Blood work

Went to the lab this morning to get blood drawn for my monthly coumadine test, aka Pro-Time. Since I was getting stuck once, I figured I may as well get stuck again so I went to the allergist's and got my monthly allergy shot. Pure Voodoo.

Get to work and find the flourescent light fixture in the men's room is on the fritz. It is strobing to beat the band. I could leave it and complain or I could just fix it, I mean it probably only needs to have the bulbs replaced, and I am pretty sure we have some spares. So I start taking it apart. Wait a minute, how does this thing come apart? Oh, these little featureless bumps are actually plastic thumb screws. They come out easily enough, and the end covers they were retaining, and the diffuser they were retaining, come right off. Go get a couple of spare bulbs and put them in. They work, so all I need to do is put the diffuser back on. Well, it is filthy, so I get a damp paper towel and start to wipe it off. I pick it up by one end and it shatters, putting a nasty little gash in my left ring finger.

Okay, off to the first aid box for a bandaid. Lots of boxes, big guaze pads, a couple of open boxes of tiny bandaids, a bunch of celophane wrapped boxes that look like they are probably for something serious. Oh, here is the regular bandaid box. It is empty, except for a pair of little scissors. Well, maybe I can make do with the little bandaids. I enlist Pam's assistance and she gets me patched up. It takes three of these tiny bandaids. I think I will be okay, it has not soaked through yet. A couple people ask me if I have washed out the wound, and I reply that it has been bleeding so much, any dirt that was in there has probably been washed away by the blood. I wonder if this is a valid assumption.

So I am back in business, but what do I do about the shattered light fixture? The bare bulbs are glaring. I could spend the rest of the day looking for a replacement, or looking for someone to replace it, and then trying to figure out how to get this paid for. I could dump it on someone else, but most everyone here has plenty of their own work to do, so I think I will just patch it up myself. Quickest, though not necessarily the best, solution. Besides, the company is moving soon, and who knows what the new tenants are going to do with this place?

I look in the dangerous chemicals cabinet for some super glue, but I do not see any right off, and that is just as well. I do not really want to try gluing this mess back together with a bum finger. So I opt to use clear plastic package tape. Half a dozen pieces of tape later and the diffuser is back together. Not perfect, but adequate. Very carefully I put it back on the fixture and reinstall the end covers and screws. Whew, all done.

All this trouble with the light could have been avoided if we had a decent light maintenance program. Simply have someone come in and replace all the bulbs at the recommended interval. But since this is operation is run by a penny pinching idiot, that is not going to happen, and since we can afford to have me spend an hour screwing around with this stupid light, I imagine we can afford to have me spend an hour writing up this stupid report.