Good thing they didn't steal cucumbers

4 pairs of boots, 3 pairs of jeans, 1 wallet, several gloves.

Sounds like a decent amount of stuff, huh?

Believe it or not, 2 women who were shoplifting actually stole all that by hiding it in the fat folds of their breasts, bellies, and armpits!

Here's the story.

Thank you, Amanda & Carol, for sending this in.

Great office moments

Dr. Pissy: "You going to pick up your kids?"

Dr. Grumpy: "Yeah, I have to stop at the deli first."

Dr. Pissy: "Why?"

Dr. Grumpy: "It's the first night of Hanukkah, I need to pick up potato pancakes for dinner."

Dr. Pissy: "That sounds good. You bringing any in tomorrow for us?"

Dr. Grumpy: "No."

Dr. Pissy: "That's not very christian of you."

Air traffic control

Mary: "Dr. Grumpy's office, this is Mary."

Mrs. Compass: "Yeah, I have an appointment there at 9:00, and I don't see your name on the directory."

Mary: "What building are you in?"

Mrs. Compass: "Medical #5."

Mary: "Okay, we're in Medical #1, on the 6th floor. If you go out to the parking lot and face east, it's the big white building."

Mrs. Compass: "Okay, I'm on my way." (click)

(3 minutes later)

Mary: "Dr. Grumpy's office. This is Mary."

Mrs. Compass: "Yeah, I can't find your building."

Mary: "Where are you now?"

Mrs. Compass: "In the parking lot, facing west."

Mary: "We're behind you. Turn around. It's the big white building."

Mrs. Compass: "Oh! I see you! On the way." (click)

(3 minutes later)

Mary: "Dr. Grumpy's office, this is Mary."

Mrs. Compass: "Um, I think I got turned around and lost in the parking lot."

Mary: (sigh) "Okay, where are you?"

Mrs. Compass: "Facing your building. It's the reddish colored one."

Mary: "No, that's not our building... Hang on..." (walks to window) "What are you wearing?"

Mrs. Compass: "A red sweater, and a black baseball cap."

Mary: "Can you wave your arms and jump up or down or something... Okay! I see you. Turn to your left. No, I mean your other left. Yes. Now do you see the big white building?"

Mrs. Compass: "Oh! It's right in front of me!"

(at this point Dr. Pissy, the rest of the staff, and I were all standing at the window, in hysterics, while Mary tried not to lose her composure)

Mary: "Great! Just walk straight toward us!"

(Lady in red sweater and baseball cap walks about 10 feet toward us, then turns around and goes back the other way)

Mary: "Stop! Turn around!"

Mrs. Compass: "I thought you said I had to go east?"

Mary: "Yes, but now you're going west."

Mrs. Compass: "Are you sure?"

Mary: "Promise. Just turn around and walk toward the white building."


A few minutes later her flight landed successfully at my office. As she was filling out the paperwork, she said "You know, I started out in this building, too, and noticed your name on the directory. But I was sure you were in building #5, so I figured it was another Dr. Grumpy, and left."

The First Night

The official Grumpy family Christmakuh tree is up, and I want to wish my Jewish readers a very happy Hanukkah!




Last January, trying to get some deals on leftovers, Mrs. Grumpy and I hit a Mikasa outlet store after the holidays.

Mrs. Grumpy: "Do you have any Hanukkah stuff?"

Clerk: "No, we only carry Mikasa."

Swinging Lawyers, P.C.

In the mail today was a letter from one of my patient's lawyers.

The letterhead gave me the giggles.

While you quickly realize all the ways this would make perfect sense, the human mind always leaps to the worst.

It said:

Smuckers & Welch, P.C.

Adam Q. Smuckers
Phillip N. Welch
Susan R. Smuckers-Welch

Justifiable homicide

I was seeing a new patient, and as usual had a can of Diet Coke on my desk. Yesterday afternoon, for variety, it was the kind with lime.


Mr. Manners: "It hurts when I climb stairs, and... Hey, how is that lime-flavored Diet Coke? I've never tried it."

Dr. Grumpy: "I like it, I go back and forth between it, regular Diet Coke, and..."

Mr. Manners reaches over, picks up my Diet Coke, and freakin' DRINKS SOME!

Mr. Manners: "Hey! That is good! I'll have to buy some."

Dr. Grumpy: "Uhhh, you can keep that one."

Mr. Manners: "Really? Thanks, doc! Anyway, sometimes the foot goes numb and..."

Patient quote of the day

"I have an excellent sense of smell. I can especially smell vanilla. My husband and I once measured it, and found I can smell an open bottle of vanilla from 8 3/4 miles away."

'Tis the season

Yes, folks, Christmakuh, Kwanzaa, Festivus, and Solstice are fast approaching, and it's time for

(drumroll please...)

The Dr. Grumpy Guide to Holiday Shopping!

I'd like to thank the catalog companies who have inundated my home with their wares, and the readers who have sent in ideas, to help me guide you.

This tradition started last year because patients routinely call my office asking if we have any gift ideas (NO! I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHY THEY CALL ME!!!), so I figure many of you are dying to do the same.

So I'm here to help you, my loyal readers, find some of the best gifts out there, and will present them over the next few weeks.

Last year's most (un)popular item, based on comments, was this tasteful set of mens' clothes. In all honesty, I'm not sure I'll be able to top them, but will try.

