Category: Just Write

Just Write

Just Write: His Consequence Followed Him Home

Karen

I love this video for a few reasons:

  1. The dancing is outstanding. These dancers are pretty amazing – I first learned of their talent in the Slip video. For those of you that don’t know, I’ve always wanted to be a dancer – there is no way now, and quite honestly, I don’t think I was motivated enough to really pursue it when I was younger, but I admire the hell out of dancers in general – for their artistic talents, for their hard work and dedication to their art. I could (and sometimes do) watch dance videos all day long. They inspire me.
  2. What about the mood music? It’s happy, go-lucky, innocent tune when he is home and turns sinister when he’s at his destination and fooling around with his lover. If you’re in a situation where sinister music is being played in the background, you shouldn’t be in that situation.
  3. The story in this video. It’s a story about a man who crosses the line and his consequences quite literally follows him home. It may not happen right away, but it will happen and it will be ugly. Is it worth it?

So story idea – how does the wife react when she finds out his lover followed him home?

How would YOU react if your wife/husband/lover brought his/her love affair home one day?

Don’t think, just write.

Just Write, Writing Stuff

Write: For Those Writers Out There That Need to Know About the Decomp Process

Karen

I looked this information up when I wrote this short piece the other day. Then I thought, “why not share this information with other writers?” Because at some point, you need to know about dead bodies, right?

Or is it just me? 😀

By the way, word to the wise, DON’T Google images for decomp. You’re welcome.

Believe it or not, decomposition begins as soon as you die; it starts deep into the digestive system, where the intestinal flora [bacteria that live in our intestines and that are crucial for the proper functioning of the gut] begin to multiply exponentially and to feed on your internal organs, the same organs they helped protect when you were alive. This process is called autolysis and it begins as the dead body begins to cool off, a few minutes after death. The external signs of putrefaction [bloating, marbling of the skin tissue, swollen and protruding tongue, seepage of fluids from every imaginable orifice, odor of rotting meat] may start to show as soon as a few hours after death, depending greatly on the environmental factors surrounding the corpse. In general, a corpse lying out in the open and exposed to high temperatures and humidity can become completely skeletonized in as few as 10 days to a month, at the most. Areas of the body which have sustained injury or trauma decompose much more rapidly than those which are not injured. However, a corpse that’s been carefully embalmed, put into a sealed casket and interred in a place where there’s little moisture can be exhumed and still be nearly intact several months or even years after the demise.

The following is a copy/paste of an article called “The 26 Stages of Death”, the original of which is located at here.

Moment of Death:
1} The heart stops
2} The skin gets tight and grey in color
3} All the muscles relax
4} The bladder and bowels empty
5} The body’s temperature will typically drop 1.5 degrees F. per hour unless outside environment is a factor. The liver is the organ that stays warmest the longest, and this temperature is used to establish time of death if the body is found within that time frame.

After 30 minutes:
6} The skin gets purple and waxy
7} The lips, finger- and toe nails fade to a pale color or turn white as the blood leaves.
8} Blood pools at the lowest parts of the body leaving a dark purple-black stain called lividity
9} The hands and feet turn blue {because of lack of oxygenation to the tissues}
10} The eyes start to sink into the skull

After 4 hours:
11} Rigor mortis starts to set in
12} The purpling of the skin and pooling of blood continue
13} Rigor Mortis begins to tighten the muscles for about another 24 hours, then will reverse and the body will return to a limp state.
After 12 hours:
14} The body is in full rigor mortis.

After 24 hours:
15} The body is now the temperature of the surrounding environment
16} In males, the spermatozoa die.
17} The head and neck are now a greenish-blue color
18} The greenish-blue color continues to spread to the rest of the body
19} There is the strong smell of rotting meat {unless the corpse is in an extremelly frigid environment}
20} The face of the person is essentially no longer recognizable

After 3 days:
21} The gases in the body tissues form large blisters on the skin
22} The whole body begins to bloat and swell grotesquely. This process is speeded up if victim is in a hot environment, or in water
23} Fluids leak from the mouth, nose, eyes, ears and rectum and urinary opening

After 3 weeks:
24} The skin, hair, and nails are so loose they can be easily pulled off the corpse
25} The skin cracks and bursts open in many places because of the pressure of Internal gases and the breakdown of the skin itself
26} Decomposition will continue until body is nothing but skeletal remains, which can take as little as a month in hot climates and two months in cold climates. The teeth are often the only thing left, years and centuries later, because tooth enamel is the strongest substance in the body. The jawbone is the densest, so that usually will also remain.

Just Write, Work Stuff

Just Write {2}

Karen

I received my company newsletter in the mail yesterday … and on page three, taking up the entire page (and it’s one of those over-sized newsletters) was a notice about the upcoming flu vaccinations.

