That's how I would describe my work at the new clinic. Slow. Especially now that I've gotten about 95% of the computer stuff finished, I don't have a lot to do anymore. Although, I'm getting to be a pretty dang good receptionist. I can answer phones like a motha-trucka now. Oh yeah, I'm da man.
I did manage to get bitten by a dog today. Luckily, it was "just a flesh wound." It didn't really bleed much, and methinks it's gonna be O.K. It's hard working with kids that don't know what they are doing. I was trying to draw blood on a dog, and since the girl that was holding the dog is brand-spankin' new, I got tattooed with some pearly whites on me hand. What hacks me off is that it was my fault for not putting a muzzle on the pooch in the first place.
This morning was a bit crazy but other than that, I've been twiddling my thumbs and answering the phones. And surfing the net. And telling people that they have dialed the wrong number.
Earlier I had the following phone conversation:
Me: Hello, this is the Blah Blah Vet. Clinic.
Lady: Yeah, I was wondering if you could tell me the background of your veterinarians that work there.
Me (not really knowing what in the heck she was "really" asking me"): Well, one of us went to Auburn, and the other went to Texas A&M.
Lady: Oh. Um...I've been going to ABC Vet Clinic down the road, and their prices are way too high. What do you think about that.
Me (Uber-confused now): Well, I don't know what that clinc's prices are, so I really can't comment on that.
Lady: Oh...OK...Thanks. Click
I'm still really confused on what the lady wanted from me. I don't really know what she wanted to hear, or what information she wanted to get from me. Maybe she was a "mole" from another clinic, trying to get the scoop about us.
Who knows.
Time is really draggin' on today. I'm stuck trying to train all of the new employees, which isn't a lot of fun. Basically all of our staff is 100% Grade A Rookie. Fresh off the farm. It's kinda tough since I'm starting to see some pretty crazy things, that need a bit more help from the staff.
Plus, I have to keep answering the dang phone every time it rings.
Yep, I'm a regular Renaissance Man.
Bean is in New York this week. Well at least until Thursday. She even got to fly 1st class today. She's gonna start getting snobbish pretty soon. Here's why.
This weekend, Bean, her sister, and I went to the store to help Bean pick out a pair of eyeglasses. Long story short, she ended up buying a pair of Burberry's. Then the saleswoman suggested that she try on a pair of Chanel sunglasses. They were priced at $375, but since she had already bought a pair of eyeglasses that day, she qualified for a serious discount. So she bought them. The total cost for the 2 glasses was equal to what I paid for 1 pair of eyeglasses the other day. And mine are Columbia brand. It's a said day for the cat without a kickass insurance plan like Bean does.
Keep on keepin' on.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
It's A Crazy World
Well, where do I start. Let's start with last night. Bean and I went to the Rangers/Twins game last night. So I bust my arse to get home, change clothes, and eat, so we can hopefully make it to the game on time. We hit the road and it's looking like we just might make it for the 1st pitch. And then Murphy's Law struck. I locked my keys in my truck.
I thought about my options. I could call the locksmith now, and probably miss most, if not all of the game. Or I could watch the game and call the locksmith after the game, and wait forever for them to get there.
I chose Door #1. The dude got there pretty quickly, and over an hour later and my wallet $50 lighter, we went to the game. I bought the cheap seats at $6 each, since the stadium was about 1/3 full. We managed to sit in the upper deck, right behind home plate (which are about $17 seats, I think). We missed 4.5 innings of the game, and we got to see Johan Santana work his magic on the Rangers by only allowing 1 ER, and striking out 13. Needless to say, he made the Rangers look retarded.
On the working man front, things are going pretty well. They are a heckuva lot better than a couple of weeks ago. I've got a large chunk of the computer software down, and on Friday, I've got an over-the-phone training session with the software people. It should be just swell.
Business remains remarkably slow. We are seeing about an average of 1.35 patients/day. Or something like that, since I haven't actually calculated out the number. I mainly just sit here in front of the computer, answer the phones, and try to get as much of the software stuff done as I can.
This morning, I had a bit of a rush when 2 people came in about 15 minutes apart! I was sweating, let me tell ya. But, I can't complain, I guess. At least I'm not the actual owner of this here joint, so I ain't sweatin' it. I'm also trying to get my contract finalized, after working here for about 3.5 weeks.
