serve that with a statin.
This video says it all:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xskFo75Wdhs[/youtube]
Ironically, “Outside Hospitals” usually have higher resident salaries, more benefits, a working nursing and phlebotomy staff, and nicer facilities. Must be those caths…