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wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Wonderful Starfish
@wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
130 followers 140 following 3K posts
Psych RN, writer, gamer, parent. Up late on the socials while rocking a fussy baby.

#ReportableEvents- a horror/comedy flash fiction project.

Also, don't use ChatGPT for therapy.
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wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
How long do we have to give Gen Z exclusive rights on "mid" before it's considered general use?
November 24, 2025 at 4:10 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 51

Original Post 11/8/2017

"Rats in the Walls"

In which it's a different problem than you think.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
#CoveredinSpiders
Rats in the Walls I’m starting to get worried about the rats I hear in the walls at night. They’re super loud and I’m worried the board of health our whoever is going to shut us down. Edit: I asked one of the janitors about it and he said that the rats aren’t in the walls of the hospital, they’re in the walls of the world. They are loudest where the walls are thinnest. At least I don’t have to worry about the board of health. Spider update: I am still covered in spiders.
November 24, 2025 at 11:04 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
I think I would pre-chew his food for him until he's ten instead of dealing with teething.
November 23, 2025 at 10:56 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 50

Original Post 11/6/2017

"Gate-keeper/Key-master"

In which some doors are intended to be opened and some to remain shut.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
#CoveredinSpiders
Gate-keeper/Key-master I’ve been hanging out with the janitors a lot recently. They’re the only ones who aren’t being weirdly mean to me all of a sudden. (Well, I guess the nurses in South 3 are still mad at me still for the thing with Janice). The janitors are all really nice, especially Mr. Ziyad, who isn’t technically head janitor but everyone follows his lead because he’s been here the longest. Mr. Ziyad is a really interesting guy. I asked him if he would rather be called a custodian, but he prefers the term janitor. “A janitor is one who opens and shuts the doors,” he said, “and what am I if not a keeper of doors?” He shook his key ring and smiled. Then he proceeded to tell me what each of the keys opened: the master keys for each of the hospital wings, the key to the cafeteria freezers, the key to the secret sub-basement no one is supposed to know about, the roof keys, the key to the thirteenth floor offices, the key to all the vending machines, the key to the Reliquary in the Old Chapel in South, the key to the seals on the Thing in the basement, the key that opens the doors between worlds, the key to the Chief of Medicine’s office which Mr. Ziyad won in a riddle contest with one of the trained lions that guards the door, the key to gift shop jewelry case, the key to the mausoleums in the cemetery next to North, and the key to the controlled med lockers. After those there was a large key of tarnished bronze. I asked him what that one was and he gave a smile that was a little sad, “That is the Last Key, my young friend. I hope that I will never use it, but I know that someday I must. That day grows ever closer.” I asked how come there was one more key on the ring after the Last Key and he explained it was for his bike lock and he put it at the end so he wouldn’t lose it in with the others. Like I said, he’s an interesting guy. Also he doesn’t seem to mind that I’m still covered in spiders.
November 23, 2025 at 3:27 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
A global demarcation line exists separating cookbook authors who assume coconut oil is solid at room temperature from those who assume it is liquid at room temperature.

#booksky #cooksky
November 22, 2025 at 1:06 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
How
Does
He
Know?!
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social Wonderful Starfish @wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social · Oct 2
Oops! Thought too hard about going back to bed, so now the baby is coughing again.

I seriously have no idea how long I've been awake.
November 22, 2025 at 10:06 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 49

Original Post 11/5/2017

"Third Clinical Day in East"

In which some days are just like that.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
#CoveredinSpiders
Third Clinical Day in East Really rough day in clinical. Working in East is bad enough, but it’s like I can’t do anything right. I came within a centimeter of giving myself an accidental needle sick three separate times. My key card stopped working. I spilled a bed pan all over myself. Twice I got meds out of the Pyxis and realized they were the wrong ones when I got to the bedside, even though I triple checked them. I keep accidentally hitting the switch that turns on the screaming. At lunchtime I found that somehow my food rotted in the fridge. My watch broke. I tripped over eight trash cans. Everyone is being really mean to me. And knives keep flying at my head. Also still covered in spiders, but that hasn’t been bothering me as much.
November 22, 2025 at 6:18 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Been putting off a project for 2 weeks and it took all of 15 minutes to do.

