From the Book of Lamentations

7.27.06
3:58 PM
I dislike when people say “good enough” in reaction to something. What I derive from it is that someone did or said something, gave information about a situation, you know and the result was just “good enough” for the person saying it. Like, it doesn’t satisfy my needs, it’s just “good enough” to be considered adequate. If someone wrote that on a paper, for instance, I would think I had done badly and would ask for an explanation. I mean, don’t misunderstand, I’m sure there are times when that phrase is totally warranted, but when people use it as a blanket response statement like “okay” or “all right”, it just gets on my nerves.
Also, Chris brought to my attention a new bit of jargon that I have yet to hear, but when I (inevitably) do I’m sure I’ll hate it. Instead of asking “What’s going on?” or “What’s up?” people are apparently now asking “What’s good?” That sounds stupid. Then again, this could be me getting older. Resisting the tidal change of the popular vernacular. I hope not and I think just like the principal from The Breakfast Club “it’s the kids, not me…”
I have tried to instill “xmax” and Lauren uses it although whether it’s just to humor me or not is unclear. It’s hard to picture her saying “xmax” at the Associated Press, but if she is then my plan might bear fruit sooner than I estimated.
I think this impromptu rant about the state of slang and language is tied into the fact that I am reading a book set in the early 1800’s in and around London. There is so little being said, but it’s being said so beautifully and skillfully. I miss that. I miss people putting effort into language, writing and speaking it. IM, text messages, e-mail. All of this is leading to the bottom of a Spiral of Dumb. Shit, the fucking President can’t speak English. They’re offering a COLLEGE DEGREE in Ebonics at UCLA! Letters are being stolen from words in the Dictionary!! We are fucked, people. In a literary and intellectual sense, we are fucked.
Feel the pain and sorrow of the idiotizing, of the moronification, of the dumbass fuckery of our world.
If it doesn’t hurt, you’re already dead.

8:01 PM
Yow. Around 7 tonight, we had a code and I was informed that a patient was found dead in their room. I was also informed (along with the security and administrator on duty—who is an inept boob, but still…) by the on call doctor and all the nurses there that the patient was DNR. For those that don’t know, DNR stands for “Do Not Resuscitate”. I don’t know the finer point of this operation but basically if a patient has DNR on their medical chart, the crash cart with the paddles is NOT brought out and the staff does NOT try to bring the patient back to life. If a patient does NOT have DNR on their chart, the doctors, nurses and everyone else who is supposed to, must do their damnedest to save that persons life.
Anyway, at the time of the code I was told (along with everyone else) that the patient was DNR and they did not try to bring him back. 20 minutes later I called back to get more details (the patient’s name, the person who called the code etc.) and I was told that the patient was NOT DNR. In other words, because someone fucked up in a major way, this person was allowed to die.
Now maybe some people believe that when your body says, “die” you should not try to countermand the order by electrocuting your heart, but if someone is waiting for something, say, to reconcile with their estranged child or for the new Nine Inch Nails album to come out, or if they have some other reason to stick around despite their own body’s urge to just stop, I think their wish should be honored. What I’m trying to say is, in the time I have been here, I have heard about children dying under tragic and mysterious circumstances, bodies being misplaced and people who could ONLY exist in a nursing home walking right past security into New York City and this is the worst thing I have witnessed. THEY LET HER DIE. A TEAM OF PEOPLE WHO WENT TO SCHOOL FOR YEARS TO BE LEGALLY ALLOWED TO HELP SAVE PEOPLE’S LIVES LET A PERSON DIE. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but, Jesus this is a new low. I’m seriously considering calling Fox 5 of something to just tell them about all the terrible shit people let go on here. I will most likely not mention the time (Yes. Singular. Just once. Ahem.) I have turned this off or unplugged that because this isn’t about me, man! This is about people who have jobs that matter (doctors, nurses, security personnel), jobs that affect the condition of old, sick or crazy people, completely fucking up and causing death or elopement or the misplacement of a human corpse. These idiots shouldn’t be allowed to heat up Big Mac’s let alone be in the health care profession. All I can do is reiterate (for the umpteenth time): DO NOT SEND YOUR LOVED ONES TO THIS PLACE. THEY WILL DIE WHEN YOU WANT THEM TO LIVE (and vice versa) AND EVEN AFTER DEATH THEIR TERRIBLE JOURNEY IS NOT OVER. They’ll probably end up in the basement of a whorehouse or something.
Sigh.
Never mind.
So, tomorrow I have to wake up early to be in the final scene of my agent’s short film. I play a mental patient. I am deciding between the jabbering, raving type and the drooling, muttering type. Maybe a potpourri of both perhaps? The flavors of my mental patient stew make Baskin Robbins look like a Neapolitan.
HOT DAWG!!