Sometimes you laugh until it hurts

So I feel very un-cool mentioning school on a Sunday but I feel like it's appropriate because it falls with the theme of today's post...which is "you can't make this shit up." Monday marks the beginning of the beloved OSCE weeks; it's a special time...a time that makes you purge yourself of all inappropriate comments you might tell a stranger in a patient gown in order to soar to great heights of patient interviewing and physical exam techniques.

Well today a few of my classmates and I went to our home-away-from-home, the Marvin Graves Building, to practice a few fun things on each other before the big day. Upon entering my POM room on the first floor, we were met with a clever little note left on the dry erase board across the room. At first I ignored it but later decided I would give it a second glance due to the word "rat" written in large, underlined letters. Luckily I had my Blackberry so you can take a look for yourself...

Okay so the lighting was not the best...I'll translate in case it's hard to see:

"Be warned, at 8:40 p.m. on 3/29/08 there was a m-f'in RAT in this room...just looking out for you ladies"

And later...

"Yes, I saw it too, it jumped out of the missing ceiling tile in the corner. 4:00 p.m. on 3/30"

Naturally, our attention was drawn to the corner of the room where this rat entry/exit zone was referenced. And sure enough, this is what we see:

Exhibit B. The aforementioned ceiling tile. I have to say the visual image of a rat jumping from the ceiling onto unsuspecting med students was equally funny and terrifying. At this time the other two girls and I locked eyes, and those eyes were slowly lowered to the floor as we realized that none of us were equipped to handle any sort of four-legged rodent. But then we were too lazy to move and said F-it.

My second tale of the day comes from a legit new story from Palo Alto, California, where the handicapped are breaking criminal stereotypes. Apparently a 60-year old man in a motorized wheelchair robbed a Wachovia Bank branch...he "rolled into the bank around 4:30 p.m.," pointed a gun at the teller, demanded money, and then rode of into the sunset in his electric wheelchair. I know what you're thinking: this guy MUST have been caught, right? Well surprise surprise, he escaped the strong arm of the law thanks to a get-away car they describe as a "white Ford van with red lettering on the side that had a lift for the wheelchair...it was parked near Sharper Image." My favorite detail of the article is that "officials said they also don’t know if the man was truly disabled or if the wheelchair was just a prop. But they said the man’s legs were wrapped in bandages and that his right leg was sticking straight out." Hmm so the citizens of Palo Alto, CA should be on the look out for an older man with a stiff right leg who may or may not be bandaged from the waist down. Good to know. Also...are they really not sure if the wheelchair was just a prop? Granted, it would initially take away the immediate threat factor but come on, wouldn't that be balanced out by the fact that he could not actually RUN away from the crime scene? Just a thought...

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.nbc11.com/news/15792283/detail.html

Like I said, some things are just too good to be true.