You guys! I just completed a project that took 2 weeks to finish!
November 21, 2025 at 8:12 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 48

Original Post 11/3/2017

"Lack of Posts"

In which Jaime wades through the fallout of recent choices

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
#CoveredinSpiders
Lack of Posts Sorry have been behind in posting this week. I’ve been working extra shifts to cover for my “sick day” on Tuesday and I have more exams this week that I need to cram for. Also I’ve been covered in spiders for like 24 hours and I’m not sure what that’s about.
November 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
So here's my thought on cover illustrations. There are four basic choices that kind fall along a spectrum

Specific scene

Imagined scene

General vibe

Stylized

Pros and cons to each though I think the trend in publishing is towards the stylized end currently.

#booksky
Six covers for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 1: A red woodcut style illustration of a castle that's hard to make out from a distance 2. The flying car going to the Weasley house, one of the first scenes in the book. Happens in chapter 3/18 3. Harry fighting the Basilisk, the climax of the book 4. A robed figure explores a serpentine tunnel 5. The same scene as #2, by a different artist 6. A pencil drawing style image of the characters, not actually a scene
November 20, 2025 at 7:33 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 47

Original Post 10/31/2017

"Halloween Plans"

In which Jaime takes the logical solution.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
Halloween Plans Battening down the hatches for Halloween at Libra. According to Dr. Varma the spirits are going to especially violent tomorrow because we’re in an prime numbered year. I asked why the spirits would care about the Gregorian calendar or prime numbers, but Dr. Varma stated doing some calculus to explain it and my eyes started to glaze over. I’ve been working on my plan for surviving the night. I’ll need to do three sets of vitals during the shift, each of which should take a little under an hour. If I come in early, I can leave holy symbols in the rooms I’ll need to visit, and stash a few two liter bottles of holy water in the chapel. With a little bit of luck and some good timing, I can douse myself in holy water, make it to each room in time, take blood pressure, pulse, temperature, respirations, and 02 sat, perform hand hygiene, and make it back before the spirits devour my soul. EDIT: new plan, I’m just going to call out tomorrow and fall asleep watching The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.
November 20, 2025 at 7:14 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
When you become a parent you expect that you'll be fighting for your children. What they dont tell you is that most of the time you children are the ones you're fighting.
November 20, 2025 at 2:29 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Goblin mode? Hah! I should be so lucky. This is kobold mode at best.
November 19, 2025 at 9:14 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 46

Original Post 10/25/2017

"Head Office"

In which administrative communication avenues are explored.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
Head Office So I was sent up to the Chief of Medicine’s office today. There was a this petition circulating through the staff that someone had to bring up. I got chosen because, according to one of the Sue-Ellens, being a student as well as an employee gives me some protection. “So he can’t fire me without calling UMass?” I asked. “So he can’t set you on fire without calling UMass,” she explained. I think maybe I got chosen because, technically, I killed Janice last week. The Chief of Medicine’s office is on the top floor of the Lobby. He has a private elevator but regular employee badges won’t open it, so instead you have to take the stairs. The stairs are this one stone spiral staircase that starts in the secret sub basement no one is allowed to know about and only goes to the office, so that’s a pain. At the top are massive mahogany doors guarded by trained lions. The lions sniffed me up and down and swiped me with a metal detector wand and let me pass. The doors opened and I walked down an impossibly long hall past portraits of previous Chiefs of Medicine, Ming vases, and the occasional flame burst to a desk where a secretary was playing with her phone. I told her that I was here to bring up the staff petition. She said in order to do that I would need to climb to the top of South where a falcon nests and give it three things: the left hand of a murdered man, the blood of a child, and a 15mg tab of Oxycodone. The falcon would bring the petition to his window. I asked if there was another way since I don’t have access to the med closets as a CNA, and she said I could also use the document scanner and email him. Ug, I hate using that thing.
November 19, 2025 at 9:59 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Crimes against humanity. Seriously. After they go jail for all the pedophilia, Trimp and RFK Jr need to go on trial for how they've undone decades of public health.
CDC data confirms US is 2 months away from losing measles elimination status
Elimination status is lost if the virus spreads continuously for 12 months.
arstechnica.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:49 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 45

