What’s with the toaster?

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you just don’t quite know what to do with something? Your carefully prepared, unconscious system of cubbyhole filing is at a loss and you can only think, “heh?”

Recent examples of this phenomenon in my life include:

Phlebotomy Fun Facts!

Today I had some blood taken at my doctor’s office. When they sent me down to their basement lab (I’m not kidding. They have a lab. It’s in the basement), I took a seat in the little chair-with-a-padded-armrest that they make you sit in to draw your blood, and saw a meticulously detailed bulletin board on the wall opposite. Cheery, and featuring yellow construction paper in great profusion, it was titled, Phlebotomy Fun Facts!

Was it intended to distract pediatric patients with happy trivia about blood? I don’t think so, mainly because I’m not sure the under 12 crowd is familiar with the term phlebotomy. There were photos of the phlebotomists, and of a fleet of Mobile Phlebotomy Cars, which either visit the homebound to take their blood, or perhaps convey blood taken in the basement to a larger lab for more sophisticated tests. I couldn’t tell. The print was too small. I did observe a great deal of red magic marker and yellow highlighter and a list of Qualities Needed in a Phlebotomist, outlined in scalloped construction paper. Perhaps this is a recruiting tool, I thought, expecting it to list various qualifications needed for professional bloodletting. But no, it simply informed me that my phlebotomist (presumably) has Good Eyesight, Steady Hands, and Cares About People. If it cheers the phlebotomists up, bully for them. It probably gets demoralizing poking holes in sick, sad, worried people for a great deal of the work day. So: Forward the Bulletin Board!

But I still think darts would be more effective.

Because it could be worse: It could be cake. I stole this image from http://www.cakecentral.com. Really.