The Venting Thread

[polly_mer]

You know you have complaints.  Go ahead and vent here.

[mystictechgal]

My 96yo friend was recovering beautifully from the hip replacement surgery he had two weeks ago — that’s after recovering completely from his broken neck (C-1). Then he tried to walk to the car to go to lunch using the standard-issue, small wheel, aluminum walker they insist you use after hip replacement surgery. (I gather that they fear that the larger-wheeled up-grade walkers will get away from them.)

His walker caught on an uneven patch of sidewalk at his graduated living facility. (He has one of their condos.) It pitched forward, he went backward, breaking the femur on his recently replaced hip. He spent 3 hours in surgery where they reassembled his femur and wrapped it in heavy-grade piano wire half-way down his thigh and replaced the hip shaft with a longer one; he had to receive 3 units of blood and spent 3 days in the hospital (as opposed to going home — to his own home — the day following the initial replacement surgery.

He now has a UTI, which has affected his electrolyte balance and has made him confused, and is living in the rehabilitation wing of his facility. Grrrr.

The facility claims that they always re-level their sidewalks after the winter [achoo]bullshit[/achoo] — this one was “undoubtedly on the list”. They have also spray painted all uneven spots bright yellow (but haven’t actually fixed any of them).

My friend is blaming himself. His daughter, also my friend, who was with him at the time, is blaming herself. I’m just royally PISSED OFF on their behalf. This sucks and it isn’t the fault of either one of them.

[mamselle]

I'm very sorry for all involved.

There are just so many ways in which that's not fair.

Hoping for a full uneventful further recovery, and for the center to indeed fix its sidewalks.

It's  May, right? Winter's been over, more or less, for awhile, now. You'd think they'd be all over the frost-heaved sidewalk panels issue, it's predictable, easily fixed, and a clear means to the avoidance of a lawsuit....ahem.

M.

[hoopyfrood]

Arrrrgggh.  A member of the department has filed an official complaint against another member.  I was asked to be interviewed by an external investigator as my name came up in the complaint as someone who has been affected.  And during the interview it turns out the person making the complaint just lied her butt off about things that I have said.  I had no idea she thought these things about the department and me.  Why are the people at my institution so determined to act like my kids (who act like toddlers despite their ages)?  Can't they use their words and just sort things out like adults are supposed to be able to do?  (Oh wait, we're academics with the social adeptness of mayflies)

[Parasaurolophus]

My 96yo friend was recovering beautifully from the hip replacement surgery he had two weeks ago — that’s after recovering completely from his broken neck (C-1). Then he tried to walk to the car to go to lunch using the standard-issue, small wheel, aluminum walker they insist you use after hip replacement surgery. (I gather that they fear that the larger-wheeled up-grade walkers will get away from them.)

His walker caught on an uneven patch of sidewalk at his graduated living facility. (He has one of their condos.) It pitched forward, he went backward, breaking the femur on his recently replaced hip. He spent 3 hours in surgery where they reassembled his femur and wrapped it in heavy-grade piano wire half-way down his thigh and replaced the hip shaft with a longer one; he had to receive 3 units of blood and spent 3 days in the hospital (as opposed to going home — to his own home — the day following the initial replacement surgery.

He now has a UTI, which has affected his electrolyte balance and has made him confused, and is living in the rehabilitation wing of his facility. Grrrr.

The facility claims that they always re-level their sidewalks after the winter [achoo]bullshit[/achoo] — this one was “undoubtedly on the list”. They have also spray painted all uneven spots bright yellow (but haven’t actually fixed any of them).

My friend is blaming himself. His daughter, also my friend, who was with him at the time, is blaming herself. I’m just royally PISSED OFF on their behalf. This sucks and it isn’t the fault of either one of them.

That's so, so awful, and I'm so sorry for your friend.

FWIW, my stepbrother had an accident that left him quadriplegic a few years ago. One of the things we all learned, during that process, was that it's apparently easier for people to cope with these kinds of accidents when they're plausibly contruable as being at fault (even if it's not actually true); apparently, it's the people who are straight-up victims of misfortune who have the hardest time. I don't know whether it's true, but from what I saw it seems like it at least holds some water. So... hopefully, your friend's morale will improve without too many hiccups, and perhaps the current feelings of self-blame aren't as harmful as they first appear.

[paultuttle]

I've been sick with allergy- and sinus-related problems since early March. When the HELL will it stop??

[mamselle]

Um....October?

<ducks and hides>

M.

[Parasaurolophus]

I have just discovered that my institution only conducts student course evaluations for some classes. *facepalm*

I mean, I know that they're not especially good or trustworthy. And we do have regular peer evaluations. But... if we have student evaluations at all, then I'd like to be able to compare things for a given course over time. And if for whatever reason I need to seek another job, I'm going to need recent course evaluations. Sigh.

Guess I'll just conduct them myself, then, and find the time to crunch the numbers.

[polly_mer]

Guess I'll just conduct them myself, then, and find the time to crunch the numbers.

Is there any way to volunteer your courses to be on the administered list every time?  Sort of an opt-in to ensure that the institution has a representative sample every term.

[bioteacher]

In my search to try to find out how to make the forum's minimum font larger on my computer, I discovered that Safari no longer has a minimum font size setting like it used to. My options are now zoom or the computer glasses I had purchased for work (where the font is tiny and my eyes were dying). I do not mind getting older. I strongly object to having to wear glasses.

I've never needed glasses before this year. Now I wear them at work. I can deal. But needing them for the fora is a step too far.

[polly_mer]

In my search to try to find out how to make the forum's minimum font larger on my computer, I discovered that Safari no longer has a minimum font size setting like it used to. My options are now zoom

Can you not leave the zoom at something good like 150% for a given page?  That's what I have and it seems to work.

I sympathize with not wanting to wear glasses.  I was talked into getting progressives a few years ago and I dislike them immensely because nothing is ever in focus so I keep tilting my head and moving the glasses up and down my face. 

I'm thinking about going to another eye doctor and getting true bifocals or trifocals.  When I was a kid, I had bifocals and they were great.

[bioteacher]

I can, Polly, I just don't want to. I want 20/20 vision w/o glasses or fiddling with settings for different pages.

My vent: the weekend is over. I have to rot my brain in the job from hell tomorrow.

[histchick]

For various reasons, I just want to throw things, at multiple people.  Large things.

[mamselle]

For various reasons, I just want to throw things, at multiple people.  Large things.

Would you like help painting a target?

I just want to take a turn with a few of the large things, too....and I almost never feel this way...

M.

[histchick]

For various reasons, I just want to throw things, at multiple people.  Large things.

Would you like help painting a target?

I just want to take a turn with a few of the large things, too....and I almost never feel this way...

M.

I would LOVE it!  Feel free to incorporate your choice of paint colors!