I also just found out that I have to work from 1-6 on Memorial Day. Major bummer. No es bueno.
I'm still a homeless man, for those of you that were wondering. I'm gonna look at an apartment that sits right smack dab in the middle of Whitetrashville. Hey, it's cheap, so don't knock a brotha. I hope that it works out because it will save me about $150-$200/month in rent. Not bad. Plus it's only about 20 minutes to work, and about 15-20 minutes from my beloved Bean.
Keep on keepin' on.
I thought about my options. I could call the locksmith now, and probably miss most, if not all of the game. Or I could watch the game and call the locksmith after the game, and wait forever for them to get there.
I chose Door #1. The dude got there pretty quickly, and over an hour later and my wallet $50 lighter, we went to the game. I bought the cheap seats at $6 each, since the stadium was about 1/3 full. We managed to sit in the upper deck, right behind home plate (which are about $17 seats, I think). We missed 4.5 innings of the game, and we got to see Johan Santana work his magic on the Rangers by only allowing 1 ER, and striking out 13. Needless to say, he made the Rangers look retarded.
On the working man front, things are going pretty well. They are a heckuva lot better than a couple of weeks ago. I've got a large chunk of the computer software down, and on Friday, I've got an over-the-phone training session with the software people. It should be just swell.
Business remains remarkably slow. We are seeing about an average of 1.35 patients/day. Or something like that, since I haven't actually calculated out the number. I mainly just sit here in front of the computer, answer the phones, and try to get as much of the software stuff done as I can.
This morning, I had a bit of a rush when 2 people came in about 15 minutes apart! I was sweating, let me tell ya. But, I can't complain, I guess. At least I'm not the actual owner of this here joint, so I ain't sweatin' it. I'm also trying to get my contract finalized, after working here for about 3.5 weeks.
I also just found out that I have to work from 1-6 on Memorial Day. Major bummer. No es bueno.
I'm still a homeless man, for those of you that were wondering. I'm gonna look at an apartment that sits right smack dab in the middle of Whitetrashville. Hey, it's cheap, so don't knock a brotha. I hope that it works out because it will save me about $150-$200/month in rent. Not bad. Plus it's only about 20 minutes to work, and about 15-20 minutes from my beloved Bean.
Keep on keepin' on.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Gotta Keep On Truckin'
Tomorrow I will get a day off! Yea me!
I've been extremely busy at the vet clinic since we opened on May 1st. The days are absolutely flying by. I stroll in there at 8:00, and before I know it, it's 5:45. It's probably because I've been a mad crazy computer Mr. Fix-it for most of the time.
Since we've opened, I've been trying, desperately, to:
1) Get our vet program up and running
2) Get our printers to actually print what they are supposed to, where they are supposed to print
3) Get our printer/fax/copier/scanner to actually work. I spent the ENTIRE day trying to get that sucker to scan a document. I finally had to install the software onto my own personal laptop to finally get it to work. It's a HP printer/fax/scanner/copier and their customer service SUCKS!!! So does the instruction manual. So I'm no better off, really, than I was when I started the sick and twisted project this morning. I guess I'll be on the telephone for another hour or 2 on Friday to try and get it to work. I email HP's technical support and they gave me a standard B.S. answer, with stuff that I'd already tried. Thanks a lot buddy.
3) Get my boss and the kennel manager to learn the computer system. The really, really scary part about all of this is that I'm the only one that knows how to check somebody out, and apply a payment. Methinks I'm gonna get a phone call or two tomorrow when they get into trouble.
4) Get ready for my next big project of getting the Dog and Cat Boarding Scheduler to work. I think that it's gonna take me a day or 500 to get it up and running. My only hope is that the new technician will get it figured out tomorrow *fingers crossed*. She's coming in for about 3 hours to work on the vet program.
5) Keep our X-Ray machine working. Yesterday, we got the new scanner to our $50,000+ digital radiology unit. I got it up and running...and it worked. Today, I even got to re-X-ray the dog that came in last week when we found out the machine didn't work. It really made us look pretty bad, so we did the X-rays for free. Not my idea, but the boss man wanted to keep a good future client. The guy will be a pretty good client, and he's pretty cool, so I hope it will be worth the $140 or so that we lost on the deal (especially since we made about $227 total today). It's also scary that I'm the only one that knows how to operate the digital X-ray computer program. And there is a limping dog coming in tomorrow that needs X-rays. There is another phone call or 2.