Original Post 10/23/2017

"Putting the 'O My' in Phlebotomy"

In which Jaime hates the post title almost as much as I do.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
Putting the "O My" in Phlebotomy Wow that’s a terrible title. So I was walking through South and that girl in Phlebotomy smiled at me again. I think maybe she likes me? I don’t know exactly. It’s hard to get independent confirmation since apparently I’m the only one who can see her. I think that’s a good sign, though right?
November 18, 2025 at 1:37 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Can't belive its Tuesday already. Where did the week go?
November 18, 2025 at 1:31 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
It was awfully nice of all the big agribusiness groups to only use pesticides that come right off when held under a room temperature tap for three seconds.
November 17, 2025 at 10:32 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Preschooler got ahold of my phone, wrote this:

Faceted ibuprofen p6t thither unique hut try iTunes petition 9o U2 6u U2 I've uhg he h free video C x2 h be be fae 8 use

Maybe don't try to read that out loud. Might summon something.

#parenting #parentsky
November 17, 2025 at 3:29 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 44

Original Post 10/20/2017

"First Clinical Day in East"

In which East continues to be a hole.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
First Clinical Day in East I’m worried that having my clinical in East is going to throw off my whole semester. It’s such a horrible place that I’m always on edge. Five minutes in to my first official clinical day and I already almost flipped out. I was shadowing with an RN and she was showing me one of the patient rooms. She started with the wall switches by the door. “Remember from left to right they go lights, screaming, oxygen.” She flipped the switches as she went, turning on the lights, the unearthly howling, and the hiss of oxygen from the wall. I almost lost it. That’s such a stupid thing to have controlled by a switch by the door. I mean you could come in fumbling for the light and accidentally turn off their oxygen. That could seriously hurt someone. Also, that screaming switch seems weird to but I don’t know enough about the therapeutic value of screams to complain about it yet.
November 16, 2025 at 11:40 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Hey #booksky are there any good examples of books where the cover illustration is one of the opening scenes?

Like the illustrator read the first 10 pages and thought "Eh, I've got what I need."
November 15, 2025 at 5:02 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
My preschooler is marching through the house playing a bike pump like a flute and singing the one line of "Love Train" he knows.
November 15, 2025 at 5:01 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
So the pandemic/ COVID isn't over, but we could really use a phrase that means "2020- like 2023 or something" to describe that period specifically and I don't have a better phrase than "during the Pandemic".

Sometimes I say "the acute phase of the pandemic" but thats awkward.
November 15, 2025 at 3:32 PM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Reportable Events, episode 43

Original Post 10/18/2017

"Halloween is coming"

In which I would have sworn I posted this one already.

#flashfiction
#ReportableEvents
Halloween's Coming Posters for the Halloween festivities are going up. Mostly they just list places of sanctity where you can hide from the vengeful spirits: the chapel, phlebotomy, the imaging suite, the Starbucks in the lobby, the walk-in freezer, and the secret sub basement we aren’t allowed to know about. Also there were some pretty draconian restrictions on costumes, especially women’s. I feel uncomfortable about that.
November 15, 2025 at 11:22 AM
wonderfulstarfish.bsky.social
Went to a board game night tonight! I played Eschaton. How was it? Let's just say when I got home and found the dishwasher was broken I thought "working on this will be the most enjoyable thing I do tonight."
November 15, 2025 at 3:49 AM