Summer Vacation, Day 1

This year the Grumpy Summer family reunion, as in 2009, is in San Diego.

Flying with 3 kids (and having to make a connection that got canceled, thank you Air Grumpy) is never without drama (Frank's mouth is considered a weapon by airport security), but somehow we made it here, got our rental minivan, and found the hotel. Unlike 2009, it was not located near the local doberman stables.

The only hitch was during our delayed connection, when I had to call the bank for an 8th mortgage to buy airport food.

It's been 2 years since our last visit here, and the kids, as always, are changing. Craig, for example, has developed an obsession with his hair, frequently asking if it looks okay. But all 3 still consider LegoLand and SeaWorld to be at the pinnacle of Western Civilization.

Near our hotel we saw this car, which had apparently been attacked by a flock of seagulls. I can only assume they ran.






To relax after the ordeal of trying to lose not lose our kids in the airport, we sent them to go drown each other play in the hotel pool while Mrs. Grumpy and I sat in the hot tub with my sister & BIL. At one point we were joined by an inebriated lady. She had "Shit Happens" tattooed on the inside of her right butt cheek. And at 5 minute intervals kept pulling aside her swimsuit (and butt) to show us.

After that none of us were really hungry for dinner.


In a sad commentary on the state of literacy, this sign is near the hotel elevators:




And I'm too tired to write more.

Heart of Darkness

We're looking for you, Mr. Kurtz.

And in today's news...

1. There are many good ways to wake-up a loved one in the morning. Leftover fireworks isn't one of them.

2. When getting out of a taxi without paying, please remember to take your bong and ID with you.


Thank you, Lee and Don!

Lost her vote, I guess

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

Ms. Walley: "Hi, I need to make an appointment to see Dr. Grumpy."

Mary: "Okay, our next available new patient visit is in 2 weeks..."

Ms. Walley: "What about next week?"

Mary: "He's out of town next week."

Ms. Walley: "Out of town? What do you mean?"

Mary: "He's going on vacation."

Ms. Walley: "But he's in the area, right?"

Mary: "No, he and his family are flying to California. Anyway, we have an opening on..."

Ms. Walley : "Wait a minute! That's a long way. What if I were to have an emergency, and need to come in urgently when he's on vacation? Would he fly back to see me?"

Mary: "No, he has other doctors who cover for him, and there's the ER, and..."

Ms. Walley : "So your doctor just feels like he can abandon patients and leave town? That's ridiculous. Never mind. I'll find another doctor, one who believes in caring for people."

(click)

Correlation and Causation

Mr. Homebody: "I only get these headaches when I'm here in Grumpyville."

Dr. Grumpy: "What about when you travel?"

Mr. Homebody: "Don't know. I've lived here my whole life. Never traveled."

Things that make me grumpy

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is obviously a hot-button issue. And I'm not taking sides, nor am I proposing a solution. If you think this yak herder can help, you've come to the wrong place.

But here's where it affects me:

There's a Parkinson's Disease medication called Azilect. It has some unique properties, and there's no generic, or direct competitors, currently available. It's manufactured by Teva, a company that does most of their business in generic drugs. It's the world's largest generic drug manufacturer, and if you've taken ANY type of pill at some point in your life, the odds are you've used a Teva product.

Teva is an Israeli company. I personally don't care. From my view, they make a useful drug, and if I think you could benefit from it, I'll write for it.

Most people are fine with this. But I always get a handful of calls a year from people refusing to take it, or calling to yell at me, for prescribing an Israeli product. Some refuse to take it because they don't want to support Israel. Others have accused me of secretly prescribing it over other drugs as part of some vast Israeli conspiracy. I've even had one patient fire me because I wrote for it.

Here's the bottom line people: I don't care where your medication was made, who makes it, or the name of the chemist in the assembly line.

I am your doctor, and when you're here, my goal is to try and make you better. I'm not getting kickbacks for these scripts, nor are they my way of making a political statement.

Improving you is what I'm trying to do. So try to see it that way, and accept my help.

Crash course

No matter how good an idea it may seem at the time, it is NOT recommended that you let a 6 year old child drive your car.

Mary's desk, August 9, 2011

Guy walks in, stands up front.

Mary: "Hi, can I help you?"

Mr. Papers: "I have an appointment with Dr. Grumpy."

Mary: "Oh, yes. I mailed you our new-patient registration forms last week."

Mr. Papers: "I have them right here." (hands papers across counter)

Mary: "Thank you... Um, sir, these are completely blank."

Mr. Papers: "Was I supposed to fill them out?"

Hole-in-one

Due to the large number of people sending me this article, I'm sharing it with all of you.

Basically, some guy in Arizona blew a hole in his trouser snake when he mishandled a cute pink handgun.

Nothing says love quite like matching his & hers firearms.

Now THIS game just screams "excitement!"

This question was in an online survey I took last night.

(click to enlarge)

It's never a good sign...

When the new patient, on the sign-in sheet, writes their name as Ibee Grumpy.

Then, when questioned, has no idea who Ibee Grumpy is.

Caring

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

Mrs. Concern: "You see my Mom for back pain, and it's still pretty bad."

Dr. Grumpy: "I've tried a couple things, but she wasn't happy that they all made her sleepy."

Mrs. Concern: "Yeah, but you really need to call in something strong for her pain, regardless of how sleepy it makes her."

Dr. Grumpy: "Is she worse today?"

Mrs. Concern: "No, but if her pain doesn't get better she can't watch my kids tomorrow."

Important research

Several people found my challenging case on Friday to be so idiotic as to defy belief.

However, the Science Marches on Department has kindly brought my attention to a similar case that actually got published in a medical journal!

Yes, folks, here is the story of a lady with visual loss. After a work up found no clear cause, they discovered they could fix the problem simply by holding up her eyelids with tape.

Unfortunately, the abstract doesn't clarify what kind of tape. How would masking vs. Scotch vs. duct tap compare for this? Clearly, more extensive studies are needed.

Random Saturday pictures

All right, today I'm presenting a selection of pictures that you Grumpy fans have sent in recently:


First, here's a picture from a reader currently traveling in China, who noticed this window as he passed a building:





Next, moving closer to home, we find this interestingly-titled dog salon. With a name like that, one has to wonder what Tim's idea of "full service" is. And if it involves the store's rear entrance.






And last, we at Dr. Grumpy, Inc. wish to salute Hoboken, New Jersey. The city is boldly taking a stand to eliminate the stigma often associated with being a mentally healthy person.