Dear Mom & Dad,

Hi Mom and Dad,

Guess what Mom, we're watching your favorite show - The Golden Girls!!! It's so funny!
The Cutie and I are laughing it up. I remember you used to watch it all the time when I was growing up.

I'm really sorry to hear about Dad's face infections... It sounds so uncomfortable and awful!
Is it getting any better? Worse? The same? I hope it goes away soon! How's the blood
count?

You can definately tell the weather is turning over here. It's much colder now and drizzling/raining I just got back from taking The Puppy on a walk. She's so funny. When its wet outside, she'll stop in the doorway in the tiny little dry patch under the overhang, plant her feet and look at me with big pleading brown eyes. I'll walk the distance of the retractable leash, then have to bend down and call her over and again and finally she'll skeptically inch towards me.

Then we walked down the street to Dunkin donughts to get a coffee and bagel. But now it's 9:45pm. (I started this email this morning at 10am) and I forgot what I was talking about.

Haha.

The job is surprisingly stressful... Ridiculously so. But guess what! A lady from the temp service emailed me Thursday and said she'd just had lunch with Jim, the HR guy from the College. According to the Temp Service, he'd said the college would love to have me back any time and would MAKE a position for me! Isn't that the nicest thing ever? So, maybe I'll work my way back.

Yesterday there was an incident where I became upset while the Dr was "talking" to me (but sounded like scolding) and I felt it was uncalled for and demoralizing (which is her M.O.) but this time it was just too much and she wasn't hearing that what she was asking that I do was EXACTLY what I did! Out of frustration as she went on and on, I began finally to tear up and walked away and she followed me, apologizing and exclaiming, "Don't leave! (the job) I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm not mad." and how just that day 2 or 3 people had commented
on how nice the "new person" at the desk was and on the phone too and how great I was and how smart and that's why she hired me. Then at that point, because I was all embarrassed and felt I needed to explain myself, I told her it was just an accumulation of things - the general stress level in the office is extremely high and people are in a constant state of defensive panic and are intimidated. How there are an abundance of inconsistancies and conflicting ideas about how things are supposed to be done. I mentioned that it was "hard to hear" her at times not because her "feedback" was invalid or unwarranted, but that it comes at difficult times; ie: when 3 patients are holding on the phone, patients are checking in and out simultaneously,etc. making it not an ideal time for a "teaching moment" (translation lengthly lecture. (It may not sound like much, but believe me, each involves a host of detailed and laborious steps that if are omitted or done incorrectly will likely invite further lecture/correction.) IT'S EXTREMELY HECTIC. People running to and from, charts everywhere, papers flying, conversations layering
on top of each other, and tense employees snapping at each other. The office manager is frantic and makes thing worse. Everyone is frantic. And the doctor compounds it many times over
by storming at and giving diatribes while impatient tired patients wait, listening..... We saw almost 40 people in one day last week! Too many! Anyway, I'm babbling, but the moral of the story is the doctor seemed appreciative of my honest feedback and even said, "Nobdy ever suggested that before!!!! I'm going to try that!" And even called an impromptu staff meeting at the end of the day to discuss her thoughts. I figure, what the heck, i've got one foot in and foot out so I might as well share my observations with her. If nothing else, I'd like to leave the it a better place for the people who are stuck there and too afraid to speak up for themselves.
It's a shame! Everyone and I mean EVERYONE is miserable. I think she'd be willing to do certain things different, if only people asked for it - but she seems to be simply oblivious to the level of dissatisfaction of her employees. In fact, the office manager told me that she's known for making her staff cry on a regular basis!


Anyway, probably easier to describe on the phone, but its a good challenge.... I do like her personally, but, i think she just needs to loosen up a bit. She's very driven & meticulous and perfectionistic. She doesn't eat or use the bathroom in a 10 hour day and seems vicariously to expect the same of her office. What she doesn't understnad is that it drives them away
and makes them afraid of her.

Talk to you soon,

Indigo