http://www.synapticsilence.org The often confused ramblings of a sometimes serious man Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:26:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en My step-daughter Risa and her husband Perin are awaiting the birth of their daughter Celia, their first baby, in January.  I was looking around for helpful hints and found this nifty Powerpoint slideshow in the depths of our county community clinic's network folder.  I thought it was just the thing.  ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=461 I was already late in finishing up my work today.  It was one of the busiest days I've had in eight years, with a total of six psychiatric patients on involuntary holds at three hospitals around the Portland area.  The only bright spot was getting to see my wife Ruth ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=434 I'm 55.  And the driving I'm talking about is driving myself too far at work, physically and emotionally.  And I can't do that at 55.  I have to learn to take care of myself.  If you read my previous post Psychiatric Blues, you'll get an idea of the highly emotionally-laden ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=375 Well, today I reached a new level of frustration in my job as a civil commitment investigator.  I evaluate mentally ill people who are being held in the hospital against their will because some physician there thought they were dangerous enough to be placed on an involuntary hold.  In Oregon, ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=365 I often evaluate patients at a local geropsychiatric unit, a locked inpatient facility that specializes in the care of elderly persons with dementia or other mental disorders. Last night I was there late, working on going through someone's chart to see if he needed to be held involuntarily for a ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=262 I was driving back to work today through the snow and ice that's been part of life here in Portland, Oregon, for the past week. I passed the parking lot for the County Court in downtown Hillsboro, where I work for the County Mental Health service, and then glanced ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=238 When I fill out one of those medical history forms you get when you go to a new doctor, I hate the section where you list all the things that people in your family suffer from or had at some time in the past.  It's like a genetic roadmap of terrible ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=173 I've had periods lately that have been pretty powerful. They've been these brief little epiphanies where, all of a sudden, I'm overwhelmed by sadness, happiness, anxiety, fear...the list is pretty comprehensive. I've had them when I was watching television, listening to a song, working out, talking with a patient, or ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=175 This morning my boss walked in and said, as benignly as he could, "Do you guys have some time to talk about the budget?" He was referring to the proposed 2009-2011 Oregon budget published earlier this week by Governor Kulongoski. I'd been waiting for him to walk in ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=149 I took Synaptic Silence completely down a while back. It wasn't doing what I wanted it to do, it didn't sound anything like me, and I was pretty sure that no one on the planet besides me and my wife Ruth was actually reading it. And Ruth was ... http://www.synapticsilence.org/?p=147