And how it’s mandatory for all health care employees to partake of the flu vaccine.

I don’t know if you remember or not, but I’m NOT a big fan of the flu vaccine.

And quite honestly? I just don’t want to go through the stress of avoiding the flu shot every year. Though I GET why the hospital requires it’s employees to take the flu shot, I just don’t buy all of the reasons they try to justify it. I don’t think it’s a good thing. I don’t think it’s necessary every single year. And I really don’t appreciate the mafia attitude as they try and bully the 3% of us who refuse to participate.

I have a problem willingly injecting myself with poisons. And I honestly think that anyone who trusts the government enough to allow themselves to be injected with God knows what, is playing with fire and they’re way too trusting of the government.

I just won’t do it.

I have no idea what’s going to happen to me this year if I don’t accept the flu vaccine. I narrowly squeaked by not getting it last year and my stubborn rejection, not to mention my very verbal feelings about it, really irked a few people I work with. I don’t mean to be difficult, I truly don’t, but I feel VERY STRONGLY about this and I WILL NOT COMPROMISE ON THIS ISSUE.

I was THE ONLY person in my entire clinic who refused it.

And I will refuse it again. And if that means I will have to wear a mask, or that I even get suspended for a few weeks, so be it. If they fire me, then I’ll collect unemployment until I can find another job.

I will not get the flu vaccine. Period.

Nothing you, or anyone else, can say will ever convince me it’s a good idea. Vaccinations every ten years or so (like a Tetanus shot), okay, I’ll buy that. But to get a vaccine every year, for a strain of virus that literally has HUNDREDS of different varieties and the likelihood that you’re being vaccinated for the ONE virus that may, or may not, be the dominant strain that year, just seems so … RECKLESS to me.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this issue for the past several days. I don’t want to stress about this every year – and I will, because it’s healthcare and they require it every year. It’s also not fair to my co-workers to wonder if I will be coming to work if an outbreak “supposedly” happens.

So the bottom line?

I think healthcare may not be the place for me after all. Which makes me sad, because I like my job and I LOVE the people I work with, but this issue may very well be the deal breaker for me.

Just Write

Just Write {1}

Karen

I walked into work today and the place was dark.

It was also quiet, but not in the way you might think. People were laughing and freely talking as opposed to the sound of fingers typing on a keyboard, or footsteps in the hallway, or clothing rustling as patients passed by us and were shown back to their rooms.

The time clock was dark – I couldn’t clock in to work this morning. Which was actually a blessing considering I was nearly ten minutes late.

The emergency lights were on and under the carefree conversation it was quiet – like the quiet that happens whenever electronics have been turned off. It was more than an audible quiet, it was more of a tangible quiet.

I walked toward my cubicle, but there was a small crowd surrounding it. I put my stuff down and laughed, “this reminds me of my house,” I said.

“Oh? Did you lose electricity at your house, too?” Our IT guy asked me.

“Nope. But it’s dark, like my house. We’ve been keeping all of our curtains drawn and our lights turned off in order to try and keep our house cool.”

The clinic had been without electricity for nearly 20 minutes before I arrived. And yet, we had a waiting room full of patients. The doctors were on site, but couldn’t do much without the patient’s electronic charts or the lights that house various xrays and other tests to be examined and explained.

I sat down and waited. There was nothing more I could do. I listened to various conversations around me, (there were several smaller groups of women clustered close by) and I would occasionally smile at a familiar face, or offer a polite chuckle or even offer my own two cents worth, depending on the topic.

The air was still and quite close. It began to grow hot and I grabbed a folder to fan myself.

I was hot.

I was always hot.

Though a power-less clinic with no air conditioning on a 95-degree day certainly didn’t help.

Ten minutes later, the lights came back on. Everyone started clapping, myself included.

I laughed. WHY do people clap when the lights come back on? I’m sure there are many psychological reasons.

Patients got up from their chairs, (most of them sat in chairs next to windows for light), and made their way up to the front desk to check in. It never ceases to amaze me how positive people are when they come to see us. First, they are in pain. Second, they had to know that their appointments with the doctors were going to be delayed because of the power outage and yet, 99% of them smiled and were pleasant.

I turned on my computer and began to work. The morning’s excitement died down and I found my groove – I began to pick up the pace and before long, my surroundings blurred around me, the sounds faded into the background and I was focused. I had just cleared a veteran to have his x-ray when *POP*, the power went off again.

We all sat motionless for several surprised seconds before someone broke the trance and moaned in annoyance.

The lights didn’t stay off as long the second time around and the novelty had worn off – we just wanted to get on with our day. There was some talk about canceling the clinic that day, but luckily, the lights came on shortly after the suggestion was made and we once again resumed our routine.

It’s amazing how helpless we feel whenever we lose power. It’s amazing just how much we take power for granted.

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