Hunting season/T-giving/Lab rant

I know, deer season in TN has been going on for a while now, I just haven't worked up the enthusiasm to join everyone else in Deermagedon.  Mostly due to the fact that it's been unseasonably warm here, making sitting in a tree with full-body camouflage not only uncomfortable, but also counterproductive (think BO+coon urine scent).  Heck, I wore shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops to work on Monday.  Then it rain/sleeted on Thursday night.  Needless to say, we took advantage of the turn of weather and slogged our way through the muck and mire to our deer stands Friday morning.  No luck, unless you count freezing off all 11 extremities.  Uncle D winged a deer, but after a few hours of gullies, hills, and streams, we had to concede that it wasn't winged that badly.

Anywho, Gal and I enjoyed the company of the maternal side of my family this week.  We conducted the yearly tradition of early-Christmas with the family.  The highlight for me was when Gal got both a Bath & Body Works combo and a set of deer field-dressing gloves in the same gift package.  I love my girly/tomboy wife :)

That leads us to this weekend, otherwise known as "Hospital retribution for being off for T-giving". I am effectively alone for 12 hours today, just me and the infinite wasteland of the internet. 

You: *tisk tisk* "Guy, why are you writing a blog entry while you are at work.  Aren't you busy?"

I'm trying to be.  Here are two reasons why I'm not:
1. Weekends are notorious for being one of two extremes: horribly busy or mind-numbingly boring.  This weekend is one of the latter.
2. The computer system is down for maintenance.  This is routine, usually happening once a month for a few hours.  As this system connects all departments to one another (and to patient records), to say it puts the hospital staff back a bit is an understatement.  Any further back and we'll be using rotary phones to call one another.  We go from being able to find/order/process patient labs and records, to digging through paper trails as long Pinnochio's nose.  All that necessary nonsense paperwork that has to be filed via computer is now reduced to pen and paper. 

Our label printer is connected to the same computer system, so orders must be manually called to the lab.  I then have to hoof it down to the requesting department, pick up the orders, determine if I have all the necessary supplies to collect the specimen (if not, back to the lab cave), and finally stick the patient.  After the computer system comes back online, we have to manually put in the orders because all those paper files have to be digitized.  Add to the mix the fact that it's Saturday and all of the surrounding clinics/home health agencies/nursing homes bring their diagnostic work to the lab.  Those particular orders are waiting in the wings, hanging by their feet, glaring at me with beady red eyes.
The system was supposed to be offline from 6:00-10:00.  We're currently at 14:00 and counting...

*hears wings rustling in the eaves*

Gotta go.

-Guy