So, to kick off your holiday shopping, I'm starting with 2 exquisite items, both from the same site.

Artist Leah Piepgras (who I don't know at all) apparently felt the world needed a set of dishes displaying the human digestive tract. Each place setting features 5 dishes, with individual pictures of various organs "from mouth to anus". Her site lists them as an "exercise in mindfulness", though I personally see it as a way to encourage dieting.

This, for example, is the dinner plate featuring intestines.



To see the rest of these awesome plates, or even to order your own set, you can visit her site. Move your cursor over the plates to see the different anatomy pics.


Not into dinnerware? Well, Ms. Piepgras also has a lovely silver necklace available. Namely this:





Yes, I know you're wondering "What the heck is that?"

Well, according to her site, it's "an accurate representation of semen" (REALLY!) in case you enjoy looking like someone just ejaculated on your sternal notch. She has 2 different blob-o-semen shapes available. Both can be viewed here.

The donor is uncredited.

Saturday night, 10:54 p.m.

Dr. Grumpy: "This is Dr. Grumpy, returning a page."

Mr. Tech: "Yeah, I'm calling from Local Lab about your patient, Hugh Neverheardofhim. His sodium is 114, and his potassium is..."

Dr. Grumpy: "This isn't my patient."

Mr. Tech: "Well, your phone number is on the order. Aren't you Dr. Grumpy, the nephrologist?"

Dr. Grumpy: "No, I'm a neurologist."

Mr. Tech: "Whatever. I'm just notifying you of your patient's abnormal labs."

Dr. Grumpy: "It's not my patient! You've got the wrong doctor!"

Mr. Tech: "Okay, who should I call now?"

Dr. Grumpy: "His kidney doctor!"

Mr. Tech: "Do you know his number?"

Dr. Grumpy: "No! I don't even know who it is."

Mr. Tech: "Can you look it up for me?"

Dear Family Fun magazine,

Earlier this week Mrs. Grumpy was reading your November issue for Thanksgiving ideas.

As she looked through the pages she came across your instructions for the "Tossing Turkey" game, and how to make the toy drumstick.

The reason she brought it to my attention was that the diagram in the upper right corner seemed, uh, somewhat X-rated.

(click to enlarge)

Dreams

So Mrs. Grumpy and I enjoyed our day off by (drumroll please)...

TAKING A NAP!

(I know, we're a wild and crazy pair)

During my nap, I dreamed I was looking through a catalog of childrens' clothes, and there was a line of "oversize" clothes by a company called "Because your kid is fat!"

I thought this was so incredibly tasteless, I tore out the page, and was going to scan it in so I could use it on the blog.

Then I woke up, and was incredibly disappointed to realize there was no such clothing line, and so no blog post.

That is so pathetic.

Friday morning

Dr. Grumpy: "This is Dr. Grumpy, returning a page."

Mr. Phone: "Hi, I had an appointment with you last month, and I need to come in again."

Dr. Grumpy: "Okay, my office is closed today. Can I have Mary call you on Monday?"

Mr. Phone: "No, I need to see you today."

Dr. Grumpy: "Well, the office is closed, but you've got me on the phone. What can I do for you?"

Mr. Phone: "Yeah, but on the phone, how do I know it's you? I mean, you could be a phone operator or something. I really want to talk to the doctor."

Dr. Grumpy: "Sir, I promise it's Dr. Grumpy, and I have your chart in front of me. What's up?"

Mr. Phone: "I'm not comfortable with this. I think I'll just go to ER." (click)

Skool Nerse Time

This is Mrs. Grumpy, writing for Thanksgiving.

When I was 5, my family lived in Massachusetts. My dad was a graduate student at the time, my mother was raising 3 kids. Dad worked 2 jobs, AND was an amateur boxer, to support us.

That winter we ran out of money. I didn't have a coat for school, and my parents couldn't afford one. My mom would dress me in multiple layers of her shirts to send me to school.

Somehow, through our church, word got out that there was a little girl who needed a coat. A family out there bought me a brand new one in my size, and donated it through the church.

I still don't know who they are, or how they heard about me. But it was warm, and fit me perfectly, and was my favorite coat EVER. It was still in good shape when I gave it to another family in need. By that time we weren't living in Massachusetts anymore.

Whoever you are who bought me that coat so long ago, thank you. It made all the difference in the world to me. And still does.

Great drug rep moments

"Hi, Dr. Grumpy. It's good to see you. Thank you for signing for samples. I hope you've been doing okay. How are your kids? My son is getting divorced. But that's fine, because I never liked her. Is this going to be enough samples for you? I wish the company would give us more. We also have the new 50mg pills, I don't have any here, but will send you some info. Are you ready for the holidays? My company is doing layoffs. I have no idea if I'll have this job in a month. I'm bringing lunch next week. Do you like turkey? I thought about getting some, but I think that would be overkill. Don't you? My daughter hates turkey, but she has all kinds of food allergies. I bet she got them from my ex, because there isn't anything right about him. She's interested in going into medicine, too. Do you have any advice for her? I can bring sandwiches instead. I found a new place I like, but they toast the bread, and not everyone likes that. I'll ask if they can leave some plain. This drug, by the way, is now on first tier with all major insurance plans. Which plans do you take? A friend of mine should probably see you, I'll have to find out what insurance she's on. Thank you for your time, and I'll see you next week."