On a completely different note, I'm watching the Rangers play the Devil Rays. The game is in Tampa Bay and there are a grand total of...wait for it...just over 8,500 people in the stands. How in the heck do you keep a MLB team up and running with attendances like that? It's like the Florida Marlins and there abysmal attendance. Why do you keep those teams where they are? Why not move them to other cities that would actually appreciate a MLB team? How about San Antonio, TX? I know that they could put up better attendance numbers than 8,500/game, that's for sure.
According to ESPN.com, The Tampa Bay Devil Rays' average home attendance last year was 16,901/game. And they had the 2nd lowest average attendance for 2006. Who did they beat???
The Florida Marlins. Their average home attendance last year was 14,384/game. That's just plain terrible. Even the freakin' Kansas City Royals managed to drag 17,158 fans/suckers-for-punishment per game*. Just plain sad.
Let's move the Florida teams. Nobody is watching them anyway. Get them in a better market. They won't even miss them.
While I'm on a baseball rant, I'm really, really sick and tired of watching the Rangers be mediocre. It's just plain disgusting. Right now they are losing to the Devil Rays 8-11, with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th. Gagne is pitching, and he has been pitching very well this year. If only the rest of the team could do the same.
I've been in Texas for almost 17 years now, and EVERY year it's the same thing: the Texas Rangers need pitching. Badly. It's the same song, different verse. I'm getting really, really sick and tired of this. It's really sad when you score 8 runs in a game, and you still manage to lose by 3 runs (assuming that the game ends with the same score as it is currently).
Sorry for the rant, but I'm just getting sick of crappy baseball. It really takes the fun outta watching baseball games. And I LOVE baseball.
At least the Astros have managed to eek into .500 baseball, not counting this evening's game.
Keep on keepin' on.
* These stats are from here. FYI.
I've been extremely busy at the vet clinic since we opened on May 1st. The days are absolutely flying by. I stroll in there at 8:00, and before I know it, it's 5:45. It's probably because I've been a mad crazy computer Mr. Fix-it for most of the time.
Since we've opened, I've been trying, desperately, to:
1) Get our vet program up and running
2) Get our printers to actually print what they are supposed to, where they are supposed to print
3) Get our printer/fax/copier/scanner to actually work. I spent the ENTIRE day trying to get that sucker to scan a document. I finally had to install the software onto my own personal laptop to finally get it to work. It's a HP printer/fax/scanner/copier and their customer service SUCKS!!! So does the instruction manual. So I'm no better off, really, than I was when I started the sick and twisted project this morning. I guess I'll be on the telephone for another hour or 2 on Friday to try and get it to work. I email HP's technical support and they gave me a standard B.S. answer, with stuff that I'd already tried. Thanks a lot buddy.
3) Get my boss and the kennel manager to learn the computer system. The really, really scary part about all of this is that I'm the only one that knows how to check somebody out, and apply a payment. Methinks I'm gonna get a phone call or two tomorrow when they get into trouble.
4) Get ready for my next big project of getting the Dog and Cat Boarding Scheduler to work. I think that it's gonna take me a day or 500 to get it up and running. My only hope is that the new technician will get it figured out tomorrow *fingers crossed*. She's coming in for about 3 hours to work on the vet program.
5) Keep our X-Ray machine working. Yesterday, we got the new scanner to our $50,000+ digital radiology unit. I got it up and running...and it worked. Today, I even got to re-X-ray the dog that came in last week when we found out the machine didn't work. It really made us look pretty bad, so we did the X-rays for free. Not my idea, but the boss man wanted to keep a good future client. The guy will be a pretty good client, and he's pretty cool, so I hope it will be worth the $140 or so that we lost on the deal (especially since we made about $227 total today). It's also scary that I'm the only one that knows how to operate the digital X-ray computer program. And there is a limping dog coming in tomorrow that needs X-rays. There is another phone call or 2.
On a completely different note, I'm watching the Rangers play the Devil Rays. The game is in Tampa Bay and there are a grand total of...wait for it...just over 8,500 people in the stands. How in the heck do you keep a MLB team up and running with attendances like that? It's like the Florida Marlins and there abysmal attendance. Why do you keep those teams where they are? Why not move them to other cities that would actually appreciate a MLB team? How about San Antonio, TX? I know that they could put up better attendance numbers than 8,500/game, that's for sure.
According to ESPN.com, The Tampa Bay Devil Rays' average home attendance last year was 16,901/game. And they had the 2nd lowest average attendance for 2006. Who did they beat???
The Florida Marlins. Their average home attendance last year was 14,384/game. That's just plain terrible. Even the freakin' Kansas City Royals managed to drag 17,158 fans/suckers-for-punishment per game*. Just plain sad.
Let's move the Florida teams. Nobody is watching them anyway. Get them in a better market. They won't even miss them.
While I'm on a baseball rant, I'm really, really sick and tired of watching the Rangers be mediocre. It's just plain disgusting. Right now they are losing to the Devil Rays 8-11, with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th. Gagne is pitching, and he has been pitching very well this year. If only the rest of the team could do the same.
I've been in Texas for almost 17 years now, and EVERY year it's the same thing: the Texas Rangers need pitching. Badly. It's the same song, different verse. I'm getting really, really sick and tired of this. It's really sad when you score 8 runs in a game, and you still manage to lose by 3 runs (assuming that the game ends with the same score as it is currently).
Sorry for the rant, but I'm just getting sick of crappy baseball. It really takes the fun outta watching baseball games. And I LOVE baseball.
At least the Astros have managed to eek into .500 baseball, not counting this evening's game.
Keep on keepin' on.
* These stats are from here. FYI.
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Train Keeps A Rollin'
I've got 10 days under my belt at the new clinic and alls I can say is that it's been pretty interesting...and exhausting. I finished my 10th day of work out of 11 days, and tomorrow will make it 11 out of 12 days. All of those days have involved a lunch break of an average of 30 minutes. Yesterday I worked from 8-4 straight, then took a 15 minute "snack-break" and stayed until 6:45. Twas a long day.
Oh, and the brand new $50,000 X-ray system...it's broken. The manufacturer is going to send us a brand new piece of equipment. Apparently when they told me to "crack open up the bottom of the machine, look for a coaxial cable that might be loose, and take a pair of needle-nosed pliers and crimp the wire" didn't exactly cut it. I'm not kidding. They had me "work" on this $50,000 piece of machinery. I didn't exactly feel very good about doing that.
On a brighter note, our surgical "laser*" is working well. Yesterday we had a vet come in to show us how to use the sucker. I did a dog neuter, a dog spay, a cat declaw, and a cat neuter with the new "laser." It works pretty dang well, if I do say so my dang-self. Methinks that I'm gonna like it a lot. And I only shot myself once. Yep, I nailed my finger with the "laser." Let me just say this: "It hurts." It doesn't feel so good when you do it. I accidentally tapped the foot pedal that turns on the "laser" and gave myself quite a shock. At least the "laser" is broken in now.
I finally got some prices entered into the computer system today. It's about time. We've had a lot of people calling and asking us about how much our costs are. Hurray for me.
It's also just now dawning on me that I'm gonna be the cat to run this new clinic. Here's the breakdown of my work week. I will work Mon-Wed. and Thurs.-Sat. My boss is gonna work Monday, and Thurs.-Friday. So, for those of you keeping score at home, that leaves me working at the clinic by myself 3/6 days a week. And my boss will only be working there 3 days a week. So I'm gonna be running this ...by myself. Wow.
On a different note, I'm by myself this weekend. Annie is in Austin this weekend for Mother's Day. What's a brotha to do? I guess it's lots of strippers and tequilla shots for me! Whoo-Hoo!**
I'm gonna pass out now. I've got another sweet Saturday of work ahead of me. Jealous?
Keep on keepin' on.
* Imagine Dr. Evil doing his air quotes when you say "laser". It makes it a lot more fun.
* Just kidding Annie. No strippers will be at your house this weekend. Or tequilla shots for that matter.
Oh, and the brand new $50,000 X-ray system...it's broken. The manufacturer is going to send us a brand new piece of equipment. Apparently when they told me to "crack open up the bottom of the machine, look for a coaxial cable that might be loose, and take a pair of needle-nosed pliers and crimp the wire" didn't exactly cut it. I'm not kidding. They had me "work" on this $50,000 piece of machinery. I didn't exactly feel very good about doing that.
On a brighter note, our surgical "laser*" is working well. Yesterday we had a vet come in to show us how to use the sucker. I did a dog neuter, a dog spay, a cat declaw, and a cat neuter with the new "laser." It works pretty dang well, if I do say so my dang-self. Methinks that I'm gonna like it a lot. And I only shot myself once. Yep, I nailed my finger with the "laser." Let me just say this: "It hurts." It doesn't feel so good when you do it. I accidentally tapped the foot pedal that turns on the "laser" and gave myself quite a shock. At least the "laser" is broken in now.
I finally got some prices entered into the computer system today. It's about time. We've had a lot of people calling and asking us about how much our costs are. Hurray for me.
It's also just now dawning on me that I'm gonna be the cat to run this new clinic. Here's the breakdown of my work week. I will work Mon-Wed. and Thurs.-Sat. My boss is gonna work Monday, and Thurs.-Friday. So, for those of you keeping score at home, that leaves me working at the clinic by myself 3/6 days a week. And my boss will only be working there 3 days a week. So I'm gonna be running this ...by myself. Wow.
On a different note, I'm by myself this weekend. Annie is in Austin this weekend for Mother's Day. What's a brotha to do? I guess it's lots of strippers and tequilla shots for me! Whoo-Hoo!**
I'm gonna pass out now. I've got another sweet Saturday of work ahead of me. Jealous?
Keep on keepin' on.
* Imagine Dr. Evil doing his air quotes when you say "laser". It makes it a lot more fun.
* Just kidding Annie. No strippers will be at your house this weekend. Or tequilla shots for that matter.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
What Up Dog?
Well, dis dog been busy. The clinic officially opened on May 1st and it has been crazy here!
I got here on Opening Day and it has been mass hysteria ever since. Basically here's a brief rundown of the events of the last 2.5 days.
1. Every piece of veterinary equipment has at least something wrong with it. For instance, the dental cleaning machine has a jacked up connector for the water connection. We had the sales rep come here this morning to try to fix it. After 3 different trips to Lowe's, and about 3 hours of time slipping by, we are back in the exact same situation that we were when we started. So that pretty much ate up the entire morning. We were supposed to perform 3 dental cleanings this morning. Not quite.
2. I spent an hour on the phone, after my boss spent an hour on the phone, with the technical service dude. We finally got the printers working, because nothing was printing to the right printer. It's kinda funny when you print something and you think it's gonna come out of the printer right beside you, only to have the computer networking gods slap you in the face by sending it to a printer....in China. Just kidding, but you get the point.
3. I'm still trying to plod my way around the computer software that we have for the clinic. It's a new brand of software (for vet clinics) and so it's completely foreign to me. I'm pretty dang computer savy, but it's taking me a long while just to get the basics down.
4. Just trying to remember to give the clients their rabies tag is all I can do.
Keep on keepin' on.
I got here on Opening Day and it has been mass hysteria ever since. Basically here's a brief rundown of the events of the last 2.5 days.
1. Every piece of veterinary equipment has at least something wrong with it. For instance, the dental cleaning machine has a jacked up connector for the water connection. We had the sales rep come here this morning to try to fix it. After 3 different trips to Lowe's, and about 3 hours of time slipping by, we are back in the exact same situation that we were when we started. So that pretty much ate up the entire morning. We were supposed to perform 3 dental cleanings this morning. Not quite.
2. I spent an hour on the phone, after my boss spent an hour on the phone, with the technical service dude. We finally got the printers working, because nothing was printing to the right printer. It's kinda funny when you print something and you think it's gonna come out of the printer right beside you, only to have the computer networking gods slap you in the face by sending it to a printer....in China. Just kidding, but you get the point.
3. I'm still trying to plod my way around the computer software that we have for the clinic. It's a new brand of software (for vet clinics) and so it's completely foreign to me. I'm pretty dang computer savy, but it's taking me a long while just to get the basics down.
4. Just trying to remember to give the clients their rabies tag is all I can do.
Keep on keepin' on.
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